Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. She will eventually rule the world…
Playlist for Chapter Ten – "A Modern Myth" by 30 Seconds to Mars, "Porn Star" by Faster Pussycat (WARNING EXPLICIT LYRICS), "Secrets Are Sinister" by Longwave, and "What I've Become" by Patchwork Blue
Chapter Ten - Secrets Are Sinister
~Bella~
Monday morning I woke to the rare occurrence of sunlight streaming through the window into my room. It fit my mood after experiencing the greatest weekend of my life. I was looking forward to seeing Edward at school; after spending two amazing days with him I realized that I only wanted to be around him more. Alice and Angela slept most of the way home from Portland, but I didn't want to waste a single minute of the precious time I had been given to spend with Edward, so I stayed awake. We spent the whole trip talking and singing along with the songs playing on his iPod.
I smiled at the memory as I pulled my truck into its usual spot, noticing when I parked that a small crowd was gathering in the lot. Angela ran over to me before I could even get out of the cab and said frantically, "Bella, I just heard that Lauren and Jessica are missing!"
"What? What happened?" I asked.
"You remember that everyone was going down to First Beach on Saturday, right? Well, Lauren and Jessica were supposed to ride with Mike, but Lauren called him and canceled. She told Mike that she and Jessica had been invited to a party in Port Angeles by one of her friends at Peninsula College, and they were going to drive up early to do some clothes shopping for the party. Nobody's heard from them since."
"Oh my God, Ange, that's horrible! I hope that nothing bad happened and that they're okay. I'll ask Dad after school if he knows anything."
I couldn't believe that Lauren and Jessica were missing.
When I made it to English, Edward wasn't in class, and Alice was absent from Spanish as well. I hoped that they weren't sick; both of them seemed well enough on Sunday, so if they caught something it must have come on quickly. Disappointment hit me hard as I realized how much Edward's presence meant to me. I needed him like I needed air to breathe.
By lunch time, the entire student body of Forks High School had worked itself into a frenzy over the disappearance of Lauren and Jessica. Speculation and rumors were running wild. Students were talking about forming search parties and heading to Port Angeles after school. Other groups were arranging prayer vigils for the girls.
"I heard that they found Jessica's car abandoned in Port Angeles," Mike announced during Phys Ed.
"Yeah, there's no sign of them anywhere. I bet they were abducted," Tyler added.
I shuddered at the thought of Lauren and Jessica being taken and said a silent prayer for their safe return.
Before the end of the day, all the students received a letter from Principal Greene asking us not to spread any unfounded rumors, and for anyone with information about Lauren and Jessica, no matter how insignificant it might seem, to please contact the authorities.
As soon as I got home from school, I called the police station.
"Dad, have you heard any news on Lauren and Jessica? The entire school is freaking out about them. Even though they aren't the nicest girls around, we are all worried sick about them."
"No, Bells, we don't have any leads just yet, but the information has been entered into the NCIC Missing Persons system. It's a good thing the girls are still 17, or we would've had to wait to put their information out there. Mrs. Stanley called me in hysterics earlier saying that the authorities were treating this like a case of runaways. Trust me, if you were missing I would move heaven and earth to find you," Charlie's voice cracked with emotion as he told me.
"Is there anything I can do, Dad? Some of the kids at school said they were going to form search parties to start combing around Port Angeles."
"No, honey, you just stay put. I'm good friends with the guys at the Port Angeles PD, and I'm making sure they are taking this seriously. I'm heading up there to help with the dogs, so I'll probably be home late tonight. You be sure to lock up before you go to bed tonight, okay Bells?"
"Sure Dad, I will," I answered.
"I love you, Bells."
"Love you too, Dad."
I tried calling Edward to see if he was at home sick and to tell him what had transpired at school today, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I hung up and sent him a text message to let him know about Lauren's and Jessica's disappearance.
~Edward~
Alice, Jasper and I were hunting when I felt my phone vibrate, so I let the voicemail pick up. I felt it vibrate again, and pulled it out of my pocket to see that there was a text message from Bella.
-Edward, missed you and Alice in school today. Hope you two are okay. Lauren and Jessica are missing. They went to PA Saturday and never came home.
"WHAT?" I yelled in surprise.
Alice and Jasper were by my side instantly.
"What's going on, Edward?" Jasper asked.
"I just heard from Bella, and I think those sadistic nomads killed Lauren and Jessica," I explained, showing them Bella's text message. "Alice, did you see anything?" I growled.
"No, I didn't, but I wasn't watching for them either, I was only keeping tabs on Bella," she snapped.
Jasper tensed immediately. This is NOT Alice's fault, Edward, back off.
"I know it isn't, and I'm not mad at Alice. I'm angry that this is too close for comfort. I just want to keep Bella safe."
"Just stop for a minute and let me concentrate," Alice said, holding her hand up with her palm facing me as she scanned the future.
I watched intently as her vision developed.
Carlisle was working the night shift at the hospital when Lauren and Jessica were brought in to the ER by their parents. Both of the girls were scantily dressed and looked like they could use a shower, and their eyes were red and puffy.
"Dr. Cullen, can you please test my daughter for drugs and STD's, please?" Mrs. Stanley asked as she pushed a trembling Jessica forward.
"Yes, please run the tests on Lauren as well," Mr. Mallory choked out in a gruff voice, his ears red from embarrassment. Lauren's head was bowed in shame.
"First of all, I want to say that I'm thankful to see that the girls have returned safely. It must be a great relief to all of you," Carlisle told the sheepish girls and their angry parents.
"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked kindly as he examined Jessica's pupils with his penlight.
"Well, this friend of Lauren's from Port Angeles invited us to a party on Saturday. We were supposed to go to First Beach with Mike and Tyler, but we thought it would be more fun to party with the college kids. I told my mom I was spending the night at Lauren's, and she told her parents that she was staying at my house, so we wouldn't get in trouble if we spent the night in Port Angeles. I drove us up early so we could shop for clothes to wear to the party, and then we went to her friend's house and changed clothes.
"While we were at the party, Lauren's friend told us that his cousin in Los Angeles worked in the movie industry, and was looking for some aspiring actresses for a new movie he was involved with. We had each had a few drinks at the party, and it sounded like a good idea at the time, so it wasn't hard for him to talk us into taking a road trip with him to Los Angeles. We got to his cousin's apartment Sunday night, and he promised to take us to the studio on Monday morning.
"On Monday, he took us to a run-down building on the edge of town and had us change into these clothes for a 'screen test' as he called it. When we walked into the room for the screen test, we saw that the other two girls there were naked. It turned out that it he was making a porno.
"Lauren and I ran out as soon as we saw what was going on, and we wanted to call home but our cell phones were dead. So we walked around until we found a place with a pay phone and called her mom. We were scared because on the way, several cars pulled over and asked us how much we charged for our services…
"Mr. Mallory flew down to pick us up and as soon as we got back to Forks, he brought us here and my mom met up with us, and now we're grounded for life, and we didn't DO anything that we need to be tested for," she sobbed.
Carlisle shook his head sympathetically, and did his best to keep a straight face.
"Well, at least we know they didn't run into the nomads," I said after relaying the vision to Jasper.
"I hate to admit it," Jasper said with a grin, "but from everything Alice has told me about those gals it wouldn't break my heart if the nomads had finished them off. Maybe this little misadventure will fix their wagon."
Alice laughed, "Yeah, Lauren and Jessica will be too busy with their own trouble when they go back to school tomorrow to cause problems for anybody else for a while." Karma can be such a bitch, she thought gleefully.
"Alice, is there anything you can pick up about the nomads? I'd feel a lot better if I knew what they had planned. I can't have Bella at risk."
"No, Edward, I can't see them doing anything in the near future," she answered after a moment's pause.
"Just the same, until I know they are gone, I'm not going to let Bella out of my sight."
Jasper and Alice ran back towards the house, and I ran to Bella's, to take my customary perch in the tree beside her room. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her sit down at her desk to work on her homework.
When I saw Bella pick up her cell phone and scowl at it, I remembered that I hadn't returned her text message. I waited for a few minutes, and then responded.
-Alice and I are fine, we were helping Esme. Missed seeing you, too. Any word on Lauren and Jessica?
I watched a smile cross her face when she received the message, and then her brows furrowed as she typed her response.
-No. Dad said they were taking the dogs to search around PA.
-I hope the girls are alright. Let me know if you hear anything.
-I will. See you tomorrow?
Alice had said that the weather in Forks would return to its typical pattern of gray skies and intermittent rain on Tuesday.
-Yes, I'll be there.
-K. Bye then.
-Have a good night, Bella.
-You too, Edward.
She cradled the phone to her heart for a moment, with a wistful expression on her beautiful face. My heart swelled with happiness.
~Bella~
Tuesday morning at school was a zoo when Lauren and Jessica showed up after sending the entire community of Forks and the good citizens of Port Angeles into a panic. Apparently they had taken a trip to Los Angeles to become porn stars, or so the rumor went.
Mike Newton was merciless, singing "Bow-chicka-wow-wow, chicka-wow-wow" and grabbing the air and doing pelvis thrusts every time he saw either Lauren or Jessica. It was the first time I had ever seen either of them blush and I actually felt bad for them. In their defense, I heard them tell Angela that they were mortified when they found out what type of movie they were about to try out for, and that they called to come home as soon as they could find a pay phone.
Snickers could be heard up and down the hallway between classes as news of the girls' fall from grace spread like wildfire through the school. In the lunchroom, Tyler and Eric approached Lauren and Jessica with a "script" for a home movie they wanted to produce. The girls blanched and left the room.
Alice and Edward had invited Angela and I to sit with them at their usual table, and I could hear Alice giggling under her breath as Lauren and Jessica scurried by on their way out. I could see that Edward was struggling to keep his lips straight, and he eventually lost the battle and smirked. Even Angela was having a hard time keeping her laughter contained. We all sat there and broke down with laughter until we couldn't breathe, and then we laughed some more.
When it was time to leave for class, I noticed once again that Edward and Alice had pushed their food around on their trays, but hadn't eaten any of it. I wondered why they bothered to buy food that they never ate.
Lauren and Jessica maintained a low profile during gym and again in Calculus class. They never looked up from their desks until the bell rang, and then they made a mad dash to get out of the classroom.
Edward waited for me to gather my things and walked with me to my locker.
"I really had fun at the concert and the movie," he said. "We should do something again, sometime."
I would do anything you want, I thought to myself. "Do you have something in mind?"
"I have to go out of town with my family this weekend, but I was thinking maybe next Friday I could take you out to dinner and a movie, if that's alright with you," he answered.
"Sure, I'd love to." I think my smile must have covered my whole face.
He returned my smile with a huge grin of his own, and I thought I could nearly die from happiness.
~Edward~
I swear my heart nearly restarted when Bella agreed to go out with me. The time we had spent together on the trip to Portland was the best I had ever experienced, and I couldn't wait to lavish more attention on her. Every minute with Bella was a little piece of heaven on earth.
I walked her out to her truck and said goodbye before Alice met me. I dropped Alice off at the house and then ran back to Bella's house to resume my watch. It terrified me to leave her alone for any length of time until I could be certain that the nomads would not harm her.
I hadn't been outside her house very long when an old VW Rabbit pulled up in her driveway behind her truck, and a tall, muscle-bound Quileute boy got out. I watched with clenched fists as he made his way to the door and rang the doorbell.
What a crazy weekend, he thought. I wonder what Bella will think about what happened.
"Jake! What's up?" she shouted as she opened the door, and then grabbed the boy in a hug.
"You look like you've grown half a foot in the last week. And your muscles! Damn, Jake! You need to lay off the steroids," she said, laughing.
I growled lowly as he held her to his massive frame and swung her around.
"Bella, you'll never believe what happened this past weekend," he told her after he released her.
"Try me."
They walked into the kitchen and sat at the small table. Jake proceeded to tell Bella about the unusual events of the past weekend.
"So everyone is at the bonfire at First Beach, and Leah shows up with her cousin, Emily Young. Sam had been waiting there at the beach with Jared and Paul, and when Leah and Emily walked up, he just stood there for a minute staring at Emily with the weirdest look I'd ever seen. Then he practically fell all over himself to meet Emily, and acted like Leah didn't even exist."
Poor Leah, she was crushed by the way Sam ignored her and chased after Emily. I wish I could do something to make her happy... If I were lucky enough to have her I'd never leave her for someone else, Jake thought longingly.
I felt my jealousy subside as I recognized that Jake was infatuated with Leah, and did not harbor any romantic feelings for Bella.
I listened with renewed interest as Jacob continued his story.
~Bella~
"I just don't get it. Sam and Leah have been together, totally nuts for each other, for all these years. Everyone was sure that they would end up married. Now, out of the blue, Sam's in love with her cousin Emily? I mean, first he disappears for two weeks; nobody has a clue where he could be… Leah and his mom were checking all the hospitals and everything, and now he up and dumps the love of his life for someone he just met?" Jacob said angrily, pacing in my kitchen.
"I don't know, Jake, it does seem weird." Bizarre, actually. I had to admit, I was shocked myself at the drastic change in Sam's behavior. Poor Leah wasn't taking it very well, either. She had been frantic with worry when Sam had disappeared three weeks ago. When he finally showed up two weeks later, he wouldn't tell her where he'd been or what had happened. He just told her to drop the subject every time it came up. Leah confessed to me that he would get angry and start to shake if she did ask him anything, and it scared her, so she decided to let it go. She had never been afraid of him before. She really loved Sam, and stood by him regardless of the strange circumstances of his disappearance.
Then Leah had to watch Sam fall in love with her cousin Emily. It broke my heart for her. It was obviously bothering Jake pretty bad, too. He'd had a crush on Leah for as long as I could remember, and seeing her so despondent was taking its toll on him.
"Strange things are afoot at the rez," Jake pointed out as he paced anxiously back and forth through the tiny kitchen. "Paul and Jared have started following Sam around like fangirls. They never had anything to do with Sam before, and now they're his best buds? What the hell?"
"Please sit down, Jake, you're making me dizzy," I told him.
"Sorry, Bells, I'm just really agitated right now. Seems like the universe is turning upside down, and I don't know what to do about it." He took a seat, and let out a heavy sigh.
"Jake, you don't need to carry the world on your shoulders. None of this is your fault you know, we just need to keep our eyes open for anything else weird."
"Speaking of, my dad is completely weirded out about that Cullen family. You have a couple of them in your school, don't you? My dad and the rest of the Tribal Council have had their panties in a bunch ever since they moved here. We're not even allowed to go to the hospital in Forks anymore because Dr. Cullen works there. Dad swears they're dangerous. Stupid superstitions," Jake huffed.
"Yeah, well, it's not like I'm in any danger from the Cullens. Edward and his sister, Alice, are really, really nice. Angela and I went with them last weekend to see Nine Inch Nails at the Rose Garden in Portland. We had a great time!"
"Wait, wait… you actually went out of town with them?" Jake asked incredulously.
"Yes, someone gave their dad four tickets and he thought Edward and Alice would enjoy it, and they invited us to go. So we drove down to Portland last Saturday morning and spent the afternoon shopping with Alice; she is a certified shopaholic! Then we went to the concert and stayed in a really nice hotel afterward. Angela and I shared a room with Alice and Edward stayed in a room with his parents. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen are wonderful people, too… they made Angela and I feel like family. Then we drove back on Sunday morning.
"They have been nothing but nice to me. And how in the world can Dr. Cullen be dangerous? He helps people, for crying out loud! Or is he running some sort of secret black-market organ harvesting operation? Is that it?" My voice had gone up an octave by the time I finished my rant.
If there was anything that I disliked intensely, it was prejudice of any kind. I couldn't understand the tribe's distrust of the Cullens. Charlie had made very glowing remarks about how great Dr. Cullen was – a world class surgeon, he'd said – and how lucky the citizens of Forks were that Mrs. Cullen wanted to live in a small town.
"No, nothing like that. According to dad, they are supposed to be this clan of 'Cold Ones' that are the 'natural enemies' of our tribe." Jake even made air quotes as he spoke. "I know you've heard the stories about Quileutes being descended from wolves at least a hundred times. Have I ever told you the story of the treaty?"
"No, what treaty?" I asked.
"Back when my great-grandfather was the chief of the tribe, there was a group of 'Cold Ones' that had moved into the area. My great-grandfather and the other protectors of the tribe supposedly could turn into wolves that were able to kill the 'Cold Ones'. Legend has it that the wolves were the only creatures that could kill them. My great-grandfather recognized that this clan of 'Cold Ones' were different from the others, and they convinced him that they didn't harm people, that they fed from animals instead. So anyway, their leader and my great-grandfather made a treaty that forbade any of them from setting foot on our land, and in return we would leave them alone and not expose their identity to the 'pale-faces', although they were paler than any white people could ever hope to be." Jacob paused and watched my reaction.
My curiosity got the best of me. "Okay, I have to ask. What are 'Cold Ones', anyway?"
"We call them bloodsuckers. You call them vampires," Jacob answered slowly, for dramatic effect.
"So the Cullens are like these vampires that your great-grandfather met?"
"No, they are the same ones. The treaty was made with Dr. Carlisle Cullen. There were five of them at that time, three males and two females. Since then they have been joined by another male and female."
I took a deep breath and released it through my clenched teeth. Then I reached across the table and smacked the side of Jake's head. "Jacob Black, you are so full of shit!"
"Hey! I only tell it like I hear it. I think the tribal elders have been smoking something other than tobacco," Jake replied, laughing. "Ouch – that hurt!" He rubbed the side of his head.
"I'm sure it hurt me more than it hurt you. Your head is REALLY hard!" I said, massaging my hand for good measure.
"So what are you fixing for dinner anyway? I'm starving." Jake was practically a permanent fixture in our house at dinner time. Charlie teased Jake about it all the time, saying he was going to have to get a second job just to be able to afford Jake's groceries.
We slipped back into our regular routine and the strangeness of the afternoon's conversation wound its way to the back of my mind.
~Edward~
I couldn't believe that Jacob Black had revealed our secret to Bella. I sat in the tree, nearly shaking with anger. Did the senseless child not realize that he had violated the treaty by telling Bella about us?
At least she didn't believe him, and his thoughts indicated that apparently he didn't put much faith into the tribal stories, either.
Nevertheless, I would have to ask Alice if she saw anything in Bella's future as a result of the young Quileute exposing our true nature.
I called Alice's cell and she picked up before it even rang.
"No Edward, I can't see anything going on with Bella and any of her Quileute friends. It's strange, when I try to see her future, it's all blurry and I can't make any sense of it, kind of like trying to see the bottom of a muddy pond. I can't explain it. I've never experienced anything like this before. It really makes me nervous, Edward. I wish I knew what was happening," she said, the frustration evident in her voice.
That was certainly odd, and unsettling as well. I had always relied on Alice's visions to help guide my actions, even when she wouldn't share the details with me, and now it seemed that we were running blind. I didn't like it, not one little bit.
"I guess we'll just have to watch and play it by ear," I told her.
With this new development, I realized without a doubt that there was no way I'd be more than a heartbeat away from Bella.
~Bella~
Charlie had made plans for us to go over to the Blacks on Sunday to watch a Seahawks game on their new TV. Jake had been bragging that it took up most of their living room. Late that Saturday night, the phone rang. I could hear Charlie from upstairs in my room.
"Billy, aren't you usually asleep by now? What's going on?"
Apparently Billy had a long story to tell, because a few minutes had passed when Charlie responded, "Well Billy, I'm sorry to hear that. I sure hope he feels better soon."
Billy said something else and Charlie replied, "Yeah, we'll have to take a rain check on seeing your new big screen."
Charlie hung up the phone and clomped up the stairs. "Hey Bells, Jacob's sick so we won't be going over to visit with the Blacks tomorrow after all. Billy told me that their doctor said it's real contagious, so he doesn't want to Jake to have any visitors until whatever he's got has run its course."
"Wow – that's weird. Jake never gets sick. I hope he gets over it quickly," I told Charlie.
Things were getting a little… strange.
A/N: Happy Thursday everyone! It seems like it took forever for Thursday to get here this week… I've been in Denver since Monday, and get to fly home today.
I hope everyone enjoyed the twist in Chapter 10; this was one of the chapters I've been most excited to post. You may have noticed that I have more songs on the playlist for this chapter than most. Well, that's what it took for me to be able to write the various portions of the chapter! Also, if you don't like explicit lyrics, I recommend skipping "Porn Star"… although I can easily see Mike and Tyler singing something like it at our favorite mean girls.
Here's wishing my beta and best friend, A Little Distracted, a very speedy recovery from her surgery. The Blue October concert awaits!
Huge thanks also to FangMom for pre-reading the chapter and providing general guidance and awesome comments!
Reviewers will get lots of love and a teaser from Chapter 11...
The link for the playlist for My Imaginary Friend is on my profile, or here is the web address:
www(dot)playlist(dot)com(slash)playlist(slash)19366254859
Fics I'm enjoying now:
"Across the Universes" by FantasyMother
"Last Tango in Forks" by Awesomesauce76
"The Education of Professor Cullen" by sheviking