Here is chapter 10! This chapter was especially hard for me to write, but I managed to do it eventually. From the way the story is progressing, I'm going to say that there will only be two or three more chapters (possibly four, but not likely). As of right now, I'm NOT planning on doing a seqeul. I just feel that once this story wraps up that the story of the Cullens and the Pack will be over, for the moment at least. That's not say that I won't go back and write another sequel a few months from now, but I've decided to focus on other projects after this story finishes, specifically my Harry Potter story Liar. If you like Draco Malfoy, I suggest you read it!
But, if you have any ideas for another sequel, feel free to tell me. I always like hearing ideas from other people, but that doesn't necessarily mean I will use them.
Anyways, let's get on with the story! and remember to review for me please!
SM owns everything that recognize.
I hastily undid the lock on the front door of my house, glancing around to make sure no one was watching me. Ever since I had found out about vampires and werewolves, I had become extremely paranoid, always checking to make sure no one was following me or staring at me in a strange way. In a way, it was a good thing. I had become even more aware of my surroundings and therefore safer in this world full of crazy people, but most of the time there wasn't anything happening and it was just me thinking there was something wrong. Being paranoid turned every single person into my would-be attacker. I didn't like it the feeling, but I couldn't really help the way things had turned out.
As I let myself into my house, I found that my mom wasn't home from work yet. Ethan was home, however, and he had a girl with him in his room. I couldn't see them because his door was closed, but I sure could hear them through the walls as I walked to my room and changed out of my sweaty leotard I had been wearing during my dance class and into a pair of velour sweatpants and a tank top. I wondered who it was since Ethan had broken up with his high school sweetheart and girlfriend for three years, Katie, a couple of weeks ago.
I went into our kitchen to grab a bottle of water when my curiosity got the best of me. They would never know if I only slightly peeked into the room for a few seconds. Besides, if Ethan could check up on me and Seth whenever he wanted to then I definitely had a right to know what was going on with him and his new 'girl', or whatever. That excuse would justify my snooping.
I moved stealthily from the kitchen over to the door of Ethan's room and quietly cracked open the door so I could see through a small crack. Through the small sliver I could see Ethan on his bed heavily making out with a pretty blonde girl—a pretty blonde girl that I knew and was best friends with. To say I was shocked was an understatement.
"What is going on here?" Horror was evident in my voice. What was my best friend doing making out with my brother? I could not believe what was happening in front of me.
"Caroline," Ava exclaimed as she and Ethan broke apart. I couldn't even look at her without being sickened. "I can explain."
I had to get away from them, from the house; there was just something between about the two of them together that deeply revolted me. "I don't want to hear it."
"Caroline, just listen to us," Ethan sighed, getting up off his bed and grabbing me by the shoulder to keep me from darting away. "We are dating, whether you like it or not."
"How long has this been going on?" My voice cracked as I asked the question. I was extremely hurt that neither my best friend nor my older brother had bothered to tell me that they were dating one another. Now, I was not only mad about them being together I was also upset that they hadn't told me about it.
"Just two weeks," Ava told me. She almost looked a little bit ashamed of herself, but I didn't care much. I was too angry to care how she felt at the moment.
"I have to get out of here," I breathed shortly, running out of the room and grabbing my car keys of the kitchen counter. I could not stand to be around the two of them any longer.
Ava chased after me, her golden blonde hair flying out behind her as she ran out the door. "Where are you going?"
"Why should I tell you?" I turned around and snapped at her. "You don't bother telling me anything, so why should I let you know anything anymore either?"
"Don't be like that, Caroline," She looked at me disapprovingly. This only made me angrier. How dare she tell me how to act?
"Don't be like what? Don't be upset that you lied to me, you my supposed best friend are hooking up with my older brother for two weeks and you haven't told me anything at all?" I fumed and looked at her incredulously, surprised that she had the audacity to even be talking to me at the moment after what she had done. She was supposed to be my best friend, but she had just stabbed me in the back.
"I was going to tell you, really, I was. I was just worried how you would react," She stated, her voice falling a bit, but part of me didn't believe her, didn't want to believe her. I knew that she and Ethan would have kept this whole thing going until I found out on my own. "I didn't want to hurt you."
"Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you started hooking up with my brother behind my back," I stomped towards my car that was sitting in the driveway. "I just can't talk to you right now. I am too disgusted with you at the moment."
She didn't protest as I stormed angrily away from her, knowing that she needed to stay away from me for her own good. At the point I was at, I wasn't past using physical violence to get my point across. I had punched someone before when I'd gotten really angry.
I jumped in my car, slamming the door loudly, and just drove, not quite sure where I was going at first. After I had been driving around for a while, I decided to head to La Push and see Seth. I was upset and I knew that he would at least be able to cheer me up a little bit. The drive to La Push gave me a while to think and cool off. I had been really angry when I left my house, but by the time I pulled up at Sam and Emily's, I wasn't angry anymore, just upset and hurt that my brother and my best had kept such a big secret from me.
"Caroline, what are you doing here?" Emily greeted me cordially, like she always did; she was sitting out on her front porch doing a crossword puzzle and drinking coffee. No one else was around from what I could tell.
"I was just looking for Seth," I told her, not wanting to bother her with all of my stupid drama. "Have you seen him around?"
"Yeah, he went on patrols this morning with Embry and Paul, but he should be done soon if you want to wait around for a few minutes," Emily told me kindly. She had always been so nice to me, and for that I was thankful.
"Thanks, Emily," I took a seat in the rocking chair beside her silently. She went back to working on her crossword puzzle and we sat in a comfortable and peaceful silence until Seth, Paul, and Embry showed up, all three of them dressed in just cutoff shorts.
I didn't even have to tell Seth that I was upset. When he saw me, he just took one look at my face and knew that something was up. "What's wrong, Caroline? Did something happen?"
"It's Ava," I broke down and cried silently in his arms, all of the feelings from earlier coming back to me at once. I had never been much of a crier, but this summer, crying was all I seemed to do. "She is dating my brother."
"What?" Seth was just as shocked as I had been earlier. Apparently no one had seen it coming. Ava had been acting weird lately, I knew that, but I didn't think that it was because she was dating Ethan. I thought it was just something small and trivial.
"Yeah, I walked in on them making out in Ethan's room. Needless to say, I kind of freaked out and yelled at her and then I just got in my car and drove away," The wind was blowing my hair all over the place as I told Seth the short version of what had happened earlier that afternoon at my house. I had stopped crying and wiped at my eyes. "I didn't tell them where I was going."
"I'm sorry," He said sympathetically and gently smoothed my hair down with his warm hand. "I hate it when you're upset."
"I just wish that they had told me. That's what hurts the most," I thought back on what had happened and cringed at the horrible memory that replayed over in my head. "It would be a lot easier to stomach if I had known and hadn't just walked in on them. I mean, come on. This is Ava and Ethan, here. No one expected this. I know I sure didn't."
"It'll pass eventually," Seth reassured me. "I'm sure within a month or so, all of this will be over, and things can go back to normal. Well, as normal as things can be, that is."
I nodded. He was probably right, but I still didn't want to be anywhere near Ava or Ethan anytime soon. "Would it be alright if I stayed here tonight? I don't want to go back home."
"Of course it would," He took my small hand in his larger one. "I don't have to patrol tonight either."
I smiled at him and I knew that somehow, someway, things would turn out alright.
"What do you mean Victoria has crossed the border?" Seth's beautiful voice was low and quiet, but not so much that I couldn't hear him talking vehemently to Paul about what had happened.
Victoria, the vampire that had killed Kim and who was also after Bella Swan, had crossed over the border into La Push. I shook slightly at the thought of her being close by somewhere, doing who knows what, and I knew whatever she had to do in La Push could not be good. It was one of the only times in La Push I was scared for my life.
"Exactly what I said," Paul nearly shouted. His voice was louder than Seth's and I could hear it bounce of the walls of the house and echo out into the open air as the three of us stood outside Seth's house at around three o'clock in the morning. I was still wearing my pajamas which consisted of a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt that I borrowed from Seth. "That stupid bloodsucker got past the line."
"How did that happen? Who was running the borders tonight?" Seth fired the questions at Paul rapidly.
"Jared was, but you know how he has been lately. He hasn't quite been on his a-game since Kim died," Paul said darkly. He looked back into the trees for any sign of movement. I shivered knowing that a vampire was around somewhere, closer to me than one ever had been before. "The leech must have gotten by him while he wasn't paying good enough attention. The Cullens did say that it had some type of talent for getting away from people so that probably helped, too."
"What are we doing then? Are we going to go find her?" Seth sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Sam called the Cullens and they are coming down here as soon as they can get here, which shouldn't be long. We're supposed to report to him as soon as possible," Paul replied, looking at me pointedly. I knew what he was thinking—where was I supposed to go? I was in danger in La Push. I wasn't the only one whose life was at risk either, everyone's was.
Seth looked torn as he stared at me with sad eyes. Glimpsing between me and Paul, I felt as if he was making a decision, like he was choosing between me and the pack. I knew that I couldn't force him to do that. "Seth, I'll be fine. I'll just go to Emily's house. You have to go with them."
Paul wondered off a little ways, but not too far, just to give us some space. He continued to stare off into the dark, foreboding woods. We each knew what lurked out there.
"I know," He said in a strangled voice and placed his hand on my cheek and it warmed my body in the cool night air. "I just don't want to."
"The sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back to me," I tried to at least be a little optimistic for Seth's sake, but it was a hard feat. I couldn't pretend that I wanted Seth to go away from me. I could feel a lump forming in the back of my throat at the thought of him leaving me.
"Paul will walk with you to Emily and Sam's house," He pulled me towards him in a hug and held me tightly against his chest. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. "Promise me that you will go to Emily's and stay there. Don't leave until I come back. Promise me, Caroline."
"I promise, Seth," I whispered almost inaudibly, holding onto his as tightly as I possibly could. "I know you have to leave; I just wish you didn't have to."
"I wish I didn't have to either," He grimaced, pulling away from me slightly, but I still held onto him, unwilling to let him go off and fight a dangerous, sadistic vampire.
He kissed me very softly. It felt like his warm lips had barely touched mine when he pulled away from me. His brown eyes met mine one last time before he took off into the woods, taking his shirt off as he went.
"Come on, let's go," Paul motioned for me to follow him on the short walk to Emily and Sam's house. He took off walking, taking long strides. I struggled to keep up with him. "It is not safe to be out here for so long."
"Paul," I said his name as I power walked so I wouldn't lose him. We had never really talked much before, just pleasantries and such, but I knew a lot about him thanks to Seth. He and Seth seemed to clash a lot; their personalities were very different. While Seth was usually all smiles and happy, Paul had quite the temper from what I had been told, and Seth usually tried to keep me away from him in case he lost control while I was around and hurt me.
"Yeah?" He didn't turn to look at me, but kept on going as if I hadn't said anything to him. I could tell he was trying to control himself and calm down, but I imagined it was very hard for him with a rabid vampire on the loose in La Push.
"Will you watch out for Seth for me?" I asked him quietly. I knew that he would even if I hadn't asked. Even though he and Seth didn't always get along, they were brothers in a way because of the pack. They had each others' backs.
He barely nodded, but he did. If I hadn't been watching him closely, I would not have even noticed. He didn't have to say anything at all for me to understand what he meant.
When I got to Emily's house, Paul speedily ushered me inside before he ran off just like Seth had and I was relieved to go in and find the house all warm and toasty. It might have been summer time, but it still was the Olympic Peninsula so it was a little chilly outside. The heat was also a thing of comfort for me now. It reminded me of Seth strangely enough.
"Hey, Caroline," Sara, the girl Embry had imprinted on, was sitting alone in the living room when I walked in. The TV was on and some infomercial was playing, no doubt for the twentieth time that night, but I could tell she was barely paying any attention to it, if any at all. She, like me, was worried and scared half to death.
I acknowledged her and sat down beside her on the couch. She was nice and the two of us got along really well. We were very different, but, in a way, that was a good thing. She reminded me a little bit of Ava, but Sara was softer somehow. They had the same long, golden blonde hair and outgoing personality, but Ava was a little sportier than Sara was. They were both fun to be around.
Thinking of Ava made my heart ache. I had been so angry, angrier than I had ever been at her, earlier in the day, but, now, I was just worried that I would never see her again. Losing Kim earlier in the summer had changed me. I knew now that each day was not guaranteed. Like my mom always told me, it takes a life-changing situation to make you not take things for granted. Never before had that hit so close to home for me as it did as I sat on the couch beside Sara. Ava was my best friend in the whole and I couldn't stay mad at her forever.
"Do you girls want some coffee?" Emily asked us. She was busy running around in the kitchen, keeping her mind busy so she wouldn't have to think about what was going on outside her house.
Sara and I both nodded yes, accepting the two mugs of steaming hot coffee Emily held out to us. There was no way I was going to sleep until I knew Seth was alright, and I would drink as much coffee as I needed to keep me up that long.
The plot thickens...
Well, go ahead and review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! If you personally have any ideas for a third sequel message me or leave it in your review!