Disclaimer: I do not own the amazing characters or marvelous places from Stephanie Meyer's the Twilight Saga however I do own my characters and plot line of this story such as Zoe, Liam, their mom, and what other character you peoples don't recognize.
Chapter 10
"No Mommy! I want that one!" A little kid whined to his mother after he didn't get the toy he wanted.
"I know sweetie but you didn't win that one. You won this one." She said trying to soothe her child.
"I WANT THAT ONE!" He shrieked and he stomped his feet. Why I agreed to this, I'll never know.
"Can you please just give us that one?" The mother pleaded.
"I'm sorry, I can't. I'm not allowed." I said apologetically for the tenth time in a row.
"He won't stop unless he gets the freaking dinosaur. Just give it to me." She said desperately reaching for it.
"I ca…" Lexi pushed me out of the way and slammed her hands down on the counter angrily.
"Listen lady, we don't care about your brat's tantrums or how bad your freaking headache is. We can't give you the dinosaur so get over it and learn how to control your beast before you bring it in public again. Got it?" The woman's eyes widened as she grabbed her son and backed away slowly.
"Lexi my dear, you should really take a rest. Standing for five hours straight doesn't go so well with your anger management problems." I said placing my hand on her shoulder.
"Well, neither does no help from the male species. If Ethan doesn't get his ass here before the fireworks, I'm going to kill him." She responded angrily. My eyes widened and my heart must have skipped a beat.
"There are going to be…fireworks?" I asked.
"Duh! They're going to start as soon as it gets dark. Why?" She said nonchalantly as she sat down in the single metal fold out chair that the teachers provided us with.
"N-No reason. Just…wondering." I tried to keep myself busy so then I wouldn't think about what had happened too much.
*Three years ago*
"Hey Zo! The fireworks are starting soon!" Fourteen year old Jacob Black, my boyfriend, said happily as he burst through my front door.
"I'm coming!" I yelled from upstairs from my room while I put on my earrings and made sure that I looked okay.
"Hey." Jake said from my door, scaring the crap out of me and causing me to jump.
"Geez Jake!" I screeched turning around to full look at him.
"Sorry." He smiled as he walked over to me and hugged me tightly.
"You'd better be." I said playfully narrowing my eyes and glaring at him. He grinned that beautiful smile that I could never get tired of before he kissed my cheek, making me blush.
"Stop fussing. You look gorgeous." He smiled. Will the blushing ever come to an end?
"Guys! Come on! I don't want to miss them again this year!" Quil whined from my door with Embry at his side.
"Sure, sure." Jake said before taking my hand and walking with me to the field where the fireworks would take place. We laid out a blanket and laid together while we waited for them to start.
"Guys, Billy needs your help carrying the food for the barbecue." One of the adults from the reservation said walking up to us.
"We'll be right back, okay?" Jake said kissing my forehead after I nodded. Jake, Quil and Embry left and I laid back and looked up at the dimming sky. The sky had changed from a mixture of beautiful colors to gloomy and dark but they weren't back. I kept telling myself to wait five more minutes before I went to go look for them but I wasn't waiting anymore. I got up and started to scan the small field covered by sea of people. I kept looking and looking but they were nowhere to be found.
Maybe they're in the woods. I got to the edge of the woods and Billy's cautious words filled my head: Stay away from the woods at night. You never know what lurks in the shadows. I gulped and took a few steps into the dark. I continued until I could barely see where I entered. I called out their names but no one answered. Suddenly, a bright light burned just a few feet ahead. I ran up and heard someone talking.
"Guys! What did Bi…" I started.
"Hey! Look out!" Someone called out to me. I was suddenly cut off by an extremely loud noise followed by a bright light and flash of heat. My eyes were blinded and I couldn't see anything. I screamed for help but there was once again no response. I held my hands out and tried to run back to the edge of the woods but explosions were everywhere I went and I started to panic. My heart was beating at a dangerous rate and my body started to shake. I was hyperventilating and had to leave before I had a heart attack. I somehow dodged the rest of the fireworks without my vision and made it through. Slowly my hearing began to return as soon as I reached to what I presume was the group of people. There was soon a scream for help and I was shifted into someone's arms.
"Can you hear me?" Someone familiar said.
"Yes." I sobbed.
"Can you see me?" He asked.
"No." I spoke too soon. Everything was just starting to appear once more and I rubbed my eyes. When my eyes focused, I realized that I was in Jake's arms.
"Jake?" I questioned.
"Oh god. Zo! What were you thinking?" He said as he pulled me closer. I wrapped my arms around him but couldn't hold him because I was shaking too much.
"Zoe. Calm down. You're safe." Jake said soothingly but it was no use. He pinned me to the ground and looked at me very seriously.
"Focus on me and only me." He said. Everything in the world was all distorted except for him. He was perfect and beautiful and all mine. I reached up and pulled him closer to me. Our lips collided for the first time. He tensed for half of a second before he kissed me back. The way his lips melted into mine had to be the best feeling I ever had. It may just have lasted for a few seconds but it was short and sweet. He pulled away and smiled down at me.
"Hello. Earth to Zoe." Lexi said waving a stuffed bear in my face. I shook my head and focused back on the scene in front of me. I was still at the carnival and there was no Jake.
"Whoa. What?" I said confused.
"Squanto-on-steroids is here." She said pointing over my shoulder. I spun around and my jaw dropped. Walking in what seemed like bad-ass slow motion were Jake, Quil, Claire and Embry. Jake was wearing a black tee-shirt with a long pair of jeans and his work boots. He looked so amazing it made my heart hurt.
"Hey Zo!" Quil said happily running up with Claire in his arms.
"Hey guys. How did you know that I was here?" I asked.
"We're awesome." Claire said in her cute little baby voice.
"Yes you are sweetie." I said leaning over the counter and kissing her cheek.
"But seriously, what's up?" I asked.
"Billy told Jake that you were going to be here today, he told me, Claire heard and she wanted to come so here we are." Quil explained.
"Oh…so how many times did you rehearse that one?" I said sarcastically.
"Five ti…Ow!" Quil started before Jake smacked the back of his head.
"We just wanted to see how you were." Embry admitted.
"Ah, so there is one honest person in your little entourage, huh?" I said crossing my arms.
"Look, we'll play some games, have fun and then we'll be out of your hair…until tomorrow. Deal?" Quil asked.
"I don't know…" I said contemplating it.
"Pwease!" Claire and Quil said with pouty lips and big puppy dog eyes. I sighed and nodded and they all rejoiced except for Jake. What a shock.
"I get off soon so play some games here and we'll meet up for the…" I gulped.
"For the what?" Jake asked.
"Nothing, never mind. Just go have fun and meet me back here before it gets dark." They all said okay and went to go play. Jake stopped walking and turned around and came back towards my booth.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I said nervously.
"Your hand, remember?" He said reaching over and taking my hand into his. The warmth radiating from his hand bore into my bandage and all the pain I had just seemed to disappear.
"Oh yeah. It still hurts a little though." I said.
"Good…I mean, not good…it's good and but it's… I'll just see you later." He said before he let go of my hand and walked away.
The guys were gone for about thirty minutes before a loud bang vibrated through my ears and a firework was shot into the sky.
"Are you okay?" Lex said from my side. I ignored her and didn't move a muscle.
"Let's go, Zoe. Our shift's over." She spoke to me again but this time she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the booth and to somewhere in the middle of the field. She sat me down on a blanket and grabbed her purse.
"I'll be right back. Stay here, okay?" I nodded and with that she disappeared. I can do this; I thought.
Boom! I looked up and saw the colors in the sky.
Okay, no I can't. My heart started to race and I felt my stomach churn with each explosion. I don't think the world was supposed to be all fuzzy and twisty like that. I jumped to my feet and maneuvered my way through the crowd. Suddenly someone tall walked in front of me and since there was such force, I was knocked backwards. I thought that I would fall but instead I was caught just before I could hit the ground. I looked up and saw that it was Jake.
"You didn't tell me about the fireworks." He said sternly as he set me to my feet before he grabbed my hand and led me away from the field towards the parking lot.
"I didn't think you cared." I said breathlessly now that I was basically running with him.
"Of course I care, what…never mind just try to keep up." He said grasping my hand a little tighter.
"Where are we going?" I asked as he dropped my hand and unlocked his car.
"Away from here. Just trust me." He got in the driver's seat and I went to the other side and got in. Jake turned the key in the ignition and started the car. I buckled my seat belt and pulled my knees up close to my chest. The car swerved and then the engine revved as the car bolted straight. I didn't look up until the car stopped and Jake's hand cupped my shoulder.
"Let's go." He said in my ear and kissing my head, then letting go to get out of the car. I did the same and saw that we were at a beach, First Beach I presume. Jake grabbed an old blanket from the trunk, kept the music on, actually he turned it on louder and nodded towards me. We walked in the dark over logs and drift wood towards the waves. I gasped when I tripped over something and fell into Jake's back. I quickly grasped his hand and arm to keep myself steady on my feet.
"Sorry." I said shyly.
"It's okay. I forgot that you are an even bigger klutz in the dark." He chuckled intertwining his fingers with mine. We reached our destination not too far from his car and he laid down the blanket. He then sat down and patted the spot next to him.
"Sit with me." I did as he said and laid back to look up at the stars. He laid back and after awhile turned towards me.
"How ya feeling?" He said bluntly.
"I think I'm better now. Thanks Jake."
"Sure, sure. So, do you remember this place?" He asked
"Yeah. It's First Beach. We used to play here a lot when we were kids and its where…never mind." I said turning back to the sky while the scene played on in my head. Jake and I were still together when he brought me to the beach and it was the first time he told me he loved me.
"I know what you were going to say. I think it was somewhere around this spot too. I really did mean it. You do know that right?" Jake said honestly.
"Mhm." I said nervously. I heard one of my favorite songs playing in the background and decided to ask Jake a question.
"Hey Jake?"
"Yeah?"
"Dance with me?" It took him a second but he got up and held his hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me up into his arms. He wrapped his arms almost protectively around my waist. Unlike Ethan, it seems as if he doesn't mind dancing with me.
When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind
He broke his own heart and I watched
As he tried to reassemble it
And my momma swore that
She would never let herself forget
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist
But darling, you are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
Maybe I know, somewhere deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways to make it alone
Or keep a straight face
And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable distance
And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk
Jake held me tighter and pulled me closer while we danced.
But you are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
I've got a tight grip on reality
But I can't let go of what's in front of me here
I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up
Leave me with some kind of proof, it's not a dream, oh
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
And I'm on my way to believing
Oh, and I'm on my way to believing
Even though the music had stopped, we continued to sway through the sand. I couldn't help but think about what was and what should be. My heart started to feel heavy in my chest and my eyes began to sting with tears so I buried my face into his chest and tried to hide my face. He obliviously kissed the top of my head and continued to move with me.
"Zoe, I…" Suddenly a loud, obnoxious group of laughter vibrated throughout the no longer vacant beach.
"Hell no. What are they doing on my land?" Jake growled.
"Who?" I asked looking over, well, by his shoulder.
"Scumbags. Please just...stay here while I deal with it." He asked but it sounded more like a demand to me. He let go of me and stormed away towards the group. There was a movement and a flash of light, which I presume was their flashlight. I quickly ran over to them to make sure he didn't kill whoever it was and was dumbfounded when I recognized the group.
"Ethan?" I asked surprised.
"I thought I asked you to stay over there." Jake said to me.
"Hey baby. I didn't know you were going to be here." A slurring Ethan said trying to hide the bottle of vodka in his hand.
"You told me that you were going to stop drinking." I said crossing my arms over my chest.
"Let's talk about this somewhere far away from Gigantor." He said nodding towards Jake as he took my arm forcibly. Jake suddenly smacked away his arm and picked him up about a foot of the ground by his shirt.
"Don't you dare put your hands on her." He snarled. I looked up at his face and noticed that his eyes were glowing that strange gold color as they did once before and his k-nines were sharper.
"Jake, stop." I said. It took him a minute but he finally released my boyfriend and backed off.
"I can handle this. I'll see you later, okay?" I said.
"Sure, sure." He huffed before stalking off into the dark. The music blasting through the speakers in his car were cut off. I expected to hear his car turn on but it didn't. Instead there was a tearing sound and a loud howl following. I forgot about the wild animals coming out at night.
"You wanna talk or not?" Ethan said. I rolled my eyes and followed him away from his friends and deeper into the dark.
"Are you going to explain yourself?" I asked annoyed.
"Well, I was at a party and I was going to go to the carnival but I was having too much fun. I'm sorry." Ethan said moving closer to me.
"No. You promised me that you were going to stop."
"I did stop." He said then hiccuped.
"I can smell the alcohol on your breathe plus you're a really sloppy and obvious drunk." I said pushing him away.
"Please just give me another chance." He begged.
"I don't think I ca…" I was cut off my Ethan kissing me so hard he made my teeth hurt. I tried pushing him off put it was no use.
"Ethan….stop." I said in between his forceful kisses. He pushed me up against a big boulder behind us. His hands started to wander vigorously all over my body and he grabbed my right breast firmly and held me back with the other.
"E, stop please. You don't want to do this." I said as he bit down on my neck so hard that it drew blood.
"Someone help!" I cried while he shoved his hands up my shirt. I punched and kicked but that had little effect. He threw me to the ground and I screamed. When I fell, I feel right onto a rock and it smashed into my lower back. I rolled off of it but he flipped me over and forced me to look at him. He slapped me around a few times before whispering in my ear.
"You are such a pathetic little bitch. I will always be this way and you will always come back to me. Now, let's see if you are as good as Caroline." He managed to rip off my shirt with just one hand while he cupped my mouth with the other. I punched him in the face and that really ticked him off. Ethan slid his hand down my torso and traced my scar with his fingers. I felt him grinning against my neck.
"This is probably going to hurt a lot but we don't want you to act up again do we?" I didn't understand him until he balled his hand up in to a fist and pulled it back. My eyes widened when I realized what exactly his plan was. His fist plummeted down onto the exact spot where I had gotten hurt about a year ago with such strength my ears started to ring as the pain vibrated through my body. It hurt so much a started to black out.
This is it. I'm done for. I closed my eyes and prepared for what was my inevitable fate but then strangely, visions of Jake and Billy and my family came to my head. They were at a funeral, my funeral. Everyone was so sad, especially Jake. He looked like he hadn't sleep in a hundred years. His hair was messy and his clothes were wrinkled but the worst part was his expression. He looked like a kicked puppy. There were bags under his blood shot eyes and tears streaming down his russet cheeks. He walked over to my casket and placed a hand on it as he sobbed. The other people were talking about how my body was so beaten and cut up that they couldn't even have an open casket service for me. If I let him continue, then this would be my future and I can't do that to the ones I love.
When I focused back on the real world, I was pretty much naked except for my underwear. I swallowed hard and a river of blood slid down the back my throat and I looked around but just doing that strained my eyes. The pain still coursed through my veins but was slowly fading as my adrenaline started to kick in. I wiggled my body around to get free from his grasp.
"Don't struggle or else I'm going to have to hurt you again." Ethan said pulling at my underwear.
"I'm sick and tired of being your weak little puppet." I spat up at him coarsely He looked surprised as I felt. I kicked up, sending him flying backwards into the bolder. He hit his head, which I think was bleeding but he acted like nothing happened.
"You little cunt! You are dead!" He yelled coming after me. I dodged him just in time and he stumbled past me. He spun around and swung but I blocked him and punched him hard in the face. I heard a loud crunch as my fist collided with his nose and I didn't feel one ounce of regret. I hit him repeatedly until his face was almost as beat up as mine was. He came after me one last time before he tripped over a rock and fell into the sand. This time he didn't get back up. He just lied there. I made sure he was still breathing before I gathered what was left of my tattered and torn clothing and put them on. I began to walk away from him but turned around too look at him after I heard him groan as he started to gain consciousness once more.
"We're done." I said simply before walking away from the one man I thought was The One. Turns out he was just the one who would end up hurting me.