10) Slash
I stood frozen by the car, my heart banging against my ribcage, while the long distance between me and Jacob seemed to spark in sudden tension. Jacob, whose upper torso now turned towards my direction, just stared back, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as his lips were molded into a tight line.
As my eyes stared deeper into his black ones, they made out the flicker that held back something that I couldn't decipher.
Seth looked at me from the out of the corner of his eye and seemed to sense my hesitation. He shifted his gaze from me to the group huddled by the rocks before he forced a smile at me. "Well, come on," He encouraged me, elbowing me slightly. "Let's get our regular dose of the surf." He chuckled lightly, but his eyebrows were almost pulled into a line.
The contact between his elbow and my arm snapped me out of my stunned trance, and I blinked before I spoke. "Yeah, sure." I muttered, slamming the car door closed while jamming my keys in the pocket of my jacket. I started walking down to the sand, Seth walking alongside me as he led me towards the group of huge russet colored boys.
There were five of them, and they all raised their heads in unison as we drew closer. Two of them weren't recognizable to me, but Quil and Embry stared as I slowly walked by Seth's side.
Jake's eyes bore into my face, and the intensity from them, made me look away.
"Hey guys!" Seth called out, his hand raised in greeting as his smile stretched across his face. I exhaled silently as the boys warmed at his hello, their shoulders relaxing slightly.
As their deep voices melted together into a friendly conversation, realization slowly came over me. I glanced slightly to my left, where Jake stood with one of the boys I didn't know. There he was, right in front of me, giving me the perfect chance…
Jake's eyes locked onto mine, making my heart thump unevenly as I was snapped out of my antsy train of thought.
"Hey Amber." He spoke softly, the tone of his voice immediately taking me by surprise. It was familiar-the gentle huskiness rekindled the memories in an instant, flashes of the times spend with him flitting across my mind's eye.
I struggled to find my voice before I answered him.
"Hey, Jake." I murmured back, my voice sounding tentative and small. We stared, the hum of the other boys' voices around us, and I gazed into the black color of his eyes.
I took in a deep breath as I braced myself for what I was about to do.
"Can…can I talk to you?" I almost blurted out, my hands curling into fists in my pockets. My gaze never left his face as he looked at me in confusion, but then he nodded his head.
I took a quick glance at the group around us before I looked back at him. "Alone…?" I prodded on more quietly.
The confusion left Jacob's face, the flicker in his eyes settling into a dull light as he stared down at me. I stared back, holding onto his gaze as uneasiness crept into my chest.
Strange relief erased it when he nodded again, only once this time.
"Fine." He spoke lowly. He looked up over my head to see one of the boys who appeared to be watching us. I turned when he looked up, and I faintly realized that it was the same boy who stood with Quil and Embry just outside the school on that day, when the bell had just rung…
I slowly turned back to Jake, who indicated the direction towards the parking lot with a jerk of his head. My feet started to carry me away from the group of boys, but as I looked back, the expressions on their faces held only two emotions: worry from Embry, Quil and Seth, and hard blankness from the two other boys.
Seth's eyes locked onto mine, and I couldn't help but feel his worry. I turned my head back quickly.
I ventured up through the ferns with Jacob, and I stared down at his huge feet as we walked. He seemed to go slow, just to be even with my own pace. His head was down, his bangs masking his eyes, and I faintly noticed that he had grown taller, my head almost meeting his chest.
We made it to the parking lot, which seemed absolutely bare despite all the parked cars, and a sharp wind suddenly blew across it, whipping my hair around my face. Startled, my hands reached up to push my bangs back, but Jake suddenly walked ahead of me, his long legs moving faster as he came to the middle of the lot in four quick and agile strides.
He stopped as he sharply turned to face me.
"What are you doing here, Amber?" He demanded in an angry voice, the tone of it biting as the cold air. My fingers froze in my hair as I stared back at him, surprised by the sudden change in his voice and face. His eyebrows were pulled down over his eyes, making the color of them look darker. His giant hands were balled into tight fists, and his teeth were slightly bared as he waited for my answer.
Just seeing his expression reminded me of the ferocious look on the wolf's face, and uneasiness twisted at me again, this time in my stomach.
"I asked you a question." Jacob snapped, bringing me back to reality with the same angry voice. I looked up at him as I felt my chest burning with his demand.
"Don't be so rude to me!" I snapped back, feeling the burn seep into my face. I glared up at him, whose face relaxed slightly at my voice and my reaction. His hands unbound themselves, and the wind from behind them blew his shaggy hair in my direction.
"I told you to stay away from me." He spoke softly now, but in a low voice that sounded different. It sounded much older, more aged. Like he was an adult quietly reprimanding me, the child.
"I am…" I murmured softly in an attempt to pacify him, as the memory of my second to last encounter with him flashed painfully in my head.
"Then why are you here?" His black eyes held me frozen where I stood, only a trace of gentleness flickering in them. I looked into them, trying to hold onto that tiny flicker as he waited. A faint rumble sounded in the distant dark clouds behind the trees, but other than that silence enveloped around us.
An eternity seemed to pass as I suddenly felt nervous, along with the fear of almost setting him off again. My mouth opened, but felt at a loss as the words I desired to say didn't come out.
Jacob heaved out a sigh, his shoulders slightly slumping as frustration played across his face.
"I knew it." He spoke lowly again, this time sounding accusing. "You just had to see me again, didn't you?" I just stared, my mind settling into confusion as he asked me this new question.
I opened my mouth again, but again nothing came out.
Jacob gritted his teeth as he shook his head. "Why won't you say anything?" He hissed. His hands became fists as his face became a bitter mask. He let out a harsh laugh and shook his head again before I tried to answer.
"You're wasting ouyr time Amber." He muttered, his voice becoming one with the sound of raindrops as they fell to the worn black concrete. He started walking towards me, and I drew in an anticipated breath as me heart thudded in my chest. A sinking feeling came over me as he walked straight pass me.
My eyes suddenly made out the pain that was etched in his eyes and I sharply turned around as he walked back towards the beach, and at the same moment determination rose inside me and I blurted out the question that I made a long time ago, just for him only.
"You're that wolf who saved me!" I almost called out across the empty, drenched lot.
Jacob froze instantly in the rain, slowly turning back towards me, an unfathomable expression in his eyes. I locked my eyes to his, my hands balled up at my sides, my eyebrows furrowed together as rainwater drenched my face and hair. Neither of us were aware of the now pouring rain that fell around us.
Jacob was the first to speak through the rain. "How did you know…?" He almost mouthed out.
I shook my head. "You told me the story, Jacob. Remember? About the protectors and the cold ones?" I drew him on, not wanting him to leave after the moment I revealed my theory to him.
Jacob stared, and I noticed apprehension in his black eyes.
"You are, aren't you?" I whispered through the rain. I looked down at his hands, which were clenching and unclenching themselves, and I suddenly yearned to take a hold of one of them in comfort. I took a slow, tentative step towards him, my eyes not leaving his drenched face, his eyes hidden by his wet hair.
Suddenly my mind flashed, and an image of a pale, brown haired girl came before my eyes.
I gasped and blinked in surprise as it flashed by me, and I sharply looked over at Jake, whose face was etched in ancient pain.
My heart immediately ached as I took in his expression. "Oh…Jacob…" I murmured softly through the pounding rain. I took another step towards him but he slightly backed away from me. A stab of rejection tore through me, but my feet drew me closer to him.
Jacob turned his head to the side, his wet hair falling over his face. "Please…" He murmured, his husky voice almost pleading. The fists at his sides started to tremble. "Don't do this. I don't want to hurt you. Not like that time…" His voice trailed off as his huge shoulders started shaking.
The vision of the pale girl flashed across my eyes again, only this time it was distortingly blurred. I shook it off as I walked towards him.
"I'm not staying away from you." I murmured, determination evident in my voice. Jacob shifted on his feet as he turned away from me a bit more.
"Jacob, please," I almost begged. I took another step. "There are other people that are out there for you, even though you don't know it. Even though Bella-" My voice was cut off as Jacob's head snapped up the moment I said her name.
"How did you know about that?" He asked in a deadly whisper, his eyebrows pulling together in a menacing line. He slowly looked down at me, and as I stared back up, he suddenly seemed to be growing bigger. His hands started to shake again, sending vibrations up through his arms.
Feeling suddenly vulnerable under his hostile stare, I quickly ducked my head, my heart thumping in confusing fear.
Something warm came to the side of my cheek, pulling my head back up, and I saw that Jacob's hand was almost cradling my face against his huge palm. Looking up at his face, I quickly realized that the flicker I saw earlier was back, and that it was one of gentleness. The fear inside of me immediately melted, and I instinctively nuzzled my face into the soft warm skin of his palm.
His hand jerked back as I made contact and he took a step back, his breath catching in his throat. "Stay away from me," He growled lowly, his whole body now shaking.
I swayed where I stood in shock but then staggered towards him. "Jacob, please. I want to help you!" I almost cried out.
Jacob bent over as if he was kicked in the stomach, breathing in and out through his clenched teeth. "No…" He forced out, his back looking as if it was swelling.
I came closer and placed a hand on his trembling shoulder.
Suddenly a flash of red came across my vision as a grisly snarl sounded, and something hot slashed deep across the left side of my chest. Everything suddenly fell silent. My mouth opened, but no sound came out as I soared backwards through the rain, actually flying. I felt surprisingly numb.
My strange, delirious flight was cut off as my back fell hard against the gritty wet surface, and drops of water fell against my face as I stared up at the cold, grey weeping sky above me.
I heard a gurgled sound somewhere by me, but my hearing soon became clouded.
The pain that came in an instant felt like growing fire.