My New Life Chapter 12: Brady's Plan
Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter has taken so long. It really isn't all that good, but I've been so busy and I've had writer's block. I am leaving for a week long overnight camp in a couple days, so I'll try to get another chapter out before then. Keyword being try.
My gut and heart settled into a feeling of utter contentment and happiness. I never wanted this to end.
Unfortunately, the moment I thought that, we were interrupted. Very rudely.
"EEEEWWWW!" The shout was so loud I thought for a second that it was a siren. "MY EYES! MY BRAIN! EEWW! Someone kill me now!"
I jumped, throwing myself away from Collin and towards the door, instinct urging me to find a good escape route. My eyes searched for the source of the loud cries.
At the bottom of the stairs was a young boy, his russet skin tinged Christmas colors- green and red.
Collin's teeth snapped together with a clearly audible click.
"I think I'm gonna barf!" Kevin clutched at his belly, looking thoroughly disgusted. A little less drama, please.
"Then do it somewhere I won't have to clean it up," Collin managed to say. He was shaking, almost imperceptibly, with anger.
"Gross! Gross, gross, gross. I'll never recover. Someone's gonna have to bleach my brain!" Kevin complained, holding his belly, "Nothing could be worse than seeing that!"
"Believe me, Kev, it could." Brady said, standing in the doorway, "Ever tried walking in on your parents-"
"EEEWWWW!" Kevin looked positively green.
Collin's hands were fists and his eyes were squeezed shut, trying not to lose control of his temper.
"Just wait another four years and it'll be you kissing-" Brady continued talking, still smiling.
"Brady, aren't you supposed to be working?" Collin's voice was strangled.
"Yup, just came to tell you two that all of us need to be at the meeting place at four," Brady grinned, waved good-bye to Kevin, who was gagging, and walked back out the door.
"He looks like he's up to something," I murmured, my narrowed eyes following Brady's progress towards the trees.
"Who cares?" Collin said sourly.
Kevin's hands were plastered over his mouth as he raced for the bathroom. Really, that was a little much.
"I am never, ever, ever kissing anyone," Kevin moaned as he came back out of the bathroom. He shuddered in disgust.
I seriously doubted that, but I didn't want to burst his dramatic bubble.
Collin was still shaking slightly and clenching his fists.
"Col," I whispered to him, the fingertips of my left hand smoothing the frown out of his forehead.
His eyes flicked to me, and his entire body relaxed, the frown disappearing.
"I'm right here! I can see and hear you!" Kevin glared at us, looking utterly repulsed.
I sighed as Collin tensed right back up.
"Do you want your brother to kill you?" I asked Kevin.
He didn't reply. I turned to Collin, who was staring intently at his little brother. I looked back at Kevin, who was staring just as intently at Collin. Okay. That's strange.
"You keep the drama to yourself and I won't stick you on a stake for the wolves," Collin bargained.
I barely contained a laugh at his joke.
Kevin frowned, "That isn't fair."
"Life isn't fair. And I'm bigger than you," Collin hinted.
"Fine, but you have to help me paint my tree fort and-"
"Kevin," Collin warned, his voice nearing explosion point.
"-help me finish-"
"Kevin!"
"-my homework so Mom doesn't-"
"KEVIN!"
"-freak out-"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Collin slapped his hand over Kevin's mouth.
I could just barely hear Kevin's response, "Wow! You agreed."
I bit my bottom lip, trying desperately not to start laughing at the haggard expression on Collin's face and the delighted look on the little bit of Kevin's face that I could see.
"Maybe we should start painting if we have to meet Brady and the others at four," I suggested before the two brothers started an all-out war.
Collin nodded and Kevin raced outside, grabbing stuff on his way out. Collin sighed and followed him.
"Elly? The clothes you're wearing, do you mind getting them painted?" Collin asked, stopping and turning around as the thought occurred to him.
I looked down at my clothes, which were just a sturdy pair of jeans and a long sleeve, both light bluish-gray in color.
"I guess not," I said, walking quickly towards Collin, and the door, "Let's go."
Collin nodded, and lead me out the door, into the backyard, and over to the forest. On the edge of the forest a huge oak tree towered, its branches spreading out in a circle. A circular deck was built around the trunk, about six feet above the ground, with a small, square tree house another six feet up. Kevin waved down to us as he tapped his foot, impatient.
Collin glanced at me, then reached up to the edge of the deck and swung himself onto it. It wasn't a reach for him, so it wouldn't be a reach for me. I was, after all, nearly as tall as him. I followed Collin's lead, finding it incredibly easy to use my arms to pull myself up and onto the deck. Kevin's jaw dropped and he stared at me, his eyes bulging.
"How did you do that?"
I frowned, confused. "Collin did it too."
"Yeah, but Collin's huge!" Kevin was still staring at me, "You- you're just a girl!"
My frown deepened and I crossed my arms, annoyed. I stood up and glared down at the little kid.
He craned his neck back to look at me, seemed to realize just how big I was, and gulped.
"Watch your mouth," I warned, "Or you'll meet a girl who will beat you up for saying that kind of thing."
Kevin nodded frantically.
Collin snorted. "Great. My brother listens to Elly, but not to me."
I smiled at him.
"We're going to paint the tree fort green," Kevin instructed.
Several hours later, there was just as much paint on the two brothers as on the fort. I had managed to dodge most of the splashes that the two aimed at each other, whether on purpose or by accident, it was hard to tell. Collin's clothes were totally green and he had several green streaks on his skin. As for Kevin, his black hair was now green and his cheeks were splashed green as were his hands.
We had managed to paint the tree fort and the deck, though. It hadn't rained and the paint was drying quickly.
"Time to clean up," Collin told Kevin. Collin grabbed the empty paint cans and the dirty brushes before jumping lithely off the side of the deck. Even with my supernatural hearing, I could barely detect the soft thump of his landing. I slid off the side, landing lightly on the balls of my feet.
Kevin took longer, climbing down a rope ladder that was secured to the edge of the deck. That was probably the intended means of getting up and down. Though, as I looked at it, it seemed that it wouldn't hold Collin's weight.
We ate lunch in the kitchen, cold pizza because that was the only thing in the fridge. Then Collin and Kevin went upstairs to shower. Before he walked up the stairs after his brother, Collin came over to me.
"Elly, you can go back to your house, if you want. I'll come over there after I'm done harassing Kevin."
I smiled slightly, my eyes drooping as I yawned. "I'll see you later then."
Collin's Point of View
I spent an entire hour trying to get Kevin to wash the green paint out of his hair. He flatly refused, saying that it looked cool. I growled at him several times. He was keeping me from seeing Elly! Eventually, I dunked him into the full bathtub, making sure he had enough air in his lungs so he didn't die as I scrubbed the paint off his stupid head.
Then he made a huge fuss about his homework until I helped him with his math. At that point, the idiotic kid could've died for all I cared.
Finally, his homework was done.
"Collin, where are you going?" Kevin demanded as I tried to make a run for it.
"Away from you." I didn't turn around.
"You're supposed to be watching me."
"You're ten stinking years old! You can take care of yourself."
"Mom said-"
"I don't care what Mom said!" I said, though he should've known that already. After all, I was almost permanently grounded for sneaking out.
"Collin," Kevin whined, making me want to drag his face around in the dirt. Couldn't he just shut up already?
"What?" I snapped.
The kid had already ruined my day. What more could he do?
"Take me cliff diving."
"No way, kid, you're out of luck."
"But you already spent all morning with her!" Kevin complained like the whiny brat that he is.
"How do you know that I'm not going to spend time with Brady?"
"Because if you were, you would be going cliff diving and you would bring me along," Kevin said. Stupid, logical kid.
"Don't you have any friends you can hang out with?" I asked.
"Yeah! I'll go over to-" Kevin kept rambling, but I stopped listening. I was already out the back door and through the yard.
Elly's Point of View
I was still trying to figure out exactly what this turn of events meant when Collin came up behind me. I was in the room that belonged to me in Embry's house, looking around and sitting on the bed. The room was just as devoid of personal objects as it had been when I'd first arrived. It didn't feel like home.
"Elly?" Collin asked, hovering around the doorway. I could feel his anger surging through my gut and it surprised me. Why was Collin angry? I was happier than I'd ever been.
"Col! Is something wrong?" I needed to make sure he was okay- that nothing had gone wrong. His safety and happiness was vital for my own.
"No, I'm just irritated with the ten year old who is currently pigging out in your kitchen."
"Kevin followed you here?"
"The kid's a debate artist," Collin glared at the door as if it had personally offended him.
I smiled, getting off the bed and stretching my long legs. As I stretched my arms over my head, I banged one hand roughly off the ceiling. It didn't hurt me, of course, but it did put a slight dimple in the spot where my hand had hit. I was still unused to my tall body with its long, strong arms, and indestructible (or nearly so) beauty.
"What was that?" Kevin asked, his head poking in the door, his eyes glancing around the room as he searched for the cause of the noise.
"Nothing, go back to pigging out."
"There's nothing good in the fridge," Kevin complained.
"Then go home," Collin suggested.
"No."
"Fine, quit complaining."
"But I'm hungry!" Kevin moaned.
I escaped to the forest with Collin a little before four o'clock, eager to just get away from Kevin for a little while. Much as I loved Collin, I was beginning to harbor a deep dislike of Kevin's company.
"Thank god, we're out," Collin joked, the first time he had done so the entire afternoon,"We survived!"
It had been a very, very long afternoon of watching the sports channel. Honestly, while I found sports interesting, I didn't understand the big fuss that Kevin made when the team he was rooting for lost. No big deal when you've almost died, I guess.
"We're gonna be the first ones there," I pointed out.
Collin just shrugged, "Better than being with Kevin much longer. Mom would be disappointed if I killed him."
We reached the meeting place quickly, it was just a clearing in the woods far from any houses or trails. I hid in an overgrown grove of trees to phase into a wolf, coming out only when I had my clothes stowed in a safe spot, out of the wet. Then I bounded into the clearing.
Collin had just phased and it was surprisingly easy to have him in my head. After all, now he could hear all the stuff I couldn't tell him. I heard Quil and Paul phase. Both of them were thinking glumly about their imprints. Cue the eye roll.
But I stopped hearing the voices in my head when Collin entered the clearing.
Collin? I asked as I looked down at Collin in disbelief.
I was bigger than him, much bigger. When they arrived, both Quil and Paul stared up at me in utter disbelief. I had grown. A lot.
Jared, Jacob and Seth all phased in the next few minutes. It was no surprise that both Jared and Jacob were thinking about their imprints, though Jared did try to curb the disgusting images so that I wouldn't phase back, again.
Brady was the next to arrive, and the pack was nearly complete.
I was larger than all of them, except Jake. Jake was about an inch taller than me and a little more muscled. Paul and Jared were pondering betting on who would win if we fought- me or Jake. Collin's growl at that idea stopped them for the time being.
I looked around and realized that the only wolves not present were my brothers.
'Sup, Elly? Brady asked, causing me to roll my eyes. As if he didn't know.
The sky. I thought, my eyes darting to the heavy cloud cover, hoping it would rain soon. I enjoyed rain even more in this form than I did as my human self.
Jake, Rebecca called. Paul volunteered, making me wonder why he was the one passing on the message. Because I happened to answer the phone and hear her voice on the other end.
And because Rachel had wanted Paul to pass on the message and Paul, of course, had been unable to refuse.
The pack was arranged in a loose circle, some sitting, some laying down, some standing, and I was next to Collin, Seth, and Brady, as usual.
What did she say? Jake wanted to know.
Something about telling you about something.
With Rachel? I teased.
Paul barked at me and would've lunged in if I hadn't been surrounded by wolves who would attack him. I could see, though, that he had indeed been with Rachel at the time. It was frustrating that, when around their imprints, my brothers lost the small amount of brain cells that they had.
Everyone glared at me.
Oops-a-daisies.
Did she say anything else? Seth asked, saving me. That was why he was one of my best friends.
No. Paul grumbled. Oh, wait. Rebecca said that you need to call her back. Rach already talked to her.
Everyone fell silent as we waited for someone to tell us the reason that we were gathered in the middle of the forest.
Sorry, I'm late. Came the thought as Embry's consciousness appeared.
Sam had still not come, but Brady walked into the middle of the clearing, starting the meeting.
First, we need more information from Elly. Brady turned to me, his eyes expectant.
Information about what? I asked.
Kade.
What? What on earth were they doing? Why did they need to know more about my brother?
Told you we'd find him, didn't we? Seth put in.
They were trying to find Kade, but they needed more information? How had I not known this?
My brothers all patted themselves on the back, metaphorically speaking anyway, at my surprise and pleasure.
I shared with them all the stuff I knew, his name, his parents' names, and the place where he had lived once. I didn't show them a picture of him because I knew that if I dug up one of those images the rest would come out in a horrifying flood.
When that was done, I asked Brady where Sam was. I wasn't really worried about my brother, more about Emily.
He changed his mind. He's not phasing anymore. He's too worried about Emily. At this rate, Emily will kill him before the baby's even born.
Ease up on him. Collin defended Sam, he's having a hard time not being able to do anything to protect or help her.
The subject of Emily's pregnancy brought up a few amusing (to me anyway) thoughts from Paul. It wasn't disgusting or anything. Just Rachel had been talking to him about kids and he had been absolutely terrified at the idea. Paul was more afraid of having a kid than he was of vampire armies. I could just imagine Paul having a girl with his famous temper. Her teenage years would be-
Elly! Paul interrupted me, panicked at the mere thought.
Everyone laughed at him, making Paul angry. Really angry. He wasn't going to be able to phase back anytime soon.
Brady butted in before Paul attacked anyone. One last thing before we all go.
Brady, what are you up to? Collin asked, suspicion written on ever inch of his face.
Brady turned to Embry. Hey, Embry, I heard you imprinted. Can we meet her?
Oh God. Oh God. Trust Brady to have to take it into his own hands. Now every single pack member was staring at Embry in surprise. Embry was struggling to hide his thoughts, burying his feelings and memories deep inside his head.
Imprint? Quil asked, clueless as always.
Who would want to be your imprint? Paul asked, still furious.
Embry's eyes flashed to Paul's face and he growled, low and loud. Butt out!
Who is she? Jared wanted to know.
This time, no images flew through Embry's mind. He looked like a deer, cornered by a pack of wolves. He was my brother, I couldn't let them do this to him.
Get your noses out of his business! I leaped forward, placing my large body next to Embry. The hair on the back of my neck bristled as I growled, my growl was more menacing than Embry's, and pulled my lips up to expose my teeth.
Paul did not like being threatened by anyone. Especially me. He was already pissed off and this just made him angrier. He lunged at me and my brother.
A/N: What's going to happen?
