Chapter 14: All That Glitters
NINA FEELS LIKE A DOLL. She watches from her vanity mirror as Leah curls her hair with careful movements.
"Did you go to prom?" Nina asks, brushing a stray piece of hair from her forehead.
"Senior year was pretty, um, rough." A wave of sadness crosses Leah's features before fading away. Nina reaches up to gently place her hand on her friend's shoulder. Leah gives her a small smile. "But it wasn't really my thing, anyway."
"Who needs prom when you have teen weddings?" Nina smirks as Leah lets out a laugh. "I wish you were going."
Leah wrinkles her nose.
"I wish you weren't going." The older girl turns off the curling iron with a sigh. She unleashes a cloud of hairspray over Nina's head, before stepping back to admire her work. "But you do look beautiful."
Nina looks at her reflection, still somewhat uneasy at the eyes staring back at her—her mother's. But the glitter eyeshadow helps. Leah's gentle smile helps.
"Girls?" Sue calls from the hall. "Are you almost ready?"
"Ready!" Leah calls back, holding Nina's arm for support as she stands up from the chair.
The two girls head outside, meeting Sue and Grandpa John.
"Nina, you look lovely." Grandpa John smiles, holding the present Sue had helped him wrap earlier that morning. "Are you sure you're fine riding in the back?"
"Yeah, totally." She responds unconvincingly, causing Leah to snort beside her. "It's not like it's a long ride. Gotta protect Sue's handiwork."
Nina helps Sue and the present into the cab, closing the door gently behind her. Leah watches wearily as Nina pops off her heels to climb up into the bed of the truck.
"Where is Seth?" Sue asks from her cracked window.
"He'll catch up." Leah kicks at the driveway with an eyeroll. "He wouldn't miss his best friend Edward's wedding."
Nina waves at her friend as Grandpa John drives away. She can't help the tinge of sadness at watching Leah standing alone in the yard. She puts the thought out of her mind, knowing that Leah could take care of herself, and that there really was no way she would have convinced her to go. Seth's enthusiasm aside.
The truck rumbles as it passes down the familiar tree-lined road heading into Forks. Nina holds her shoes in her hands, feeling like a stolen away prom queen. She sees a rustling in the trees, and feels silly for hoping it's Paul.
Instead Seth comes into view, waving at her with a boyish smile. The Ranger slows down as Seth runs up, effortlessly hopping into the back. She can't help but laugh as he picks a leaf from off of his shoulder.
"You ran in your nice clothes?" She quirks a brow, reaching out to straighten his collar.
"I have a tie, too, but I didn't know how to put it on." He tells her with a pout. Nina gestures for him to give it to her, watching as he fishes the crumpled tie from out of his pants pocket.
She loops the tie around his neck, tying it carefully as she recites the steps in her head. Seth thanks her, making her promise to teach him how to tie a tie sometime 'just in case.' He chatters excitedly the rest of the ride, which Nina would usually find annoying if it weren't for the genuine joy radiating from his features. His smile is like an analgesic mixture of puppies and rainbows.
When the truck comes to a stop, Seth helps her out of the back and waits for her to slip her heels back on. Billy joins them shortly, having arrived with Charlie before them.
Nina's breath hitches at the sight of the Cullen's property, transformed into a mystical garden of hanging florals and lush greenery. She follows Grandpa John, Billy, and the Clearwaters to their seat on the bride's side. Her thoughts wander through the ceremony, a growing sense of unease in her gut. It's the first time she's seen Edward. He is somehow exactly how everyone had described, all at once a perfect amalgamation of the fear and wonder and awe he inspires in others. Nina watches as Charlie draws in a breath as the newly married couple share their first kiss. She pities him.
The crowd erupts into cheers, guests on both sides standing up for the young bride and groom. Her eyes wander to the other end of the aisle, a chill running up her spine. Behind the Cullens, stand a quartet of pale strangers. Beyond the beauty, there is an eeriness—a sense of danger and surreality that causes the hair along her arms to raise.
Seth notices her discomfort, giving her a reassuring look. But it's not enough to calm her painfully beating heart.
Nina watches as Bella and Edward walk towards their small group, standing out in their own way. The expression on Sue's face is gentle and supportive, but the sorrow in her eyes is unmistakable. Billy and Grandpa John are the same, with smiles that don't meet their eyes. Only Seth beams at them with sincerity, wrapping Bella in a hug that serves to both startle and comfort the frail girl.
"You look beautiful, Bella." Nina manages to stutter out. Beautiful like a virgin getting ready to be tossed into a volcano. "Congratulations."
"Thank you for coming, Nina. I really appreciate it." Bella gives her a small smile, her hands folded in front of her. Edward's eyes fall on Nina, a startling inhuman shade of amber.
"We haven't met yet. I'm Edward." He introduces himself with the same melodious and unearthly timbre that she had heard in the hospital.
"Nina." She nods politely. He offers his hand and she takes it, her body immediately stiffening. His hand is as cold and hard as marble. She retracts her hand shakily, averting her eyes.
Edward and Bella move on to greet other guests, leaving as suddenly as they had appeared.
"I need some air." Nina chokes out, excusing herself as the Elders give her sympathetic glances.
All of the stories come back to her. Pale skin, cold as ice. The Cold Ones... The Cullens were the Cold Ones all along.
It wasn't that she didn't already know, deep down, but that she had subconsciously ignored the truth. Jacob had told her it was in their blood, to fear the Cullens. Paul had told her she was smart.
"Nina..." Seth's voice cuts into her spiraling thoughts. He holds out his hand, the keys to the Ranger dangling from his fingers.
She looks up with furrowed brows.
"What about Grandpa John and your mom?"
"They're gonna ride back with Charlie."
Nina cautiously takes the keys, enclosing the cool metal in her palm. She lets out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, giving Seth a grateful look.
"Take care of them, okay?"
He gives her a boyish grin.
"Always."
Nina nods, reaching out to rustle his hair. She spares one last look to the illuminated yard and the sound of music filling the air before turning on her heel.
Once out of view she all but sprints to the truck, her heels digging into the damp ground. She pauses to take off her heels, gripping them in her hands. A sigh of relief falls from her lips as she sees the Ranger, its rusted metal nearly shining in the moonlight. She jumps into the driver's side, adjusting the seat and throwing her heels behind her.
The ignition roars to life, giving her a strange sort of comfort. She drives, intent on getting to the safety of her bed as soon as possible.
As the Cullens' house disappears behind the cover of the trees, Nina's eyes begin to well with tears. Her mind races with thoughts of the mysterious dangers in the woods. All of the stories.
The deaths in the Seattle, the death of her parents.
Nina wipes her eyes, pulling over as the sobs overwhelm her and she can't see beyond the tears. She knows it is a very real possibility that her parents were killed by the Cold Ones. And she had just watched Bella happily marry one... Nina had shook his hand...
She isn't delusional enough to believe the Cullens had anything to do with it. From what she had heard, whispers, voices of the pack that were unintentionally a little too loud, it seemed like the opposite. But that just meant she would never know. Nina would never know who, or what, killed her parents.
The realization is suffocating.
Her hands grips onto the steering wheel, her nails cutting into the worn polyurethane.
A rustling in the tree line catches her attention from the corner of her eye. Her heartbeat quickens as a wolf emerges, its eyes flashing in the darkness. She feels ashamed of the instinctual wave of fear. She knows it's Paul, she can see it in the wolf's eyes. She knows it's Paul, she does, but that doesn't make it easier to accept.
She swallows back her shame as she reaches to open the driver's side door. The wolf approaches her and rests his muzzle into her outstretched hands. She's beginning to accept a certain amount of fear as the price of her newfound life.
The wolf—no, Paul—raises his head to gaze into her eyes. He lets out a low-pitched rumble at the sight of her tear-stained face and steps back.
She watches in awe as fur transforms into skin.
"Sorry." Paul apologizes gruffly. "I didn't want the others to 'hear.'"
Nina's cheeks redden.
"Okay, well now you're naked?" She turns her head (just in time to see Paul blush in his own realization), and reaches behind the passenger's seat. She throws a blanket to him without looking away from the road in front of her. The weight of the truck shifts as Paul hops in beside her, wrapped in the blanket.
"Why were you crying, baby?" Paul asks softly, and she can all but feel his desire to reach out and touch her cheek through the intensity of his gaze.
"I don't know..." She tells him shakily. She lets out another breath, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. If she looks at Paul she'll start crying again. "I mean, I do know. I know it's not the Cullens' fault, but..."
Paul nods.
"Probably not." He sighs. "They're vegetarians."
Nina laughs softly at the absurdity, wiping again at her eyes. The back of her hands look like Jackson Pollock paintings. She's sure her face is in even worse shape.
"I never should have gone... I'm just not comfortable around them."
"And you're not comfortable around me, either." Paul guesses. She turns her head to see his frowning face.
She reaches out to him, letting her fingers intertwine with his. There's a sense of safety and familiarity in the warmth of his skin.
"It's just a lot to get used to, Paul." She gives him a tiny smirk. "You know, just seeing giant wolves approach my truck..."
"Sorry." He bows his head, making her laugh. "I'll be more careful."
She shakes her head.
"It's okay." She tightens her grip on his warm hand. "Thank you for coming to see me. I don't know how you even found me, kind of don't want to know... But I'm happy you did."
"Nina, I'll always find you."
His other hand moves to cover her own. There's a mysterious sincerity in his features, an emotion she has never seen before. Paul's gaze bathes her in the emotion, as if pulling her into a neverending tide. She feels like she's drowning, but she isn't sure if she wants to gasp out for breath or let the feeling completely consume her.
"I don't want to be alone tonight." She confesses quietly, her voice coming out barely above a whisper. She knows he will hear her.
His thumb brushes against her skin.
"I'll stay with you." He brings her hand to his lips, gently kissing her fingers one by one. Her heartbeat quickens. "After I put on some clothes."