I laid on the beach, the damp sand soaking my clothes. I meant to bring a towel, but I accidentally left it at the front door when I tied my shoes. I didn't care. I came to relax. I'd probably regret this oversight when I spend the next 4 days washing sand out of my hair, but for now, I didn't care.
A few days had passed since I saw Thomas, and still no contact. It was difficult because I had no means of real distraction, so he was always at the back of my mind, and I couldn't use the computer too much to see if he's replied. The computer was a hunk of junk. Half the games programmed into it didn't even work, and it was loud. Any time I would use it would be noticed, and people would wonder why I was bothering. I longed for my laptop that was still sitting in my room in Anchorage.
School was figured out. Since Mom was a teacher at the school, the schools agreed to let me and Eli finish the rest of our semester with Mom. Naturally, we glossed over the fact Mom was practically catatonic. We'd be getting a tutor. Her name was Jenny. She was 19. She was smart, a tiny little thing with long glossy black hair. I liked her.
Even with school work, I found myself with plenty of free time. I still often spent part of the afternoon on the beach. I hadn't seen Anna since our lunch. I think I hurt her feelings when I went straight home after. I should probably go see her to see if we're okay. I don't know if Anna and I were friends, but at least we got along okay.
I stood up, and futilely wiped the sand from my backside and hair. I started heading to Anna's house, which was pretty close to the beach, so it didn't take long.
I knocked on the door as I looked down at my shoes. There was no answer. I knocked again. This time I heard shuffling inside, but nobody opened the door. I walked off, back to Billy's.
I wonder if Anna was more upset than I thought. All I said that day was I had to get home, earlier than I normally would. Was she really that clingy, to get upset over something so trivial? I knew Anna didn't have many friends, and was kind of awkward. Did she take my early departure as a rejection? It was possible, wasn't it? She was a little clingy, but this clingy and unreasonable? I didn't get that impression from Anna at all. But really, how much did I really know about this girl?
When I got home, Billy wasn't there. Eli was doing reading homework alone at the tiny dinner table. I peeked in Mom and Dad's room. Mom was laying in bed, staring at a wall. I shut the door.
"How's it going, kiddo?" I asked in a too-chipper voice.
"Fine." Eli said, unimpressed.
I got the feeling he was enjoying the reprieve from school, and wasn't pleased to be back to studying.
"You know what? I feel like doing homework. I'll join you." I said, in my falsely chipper voice.
I grabbed my pile of work from my room, and brought it to the table. I took the seat across from Eli. He looked like he wanted to complain, but he got back to work. I did too, starting to plot out an essay by hand. Gosh, I missed my laptop.
"Is Mom okay?" Eli asked.
I stopped writing.
"Of course she's okay. Why would you say that?" I asked.
He shrugged, looking down at his assignment, "She's not Mom anymore."
"Of course she's Mom." I said, "She's just having a difficult time."
"Why?" He asked.
Why, indeed. The fear and uncertainty was palpable in Eli's young eyes. I almost told him we were here to take care of Billy, but Billy was as feisty as ever. Eli knew that wasn't the reason we were here. He didn't know the reason at all, and he wouldn't be told under any circumstance.
"Well, baby," I said, having no idea what I could say to relieve Eli's anxiety, "It's complicated."
Great, I'm using the same bullshit excuse all the adults gave me.
"I hope she gets better soon." He said.
"Me too." I said.
We went back to doing our homework. The room was so silent, we could hear the scratching of our pencils.
I got a good chunk of the first draft of my essay done by the time to make dinner. When it was finished, I brought a plate to Mom, and watched her as she ate it. Surprisingly, she compliantly ate. I brought out her empty plate, and then joined whoever was left at the table. Afterward, Dad did the dishes.
I hadn't really seen much of Dad since we got here. He had huge bags under his eyes, like he hasn't been sleeping. He has also gained a surprisingly large amount of muscle in such a short time. Dad's always had muscles, but now he was huge. He made WWE wrestlers look like scrawny weaklings.
Billy and I watched Dad go to his bedroom when he was finished, barely saying goodnight. Eli was curled up on the couch, watching tv. Billy and I were still sitting at the table.
"Is Dad okay?" I whispered in a low voice.
Eli was very invested in his television show, but I didn't want to risk him overhearing.
"Jake and Sam have been busy since you've arrived." He answered. "They patrol around La Push, to monitor for threats."
"How many are there to help?" I asked.
"Seven," He said.
"That's close odds." I said.
"It'll be fine." Billy said.
He at least seemed confident underneath his cool exterior. My worries was an insult to my tribe. I had to have more faith in Dad and his brothers. As Dad said, werewolves existed to kill leeches.
I thought of Thomas, and my stomach lurched. I didn't know the strength of werewolves or vampires, but seven against one were terrible odds.
"Excuse me." I said, and went to lay down.