E-GAD! And update right after that doozy of a last chapter? It's a record! Thanks for all the fabulous reviews and comments (16! It's a record!), you guys are so very greatly appreciated!
Hopefully this chapter will answer any questions or wonderings of 'WHY GOD WHY!' that are flaoting around out there. ENJOY!
****AN at the end****
When the Wind Blows
Chapter 20
Welcome to Satan's Barbecue, How Many Are In Your Party?
S.P.O.V
"SAM!" I yelled, frantic as hell, "SAM, SAM, SAM!"
"What! What's happened?" I heard him yell back while running out onto the front porch with Emily and the rest of the pack not too far behind.
"Damage control," I gasped, stopping at the foot of the stairs, and pointing back over my shoulder towards the beach, "I need damage control!" With my hands on my knees I rubbed at one of the various stitches in my side, peripherally seeing Sam motion the others back inside and coming down the stairs towards me.
"Just breathe, Seth, it's alright, its fine." He said, patting my back as he walked past me and towards the way I had just come, his stride picking up considerably as the rain continued to pour. I didn't watch as he disappeared into the forest's shadowy depths, but instead managed to crawl up the Uley's front steps until underneath the shelter of the roof, my back propped up against the wooden shingle siding. Closing my eyes I fought against the tears that I knew were forming behind my eyelids while my head continued to spin, my thoughts flying faster than a million miles per hour. In every square inch of my body I could feel my pulse, the rapid beating that could rival our tribal drums used in special ceremonies. The only thing I could hear was the fleeting blood flow in my ears, the white noise blocking out all other sounds from anywhere.
That's probably why I jumped a foot in the air at Emily's gentle hand on my head.
"Here," she said, pushing a gallon of water into my hands, "you've got to be thirsty." I accepted it with no complaints and chugged the jug dry, not even leaving a drop in the bottom. Handing it back wordlessly to her, I avoided all other forms of contacts, trying my damndest not to cry in front of the woman who was practically my second mother.
And maybe that's why I completely lost it when she suddenly threw her ams around my neck in awkward side hug, her voice whispering calming words into my ear as she attempted to rock me slowly back and forth. I didn't fight against it or even feel stupid or cared about what the guys would think; I was hurting badly and needed some sort of emotional rock.
"Sam will make sure she's okay, Seth, it'll be alright." Emily continued to whisper, her voice soft and gentle in my ear.
"I know…it's just…" I mumbled with a thick voice clouded with emotion, not really sure if she had actually heard me.
"It's just what?" She asked pulling away to hold me at arm's length, proving to me that she had.
"I lost it, Emily…I just lost it..." Her eyes grew wide at this and her grip on my arms tightened considerably causing my mind to immediately pick up on what she was thinking.
"Not like that, no, no, no; it was nothing like that!" I reassured her, watching her eyes flutter back to normal and a sigh of relief leave her lips as she fully released me and slumped back into the wall next to me, the empty water jug between us.
"Don't ever scare me like that again." She demanded, her voice still gentle yet fully stern with meaning.
"Hopefully there won't be an ever again." At this she looked sideways at me and placed a hand over mine, a gesture that was supposed to be comforting yet to me felt numb and useless.
"Tell me what happened Seth; it's best to talk about these things." She stated softly while giving my hand a small squeeze and an encouraging smile despite the fact I was just staring at her like she had grown a new head with five eyes.
"I think I went too far…" I started after looking away and back out into their small yard, the rain forming large puddles of murky brown water.
"What do you mean 'went too far'?"
"I made her cry…" I trailed off, my voice threatening to break once again.
"Oh honey, it's alright…tears are just a sign that we're human, that we have feelings. I'd be even more concerned if she didn't cry." I nodded at this, getting what she was saying though my subconscious was still accusing me of being the boogey man.
"After everything around here gets settled I know you two will work things out; you'll be able to fully explain what's been happening and she'll have ample time to adjust; Caroline seems like a pretty forgiving person." I nodded once more and tried to shrug off her last few words as they echoed around in my head, idly bouncing off of other déjà vu thoughts.
Where have I heard them before… ?
{Two Days Previous; S.P.O.V}
"Now let me get this straight, Clearwater; you want Caroline to go back home?"
"Yes sir."
"And how are you going to do this, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Well…I don't really know, Colonel."
"Just as I thought."
"Do you think you could give me some help, or something to work with, anything at all?"
"Well I know she has two tickets for a flight back home that gay sent her a while ago…and that she also does something over the internet with him."
"Something over the internet?"
"I couldn't tell you boy if I tried; all I know is that she's up till the ass crack of dawn talking to her computer."
"I think I know what you're talking about; it's like Skype, right?"
"Damn if I know."
"Well that's a start, but I don't think it'll help any. I need her to be mad at me or something, to be so upset she'll want to leave."
"Well if that's what you're harpin' for then I got the solution."
"Really?"
"Didn't spend half my life in the military for nothin', boy."
"So what are you suggesting; is it dangerous?"
"Not particularly…"
"I don't think I like where this is going…"
"Calm down boy, don't get your draws in a twist!"
"Alright, fine; tell me what I need to do to get Caroline out of here so she'll be safe."
"Thank god she listens to you, Clearwater, or else we'd all be on a long boat ride to hell."
"Is that why you haven't tried to get to go back yet; she won't listen?"
"Bingo."
"…wow."
"I know! That girl's as hard headed as a mule and as feisty as a bobcat; you're going to need to be pretty believable when confronting her. By now she's use to your mannerisms to know what's going on up there in your thoughts and how to deal with them; how to manipulate them."
"Really?"
"Yes siree! She'll just turn around and throw your own words right back in your face unless you can get into her head first; she has the attack power of hawk, buddy. Smartest little girl I ever saw."
"Does she manipulate people on purpose?"
"Oh no, Clearwater, not on purpose; its part of her defense mechanism. Some people just turn themselves off while others use denial or avoidance, but not Caroline. Whenever she feels threatened she'll go into that sarcastic mood of hers and use her own anger to get you angry to a point where you're vulnerable in your expressions and body language. After that she'll read you like a book and throw you back on the shelf."
"That explains a lot…so how do I get behind enemy lines so to say?"
"To get inside her head you'll need to catch her at a vulnerable moment, most likely in the early morning when she's tired; from there you'll need to get her worked up, get the frustration building before confronting her."
"How do I do that?"
"Oh I don't know…she hates people calling in the morning, hates it when I leave the toilet seat up, hates having a light on when she sleeps; you're creative, you'll think of something."
"Then what comes after that?"
"From there you get her alone somewhere familiar so she thinks everything is fine like usual; I suggest someplace with no sharp objects."
"That's obvious."
"Good. After getting her alone you immediately attack in on her weak spots."
"Weak spots?"
"Them sensitive places! If there's anything more than Caroline hates being called it's a drama queen; that should be your main ammo. If you can get under her skin with that, then you'll be golden the rest of the way."
"Doesn't that seem cheap though? Manipulating her so I can beat her down?"
"Yeah, I guess, but not everything in life is simple Seth. Some people are just too guarded about themselves and Caroline's one of them; she'll definitely put up a fight, but you'll have the advantage."
"I will?"
"By god yes! You're her boyfriend, correct?"
"Yes."
"Then she'll listen more to you than she does to me!"
"So that's my advantage?"
"Yes, soldier, it is."
"…I don't think I'll be able to do this…"
"Well I don't completely agree with it, but if it's the only way to get my daughter out of here and to safety them I'm all for it."
"Why can't I just ask her to leave, tell to go because I said so?"
"HA! Good luck trying, but she'll past that bullshit in an instant!"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. The way to get this to work Clearwater is to get inside that head of hers; once you do that she's as good as gone."
"But what about after everything's over? How do I fix it?"
"I guess you'll cross that bridge when you get there, son."
"…great…"
"You'll be fine; Caroline's very forgiving, it's her mother in her. Just explain everything and you two will be fine; I promise."
"You do?"
"Yes, I do. I've never seen Caroline happier…or moodier…"
"Yeah, well, sorry about that. I thought this was going to be simple, but I ran out of time to tell her everything so I guess this is mostly my fault."
"Damn right it is! I never thought I'd see the day when a young man came begging for permission to break my daughter's heart!"
"I, well, it's…I was afraid you'd shoot me if I didn't."
"Good point."
"…"
"I'm just kiddin' ya, boy! I know you'll make this right because I can tell how much you love my daughter; I know you two will be just fine."
"Thank you sir."
"Anytime, Mr. Clearwater, anytime."
Oh.
Yeah.
Maybe that's why Emily's words were so oddly familiar; I had practically gone begging to Colonel Carver Mavnik to break his daughter's heart so he wouldn't shoot me.
God I felt sick.
"Seth, honey, are you alright? Do you need more water?" My thoughts must have showed on my face because Emily's hand tightened around mine.
"No…I'm good. Thanks Emily."
"Anytime, sweetie." She murmured, leaning over and placing a light kiss on the side of my head before leaving me with my thoughts as my only company; a fact that scared me shitless.
I just broke my girlfriend's—no, Imprint's—heart. I ripped it out and threw it down into the sand where I stomped and stomped on it until there was nothing left. I verbally abused her in more ways than one and insulted every fiber of her being. I made her second guess everything we've ever done together and then also herself. I had told her to go see a doctor and to get help with her problems.
I made her cry.
That fact alone was the worst.
I knew it was going to happen, I knew that it was going to be the end result of our meeting on the beach, but actually seeing Caroline fight back her tears only to have them fall later on was killing me. It felt like I had ripped out my heart along with hers, the only difference being mine wasn't laying back there on the beach; it was on Satan's skewer roasting over a large, burning fire in the inner most depths of hell.
God this was horrible.
Squeezing my eyes shut as hard as I could I tried to block out the resurfacing mental images from twenty minutes ago, not wanting to look at any of them ever again. I was only half way succeeding when the sudden snapping of the screen door a few feet away blew my concentration to hell, most likely joining that heart of mine on that skewer.
"Dude…" Embry stated quietly, slumping down as quietly as he could beside me, a mellow demeanor about him. We didn't say anything for what felt like an eternity, but rather just sat there in the quiet comfort that only guys can. We didn't need any kind words or loving gestures; we just needed that testosterone fueled understanding that shit does indeed happen.
"Here," Embry did eventually say, "Emily sent me out with a muffin." He gave the small pastry a toss into my lap where it landed with a small thump and seemingly stared back at me.
"I don't want it." I said quietly, my voice finally back to normal although very rough and sore.
"…can I have it?" I gave a small huff that could have been a small laugh if I tried hard enough and shook my head.
"Sweet!" Embry exclaimed while reaching over onto my lap and plucking it back into his fingers, his whole face lit up with excitement.
"Emily cut you off again, didn't she?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Well I wouldn't say she cut me off exactly, but more like said I couldn't have anymore…" He explained vaguely from behind his mouthful of food, causing me to smile slightly and turn to watch him as he finished chewing.
"Dude…Seth…" he started, apparently not too sure of his words, "you have balls, man."
"Uh…thanks?"
"Not to be all gay or anything, but you seriously have some balls."
"Uh-huh…"
"I mean what you did…I don't think any of us could have managed that; I know for a fact Jared would have shit himself trying." I did smile at this and shook my head in understanding; Jared was such a sucker when it came to Kim.
"After this whole vampire war thingy dies down I think you'll be able to fix everything. I have faith in you, young Jedi." Embry laughed, immediately grabbing me around my neck and pulling me into the standard noogie position, his opposite hand lightly knuckling my head instead of his usual skull cracking tactics. He released me moments later and pushed me back over into my pervious slumped position, our male bonding done for the day. Silence filled the porch once more while he finished his muffin and I stared out at the yard, still reflecting heavily on everything that had happened although not as seriously as before.
"Hey," I said, nudging Embry's arm as a realization hit me, "when you called Cee this morning what did you do? She was pretty pissed when I talked to her." Embry laughed at this, muffin chunks spraying out on both of us.
"God she flipped her shit when she found it was me calling her!" He exclaimed with a laugh, wiping some crumbs off his shirt.
"So what'd you do?"
"I sang that Outkast song…the one about Caroline and the roses that smell like poo?" At this I laughed lightly, recognizing the song instantly.
"Oh my god, Embry." I said shaking my head, knowing full well it didn't go so good. "Do you know what Collin did?"
"Oh yeah!" He laughed, "It was pretty god! He made up this elaborate lie about a school dance and said he bragged to his friends he was bringing this older woman."
"Oh no…"
"Yeah…he said Cee totally chewed him out and said she wasn't some thirty year old women and shit. She was pretty pissed, too."
"My god…" I said with a smile, shaking my head, "I guess I should say thank you; without those calls she would've totally kicked my ass."
"Nah, I don't think so; you would've gotten her to go somehow, although it was pretty cool you asked her dad."
"I felt like an idiot going up to him for help."
"Yeah, but still. You've now mastered the art of mind fucking, Seth!"
"The art of what?"
"Mind fucking! You can get inside people's heads and fuck with their thoughts and stuff."
"Embry?"
"Yeah."
"Shut up." He laughed at this and gave me a small punch on the arm before standing up and making his way back inside, most likely to tell Emily that I had eaten the muffin and that I thought it was delicious. Shaking my head at this, I was about to get up and follow him in when I looked up and caught Sam emerging from the tree line, causing me to freeze in place.
I couldn't tell anything from his expression.
I watched him cross the yard as if in slow motion and waited with a held breath as he climbed the front porch steps and stood looking down at me. For a few moments we stared off, my breath still caught in my throat, practically suffocating me.
"She's home." He said eventually, popping my nervous tension like a needle to a balloon.
"Thank god!" I felt myself say, the blood once again moving freely through my veins.
"I got her home and her dad took over from there. He said from the look of things he believes her to be gone in at least a day or two, ample enough time until them vulture things get here." I nodded my head at this, a small sense of accomplishment washing over me like a warm shower.
"Thanks, Sam." I breathed, making it a point to look directly into his eyes so as he got how sincere I really was.
"It's my job." He stated simply, offering out a hand to help me up from my guttered position which I gladly took.
"I have to say though that you did quite a number," He said reaching for the screen door, "that girl was a mess; she was curled up petting her sweater when I found her." I gave a small laugh at this, following him into the house.
"That's my Caroline." I stated quietly, a small smile on my face.
"And all the guys would say she's migh-tay FINE!" Was the chorus of voices I met upon entering the kitchen, each member of the pack laughing their head off at my own extent.
I just merely shook my head; things were definitely going to get better.
I would make sure of it.
So thanks for again for reading and all the awesome comments/reviews; that's the stuff I LOVE to see! And since this chapter was added so squickly, expect a few days in bewteen this and the new one; I need time to figure out what to do!
And for anyone curious as to what Caroline's cat sweater looks like, there's a pic on my bio page in the banner section! (I personally think it's cute!)
~Thanks again! Fluff ;)