Despite the reason I was sleeping in the Uley's guest bedroom, I actually managed to catch up on some much needed sleep. Their house sends off some sort of weird, but peaceful aura…strange, but hey, anything that gets me extra sleep.
Acknowledging that Sam and Emily are a blissfully married couple who consistently seem to have a steady stream of overgrown teenaged boys, I dressed silently in comfortable jeans and a t-shirt, and crept downstairs to the kitchen.
After all the baking we managed to get done yesterday, I was confident I knew my way around Emily's kitchen well enough so not to cause her a coronary from a fork put in the china cupboard, or a wooden spoon sitting in a colander.
A sharp knock at the door caught my attention while I was frying bacon and I hurried to answer it, only to find three half asleep boys standing on the other side, one being my obviously exhausted boyfriend.
You know what? Too bad. He won't tell me where he's been and what he's been up to, he isn't getting one shred of sympathy.
You show 'em Kimmy. No sympathy at all. I'm not going to make their lives easier.
Yeah. A big hot breakfast, a kiss, a reassuring hug and a smiling face over breakfast.
None whatsoever. Good work you big sappy girlfriend.
Once they were settled in their seats, after a whisper-yelled scolding about waking Sam and Emily, I put a buffet of food out for them and the dug in straight away. Coffee was fresh and black, just how they needed it.
Sam and Emily eventually made their way downstairs, both throwing an appreciative grin Kim's direction.
"You guys aren't going to tell me anytime soon are you?" I questioned, glancing at all five faces, mostly astonished at my boldness.
Sam chanced a glare in Jared's direction, Emily following suit.
Jared began, "Sam wants me to tell you, so I guess-" A howl.
Another goddamn howl.
Jared winced, eyes still smarting from the lack of sleep, but nonetheless, scraped his chair back from the table with the others, settled a kiss on my forehead, mumbled a 'sorry babe' and loped gracefully out the door like the others.
Emily threw a sympathetic smile my way, and began to try to cheer me up. "So, Jacob's going to come with us to the library, are you pumped or what?"
"God, Emily, you sound like a 14 year old cheerleader about to go to the pep-rally. It's 7.30am on a Saturday, let me just wallow in my unknowledgeable presence." I joked, not really.
…………..
The nerd in me has to say, reading up on those legends of the La Push Quileute's was really interesting, but I still couldn't see where that fitted in with Jared. Every scenario I thought up couldn't fit all aspects of his strange behaviour. I couldn't figure him out.
Both Jacob and Emily helped me pour over the musty books, looking at me expectantly, as if I was teetering on the edge of finishing a 500-piece puzzle, but that wasn't helping.
So we decided to leave.
We went back to the house where Jacob sat outside and Emily and I continued our baking.
Finally around two, Sass and Em showed up, upon which the previously comfortable silence dissolved and the squealing of mainly two teenage girls filled the air. I left Emily to the baking while the girls and I spent some quality time together.
I felt guilty in admitting it, but since Jared, there pretty much hadn't been time for anyone else. I was guilty of negligence- these two clearly could've killed each other in my absence, thankfully though they hadn't.
However I did notice a bandage on Emma's dainty left ankle…but I wasn't even going to ask.
Sass, Emma, Emily and I sat around for hours talking, not noticing the time until Jacob poked his head through the door and warned Emily that the pack would be home after they wrapped up everything, in about forty five minutes to an hour.
Emily and I turned shocked gazes to each other. How had we not noticed the time?
So much cooking to do!
Sass sat back on the couch, chuckling about us running around like headless chickens.
Funny to note- Sass comes from a family of three girls.
Emma lived with her cousin Jacob, currently standing watch over the house outside, and both Emily and I were involved with big guys. We fully understood the situation of only an hour to cook and five hungry gigantic mouths and appetites to feed.
Thankfully, by the time seven rolled around, Emily was just taking the chickens out of the oven, finished plating up the vegetables, potatoes, bread and salad, Emma had finished setting the table and I was putting the finishing touches on desert.
I heard the door open and rock back on it's hinges, "Stop trying to take my damned door off the hinges!" when at least three of the five boys walked through the threshold.
All four of us started to grab dishes and bring them out to the dining table, upon where we all sat, still waiting on two of the guys; Paul and Jared.
Finally, they came noisily through the door, and into the dining room where everyone else was sitting. Jared reached down to my height and placed a pair of warm lips to my cheek, before taking the seat next to me.
Sass, who had dashed back to the kitchen for the water pitcher also came jogging through the opposite door to the dining room, and looked curiously around at the overgrown guys in the dining room, glancing over each before stopping to stare at the one still standing, still gazing with a dreamy, half awake look on his face straight back at her. Paul's eyes widened, and it was almost like watching a blind man see the sun for the first time. I felt like I had intruded on a private moment, and turned away to look at Jared uncomfortably.
Jared looked between the two, as were the rest of the dinner party, and whispered, "No freaking way." I tugged on his shirt, wanting to know what he was talking about, but at that moment, Sass chose to break the stare and walk quietly to her seat in the searing silence that engulfed the room.
Paul rushed around the table, obviously trying to help the dear maiden with beautiful mahogany hair, and reached for the water pitcher and pulled out her seat in the one motion, but ended up comically overbalancing in his haste, and come crashing down onto the floor, taking the chair, the water pitcher and a now soaking wet Sass with him.
Sass shrieked at the cold water down her top as the wind rushed out of her from having a 6 foot plus guys land on top of her under the dining table, legs a giant tangled web. Just about everyone leapt up at this, Jacob, Embry and Jared all laughing hysterically, Sam an amused but calm exterior and a horrified Emily, Emma and I both laughing and wading over the mess of tangled wet limbs to extract our friend from this highly hilarious but embarrassing spectacle.
Paul rolled off Sass eventually, practically begging forgiveness, literally on his knees and looking like he'd just run over a cute puppy.
Sass' icy demeanour presented itself.
"What the hell were you doing, you idiot?! You could've completely squished me!" I laughed at this juvenile choice of words, but regretted my own choice to laugh after an icy glare was shot in my direction.
I clasped my hand to my mouth, attempting to stifle any future giggles that may try to escape.
Sass continued her tirade of profanities and demeaning phrases at poor Paul who looked as if he was just going to sit there and take it like a little boy who'd just broken the cookie jar.
"Paul, come on, I'll drive you home," and just like that Sam and Paul left the dining room and we heard the car start up, Jacob and Embry were still rolling on the floor practically wetting themselves, and Emily took Sass up to her room to fetch some er, less soaking wet clothing.
Once they came back downstairs, and Sam had returned, minus Paul (thank god for him), we all sat back at the table and began to eat the now cool food.
Sass had no problem vocalising her issues with the guy she hadn't even met.
"What's wrong with him? Is he completely retarded? I swear I've never been so mortified! Who is it?"
Jared piped up at this, "He's an idiot, but a really nice guy, only slightly retarded, don't worry about your mortification, think about his and that's Paul."
Sass looked quizzically at me, "Paul from our PE class Paul? Mr I can do every sport better than girls but can't carry a goddamn water pitcher and pull out a chair Paul? Good god, what's wrong with him?! I've never met anyone so moronic in my life. Wait till I see him next, just wait and see.."
Sam, having now been introduced to the girls, spoke up to Sass, "I think he actually kinda likes you."
"God save me from that fate."
"C'mon Sass, Paul is actually really nice. You and he are very alike actually."
"I should strike myself down if that's the case."
"You have to admit," Jacob piped up, "that was a good ice breaker."
Oh boy, Jacob was pissing himself before he even got the end of his little joke out. It's going to be a loooong night.