Chapter 9
The Fast and the Furious

I was at the docks when he found me.

The day was just like any other day at Seattle: cloudy overcast skies over a grey turbulent bay. Sea gulls cackled overhead, every so often plunging into the foaming white splash of the waves. As of now, it wasn't raining, but the threatening, ominous, boom of thunder and the mass of dark clouds in the horizon kept the people away from the sea.

"Good morning," he opened quietly, taking a seat down next to me on the edge of the worn wooden dock.

I acknowledged him with a small nod of my head, though I didn't turn to him. The wind ruffled my hair, throwing it about like a golden splash, or firework. I pulled my jacket tighter around me.

When I spoke, my breath came out in a light puff of white, "This is where she died."

Embry stood completely still in my peripheral vision. His dark hair and copper skin seemed all the more beautiful in the dreary backdrop. My hands gripped the edge of the wood, and I felt the splinters digging into my palm.

"Her name was Alice. But they called her the Red Butterfly. I never found out why they called her that, and on some level, I'm sure I never really wanted to," I paused, breathing in the slightly salty twang of the air, "She was my mother."

A blue boat floated haphazardly on the rising waves, the men on board scurrying around with ropes and rain jackets.

"She joined when she was nineteen. She was young. She was impressionable. She had been with the wrong crowd in high school – her boyfriend had joined at fourteen. His name was Alex. He promised her the world, so she joined. She did small things at first, but then she couldn't stop. Then, she became the Red Butterfly. She was legendary."

Embry shifted closer when he noticed me shiver. His perpetual warmth eased my shaking, and I calmed my nerves, my eyes never leaving the undefined horizon.

"And then, just when the city feared her, something unexplainable happened. The Red Butterfly had me. Me, a living breathing child. To the world, it proved her own mortality. To her, I was her redemption. She found something she had never had before: love," I smiled, though it left a bittersweet taste in my mouth, "She hadn't found it with Alex, or with her parents who disowned her. She found it with me."

I could almost see her, her long blond hair blowing about as she called to me, the most perfect smile of happiness in the world on her bright face. I could smell her, a light touch of wildflowers and peaches that lingered on her skin. I could hear her, laughing brilliantly at my content giggling. I could feel her, holding me tightly, promising to never let go.

But in the end, that was not her promise to give.

"She all but quit to take care of me. I was her occupation. She hired a tutor for me, so I could learn and perhaps one day go to college. She was happy with me, she had found her calling in motherhood. But, there were those that disagreed. They had raised her, made her who she had become. And when they found out about me, I became their child too," a guy squalled overhead, biting back at its companion for stealing its catch, "I joined when I was five years old."

Embry seemed to start at this, but thankfully, he kept silence, respecting my drive and need to tell her story. Respecting my need to tell him her story.

"Alex was killed when I was eleven. The police found him. It was a gruesome murder: he had been stabbed fourteen times, and then hanged from the beams at a storage place, right here, on the docks. No one knew who did it. But I did. I remember that night, when she came into our small apartment. She was covered in it…red sticky blood. She was crying. It was the only time I ever saw her cry. As a child, I didn't find out what had happened until much later."

The waves of the sea where getting higher now, in the wake of the approaching storm. The wind sprayed us occasionally with the droplets from the very tips of the sashaying waves, but neither of us, me nor Embry, made a single move to stop it.

"My mother had loved Alex, on some level. He was the one who brought her to them. He had been the one who had housed her when she had no home. He had been my father. And all the time that my mother had known him, from the very start of their time in high school, he had been cheating on her with another woman. Her name was Veronica," I closed my eyes, trying to shutter away the memory of the dark-haired woman who haunted my dreams, "The Red Butterfly found out when I was eleven. The day after, Alex's death was printed in every paper. It was no coincidence."

I stopped there, leaning back on my hands, letting the wind toss my hair wildly about so that it shielding my face from the world half the time.

"A week after Alex's death, the Red Butterfly found out she was pregnant. I had a sister, Lucy. She didn't tell anyone about Lucy. Not a single soul. Only me. She wanted to save Lucy in a way she hadn't been able to save me. They would not know about Lucy," my voice dropped into a determined whisper, "They will never know about Lucy."

Embry looked like he wanted to reach out, to touch me, but he stopped himself before he made a move. All the boats in the bay were safely docked into their niches, awaiting the passing of the oncoming storm.

"Lucy was born in June. The Red Butterfly died in November. Veronica had loved Alex. And she figured it out. She figured out how killed Alex. The day my mother got the first threat, I remember it was raining. Lucy was sleeping, and I was supposed to be sleeping too. But I heard the commotion. Veronica had powerful friends. The Red Butterfly, my mother, had seven days and seven nights left to live."

My voice got caught in my throat and I bit my lip. The clouds were almost upon us. I felt the push around me, the rocking of the swelling waves. My hands held on tighter to the worn wood of the dock.

"That day, the day she died, she made me promise. She made me promise that no matter what happened, I would save Lucy. No matter what happened, they should never find out about little Lucy. She tried hard not to cry. Right before she left, she apologized to me for bringing me up into this cruel life. She knew that I was doomed. There was no escape for me or for her. She had known that all along."

The scene had replayed itself so often in my mind that sometimes I wondered if it was even real, or if it was merely a figment of my imagination. There she was, my mother, in all her glory, kissing me fiercely on the forehead, hugging me tightly, making me promise to take care of our Lucy, apologizing for the life she had given me and the one she had not been able to give to me.

"That was the last time I ever saw her. My mother. The Red Butterfly."

It was starting to drizzle, a light sprinkle of rain that was merely a teasing taunting before the onslaught. I fell into silence, allowing the rain to drench through my jacket. Embry was staring at the grey eaves beneath us, his shoulders blocked, his jaw locked.

"The tattoo on your back…" he trailed off, not looking at me.

I nodded, "Yes. I got it three months after she died, to remind me of her."

For the first time, I was hesitant in my speech, the image of the dark-haired Veronica laughing away in my mind, "There is more, you know."

Embry looked up, his kind eyes letting me know he was listening. I had yet to turn to him, my gaze fixed on the ever turbulent sea.

"Veronica and Alex had a child. A boy. My half-brother," I drew in a shaky breath, "His name is Jason."

The sound that came out of Embry's throat was too much of a rumbling growl to sound human, "That man from last night? The one who threatened you?"

I almost laughed, but the only thing I could manage was a quirk of my lips, "It's Jason's job to threaten, and then go through with it."

The rain was coming down in sheets now, luminescent with light from the tiny cracks in the sky. In one sudden movement I turned to face Embry. He was really close. Our eyes caught onto each others and for a moment I lost my breath.

"I am the farthest thing you could even want in a girl. You deserve so much better than me, Embry. So much more than I could ever offer. You're just wasting your time with me."

Embry looked shocked at my words and a steely glint of fierce determination entered his eyes. He took hold of my hand, holding it tightly in between his large warm ones. "Never ever say that again. You are perfect for me," he whispered intensely.

I pursed my lips, "No, Embry. You know I'm right. It would be better if you left and never saw me again."

Embry shook his great head, sending water droplets flying into my face, "I will never leave you, Charlotte. I can't."

Thunder split the sky in a crashing symphony, and I felt my frustration mount to the surface, my eyes shone with the rain that tore its way down my cheeks like mock tears, "Damnit Embry! Don't you understand? I am not the girl for you! I have put innocent people in jail, I have arranged murders, God – I'm addicted to meth!" I whipped out the small bottle out of my pant pocket and thrust it at him, hating myself for my disgusting addiction, my disgusting weakness, "And no matter what I do, I will never be able to escape. There is no way out for me."

My last words were nothing more than a cracked whisper, a broken hope.

There was a still second, when the world seemed to flash with the purple light. I saw everything so clearly, so brilliantly. And it was only Embry, Embry with his passionate, smothering brown eyes.

I can't really describe it, it happened so fast. One second there was absolute stillness, and the next, with the thunder booming above us, Embry threw away the space between us, crashing his warm lips onto mine.

He was everywhere.

His arm was around my waist; his hand was tangled in my drenched golden locks. I closed my eyes at the sensation, at the fierce attention he was bestowing on my lips and body. My hands pulled him closer, running through his soft black hair.

When we pulled apart, both of our breaths were ragged. His hand was still in my hair, holding me close to him, our foreheads touching as we gazed into each other's eyes. I was completely dazzled, and there was no way to hide it. Embry's eyes were dark with such powerful emotions that my entire soul lifted at the sight of them.

"There is always a way out, Charlotte. I'm here for you, and I won't let you fall," he whispered strongly.

It was like another door had opened, one I had never seen before. Because without Embry, it wouldn't be there. I was hopeful, almost foolish, "It would not be easy, or even guaranteed, but I might be able to do it. I will need a place to hide."

Embry's characteristic goofy grin broke across his boyish face, "La Push is pretty much the middle of nowhere."

The rain was drumming on the dock now, a heavy deluge of water pouring from the opening gates of the sky. The waves rocked our small dock back and forth, running a thrill of coursing electric adrenaline through me. I felt my courage building, a hard resolve filling me to the very core.

I, Charlotte, daughter of the Red Butterfly, was going to break Makoto.

And I knew just where to start.

Alright, peeps. There you have it. How do we feel, now that everything is coming up into the light? How do we judge our little Charlotte now? ;)

If you liked the, well, passionate kiss our Embry gave Charlotte, do leave a review! There really is nothing like a first kiss! ;)

AneleTiger.