After having a mental breakdown for about twenty minutes. I managed to wipe as much running mascara and eyeliner off my face before heading inside. It was dark when I opened the door except for a small glow coming from the couch. Miles came running towards me, crashing into my legs.
"Hi baby." I whispered and bent down to pet him.
"Welcome back." Came a grumble from the couch. I straightened up and looked over at Zack in the darkness.
"You really shouldn't be looking at your phone in the dark. It's probably making it worse for your head." I chided. I didn't know much about concussions other than the obvious but I feel like everything he was doing is the opposite of that.
"I'll be fine. I only have a light headache." He sat up which was more than he was doing earlier. Obviously his nap helped him out a bit. I made my way into the bathroom to make sure I didn't look like a run over raccoon which of course I did. I tried cleaning myself up as much as possible.
"How was work?" Zack asked as I came back out heading to my room. I turned the light on and it flooded into the living room which was met with a groan.
"Sorry." I mumbled. "It was boring." I grabbed some pajamas to change into and made my way back to the bathroom. After changing I felt a little more refreshed but not by much. Again, I was just hoping sleep would come easy. "I see you managed to move." I noticed the glass of water on the table in front of him.
"Yeah. I let the dog out too." He set his phone down on the coffee table. "You good?" He asked and I frowned.
"Yeah." I mumbled turning back to my room to get ready for bed.
"You sure?" He poked.
"Yes. Drop it." I snapped. I didn't need to think about anything else on top of all the crap going on. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." I knew I was acting like a bitch but I couldn't help it. I felt like I was living in an out of body experience and I didn't know how to get back to normal.
Miles jumped up on the bed with me and got cozy in his usual spot. I thought about what I was going to do tomorrow as I lay in the dark just staring at the ceiling.
I knew I needed to talk to Jake, I just really didn't want to. I didn't want to think about fairytale stories and halloween jokes being real. Something in his voice convinced me it was more serious than such but my brain couldn't wrap around the idea.
Then I had to worry about Nick showing up in a murderous rampage someday while his so called best friend was asleep on my couch. Really didn't know how to handle this situation in the slightest. I didn't like the idea of now just feeling like a sitting duck.
And the cherry on top is the psycho cop who's got it out for me.
Miles turned over and inched closer to me so his fur was pushing into my side. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him already feeling a little better. I might not have survived this last forty-eight hours if not for this dog. I tried to focus on his fur and breathing before I slowly drifted off.
When I woke up I could tell it was early. Miles popped his head up with me knowing if he got up I would let him out and then he could eat breakfast. I really didn't feel like climbing out of bed but I knew he was my priority. When I opened my bedroom door Miles took off towards the door, passing by a passed out Zack on the couch. I grabbed his leash and headed outside. The chilly air blasting my face really woke me up and I realized with dread I would have to deal with things today whether I wanted to or not.
I figured Jake would be my first priority. He said he would answer any questions I had and explain things more to me. The problem was I didn't even know what to ask. Where was the starting point for any of this? I remember him mentioning that people don't always take it so well, so maybe we could start there. Obviously other people knew whatever this weird secret was so maybe I wasn't alone. I didn't know if I could handle seeing the actual wolf again. That might be my limit.
I wanted to push all the Nick crap to the back burner for now but I didn't know if that was a luxury I had right now. Zack seemed genuine but I really didn't know how to handle this. The last thing I needed was opening up my house to him only for him to turn and stab me in the back. I was really hoping he wouldn't do that to me but I wasn't going to rule it out. The faster he got out of my house the better. Maybe I should think about relocating too. I really didn't want to but if I felt spooked enough I might.
As for officer prick of the Forks Police Department, I would just have to avoid him as much as possible. If even at all possible. The man clearly had it out for me and I didn't want to stick around to find out why.
After heading back inside and feeding Miles, I went back to lay down in my room and grabbed my phone, opening up the text conversation with Jake. I haven't heard from him since he left here. I half expected him to show up at work but I was thankful that he didn't. It gave me time to breath for a second.
I was strong though. I could handle this.
I mean, did I really think that? No. But would I keep repeating it in my head until I convinced myself of it? Hell yeah.
'Hey' I sent the text to him before I could convince myself otherwise. I set my phone down on the comforter and laid back down. Miles jumped back up with me and was chilling with his head on my leg. I kept glancing down at my phone. I didn't know how long it would take him to respond. After all, it was still pretty early in the morning. I didn't like being that chick just sitting around and waiting for a guy to respond to me. It didn't feel right. So I grabbed my phone and opened up Candy Crush just to keep my mind off waiting for a response. Unfortunately I ran out of lives a lot faster than I was anticipating and I was once again left feeling antsy staring at the ceiling.
I heard movement from the living room and looked up to see Zack sitting up. I crawled out of bed and made my way out of the room.
"Hey." I mumbled sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table.
"Hey." He rubbed his face and I hoped he wouldn't bump the stitches.
"How's your head?"
"A little better." He put his hand on Miles' head as he came up to sniff his knees. "Doesn't feel like a jackhammer going off in my head anymore."
"That's good at least." An awkward silence fell over us. Realistically we had so much to talk about but clearly neither of us wanted to address anything. I didn't know how much more of it I could take before he thankfully broke it.
"So your boyfriend helped with these?" He asked, lightly touching the stitches on the side of his head. I wanted to chastise him for doing so but bit my tongue.
"He's not my boyfriend." I don't know why I even felt the need to voice it. I had no idea what was going on anymore. I knew I hadn't wanted a boyfriend a few days ago. And now that was the last thing on my mind.
"Ah. Well your friend then." He rolled his eyes like he didn't believe me.
"He…knew someone in med school or something." I shrugged, my lie not as graceful as the first one I had told him. We had already talked about this before but clearly his memory was a little spotty.
"Well tell him I said thanks, I guess. Nice having friends in high places." He snorted.
"A lot better than your friends." I snapped. I felt like I was defending the creepy mind reader and I didn't like it.
Zack snorted. "No shit."
"Is Nick really trying to find me?" I asked him, surprising even myself for voicing it out loud when I had spent most of the morning mentally pushing the thought aside.
"I don't think so." He shook his head. "His P.O. is a bitch and has him on a pretty short leash."
"Wow." I glared up. "Poor him."
"I mean that I don't think he's going to risk anything. He's already breaking it by pushing shit with Matt. He's trying to fly under the radar."
"That's not exactly under the radar then." Why were these guys so stupid? Why was I stupid enough to hang out with them for years? "Then how did he get my number?"
"I really couldn't tell you, B."
"You can understand my concern here when you're the only person with my new number." I crossed my arms. "And even then, I didn't want to give it to you back then."
"I swear on my fucking life, I didn't give it to him. You're not even saved in my phone under a name. You're the angry face emoji." He grabbed his phone off the coffee table and opened his contacts and tossed it loudly across the table at me. I wanted to believe him but it was too much of a coincidence. Sure enough the contact at the bottom was just the little angry faced emoji looking back at me. I clicked on it and it opened up a phone number that was clearly mine. I pushed the phone back to his side and sighed.
"Look, I don't know exactly what happened that night but I know when I heard about it I immediately started thinking of ways to get your bail money together without a second thought about Nick." He leaned back into the couch, leaving his phone sitting in the middle of the coffee table.
"Well thanks, I guess." I mumbled and stood up. I didn't necessarily believe him but decided it wasn't worth the fight. "You up for eating?" I asked him. I didn't really have a lot of food in the apartment right now so I felt bad for asking when I had nothing to give.
"Yeah, I guess." Shit, I was hoping he would say no.
"Well I have nothing to eat. There is a little diner in town though that's pretty good." I thought back to eating there with Jake and how that seemed like a different lifetime.
"Works for me." He stood up and stretched out, flinching a little.
"We don't have to if your head hurts too much. I can just go grab us something." I suggested.
"No, I want to get out and move." I nodded and made my way to my room to get changed. I threw on some clean leggings and a big baggy hoodie that went down to my low thighs. I let my hair hang in tangles around my face, too lazy to deal with it.
I let Miles out to go to the bathroom while Zack freshened up and cleaned his face. He went out to his car to look for some spare clothes. Everything he pulled out smelled making me roll my eyes. I ended up lending him an old tshirt that was a little tight on him but nothing ridiculous. He said he'd rather wear that than something two sizes too big.
"Everything you own is either skin tight or looks like it was out of the big and tall section." He commented as we climbed into my car.
"So? I like baggy stuff. Works perfect with leggings."
"Nobody can stare at your ass if it's covered with some baggy hoodie."
I snorted and wanted to kick him out of my car.
"I don't want people looking at my ass so I guess that's an accomplishment." Men were pigs. "Besides, aren't you a boobs guy?" I guess I was a pig too. Old habits.
"Yeah? Doesn't mean I can't appreciate other things." He crossed his arms.
"How about you appreciate my sparkling personality?" I rolled my eyes for the tenth time just since we've been in the car.
"Where's that at?" He chuckled.
"Ballsy words coming from the asshole staying on my couch." I reminded him. "Speaking of, how long do you plan on couch surfing?" We had pulled into the parking lot of the diner and luckily we must have missed the breakfast crowd and we're still early for the lunch rush.
"I don't know, B. I didn't really have a plan in mind when all this bullshit happened." Clearly.
I sighed and tried to think of ways to help his situation. We made our way inside and a passing waitress told us to have a seat anywhere. We made our way to a table in the back by the counter.
"Well where is all of your stuff at right now?" I understand the flight or fight response and wanting to flee a situation where you were just jumped by your "best" friends. But I didn't understand not having a plan afterwards. Eventually you have to go back to get your things and move and then find somewhere to go.
"I'm renting a room in Luke's house. You know, that weird gamer dude who used to fuck around with Gina from high school." I vaguely knew who he was talking about but would have no idea how that situation came about.
"Okay. So all your stuff is in your roommates house back in Everette?" I clarified.
"Yes."
"Hey! Welcome back!" I looked up to see the same little rude blonde waiter from the last time I was here. She seemed to have an attitude check this time. "What can I get you to drink?" She asked us both and left with an unfamiliar smile.
"Well do you plan on staying there?" Maybe I could help walk him through all of this. I wish someone had helped walk me through stuff so I didn't end up living in my car for a short stint of time.
"It's probably not best for me to be around that area." He leaned back in his seat.
"You think they'll come after you again?" I asked with my eyebrows pinched together.
He stayed silent but nodded. "It was bad, B." He whispered.
I frowned even more than I already was. I guess I didn't realize the full situation here.
"Like…bad bad?" I stupidly asked.
"Like I honestly thought they were going to kill me. Matt had a Glock on him."
"Jesus fucking Christ, Zack." I put my hands on the table. "What the f—"
"Here's your drinks!" We were interrupted. "Are you ready to order?"
"Uh…" Zack stared blank.
"We'll both just have the cheeseburger." I tried to smile up at her but I'm sure it came out like a grimace. She nodded and scurried away, probably reading the situation. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "Does he just carry it around with him all the time?"
Zack shrugged. "No clue. Probably."
"So if you don't plan on staying around Everett then what's the next move?" I leaned back in the booth seat. "Obviously I'm not going to kick you out if you have nowhere to go." I wasn't really looking forward to sharing the small ass apartment with an ex friend but I wasn't going to make him go homeless. And I understood where his fear was coming from about going back into the whole Nick situation.
"Just let me couch surf until I can figure something out. I'll start looking for a new place and job."
"The brewery up in Port Angeles is always hiring line cooks." I said. "We could carpool." I chuckled and he rolled his eyes.
"How joyous."
"So what are we going to do about all your stuff?" I tried to think of the best way to get all of his stuff and move out without making a big scene. It didn't help that Everett was over four hours away and not a fun drive to make at all.
"I guess I'll have to drive back and get it. And text Luke that I'm moving out. He'll probably be pissed that I didn't warn him."
"So pay a month's rent to make up for it. That gives him a month to find a new roommate. Plenty of time." Honestly, that would probably be the least of my concerns. "And your tiny ass little car isn't going to be able to hold anything. Why don't you take my car?"
"Why are you being so nice?" His eyes narrowed. "I expected you to be a complete bitch and kick me out the first sign of the sun."
"Because I wish someone would have been nice to me when I needed it." I frowned. "Living in your car isn't exactly the most pleasant experience." Now it was his turn to frown.
"Way to make me feel like shit."
"I wasn't trying to do that but if that's how you feel then it should really tell you something about your character."
"Yo, I wasn't kidding when I said I really thought about how to get bail money together for you when all this shit went down. Nick deserved it, you didn't. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
"Thank you." I didn't need the apology, I was trying to put it all in the past. But it was nice to hear out-loud regardless. "You should probably go in the morning though so you're not there all day. Even king-pins have to sleep at some point." I snorted.
"Ha! He ain't no fucking king-pin. He probably thinks in his head that he is. Fucker." He put his elbows on the table. "It would go faster though if I had an extra set of hands." He blinked at me and I threw my head back.
"I knew you were going to say something. I really don't want to make that drive." I groaned.
"Would go even more faster if you got your giant ass boyfriend to do all the major heavy lifting for me." He had a shit eating grin on his face.
"He's not my boyfriend." I told him again. "And besides, asking people to help you move is like, the most obnoxious thing ever. I'm not going to ask him to help some dude he's never met before move out of his place four hours away." It would also be awkward to ask him when we haven't really addressed the elephant in the room. The wolf in the room, more like it.
"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate." He wasn't wrong.
"We'll figure something out." I waved my hand, hoping to get the conversation off of Jake. "So what have you been up to since the good ole days? Any girlfriends?"
"Oh, you're going to love this one…" And the rest of our brunch carried on in normal friendship building conversation. It was a welcome normal distraction from all the chaos happening. A distraction that didn't last for very long because as we were climbing back in my car after our meal my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, already having a feeling of who it was.
'Hey' was all it read. Right under the bolded name of Jacob Black.
"You good?" Zack asked and I glanced up over the car roof to see him giving me a concerned look.
"Uh, yeah." I shook my head and put the phone back in my hoodie pocket, not knowing how to proceed. We drove back to my apartment in silence which I was grateful for. Zack plopped back down on the couch and announced he was going to take a nap. I briefly wondered how good that was for his head but in the end didn't think much of it. I knew I wouldn't be able to actually sleep but I did follow his lead of laying down in bed. I took a deep breath and cuddled up to Miles who was in a snuggly mood before pulling my phone out.
I really didn't know what to say to him. There wasn't exactly a textbook to follow here on how to address your friend after learning they turn into a storybook character. I thought back to those eyes staring at me from the forest. His eyes. What once was a nightmare was now reality.
'What's up?' It was the most cop out generic response ever but I was at a loss. Was I even ready for him to explain whatever the hell was going on? Probably not. Would I ever be ready? Probably not. My phone buzzed in my hand.
'How are you feeling?' He ignored my question but I wasn't mad about it.
'Overwhelmed' I sent back instantly. I put my phone on my chest and distracted myself with petting Miles.
'I would be surprised if you weren't' I frowned at his response wishing my brain could come up with anything coherent. Luckily I didn't have to think too hard before he responded again. 'I don't know if you want to see me or not but my dad can explain the legends better than anyone I know and can answer any questions you have.'
I thought about his dad. He was a very calm man who didn't judge me when I was some stranger having a panic attack over my dog on his front porch. It was weird to me to know he was in on this too. Was he one of them as well? There was no way this sweet man in a wheelchair could turn into a horse sized dog and stalk me in the woods. I just couldn't wrap my brain around that. My phone buzzed again in my hand.
'You could come over if you want' I was hit with the reality of the situation. This was happening now. My phone buzzed again.
'Or we could come over there.' I pictured him staring at his phone right now just waiting for my response. Was he just as nervous? My phone buzzed another time.
'Whatever makes you more comfortable.' I felt bad at this point for not having responded yet but I really didn't know what to do or say.
I finally dragged myself back to Earth and tried to think of the situation in a logical sense. 'Like right now?' I asked.
'Whatever works for you' He sent back instantly.
I wasn't ready for this.
But I would never be ready for this.
My stomach started to turn.
I needed to do this.
I would never be ready for this but I needed to do it.
'I can head over soon?' I put the question mark at the end to double check that this was for sure happening right now.
'I'll be waiting' Was all he sent back and I sighed and put my phone down looking at Miles. I probably should have asked if I could bring him but I didn't think twice about it. I sat up and took a deep breath, hoping Zack didn't sense me having a crisis within.
"Hey." I said as steadily as I could, heading out to the living room. "I'm going to head to Jacob's for a little bit." My voice didn't even sound normal. He looked up from his phone on the couch.
He stared at me with a blank face for a second. "You good?"
Clearly I wasn't very good at putting on a poker face. I nodded and gave him a thumbs up like some awkward teenager.
"Text me if you need anything." I grabbed a jacket and looked down at Miles. "Ready for a car ride?" I asked him and his tail started wagging.
I felt bad leaving Zack alone again in the apartment but it's not like he could come. Besides, he could find something to entertain himself with.
"Hey," I turned back around thinking of something. "Why don't you give your roommate a call and figure out the moving situation?" I suggested. He snorted and fell back down on the couch so I could no longer see him.
"Maybe." He grumbled like I was asking some impossible task of him. "Ask your boyfriend about helping move."
I opened my mouth to argue that he was not my boyfriend, nor did he have any obligation to drive four hours each way to move some stranger but no words came out of my mouth. Asking someone to help move hardly seemed like a priority right now. Let alone of Jacob. Jacob the wolf.
I just turned and left with Miles following without another word. I opened the back door to my car and let him jump up and get settled before getting behind the wheel. I took a deep breath and started the car. Pulling out onto the main road in Forks I thought about how this might be beneficial. Maybe I won't be as panicky anymore. The unknown was terrifying so maybe having actual answers would clear up everything.
At least, I hoped so.
After what seemed like simultaneously the longest and shortest drive of my life, I was pulling up to the little red house that had now become part of my life. He must of really been waiting for me because Jake stood tall on the porch with a frown on his face. I got out avoiding his stare by focusing on letting Miles out of the back. Miles must have known where we were because he took off like a bat out of hell up the yard and bounded clumsily up the porch steps before jumping up on Jake.
"Hi, buddy." He scratched his head. He turned and looked at me when I stopped at the bottom of the porch steps. "Hi." He said quietly. The frown no longer on his face.
"Hi." I said but it barely came out as a whisper. He must of sensed that I wasn't going to move because he stepped away from Miles who fell back to four paws and took the first step down the porch and pausing. It's like he was waiting for me to bolt if he moved any faster. Like some skittish animal. I have to say, he wasn't far off the mark there.
"I'm glad you're here." He spoke quietly. I took a shuddering breath.
"Not easily." I tucked my hands in the pocket of the hoodie I was wearing because I could feel them start to shake.
"I know this is difficult, Baylee. I'm sorry that you had to find out this way. I really wanted to go about this differently."
So I was going to find out regardless of the last forty-eight hours happening or not. I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
"But listen, Baylee. This is however you want to handle it. You can leave whenever you want. I'm not going to force you to sit here if you're uncomfortable. The ball is in your court." He assured me. While I didn't necessarily believe the actual words coming out of his mouth, something about his aura convinced me he was telling the truth.
"Okay." I whispered.
"Okay." He nodded. He took a step back up the stairs and turned to the side to let me pass by him.
"Just let me know if you can't handle this or feel uncomfortable and you can leave." He reassured me. "But I promise we'll tell you everything if you're up for it." I felt a hand ghost on my lower back but he never actually touched me. But the heat from his hand still burned as if he did.
I really wasn't ready for this.
I stepped into the quaint little home and tried to take a deep breath. Miles came pouring in after us and trotted into the living room like he owned the place. I could hear wheels squeak on tile before his father rounded the corner into the living with a warm smile on his face.
"Baylee. I'm glad you came."
I tried to smile but I'm sure it was more of a grimace. That seemed to be the normal expression on my face lately.
"Shall we get comfortable?" He gestured to the living room with a hand. I tried to slow my heart rate down but knew that was useless. I stepped into the room and sat down on the edge of the couch.
Was I ready for this? Absolutely not.
But here I was.
"I'll start by telling you we usually have a bonfire where everyone gathers when we tell the stories of the legends." Billy was calm and even-keeled. It was a minor source of comfort for me at the moment. "However the circumstances did not allow for such an event. Of course we'll have one soon you can attend." He smiled at me and I found it hard to look back so I looked down at my hands tightly clasped in my lap.
Silence lingered in the room for a bit. I'm assuming they were waiting for a response from me but there was no way I was able to piece a coherent sentence together right now.
"So," Billy broke the tension. "The Quileute's have been a small tribe since the beginning…"
Nico and the Niners by Twenty One Pilots
I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! As I've stated before, my editing skills go down the drain by the end of chapters. I do usually write with a beer or wine in hand so that probably has something to do with it. But my goal is to bang out a few more chapters of the actual important stuff and then go back and edit the shit out of this whole story. I've already found a few plot holes and major editing mistakes.
But for now this is just something I like to do for fun in my free time and it makes me happy. So thank you to all who have made it this far and I promise I'll keep updating as best I can!