20. Realization
I recognized my fellow students from Forks as I approached La Push Beach. The majority of
them seemed to be preparing to surf. There was no way I was going to attempt that. Relief hit
me when I saw that Hayley didn't appear to be surfing. She stayed on the shore with a few
others who elected to stay behind. She motioned for me to sit as she made room for me on
the blanket she was sitting on. She was wearing an oversized Forks High School sweatshirt and
black leggings. I awkwardly eased down beside her as some of the others continued to
casually chat. "Would you like to go look at the tide pools with me? I really enjoy it, but no one
will go with me." She admitted.
"Yeah, I like looking at them?"
"You've been here before?" She asked as we began walking on the beach.
"Yeah, I went with umm...a friend a couple of times during the summer."
"Oh really, I didn't know that you knew anyone around here before you started school."
"I met a girl named Leah."
"Oh... is she your girlfriend?" She questioned.
"No, she never was. We don't even talk anymore." She seemed to perk up at this realization.
"What happened?" She prodded.
"It's a long story."
"I've got time for a long story. You don't really share much of your personal life with anyone. I
can't even hear any good rumors about your family. I mean, who willingly moves out to
Forks?" She joked as she gave me a playful nudge.
"You don't want to hear about it. It'll probably bore you." I assured her.
"Please tell me?" She begged as she stared at me with her emerald green eyes.
"Alright, but please promise me you won't get all sympathetic after I tell you. Let's just drop it and move
on to something else as soon as I finish." I said as we continued to walk. She gave me a confused
look and nodded in agreement.
"My dad bought a logging company in Forks, so we moved out here. My parents were killed by a wild
animal before we even got settled in. Now, I live with my older sister." I stammered out almost in a
whisper.
"Wilder, I'm so sorry. I never should've asked." She said as her eyes started to water. She turned and
gave me a hug.
"You said that you wouldn't get sympathetic, remember? Now let's drop it. Tell me about yourself." She
let me go in defeat.
"Ugh..okay, I've lived in Forks all my life. My parents are divorced, so I live with my mom. I get to see my
dad often though. They are on good terms. They just grew apart. I have an older brother who is in
college at Washington State. This is actually his sweatshirt. Umm... let's see... what else? Oh, I've been
a cheerleader ever since I was little. As I got older, I started getting called names, because I was
overweight. People doubted that I would make the team, but I was determined to prove them wrong. I
worked my butt off and made the team. I quickly became close friends with Candace and Carley.
There's not much else... Now I'm walking on the beach and talking with you."
"I don't understand why people called you names. I think you're perfect just the way you are." I said as
I blushed.
"That's nice to hear. I have a hard time realizing that. Especially, when I'm reminded otherwise by jerks."
"I can't believe that guy said that to you. I wanted to punch his lights out."
"Don't worry about him. It's fine now, especially since my knight in shining armor made him
apologize." She giggled out as she gave me an elbow to the ribs.
"What about boyfriends?" I sheepishly questioned.
"I've had some before. None that were worth anything. I guess that's why I'm currently flying solo." She
said looking up at me with a smile.
"I guess we can fly solo together then." I joked with her as we reached the tide pools. She paused for
a moment as she seemed to be thinking about something.
"So...umm... I kind of have a confession to make." She said as she twisted her foot in the sand
looking down at the tide pools.
"You're a werewolf." I joked as I thought about the irony.
"No, the whole Teen Wolf thing wouldn't do well for me."
"You're a vampire."
"Nope, no Vampire Diaries for me either."
"I'm out of ideas. You'll just have to tell me."
"My friends really would've came here with me. I kind of asked them not to." She admitted still staring
at the pools.
"Why did you do that?" I questioned.
"I sort of brought you out here to ask you to the dance this Saturday. Would you be interested?" She
said giving me a hopeful look.
"I'm sorry, Candace actually asked me this morning. I've already agreed to go with her." I said
apologetically.
"Oh, I see." She said as she stooped her head down in disappointment.
"I'm sure that you could go with us. We're just going as friends." I assured her.
"No, I don't want to impose."
"It shouldn't be an issue. You should come with us."
"No, it's OK, really. I guess I better head back." She said lowering her head as she started walking
back. I couldn't bear to see the disappointment in her eyes.
"We could do something next weekend though. I know we both have the game on Saturday, but we
could do something on Sunday after I get out of church. We can do whatever you want, just me and
you." I assured her. She perked up at the idea.
"Yeah, that sounds great! I don't really want to pick though. What did you have in mind?" She asked
eagerly.
"Well... we could go to Port Angeles, get something to eat, and look around."
"That sounds perfect. I can't wait." She squealed out.
"Do you want me to pick you up or do you want to meet somewhere?"
"I'll need you to pick me up. My mom will want to meet you."
"Alright, just type your address in my phone, so I can put it in the GPS. I'm good at getting lost." I joked
as I handed her my phone.
"You know... you could make a test run today. I rode here with a friend. So, you could take me home.
That way you'll know where I live in order to make it easier. If you don't mind, that is."
"No, I don't mind at all. It would help."
"Great! I guess we need to go tell everyone." She said as she started walking back towards her
friends. I followed her easily catching up to her short strides.
Some of her friends looked like they were getting ready to leave as we approached. We informed
them that I was taking Hayley home and it was met with curious stares and some excited giggles by
a group of girls. As we were getting in the truck, I froze as I saw her. Her otherworldly beauty
radiated as she walked onto the beach. She was with an extremely tall guy with russet skin. His
black hair was cropped short and he wasn't wearing a shirt, showing off a chiseled body that was
full of muscle. He had to be a werewolf as well. There was no way that a normal human being could
look the way he did. How could I ever had competed with that. It made sense that him and Leah
would be together. Her and I didn't make sense at all. She was too far out of my league. We weren't
even in the same universe. They were laughing uncontrollably as they walked beside each other. The
happiness beamed off of Leah's face. It was at that moment when it all hit me. Any shred of hope
that I held onto was gone. It was at that moment that I realized she would have her happy ending. It
felt like a punch in the gut, because I realized that her happy ending wouldn't include me.