Olivia had been right. The drama of the previous week faded quickly, and people mostly acted the same, other than not taking as much crap from Kennedy, who gave me more dirty looks than usual. Bella of course was picking me up every day during my grounded days, which was almost punishment enough in itself. Actually, watching her at any point was torture. If I hadn't already made a point that Bella wasn't to be made fun of, I'm certain it would have happened during those three weeks. I was certain it probably still was a whisper between people. Blaming them was impossible given her behavior.
Bella sat alone at lunch every day, not talking to anyone during classes… total silent treatment. Two days a week I would make a point to sit with Bella at her loner table, trying to coax anything out of her. Sometimes I would get Aly or Angela to join me so that there would be conversation in place of silence. Every time I prayed that Bella would finally speak up, but to no avail. She was a walking shell of what she once was and I was growing increasingly concerned.
"Call me insensitive, but I feel like this has gone on long enough." I sighed as I sat on the couch in Jacob's garage as he worked on the Rabbit. I was finally un-grounded and we had a lot of catching up to do with my limited contact to the outside world. "I mean, how long was she with the guy, six months? He left in September. It's the end of October and she still isn't eating normal, talking…"
"Well," Jacob heaved a piece out of the car engine. "They did spend every waking moment together, didn't they?"
"I guess." My knees came up to my chin. "I'm losing my patience. Bella needs to wake up. Even Charlie is getting annoyed."
"Didn't you just get grounded for beating up someone who was calling her out on her newfound loner status," he quirked an eyebrow, teasing me.
"Entirely different situation! Kennedy is sniveling, conniving narcissist who tormented Bella for a week out of purely evil motivations." I pointed a thumb at myself. "I am bringing this up because I am genuinely worried for her."
"So, what are you thinking?"
"What?" I blinked, loosening the grip around my legs. "Why would I be thinking anything?"
"Come on, Valerie." Jacob pulled his head out of the engine and looked at me, his cheek smeared with oil. He switched tools with quick expertise. "You wouldn't have let it go this far in your mind if you didn't have a thought of how to pull the turtle out of its shell."
"Dude," my face contorted in a cringe. "That's the saddest and most disturbing analogy ever."
"You know what I mean," he shrugged, tossing a towel to wipe his hands on at me before plopping on a rolling chair nearby. "What have you got?"
I sighed, puffing out my lips as I stared for a moment at the inquisitive boy watching me with a grin and raised eyebrow. My weight shifted as planted one foot down and leaned forward.
"So, what if we got a group together to go hiking?" I asked. "Next weekend is supposed to be pretty nice out. We could see what your guys are doing, I can bring Aly and a few of Bella's friends…it'll be fun. I think."
"Yeah, that'd be sweet! See," he gestured to me before standing and returning to the car. "I knew you would figure something out."
"Alrighty!" I swung around the door frame out of my bedroom, waltzing down the hall. Olivia sat on the couch, sipping her coffee and watching some random crime show that she had gotten really into over the last few weeks.
Olivia quickly paused the show. "Hey. Leaving?"
"Yup!" I adjusted a backpack strap. "Got everything we could need. I'm probably over-prepared considering how mild of a trail this is supposed to be."
"Would you mind writing down what trail it is before you go?" Olivia stood to get more coffee from the kitchen. "That way I know where to send the search party if you crazy kids get lost."
"Lost on a two-mile hike? Give us a little credit." I raised an eyebrow, amused at her joke. Nabbing a piece of paper, I quickly scribbled down 'Bogachiel Rain Forest Loop'. "We should be back early this afternoon. I'll call you if we're gonna be late?"
"No worries," she sipped her black coffee, content in her own world. "Have fun with your friends today."
Before heading for the trailhead, I backtracked to pick up Jacob and his friend Embry in La Push, who were waiting by the shed when I pulled up. Jacob waved as they came around to jump in, he in the passengers seat and Embry in the back behind him.
"Hey Val," Jacob greeted as he buckled in. "Thanks for picking us up."
"No problem!" I put the car in drive. "Good to see you again, Embry. Did your mom give you any trouble about today's hangout?"
"Heh," he laughed nervously. "She's working today, so she just thinks that I'm hanging out with Jacob."
I slammed on the brakes at the end of the driveway, eyeing him in the rearview mirror. "So, you're saying that your mom doesn't know you are being driven to a hiking trail by someone you've only met a handful of times to hike with a group of people you don't know?"
"Uh, yeah," he smiled innocently, nervously, but I was starting to see a hidden bad-boy edge in Embry. Jacob told me it existed, but I didn't believe him till now.
"And you've made me your accomplice as the getaway driver as an attempt to make us a team of rebels," I questioned.
"Outlaws," Jacob chimed in, looking at me.
"Ruffians," I added with a grin back.
"Thugs."
"Heathens!" I exclaimed as I accelerated onto the road dramatically, earning some hollers and laughs from the pair before I returned to normal, safe driving behavior.
"Seriously though, what if your mom finds out?" I asked.
"She won't." Jacob sighed. "Luckily my dad is pretty understanding of the fact that Ms. Call is a hard-ass when it comes to that. He's always willing to cover."
"Well, maybe she just worries about you," I offered Embry. "Aly's mom is kind of the same way. I'm just glad she doesn't hate me after my school brawl."
"Aly," repeated Embry. "That's your friend who's coming too, right?"
"Yeah," Jacob chimed in. "Are we picking her up on the way?"
"Yes and yes." I flicked on the right blinker, reaching the intersection to get onto the 101 leading to the main development of Forks. "Her house is basically on the way to the trails."
"What about Bella?" Embry asked. "Wasn't she supposed to come?"
"She is," Jacob looked to me for confirmation. "She's not driving herself, is she?"
"No way!" I scoffed. "She would just flake out and make up an excuse to not come. A few of her friends are joining, so they're picking her up." A sigh escaped me.
"What?" enquired Jacob.
"Nothin'. I just hope this works to get Bella out of her rut," I said as I turned into Aly's driveway. It only took a moment for her to come out the front door, a small purple knapsack in one hand and waving with the other. I heard Embry shift in the back seat as I waved back, and Jacob snickered lightly next to me. My eyebrow quirked up, storing that bit of info for later.
"Hey!" Aly popped open the back door and climbed in. "Thanks for picking me up."
"Not a problem! Aly, this is Jacob and Embry."
"Hi, Aly," Jacob greeted, turning to wave. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Same here! It's good to finally put a face with a name." Aly smiled and then looked over to Embry. "And you're Jacob's friend, right? Val has mentioned you and Quil before."
"Uh oh," Embry scratched his head. "Is that good or bad?"
"Good, for you at least." Her nervous laugh filled the car. "Quil sounds like more than I can handle."
"Ouch," chuckled Jacob.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, turning south onto the main drag. "I have nothing against Quil. He's great! He's just a bit… forward in flirtation? Speaking of Quil, why didn't he come today?"
"Grounded," the two boys said in unison, Jacob clarifying that he got a lousy grade on a quarter report and was forced into studying. I sympathized.
The remainder of the short ride consisted of the four of us making small talk that flowed easily. It was a nice change of pace from the awkwardness that always seemed to be hanging in the air, something I had grown used to around Bella. When we pulled into the trailhead parking lot, Angela was getting out of the driver's seat of her car, followed by her passengers. Mike and Eric emerged from the car, smiling and goofing off. Bella got out of the front seat, looking about the same as always; she appeared to be unaware of her surroundings, collapsing inward on herself.
"Bella!" Jacob waved as we got out of the car. He walked over and hugged her, giving a nod to everyone else. Embry followed in his trail while Aly walked beside me.
"So, you ready to drag your cousin through the woods and force her to have a good time?" she whispered to me.
"Oh yeah." The corner of my mouth twitched upwards. "Here's to hoping she doesn't hold this against me."
Up ahead Mike and Eric were introducing themselves to Jacob and Embry while Bella lingered near Angela as she pointed up at some of the trees. Bella's expression was something short of interested, and I wondered if she even realized I was approaching her.
"Hey guys," I greeted everyone. In passing I patted Angela's arm. "Thanks for coming. Should we head in?"
"Into the woods?" Aly whispered in a sing-song voice.
"Into the woods! Into the woods!" I quickly linked an arm with Bella, dragging her to the trails as I sang. "It's time to take the journey!"
…
We had been trudging through the woods for about 20 minutes, guiding each other through the rougher paths of the forest. The sky above had started to open up to a little bit of sun that was stretching down towards us, seeping its way through the canopy of evergreens above. It was warming, in contrast to the cool, crispness of the fall air.
I put my hand up into a beam of sunlight. "Hey, look at that. The sun's showing itself for a bit." The light danced across my skin, illuminating my quickly paling skin. The PNW was taking its tole on my complexion.
"Careful," Jacob teased as he shifted past me as I slowed to a stop to admire the sun. "You're practically sparkling."
"What?" Bella's voice broke out, louder than I had heard her speak in weeks as she spun around, ahead of me. Her face was strewn with alarm as she looked at my hand in the light. As she whipped around, her footing slipped out on a pile of leaves, sending her into a spiral for the ground.
A cacophony of Bella's name was shouted between all of us as she collapsed, her knees buckling as she attempted to catch herself. Angela and Jacob were the first to her, pulling her off the ground as a gloss came over her brown eyes. I leapt in front of her, scanning her quickly for injury, but she seemed fine to the naked eye.
"Bells, are you okay?" I asked, a bit startled by the event.
"What happened?" Aly approached from the end of the train with Embry.
"I'm fine," argued Bella weakly as she steadied. "I'm okay. I just…moved too quickly."
Angela looked around to all of us, concern written in her eyes. "Maybe we should turn back now. We came pretty far in already."
I stifled a whimper. There had actually been a point to this hike other than dragging Bella out of her bedroom, but the majority seemed more concerned about my clumsy cousin. No waterfalls for me. My jaw tightened as I nodded. Overruled. We began the trudge back to the parking lot.
I was the first to emerge from the woods and hit the gravel of the trailhead lot. Spinning and walking backwards, I looked to everyone else. "Do we want to grab lunch somewhere? I know I'm pretty hungry."
"I'm starving," Eric interjected. His face looked red and glossy from the hike. "I'm exhausted."
"How about pizza?" suggested Mike. "Pacific's?"
"Where is that one again?" I asked.
"Just follow me," Angela smiled as she tucked her camera back into the bag and pulled out her car keys.
"Angela, do you think you could drop me off? I'm just not really hungry." Bella trailed behind.
"Oh," Angela looked to me and I shrugged in response. "Sure, no problem."
…
At the pizza place, we all filed into the restaurant from the busy parking lot. Despite the place being kind of packed, we were able to be seated at a big table right away. I sat across from Aly and next to Angela, while the guys filled in the rest of the seats. It didn't take long for a waitress to come by and take all our orders for drinks, two large pizzas, and two orders of garlic knots. We all chatted aimlessly until Mike suddenly shot a hand up and waved at someone across the dining room.
"Hey! Aaron!" Mike grinned at the fit, cute senior I recognized from my geography class. He was usually pretty quiet but ran with the circle of class clowns that always distracted the teacher, reserving his quips to witty one-liners.
Aaron smiled a million-watt grin as he walked over, stuffing a note pad and pen into his waist-apron pockets. "Hey guys! How's your weekend going?"
"Good, good," Mike leaned back in his chair. "We were just hiking a trail and were hungry after."
"Ah, worked up an appetite?" Aaron leaned on the table with his strong hands.
"Hardly," I accidentally sputtered out before looking up at Aly who was hiding a laugh from my disappointment in the 'hike'. Aaron's face had a comedic look to it. "I just mean, we really didn't get far."
"There's always one in every group that the rest have to drag out of the woods," Aaron grinned again. "I take it that's you, Valerie."
My face felt hot all of a sudden. I had never heard him say my name before. I was surprised he even knew it, even though the school was small. I didn't think he would care enough to remember. We had never really talked.
"When did you start working here?" Eric asked, which drew Aaron's gaze away from my flushed face and I was grateful.
"Oh, my uncle had a few employees that had moved on and he needed some help," he explained. So, his uncle owned the place, then. The other 20-something year-old waitress came by with our garlic knots. "I'll let you guys enjoy. When your pizzas are ready I'll bring them out."
"Trying to steal my tips?" the waitress teased playfully as she walked past from a different table.
"No, no," he followed after her. "I'll trade tables."
About 10 minutes later Aaron came out with a mushroom-sausage-basil pizza and a meat-lovers pizza, placing them in front of us with ease.
"Hey," he said as he wiped his hands, looking to all of us. "My parents are going out of town next weekend, so I'm thinking about having a Halloween party. You should all come." He gestured to Jacob and Embry. "You two don't go to Forks High, do you?"
"No, we're from the res," Jacob answered politely with a head bob.
"Well, you should come too if you're not doing anything," he offered kindly. "I promise I try to keep parties low key, but the same can't be said about my friends who bring in the bad behaviors."
Jacob laughed. "Okay, well thanks for the invite, man."
"No problem," Aaron waved as he walked away. "My shifts over, so I'll see you later. Thanks for stopping in."
A high school party… that could be interesting.
Authors Note: Happy Fall Ya'll! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and the attempt to bring some normalcy to Bella's life again. Some weird stuff coming in the next few chapters, but first a Halloween Party that seems more 'romance' than 'spooky'.