I stare up at my ceiling, mind blank, quiet music playing in the background. I want to relax, maybe get my work done. But after what I just saw it's impossible. I look out the window again, at my truck just sitting in the driveway. The truck Charlie and I left at the school when Edythe brought me home. My loud as a bomb truck.
There is absolutely no way Edythe could have gotten it here without me hearing it. Not a single way! That engine can be heard nationwide. I rub my eyes, blowing raspberries. The impossible dream is definitely reality. I have her own admission.
Edythe Cullen isn't human.
As soon as I get to school, people from Bio are making fainting comments. Even a handful of Freshman crack a joke in my direction. Jesse and Angel stand by my side during the class changes, glaring daggers at anyone who even snickers near us. That gives me a bit of a boost, and helps me get to Trig.
Then Jesse smiles at me, and I remember that I am trapped with him for half an hour. Heaven help me.
"So, what did you and Edythe talk about yesterday?" He asks, leaning closer during our free time. I tap my pencil against the paper, trying to figure out the formula used to create the way-too complicated graph in the book.
"Just to talk. We joked, we goofed, we talked about Bio class. Then we parted ways."
"You looked kinda annoyed, though."
"Yeah, she can do that sometimes," I click my tongue and turn the page. "But, so can all girls. All people. Besides, I rather enjoyed my time with her."
"Good point. God, this is all so weird. She's attached herself to you since the van incident. Before now she never sat with anyone but her family."
A family she isn't related to.
"I don't mind it. I uh... I like her, you know." Jesse leans in tighter, and I force a subject change. "Besides, you'd know all this if you talked to her more."
"What? Talk to Edythe Cullen? Why the hell would I do that?" I shrug.
"Beats watching her from the other side of the table. At least then you'd know something about her." He seems a little miffed at that. With a bounce of his dark curls, he suddenly decides his own class work was more important that whispering about Edythe with me. I feel a pang of guilt for dodging his questions like bullets, but there isn't much I can say without weirding him out. Or getting myself teased over a little crush.
Jesse chatters all the way to lunch, mentioning how good the weather is going to be this weekend and how he and Angel were talking about La Push. But then we enter the cafeteria, and he stops in place.
"Jess, you okay?"
"Look at our table... tables."
I hesitate, but I look. Erica, Angel, a handful of kids who sit too far away for me to remember their names, Edythe, and the other Cullens. Wait... the other Cullens?!
"There he is! Edythe, say hi!" Alex's voice cuts through the mundane chatter of the lunchroom. He's leaned over the table, flicking her forehead repeatedly, much to the amusement of Emma, who is either taking pictures or videoing it on her phone. I look at the space in front of Alex — none of the Cullens have food. Just massive, black water bottles.
Jesse drags me to get our lunches. By the time I get to my place beside Edythe, I think Alex has flicked a dent into her forehead. I glance at her face and have to choke down a snort. God, the amount of anger in those furrowed brows is almost tangible. She tilts her head up and grabs his wrist. Alex, to no one's surprise, giggles.
"Alex, I'm trying to focus here." Her eyes narrow for a second and then grow wide, a pink tinge kissing her cheeks. "... I swear to God, Alex..."
"Well, excuse me for thinking you should greet your friend, Edie!" He plops back in his seat, adjusting his empty-framed glasses and wagging a brow.
"Don't worry about it," Jesse pipes up, his eyes locked on Alex. "We're used to Edythe being the silent judge of the lunch table."
"Pfft, silent judge... I like the sound of that." Edythe snorts, giving Jesse a nod of approval. "Most accurate nickname I've had in a while."
"Oh, come on," everyone turns to Emma, "Cougar is tough as Hell!" Jasmine is struggling not to laugh, her shoulders hopping quickly.
"The connotation of such a nickname is shameful, Emma, and you know it."
During the rest of the period, the only Cullens who don't somehow include themselves in conversation are Edythe and Roland. Now Edythe I'm used to, but Roland... something about the way he continually watched me. It isn't angry or with hate; it was... almost curious. Like he's waiting for something to happen, and that I'll cause it.
Do they know that I know? And if they do, are they expecting me to drop the bomb at any second? Well, this is one time I am glad to disappoint.
Charlie takes us to a small diner to eat, her smile a little too wide for her normal self. As we eat, her foot taps at 100 miles-per-hour, and she keeps checking the neon clock on the wall every ten seconds. It's enough to drive the waiter crazy. I wonder, with a mouth full of mac-n-cheese, just what has got her on such an edge. Heh, maybe she's figuring out how to punish me for the detention I had. Half-way done with her burger, Charlie speaks.
"Clarice Cullen called me earlier. Said that her kids have pretty well fallen in love with you."
"I... what?"
"Well, that's how I took it, anyway." She shrugs before continuing. "It took Edythe forever to convince them to sit at your table, apparently. I know neither of you are very social, but according to Alex — who is very loud and loves interrupting Clarice's phone calls — he, Jasmine, and even Emma are just crazy about you and your group of friends as his aunt is. Well, maybe not quite as much as Edythe."
"Oh, wow."
"What got me was that Roland spoke up in your favor. Every time I've gotten near that boy, he clams up and closes himself off... I don't know if he's shy or anxious or if... if something happened to him, but from Clarice's surprised reaction, you must've done something spectacular."
The only thing I can remember doing was eating my tater tots and not speaking very much. I guess that's a good thing in the mind of Roland Hale. Maybe Monday will clear things up.
"I remember when the family first moved here. The eldest girl, Jasmine, spent most of her free time volunteering with me at the middle and elementary schools. Jasmine has this strange way with kids — keeps them quiet and awake through everything." That's odd. I remember how I was at that age. Puberty was hell, and so was being around hormonal tweens. Growing bodies and changes in sleep needs meant everyone was napping during and between classes, especially at lunch. It's a part of development. Never once was anyone fully awake and focused.
I wonder how she does that.
"And as for your uh... sleeping in class." I knew she wouldn't forget. "Strike two, young man. Anymore detentions and you lose, uh... your cell. Wait... shit, you need that when you're at school... and for Rene... and I can't take your computer, you definitely need that for school."
"Compromise — you ground me from going to La Push tomorrow with my friends." I hold my hands up in offering. "Seems like a fair trade to me. And that way I can give them a reason for not going."
"... you realize it isn't a punishment if you didn't want to go anyway, Bo boy." She smirks and wags her fork at me. "Just for that, you've got no choice but to go to La Push now. If I catch you at home before sundown, I'll ground you to the living room for a week."
"I walked right into that one, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did."
I want to sleep in today. I don't have to meet Angel at the school until two, and since I've got no choice but to go, having some extended alone time will give me the energy I need to survive. But an unusual brightness prevents any sleep. I glare at my window to see light streaming through.
Without thought, I run to the window and gape at the clear, blue sky. At the warm, welcoming sun. It seems strangely lower in the sky than in Phoenix. But it's there! I whoop and cling to the windowsill. I don't want to leave, for fear of the golden ball vanishing forever, but Mother Nature has other plans, and I have to run to the single bathroom before Charlie does. Miraculously, I beat her there, but only by a second. Pretty sure I just knocked her over... heh, oops.
The warmth that fills my cheeks through the Thing's windshield sends me to Rene's backyard, just lying in the grass and watching the clouds go by.
Next to Angel's little car is Taylor's newly fixed van. Watching everyone just hanging around it, I get the uncomfortable feeling that we're going to carpool. But then I notice a couple more girls running over with surfboards under their arms, and a bit of hope creeps in. Definitely too many people to cram in there safely. I park beside Angel and step out.
"Beau, hey!" Angel hugs me tight. "I'm so glad you could make it. You and Jess are gonna be riding with me, okay? The girls are taking Taylor's van."
"Sounds perfect," I say with relief, brushing off my shirt. Angel's eyes flick over me, looking strangely confused. "What, do I have a stain?"
"No, it's not that. I just figured you'd come in shorts or something. A torn up band shirt and some jeans are hardly beach clothes."
"You have your beach wardrobe, and I have mine." He laughs, waving Jesse over from the van.
"Fair enough. C'mon, let's get a head start. These dunces are spending an eternity eating Taylor's Twizzler stash."
I slide into the backseat, content to stare out the window while Angel drives. It's about a fifteen-minute ride, but with the gorgeous forest enveloping and the Quillayute River snaking under us, it feels like an eternity.
An eternity I don't want to end. We pass the sign to La Push and a handful of memories flood back to me. Splashing along the shoreline, watching Billie make a canoe by hand, watching the other kids play out the Quileute legends just for fun... God, I've missed this place.
Once we shift into park, the boys bolt toward the ocean, shouting and laughing right before two big splashes hit my ears. I look along the crescent sandbar, watching the girls start a little base camp close to where Angel has poured water on Jesse's head. Even in the sunlight, the water is a muddled gray, foam-capped and heaving on the rocky shore. In the distance, islands reach for the stars, breaking up the gray sky with dark shocks of their fir claws.
Along the thin sand border, toward the water's edge, smooth stones in vast colors stretch the entire beach, quickly becoming the background of too many selfies and gasps of awe. I narrow my eyes at the people who are disobeying the tribe's wishes for La Push not to be photographed, and they nervously skitter away. One and only benefit of being a freak.
I walk along the stones, watching the seafoam green and robin's egg blue marble in with bone white and terracotta, my red shoes cutting through the earthen colors like a knife. All around I can see driftwood trees, some in piles and some by their lonesome, no doubt thousands of years old, that now call First Beach their last resting place.
I spot a cluster of clouds eerily creeping in from the west, but at this point I don't think even a thunderstorm could pull me away
Erica waves me over, pointing the little pyramid of driftwood sticks she and a couple others made in a small, portable fire pit. I walk over, catching her little giggles and excitement from ten feet away. She whistles to Taylor, who tosses her one of those long-nosed lighters. His ease catching it is impressive.
"Quick question; you ever seen a driftwood flame?"
"I don't think so. Ma would always get wood from the Blacks when we came here, and they got it from the forest."
"Then you're gonna love this!" She ignites the lighter and sets the newspaper on the wood aflame. A few seconds of weak crackles and the fire builds into something unexpected. I sit on a pulled over stone and stare at it, my mouth hanging open.
"It's purple! Is that from the sea salt?"
"Yeah, it is. Pretty, ain't it?" She lights one more piece, placing it where the fire hadn't yet caught, and then sits by me. "I uh... got a call from Michelle. You probably noticed she hasn't been around lately."
"I have, but I didn't want to mention it for —" we both glance at Jesse, who is sitting with the waves gently splashing his feet "— reasons. What did she have to say?"
"Well... she got uncomfortable when Edythe came to our table, but was going to let it go so she could keep talking to you." She lets out a strained chuckle, shrugging, "She hasn't shown interest in any boys at our school, but then you catch her eye, and you shut her down."
"Wait, so she blames me for her not sitting with us?"
"You, and Edythe, and Jesse. Mostly the last two, since she seems to think they turned you against her." Erica shakes her head, eyes scrunched together. "Which, in my opinion, is utter bullshit. I'm sure she'll come around as soon as the salt runs out."
"Maybe. Though it'd be at a cost to her. For being such an ass, she's going to owe us all some pizza." We laugh for a minute, but it's not cheerful. I feel scummy. If it weren't for me, Michelle would still be in her friend group, and Edythe wouldn't be more needlessly disposed.
After a few minutes roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories, a group of Quileute teens burst out of the surrounding forest, laughing and pushing each other playfully. Four girls wave over to us, settling around our fire before most of us get the chance to speak.
I cling to Angel, to his calm aura and preference for silence. We all eat, listen to the chatter, but I find myself comfortably lost in thought. Everything feels disjointed here. Like time is taking snapshots that come out either crystal clear or completely blurred. Single, Polaroid images etch into my brain. Like when Jacob Black removes his hood and sits beside Angel and me.
"I figured you'd call before dropping in on me, Beau."
"I figured you'd have more common sense than that, Jake." He feints a shot to the heart.
"Touché! So, how you liking the beach? Been a while since you've been here, hasn't it?"
"Feels like ages, but it's barely changed. Except maybe the driftwood. That always changes."
"So has the ocean, Beau." Jacob points out to the water, his bracelets making soft clicks. "You never see the same ocean, and you never see the same people."
"What, did your mom teach you how to be cryptic when she helped you master the man-bun?" I reach up and flick his poorly constructed knot of hair on his head. Jacob bats my hand away, sticking his tongue out.
"It's a topknot!" His friends cackle, pointing at him and falling over dramatically on the sand. "Go to hell, you two."
"Speaking of pairs, did your brothers come with you?" My memories of them revolve around SpongeBob and G. I. Joe fights. And even mild torture of said soldiers.
"Nah," Jacob shakes his head, scratching the back of her neck. "Rufus got a scholarship to Washington State, and Raphael married a Samoan surfer. He's holed up in Hawai'i with her now."
"Oh, wow. Married..." Jeez... Raphael's my age, and he's already married? Man, I'm far behind some of the other guys. Though, he's probably been talking to the surfer girl for a while... wonder if Edythe's thought of marriage yet.
"So, uh ... how do you like the truck?"
"I fucking love it! The Thing is awesome, it runs fantastic, and so smooth."
"Yeah, my only issue was how slow it is," he laughs. "I'm was so relieved when Charlie bought it. Mom wouldn't let me work on another vehicle with, what, The Thing, sitting in our yard."
"Oh, cut it some slack, it's not that slow."
"Have you tried to go over sixty?"
"Well, no, but I haven't needed to."
"Good. Don't get into any races."
I snort, flicking his ear lightly. "Smartass. But hey, it does great in a collision," I hold a finger up, Jacob nodding.
"You got me there. I don't think a tank could take out that old monster, though. Maybe Superman or the Hulk." We laugh so hard we need a moment to catch our breath, the two girls from across the way looking over with pleased smiles. I guess Jacob isn't normally so social, or maybe to them his wrinkled nose and wide smile is cute. I'll never know, to me, he's already the little brother I've always wanted.
"So, you build cars?"
"When I have free time. And parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" he adds jokingly. I fake thinking, tapping my chin and letting out a little 'hum' of consideration.
"I don't even know what that is, but I'll keep an eye out anyway." He flashes a sweet, appreciative smile that is growing on me. It amazes me how easy it is to talk to him. I'm getting a slight sense of déjà vu. Though ... heh, at least it's just casual, and less butterfly-driven word vomit like with...
"You two know each other?" Angel asks, marshmallow fluff stuck to one of his cheeks. Jacob smiles, handing Angel a handkerchief from his pocket. "Oh, thank you."
"We've sort of known each other since I was born. He visited my house a lot during his younger years."
"Aww, how cute!" I roll my eyes, but don't force down the smile that his little giggles bring. After a second, he collects herself and gestures to the girls beside him. "I was just saying to Taylor that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone invite them?"
"You mean Dr. Clarice Cullen's family?" the tallest of the Quileute girls asks, looking a little tense. Jacob sighs softly, muttering under his breath. I don't like this.
"Uh-huh, they're good friends of ours. Well, Edythe is, the others have kinda migrated over." The girl shakes her head, eyes serious.
"The Cullens don't come here," she says in a tone that closed the subject. Then she clears her throat. "At least, not without reason." Angel pales and nods, turning his attention to Taylor and Erica. I stare at the girl, uneasy with confusion. She looks away from us, toward the forest across the way. The way she said that... it's like they aren't allowed to come here. Holy shit, do the Quileute know?
"Forks driving you insane yet?" Jacob asks, almost glaring at his friends. His expression changes to happiness when he turns to me.
"Oh, I'd say that's an understatement." He grins understandingly. The girl's statement is still driving me crazy. I consider just asking outright what she meant by that, but my gut says that it is a bad move. Jacob lays his hand on my shoulder, opening up an opportunity.
"Do you want to walk down the beach with me?" He asks, nodding over to the shore. "I need to stretch my legs." We spring up without speaking, hands deep in our pockets.
As we walk north, across the multihued stones toward the driftwood wall, the clouds finally close ranks across the sky, causing the sea to darken and the temperature to drop. My first wish is for the sun to return. My second is for Jacob to explain what the deal with the Cullens is.
"So, you're, what, sixteen?" He asks, kicking a stone toward the water. It skips a couple feet, making us both freeze for a moment. "Holy shit, that was awesome."
"That it was. And no. I'm 18, way older than you."
"Wait, seriously? No way! I always thought you were closer to my age than Raph's."
"I'm short for my age."
"Oh ha-ha, very funny. I've seen Ents shorter than you!"
"I will kick you, and it will hurt."
"Okay, I'll retreat... I'm sorry about Sam. She's a little," he wiggles his hand, "meh when it comes to the Cullen family. I mean, she's right, they aren't supposed to come on Quileute land, but I think everyone blows it out of proportion."
"Why not?" I prod, leaning in. He looks down at me and backs away a little.
"I'm really not supposed to talk about that..."
"You've been talking about it. And hey, cross my heart, I won't tell a soul." Jacob looks toward the group by the fire. He huffs and nods, lowering his voice.
"Do you like scary stories?" he asks ominously.
"I love them," I answer, with barely a lie to be detected.
Jacob strolls to a nearby driftwood tree that has its roots sticking out like the pale legs of a giant, dead spider. He perches on one of the twisted roots while I sit beneath him on the body of the tree. He stares down at the rocks, a smile hovering around the edges of his lips. Right away I can tell that he wants to set the mood for this. What. A. Dork.
"Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from — the Quileute, I mean?" she starts. I think for a moment, faintly recalling a carving Billie showed me when telling the origin of the Quileute.
"I think Billie mentioned wolves."
"You're on the right track," he teases. "There are lots of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Great Flood. The ancient Quileute tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive, like Noah and the ark for a quick comparison." He's smile grows, his face and voice showing his love for the tale he's weaving. "Another claims we descended directly from wolves — and that the wolves are our brothers still.
"But all the same, we have our enemies," his voice drops even further.
"Like?"
"The natural enemies of what you would call the werewolf. And there is only one creature that the werewolf despises even more than itself."
"Did you just say werewolf? As in 'becomes a wolf every full moon' werewolf?" I have to look panicked at this point, my eyes wide. Oh, no... oh noooooo. Don't you fucking say it, Jacob. I don't think I can take that.
"Supposedly. Now, I'm not saying we can turn into werewolves or just plain wolves or anything like that," he waves his hands in front of his face, dismissing the ridiculous idea, "but what I do know is the wolf population of La Push has never harmed our homes, businesses, or people. At least in my lifetime. I cannot, however, confirm or deny the uh ... werewolf angle. What I can say is that this is where the Cullen family comes in."
Jacob jumps down, sitting beside me. "See, when my great-grandfather was the chief, he would tell my mom of the Enemy of the Wolf, and how a pair of them once terrorized our reservation when he was a kid. When he was an adult, more showing up was enough to put the entire nation on edge. But according to him, this group was different. They would feed on the animals of the forest rather than the more convenient humans of both the tribe and the nearby colonies."
This sounds too familiar, like a horror movie trope gone wrong... I've got mixed feelings about this.
"Because there is always a risk, though, they made a pact with him. Until the end of time, they would stay off all Quileute land, promise to keep our members protected, and make sure that no fights would occur without provocation."
"So... the Cullens are related to these ancient enemies of the werewolf?"
He shakes his head. "See, that's where I got confused too. They aren't descended or related to them. They are the same people."
"Christ, that'd be impossible. That's got to be at least a hundred years. But then again," Edythe's words return to me, and it comes out in a humorous trill before I can stop it, "they aren't human."
"Heh, what? Wait, do ... Beau, what do you know?" Jacob's voice is devoid of fun, his dark eyes wide and locked on me. "What—?"
"Is there any more to the story?" I interrupt, leaning in a little closer. "Please, Jake."
"Uh, y-yeah, a little. There are more of them now," he says, his voice cracking from tension, "a pair that appeared one day. But the rest are the same. My great-grandfather said their leader was Clarice, and that she was the one who helped create the treaty. She'd been here and gone before the colonizers stole our lands."
"And the Enemy of the Wolf ... what are they?"
"Isn't it obvious? Leeches, blood drinkers."
"Vampires." We say in unison. His expression shifts significantly, and I feel that I've perhaps made a bit of a mistake with this. Jacob's eyes narrow, and he slowly breathes in.
"You know, don't you? About them. About what they are." He chuckles, but there is no humor. Not in his laugh. Not in his face. We sit in silence for a moment before something pops up behind Jacob's eyes. "... was it weird? It was for me. Knowing that my babysitter was a blood drinker. Learning that the doctor that comes in to check on our clinic is older than this country. Finally understanding why they vanished when I was a kid. And then popped back up a couple years ago – unchanged. You never get used to it."
I stay silent. Jacob sighs.
"Well, I better get going. Your friends are yelling for you over there." He stands and squeezes my shoulder. "Whatever you've gotten into, stay safe, Beau."
"I will be, Jake. I love you, man."
"I love you too, Beau." He embraces me briefly, squeezing tight. Finally, someone who understands.
I pull up my hood and I tramp across the rocks toward the parking lot. A few drops fall, making black spots on the stone where they land. I crawl into Jesse's back seat, laying across it like a tired cat. Angel and Jesse chatter in the front seat, taking a picture of me when they figure I'm asleep. I slide my earbuds in, figuring the ride home is going to feel ten times longer than it really is. I take in a breath, and say it aloud for the first time.
"Edythe Cullen is a vampire."