DISCLAIMER!
I do not own any rights to the beautiful world of Twilight other than my own original characters.
The beautiful world of Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer!
"Goodbye, Mrs. Little sea!"
Since it's nearing the end of the month, the business has been slow today. Mrs. Littlesea was my 15th customer so far, and we've been open for almost 8 hours. There is also the fact it is the end of January and people don't like to travel in the cold. Store hours are 7 am to 11 pm on Saturdays. Dad will be here shortly to relieve me. Dad hires people on and off as they need help. It's mainly teenagers and young adults who are on break from school. Currently, we only have Wendy on the payroll, and due to her being a widowed mother we allow her the opportunity to work during the week, during daycare hours. Her husband passed away last summer in a log truck accident. Very sad situation, she now has two children under the age of three to provide for. Thankfully, we as a tribe take care of our own.
Aunt Sue runs the tribal daycare. Mom and I help out when we're not working in the store. Helping out at the daycare has helped me to realize I am in no way ready for kids. They're snotty, whiny, demanding little humans. My planned career is to become an EMT. I came to this conclusion when I got to tour the Clallam County Ambulance Bay #3 located off of Highway 101 just north of Forks. The director explained the fast-paced adrenaline-inducing environment. A sit-down desk job doesn't appeal to me. I would rather be up running around helping people, than sitting behind a desk bored out of my mind. As well, the pay was a lot better than some waitressing jobs or fast food restaurants are paying. Dad and Mom are trying to convince me to go off to college. That's not going to happen. I don't have the brains like Crystal and Daniel, for one thing.
I'm flipping through a cosmopolitan when I hear the door alarm chime, alerting me to someone walking in the door. I look up hoping to see my Dad walking in, but am met with the one person I was dreading to see today.
"Leave." I glare menacingly at him.
"Come on! You're not being fair!" He has stopped in the middle of the aisle directly in front of me.
"I'm being perfectly fair! You were rude to me, saying mean things. I don't like you right now!" I glare at him.
"So? That means you won't hate me forever, right?" His sheepish look is cute and I almost faltered. Then I hear a horn honk. We both look out the window to see the old orange chevy parked in a parking spot. Of course, he had her bring him! The windshield of the truck is large enough I can make out her waving to Jacob to come outside.
"Your girlfriend wants you." Crossing my arms across my chest, I gesture with my chin towards the truck.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Yet."
"Just give me a second." He reaches the front door with his hands on the handle. "Please?"
I watch as he runs out to her side of the truck. They share a few words before she hands him something into his hands. He jogs back in the door. He walks back to the pop, grabbing two 12 packs of coke. Then makes it up to the register.
"She offered to get some soda while we're here." His voice sounds pathetic to me. Either I'm that mad, or he honestly sounds that pathetic.
"Don't care." my response is mute and to the point.
"Come on, Soph! I'm sorry! I tried apologizing on the phone and you wouldn't listen!
"I don't care to hear what you have to say." I finished ringing him up and handed him back his change. "There's your change sir. Have a great day!" I spit out 'great' through my clenched teeth. I turn around, leaning against the counter, and pick up my cosmopolitan starting from where I left off.
"Soph, I am sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said. I take it all back. Just please talk to me. Don't shut me out. Please?" He pulls at my heartstrings, but I know better than to just give in.
"You have shut me out for the last 2 weeks for some girl. I have been your best friend since we were in diapers. What happened to cradle to the grave, huh?" I don't bother looking over my shoulder at him, so I don't have to see his face.
"Sophia," I internally cringe. He never calls me by my first name. "You are my best friend, no one will ever replace you. If I knew you would behave, I would have you around when she's over at the house."
"If I behave!" Now he's done it. "I don't like you're precious Bella because she is only using you for whatever sick and twisted way to get over that boy leaving her last fall!" By the end of my rant, I have turned back around and my magazine is laid back down in front of me on the counter.
"That's not true." He's glaring at me, venomous would be a better way of describing it.
"Yes it is, you'll see Jake. She'll drop you like a hot potato when she's done with you, or if he somehow comes back."
"Screw you." He picks up his coke and change. Then struts off out the door. Only when the truck pulls away onto the road do I allow the tears to fall. The rest of my weekend passes uneventfully.
"Have you seen Embry today?" Quil asks, his mouth full of his chicken salad sandwich. We're sitting at lunch on Monday. Jacob is sitting on his other side. I have made good on avoiding him today, even if our lockers are beside each other.
"Nope. I hope he's okay. I know he wasn't feeling well Friday night."
"He wasn't feeling good Friday?" Jacob asks.
"Yep, Soph even walked him home." Quil offers. I absentmindedly nod my head in agreement.
"Oh. So that's why you walked by my house?" Jacob directs that question to me.
"Duh." I don't even put in the effort of being a smartass. I don't have the energy to pretend I care. I've resigned myself to the fact that Jacob likes other girls, specifically Bella Swan, and ill never amount to anything in his eyes.
"Yeah, Jake. Quit spending so much time with Bella. Come back to your real friends." Quil jokes.
"Careful, Quil. Next, he'll say you're being ridiculous." Neither gets the chance to say anything because I stand up to get to my next class.
The rest of the week passes by without incident. Jacob and I avoid speaking to each other and poor Quil is left in the middle of two bickering friends. We don't see or hear from Embry until he walks into school the following Monday. His looks have drastically changed since we last saw him. When I last saw him, he stood at 5'9" and was extremely lanky. Now he's every bit of 6'2" and built like a football player. That type of physical change doesn't happen that fast. There is no way. Before his disappearance, Embry's hair was longer. Although it was nowhere near the length of Jacob's, it fell just above his shoulders. Now his hair has been cropped short.
All-day he avoided everyone like the plague. Didn't stop the girls from gawking at him. I heard several of them whispering amongst each other. "Have you seen that Embry Call?" "Wow, that Embry Call is such a hunk." "Do you think he'll go out with me?" "I bet he's a stud in bed." All-day they talked about him. It was pathetic. These girls didn't know the first thing about Embry. He was such a sensitive boy and like a brother to me. Several times I attempted to corner him to talk. Each time he managed to dodge me. I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Embry and I both had gym class right before lunch. There weren't a lot of students in this period. I quickly changed into my gym clothes and perched myself right beside the boys' locker room door. Embry was always the last one in class because his class before this is in the farthest away building from the gymnasium. Once the last boy walked out of the locker room. I dove quickly in through the door. Finally! I caught Embry just before he had his shirt on. I didn't mean to stare, but he had some killer muscle definition now. I could see up close why the girls were swooning over him. That still doesn't explain the crazy growth spurt and desertion for the last week and a half. Hastily throwing on his shirt, he turned around to stare at me. I stood between the only exit and Embry.
"You're not supposed to be in here, Soph."
"That's beside the point, Embry. What's going on? Where have you been?"
"I've been around." He looks up to the ceiling not maintaining eye contact.
"You look different."
"Yeah, so? I'm a growing boy, of course, I'm going to look different at times." Smooth, Call, but that won't work on me.
"Growth spurts happen over months and years. Maybe even weeks in certain circumstances. Yours happened in just over a week. That's not normal, Embry."
"Who cares, Soph?" I'm aggravating him because his left eyebrow is twitching. It always twitches when I am upsetting him.
"I do." My response is timid and shy. I try not to resort to girly things, but it's become apparent that I have no choice. I allow my eyes to tear up just enough to make it appear that I'm about to cry.
"Oh no! Please don't cry, Soph!" I lay it on thick then, allowing a few tears to fall down my cheeks before I let out a god-awful strangulation type of sound and start balling for effect. No sooner do I start to wail, than scorching hot arms wrap around my shoulders, pulling me into an even hotter chest. I jump back in shock.
"Jesus, Embry! What the hell is wrong with you? You're burning up even worse than the last time I saw you." Abandoning the crying scheme, I glare him down until he finally speaks.
"I can't tell you. But, I'm okay," the way he says 'okay' tells me it's not okay. "Please stop fretting over me. I'll be fine."
"If you're fine. Why are you avoiding me and the others like the plague?"
"Sam says it's not safe." It's like a lightbulb turns on in my brain. Of course! Why didn't I think of that!
About a year and a half back, Sam Uley had vanished for 2-weeks. It was extremely odd, and heartbreaking for those who cared for and loved him. I would know because he was dating my cousin Leah Clearwater at the time. Thankfully, he did manage to come back unharmed. However, he was completely different. Before the disappearance, he was a decent tallboy, maybe 5'11, and extremely lanky. Upon his return, he was every bit 6'5" and built like a linebacker on a college football team. I remember a few days after Sam's return Dad being called into an emergency council meeting with Uncle Harry, Billy Black, and Old Quil. It wasn't long after Sam's disappearance that Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote disappeared. First Jared, then Paul. The same happened to all 3 boys, they disappeared and when they reappeared they looked astronomically different. Rapid growth spurt, athletically inclined bodies and each one's hair was drastically cut short.
"You're with Sam?"
"Well, yes..." Embry's avoiding eye contact again.
"What happened to us staying the hell away from them?"
"It's not what we thought it was!"
"Oh, and how is that?"
"Mr. Call! Ms. Clearwater! Would both of you like to explain why you are late to class? As well, why are you two together in the boys' locker room." Crap, there goes my chance of getting any further info. Thanks, Mr. Johnson. After a quick apology and brief explanation that I thought I heard someone choking so I ran into the locker room. We ran to the gymnasium for class. Embry agreed to the lie, not offering up that I cornered him.