XXXVI. A Good Dose of Vitamin Sea

"Isabella! You made it," Mike cheered, waving me over as soon as I'd hopped out of the truck.

"Hey," I said, pausing by the hood of my truck when he hurriedly jogged towards me. "Where's the fire?"

"With Jess and Angela," he hissed as soon as he reached my side. "They're still freaked out about what happened yesterday and want to bail."

"Oh. Right. I'll talk to them," I sighed, immediately understanding his urgency.

"Thanks," he grinned, and eagerly pushed me towards where the girls sat on the curb, behind Mike's parked car. We were early, the first to arrive.

"Jess, Ange, morning," I greeted them, trying to offer my best cheerful grin.

I was met with red-rimmed eyes, dim smiles, and quiet greetings.

"I like your hair," Jess added, eyeing the twin dutch braids framing my face.

Although Jessica would never know it, braiding my hair had been an accomplishment for me. It was hard, to gaze at the stranger in the mirror for longer than a couple of moments.

But time was making it easier. And even though the idea of completely forgetting what my own face looked like was frightening, I was beginning to understand Azmon's point of view.

Some things, were easier left forgotten.

"Thank you," I said, knowing there were no other words that could convey my appreciation for her compliment―not without jeopardizing the secrets I carried around like an anvil on my shoulders.

I crouched down to sit beside her on the curb and twirled one of the ends of my braids around my finger. "How are you guys holding up?"

"Not great," Angela admitted, curling her fingers into a fist and rubbing her eyes. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Me either," Jess agreed. "We killed a man. I'm not sure we can ever come back from that."

"Okay, I know yesterday was traumatic, particularly for you two, but you do realize you two didn't kill the guy?" I deadpanned. "Heart disease killed him."

"I know, but―"

"Angela, there are no 'buts.' None of us, not even Lauren, Mike, or Vincent, are to blame. Dr. Cullen himself told me that the man was a ticking time bomb. Mr. Brown refused to listen to the advice given to him by his care provider, and that is the reason why he is lounging down in the Forks Community Hospital morgue."

"He said that?" Jessica gaped.

I backpedaled. "Not in those exact words, no. He was a little more mindful about his language. I was just paraphrasing."

"Still, it was all pretty awful," Angela mumbled.

I shrugged. "Mike said you guys wanted to bail. If that's the case, I will too."

"What? No," Jessica gasped. "I really wanted you to go."

It was nice to see that she didn't immediately voice my aversion towards the ocean in front of Angela. Perhaps, she was learning some tact after all.

"We can go another day," I semi-lied. (There was really no telling how soon my clock would run out.) "I think it might be nice for you guys to get out for a little bit, but if you're not feeling up for it, I understand."

"You don't have to do that on our account," Angela mumbled.

I smiled. "It wouldn't be the same without you two."

"What up, bitches," Lauren called, strutting up towards us.

A glance around revealed that nearly everyone had arrived by now―Tyler, Eric, Conner, and Ben were gathered near Tyler's Sentra, while June, Ashley, and Jennifer were huddled not too far from us. And a couple of others were now pulling up in a minivan―Lee, Samantha, Austin, and Katie.

"Damn, why do you two look like shit?" Lauren wrinkled her nose, eyeing up Jess and Angela. At a glance towards me, she snickered, "Cute braids. Very Amanda Thripp."

I rolled my eyes. "She was my inspiration."

"Lor, how are you so composed?" Jessica demanded, pouting.

For a second, Lauren hesitated, before shrugging her off. "You heard the paramedics. The old man died of a heart attack. I don't see how that has anything to do with me."

"Damn Lor, that is bleak," Samantha snickered, joining our group. "Especially considering the rumors. One goes that you all tied Mr. Brown to his chair, and spun him around and around until he choked on his own puke and died."

Jessica pressed her face against her knees. "I am never ever spreading another rumor, ever again," she cried.

I gently patted her back. "That is what we call good character development."

She glanced up. "Huh?"

"Never mind."

"I'm definitely not going if people are going to be asking us questions about what happened," Angela said, looking a little green.

"What? You guys can't bail!" Lauren scowled. "Look, almost everyone here already blames me for what happened anyway. If anyone starts bugging you, I'll threaten to kill them too."

Angela grimaced. "Please don't do that."

"I'm the one who convinced Isabella to come, so I'm going," Jess decided with a determined set of her jaw. She turned to Angela. "You can borrow my car though, if you want to go home."

"I think that would be for the best," Angela agreed.

The strained look on her face kept the rest of our protests at bay.

"So! You girls ready to get going?" Mike joined us as Jess, Ange, and I climbed to our feet.

"I'm going to head home, actually," Angela said, retrieving Jessica's keys. "But thank you for inviting me, Mike."

"Uh, yeah, don't sweat it…"

We all hugged Angela goodbye, and I watched her trudge towards Jessica's car until she was intercepted by Ben. They exchanged a few, quiet words, but in the end, Ben let her go.

I wheezed when Jess abruptly elbowed me in the gut.

I glared at her. "Your elbows are sharp," I reminded her, rubbing the tender spot.

"If we're not allowed to look guilty," she said, "You're not allowed to either."

That's where you're wrong.

"You know," I said mildly, as we joined the line to pile into Mike's Suburban, "In a different world, we wouldn't have been in detention, and Angela would be coming with us."

Jessica shot me a strange look. "Sorry to break it to you, Isabella, but we live in one world. And this is it."

Her words were ominous, but rang with the unfortunate reality of what I already knew to be true.

Because Angela wasn't present, Jess and I weren't forced to share the front passenger seat. Instead, I sat directly behind Mike, right beside Samantha and Lauren.

I ignored them for the most part as they discussed their latest theories on Lost, knowing I'd be tempted to tell them not to waste their breath. Nothing they came up with would prepare them for the utter nonsense that was that show. Not that I could recall much, other than polar bears, smoke monsters, and time travel.

Instead, I tilted my gaze towards the open window, watching the dense, green forests flying by, suddenly trying not to regret my decision to come. There was no escaping it now.

Before long, we broke away from the thick canopy of the forest and towards the open coastline of First Beach.

Almost instantly, the powerful smell of sea salt invaded my nostrils and scraped along the back of my throat. I had to bite my tongue, before I retched over my lap.

I caught a glimpse of dark gray waters, before screwing my eyes shut. But it didn't keep the sounds of crashing waves from roaring in my ears; it didn't keep the cold, chilling darkness from seizing me and swallowing me in its gaping maw; it didn't keep the water from slamming into my mouth and flooding my lungs.

―dark, cold, wet, Ican'tbreathe―

"―sabella!"

I gasped, gulping air straight into my burning lungs.

Jessica sat beside me, expression twisted with fear. We were alone.

"Isabella, please," she begged me quietly, "Tell me how to help you."

I shook my head and mumbled, "Just…keep talking."

I didn't actually believe it would help me, but I didn't want Jessica panicking alongside me as I struggled to regain my breath.

But somehow…her slightly hysterical prattling kept me grounded.

"―and my mom is actually considering signing me up for therapy! Like, can you believe her? Sure, I'll carry the burden of what happened yesterday for the rest of my life, but therapy? Just because we were all a little spooked doesn't make me a headcase! And don't even get me started on my dad―"

I breathed shallowly through my mouth, trying to elude the strong briny sea smell swirling around us.

"…Are you feeling better now?"

I wiped away the tears clinging to my lashes.

"Yeah," I whispered hoarsely, gripping the handle and sliding the door open from my side of the car. I jumped out, boots hitting the wet pavement with a squelch.

"I'm sorry," Jess said, following me out. "When you said you had bad memories of the ocean, I didn't realize…"

"You didn't realize, because I didn't say anything to make you suspect otherwise," I shrugged, eyes straying towards the sky. Right now, it was the safest place to look at. Despite the sun's appearance, the sky was dim and offered no more warmth than usual. On the horizon, clouds threatened to encroach upon the weak sunlight.

"Still…you don't have to push yourself," Jess said, sliding the door shut.

I smiled. They were an echo of Edward's words.

"If I don't, who will?" I slung an arm around her shoulders in a brief hug. "Where's the rest of the Breakfast Club at?"

"Down this way," she said, briefly eyeing me with concern, before leading me away from the small lot. "No one noticed, by the way. That you were panicking. I told them you got car sick."

I grinned. "I knew I could count on you, Jessie."

Jessica grinned and we picked our way down to the beach until we reached a circle of driftwood logs arranged around a blazing bonfire. Although it was like none I'd seen before, with flickering colors ranging from sea green to blue to lavender.

"There you are," Mike called above the gush of voices and laughter, from the other side of the fire. "Here, I saved you guys a spot!"

"Thanks, Mike," I said, walking around the fire, careful not to trip over anyone's feet, and plopping down on the log.

Jess pecked him on the cheek, before dropping down beside me.

Mike sat on Jessica's other side. "Are you coming on the hiking trip with us?"

"You bet!" she grinned and turned to me. "What about you, Isabella?"

"Oh, no thanks, I'm better off down here," I said, recalling the tide pools.

I was barely holding it together with the brisk salty wind chafing the back of my throat and the sound of collapsing waves thundering against the shore behind me. I didn't doubt that I would utterly lose it if I found myself slipping and falling into the cold, merciless grip of the ocean.

"Are you sure?" Mike butted in. "Because―"

"It's okay, Mike," Jess waved him off. "I think Isabella is still feeling a bit nauseous."

"That's exactly it." It wasn't a lie.

"…You didn't throw up in my car, did you?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, Mike. I didn't."

"Oh, thank God. My mom would've killed me," he muttered, before jumping to his feet. "Alright everyone, we're going to hike up to the tide pools. Who's down?"

Most of the girls besides Jessica and Samantha decided to stay on the beach alongside me, while Tyler and Eric were the only guys to remain with us.

As soon as the hiking group disappeared, a few of the girls zeroed in on me.

"Isabella, we've yet to hear your version of yesterday's detention," June called from the log to my right.

"I'm not aiding and abetting any more of your conspiracy theories, June."

"Hey! This isn't even a conspiracy! These are cold, hard facts that I am investigating!"

"Yeah, right," Ashley snorted from beside her. "You're just trying to prove to everyone that Lauren practices witchcraft."

"Ashley, shut up!"

"Whoa, is that true, Lor?" Tyler wondered, sitting across the crackling fire from me, and looking to his on-again off-again girlfriend with concern.

Lauren grinned and leaned close to whisper something in his ear.

Tyler snickered.

"So, is it true, Isabella?" Jennifer smiled gleefully.

I sighed. "I will not confirm or deny."

June scowled and pointed a finger at me. "If you continue to hold out on me, you will regret it."

"You're insane."

"She is," Ashley agreed with me. "But harmless. Seriously, June. Cool it with the conspiracy theories."

June grumbled something inaudible, but didn't protest further.

"Hey, which CD should we listen to?" Lauren asked as she set up her little portable stereo.

Jennifer made her opinion known on every available choice, and in the end, Lauren quietly blasted Coldplay. Oddly enough, I appreciated it. The warmth of the fire combined with the music was a good distraction from the tide of water rushing close behind me. If I closed my eyes and focused on the music, it was almost bearable.

"Isabella!"

I startled, nearly toppling off the log when someone shouted my name across the stretch of shore.

"Friends of yours?" Lauren snorted.

"Yeah," I grinned, hopping to my feet and waving Leah and the guys over.

Quil was the first to reach me, sweeping me up into a bear hug.

"Quil, knock it off! You're crushing me!" I wheezed.

"Sorry!" He laughed, not sounding sorry at all.

I landed back on my feet with a small stumble, but Jacob grasped my elbow before I could dive headfirst into the fire.

"Careful there," he snickered.

I huffed and shook off his grip.

"That's my bad," Leah said. "I forgot to leash them before we left the house."

"Enough with the dog jokes, Leah," Jacob scowled at her. "They're getting old."

"Hi, Isabella," Embry piped up from behind them, appearing a little exasperated.

"Hey, Embry," I waved back and eyed the group with a curious smile.

Despite Jacob's annoyance, Leah already appeared at home with their group, using Embry as an armrest, and lightly kicking Quil aside before he could once again invade my personal space.

I couldn't imagine how that'd come about, but she seemed to fit right in.

"Isabella, won't you introduce us?" Lauren cut in, scanning the boys in particular.

"Um, sure," I said and shoved a thumb over my shoulder. "This is Leah, Quil, Jacob, and Embry." I then gestured towards my classmates. "That's June, Ashley, and Jennifer. Eric and Katie. And Tyler and Lauren."

Eric and Katie appeared pleasantly surprised to know that I knew who they were.

Leah waved and said, "Yeah, yeah. Hate to cut this nice, little integration, but we're actually here to kidnap Isabella."

"Wha―" I cut myself off with a shout of surprise when Quil suddenly hooked his arms under my own, and Jacob reached for my calves. In one fell swoop, the ground disappeared from under my feet.

"Put me down!" I demanded, as they ran and jostled me between their grips. For one long, terrifying second, I was afraid they were going to toss me against the face of the ocean.

Instead, we reached higher ground, where they slowed and gently set me down between the white roots of a driftwood tree. Jacob and Quil plopped down on either side of me, howling with laughter as they settled on the tree's jutting roots.

"That was so uncalled for," I scowled.

Jacob and Quil were still laughing, and they only paused long enough to high-five above me.

"Idiots," Leah rolled her eyes, as she and Embry caught up to us.

"You can say that again," I grumbled, pressing a hand against my heart, as though that would help calm its painful slams against my rib cage. The fear of suddenly being dumped into the cold, dark waters refused to leave me.

Embry dropped down beside Jacob, and Leah sat on the ground across from me, effectively closing the circle.

"So," I said, sitting up and glaring up at Jacob and Quil until they shut up. "What are your terms for releasing me?"

"Easy," Jacob cut in, laughter gone from his eyes. "You and Leah tell us the truth."

A/N: And here is the moment of truth! Tell me how you liked the chapter! :)