Chapter 15

It had been two weeks since I had seen Sam, and it had been even longer since I had gotten a full night of rest. I tossed and turned restlessly each night and my mind spun in all directions anytime I closed my eyes. I was exhausted and unable to keep myself upright half the time.

I stumbled my way to the restroom in the hotel and looked in the mirror. I was supposed to be meeting Charlie for lunch again, I had cancelled on him a few times in the last two weeks and I felt bad. I knew that I could not ditch again. If I went looking like this, I'd scare him. I combed my hair gingerly, trying to get the tangles out, but no matter how gentle I was, the comb would come back ensnared in my brown and suddenly brittle tresses.

I had been feeling tired for awhile now, but it was really just the last few weeks that my condition had worsened to this point. I took in my reflection some more, my eyes looked hallowed out and there were deep purple bags. I looked skinny. I'd always been naturally thin, but now I looked unnatural. I hadn't been able to keep anything down and I looked gangly and ill at this weight.

I checked my phone and realised that I was already running late, so I threw on an oversized hoodie, that now completely drowned my haggard form and put my hair into a bun and left to meet Charlie.

It was freezing cold outside, which didn't make any sense because when I checked the phone, it said it was supposed to be nearly seventy out today. I hugged my arms around my middle trying to trap any warmth my body was producing on its own.

Upon seeing me Charlie immediately pulled me into his arms.

"Jeez Bells, what's wrong?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.

I mumbled something about just being tired, but he looked incredulous, so I added that I haven't been feeling too hot.

"Well, I'd say."Charlie replied, his brow still furrowed in worry for me. "How long have you been feeling this way?" He asked.

I shrugged, then told him that it had been a few weeks now. He looked shocked, then grabbed me by the hand.

"You're going to come stay with me. Let's go pack your things." He demanded, leaving no room to argue. He started to lead me to his truck and held the passenger door open for me.

"I have most of my things at the new rental… I was going to move in soon." I said as an attempt to prevent him fussing over me this way.

"The rental can wait. Is there anything there that you need right away?" He asked. I shook my head no, then watched as the town slipped past on our way back to the motel to pick up my toiletries and other necessities.

It all happened very quickly, moving back into my old room in Charlie's house. I'd been back for a whole week and every day my condition grew more and more worrisome. Charlie was constantly fussing over me, he'd even taken off work for the last two days, which was very un-chief-of-police of him to do.

Currently I was laying on the couch covered in a thin sheen of a cold sweat. Charlie insisted that I looked green. I hadn't eaten in awhile, and he was trying to force me to eat some crackers, but they only made me more sick.

I was miserable. Everytime I shut my eyes to sleep the icy cold was invading me, my body would turn stone-like and a black wolf would be watching. He would be growling one second, then look to me whining in pain and worry. I knew now that the wolf was Sam. I couldn't keep him out of my thoughts long either.

When I wasn't dreaming of the horrific being I still could not place, I was dreaming of Sam. In those dreams sometimes we were doing something mundane, like washing dishes when suddenly he would growl and burst into a wolf. Then there were the other times when he was ripping off my clothes, licking the skin of my most intimate places, and dominating my body.

Those dreams were amazing, and certainly a reprieve from the nightmares, but unfortunately, they still left me unrested and dangerously exhausted.

I truly did miss being around Sam. I don't care that he is a mystical being, I wouldn't think of him any differently or tell anyone his secret. He made me feel better. His presence was calming and while we engaged in our… quality time, I had no need to stress over this part of my life. That said, I still needed to keep him away from me. I was no closer to figuring out what my nightmare's meant, and it scared me that Sam was present in all of them now. Like he was somehow involved and doomed to be entwined in my fate that these dreams predicted.

Suddenly my stomach turned in a way that was now familiar to me. I jumped… more so fell off the couch and stumbled my way to the bathroom. I almost didn't make it there in time for my guts to be spilled and my stomach to be emptied out. I hated vomiting. I always had, not that anyone really enjoys it, but it was disgusting and made my throat burn, so I really hated it.

Charlie heard the commotion and had rushed to find me sitting on the tiled bathroom floor. His brow furrowed and he wore a deep frown. I knew he was concerned about me. I wanted to pull this together for him, if not for myself. I could feel the will to get better slipping away from me.

Each day I got sicker and sicker and each day my mood became more depressed. I was unable to do anything and that set the pattern, maybe even a sense of learned helplessness had begun to form within me. I think it really stemmed from the fact that I still had no idea why I was sick.

"Ok Isabella… it's time to see a Dr." Charlie said sternly. Normally I would agree with him, however, I had already been to the Dr. twice since coming to stay with Charlie and each time they checked me for the flu, mono, strep throat, and nothing. I came back looking completely normal aside from becoming malnourished since I couldn't keep anything down.

"I know you've already been, but we have to do something. Look at you…" Charlie gestured towards me then pulled his dark brown hair through his fingers; a sign of stress. "Come on, let's get you up and dressed." He knelt down and extended his arms to me. I accepted his help and let him pull me up from my position on the floor.

It took me longer than I would care to admit, but I was eventually able to get a shower, brush my hair, and get some fresh clothing on. I made my way to the stairs, I could see Charlie waiting for me, perched on the recliner. That's when everything went black.

Everything was pitch dark. I was standing in a shroud of nothingness. I looked around me, searching for something in the abyss, willing my eyes to pick up on any inflections of light. I found none. I stretched my hands out in front of me and began to run. My mind was frantic, begging for something it could comprehend and latch onto.

Then I saw glowing green eyes, wolf eyes. My first thought was that it had to be Sam and I rushed towards them. It wasn't long though before my mind caught up to me and I remembered that Sam's eyes were brown. Now there seemed to be just a bit of light that illuminated where the wolf stood and I could see that he was a copper-brown colored wolf. I could also see that even sitting, his head stood taller than mine.

There was a huge lump in my throat as I peered at the creature. I felt like I recognized him somehow, almost like an instinctual familiarity between the two of us that I just couldn't place. I knew that most people would have run the opposite direction, but ever curious, and a little strange to be honest, I slowly stepped forward until I was close enough to touch him. But before I was able to do so, he suddenly turned tail and began to run away from me.

It didn't take but a second for me to get the feeling that he was not trying to get away from me, rather he wanted me to follow him, so I did just that. Somehow, wherever I was, I was able to keep up with the copper-wolf. I didn't get winded or tired at all and that was the first time that it occured to me that I might be dead, and this is some sort of afterlife.

The idea that this abyss was some type of afterlife was supported by the fact that as I ran, following the wolf in front of me, I was seeing objects floating around me. Each one seemed random, and was illuminated just enough for me to make out what it was. There was a shot glass, a pair of earbuds, an old photograph of a few tribesmen, a tennis ball, an old doll with a cracked face, and some sort of white fabric. As each object floated past, they became dimmer and dimmer and once I could spot no more items the wolf came to an abrupt halt.

In front of us, playing like a movie was the memory of Edward and I meeting for the very first time. I looked at the wolf and spoke for the first time…

"Ok. I've got some questions."

Author's note:

OK, so this chapter is crazy short and y'all waited so long for it... but writer's block is REAL. I am definitely less stuck than I was feeling before though, so I hope that y'all are gonna stick with me on this one and be ready for some new content :)

Happy reading!

-Dahlia