this is me trying
chapter four: dinner
seth
I glance at my reflection in the mirror of my bathroom. I am dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt. Part of me wants to make sure I look good. Because deep down I still have a little crush on Tatum. She was my first crush and I don't know if you can get over your first crush.
There is a loud knock at the front door of my apartment. I flip the bathroom lights off and head toward the door. "Hey." I say as soon as I swing the front door open. It's Nessie, who is dressed in casual green dress and converse.
"Hey! Are you ready for dinner?" She chirps happily.
I step out of my apartment and close the door behind me. "Yeah." I mumble as I lock the door. I follow Nessie down the stairs out to the parking lot, where Jacob is sitting in the driver's seat of his red 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit with the windows down. "Hey, man." I greet as Nessie climbs over the passenger side seat and into the back.
"Hey, Seth." Jacob greets in return. I push the seat up and take a seat before Jacob pulls out of the parking spot. As Jacob drives to the Locklear household in Forks, Nessie chats about everything from how her family is doing up in Alaska to the wedding to the dinner tonight.
I listen as Nessie babbles on to Jacob and I as I watch the scenery outside the passenger side window. When we pull up to the Locklears' house, we all climb out of the car. I let Nessie and Jacob lead the way, Nessie with several pies in her hands.
They ring the doorbell and I can't help but get a little nervous as I think about Tatum possibly being inside of the house. My mind races with thoughts of what she may look like now, how she might act. I wonder how different she is. The front door opens to Lily Locklear who welcomes us in with a wide friendly smile. "Come in, dears." She calls out. "Wow, Nessie, you really outdid yourself. These pies look incredible. I wish we could skip dinner and go straight for the desert."
"Oh thank you, Lily." Renesmee says. "I tried a new recipe so I hope it's good. Although we are missing a pie, this one decided to eat it as a snack today." She nudges Jacob, who grins.
We walk into the house where I see my mom in the kitchen with Tessa, the oldest of the Locklear triplets. In the living room, I notice Ben Locklear lounging on the armchair, Charlie and a guy I've never seen before sitting on the couch, and Billy in his wheelchair. The guy must be Tessa's boyfriend, I conclude.
Jacob and I greet the men and introduce ourselves to Garrett, Tessa's boyfriend before we settle in. We can hear the ladies in the kitchen working on dinner from the couch as us guys watch some football game on TV. I hear the door in the foyer open and my heart pounds in my chest. I hear two pairs of footsteps coming toward the kitchen. I wait and watch the entrance of the kitchen, trying to see if it is Tatum and her boyfriend. But instead, I see Taylor and her boyfriend, Matt, who I had met at Cade's funeral a few years ago.
I sank into the couch a little more, disappointed that it was not Tatum. But also a little thankful since if it was Tatum, she would have had someone with her.
I wait on Tatum's arrival as I sit on the couch, pretending to pay attention to the game. I listen to Jacob talk to Charlie and his dad as my eyes keep darting into the kitchen to see if she is there. Lily eventually calls us for dinner and we begin to migrate to the dining room where a large table is set up for dinner.
We all begin taking seats as my mom and Lily continue to bring in food. I glance around the small dining room that is now packed with people. Nessie and Jacob are laughing quietly to each other beside me. Ben, Billy, and Charlie are chatting about some game that was on last night. And there are the triplets -well, just Taylor and Tessa- who are sitting beside their boyfriends. Tatum still hasn't shown up.
I can't help but stare at the empty seat set out for Tatum. Lily must have noticed the empty seat too because she speaks up. "I guess Tatum isn't going to make it tonight." She tries to smile but her voice is clearly saddened.
"I didn't think she would." Tessa grumbles under her breath as everyone begins to dig into the food displayed around the dinner table.
"I ran into her yesterday at the grocery store in Forks." My mom informs Lily as she serves herself some mashed potatoes. "She was so sweet just like always. I miss that girl." My mom adds. She passes the mash potatoes down to Nessie, who is sitting beside her.
"I actually had lunch with her today." Lily responds. "She said she was going to come tonight." She says shrugging. "I guess she is sleeping. The poor girl had bags under her eyes. I'm not sure if she has gotten much sleep lately."
"Well, it's her own fault." Tessa scolds her absent youngest sister. "She was the one who wanted to take off and travel the world. No one was forcing her."
Lily frowns at her oldest daughter and her aggression toward her youngest. "But she is back now, Tessa. And we need to make sure she feels welcome."
"I am really looking forward to getting to meet her." Nessie adds into the conversation that is slowly starting to become awkward due to the motherly scolding. "Jake and Seth have told me a lot about her. I have a feeling we are going to be good friends." Nessie smiles sweetly.
"I have no doubt you and Tatum will get along." My mom grins.
The conversation moves to a different topic: weddings. Leah's wedding and Nessie and Jake's wedding. I can see Lily peaking over to her two triplets and their significant others, almost as if she is hinting to her daughters' boyfriends to propose.
I guess the wedding talk is boring to the older men because they continue their discussion on sports. I zone out of all of the conversations at the table as I stare down at my food. I don't snap out of my trance until my plate is empty and Lily announces that it is time for desert. Nessie, my mom and Lily pass out the pie that Ness made to everyone who wants a piece. Nessie knowingly brings two pieces for Jake and I.
"Every time I see you two boys I swear you're more muscular and taller than the last time." Ben chuckles when he sees how fast we eat two pieces of pie.
Ben and Lily, having lived on the reservation their whole lives and being part of the tribal council, know all about the tribal histories, including the part about being shape-shifters. They know that Jake and I along with the rest of the pack are shape-shifters. They even knew that Cade had been a shape-shifter. But although the triplets have heard some of the Quileute legends, Ben and Lily have kept shape-shifting a secret.
After cleaning up and lots more conversation, people start to head out including Nessie, Jake and I. We make our rounds saying goodbye to the whole group. When we finally make it out to the car, Nessie speaks up. "I am sad Tatum wasn't able to make it tonight." Nessie chirps as she climbs into the backseat. "I was really looking forward to getting to meet her."
"You were just wanting to see if I would imprint on her." I hiss under my breath as I sit in the passenger seat.
"Careful." Jacob growls at me, telling me to watch my tone with his imprint.
It is quiet for a moment as Jacob starts up the car and begins driving down the road. "I'm sorry if you think my hopefulness about imprinting annoys you." Nessie whispers weakly from the backseat, breaking the silence within the car. "I-I… I just want you to find someone, Seth. I see that look in your eyes every time the other wolves are around their imprints. You want to find someone."
"I do." I admit.
"I really truly believe that you will." Nessie says. "I have enough hope for the two of us. But I will keep it to myself because I can sense that I am annoying you." I didn't want to tell her that she is correct; that she is annoying me with her pressure to find my imprint. I didn't want to hurt her feelings and I didn't want Jacob to rip my head off for hurting her feelings.
The rest of the drive to my apartment is quiet, only the soft tune of music from the radio. When Jake pulls into the parking lot of my apartment, I mutter quick goodbyes to both of them and thank them for the ride. I head up the stairs and walk into my apartment. I plop down on the couch and think about Nessie and her idea of imprinting. My thoughts wander from imprinting to Tatum as I think about her absence tonight at dinner. Then I think about the dinners we used to have when I was young.
When I was young, we would always have dinners at the Locklear house with the Blacks too. I would always fight to sit next to Tatum every time, even though most of the time Tatum wanted to sit with Leah, Rebecca Black, or Rachel Black. Tatum was always a chatterbox at the dinner table. She would babble about anything and everything which would make the adults smile. She was nothing like her two shy and quiet triplet sisters.
It's very funny as a little kid I didn't realize that Tatum didn't like me as much as I liked her. But I didn't care.
As I sit on the couch deep in thought, I can't help but worry about Tatum. What if something is wrong and that's why she didn't make it to dinner? My mind flashes to memories that I had of her when I was a child. She had seizures from a young age. I had never witnessed one but I heard Lily talking about it with my mother one time. My mind thinks of the worst.
I abruptly stand from the couch. I had to check on her. She could be in trouble.
I run out the front door, barely locking it behind me before I move out to the woods around the apartment building. I quickly strip my clothes off of me and tie them around my ankle. After stripping off my clothes, I phase. I hear thoughts swarming in my head as soon as I am in my wolf form. I begin running toward Cade's house when thoughts are directed toward me.
You aren't on patrol tonight. Jake states somewhat confusedly. What are you doing out?
Yeah, yeah, I know. I just thought I would get out and run off some steam for a bit. I lie before my thoughts of going to Cade's house to check up on Tatum flood into my brain.
Seth, I don't know why you try to lie, you are horrible. Brady chokes out a wolfy laugh.
Agreed. Jacob adds. Why are you checking up on Tatum anyway? I thought you didn't have a crush on her anymore? I can tell he is just teasing me. But I also know that he is genuinely curious for my sudden interest to check on her.
Who is Tatum? Is that the one chick who is living in Cade's house? Brady adds to the conversation.
I am just making sure she is okay. I respond, ignoring Brady. She didn't show up to dinner and all. Something could be wrong.
She probably just didn't want to come. Jacob tells me. Or she may be asleep like Lily had mentioned.
She has epilepsy, Jake. I just want to make sure she is okay. Once I hear that she is fine, I will go back home. I am not going to bother her. I'm trying to put my mind at ease. I respond.
Okay.
I arrive at Cade's house, where it appears all dark with not a single light on. I sit at the edge of the woods and listen carefully to the sounds inside of the house. Soft noise of heavy breathing can be heard and I feel myself let out a breath of relief. Tatum is okay.
See, she is fine. Jake assures me after listening to my thoughts. I don't understand why you are so worried about her all the sudden.
I don't say anything as I run back to my apartment. When I phase back and dress again, I can't help but think about what Jake had mentioned. Why did I care about Tatum so much all of the sudden? She has been gone for years and it seems like my childhood crush has reemerged.
I ascend the stairs toward my apartment before I unlock my apartment door. I get ready for bed as I keep wondering why I have been thinking about Tatum again. When I finally settle in bed, I come to the conclusion that I am thinking about Tatum just because I had a crush on her when I was young. That's it.
I don't have a crush on her anymore. I just think I do. The five year old in me just thinks I do. But once I see how much Tatum has really changed in the past few years since I have last seen her, I will realize that I don't like her anymore. And I can get back to my normal life.
On that note, I am finally able to close my eyes and fall asleep.
Short chapter for today. But I promises you the next chapter is the chapter you are waiting for (Seth and Tatum finally see each other).
xxM