this is me trying
chapter nine: glowing red eyes
tatum
I brush my fingers through my straightened hair one last time in the mirror before I run out of the front door. Nessie is perched in the driver's seat of a sleek white BMW convertible. "Woah. This car is so nice." I say as I climb into the passenger seat. I instantly notice the absence of Vanessa.
"Vanessa got caught up with work." Nessie answers my unspoken question. "But we will still have a great time!" She says enthusiastically with a beaming white teeth smile.
Nessie chats cheerfully throughout the hour long ride to Port Angeles about nearly everything. Jacob. Her upcoming wedding. Her family, that I can tell she cherishes very much. Seth, who I can tell is one of her best friends. But it isn't all about her, she questions me about my life too.
Ness asks about my sisters and what it was like growing up as a triplet. She was fascinated about having a sibling since she is an only child. She also asks about my trip abroad and where I had gone. She gushes over the locations as I speak about where I had been and what I had done.
I couldn't help but really enjoy talking to her. Like Seth had explained a few nights ago on the beach, she was very over the top but she was so bubbly and warm hearted. Renesmee was an instant friend to me even though she didn't know me well. And I really value her welcoming me back into La Push.
Nearly an hour on the dot, Nessie parks her car in the parking lot of the Port Angeles mall. "Now, this place doesn't really have a whole lot of stores but hey, I'm sure we will be able to find some cute things." Nessie says as she pops the seat belt buckle off. We both get out of the car and head into the entrance of the small shopping center. It had been years since I had last been here and it's just as small as I can remember it being. "Let's head into this story." She says pointing to some small boutique.
Nessie immediately begins forming two piles of clothes in the chairs in front of the fitting rooms for us. It's a worldwind shopping with Ness. She made it seem like shopping was an olympic sport.
"Ooh this would look so cute for when we go hiking!" Nessie chirps as she holds up a scarf.
I nod my head with a small smile on my lips. "Oh, are we still planning on a hiking trip?" I question. I know Seth and I had discussed it a couple of days ago but I didn't know this was still a thing.
"Oh, yes!" Nessie says cheerfully. "The group and I are trying to plan the best weekend. Hopefully, it will warm up sometime soon. But we are thinking within the next few weekends or so." She answers.
It isn't long before Nessie has accumulated a pile of clothes at the cash register while I had only found a cute sweater. We check out at the register before going to another store. Four stores and many shopping bags later, I am already exhausted and I can tell Nessie has hardly made a dent in her shopping plans.
But thankfully, I receive a phone call at our seventh store we visit. I recognize the area code to be around here and I pray that it is a call regarding a job that I had applied for a few days ago. "Hey, Ness. I am going to step out and answer this call." I say as I motion to my phone. Ness nods her head as I step outside.
"Hi, this is Tatum." I answer as soon as I step out of the doors of the store.
"Hi, Tatum. This is Linda Barkley with the Women's Crisis Center in Forks." The friendly voice says through the phone. "We saw that you applied for the call center job here and we just wanted to see when is the earliest you could start."
My shoulders straighten up with a little bit of excitement. This was one of the jobs that I wanted the most. "I could start as early as tomorrow." I say enthusiastically.
"Fantastic." The woman responds. "If you want to come in tomorrow morning at nine, we can discuss hours, pay, and training before filing some paperwork. Hopefully by Thursday we can have you training."
"That sounds perfect." I say with a smile taking over my face. "I will see you tomorrow morning then."
"Please bring your driver's license and social security card for paperwork. And I look forward to seeing you tomorrow." She says before saying her goodbyes.
The excitement radiates off of me as I hang up the call. I have a job! I walk back into the store with a little more pep in my step. "Hey, is everything alright?" Nessie asks, looking up from the clothing rack.
"Yes, it was actually a call from one of the jobs I applied for. They want me to start tomorrow." I announce, unable to hide the happiness to be certain that I will be staying in La Push a little longer. It's weird to think that years ago I wanted nothing more than to get out of here.
A wide, pearly white grin takes over Nessie's face before she wraps me up in a hug. "I am so excited for you." She says. "I'm sure your family is going to be so glad that you are here to stay."
I instantly think to my mom, who had gone from place to place with me trying to get me a job. I should call her to tell her the news. "Speaking of, I should probably call my mom." I say, looking down at my phone to check the time. "I need to use the bathroom too, so I will just call her on my way to the restroom. Should I meet you back here?"
"I will actually just meet you at the Lily's Boutique a few stores down. I don't think I will be here too much longer." She responds.
I head out of the store and dial my mom's number. I search for the closest bathroom as I listen to the soft sounds of ringing in my ear. "Hello?" I hear my mom's voice answer.
"Hi, ma." I greet her.
"Hey, sweetheart. How are you?"
"I'm good. I am actually out with Nessie shopping in Port Angeles." I respond.
"Oh, that's nice!" She chirps happily. "I knew the two of you would just get along great."
"Yeah." I say, agreeing. "But that's not why I'm calling, I was calling to tell you that I got the job at the Women's Crisis Center. They want me to start tomorrow."
My mom gasps audibly on the other side of the phone. "Oh, Tatum! That is perfect!"
"I know, it's exactly what I wanted." I confirm.
"That means you will get to stay here longer." She says, satisfied.
I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, it looks like I will be here for a little bit longer." I finally stumble upon the restrooms. "Okay, well I have to go, ma. But I just wanted to tell you the good news." I say.
"That's the best news." My mom confirms. "I'm so glad to hear about it. Thank you for calling. And you have a good rest of your shopping trip with Nessie. Stay safe, sweetheart. Love you."
"I will." I promise her. "Love you." I say before hanging up the phone.
I enter the bathroom and instantly get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. It feels like someone was watching me. Being paranoid, I look behind me to see I am the only one walking in. I take a walk down the line of stalls to see no one is in the stalls. "You are just being paranoid." I whisper to myself.
And just as I turn around to enter one of the first stalls, I nearly jump out of my skin. There is a guy standing behind me. He has dark brown curly hair, pale white skin, and glowing red eyes.
"Well, darling. It doesn't appear you were being paranoid at all." He sneers at me with glistening white teeth. I quickly take a step back in fear but he mirrors me and takes a step forward. "No, no. Don't worry. I will be sure to make it very fast. You will barely feel a thing."
I take many more steps back until I have been back up into the far wall of the bathroom. He leans forward and I get a whiff of a sickening sweet smell as he brushes my hair away from my neck. "Please, don't hurt me."
He chuckles. "I already promised you to make it fast… But I think I'm going to take it back." He leans forward and presses his pale red lips to my neck. I try again to pull away, but being pressed up to the bathroom wall, I have nowhere to move. "You smell… Delicious." He whispers so quietly that I almost don't hear him.
I close my eyes and pray that I am just living in a nightmare. There is no way this is happening to me.
"Tatum!" I hear Nessie's voice call out as she enters the bathroom. I open my eyes and the red-eyed guy has completely disappeared. "Are you okay?" She asks as she sees that I am visibly shaken up. I ignore her question and immediately start pushing the bathroom stall doors open to make sure the red eye monster is gone. "Tatum." Nessie asks worried, pulling on my arm to get me to stop moving.
Tears well up in my eyes as I look at my new friend. "I-I…" I whisper before shaking my head. "You are going to think I'm crazy… But this guy… He was in here and his eyes were r-red." My voice trembles and I comb my shaky fingers through my hair nervously. "We have to leave."
Nessie nods her head, understandingly.
"You think I'm crazy." I murmur as a tear falls from my eye.
"No, no. I believe you." Nessie assures me as she wraps an arm around me, guiding me out of the restroom. "What did you say he looked like?" She questions.
"He had curly hair." I begin. "It was dark brown curly hair… and his skin… it was so pale. I think he was on drugs or something. And his eyes were glowing red." I couldn't shake the feeling that he was still watching me even though I had left the bathroom and was now with Nessie. I nervously keep looking around the mall, thinking I might see his red eyes watching me.
"What was he doing?" Nessie asks. "Did he say something to you?"
My mind flashes to the scene, replaying it all over again. A shiver runs down my spine. "He backed me into the wall and said he was going to make sure it was fast… and that I smelt delicious." I nearly throw up when I repeat the word delicious. Had this guy been some kind of cannibal serial killer?
"That sounds so scary." Nessie agrees. "I am going to call Jacob. I am worried this guy could follow us home."
I nod my head. "We should call the police too." I agree.
"My grandfather works for the police in Forks. I will call and have him send in a report to Port Angeles." She says as she dials what I assume is her fiancé's number. I keep looking around nervously as Nessie relays what had just happened to Jake on the phone. My hands cannot stop shaking and my heart is still racing.
Had I just narrowly escaped death? I can't even begin to think what would have happened to me if Nessie hadn't shown up. There was no way I was going to be able to fight off that guy. My only other hope would have been someone else showing up to the bathroom. But on a slow Tuesday afternoon, I doubt that would have happened.
"Jake and Seth are heading to Port Angeles as we speak." Nessie says as soon as she gets off the phone. "Jake told me to take you somewhere public. A restaurant. No one is going to attack in broad daylight in front of people."
I want to argue with her and tell her I just want to go home. But I also think about what she had said before. This guy could follow us home. And I lived all alone in Cade's house. He could easily make an attack. So, I nod my head despite my urge to go home.
Nessie finds a restaurant within the mall that we are able to sit at while we wait for the guys to show up in Forks. By the time we get our food served, the two Quileute men come strolling through the doors of the burger joint.
As soon as my eyes meet the dark chocolate brown eyes of Seth, the feeling of being watched washes away. Oddly I feel safe in the presence of my family friend. Maybe he could fight this cannibal serial killer off. "Hey." Jake says as he slides into the booth with his fiancee. Seth slides into my booth and his close presence is even more comforting. I have an urge to lean into his side and allow him to protect me from the world.
"Thank God you guys are here." Nessie chirps. "We had quite the scare." I watch as she looks to her fiancé and it's as if they are talking with just their eyes.
"Don't worry, I was on the phone with Charlie on the way here." Seth says. "He is contacting the Port Angeles PD as we speak to let them know about this incident."
Jacob pulls out cash and places it on the table to pay for our food that we had ordered before they arrived. Renesmee and I haven't even touched our food. But it is obvious that we aren't going to eat. The guys stand up from the booth and Nessie and I follow their lead.
Our walk out to the mall parking lot is most likely quiet with the exception of a whispering conversation between Jake and Nessie. I linger near Seth, allowing the two to have their own conversation. Plus, I feel safer next to him.
When we reach the parking lot, Seth speaks up. "Jake, you can ride back with Ness. I will take Tatum back to her place." He says motioning to his old beat up truck that is parked several spots away from Renesmee's lavish white convertible.
"Text me when you get home." Nessie says as she locks eyes with me. I give her a nod before following Seth to his car. Once we are settled in the bench seats of the truck, I look over and watch as Seth backs out of the parking spot.
"You must think we are crazy." I whisper as Seth begins driving on the main street.
Seth peaks over at me. "No." He responds. "Jake and I were worried about you two. Never once did we think you were crazy." He tries to assure me.
I shake my head, still unnerved by what I had seen in the bathroom at the mall. "That guy… I swear his eyes were red. Not bloodshot, like his irises were red. Is that even possible?" I ask in disbelief.
"Crazier things have happened." He mutters under his breath.
"Do you think he is going to follow us home?" I ask in fear after a few minutes of silence. I take a peek back to see the vehicle behind us, only for it to be an old lady.
Seth grabs my hand to comfort me. At first I'm shocked by the gesture but I really appreciated it. "I don't think he is going to follow." He promises. And I hope he is right.
The rest of the drive to La Push is silent as I replay the events over and over in my head. My anxiety increases as I think of all the crazy -and probably, unrealistic possibilities- that could happen with that guy. By the time Seth pulls into Cade's driveway, I am scared to be alone.
Seth looks over to me after shutting off the car. "Could you- I mean, do you want to come inside for a little bit?" I ask, trying not to sound like a scared little girl.
"Sure." Seth offers me a comforting smile before we both climb out of the truck. I unlock the front door and let the two of us in. I set my few shopping bags down on the kitchen counter before turning to face Seth, who is observantly watching me.
"I'm sorry." I whisper, ashamed at myself for being so freaked. "I'm still a little scared. I know I'm being irrational. If you want to go, I understand."
"T, it's okay." Seth smiles. "I can stay. I wouldn't want you to be scared."
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a fun and safe holiday. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the sweet reviews I got on the last chapter. I hope to continue to write chapters you all enjoy. Let me know what your thoughts on this chapter and what you hope happens next. xx M