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Bad Moon Rising

Chapter 5: i get threatened (again)

When Chief Swan knocked on the door the next day at 10 in the morning, I knew that this day was going to be a long one. I quickly grabbed a draw bag and tossed my purse, some granola bars, and a bottle of water in it, then hurried to meet him at the door.

I was wearing a grey racerback tank top underneath one of my brother's old plaid shirts along with a pair of jeans with holes in the knees from the number of times I fell down while sword fighting with Percy. My mom insisted that I didn't need another pair, considering holes are a new fashion in jeans, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that it doesn't mean holes in the knees.

So, I guess I'll just let my knees get some nice action being out in the open.

I knew Chief Swan was planning on bringing me to the Black's residence, because what other reason would he have for showing up? At least, I hope he doesn't' have another reason for showing up.

The Forks Police Chief looked down at me sternly when I opened the door. "Uh… hello, Chief Swan."

"May I come in?"

I blinked, looking back at my drawstring bag next to the door with a wince. "Sure, just make yourself at home or something."

He nodded and kindly slipped his shoes off on the doormat and moved to sit down on one of the couches in the living room, gesturing for me to follow.

"I've done some research on you, young lady."

Oh, here we go again.

"Okay?" I nervously picked at the end of my ponytail, watching him carefully as he let out a deep sigh.

"I discovered that you and your twin brother Perseus were declared fugitives a while back," he started, his dark brown eyes carefully taking in my posture. "Care to explain that to me?"

Of course, I knew he was only doing his job and trying to protect the people he cared about, but come on. That was years ago.

"I was twelve, and my mom went missing after Percy and I's stepdad decided to hurt her," I told him, working to make sure my face was as vulnerable as possible. "He kicked us out and we were kidnapped by some jerk. We were running from him and our stepfather who claimed we had stolen his car." His eyes widened. "Which we had nothing to do with."

His lips clasped together tightly and his eyes continued to carefully dissect not just my words but the body language I was showing. "Go on."

I decided I must've been doing pretty well, when I continued, "The cops ended up discovering the truth when my mom was found and my stepdad went running. Percy and I were saved and that jerk might not've been captured but we've never seen him again."

Chief Swan nodded. "Well, that certainly clears some things up." His brow raised slightly. "There were different stories about what occurred, and one of them included you and your brother blowing up the St. Louis Arch?"

I choked out a laugh. "That was what we did to get away from the guy chasing us. It's what inevitably got us freed."

He nodded again in understanding. "Where is your brother now? And why is it that you're still technically a minor while not going to school?"

"It's all kind of a cluster, to be honest," I admitted. "Percy and I haven't always been the best in school-"

"I can see that from the number of expulsions," he deadpanned.

I let out a sigh. "Yes, and we had bad luck follow us wherever we went. I dropped out of school and got a job as an amateur reporter for a travel blog. Percy still was in school before... well, before he went missing."

The Forks Chief of Police looked at me worriedly. "Your bother is missing?"

I let my real emotions show through the barricade I had previously put up. Now, it was all about to come out. "That's one of the reasons why I came here to write on the disappearances in Seattle," I explained. "I was hoping that there could be some sort of correlation to what happened to my brother."

"Have you found anything?" He asked, curiosity filling his tone.

I shook my head. "Unfortunately not. But if I do find anything substantial I'll be sure to let you in on it. I'm sure you probably have some contacts with the Seattle PD?"

He nodded. "That would be very good of you to do, young lady." His palms rubbed up against his thighs. "Now, what does your mother think about all of this?"

I shrugged. "Of course she didn't want me going far away, but I have a job and I need to do it. Besides, she's a bit busy working to find Percy as well, and understands my position in all of this."

"One would think a mother would want her children closer if something like that happened," He voiced, placing a good point in my way.

"Well, I guess my mom is just not like other moms, then," I admitted.

It was true: she was better. She understood that I had to do things like this to find my brother and bring him home. She trusted me more than other parents often trusted their kids. She treated me like an adult.

Chief Swan nodded again before going to stand up. "That was all of my questions, thank you for being understanding of my curiosity. I hope you understand why I felt obligated to discuss these points-"

I waved a dismissive hand. "Any good cop would do just this," I told him. "I'm sure your friends and family would appreciate you keeping them safe."

A faint blush crossed his cheeks. "Well, thank you," he coughed out rather awkwardly. I grinned as he walked over to the door, saw my bag, and then turned to look back at me. "I'll bring you to the Black's house if you'd like. I'm sure you'd like to get more information about your car."

I nodded, feeling a faint wave of relief. I didn't know if I'd be able to walk there on my own after just one time. Besides, I had been in a car so it's a bit different. "That would be great, thanks."

It was within minutes that I found myself being driven over to the Black's residence in the shotgun seat of a police cruiser. I'm sure I've felt cooler in my long 17 years, but I wasn't about to complain.

"Here we are," he said as we pulled up into the Black's drive. I thanked him again profusely as I hopped out, strapping my bag back onto my back.

"Hey there, Charlie!"

The two of us looked over to see Billy Black rolling over toward us in his wheelchair. He was wearing a blue ball cap, a flannel shirt and some jeans with some nice, comfortable shoes. I couldn't help but give a smile to the older man who looked happy to see his friend.

"Bill, what've you been up to?"

Billy laughed at his friend's words. "Since I last saw ya? A whole lotta nothing!"

I let out a laugh. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Black."

He nodded his head toward me while wearing a crooked grin. "How did your first evening go in your new home?"

I shrugged. "It was pretty nice, actually. But I think it's still a little odd that there's hardly any noise out here."

The two older men laughed. "That's what happens when you move out into the middle of nowhere," Billy said, his eyes twinkling. "Say, what did you say you moved out here for?"

"I'm a reporter working on a piece about the disappearances," I told him. It was slightly weird to see him stiffen at the knowledge, but he quickly shook it off so I decided to just let it go. "Well, more or less a massive collection of pieces given how long I'll probably be here for, but who knows."

"How long do you think you're gonna be here for?" Chief Swan asked.

I twisted my lips, thinking about how I could answer the question. Until I find my brother? Well, what if I don't end up finding him? "Most likely until the cases are cleared up."

Billy tilted his head. "Sounds like you might be in it for the long haul," he said, his voice darkening in tone.

That man definitely knew something.

Sounds like I'm just going to have to coax it out of him.

I shrugged, chuckling earnestly. "I do have a real nice set up here, so I don't think I'll be too disappointed if that becomes the case."

Chief Swan looked at me carefully, and I could see the curiosity continue to eat his bones. He wasn't stupid, he knew there was more to the story than what I was willing to share. Well, too bad for him. I ain't telling.

"You're probably here for the car, right?" Billy asked, wheeling closer to where I was standing to speak more clearly.

I nodded eagerly.

Thank the gods we were off the topic of my backstory. I was starting to grasp for minnows if you catch my meaning.

"Well, last night after you and the other local knuckleheads left Jacob ended up coming home and started working on the mess." He started to wheel over to the garage, and I quietly followed him. "He's gonna have to scrap most of the parts and exchange them for other ones, but it looks like a decent repair job."

I saw a the bare bones of the car I had driven, shocked to see my rental in such a state. However, after talking to the rental company it seemed like I could end up purchasing it off of them because of the accident.

At least I'll have a nice ride, then. One better than Paul's Prius.

"How much is it gonna cost?" I asked, pulling my drawstring back off my back, holding it in my hands readily. "What do I owe you?"

Billy immediately held his hands up in a surrender position. "We are doing this on the house, girl. Completely free. It's good work for my boy, and keeps him from getting into too much trouble."

I didn't want to know what his wink to Chief Swan meant, or the fact that the other man grumbled in response.

I rolled my eyes at his humility. I'd rather not find myself in anyone's debt- I was willing to pay for it… with Camp Half Blood's money stash, of course.

"Well, it looks like you'll be needing a couple grand for the parts, a couple more grand for the labor, and I'll add onto that for the courtesy of a tip," I said, eyeing the car warily. "And maybe a little more just because it looks horrible right now."

The men blinked. Billy found his voice at my words, "What're you meaning to say, girl?"

I pulled out my purse and placed the back delicately on the ground before zipping it open and pulling out my new checkbook that had direct effect on the Camp's bank account. I knew there was easily a billion dollars in that account, from accumulation over the years and Chiron's miser habits, so I thought I might as well give something to these nice I ripped it out from the checkbook and handed it casually to Billy. "This should cover everything I said," I told him. "If he needs more, he can always ask. It's my car, after all."

Chief Swan looked at the check over Billy's shoulder with wide eyes. "You've got that kind of dough, Andie?"

I nodded, slipping my purse back into my drawstring and slinging it once more on my back. "Years of hard work pays off, sometimes."

He pursed his lips. I knew none of this added up to him, but I didn't really care. I wasn't going to let the Black's finance this on their own. Not when I had other options.

I grabbed a pen from one of the pockets in the purse and wrote out a check for fifteen thousand dollars. All for a Mr. Jacob Black.

other options.

Chief Swan clasped his friend on the shoulder. "Well, I've gotta head out. Do you need a ride back, Andie? I need to get to work."

Billy quickly answered for me, "She can keep my company till Jacob comes back from a walk with that girl of yours."

He chuckled. "Sounds like a plan, Bill." His brown eyes darted to me. "Keep yourself safe now, you here?"

I smiled. "You too, Chief Swan."

After the police Cheif left, I was standing silently next to Billy, and neither of us knew what to say for a few moments.

"Would you like something to drink?" He asked me, raising a brow as he held the check I had written up for me to see. "We need to talk about this, you and me."

I nodded calmly. "Of course, and I have some water in here ready to go, don't bother."

He nodded, leading me to the porch where he rolled up the small ramp to get to where a comfortable set of chairs sat, with a nice small table set in between.

Billy gestured for me to sit down, and I obediently listened as I watched a few different emotions flicker across his face.

"I'm not stupid, girl," he told me.

I blinked. "Uh… what?"

One side of his mouth curled upward. "I know there's more to you than what you're telling all of us. If what your keeping to yourself ends up putting this reservation in danger, you will have more than me to tangle with, you hear?"

"Of course." I tilted my head. "What do you mean, more than you?"

He let out a dry chuckle. "There are some things people will never fully understand, girl. This place? These people? That's one of 'em."

I grinned. "Good thing I'm another one of them too, Mr. Black."

I noticed he nodded to himself, then turned to eye the woods in front of us warily. "There are some dangerous things that roam these woods, Miss Jackson. I would take care if I were you."

I blinked, again. My voice ran cold. "Is that some sort of threat?"

He shook his head, eyeing me curiously. "No, girl. That's the truth."

A sigh escaped my lips. "That's understandable."

He raised a brow. "You're taking this better than I'd expected."

I coughed out a laugh. "What did you expect? Me to start yelling at you, kicking and screaming? I've seen things and done my time in some bad spots, Mr. Black. I understand where you're coming from. You care about these people and your son. I get that."

"I heard your brother is missing."

I gulped. "You've heard right."

He let out a long breath. "Sounds like you might just have something in common with us, then."

"What do you mean by that?"

His eyes stared down my own. "You know what it's like to want to protect someone, but sometimes life just won't let you."

I was about to respond, but I heard some feet walking in the woods in front of us with the sound of a few sticks cracking as they made their way here. "It's about time they've gotten back," Billy said. "I'll just go see what we've got for some lunch, stay out here and meet Jacob. Maybe talk to him about what you need for the car."

I nodded, watching him roll himself into the house. "Thank you, Mr. Black."

He stopped just as he was about to enter the house fully. "I think you'll like it here, Miss Jackson."

When he continued on in, I let out a breath I had been holding. To be honest, I didn't know if I was really going to like it here at all.

This place was seriously weird.

And not all in a good way.

"Hey, Jake, who's she?" a female voice asked as two figures came into view.

I plopped my bag down on the chair behind me and stood up with crossed arms. I guess I was about to meet Jacob Black and his little romantic interest, Bella Swan.

I have to admit, seeing Jacob Black in person was a bit intimidating. He was massive, built, and shirtless. Did any of these younger men wear shirts?

My eyes gazed upon his washboard abs. I don't think I've seen abs that defined before. Apparently shirts were for the weak.

"Don't know, Bells. It's probably her car I've gotta fix," he told her in a low voice. Normal people wouldn't have been able to hear it, but luckily I've got the ears of a demigod. My brother wasn't so lucky.

"So she's the one who my dad had to drive around?"

He chuckled. "Easy Bells, she's new."

"Yeah, well he had to skip meals to help her so I hope she knows he didn't have to do all that."

I suddenly got the feeling this Bells character and I might not get along too well. I wasn't the type to go kissing anyone's feet, and it seemed that was exactly what she was expecting.

"Hey, uh, are you Andromeda?"

I pursed my lips at Bella biting her lip at the sound of my odd name. Her brown eyes were just like her father's, and she had the same blush and easy-going complexion, too. I bet she always asked questions and never left things alone, just like him.

I grinned at her.

She pursed her lips.

"Yep, that's me," I said, walking down the steps to walk up to the massive shirtless dude who was supposed to be fixing my car.

He eyed Bella, who didn't say anything, and I saw something almost… reverent in the way he looked at her. Oh to Hades will it all, I didn't want to deal with another one of those sappy couples-

Then, his eyes met mine.

Brown met green, and I felt something in my chest lurch out to him like a starving woman seeing food for the first time in years.

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening. It was as if we couldn't move our gaze from one another. I was starting to feel a bit weirded out, but this was almost a good weird.

"Jake? What're you doing?"

He blinked, and I watched as the odd look I couldn't place in his eyes changed to something completely different. Anger. Pain. More anger, and even more sadness.

I gulped.

His body started shaking, rage leaking from his pores.

"Jake?! What's wrong!" Bella's eyes snapped to me. "What did you do to him?"

"What the actual fuck," he spat, glaring at me. "What do you want from me?!"

I blinked. "Uh…"

"Fuck this shit-" he growled to himself.

I noticed the inhuman nature of the growl and held up a hand. "Now just wait a minute-"

"You ruined everything!"

Well this escalated quickly.