Chapter 6

The car ride was silent. I wasn't sure if it was under the circumstances of our trip, or if it was something to do with my likely less than desired help. I can't say I was particularly offended. All of them had known each other since pre-school, maybe even diapers. Then this random new girl comes in, almost gets crushed by their best friend's van, and he dies? Yeah, I understood. They'd known him for such a long time, and yet he'd had such a short life. Gone instantly.

I was lost in contemplating just how fragile we all are when a small, soft sob broke through the thick silence. I blinked slowly, sneaking a look out of the corner of my eye. Jessica is leaned over, her hands pressed into her face in an attempt to stifle the sound of any more of her quiet crying. I stared down at my own hands, not sure what to do, considering reaching out to comfort her the moment before she looked up.

"We should be going dress shopping right now." Her voice pitched as she held back another sob. Angela gave her a brief scrutinizing look from the driver's seat before quickly looking back at the road. Jessica managed to roll her eyes, which caused the tears she was trying to hold back to finally fall down her face. "I just meant...I just mean-" she presses her lips together for a moment to hold back a cry, "-we were supposed to go together, you know. To that stupid dance," she chews her bottom lip, "I'd asked him to go with me, I thought maybe it would make Mike jealous. Tyler thought it was funny." Jessica rests her head on the seat, and wiping her face with the back of her hand. "We should be on our way to pick out a dress. A really nice dress that makes my boobs look amazing and Tyler should be able to make some joke about me setting a 'booby trap' for Mike." She stops talking and I stare at her, waiting for more.

"But he's dead." Angela says steadily, not taking her eyes off the road. Jessica nods, sucking in a shaky breath.

"He is dead." Jessica turns her head to look at me in the back seat. My mouth is hanging open, and she raises her eyebrows as if to say "Well?"

"He….is dead." I say awkwardly. Angela and Jessica are both nodding now as if the more they confirmed it the better they could believe it, and I follow suit, my hands clasped so hard my knuckles turn white. The silence wins over the car again, settling heavily over us. We drive like that for another few miles until Jessica lets out a snort. I look back at her and watch her shoulders shaking silently, but there are no tears….and she's smiling. Then, she barks out a laugh. Angela and I look at her in wide eyed fear, while she looks between the both of us, holding back laughter now.

"Booby traps." she says simply, before dissolving into raucous laughter. There's a beat where Angela and I still stare, and then she too was laughing, almost uncontrollably. She pulls over to the side of the road as they run out of breath and tears start streaming down their faces, and if it's from the laughing or grief I can't tell. Maybe both. I sit in the back grinning widely, whether out of relief or discomfort, I wasn't sure of that either.

They're laughing, and i'm smiling, just three normal teenage girls for one fleeting moment in a car on the side of the road. I'm again hit with the wave of truth that is our fleeting lives.

Eventually the laughing stops enough to where Angela is able to drive again, and soon we're in Port Angeles. We grab lunch, go over our plans, and run our various smaller errands until darkness is falling and we've got to split up to before places close.

"So we've got to pick up the boats," Angela indicated to herself and Jessica. "We need the car to make sure they aren't squashed. Are you sure you're okay to get the candles by yourself?" The others had ordered specially made paper boats to be set off onto the ocean at the end of the ceremony. The paper was biodegradable, would actually feed the fish once they met their ends. They said it's something Tyler would have absolutely loved. Apparently he had a real passion for marine life. The boats were a reminder of all the things I hadn't bothered to learn about Tyler before I wasn't able to anymore.

"Yes." I nod. "I promise I'll make it back to the car with 100 candles. Even if I have to get 150 instead." I joke. I'm rewarded with an easy smile, and we go our separate ways into the city.

Charlie insisted on paying for the candles when we'd planned to preorder them. He would've paid for everything if the others had let him. It was a very Charlie thing to do, but sometimes I wondered if he didn't feel as guilty as I did. Like the universe traded his kid for someone else's. The bell jingled to the door of the shop when I opened it. The place was small, walls filled with various spices for purchase and ornate candles. A few of them were lit, giving a nice ambience to the space as the sun sank past the horizon outside.

As I approached the counter, the man at the front looks up from his book, and as he closes it to greet me, I notice its cover. Quileute Traditions & Myths.

"Hi," I smile at him, "I'm here to pick up a candle order? Name Charlie Swan." The man returned my smile and stood up.

"I almost thought no one was going to come get it," he said over his shoulder as he made his way towards the back, he frowns as he walks back with the box, putting it on the counter between us. "It's a shame what happened to that boy." He states solemnly. "Nice of you to get such beautifully carved candles for him." My brow furrows, the candles we'd gotten were supposed to be just simple tea candles.

"What do you mean?" I prod, "Do you mind if I look at them?" The man shakes his head and motions to the opening of the box. I pull one out, seeing what he meant. Each candle was blue,and had been intricately carved with designs of corals and similar beautiful sea life. At the top of each one, Tyler's initials were carved in an elaborate flowing script.

"Yeah," the man nods at my surprise, "They're some of my best, if I do say so myself. Took my team and I the whole week." He grins proudly. I shake my head slightly.

"They're beautiful," I clarify, "and that is his name but...I thought we just ordered little tea candles?" The man's smile fell a bit in confusion, reaching for a drawer beneath the register and pulling out a slip of receipt paper with a sticky note on it.

"Says right here. 100 soy wax blue candles. Oceanic of Monday, paid for by a Carlisle Cullen." He nods pointedly and his smile returns when he looks at me, "Sound familiar?" My throat goes tight at the mention of Carlisle's name.

Why had he paid for these?

Flashes of the wreck went through my mind then: my head's impact with the pavement, the screech of wheels, the handprints in the side of the van.

Maybe Charlie wasn't the only father who felt guilty.

I'd been quiet for too long, we were staring at each other. I straightened my shoulder and forced a smile on to my face. "Right. Sorry, i'd forgotten it changed. Thank you! These are lovely." I put the candle i'd been holding back in the box before closing it. "Is your book any good?" I asked, nodding to it still closed on the counter. The man opened it, his grin spreading wider,

"Oh very," he raised his eyebrows, "I've read it a few times. I'm just getting to the best part." he taps the title with one finger

The Cold Ones

"The cold ones?" I tilt my head incredulously, "Like...yeti's?" He laughs.

"Like bloodsuckers." he waggles his fingers at me in mock scary form, "immortals. Be careful out there." He winks. I bite the inside of my lip and pick up the box.

"Well, thank you.." The man sits back down at his open book and nods, still smiling.

"Have a nice night." He waves at me as I push through the door into the chilly night. I hoist the box for a better grip, and make my way back through the city towards the car. I come to an odd fork in my path, I could continue the way I was already going, or go through the alley and cut fifteen minutes out of my walking time and relieve my arms. I contemplate for a second before making the turn. There are a couple flickering lights on the sides of the buildings that barely illuminated my path. I walk quickly, my steps echoing loudly in the large alleyway. My mind had begun to wander towards the candles and the Cullens when an unknown voice came from behind me.

"Hey pretty lady," the deep voice sent a chill up my spine, "need help with that heavy box of yours?" I spin around towards the voices source to see a tall man with a baseball cap pulled low over his brow. I take the risk to walk backwards as I force myself to smile. "I'm okay..i'm actually almost to the car. Thanks th-" my back hits something solid and I spin back around to see where i'd gotten off my path. I come face to face with a shorter but larger man in stature, I gasp and he smiles in response.

"Sweet little girl like you couldn't possibly be that strong." the alcohol in his breath wafted over my face and I drop the box in panic, my heart beginning to pound. I look over my shoulder and see yet another two men have joined the first moving closer to me. The one behind me's hand wrap around my wrist, I shout as I push against his chest, and I can hear the group behind me closing in, my breath is catching too much to scream. Another hand creeps up the back of my neck, I'm unsure of who it belongs to. There's more drunk pulls of me every which way and I'm on the verge of tears when a squealing of tires cuts their hyena-like laughter short. We all turned to face the noise so quickly and simultaneously in any other situation it may have been almost comical. A silver volvo has blocked where I entered the wide alley and a dark figure emerges as smooth as melted silver. I blink and the shape is on all of us and it's only two of us whose throats the figure's hands are wrapped around.

"Edward." I breathe, as the two men I first ran into claw at the fingers enclosing around their throat. Edward is saying something to them,

"Leave. Now." The voice that leaves him can only be described as inhuman, and I can see the hint of his teeth again, this time striking me with a primal fear. He drops the men and they ran almost as quickly as Edward had, my other two assailants in hot pursuit. Then all that's left in what was now the scene of my personal hell was me, and a man who looked like an angel. Who by track record, was an angel. He reaches a hand to me without attempting to touch me. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

I'm nodding as i'm fighting to breathe normally again, Edward maintains eye contact with me while I regain control. "I'm...I think I'm alright." I say between a deep inhale and exhale. "Thank...you? How did you find me? What are you doing here? " The concern slowly slides off of Edward's face, and he bends down to retrieve the box I'd completely forgotten about. As he lifts it effortlessly, almost too effortlessly, he looks back at me.

He says, "Would you like to have dinner with me?"

And I say, "Yes.