Chapter 2

Handsome Stranger

A couple more days dragged on, and Jacob felt on the verge of losing his mind. Every day seemed harder to get through, harder to focus, no matter how much he tried to convince himself he was strong enough to handle life without Nessie for a while. Five years... ten years... twenty years, was nothing compared to forever. At the same time, he didn't know how much longer he could last before he cracked completely.

Topping everything off, his car broke down, so he would have to go to Hoquiam to find parts. Frustrated, he skipped school in an act of rebellion.

Driving out of La Push on his motorcycle, he thought about stopping by Sam's to let the guys know what he thought he whiffed. He decided not to jump the gun just yet, chalking it up to wishful thinking, since he was bored beyond belief and lonely to the point of craziness.

The trip to Hoquiam wasn't all that bad. The weather was decent. He lucked out getting the car parts at a fairly cheap price so, all in all, the day turned out better than expected.

On his way back through Forks, he travelled by the high school just for the hell of it. He sometimes got a kick out of the intimidated and dubious glares he got from some of the students around there. A small part of him hoped that, maybe, another vampire infiltrated the school and was there to make trouble.

No such luck!

A smile popped on his face when he spotted the guitar-playing girl, strolling home from school. It was his chance to get a better look at the voice.

Accelerating his speed until he was a safe distance behind her, he stopped the bike and climbed off, wheeling it along. She glanced over her shoulder at him as he approached her.

"Hi," he said. He'd never been too shy to meet someone new.

"Hello," the girl replied, facing straight ahead.

He lengthened his stride, catching up to walk beside her, on the road. "My name is Jacob, Jacob Black."

"Name?" Clearing her throat, she glanced down in obvious, blushing discomfort. "Raven Myles."

"Aren't you the girl with the guitar?"

"Aren't you the guy who pushed me down?" she snapped, using a very serious tone with a matching glower.

"Oh. Yeah, sorry about that," Jacob said, flustered.

Still looking down but only partially, Raven laughed. "Just teasing. I know it was my fault."

She had a sense of humor. Jacob grinned. "Are you new here?" He was trying to ignore the red-yellow bruise below her eye. He suspected the bruise was the reason for her unwillingness to look directly at him.

"Uh huh, about six months," she replied.

"Really, where from?"

"Texas. San Antonio, Texas."

Intent on getting to know her, he asked, "So, you go to Forks High School. What grade are you in?"

"The eleventh, and you?" She almost had her head all the way up but was still trying to hide her face.

"Me too, missed way too much school last year. Anyway, I go to school out in La Push," Jacob explained, and curious, he asked, "Are you Native American? I can't tell."

Raven giggled, lifting her head. She fingered a lock of her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "Actually, I'm part Native, part Mexican, and part White. My mom is half Mexican and half White and my father was Native." She smiled, turning her head toward him and finally allowing him to make eye contact with her.

His chest thumped and his eyes sprung open at her cuteness.

Swallowing, he noticed dark, liquid black, eyes. Darker than his own. They were large almond-shaped with a trace of narrowness to them. She had long, thick hair, the same nearly black color as her eyes. Her skin was creamy and fair, with a natural sun-kissed glow, which caused his difficulty in determining her ethnicity. She was petite, maybe just a little taller than Bella. Curvaceous, not as thin, but slight just the same.

Jacob wondered if he looked like a giant walking beside her. They were almost to Raven's house when Jacob heard the voice that already sickened him, roaring, "Raven!"

Raven jumped, saying, "I have to go."

Hopping back on his bike as she entered the house, Jacob heard the man swearing at Raven, something about friends, and who the hell is that?

He tensed, getting heated by the second and fighting the vibration triggered by the sound of the douche. Hurrying, so he didn't have to listen anymore, he started up his bike and zoomed away.

That night, he dwelled on Raven a lot. He remembered a conversation he'd once had with Quil, in which Quil told him he didn't see girls anymore. He thought how he must have misunderstood the entire discussion. Seeing as his perception of Raven was clear. In fact, it stunned him how attractive he found her when she lifted her chin and freed her eyes of her hair.

Raven ran into her house answering her dad. Actually, he was her stepdad. But since he married Raven's mother way before Raven could remember, Mike was the only dad she'd ever known.

Her biological father, Reed, had passed away before she was a year old. Her older brother, River, was nine at the time. This left her young mom in a vulnerable position. Well, at least that's what Raven told herself to explain why Abby married the terrible guy.

Raven did some homework then tried to watch television. Mike told her to go read a book. That's just the way Mike was, and he had been that way ever since she was a little girl. If she asked for water, he gave her milk. If she wanted milk, he would make her drink water. If she asked to play, he made her take a nap. If she wanted to nap, he made her do chores. She knew Mike's behavior was a cruel power trip he freakishly enjoyed and couldn't wait for the day when she'd at last be free of him.

"Who was that man you were talking to?" her mother asked when Mike was out of hearing range.

"Just some guy from the La Push Reservation," Raven replied. "It was the first time he'd seen me here, so I guess he was curious. Like I told Dad, I couldn't stop him from walking on the road."

"You're lucky your father didn't flip out. You know how he gets."

Raven rolled her eyes, stomping down the stairs to her bedroom. She just turned seventeen, yet Mike refused to let her have any boyfriends or friends that were boys. Abby called him protective, but Raven knew Mike was just a controlling asshole. She had guy friends, regardless. As long as she kept them away from her home, it wasn't a problem.

She recalled how a boy once called her house. Mike picked up the other line cussing, telling him to never call the house again, using some choice names. Word must have gotten around school, because no boys called Raven again, and she never gave out her phone number. That was fine, because Raven didn't want to give Mike any excuse to hit her.

Mike had been hitting her and her brother for as long as she could remember, not all the time, but enough times for her to know to fear him. Abby and Mike both came from families that believed in good old-fashioned spanking. But in Raven's opinion, Mike took it to the extreme when he lost his temper.

Just like a few nights ago, Mike gave Raven permission to stay overnight with her friend Kristy. He told her to go straight to Kristy's and nowhere else. She didn't tell him she and Kristy already planned on going to a movie, because she knew he wouldn't let her to go. He'd never allow her too much fun. Kristy's brother and a few of his friends showed up and sat with her and Kristy. Raven couldn't enjoy herself, because the entire time, she worried Mike would figure out she didn't listen to him, perhaps call Kristy's house and find out she wasn't there.

Raven didn't know one of Mike's co-workers was somewhere in the theater. Days later, when Mike returned home from work, he sneered, "Clarissa wanted to know if you enjoyed the movie this weekend."

Raven knew she was busted. She upset Mike so much, he smacked her in the face which left an ugly bruise below her eye. Abby comforted her as usual but added Raven should have known better. Raven loved her mom, and despite Mike, Raven and Abby were very close. Raven never understood what Abby saw in the guy, because she was such a loving person in comparison.

Abby later explained that Mike was in a bad mood because his boss notified him, his work hours would be cut. It infuriated Raven that Abby always made up some excuse for Mike's behavior.

"I guess I'll pick up more home healthcare patients, maybe out at La Push," Abby had said. She was just a part-time certified Home Healthcare Nurse, but she loved it. She'd always said she wanted to be a Registered Nurse and a Certified Healthcare Nurse was the next best thing.

Staring out into the woods, like she did every night before going to bed, Raven thought about the handsome stranger with the motorcycle. He seemed really nice and friendly with the way he made a point of introducing himself to her, which was awesome. Too bad she had a bruise. She never covered them up, because it made her feel like she was protecting Mike.

Jacob Black had pretty eyes, long, dark lashes, and a beautiful smile. His next level physique put the guys in her school to shame, athletes included. Extremelygood looking, he was one of those guys she definitely wouldn't mind seeing again sometime.

Sensing probing eyes on her, Raven's mind plunged back to earth. A man sat in a parked car across the street from her house, ogling her. Was he watching me all this time? The thought gave her the creeps. She jerked herself away from the window, took a breath, and yanked the curtains closed.