Chapter 27
I'm on the front porch of Sam's house eating not one but two blueberry muffins. "Slow down, Mia." Embry say walking around the house with Jacob behind him. "Sorry. I'm hungry. My empty stomach is returning."
I been out of that mental hospital for almost three weeks and life couldn't be any better than before I went in. "How you feel?" Jacob asks. "Light. I don't know why. Just light. My shoulders. I can do this now." I wiggle my shoulders forward and backward.
Embry laugh. "Well, I'm happy. You up for a run?" "You mean phasing?" I ask surprised. I haven't phased yet. "I mean a jog. Get fit. You kind of gained weight." "No." I say laughing. I am not gaining weight.
I know I weight the same as I weighed before I went into the mental hospital. "The screen door opens up and Paul walks out. "A little bit." Embry say looking at his friend. "Just wondering what's going on."
He must mean about Rachel. "Nothing." Paul say taking a seat next to me. I offer him a muffin. He don't take it. Oh. Okay. I go back to eating the both of them. "Go for a run." Sam say. Yes, Sam. I get up.
"Not you." "Let's go." Embry say hitting Jacob in the chest. Both run off. I go back to eating. Paul watches me. Once the muffins are gone, I lick my finger. Emily really do know how to make the best muffins in the world.
"What's up, Paul?" I ask. "Nothing." "Something is up. I was wondering if you can take me over to Kairo so I can see my brothers." "Are you allowed?" He asks. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Did you ask Marcus?" Sam asks. "No. I didn't think I had to ask him. I'm not welcomed." "Not welcomed." "Is it super secret stuff?" "Yep." Paul say. "Oh." I say getting it. Well, I should stay off their land then. I don't want to cross a line.
I get up off the steps of the porch and lift my shirt up. I grab the gut. Jacob is right. I do got it. "I need to exercise. I'mma go for a run." I tell Paul. I jog off and phase. "Mia, wait." Sam say.
I turn around and walk back to the porch. "Feel nice?" Jared asks. "It has its point, Jared. I think I actually grew in height." "Nope. You're still the same height." Jacob say running out of the forest. Embry follows. I walk over to him.
We circle each other. "Have I grown?" "Nope. You're still the same size." Sam walks out of the house. "Mia, come here." I walk over to him. He walks down the steps of the porch. "Down." I lay down on my belly. He runs his hand on my back.
"So have you seen the future lately?" Embry asks. "I don't know. My mind is empty now. I can't even think about it. Marcus said he was helping with the issue but I don't understand. Why take what is mine?" "Cause it was making you sick. Our mentality i-" Crack! "Huh. What was that?" I ask looking around. "Jacob, you heard that?"
Embry laugh. "I heard it. Did you feel it?" A calm sensation erupts throughout my body. I phase back on the ground. "What's going on?" I ask. I phased back. "I can fix it." Sam say laying me down on the ground. "Sam, what's going on?" I ask putting my arms behind my back. Am I under arrest? He punch my back in making me phase and snarl.
"Bring it down." Marcus say walking out of the forest with Shawn and Lincoln following. "Fixed it." Sam say rubbing his hand across my back. "What was wrong with my back?" "Injury from Victoria." Jacob say. "Wow. Can we go back there?" "Sure. Let's go." He say running off. Me and Embry follow. Shawn phase and follow. He runs next to me.
"To clear this once and for all, who is the oldest? Me or Shawn." "Shawn." "Shawn." "Most definitely Shawn. You might got talent over him but he is clearly the oldest. He was born first." Quil say. "I thought so. Thanks for naming me, Seth." "Seth is not here." Jacob leaves me to the stream where Victoria was destroyed. We phase back.
I grab a trunk and cover myself with it. "So who was it?" I ask. "It was Paul and Leah. Leah got the arm and Paul got the head." Jacob say. "Just crazy. The army?" "Dead. Gone. It is no more." "She won't listening." Shawn say walking around the bushes toting a trunk. I laugh. "I tore my clothes."
"So what's the current issue?" Jacob asks him sitting on the boulder. "Just trying to understand." "Nothing can be understood. As much as you try to ease the hard mentality, it is always gonna be there." I say. "Just want the pressure taken off you. You shouldn't have something that make you sick or be someone that you are not."
"Well, a person change due to the current situation or something in the future." "The future is not written in stone." Embry say breaking a piece of rock in half. "That's true. Just looking at one path." "Multiple paths. We don't want the one that is set for you. Just care for your health." Shawn say.
"By taking something that is mine." I casually say. "Right." He bluntly say. Huh. His words seems to agitate me. "Just feel as though it is more to it then what is there. You never know till you tell the truth and I might be able to help." "The problem is we don't need your help. We want it gone." "You see what I'm doing?" I ask him.
"Hit me with the tree trunk." "Right. Right. We won't be Mighty Twins no more. You want that from me." "It's more of trying to have you alright. Mia, you was in a coma for four months. Life have moved on." "She wants to be part of what you all are doing instead of having it hidden from her." Embry say. "What she's saying." Jacob say.
"Exactly! This is my life. This is going to be a part of me for years till my kids have kids. It shouldn't be taken from me. Don't you want to be taught and learn what other powers we might have? I mean Marcus might have something. The members of Kairo also." "I guess." He say shrugging. I bet. It seems he don't care. I'll just handle it myself.
It's 9 at night and I'm trying my best to walk the forest without making a sound. I've been doing it for the last twenty minutes so I think I have accomplished a lot on my way to Kairo Land. Long as I don't phase, I should be alright.
I step over the fallen trunk. I'm almost there. I lick my lips picking up speed. I can't wait to see what everybody is hiding. I walk on Kairo Land. Nothing. Nothing bad happens. What is being hidden here?
Probably nothing. What am I talking about? I'm supposed to be visiting Marcus to talk about what is going on. I walk. "Mia." A man's voice say from behind me. I turn around to see a teenage boy in cutoffs. "That's me!" I say pointing to myself. "Marcus don't want you on this land till everything is okay. I'll take you back home."
"I'm okay, stranger." I say walking off. "I don't want to get in trouble." He say jogging over to me. He grabs my left arm and start leading me. "I have to talk to Marcus." "You can talk to him off the land." "Wow. Is it that bad?" I ask him. "It is." He say. Oh, wow.
He leads me right back to where I was and Paul is standing there. "Paul, I'm sleepwalking." I say closing my eyes. I can't see a thing. I move my hand around. "Is that funny?" The teen asks. "A little bit." He leads me straight to Paul.
"Just wanted to know what was going on." I say covering my eyes. He takes my hand and start leading me away. "Just wanted to know what was going on." I admit. Paul don't respond. Alright. He walks me right back to my house. I can't help that I'm a little mischievous when it comes to what is going on behind my back. I should be. It concerns my life.
"Thanks, Paul." I whisper grabbing his other hand. "For what?" "Walking me back home. Mom and her boyfriend are sleeping." I wave him down. He leans down. I peck his lips before kissing his cheeks. "I wish you can spend the night but I know you gotta go back to do whatever you was doing." Whatever that was. I peck him one last time before walking across the backyard.
I go right back into the house. I sneak upstairs quietly and into my bedroom. I close the door and take off my clothes. Soon as I get into my bed, I fall right to sleep. It is a sleep that is much needed. A sleep that takes me into the next day. It's around noon when I wake up. After I take care of my needs, I head over to Sam's house.
I jump right into the living room and do a roll. "Sam!" Jacob shouts. His friends laugh. "Sorry, Sam. I'm in a happy mood. I feel light." I say hearing my voice sounding different. "You sound different." Emily say sitting a basket of muffins on the table. "Thank you, Emily. I feel so good." I say taking a seat next to Quil on the couch.
"I know the coma knocked you out for months but are you still trying to steal Paul?" Rachel asks patting her baby on its back. "Long as you keep that disrespect." I spit out looking at her. "Don't talk to my sister like that." Jacob say. "Your sister need to talk to Paul. I ain't doing nothing." I say crossing my legs. "So this is you now?" Embry asks me.
"I can't be cool?" "Of course you can be cool but you don't bring the attitude." "I know the coma knocked you out? What kind of statement is that?" "It was a question." Rachel say. "Of course it was. You need to check Paul. He going around this pack." He looks at Sam. "Time to right this pack. You have a family now. You have a baby. You have a girlfriend."
"Who is his imprint. Things have changed since she been in her coma." Rachel angrily say. "Why the attitude?" I ask. "Cause you're trying to destro-" "Ain't nobody speak one word besides Marcus. How was I supposed to know?" I ask cutting Jacob off. "Don't play that, Mia."
Well, I got nothing else to say. "If the man don't respect the person, what does that tell you?" "Don't worry about the relationship between Paul and Rachel. The close friendship that you and him have is coming to an end as he focus on his family." Sam say. I can calm it down. I ain't afraid too.
"You still gotta imprint. You still gotta deal with Marcus. It's a lot on your plate. Just respect the pack rules, Mia." Embry say. "You're right. I apologize. My knockout must've knocked me into Paul's lap." "You and his son. Respect my nephew. Respect him." Jacob say. Okay. I hold my hands up leaving the conversation alone. I ain't gonna add into it.
"Not there no more." Paul say. "What's not there, Paul?" Sam asks. "The feelings that he has for me. He clearly wants Mia." Rachel say. "Wanna take a break from everything." He say scooting back from the table. Oh, okay. I watch TV as he leaves out of the house through the kitchen. "Is he okay?" I ask Quil. "Shut up, Mia."
I zip my mouth. "He's simply torn between you and Mia, Rachel." Sam say. "Cause you pushed him onto Mia." "He was the one who wanted to get to know Mia, Rachel. It's a lot that goes into this pack." Jacob say. "Who side are you on?" "Your side. Just telling it like it is. He would still love you if you did not cheat on him. If I was him, I wouldn't want to look nor deal with you."
"I'll admit that it is my fault." "We know it is your fault. You cheated on your soulmate. Never forget that." Sam say going back to reading the TV. Jacob looks at me. "I ain't in it, Jacob. That sounds like a simple conflict between those two that does not include me." "How you feel?" Embry asks.
"How I feel. Work out the inside before working the outside out." "You are the inside." Marcus say walking into the house. "Am I?" "Yeah. You are the inside. You don't want to admit that you sent Paul back into a hole when you knew that he had hi-" "I ain't know nothing and I am not in it." I bluntly say crossing my arms.
"Why don't you step outside? Let's go for a talk." I really don't want too but I get up and jump out of the window. "One more time, Mia." Sam say. "Sorry, Sam." I say getting up off the ground. Shawn walks down the steps. Marcus walks out of the house.
"Respect their family. Respect the relationship. You know the pack laws. No one should come between a wolf and his imprint." "Plus, you still gotta imprint. You're seventeen. What you want with a man who already got a child?" Shawn asks. "Keep me from having one myself?" I ask unsure.
"Complete opposite. Time to grow up. Allow them to fix their own relationship. Maybe it's time to come home." Marcus say. "Maybe it's time to realize that it is no fighting the imprint. Both gonna end up together." Jacob say. "No." I tell my brother. "You don't want to be part of the pack?" "Why now? Cause you stole what is mine?" I angrily asks.
"How you see it?" "My mind is nothing but weak. Why take my blessing?" "I knew it." Shawn say shaking my head. "My sister's wellbeing came first. So take it from you." "You're a clown!" "Honk. Honk." He say laughing. "Marcus, shut up." Shawn say. "Is she gonna sta-" "I can't keep two people from each other, Jacob." Sam say.
"This is my sister." "This is my cousin." He say back. "Pack laws, Sam." "If he don't want her then he don't want her. You can't force Paul to be with him, Jacob. Your sister blew it up." Quil say. "I know she did, Quil." "Obviously, you don't. You're against imprinting but you're trying to force Paul to be with your sister who cheated on him."
Shawn looks at Marcus. "I don't care who Paul goes to but it won't be Mia, Shawn." "We don't even live here, Marcus." "I don't know what to say then, Rachel. Accept the consequences of your actions." Jacob say. "Can I go?" I ask Marcus. "No. We need to talk." He say walking down the steps of the porch.