Into the Woods
By: Everleigh Allen
Chapter 7
Imagine Bella's surprise when she woke up the next morning wearing nothing but a tee-shirt and boxers to the overgrown mass of roidy-fleshy glory of Jake Black sitting at her small kitchen table.
Bella screamed and ran out of the room.
She could hear his caustic laughing all the way up the stairs.
Overly dressed for the summer in Forks, Bella made it back down the stairs wearing pants and a sweatshirt and stopped to in the family room to look for Charlie.
He wasn't there.
She stilled when Jake moved into the room and started sniffing the air.
"What are you doing in my house?" She bit out angrily but she was ignored as he led himself around the room by his nose.
"Something smells funny." His beady eyes landed on Bella making her anxiety rise for a moment and she stepped back to allow some distance between them.
Bella glared at him. "It's probably you. Have you heard of deodorant?"
There was definitely a wet dog smell coming off him.
It had to be him, they didn't have a dog.
Jake ignored her and seemed to have another bout of anger management issues, because his nostrils were flapping like a flag in a hurricane.
She didn't have time for such nonsense.
Just when he was about to open his mouth, she interrupted him.
"Don't you even think about it, Jake," She said, surprising him by walking by him. He followed her, much to her annoyance.
"Bella, wait." Jake growled and turned to grab her arm and Bella wasn't about to have that. She twisted out of his grasp and went into the living room where Charlie sat reading his paper.
Jake followed her.
"Charlie, look what's waiting for you."
He turned to Charlie who was sitting in his recliner eating some doughnuts. He was completely unmoved by Jake's presence.
"Hey Charlie," Jake said but was glaring at Bella.
"Jake," Charlie acknowledged, "You come for the truck?"
Jake nodded. "Yep."
Charlie passed over the keys that were sitting on the coffee table. He then looked over to Bella who was giving Jake the stink eye.
"Jake's going to the Rez, do you want to go?" Charlie asked. "I was going to stay the night there and do some fishing tomorrow morning."
"No,"
"No?"
"No on both. I don't want to go or stay the night there. I want to stay here."
"She can't stay here-"
"Shut up Jake." Bella seethed, "unless your balls want a date with my foot again."
Jake may have cupped said balls, but shut his mouth.
Charlie chuckled, unfazed by their conversation. "You'll be by yourself, Bella." He chided.
"I think I can manage. I lived with Renee for seventeen years; I think I can handle one night by myself in my own house."
Charlie frowned, but hid it with another sip of his coffee. "Maybe Alice could sleep over, keep you company."
"Oh, a slumber party, yay." Bella said sarcastically.
"Alice Cullen?" Jake interjected.
"Yep. I met her last night."
"No, no Cullen's," There was foot stomping. "Charlie!"
Charlie just raised his eyebrows at him.
"I was out with them last night," Bella said suggestively. "All of them."
Jake started doing that shaking thing.
Charlie was annoyed and told Jake to get out of his house if he was going to lose his shit.
Jake bounded through the front door shaking back and forth like the dog.
Bella followed him but stopped at the front door.
She felt Charlie move behind her.
"Oh, he's really going to do it, huh?" The man said gruffly, the smell of coffee covered with beer wafted over their personal spaces.
Bella really needed to figure out how much her dad was drinking especially if the scene before them wasn't affecting him at all.
"Do what? Have a seizure? Should we call 911?"
"No need. Just watch."
Bella cupped her hand over her mouth when Jake starting frothing at the mouth.
"Maybe it isn't steroids." Bella whispered. "Maybe he has rabies. It would explain some things."
"If only it was that simple." Charlie huffed.
On the lawn, Jake started convulsing. His body was shaking back and forth as his mouth started chomping at nothing. His hands grew ridged, his fingers curled as claws started to grow.
Then hair started popping through his flesh like porcupine quills and Bella's mouth popped open with a gasp.
Jake's body started growing with each huff and continued to puff out hair.
His shorts disintegrated off his body.
His nose elongated and his ear pointed and stretched along the side of his nose.
Bella could hear Charlie chomping on some chips behind her.
Jake's feet started to shrink and quickly transformed into paws, as did his hands.
His body became elongated and furry as he popped into a final giant red wolfy form.
"Whoa." Bella gasped, "That explains the dog smell."
"Yep," Charlie sighed, putting another chip in his mouth.
Jake turned toward Bella and Charlie for a moment before he ran into the woods.
"He'll have to come for the truck later, I guess." Charlie said, shutting the door behind them. He sat back in his recliner. "So, you bout ready for that talk about Jake and the steroids?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Good. Cause that was the jist of it."
Charlie had to get a new beer if he was going to delve into the crazy.
He sat on his recliner, feet propped up.
"I've been seeing someone."
Bella gasped, not expecting to hear that and her annoying blinking went full force. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself with deep breaths. Finally, she opened up her eyes and said, "What?"
"You know her, Sue Clearwater."
"Oh," Bella nodded, listening aptly, but moved from the front door to sit on the couch. "What does that have to do with the puppy?"
"Well, so one day I was at the reservation with Sue and her two kids. Harry had passed away last year and we kind of bonded, you know, the way two people alone do?
"Save me the details of that." She shuddered.
"Anyway, the kids were talking back and forth about how some of local boys are changing and growing up fast, how they shape shift into wolves, on and on. They forgot I was there." Charlie laughed. "So I am sitting there, just listening and Sue's hand is getting tighter and tighter as she grows more anxious because I was so calm."
"Well," Bella snorted, "that was pretty dramatic stuff to hear about without seeing it."
"Oh, I saw it. Just like you. And, Bella, just like me- you handled it well."
"Well, after living with Renee and her phase of summoning wayward spirits, shapeshifters aren't that outside of the box." Bella and Charlie shared a laugh as she shook her head.
Charlie suspected that she was still in shock.
"Then the boys started shape shifting into wolves, which is actually pretty bad ass. But Sue was beside herself. I learned later she wasn't sure how I was going to take it all. She considered it her baggage and why she couldn't date."
"So that's why they are so big and gross?"
"Yep." Charlie said simply.
"Huh," Bella put her feet on the coffee table. "But why do they change?"
Charlie took a long swig and then stuffed some chips in his mouth to buy him some time.
At least something was in there trying to absorb the booze.
"That's a whole other campfire story, uh, legend."
"Well, good. Keep going."
"Apparently, there's some spiritual myths that talk about the natural enemy to the tribe and other people. Some people call them the cold ones. They are the ones who destroyed their tribe. I can't recall everything; I was too busy trying to pick up Sue."
The man smiled a strange smile before taking another swig.
"Does Sue know about all this drinking you are doing?" Bella asked, gesturing into his form melding into the leather chair.
"Yeah."
"You're drinking a bottle of water next, old man." Bella pointed at him, daring him to refute. "I know that cup of coffee was a ruse."
Charlie rolled his eyes.
"I've only had two."
"It's only ten am!"
"Two minute warning, young lady!"
"Flag on the play! Water next or I use the beer as bratwurst broth."
Charlie gasped. "Don't you have somewhere to be? I thought I heard your phone chime."
Bella rushed up and grabbed her phone.
Two missed calls from Renee.
One missed call from Alice Cullen.
Bella groaned. She needed to call Alice back, but first she needed to talk to Renee.
Her fingers absently scrolled to Renee's name and hit send.
It rang once. "Bella? I have been so worried," Renee's disembodied voice said into the phone.
"Oh yeah? Why?"
"Why? Why? Why do you think?" She screeched.
Bella stood and started to pace the length of her room and played with a lock of her hair. "Um, because I went into woods and you said not to or that I was reading out there… by myself."
"Exactly both! The forests are not safe. There are things in the forest, Bella, monstrous things that will hurt you."
Oh, that pissed Bella off! She felt the temper flare over her skin in white hot heat.
"Seems to me that the most monstrous thing in the forest to harm me was you!" It was a low blow but… yeah. Renee could've been honest; she could've said something- anything.
There was a hitch of breath before the line went silent.
Bella decided she was going to wait it out.
Let the words fester.
It was at least two minutes of dead silence before Renee said, "What did you just say?"
"Which was the part you missed, mom?" She said sweetly, "Was it you trying to drown yourself in the river or the part where you were going to take me with you when you offed yourself?"
"How dare you-"
"How dare I what?"
"What did Charlie say to you? He never really loved me, Bella. You don't understand. I was so trapped that I couldn't even breathe without him down my neck."
"Don't- Just don't… start on him. No diverting the attention onto him."
"He's trying to turn you against me!" She sobbed. "I knew this would happen if I let you go back."
"So you acknowledge you were trying to kill yourself?"
"No, I- what? I never tried to kill myself, Bella."
"So, then tell me what was up with the guy pulling you out?"
There were several more moments of silence that seemed to dry up all of Renee's tears. Her voice turned acidic. "You think he told you everything, huh? Did he tell you he stood there while some stranger tried to murder me?"
"No. Dad did say that while we was trying to get to you the guy pulled you out and had his hand around your throat. He said that the guy said something to you. What did he say?"
Renee started to cry.
It was not lost on Bella that she still was only concerned with herself.
"Come to Florida, baby." She cried and Bella rolled her eyes. "Please. Before it's too late."
Florida was the last place before Hell that Bella wanted to go.
"What did the guy say?"
"I have to go, Bella. I- I can't-"
The line clicked off and Bella moved the cell away from her ear to check.
Yep, she was gone.
Bella then took a minute to send off a quick text.
Call me when you're ready to tell me the truth ~b
Bella then called Alice to make some plans.
She needed to get out of the house.
And maybe, by coincidence, see Edward.
A/N: Thank you for reading and your kind reviews!