Disclaimer: Anything that looks like a nickelodeon cartoon or a Meyer novel doesn't belong to me, anything unfamiliar does.
(Chapter 4)
'Put the car in reverse, look over shoulder, slowly step on the gas, but be ready to use the breaks.' I thought to myself as I pulled the 'spare car' (a nice Nissan x-tera) out of the detached garage and drove through the nearly invisible pathway to the main road, trying to avoid dangerous looking patches of brown leaves dotting the highway.
I was nervous for fall break to be over tomorrow. I didn't want to go to high school, but it was too late to back out now. I had a new backpack full of supplies, a class schedule, and a shiny new lunchbox (Star Wars themed, of course).
Yep. Come tomorrow, I was ready for failure.
I shook my head and concentrated on the watery road. It was raining, of course. It was always raining here. Which wasn't so terrible since I always had a potential weapon nearby, but would it kill the sleepy town for some sunny days?
Since it was so late and any cars driving by would have headlights to warn me. I used my power to open a huge invisible umbrella over the car. The rain was still coming down pretty heavily, but it was no longer hindering my sight as I drove in the dark. Which I was pretty sure was illegal since I needed something called 'after nines', but whatever. If I got pulled over, I'm sure one of my siblings could charm me out of paying a hefty fine.
LaPush was a good twenty-five minute drive from the Cullen's place. I followed the straight road as it began to curve and swerve around tall cliffs that were just itching for someone to swan dive off. The ocean unfolded before me like a paper fan. It was so lovely with the rain slashing across its secret depths. I parked the car at a public access and practically ran to the shoreline, allowing the beating rain to fall over me, drenching me from head to toe in a few seconds.
"Ahh. This is heaven." I sighed as the salty spray washed over my bare toes. It was cold, but I didn't bother heating it up. The chill made me feel alive. Every cell in my body was buzzing with energy when I was connected to this much water.
The power thrummed in my muscles, making me feel invincible.
I looked around quickly, but no one was around to see me play. Just in case, I walked a ways down the beach until I was in a more secluded area. The waves were rougher here, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. It was so dark, I had to make the rain falling around me glow so I could see. It was so pretty. I wished I could make the whole shoreline light up, but that would really be pushing it.
In fact, just this little glow was probably pushing it. I stopped making the glow and sent a small thread of light through the ocean instead, as pale as the moon's reflection.
My stage set, I lifted my arms up over my head and spun, sending the water at my feet in a wide circle, making it dance and writhe around me like I was the center of a huge, liquid fire. I kicked my foot onto the bottom, sending out a pulse (a sonar of sorts) to make sure no larger predators were in the dark waves, but all was clear. I may be a water elemental, but I hated sharks. They were the vampires of the ocean if you ask me.
I strode through the waves, pushing against the current when it tried to pull my feet out from under me. Every few feet I would dip the tip of my index finger in the water and freeze a little ice cube, just to watch it bob and swirl in the waves. Deep enough, I jumped up and dove down, kicking and propelling the water around me until I was deep, deep down in the dark, then I made shapes and words glow under the water to keep the darkness at bay.
It was so peaceful down here. My hair swirling around me, noise muffled by the water, tiny fish darting here and there. I felt sorry for people who couldn't breath under the water. It must suck to be a normal human.
Hours passed as I swam under the water, not so much practicing, but playing. It was almost a therapy. In the back of my mind I wondered about the soothsayer's foreboding. Her vision led me here, to this peculiar family, did she see that? If she had, why didn't she warn me about the Cullen's being good? I shudder to think how close I came to killing one of them. All their precious faces swam through my mind. I had only known them a short time, but I cared for them very much.
Probably because it had been so long since someone cared about me.
With a grimace, I remembered I never texted any of the Cullens when I got here. How long had I been under the water? Minutes? Hours? I sighed, sending a champagne bottle's worth of bubbles scrambling to reach the surface.
It was time to go.
I propelled myself to the shore and ran through the still-pouring rain to the car. I dried myself off and checked my new cellphone for messages. "Shoot." Rosalie, Alice, Edward, and Jasper had called a dozen times in the last two and a half hours. I clicked re-dial on Edward's number, knowing he'd be the most forgiving.
"Where the hell have you been?" He barked through the other end.
Maybe he wouldn't be that forgiving after all.
"Sorry, Edward! I'm fine. I've just been in the water."
"What part of 'text me when you get there' didn't you understand?"
"I know. I know." I said, turning on my headlights. "I'm not used to having someone to check in with. It just slipped my mind. Forgive me?" I begged.
He sighed and I could almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Don't let it happen again. And come straight home. Esme has a surprise for you."
"Alright. I'm leaving now." I said before hanging up.
It was so strange to have someone worried over me. But it was nice. A warm feeling spread through my heart as I replayed the distress in his tone when he picked up the phone. No one had been worried about me since I was eight. Then… no one was…
I hummed the rest of the way back to the Cullen's house to distract myself from painful memories and carefully parking the loaner next to a bright yellow Porsche that Edward got for Alice the day after I woke up after the accident, saying 'I owe her, even if it will never happen.' Whatever that meant. He and Alice had been saying stuff like that a lot lately. It must have something to do with the lost future.
"Ivy!" Esme greeted me at the door. "Come this way."
"Hi Esme." I said, running to keep up with her when she grabbed my wrist and practically flew up the stairs. We came to the room once called 'Carlisle's art room' and stopped before the closed door.
"I hope you like it." Esme said almost nervously before opening the door.
My jaw dropped. Like, to the floor.
When she said she was making this my room, I figured she meant add some bedroom furniture and a cute bedspread and a dresser. But no. Apparently Esme was a go-big-or-go-home kind of woman.
The entire room was decorated in a nautical theme. There was a queen bed in a frame that looked like it was made from refurbished ship anchors, all shiny and curling whimsically.
The bedside tables were shipping barrels painted white. Across one wall was a fishing net that had pictures pinned to it with clothes pins. I could see a few candid photos she had snapped of me and my 'siblings' while we were playing poker the other night and a few were what Rosalie called 'selfies' that she Alice and I took together when we were shopping. There was also a group portrait of the Cullens and a little sign above it that said "Family."
The large, double-door wardrobe in the corner was overflowing with clothes and shoes. I knew Alice and Rosalie had been responsible for that. One wall, much like the rest of the house, was made of glass that looked out over the dense forest but the opposite wall was the best feature of the room.
The entire wall had tin sheets hammered into it from floor to ceiling and a huge curtain of water cascaded down from a wide fountain that was attached at the ceiling, catching in a small pool of stones at the bottom to repeat the cycle.
It fell in continuous waves almost like a live mirror and I stood before it speechless running my hands through the coursing water.
It was protection, it was comfort, but most importantly, it was trust.
The Cullen's trusted me even though they knew I could hurt them. They accepted me into their close knit family and wanted me to feel like one of them. Giving me a place in their home. Sharing their wealth and opening their arms wide.
I was so touched, I felt tears slide down my face for the first time in years.
When I turned back to the door, they were all there watching me with smiles on their beautiful faces.
"I- I don't know what to say." I managed, wiping away the emotional tears. "Thank you." I suspected some of them might have been crying with me if they had the ability to produce tears.
I ran forward and threw myself in the midst of them for a huge, icy, marble-like group hug. "Thank you, Esme." I whispered.
"You are very welcome, my dear." She said squeezing me just a bit tighter. I might have bruises in the morning, but I couldn't care less.
We spent the rest of the night together, talking about school the next day and what plans we had for the upcoming week.
'It's just like a real family.' I thought with a smile. Jasper's eye met mine from across the room and I know he could feel my happiness. He smiled back and I felt all my nervousness about the next day fade.
School-shmool. I was ready to take on the world if my new family would be with me. And since they lived forever, I was guessing that they would…
I really liked writing this chapter. I wanted to convey Ivy's playfulness and her yearning for a home and family of her own. She's still slightly mysterious, but you'll learn more about her darker past in a few chapters.
Hope you liked it. Chapter Five might be up tonight if I can finish it.