Sorry it took so long to get up. I had sooo much homework and my computer crashed a billion times.
Jake:
She smiled at me, her lips curving exactly as I remembered they did. Her skin was paler, her hair seemed darker compared to it. She was more graceful in the way she held herself, less of the awkward and clumsy girl I had known…
And then her eyes. No longer brown and warm and loving…but gold. Flashing in the light. The ever present blush I had grown to love was never going to be seen again.
But the worst, the thing that ripped my heart open yet again… was the silence. Her heart had stopped beating, the blood stopped rushing through her veins. Bella was dead, turned cold by her precious vampire. And how she reeked of it.
"Hi, Jake" Bella said, as if this were some light hearted visit! I felt the anger boil in my chest, my hands balled into fists and my jaw clenched. She flinched at my reaction to her, but I didn't care anymore. Before, my anger would have evaporated at any sign of her discomfort, but now? I relished in it.
"What do you want?" I ground out. My eyes scanned the shadows around the kitchen, searching.
"He's not here, Jacob. I came alone" Her voice had turned cold as her skin. Her eyes were flat.
"I'm not sure if that was such a good idea" I said and regretted it. Even if the sight of her disgusted me and sickened me and saddened me, I hadn't been raised to threaten girls.
"Jacob… you don't- " Billy started to scold me but Bella raised a hand to silence him.
"No, Billy, it's fine… I understand that's he's made at me, and I'm so sorry Jake. You don't know what it did to me-"
"It turned you into a monster" I shot at her and she flinched again, but composed herself quickly. So… she really did love the bloodsucker and hadn't been using him. It didn't matter anymore though. There was nothing I could do to reverse this…
I clung to Cara's image, fighting not to crack again. She kept me grounded, the memory of her laugh, the image of her smile and eyes…. Cara, Cara, Cara…Bella, Bella, Bella…
No! Why was I torn?! I had Cara and she was all I needed… all I wanted, now. But I couldn't stop myself from remembering the old Bella. No matter how hard I tried. The feelings I had for Bella, my Bella, were still there… locked deep down but fading away with every day I spend with Cara.
"Jacob, that's unnecessary. I came to you for help. I need-" I cut her off again.
"Help? You need me to what? Why can't your new family help you? They're indestructible remember?... on that note, why can't you help yourself… and leave!" I turned on my heel, my hands shaking, my lungs threatening to collapse, but I didn't get far.
Two words and I knew this was more than anything Bella could come up with to torture me. I knew this was more than anything we had ever faced before.
"Charlie's dead"
Cara:
I waited by the phone all day, anxious and pacing. Jake should have called by now, or at least Embry or Quil or even Paul! I couldn't stand not knowing what was happening. If anything was happening.
There was just something about that murder. It sent chills down my spine just thinking those words…
All the blood had been drained….
All the blood had been drained….
Drained….
Drained….
Blood.
It just wasn't right. How could you drain the blood out of a human being? It wasn't something you just heard about and thought, well there's another death to add the to murder rate.
No this… this was something much more complicated than that.
Around 5 the phone finally rang. I jumped on it and picked up on the second ring. It was Jake, sounding very tense and worn out. I was instantly worried…
"We were right, Cara… something's wrong" He sighed on the other end and I could just picture his expression, eyebrows drawn tight.
"I figured that out already, thanks… what does that mean?" I clutched the phone, dreading the answer.
"I can't explain over the phone… I'm coming to pick you up in ten minutes, there's a Pack meeting" We said goodbye and I threw on my shoes and waited on my front steps as my thoughts ran wild.
Vampires run rabid in Washington!
A whole town murdered by bloodsucking fiends!
Nightmares turned to reality! Vampires run wild!
I shook my head as other headlines popped into my head and I heard the familiar rumble of the Rabbit. Jacob pulled up to my curb and I hopped in the passenger seat, the tension already wearing on me.
We rode in silence, nothing but the sound of the Rabbit's engine, and my heart beat. My leg bounced up and down subconsciously and I bit my lip with a passion. Jake's warm hand settling on my knee made me jump and my head whipped around to face him.
"Relax… you're making me even more nervous" He almost smiled that easy, lovable grin, but his eyes were darker than I'd ever seen them… no, they were the same shade of brown they had been when I'd first met him in the woods by my house. Almost black and full of hidden pains.
"Sorry" I murmured and went back to biting my lip, staring absently out the window. The air smelled of danger, sadness… and fear as it rushed in through the open window. It made me anxious.
He pulled to a stop in front of his house and cut the engine. He stared at the steering wheel for a moment and before I could blink, his arms were around me, holding me close and tight. I slid across the seat and melded into his embrace, feeling the warmth envelope me.
For what felt forever he held me like that, but it seemed like it was more for his own benefit. His shoulders were less stiff, though his eyes were barely any lighter. Jacob smiled down at me and I could see that his eyes were torn. I opened my mouth to say something but his lips were on mine before I got the chance… I forget what those words were anyway.
Slowly, his lips moved over mine, but they became more desperate. I was breathless and dizzy by the time we pulled apart and I noticed his own breathing turn ragged.
"What was that for?" I asked.
"For reassurance" I didn't ask who the reassurance was for, but I had a feeling it wasn't for me.
Jake held my hand tighter than normal as we walked toward his garage, were the Pack were sure to be waiting. I could hear them talking in hushed tones before we opened the door and then they all fell silent at once. That feeling that everyone had just been talking about you was something I was familiar with.
No cheery greetings tonight, just somber acknowledgement. I had barely had time to look around before they were all standing.
"Ready for this?" Sam, the oldest and the leader, he was more… severe and serious than the others but he was kind nonetheless. He kept his eyes on Jake, gauging his reaction. Jake nodded stiffly and let go of my hand for once, his hand balling into a tight, white- knuckled fist.
I didn't say anything until we were out in the woods, getting ready for the Change. I was silently dreading the onslaught of the Pack mind, but I'd suck it up, just this once.
"Where are we going?" I asked Quil in a hushed tone. He looked at me for a second with a deliberating expression then looked to Embry on my other side.
"You think she should be coming?" I hated when they did that. Talked as if I wasn't there. They were always doing that, forgetting that their minds weren't connected in human form.
"I think he needs her there, her more than any of us" Embry replied as he slid of his shirt. I blushed and turned my head the other way.
"Why shouldn't she come? And why does he need her?" I asked before I sighed and stared straight ahead. Quil was sliding off his sweatshirt. Me, stuck between two shirtless and hunky Quileute werewolves. My lucky day. Too bad there was only one Quileute I wanted to see without a shirt on.
"Sorry, little girl… I keep forgetting you're there, you're so darn short!" Quil mussed my hair with a grin, but sighed when I glared at him. "Well… this might be hard on old Jake and you… I don't think you realize how good you are for him… before you he-"
"Well! Looks like it's about that time, eh, Quil?!" Embry smacked him upside the head before running ahead, Quil following. Seconds later, two huge wolves joined back with us, loping through the trees.
A twig snapped behind me and I turned to see a gray wolf slink past me, her head raised slightly and a glint in her eye. Leah… I wondered what her problem was.
With no one behind me, I slipped off the track for a second, peeled off my sweats and tank, stuffed them in my bag and welcomed my wolf form.
It didn't hurt, shifting forms. It felt like… a very odd message. Pulling and lengthening. In seconds I was a dark wine colored wolf, falling in behind the Pack and trying not to pass out.
Stupid girl, she isn't one of- Quil, you still owe me twenty- I don't owe you jack! Yo- We're getting closer, stick to the trail for as long as possible- Yessir! Hey, I'm starvin- I hate her, she should just go ba- Leah, always the good sport! Shu- Don't think about her… don't, don't don't, don't- Trying some new Zen methods, Jakey?- Fu- It's not right… I shouldn't be he- Ugh! I hate this… I have such a headache!
I blinked and shook myself to clear my head. The endless rambling and swirling of thoughts never ended. Not only were words invading my thoughts, but images. Girls the boys had checked out, the test Quil had failed, Emily- the girl Sam had imprinted on- and…
Usually Jake's thoughts shone above everyone else's- for me anyway. His thoughts were like a radio station that picked up clear and perfect in a field of static. But he was oddly quiet and dormant.
Paul shut up, you're an idiot- am not, just cau- just cause nothing, he's right- thank you Embry! I- NOBODY CARES!- jeez Leah, way to crush my spi- Jacob?- pizza sounds good- yeah, Cara?- Alright everyone, spread out, their here already- whose here?- woohoo, man these guys really kno- they smell so bad- so do you Paul- Don't worry about it. It'll be fine, I promise. (Cara's thoughts are in bold and Jake's are underlined, everyone else is well… you get it right?)
Looking around, I could tell we were right at the border of La Push and Forks, the town over. Where that cop had been murdered. A chill traveled over my body, my fur stood on end. I was getting better at drowning out everyone's thoughts but they still drove me insane.
At Sam's order, we all spread out into a single front line and I was once again crammed between Quil and Embry- the dynamic duo. Glancing to the left Embry grinned his wolfy grin at me and Quil sort of waggled his eyebrows.
Despite their light attitudes, I could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was taught and ready to pounce, anxiously awaiting what would happen next. As one we walked through the trees until we hit the main road, filling it's width. At the border were three cars- well, a car, a sports car, and a huge monster of a truck. I couldn't see any one around until suddenly, when I blinked, there stood 9 people.
They were so pale, they could have been dead and had appeared virtually out of nowhere. There was something not altogether right about them…. It made me wrinkle my nose and want to shrink back, but Quil's shoulder lightly bumped mine and I kept moving forward.
We came to a stop at the dividing line and I got a closer look at these people. I sucked in a breath. They were beautiful, more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen. Flawless skin and features, they glowed with an unearthly inner light. I knew, by some instinct that these were not my friends but enemies…
Two of them stepped forward as Jacob did- in human form- and the others fell back. I could feel eyes on me…. And something. Like someone prodding at my mind. But not like the Pack. My eyes locked on the one with coppery hair. He looked to be the youngest male of the five but was just as stunning.
I blinked, confused then something clicked.
Who are these people?- They're the reason Jake needs you here, Cara- I'll say- I don't understand?- You see the female towards the front, long dark hair?- Yeah, what about her? There was a hesitation in all their minds, unsure whether it was for them to say. Sam's voice entered my mind. That's Bella.
My head whipped around to look at her again. An insane jealousy filled me. How could Jacob want me after being in love with her?! She was a god and I was a pest. But I remembered something Jacob had said… so important it had given everything away yet I hadn't noticed.
He said she was dead- In a way she is- What do you mean?- Use your sense, Cara. Tell me what you notice…
Just then, the wind carried in our direction. Simultaneously, we all shrank back, cringing. The smell was almost overwhelming. I couldn't put my finger on what it was… nothing human, that was for sure.
What is that?!- The smell of the Cold Ones- Vampires, kiddo- Told you they reeked, but no- SHUT UP PAUL!