Finding Home Again-Chapter 4
●It's the Eyes●
"Come back anytime, Lilliana!" The caring voice of a possible new friend called.
I turned back and waved at the scarred-face woman who stood on the porch of her quaint home. "Nice meeting ya, Emily!"
Emily waved bye to the group as we walked down the driveway. We traveled down the deserted street mostly in silence, headed back towards the Black house. I looped my arm in Bella's as we walked behind the boys. The only sounds omitted from the laughing boys and the distant, crashing waves on the rocks.
"Don't you just love that sound?" I murmured to Bella as Quil let out a burp, bringing on more laughter and sounds of disgust.
She frowned at me, confused. "Quil's burping?"
"What?!" Four deep voices said in unison.
"I knew you couldn't resist my charming ways, Garvin." Quil bellowed, winking.
Bella waved her hand, smirking at Jacob. "No! No! I think she meant the laughter, right Jake?"
"No. I think she meant the waves." I said in exasperation.
"Ohhh…" The others turned silent, listening.
After a minute, Jacob let out a deep sigh and chuckled as Quil's stomach growled.
"How are you still hungry, dude?" Embry nudged him. We had just spent over an hour at Emily's house, eating.
Quil shrugged and simply stated, "I'm a growing boy. Welp, I best be going."
Embry nodded. "Me too. See you later."
The other three replied bye to their retreating backs. We walked on and a minute later, reached Jacob's house.
"How soon do you have to be home, Bells?" Jacob asked, leaning on the hood of her truck.
"In little over an hour so I can make Charlie dinner. How about you Lilliana?" They turned to me.
"No certain time since its Friday. Helena usually doesn't get home until late. Why?" I replied, avoiding Seth's gaze.
I still couldn't believe how kind he was to comfort me like that; just hold me. Especially, since this was the second time I had seen him.
"We can go to the beach; it's awesome at this time!" Jacob exclaimed, already heading in that direction.
Seth glanced at me as Bella followed. I stumbled through the forest next to him, watching for roots. I peeked up at him and heated, looking quickly away when he noticed. A second later, I gasped, losing my footing on a stupid root that I would have seen, had I not been thinking about Seth.
"Woah there." He hummed, grabbing my waist before I reached the forest floor.
I hate to admit it, but I lost my train of thought as I met his soft, dark-chocolate eyes. He stared at me with the same intensity as he had when I first looked at him on the beach. We must have stood there staring at each other for a while because Bella came back, searching for us.
"Seth! Lilli! Are you coming? What's taking so lo-" She stopped, eyes widening, upon seeing me fall through the underbrush and unto the rocky coast.
I blushed, yet again, hearing the gasps of people as Seth came rushing out and pulled me up, Bella at his heels.
"Oh, Lilliana! I'm so sorry! Jake and I were just wondering what was taking so long…" Bella exclaimed.
"Are you okay, Lilliana?" Seth took my hand for the second time today, guiding me over to where Jacob sat.
"It's okay, Seth. Bella just took me by surprise." I said, looking at the scenery. "I'm going to go sit on those rocks." I pointed over to where a few tide pools were a few hundred feet away, already making my way over. I stopped as Jacob chuckled and Bella giggled.
"What?" I incredulously asked.
"Is Seth coming with you?" People turned to stare at our group as Jacob guffawed, sending sand and rocks flying as he brought his hand down in cohesion with his bark-like laughter.
My gaze quickly went to the sand as I dropped my hand, only to have Seth pull it back.
"Yes he is." Seth spoke over his amused friend, this time pulling me to the marine pools.
I sat down on the edge rocks, separating the pool from the Pacific Ocean. The waves were relatively calm today so I wasn't worried about a nasty one knocking us off the sedimentary, mini-cliff. Speaking of the word us, why did Seth join me? Wouldn't he have more fun being with Jacob, who I am sure he has known since birth, than with a girl he only has seen twice? And thinking of that, why did he not join the other boys at Sam and Emily's to watch a baseball game?
"So, do you uh…like Forks?"
I tore my gaze from a coral-colored sea star to look up at him. He was studying a crystal blue seashell in his hands. I replied, "It's okay, I guess. I miss home. I never imagined that I would have to leave Laurel Bay."
It was quiet for a moment before Seth spoke again. His voice was curious, "Laurel Bay? I've never heard of it."
I slowly took the seashell from his hands, studying it, as I told him of my hometown. "Laurel Bay is a small town of near the coast of South Carolina. My…my parents, Nathan and Maria grew up in Beaufort, a nearby town. They started dating in high school and moved to Laurel Bay a few weeks after graduation. Seth, you see, Laurel Bay is home to families who train at the nearby military bases. My parents were in a special branch of the Marine Corps."
I quickly changed the focus, knowing that I could not speak any longer on that subject.
"Laurel Bay is so beautiful; we had a house right on the water and we even had our own little beach."
Seth smiled, saying, "That sounds cool. Do you miss your friends and neighbors?"
I shrugged. "Not really. My closest friend, Gabrielle moved a year before I left and we lost contact. After that, I did have people that I talked to, but none of them were solid friendships….So, um, have you lived in La Push your whole life?"
He nodded. "I can understand why you never wanted to leave the place where you born and raised. It's the same for me…not like I can ev—my parents, Harry and Sue, knew each other since birth and eventually fell in love and had my older sister, Leah and me. There are a lot a good people on the rez, especially after Dad died on March 5."
I stared at him. It was April 15th, his dad had died only a month ago. How could he smile and laugh when I couldn't?
"I'm sorry, Seth. My parents were killed in duty in January. I pray that you got to say goodbye to your dad." I whispered, staring at where sea and sky met.
"I did. But, that doesn't make the pain any less. One of these days, Lilliana Garvin, I am going to make you smile again. I can see your emotions in your eyes, why not see them on your face?" I shivered as his hot breath tickled my earlobe.
Why did he want me to smile? To laugh? I hesitantly took his hand and blushed as a full-blown grin broke across his face. "Do, do you want to play 20 Questions?" I asked.
Seth replied with a question of his own, beginning the game. "What's your favorite color, Ms. Garvin?"
I was shocked at his genuine curiosity. This was something that I was already enjoying. "Hmmm…sapphire. What's your favorite food and color?"
"My mom's lasagna and emerald green. When's your birthday?"
"February 7, 1995. I love peaches; what's your favorite animal?" I inquired.
"Wolves," He smirked, "What's your favorite subject?"
I shook my head, shaking my finger. "You never told me your birthday, Seth."
"Right. October 22, 1994. My favorite subject is lunch. What's your favorite season?"
I threw my arms in the air, bringing his right arm with them. "Seth, lunch is not a subject! Pick something reasonable and academic."
He rolled his eyes and pointed out, "You know have three questions to answer, Lilliana."
I placed my hands back in my lap, grumbling. "Fine. Dolphins, Biology, and spring. Let me guess, your preferred season is winter, namely because of the holidays. You love spending time with your family."
He stared at me; jaw slacked, but quickly recovered. "Whoa. What type of music do you like? Wait, never mind, I already know the answer-country, specifically, Carrie Underwood. Hmmm…biggest pet peeve?"
I concentrated on his dark-chocolate eyes as I answered. "Bandwagons. I cannot stand when people only jump on because everyone else is doing it, or, in sports, if the team is having a really good season. What about you? Oh, by the way, I also just adore David Archuleta."
"Same. I think we should head; Jake's waving." Seth gestured and helped me stand. Chivalry obviously isn't a foreign phrase in La Push.
"Seth! Lilliana! Come on!" Jacob shouted. I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. Almost an hour had passed since we left Emily's. Bella had to get home to cook for her dad.
Seth and I followed Jacob and Bella back to the house. This time, I made sure to keep all of my attention on the ground.
"See ya, Bells!" Jacob ruffled her hair, causing Seth to chuckle and Bella to smack his hand away.
"Later, Jacob. Bye, Seth!" Bella climbed in her truck and Seth opened the passenger door for me. I could feel his hand lightly on my lower back to help me in.
"Bye, y'all. Tell your dad I said thanks, Jacob." I hopped in and he ruffled my hair through the window. "Gee. Thanks, Black."
"See you in your dreams, Lilliana." Jacob roared with laughter and dodged Seth's hand, running into his house.
Bella smiled and shook her head at his antics. Seth reached in and made me gasp as he put his hand in my pocket, snatching my phone. I turned to Bella and she winked, starting the engine.
A minute later, Seth handed it back to me, smiling. I leaned in, butterflies flying in my stomach, as he ran his thumb across my cheek. "Night, Ana."
Whoa. Did he just give me a nickname?! Okay, it's official; no one else can call me that. "Night, Seth."
Bella reversed out of the driveway, still smiling. I waved to Seth in the driveway as the house disappeared.
"I'm glad we went, Bella." I said, staring out the window as we passed through the town, watching the La Push locals walk along the street.
"It looked like you and Seth got to know each other. What did he put in your phone?" She glanced in her rearview mirror as she merged on the highway.
"Oh." I unlocked it; my contacts were up. I scrolled through and gasped. "Bella! He gave me his number! What do I do? Should I text him now? Should I wait?!"
Bella shrugged, stating, "I never had this problem; Edward prefers phone calls and we were already dating when I got his number."
I groaned, staring at the screen. Seth. I couldn't wait to ask Sarah when she got home after 9. Angela was probably helping her siblings with their homework and doing her own. Who would know what to do? "That's it! Bella, when is Alice getting back?"
Bella glanced at the clock and frowned, seeing it was only 6:18. "It depends how far away they went. They could be back but sometimes, they return after midnight. Do you have Alice's number?"
I shook my head and she quickly handed me her phone. I pressed on Alice and waited as it rang.
"Hello, Bella. Alice is taking down a mountain lion right now." A deep voice answered.
I swallowed, asking, "Who's this?"
There was a pause on the other end as someone…Edward, maybe…yelled to Rosalie. The deep voice spoke again. "Emmett Cullen. Who are you?"
"Lilliana. Could you tell Alice that I called and it's urgent?" I requested.
"Hey, Lilliana! Maybe I could help…Oi! Go away, Edward!" He hissed as Edward frantically spoke.
"Don't scare….went to….Clearwater…me…"
I cut through Emmett's response. "I'm still here, y'all. Bella is no help with boys."
"So it is a boy!" Emmett bellowed, causing me to hold the phone a foot away from my ear.
"Yes. Seth Clearwater. He's this guy from La Push and…" I paused, wondering, "I could wait for Alice or talk to Edward…"
Emmett dismissed it. "Nah, it's cool. Everyone else is still hunting. Talk away, Lilliana."
"Uh, okay. So Bella and I went to La Push today and Seth was so kind and…easy to talk to; we just sat at the tide pools and talked about ourselves and he gave me his number. Should I text him now, or should I wait? But, what if he doesn't want me to text him at all and he wants me to call him. Should I wait a few days? Does he even like me? Was he just being nice?" It all came out in a rush and I took a deep breath, waiting for Emmett to speak.
"I don't think it matters if you call or text him, Lilliana; he will just want to hear from you tonight." Emmett said as Bella parked in front of Helena's house.
"Okay. Thanks, Emmett. Bye." I whispered.
"Don't be a stranger, Lilliana!" He yelled as I ended the call and handed the phone back to Bella.
She blinked at me. "Emmett gave you advice?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, the others were still hunting. He told me that Seth would just want to hear from me tonight."
Bella smiled and I hopped out. "See you at school, Lilli."
"Bye, Bella." I waved as she drove off. I walked up to the door and dished my key out of my bag. I unlocked the door and turned on the lights, setting my things on the counter, typing furiously on my phone.
"Hey, Seth. It's Lilliana. I had a great time today. (:"
