It's not that I didn't want to see Royce, but the fact that he didn't talk to me about it was annoying.
I put on a warm jacket, grabbed my purse and got out of the house.
Their house wasn't that far from mine. In driving time it was approximately 20 minutes or so, but it was cool. I loved driving and going anywhere in Forks took about 10 tops. It seemed stupid to have a car sometimes.
Once I got there I parked my car on the driveway and I walked towards the door.
The house looked great, much better than the last time I'd been here. It was small, but it had a home look that made the size unimportant. It was pearl white on the outside and it had big windows facing the street. The front door was made out of wood and it was really big, kind of intimidating but it went great with the rest of the house.
I rang the doorbell and I heard some footsteps.
The door swung open and John smiled as soon as he saw me.
"You made it! Come in, come in, it's freezing outside." He hugged me tightly as I got in.
"I told Vera I would." I answered sharply.
"Yeah, well. You know how she gets with parties..." He whispered to me.
"I heard that." said Vera as she walked down the stairs with a pile of plastic cups.
John kissed her cheek and we laughed.
"The house looks great guys, I love it." I told truthfully.
"Yeah. We made a pretty good job." John said as he looked around proudly.
"We'll give you a tour later, but right now I have to get some things done." Vera informed.
"I'll help. What do you want me to do?" I offered as I took my jacket off.
"You can bring the finger food to the coffee table, it's on the kitchen counter." She signaled the kitchen as she grabbed my jacket and placed it on a small closet next to the front door.
"I'm on it." I went to the kitchen and peeked around a bit while I took the plates.
It looked nice. The counter was made of white granite and all the machinery was silver.
Over the sink there was a small window that faced the backyard but I couldn't see much because of the darkness. I would have to check it out later.
John walked through the kitchen into what I assumed was their room because he got out of it wearing a much nicer shirt.
"Need any help?" He asked.
"Sure, there are two more plates back there." I answered while I passed him by making my way to the living room.
A few minutes after we were done, people started showing up. People from John's work, some girls from the Mall, and others that I didn't know.
I grabbed a plastic cup but I filled it with iced tea, I hated beer and I had to drive
home later.
I was talking with the girls from the Mall about boring stuff like how low are paychecks were, and how lame the floor managers are, etc when Vera saved me from them.
"I love you." I told Vera, she laughed like crazy and we sat down on a couch that was really comfortable.
"Cool party, huh?" She asked trying hard not to laugh.
"You read my mind, sister!" I answered.
The bell rang and Vera saw John busy talking to his friends, she went to answer the door.
"Be right back." She announced.
I needed to pee pronto, so I got up from the couch and made my way to where they had told me the bathroom would be when they were building the house. It was there, and luckily for me it was empty. After I drained my bladder out, I washed my hands and dried them out with a towel that looked bran new. I checked if my hair was OK, and it was. I straightened my dress again, and walked out.
I went back downstairs, and there was more people than before. John was still chatting with his pals, which were laughing very loudly by the way and Vera was hanging some coats.
I sat down right were I was before leaving to the bathroom but this time, the couch wasn't empty. There was a girl on my left side talking with another girl standing next to her. When I sat, the girl standing took off God knows where and the other girl was left alone. She turned her head around and eyed me with the corner of her eye. I'm sure she thought I couldn't tell, but I could. She eyed me again, and I was about to tell her something about it but then she turned her body around towards me and smiled.
"Rosalie?" She kept smiling.
I recognized her. I wasn't sure from where, but she looked very familiar.
"Yes?" I asked her.
"You don't remember me, do you?" She asked almost laughing.
She was slim, but you could tell that she worked out. Her hair was almost black, it reached over her shoulders and it looked choppy. Her skin was dark like John's, and she was wearing a blue top and black trousers.
"Honestly? You look familiar but..." I scratched my head in confusion.
"It's me, Leah." She sat up straight and looked at me.
After looking at her one last time and scanning through my memories once more, it finally hit me.
"Leah Clearwater!" I smiled.
"I can't believe you forgot about me." She said mockingly.
"I didn't, you just look... different." I shrugged my shoulders and relaxed a bit.
"Well, it's been a long time. You look pretty much the same to me, though." She confessed.
"Thanks, I guess. It's been a while since I last saw you." She nodded.
"What do you say... about nine, ten years?" We were making maths.
"Give it or take, yeah." I answered.
"So, how are you?" She asked.
"I'm good. Working hard to pay the bills." I exaggerated and she laughed.
"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes.
"And you?" I asked her.
"Um... I don't know. I'm not doing anything right now but it's cool." She sounded just like when we were kids. So casual, and straight up.
"Did Vera invite you?" I was trying to think if they knew each other.
"No, John did. We went to school together and we see each other almost everyday now that they moved here." She answered.
"Oh, right. Did you come alone?" She sighed in frustration and exhaled loudly.
"No, my brother and some of his dumb friends came along. You know, if there's a party they have to be there no matter what." She looked pissed about that. I laughed.
"I remember your brother, he was really annoying." We laughed.
"Well, then I guess he hasn't changed much either." She took a cup resting on the coffee table in front of her and drank whatever was left in it.
"Let's go for a refill." Leah invited.
"Alrighty." I grabbed an empty cup and went along with her.
"Psst. Psst!" We both turned around and Leah frowned.
A skinny boy was standing in front of us, and by Leah's reaction she knew him.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" He asked with a huge grin on his face. He looked way younger than us, 14 maybe 15.
"You already know each other." Leah answered with an angry tone.
"I don't think so, I'd remember you." He winked at me and I couldn't hold my laughter any longer.
By the way he talked, it was clear that he was trying to be seductive, but it obviously wasn't working on me. I cleared my throat.
"I'm Rosalie. I used to hang out with Leah when we were little." I waved my hand in the air.
"Really?" He sounded confused.
"Yes. I remember you. Well, more specifically I remember your mother trying to get you to take a bath and you running through the backyard naked." Leah cracked up and I did too.
His face was red now and he was frozen in place.
"Anyways, nice to see you again." Leah and I walked pass him.
"You're my hero." Leah told me with a smile.
"You're welcome. I really do remember that, though." Leah nodded.
"Yeah, it wasn't a one time thing either, he used to do that almost everyday." I frowned.
"I bet he did." I laughed.
We filled our glasses with more iced tea. She told me she was the designated driver for tonight.
"So are you dating anyone?" She asked me.
"Um..." Something began to ring, something like heavy metal was coming out of her pocket.
"Sorry." She told me and I nodded.
"Hey, how's it going?" She answered to the person on the phone.
"I can't hear you, wait a minute." She was trying to get signal all around the kitchen.
"You should try the other rooms." I whispered to her.
She left the kitchen and suddenly I was there alone. I realized that the window facing the backyard that I saw just a few minutes earlier was now perfectly illuminated.
There was a bright light filling the back of the house. I wanted to see it, Vera had told me her ideas for it but I had to peek.
I turned the doorknob that lead to the yard and stepped outside. It was a bit chilly, and me drinking ice tea wasn't probably the best thing but I could manage the cold for a couple of seconds while I looked around.
I closed the door behind me and I sighed at the view. The lawn was so green, there was a swing for Cory to play in and a couple of chairs. Further back I could see a little tree that was recently planted because of the wet dirt around it and flowers of all colors surrounding it. It was far prettier than what Vera described me.
I was two or three foots into the backyard when I sensed something behind me.
I slowly turned around afraid it might be some sort of animal but then I sighed when I noticed the human silhouette sitting behind the window.
I walked towards the window and thanks to the lights I could see it was a man sitting. He was looking down, his head between his hands.
"Hi." I said nervously. I stood there waiting for the man to talk back to me but nothing.
"Do you want me to get you a coat? How long have you been here?" I asked. I was a little worried, he wasn't talking back. What if the guy was frozen? What if he's dead?
"I'm fine." A deep voice answered.
His lips opened like he was about to say something but then he swallowed hard. He was now staring at me; not in a creepy way but more like examining me. He wasn't blinking either, which concerned me a bit.
"Hello?" I asked, my voice a little worried. No answer. I snapped my fingers at him and he reacted.
He blinked a few times and got up in a second. He was really tall. Even taller than Royce.
"Hi." He said to me.
"For a second there, I thought you were dead." I smiled.
He laughed, a loud husky laugh.
"Well, as you can see I'm not." He smiled.
"I'm Jacob." He pulled his hand in the air.