Hey! Update time! Ya-hoo! But first is comment time:
Weaslytemper: I will continue, of course, I would never leave you guys stranded like that.
Werewolflover98: (ps love the username!) Here it is...
TarusPixie: Thank you so much, means a lot. Love Leah too, shes really fun to write and yes... Yikes!
daLeah: You'll have to wait and see! And of course he is, but you'll notice it more often now. Thanks. :)
- I changed from the short snippet in the last chapter, "sleeping against Jake's chest" to "leaning against Jake's chest", merely a type-o. Just didn't want any outraged readers. *Smiles* Commence Reading...
I gulped and looked down at the beach. Never in my life had a body of water and a small fire pit in the distance looked so menacing. Leah waddled down the walkway balancing a towel on her head and her flip-flops dangling between her fingertips. I had finally gotten the council to look up half-werewolf bloods like me and the only things that seemed to make me different from the other wolves was that I didn't get the temperature. I had somehow cooled down after the change and my need to protect the "territory" was a lot more toned down. Thank god, I couldn't be getting all harry every time that a vampire neared our border.
I trembled a bit from the harsh air, I was wearing my swim suit and my white see-through beach shirt half buttoned over my bikini top. It was a terrible idea, but I had to take a swim before the whole event. Just to calm myself down. Leah had agreed to wait for me while I caught frostbite. We wandered to a spot on the beach that was far enough away from the pack who were setting up seats and the marshmallows. I unbuttoned my shirt and peeled on my wetsuit that had gotten so much more use in California where the sun sparkled everyday. Nick had always laughed, there were two seasons there: hot and hotter. I zipped myself up and dove headfirst into the icy seawater. I shivered, it was always best just to jump right in, but it seemed like a terrible idea as I floated for a bit trying to get acclimated.
Leah laughed and I shot her a glare. She reclined on the sand with her eyes closed and muttered, "If looks could kill."
A wave shot towards me so I turned and jumped up, efficiently getting it to pound against my back instead of my face. "You would have been already dead," I shouted back with a triumphant smile. I rolled my shoulder blades then started to slice through the water like it was no more than ribbon. I had always been the best on the swim team, making water my permanent home. My dad always gave me this look, like your going swimming again? I'd shrug, it was the only thing that could pull me out of the grief. Nick was everywhere in the water. He was the seaweed that clung to my leg and the rocks in my hair. He was the boats so far out you could barely see the outline, he was the sand-dollars that were sitting at the bottom of the ocean.
I went up for air, gasped it in, and glanced back at the shore. Leah was a speck and the beach seemed so far. Must be the werewolf gene, I thought starting back so that I could have time to dry off before dark. The water was pure here in Washington like someone had poured a huge bottle of their filtered water right into the ocean. In California there was too much seaweed and if you didn't go to the right beaches the rocks would cut into your feet. It was like no one swam these waters.
I dog paddled the last foot before I could walk, the sand was nice in between my toes like an extra appendage. I started unzipping the wetsuit and shaking myself off before I even made it to Leah. She was sleeping like a cat, curled up with her head on her knees. I shoved the wetsuit into a plastic grocery bag, knotted it, then packed it away safely into my purse. Re buttoning the shirt I nudged Leah with my shoe.
"I vaguely remembering you telling me that I had to," I lifted my fingers and made air quote signs, "get my quote on quote, flit on. Wake up, you can sleep when your dead." I yanked a brush I had packed through my snarled locks of hair until it fell in salty waves around my shoulders, dry. "Is getting dark," I whispered as she peeled open her eyes again.
Leah muttered to herself before pushing from the sand and dusting off her shorts and the thin tank-top that had a purple swim top poking out. "Yeah, yeah. Now your all calm and collected for the party," she put up a hand like she was stopping me from saying something, "no, really. You can thank me later when Jake is all over you." I gaped and she chuckled, "We're all thinking it now shut your trap and move it. I'm starved."
My stomach rumbled, "Me too." Our looping paces had us there in a couple of minutes top so we managed to snag the best chairs that were warm and cozy by the fire-pit Embry was coaxing to life. I wrapped Billy's thick hunter green blanket around my shoulders and started snacking on a sausage Embry had speared and left roasting in my hands. I was to protect it with my life, yeah right. Jake wasn't here yet, but neither was Sam or Emily. Billy rested in his wheel chair contentedly with Quill's grandfather beside him. Seth was scarfing down chocolate that I think was for the smores' because Leah snapped and grabbed it from him. She smiled to herself then popped a piece of the candy-bar into her mouth.
She tossed me the other half of the bar, "Here." I ate it besides Seth's protests and made a five pointer at his head. Leah gave me a high-five and we both hunkered down to get warmed up again.
"Tess! Hey!" He flailed his arms and huffed over to me with his hands on his hips, "You just killed my food! You killed it! I was so hungry," he moaned clutching his stomach and leaning against my fold-up-chair for support although it couldn't hold both of us which resulted in him collapsing on me. It sent the chair falling over which triggered Leah's chair to fall over too. We all laughed except Leah who was, even though squished, telling us that she was going to murder our children.
I heard the huff of someone who had just walked the beach to arrive and looked over, still being made into a sandwich by Leah and Embry who were tangled in limbs, I gasped. She was here at the bonfire and I couldn't believe this. He had promised me an answer. This wasn't an answer. Or was it? I looked sideways at the girl leaning against Jake's chest. Where I belong, my brain reminded me just before someone grabbed me around the waist. Seth tugged me out of the bodies of Leah and Embry who were now on the verge of killing each other.
I threw Seth an appreciative smile, "Thanks Seth, you just saved my life."
He rolled his eyes and we both plopped down on the other side of the campfire where I couldn't see Jake or the girl. I couldn't face him, not now. Seth squeezed my hand like he knew what I was thinking. I nodded and speared another sausage before sticking it in the flames where it would be char-broiled. No one said a word, we still had to wait for Sam and Emily. Uneasiness spread over the crowd as Leah stared at someone across the campfire. Her glare could have made someone combust into flames, I pinched her arm.
She raised her eyebrows at me. "Play nice," I whispered under my breath, but Embry and Seth caught it because they laughed. I plastered on a smile as if to say: look, I'm fine. Leah shook her head and ran her fingers through her short hair then mouthed, not buying it.
I snorted which caused everyone to look at me. I must've turned a bit red because it sent Embry charging across the campfire to throw me over his shoulder. Not expecting it I screamed a bit and started hysterically laughing like I wasn't going to stop. I couldn't stop. He twirled us in a circle as I clung onto his ragged t-shirt. I was dizzy and he set me down on my feet a couple yards away from the campfire. I don't know how, but I ended up in the sand clutching my stomach and groaning.
Embry grinned a flopping grin that was all white teeth, "Feel any better?" I nodded and he helped me up, "I like you better when your happy. Its infectious like an epidemic."
"Did you just compare my happiness to a sickness?" I frowned with my hand on my hips, but I was just kidding. He threw me another smile that I returned as we returned back to the group. Sam was helping Emily onto a huge tree trunk one of the guys had dragged over. She had arranged a checkered table cloth over it and was fixing her floral dress as it ruffled in the small breeze. Sam held her hand in his, hers looked like a toy in a child's hand in comparison. He gently wrapped an arm around her and drew her close so that he could rest his chin on the top of her head.
I saw the girl in Jake's arms stiffen at the sight of me. What did I do? I looked down at my clothes and saw my button down shirt, the swim suit showing through, and the shorts that I only wore to the beach. I looked over at Seth and he shrugged chewing thoughtfully on a burnt marshmellow. I'll be nice, this once, I thought.
I smiled, "Hello, my name is Tessa." I threw out my hand and waited expectantly as she deliberated looking at it. She wasn't amazingly pretty, but she was striking with dark brown hair and soft brown eyes. I wiggled my fingers, "I don't kill you, promise."
"Isabella," she shook my hand not noticing as it grew more tense, "Bella I prefer," she said again and I could feel myself shaking. My entire body trembled as I yanked my hand back. Rage filled me and I saw in a haze of reds and blacks as Jake pushed her behind him and tried to coax me. Everything is alright, no it isn't I wanted to respond as my teeth started to chatter against themselves.
Leah grabbed my arm as the change flowed over me. I heard the rip of my clothing and knew my favorite bathing suit was gone. I paused and looked at her, it wasn't long before Jake had changed. His bristly reddish brown fur glinted in the moonlight. I wondered how it must look to Bella, a small silver wolf facing off against a huge Beta. I wondered if she knew he was Beta. If she knew what we were giving up for her.
"Tessa," I heard Jake's booming roar, "stop, alright? She hasn't done anything to hurt you. Just turn around and take a run. Come back to hear the stories, you'd like them."
I flicked my tail back and forth impatiently, "She has done everything to hurt me. Take a run? That's the best you've got? Like I would dare hurt a human? No matter how angry I get I wouldn't, I couldn't. Not since Nick-" Died. I was going to say not since my brother died except the words died off and I found myself backing up and tearing through the beach until I collapsed against the fringe of the trees as a human. Tears streaked down my face as I slipped on a pair of worn and paint splattered jeans. My red shirt with the logo of my favorite band, The Black Keys and my tattered tennis shoes. My red hair was annoying, a shade of orange just like I had complained about all those times standing in front of a mirror. Time to change that, I thought confidently. This was the hair color that loves Jacob Black.
A half an hour later I found myself standing in front of my mirror with a bottle of dark brown hair dye. I tentatively ran it through my hair then waited for it to set. It smelled like a mix of nail polish remover and hydrogen peroxide. I stripped down then rinsed out my hair in the shower. The bubbles seemed to be calming in a way as the small shaking slowed to an occasional shake of the hands. I stepped out and rung out my hair carefully, wrapping the towel around me and looked in the mirror. Dark chocolate weaved through my curly hair and the red was gone, for good. It looked good and compleated my dark green eyes. I brushed it carefully and braided it taking one last look in the mirror.
This wasn't the girl who had cried in the bathroom trying to eat lunch, this wasn't the girl who was afraid, no. This was the girl who would change everything.
AN Expert from the next chapter:
"You've changed."
Two little words that could make all the difference. I gulped and smoothed down my dress stepping closer.
I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them, "I know you love her, but I love you and I want you to pick me over her."
Like? Seem familiar? Review please, it makes my day!
xoxo - ggbrownie