On Monday things went back to normal. Well, as normal as my life was going to be for a while. Dr. Cullen had given us a call on Sunday to let us know that Claire's transformation was going well. And that he would give us another call when she woke up. He said that after a person is bitten, it can take up to three or four days of a sleep-like state before the venom has spread everywhere in her body. But even after she awakes, he said we probably wouldn't be able to see her for a while. I knew as well as everyone else that newborn vampires were the strongest and most insane creatures in the world. They are automatically overcome with the hunger for blood. It can up to years for their thirst to die down.
In my mind I still couldn't picture Claire sucking blood out of anything. And there was a part of me that wanted to run up the Cullen's house in Canada and be there with her through everything. But there was still things I needed to take care of in La Push. Kenzie was my main priority on that list.
After I told her about my supernatural world, we had barely spent a moment apart. Both nights since she had been sleeping at my house. She slept in Claire's bed, keeping poor Holli company. Claire had very much been like a mother to Holli, since her mother died when she was only a baby.
I had woken up at five o'clock this morning. I knew that some one had to be up to make lunches. I slipped out of my room quietly and into the kitchen. At the table was my father, his head resting over his arms on the table. He was still in his clothes from the night before.
"Dad," I went up to him and shook his shoulder. "Wake up."
"Huh?" He sat up quickly and confused. "Oh, Gene," he sighed once realizing where he was. "I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I just thought-"
Walking over to the coffee machine, I said, "It's fine dad. But you'd better change fast so you're not late to work."
He looked at his watch hurriedly and then walked out of the kitchen to his bedroom.
I switched on the coffee machine and opened the fridge. I tried hard to remember what kind of stuff Claire would pack for everyone's lunches.
Five minutes later my dad came out of his room, with fresh clothes on and trying to pat his hair into place. I slipped a mug into his hand. "Have a good day, dad."
The sides of his mouth lifted and he sighed. "Thanks Gene. I really appreciate it. I'll see you tonight." And with that he rushed out of the door and into his car.
In front of me were five paper bags, three apples, a banana, a pitched of grape kool-aid, teddy grahams, bread, peanut butter, jelly, and sandwich meat.
I gave my two older brother's each two ham sandwiches on white bread, two apples, and two bottles of water. Then in Eric's and Holli's I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Holli got the the teddy grahams and Eric got the apple. Just as I was about to start making my own bag, a door slammed. No doubt it was Tyson. He couldn't be quiet even if his life depended on it.
Not long after that the house was alive with my four siblings. Holli sat in front of the television watching some stupid kid's show. Kail was helping Eric with his algebra. And Tyson was taking a shower.
I decided it was a perfect time to wake up Kenzie. I had been beginning to notice that she was a very deep sleeper. I knocked on the door before entering but there was no response. When I opened the door I couldn't help but stare at the sleeping beauty lying so peacefully. Though I wish I didn't have to disturb her, it had to be done. I got on my knees in front of the bed. "Kenzie, sweetheart. Wake up."
Her eyes fluttered and she breathed in and out deeply. "Morning, Gene," she said, sitting up and stretching. She was wearing my Van Halen t-shirt and nothing else.
"Have good dreams?" I asked her as I helped her out of bed.
"Mmhmm," she yawned. "Is it okay if I take a shower?"
I froze, "Uh, sure. J-just be quick because we're leaving in about thirty minutes." I kissed her lips lightly and then walked out of my room. I had to get out quick before I started imagining her naked. In my shower. It was all too much for me to handle.
When I entered the living room, Holli was looking into her lunch bag. "Gene, I'm allergic to jelly," she said.
I almost smacked my head at my own stupidity. How could I have forgotten? I took the sandwich from her hands and promised to make her one with just peanut butter. Tyson then proceeded to take it from my hands and eat it in three bites. "Thanks brother," he said with a stupid smirk on his face.
Thirty five minutes later I was rushing out of the door, my back pack in one hand and the van keys in the other. I threw them at the back of Ty's head. "Forgot the keys, stupid," I laughed as he turned to face me and they smacked him right in his face.
Kail threw open the back doors of the van and Eric and Holli crawled in. Just then Kenzie walked out of the house, her hair still damp from the shower. "You guys all ride back there?" She asked me, struggling to wring the rest of the water out of her hair.
I opened up the passenger side door. "Not you, my lovely," I said smoothly before she climbed in. Tyson found my chivalry hysterical. I knew Kenzie liked that kind of thing though.
One last time, I ran up to the house and locked the door. Then, I climbed in the back with my siblings. I sat beside Eric, who was still finishing him his homework. "Need any help buddy?" I asked him.
"No," he stared at his paper, "I think I'm getting it."
I messed up his hair with my hands and then laid down. Might as well get some rest while I could. The last two nights I was sure my family hadn't gotten more than four hours of sleep. We didn't function well without Claire.
Eventually we arrived at the high school. As I opened up the hatch door I felt three drops of rain fall on to my hand. I looked up at the dark sky and sighed. For some reason rain reminded me of my sister.
I stepped out and walked over to Kenzie. She was stalling in the passenger seat with the door open. I laughed an offered her my hand.
She shook her head. Kenzie didn't like storms. As long as I had known her, she had been scared of them. "Come on," I tugged on her arm lightly. "I'll protect you."
Her face lit up and she jumped out of the seat. I slammed the door behind her and we bee-lined for the front entrance. She put her arm through mine and held to me tightly, even after we escaped the rain.
The staring started as soon as we entered a hallway full of lockers. Both girls and guys stopped whatever they were doing to hang their jaws and just stare. Kenzie didn't care though, she just smiled brightly and walked with a little more bounce in her step.
I walked her to her first class, which was Junior Lit. Reluctant to let her go, I gave her a peck on the cheek. She blushed, releasing her grip on my arm. "See you later," she waved as she walked into the class room.
After our departure I walked to the other side of the school for my class. Right now I was taking Quiluete Language. It was a new program at our school this year, and everyone in the pack who was still in school that could take it, was taking it. Besides the pack, there were only three other people taking it and they were Sarabelle, William, and Kimi, who were technically part wolf because of their fathers Jacob Black and Samuel Uley.
I walked in and smiled at all the familiar faces. Sarabelle was sitting on Tyson's lap. Skah and Kimi had their desks pushed together and were talking quietly. Howi, Dena, and Kail were throwing a baseball around the room. I took a seat next to my cousin Tona. He was one of my best friends in the pack. He looked up at me with a sullen face.
"What's wrong, man?" I asked him, playing jabbing an elbow into his stomach.
He shook his head. "It was all my fault, Gene." He sounded like he was ready to vomit.
"What?" Oh. "You mean Claire? No, man, it wasn't any one's fault." Except for... God, even now I still couldn't say his name, not even in my head.
He took a shallow breath. "No, you don't understand," his eyes narrowed, "I let her go off with him at the party. She said that she was going to drive, so I just let her go. And he... he-"
"Ton, it's fine man. There was no way for you to have known to stop her." I felt myself too becoming sick thinking about Claire and... that guy.
Before I could say anything else, the teacher walked in.
Kail waited for him to turn around before chucking it at his head.
But before the ball could hit him, the teacher turned around and caught it in his fist.
"Still got it," Paul Lahote said as he placed the ball inside his top desk drawer.
"Aw, come on dad," complained Dena, "You're no fun."
Paul just laughed. "That's my job, boys. And ladies," he added as an afterthought.
Paul Lahote had graduated high school a long while back and went to Washington State for teaching. After a few years, he got his degree and then married his wife Rachel. They had two kids, Dena and Tala. It wasn't long after that that he stopped phasing. For a while Paul had been jumping around the area doing substitute teaching jobs, but finally landed a full time position at La Push High when this class was created.
"Sarabelle!" Paul hollered. "What would your father think of this?" He gestured towards hee sitting on top of Ty's lap.
Instead of being upset, Sara just giggled and kissed Tyson on the lips. It was almost vomit worthy how much she was using my brother. She slid off of him and into the seat beside him. He coughed and patted down his hair. The stupid grin on his face didn't leave for the entire class.
After Paul dismissed us I hurried back to Kenzie's classroom. She walked out and grabbed my hand. "Do you know which class I have next?" She asked, her lips twisting to the side.
"US history," I reported back to her naturally.
She raised her eyebrows and dropped her jaw. "Geez, Gene, what a stalker," she said playfully as she pretended to smack my shoulder.
After I dropped her off, my stomach clenched in dread. My next class was chemistry. Which usually wasn't so bad, since it was the only class I had with Claire. But who was going to help me understand this stupid shit? Certainly not the teacher. No matter how many time Mrs. Grey repeated the information, I just couldn't register it. Claire was just way better at explaining it. Maybe she should have been a teacher.
The next seventy minutes were hell as I was forced to sit behind Derrick and some chick. He just didn't have a way of being subtle, did he? If not for Kenzie, I would have decked him right there and then, but I couldn't afford to get suspended.
Mrs. Grey let us out of class two minutes after the bell rang so I half-ran down the hall to get back to Kenzie's history classroom. By the time I got there, though, the room was empty. I headed towards her locker. Sure enough, she was standing in front of her locker, filing through some papers. Before I could approach her, I saw Connor come up from behind her. The anger he filled me with locked me into place.
"Hey, Kenz," he said, shoving his shoulder against the locker next to hers. God, what a stupid nick name.
She looked down. "Oh, hey, Connor." She shoved a folder in her locker and slammed it shut. "See you later," she mumbled, turning away.
"Come on, baby, we gotta talk," he asserted himself, going as far as pulling her shoulder back.
Though it didn't look like it harmed her, that didn't stop me from charging over to the boy. I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me. "Leave her alone, okay?" My eyes glared into his, hoping he would get the message.
He didn't seem to as he rolled his eyes and snorted. "Whatever man, she may be going out with you, but guess who fucked her the night of the dance?"
I fumed as I gripped tighter on the collar of his shirt. "You better keep your mouth closed, boy, before I do something we'll both regret."
"Hey, Young!" I heard from behind me, and I turned my head to see Derrick running towards us. Before I could turn back, Connor's fist had already collided with my jaw. I heard Kenzie gasp.
Usually a punch from a human wouldn't do a thing to me, but it had me so off guard that I fell flat on my back. Before I could get up both guys had me pinned down.
"Connor!" Kenzie screamed from somewhere out of my site. "Get off of him, you ass! Leave him alone!" I heard her squeal at the same time I heard a thud.
"Kenzie," I gasped, since Connor had moved his hands up to around my throat.
Before I could buck both boys off of me, they were gone. Just like that. I opened my eyes to see Tona leaning over me. Besides him, on her knees, was Kenzie. She held my hand to her face.
I gave her a gentle look and then sat up. Across the hallway I saw a duel between Connor and Derek and Tyson and Kail. You can guess who was winning.
"This is for Claire!" I heard Kail scream repeatedly as he continued to sock Derrick in the face.
Not ten seconds later and Paul was there, trying to pry the boys off of each other. Tyson seemed to give up on Connor easily, but Kail was a challenge, his hands trapping Derek's neck to a wall. "Let it go, Kail!" Paul screamed as he pull Kail's arms behind his back. I could hear him whisper, "It isn't worth it. At least, not right now."
I looked back over at Kenzie, whose right eye was shining black and blue. I reached my right head softly to her face. "You okay, sweetheart?"
She nodded and helped me off the floor. Tona glanced at us, "You guys better get out of here before the principal shows up," and he darted off.
We took his advice and we headed towards algebra. The only class we had together this semester. Most days I despised it, but it was nice today. I wanted to make sure that Kenzie would remain okay. The bruise around her eye made me shudder in disgust. It must have been Derrick who had punched her. And, oh, would he be getting it later. I knew my brothers well enough to know that they weren't finished with him yet.
There was a tap on my shoulder. Turning around to see who it was, I saw Jane Rovsky. A girl that hasn't ever said a word to me in my entire life, yet was in most of my classes. She hung around with the in crowd.
"Gene," she tapped her pencil on her desk. "Are you okay? I heard what happened... to Claire," she whispered the last part as if it were some sort of secret.
I didn't really know how to respond to that so I just said, "Yeah."
"Did she really get attacked by a mountain lion?" She questioned, and I could tell she was dying for any sort of juicy gossip. I noticed a few people around stopping their conversations to listen better.
"Um, yeah." I said shortly.
She gasped, as if it were the first time she heard it. "Oh my god! Is she okay?"
Before I could mutter up some half assed response, Kenzie answered from the desk beside me. "What do you think, Jane? And I know that you know that Claire was airlifted to a hospital in LA for reconstructive surgery, so stop bothering Gene, okay?" She finished off with the attitude that usually scared me, but this time made me laugh. I turned around again to face the front of the class room and quickly made eye contact with Kenz. I congratulated her with a smile.
Sometimes, the new Kenzie wasn't so bad after all.
After school I met up with Kenz at her locker and began to walk her out to the school parking lot. By some miracle it had stopped raining and the sun beat down warm on our faces. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it softly. All my mind had been saying since that incident with Jane was, She's Mine. She's finally mine. For a long time I had wondered what horrible God could have ever
allowed people to imprint. It caused nothing but pain and misfortune. These last couple days had been different though, and I could see exactly what Sam and Quil and Jacob and others had been seeing for a decade now. True and unconditional love. There really wasn't another way anyone could ever want to be.
My fantasies of Kenzie and mine's future wedding was ruined when I met up with my brothers aby Ty's van.
"Hey, nice shiner," Kail said, sitting in the back, smoking on a cigarette.
I looked at Kenzie to see her reaction, and she started to laugh. "You should've seen the other guy," she stated before going to climb in on the passenger's side.
Giving Kail a questioning look, I asked, "Hey, when did you start smoking?" I almost should have gone up to him and ripped the dirty piece of shit right out of his mouth.
Kail chuckled darkly. "Ever since I beat the shit out of a couple smokers," he grinned wide with the cig hanging out of his mouth. Was it bad that I knew which two smokers he was talking about? I tried to stop myself from grinning as I crawled into the back of the van. Kail stomped out his cigarette, then climbed in shutting the door.
Tyson started the old chugger and off we went to pick up Holli and Eric. Kail started arguing with Ty about who packed the best punch in this so called fight they had after Paul told them to take it outside.
I scooted up closer to Kenzie and leaned over to kiss her cheek. She giggled and turned her head so that our lips would meet. Shocked as I was, I couldn't help but palm her face into my hands and subside into bliss.
That was surely enough to get my brothers to quit, and instead of arguing about punching, they started going at it about which couple was grosser. Kenzie and I or Ty and Sarabelle. I had to agree with the latter.
When we got home Kenzie and I went to go have a seat on the couch and the phone rang. My hand reached out for it but Tyson had already grabbed the other line in the kitchen. I tried to act normal and watch some game show but secretly I was listening to Ty's side of the conversation.
"Oh, hi Chief Swan." For what reason would Bella Cullen's father be calling us? "No, he's not home right now. Whatever you called to tell him, you can talk to me about. Sure. Oh, wow." There was a long pause. "No, that makes perfect sense. All right, we'll be sure to do that. Thanks chief." I heard the phone drop on the counter. What the hell could they have been talking about?
After that Tyson called a family meeting. We all gathered around the kitchen table, Kenzie included, as he told us the news. Chief Swan, the head of the Fork's police department had called to clue us in about what Claire's supposed story was. Charlie Swan didn't know everything about the mystical world of vampires and werewolves, but he knew enough to know that it was to be kept top secret.
"Tomorrow the town's newspaper is running a headline saying that a seventeen year old Makah girl was attacked by a mountain lion in the woods, they brought her in a helicopter to an emergency hospital near LA and she didn't survive some major necessary procedure." At this point we all knew exactly who he was talking about. I slipped my arm around Eric's shoulders as Kenzie curled to my other side. "It's also going to say that Claire's family is having a very private funeral at their home on Friday. So he suggests that we pull out of school and work for a week for mourning purposes and then on the day of the funeral, we should all stay home so as to not raise any suspicion. Everyone got that?" He checked in while most of us solemnly nodded our heads.
Holli started wailing and Kail picked her up and brought her to her bedroom for a nap. After that, the house was in complete silence, except for that stupid game show still broadcasting loudly from the television in the living room.
Not long after the family meeting, Kenzie's mom called and commanded her to come home for the night. So after I dropped her off, I was literally and drastically alone.