Chapter 15
It only took a couple of days of straight running to get to Forks. It was a small town, smaller then I would have thought, and very green. The drizzle that persisted during my first day and night there led me to know why.
I roamed all over the town, staying well out of sight, hoping to catch a scent on the breeze that would lead me to what I was searching for. There was nothing, but I did catch a bit of luck as I crossed the main street of town one evening.
I had taken to wearing sunglasses constantly, for obvious reasons – my red eyes, but something must have given me away. A short man and his tall, pretty wife or girlfriend stopped me when I got to the corner.
"Excuse me," the man said, "but we couldn't help noticing; are you related to the Cullens?"
I stopped in my tracks and turned slowly to face the couple I had just been about to pass without a second thought. Surprise made my brain sluggish and I blurted the first thing that came to my tongue.
"Yes, I'm Carlisle's sister … estranged sister," I added, shrugging in feigned chagrin, "And I am trying to find him. Do you know where he and his family are?"
The woman watched me closely and for a second I was sure she had caught me in my lie, but the resemblance must have been too great because her face relaxed, "I haven't heard from Bella in awhile, so I am not exactly sure where they are, but her father would know."
I could barely contain my excitement as she rattled off an address and explained how to get there. According to her, Bella's father was the police chief of Forks and he didn't live too far away – of course who could live far away in such a small town. I thanked the couple and had turned on my heel when the woman stopped me.
"Tell Bella when you see her that Ben and Angela say hi."
I grinned, "Will do."
My spirits were higher then they had been for weeks. At last a lead, even if the Cullens weren't here – which I was now certain they weren't; there was someone who knew where to get a hold of them. As Angela had told me, the Chief's house wasn't hard to find.
It was a small and unassuming two story and the absence of a car in the driveway or lit porch light led me to believe that no one was home. Upon peering through the dark windows and seeing nothing, I became certain of the fact. High spirit temporarily dampened, I slipped into the thick forest behind the house and settled down to wait for the Chief to come home. I didn't mind the rain so much when I couldn't feel the cold and the densely packed trees offered some protection so I didn't get that wet.
I felt uncomfortable, though, sitting in the dark. I felt strangely vulnerable. It was almost as if someone were watching me. As I warily looked around me, I didn't see anything, but that didn't mean I was alone. The cold, wet smell of the forest overpowered everything else and I was unable to scent anything out of the ordinary, yet something tickled my sharpened instincts. Stubbornly, I put my back to a tree and waited. I had come too far to let something as little as my jumpy nerves scare me from my goal.
It was just after dark when a cruiser drove down the street and pulled into the garage of the little house. I heaved a sigh of relief, stashed my pack under a bush – it wouldn't do to knock on his door looking like a runaway homeless person, and trotted out of the trees and to the door. I waited an additional ten minutes to give the Chief time to relax then gave the door a sharp rap.
A tall, balding, middle-aged man with a slightly paunchy gut answered. The scent of fish clung to his clothing and I figured that's where he'd been all day, though why anyone would want to sit in the rain all day and fish, was beyond me. He was pleasantly without much of a mask. He was who he was and was comfortable with that.
I could see from wide-eyed surprise on his face that I looked familiar to him. I smiled amiably and hoped he would look past the fact that I did not remove my glasses and it was dark out.
"Hi, Chief Swan?"
"Yes," he asked edgily. "Is Bella all right?"
I heard his heart pick up and raised my hands in attempt to calm his anxiety, "Oh, uh, I'm sure she is, but I don't know. I don't know Bella. That is, I've only heard of her. I've never met her."
The Chief visibly relaxed once he realized I was not there with bad news about his daughter, but he gave me a hard look, "Then who are you?"
"Oh sorry," I held out my hand. "My name is Sarah. I'm Carlisle Cullen's sister. I was hoping you might be able to tell me where he and his family are."
The Chief's eyebrows rose, puckering his forehead, but he pressed my hand briefly. Hopefully he thought the low temperature was because of my being outside, "Shouldn't you know where your brother is?" he questioned suspiciously and I caught a glimpse of his cool, professional police face.
I looked down, hoping for the ashamed-little sister look, "We had a falling out, awhile ago … I lost touch and only just came to my senses. I really miss him and the family and need to find him to apologize." I lowered my voice so that the Chief had to lean in to hear me. I poured all of my need and sorrow into my tone. It wasn't hard to sound pathetic.
To my relief he relaxed further and smiled at me, the suspicious policeman's countenance disappearing, "Why don't you come in and dry off and you can give him a call."
"No," I said too quickly. The chief's eyes narrowed and at once his professional face appeared again. I backtracked a little, "I mean, I would kind of like to do this in person, not over the phone. I think that would be best."
He nodded slowly, unsure if he truly believed me, but apparently willing to give me the benefit of the doubt because he held the door open for me and stepped back to let me in, "All right."
I followed him into the too small kitchen, trying not to drip too much on the floor, and stood there examining the room as he dug through a small junk drawer. He abruptly turned smiling at me, a small address book in hand.
"Here it is. I email Bella mostly and we talk every other week or so, so I don't have her address memorized," He explained sheepishly.
I smiled reassuringly, "I know the feeling."
He pulled out a pair of reading glasses from his shirt pocket, adjusted them and commenced flipping through the little book.
"Ah, here it is. Bella and Edward," -- his tone was slightly disapproving when he mentioned Edward – "are currently in Maine." His tone was regretful as he scrawled their address on a scrap paper. I could tell that he missed his daughter and wasn't at all quite sure why she never came to visit. "But here is their address. They live with Carlisle and his wife."
I took the paper from him, committed it to memory, and stashed it in my back pocket, hoping the rain wouldn't damage it before I could get it into a deep pocket in my pack.
"Thanks Chief. You've been a big help. I really appreciate it." The gratitude was plain in my voice.
"No problem." He replied pulling his glasses off and restoring them to his pocket. His next comment surprised me. "Seeing as it is so late, would like to stay for dinner? I was just about to fry up some fish. Caught 'em today," He said in a tone meant to tempt me into staying.
I smiled, touched by his offer. Humans mostly tried to avoid me. He must have been more accustomed to the feelings vampires gave him, "Thanks that sounds great, but it's a long way to Maine and I had better get going."
The Chief looked out the kitchen window and into the dark night. Not a star was visible, "It's a little late to be starting out, don't you think?" His voice was thick with worry.
I mentally kicked myself. Of course he would be worried. I was a young woman, alone, and informing him that I was going to start a cross-country trip in the middle of a dark and stormy night. I would have to be more careful with what I said.
I smiled reassuringly at him, "Oh, I won't leave tonight. I'll wait 'til morning, but I think," – I stifled a fake yawn – "I should turn in early. Thanks again for the offer."
"You staying at The Inn?"
The chief's question was casual, but I saw him watching me closely. I knew that the moment I left he would be calling every motel and hotel in Forks – all three – to check up on me. I also knew he would call Bella and Edward and inform them of my coming when he couldn't find anyone with any knowledge of me.
I nodded coolly. He sensed I knew.
"Yup. Thanks again."
He followed me to the door. "Wet night tonight," He commented.
I ducked out into the drizzle and looked up, enjoying the feel of the rain on my face, "It is. I'll tell Bella you send your love." and I turned and walked away. I knew my lack of car would not go unnoticed and sighed.
As soon as the Chief went back inside and closed his door, I ducked to the side and cut across his neighbor's backyard, into the trees. I grabbed my pack, pausing only for a second at the unfamiliar scent that clung to the canvas, before securing it on my back. It was the same scent I had smelled at my parents' house. I looked around me and seeing only dark trees, I figured it must have been leftover from my time at the house. I had stuffed fresh clothes in there, it was probably from them and I hadn't noticed it until I set my pack aside for awhile then picked it up again.
Then I eased into my ground eating lope and flew through the dripping trees. As I said good-bye to Forks, I knew I would miss it. I had loved the cool, wet weather of this place. It was peaceful and I could see why the Cullens would have taken to it. The rain was comforting and painful at the same time. It washed everything clean but its subtle scent brought back memories I didn't care to remember.
I wondered uncomfortably later as I left the state of Washington behind me, if any of the Cullens would be in Maine when I got there or if the Chief's warnings would cause them to leave. I sincerely hoped that they would not be scared of one lone person asking about them and possibly coming to see them. I prayed they would be there and I prayed they would accept me.
I was so caught up in my musings that I failed to see or scent the dark shadow tailing me.
