Kendra stopped walking as she watched the car pass, but she could not see who was inside. Heidi walked past her, and glanced back. "Sis? Everything OK?"
"Yeah, it is." Kendra replied, her mind racing with curiosity. She told herself that it was Alice and Rosalie driving the car, and that he was not here as well. What would he be here for, unless it was a coincidence? For that matter, why were they there? She got into Heidi's car and tried to focus on the music playing as they drove home, chatting idly. She sensed that Heidi wanted to ask her questions, but held back. Kendra know that she owed her some answers, but her mind could not handle facing it by doing so. She went up to her room when she got home and closed the door, and pulled out her cell phone from her purse. She turned on the touch lamp on the nightstand and sat down slowly. She dialed the familiar number, and choked on her tears as her mother answered. "Mom." Kendra said, and her mom instantly asked what was wrong. "I had a bad night. I…..I said something that he always used to say without even thinking about it, and I lost it." She listened as her mom spoke to her comfortingly, and nodded as she closed her eyes. "I'm scared. I hate you being there and being away from you, and I worry about you." She felt like she was at home when she spoke to her mother, having had to leave her so suddenly. Nobody had expected what happened, and Kendra was still reeling from the sudden decision that she had made. The dreams returned that night, vague but terrifying and Kendra tossed and turned all night. She woke up the next morning early to a hint of sunlight, and sat up and gazed out of the window. Kendra got out of bed and pulled on jeans and a oversized Capitals jersey and yanked her hair back into a ponytail. She brushed her teeth and pulled on her shoes, and headed outside after leaving Heidi a note and taking her car keys. Kendra drove the direction that she knew the ocean was in, making sure that she had her phone in case she got lost. She saw the waves crashing against the sand as she drove past some high cliffs, and looked for a turn off to get to the beach.
Kendra found a small parking lot, and took the space at the end. She left the car and slid the keys into her purse as she walked down to the sand, and breathed in the salty ocean air. The ocean always cleared her mind, but today it seemed so full of bad memories. She walked along as she looked out over the water, kind of appreciating Forks a little more. Ocean City had been a bit of a drive for her, and she had not gotten out that way too often. This was much closer, and beautiful. She looked ahead and saw a group of people on the cliffs, and her eyes widened as one of them jumped off into the water below. They were all laughing and continuing to jump, so she assumed they were fine and kept walking. Heidi called her an hour later to ask if she wanted to go to lunch, but Kendra really knew that she wanted her car back. She drove home and they went to the local diner for a quick lunch, since their father was fishing again. He did that a lot since the separation with his second wife, and Heidi's mother. Janice now lived in Seattle and worked for a law firm, and Heidi visited regularly. Heidi and Kendra went home afterwards to finish some homework for the next day, and Kendra tried to go to bed early. The dreams plagued her and she woke up early Monday exhausted again. She got up and took a shower, pulling in leggings and her jersey from the beach walk. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them, so she gave up and just pulled her hair back into a clip as she sighed. Heidi looked equally tired, but beautiful as always, and she led the way to the car as they both sipped coffee silently. Kendra looked around nervously as they parked, barely seeing the gray skies that had returned. Everybody's face was blurry as she scanned the parking lot, not seeing The Cullens or the silver car. She sighed, hoping that they might be gone for the day, though the chances of all five being gone were slim.
Kendra went to her first class and huddled in her jacket to keep warm as the chill remained in her bones. She took her notes and paid an acceptable amount of attention to the lectures that day, but she was thinking all day about the weekend. Lunch came and she walked slowly towards the cafeteria, and got in line. Her appetite was small today, and she grabbed an apple and a soda to liven her up a little. Kendra walked out into the main room and took a deep breath as she looked over. They were there, looking dazzling as always but bothering her by their very presence. She looked at the table and noticed that their trays of food were pushed away from all of them and that not one of the siblings touched it. They had never been eating when she looked at them, as she searched her mind to remember. Her eyes lifted to their faces, and Edward's dark eyes met hers at the same time. She realized that they were a deep brown as opposed to the amber that she had seen the day that she bumped into him, and she frowned. He stared back at her, and seemed to be searching her face as he did. Kendra sucked in her breath and glanced at the sisters, and Alice smiled over at her brilliantly while Rosalie focused on one of the brothers. She must be his girlfriend as Alice seemed to be the girlfriend of the other one. Kendra found that kind of odd in a way, but at least they looked happy. She smiled in a bittersweet way, and Edward narrowed his eyes slightly. Kendra bit her lip and walked to the table, as her and Heidi rolled their eyes at each other. Kendra felt like it lasted hours, and she found herself looking at their table a few times automatically.
Kendra went to Calculus and took her seat, trying to focus on her curiosity. She watched Alice walk in, and realized that it was more like dancing than just plain walking as she did. Alice looked at her with the same smile and raised her eyebrows as she glanced at the seat next to Kendra. "May I?"
"Yes." Kendra replied, shrugging as she half smiled.
"Good. We can get to know each other." Alice told her, seeming to be genuinely happy.
Kendra looked around the near empty class, and gazed at Alice. "I hear that you don't do that often. Why me?"
Alice looked at her with the same dark eyes that her brother had, and Kendra frowned. "I feel drawn to you, Kendra. Maybe it is the gorgeous red hair." She smiled as she complimented Kendra, and Kendra began to tug on a strand. "Besides, don't you want to make friends? It seems as though you might be more comfortable that way."
"Or not." Kendra contradicted, and Alice frowned. Kendra heard the other students coming in, and glanced forward at the teacher. She watched the teacher write on the board, familiar with all of it and a little bored. Alice seemed to be as familiar with it, as she took no notes either. Kendra snuck a glance at her, and the pixie was looking at her searchingly. The bell rang and Kendra walked out slowly behind Alice as they joined the line of students. Alice stopped and Kendra looked up to see Edward waiting there, and she widened her eyes as she decided what to do.
"Kendra, this is my brother Edward. Edward, meet Kendra."
"Nice to meet you." Kendra murmured, realizing that he was not shaking hands.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Edward's voice was like velvet as he spoke, and she felt her legs grow shaky. He gazed into her face boldly, his eyes looking at every part of it. He seemed to be searching her brain as he did, and she pressed her lips together nervously.
"Guess I should go to class." Kendra broke the uncomfortable silence, and walked away. She had no reason to feel that way about any guy, especially now. Why had he made her so…..wobbly? She glanced back slowly to see the siblings watching her and talking intently, and she looked forward with a frown. She went to gym and completely messed up the game with Angela as she thought about Edward. She was happy to leave and go to the car, but Alice came up beside her out of the blue.
"Hi, Kendra."
"Oh God. Hi, Alice." Kendra said, and noticed the other siblings looking at her from across the lot.
"Would you like to come over for awhile? I thought we could study for that test coming up in a few days." Alice asked her, and Kendra looked at her with a curious gaze.
"We are both doing fine in Math, Alice." Kendra said slowly, and Alice grinned beautifully.
"So just come by for a bit then." Alice countered, and glanced at Edward with a raise of her eyebrow.
"I drive with Heidi, so I don't have a vehicle." Kendra told her, and Alice smiled. "Maybe another day."
"I look forward to it." Alice told her, and her face lit up. "We'll bring two cars tomorrow, and you can just come along then."
"Sounds great." Kendra said, her nerves giving way to weak legs. "Alice, is there some kind of agenda here? I mean, I see that nobody here is friends with you." Her voice was low and she gazed at Alice with pleading eyes. "Is there a reason that you are doing this?" Fear filled her mind as she thought about something, and she wanted to flee the scene immediately. It couldn't be……..
"Kendra, calm down. I just want to hang out." Alice told her, and Kendra stared at her with scared eyes. Alice smiled reassuringly at her, and some sense of calm washed over her out of nowhere. Kendra looked around and shuddered, seeing that the other siblings were gazing at her. "Are you alright?"
"Not really." Kendra said, feeling like she was about to lose her grip on her emotions. Edward frowned as he watched her face crumbling, and Alice looked over at him. He seemed to communicate without words to his sister, and she stared at Kendra. "I have to go, Alice." Kendra walked over to Heidi, who was waiting in the car. Heidi looked at her curiously as she got in, and Kendra stared out of the window.
"So you're friends with her now? Or is it them collectively?" Heidi asked her, and Kendra shrugged. "Is she nice? She looks nice."
"Yes, she is. But I cannot say that I trust her." Kendra replied, and looked at Heidi with a fearful expression. "What if they know him? They seem to know something about me."
"They have lived here for about four years, Kendra. I can vouch for that." Heidi told her, and Kendra stared out of the front window. "I don't think they're from Maryland either." She stared at Kendra, and Kendra looked at her to see her stricken eyes. "He really has you spooked, doesn't he?"
"Yeah." Kendra said, and they sat there in silence. Heidi drove home and Kendra went upstairs to work on homework all night. She skipped dinner and tried to go to sleep early, but it took a long time to drift off. When she finally did, she dreamed vividly of the past and the present. It was the same dream that she always had about her past that tormented her, as she would run from familiar blue eyes that taunted her until he caught her. This one ended with Edward approaching her as she screamed for help, and the look in his eyes made her shudder. She woke up in a cold sweat, and swore that she felt a hand brushing her hair back. She reached up and connected with an icy cold hand before the contact was lost. Kendra opened her eyes with a start, looking all over her room frantically. It was empty and she sat up as she gasped for air. Kendra leaned her head forward slowly as she cried, and crawled off of the bed to her dresser slowly. She reached into a drawer and pulled something out, turning it in her hands. She just wanted the pain to go away, and she closed her eyes as she cried.
Kendra looked worse the next morning, and she yanked her hair into a ponytail and pulled on some jeans and a long sleeved tee without caring. She pulled on her sequined one stars as she ran out of the house with Heidi, who looked at her with worried eyes. "Insomnia." Kendra told her, and Heidi stared at her with eyes that told her she was not entirely convinced. They drove to school and Kendra listened to her Ipod all day when she was not with Heidi. She faked it then. At lunch, she only got a soda and a banana and didn't look over to see The Cullens as she walked to her table. She could not deal with them now. She purposely wore her ear buds to class afterwards, having noticed that they were there. She stared at her desk and doodled on her notebook as she listened to Muse, not looking up as someone sat next to her. She only turned it off when the class began, and she barely acknowledged Alice's glances at her. When class was over, Kendra stood up to leave but found Alice in front of her.
"Kendra, what's wrong? You look so tired and you are so quiet." Alice asked her, and Kendra looked at her beautiful face as it creased with worry.
"What do you care, Alice? You really don't know me." Kendra informed her, and Alice looked hurt. "Stop trying so hard." Kendra tried to push past her, but the pixie's strength caught her off guard. She could not move her at all. "What the….." Kendra's voice drifted off, and Alice looked down at the floor. She moved with a regretful look and Kendra stomped by. Edward was waiting for Alice outside the door, and Kendra crashed into him unceremoniously. She looked up, and saw concern in his eyes as well. "Sorry. Again." Kendra told him, and kept walking. She went to gym angry that she had started to move on, but now was right back to starting all over. At least, it felt like that to her. She kept her socialization with her sister's friends and nobody else, and soon Alice stopped trying.
A month later, Kendra was starting to settle into her odd routine. She still saw the looks that Alice and Edward gave her, but she just ignored them. She was walking to Calculus after lunch one day when her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she stopped outside of the door to take the call. She saw her mom's name on the screen and answered it curiously, surprised to her stepfather's voice on the other end. She listened to his words as her face crumbled, and her horror really set in. Kendra ended the call in a daze, and slid to the ground as her legs gave way. She gave in to the pitiful sobs that shook her body, and leaned on her knees. She felt someone next to her, and Alice's lilting voice echoed in her head. "Kendra, Kendra." She felt an arm around her, and then another voice said something in the distance. "Edward, you know I cannot carry her. It would look odd." Alice said in a very low voice, and Kendra felt herself being picked up as she drifted in and out. She was put into a car and driven somewhere, and she came to laying on a couch in a really bright room. Kendra opened her eyes and looked around the huge living room that was bright white in color, and decorated very tastefully and modern. There was a whole wall of windows that let the daylight in, even though it was gray outside. It was wonderful and peaceful somehow. She blinked and saw Alice come out of a door, and she rushed over to Kendra a bit too quickly. Kendra blinked, and Alice took the seat next to her. Edward appeared at the top of the stairs and descended quickly and sat in a chair across from her. "Where am I?" Kendra asked, and Alice smiled at her.
"You are at our house. You sort of passed out at school and we wanted you to see our dad, He is a doctor at the hospital." Alice told her, and Kendra remembered. "Who was on the phone?"
"Stepdad." Kendra replied, feeling the pain again. "My mom was…..attacked at her house." Kendra told them, closing her eyes as the pain washed across her head. "She is alive but has to stay in the hospital for a few days, and I don't know if I can go and see her."
"Why could you not go and see your own mother?" Edward asked her, and his smooth voice tore the hole in her heart open even further. It was soothing and disturbing all at once. There was also a deep curiosity in his voice that she didn't miss. Kendra, the big mystery.
She remained silent for a long time. She didn't know of she had the strength to form the words, nor did she know of she wanted to. Kendra stared at the pale white carpet and thought until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and glanced up to see that it was Alice. Kendra automatically moved to remove it, and was stunned by the coolness of her skin. She instantly remembered the dream, and the hand in her hair, and the cold hand that she touched for a moment. Her eyes widened and her eyes flicked from Edward to Alice. He looked at her with a neutral gaze, but his eyes seemed to deepen as she met his gaze. "Was it you?" Kendra whispered, and he gazed at the floor. "Were you there that night?
The door opened and the other siblings came into the house. Rosalie gave Kendra a cold look, and then seemed to glare at Alice and Edward. Her boyfriend followed, and he kind of looked at Kendra like she was a new toy and grinned widely as his eyes went right to Edward. The last guy was probably Alice's boyfriend, and that was confirmed by the warm gaze that he gave her before his gaze rested on Kendra. He seemed offended by her being there, and he looked away and walked up the stairs as Alice watched him with concerned eyes. "What is she doing here?" Rosalie asked in a beautiful, but cold voice that matched her personality to Kendra. Kendra had seen them all very close, and she now realized that they all had the same eyes. They looked different as people, or at least they had been, but they all had the same eyes now. They were all beautiful, as a sculpture would be. Kendra was thinking so hard that she didn't hear Alice's answer, and she only came out of her reverie when a new voice broke her spell.
"Kendra, you're awake. I'd like to make sure that you are okay, if you would not mind. Alice said you took a bit of a spill at school." She looked up to see a blond man smiling warmly down at her, and her mouth almost dropped open. She could only assume that this was Dr Cullen, and he was gorgeous. If he adopted all of these kids, he must have done it when he was ten years old. She figured he could pass for a young thirty if he lied well, but he looked very young and again had those eyes. "I am Carlisle Cullen. My kids were concerned enough to bring you here."
"I think I am fine. I just got a……bad phone call." Kendra said, suddenly feeling awkward. She slowly moved to a sitting position, and looked at the floor to avoid all of the eyes on her. "I'll be fine."
"Did you hit your head? That could be a concern to me." Carlisle told her, and she did feel some pain that could not be specifically determined as a headache. He saw her face and gestured to the couch beside her. "May I?"
"Sure." Kendra closed her eyes as he pressed into her head gently, reminding herself to let him. She only wanted to fight it, and she sighed slowly. Time passed slowly, and finally he seemed to be done.
"You seem fine, Kendra. Are you experiencing pain anywhere else?" Carlisle asked her, and she laughed brokenly.
"I am hurting just about every which way I can right now, but I don't think you can fix that." Kendra replied, and she felt tears in her eyes again. She wiped at them with one hand, and opened them with a resigned sigh.
"Come into my office, Kendra. I'd like to talk." Carlisle suggested, and she met his eyes. They were trusting , amber, and warm. He clearly spoke out of concern, and she trusted him not to be involved with the situation. A woman came down the stairs and she glanced up in distraction, and he lovingly introduced her as his wife Esme. She was beautiful as well, with caramel curls and a warm motherly smile. It made Kendra miss her own mother desperately, and she bit her lip as she thought about what had happened to her. She wiped her eyes again, and felt the sobs coming. "Kendra? Would you like to talk?" Carlisle asked her again gently, and she finally nodded. She knew that it was time, even though her heart was pounding do hard that she could hardly breathe.