Chapter 2: Acceptance

Caleb was quiet as we walked back to the car. It was awkward and uncomfortable. As usual he opened the door for me, waited for me to get in before closing it and walking around to the driver's seat. As soon as he got it my curiosity took a hold of me. "Caleb," I said my voice soft and shy again.

"Hmm?" he asked as he turned the key in the ignition causing the car to roar into life.

"Well what was that fight you and Sam had just now about?" I asked, well blurted out nervous that I would be prying. He looked at me and smiled.

"No need to look so nervous," he said once again reading me like a book, "Besides we weren't fighting we were discussing," he corrected before going on. Anyway, remember that family issue we talked about earlier." He asked. I nodded and waited for him to continue. "Well let's just say that shortly after I left Sam was left to deal with it all on his own," he said looking somewhat sad. He let out a sigh and feeling guilty that I had brought it up, I leaned over and rested my head on his arm.

"I'm sure you didn't mean it," I said softly trying to comfort him, "I mean how were you suppose to know that he'd have to go through it too?" I said not exactly sure whether it made sense considering I was still in the dark about a few details. He smiled and thanked me, before kissing me on my forehead. Stepping on the gas we pulled out of Sam's yard and headed towards Caleb's house. Straightening up I stared out the window, but something Sam had said was bothering me and another question began to form. Looking back at Caleb I sighed, "Caleb," I began, "This issue…it's not some sort of disease is it?" I asked worried. Caleb remained silent so I continued. "I mean when you were arguing with Sam…"

"Discussing," he corrected.

"Well when you were discussing with Sam earlier, he said that you said that you still showed some symptoms, and before you said that this family thing was getting worse and…"

"Tara, Tara, Tara!" he said interrupting me and placing one hand on my head, "Calm down hun," he said looking at me as if worried I was going to have a panic attack. "It's nothing like that… well not entirely," he said as he furrowed his frown, obviously in attempt to figure out what he was going to say next. "What Sam and I and I guess a few others have is something passed down through the generations," he explained, "I was the first to get it, but it scared me so I left, as you know, and well it's all in the past I don't have it anymore, so you don't need to worry ok?" I nodded what he said made no sense to me, it sounded like some kind of genetic disease, but if he wasn't sick anymore then I didn't need to worry. He smiled at me and laughed… again. "Your such a little worry wart you know that?" he said jokingly, "I swear and you over analyze are manipulative and…" he stopped as he looked at me. My face had grown red in furry and I stared at him with distaste tears welling in my eyes.

"What the hell?!" I asked keeping my tone sharp but not screaming, "How am I manipulative?!" I asked in a demanding voice, "I was worried about you, you jerk! And you make fun of me?! You are just ahhh," I said crossing my arms and turning away from him. Caleb burst with laughter at my outburst, and pulled over. Snapping my head to look at him I growled, "Why are you pulling over?" I asked my tone still sharp the tears beginning to stream. He shook his head still laughing as he grabbed my arm. "Don't touch me!" I shouted pulling my arm away. He blinked and pulled back.

"Your really mad at me aren't you?" he asked as if just realizing I was serious.

"No duh Sherlock," I said rolling my eyes. I looked at him and immediately my anger melted he looked dejected confused and stared at me with his huge silver eyes. "Well maybe, I don't know," I said. However he had won sighing in defeat I said, "fine fine, I'm not mad just a little annoyed. Grinning he grabbed my arm again. When I didn't pull away he pulled me over and cradled me on his lap. Nuzzling his head into my neck and hair he sighed.

"I'm sorry love," he whispered into my ear, "What I should have said was you worry to much about me, and you just have this way of making me tell you well everything that normally I wouldn't mention, like the issue with my family," Confused I pulled away but only enough so that I could look at him in the face.

"All I do is ask," I said, "You could have just up and lied," I added.

"ahh but that's where your over-analyzing comes in," he said with a nod, "Also, you know how to word things so that it's as if it were my idea to do whatever it is you want me to do." I sat in shock. All that time I thought he was reading my mind, was it because I was unknowingly manipulating him to tell me? We sat quietly in the car; the only sound was the sound of him kissing my neck up and down. I leaned closer to him and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I finally said. "I don't mean to be manipulative," I added. Caleb pulled away to look at him I growled not wanting him to pull away.

"No need to apologize," he said grinning, "It's who you are, who you always were," he said, "It's what made me fall in love with you in the first place," he said.

"WHAT?!!!" I shouted. I was devastated, had though last two years, had all that time he spent with me, had it all been because I manipulated him?

Blinking he tucked me into his chest and cradled me. "No, no, no, no, you silly goose," he coed, "that's not what I meant at all," he nuzzled his face against mine, "You were alone pathetic and all you would do was make yourself invisible," he said, "You would manipulate people so they would be happy and then you'd make yourself disappear never once would you ever manipulate people for your own purpose like other people would. You are the sweetest person I had ever meant but you looked so broken so hurt, so alone, and all I wanted was to help you the way you did others. To be honest I never thought I would wind up falling in love with you," he went on to say, "But fate has a funny way of doing things don't it?" I nodded but didn't move. He nuzzled me again, "Please don't feel bad I love you more than anything you know that don't you?" he said. Again I nodded his hand traveled down my face before gently grabbing my chin. He pulled me over and kissed me and I knew then that he meant it. Tears streamed but he gently wiped them away as we kissed. "There," he said smiling kindly, "All better?"

"Yea," I said surprised at how sure I sounded, "all better," I continued. He smiled at me before letting me go and allowing me to go back to my seat. "By the way, I added trying to lighten the mood, "Poor Sam has a fever when I shook his hand it was burning hot," Caleb smiled but it wasn't the smile I was hoping for. It was strange because after that he turned on the engine and next thing I knew we were in front of his 'parent's' house nearly an hour late. Suddenly it was as if the last hour never happened and the clenched stomach and butterflies returned. Holding my stomach I moaned. "Caleb I don't feel so good," I said. Cocking his head to the side concerned he helped me out of the car.

"Probably just nerves," he said after a quick examination, "just relax and you'll be fine," he said.

"Thanks a lot doctor obvious," I said still holding my stomach. Caleb smiled, as a student of Washington State University he hoped to be a doctor and was always giving me a mock check up whenever I told him I didn't feel too good.

"Seriously though," he said, "Don't worry Uncle Dan and Aunt Lena will love you," he said so confidant that I couldn't help but smile. "There we go!" he shouted, "Keep smiling like that and there's no person alive who won't love you," he said grinning. I rolled my eyes but my smile only grew bigger I couldn't help it his smiles were just contagious. He tugged at me pulling me to the house. The house was small like all the other houses I had seen coming here but it was bigger than Sam's house. It was a ranch style and looked old but well it had a cozy air about it that made the house seem alive. With Caleb leading me, we walked up to the front door. Raising his hand, Caleb knocked loudly against the door.

"Coming," came a voice from behind the closed door. A few seconds later the door swung open. A women appearing in her mid fifties stood there, she was short around 5'4 and had deep tan skin. Her head was full of luscious deep brown curls and her smile was pure and good. "Caleb!" The women squealed as she pounced onto her adopted son.

"Hey Aunt Lena," Caleb said wrapping his huge arms around her tiny frame and giving her a huge hug. Inside I could hear shuffling and soon a man also a bit short (only about 5'8") came out a grin on his face.

"Caleb!" he said his voice deep and a bit gruff, "Welcome home son," he said staring at his nephew fondly. I stood silently smiling at the family reunion, It was nice watching the reunion but it hurt me somewhat watching them be so happy and carefree. However to be honest I was quiet surprised and shocked by Caleb's parents. They were both so… short, definitely not what I expected Sam and Caleb's parents to look like.

Letting go of his mother Caleb takes a step back to be at my side, I could tell he was slightly annoyed that I made myself disappear again but I didn't want to ruin there reunion, "Aunt Lena, Uncle Dan, this is Tara, My girlfriend and the love of my life," he said as he pulled me forward. Blushing a bit I bowed my stomach aching again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Uley," I said with a bow.

"Ah but the pleasure is all ours Miss Tara," Caleb's father said grinning at me. That grin showed nothing but total acceptance and it stuck to me. The earlier surprise quickly dissolved and any doubt that these weren't Caleb's parents dissolved with it, because there was only one other person who had ever given me a grin like that, and he was standing next to me, and he was mine.

"Ah well, why don't you guys come on in?" Mrs. Uley said. "I'll get some coffee going too, Tara do you like it with any sugar or cream? Or just black," silently I shook my head at all three options.

"No thanks Mrs. Uley," I said with what I hoped was a gracious tone, "I don't like coffee, never did," I added. Nodding, the woman led us inside. The inside of the house was as warm and cozy as it appeared on the outside. Lena led us to the living room and sat us on the couch before disappearing into the kitchen no doubt preparing refreshments. Caleb then took the lead and led me to an old fabric couch in the middle of the room facing a small television set. He pulled my hand gently as he sat down and I sat besides him. Looking around I smiled.

"You have a lovely house Mr. Uley," I said respectfully. Mr. Uley nodded and grinned.

"Why, thank you Tara we do our best," He responded as he stood to go help his wife bring in a tray. Placing it on the table I saw two cups of coffee and two cups of tea. Passing out the drinks I thanked Mrs. Uley as she handed me one of the cups of tea and took the second for herself. It was silent for a moment as we all drank our refreshments but soon Mr. Uley put his cup on the coffee table. Then came the interview. Questions flew left and right all relatively easy but nerve racking none the less. Trying to answer them as truthfully as possible but still get their approval was surprisingly not too difficult. It seemed to me that nothing I said would make a difference as long as I remained true to the fact that I loved Caleb. Nonetheless, it was a huge relif when Caleb squeezed my hand a laughed.

"Alright guys enough with the interrogation," he said as he rose. "How about a tour of the house instead," he asked. Laughing Ben nodded.

"Yes I suppose you're right," he said laughing and standing up. "It's really a pleasure to meet you Tara," he went on to say, "We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here."

Nodding eagerly I stood and bowed. "Of course," I said. "Thank you for your hospitality," I added. Then Lena stood up to stand by her husband.

"No need to thank us," she said with that soft little laugh of hers. "We only hope we can put up with Caleb the next four days." She said still chuckling to herself. Caleb rolled his eyes at his adoptive mother before grabbing my hand again and leading me out of the room. Behind the living room was a staircase leading to the second floor of the house. We walked upward and found that it opened to a hallway with three rooms, one on the left and two on the right with a window facing the backyard at the end.

Walking towards the room on the left Caleb smiled, "Welcome to my bedroom," he said as he turned the door knob and led me inside. Inside were two beds one on the left and one on the right with a window between the two, the ceiling was slanted and bare. There was a tall dresser on the side of the wall and on each side of the room were posters and such personalizing each brother's own half. Instantly I ran to the side with The Rolling Stones and Nightwish poster on it. Laughing Caleb joined me and sat on his bed. "You know me too well," he said as he scooped me up and held me in my usual place on his lap.

Cuddling closely I nodded, "You're the only one I know who not only has a thing for The Rolling Stones, AND Nightwish," I said, "The two aren't remotely similar in genre," I went on. Laughing he nodded kissing me on the forehead as I continued to rant on not only the musical differences between the rock and roll group and the melodic metal band, but also the social and cultural differences too. Of course, I was not one to talk, when it came to music I loved everything about it, well with the exception of the nasally country music and the annoying rap.

Smiling at me Caleb rose and gently set me on my feet, "Shall we continue?" he asked. Nodding I followed him into the bathroom across the hall and his parents bedroom next to that. When we came to the end of the hall I ran to the window, looking out I saw a large yard that was surrounded by forest. Knowing of my love for the wilderness Caleb gently led me back downstairs and outside. Smiling as we reached the backyard I twirled. "You like it?" He asked grinning.

Nodding eagerly I said, "Of course, it's huge and look at that forest!" Turning I ran towards the forest eager to explore it, but suddenly Caleb grabbed me and pulled me away. "Caleb?" I asked giving him a confused stare, "what's going on?" I asked.

Shaking his head he sighed, "Nothing Tara," he said, "It's just dangerous to go out there today," he added, "We'll explore tomorrow swear," he added. I pulled my hand away from him and placed him at my hips.

"Caleb Black that makes absolutely no sense," I said impatiently, "what makes today any different from tomorrow besides the fact that today is Thursday and tomorrow is Friday?" I asked still impatient. Suddenly Caleb sighed his face turn sullen and a look of immense worry spread across his face. Walking over to me he held my head in both his gigantic hands holding me so closely that our noses were not even a centimeter apart. "Listen Tara," he said, "For today can you please, please trust me, without any questions," he said. I instantly felt guilty I knew what he was thinking. He knew that whatever it was he was hiding from me had something to do with the forest, and if I asked about it anymore I would undoubtedly manipulate him into telling me. If the secret was so important to him I would kill my curiosity. Nodding he smiled with a huge look of relief. His massive hands slid down my face neck and sides until the reached my hips. There they rapped around me and pulled me closer still until we were locked in a deep kiss. My arms rapped around his neck and everything was good.

When we eventually pulled apart I felt my face redden as I remembered where we were. However at the same time I realized how immensely tired I was. Yawning Caleb laughed, "You missed your morning nap," he said after a quick look at his watch. It was true at school my schedule consisted of third period study hall followed by fourth period lunch. During which time I would sleep and, considering how late I went to bed the night before, would skip lunch and sleep through that as well. Leading me back into the house Caleb shouted to his parents that I was going to rest a bit. Then he led me upstairs and brought me back to his room. Picking me up in an almost childish manner, Caleb tucked me into his own bed before sliding up besides me. With eyes half open I brushed his bangs away from his eyes and stared at them.

"Caleb," I said my voice soft and breathy.

"Hmm?" he said with curiosity.

"Tell me the stories you used to tell me back when I couldn't sleep," I said. Nodding he smiled. Back when we first got together he would tell me legends of his tribe stories that despite the terror had always calmed me to sleep. Caleb played with my hair as I snuggled up to his warm body. His voice was smooth and deep like silk as he began to tell the story of his ancestors and slowly I felt myself drift to sleep but not before saying, "Caleb I Love you even if you were one of those scary vampires, even more if you were one of those brave wolves." Caleb seemed rigid but instantly loosened, "thank you Tara," he said before I drifted off into the world of my dreams.