Here's the next chapter! I know it's short. I'm working on making the chapters longer, but I really want to get the foundation laid first.
TWO
With careful strokes, I applied one more coat of mascara to each side, stepping back from the mirror in the bathroom to inspect the final product. That was the only stitch of makeup I felt like putting on for tonight's occasion—if you could call it that—and while I criticized the bags under my eyes and the dullness of my bronze skin (I really could do with an exfoliation, I thought), I was far too lazy to go the extra mile.
Not that anyone would care, anyway.
Tying my long, honey-colored highlighted hair into a high ponytail, I smoothed the cropped cowl-neck black sweater. As I did so, I heard my name being called from downstairs. "Coming!" I yelled back, shutting off the light and descending onto the first floor where Sophie, Dominic, and Theo waited for me.
The four of us, minus Finn, made our way into the car to start the short trip to La Push.
The entire twelve minute drive encompassed forest on either side, masses of trees interspersed with high mountainous rocks. It seemed that the forest and road would go on infinitely, almost scarily so. In my head, I imagined a horror film where a bunch of kids were road tripping when their car broke down mysteriously and they got murdered by a serial killer. Not the most comforting of thoughts, but hey, I loved a good scary movie.
Clouds covered the dimming sky, and the roads were damp, indicating a passing rain. When we turned onto a road called Thorn Way, the path began opening up, revealing clusters of residential homes. About half a mile later, the GPS we used to navigate Iris's house announced our destination. We parked on the street in front of a small but cute one-story house, painted blue, the property fenced in and well-manicured. There were a couple cars parked in the driveway, one of which I noticed had a variety of stickers on the back. I guessed it was one of Iris's sons.
Sophie rang the doorbell, holding a bowl of fresh homemade guacamole, Dominic with a bottle of wine, never a couple to show up empty handed.
A gangly teenage boy opened the door, average height, sporting shoulder length black hair and a Metallica t-shirt. I glanced at my brother and noticed he eyed the shirt blankly, which probably meant he approved. Theo was good at hiding his emotions but he didn't have to say anything for me to know he would appreciate the kid's fashion choices. The boy gave one look at us and called behind his shoulder, "Mom! They're here!" Then he stepped aside to let us enter, meanwhile introducing himself as Tyler Cameron.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Dominic. This is my wife, Sophie, and my niece Alba and my nephew Theo. Your mom told us you're his age."
Tyler shrugged. "I guess. Yo, dude, you play Xbox?" When Theo nodded, Tyler waved for him to follow. "I just got the new zombie game. You gotta check it out."
I watched my brother shrug, barely sparing us a backwards glance as he followed Tyler through the house. A smile spread across my face at that. Things were looking up.
The house smelled of Italian food and that scent some houses have that make you feel like you're at home even if you've never been there before. I breathed in the smell, feeling nostalgic.
Iris appeared in a flurry seconds later, wearing the same red lipstick from this morning, her face beaming. "I'm so glad you made it!"
"Of course, and here is our way of saying thank you," smiled Sophie, extending the bowl of guacamole and wine bottle.
"You are absolute sweethearts," Iris grinned. She gestured us toward the kitchen. "Come, come, we can break open the bottle while the lasagna finishes up. Alba, you can go down into the basement if you want. That's where all the boys are, playing their little video games." At my hesitant expression, she added, "Jared's girlfriend is there, too, don't worry."
While my aunt and uncle followed Iris into the kitchen, I made my way toward the half open door where loud noises could be heard, a mixture of sound effects and indignant cries from whoever was losing. I never felt nervous when meeting new people—that whole I'm scared they'll judge me didn't apply to me often. With that in mind, I went right on down the rickety wooden stairs that led to a dimly lit half-finished man cave.
I mean, that's really the only term appropriate for the roomy space. The floor was covered in the most cliché manner, with a shag rug and old furniture, including several scattered bean bag chairs, a full-screen TV propped precariously on a used end table. The Xbox console was front and center, the area around the TV littered with video game cases stacked two feet high. A lava lamp oozed orange and red, one of the only light sources in the place. The speakers were so loud that nobody noticed my entrance at first, though I was so amused by the scene in front of me that I didn't mind being the observer.
It kind of reminded me of That '70s Show, except, you know, without the weed.
On the plaid sofa sat Theo and Tyler, my brother playing some zombie game, Tyler instructing him how best to kill them. Next to my brother lounged another guy with spiky dark hair, the only part of him I could see. On adjacent bean bag chairs, their hands intertwined, were who I assumed was Jared and his girlfriend. Their heads were close together and they whispered something to each other, smiling. Across from them, on the other side of the couch, was the loudest of everyone. He sat on an armchair that looked stained even in the darkness of the room, a bag of Doritos positioned in his lap. I could see that his height was too big for his seat of choice, his legs taking up most of the space in front of him. He was also the one that noticed me standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"No, don't bother to run him over you're going to fuck up the car! I thought you said you played video games kid, what are you—" The kid groaned loudly, munching chips as he talked. I was thinking how fascinating it was how much Doritos he could shove in his mouth when his attention turned straight to me. "Hey! We've got company," he observed, interest lighting his eyes.
With that, everyone in the room turned their attention to me.
I wasted no time walking forward, waving as I introduced myself. "I'm Alba."
The same guy as before turned to Theo, using his long leg to nudge my brother with his foot. "You told us you had a sister, but you never said she was hot."
I felt my cheeks warm up at the comment, thankful that the lights were dim.
Cute, but cocky. Not necessarily a good thing.
"Shut up, man," grumbled Theo. He seemed part pissed off and part embarrassed. Surprising, for someone who barely spoke to his sister on a good day.
At the same time, a pillow was whacked in the guy's direction, although his reflexes were on par enough that he missed the projectile. The assailant was Jared's girlfriend, who promptly glared in his direction.
Impressive dodge, if he hadn't been so blunt. I couldn't decide whether I admired him for being honest or annoyed by his first remark. Crossing my arms over my chest, I made my internal thoughts clear.
"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," I commented. I approached the group further, so that I was hovering over the three boys on the couch. "If you want to compliment me, by all means, I'm listening."
The group erupted in laughter, and even the offender wore a smirk on his face as he leaned by in his chair.
"You're a firecracker." He grinned, folding his hands behind his head. " I like that. I'm Embry."
"Don't let this douche bag be your impression of all of us," said Jared, who was confirmed as he went on. "This is Kim, my girlfriend"—Kim, a pretty girl with soft features save for her high cheekbones, smiled, tucking a strand of straight ebony hair behind her ear—"and that's Seth."
The one named Seth turned in his seat to shake my hand. His palm was shockingly warm. "Nice to meet you. This is kind of why we don't like to take Embry out in public."
"Suck my dick, Clearwater," said Embry through a mouthful of chips. "You're all just jealous of me."
I gestured to the crumbs accumulating on his lap. "I can totally see why they would be."
"She'll beat you at your own game, Call."
"I like a challenge. Isn't that right, Firecracker?" Embry winked.
I rolled my eyes. "Be careful, you might get burned."
That earned a round of snickering, but Tyler shushed everyone, claiming that they needed complete silence for the next round of storytelling from the game. He turned up the already loud TV, both he and Theo leaning forward in their seats.
Kim patted the bean bag next to her, waving me over with her hand. "You can sit here, Alba."
I took the offer and joined her and Jared, not feeling uncomfortable despite the fact that they were basically glued to each other. They seemed like the kind of couple that was sweet as opposed to cavity-inducing, if you catch my meaning. The kind of couple that exudes love, but doesn't completely make you want to avoid eye contact. It was endearing actually, the protective and natural air that I sensed from Jared.
"I promise he's not always such a pig," Kim said, by way of apologizing.
I shrugged. "S'all good. He's harmless. All bark and no bite."
Kim and Jared appreciated that. I hit the nail on the head with that one.
"I heard that."
"You were supposed to."
The banter went back and forth until we heard Iris call the seven of us to dinner. When everyone stood up, I noticed with shock how tall Jared, Embry, and Seth truly were.
"What do they put in the water here?" I wondered aloud incredulously.
Everyone shared puzzled looks.
"You're all, like, over six feet tall."
Embry smirked slyly. "You know what they say about tall people, Alba?"
I feigned innocence. "What, that you're the first to feel when it's raining?"
We all climbed up the stairs one at a time, Seth, Jared, and Embry complaining how starving they were the entire way up. I wondered how one could eat an entire bag of Doritos and still be hungry, but that was nothing to what I was about to witness.
Iris had arranged a table covered in food. I mean, every inch had a plate or glass container of something—lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, sauteed vegetables. You would think that she was feeding a family of twenty instead of eleven.
As we sat down to eat, me between Sophie and Kim, I realized why there was so much damn food.
The three boys ate three times the amount I thought a normal human could consume. It was like watching a food contest live. Both Sophie and I stared in awe as they topped off plate after plate, talking through mouthfuls how hungry they were and how good the food was. The food was delicious, no question, but some of my appetite faded as I watched them.
Kim noticed my amazement and assured me, "Don't be scared. This is normal for them."
I raised my eyebrows. "Normal?"
Mid-dinner, conversation started to pick up.
"Jared, where's Jacob and Quil? I thought they were supposed to come tonight. We might even have leftovers without them." Iris laughed heartily at her own joke.
She expected more people? She must be broke cooking for these kids.
Seth was the one to answer. "They had work to do last minute."
Jared and Embry nodded in unison.
"Must have been important. They rarely miss a meal when they're invited." Iris took a sip of wine, then turned her attention to Sophie and Dominic, going off on a tangent about some issue she had with the management of some local business.
"So what school are you and Theo going to?" asked Kim.
"Forks High. We start tomorrow," I replied. "Why, where do you guys go?"
"Bummer. We all go to the res school," Seth answered.
Theo frowned at that. "Damn man, there's a school over here?"
Tyler nodded. "Pretty much only Quileute natives go there. It's a small school."
"Yeah, too small if you ask me," mumbled Embry. "We don't get any new faces."
Once dinner finished, Sophie and Dominic offered to help clean up while the rest of us trailed back down in the basement. Tyler suggested we watch a movie, to which I hurriedly put in, "Scary Movie!" If you asked me, one of the best movies of all time. And completely underrated; I could quote most of it.
"Wait, before we start I need to use the bathroom." I stood up. "Where's the bathroom?"
"At the top of the stairs, take a left. It's the only door down that way."
I hurried up the stairs, feeling light. For the first time in a long time, I felt genuine happiness, one that comes when you are surrounded by good people. There are certain people that you can tell good things about—these were them.
When I reached the door, I stuck my hand out to open it when it flung open of its own accord. I nearly tripped backwards in surprise, a loud gasp emitting from the back of my throat; before I could fall, however, a hand instinctively reached out and grabbed me, steadying me in one swift movement so that I still hadn't processed the near disaster mentally by the time my body righted itself. The person one step above of me wore the same expression of surprise, but none of the unsteadiness.
The next few moments happened in such quick fashion that it felt as though I were dreaming.
The height on him was as intimidating as the others downstairs, enough that even at 5'6", above average, I had to look up to see his face.
"I'm sorry..." the stranger began, but abruptly cut off as we made eye contact.
Admittedly, I was the type of person who disliked eye contact. It felt so overwhelmingly intimate, and this situation proved my point. Intimate—the only word I could use to describe this. Looking up into the impossibly dark eyes in front of me, I saw confusing emotions flicker across his face. I couldn't put a finger on the butterfly inducing feelings swirling around my own stomach anymore than I could see what he was thinking, only could recognize that my palms felt suddenly sweaty, that my heartbeat picked up its pace significantly. Maybe it was the handsome boy—man—in front of me, whose defined shoulders and biceps I could see through his plain t-shirt, the kind of attractive that made me feel warmth spread across my cheeks. Maybe that, but his attractiveness didn't discount the feeling of being drawn to someone, the need that formed inside me which I could not make sense of or explain.
I broke the eye contact, feeling much too overwhelmed.
"Um, I—I..." I stuttered, not sure what I should say. Excuse me, I don't know who the hell you are or what just happened, but I need to pee?
The stranger, who I had to assume was one of the boys' friends, had an unreadable face. He opened his mouth, closed it. I saw his fists clench together. He backed away one step, then another. With one last glance at me, he turned and disappeared.
AN: There it is! I wanted to sneak in that certain someone at the end to at least get him in there. Please let me know how you are liking the characters so far. Even if there's something you don't like, LET ME KNOW! That way I can improve and give you guys a better story.
Also, leave a review and tell me who your favorite is so far and why.
XOXO