Chapter 3
Later that morning, I sat idly watching Jasper and Emmett playing chess.
"Is Jacob coming back today?" Esme inquired.
My heartbeat quickened and I quickly worked to calm myself before anyone's sensitive vampire hearing picked up on it.
"I think so," I answered as casually as my voice would allow.
Jasper was absorbed in his game so I was pretty sure he didn't sense the change in my emotions, but I don't think I fooled Esme, or Alice either, who had just walked into the room. They exchanged a quick look.
"I'm certain he'll be here soon," Alice trilled. "Half my afternoon just disappeared."
That made me smile. It meant Jacob and I would be doing something with Alice. It should be easier to ignore the feelings I was trying to pretend didn't exist if I was distracted by other people.
By the time Jacob arrived, it was almost noon. Our new house was a bit farther from La Push than the old house had been. We all loved that house, but we just couldn't stay there forever. As each year went by and no one aged (except me, who aged at least twice as fast as normal) it got harder and harder to fit in, especially for Carlisle. The rest of us could stay away from the public eye, but he couldn't while he was working at the hospital. We finally had to go but as Momma and I couldn't bear to be too far from Jacob or Poppa Charlie, we didn't move too far. We now lived outside a small town about 40 miles southeast of Forks. We almost never went to Forks anymore. Usually, we saw Poppa Charlie on the reservation. He was there most of the time he wasn't working anyway, with Sue Clearwater.
"Good morning, Jacob," Esme greeted him as he walked through the front door.
"Mornin'," he grinned at Esme but he walked straight toward me. I was ready this time. I opened my arms for his hug and squeezed him back, careful not to touch any of his bare skin of which I was hyper-aware. His lips brushed my forehead as he let me go and I shivered just slightly. But I smiled brightly at him and he didn't seem to notice anything else.
Momma and Daddy walked through the door right behind Jacob.
"Hi Jake," Momma said and practically skipped over to us. He grabbed her in a hug as well, as she laughed. Daddy clapped him on the shoulder, smiling warmly.
"So, what are we doing today?" I turned to ask Alice.
"I wouldn't know except that I planned it," she responded, her face shining. She winked at Momma and Daddy. Daddy beamed and Momma smiled quietly.
"We're planning your graduation party!" Alice finally squealed. I'd never seen Alice's face so animated, and that was saying a lot.
"Really?" My voice was nearly as high as Alice's in my excitement. "But I don't go to school…?" I trailed off, not understanding.
"Of course you do, just not a public school," Daddy reminded me. "You've learned everything you would have in high school. And more," he continued.
"Trust us," I could see Emmett rolling his eyes from across the room. "We've been through it enough to know." He and Jasper both grinned up at me.
It was true enough. Due to my unusual circumstances, I had been home-schooled. It made more sense anyway. My family knew much more than all of my teachers combined would have. Daddy and Carlisle had instructed me in arts and literature. I knew all the classics from Plato to Shakespeare to Frost. I learned to recognize the master painters as well as the more obscure artists from the 15th century forward, sometimes becoming familiar with their work first-hand, as Carlisle had obtained some of these treasures throughout his very long life. And, of course, I learned the piano. Daddy and I had spent many, many happy hours at the keys. He and Carlisle had also taught me much about mathematics, astronomy and the medical sciences.
Jacob had instructed me on the natural world – the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest to begin with, and we had learned about other regions together. Emmett and Jasper led my instruction on history, including warfare, particularly the Civil War, which Jasper knew all too well. They also taught me how to fight. It seemed odd for a young girl's instruction, but we all knew that the day might come when it would be needed.
Alice and Esme taught me about the finer things in life such as design and fashion, and now some cooking. Rosalie taught me about cars. Daddy helped me with languages, as he spoke so many beautifully. I did the best with French and Italian, but had enjoyed learning Portuguese and using it when we went to visit the Amazons. Of course, they had their own native tongue as well, of which I learned only the basics. But another native language was the one I was most proud of learning – Quileute.
The Quileute reservation was one of the few places outside my home where I felt truly comfortable. The Quileutes were neither afraid of nor posed a threat to me. Though I could never become truly close friends with any of the Quileute children because I matured so much faster then they, they accepted me as a casual playmate. Sometimes Jacob was like a big kid, too, playing along with us. The kids there often spoke in Quileute and I was entranced by the majestic, musical quality of it. I listened to every word, carefully storing each one away in my brain until I had enough command of the language to have a real conversation.
Poppa Billy was the first one I spoke to in Quileute. As we were leaving La Push one night when I was about four (though I looked 10 or 11) I laid my hand on his cheek and spoke aloud the Quileute words for "Until I return" and "I love you." Billy gasped and then a smile broke over his face and he laughed aloud with joy.
"I love you too, little one."
After that night, Jacob added Quileute to the lessons he took it upon himself to teach me, and Poppa Billy helped too, every time we visited.
Back in the living room now, surrounded by my family, I looked around at all of their faces and thought I would burst with happiness. My party. They would all be there, which would make it perfect. Plus, I loved parties anyway!
Jacob pulled me to his side.
"We're letting Alice handle this, since that's her forte. Just remember, she'll do whatever you want," Daddy said.
"That's because she trusts your judgment when it comes to parties, unlike mine," Momma laughed, giving Alice a playful glare.
"Let's go!" Alice chirped, wrapping one arm around my waist and one around Jacob's and led us toward the kitchen. "I have a few ideas sketched out already."
Her ideas were beautiful, of course. She suggested a theme centered around great learning throughout history. We took that idea and ran with it, spending the next couple of hours buried in notes and sketches, working out the details. Jacob sat there contentedly for a while, adding some of his own thoughts about how to incorporate Native American learning, an idea I loved. Finally, he announced that he was hungry.
"I'm going to hunt. Just something small. Closeby," he added.
"I can whip something up for you," Esme began but Jacob was already waving her off.
"No, I don't want to trouble you. Really, I'll be back in no time."
He looked at me expectantly. "Wanna come, Nessie?"
"Oh, uh…" I hesitated, not sure I wanted to be alone with him. I decided it was too risky. "That's okay, I want to finish this up with Alice."
"I can wait, if you want," he said.
"It might be a while," I said a little too quickly. His brow furrowed just slightly.
"Alright, see you guys in a while," he said, and loped to the front door and out of the house.
A short time later, Alice and I had our plans complete.
"It's going to be so wonderful! Thank you, Alice!" I kissed her cheek, and skipped out of the kitchen.
I decided to go for a walk. The sun was starting to peek through the clouds here and there. I found a large rock and climbed up on it, enjoying the scents of the forest – the spruce, the moss, the moist earth. I had walked a fair distance from the house, so I relaxed my guard and let my mind wander. I didn't have to worry too much about Daddy hearing my thoughts from this far away. But I wasn't really thinking about Jacob too much anyway. I was still excited about the plans for my party. All my favorite people would be there, including Poppa Charlie, Sue Clearwater, Billy Black, and the pack, including Seth, who walked out of the woods toward me now.
He must have run here as a wolf and just phased back, as I noted he wore no shirt and no shoes. Though it had been over six years since he had first phased, and he had grown tall, like the other wolves – well over six feet – he still looked young because he was leaner than the others. And, maybe because he had such an open, friendly smile.
"Hey, Ness!" he grinned, leaping easily up on the rock and ruffling the top of my hair, before settling his long limbs down next to me.
"Hey Seth, what are you up to?" I smiled back.
I liked Seth. Everybody liked Seth. He was so easygoing, so trusting, so fun.
"Leah and I came to run with Jake a little. You know, stretch our legs. And see you and everyone else of course."
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Okay," he laughed apologetically. "I wanted to see you and everyone else."
It had been more than six years since we had all stood in that field together ready to share the same fate, facing the Volturi, and Leah had still not really warmed up to the family. There was a loyalty there, maybe just because of Jacob's loyalty to us, but no real friendliness or love. She interacted with us like a cousin you put up with at a family gathering. I looked around for her now.
"She's catching up with Jake," Seth answered the question on my face.
We sat and talked for a while about what was happening on the reservation, his mom and my Poppa Charlie, and a little "pack news." It was thought that Emily might be pregnant. She and Sam had been married for more than five years, so everyone was starting to think maybe something was wrong and they couldn't have babies, but recently she had been having some unusual – hopeful – symptoms.
"They meant to keep it a secret for a while. The rest of the tribe doesn't know," Seth warned, "but the pack…well, you know, with the pack mind there was no way to keep it from them."
"But you guys aren't even in Sam's pack. How did you find out?"
"Sam told Jacob. He knew it would hurt Leah and he thought Jacob would know best how to break it to her. I guess Jacob did OK," Seth chuckled. "He came back in one piece."
Although I wasn't sure I liked thinking about Jacob consoling Leah, it made me happy to be included in the pack news. It made me even happier to realize that I was treated as a part of the pack in many ways.
After a while, Seth sighed and said, "Well, I'm gonna run. Literally."
He laughed, and I laughed, too. He jumped down from the rock and headed into the trees.
"See you later, Seth," I called.
I was a little reluctant for him to leave. He was so easy to be around. Like Jacob used to be, before I started having these crazy feelings. Now, I ached a little when Jacob wasn't there. But while I was at once relieved to have him near me when he was around, I was anxious too, now that I had to be careful not to reveal my feelings. Surely these feelings would go away soon and we could go back to being like we were before.
Almost like my thoughts were a magnet, Jacob was now headed my way. My senses were nearly as sharp as the rest of my family, so he was still a hundred yards away when I recognized his scent. It reminded me of smooth, burnished wood and warm earth, and there was a muskiness to it too. I inhaled deeply. I couldn't help myself, though I knew it would not help me to keep my thoughts calm.
He was nearly silent as he padded quickly toward me in bare human feet but not silent enough. When he was about five feet away, he paused, gathering himself to pounce.
I giggled.
"Shoot!" he cried with a laugh. "I thought I had you this time."
"Not likely!" I said, rolling my eyes and giggling again.
"So, how's Leah?" I asked.
"She's strong," he responded with a slight grimace. He already knew that Seth had told me about Emily and Sam. He had seen it when Seth phased. He was okay with Seth telling me, of course. He never tried to hide anything from me.
Unlike I was now doing to him.