Alrighty~ Here is chapter two, enjoy!
Disclaimer: SM owns all of the characters but mine, lucky lady.
The sound of singing birds and rowdy laughter woke me, one was familiar and comforting but the other was a strange sound to me. I stared at the white ceiling above me, trying to remember where I was but when I turned my head and saw airy white curtains over a window, not my mom's rocking red lace curtains, I remembered. I was in my half-brother's house and not my familiar home in sunny California. Swinging my legs out of bed, the shock of the cold floors woke me even further, making me wince. For once I hadn't had a nightmare and I wanted to slip back to sleep, even for a few blessedly peaceful moments but there was too much noise.
I took my fluffy bear slippers out of my bag and quietly opened the door. The noise was coming from the kitchen, maybe it was those boys Emily had told me about last night? I looked around for a clock but couldn't find any, so I crept down the hall, following the sound of laughter. My foot stepped on a creaky floorboard and utter silence filled the house. That made me frown. Was I not supposed to hear anything?
Emily stepped into my view of the living room, that same warm smile on her face. "Good morning, did you sleep okay?" I nodded as I drew near, cautious now and a little confused. As I drew nearer to the kitchen I could see a wall of russet colored flesh that all Native Americans' seem to have. I blinked several times, trying to make out distinct shapes that I knew must be separate bodies but all I saw was a wall of flesh squeezed in around Emily's tiny table.
When I was standing beside Emily I could finally make out four boys, sitting there staring right back at me while they practically shoveled food into their mouths. They all had dark, close cropped hair and dark eyes. It was a little unnerving having them all stare at me.
"Be nice guys," was all Emily said as she marched over and plucked a muffin off of a huge plate in the center of the table. She grabbed a paper napkin and handed me both. "You should eat, it helps." She murmured. With a small nod, I began to nibble on the muffin. It did, actually, help a little. It made me remember Mom's runs down to the bakery in town or fresh bread and she would always snag me a blueberry muffin. The memory didn't make me tear up so bad, instead it made me smile a little.
Emily wrapped an arm around my shoulders and steered me into the kitchen. I huddled in the corner with my hip against the counter as I nibbled on my muffin. She kept an arm protectively around my shoulder as she faced the four boys gathered around the table. "Guys, this is Simone, Sam's sister." I felt a little jolt at being called anyone's sister. For the longest time it had been just me and Mom, it was still a shock the realize I had a brother, even if he was from another woman. "Simone, that's Embry, Quil, Jared, and Seth. Just a quick warning, this is only the tip of the iceberg of the boys that come in and out of here so don't be nervous or anything none of them will bother you if you want to be left alone. Right boys?" Her tone was very stern mother and it made me smile a little to see the big, muscly boys all nod like chided children.
Now that I was looking at them, I could make distinct things out that made them each their own person. The one called Seth was obviously the youngest among them, he had a little of that boyishness in his face as he gave me a sad look.
"I'm sorry to hear about your mom." He said, his voice deeper then I thought it would be. I just said a quiet thank you and kept nibbling on my muffin. I felt awkward standing there in the kitchen with Emily, even though I could tell she was trying to make me feel more comfortable but I just had never done real great around groups of people more then three, let alone a group of big muscled boys.
I pushed away from the counter and stepped out of Emily's warm hold, "um, if Sam's not back I think I'll go back to my room." I said softly, Emily's smile faded around the edges but she nodded.
"He should be home in an hour, do you want me to let you know when he does?" I gave her a small nod and left my half-eaten muffin on the counter then beat a hasty retreat back to my room, leaning against the closed door as a dizzy spell washed over me. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to eat that muffin after all? Looking around my room I wondered what I had to occupy me for an hour. My eyes were drawn to my rolling suitcase.
I wandered over and laid the bag out on the floor. I carefully removed the items and laid them out on the floor. I had clothes for a couple of days, my iPod, my laptop, a sketch pad along with smaller pads, coals, pastels, paints, and an assortment of other things from home. As my hands ghosted over the big sketch pad, like last night in the rain, I had the urge to draw. No, not just draw. I had the urge to leave the house and let my feet carry me away until I could find a secret place to pour my thoughts and emotions onto paper.
I changed into a pair of jeans, fur topped knee-high brown boots, and a simple red scoop necked sweater. I left my hair down to keep my neck warm and tucked my pastels, sketch pad, and pencils under my arm as I left my room. Before I left I stuffed my cell phone into my back pocket, I would have to give Emily the number before I left.
The boys were still around the table but it looked like another few had joined in the feeding frenzy. Emily quickly stepped out of the kitchen, concern on her face. "I'm going for a walk, is that okay?" I asked, fearing she would say no.
"Of course, just be careful." I nodded and ripped out a small corner from my sketch pad and scribbled down my phone number. I left the number with her and practically ran out of the house. It was a nice home, I would have loved it there at any other time, but it wasn't my home.
- 00 - 00 -
Once I left the house I faced the forest surrounding Sam's house, and just started walking. I had loved spending time at the park down the street from my own house, to me the forest was just like a giant park. Birds sang and creatures scurried to and fro across the forest floor. I kept walking, letting my feet carry me where they wanted to, loosing myself in the beauty of the forest. Mom would have loved it here. She grew up with a love of nature and all it's beauty, she passed that on to me through trips to nature preserves and national parks.
She claims she got her love of nature from her grandmother who was of a mountain dwelling Indian tribe, the Ohanko. Like Emily and all of the boys I had met, my great-grandmother had sported the russet skin, black hair, and dark eyes. The only thing I got from my grandmother had been her love of nature and her tribe's stories. One of the legends was about the tribe's guardian spirit, a mighty Jaguar. A rare wild feline that no longer lives in North America. Maybe I would draw a jaguar?
A chilly wind was blowing down from the mountains to the north, making the hair on my neck stand up. I paused in my trek through the forest to glance around, why did I get the feeling that I was being watched? I mentally put it off as the little creatures no doubt watching me walk through their home. I kind of knew how they felt. During the period when I found my mother and when she was carted away to the local morgue, strangers walked in and out of my home, and it seemed like they hadn't really cared at all that they'd been invading the one place that I held sacred.
Shaking my head, I kept walking. The forest was beginning to thin in certain places, forming clearings. I turned toward one and kept walking. The soothing sound of a small stream made me smile. The clearing I had chosen for the day was a simple place with lush grass, a small stream surrounded by wild flowers on either side, and a large, flat stump. Making my way over to the stump I made sure there weren't any bugs or moss and I sat down cross-legged, or Indian style as my great-grandma would say.
I laid my sketch pad and art supplies on my lap and grazed around the clearing for anything that would catch my eye, spark the need to create something inside of me. Closing my eyes, I listened. The wind in the trees, the scurry of tiny animal feet, the gurgle of the stream. All of the sounds sang to me like a song, making me sway to the song of nature. The wind flowing swirled around me, raising my hair in a playful cyclone, making me smile.
With my eyes closed an image began forming and my hands moved of their own volition. Not wanting to loose the urge to create, I kept my eyes closed and took out my pencils and opened to a fresh page, all by feeling my way with my eyes closed. The sounds of nature filled me, blocking out all thought and the ache in my heart lessened the smallest bit. My hand was a flurry of movement, the scrape of lead against the paper warring with the sounds of nature to drown out all my thoughts but that need to draw.
A sudden whisper of sound, not of the cacophony of nature, but something that hushed the sounds and slowed the movement of my pencil on the paper. Slowly I opened my eyes and found the clearing darker then before. I glanced up to see dark clouds roiling overhead, making the clearing that was once peaceful and safe, frightening and dangerous. I cautiously looked around the tree line, half expecting to see someone or something hiding in the shadows darkening as the storm gathered.
Tearing my eyes from the trees I glanced down at the art I had been drawing and nearly choked on my gasp. A shape with glowing red eyes, a deep scarlet like spilled blood, stood watching my house, no watching mother and me in the kitchen laughing. It was a simple sketch with shading and the color for his eyes but I could see the details of my house easily enough. There were three images sketched onto the paper, creating a kind of story, all with simple shading and those glowing red eyes. The second image was of the man in my house, standing over my mother sleeping on the living room couch! The last image was of the same man but standing over another woman in a completely different house, one I had never seen before!
A scream of terror was climbing up my throat as I gazed at the images I had sketched. I couldn't make out anything of the man's face or even what he was wearing but those frightening eyes shone like freshly spilled blood. The crack of a twig made me jump, the scream tearing free of my mouth until I clamped my hand over my mouth. I had no doubt in my mind that this man had killed my mother, why else had I drawn him in those scenes? A story my great-grandma had told me tried to make itself known in my mind but I was too terrified out in the forest alone right now to remember what it was.
Ripping out the page, I folded it up and placed it in the back of my pad and jumped to my feet. Looking wildly about I tried to remember from which direction I had entered the clearing. Another twig snapped, making me bolt into motion. I shot out of that clearing at a dead run. I couldn't tell if I was running deeper into the forest or back toward Sam's house. But I didn't care, I pumped my arms and dodged through the forest. I almost felt like I was being chased, I felt the ghost of cold breath on my neck and I could have sworn I felt fingers trace down my spine.
Tears of desperation coursed down my cheeks as I bolted, would I die here in this forest? My vision was so blurred I didn't see the person standing in the forest until I collided with them. The feeling of being chased abruptly stopped as I blinked the tears out of my eyes as I gazed up at the person I had literally run into. Yet another Quileute stood over me but he was older, maybe mid-twenties. He frowned down at me then looked up around the forest, his eyes alert and his body tense.
A hand reached out to help me to my feet and I was staring up into Seth's worried face. "Simone, you've been gone for hours! Emily sent us out to look for you, are you okay?" He asked.
Not caring if I sounded insane or just plain old crazy I blurted out, "there's something out there! It was chasing me, I swear!" Seth and the older man, there was no doubt in my mind that this was my older half-brother Sam, exchanged a look that I couldn't read. Both looked up and stared, hard into the forest surrounding us. Just over their shoulders I could see the warm glow of Sam's house.
"We should get back to the others," Was all Sam said as Seth quickly led me away, more like dragged, from the fold of the forest. As soon as we broke the tree line I bolted for the house, clutching my things to my chest. The door was wide open with Emily standing in the pool of warm light, her scarred face filled with worry. That worry lessened as I shot for the house but I didn't give her any time to say a word, I bolted for my room, slamming the door shut behind me.
I slid down the solid wood of the door until my butt hit the floor, gasping for breath as a sob rose in my throat. The shock of seeing my mother again, even in the picture I had drawn, was such a shock it was bringing my memories of that day to the forefront. Letting my things fall to the ground around me I pressed the heels of my hands to my head, trying to press the images back deep into my mind. I crawled over to my bed, pressing myself into the corner created by the bed and the wall.
The sound of the door opening didn't even register in my mind until I felt hands holding my own, I hadn't even realized I'd begun to hit my head with the heel of my palms, sobbing. I looked up through tear filled eyes at Emily's own tear streaked face, I could faintly see Sam's form standing in the doorway just behind her.
"I-I can't get it out of my head!" I sobbed, staring up into Emily's dark eyes. "The blood and her body, it was all so wrong and I can't get it out! The images just keep coming and coming, chasing me like some animal! Why won't they go away, Emily?" I whispered, my chin quivering as she pulled me into an embrace. Her hand brushed over my head and down my back as I cried against her chest. When I first found Mom I screamed, I didn't really mourn or wail or any of the things I'd once see a girl do at school when she found out her mom was dead. But now I wailed, I screamed and sobbed and cried like a little child. No, like a girl who had just lost her whole world in a matter of seconds after walking through a door.
I became aware of a soothing heat at my back, Sam had joined Emily in holding me on the floor. I let them hold me as I mourned, really mourned, the loss of my mother. No one said anything, they just held me. And in that moment I felt loved again, like it was my mother holding me instead of two people I had only just met and that made me cry even harder.
- 00 - 00 -
After I had tried myself into near exhaustion, Emily helped me into bed while Sam stayed by my side. He knelt by my bed, holding my hand. "Whoever did this will pay, Simone. I promise this to you here and now, as my honor of my pack's Alpha, I will make that monster pay. I owe it to you as my sister," his words confused me but also comforted me. He gave my hand one last squeeze before he stood and left, shutting my door behind him.
Turning over on my side, I curled up as tight as I could and gazed out between the curtains on the window as rain fell, first in random patterns then in a steady stream. Closing my eyes, I let the sound of the rain lull me to sleep. But just before I succumbed to sleep, I could have sworn I saw a pair of red, glowing eyes in the shadows of the forest.
Okay! Chapter Two is finished! Happy dance time.
So, a little more has been revealed on what might or might not have happened to Simone's mother. Yet more will be revealed in the next chapter and even an appearance and introduction with Paul. Maybe~