Hello my darling readers! I am ever so sorry that this took so long to post...the battle against writer's block was a long one, but as you can see, I beat it! Here's hoping that you love it as much as I do. With that said, a special shout out goes to my beloved e-sister, Jacob's Lala, who is beta-ing this for me. Thank you so much for your love and support through the uncertainty, the rough drafts, the "duhhhhh" moments, all of it. I don't know how I would have made it through without you. To all my TTSOT sisters and all you readers, thanks for your dedication and support; all of you are what make the writing experience worth it.

Okay, now that the lovey fest is done, here is my disclaimer: The OC's and Plot are mine; Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

Chapter 4

Instead of responding, Bella averted her gaze. The longer the words of my question hung in the air, the more the tension around us grew, and I suddenly felt like it was going to choke us it was so thick. "Bella—" I started, but was immediately interrupted as a gust of wind blew up some sand that covered the both of us.

"Let's get out of this sand," Bella said quickly, all too happy for the distraction. I huffed at her, but stood up. After wiping the sand off of myself, I extended a hand to Bella, who was struggling against the newly kicked up wind. Once she was firmly on her feet, we stood in an awkward silence as the wind whipped around us, small droplets of rain pelting us as a signal of the coming storm.

Just as I was about to ask Bella about the mysterious stranger again, a voice behind us yelled out, "Bella!!" causing us to turn. I struggled to hold in a gasp as I took in the giant figure that was bounding towards us. He appeared to be well over 6'5, with muscles in every place imaginable (even where I didn't know muscles could exist). His russet skin was glistening now with the drops of the rain that were hitting it, as was his jet black hair.

"There you are," he said, coming to a full halt once he'd reached us. "I've been looking all over for you." He looked over his shoulder and I followed his gaze to a boy that looked very similar to him (so much so that they could pass for brothers) who was running to catch up. "Found her, Embry," he said to the guy, who simply nodded in acknowledgement.

For a moment, Bella and the one who'd spoken to…Embry, was it?...locked eyes, sharing a look of complete understanding. They got lost in each other for several minutes, their eyes conveying a complete array of emotions that I didn't understand (especially humor—what was funny about finding us on the beach?), until Embry let out a soft ahem and broke them out of it. At first, the other guy and Bella seemed a bit put off by the interruption, until Embry jerked his head in my direction.

"Oh…sorry about that, Ev," Bella said to me, breaking away from Jacob and putting her arm around me. "Ev, this is Jacob. Jake, this is my cousin Evie," she said. Suddenly, I found myself thinking back to the encounter with the mysterious lady and to what Bella had been trying to whisper to the giant wolf. The recognition clicked almost immediately, and I had to use every fiber of my being to not utter out in surprise, lest they think I was nuts. Then again, this whole thing was nuts. But somehow, I knew that my decision was the right one.

As I extended a hand to him, I realized that I wasn't the only one going through a million different thoughts. His face displayed them all perfectly, and it wasn't until Embry ahem-ed again that Jacob snapped out of it and extended his hand, putting a smile on his face that seemed to only semi reach his eyes.

"So you're the Evie that I've been hearing so much about, huh?" he said, grasping my hand in a boiling, firm grip.

"I guess so. All good, I hope," I said, trying to keep my tone friendly.

"Oh, most definitely. I was hoping that I was going to meet Bella's 'absolutely best cousin ever' soon. Never thought it'd be this soon, though." His eyes were questioning. Believe me, you're not the only one questioning me being here this soon, bucko I thought.

"Neither did I," I said. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name." He studied my face before turning to Embry. "This is my friend, Embry," he said to me. Embry held out his hand to me and I shook it as we both muttered a shy "Hi," to each other, after which a thick silence took over.

It wasn't until the rain began to pour down in sheets a few minutes later that the silence was broken with an extremely loud gasp on my part as I suddenly remembered that I was wearing a white wifebeater. Immediately, Bella (and to my utter humiliation, Jacob and Embry as well) realized the reason for my discomfort.

"Let's get to my house; I'm sure I could find something else for you to wear," Bella said, as Jacob and Embry shifted uncomfortably. I nodded, or at least I thought I had. I had felt myself agreeing with Bella, but at the moment a giant wave of shivers took over my body, showing to the whole world just how cold I truly was, probably making the motion completely unnoticeable as a gesture of agreement and more of a 'get me the hell out of here, I'm freezing,' move. I mean, sure, Orlando had cold rain, but never to this extreme. I wrapped arms around myself in a sad attempt to warm up a bit to no avail.

"Actually, Bells, that might not be the best idea," Jacob said, casting a worried glance at me. Bella glared back at him, slackjawed.

"Jesus, Bella, all I'm saying is that your cousin looks like she's about ready to freeze to death, and you're soaked too. It'd be better if we took you both to my house so you could warm up first, get a bit dryer, and then get you over to Charlie's. Besides, he's probably still at the hospital."

At the word 'hospital,' Bella and I both gasped. I tried to speak, but the shivering that had overtaken my body overrode my ability to speak. "W-w-why?" I managed to squeak out before I was completely overcome. Bella was just about to continue the questioning, but Jacob had caught on to what I was intending to ask.

"He's not hurt. He's at the hospital because of Harry," he explained. Bella's eyes widened in what I could only assume was recognition.

"Harry Clearwater? What's wrong with him?" Bella asked. Jacob and Embry exchanged a worried glance, and then Embry spoke.

"He had a heart attack this morning. After pa—work, Emily had the news for us, so a lot of us went to go make sure that Sue, Leah, and Seth were holding up okay." Bella nodded, before giving a slight shake, showing that I wasn't the only one freezing.

Spotting this, Jacob turned to Embry. "Do you want to take Bella or Evie?" My eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"What about my car, Jake?" Bella said. "I can't just leave it here." Seriously, Bella? This guy talks about 'taking' you and me, although how or why isn't made clear, and all you can worry about is the stupid car? I thought.

"Me or Embry can pick it up for you later. Right now, we need to get you home," Jake said, persistence in his voice.

"I really don't feel comfortable just leaving it here. Maybe Embry could run me out to the truck and we'll meet you back at your house."

Jacob didn't seem too fond of the idea. "But, Bells—"

"Don't worry, Jake, I'll look out for her. And besides, you're the only one that has the keys to the house," Embry interrupted. "Nice to meet you, Evie. I guess we'll see you at the house."

"See you in a bit, Ev," Bella said. "And Jake, take care of her."

Before I could protest, Embry had put Bella on his back and they had sped off, leaving Jacob and I standing under a torrent of rain, surrounded by an awkward silence. My mind was spinning with questions, confused by this whole turn of events, especially by Embry and Bella's sudden disappearance and the boy's timely arrival before the downpour.

I shivered once again, effectively breaking the silence and making Jake come closer to me, holding out his hand. I must've subconsciously recoiled because he shot me a grin. "Come on, Evie. You're safe with me; I don't bite," he said, sarcasm laced into the last part of the sentence. Making a mental note of that sarcasm, I stepped forward. In one swift motion, he had swept me into his arms, crushing my body to his as much as possible.

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing?" I asked as he began to run down the beach. As his feet pounded against the sand, I couldn't help but notice that Jake was boiling hot, almost like a sauna. The heat was so comforting that I almost wanted to forget the circumstances of why I was even up against his chest, but a low, rumbling laugh kept me from falling into that oblivion.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he said. "I'm taking you back to my house. Wouldn't want you to freeze to death and get sick. "

"I highly doubt that running through the rain is going to prevent me from getting sick, Jacob. You know, what with the water and all," I answered sarcastically.

"Are you getting wet?" he asked me. In truth, he had positioned himself in such a way that he was the one getting most of the water, whereas I was only getting my feet wet.

"Well…no," I mumbled. "But it's the principle of it that counts," I muttered under my breath. Another rumbling laugh broke through the air and I looked up at him curiously. Apparently, I hadn't been as quiet as I intended.

"You've got nothing to worry about," he said. "Because—we're—here." He skidded to a stop in front of a tiny red house that looked somewhat old, but ruggedly pretty. "Huh…that's odd," he said as he walked up to the house, interrupting my observation of it.

"What is?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just thought that since Bells and Embry would be here by…Oh, well speak of the devils," he said as his cell phone blared a ringtone. He stepped onto the porch and set me down onto my feet so he could answer. "Hey Bells, I was just wondering where you were…Why did you go down to Charlie's?..You're going to get sick…" For a second, Jake's face clouded with anger. "Yeah, I guess that is a plus. Okay, so you and Embry will be back soon, then? Okay, we'll see you in a bit." Jacob closed his phone and turned to look at me.

"So I'm guessing that was Bella," I said. "What'd she say?"

"Well, Bella being the stubborn one that she is, decided that she'd rather drive out to Charlie's and get changed and grab some clothes for you in the process instead of, and I quote, 'leaving you in a state of indecency," he said, putting air quotes around that expression before breaking out a grin so bright that it made the sun look like a firefly. In an instant, I could see why Bella liked him so much, and pretty soon, his smile made one appear on my face. "Let's get you inside…certainly don't want Bella thinking you weren't taken care of or she'd have my hide."

Unlocking the door, Jacob led me into his cozy looking living room. "Make yourself at home," he said, directing me to a small brown couch on the far side of the room. As soon as I'd sat down, he rushed upstairs and came back a few minutes later with a large quilt, which he proceeded to wrap around me. "I'm going to make you some tea, okay? Just sit tight." I nodded before he shot me a friendly smile and darted off to the kitchen, leaving me alone in the living room.

I glanced around the room, drinking in all of my surroundings. The wall opposite the couch had what I assumed were family photos hanging on quite a large majority of it, only stopping where a small mahogany bookcase began. Most of the room had an old, rustic yet homey feeling about it that was only accentuated by the small brown loveseat and recliner that sat diagonally across from me. I smiled faintly; the recliner looked very similar to one that my mom had at home.

Home. In all of the confusion, I had honestly forgotten all about having been there, or more importantly, how I'd even gotten here. Suddenly, I remembered the note that I'd seen before going to shower and my mind went into a full blown panic. What if my mother had come back from the store while I'd been playing superhero for Bella? It wasn't as if she'd be able to contact me; I'd left my cell phone at home. Blanching at the thought of my mother freaking out and calling the entire police force in Orlando to find me, I made a mental note to ask Bella to let me borrow her phone as soon as possible.

"Something wrong?" asked Jacob, choosing that precise moment to walk back into the living room, holding out a cup of tea for me.

"N-no, not at all, just thinking," I answered, gratefully accepting the cup of tea. For a second, it looked like Jacob was going to say something about my awkward moment, but he just shrugged it off.

"Bet you're missing the Orlando sun, aren't you?" he said as he spotted me shiver again, though this time it wasn't as violent of a shiver as the others had been.

I laughed dryly. "What sun, Jacob? Our weather has been nothing but cold this winter."

Jacob shot me a look of surprise. "I thought Florida was all sunshine, all the time."

"Psh, I wish," I said, rolling my eyes. "The weather is bipolar. One day, it could be nice and sunny, and then it's like, 'Nope, you're getting too used to the heat, here's a cold front.' It really needs to hurry up and make up its mind."

At that, Jacob started laughing, and soon, his laughter had spread to me, which is exactly how Bella and Embry found us when they walked in about five minutes later.

"What's funny?" asked Embry.

"Evie. Her sarcasm's amazing," Jacob replied.

"Sarcasm already, Evie?" Bella said, tossing me some clothes. I noticed that she had taken some time to change over at Uncle Charlie's. "What did Jake do to deserve that torture?"

"Hardy har har," I said, giving her a light punch on the shoulder when she came to sit by me.

"Jeez, is that the thanks I get for the clothes? Maybe I should just let sit in those wet clothes," she countered, reaching for them.

My eyes went wide, causing Jake and Embry to laugh at my expression. "No, no, no, you're not taking those clothes away!" I said, hiding them behind my back.

"If you don't want me to take them away, maybe you should go change," she said teasingly.

I glanced around the room and said, "Sure, Bells, I'll just duck into the invisible closet over there. Or would you rather I gave the boys a free show?"

Jacob at least had the decency to look at least a bit scandalized. "As sure as I am that Embry would enjoy that," he said, indicating his friend who had a lustful look in his eye, before smacking him upside the head. "You can borrow my room to get changed."

I stood up while thanking Jacob and Bella profusely for everything, and after Jacob pointed me in the right direction to get to his room, I headed down the hall.

"Hey Ev," called Bella from the living room. "When you get done, it's time for you and me to catch up."

Something in her voice told me that she was going to be asking some hard questions, and honestly, I didn't want to have any awkward pauses with the boys around. Better get the hard stuff out off the way in private.

"Just come with me, Bells," I said, attempting to add some lightness to my voice. "We can start the party and get all the girly stuff out of the way, give the boys some "bonding" time."

"You sure?" she called back.

"Of course! We've got a lot of ground to cover!" I said. Damn if that ain't the truth.

A minute or two later, Bella was behind me and we made our way to Jacob's room silently, both not really knowing what to expect when we got in there. Here goes nothing.

Okay loves, there it is! Please leave reviews, because as always, reviews=love, and they are what keep me going. I promise that I won't keep you waiting too long for Chapter 5, where we get to see a bit into Jacob's head and who knows...maybe we'll have an appearance by our true hero? ;D PLEASE REVIEW!