A/N I'm back. Sorry for the long wait between updates. Life got really busy the last couple months, but I hope to upload more consistently now. Hope you enjoy this one!
"I guess that's all you need to know. We'll have you both working at the register and maybe stock the inventory every once in a while."
I was staring Mike Newton in the face. The boy, well the man now, who I once considered a good friend, was a complete stranger to me. He was now manager of Forks Outfitters. A married man too.
Jasper relented and agreed to apply for a job with me. I was so ready to finally do something productive for once. My walking improved to the point where I didn't need crutches anymore. Carlisle gave me a special boot to walk around with which helped alleviate any pain in my right leg.
Angela suggested I work at the Outfitter's store and got Mike to agree to do an interview with me and Jasper. It was a lot less awkward than expected. We more or less played catch up instead of talking about any work qualifications. He didn't question me at all about why I left town, nor was he upset about the way I left. He hired both me and Jasper on the spot.
"That sounds good. Thank you," I told him. Mike led us near the checkout aisles where we would start our shifts. I was an expert at this. I didn't need any help figuring out the register. Jasper was a different story. He stared at it perplexed, as if he'd never seen one before.
"You're welcome. And, uh, it's good seeing you again Bella." Mike ducked his head awkwardly.
"Yeah, it's nice seeing you again too. Thank you for hiring us on short notice and uh, you know, giving the tour."
I didn't really need the tour. I'd been to this store several times, and I worked here before. Not much had changed. But we walked around for Jasper. I wasn't sure if he stepped foot inside the store.
"It's no problem. If you need help, just ask. And let me know what hours you'll be available to work next week. You too, it's Jasper, right?"
Jasper gave him a small nod.
"Will do," I said.
Mike reached out his hand to shake both of ours. When he reached for Jasper's hand, Jasper gave a quick glance at me, almost unsure what to do. He acted like he never interacted with normal humans before. He quickly grabbed Mike's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. Mike retracted his hand, and spun around quickly, heading back toward his office. I guess he was shocked by the cool touch of the Cullen's skin just like I was. I tried not to think about it too much.
"I thought that would be a lot more awkward than it was," I said once I was sure Mike was gone.
"How so?" Jasper asked, leaning over the counter.
I looked around, and no one had arrived at the store yet. It was early morning on a Wednesday, so I didn't expect the store to be busy for a while. I didn't want anyone to listen in on our conversation.
"Mike and I used to date in high school. We had a falling out and haven't spoken in years," I whispered.
Mike was my first kiss when I was a freshman. It was a rather awkward occurrence I'd rather forget, but at the end of the day, I was glad it was with him and not anyone else. We broke up not even a month later when it turned out we weren't that into each other.
Jasper chuckled. "Things change after high school. Those juvenile shenanigans don't really mean much when you get older."
"I know. I mean, we stayed friends for a while after we broke up. I just lost touch with him and my whole friend group from back then, and we didn't all end on good terms."
"Why, what happened?"
I sighed and felt the slight nervous feeling return to my stomach. I haven't discussed my high school days with anyone before. I tried to leave it in the past, but I could never truly escape it.
"I just fell into the wrong crowd," I began, looking down at the floor. "I made some new friends my junior year, and started hanging out with them more than my old friends, you know Angela, Mike, and Jacob. I sort of ditched them all."
Jasper gazed intently at me as I spoke. "That happens sometimes. HIgh school kids can be immature like that, but it seems you've all moved on by now."
"I guess we have. I was just afraid he would still hold a grudge. Angela was cool with me when she first saw me again last June. She moved on. Jacob didn't."
I shuddered thinking about Jacob and how I utterly destroyed our relationship rooted back in childhood.
"I really had no friends in high school. I just stuck to myself most of the time," Jasper told me. He didn't strike me as the type of person to befriend every person on the football team or hang out and party on weekends. It was probably better to be a recluse anyway.
"Yeah, I can tell," I laughed. "You're kind of a loner. You hardly spoke to me at all when I first moved in."
Jasper chuckled, running his hands through his hair. "It's hard for me to open up to new people. I've always struggled with that."
"I understand that," I said, stepping a bit closer to him. "It's hard for me too. I mean I've had a hard time making friends growing up and even in high school, I only talked to a few people. At least you had your family."
"It's nice knowing that other people feel the same way too." Jasper smiled and patted me lightly on the shoulder. I could feel my heart rate picking up.
"Yes, it is. I think we have some things in common," I said. Jasper nodded.
We stood around in silence for a minute as one customer came inside and began shopping around on the other side of the store. I had one question I was dying to ask.
"Jasper, if you don't mind me asking, have you dated anyone before?"
He looked up slowly from the cash register. "Yes, I have."
"Have you been in like. . . a serious relationship before?"
"Sort of."
"Come on. Tell me more." I nudged him slightly and felt an ounce of pain on my elbow. Damn, his muscles are hard as a rock.
Jasper looked down at me with a small smirk forming on his face. Slowly, his expression grew blank again and he sighed. I wondered what he was thinking.
"Alice and I used to date."
If I was drinking coffee, I would have spit it straight out on his uniform. "What, are you serious?!"
I couldn't believe it. I tried to picture the two of them in my head, but I just didn't see it. They were both complete polar opposites, and I never saw them hang out together much at home. I knew they weren't related, but it felt like inc est.
"I know. It must seem weird," Jasper. "We dated for two years actually."
"Wow. Sorry, I mean I know you guys are all adopted. It's just weird to hear about you dating amongst each other, but you're still in the same family."
"We're kind of an unconventional family if you couldn't tell," he laughed softly.
"You don't say. This is just crazy. I had no idea." I was at a loss for words.
"My relationship with Alice was pretty serious back then. It started a bit before we moved here, and we broke up before I graduated. I thought I loved her at the time."
I cringed when he said that. It would be so weird to grow up with someone as your sibling only for things to get romantic when you're teenagers. I wished he didn't say that last part.
"Did you guys . . . well, you know . . ." I could barely get my words out without giggling.
"I'm not a virgin Bella," Jasper responded, raising a brow.
"Okay, okay," I raised my hands while hardly able to contain my laughter. Images of them together in that way flashed through my mind, images I'd rather not have seen. I didn't know if my discomfort with this information was because they were technically family or something else.
"Was that your only relationship?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Yes."
"Hmm. I don't believe you."
"Then don't believe me. But it's true. I haven't been with anyone else," he insisted.
"If you say so."
"I do say so. Now tell me, what about you? Have you dated anyone else besides Mike?"
"Well, yeah. After him, I actually dated two other guys. Both relationships lasted longer than they should have, and they both ended pretty shitty."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Jasper said.
"It's alright. The first guy I met my junior year, and he was the new guy in town. He was so fucking gorgeous and every girl was in love with him, me being one of them. I was so stupid. Everything was great in the beginning, but then he got very controlling and possessive. We had a pretty nasty breakup right before I ended high school. I was completely fucked up afterward. I was in love with him, but it was an intense, all consuming kind of love. It took everything in me to realize our relationship was only hurting me, and I had to end it. Once I moved to Seattle, he actually followed me there and stalked me for a while. I had to file a police report without letting my dad find out. It was a whole messy situation."
I looked at Jasper when I was finished who had his eyes scrunched together in concentration. "Sounds like an abusive asshole. It's a good thing he's gone. Are you sure he's not following you anymore?"
"No, I got a restraining order, and he tried contacting me, but eventually he gave up. Haven't heard from him since. He's probably washed up on drugs now for all I care."
"What's his name?" Jasper asked.
I felt nervous saying that fucker's name out loud, but I knew I would never have to see him again. I trusted Jasper enough to tell him.
"Andrew," I whispered, still hoping Mike wouldn't hear. He hadn't come out of his office yet.
"Andrew," Jasper repeated. "If I ever saw him, he wouldn't live to see the light of day. It's a good thing he's long gone out of town now."
I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. I hoped it was the latter. "Uh, thanks, but you don't need to defend my honor. Look, he's an absolute trash human being, but he's far away from me now. I don't want anything to happen to him. I'd rather forget he ever existed in the first place.
"Yeah I get that. It's okay. I was just joking. I'm glad you've moved on from him," Jasper assured me.
Instantly, I felt relieved. "I was just young and immature back then, and I should've known better," I told him. "And a year later I got into another relationship with this older guy, and it was even worse."
"How did you meet the second guy?"
"I was waitressing at this coffee shop. This guy came in all the time and kept hitting on me. His name was Derrick. It made me uncomfortable at first. I should've listened to my initial gut. He sort of pressured me into going on a date, and I did, but then I became really attracted to him. He was about 27 when I was 19. The same issues with the first guy happened again. We had an explosive breakup. I was done with dating after that."
"I'm sorry you went through that," Jasper said softly, offering a small smile. I felt warmth spread through my body just being in his presence. Jasper just seemed like the polar opposite to those assholes. He was nice and calm, never pushy.
"Thank you. I'd rather just pretend all that shit never happened. If I keep thinking about it, I just keep having regrets and going through these cycles of depression."
"It's easy to play the would've could've should've games in hindsight, but there's nothing you can do now. We all make mistakes."
"I know. It's just my life would be so different right now if I hadn't gotten near any of them in the first place."
"Do you want your life to be different?" Jasper asked.
I paused, surprised by the question. "Yeah. I wish I were a different person sometimes. But I guess if things were different I may not have met you guys."
Jasper pulled me into a small hug, and I wrapped my arms around his chest. "I'm glad we met you too."
I shivered inside. That might've been the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me in years. All the pain I went through in the past was worth it just to hear him say that.
"Would you want your life to be different?" I asked in return.
"Right now? No. I'm content with where I'm at. And I'm glad I get to be here with you."
I laughed and pulled away. "You're too sweet. I feel the same way."
I turned around, and our first customer was approaching the checkout lane. Time to go to work again.
September 2.
I knew this day was coming, and I would have to face it eventually. I spent the next few weeks trying not to think about it and distracting myself with work. It was useless. I wasn't ready for the flood of memories to crash through my brain the moment I woke up on this god forsaken day.
I chose to drive myself to work today. I usually would drive with Jasper, but I could barely look at him right now. I looked at myself in the mirror when I pulled into the parking lot, and I've never looked worse before. My hair was a complete mess and my eyes were red and puffy from a lack of sleep and crying all night. I caked on some makeup Alice lended me and did my best to plaster a fake smile to get through the day.
It was a long ten hour shift with minimal breaks. I worked in zombie mode the entire time, barely paying attention to the countless faces who came through the checkout lane. Jasper and Mike kept talking to me throughout the day, but by the end of my shift I could barely remember a single thing I said to either of them.
Around 6:50 in the evening, I was approaching the end of my shift. For most of the day, I managed to keep my emotions at bay and begrudgingly focus on whatever task was at hand. But now it was getting much harder. Ten years ago from this exact time was the worst moment of my entire life.
"You've been awfully quiet today," I heard Jasper's voice from behind me. I jumped around to see him, having almost forgotten where I was for a moment.
"I'm just thinking."
"What's on your mind?"
A lot of things. I wanted to tell him that, but I couldn't open my mouth to speak. Jasper was the one person I felt I could talk to about anything, but I knew if I tried to talk about my sudden onset anxiety, I would break down. I couldn't do that here. Now was not the time or place.
You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay.
I told myself those five simple words over and over again like a mantra, but I only grew increasingly on edge each time. That's what my mother used to say. Renee. But I would never hear her whisper those calming words to me ever again. It was the ten year anniversary of her death. I've gone exactly a decade without her in my life, and I thought I would've grown better by now, but it felt like my world was falling apart all over again. I would never be okay.
I continued to stare at Jasper, not saying anything. My legs were shaking, and my breathing grew heavier. I wanted to be anywhere else in the world except standing in front of him. A few tears started sliding down my cheeks.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Before I knew it, Jasper pulled me into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around my chest and my arms hung limp at his sides. Being next to him, I felt a slight warmth spread through my body. I wanted to hug him back and let him hold and console me for hours, but I couldn't let that happen. Fuck. I almost made it through ten hours without a single tear, and now he caught me at the very end before I had the chance to escape. I needed to get the fuck out of here.
"I'm sorry, I think I just need to be on my own for a while. Tell everyone I'll be home late."
It took all the strength I had in me to pull away from Jasper. I regretted leaving as soon as I left his arms, but I needed to be by myself. I nearly ran out the store, not even bothering to check the time or to see the look on Jasper's face as I left him standing there.
I drove toward La Push. Where in La Push I was headed? I didn't know. But I had to leave Forks for a while. I couldn't face any of the Cullens right now. Not when I was this much of an emotional wreck.
I remembered ten years ago to this day, I arrived home from a friend's house after school. Renee was pacing around the living room frantically with messy, unwashed hair and dirty clothes. I knew what was about to happen wasn't good. At that point, I knew for a while she was doing drugs. I'd seen her smoking weed in the garage when I was a kid, and I didn't think much of it. Once she began dating Phil, I caught them injecting god knows what into her arm when I peeked into their bedroom door one night. I figured out she and Phil were tripping on some kind of opiate. Those trips became a lot more common over time.
I walked into the kitchen not looking at her, hoping she would leave me alone. My luck had worn out. She grabbed my backpack and yanked me back to her chest. She had never been that physically aggressive with me before.
"Bella," she began in an icy calm tone, "where did you go today after school?"
"Umm, I just visited my friend's house like I always do. Just to get a bit of homework done," I responded. My heart was beating so fast in my chest. I could foresee this situation escalating real quick.
"Oh okay, you had me worried for a minute. Why didn't you just come straight home?" Renee drew a sharp breath and walked around to face me directly.
"I'm sorry, mom. I should've told you."
"Don't worry dear. Just tell me next time if you visit a friend, okay?" I nodded. I tried to duck away and walk up to my room, but she still held me back.
"Kathryn's mother didn't happen to give you a little something before you left, now did she?" Renee asked.
Without thinking, I attempted to sprint out of the kitchen, but my mom caught up to me, pulling my arm back and ripping my backpack off my shoulders. I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder blade, but Renee hardly seemed to notice.
"Where is the money, Bella? Where is it?" she demanded angrily. She began unzipping and throwing all of the contents from my school bag around the kitchen floor. My textbooks, folders, school papers, everything. I scrambled to try to pick them up.
"Mom, please stop! You don't know what you're doing!" I shouted, pleading for her to calm down and think rationally.
She knew my friend Kathryn's mom liked to give me some extra cash once in a while. Renee could never afford to give me an allowance. She needed all the change she could get to feed her disgusting habits with Phil.
Renee retrieved the twenty dollar bill Kathryn's mother gave me from the small pocket of my backpack and ran out of the kitchen toward the front door. She would be gone for the rest of the night, and I didn't know when she'd come back.
"Mom, wait! Where are you going?" I called her. She didn't turn around.
"Bella, I have very important business to attend to. Go do your homework!" she commanded.
I didn't listen. I ran to her side, tugging on her arm, hoping I could beg her to stay. She was going out to visit Phil and his friends. They would get high on some hardcore drugs from the nearest dealer they could find. Everyday I prayed to god she wasn't injecting heroin. That was my biggest fear.
"Please don't go! I don't know when I'll see you again. I don't want to lose you."
My mom finally turned her gaze toward me, and her expression broke. I could almost see the tears welling up in her eyes, but nothing fell. She shook her head and looked away from me.
"I'll be back tomorrow Bella. Don't worry."
"I don't even know who you are anymore, Renee! This isn't you. Ever since you met Phil, you've been throwing your whole life away!"
She shook her arm away from my grasp and opened the door violently.
"You don't fucking know what you're talking about!" she shrieked, already halfway out the door. Before I could yell a response, she was hopping into Phil's car across the street and driving away.
Little did I know, that would be the last time I'd ever see my mom. She never came home that night. I tried to lay in bed and read a book, finish my homework, do fucking anything to get thoughts of her out of my mind, but I was so worried about her. Eventually, it was half past midnight, and I couldn't sleep at all. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. I looked out my window to see a couple of police officers standing outside, and my heart sank. It was the beginning of the end.
Tears were streaming down my face uncontrollably. I never got to tell my mom I loved her one more time before she passed. Our last interaction was so ugly. It made me wonder if she ever really loved me, but I would always love her until the end of time. She was my rock and my best friend growing up. We made so many great memories together. I thought of all the times we baked cookies, laughed and cried at stupid romcoms, had picnics in the mountains, listened to Madonna and Janet Jackson on the drives home from school. Now I'm trapped in a world where I'll never be able to see the sweet, nurturing side of her again. She doesn't exist anymore.
At a certain point, I passed the La Push welcome sign and all the familiar houses came into view. My hands were shaking. I needed to pull over somewhere before I got myself killed veering off the road.
La Push was such a small town it made Forks look like Los Angeles. It didn't take long for me to drive by the parking lot for First Beach, and I decided to pull in. I saw no other cars nearby or anyone walking around the beach. That was perfect. I needed some time to myself completely away from civilization. I wanted to forget I was human.
I parked under a tree hoping no one would see me and set out to walk out toward the beach. The sun was setting in the distance, and it was a bit chilly outside. I felt the cool breeze brush against my arms and wished I brought a jacket. I made my way toward the water and kicked my shoes off. Sitting down on the sand, I looked around at the oddly shaped rock formations and dead logs forming black silhouettes. This place used to be my playground when I visited Charlie during the summertime as a kid. Looking at it now, I only felt numb. I welcomed the feeling.
The sky grew darker as the minutes passed. I knew I probably should've left, but I didn't care. If I was meant to die this way alone on the beach, haunted by the memories of my dead mother, then so be it. I was sick of the lonely, empty feeling in my chest.
Suddenly, there was a ruffle in the trees in the background and what sounded like footsteps. I jolted around to see who was coming, my anxiety perking up. Maybe I didn't want to die after all. I regretted my moment of self pity earlier.
I tried standing up, prepared to run away if I had to, but once the figure became more clear, I realized it was only . . . Jacob Black?
What was he doing here? Did he expect to find me sitting here all by myself? I momentarily paused from my grief.
"Bella, what are you doing out here so late?" I heard Jacob call as he appeared closer. There seemed to be genuine concern in his voice. He wasn't angry with me like the last time we saw each other.
Now Jacob stood directly in front of me, his brows furrowed together.
"I . . . I don't know." I looked back down at my feet. I was completely dumbfounded that he would find me here.
"I was finishing up at work, and I saw your truck pull in here. Why are you sitting there by yourself?"
I didn't answer. "Are you okay?" he asked in a much softer tone. My insides felt heated. I really didn't want to have a second breakdown in front of Jacob. I wanted to be alone in my moment of cathartic grief.
"Yeah," I lied. Before I knew it, I started choking and more tears were falling down my cheeks. "Okay no I'm not. At all," I muttered.
"What's going on?"
"Do you know what day it is?" I looked up at Jacob, wiping a few tears away with my hand. He stared down at me looking confused for a few seconds before he gasped and shook his head.
"Oh my god, Bella. I'm so sorry." He squatted down to pat me on the shoulder, but I could barely look at him. Jacob was one of the first people to find out when my mom passed. He was really my only friend when I was forced to move back to Forks and live with Charlie.
"It's still really hard." It's been ten years and I still miss her like crazy every single day.
"Wait, I'll be right back." I turned around and saw Jacob sprinting back toward his truck. He grabbed something from the back seat that I couldn't make out. When he ran back to my side again, he held out a blanket, wrapping it around my shoulders.
"Thank you," I whispered, not sure he could hear me. I thought he would never want to see me again, but he was being so nice all of a sudden. I did absolutely nothing to deserve it.
"I know how this feels." Jacob took a seat right next to me on the sand. We gazed out upon the water together that grew darker as the sun set further. "You know, my mom died almost seven years ago, and I still cried about it just the other day."
I nodded, remembering how Jacob's mother Sarah died in a car accident on the highway between La Push and Forks. The highway I was just driving down recklessly ten minutes ago. Sarah was a very beautiful, sweet woman. She carried none of the baggage that came along with my mother. It was heartbreaking when she died so suddenly. Jacob was a choked up mess, and I did my best to be there for him at the time.
"I know," I sighed. "I thought I was fine. The last few months since I moved back to Forks, I almost felt normal again, and then I remembered what day it was. It's been ten fucking years."
"I'm sorry." Jacob wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into his embrace. I was reminded how Jasper tried to console me, and I abandoned him in the store. I hoped to god he wasn't hurt by that.
We stayed quiet for a few minutes just staring at the ocean. It was a relatively peaceful night. For the first time all day, I finally felt myself start to relax. Jacob had always been there for me in the past to help me get a nice breather when things got difficult.
"You can't let yourself wallow in grief forever," he spoke after a while. "You're mother's dead. My mom is dead. But they're never really gone if you think about it. Every time you hear a certain song on the radio or hear a joke she would've laughed at, you think of her. She's still a ghost inside of you, you know."
I paused, considering that. People always would like to tell me shit that my mother isn't really gone. Even though she wasn't here in the physical world, she was out there somewhere looking down at me. I was supposed to see reminders of her in different places. I did see several reminders, but they didn't give me comfort the way others said they would.
"I don't believe in souls and all of that stuff, really. I just think she's gone, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"I didn't say anything about souls. Whether she's in heaven or some ghost floating around, I don't know. I just meant your mother's still there in your memories. As long as you're still alive and you love her, she's still with you in a way."
"Yeah, you're right," I contended. I wanted to say just having memories of her wasn't good enough. I wished she could still exist in my world and just hold me one last time. That was all I really wanted.
"I'm sorry I've been a fucking bitch to you for so long." I looked up at Jacob and put on the best smile I could. He was being so nice to me now. Maybe this was the chance to repair our friendship. "You've always been there for me. Everyone's always been there for me. You, Angela, Mike, my dad, and I pushed everyone away. It's all my fault. I've been so lonely ever since she left, but that wasn't an excuse to treat you guys like shit."
"I've felt lonely too. It did really hurt Bella, but it's okay. I think it's time to move on from that."
"I'm so very sorry I hurt you. You didn't deserve it."
Jacob let out a breath and hugged me even closer. "Maybe I was being a bit selfish too. I didn't know what you were going through. We were just confused when you started hanging out with . . . Olivia and that crowd."
If I could go back, I would've stayed away from her completely. "They were never real friends. They were all horrible people. Olivia's dead, you know that, right?"
Jacob turned his head toward me in shock. "Oh fuck, how did that happen?"
I decided to just give him some vague details. He didn't need to know the full gory story. "She went missing, and the police found out later that she was murdered."
"That's insane. I can't believe that happened. Again, I'm sorry Bella."
"It's okay," I assured him. "Do you think we could be friends again? I just really need a good friend right now."
"Yeah, I'd like that. Just always be honest with me, okay?"
"I will." I looked over at him, and he had a wide grin spread across his face. I couldn't help but smile too. I felt a small amount of joy for the first time all day. Did Jacob really just agree to give me another shot? I couldn't believe it.
"It's hard right now, but it helps to look at the sunset. It's been raining for so long, I haven't seen such a beautiful sunset like this in ages."
I looked across the horizon, and he was right. The sun was almost gone, but it turned the surrounding sky a gorgeous red and a few small clouds purple. The warm colors reflected over the water, providing a stark contrast to the trees and cliffs lining the coast. It was times like this when I truly believed the Olympic peninsula was the most beautiful place in the world.
Jacob and I stayed out talking for a while, but at a certain point it was completely dark, and I had to get home. Esme was probably worried about me by now. I didn't exactly tell Jasper where I went. I checked my phone to see if anyone tried to call me, but I had no new notifications.
I drove back down the highway toward Forks again, this time feeling a lot calmer. I felt a bit nervous being the only cruising down the road when it was pitch dark out. Normally, I'd have eaten dinner and been rolled up on the Cullen's couch by this hour.
I turned on the radio to listen to some soft music when I caught something horrifying in the headlights. I drove slower to double check I was seeing things correctly. Right on the edge of the road, there was a small injured red puppy limp on the ground. I pulled over immediately and hopped out of the car.
Kneeling down toward the little guy, I could see the puppy was breathing slowly and had its eyes closed. Thank god it wasn't dead. There was a large cut open on its back with blood oozing out, and one of its hind legs looked twisted. My heart melted looking at this adorable creature.
"Aw, are you okay? Did somebody hurt you?" The puppy opened its eyes wide to look at me. Its large, beautiful brown orbs were boring deep into my soul. I wanted to pet him, but I was worried I would scare or hurt him.
I couldn't imagine what kind of horrible psychopath would leave an innocent, defenseless puppy out here to die on the side of the road. The dog could've gotten hit by a car or maybe the owner was abusing it. Either way, it was still alive, and there was a slight chance I could save it. I never owned a pet before because my mom was allergic to both dogs and cats, and Charlie just never brought up the possibility of owning one. I knew my mom always wanted to get a dog if she could. This was my chance to do something good in her honor.
I lifted up the dog's leg slightly to check its gender. It squealed in pain when I touched it, and I immediately retracted my hand. I got a quick enough glimpse to see that it's probably not a boy.
"It's okay, honey," I whispered, trying to soothe her. She was still shivering in pain. "I'm gonna try to take you home with me. We're gonna get you some help."
I wrapped both my hands around the little girl's chest and pulled it up close to me. She yelped in my arms. I felt horrible for having to touch her this way, but I couldn't let her die here all alone in the cold.
I kept the blanket Jacob gave me, and wrapped it around the puppy's back to try to contain the blood. I hopped back in the car with the puppy sitting gently in the passenger seat. Maybe there was something Carlisle could do to save her.
A/N I wonder who hurt that poor dog. Continue reading to find out.
