I wasn't looking forward to Friday, and it more than lived up to my non-expectations. Of course there were the fainting comments. Jessica especially seemed to get a kick out of that story. Luckily Mike had kept his mouth shut, and no one seemed to know about Emmett's involvement, expect Bella, she demanded every detail when she got home to which I gladly gave, we didn't have secrets,
The worst part about Friday was that, even though I knew he wasn't going to be there, I still hoped.
When I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica and Mike, I couldn't keep from looking at his table, where Rosalie, Alice, Lucas and Jasper sat talking, heads close together. And I couldn't stop the gloom that engulfed me as I realized I didn't know how long I would have to wait before I saw him again, Alice seemed to know I was looking and gave me a little wave, I smiled and waved back,
At my usual table, everyone was full of our plans for the next day. Mike was animated again, putting a great deal of trust in the local weatherman who promised sun tomorrow. I'd have to see that before I believed it. But it was warmer today. Maybe the outing wouldn't be completely miserable.
myself and Bella intercepted a few unfriendly glances from Jessica during lunch, which I didn't understand until we were all walking out of the room together. I was right behind her, just a couple of steps behind and she was evidently unaware of that.
"…don't know why Bella, doesn't just sit with the Cullens from now on" she said while almost sneering Bella's name, Bella blushed beside me,
"She's my friend; she sits with us," Mike whispered back loyally, but also a bit territorially. I paused before then storming past her to make it known I had heard.
That night at dinner, Charlie seemed enthusiastic about our trip to La Push in the morning. I think he felt guilty for leaving us home alone on the weekends, but he'd spent too many years building his habits to break them now. Of course he knew the names of all the kids going, and their parents, and their great-grandparents, too, probably. He seemed to approve. I wondered if he would approve of Bella's plan to ride to Seattle with Edward Cullen, next week, not that I was going to tell him.
"Dad, do you know a place called Goat Rocks or something like that? I think it's south of Mount Rainier," I asked casually.
"Yeah, why?" dad asked confused, I shrugged,
"Some kids were talking about camping there" I explained, he frowned a little
"It's not a very good place for camping, too many bears. Most people go there during the hunting season" Dad replied quite worried
"Oh, I must have got the name wrong." I said not wanting to worry dad, he nodded and seem to accept my answer, although Bella and me shared a worried glance,
Myself and Bella arrived at Newtons' Olympic Outfitters store was just north of town just after ten am, everyone was there and while we said hello to everyone, I couldn't help but notice the looks Jessica was giving me and Bella,
"You came!" Mike called, delighted,
"I told you we was coming," I reminded him as Bella gave him a small smile,
"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha… unless you invited someone," Mike added.
"Nope," I lied lightly, hoping I wouldn't get caught in the lie. But also wishing that a miracle would occur, and Emmett would appear.
Mike looked satisfied.
"Will you and Bella ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan" Mike said cheerfully, I glanced at Bella,
"Sure" she replied smiling, he smiled blissfully. It was so easy to make Mike happy I thought,
"You can have shotgun," he promised Bella, Jessica now glowering at Bella, serves her right I thought to myself. The numbers worked out in my favour, though. Lee brought two extra people, and suddenly every seat was necessary.
It was only fifteen miles to La Push from Forks, with gorgeous, dense green forests edging the road most of the way and the wide Quillayute River snaking beneath it twice. I was glad I had the window seat.
We'd rolled the windows down, the Suburban was a bit claustrophobic with nine people in it and I tried to absorb as much sunlight as possible.
I'd been to the beaches around La Push many times during my Forks summers with Charlie, so the mile-long crescent of First Beach was familiar to me. It was still breath-taking.
When we finally arrived me and Bella followed as Mike lead the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes. Eric and the boy I thought was named Ben gathered broken branches of driftwood from the drier piles against the forest edge, and soon had a tepee-shaped construction built atop the old cinders.
"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Mike asked Bella as I was sitting on one of the bone-coloured benches; the other girls clustered, gossiping excitedly, on either side of me. Mike kneeled by the fire, lighting one of the smaller sticks with a cigarette lighter.
"No," Bella answered said as he placed the blazing twig carefully against the tepee.
"You'll like this then — watch the colours." He lit another small branch and laid it alongside the first. The flames started to lick quickly up the dry wood.
"It's blue," I said in surprise.
"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?" He lit one more piece, placed it where the fire hadn't yet caught.
I watched the strange blue and green flames crackle toward the sky, after a half hour of chatter, some of the boys wanted to hike to the nearby tidal pools. It was a dilemma.
On the one hand, I loved the tide pools. They had fascinated me since I was a child; they were one of the only things I ever looked forward to when I had to come to Forks. On the other hand, I'd also fallen into them a lot. Not a big deal when you're seven and with your dad. It reminded me of Emmett's request — that I not fall into the ocean, but when Bella said she wanted to hike, I knew I hadn't a choice.
The hike wasn't too long, though I hated to lose the sky in the woods. The green light of the forest was strangely at odds with the adolescent laughter, too murky and ominous to be in harmony with the light banter around me. I had to watch each step I took very carefully, avoiding roots below and branches above, and me and Bella soon fell behind due to her clumsy-ness, Eventually we broke through the emerald confines of the forest and found the rocky shore again. It was low tide, and a tidal river flowed past us on its way to the sea.
Along its pebbled banks, shallow pools that never completely drained were teeming with life.
I was very cautious not to let Bella lean too far over the little ocean ponds. The others were fearless, leaping over the rocks, perching precariously on the edges. I found a very stable-looking rock on the fringe of one of the largest pools and sat there, spellbound by the natural aquarium below me. The bouquets of brilliant anemones undulated ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried about the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to the rocks and each other, while one small black eel with white racing stripes wove through the bright green weeds, waiting for the sea to return.
I was completely absorbed, except for one small part of my mind that wondered what Emmett was doing now, and trying to imagine what he would be saying if he were here with me.
Finally the boys were hungry, and I got up stiffly to follow them back, the food was already being passed around, and the boys hurried to claim a share while Eric introduced us as we each entered the driftwood circle. Angela, Bella and I were the last to arrive, and, as Eric said our names, I noticed a younger boy sitting on the stones near the fire glance up at me in interest. I sat down next to Angela, and Mike brought us sandwiches and an array of sodas to choose from, while a boy who looked to be the oldest of the visitors rattled off the names of the seven others with him. All I caught was that one of the girls was also named Jessica, and the boy who noticed me was named Jacob.
After a while the boy I remembered as Jacob came over to me and Bella,
"You're Isabella and Liliana Swan, aren't you?" he asked, It was like the first day of school all over again.
"Bella," I said politely, as I nodded,
"I'm Jacob Black, you bought my dad's truck." He held his hand out in a friendly gesture, I smiled and then recongised the name,
"You're Billy's son. I probably should remember you" I said laughing,
"No, I'm the youngest of the family, you would remember my older sisters." He explained I thought for a minute before answering,
"Rachel and Rebecca," I suddenly recalled. Charlie and Billy had thrown me and Bella with them together a lot during our visits, to keep us busy while they fished. We were all too shy to make much progress as friends. Of course, Bella had kicked up enough tantrums to end the fishing trips by the time we was eleven.
"Are they here?" I examined the girls at the ocean's edge, wondering if I would recognize them now,
"No." Jacob shook his head. "Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer — she lives in Hawaii now" Jacob explained, I nodded,
"Married. Wow." Bella was stunned. The twins were only a little over a year older than we was.
"So how do you like the truck?" he asked us,
"I love it. It runs great" Bella said even surprising me a bit,
"Yeah, but it's really slow," he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there." I nodded,
"It's not that slow," Bella objected, while I just laughed,
"Have you tried to go over sixty?" Jacob asked
"No," Bella admitted.
"Good. Don't." He grinned.
I couldn't help grinning back.
"So you build cars?" I asked, impressed.
"When I have free time, and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" he added jokingly. He had a pleasant, husky voice.
"Sorry," I laughed, "I haven't seen any lately, but I'll keep my eyes open for you." As if I knew what that was. He was very easy to talk with.
He flashed a brilliant smile, looking at me appreciatively in a way I was learning to recognize. I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Bella," Jessica called, watching my face carefully, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was unconvincing, I tried not to rise to her,
"You mean Dr Carlisle Cullen's family?" the tall, older boy asked before I could respond, much to Jessica's irritation. He was really closer to a man than a boy, and his voice was very deep.
"Yes, do you know them?" she asked condescendingly, turning halfway toward him.
"The Cullens don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question. Tyler, trying to win back her attention, asked Jessica's opinion on a CD he held.
I stared at the deep-voiced boy, taken aback, but he was looking away toward the dark forest behind us. He'd said that the Cullens didn't come here, but his tone had implied something more that they weren't allowed; they were prohibited. His manner left a strange impression on me, and I tried to ignore it without success.
Jacob interrupted my meditation. "So is Forks driving you insane yet?" he asked Bella,
"Oh, I'd say that's an understatement." Bella grimaced. He grinned understandingly.
I was still turning over the brief comment on the Cullens, and I had a sudden inspiration, Jacob might have known,
"Do you want to walk down the beach with me and Bella?" I asked, Bella looked a little confused but Jacob jumped up willingly enough.
As we walked north across the multihued stones toward the driftwood seawall, the clouds finally closed ranks across the sky, causing the sea to darken and the temperature to drop. I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my jacket.
"So you're, what, sixteen?" I asked,
"I just turned fifteen," he confessed,
"Really I would have thought you were older." Bella added
"I'm tall for my age," he explained.
"Do you come up to Forks much?" I asked archly, as if I was hoping for a yes. I sounded idiotic to myself.
"Not too much," he admitted with a frown. "But when I get my car finished I can go up as much as I want well after I get my license," he amended.
"Who was that other boy Jessica was talking to? He seemed a little old to be hanging out with us." I purposefully lumped myself in with the youngsters, trying to make it clear that I preferred Jacob.
"That's Sam, he's nineteen," he informed me.
"What was that he was saying about the doctor's family?" I asked innocently.
"The Cullens? Oh, they're not supposed to come onto the reservation." He looked away, out toward James Island, as he confirmed what I'd thought I'd heard in Sam's voice.
"Why not?" Bella asked confused, he glanced back at me, biting his lip.
"Oops. I'm not supposed to say anything about that." Jacob said, so he did know,
"Oh, we won't tell anyone, I'm just curious." I tried to make my smile alluring,
He smiled back, though, looking allured. Then he lifted one eyebrow and his voice was even huskier than before.
"Do you like scary stories?" he asked ominously.
"I love them," I enthused,
Jacob strolled to a nearby driftwood tree that had its roots sticking out like the attenuated legs of a huge, pale spider. He perched lightly on one of the twisted roots while we sat beneath him on the body of the tree. He stared down at the rocks, a smile hovering around the edges of his broad lips. I could see he was going to try to make this good. I focused on keeping the vital interest I felt out of my eyes.
"Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from — the Quileutes, I mean?" he began.
"Not really," we admitted.
"Well, there are lots of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Flood — supposedly, the ancient Quileutes tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark." He smiled, I nodded and he continued,
"Then there are the stories about the cold ones." His voice dropped a little lower.
"The cold ones?" Bella asked, not faking any intrigue now.
"Yes. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent, according to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land." He rolled his eyes.
"Your great-grandfather?" I encouraged.
"He was a tribal elder, like my father. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf—well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves." Jacob explained
"Werewolves have enemies?" Bella asked,
"Only one" Jacob replied,
I stared at him earnestly, hoping to disguise my impatience as admiration.
"So you see," Jacob continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did — they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces." Jacob said, I was confused,
"If they weren't dangerous, then why… ?" I tried to understand, struggling not to let him see how seriously I was considering his ghost story.
"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist." He deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into his tone.
"What do you mean, 'civilized'?" Bella inquired,
"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans. They supposedly were somehow able to prey on animals instead." Jacob said throwing a piece of wood,
I tried to keep my voice casual. "So how does it fit in with the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones your greatgrandfather met?" I asked
"No." He paused dramatically. "They are the same ones."
He must have thought the expression on our face was fear inspired by his story. He smiled, pleased, and continued,
"There are more of them now, a new female and two new males, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had even arrived." He was fighting a smile.
"And what are they?" I finally asked. "What are the cold ones?"
He smiled darkly,
"Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them vampires."
I stared out at the rough surf after he answered, not sure what my face was exposing,
"You have goose bumps," he laughed delightedly.
"You're a good storyteller," I complimented him, still staring into the waves.
"Pretty crazy stuff, though, isn't it? No wonder my dad doesn't want us to talk about it to anyone." Jacob said with a laugh,
The sound of the beach rocks clattering against each other warned us that someone was approaching. Our heads snapped up at the same time to see Mike and Jessica about fifty yards away, walking toward us.
"There you are, Bella, Liliana " Mike called in relief, waving his arm over his head.
"Is that one of your boyfriends?" Jacob asked, alerted by the jealous edge in Mike's voice. I was surprised it was so obvious.
"No, definitely not," I whispered. I was tremendously grateful to Jacob,
"So when I get my license…" he began.
"You should come see us in Forks. We could all hang out sometime." I said smiling,
Mike had reached us now, with Jessica still a few paces back. I could see his eyes appraising Jacob, and looking satisfied at his obvious youth.
"Where have you been?" he asked, though the answer was right in front of him.
"Jacob was just telling me some local stories," I volunteered. "It was really interesting." I smiled at Jacob warmly, and he grinned back.
"Well," Mike paused, carefully reassessing the situation as he watched our camaraderie. "We're packing up — it looks like it's going to rain soon."
We all looked up at the glowering sky. It certainly did look like rain.
"Okay." I jumped up. "were coming." Bella said
"It was nice to see you again," Jacob said,
"It really was. Next time Charlie comes down to see Billy, we will come too," I promised.
His grin stretched across his face. "That would be cool."
"And thanks," I added earnestly.
I pulled up my hood as we tramped across the rocks toward the parking lot. All the way back, Bella and I just exchanging glances, trying to process what we had just heard, and I was trying to decide, could it be true?
