"YOU LOOK HORRIBLE"
Anna rolled her eyes, her body making room in the bed for her best friend.
"You think?" she quipped, her voice carrying a hint of sarcasm as she extended her palm, showing the area where the stitches had begun to cause the skin to swell.
Julia shook her head, her expression shifting from concern to a more candid assessment. "It's not just that," she added, her gaze settling upon Anna's face. Before Anna could object, Julia continued, her words flowing freely. "Your face... It's like you haven't slept, like, in ages."
If she were honest with herself, Anna knew that her friend was speaking the truth. A brief glance in the mirror that morning had already revealed that her self-esteem would not be at its peak that day.
Because, in addition to the discomfort in her hand and the obvious rest she was forced to do in order to walk better, it was the nightmares that sent her into an obvious state of insomnia, making the circles under her eyes more and more predominant.
For years, she had always dreamed the same things. They rarely varied. Scenes of the stormy night when her father died. Scenes where the unconscious acted and instead it was her who died. Others also where her mother appeared in the boat, reaching out a hand to her father and leaving her behind.
Yes, it was a little twisted. But what could she do about it? They were just there.
However, over the past while — a timeframe that appeared to align with her arrival in Forks — the nocturnal images that plagued her took a turn toward the progressively bizarre.
At times, Bella would make an appearance within these dreams, her eyes exuding a painful emptiness that resonated deeply. Others held no coherent narrative; instead, they immersed her in scenarios of pale, bloodied monsters charging toward her relentlessly.
And lately, she found herself grappling with a rather embarrassing revelation — the admission that her dreams had even involved Embry.
Yet, the source of embarrassment didn't lie in the fact of dreaming about him per se. Her logical reasoning told her that perhaps she had only been slightly traumatized after the night in the woods.
The cringe-worthy aspect surfaced from the specific content of the dreams featuring him. In these visions, he assumed the role of a warrior spirit, akin to the protagonists in the book she had been reading; a wolf-like figure. And then this grotesque, bloodied monster would materialize, violently wrench him away, tearing Embry into shreds right before Anna's eyes.
And usually, that's when she would wake up.
"I can't stand just sitting around," she protested with a drawn-out sigh, her voice carrying a hint of defensiveness. "Plus, writing is practically impossible with these stitches."
"You know, a normal person would be happy to take a break from school."
Anna grimaced. In addition to the embarrassment of having to explain to her family that she had simply gotten lost in the woods, when they had been ready to organize a search party for her, she had also had to go through the embarrassment of the whole town finding out.
Anna Swan got lost in the forest. Didn't the same thing happen to Bella Swan a few months ago? So weird that family!
She groaned in frustration. "Can't we just leave? Let's go live somewhere together."
Julia sighed. "That sounds nice. You could be a teacher, and I could... I don't know, maybe sell something? It might be enough for us to afford a small apartment, which we would inevitably have to leave after a year due to plumbing problems. And we'd have a cat."
"I'm a cat person," Anna replied, a smile forming on her lips as she snuggled closer to her best friend, gradually surrendering to the comforting embrace of sleep. "It sounds perfect."
Julia stayed for the entire weekend, which improved her mood considerably. Sure, she would have liked to take her friend to see the surroundings. There were no interesting things in Forks but at least a trip to La Push would have been nice.
Quil would have been fascinated by her.
But Julia really didn't mind doing nothing. And so, Anna's room transformed into a cozy haven for movie marathons filled with romantic clichés and tons of definitely unhealthy food.
And she couldn't ask for more either, because Julia's mere presence never failed to restore a sense of balance to her world.
Then a week passed and Anna was able to walk normally again. Everything seemed to have slowly returned to normal. Rides to school in the morning with Bella, afternoons at the gift shop, Colin being a little demon (though she had to admit she had even grown fond of him by now) and occasional hang outs with Quil and Jacob.
Her heart pounding abnormally every time Jake smiled at her.
Yes, everything seemed normal again.
Except for the fact that not everything felt normal.
It was hard to put into words, but Anna could discern that something had shifted.
It was everywhere. An inexplicable feeling that haunted her, crept into her thoughts wherever she was, whatever she was doing.
It lingered in the air during her walks to catch the bus after work, feeling as if someone was following her in the distance.
It was in her dreams, when she woke up distressed after witnessing the horrifying creature tearing apart what appeared to be a wolf-like version of Embry - a bizarre image that always left her questioning how her mind could conjure such things.
And finally, it was also in the agonizing and strange need to want to see him again.
"Anna!"
She blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the sudden call. She focused her attention on Bella behind the wheel, who was looking at her with a frown.
Her mouth opened slightly in surprise as she gathered her wits. "What?"
"I'm talking to you," Bella said, her tone tinged with a hint of strangeness. "Are you okay?"
"Oh," Anna shook her head lightly, trying to shake off her distraction and muster a reassuring smile. "Yes. I'm sorry, I think I was half asleep. What were you saying?"
Bella watched her uncertainly for a few more seconds and then continued. "I was just saying that this Friday we're going to the movies with some friends. You know some of them... Like Angela and Mike."
Anna nodded. Angela was nice. Mike... Well Mike was too in love with Bella to function.
"And..." Bella's voice trailed off. "Jacob will come too."
Bella looked at her briefly with a trace of anticipation as if waiting for a reaction from her. Anna raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"What?"
"Come on," Bella said softly. "I know you like Jacob."
"Why..."
"It's all over your face," Bella interjected, a faint smile gracing her lips as she turned her attention back to the road. "When you look at him."
A flush of warmth crawled up Anna's cheeks. Was her affection for him so plainly evident? A combination of embarrassment and a peculiar sense of delight bubbled within her. To acknowledge her feelings out loud, even in the absence of her own admission, felt oddly liberating.
Because yes, she liked Jacob and it made her feel stupidly happy.
Yet, as her gaze shifted back to her cousin, a wistful undertone washed over her.
The bittersweet realization gripped her heart: he would never see her as he saw Bella.
She cleared her throat, attempting to compose herself as she spoke, her tone striving for nonchalance. "And Jacob likes you."
Bella's grip on the steering wheel tightened visibly. "He doesn't..."
"Please Bella," Anna interrupted her, "We both know that's how it is. The fact that he followed you into the motorcycle bullshit is proof enough."
Bella huffed in mock offense. "Hey now—"
"And you like him too."
A flicker of uncertainty passed over Bella's features, a momentary lapse in her facade. Anna knew she had hit it. Bella did have feelings for Jacob, she just wasn't willing to acknowledge them.
"He's my best friend," she mused after a contemplative pause, a faint wistfulness lingering in her voice. "Of course I like him."
"Are you sure that's all?"
A visible internal struggle seemed to play out across her face. She let out a sigh of resignation. "I don't want to go out with any boys... For a while."
Anna chose to ignore the fact that she didn't deny it. Instead, she swerved the conversation in a different direction, testing the waters. "So, hypothetically speaking, you wouldn't mind if I... Try something with him?"
Her cousin's face seemed to break down for a second, but then she denied, "Not at all. You definitely should. You guys would make a cute couple."
Anna's laughter filled the car, surprising Bella by its suddenness. "What's so amusing?" she inquired.
"Oh Bells," Anna chuckled affectionately. "You don't know how to lie."
"I'm not lying about this... And of course I know how to lie," Bella defended herself, a slight hint of defensiveness creeping into her voice. In fact, if there was one thing she was good at, it was lying. Excessively so.
"And I know how to tell when I'm being lied to," she said, her lips curling into a gentle smile, "But I don't mind. Really," she added, her teeth gently capturing her lower lip, an unconscious gesture that betrayed her introspective thoughts. "I knew I didn't stand a chance since... Well, let's just say I'm not you."
Bella frowned. "Why would you say that?" she asked. "If anything, I should be worried. You're this smart, beautiful, and caring person. And that definitely knows how to coordinate when walking."
Anna wrinkled her nose, her gaze dropping to her ankle, which had recently healed. "Yeah... Definitely not the best time to bring that up."
"What I'm saying," Bella continued earnestly, "is that Jake would be very lucky to be with someone like you."
Anna almost wanted to believe her. But there was just one problem. She simply wasn't the one Jacob wanted.
And maybe it was that her self-esteem hadn't been the best these days. Maybe it was that her mind was always overthinking, but something told her that this sudden interest from Bella on the subject of her and Jacob was nothing more than an attempt by her cousin to put distance from him.
Because maybe, just maybe, she was wrong and Bella had already realized her feelings for him. And that probably terrified her.
It felt twisted to think that way. But a lot of thoughts inside her had felt twisted for a long time.
It was nothing new.
"I'll tell you what," she announced, her body turning to face her. "I'll give myself a chance to see what happens with Jacob... After you take some time to figure out your feelings for him."
Anna noticed the shift in Bella's posture, how her shoulders tensed slightly as silence filled the car. And that alone spoke volumes, confirming what she had suspected all along.
Bella did have feelings for Jacob. She just didn't want to accept them.
"Okay," her cousin eventually agreed. "But I don't want this to become a conflict between the two of us... Whatever happens... I want you to be in my future."
It felt weird to say, Bella thought. Yet, that was the precise sentiment coursing through her. For a while now, when her mind granted her a respite from his haunting memory, she could caught glimpses of a future. A safe, painless future. And Jacob and Anna were in it.
"I agree," Anna nodded. "For that matter, I'd also hate for you to look back in the future and regret not taking the opportunity when you had it."
"Well... That's life, isn't it?" Bella sighed, a hint of resignation in her voice. "You can't change the past."
"No, but you can definitely shape the present."
"Alright, alright," she said, a mix of unease and laughter in her voice. "Message received. Clarify my feelings."
However, the notion of how to even begin accomplishing that seemed to elude Bella's imagination completely. Nonetheless, the commitment to give it a shot appeared to satiate her little cousin, who possessed an uncanny knack for consistently placing others before herself.
At some point, Bella would have to talk to her about it.
"How did you get that?"
Bella followed Anna's concerned gaze, which settled on the scar there where James had bitten her. A silver crescent that looked harmless and yet had been the source of one of the deepest pains she had ever experienced.
With a quick flick of her wrist, she pulled the sleeve of her t-shirt back to cover it.
Her eyes sidestepped any direct visual contact, and a somewhat awkward chuckle slipped from her lips. "I barely even remember where I get all my scars anymore."
Anna nodded.
She knew immediately that Bella had told her another lie.
⸻
"A fight?" Anna asked raising her eyebrows.
Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "I told him it wasn't worth getting into it," he explained with a grimace. "Can't really blame him, though. I suppose he needed an outlet for his frustration," he added, his visage taking on a somber cast.
Anna regarded him with a mixture of understanding and sadness. There was no need for him to elaborate; she knew exactly what he meant.
A month had passed and things with Embry remained the same. He wouldn't go near them, wouldn't talk to them. Even in the shared classes, not a single glance was exchanged – intel courtesy of Quil's updates.
It was heart-wrenching for Anna to witness the persistent shadow of pain and frustration etched onto their faces. The bonfires on the sandy beach and those late-night movie marathons at Jake's house had served as fleeting escapes, offering temporary respite. Yet, as the moments of distraction faded, they were always confronted with the same gnawing question.
What had they done wrong to make Embry reject them like that?
To them, it just didn't make sense. And for Anna, who had gone over the events more than once just to help them, it didn't either.
Her teeth caught her lower lip, a nervous habit as she restrained the impulse to reach for his hand.
"No way!" Bella's voice snapped them both. "I can't believe it! You finished the Rabbit!"
Jacob's face seemed to light up at the mere sight of her.
Anna averted her gaze to the ground.
"I give up. You win, you're the oldest."
Jacob smiled. "Of course I am," he said proudly. "Though Anna here is beating us by years."
Bella laughed. "Definitely. Sometimes she feels like a second mom."
Regaining her composure, Anna shook her head. "I haven't the slightest idea what you guys are talking about."
With Quil grounded for fighting at school, and Bella's classmates bailing out at the last moment, it ended up being just the three of them along with Mike Newton, with whom Anna ended up sitting in the backseat of the Rabbit.
She attempted not to let the sensation bother her, even though it oddly felt like some sort of unintentional double date, but with the entirely wrong person. The fact that Bella and Jacob were engrossed in their own conversation up front only intensified this impression.
To her slight comfort, it was entirely possible that Mike was in the same boat. His occasional glances and subtle nervousness seemed to hint that he might also be interpreting the situation as awkwardly as Anna was.
And it didn't get any better at the movie theater either. Before Anna even had a chance to pick a seat, both guys had already settled in next to Bella, her cousin silently pleading for some form of rescue through her eyes.
Though Anna to admit it; in a twisted sense, it was amusing. Only Bella could arrange a whole group just to end up with the company of the two guys who had feelings for her.
"I don't think I'm going to like this movie," Mike whispered as she settled down next to him.
Anna let out a resigned sigh, scooping up a handful of popcorn. "Whatever happens, don't you dare throw up on me," she said, then popped the snack into her mouth.
The film seemed to be defined by a single word for Anna: grotesque. Her face contorted in distaste with each successive appearance of blood and guts on the screen. Why on earth had her cousin chosen such a film? Somewhere around the halfway mark, she took a definitive decision to disengage, her focus shifting elsewhere.
Like the subtle gesture of Jacob's open palm, poised and ready in case Bella chose to take it.
Ironically, that made her stomach twist even more.
Next to her, Mike moaned. "I think I'm sick."
"What?"
Without a word, Mike clamped his hand over his mouth and darted toward the exit. Anna and Bella shared a perplexed glance in response.
Resignedly, Anna handed over her popcorn to Bella. "I'll go check on him."
A few people audibly expressed their annoyance as she stood up. She hurried down the aisle and then made a quick stop at the concession stand. Some instinct told her that Mike would surely appreciate having some fresh water to drink.
She almost grimaced. Maybe she did act like a mother after all.
On the bathroom door read a sign "Men". Anna rolled her eyes.
"Screw it," she muttered, as she entered. To her luck it was empty. The only sound that could be heard was Mike, probably leaving half his guts in the toilet. "Mike, are you okay?"
After a series of agonizing noises, the cubicle's door creaked open, and Mike stumbled out, his complexion a fiery red and his brow glistening with beads of sweat. Anna grimaced in disgust as she offered him the water.
"You look like you're dying," she quipped, her nose wrinkling involuntarily.
"I feel like it," he rasped, his path unsteady as he navigated toward the sink area. With a barely coordinated effort, he began to gargle the water from the bottle."Who on earth enjoys movies like that?" he grumbled.
Anna sighed. She had been asking herself the same question.
"You just need to rest. I can walk you home if you want," Anna offered, the notion of being the proverbial third wheel to Jacob and Bella unappealing to her. A hushed confession followed, "Honestly, I'm not planning to stick around either."
A forced chuckle escaped Mike's lips, though the bitterness in his expression belied any semblance of amusement. "Looks like it didn't come out for us, huh?" he mused.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on," Mike muttered, his form leaning against the tiled wall for support. "You're clearly here for him."
Anna looked at him puzzled. It scared her that everyone noticed so quickly. Was her face so obvious?
"Well," she began, her voice resigned. "It's not like I hadn't expected it."
Discussing emotions with Mike Newton in the confines of a public restroom within a movie theater was a surreal experience. Yet, against her better judgment, she found herself casually leaning against the wall beside him.
"I always had a thing for Bella," the boy confessed in a tone of frustration. "Long before Mr. 'I-am-so-perfect' Cullen came into the picture, before your friend now," he rambled on, his words stumbling out. "I even grew out my hair trying to look like Cullen. Can you believe that? And she never even noticed me."
Anna wondered if it would be terribly insensitive to burst into laughter. She clenched her jaw, suppressing the urge. "Well, sometimes wanting something isn't enough," she mused, her expression pensive.
"Even when we're stuck in the store, listening to those annoying tourists prattle on about fleeing from the woods because of the wolves, I catch myself thinking, 'This isn't so bad if I'm with her."
"Mike, that's quite..." The word 'sweet' almost escaped her lips, but she halted it. Frowning, she straightened up and fixed her gaze on the boy. "What did you say just?"
"This isn't so bad if..."
Anna shook her head. "Not that! The tourists," she reiterated, a sense of urgency creeping into her tone. "You said they fled from the woods because of..."
"The wolves," Mike interjected with a nonchalant shrug. "Some say wolves, some say bears. But most are definitely talking about wolves. Big wolves, almost like horses. Weird. Never heard of anything like that in Forks. But you know what? I honestly couldn't care less. Why can't Bella like me?"
Anna blinked a couple of times. Her head began to spin.
Taha Aki had the idea that changed us all.
"You and Paul keep on the trail."
He effortlessly shifted into his wolf-self to fight and intimidate any threats and enemies.
"There was another report of an animal attack today."
Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf in his new body.
"It was all strange. Embry didn't like them. Then he vanishes, without anyone talking about it."
Taha Aki's lineage flourished, as he became the father of numerous sons.
"The others, you know, Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote... They started out the same way. They skipped school, acted weird... And neither had anything to do with Sam until..."
"Swan?" Mike's concern was etched on his red features, his brows furrowing as he regarded her closely. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Everything good?"
Anna watched him for a few seconds that seemed endless and finally broke through her disorientation. "Yeah, yeah... I'm fine," she muttered. "But we'd better go before you get worse."
He didn't protest, clearly heeding her advice. Anna trailed behind him, her steps almost automatic as they approached the area where Bella and Jacob were already waiting. Their proximity, hands intertwined, seemed to register on some level, yet her mind was elsewhere, wandering down uncharted avenues.
Then her gaze shifted to Jacob, and she observed him intently, free from the mesmerized manner everyone seemed to teased her about.
She noticed that Jacob had definitely grown. His frame had filled out, muscles more defined and prominent. His face, while subtly altered, bore a certain change that eluded precise description. Somehow, a shift had occurred in him. And Anna couldn't help but remember the way it had happened with Embry too.
Embry.
"Ann, I know we're best friends, but please, spare the car from any surprises. There's just one popcorn bucket."
Her trance snapped once more, and Anna found herself blinking, dazed. She struggled to recall how she had even ended up in the car. Jacob's gaze met hers through the rearview mirror.
"Oh no," Bella mused, turning in the seat to look at her. "Are you feeling sick too?"
"I'm fine," Anna managed a strained smile. "I just think I need to open the window and get some air."
A disgruntled mutter emanated from the corner where Mike clung to the popcorn bucket, his own stomach seemingly having its own bout of protest. "I think I need that too."
Bella complained from the cold, causing Jacob to immediately hug her. Another thing that would have bothered Anna had it not been for her cousin's next reaction. "Jake—you're burning up!"
"I feel fine," he said with a shrug. "Fit as a fiddle."
"Embry! Are you okay? You're burning!"
Her own voice echoed in her mind like a ghost. Anna's hands clutched at the seat as her eyes wandered back to some point while her head kept weaving conclusions.
None of them looked like they could be real.
Could she be losing her mind?
Her house marked the initial stop on their route. Saying her goodbyes came as a reflex, her mind seemingly adrift. Bella's voice registered in the background, something about a meet-up the next day, but the words slipped past Anna without truly registering.
As the car pulled away, her gaze stayed locked on Jacob's form behind the steering wheel.
What if it keeps happening with other guys on the reservation? What if it happens to Quil? To me?
It couldn't be.
It simply couldn't be.
She had to have gone crazy.
The house lights were off, but Darlene's car was parked outside, an indicator that her mother was likely already home, probably catching some sleep after her hospital shift.
Anna settled onto the porch of the house, an eternity seemingly stretching before her. The frigid wind nipped at her skin, yet she remained indifferent to its bite.
Somehow, Mike's words had struck her. No, it wasn't the first time she'd heard about wolves in Forks. If anything, her classmates talk about it all the time.
Yet, in this moment, as she pieced together the fragments, it was as though the puzzle was finally assembling itself.
"You understand the consequences if you lose control, right?"
The notion was utterly implausible. They would label her as crazy, wouldn't they? Accuse her of consuming too many movies, of losing herself in books for too many hours.
She'd be dismissed as a sixteen-year-old girl lost in her own fantasies.
Her dreams.
A shiver coursed down her spine, almost in sync with a distant howl that reverberated through the air.
And that was the last thing she needed.
Maybe she was crazy. And her mother would probably be pissed when she found out she took the car to go to the reservation at that late hour.
But it didn't matter. She needed to get to Jacob as soon as possible.
⸻
Hi! How are you?
So, chapter ten is here and some revealing things happened!
I don't know if you caught the winks, but Anna and Bella are more similar than one would think. I find it funny to keep it like it runs in the family, starting with the most obvious thing which is to have ended up related to the supernatural somehow.
And then there are the dreams too.
What do you think might happen in the next chapter? We are very close to Jacob's transformation...
Also, I found it funny that Anna ended up talking in the bathroom with Mike Newton. Seriously though, he's not as bad as people think! Humans from the book deserve better lol
See you!