Chapter 4

"Wow!" the girls gasped in unison when they reached the cliff with a fantastic view over the Rialto Beach in La Push. Girls were doing a bit of hiking on the shoreline, and they wanted to do little climbing to see the Rialto Beach from above. After the steep climb, they were all panting heavily. While trying to catch their breaths, they looked around in amazement. The view was spectacular. Even Bella thought so, although she'd seen it many times before. It was a funny sort of a day; the sun was shining, but still, a mist came from the sea. It made the view look like something out of this world.

"You'll get killer photos now, Ailani," Bella said to her friend, who was already shooting the view.

When Sarah finally spoke, she asked, "what is that big sharp rock?"

"That's Split Rock," Bella told her. "And a bit further away, you can see The Little James Island and James Island and further still, you cannot see it from here, is the beach we're going to tomorrow for Jacob's party. The beach where we were last Saturday."

They have had an amazing day hiking around La Push. They left in the morning after eating a hearty breakfast to spend as much time outside as possible. They had packed picnic lunch with them and lots of water to drink. When they all lived in Hawaii, they used to go hiking together. It was something they all enjoyed doing. Nature in Washington was different from Hawaiian tropical lushness but not less impressive or exciting. Just different.

They sat down for a while and drank the rest of the water they had carried in their back bags.

"Hey, let's go down to check the tide pools. They are so cool," Bella said and turned to leave.

"I'm sorry to rush you, but we need to ensure that the high tide won't surprise us. Of course, we can always come here another day, but today is such a beautiful day. I'll show you Ailani the best spot to shoot the Split Rock. Take care of your footing; there are many loose rocks on this path," Bella babbled and was quickly out of sight.

Sarah and Ailani glanced at each other and laughed, "Bella, you are impossible. We don't die if we don't see everything you have planned to show us, and there is still over a week to see everything you want to show us."

"I know," the girls heard Bella shouting on her way down to the beach. Bella just wanted to make sure that they had plenty of time to explore the tide pools. She checked the tide app once more on her phone and was happy that they had more than two hours before the tide was coming in.

Bella had always loved the tide pools on Rialto Beach. She could remember how her father had taken her to see them every summer when she had visited him. She also hiked there often with Jacob. Jacob did know a lot about marine life around La Push, and it was fascinating to see the beach and the pools with him. Time spent around the beaches in La Push was probably one reason for her interest in studying marine life. However, her years in Hawaii made her choose marine biology over becoming an English teacher.

"Wow! Those sea stacks are so beautiful," Ailani sighed while taking photos of the beautiful rock formations through the water-carved arch that was the cliff they had just climbed up and down. She was really impressed by the beauty of this area. Born and raised in Hawaii, she was used to breathtaking natural beauty, but she loved this rugged and wild terrain. She inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh sea air.

"uʻi loa," she sighed.

The sun had started to set when the girls strolled towards the visitor center where they parked the truck. They had stayed on the beach to watch the sunset. With the mist still hanging around the shore, the view was surreal, and Ailani had gone nuts. She had filled her memory card, taking photos like a maniac.

They have had a lovely week together. Bella had shown them Armchair books, of course, and they had chatted with the owner and lounged there for hours while drinking coffee and eating excellent blueberry muffins.

They've met two of Bella's high school friends, Tyler Crowley and Eric Yorkie while doing some grocery shopping at the Outfitters. The boys were very excited to see Bella and wanted to catch up with her later. They made plans to go to the beach together later in the summer. The boys were studying at the UW, so they would probably meet in Seattle.

Every night girls kept Charlie company, and after he retired, girls either watched something from Netflix or just chatted the night away. It didn't matter what they did as long as they were together. Who knew when they would be able to spend this much time together next time? Life had started taking them on different paths.

"So, tell us about this Jacob guy we'll meet tomorrow," Sarah asked. Bella had told them something over the years, but the girls wanted to hear more.

"What do you want to know?" Bella asked but continued right away, "he is a cool guy even though he is two years younger than us. He is part of the local Quileute tribe, and his father, Billy, is the chief of the tribe. My dad and Billy have been best friends for ages, so we have spent lots of time together," Bella told her friends while they stopped to watch the last rays of the setting sun.

She told them how she and Jacob used to make mud cakes on the beach and how they could spend hours in Jacob's garage, where he rebuilt his beloved Rabbit's engine, drinking warm sodas and joking around. His friends Embry and Quil hung out with them often, and Quil taught them all to play poker. She had very good memories of those times. In those two years she had lived with Charlie, Bella and Jake had become very close.

But when Bella's mother had asked her to move to Honolulu with her and her new husband Phil, it had felt too good of an opportunity to miss out. Her mother was also having health problems, so it had felt right to move with her. She had just turned 18 and graduated from High School, so that hadn't stopped her either. Bella and Jacob had kept in contact over the three years she lived in Honolulu, so she knew that catching up with him would be easy and natural.

"I call him Jake, all his friends do, and he calls me Bells. We were Jake and Bells. I think he has had a crush on me ever since we were kids, but I can only think of him as a very good friend."

"You've told him that, right? That you are just friends?" Ailani asked. There was some uneasiness in Bella's story; she could feel it.

"Well, not in so many words, and he did try to kiss me once. We managed to brush it off and got back to normal, but we never discussed our relationship. We just hung out. I hope he's over his crush now, and I think he is. It's been years, and he knows about Bane, so we should be good," Bella explained their relationship to her friends.

But thinking about Bane made her groan, "what am I going to do with Bane?"

She knew that she had to break up with him. It was not fair that he kept up hoping they would stay together. She knew Bane was head over heels in love with her, and he did once even mention marriage. It had freaked Bella out, and Bane had promised not to raise the subject again before Bella would be ready. But the thing was, she would never be ready to marry Bane or anybody else for that matter. And for Bane, marriage seemed to be an essential step in the future.

She really cared about Bane. They had a good time together, and Bane had taught Bella to love sex, which wasn't the case after her first very disappointing relationship. She and Scott had lasted only a few months, and sex with him was awkward at its best. He had no interest in their mutual pleasure; he only cared about his own orgasms, and Bella being very naïve and inexperienced, had thought that sex just wasn't something she would enjoy. Not all people were sexually active anyway, she had thought. She had been a stupid girl, and Bane had shown her that. The only good thing about bad sex is knowing when you get it good.

Bella felt awful. "I have to Zoom him soon. Will you be there for me when I make the call?" Bella pleaded with her friends. "I'll call him on Sunday."

"Of course," Sarah said, and both girls grabbed their arms around Bella's, and they left the beach arm in arm.

1.6.2021