VIII. The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot

I was exiting my last class of the day when I was accosted in the middle of the hall.

"Leah!" Quil shouted, catching up to me, Embry on his heels. "What the hell did we miss on Sunday? Jacob's been keeping mum and you played hooky yesterday. What's the deal?"

I scowled and continued marching towards the exit, pushing past anyone not quick enough to get out of my way. "Not so loud you idiot."

Quil thankfully shut his mouth, but continued to follow after me like a stray. Outside, I hurried down the steps and began my trek home.

"Where are you taking us?"

I shot them an incredulous look over my shoulder. "I'm not taking you anywhere. I'm going home," I scoffed. "What are you following me around for? Where's your fearless leader?"

"Jake's got detention," Embry said as they both quickened their gait, falling into step on either side of me.

"And you two aren't with him?"

Those three always managed to find a way to get into trouble. But they generally stuck together. I missed one day of school and suddenly Jacob was playing lone wolf and getting detention without his faithful sidekicks? What was the world coming to?

"There's always next time," Quil said cheerfully. "But he's been acting strange. What did we miss?"

I huffed a dry laugh. "Trust me, Quil. You'll find out soon enough."

Embry shot me a look. "What does that mean?"

"And why are you making us wait?" Quil complained. "I can hardly stand the suspense!"

"You'll live," I said and turned, abandoning the sidewalk for the uneven forest ground, taking my usual shortcut through the familiar stretch of woods, "and why are you two still following me?"

"We're not following you anymore," Quil said cheekily, traipsing noisily over a patch of shrubbery. "We're now simply headed in the same direction."

Embry snickered.

I glared at him over my shoulder. "Here's a better idea: Don't."

"We're just going over to Jake's garage, Leah," Embry assured me. "Jake told us we could hang out there until they released him from detention."

"Yeah! Don't get so bent out of shape," Quil sniggered. "Besides, we're basically friends now. You can join us if you'd like."

"No, thanks."

"Your loss―" Quil's words were muffled under the sharp smack of my palm.

"Shut up," I hissed, freezing in place. Around us, the woods remained eerily quiet. "Do you hear that?"

Quil pushed aside my hand and exchanged a look with Embry. "I don't hear anything."

"Shhh!" Again, I listened closely until I detected the heavy footfalls of something big vibrating along the forest floor. "Either keep your trap shut, or leave," I whispered harshly before cautiously moving in the direction of the near-silent thudding. I moved carefully through the dips in the rugged terrain, trying to keep quiet, though my attempt at stealth proved futile. Behind me, Quil and Embry sounded like a pair of newborn elephants with their giant, clumsy feet, seemingly incapable of stepping over rotting branches.

I gritted my teeth, but continued forward, eyes darting through the gaps between towering firs. It was darker out here, the muted gray light struggling to breach the canopy overhead, every shadow inevitably catching my eye. When I no longer heard the footsteps of the mysterious giant, I grew still, listening once more.

"Leah," Embry hissed, sounding spooked. "What's going on?"

I held up a hand, eyes closed in concentration, but all I heard was the wind whistling against my ears and the distant scraping of branches and foliage far above. Whatever was out there, had fallen silent. Or it had disappeared. Either way, there was nothing else to clue me in as to where it could have gone.

I heaved an irritated sigh and opened my eyes. "Never mind. False alarm―"

"Holy shit!" Embry shouted as we all stumbled back, the shadow of a great black beast exploding out of a nearby thicket and launching forward, blurring into a mere streak as it flew into the shadowy woodland.

"RUN!" Quil shouted, grasping my hand and dragging me back the way we'd come. I stumbled after them, heart thundering and blood roaring in my ears, the image of the terrible monster impressed upon my mind's eye.

It was real; more real than I could have known. I had watched my fair share of horror movies, had seen the grotesque transformation of man into wolf on screen, had grown up listening to the legends of our ancestors, of the wolf men. But none of it could have prepared me for the vicious reality of seeing a real-life werewolf; larger and more monstrous than I could have ever imagined.

And I was meant to become one of them.

"What the fuck was that?!" Embry gasped as we stumbled to a stop outside of Jacob's empty garage.

Quil inhaled sharply. "Nathan was right. He was right. Bigfoot is real…"

Embry and I straightened up and exchanged an exasperated look.

"Quil, you're an idiot," I said, yanking my hand out of his grasp.

"Eh? How can you say that after what we just saw?!" Quil demanded, hands flailing. "And you! What's with the bat ears?!" He pointed an accusing finger at me. "How the hell were you able to hear it from so far away?"

"Quil, calm down," Embry said, lightly smacking him upside the head. "It was probably just a bear."

"Whatever," Quil grumbled. "But I'm so telling Nate everything."

"It'd be in your best interest not to," I said, picking a twig out of my braid.

Quil cast me a suspicious glare. "Why not?"

"If you really want to know what happened on Sunday, you'll keep your mouth shut," I said simply. "Trust me, you'll thank me later."

"Ugh. Fine. You win," he said grudgingly, "but I'm not going to let you forget."

"I didn't think you would," I said, adjusting the backpack strap on my shoulder. "I'll see you guys later. And remember, not a word!"

I darted off towards Jacob's house, planning to take the neighborhood sidewalk this time, unwilling to come across any more wolf men. Once was more than enough.

"Lee, are you sure this is a good idea?" Seth complained as we continued to pile the junk food atop the kitchen counter.

"This is for dad's own good," I assured him, tossing him a box of microwave popcorn. "If you wanna save a stash, keep it at Brady's or Collin's house. This place is going to remain squeaky clean until dad's health improves."

"Fine. But I'm taking the cookies," he warned me.

"Take whatever you want, kid." I finally shut the pantry door and moved on to the fridge.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," I said with a laugh as I lugged out dad's entire case of beer and moved to drop it by the sink.

"Dad's going to kill us," Seth moaned, dramatically collapsing against the countertop, crushing the family-sized bag of Doritos.

"Probably." With a crack and hiss, I popped open the first can. "But I believe one day, he'll thank us." I tipped over the can and poured the beer down the drain.

"Fat chance," Seth grumbled, shoving a chocolate chip cookie into his mouth.

Once the can was empty, I crushed it in my fist and launched it into the trash bin across the kitchen. "Either way, he'll outlive us."

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically around a mouthful, crumbs littering his chin.

"Chew with your mouth closed, you heathen."

Seth opened his mouth wide, displaying a mouthful of mushy cookie and chocolate, and began to chomp obnoxiously in my direction.

I crushed the next empty can and nailed him in the forehead.

"Ow! That actually hurt!"

"Cry about it."

"What in blazes is going on here?!"

Seth immediately straightened up as Mom and Dad walked into the kitchen, guilt coloring his face. "It was Leah's fault!"

I rolled my eyes and cracked open another can of beer. Dad watched in horror as I poured it down the sink.

"Leah! Put that down!" he shouted.

I dropped the entire can into the sink with a clamorous splash. "It's down."

"Not what I meant." He glared at me.

"Leah, what is the meaning of this?!"

"You tell us," I said to mom, meeting her eyes with a stony gaze of my own. "You were the one who took dad up to the Neah Bay Hospital a few months back. What did the doctor have to say to him then?"

Her grimace was answer enough.

"Is that what this is about?" Dad looked less like he was about to explode, though he still seemed fairly peeved. "I'm not going to kick the bucket over a few cans of beer, sweetheart," he said, his glare softening into a kinder expression.

"No," I said decisively, opening another can and dumping it out. "You won't."

"Leah," Mom snapped. "That's enough!"

"What?" I sneered. "So you don't care if dad dies?"

"He's not going to die," she said with a glower. "You're taking this too far!"

"Dad's going to die?"

Seth's small voice shattered the tension, and immediately Mom's wrathful face transformed into one of comfort. "Of course not, baby," she said in a soft voice, going to his side and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"No, doofus. That's why we're doing this, remember?" I reminded him with a roll of my eyes as I dumped out the last can of beer.

Dad heaved a sigh. "Is this all really necessary?"

"Alcohol is a privilege, not a right," I told him, flinging the rest of the empty cans into the bin and reaching over to grab a fresh trash bag. "You can buy more when you're not on the verge of having a heart attack."

He shot me a dry look. "Is that all?"

"Of course not," I scoffed as I whipped open the bag. "We're also banning all fried fish."

Dad's face turned an interesting shade of red.

I smiled at him, swiping the junk food off the countertop and into the open trash bag.

The following night, I swiped the keys to the car while mom and dad were out walking. I doubted I'd be gone long enough for anyone to notice.

This time, when I arrived at the hospital, I didn't bother approaching the front desk and instead strode confidently in the direction of Carlisle's office. Even if he was busy, I could, hopefully, just drop in and nab the promised books from his desk. But when I knocked, I was welcomed by his eerie vampire voice echoing through the thick door like windchimes singing in the breeze.

"Hiya, Doc," I said once I threw open the door, allowing it to fall shut behind me. "You got the stuff?"

"Leah, good evening," Carlisle greeted me from where he sat behind his desk, "and yes, they're right here." He scooped up a pair of books that had been stacked on the corner of his workspace.

I drew closer and plucked them from his outstretched hand. "Thanks!"

"I hope they will be of use to you."

"Eh." I shrugged, flipping through the first one, eyes glazing over as I encountered a bit of psychobabble. "I don't have a whole lot of options at the moment, so they'll have to do."

Carlisle dipped his head in acknowledgment. "And your father? How is he faring?"

I snorted. "I mean, it's been like two days." I shut the book and sat down across from him, balancing the small stack on my lap. "But, there's been some progress."

"Is that so? What have you accomplished in two days?" he asked with a genuine, encouraging smile.

"I cleaned the house top to bottom," I announced, mouth curling into a sharp grin. "I threw out everything―all the alcohol, junk food, and red meat I could get my hands on."

"Oh." Carlisle sounded surprised. "And your parents were okay with this?"

"Like hell they were," I snorted. "They just about lost their damn minds. But no worries, my brother got through to them, so it worked out." Really, I should've thought to weaponize Seth's cuteness against them myself. The fact that it had happened organically was a blessing all its own.

"Ah. Well then, I am certainly glad for you," he said kindly. "And what of your father's physical activities? Have you gotten him started on any form of exercise?"

I waved my hand in a so-so motion. "I was going to force him to take walks with me, but mom says she has that covered. She thinks I'm being too hard on him."

"I suppose," he allowed, "that for someone who does not have the privilege of knowing the future as you do, that it might seem that way."

I grimaced, slumping against the backrest of the chair. "Yeah, sure."

"You are angry with her."

I scoffed, "What gave it away?"

Carlisle smiled wryly. "Leah, I know it is not my place to say, but I assure you, your mother has no ill will towards your father. It is as simple as, she does not know the future you know. And so, she cannot possibly understand your urgency."

"She's a nurse. She should know better," I bit out.

"It is the ones we love that we tend to be the most blind towards," he reminded me gently. "There is a reason physicians are not supposed to care for relatives. Personal feelings will inevitably interfere with our professional judgment, and your mother's feelings for your father have compromised her judgment. But I am certain that if she, too, had the advantage of knowing his future, that she would act exactly as you are acting now."

The bitterness in my heart slowly dissipated at his words. I huffed, "Anything else, or can I go?"

Carlisle laughed softly. "I am not holding you hostage, Leah. Though I do hope you have not been skipping out on more school since you last visited."

I rolled my eyes. "You're not my dad, so it's not your concern." I jumped to my feet, books in hand. "But if you must know, no; I haven't."

"Excellent," he said. "Have a good night, Leah."

"Night, Doc," I called and flounced out of his office.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Hope you liked the chapter! :)

And a big thank you to Raviyoli for beta reading this chapter!

In Reference to A Body of Water and Bones: End of Chapter 33.