After finishing up my farm chores one morning, I absently changed into a more casual outfit, and went to tend to Firerain. I brushed his hair slowly. He let out a muffled noise of pleasure. But after a few minutes, he stomped his hooves with impatience.
"I know, I know." She patted him consolingly. "It's been a while since we went out, hasn't it?"
A pang of guilt tugged at me as I glanced at my mule, cooped up and seemingly yearning for the freedom of movement. Determined to remedy the situation, I decided to take him for a walk, a chance for both of us to break free from the confines of routine.
We embarked on a familiar route, Firerain's hooves resonating with a rhythmic cadence against the earth.
The journey led me to the Blacks' house, a destination that now held a feeling of trepidation, one that Firerain couldn't feel. The sense of nostalgia made the hole in my chest burn, and I wanted to turn away.
I gathered the leather reins in my hands, but I couldn't give the command that would make him turn away. I just sat, transfixed by the old tiny house, familiar barn which now held a hole covered by a shoddy patch job, and the echoes of old memories of laughter and companionship.
Firerain stopped and began nibbling on a particularly lush patch of grass.
Unsure of what I was even doing here, I nervously knocked on the Black's door, my heart pounding in my chest. After a few moments, Sarah opened the door. Her face lit up with recognition. "Bella?"
"Hi, is Jake here?" I asked, trying to hide my disappointment that it wasn't him who had answered the door.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Jacob is out with some friends at the moment. But I'll be sure to let him know you stopped by."
I hesitated for a moment, "Oh, is he with Quil?"
"Er—no, some different friends."
"Embry?" I tried.
"Um, Yeah. He's with Embry." She said cautiously.
"Oh, okay. Can you tell him that I said hi?"
"Sure, Bella." She said warmly, and then closed the door.
"Thanks, Mrs. Black." I said to the closed door and turned to leave.
I walked away from the Black residence, knowing that Sarah was probably lying. The last place to check would be Sam's house. Jacob's hurtful warning echoed in my mind once again as I walked away from the house, 'Don't come back here.'
The hole in my chest throbbed painfully, but I attempted to ignore it. "You can't get rid of me that easily." I muttered to myself.
"Wait here," I told Firerain as I hopped down the steps.
My legs were starting to ache from all the walking, but I persevered. As I continued on the dirt path, I suddenly saw someone emerging from the trees. I jumped back and prepared to scream—but then recognized the figure as Jacob, looking even more imposing in nothing but denim shorts. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him in surprise, my mind racing with thoughts and emotions.
"Jake?" I gasped, unsure if he was real or not.
"Bella," He said, bewildered. "What are you doing here?"
I took a deep breath and observed his expression carefully. I noticed that he didn't seem as angry as he did before. I walked up to him, my heart pounding in my chest as I took in his muscular arms and toned chest. "I was looking for you," I said, trying to keep my cool. "What were you doing in the trees?
"Why?" He asked, his expression cool, but guarded. He ignored my question.
Anger at the confusion I felt started to bubble to the surface. Being friends with Jacob wasn't this difficult before—it used to be as easy as breathing. "Because you're my best friend, Jake." I said, the hole in my chest throbbing again, "Or you used to be," I added sadly, "Something's come between us, and I don't know what it is, but maybe if we just talk about it—"
"We can't." He said suddenly.
His words pierced through me like a knife. The hole in my chest widened, tearing itself a deeper cavern.
"What do you mean?" I stammered, hurting, "I thought—I thought we were friends, why are you being like this?"
Despite his cool, guarded mask, my words seemed to pierce through it, and a pained look flitted across his face.
"We were." He said.
The emphasis on past tense felt like a slap in the face. The knife in my chest seemed to twist as if trying to carve a bigger hole for itself, even though there was no more room left for it to go.
"That's it, then?" I said, feeling a blush of anger rise to my cheeks.
"Yes." He said, looking away.
I noticed his body trembling then. He was vibrating, as if there were something inside him that threatened to escape.
"I'm sorry you don't want me anymore," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
He didn't say anything or look at me, but a violent shiver passed through him, and he clenched his fists until his bones looked like they might pop out of his skin.
I stood there for a few more seconds, watching Jacob's trembling form in disbelief. He was a stranger now. This boy—no—man standing before me, trembling with anger, was not the Jacob I had been friends with.
I didn't know what to say or do to make things better between us. It seemed like our friendship was over, and there was nothing I could do to change that.
My heart raced with denial. It could not be over. Memories flooded into my mind, making the pain worse. Charlie and Billy had always stuck me with Rachel, Jacob's older sister, but I didn't really click with her. But when I met Jacob, though he was a year younger than me, the bond was instantaneous. We have been best friends ever since. And after Billy's death, that bond only got stronger.
And for that to be gone now... for some unknown reason.
It was intolerable.
"I see." I added. I tried to sound unfazed, but a sob betrayed me and escaped my throat, making me choke. "Goodbye, Jake."
I turned to leave for the final time.
But then a pained noise left Jacob, and by the time I turned around, the sob had turned into a yelp as his body started to change...
His bones popped and twisted, and his skin stretched and tore. Before I knew it, a giant wolf stood in front of me, snarling and baring its teeth.
I stumbled back in surprise, my heart pounding, and a cry of surprise and disbelief escaped me before I could stop it.
My mind raced with questions as I stared at the wolf, wondering if this was really happening... or was some kind of trick.
The wolf took a step towards me, its eyes fixed on mine. I felt a surge of fear, wondering if it was going to attack me. But then, to my surprise, it lowered its head and nudged me gently.
I reached out tentatively and touched its red fur, feeling the warmth and softness of its red coat. The wolf seemed to relax under my touch, and I felt a strange connection between us.
This wolf was Jacob.
For a few moments, I forgot about everything else, lost in the wonder of the moment. But then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the wolf turned and ran off into the woods, leaving me standing there alone.
I watched it go, feeling a mix of emotions. Part of me was scared and in denial, while another part was confused and curious. I didn't know what the future held, but I knew that things were never going to be the same again.
In a daze, I walked home, the familiar path unfolding beneath my feet. My mind raced with a torrent of questions, each step echoing the relentless rhythm of my thoughts.
The world around me seemed to blur as I traversed the well-worn trail, the shadows of the trees merging into a green backdrop. The rustle of leaves and distant sounds of the forest became a distant hum. I didn't even bother to jump when a branch creaked. It was drowned out by the cacophony of thoughts clamoring for attention in my mind.
The red fur that I saw at the Black's part of the woods and the edge of the farm... It was Jacob's.
Each step felt automatic, guided more by muscle memory than conscious intent.
Was that why Embry was not concerned about the wolves? Because it was really just Jacob, and though we were not on good terms, he knew that Jake would never hurt us?
The unanswered questions lingered like an unresolved puzzle, and the encroaching darkness caught me by surprise.
As I approached home, the dim glow of lights seemed to beckon me back to the tangible reality.
"How did it go?" Charlie looked up at me as I walked through the door.
"It didn't go as well as I hope, but I think... I think we're making progress." Though I tried to answer Charlie as normally as possible, he could tell something was off, perhaps it looked like I had seen a ghost.
He frowned as he set down the parchment he was reading. "Are you okay?"
I waved him away as I dragged myself upstairs. "Yes, just tired, nothing to worry about."
The tumultuous whirlwind of questions continued to churn within.
As I drifted off to sleep that night, my mind was haunted by vivid and unsettling dreams. In these dreams, I found myself surrounded by a pack of young and overgrown boys who had the power to transform into giant wolves.