Chapter II

Brian Albe

Getting into driving instruction had been coincidental. A complete accident that was caused only by a redundancy and the need for financial stability. Working in management for a chain company had been lacklustre and boring,but teaching people to drive? Now that was a daily dosage of adrenaline. Especially when you get pupils like Erin.

People like Erin Purser get me out of bed in the morning. She gave me a purpose.

Today, however, tested even my nerve. She was her usual self—anxious, secretive, cagey, and rude. The lesson rolled out much like any other as I tried to prise my way into her vice-like mind. But her walls were unbreachable.

Much like my wife, she proved that women were endlessly frustrating.

Only Erin was an enigma, unlike any I'd seen.

My first wife had been a little testy, a little bit out there, bordering on emotional abuse. Which made me determined to find someone quite stable in my next marriage. And Christi was exactly that; she worked short shifts at a convenience store and was there every night after my thirteen-hour working day.

I was used to pupils being reckless, dangerous, and even a little absurd. What do you expect when you put a teenager in control of five thousand pounds of destruction? A car can be a very dangerous thing. Especially in the still-forming irrational brains of young people.

But slamming down on the dual brake today had me questioning Erin's sanity.

She'd nearly killed a man.

In lessons, it wasn't unusual for her to glaze over, but today was different. The girl was in a trance, her mind seeming to fail to process Jacob Black before her.

It was any guess exactly what was going on in her mind at that point. Erin often zoned out during her lessons.

I wondered how medicated she was, but her brother was quite certain she had been deemed safe to drive by her doctor.

The moment I jerked her back to the present, Erin, who had been caged up for the past few weeks, came ragging out.

Erin's anxiety was apparent. Her brother had been quite upfront about that when he'd contacted me for driving lessons. I had a history of teaching the unteachable. I'd made quite a reputation for it.

It was like Erin had prized the bars of her cage open with her bare hands when I mentioned the name Jacob Black as we jolted forward. The car seat belts clenched us against the leather seats.

The pair had history.

In the first lesson, she came up with a face that looked like it had just done a round with Mike Tyson. She'd muttered something about a car bonnet and Jacob Black. I'd assumed some sort of accident at the garage her brother owned with him. He'd not come up since. But it was the intense heat in Erin's eyes when she muttered something about Jacob that told me she had unresolved feelings towards Black. Which made me consider that perhaps she had intentionally tried to run him over today. At least initially.

Through idle gossip, I'd picked up the information I needed. Erin had grown up in the shadow of Quil, Jacob, and Embry, who were close friends with her brother Noah. She was four years younger than the group, but through absent parents, Noah and his friends spent most of their time being palmed off with Erin.

"I know you and Black have history, but you didn't need to try and kill the guy, jeez," I snickered, flicking a loose hand up to the man before the bonnet in a friendly greeting.

We were lucky the car hadn't skidded on the ice and swept the chap under the wheels.

Erin began to scrape feverishly at the steering wheel, picking at the surface with a set of shaking fingers. Each tip was painted with black polish that shone on the interior lighting.

Jacob hardly acknowledged me; he only had eyes for one person, and she was sitting in a shaking mess beside me.

I knew better than to touch her to try and soothe her. Erin seemed almost afraid of me.

Her skin was much lighter than most in La Push, which hinted at her lack of exposure to the outside elements. Her hair was thick black waves that she hid behind, always worn down.

"I... Brian, have I hurt him?" She gushed her stare, drawing down into the steering wheel.

"Like I said, you nearly killed him," I teased.

I watched her hand move from the steering wheel to clasp around the stone of the necklace, and I audibly sighed in relief, hoping she'd start her breathing ritual that usually soothes an anxiety attack.

But not even a crystal could save Erin. It was a bizarre feeling to watch someone crumble before you.

I had seen anxious pupils before—those who were nervous. But Erin was different.

Erin stiffened, her eyes in her lap, her body rigid. It was like there was a force drawing her to Black while repelling her at the same time. He still hadn't moved.

It was tempting to try and click my fingers in her face to snap her out of it. But I knew better. Instead, I watched in silence as her hair fell forward, sheltering her, and a jerk began to take hold. She was shaking, violently shaking, shaking with fear.

"Erin," I began, but my mouth felt dry.

Her hands were clutching at her skull, tightly pressing down as if trying to squeeze the pain away.

Maybe she would ride it out?

I didn't get to find out.

The door jerked open on the driver's side, and Jacob appeared in front of her.

In any normal circumstance, I would have told the guy to back off, but his eyes seemed to indicate that he would rip my throat out if I dared utter a word. I wasn't easily intimidated, but there was something primal in his eyes.

He reached for her calmly, his composure putting me at ease. At least someone knew what to do with her.

"Erin!" His voice barked at her, and it took me off guard. It was surprisingly firm, not as soothing as I'd expected. He grabbed at her hands, taking them from her skull, making her head flinch upwards.

Jacob turned her into him, unclipping her from the belt and swirling her in the seat, her quaking frame fully facing his. His body filled the car. I was a well-set man, but Jacob and his friends were quite something else.

"You are okay," he commanded. "You are okay. I am okay. No one is hurt. No one is in trouble. Everything is okay; I am here," he stated, his face stern.

His words of assurance had me calmed at least, certain that everything was going to be okay. That Erin having some sort of breakdown in my car was just a blip. One of many blips.

Her breath was ragged but easing, although the shake continued, and she shifted back from his touch. He wouldn't give her an inch, leaning further into the car and seizing her chin.

He clamped his hand around her chin, jerking it to meet his gaze.

Her black hair fell across her eyes, wide and feral.

"Look at me. It's the least you can do after you just tried to kill me," he bit out, smirking now.

Erin shook her head, barley managing to move the hair from her eyes with his hand holding her face. His fingers flexed, and his other hand, which was cupping the roof of the car, brushed the strands from her face. Erin looked outraged, her nostrils flaring and her breathing sharpening once more at the touch.

"Screw you, Black," she spat back at him.

Jacob recoiled from he as if she'd just slapped him. A sound rumbled from him, almost like a growl. I shook the thought away. A snarl, it must have been a snarl.

I looked from her to Jacob with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty.

What the hell was it with these two.