Nicky's mouth fell slightly agape, as she stared up at the man before her.
He was so beautiful, void of any imperfections. He reminded her of an angel.
Her head felt foggy, similar to the feeling she'd have after she'd smoked some weed with her friends back home. The cloudyness engulfed her senses. Her head felt miles above the ground. Nicky felt woozy.
"I've been watching you." The perfect man drawled.
"Waiting for you..." He continued.
"And…here you are." He finished.
Nicky was barely able to register the words that were aimed in her direction, preoccupied by his dreamy, musical voice whilst her head was buried in a haze of fog. Nicky felt as tough she was underwater, in the ocean. She was drowning in enchanting musical notes, while the perfectly articulated words were being carried to her through a foggy tunnel from above the surface.
The surface is where Nicky's body would be if she was in more control of her faculties. Alert, aware and rational. But she wasn't. She was underwater. She was floating in an aura of supernatural tranquility.
Nicky's brain proceed the beautiful man's words slowly in her intoxicated and muddled state. Some national part of her brain fought to the forefront and she quickly contemplated her response before all control was swept away once agin. She could feel the small hold she had on her thoughts waning.
"Who are you?" Nicky forced the words past her lips, her mind foggy.
The beautiful blonde man slowly grew an impish smile. One side of his lips arched further up his face than the other, making it the only imperfection Nicky could even see on the body of this perfect specimen– if it was not a planned facial movement of course.
"I'm James." He drawled.
A rustling was suddenly heard in the woods adjacent to the small electronics store or perhaps it was just the wind. Before Nicky even heard the slight noise adjacent to her parked car though, James's head was already slightly angled, like a cat's, in the direction of the trees.
"It's time I leave you. I hope I see you again." James dawled this time with a wicked playful addition to his previously musical tone.
"Goodbye, Bella." He said, pronouncing her name slowly.
His grin grew even wider but it did not give Nicky any sense of warmness that smiles were intended for. It had a dark undertone.
James no longer reminded Nicky of an angel. He reminded Nicky more of a devil.
She tried to shake the cloudyness out of her head as she slowly felt as if she was in danger, no longer standing beside a god, but an evil presence. But as she slowly turned her head away from James, and closed her eyes for just a second to try to gain her control back to her failing nerves connected to her brain, the sense of tranquility she'd just had left instantly.
Anxiety, terror, and unease replaced the feelings of calmness she'd just had.
Nicky abruptly turned her head back to where the man, James, stood. Now that the fuzzyness had lifted from her body, she was feeling ready to lash out at him and demand why he had stopped her from entering her car and demand why he was in her way and demand why he was invading her space.
But when she turned to where the man had just stood, only air replaced the spot where he had previously stood, before her. He was no longer there. He'd basically vanished. He was gone in an instant. Nicky had just angled her head away for no longer than a minute.
James had left so quickly and quietly she didn't even hear him walk or run away– in his bare feet.
Bare feet.
All the ran flags that this man processed came rushing forward. She was being bombarded with stomach churning panic.
Nicky wanted to scream at him, tell him to leave her alone.
Now that Nicky's courage and spine was coming back now that the fog had lifted, she felt angry and used. How did she just stand idly by as he invaded her space and confessed to waiting.. For her? Nicky felt weak and disgusted. And he wasn't even here anymore to scream at to leave her alone. In the place whee he once stood was just… air.
All that was left was air. Air filled with the slight scent of vanilla and something metallic.
Blood.
Panic filled Nicky to her core. Fear dripped like liquid into her bones and then turned to ice as it began to make he shiver.
She tried to block the thoughts out. Nicky pictured her mom injecting herion into her arm because that was less stomach churning than the manipulative encounter she had just been forced into. Images of Nicky's mom doing vaious drugs, walking in the kitchen high and tripping all over the place, and crashing around the apartment like a three-legged dog spilled into her mind.
Any and all disturbing images of Nicky's mom that she could picture, Nicky let these images in, for the first time in forever. Nicky let the memories consume her.
Nicky normally hid and nailed up these memories in a box that she'd hide in her head. She'd block them out if they ever desired entry and she'd never ever think to let them all in at once. It was exhausting, debilitating, and depressing. But now, she wanted more than ever to just block out the humiliating, manipulative, sadistic conversation she had just had with James.
So to bury the interaction she had just had she let herself remember and feel every interaction she'd ever had with her mother, in her intoxicated shape to remind he of what real horror was. Nicky had to remind herself that real horror, real panic was rational, you're able to follow it back to it's source, drugs, or men or dark alleys.
Horror could not be the manipulative, sluggish, loss of control that seemed to be given and taken away from Nicky in a supernatural, unreal way. That, she could not fathom. She wouldn't let it.
So, Nicky let all of her bad memories of her mother in, and slowly the interaction she had just had seemed like a lifetime ago. She felt sick to her stomach and hated her mom more than ever as she was bombarded by memories but it removed Nicky further and further away from her present.
Nicky scrunched up her nose in disgust. Her stomach was churning. She felt tears begin to pool in her eyes. She hopped into the drivers seat of her car, started up the engine and drove away from the dingy parking lot, leaving the fearful thoughts where they began as she headed home.
…
The tires of Nicky's beat-up sedan crunched against the gravel road, the sound echoing in the stillness of the misty Pacific Northwest. Towering evergreens loomed like silent sentinels, their needles heavy with rain. Nicky's favorite playlist played softly in the background, but even the familiar tunes couldn't lift her spirits.
As Nicky drove her car into the LaPush reservation, sadness weighed heavily on her heart. The usually scenic coastal route seemed to pass by in a blur, her surroundings unable to distract her from the turmoil within.
The sound of the ocean waves and seagulls provided little comfort as she grappled with her emotions. Despite the beauty of the coastline, the journey felt like an uphill battle, and Nicky struggled to find solace in the stunning scenery like she usually did. Nicky gripped the steering wheel tighter, her knuckles turning white.
"Ugh," she muttered, glancing at her reflection in the rearview mirror.
"Get it together." The girl staring back, with dark black smudged mascara under her eyes and a sullen expression, felt more like a ghost than a person.
"Why couldn't she ever be a mom?" The words tumbled out like a desperate plea.
Memories of her mother's sloppy, drunk and high voice, and broken promises sliced through her mind, each word a reminder of the pain she carried. But atleast she'd drowned out the interaction she'd just had. She couldn't handle anymore trauma. She had to focus on the more believable pain.
As she turned the last corner, she saw Paul's house, well her house now. The ocean roared behind her, a reminder of the wildness that mirrored her own turmoil. She was not okay.
Nicky pulled into the gravel driveway that led up to the house. The crunch of stones echoed in the stillness of LaPush. She glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, the smeared eyeliner a stark reminder of the tears she'd shed.
"Ugh," she muttered, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
"Get it together, Nicky." She repeated.
With a heavy heart, she pushed the car door open. It was dark now. In LaPush, evening came so quick because the sun set so early and the clouds were constantly taking the suns place. The chill of the evening air bit at her skin as she stepped out of her car.
A few steps in, she paused, staring at the darkened house. Shadows danced in the corners of her mind, swirling with memories of her mom's endless battles with addiction. She felt so alone. She's bottled up her feelings about her mom for so long, honestly they were bound to take a toll on her once they'd emerged.
"Hey, Nicky!" called a familiar voice.
Embry stepped out from the porch. His face normally lit up at the sight of Nicky's but right now, his mouth didn't move an inch towards a smile. His face was stoic, hard. His nose seemed to flare repeatedly as if he smelled a bad smell. Maybe Nicky didn't just look like shit, maybe she smelled terible too. She wanted to scream. But she was exhausted.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Embry said as he cautiously approached her and his eyes seemed to be eyeing her up and down as if checking for injuries.
"Just tired," she replied, forcing a smile.
"Nothing a lil' sleep can't fix." She said to Embry.
He stepped closer, concern etched on his brow.
"Are you sure? How about you come inside and tell me what happened. You should've called me. I just got home. You don't look—"
"I said I'm fine!" she snapped, the words spilling out harsher than intended. She turned away, fighting the urge to cry.
Embry sighed, the sound heavy with unspoken words. "Nicky, I'm here if you need to talk."
"Yeah, I know," she mumbled, stepping inside.
The door closed behind her with a soft *click, sealing her in a world of darkness and doubt. Embry had stayed outside, for reasons unknown to her. Weirdo. But, thank god for that because Nicky didn't want to embarrass herself any further.
Nicky ran up the stairs and shut herself in her room. She removed her coat and keys and threw herself on her bed and let her exhausted, tear ridden body fall into the blankets and into a sleep she'd been wishing for, for quite some time. She just wanted her worries and anxiety to go away and for the darkness and quiet to take her thoughts and wipe them clean.
…
Nicky jolted awake to a cacophony of crashing and growling. Her heart raced as quickly got up from bed and she peered through her window into the dark woods. The trees swayed violently, branches snapping with a sound like thunder.
"What the hell is going on?" she whispered, glancing at the clock—9 PM.
Nicky quickly left her bedroom. She crept down the stairs, her bare feet cold against the wooden steps. The growls outside sent chills racing up her spine.
"Paul?" she whispered, peeking in the kitchen.
It was empty. So was the living room. If they were sleeping, their snores would be heard for miles. But the house was dark and unoccupied.
"Embry?" she called softly, but only silence answered.
Clutching the railing, she edged toward the back door, heart pounding like a drum. She opened it just enough to see a chaotic scene unfolding in the moonlit woods. Two massive wolves grappled, their fangs bared, snarls echoing like thunder. Nicky stepped outside, letting the backdoor clang behind her.
Nicky took a few steps forward, trying to see the situation more clearly, for certain these wolves couldn't have caused tree's to collapse. But the growls, deep and primal sounds pulled her closer to the edge of the woods. She stepped forward, breath hitching in her throat.She took a few steps forward and then stopped, because she saw everything and she was completely wrong. The wolves had caused tree's to collapse.
She stood frozen in the clearing behind her house as the chaos of the woods surrounded her. Trees splintered with a deafening crack, falling to the ground as the wolves rammed into them while attacking eachother, and the tree trunks crashed to the earth.
Nicky squinted into the shadows, heart racing, as each of the two wolves slammed into the other, they made a sound similar to thunder. Their growling didn't seem feral, it seemed targeted. It looked like a dance for power–for domination. She watched in awe as two wolves, sleek and powerful, circled each other, teeth bared and growling deep in their throats.
Suddenly, it all became too much. It was surreal. These wolves were not natural. This was not nature, this was something else.
"Oh my God!" Nicky gasped, stepping backwards just a bit, her steps wobbling in fear.
As Nicky unintentionally spoke, the wolves suddenly stopped fighting and turned their gaze towards her, their eyes reflecting the moonlight. The tension in the air was palpable as Nicky's heart raced, unsure of what would happen next.
Nicky wished she had just stayed inside. Now the wolves would come for her. But, to her surprise they didn't chase her. They kept their eyes on her, watching her frightened face but didn't make a move.
Nicky was frozen in her steps, no longer slowly inching back towards the house. She just stood there frozen in shock, as wolves the sizes of horses watched her silently surrounded by their destruction of multiple fallen trees and ferns.
Suddenly, in the moonlight Nicky saw a mass of wolves enter the clearing. When the massive wolves layed their eyes on her, they moved back into the treeline, out of Nicky's sight. All except one wolf.
A massive russet coloured wolf, bigger than the others made it's way between Nicky and the two wolves that were fighting, powerfully placing itself between Nicky and them. Then the two wolves that were fighting, the dark bown wolf and the silver wolf, as if pulled by a string by a puppet master seemed to be forced a great distance apart.
And then, without warning the two wolves dissipated, slowly morphed into humans. People? No way. The wolves that were just there seconds ago had formed into the naked bodies of Paul and Embry.
Fear enveloped Nicky as she witnessed the surreal scene before her. It couldn't be real. The sight of two wolves fighting in the moonlit woods seemed like a haunting illusion. But they'd morphed into Paul and Embry. They were werewolves.
Her mind struggled to comprehend the intensity of the moment, and a shiver of disbelief ran down her spine. The very impossibility of the situation filled her with a chilling sense of unease, making her question the very reality of everything she'd ever witnessed.
Nicky's vision blurred as the realization sank in–werewolves were real. Overwhelmed by the shocking revelation, her head spun, and her legs gave way beneath her. She felt like she was floating between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Confussion and exhaustion washed over her as she slowly began to lose consciousness, her mind struggling to process the impossible truth. She felt as though she could barely hold on to reality. It was too much. She felt her body sweating and her head rolled to the side, into the Earth where her body lay.
"Nicky!" She heard her name being called in the distance, but it sounded like an echo.
Nicky felt black dots slowly cover her vision as her thoughts overwhelmed her, and everything suddenly went black.
Word of The Day:
Cacophony: harsh or unpleasant discordance of sound; dissonance. a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds.
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