Bella
…
Naomi didn't call.
The first time I called, Billy answered and told me that Naomi was still in bed. I got nosy, checking to make sure that Billy had taken her to see a doctor. Billy said he had, but, for some reason I couldn't make any progress, I never believe him. I called again, several times a day, for the next two days, even during the move to La Push from Forks. Even when we passed their road, no one was ever there.
By Thursday, Seth and I were looking up at our new school with Quil walking past use with his head down. Seth and I haven't had a conversation since forever, I don't really know the last time we really talked.
By Saturday morning, I decided to see Naomi, invitation be damned. But the house was empty. This frightened me, was she too sick to be home? Had something happened to Billy? I stopped by the hospital before going back home, but the nurse said at the front desk that neither Naomi or Billy had been admitted. I kept looking over in the passenger side of the truck bench, I felt so alone and empty and nothing to distract me from deeper concerns of loneliness.
I missed Seth. He spent most of his free time with Christine or studying and he wouldn't talk with me or Charlie.
After Charlie came home from work, we went over to visit Harry Clearwater, his daughter, Leah, had moved back in not too long ago, not too long ago just like we moved to La Push. I sat with Charlie as he conversed with Harry while watching the sports channel, Harry's heart was extremely weak, and he didn't have that many years left. But Harry joked with him as Charlie forehead pinched together in worry and slight fear, blowing it off and when Charlie was laughing the topic was discarded.
Only then Charlie mentioned Naomi, Harry glanced over at him surprised and a bit nervous as he glanced between Charlie and I before he masked his expression.
"Billy's having some phone troubles. Naomi has mono. No visitors."
"No visitors?"
"Bella." Charlie raised an eyebrow at me, "Don't make a pest of yourself. Billy knows what's best for Naomi. She'll up and around soon enough. Be patient."
Mono is produced from kissing, Naomi certainly, wasn't kissing anyone in the area. We haven't even kissed.
"Harry!" the two of us turned to Harry hearing Naomi yell from the back of the house, the floorboards creaked loudly in the hallway but we couldn't see her. "Hey, Sam wanted to know if you-."
Charlie did, he stood up cutting her off mid question, staring down the hall in disbelief, "Naomi?"
"Oh," Naomi says, "I'm sorry, I'll come back later." And then followed by Charlie stepping towards the hallway.
I was on my feet and making it through the small two bedroom house to the back door, the backyard was empty, an early 90's swing set swaying lightly from the chilly breeze.
"Naomi!" I yelled into the backyard, light rain falling down from the grey clouds.
"Come on, honey. Let's go to the diner." I turned to Charlie confused, his ears were red.
Once we were strapped up in the cruiser, Charlie pulled out of the driveway as he heaved a sigh.
"Listen Bells… I don't know what's going on… but if. If she's not sick then I can only guess Naomi doesn't want to be bothered."
"Why did Harry lie?" I asked, crossing my arms with angry tears beginning to brim in my eyes.
Charlie didn't answer and the conversation was over with his silence.
I'll give Billy and Harry a week. A week tops before I got very pushy and pissy. A week was generous.
…
A week was long. By Wednesday I was convinced that everything they were saying was bullshit. And I wasn't going to live until Saturday. Passing by her house everyday after school also wasn't helpful, Seth and I noticed both days that there was boys crossing the road into the driveway from the trees and yesterday we seen her crossing with two boys.
I guessed that one was Embry by his height, but I didn't know about the other boy. On Wednesday, the very next day at lunch, the tables around Quil, Seth and I's with straggler loner nerds started to babble louder. Heads turning and babble getting hard to ignore as some girls from other tables giggled and the babble of teenage boys was getting louder. I began looking around the small cafeteria compared to Forks High School, then I seen what everyone was going on about.
There they were, walking in a group like they had, but this group was closer together and they followed her. Her beautiful mid-thigh length hair was gone, cut just an couple inches below her jawline, she was wearing usual black clothing but her pants were dark blue and her sneakers were black vans. Embry, I assumed, by his basketball height as they sat down at an empty table, her back turned to us as Embry started eating like the gossip everywhere was undeniable, Quil reached out to my arm when I went to stand up.
"Don't," Quil says, "Even if you try to talk to them, they'll leave before you get there."
A group of boys hooted and then a sharp slam from Naomi's fist slamming down on the table, silence pierced the air as she stood up and turned towards the group of boys. I could only see the side of her face, but she was pissed, Embry was on his feet when her hands started shaking. My stomach dropped into my stomach, something was wrong, something was very wrong with her. Embry stepped into her view and picked her up off her feet and then the duo was gone out of the exit doors.
"They never stay long." Quil adds quietly as conversation murmured throughout the cafeteria again.
Three more days. Just three more days.
…
When I decided to leave Billy and Naomi alone for a week, I didn't really believe that Naomi would go along with Billy's rule. Everyday, I looked for her crossing the street but after Wednesday, I didn't see anyone. Everyday when I got home from school, I ran to the phone to check for messages anyway. There were never any on the machine much to my disappointment. I cheated three times by trying to call her, but the phone lines still weren't working for them, even though it seemed like bullshit.
I was in the house too much with Seth, and in the house too much period, much too alone. Without my Naomi, my distractions, everything I'd been repressing started to crawl up on me. The dreams got hard again. I could go longer see the end coming. Just the horrible nothingness—half the time in the forest, half the time in the empty fern sea where the white house no longer existed. Sometimes Sam Uley was there in the forest, watching me again. I paid him no attention, there was no comfort in his presence; it made me feel no less alone.
Sometimes Naomi was there, sometimes she was standing a few feet from me or longer than a few feet, every time I walked towards her she would disappear. Sometimes she was holding my hand and smiling at me, giving me temporary relief with her warm caring smile, but she would disappear far too quickly. It never stopped me from screaming awake, night after night. The hole in my chest was worse than ever. I thought that I'd been getting it under control, but I found myself hunched over, day after day, clutching my sides together and gasping for air.
I wasn't handling alone well.
I was relieved beyond measure the morning I woke up—screaming, of course—and remembered that it was Saturday. Today I could call Naomi. And if the phone lines still weren't working, then I was going to her house. One way or another, today would be better than the last lonely week.
I dialed, and then waited without lofty expectations. It caught me off guard when Billy answered on the fourth ring.
…
*Theme starts here*
*Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) by Journey (1983 verison)*
Here we stand
Worlds apart, hearts broken in two, two, two
Sleepless nights, losing ground
I'm reachin' for you, you, you
Feelin' that it's gone
Can change your mind
If we can't go on
To survive the tide, love divides!
First four chapters are played in a slideshow with key characters. Naomi, Bella, Seth, Jacob, Paul, and Emily during that first part.
Someday love will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
How we touched and went our separate ways!
If he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you!
You know I still love you
Though we touched and went our separate ways
Troubled times
Caught between confusion and pain, pain, pain
Distant eyes
Promises we made were in vain, in vain, in vain!
Chapter five through eighteen playing in a slideshow with the same characters and previously mentioned characters in Easter eggs.
If you must go, I wish you love!
You'll never walk alone!
Take care, my love,
Miss you, love!
Someday love will find you!
Break those chains that bind you,
One night will remind you,
How we touched and went our separate ways!
If he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you!
You know I still love you,
Though we touched and went our separate ways!
Chapters nineteen through thirty-one playing in a slideshow.
No, someday love will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
If he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you
You know I still love you
Chapters thirty-two through forty-three in a slideshow.
I still love you, girl
I really love you, girl
And if he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you
No, no
Chapters forty-four through fifty-eight playing in a slideshow and ending through the last chorus.
…
"Hello?"
"Oh, hey, the phone is working again. Hi, Billy, it's Bella. I was just calling to see how Naomi is doing. Is she up for visitors yet? I was thinking about dropping by—"
"I'm sorry, Bella," Billy interrupted, and I wondered if he was watching TV; he sounded distracted. "He's not in."
"Oh." It took me a second. "So, she's feeling better then?"
"Yeah," Billy hesitated after a long moment, "Turns out it wasn't mono after all. Just some other virus."
"Oh… Where is she?"
"She's giving some friends a ride up to Port Angeles—I think they were going to catch a double feature or something. She's gone for the whole day."
"That's a relief. I've been so worried. I'm glad she felt good enough to get out." My voice was horribly phony as I babbled on.
Naomi was better. But not well enough to call me. She was out with friends. I was sitting home, missing her more every minute. I was lonely, worried, bored… perforated. And now as I realized how desolate that the week apart had not affected her. Was this her 'figuring something out' woth us?
"Is there anything in particular you wanted?" Billy asked politely.
"No, not really."
"Well, I'll tell her that you called," Billy promised. "Bye, Bella."
"Bye," I replied but he already hung up.
I didn't even fully realize where I was going until I realized I was driving on a familiar dirt road that led to nowhere in particular. I had the windows rolled down and I drove as fast as was healthy for my truck, trying to enjoy the wind against my face. It was cloudy, but almost dry—a very nice day for Forks.
I didn't pay attention to the compass or map and left in my glove box, I just set off into the woods.
The forest was full of life today, all the little furry creatures enjoying the momentary dryness. Somehow, even with the birds chirping and calling, the insects buzzing noisily around my head, and the occasional scurry of the field mice was shrubs, the forest seemed creepier today. It reminded me of my most recent nightmare. I knew it was because I was alone, missing Naomi's carefree self-monologue and the sound of another pair of feet squishing across the damp ground. Sense of on me screws stronger than the deeper I got into the trees. Breathing started to get more difficult—not because of exertion, but because I was having trouble with the hole in my chest. I kept my arms tight around my torso and tried to banish the ache from my thoughts.
I almost turned around, but I hated to raise the effort that had already expended. The rhythm of my footsteps started to numb my mind and my pain as I trudged it on. My breathing evened out eventually, and I was glad I hadn't quit. I was getting better at this bushwhacking thing; I could tell I was faster. I thought I'd covered me before miles, and I wasn't even starting to look around for it yet. And then, with an abruptness that disoriented me, I stepped through a little archway made by two vine maples. Pushing past the chest high ferns—into the meadow.
It was the same place, expect this time. It's a dead meadow. It's not filled with free lush grass and wildflowers. It was the wrong season for wildflowers, the ground was thick with tall grass that swayed in the light breeze like ripples across a lake. It was the same place… but it was no longer what I was searching for. The disappointment was like a cruel slap to the face just like the recognition. I sunk down to the ground, kneeling there at the edge of the clearing, beginning to gasp at the ripping in my chest.
What was the point of going further? There was nothing here, nothing lingered here. Nothing more than the memories that I could have called back whenever I wanted to if I was willing to continue to endure the corresponding pain. The pain that had me cold now, all the warmth I clinging to was gone. There was nothing special here anymore, without him, without her. I wasn't sure what I had hoped to find here, but the meadow was its own planet of an empty atmosphere. Empty of everything, just like everywhere else.
Alone. I wrenched myself from the ground despite the pain, and a dissing array of emotions shot through me in a second.
At that precise moment in time, I was surprised at first because I was far from the trail, and I didn't expect to find anybody out here when they emerged from the trees to the north about thirty paces away. Then, my eyes focused on the motionless figure, seeing the utter stillness, the pallid skin, a rush of piercing hope rocked through me. I suppressed it, fighting against the equally sharp lash of agony as my eyes continued to the face beneath the long black hair. His face was not the face I wanted to see. Then fear, this was not the face I grieved for, but it was close enough to see he was no stray hiker.
He was no stranger.
Recognition.
"Laurent!" I cried in surprise, a wave of déjà vu washing over me.
"Bella?" He asked, looking more astonished than I felt.
"You remember," I smiled. It was ridiculous that I was so elated for a vampire knowing my name.
He grinned. "I didn't expect to see you here." He strolled toward me, his expression bemused.
"I thought you'd gone to Alaska."
He stopped ten paces away, cocking his head to the side. "You're right," he agreed. "I did go to Alaska. Still… I found the Cullen's place empty; I thought they'd moved on."
"Oh. They did move on."
"I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs?" His eyes were innocent of any intended offense.
I smiled wryly. "Something like that."
"Hmm," he said thoughtful.
At that moment I realized why he looked the same, too much the same. I took an involuntary step back, and his curious, dark red eyes followed the movement.
"Do they visit often?" he asked, still casual, but his weight shifted towards me.
"Not in the last several weeks," I tried to keep my voice light.
"Hmm," He said again, "The house smelled like it had been vacant for a while."
"Did Victoria ever find you?" I asked, breathless.
It was the first thing that popped into my head, and I regretted it as soon as it was out of my throat. Someone who had hunted me with her mate, that was someone I didn't want to think about right now. The question made him stop.
"Yes. I actually came here as a favor to her." He made a face. "She won't be happy about this."
"About what?"
He was glaring into the trees, away from me. I took advantage of his diversion, taking a furtive step back. He looked back at me and smiled.
"About me killing you," he answered in a seductive purr.
I staggered back another step.
I watched as Laurent stopped abruptly and whipped his head to the left. I was amazed to feel relief when he started slowly backing away.
"I don't believe it," he said, his voice was so low that I barely heard it.
I looked then. My eyes scanned the meadow, searching for the interruption to the conversation. At first I saw nothing, and my gaze flickered back to Laurent. He was retreating more quickly now, his eyes boring into the forest.
Then I saw it, a huge, shadowed shape eased out of the trees, quiet as a shadow, and stalked deliberately towards the vampire at angle to me close enough to touch. It was enormous—as tall as a horse, but thinner, much slimmer. The long muzzle grimaced, revealing a line of dagger-like incisors. A grisly snarl rolled out from between the teeth tumbling across the clearing like a prolonged crack of thunder, shaking my chest from its close proximity.
The bear. Only it's not a bear. This gigantic copper red monster was not the creature causing all the alarm. I stared at the monstrous creature, my mind boggling as I tried to put a name to it. There was a distinct canine cast to the shape of it, the way it moved. I could only think of one possibility, locked in horror as I was. I would have never imagined that a wolf could get this big. A huge female wolf, undeniably female by the shape of its body and the face.
Another growl rumbled in its throat, and I shuddered away from the sound.
Laurent was backing towards the edge of the trees, and freezing in terror, confusion swept through me. Why was Laurent retreating? As if in answer to my question, suddenly the mammoth wolf was not alone. Flanking it on each other, two more gigantic beasts prowled silently into the meadow. One was black and larger than the first one that greeted us, and the other brown, and that one was not as tall as the black and first one. A gray wolf came through the trees only a few feet from me, it's eyes locked on Laurent.
Before I could even react, they lined up in a V like a geese formation, a deep gray monster shrugged through the brush last was close to the female at angle in front of me. I gave an involuntary gasp and jumped back—which was the stupidest thing I ever could've done. I froze again, waiting for the wolves to turn on me, the much weather of the available prey. The wolf closest to me, the copper red one, turned its head slightly at the sound of my gasp.
The wolf eyes were dark, nearly black. It gazed at me for a fraction of a second, the deep eyes seeming too intelligent for a wild animal. As it stared at me, it was definitely a female by the soft shape of her face, her eyes reminded me of Naomi. The pain within my chest was healed completely, not completely there was a part that was still open and empty. But as stupid and stunned I felt, I wanted to reach out to the wolf. Then another low growl from the black wolf among the unmistakable male wolves by the thick muscular structure of the wolves. The female wolf bristles with a snarl as she whipped her head around, back towards Laurent with a growl rumbling deep in her chest.
Laurent stared back at the pack of wolves with unconcealed shock and fear. Without warning, he spun around on his heel and disappeared into the trees.
The wolves were after him in a second with the female passing the pack first, sprinting across the open grass with a few powerful bounds, snarling and snapping of jaws so loud that my hands flew up instinctively to cover my ears. The sound faded with surprising swiftness once they disappeared into the woods.
Alone.
I fell onto my hands and knees, sobbing hysterically. I knew I needed to leave and leave immediately. But I couldn't move, I couldn't move anything but my head. How long would the wolves chase Laurent before they doubled for me? I looked up at the sky and the grass around me. Or would Laurent turn on them? I scanned the whole perimeter of trees lining the meadow. Would he be the one that comes back looking?
Then I couldn't move, though; my arms and legs were shaking, and I didn't know how to get back to my feet. How do I get back to my feet?
A cold breeze whipped through the meadow, swaying the grass like something was moving through it.
"Bells?"
I seemed to remember to move then turning to the right, turning to Naomi's voice. And then in all my shock and fear, I remembered to breathe when she was walking through the grass bare foot and in nothing but a sports bra and shorts. Her shoulder length hair in a braid starting from her hairline, everything about her was different. Changed. Toned, all gone of youth. She had a stunning hourglass figure for a teenage girl, her chest was full and her thighs were toned shapely, and I honestly thought I was looking at the top model out of all the nations of this circular sphere we call Earth.
"Naomi?"
She smiled at me and it reached her eyes, and I choked on a sob, "Hey there, vampire magnet."
"What?" I stared at her stunned while she sat down in front me with her knees bent to the sky.
"Vampires. You know, like that dread head back there." She says, I released a breath.
"How do you…?"
"Know?" She asked more as a finish to my train of thought, I nodded. She inhaled sharply through her nose and exhaled, "I know because I was that pretty copper wolf a half hour ago."
"A half hour ago? Wolf…?"
She hummed in confirmation, and her eyes were so sincere, "Yeah. He's dead by the way."
"Laurent is dead," I gasped, and my entire body went ice cold.
"Bella?" Naomi asked anxiously.
"That black wolf… he's killing people? The disappearing hikers?"
She shook her head, "No, no. We don't kill humans Belle, just vampires. There were two of them. We thought his mate would want to fight us—in our stories, they usually get pretty T'd if you kill their mate—but she ran off."
"She?"
"Red head vampire."
My forehead dewed with sweat and my stomach rolled like I had the stomach flu again. Exactly like I had the flu. I turned away from her quickly and leaned over into the grass.
Victoria was here. Looking for me. My head spun sickeningly.
Naomi's hand caught my shoulders—kept me from falling forward into the grass, I felt her arm around my upper back, "Bells, what happened? What'd I say?"
"Victoria," I gasped once I caught my breath through my nauseous spasms.
"Victoria?" She repeated.
"She wasn't Laurent's mate. Just friends…"
"How do you know?"
"Because…" I prepared myself to say his name, "Edward killed her mate. James. He said Victoria would be upset if he killed me."
"Why do I have a feeling it's a mate for mate thing? Twisted, backwards…" She says more out loud.
"But it's not like that anymore…" I swallowed.
"Come on, girlfriend," She scoops me up from the forest floor. My legs and arms wrapped around her, and her arms were under my hips. "Ah! You're freezing!" She stiffens and shivers, and then she continues, "Either way…, I have a feeling she's going to be coming back again."
"Again?"
"Yup. Dodging is and running off. Coming back. That's what's been making the rest of us turn into a wolf. Their presence, it activates the wolf gene, is a threat to our tribe and corresponding towns of innocents. But don't worry, I got you, I promise."
She was so warm. Her presence was nurturing, like a mother, reminding me of my mother and I choked on a sob as I realized I almost came close to dying. My mother would never be the one that would never truly recover if I disappeared, but how could I forget about Charlie? He was the one that ordered me to stay out of the woods. But then Naomi, that gigantic copper red wolf, so sleek but her aura has emitted power—even now, lead the pack of wolves to Laurent's demise. The power now mixed with the warm nurturing was enough to hold me together completely without her arms being around my torso.
And she was confident, maybe overconfident but her tone was humbly confident, different from my Naomi. This is wolf Naomi but the humble confidence was just as attractive and needed. Another sense of déjà vu washing through me.
It was a reason I had been so willing to call her my girlfriend. She was gone. But she's here. She saved me. She's a wolf.
"You're a wolf." I gasped after watching the meadow leave my vision and get replaced by trees as she walked briskly, I dropped my head on her shoulder.
She hummed in confirmation, "I am." She says walking easily through the brush and keeping the fast pace. "I told you I will always be here for you."
I'm not alone. I knew I could always trust her—her being a werewolf was astonishing and nowhere near considered—I trusted her unconditionally.
I wrapped my shaking arms tighter around her neck, I can feel the side of her against my ear, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She tilts her head into mine.
"What do you mean you got me?"
She snorted, "I mean, I'm your personal bodyguard now. Until Victoria is dead."
"Just you?" I asked worrying over the thought of her chasing Victoria or searching for Victoria alone. She was just with a whole pack.
She sighed, "Yeah… Sam Uley is running the pack, I caught Laurent's scent while patrolling up here. He is alpha male like a true wolf pack, expect I am the first female Alpha ever. The real alpha anyway."
I pulled back to look at her, staring at her as she glanced at me three times in between looking forward. I should've realized that sooner but I've never had too much knowledge on wolves, I traveled the states, read romance novels, and wanted to be a biochemist, but it fits her so well.
"First one ever?"
"Yup in our tribe. I'm even destined to be Chieftess." I smiled at her; she had a non-expressive facial expression. Her eyes flickered over my face, "For someone who was about to hurl, you look awfully happy right now. Weirdo."
Even though she was teasing me, everything she said and did made chills run down my spine.
I shrugged, "Chieftess Naomi."
She snickered with humor even though she tried to be sarcastic, "Doesn't sound right."
"Yes, it does. Sounds sexy."
She chortled, and shook her head, bemused, "Sexy? Hardly sounds sexy. Sounds like sexist insults for the rest of my life."
"So what? You are destined to be a strong, independent woman. If no one likes that… oh well, I guess they'll have to speak with me."
"Oh really?" She stopped looking at me, I looked around and were on top of a shoulder height incline, I gazed back at her. "Can you speak with Old Quil and the rest of the council? I'm sure they would love to hear that." She scaled down the incline swiftly with even more impressive ease.
"Of course."
"I was joking."
"I wasn't."
She's quiet for a long moment walking through the brush, a pensive curve of her satin black eyebrow, she didn't need any maintenance. Her mahogany eyes showed how deep in thought she was.
"Why aren't you with the pack?" My curiosity was getting the best of me.
"Because…" She sighed sharply, frustrated with something she was thinking about, "I left. I'm meant to lead it. But the council, excluding my dad, Embry, Paul and Jared, don't want me leading the pack because I have a vagina. Once I learned how to break through Sam's gag order from even challenging him for the title, I left."
"I'm so proud of you."
Her face darkened with blush, "Thank you, Bells… that means a lot."
I tucked my head in her neck for the rest of the walk, that seemed so much shorter once the babbling ended and much more easily, since I really didn't want to let go of her. She made a joke about me being attached like a koala, I was still shaking by the time she put me on my feet facing the truck, I have never been so happy to go home.
"What's your plan?" I asked driving down the highway, halfway back to La Push, glancing at her sitting in the middle of the bench.
"Patrol the house, keep it close to home since I don't have any way of knowing she's on the land…"
"And school."
She snorted, "Right."
"Seriously. You have to go back to school Naomi."
"Yeah but I'm a lone alpha wolf protecting four people from a vampire."
"A vampire. One. Singular." I reminded.
Naomi looked at me deadpan, "I got it… Still, I have to watch over Charlie, my dad, and you and Seth."
"Seth is barely ever home."
"He is. He just keeps himself in his room."
"He never answers me."
She shrugged, "Don't look at me. I just patrol."
I glanced at her for a long moment at the exit ramp, I looked up and down the street for oncoming traffic and look back at her, "Who was that dark silver wolf?" I was subconsciously thinking about that wolf and I really wanted to know who it was, I started to rub at the sensation over my heart that was irritating sensation. Like a scratch that wasn't relieved.
She glanced over at me, her brows furrowing, "That was Paul."
"Paul Lahote?"
She nodded, her eyes flickering over my face, "Why?"
I shrugged and started driving down the narrow road into the village of La Push, "Just curious."
"Okay," I felt her eyes on me for another long moment, she leans back against the seat and sighs. "Let's go to my house first."
"Okay."
"Is Billy mad at me?" I asked, when I pulled into her dirt driveway and the curtain was pushed to the side.
She gazed at me, "Why would he be mad?"
"Because I've been spam calling your house." I said and her face broke out into her sunny grin.
She leaned towards me and I felt blood rush to my face from her hot, soft lips on my cool cheek, "Don't worry, baby. We both know you didn't mean any harm." She went to kiss my cheek again but I moved my head and her lips fell on mine.
I felt my heart overact in that next second as I registered her lips on mine, I kissed her back and all too soon she pulled away and looked at like she was shocked by electricity. I can still feel the heat of her lips against mine and I wanted kiss her again.
"Did you just kiss me?" She leaned away and scrutinized me.
"Yeah," I murmured in response, my eyes flickering down to her thick set of lips as she smiled softly.
She leaned back towards me and kissed me again, there was more emotion in her kiss and I kissed her back with my heart fluttering a butterfly in my ribcage.
Billy gave us a look when we walked into the house, he looks us over before meeting Naomi's eyes and speaking in a liquid language I guessed was Quileute. Naomi looks at me swiftly with brokenness before she turned away and replied in the language and ran a hand through her hair as she walked away.
Billy turned to me with a smile and a short sigh, "Hello, Bella. It's nice to see you again."
I smiled back at him, relaxing and looking after Naomi down the hall she disappeared into, "Hey, Billy. It's nice to see you too."
"So, I've heard a red head vampire is after you."
I nodded, I started to feel guilty as Billy looked at me, "Yeah."
Billy sighs, "Do you understand why I requested for you to stay away from him."
Him, I knew who he was talking about and I was silently shocked that there was not a single once of pain that flared in my chest. I nodded, I felt like I was being scolded by my own father and I was going to take it. An overwhelming sense of acceptance to the consequences of my actions, that feeling was followed by an overwhelming urge of responsibility for Naomi. The presence of vampires caused my girlfriend to turn into a wolf and her life was on the line every time a vampire appeared. But at the same time, I had a lot of faith and trust in Naomi, I had a severe deep feeling whenever she encounters Victoria or any threatening vampire—she would be the one walking unscathed. Naomi is smart and I have seen her switch from utter childness and into a responsible, mature girl in seconds, and I knew I had to change if we were going to be anything.
I had to be that responsible, mature girl I have always been before him; I got too use to not calling the shots, and the more I am thinking about that right now... I should have stayed away from Edward, he ruined everything I had been and had been changing me into something else, and he was never coming back. From the beginning, I had been his singer and he had wanted to kill me, and I had been so confident in myself then that I knew I was going survive if I just kept him distracted with speaking. I had always feared that one day he would snap and Charlie would find my lifeless body, which terrified me and hurt me deep in my core, but I didn't have to worry about that now. I didn't have to be scared; I had my own personal bodyguard and she was my girlfriend.
"I know, I should've listened to you." I looked down at my dry muddy boots and knees, "I'm sorry I have put Naomi in harm's way."
Billy's is silent for a moment, scrutinizing me for a long moment, "It's okay, Bella." He says sincerely, "You were young and even though, it's not an excuse but it's the truth. Plus…" He hesitates, studying me before continuing, "I know what it's like to have a first love. She gave three beautiful children."
I smiled and looked down at my boots again and back up at him, "I'm sorry about your wife, Billy."
Billy smiles with melancholy and reassurance, "It's okay, Bella. She's still here with me. I see her in Naomi with each passing day."
"Naomi's like Sarah?"
He smiles widely and laughs breathy, "Very much. Her headstrong confidence. Her intuition, her persona. She looks just like her too. Sarah would be deeply proud of her."
I smiled wider, "I would be too. Naomi's is amazing."
"Don't tell her that. It'll blow up her ego."
"It doesn't hurt to hear that once in a while as a girl myself."
Billy smiles widely again, "I guess not."
"Do you two want some help with the fan club?" We both turned to Naomi walking into the kitchen with a coy grin on her face, she's wearing a T-shirt and a new pair of shorts. She had sneakers and her hair was wet. She was freshly showered, I wondered what she smelt like, "I can suggest a few good photos for flyers and some more members."
Billy chuckled, "Nobody wants to see that mug."
"Pfft!" She scoffed humorously, "Oh, please. I heard you two girls talking about me."
I grinned, "I like the idea of a fan club. Maybe I can see if the rest of the council and the pack want to join." She washes the apples under the faucet water.
Naomi cackled with laughter, the grin wide on her face as she held two red apples in one of her slim, beautiful hands, "Dark humor from Bells."
I shrugged, "Why else would they be on you so much? They're secretly jealous and envious."
Billy laughed, "I haven't thought about that. You're making the other males intimidated, Butterfly."
"What else is new?" Naomi asks and hands me an apple, and I take it from her.
I caught a whiff of her bodily perfume as she came back to my side, she smelt like freshly plucked peaches from the tree and cut open, "Let them be intimidated. Means you're doing something right."
"That is true," Billy agreed with bright eyes.
"Alright, alright," Naomi smiled bashfully, and tossed the apple into the air before catching swiftly, "when's your next club meeting? Should I come back or talk to Charlie alone?"
That caught me off guard, "Talk to Charlie."
"Naomi has decided to tell Charlie about what's going on around here," Billy says.
"He's not the only one that's been spam calling us. Since you guys moved into town, he's been seeing the 'bears' around your house. Aka me. And since it's going to recur, it's better if he knows."
"But Charlie can't know about vampires." I protested, panicking slowly. "They have this order. Or royal group in Italy. He can't know, it's bad enough that I know about them."
"Oh, fun!" Naomi grins like she just accepted a challenge, "I dare them to set a single hair on my tribe land." She turns to the little window; her face was set in serious expression and looks through the partially sheer curtain.
"Naomi, this isn't funny." I retorted.
"I'm not laughing." She glances at me. "And I wasn't going to say anything about the leeches. Just me. So, I don't get shot, he almost shot me the other day."
I paled, I looked between them swiftly, "Can that kill you?"
Naomi shrugged, "Maybe if I don't get the bullets out fast enough so the mending flesh won't close around them."
"Naomi, you're freaking her out." Billy says tearing his eyes from mine to her at the window, "Maybe wait to tell more information until she has fully processed."
"That was definitely too much. But she handles weird, well," Naomi looks out the window again.
"Yeah… but… he was willing to shoot you." I breathed, I hadn't realized how much I genuinely cared for her until I imagined Charlie pointing his rifle at Naomi as a wolf, it made me restless and panicked.
"That'll change. Come on." Naomi opens the front door and I looked down at the apple in my hands and back at Billy.
He smiles with humor and reassurance, "I'll be expecting a call for an invite to dinner." He had faith that Charlie would accept and he had faith he was going to have his best friend back.
I sighed as Naomi's serene aura radiated to me, I smiled a bit unsure, only because I was worrying about what was going to happen next. "I promise to call."
"I look forward to it."
I waited in the living room back home perched on the couch with my leg bouncing, I watched the time tick by slowly. I wondered how long it would take for Naomi to explain everything to Charlie, I wondered how she would do it, after two minutes of watching the clock, I got up and started packing around the house. I knocked on Seth's door twice waiting for him to answer but got silence, I had to make sure he was okay, I opened the door and looked into the small room. His bed was made with the comforter and a bare pillow, his sheets were gone but I didn't hear the washing running, the clothes in his closet were gone, his schoolbag, all his belongings he left on the desk and end table were all gone. The atmosphere of the room was so… empty.
His car was in the driveway, but he wasn't here.
I heard the back door opening again and the following voices of Charlie and Naomi, he was asking her questions that went muffled to my ears as I stared at the vast emptiness of the bedroom. The creaking floorboards of body weight on the loose wood and voices stopped outside the doorway in the narrow hallway.
Charlie sighs, "He left this morning, after you did."
I turned to him, "Left where?"
Charlie shifted on his feet, "Home."
"Jacksonville?" I sputtered in disbelief.
He sighed again as Naomi looked between us with furrowed brows, "Yeah. He wanted to move back."
I looked at Naomi, panicked but masked the expression in my eyes when I looked back at Dad, "Why didn't you say anything?!" I slipped past them and walked quickly to the phone.
"Because Bells you had already left."
"He didn't have to leave."
"La Push and Forks aren't for him, anymore, Bella. He made his choice; he doesn't want to be here." Charlie explains and takes the phone from me as angry tears started welling up in my eyes and I crossed my arms like a stubborn child.
"Why?" I demanded wiping at my face, harshly out of anger.
"Christine broke with him earlier this week. He went to talk to her last night; he found her with Mike Newton."
"What?!" I went to grab the phone again but Charlie kept it out of my reach. "Dad!"
Charlie sighs and his eyes made me stop; his eyes were heavy with hurt. It reminded me how he looked when I told him the same thing Mom did when she left with me, "He doesn't want to talk to you, Bells… he doesn't want anything to do with us. It was the last thing he said to me before he got on the plane."
"What a dick." Naomi mumbled.
Charlie shot her a glare and she sat down on the couch and looked at the television set, he looked back at me as his words settled.
"What did we do?" I asked, my voice was thicker with emotion than I wanted it too, I swallowed the knot in my throat.
"Bella don't do that. We didn't do anything wrong… Seth made his decision and we have to respect that. No matter how it hurts..."
"But-."
"It's his decision, honey."
I turned to the sink, "Okay." My tone was more irritated now, and I sighed in acceptance staring into the empty sink.
Charlie sighs and walks away, it's quiet for a few minutes with just the television playing the sports channel and then Charlie asks Naomi a question.
"Why did you cut your hair?"
"It effects my fur coat when I phase."
"Really?"
I look over to Naomi nodding, and she continues, "Yeah. I also run a temperature up to 108 or 109, one of them. And super healing, I literally have the hearing and sense of smell like a dog."
"Really?!" Charlie's eyes boggled out of his head with immense curiosity and interest, I smiled to myself slowly being comforted by their conversation and their ease.
He was good with weird too.
"Yeah." Naomi cackled, "I'm a werewolf."
"Yeah but it's still shocking to perceive."
I listened as Charlie asked more questions, none of his questions were stupid enough for her not to answer. I picked up the phone and called Billy, he answered on the fourth ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Billy."
"Hi, Billy. What happened? How did he take it?"
"It seems he took it well. He's interrogating her with questions right now."
Billy chuckles on the other end, "I wouldn't expect anything less. So, what's the word on dinner?"
"Do you want us to come there? Or do you want to come here? I was thinking of making steak and rice." I replied as I looked over at Charlie and Naomi beginning to bicker like children as they walked over to the table about
Billy hums with consideration, "Steak and rice sounds great."
I smiled, "Okay. I'll let Dad know." I hung up and I looked up to Charlie and Naomi arm wrestling, Charlie was trying to move her arm that didn't move a single centimeter. Charlie's face was getting red with his effort as Naomi's grin widened with mirth. I intervened before the vein in Charlie's forehead could pop, "Alright, alright, boys." I laughed as they began bickering again before I interrupted with dinner plans.
Charlie left to get Billy while Naomi helped me out with dinner; when the men came back in I had been harassing Naomi for kisses in between preparing dinner, which she had given me but she didn't fall in my trap for deeper kisses. Our dads walked in to her turning my head back to the stove when she denied a kiss because the parents were coming back in, I glared at the steak sizzling lightly in the pan with butter and oil and seasoning sinking into the animal flesh. Naomi had her grin on her face and her eyes were bright, I looked back at her when her arm dropped back to her side.
"Hey, girls," Billy greets solemnly.
"Hey, Yoda." Naomi grins.
"Hey," I smiled while lowering a lid onto the pan.
Charlie puts his hands on his hips and looks between us with an offended expression, "Is there something I'm missing here?"
I looked at him in blank confusion.
Naomi 'uhs' in confusion.
"You two. Girlfriends. Dating. Since when? Why wasn't I informed?"
Naomi glances at me while blinking rapidly in confusion, and then her head turns to Billy, "Dad."
"What?"
"Since February 17th." I replied simply flipping one of the steaks in the large pan.
"Two weeks ago?" Charlie asks all offense had left his tone.
"Yeah."
He hums and Naomi and I share a look.
"What?" we said in unison, she flicked my cheek.
I flicked her cheek back, she flicked my shoulder and I flicked her in the throat.
"Nothing." Charlie says interrupting, he looks between us and looks over at Billy. "It's just… surprising."
Billy scoffs, "Says you. Bella caught feelings first."
I gaped, feeling blood rushing to my face, "Huh?"
"Oh, really?" Naomi looked at me.
"I don't know." Charlie and I said in different tones of emotions.
"I think it's awesome." Billy says and the three of us look at him. "It's different but it's awesome."
"At least it's not a boy." Charlie says before walking away.
"That's the only issue?" Naomi laughed in surprise.
"I don't have to worry about you impregnating my daughter," He says and then turns around. His eyes solely on Naomi, "But I'll hunt you down if you hurt her. I'm not afraid to shoot you."
"Oh, I know." Naomi chortles thickly in recollection.
And then I was the one giving Charlie a stern look, "You almost shot her."
Charlie looks at me, "I didn't know it was her at the time."
I hummed. Billy laughs when I turned back to the stove.
The rest of the night went like that, bickering harmlessly and laughter, it felt like the first dinner and I never thought about impending nightmares or pain. I don't know what it was but I just… I felt like worries weeks ago when I hunched over in my truck before I came to see Naomi, the worries that pain was never going to end, that I wouldn't feel happy again. Feel, was the wrong word, every time my blue eyes met Naomi's pretty brown eyes I was naturally happy. It was a never-ending warmth, and I never wanted it to end. We watched the sports game and listened to Billy and Charlie babble about it, Naomi rolled her eyes once at them yelling at the TV with a slight smiling wince when she looked at me. I put in a load of laundry and grabbed my schoolbag from my bedroom and came back out the living room. A little while later she walked around the house, opening some bedroom doors, I heard closets too, I watched her open the pantry door and her upper body leaned into the small space. She leaned out and closed the door and looked around while walked back to the couch.
"What are you doing?" Charlie looks at Naomi, bewildered by her actions as Billy snorted in laughter at his expression.
"To be this literally, I was sniffing around your house like a good doggy," Naomi replied, striding from the kitchen in the living and sitting down on the couch, with humorous sarcasm.
I rolled my eyes smiling from my position doing homework at the coffee table with Naomi to my left on the couch. Billy across the table at an angle to the left, and Charlie was in his armchair to Billy's left; also at an angle. Naomi said something to Billy in that liquid language again, I looked up out of curiosity, Naomi was looking at the TV while Billy glanced over at her with his eyes. I looked down and memorized the words to ask later, the tones of their voices, I tried to pretend to be doing homework but I was focusing too hard on the language.
I got up to check on the washer, it was only 20 minutes in, I sighed and turned around to Naomi walking down the narrow hallway to me by the bathroom.
"I have to go in a couple minutes." She says sunning a hand through her hair. "I'm going to talk to Sam. See if we can come to an agreement with Victoria and patrols."
I felt a little anxious, "Do you think he'll agree?"
She shrugged, "He doesn't really have a choice on the matter."
"You'll be careful, right?"
Naomi's face softens from the serious set of her features, she smiles at me, "Always." She kisses the crown of my head before slipping out the back door.
I managed to distract myself with the rest of my homework, while we waited for Naomi to come back. I had little time to think about what was going on since Billy and Charlie also kept me distracted with the conversation about the game and their yelling. Billy refused playfully on going home for the night and Charlie was surprised but didn't object, Charlie immediately got out some beers and I left to Seth room to prepare the bed for him. As soon as that was done with that I switched the laundry and started the other load, I gathered up my books on the coffee table and shoved them back into my schoolbag, and took my bag back to my bedroom.
I cleaned up the kitchen while blessing the men with more cans of beers, and a small snack of cheese and left over cut up pieces of steak to go with the cheese. I cleaned the kitchen twice before leaving the room to check the laundry, this last load I put in was smaller and already had to be switched to the dryer, the dryer wasn't done yet so I calculated the time for the remaining time. I joined the men in the living room again and then I began to wonder what was going on.
What was being said, what was just happening overall. Time passed and I continued to wait, trying to stall going to be bed for as long as I could with giving them beers, but that only lasted so long. I realized this when Charlie was too incapacitated to get Billy into Seth's old bed, and I was going to have trouble helping Billy into the bed. I don't know how Charlie and I managed it to get Billy into bed but we did; my natural incoordination, and Charlie's intoxication seemed to work well tonight I thanked the heavens that Seth room was the only one on the first floor and it was an immense help. I stayed up to finish the rest of the laundry, once both loads were dry and unfolded, I put them in the respected baskets or locations. Seth had a couple shirts and shorts and a pair of jeans he left behind, I put them with my clothes and went to my room. I sighed as I put his clothes on my closet and put away my clothes, I ran a hand through my hair and looked around my room just as a quiet knock on my window caught my attention.
I froze, at first I thought it was Victoria who decided to come quicker than expected to finish her mission. But then I thought it was Naomi, I hoped everything in my life as I walked over to the window that it was her. When I got close enough to see the shape behind the glass, I sighed in relief and opened my window wide open for Naomi to climb through. I had a sense of déjà vu, she was balancing on the jutted out beam lining the house, the house use to have a wrap around porch and I wish they kept it. She balanced easily with her sneakers and scales through my window with ease, she landed on both of her feet silently and grinned at me.
"Hi."
I smiled, "Hi."
"Sam's a dick." Her shoulders lowered and she sighed sharply. "Dad's not home."
"He's asleep in Seth's room. You can get comfortable. What happened?"
"Oh," She looked down at her sneakers and kicked them off by the window. She ran her hand through her hair again, "He said since I seen to be so confident in everything. I take care of it and then he said that him, Jared, Paul and Embry won't be helping and will stop phasing."
"What a dick." I felt heat rise up my neck and ears.
"I have to leave early in the morning to patrol. I'll most likely be gone the entire day. I promise to come check in on you."
"What about at night?" I asked casually sitting down on my bed.
"Watching my eyelids." She says sitting in my desk chair and examining my old hunky computer.
"Can you watch them here?" I asked after a surge of confidence.
Naomi turned in the chair to look at me with a impish smile that made chills run down my spine, "Are you asking me to sneak in your room every night?"
I blushed hard, "Yes."
"I was going to do that anyways," She says standing up from the desk and walking around my room, she looked restless and tense the more I studied her.
"Oh." Something was bothering her. "Are you okay?"
"Do you believe… in Ghouls?" She asks quietly, glancing at me from the corner of her eye as she stands in the middle of the floor at an angle towards me.
Ghouls? "Like from Fallout? Seth use to play that game."
"Not the Ghouls from Fallout… I mean real-life flesh-eating Ghouls. Like in Greek, Arabian, and Italian mythology."
I stared at her for a long moment, trying to see what she was getting at, "I've heard but never studied." Why was she asking about other mythologies? I stared back at her for another long moment and out of insight I felt like she was asking because they were here. "What happened?"
"Bells…" Her eyes swept the room before landing on me last, "… February 17th I woke up from what seemed like a dream of our lives… You were… married to someone else and with a newborn baby. I was… in love with someone else."
"Naomi." I said, "Just spit it out."
And then she explained everything she was trying to say. Her dreams of being in two different lives with this creature that was out for her life because she managed to withstand being in her presence. I felt sick but I didn't stop listening as she went into the nitty gritty of it all, I stared at the wall in complete shock in silence but before she could speak again. Either way, I loved her unconditionally and I felt that familiar surge of responsibility.
I spoke, "Then let's kill that bitch." I said feeling my face set with determination and anger.
Naomi smiled at me crookedly as she fully faced me, "I was thinking the same damn thing."
"What's the plan?"
"Well, all I know is that she wants me. And she appears out of thin air. And unpredictable. Who knows… we may wake up tomorrow in a different life."
"Back to square one."
She nods, "And who knows what she'll do."