The Dead of Night

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter 28: The End

December floated by slowly, each day ticking by at a snail's pace, and there was no sign of Ary or the rest of the McRaes. I had to remind myself daily that she had said it might take months for them to return, so I held onto hope that I would see them again. The holidays were a gloomy time for me, given the one gift I wanted had left along with Ary, but Charlie did his best to try and cheer me up.

On Christmas day, I awoke early to make him pancakes topped with plenty of maple syrup, while he happily chipped in by making some bacon and scrambled eggs. I had slowly gone back to work for the Newtons, who were reluctant to give me shifts since I'd handed the majority of my previous ones to Mike in order to spend time with the McRaes. After working almost nonstop, I'd saved up enough to buy Charlie a new fishing rod for his spring trip.

Charlie, on the other hand, had never been very skilled at picking gifts for anyone, so I'd received a Visa gift card with over two hundred dollars on it. My dad gave it to me sheepishly, which made me think he was embarrassed that he didn't know his own daughter well enough to get a proper gift. I hugged him tightly and told him it was the perfect gift, and he blushed, just like I always did. Like father, like daughter.

"So, any word from that boyfriend of yours? Or his sister?" Charlie asked after we had picked up the excess wrapping paper, and I shook my head. My dad sneered and went back to the television, muttering something about "another winner."

He still had mixed feelings about Eric, and I could understand why; Eric had delivered me, seeming half-dead, to the hospital and had disappeared soon after. When I saw Ary again, the first thing I wanted to teach her was how to make a graceful exit. The entire town—or at least the kids I went to school with—was talking about the sudden departure of the mysterious, reclusive family.

There was also a small investigation happening off the highway, trying to find out what had happened to the warehouse. The last thing I needed in my life was someone finding out that I had been somewhat involved with the incineration of that decrepit old building. So far, it was inconclusive—and I really hoped it stayed that way.

School had also become very tense for me. Since the McRaes were no longer there to sit with me at lunch, I was forced to tuck my tail between my legs and attempt to sit with my old group again. The first day was awkward, to say the least, but Angela, Ben, and Mike made it like old times, automatically joking around and including me in the conversation. Eric was very standoffish, which was a little strange, but it was Lauren and Jessica who really made it uncomfortable.

During one lunch hour, Mike was discussing the trip to La Push for their annual winter celebration. The tribe welcomed everyone to join and had tons of crafts and food as well as Quileute stories. When he had asked if I'd like to join them, Lauren threw her napkin down and scoffed loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"Am I the only one who feels like Bella's little shelf toy?" She growled, and I couldn't help but shrink back under the weight of her stare.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, exasperated. His expression and tone of voice hinted that Lauren had complained about… whatever she was complaining about before.

"She dumped all of you for those weird kids," Lauren accused, pointing directly at me. "Now that they're gone, she's come slithering back. Bella, you're such a user!"