SENSELESS : Jacob Black

08

At the city line, where Forks meets La Push, a car idles. Embry pulls over on the side of the road. It's a bit odd that we are meeting here, of all places. It's only an extra fifteen-minute drive to Jacob's house, and the Cullen's seem like people with both money and time to spare.

Before we can get out of the car, he turns to face me, "the Cullens are a bit odd. If you have any questions, ask Quil or me about it. Not them. Got it?"

"Why?" I ask. I don't plan on asking them any questions. When I met Alice and Carlisle, they seemed pleasant enough.

"Just, trust me on this one, okay?" Embry looks at me, his eyes wide.

I nod, even though I'm not sure if I trust him.

He helps me out of the car. Alice rushes out of her car and envelops me in a hug.

"We'll take good care of her," she says to Embry. "Have a good ride home?"

I get in the back seat of the car by myself. I sit next to Bella, who offers me half of a smile on her thin lips. She runs a hand through her dark brown hair and tucks it behind her ear.

"Hey," she says. She offers me a small wave, which I return.

"Are we all ready?" Alice asks, her voice bright and chipper.

I don't get a look at the girl in front of me. All I notice is her long blonde hair. She turns to Alice and speaks, "as ready as we were five minutes ago."

Pilled in the car, we begin to drive off.

"So," Bella says, "you're from Ohio?"

I nod.

"Bella's from Arizona," Alice points out.

Bella nods, biting her lip. "Yeah."

I want to ask if Forks will make me as pale as all of them. Though, generally, the people in town aren't this pale. Maybe it's a combination of being from the Pacific North-West and rich. I know what my parents would say if they caught me hanging out with people like them. I choose to ignore it.

"It's not as warm in Ohio as Arizona," I say. I might not know that much about Ohio but I do know that Arizona is warm. "It's nice enough though."

"Have you ever been to Cedar Point?" Alice asks.

I shake my head, ridding it of the feeling the name brings. I wasn't really allowed to go places as a kid, with or without the people who raised me, let alone to a completely different state. They don't need to know that though. My childhood was spent travelling from town to town, meeting in underground networks, spying on others. There was no time for amusement parks between all the insanity surrounding me.

"My parents didn't like that kind of thing," I point out.

"What did you do for fun?" the girl in the front asks.

I shrug, "not much. I never did catch your name."

"Rosalie," she answers.

They continue to pester me with questions that I either dodge or lie. How was high school? Homeschooled. Ever date anybody? No. When's my birthday? April 18th, so it has already passed. Siblings? Yes, two brothers. Every mundane detail I keep track of in case they ask me later.

I'm still not sure they aren't going to try to return me to the people with whom I grew up. Any step they get closer to my identity is too far.