"𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭"
"𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭"
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
When Edward leaves to keep Heather safe from his supernatural world, she ends up falling fur...
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The coast is roaring alive as I drive down the long scenic route, mentally preparing myself for the day. It shouldn't be terrifying for me, I shouldn't have to do this, I used to be such a brave person, and I was with Teresa just last night at some terrible rom-com that had both of us cringing.
A whiff of loud hip-hop music enters my car through the cracked-open window. I can already hear the people before I turn the bend that takes me to the parking lot for First Beach.
"You came?" Bella remarks, surprised by my sudden appearance. "What happened to you cleaning your grandparents' garage?"
"Plans changed." I shrug, watching Jacob run up from his friends to join us, standing only inches away from Bella. There is something about him that makes her like him, they seem magnetic and oblivious to each other. It's almost painfully endearing. "Hi, Jacob."
"Hey, Heather. It's nice, things are even now." He greets me, I look back towards his friends and while he's right, I notice someone important missing, Teresa.
"Where's Teresa, or Jared?" I ask curiously, noting our other company consists of one of Jacob's friends and the younger brother of Leah Clearwater.
"Uh, they went off somewhere. Probably to smooch." Jacob coughs, acting strange, but Bella doesn't seem to pick up on it so I decide to shrug it off. "Come meet my friend and Seth, Heather, properly."
"Okay." I follow behind him and Bella with the strongest urge to gag at their stupidity as they loudly chatter along, their hands often brushing each other.
"Heather, this is Quil-" Jacob points to the scrawnier of the two.
"Hey."
"Hi." I gulp, suddenly feeling uncomfortable by the way he looks at me. Tugging at my shorts, I'm grateful to turn and meet the Clearwater boy, to distract myself.
"And you're Seth." I smile down at the fourteen-year-old who's sitting curiously on a fallen log. He looks so much like his sister, but where Leah stands skeptical, Seth sits wide-eyed. "When are you gonna hit your growth spurt like the rest of them?"
"Soon, I can feel it."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
There's a tinge of excitement as I pull out my board and walk down the rocky beach, squealing when my feet meet the cold water. Why have I neglected this experience for so long? All of this, the salt, the water, and the cold make me feel alive. Fully and utterly alive. Something I have not felt since last autumn.
The muscle memory in my body makes quick work, guiding me along as I stand for a wave. Coasting across the surface of the deep, dark waters. If heaven exists, this must be the gateway to it. For a while I continue to catch waves, bending and standing and moving with ease.
The water breaks as I pull up from a thrilling wave, coating my nostrils in salt, momentarily blinding me as I open my mouth, letting oxygen fill my lungs. Rubbing my eyes, I spot two new figures on the beach, still blurred by the distance and water in my eyes. My initial conclusion is Teresa and Jared as I paddle in, pushing against the tide, but the closer I get, I get a clear view of the people. Sam Uley and Paul Lahote, and another boy, are talking to an uncomfortable Seth.
"-Leah is right about you. I don't care what the others say." Seth spits at Sam who is so much stronger than he is.
"Your sister and I- look you'll understand soon enough, Seth," Sam responds harshly as I climb out of the water and onto the beach, gripping my board and watching the two men. Confused as to where Jacob and Bella went.
"Hey, we should go," Paul grumbles, spotting me.
"Oh, Heather. It's been a while since you've been down here. I almost thought you'd left with the Cullens." My guy unwillingly knots at the mention, anger pulsing in my brain.
"No, I'm still here." I grit my teeth, trying to calm myself down but the way that Paul Lahote glares at me adds to my frustration. I can't quite understand why he looks at me the same way Quil looks at me, like I've done something wrong, or I am the wrong thing.
"Come on, Paul. It's clear we're not wanted here." He says to his lackey, turning and leaving up the beach with Paul and the other boy following along.
"How come they don't harass you?" Seth asks once they're gone.
"They harassed you?" I ask, worried about what's happened since the last time I visited in the summer.
"No, not really. Jake swears they're trouble, they always give him a hard time. Dad says the opposite, maybe that's why he's disappointed in Leah for breaking up with Sam." Seth tells me as I sit down next to him, peeling myself out of the wetsuit into my shorts and hoodie. "I mean, clearly they did something to Jake, because the second he saw them, he dragged Bella away."
"Leah and Sam are no longer together?" I ask, surprised. They seemed like the type of couple who'd last, I almost envied their relationship. But there's always the threat of all good things come to an end, sooner or later.
"He started acting weird around her, or maybe it was the other way around. I just know that one day she came home mad and Sam came to the house to try and talk to her and she threatened him, and that was the end. Maybe I shouldn't have told you, I know you two are friends but I don't wanna betray her trust." He continues to explain, deeply worrying about his sister.
"Don't worry about it. You're a good kid, you know that?" He grins at me as I speak. "I'm going to go get a soda, do you want one?"
"You'll pay?" He asks, hopping up from his seat and following me up the beach to the tiny store.
