Rayonnante - Paul Lahote

Chapter 7

Lena enjoyed Charlie Swan's company. While he could be a little awkward when it came to small talk, his sarcastic remarks and oddly-placed jokes were somewhat charming to the young girl who found herself excitedly waiting for his next reply. But most of all, she appreciated his friendship with Billy. He never treated him as someone in a wheelchair, didn't try to do everything for him as if it made him invalid. And yet, whenever it was necessary, he'd discretely help him without taking any of the credit. In fact, Lena remembered that it was him who'd built the ramp on the front porch. He even used to do some yard work and repairs around the house before Jacob grew up and started doing it himself.

Bella, on the other hand, Lena just couldn't seem to figure out. She wasn't rude or anything of the sort, but she noticed that she basically wasn't trying to be even remotely friendly. She remained glued to Jacob's side as if he was his lifeline, not saying a word and staring at nothing while he tried to converse with his neighbor. A few times, Lena had tried to include her in the conversation but had given up after noticing that all she would get would be one-word answers. At one point, the girl had even flinched when she had spoken, as if the mere thought of being addressed directly hurt her. Her ex-boyfriend really did a number on her. Lena had never really interacted with the Cullens. She knew Carlisle the most from a visit at the hospital after a bad fall. He'd been extremely nice. She even thought he was attractive. But still, she'd just felt uncomfortable with him in a way that she couldn't explain. It was like some primitive part of her brain was telling her that she was in danger the entire time he treated her wounds. Still, Lena wasn't about to just hate someone based on the off feeling he gave her, which is why she remained nice and polite the entire time. She'd also interacted with Esme once in a parking lot, after the woman had noticed that she had dropped her keys. She'd been incredibly sweet. Lena liked her a lot. As for the Cullen children, she hadn't had the chance to talk to them. She thought they were all very attractive, but in an odd way, as if they'd never seen the sun. And sure, they lived in Forks where it basically rained all the time, but no one else looked like that. It was almost unhealthy. She had heard the rumors when Bella Swan had started dating Edward Cullen. People were apparently fascinated by the couple who looked like they couldn't spend a second without the other. At the time, Lena had found it incredibly odd to be so attached to someone at their age, although she knew that the Forks High School students were probably exaggerating. They were known to make up rumors and intensify the ones that were actually true. now, though, she shamefully had to admit that she kind of understood Bella. If, after three days of knowing Paul Lahote, she was already so sad at the thought of him not coming to school, she just couldn't imagine how hard it would be to loose your boyfriend of many months.

Billy's house wasn't exactly spacious, which meant that they had to cramp to all fit together around the small dining room table. Still, they made it work. Lena ended up sitting so close to Bella that their knees were touching. In the beginning, the Swan girl was as stiff as a board, obviously not relishing in their forced physical contact. But after a while, she felt her relax, calmed by Lena's cheerful yet soothing nature that kind of reminded her of Alice. They ended up sharing a nice conversation about some books they both liked, deciding that they enjoyed each other's company. Lena noticed that Charlie shot her a grateful look when he saw Bella smile a little, thankful that she was making her come out of her shell. But the young girl thought most of the praise should go to Jacob, who Bella seemed to just naturally latch on. She had to admit that he had a way of making people happy.

Yet it didn't take her long to discover that Jake also had a way to get under her skin. Dinner had been going extremely well until the point where Sam Uley was mentioned. While Billy was singing his praises, explaining to Charlie and Bella all of the good things that the young man was doing for their community, Lena could see Jacob starting to shake, looking pissed off.