It's been over a week since Paul and Sam came over.
I haven't heard from him. No texts, no calls, nothing. I wasn't sure when he would make up his mind, but I never asked. I texted him goodnight the night after it all happened, and he never answered. I haven't texted him since.
Jake has completely shut me out too, and hasn't left his room. Only my dad has been in his room to give him food, but that's only when he wants it. Often times my dad comes out the next morning with only several bites taken of the dinner I had made.
It was late into April now, the air was starting to get warm again. I decided on Jake's old long sleeve La Push Football shirt and leggings for the day. It was oversized and felt comfy to sit in, so I decided it was perfect.
"Hey Dad I'm gonna run down to the beach," I shout through the halls.
He comes out seconds later, and nods, "You okay sweetheart? You've been quiet this past week or so."
"Yeah I'm fine," I tell him truthfully. "Just need some air."
He comes even closer to me, motioning for me to bend down when he does. I squat down, resting my hand on the arm rest of his chair.
"Your brother's going to be fine Josephine," He reassures me, "I know you don't like when people get hurt or sick. I completely understand why. But, he's going to be fine."
"Do you have any idea what's going on with him?" I ask, eyes hopeful he'd tell me.
"Bad case of mono," He explains finally. "That's what the doc said."
"When did you find that out?" I ask.
"About two days ago. Sam wasn't sure what it was when they came over last week, so I called the doctor," He explains.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to worry," He says, resting his hand over mine. "I know you two fight a lot, but I know you both are about each other deep down. Jacob is going to be fine."
I nod, "Okay." I stand up again, and start walking down the hall. "I'm going to watch the sunset."
"Be careful okay?" He says, his voice echoing off the halls. "Oh and Josephine?"
"Yeah?" I ask, and stick my head around the corner again to look at him.
"If Bella calls, he has mono, yeah?"
"Yeah," I say, my eyebrows scrunching together. "What else would I tell her?"
"I'm just checking," He says, and wheels back into his room.
That was weird. Why would I tell Bella something that wasn't what Jake had?
Unless that's not what he actually has.
But why would my dad lie? There's no reason too. If something was seriously wrong, my dad would've taken him to the hospital. And he didn't. He's kept him here, locked away in his dark room.
So why would he lie?
I take a set of keys and walk out the front door. I begin my trek toward the beach, taking the sidewalk all the way down the main road, passing Emily's in the process.
Paul's truck was there.
The front door was open, letting in the fresh air like it normally was. It felt weird to look, but I couldn't help it. I'm naturally pretty curious as to what's going on. I have been for quite some time. I could see a bunch of shirtless guys sitting at the table in the kitchen eating. I quickly look away, and continue walking down the sidewalk.
It wasn't a long walk from my house to the beach, only about ten fifteen minutes. It felt nice to go on a walk, clear your head. I don't think I've gone for a walk by myself, ever. It was nice though, for a while I was either too young, or in the stage where I had to go everywhere with my friends.
My toes hit the sand after I walk off the boardwalk. It was cool, and felt nice to dig my feet into. There weren't many people here surprisingly. But the sunset was super pretty tonight, all different sorts of colors seem to emit from it. It lit up the sky in a bright cherry orange color. It was beautiful.
I sit down not too close to the water, but close enough that I could still smell the salt. It was peaceful, I should really start coming here by myself more.
My eyes stay on the sky, watching the birds fly by, or taking in the different colors. It felt good to not have a thought about anything else besides what was in front of me. For the first time this week, I felt the anxiety dissipate from my body.
Once the sun had disappeared from the sky, I had decided it was time to walk back home. I didn't want to walk home alone in the complete dark, so I definitely had to pick up my pace this time.
I don't look at Emily's house this time when I pass it. But I could tell that there were people sitting out on her porch when I passed it. It was awkward no doubt, but this was the only way to my house. If there was another path I could've taken that wasn't directly through the dark woods, I would have taken it. Trust me.
You know when you can feel that someone's eyes were on you? That strong urge when your mind is begging you to turn around and see? Yeah, that's what was happening right now. They were all watching, and I wanted to start to run. It was so awkward.
But I walk past the tree's and so was eventually out of their sight. My body seemed to relax again. And I went back to focusing on nothing.
When I was almost home, it was pretty dark out. There was still a small amount of light in the sky, but because of the surrounding woods, it got dark quick.
The sounds of sticks snapping deep in the forest are what I heard every so often. It was almost like a pattern, I'd walk a little bit, and then sticks would snap again. Like something, or someone, was following me. I will admit I was a little freaked out, but I didn't want to let it show. I was almost home. I could see the front lights on my house up ahead.
Boom.
I jump, and quickly turn around. It was loud, and I had absolutely no idea what it was. There was no one, not an animal, or person in sight. It almost sounded like a log or something had dropped. But there was no one around.
Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I was already working myself up. If no one was around, then there couldn't be any logical explanation as to why I heard that.
I turn back around and let out a scream. A woman was standing in front of me, bright curly red hair. I didn't expect her, and I let out a laugh after.
"I'm sorry," I say, trying to catch my breath. "I didn't see you there."
"That's alright honey," She says, "I tend to be really quiet when I walk."
This woman was gorgeous. She looked like she was in her late twenties, maybe. Porcelain pale skin, not a blemish in sight, she was toned, and had a good height on her too. I honestly couldn't spot a singular flaw about her. But when my eyes landed on hers, I realized that they were red. Not the color of her hair, but red like, blood.
I suddenly get very spooked.
"Have a good night," I say and try to walk around her.
But she touches my shoulder and spins me around. My heart starts to beat uncontrollably loud, she was a lot closer than she was before.
"You smell good," She says, "What perfume do you have on?"
"I...I don't have, any on," I tell her, taking a step back. She didn't seem like she could read social cues. She was way too close to me. "I'm going to go now..."
I didn't know what to say to her. She was odd, and the way she appeared from no where really threw me off. Especially because it was at night.
"I can't let you do that," I hear her say. And I feel another hand grip down on my arm hard. She yanks me back and I let out another scream.
She wraps her hand around my mouth and stares down at me. My mind immediately went to the hikers that have gone missing. She must be the reason why.
"Pretty little thing you are," She smirks, "Too bad I'm gonna have to kill you."
No.
Tears start in my eyes, quickly dropping and running down my cheeks. This was it. She was going to kill me. My name was going to be on the list of people that have gone missing and will never return.
Fuck.
She takes her hand off my mouth, and before I can say anything she's tackled to the ground by something. It was big, and I could barely see it in the night.
Her body somehow must've hit mine, and I land against the ground with a hard thud. My eyes flash up to the thing that had tackled the red haired woman to the ground and I jump out of my spot.
It was a huge, fucking, black wolf.
They were fighting now. Like it was some sort of ongoing feud between them. It was loud, and hard to watch from all the growling, and snapping, and the large teeth the wolf had. But at the same time I couldn't look away. It was like one of those bad car accidents you'd see on the highway. You want to look away, but you can't.
Another wolf joins the black one, not even a minute later. It was just as big as the black one, and it doesn't even spot me before it tries to attack the red head. But she takes off when she notices the silvery grey one. She was out of sight in milliseconds. I blinked and she was gone.
I feel arms wrap around me and I jump once again. I try to get up out of their grasp but they were too strong.
"Let go!" I snap loudly. "Get the fuck off of me!"
"Josie," A familiar voice says in my ear. "It's me."
I turn around to see Embry, and I feel my entire body collapse. He catches me, and more uncontrollable tears come out. He hugs me tightly. I let out a sigh, that feels like it weighed a thousand pounds.
"You okay? Are you hurt?"
I shake my head into his chest.
"It's okay," He says.
"No you don't get it," I say, "There was a woman, and-and she had red eyes. And, then there was a wolf. It was huge, Embry."
"I know," He says. "I know."
"You know?" I repeat. "What are you talking about you weren't here."
"Just come with me okay?" He says with a sigh. "You'll understand when they get back."
"What?" I ask.
"Come on," He says and grabs ahold of my wrist.
"No!" I shout and pull it out of his grip. "I'm not coming with you! What do you mean when they come back?"
"Josie, I understand that this situation freaked you out. But you need to come with me, right now," Embry tells me slowly. "Please."
"Don't grab my wrist like that again," I warn him, and motion from him to walk ahead.
We don't say anything else as we start walking in the opposite direction of my house. I furiously wipe the tears from my face, and cross my arms over my chest.
What the fuck just happened? Who was that woman? And why the fuck did two wolves appear, almost tackling me in the process, and then Embry was just showed up out of no where. I don't understand.
"Are you tired?" Embry asks.
"Yeah, and freaked out," I snap at him. "I want to go home."
"You'll go home soon enough," He tells me, "Sam told me to bring you back here."
Emily's house appeared in front of me. I glance over at Embry, and then look back down at the porch. No one was sitting outside anymore.
"I really don't want to see Paul right now—"
"Trust me, you do."
We don't exchange any other words. I can't talk about whatever secret right now with Paul, and deal with whatever just happened. But it would be nice to see him. It's felt like weeks have gone by, and it's only been one.
Embry opens the screen door, and we both walk in. I was expecting it to be awkward, and everyone to be staring. But it was only Emily inside.
"Is she okay?" She asks quickly, like she knew I was in danger. But how?
How did Embry appear there when I was in trouble? I was too far away for him to hear my scream.
"She's fine."
Now I'm confused. Embry says I have to Paul, and he's not here. What is going on?
"Embry I'm so confused," I say and look at him. "What's happening?"
"I'm not the one who should explain it to you," He says, motioning for me to sit down at the circular table. So I do. "But I can understand why you're confused. It is confusing."
Emily comes over, and sits down with us. She smiles at me, and extends a glass over water. I give her a closed mouth smile to thank her.
"What exactly does he have to explain?" I ask, looking between the two.
"Many things, honestly," Embry says, "But he's spent this week trying to figure out how to tell you. But I don't think any of us were excepting, this."
"So what just happened has to do with Paul's secret?" I ask, my eyebrows linking together. "I'm so confused. Is he some kind of killer or something?"
"No," Embry says, "Nothing like that."
"I don't get it."
"You're not going to until he explains it. You might not even get it after he explains it," He says. "But then you have to come to the conclusion of whether or not you want to stay."
"Stay?" I ask him, "What do you mean stay?"
"Embry," Emily says, "You're saying too much. This is Paul's thing, he needs to explain it to her himself."
"Well when is he going to get back?" I ask, "I don't have all night to wait around for him. We have school in the morning."
"You're welcome to stay here. But I would suggest waiting up for him
Josie," Emily says and squeezes my hand. "This is important."
I let out a sigh, "Okay."
"Can I get you anything? Food, anything else besides water?"
"I'm okay Em, thank you."
After a while, it felt like Paul was never going to come back here. It was almost midnight, and my eyes were in the process of closing.
Embry went home, and Emily was in her and Sam's room just down the hall. Only the kitchen light was on, so I guess in case Paul came in the middle of the night he could still see. I don't get it, if he knew I was waiting here why would he come in the middle of the night?
I felt myself staring up at the ceiling. I've been at Emily's for about three hours now, patiently and silently waiting. This is what I wanted all week, to know what was going on with Paul. But at the same time, I wish it didn't happen like this.
Suddenly, I hear the door hinges creak. And seconds later the door swings open. I hear heavy footsteps and mumbling come from the front of the house. So I decide to sit up. It was Paul, Sam, and Jared who were all talking amongst themselves quietly.
Jared was the first one to noice me, considering Paul's back was to me. He stops Paul from talking and nods over his shoulder.
I meet Paul's eyes and it feels like everything was okay again. The anxiety and scared feeling immediately dispersed, and I suddenly and randomly felt safe again.
He walks over to me, while Jared walks out the door and Sam walks into his room to find Emily. Paul keeps his eyes glued to his feet as he walks over, and finally he looks up at me when he stands right next to me.
I move my feet so he could sit down, the leather couch dipping when he does. He looks over at me, his eyes running over every inch of my face.
"Are you okay?" He asks quietly.
"Yeah," I say in the same tone he had. My voice felt hoarse from not speaking in a while. "Where have you been?"
He sighs, looking back down at his lap. He didn't want to tell me, I could tell. But he owes me some sort of an explanation.
"Josie—"
"Paul—" We both speak at the same time. He motions for me to go first, and I lick my lips before I speak. "You don't have to tell me your, secret. I can tell you don't want to so I'm not going to force you. I know what that's like to have someone force something out of you that doesn't want to come up."
"That's not it," He says, "I want to tell you. But I'm just not sure how to. Or, how you're going to react."
"I'm going to sit here and listen," I tell him. "You did that for me, so I'll be here too."
"Josie," He whispers, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm so sorry."
I grab onto his hand, "Why are you sorry?"
"Because I dragged you into this," He says, opening his eyes again. "I dragged you into this world."
"...What?" I ask. "What world?"
"Can you let me explain first? And I'll answer any questions you have until the end?" He asks.
I nod, "Yeah."
And so he starts to explain, everything, from the very beginning.
//
what'd you guys think :)