AFTER MY RIDE HOME with the mysterious Alice and Jasper, I couldn't help but become fully engulfed in my curiosity for the Cullen family.
They were these eccentric, all-knowing beings - they were different. There had to be more to them than they were letting on. Beauty, brains, money... they had everything. But, everything came with secrets.
It was Saturday, and as far as I was concerned, sleeping was the plan. But, that was about to change as I received a text from Angela.
Hey, wanna come to La Push beach w/ us?? It'll be fun!
Sighing, I stared at the text for a few minutes. I liked Angela, and Mike was nice enough, but did I want to join them on a trip to La Push? Jessica hadn't stopped glaring at me during lunch, Eric continuously called me baby despite my complaints, and Tyler's casual flirting was growing uncomfortable, and even annoying. But, they weren't bad people. They were nice and had welcomed me with open arms. Right?
Finally, I texted back.
Sure!!! What time?
We can pick u up in 30 minutes?
I texted back a yes and my address before moving to get ready. I made sure to bundle up, knowing how cold it would be on the beach.
That was another thing I wasn't able to fathom about Forks: the god-awful beach.
I thought people went to the beach for sun, warmth, swimming... not for this town, I guess. The beach here was, apparently, almost always freezing. It was only ever warm for about a month and a half during the summer. Angela had told me all about it a day prior when she had been mentioning the small get-together.
I hadn't assumed I'd be invited. Jessica didn't like me very much, and everyone knew Jessica's word was basically the law.
After getting ready, I made my way downstairs. Expecting to see Daylin sitting at the kitchen table or on the couch, I was disappointed upon being proved otherwise. He was nowhere in sight. Yet, a small piece of paper on the table was.
I picked it up, quickly scanning over the note. It explained how a lot was going on at work and he was going to be pretty busy – even on the weekends now. I felt deflated, my brother was my closest friend. I was proud that he was working his dream job but upset that I was going to have to spend some of my weekends alone for a while.
I was so deep in thought that I didn't hear the small noise coming from my phone. Another ping went by, and then another, before a car horn managed to grab my attention.
I looked up, startled at the loud sound coming from outside. Shooting Daylin a text of my whereabouts, I rushed to the front door. As I locked it behind me, I let out a sigh. No turning back now.
The familiar sight of Tyler's van greeted me, along with Angela waving from one of the backseats. Letting out a giggle, I waved back with a warm smile.
"Hey, guys. Nice dent, Tyler. What'd you do? Hit somebody on the way over?" The gang all let out a few laughs, Tyler shaking his head with a sigh.
"That's a whole other story," he shook his head.
"La Push, baby! La push!"
"Eric, shut up! That's, like, the sixth time you've said that, in what? Fifteen minutes?"
I chuckled, shaking my head. This was going to be quite the outing.
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We drove for what felt like forever, eventually pulling into a gravel parking lot. Eric had given me a rundown of the place, how it was placed on a reservation. He explained the locals, the Quileute Tribe, and how all the kids were homeschooled. I was for once was interested in what he had to say.
As Jessica, Mike, and Eric suited up, Angela and I sat in the car, The door was open, our legs were hanging out. We spoke quietly about nothing in particular, mainly how we weren't going to surf.
"I always tell them how cold it's going to be, they never listen,"
"Sounds about right," I hummed.
"In the next fifteen minutes, they'll walk back over complaining about how freezing they are. Teeth chattering and all," Angela spoke.
"Angela! Zip me up?"
We let out a sigh at Jessica's voice, as Angela moved to help the high-maintenance girl. Of course, Jessica ignored my existence.
Looking out at the gloomy beach, I pursed my lips. It was... pretty, but not the ideal spring break destination.
"I'm gonna go on a walk. My head kind of hurts," I hoped my excuse for wanting to be alone worked, and luckily, it did.
Angela smiled at me, silently letting me know she understood. Jessica didn't look over.
So, I made my way off down the beach, inhaling the salty air that whisked around me with every step. The further I got from the group, the quieter my surroundings were. I was a good ways away from everyone. Waves crashed, seagulls sang wildly...
Perhaps the place deserved more credit. It was lovely, in its own Forks-y way, of course.
Continuing down the sandy path, I stuffed my hands in my pockets as I lost myself in the scenery. I began to whistle a broken tune, zoning out.
Taking a breather, I pursed my lips to begin again when I heard someone copy the little song I had only just created.
I slowly stopped, eyes looking around. Upon seeing no one, I shrugged it off, telling myself it was probably a bird. I continued to walk and whistle.
Seconds after I began again, I heard it – my tune repeated back to me. I halted once more, eyebrows now furrowed in confusion. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't a bird. It sounded too accurate, too human-like.
"Who's there?"
It felt like forever before I heard the rustling of some leaves. I looked towards the forest line on my right, waiting patiently, silently. It was then I noticed a quick movement amongst the trees and bushes.
Backing up, I sharply inhaled. Was someone following me? I was all alone, far from my friends. Fuck, I didn't even have my pepper spray on me...
Worst-case scenarios played throughout my mind as I took even more steps backward, my heart rate shooting up. Deciding to see if the person was still there, I took a shaky breath and whistled some more, making sure to keep it simple yet specific.
As I projected the last little note, I waited with bated breath to hear the copycat...
"Boo!"
Letting out a scream at the sudden voice behind me, I rushed forward, tripping on my own two feet. I was nearly about to eat sand when the person behind me grabbed my arm, stabilizing me.
Laughter erupted from the stranger holding my arm, but also from the tree line.
"Man, you should've seen her face, Quil!"
"I think we might've freaked her out, dude,"
Now able to stand on my own, I stumbled to back away. On either side of me, there stood two cackling males. I took a good look at them.
Both were very similar in appearance. Short, choppy black hair, russet-colored skin, and dark eyes. I was still holding my hands up to my chest as I panted, obviously still freaked out.
"You know, girls don't necessarily like being followed by strangers."
It took a few more moments for them to calm down.
"The opportunity was just too good to pass up,"
"Yeah, we're sorry. Embry likes makin' a lasting impression."
Narrowing my eyes, I huffed. Silence overtook me, as I waited for a further explanation.
"I hope we didn't freak you out too bad though, seriously. I'm Embry, the master copycat is Quil."
I looked at the boy who emerged from the trees, watching as he half-heartedly waved. I nodded, my shoulders beginning to relax. I could feel that they were down to earth.
"Why were you two following me?" Curiosity controlled me as I spoke.
They'd just been so sneaky. Then again, I never was the best at paying attention to my surroundings. Embry smirked.
"We were on our way to hang out with some friends on the other side of the rez, and we saw you walkin' all on your lonesome. So, we decided we'd, you know, introduce ourselves-"
"Embry insisted we do it his way. Gotta make the first meeting count, right?" Quil offered. His voice was softer than his friend's.
"Right," I grinned.
"What's your name? We've never seen you before. New to town?"
Looking back at Embry, I nodded. Was it that obvious?
"Yeah, I'm Evelyn. Nice to meet y'all," I held out a hand for them to shake, still keeping my manners in mind.
Embry took my hand in his, his grasp gentle. I instantly was caught off guard. His skin, it was hot. Like, really hot. It felt as though he'd been sitting in the sun for hours on end. Yet, the sun was nowhere to be found.
"Nice to meet you, Evelyn. Where you from?" he asked.
"Georgia,"
The boys raised their eyebrows at this.
"Big move! Well, Evelyn, welcome to Forks. Are you liking it so far?" Embry asked as we slowly began to walk towards the direction of Tyler's van.
"Um... Yes? I think. It's so... eery. But, it's nice,"
"Yeah, the weather can kinda suck. But you'll grow to like it. Maybe... What's got you walking on the beach by yourself?" he inquired. He looked down at me, and I realized how tall both boys were.
"I came with some friends but I wanted some alone time. Guess that didn't work out," I giggled, the two joining in.
"Yeah, guess not. Seriously, we didn't mean to freak you out," Quil insisted in a sheepish tone, rubbing the back of his neck. I shrugged.
"No, y'all are fine. Like Embry said, lasting first impression, right?"
They seemed happy with how well I was taking their little prank.
"Right," Embry nodded, before looking forward. He seemed to notice how close we were getting to the group, a few still sitting at the car while others attempted to surf. Neither Quil nor Embry looked too enthused to see them.
"Hey, uh, if you ever wanna come by the reservation to hang out with us, that'd be cool. It's nice to have a new face around," Quil began, looking over at Embry for confirmation. The other nodded, looking for the right words.
"Yeah, totally. We'll introduce you to some of our other friends. Warning, they can all be major assholes-"
"Oh, you're one to talk, Embry," Quil interrupted, crossing his arms. Embry shot him a playful glare.
"Hey! I'm not an asshole, I'm just honest!"
"Honestly an asshole," Quil seemed to think he was funny, and I did too. Embry, however, did not. He jumped for his friend, and a chase broke out as they wrestled. I continued to laugh at their boyish behavior. It was refreshing how laid-back and approachable they both were. It seemed like most teenagers in Forks had a sort of judgmental undertone. But not them.
Getting one good wet-willy on Quil, Embry stopped his pursuit with a proud look. Quil was less than happy about the outcome but shoved it aside as we approached the others.
Jessica, Mike, and Eric had just come back from their failed surfing adventure. Angela was the only one to notice my return, along with the stragglers I'd picked up along the way.
"Hey guys," I cleared my throat, "this is Quil and Embry. I met them on my walk. They, uh, they actually live around here."
Everyone looked over, reactions stale. No greetings, no overly friendly introductions.
"I think we've met before actually. A while back, when we had that bonfire here," Mike spoke up, smiling at the two.
"Yeah, I remember that. You guys love bringing the new people here, huh?" Embry joked.
Mike looked down, tight-lipped as he nodded reluctantly, "Guess so."
"Wow, just like Bella. Found her very own reservation besties," Jessica muttered, voice still loud enough for me to hear.
"You guys invited Bella here, too?"
"Yeah, last year. But then she ditched us, for the Cullens," Mike scoffed.
The tension grew thick the second he mentioned the infamous family. I bit my bottom lip, thinking over my next words carefully. It was obvious that this was a sore topic.
"Well, she's just dating Edward, I'm sure she would still hang out with you guys if you asked-"
"We have. It's like some weird cult, Evelyn. She always has plans with them. It's like she can't leave his side for five seconds or she'll die, or something," Mike was speaking more now than he ever had before.
He seemed jealous, but I knew why. Bella had mentioned the crush he'd harbored for her.
"Maybe try inviting Edward too. It shouldn't be that big of a deal,"
"The Cullens don't come to La Push," he cut me off, fists clenched as he stared at Quil and Embry, almost like he was looking for backup, "right, guys?"
As soon as Mike had said that the Cullens didn't come to the beach, I felt the boys next to me tense up. Embry was the one to nod, arms crossed.
"Yeah."
We all fell silent after this. It was Eric who finally broke the tension, standing up as he began to ramble on about lunch plans. I zoned out, unable to care.
The rest of my day went by in a daze, my mind in a quiet frenzy. At one point, Quil and Embry had to leave. I barely remembered saying goodbye to them.
All I could think about was what Mike had said.
"The Cullens don't come to La Push."
Why didn't they? I tried to rationalize a solid answer, but Embry's firm yet vague response left me at a loss.
When Mike mentioned the Cullens, my new friends seemed on edge. If I hadn't been suspicious of the family before, I certainly was now.
—edited
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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know it probably wasn't super-duper exciting, but hey, I gotta give my Quileute boys the entrance they deserve!
So, how do you guys feel about Quil and Embry?Do you like their friendship with Evelyn?
Thoughts on Mike's rant about Bella and the Cullens?Let me know how you felt about this chapter in the comments, I love hearing what y'all have to say about the story so far!
~ May 🖤