︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
BAILEY WAS BEGINNING TO THINK that Bella's attachment to Jacob wasn't entirely harmless. There were things, in the way that Bella acted or spoke that drew some parallels to how she was with Edward. There was a new dependency forming. It wasn't as if her nightmares had gone away, but Bailey had noticed that on the days they didn't visit Jacob (those being few and far between now) Bella's nightmares would return with avengeance. This was only a theory though as Bailey couldn't be entirely certain about was what going on in Bella's mind. But if things continued the way that they were... it wasn't going to end well.
Jacob was waiting for them as they pulled up in the truck.
"Hey, girls," he called.
Bella smiled in relief. "Hey Jacob," she waved at Billy, who was looking out the window.
"Let's get to work," Jacob said in a low but eager voice.
Bella laughed. "You seriously aren't sick of us yet?" she wondered He must have been starting to ask himself how desperate she was for the company.
Jacob led the way around the house to his garage.
"Nope. Not yet."
"Please let me know when we start getting on your nerves," Bailey said candidly. She was aware of the effect she had on people sometimes but found it extremely difficult to attempt improvement if they never told her how they felt. People had a tendency to keep things themselves and expect her to adjust without any direction.
Jacob paused for a moment as he looked at her. Before he laughed, a throaty sound. "Sure, Bails. But I wouldn't hold your breath for that, though."
When they walked into the garage, Bailey rose a shocked eyebrow when she saw the red bike standing up, looking like a motorcycle rather than a pile of jagged metal.
"Jake, you're amazing," Bella breathed.
He laughed again. "I get obsessive when I have a project." He shrugged. "If I had any brains I'd drag it out a little bit."
"Why?"
He looked down, pausing for so long Bella wondered if he hadn't heard her questions. finally, he asked her, "Bella, if I told you that I couldn't fix these bikes, what would you say?"
She didn't answer right away, either, and he glanced up to check her expression.
"I would say... that's too bad, but I'll bet we could figure out something else to do. If we got really desperate, we could even do homework."
"You don't do homework out of desperation, you do it because it's fun," Bailey exclaimed.
"I think you might be one of the only people in the world who associates homework with fun, Bails," Jacob smiled and his shoulder relaxed. He sat down next to the bike and picked up a wrench turning to Bella. "So you think you'll both still come over when I'm done, then?"
"Is that what you meant?" Bella shook her head. "I guess I am taking advantage of your very underpriced mechanical skills. But as long as you let me come over, I'll be here."
"Hoping to see Quil again?" he teased.
"You caught me."
He chuckled. "You really like spending time with me?" he asked, marvelling.
"Very, very much. And I'll prove it. I have to work tomorrow, but Wednesday we'll do something nonmechanical."
"Like what?"
"I have no idea. We can go to my place so you won't be tempted to be obsessive—"
"You should bring your schoolwork. This is all very time-consuming so I'm assuming its bee affecting your academic performance." Bailey suggested.
"Homework might be a good idea." He made a face. How much was he leaving undone for this project?
"Yes," Bella agreed. "We'll have to start being responsible occasionally, or Billy and Charlie aren't going to be easygoing about this."
Bella made a gesture indicating the three of them as a single entity. He liked that—Jacob beamed.
"Homework once a week?" he proposed.
Upon seeing the glare on Bailey's face Bella quickly suggested, "Maybe we'd better go with twice?"
Bailey nodded firmly. Jacob sighed a heavy sigh. Then he reached over his toolbox to a paper grocery sack. He pulled out three cans of soda, handing one to Bella, and a second one to Bailey.
"I'm not thirsty," Bailey said. Not understanding Jacob's intentions with these soda cans.
"Humour me," Jacob replied. "You don't have to drink it."
So, Bailey didn't drink it. Jacob opened his can and held it up ceremoniously.
"Here's to responsibility," he toasted. "Twice a week."
"And recklessness every day in between," Bella emphasized.
Jacob grinned and he touched his can with hers. They both turned to Bailey who was still gripping her can, her eyes drifting anyway as she didn't join in with the toast. She wasn't sure why they were toasting. After all, it originated from Greek and Roman tradition where they left offerings to the gods, including alcoholic beverages, during celebrations and commonly after death. Were Bella and Jacob celebrating the death of something? Did they plan on offering something to made-up gods?
Bella and Jacob made some efforts to explain, but Bailey still didn't understand its relevance.
Bailey and Bella got home later than they had planned and found Charlie had ordered a pizza rather than wait for them. Bailey was on her way to her pick-up a piece when she spotted something quite interesting laying on the kitchen table. It looked like a report that Charlie was writing about, from the little time she had to look over it she saw that it was a missing person's case that resulted in the victim being found dead in the woods, near the border of La Push. The evidence concluded that it was an animal attack. The lacerations and teeth marks allowed the investigation to determine that a bear had done the damage.
"Hm." Bailey pressed her lips together in a firm line. She put down the report and retreated to her room with a slice of pizza and this newfound knowledge. Something about it didn't sit well with her, a few things that weren't adding together as smoothly as they should. And with the fact that it had happened so close to La Push... Bailey sat in her room contemplating. The facts of the matter were as follows, she was only acquainted with Paul Lahote. Despite that, she could recognize that there was a part of her that didn't want to believe that he was involved with this. Maybe he wasn't.
Bailey took out her Dell computer and started researching. Bear attacks in Washington state, reviewing pictures and trying to piece together if maybe she was just overreacting.
"Bailey, Mom wants to know how you're doing." Bella walked up the stairs of the attic that had been transformed into Bailey's room by Charlie a year ago.
Bailey clicked off the webpage, set her computer aside and turned to face Bella. Bella showed her the email from Renee. She gushed over every detail Bella had provided her, so Bella sent back another exhaustive description of their day. Everything but the motorcycle. Even happy-go-lucky Renee was likely to be alarmed by that.
On Tuesday after school, Bailey went back to her research gathering as much information as she could. The differences between bear attacks are grisly, black, hell even polar bears. She looked at other animals that could be responsible including mountain lions, and coyotes. Then finally, she started looking at wolf attacks. But none of them added up to what she had briefly seen in those pictures.
"An animal didn't do this," Bailey surmised out loud. Her thoughts raced as her mind went back to the events of last year. For a moment she remembered the hungry look in Jasper's eyes earlier this year. There were certain things that a human could do that animal couldn't, certain positions, attacks and methods... but vampires had both human and animal-like characteristics. For someone who didn't know they existed a vampire attack could easily be mistaken for some kind of animal.
Bailey let out a jagged breath. She had just discovered that there was a vampire in town and unfortunately they weren't like the Cullens. Whoever this was, they craved human blood. She shut her book, turned off the library computer and got up from her seat. Bailey made her way out of the library and one thing came to mind—Bella could not find out, not now at least.
⍣ ೋ
The next night, Charlie didn't seem the smallest bit surprised to find Jacob and Bella sprawled across the living room floor with Bailey standing before them pacing as she carefully reviewed their work.
"Hey, kids," he said, his eyes straying to the kitchen. The smell of lasagna Bella'd spent the afternoon making—while Jacob watched and Bailey occasionally sampled—wafted down the hall; Belal was being good trying to atone for all the pizza.
Jacob stayed for dinner and took a plate home for Billy. He grudgingly added another year to Bella's negotiable age for being a good cook.
Friday went by without anything memorable and Saturday, after Bella's shift at Newton's, was homework again. Charlie felt secure enough in Bella's newfound sanity to spend the day fishing with Harry. When he got back, they were all gone with their homework—feeling very sensible and mature about it, too—and watching Monster Garage on the Discovery Channel; Bailey had her nose deep in a book while sitting on the couch with them.
"I probably ought to go." Jacob sighed. "It's later than I thought."
"Okay, fine," Bella grumbled. "I'll take you home."
He laughed at her unwilling expression—it seemed to please him. Bailey got up and followed them without a word. There was still the matter of a vampire being present and she didn't know who the hell it was. There was the possibility this person was tied to the Cullens, or they were just passing nomads like James and his crew last year. Either way, vampires seemed... uncomfortably drawn to Bella because of the scent of her blood. Bailey didn't exactly have a plan of taking down if they did run into a vampire but strength in numbers, right?
"Tomorrow, back to work," Bella said as soon as they were safe in the truck. "What time do you want us to come up?"
There was an unexplained excitement in his answering smile. "I'll call you first, okay?"
"Sure." Bella frowned to herself, wondering what was up. Jacob's smile widened.
The next morning Bella was cleaning the house—waiting for Jacob to call.
Bailey was flipping through her notes on vampires. The only known weakness that she had written down was fire. However, it would be inconvenient to have to constantly blow up buildings in order to kill or defend herself from a vampire so she had to find something more portable.
Charlie was outside washing the cruiser when the phone rang, Bella dropped the toilet brush and ran downstairs to answer it.
Bailey looked up from her notes when she heard the phone, it had to be Jacob. She got up and went downstairs to find Bella in the middle of a conversation with him.
"They're done? I can't believe it!" she exclaimed happily. When she spotted Bailey she moved the phone between the two of them so they could both hear Jacob's reply.
"Yeah, they run and everything."
"Jacob, you're absolutely, without a doubt, the most talented and wonderful person I know. You get ten years for this one."
"Cool! I'm middle-aged now."
Bella laughed. "We're on our way up!"
She threw the clearing supplies under the bathroom counter and grabbed her jacket.
"Headed to see Jake," Charlie said when his daughters walked past him. It wasn't really a question.
"Yep," Bella replied and jumped in the truck.
"I'll be at the station later," Charlie called after them.
"Okay," Bella yelled back, turning the key.
She parked the truck off the side of the Blacks' house, close to the trees, to make it easier for them to sneak the bikes out. When they got out, a splash of colour caught their eyes—two motorcycles, one red and one black were under a spruce, invisible from the house. Jacob was prepared.
There was a piece of blue ribbon tied to the small bow around each of the handlebars. Bella was laughing at that when Jacob ran out of the house.
"Ready?" he asked in a low voice, his eyes sparkling.
"Where's the safety equipment?" Bailey asked. "Helmets, padding?"
"Everything's present and accounted for Bailey." Jacob pointed behind him to a bag, sticking out of it Bailey could make out the top of a helmet. She nodded approvingly but continued to proceed with caution.
Jacob loaded the bikes into the bed of the truck with ease, laying them carefully on their sides so they didn't show.
"Let's go," he said, his voice higher than usual with excitement. "I know the perfect spot—no one will catch us there."
They drove south out of town. The dirt road wove in and out of the forest—sometimes there was nothing but trees, and then there would suddenly be a breathtaking glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, reaching the horizon, dark gray under the clouds. The three of them were above the shore, on top of the cliffs that border the beach here and the view seemed to stretch on forever.
Bella was driving slowly so that she could safely stare out across the ocean now and then, as the road wound closer to the sea cliffs. Bailey tried to stay composed, forcing herself not to snap at Jacob who was talking about finishing the bikes, his descriptions getting technical; he talked about everything but the consequences of doing this and that was beginning to anger Bailey.
That was when Bella noticed four figures standing don't a rocky ledge, much too close to the precipice. She couldn't tell from the distance how old they were but assumed they were men. Despite the chill in the air that day, they seemed to be wearing only shorts.
As she watched, the tallest stepped closer to the brink. She slowed automatically, her foot hesitating over the brake pedal. And then he threw himself off the edge.
"No!" Bella shouted, stomping down on the brake.
Bailey flinched as she was jerked forward from the sudden stop.
"What's wrong?" Jacob shouted back, alarmed.
"That guy—he just jumped off the cliff! Why didn't they stop him? We've got to call an ambulance!"
Bella threw open her door and started to get out, which made no sense at all. The fastest way to a phone was to drive back to Billy's. But she couldn't believe what she'd just seen.
Jacob laughed, and she spun to stare at him wildly. How could he be so calloused, so cold-blooded?
"They're just cliff diving, Bella. Recreation. La Push doesn't have a mall, you know." He was teasing, but there was a strange note of irritation in his voice.
"Cliff diving?" Bella repeated, dazed.
Bailey looked out at the cliffs. She spotted a figure step to the edge, pausing and then very gracefully leaping into space. He fell for what seemed like an eternity, finally cutting smoothly into the dark gray waves below.
"Wow. It's so high." Bella slid back into her seat, still staring wide-eyed at the two remaining divers. "It must be a hundred feet."
"Well, yeah, most of us jump from lower down, that rock that juts out from the cliff about halfway." He pointed out his window. The place he indicated did seem much more reasonable. "Those guys are insane. Probably showing off how tough they are. I mean, really, it's freezing today. That water can't feel good."
He made a disgruntled face as if the stunt personally offended him. Bailey stared at him. It surprised her a little. She would have thought Jacob was nearly impossible to upset.
"You jump off the cliff?" Bailey hadn't missed the "us." Jacob had gone cliff diving before? Was it on his own? With others... with Paul? Was he the friend Paul had talked about in his cliff jumping story, the one who had belly-flopped trying to show off?
"Sure, sure." He shrugged and grinned. "It's fun. A little scary, kind of a rush."
Bella looked back at the cliffs, where the third figure was pacing the edge. She'd never witnessed anything so reckless in all her life. Her eyes widened, and she smiled. "Jake, you have to take me cliff diving."
"Absolutely not." Bailey shot down immediately.
Jacob frowned back at Bella, his face also disapproving. "Bella, you just wanted to call an ambulance for Sam," he reminded her.
Bailey was surprised he could tell who it was from this distance.
"I want to try," Bella insisted, starting to get out of the car again.
Jacob grabbed her wrist. "Not today, all right? Can we at least wait for a warmer day?"
"Okay, fine," Bella agreed. With the door open, the glacial breeze was raising goosebumps on her arm. "But I want to go soon."
"Soon." He rolled his eyes. "Sometimes you're a little strange, Bella. Do you know that?"
Bella sighed. "Yes."
"And we're not jumping off the top."
Bella watched, fascinated. The third boy made a running start and flung himself farther into the empty air than the other two. He twisted and cartwheeled through the space as he fell like he was skydiving. He looked absolutely free—unthinking and utterly irresponsible.
"Fine," Bella agreed. "not the first time anyway."
Now Jacob sighed.
"Are we going to try the bikes or not?" he demanded.
"Okay, okay," Bella said, tearing her eyes away from the last person waiting on the cliff. She put her seatbelt back on and closed the door. The engine still running, roaring. They started down the road again.
"So who were those guys—the crazy ones?" Bella wondered.
Jacob made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "The La Push gang."
"You have a gang?" Bailey questioned, both of her eyebrows had raised.
He laughed at her reaction. "Not like that. I swear, they're like hall monitors gone bad. They don't start fights, they keep the peace." He snorted. "There was this guy from somewhere by the Makah rez, a big guy too, scary-looking. Well, word got around that he was selling meth to kids, and Sam Uley and his disciples ran him off our land. They're all about our land and tribe pride... it's getting ridiculous. The worst part is that the council takes them seriously. Embry said that the council actually meets with Sam." He shook his head, face full of resentment. "Embry also heard from Leah Clearwater that they call themselves 'protectors' or something like that."
Jacob's hands were clenched into fists as if he'd like to hit something. Both Bailey and Bella had never seen this side of him.
"Why don't you like them?" Bailey blurted out. Nothing he had said shed any negative light on Sam Uley or his "disciples". So why was Jacob having this aggressive reaction to speaking about them?
"Does it show?" he asked sarcastically.
"Very clearly," Bailey answered plainly.
"Well... It doesn't sound like they're doing anything bad." Bella tried to soothe him, to make him cheerful again. "Just sort of annoyingly goody-two-shoes for a gang."
"Yeah. Annoying is a good word. They're always showing off—like the cliff thing. They act like...like, I don't know. Like, tough guys. I was hanging out at the store with Embry and Quil once, last semester, and Sam came by with his followers, Jared and Paul—" Bailey's eyes widened at the mention of his name—"Quil said something, you know he's got a big mouth, and it pissed Paul off. His eyes got all dark, and he sort of smiled—no, he showed his teeth but didn't smile—and it was like he was so mad he was shaking or something. But Sam put his hand against Paul's chest and shook his head. Paul looked at him for a minute and calmed down. Honestly, it was like Sam was holding him back—like Paul was going to tear us up if Sam didn't stop him." He groaned. "Like a bad western. You know, Sam's a pretty big guy, he's twenty. But Paul's just sixteen. Sure, he's big too but we're around the same height. I think we could've taken him."
Bailey thought back to that evening in Seattle with Paul. How he'd gotten angry when she mentioned Jasper almost killed her. She glanced back at Jacob. "That still doesn't explain why you hate them. Maybe you're jealous? Boys have a tendency to be envious of other boys they deem to be more masculine than them."
"Jealous?" Jacob scoffed.
"It's just a theory." Bailey looked away.
Bella spoke quickly to divert the conversation from Jacob's possible jealousy. "Isn't Sam a little too old for this kind of thing?"
"Yeah. He was supposed to go to college, but he stayed. And no one gave him any crap about it, either. The whole council pitched a fit when my sister turned down a partial scholarship and got married. But, oh no, Sam Uley can do no wrong."
His face was set in unfamiliar lines of outrage.
"I see. You're not jealous that he might be more of a so-called 'man' than you, you're jealous that he gets special treatment?" Bailey said not noticing Jacob clenching his jaw. "But wouldn't his contribution to keeping your land safe be a good reason for his treatment? Like you said before if it wasn't for his gang some guy might still be selling meth to kids. I think that you're taking this too personally. Nothing—"
"You just missed the turn," Jacob said in an even voice. He was suddenly calm, staring out the side window.
Bella executed a very wide U-turn, nearing hitting a tree as her circle ran the truck halfway off the road.
"Thanks for the heads-up," she muttered as she started up the side road.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
It was quiet for a brief moment.
"You can stop anywhere along here," he said softly.
Bella pulled over and cut the engine. The three of them got out and Jacob headed around the back to get the bikes. Bella looked at Bailey, "I think you hit a nerve before."
"I did?" Bailey replied. She looked back to find Jacob smiling as he pushed the ride bike to Bella's side. Had she struck a nerve? He was smiling so she initially was thinking otherwise. But it was entirely possible that his smile was fake, if it was he was very good at faking.
"Happy late birthday. Are you ready for this?"
"I think so." The bike suddenly looked intimidating, frightening, as Bella realized how she would soon astride it.
"We'll take it slow," he promised. Bella gingerly leaned the motorcycle against the truck's fender while he went to get his.
"Jake..." She hesitated as he came back around the truck.
"Yeah?"
"What's really bothering you? About the Sam thing, I mean? Is there something else?" She watched his face.
He grimaced, but he didn't seem angry. He looked at the first and kicked his shoe against the front tyre of his bike again and again like he was keeping time.
Jacob sighed. "It's just... the way they treat me. It creeps me out." The words started to rush out now. "You know, the council is supposed to be made up of equals, but if there was a leader, it would be my dad. I've never been able to figure out why people treat him the way they do. Why his opinion counts the most. It got something to dow ith his father and his father's father. My great-grandpa, Ephraim Black, was sort of the last chief we had, and they still listen to Billy, maybe because of that. But I'm just like everyone else. Nobody treats me special... until now."
That caught Bella off guard. "Sam treats you special?"
"Yeah," he agreed, looking up at her with troubled eyes. "He looks at me like he's waiting for something... like I'm going to join his stupid gang someday. He pays more attention to me than any of the other guys. I hate it."
"I don't understand. Because he treats you special that angers you?" Bailey asked. "Or is it the possibility of him trying to recruit you that angers you more? Which I still don't understand because this said 'gang' doesn't appear to be the bad guys here."
"It doesn't matter. Jacob doesn't have to join anything." Bella's voice was angry. This was really upsetting Jacob, and that infuriated her. Who did these "protectors" think they were?
Bailey glanced at her. "Maybe we shouldn't make any conclusions without all the facts," she muttered.
Jacob's foot kept up its rhythm against the tire.
"What?" Bella could tell there was more.
He frowned, his eyebrows pulling up in a way that looked sad and worried rather than angry. "It's Embry. He's been avoiding me lately."
"You've been hanging out with me a lot," Bella reminded him, feeling selfish. She'd been monopolizing him.
"No, that's not it. It's not just me—it's Quil, too, and everyone. Embry missed a week of school, but he was never home when we tried to see him. And when he came back, he looked... he looked freaked out. Terrified. Quil and I tried to get him to tell us what was wrong, but he would talk to either one of us."
Bailey narrowed her eyes as she carefully examined Jacob. He didn't look at her or Bella. He watched his own feet kicking the rubber as if it belonged to someone else. The tempo increased. She pushed up her clear glasses (today she was wearing them). She was beginning to see, and recognize that Jacob was really frightened.
"Then this week, out of nowhere, Embry's hanging out with Sam and the rest of them. He was out on the cliffs today." His voice was low and tense.
He finally looked at Bella. "They bugged him even more than they bother me. He didn't want anything to do with them. And now Embry's following Sam around like he joined a cult. And that's the way it was with Paul. Just the same. He wasn't friends with Sam at all. Then he stopped coming to school for a few weeks, and, when he came back, suddenly Sam owned him. I don't know what it means. I can't figure it out, and I feel like I have to, because Embry's my friend and... Sam's looking at me funny... and..." He trailed off.
"Have you talked to Billy about this?" Bella asked. His horror was spreading to her. She had chills running on the back of her neck.
Now there was anger on his face. "Yes," he snorted. "That was helpful."
"What did he say?"
Jacob's expression was sarcastic, and when he spoke, his voice mocked the deep tones of his father's voice. "It's nothing you need to worry about now, Jacob. In a few years, if you don't... well, I'll explain later." And then his voice was his own. "What am I supposed to get from that? Is he trying to say it's some stupid puberty, coming-of-age thing? This is something else. Something wrong."
He was biting his lower lip and clenching his hands. He looked like he was about to cry. Bella threw her arms around him instinctively, wrapping them around his waist and pressing her face against his chest. He was so big, she felt like she was a child hugging a grown-up.
Bailey reached forward and tapped Jacob's back a few times, in what she thought was a comforting way.
"Oh, Jake, it'll be okay!" Bella promised. "If it gets worse you can come live with us. Don't be scared, we'll think of something!"
He froze for a second and then his long arms wrapped hesitantly around her.
"I'm sorry for saying you were jealous," Bailey said.
"Thanks, both of you." His voice was huskier than usual.
Now that Jacob had revealed everything Bailey now had a full understanding of the situation. But she needed a way to confirm or else everything would just be speculation. She waited until Jacob and Bella were busy with the motorcycles and slipped away. Walked, not too far a distance, back to where they had seen the "La Push gang" by the cliffs. She stood at the end of the road, close to the edge and looked down at the water. She had absolutely no intentions of jumping. Instead, she picked up a rock and tossed it over the edge just as the wind blew.
At the bottom she saw a figure move, looking up at where she stood. She crouched down, and picked up another rock, pretending as if she didn't notice him, she tossed another rock off. After a few moments, she got up and walked away again back to Jacob and Bella. That should've been enough to get his attention.
⍣ ೋ
Monday after she was done with school Bailey walked out of the building to find his SUV parked out front. This time he wasn't hiding inside of it but instead sitting on the steps of the school. He actually dressed appropriately for the weather today. He wore wearing black jeans, a dark hoodie, and a dark jean jacket over top with sneakers. Bailey stopped on the step right above the one he was sitting on. Instead of turning around, Paul leaned back to look up at her. She stared into his dark eyes.
"So, how was your weekend, Angel?" he asked.
"How was yours?" Bailey asked in return. "No hypothermia?"
Paul chuckled. He leaned forward again, straightening himself before standing. Bailey was standing a step above him but still had to look up at him.
"I knew it was you up there yesterday. What were you doing by the cliffs?"
"Jacob's teaching my sister to ride a motorcycle. I'm tagging along to make sure they don't die horrifically." Bailey answered honestly. When Paul started to walk toward his car she followed him. "I actually have a few questions for you regarding Jacob."
"Billy's kid, right?" Paul didn't stop at the driver's door. Instead, he went to the other side and opened Bailey's door for her.
"Unnecessary," Bailey told him as she climbed inside. "But thank you."
Paul smiled and shut her door. Bailey watched him walk around the front before getting in and starting the car. He pulled out of the school's parking lot and before he spoke, "What's your relationship with Jacob Black?"
"Friends, I suppose."
"I thought you said you didn't have friends anymore."
Bailey nodded. "Which was true at the time. But recently Bella and I have been spending a lot more time with Jacob. So that recategorizes us as friends. He's nice but sometimes his feelings for Bella make me feel excluded. Although I'm also not a very social being so even if I were constantly included I wouldn't have a lot to say."
"If you feel excluded you should tell them about it," Paul told her. He clenched his steering leather wheel so it made a small sound. "Of I could tell them for you."
Bailey shook her head. "No, no, that wouldn't be a good idea. Jacob sort of hates you. Well, he hates your whole 'gang'."
"Gang?" Paul snorted. "What gang?"
"The La Push gang, founded and led by Sam Uley. Which is also something I wanted to ask you about." Bailey looked at him. Paul was suddenly quiet while staring out onto the open road. They were sort of just driving around, no destination in sight which Bailey didn't mind. She didn't want their conversation to get interrupted and would rather it be the two of them alone.
"Hm." Paul exhaled.
"Why is Embry no longer talking to his friends? I've met him once before. He's nice, quiet. He's Jacob's friend and Jacob's worried about him."
"How should I know?" Paul's response was short, his tone distant and cold.
"Because Jacob said the same thing happened to you. You stopped showing up to school, then started following Sam around, whom you weren't friends with before." Bailey said. "I would like an answer."
"Well, if Embry's not talking to his friends. Maybe they had a fight or something."
"Jacob didn't mention a fight."
"Maybe you shouldn't just believe everything Jacob Black says. Two sides to every story right?" Paul continued to clench his steering wheel. Bailey looked him over, his body had stiffened.
"Then what's the second side?"
"That's not my story to tell."
Bailey narrowed her eyes. "Really? You're going to make me get to the bottom of this on my own? Just so you know I already have my suspicions. I can get my answers with or without you but I decided to ask you because—well, because for some reason even though I barely know you I trust you and wanted to hear what you had to say. But I guess you don't trust me so, you can just take me home." She leaned back and crossed her arms.
There was a moment of silence before Paul sighed. He pulled over on the road and parked.
"Maybe this isn't about trust, Angel, maybe this is about just not being able to tell you anything. Not yet at least." This time his voice was a lot warmer than before, gentler. Bailey still had her arms crossed, but could feel it when he leaned forward; his warm body temperature radiated off of him.
"Can you tell me why you follow Sam Uley?"
"No."
"Can you tell me how you met him?"
"He was always just around. So I knew of him before..." Paul trailed off. He couldn't say anymore.
"Did he give you special treatment?"
"Special treatment?"
"Jacob said that Sam gave Embry special treatment and then Embry starts following him around. Now, Sam seems to be giving Jacob special treatment. If the same thing happened to you then that's not a coincidence, it's a pattern."
Paul sighed, wiping his forehead in an upward motion that followed with him licking his hair back. He gazed down at Bailey, it looked like he was about to say something but then he fell silent again. He leaned closer to her again and Bailey fought the urge to look away from his eyes.
"You don't have to say anything out loud," she said, her voice very low a mere whisper. "Just nod, yes or no?"
Before Paul had a chance to do or say anything there was a knock at his window. The two teens looks away from each other and out his window where they saw a police officer standing there. Bailey looked behind the SUV and saw a police cruiser parked behind them with its lights flashing. She furrowed her eyebrows.
Paul rolled down his window. "Can I help you, officer?"
"License and registration," the officer said without skipping a beat.
"Sure," Paul mumbled under his breath, there was a bit of attitude in his tone as he slowly reached over Bailey's lap to the glove compartment.
"What are you doing?" Bailey asked him. "You don't have to do that. He can't do this without probable cause."
"It's fine." Paul shut the compartment and turned over his documents. "The car belongs to my dad. We have the same last name."
"Uh-huh," the officer said, looking over the document. He held them up as if to try and see if they were real or not. "What are you doing on the side of the road, son?"
"We're just having a conversation. Didn't want to drive while distracted." Paul answered calmly.
"Is there a reason for the questions? We haven't done anything, we're not involved in any crimes and I'm fairly certain being parked means that we haven't violated any driving laws."
"Just a routine stop, ma'am."
"Routine stop? Since when?" Bailey continued. "I realize that you're under no obligation to tell that if you have suspicions. However, if there is actually no reason for you to be here then you're in violation of the law you're apparently supposed to enforce."
"It's fine," Paul tried to get her to calm down. But Bailey wasn't stopping anytime soon. She continued to badger the police officer to the point that it looked like he was getting annoyed. Paul's eyes watched him reach for his holster.
"—in fact, what's your badge number? I'm going to report you for this because this is just ridiculous!"
"I can gladly take you and him down to the station in handcuffs if that's what you'd like." It was very clear that the officer was angry now.
"Now you're threatening to arrest a couple of minors for no reason? That's it, I'm calling Charlie." Bailey quickly reached for her pocket and Paul's eyes widened. He grabbed her arm before she did anything stupid. Was she insane? Just reaching for her pocket like in front of a defensive police officer? Was she trying to get herself killed?
"Charlie?" The officer said.
Bailey's attention was focused on Paul who had suddenly grabbed her; she didn't like being touched very much. She shook her arm out of his grip and looked at the officer. "Yeah, my dad, Charlie Swan."
"You're one of Chief Swan's daughters?"
"Yes."
That was enough for them to be let go with an apology for a "misunderstanding". Paul waited until the officer drove away before he turned to Bailey.
"What's the matter with you?" he exclaimed angrily.
Bailey blinked. "What?"
"Bailey that's not how you act in front of the police? Yelling at him? Arguing? Reaching for your pocket!"
Bailey stared at him with wide eyes. She put her hands together, her lips pressed into a firm line. "Do you hate me?" she asked in an unsure voice.
"Huh?" Paul looked at her confused.
"You're raising your voice and you called me Bailey. Bella said that pet names are nicknames that you give to the person that you like, if you're not using it anymore then that means you don't like me anymore, right?"
"What? No, I just—I don't hate you. But, shit, I mean you almost got us killed back there."
"But you're a werewolf, I hardly doubt a bullet would kill you."
"Still, you could've easily caught a bullet and then what—" Paul stopped abruptly and stared at Bailey. "What did you just say?"
"You're a werewolf, aren't you?"
"Okay, first of all, no. I'm not a werewolf. And second, if I were that doesn't matter because what you did was stupid. I mean it's common sense. You just go along with what the police says, everyone, knows that."
"But what he did was against the law."
"Okay, look. I'm a big, stunningly attractive, but also intimidating native dude in a black SUV with a cute little white girl. How do you think that looks?" Paul asked her. "Common sense."
"Stop it! Stop saying that!" Bailey snapped. "Stop saying 'common sense' when it's not common sense! I wasn't the one in the wrong! He was. So why are you mad at me? I don't get it!"
"Well, how else do you want me to put it?"
"Not like that!" Bailey argued. "You saying that makes me feel dumb!"
"Well, what you did back there was kind of dumb," Paul argued back.
Bailey glared at him. "I'm not dumb, you idiot, I have Asperger's!"
Again there was a few moments of silence. Bailey was still seething at the fact that Paul had called her dumb or at least had called her actions done. It wasn't her fault though. She thought that she was doing the right thing. She thought that she was defending him from a racially motivated random interrogation. But instead of being appreciative, he was angry at her. The only thing she could think of that she'd done wrong was reaching for her phone, other than that she didn't see the problem with anything she'd said.
Paul had started the car again and was driving down the road. They were headed toward Bailey's house. "I'm sorry but... what the hell is an ass burger?" he said suddenly.
Bailey looked at him thunderstruck. No, she thought, there was no way he was this dumb...
"Not ass burger, Asperger's."
"That's what I said, Angel, ass burgers." Paul kept his eyes on the road.
"No. No, it's not what you said. Asperger's. As in, Asperger's Syndrome, it's a type of autism. I have it." Bailey exclaimed in frustration.
Paul pursed his lips. "Well, now I'm wanna know what an ass burger is. Is it a burger made of asses or a burger in the shape of an ass or an ass that looks like a burger?" he continued to ramble about the supposed characteristics of an ass burger. Much to Bailey's annoyance.
By the time he pulled up to her house, she was ready to get away from him and his stupid mumblings.
"You—you are so—" Bailey was so frustrated she couldn't put her words together.
Paul stared at her as her face went red and she just grunted and got out of his car, slamming the door behind her. She stomped toward the front door of her house, replaying that car ride. It hadn't exactly gone as she'd originally planned.
She unlocked the door and reached to open it when it dawned on her. He'd called her Angel again and he wasn't an idiot. No, Paul was actually really sweet. Instead of being like the others, instead of looking at her in a different way once he'd discovered her autism, he acted like it was nothing. He'd just breeze past it and talked about something stupid to move on from everything, even their fight. He didn't care.
Bailey looked back at him. Paul hadn't driven away yet. Instead, he'd rolled down the window and was watching her. When Bailey caught his eye, he winked with that stupid smirk on his face before driving off. As of now, Bailey wasn't angry anymore... no what she was feeling definitely wasn't anger.
She reached to touch her chest and felt her heart beating loudly. Her face was almost abnormally warm. Bailey let out a breath as her lips parted. For some very odd and unknown reason, she felt sad seeing Paul's SUV getting further away from her. She wanted him to come back, she wanted to stay with him a little longer. What was that feeling called? She wondered beaming.