〖 chapter x: A LITTLE PARTY ALMOST KILLED SOMEBODY〗
The party was in full swing and Wysteria was standing with Bella Swan just inside the doorway of the kitchen and the living room. Wysteria had begged Bella to arrive early as in, before Jacob would arrive, so that she would have an excuse to shoo him away by saying, "We're having girl talk."
Bella had arrived at her Aunts home mere minutes after she did, her father Charlie in tow. Wysteria had been talking to Sam and Leah lightly but she felt like a bother to them but that didn't mean Wysteria was going to go talk to Seth and his friends. When Wysteria had arrived, Seth had bounded over and promptly hugged her much to Wysteria's surprise. She only realized it was Seth when Leah said, "Dude get off her. You're scaring her." Seth pulled back and Wysteria smiled at him. He had big cheeks with dimples in them and long dark hair .
"Hi! I'm Seth. I'm glad to finally meet you." He said cheerily. Wysteria smiled a little.
"Hey dude, got you a present." Seth had gasped overly dramatically as Wysteria produced a small box. He promptly ripped off the paper on it, not bothering to put it with the rest of the gifts staked on the table.
"Oh cool!" Seth exclaimed, pulling out the ring. It was shaped like a wolf's head. There seemed to be an abundance of wolf themed things on the reservation although Wysteria was positive she had yet to hear a wolf howl here. She had bought it in spite of the fact that her mom said she already bought Seth a present. "I love it! You're the best cousin ever." Seth said before hugging her again. Wysteria actually laughed this time as Seth let go and ran to show his mom the gift.
"Guess he liked it." Wysteria said. Leah smirked. Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail, really exposing her nice jawline.
"Seth is overly cheerful and optimistic about everything." Wysteria was glad though. She wouldn't know what to do if her younger cousin thought she was lame or didn't like her gift.
"Excited for school tomorrow?" Wysteria asked Bella as she slowly took a sip of her water from her cup.
"Not really. I'm not ready to be a new kid." Bella said with a frown. Wysteria nodded.
"Yeah I know and Forks is so small everyone knows everyone's business." Wysteria shook her head. "You're really pretty too I bet all the boys will be drooling over the new girl." Bella snorted.
"I'm pretty weird is what I am." Wysteria grinned. "Boys didn't like me in Arizona I doubt they'll like me here." Wysteria shrugged.
"You never know. You could meet the love of your life here Bella." Wysteria said, nudging the older girl. Bella smirked.
"Do you know most of the people here?" She asked. "My dad seems to." Wysteria looked over to Charlie who was chatting with two men and a women Wysteria didn't know. Wysteria shook her head.
"Honestly, your guess is just as good as mine. I don't know many people here and it feels like... Half the Rez is here." Bella laughed. "I can introduce you to a couple people." Bella nodded. "Well, my mom and Aunt Sue are back there but you met them." Wysteria said, gesturing into the kitchen where the two women were cooking.
"Duh." Bella said. Wysteria laughed.
"Well, that girl over there with the big scary guy that's my cousin Leah and her boyfriend Sam. They're both really nice although they look like they can be a little mean." Bella nodded.
"And the one over there in the center getting all the attention is your cousin Seth." Bella said, pointing to the pile of boys on the ground.
"Yeah and I don't really know any of those guys but the dude on the couch with the really long hair and the smirk." Wysteria said, pointing discreetly. "That's one of Jacob's friends. I think his name is Embry. I don't really know. I don't have a class with him."
Wysteria kept going around the room, pointing out her Uncle, Harry Clearwater, and her mothers brother, also her Uncle, Roan Attakai. Then there was Jared, a guy in Sam and Leah's class and Acacia who was also a freshman. "I don't know what they're really doing here." Wysteria said. "Maybe their younger brothers are friends with Seth." Wysteria shrugged. "And then over there is-" Wysteria paused as the front door was opened and Jacob appeared, pushing his father in front of him.
The pair were greeted loudly and happily by Harry Clearwater and Charlie who moved towards the front door to greet them, excusing himself from his first conversation. Wysteria watched Jacob scan the room and his eyes landed on her with a smile. His hair was tied up into a bun behind his head, allowing Wysteria to see his face fully. Damn he has good bone structure. If he just grew into it a little more... Bella was snickering next to her. "You're staring."
"He started it." Wysteria said with a frown, looking away from Jacob.
"Do you like him?" Bella prompted.
"He's a nice guy but no I don't like him like that." Wysteria said.
"Why not? He's cute."
"If you think he's so cute, you go talk to him." Wysteria said, purposefully not looking Jacob's way anymore. Bella shook her head.
"Not my type. His hair is really long." Wysteria laughed.
"Even if I did like him... It's not like he would like me back." Wysteria said. Bella was looking at her like she was stupid. "What?"
"What do you mean what? You're pretty and Jacob obviously likes you. He couldn't stop looking at you yesterday when you dropped off my truck." Wysteria shook her head.
"I'm just a shiny new toy. He'll loose interest. He'll probably end up seeing me as a sister or something and... I'm fine with that. I don't want to like someone right now anyways." Bella's expression darkened a little, becoming serious. She pursed her lips together.
"I... I've been meaning to ask. Are you okay? My dad and Jacob told me a little bit about... What happened." Wysteria looked down at the floor. She wished there was still water in her cup so she could drink it and not have to answer Bella.
"I'm alright I guess or... At least as okay as I'll ever be."
"I couldn't even... Imagine losing my mom or Charlie." Bella sighed and Wysteria nodded slowly. "I'm sorry Wysteria." Wysteria clenched her jaw tightly. When would people giving their condolences stop hurting so much? She felt like she was on the verge of a break down every time someone asked if she was okay or brought up her father.
"Hey you two what's..." Jacob's cheerful tone halted. "Are you okay little red?" Wysteria rubbed at the silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I'm going to go get some water." She mumbled out, walking past Bella and into the kitchen. As she opened the fridge with shaky hands she felt someone touch her shoulder lightly. Wysteria glanced back at her mom who was smiling sadly. Wysteria put her cup down and closed the fridge, hugging her mom. "I don't want to ruin the party." Wysteria whispered. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Oh sweetheart, nothing's wrong with you. It's okay to cry. Everyone would understand." But Wysteria didn't want to cry and she didn't want everyone to understand why she was crying. If anything, she kind of just wanted to go home. Her Aunt Sue smiled at Wysteria sympathetically as she stirred the contents in a pot.
"Come here little bird. I want you to taste something." Wysteria let go of her mom and glanced at the doorway to see that Jacob and Bella and wandered a bit off, moving closer to the party. They probably didn't want to eavesdrop. Wysteria walked towards her aunt, wiping at her face. "This was your father's favorite Quileute dish. He always said I made it better than your mother." The two sisters laughed and Wysteria smiled weakly as her aunt lifted the spoon to her lips. The sauce was spicy and a bit earthy. Wysteria licked her lips.
"I can see why he liked it." Her aunt smiled and rubbed at one of her tear stained cheeks.
"Wings up little bird. Everything's going to be fine." Wysteria nodded and checked her reflection in the small mirror hanging in the kitchen before she filled her cup with water. She hugged her mom again lightly.
"Sorry for freaking out."
"That's alright Wysteria. It'll happen and it'll pass." Wysteria nodded at her mothers words, brushed some of her hair out of her face and took a deep breath as she walked out into the living room.
"Whatever they're cooking back there is really good." Wysteria said, moving to stand on Bella's right side, avoiding Jacob's gaze.
"Really? Well I hope we get to eat soon. I'm starving." Bella said. "My dad doesn't really know how to cook. I'm going to have to learn a couple of more things."
"I could help. I've been cooking since I was seven."
"Really?" Bella said, impressed. Wysteria nodded.
"My dad was a police officer. He would work late sometimes and... He wasn't a good cook either. So I started making food. Simple things at first but I've gotten pretty creative over the years." Bella nodded.
"Alright I'll come here for lessons."
"Or I'll go to your house." Wysteria said. "It should be fun." Bella smiled.
"Foods ready!" Sue Clearwater shouted. "Where's my birthday boy?"
"Here!" Seth shouted, jumping up. Everyone made room for him, laughing as he bolted into the kitchen.
"Thank God we're by the door right? Wysteria said, nudging Bella.
"It was my strategy all along." Bella said. Wysteria snickered and she saw Jacob smile lightly as they slowly followed everyone else into the kitchen.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☽ »⍟« ☾༓･* ˚⁺‧͙
Wysteria was standing in a forest. She knew it was the Quileute forest but she wasn't sure how she knew that. It was dark and don't all forests look the same in the dark? Her feet were bare and her hair was braided back into one long braid down her back. Wysteria didn't know where she was walking to or why. She just knew she had to get there. Surprisingly, Wysteria wasn't that afraid. She felt a strange calm walking through the woods.
As Wysteria came to a clearing of trees, she noticed someone standing out in the open, staring up at the cloudy night sky. It was someone she wouldn't soon forget. "Dad?" Wysteria called out, confused. He turned to look at her. "Dad!" Wysteria shouted and then she was running, flying through the air and slamming into his chest. He felt so solid. So real. This had to be a dream though, Wysteria knew that. Her dad was dead. This couldn't be real. As Wysteria hugged him, heart pounding in her chest as she tried to relish the feeling, she heard her dad say,
"What have you done Wysteria Redbird." Wysteria swallowed hard and pulled back slightly, staring at her dad meekly and knowing exactly what he was referring to.
"I... I had to come back dad. Nobody else in Florida could have..."
"I would rather have you live on the streets than live back here!" Thunder rumbled overhead. Wysteria stepped back, shocked.
"You don't... You don't mean that."
"You promised me little bird. You said you would never return here!" More lightning. More thunder. Rain started to fall down around them. Wysteria swore she could feel the water droplets hitting the bare skin of her arms.
"I wanted to be with mom! I didn't want to be alone!" Wysteria shouted back at him. Lightning struck the ground near them and Wysteria nearly jumped out of her skin. She felt the crackle of energy, she was sure of it. "I'm only fifteen dad, please!"The winds howled around them.
"Do you know what you've done!" Her father shouted, voice just as booming as the thunder. "Do you even know what you've done Wysteria!"
"What? What have I done." Wysteria shouted. Her father opened his mouth to reply but then, another bolt of lightning struck, right in front of Wysteria, right on top of her father. Wysteria screamed as she stared at the now blackened corpse in front of her. She closed her eyes, breathing hard and trying to will herself awake. But she could still feel all of it. She could still feel the rain, her wet clothes, the mud on her feet. Wysteria opened her eyes.
She was standing in the forest. Actually standing in the forest and it was pouring rain around her. Wysteria shivered. She was soaked to the bone already. Wysteria looked around wildly for a corpse or some vision of her father but there was none. "Dad!" Wysteria shouted, whirling around. This couldn't be real could it? Where was she? How would she get home? Where...
A figure slowly emerged from the trees in front of her. Wysteria's heart was pounding wildly in her chest. Oh no. This dude was going to kill her probably and then bury her in the woods somewhere. Wysteria had made it easy for him. This was just her dumb luck.
"Are you okay?" The guy looked to be about her age and his clothes were also soaked with rain. His eyes were a bright hazel that Wysteria could make out even in the dark.
"I... I don't know what happened I don't know where I am." Wysteria said. He was just a teenager but he felt more mature, and way more put together than Wysteria at the moment.
"You're in Forks. Do you live around here?"
"I... Yes, at the Reservation. Am I far?" He clearly wasn't from the Rez his skin was so pale. He licked his lips.
"Uhh.. Yeah, the Quileute Reservation is about thirty minutes that way." The boy said pointing behind her.
"What!" Wysteria shouted, turning around. The direction he had pointed looked just the same as the one she had been facing. "How the hell did I get here!" Wysteria shouted, thunder cracked overhead and Wysteria jumped, inadvertently moving closer to the weird stranger.
"I think you should come with me. You're wet and my dads a doctor. He could help you." Wysteria's heart seized with fear.
"No! I don't... I cant worry my mother." Wysteria cried out.
"I'm sure she's already worried." Wysteria's bottom lip trembled. "Come on, my house isn't far. At least let me take you there." Wysteria nodded slowly.
"Okay but... Promise me you won't kill me." The boy laughed a little.
"Yeah I uhh... I promise." He smiled kindly at her. Wysteria took a deep breath.
"My name's Wysteria Redbird." She said, sticking out her hand. The boy took it. He was ice cold, his grip strong.
"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen."
A/N:
Wysteria meets the vampires next chapter!!!! How exciting right???? What do you all make of Wysteria's vision of her father??? Leave a comment, let me know!!!