CHAPTER TWELVE
ʟᴀ ᴘᴜsʜ
From Forks, it took fifteen minutes to get to La Push, each minute of it spent in far too close contact to the nine other people in the Suburban. Past the snaking road, the Quillayute River ran through the odd time there was breaks in the lining trees, and as we I glanced at what little I could see through the front window, being stuck in the middle of the back seats. The salt air hit as soon as we reached the open road, windows rolled down and hair flapping in the channel of wind.
I hadn't seen the long beaches of La Push, and by the time we pulled up by the side of the road, I wasn't disappointed. We hiked quickly down to the shore, picking through the mossy forest that bordered it, and trailing along the bottom of the sheer cliff sides that jutted out from the edge of the earth, an imposing force.
The beach itself was thin, only metres of sand between the forest and the dark sea, the rest rolling into yards of mottled rocks embedded within the ground.
It had been sunny that morning, and yet the beach still looked so dull- the waves a crashing grey melting into peaks of white, and the sand more like solid cement than trickling gold. And the driftwood logs that lined the edge of the brushing water were coated in salt, stark against the dreariness. Yet even with its austerity, the beach brought a sense of openness and freshness and even freedom, that I couldn't help but love it, with the screeching seagulls and brisk winds, the clouds toppling over the sky.
Along the end of the beach, toward the direction of the rock pools, a ring of driftwood was already placed, a fire pit already in the middle, remnants of a previous party left behind. We all helped to shift a few branches to the centre, piling them up until we had a pyramid of wood, standing tall and ready between us.
Mike shuffled toward Bella and I, holding a small lighter in his fingers.
"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" He asked, and Bella shook her head.
"No."
"You'll like this then - watch the colours."
He lit a line twig, tossing it into the middle of our wood pile before reaching for another. This time, he placed the lit branch to the side of the pyramid, letting the whole thing set alight. Mike sat beside Bella, Jessica the other side of him.
"It's blue."
"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?" He smiled, turning to Jess as she tugged on his arm.
The fire crackled, the whole pile finally catching light in a brilliant blaze of sea green and dark blue, licking the sky with final orange stripes. The flames were so large that they obscured my sight of the opposite end of the ring. The group had grown as teenagers from the reservation had joined us around the fire.
After a while, we grew bored of the chatter around the fire, and Bella and I walked down to the water's edge, discarding our shoes behind a dry rock.
The wind had picked up again, carrying the scent of salt with it. And something else. I grimaced, turning to Bella who looked out pleasantly upon the water. The new smell was unusual: damp and earthy.
"Can you smell that?" I asked, wondering whether it was my heightened sense of smell that was being picky.
She turned, her chin tucked in and eyelashes blinking rapidly. "When harsh winds are involved, my nose likes to go blind."
Mike and Eric skidded to our sides. "We're going for a hike up to the tidal pools, you coming?"
"Sure, why not?" I glanced to Bella. Her eyes were already on Lauren and Jess's footwear. They wouldn't be coming. "Bella?"
"Yeah. I'm down."
The hike itself wasn't bad, though the thick trees and branches above made it much darker within the woods, what little sun we had on the beach now nearly nonexistent. The ground was soft, dampened by the sea air and slippy enough to warrant a need for me to catch Bella as she tripped on numerous occasions.
When we finally left the murky, emerald lighting of the forest, the boys were squinting, their shoes discarded along the trodden pathway. They were sprinting along the small tidal river that slipped across the sand, hopping from one rock to another as they ignored the shallow puddles that were left behind by the mother sea, popping with bubbles from the life that whirled within.
I soon followed after them, Bella shortly behind me, edging around the rock pools on cautious feet until we were in the centre of it all, peering over the pools like children in an aquarium. She pointed toward something in the corner of the shallowest, a tiny crab, olive coloured and cowering against the shady rocks. I stared down at it, watching it curl upon itself, as if it knew what hovered before it, far more dangerous than the humans that would pride and poke each time the pools made their trap.
We continued along the sea front, leaping carefully across the large pools until our feet were back on the sand. Looking down upon the pools, a nebulous recollection of a time in which I'd done this very thing in England came upon me. Then, my face was full of life, a beautiful blush in my cheeks and growing length to my hair, which reached my waist. I was envious of that time- I'd stupidly cut my hair and now it would never frown past the length of my bra strap. My face would never regain the colour, not even in the cutting winds from the sea.
We eventually got back to the original beach, the orange and green flames flickering like a welcoming beacon as we emerged loudly from the trees. The strange smell returned the moment I crossed the forest line. Food was already on the go, being dished out by one of Mike's friends. We lingered around the filled logs, letting Mike introduce us to the newcomers that we'd promptly left an hour prior.
As Bella sat down to eat, I dropped my shoes by her log, drifting down toward the water.
She called after me, "Elide? Where are you going?"
"I'm going for a swim."
I needed the water. Needed to feel cold waves wash upon cold skin.
The waves against the sand were tame, just barely toppling over each other until many metres out. My bare feet slipped in first, almost translucent under the grey surface and dull sunlight that was hidden behind thin clouds. I slid in shoulders first then, letting my head fall beneath the waves, ears tuning into the bubbles and the sloshing and the sound of surfboards flipping in the distance.
My sense of smell had lost me. Under the blue, there was no mistaken scents taken in by false breathing. Here it was barren. I couldn't even smell the salt that flooded the water that lapsed over my skin.
I needed the water. Not because I loved to swim, or for any tame reason as such. I needed the water to distract me from the familiar scent that would inevitably drive me crazy. It was strong, pungent. I felt as if I knew it, or at least knew to be scared and repulsed by it, and yet I couldn't name it. I couldn't ignore the strange smell that lurked around the beach.
I needed the water to forget. To forget about the suspicion that was laying on my path. To forget about Alice's gaze that weighed down my thoughts. To forget about the worry I had for Bella. Even if it was just for a few moments.
My arms reached up effortlessly, pulling to the surface. I mimicked a breath, fluttering my eyelids and flicking my wet hair from my face. The sound of waves had picked up from the moment I'd resurfaced but the motion hadn't changed. I'd been under too long. Mike appeared behind, hobbling through the water, cringing at the cold.
He hurried toward me, hand grabbing my arm. I sighed letting him pull me as we swam closer to shore. I stood finally, the water just reaching below my breasts.
"Are you alright?" Mike asked.
I smiled. "Yeah, I just went for a swim."
"We thought you drowned," he said, chuckling as he realised I was fine.
"You'll not get rid of me that easy."
After they'd finished eating, people began to float off into their own smaller groups, some disappearing to the water, slipping stones across the choppy surface, others gathering in the trees to take a second hike up to the tide pools. Mike and Jess stayed around the fire with Bella and I, declaring that he'd take a truck up to the village shop in a few minutes. A few of the boys from the reservation came to sit down beside our group.
"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" A boy asked, his rounded face turning to look up at her.
"Bella," she corrected, grimacing at the use of her full name.
"I'm Jacob black. You bought my dad's truck," he said, holding his hand out.
"Oh," she shook his hand, face flushing red. "You're Billy's son. I should probably remember you."
"No, I'm the youngest of the family- you would remember my older sisters."
"Rachel and Rebecca," she said with a nod, before turning toward me. "This is Elide."
I smiled, and he returned it. "Nice to meet you Elide."
"So how do you like the truck?" he asked.
"I love it, it runs great."
"Yeah, but it's really slow", he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there."
Bella looked offended. "It's not that slow."
"Have you ever tried to go over sixty?"
Bella shook her head. "No."
She hadn't- but Alice had. The wheels of Bella's truck had practically screeched, threatening to rip off or burn through the tyres as she zipped through the long roads to Forks.
"So you build cars?" I asked. Bella watched him intently.
"When I have free time, and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" He joked.
"Sorry," Bella laughed. "I haven't seen any lately, but I'll keep my eyes open for you."
"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren cut in, with the voice that meant she was most definitely jealous. I wasn't the only one who'd noticed Jacob's appreciative glances.
"We've sort of known each other since I was born," he said.
"How nice." She turned away, her nose stuck in the air, eyes narrowed still. Her tone was grating as she continued, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?"
"The Cullens don't come here," a voice cut in.
My eyes enclose on a tall boy, with squared shoulders, both his body and voice seeming more like a man than a boy of no more than nineteen. His booming voice had silenced us all until Tyler turned back to the CD player that he was trying to fix. The boy was turned away toward the darkening forest, unaware, or at least unbothered by the eyes that were on his: the watching eyes of Bella and I.
"Do you want to walk down the beach with me?" Bella asked, and Jacob almost crawled to his feet in front of her as he agreed.
I watched them go, heading north across the rocky end of the shore. But still, I couldn't get the boy's thundery voice from out of my mind. The Cullens don't come here, he'd said. But he'd meant so much more. It was almost as if they were banned.
The boy's shoulders were shaking angrily, the flame light flickering against his smooth skin. He spun suddenly, sullen eyes bore into my own captivated glance.
His friend placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Sam?"
"I'm fine," he growled, shrugging him away as he stood abruptly, prowling off into the forest.
I watched him leave, the curve of his shoulders like a predator stalking off into the trees. And for the rest of the evening, I couldn't shake the voice of the boy or the smell that lingered in the air, wherever I went. Not even as the rain began to dot along the sand, thick smoke rising from the fire as it crackled and fizzled, dark spots soaking my hood.
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