CHAPTER SIX
ᴄʜᴏᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ
From what Charlie had told me about the bears, it looked like I wasn't the only one troubled by the presence of wolves in Forks.
The sameness of each day was monotonous- driving me to the brink of my nerves. Skip breakfast with Mrs Rochester and her husband. School. Attempt to see Bella. Return to my room, where I'd stay until morning, sometimes sneaking through the window and out to the woods on painfully boring nights. On weekends I'd stalk through the woods, first tracking miles to feed, and then returning, full stomached to scope out the woods up from near Charlie's and down toward the reservation.
I'd become familiar with the scent of a wolf. It no longer pained my nose with the wet, earthy smell. In certain areas, it hung in the air like an invisible barrier, and each weekend I edge closer, building a tiny bit of courage each time.
For a while, I was clueless as to whether the wolves could ever know that a vampire was sniffing around their tracks. Even after I'd had my first encounter with one, I wondered.
The flickering of the paper posters carried easily through the chilled wind. Poorly cut images of bears and red warnings were pinned to each tree that lined the edge of the forest by the cliff road. Here, the salt air licked at my lips, brushing harshly against the delicate skin of my cheeks as I slid through the low branches and crisp, dead bushes.
I walked until the usual smell hit my nose. The barrier felt weaker today as if my sudden need for knowledge had blinded my own fear of crossing. But as I headed in, one careful step after the other, it grew stronger by the second, until my legs were begging me to stand still.
My back went rigid. A wolf.
Turning quickly, I was met with the sight i'd been waiting to see.
The creature was large- far bigger than any normal wolf, its paws easily the size of a car wheel. Its legs stood firm agains the ground, bulky and long, as strong as the roots of an ancient tree, drawing energy from the earth in the same way, as if it was only a spirit of its surroundings, a natural extension. The beautiful fawn and caramel colours of its thick coat blended smoothly into the tree trunks and dying, orange leaves.
And though everything about the wolf showed that it was nothing but a graceful creation of nature, its eyes looked so human, staring back at me with the knowledge and humanity of the person inside. I wondered who it was. I thought, perhaps, that it was Sam Uley, who gazed back at me with eyes that looked far wiser than his years.
Until the wolf stepped forward, I was locked to the gorund by feet, knees refusing to move. I was caught by the allure of the creature. I suddenly saw the claws, as long and as sharp as a butchers knife. I saw its teeth, gleeming as a threat. And I rembered who I was, what I was.
And I ran.
I ran with human speed, quickening to my inplausable stealth when i'd finally lost his scent among the pine and rain, knowing he wasn't following.
Everyday I visited Bella, and everyday she refused to move from her seat by the window. The seasons changed around her and yet her sadness over Edward didn't budge. I sat by her door, sometimes reading, sometimes putting down a bowl of food that I attempted to make for her and Charlie. I often found myself thinking about how proud Esme would be at my cooking. Despite not eating it, I could tell I was somehow getting better. Charlie seemed to appreciate it more and more everyweek too.
The day I saw the wolf was no different.
I let myself in the door, as Charlie had told me to every week, and stuck my head through to the kitchen. He smiled as he saw me, his face fresh and awake- more so than it had been only a month ago. Charlie was dressed in his work uniform, half way through lacing up his big boots.
"Hey, Charlie," I greeted, sliding my bag on the bench.
"Afternoon Elide."
"Oh, you heading out?"
"Yeah, I'm picking up an extra shift- there was another bear sighting again," he said, pushing against he knees and standing up to find his badge.
"Another one?" He nodded. "Whereabouts?"
"Closer La Push today- close to the roadside too."
"Sorry to come as your leaving."
He shook his head. "It's no bother at all."
"You head up. I don't think we'll get anywhere today. She didn't eat lunch," he sighed, looking away. "I'll be seeing you then."
I dont know what i was thinking as i headed up to Bella's room with a cup of tea. Somehow I thought things would finally change with her, as they had that day with me. But the tea went cold and I finished the book I'd started two weeks ago. It would be a while before anything would change.
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
JANUARY
I remember saying once that time didn't pass the same for vampires. That the days moved slowly yet quickly all at once, somehow smoothing into one, thanks to the eternity we were granted upon rebirth. I suppose I say that to myself to feel better about the fact that life would never slip into the pressure of time and the squeezing ageing word of forever.
I realise now, that I was wrong.
Time moves the same for everyone, even when we don't want it to. It slips out of grasp, slugging along like rusted cogs, mounting up by the hour. But time still passes all the same, even for me. And my forever was beginning to look like a terrifying thing.
☾
Quick little one before the next x
Also, not edited at all lol