Envy and Evelyn || The Twilight Saga

Chapter Nine: Real

I sat with Jacob on La Push beach, letting the cool tide flick the damp sand off of my feet as I stared out at the water. He was beside me, leaning back on his forearms as I told him the story of my and Bella's near-death experience in Port Angeles, and how Edward Cullen had swooped in to save us.

    He huffed. "I could've easily chased those guys off– without an expensive car."

    I smirked, holding back a chuckle at his frown. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous, Jake."

    He scoffed. "Me? Jealous? Never."

    I smiled. "Yeah, okay."

    He frowned again, shifting uncomfortably around. "You really could've gotten hurt, Evie."

    I sighed, chills going down my spine as I remembered the smell of alcohol on their breaths and the way their dirty hands gripped me so tightly. "Yeah. I know."

    "I feel lousy," he muttered, sitting up fully. "I should've been there."

    "I didn't ask you to go."

    "But I should've been there." His tone was serious. He stared out to somewhere on the gray horizon. "Eve, if anything happened to you..."

    "But it didn't," I whispered. "So, just... don't think about it. You couldn't have known that something would happen."

    He turned to look at me, his dark eyes sad. "Are you okay?"

    I sighed and nodded. "I'm perfectly fine." Really, it wasn't the full truth. Those guys would be haunting my nightmares for a long time to come.

    Jacob nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "So, Cullen's a mind reader?"

    I laughed. "Maybe. And he recognized my father from the picture– I know he did."

    Jacob ran a hand through his hair. "You're not gonna stop looking for this guy, are you?"

    "Nope."

    A few days passed, and I was sitting with Dad on the couch. He absentmindedly sipped a beer as he watched the baseball game on TV. I eyed the beer cautiously, wondering if the amount he drank was good for him. I decided, in the back of my mind, that I'd get him to drink some more water every now and then.

    Dad hummed approvingly as his team got a home run. "That's what I'm talking about."

    I smiled. I'd never gotten much into baseball, but I enjoyed watching him get excited about it. Well, as excited as a middle-aged, hardened police officer could get.

A thought popped into my head. "Hey, Dad, did they ever find that cougar?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "Nope. We ran across some hippie's bare footprint in the woods a couple days ago, but that's about it."

I hummed. "Weird."

"Just promise me you'll never be a hippie," he muttered.

I laughed. "Yeah, I think I'm good with that."

He half-smiled. Then, he shot to a different conversation. "Oh, hey, what's your sister been up to lately?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She's been out a lot," he remarked. "Just wondering if I have reason to worry."

I raised an eyebrow. "What, you think she's out partying it up or something?"

"No," he chuckled. "I'm thinking more like... boys."

Was he really expecting me to break one of the most vital bonds of sisterhood right now? Our secrets were the lifeblood of our relationship. I sighed. "Dad, are we really gonna talk about boys?"

He side-eyed me. "Do we need to talk about Jacob Black, then?"

"Don't act like you have a problem with him." I rolled my eyes playfully.

"I don't," he said with a shrug. "I like the kid. The problem is your mother."

"What about her?"

"Don't play dumb, Eve," he said. "You haven't even told her you're seeing somebody."

I flushed in embarrassment. "I mean, it's not like we're... official."

Dad cringed. "That's not the point. Point is, you've called your mom once since you got here, Eve– and that was only because Bella was in the hospital."

"Is that... a bad thing?"

He looked at me in disbelief. "Yes!"

I sighed. "I just... Mom and I don't mix well."

"I'm not saying that you need to be best friends," he said. "I'm just saying that an email wouldn't hurt."

I sighed again. "Fine."

That night, I went up to my and Bella's shared computer. It was an older, box-shaped computer with barely enough internet to function, but it was still better than nothing. I logged onto my email, only to find at least 50 from my mother. I clicked on the latest one.

Evelyn,

I'm starting to worry. I haven't heard from you in two months. You can give me a call, or text. I've started to learn how to work my cell phone. How's school? Are there any boys you like? I miss you, baby. Please call soon.

Love,

Mom.

Her desperate pleas enacted some kind of guilt in me. I sighed before quickly drafting an email back, telling her all about school and apologizing for not contacting her sooner. I said I'd just been busy.

I was about to hit send, but quickly added:

P.S. I found a picture of you from when Bella was a baby. I have questions about it.

I sent the email and was about to exit the browser, but decided to go ahead and type in a quick search for an essay I had due in history class. I was about to type in the keywords Valley Forge, but as soon as I typed the V, the computer's recent search history popped up.

Vampire.

I fumbled for a second, blinking in confusion. Vampires?

I went to the complete history of the computer. There were countless articles on vampires from different cultures– Egyptian, European, North American... I clicked on that one, only to find an article on the Cold Ones from Quileute legends.

I quickly skimmed the article– immortality, speed, strength, cold, pale skin...

"Bella, Bella, Bella," I whispered to myself in disapproval. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

I remembered Jacob's story from the beach. The Cullens were supposedly an enemy clan. The Cold Ones.

I froze in place. No. No, no, no.

I remembered the day of Bella's accident– Edward had been standing with her. Tyler's car was dented, and Bella was unharmed. It seemed impossible at the time, but I just considered her lucky. Maybe it wasn't just luck.

Then, there was the mind reading. It was impossible, too, but what if it wasn't?

I quickly shut the computer down and headed downstairs for the phone. Dad had fallen asleep on the couch, and Bella still wasn't home. With shaking hands, I dialed Jacob's number.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Jake."

"Hey, Evie." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Everything okay?"

I took a deep breath. "Um, maybe."

"What's going on?"

"That story you told Bella and me on the beach– do you think there's any merit to it? The Cullens, I mean, being... more than human? The Cold Ones?"

He hesitated. "Evie, it's just an old story."

"What if it isn't?" I asked him. "What if it's real?"