The Other Swan

8. The Beach

Saturday snuck up on me and Bella and I headed out to Newton's Olympic Outfitters to meet up with everyone. There was a suburban parked outside along with a dark blue van: Tyler's van which, to my surprise, still ran after the accident. Apparently they had to replace a windshield and get a big dent out of the body but after that it was "good as new" as Tyler called it. Other than Tyler and, of course, Mike, Eric was also there, along with two boys I didn't recognize. A Ben and a Connor. Jessica, Angela and Lauren were also all there.

"You came!" Mike called out, more to Bella than to me. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?' He gloated, gesturing at the beautiful weather.

"I told you we were coming." Bella shot back.

"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha... unless you invited someone," Mike trailed off.

"Nope," Bella replied, although I knew she had invited Edward.

Mike looked happy that nobody else was invited. Probably still hoping Bella would agree to go out with him. Once Lee and Samantha, the two girls I hadn't recognized, were dropped off, everyone piled into Mike's suburban and Tyler's van. Mike tried to give shotgun to Bella, but Jessica had already beaten her to it, not that she minded. Instead we hopped into Tyler's van.

It was only fifteen miles to La Push from Forks, with gorgeous, dense green forests edging the road most of the way and the wide Quillayute River snaking beneath it twice. I was glad I had a window seat. I had lived here my whole life yet the beauty of it never got old.

We pulled up to the same beach I had spent every summer on with Bella, a different beach than the one Dad usually takes me to now. We used to make sand castles and cover our legs in mermaid tails made of sand. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, and the waves were constant, a feature that the surfers always enjoyed. Apart from the beach, the land around rose out of the steel-coloured waters as sheer cliff sides crowned with soaring firs. I missed being here more than I had realized.

Only a small portion of the beach was covered in sand. The rest of the beach was covered in millions of smooth rocks, weathered by the ocean waves. I remembered trying, and failing, to skip them across the choppy waters as a kid.

While the sun was definitely out and shining on my skin, providing that warm feeling only the sun can, there was definitely still a brisk ocean breeze. We all headed down to the beach to a ring of driftwood logs that was often used for parties like ours. Mike pulled Bella towards him and started teaching her about the blue flames that the salty driftwood created when set afire. She was interested, just not in him. Part of me felt sorry for the kid. After a while, some of the other teens got bored of sitting by the fire and decided to take a hike through the woods. Bella joined them but hiking wasn't really my thing, so I stayed there, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the sun, and closed my eyes.

A short while later, I heard a group of boys approaching our own group. Opening my eyes and looking around, I noticed Jake amongst them. Thankfully, Paul and his friend were not. The three boys, Jake and his friends Quil and Embry, sat down amongst us and started mingling. I simply glared at Jake, making sure he knew I was not pleased to see him.

When Bella got back, Jake came over and sat beside her.

"Isabella Swan? Didn't think I'd see you on my rez." Jacob greeted her.

"It's Bella," I warned him grumpily.

"Yeah, well... here I am," she said awkwardly. "Hey, I should have asked, How are your sisters doing? Rachel and Rebecca, right? Are they here?" she asked, looking around at the rest of the Quileute teens that had joined our group.

"No." Jacob shook his head. "Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer – she lives in Hawaii now."

"Married. Wow." She was stunned. The girls were only a year older than Bella and, although Bella and I were in the same grade, two years older than me.