Bumps In The Road / Paul Lahote

2. Hostile Introductions

Chapter 2

I hadn't been too nervous for my first day at La Push High, since I figured I'd only be here for a couple of weeks, a month at most. I wish I was armoured enough not to have a single care in the world, but unfortunately I was still (somewhat) human and there had been a few nerves for my first day. There had been a few slang words that people used that had gone over my head, just as some of my own phrases received a raised brow or two. Even though English was being spoken, it seemed there was a slight culture barrier. I suppose that was a given in my situation though, seeing as I was basically a tourist attempting to blend in as a regular in this small town. After the long day, I couldn't help the beaming smile that lifted my lips when Will's name flashed on my phone screen that night.

"Hey!"

"Kira, hey! How is everything going in La Push? Anyone giving you a hard time? You know I'll march over there and--" I laughed, cutting off the sound of my best friends over-excited voice.

"I'd like to see someone try," I assured him, making him chuckle into the speaker, but the sound got lost over his loud surroundings, "I miss you so much. Are the others there?"

"I miss you too..." He promised, "...a lot and, yeah, they're all here and say hi." My grin was pulled even wider. I plonked myself on the edge of my bed, drawing my knees into my chest and resting my chin on my knee. The sound of all their voices was stirring nostalgia in the pit of my gut and all I wanted was to be in Will's shed with them. Most likely they were all lounging on his old couch, listening to music, some of the boys might have been working on one of their projects cars or motorbikes.

"Tell them I say hi back and give Travis a big ol' kiss from me." I heard him call out something and hear loud incoherent responses in reply. There seemed to be an outbreak of commotion, which only makes me giggle into the phone, as that was normal behaviour in our circle of mates. The slightly chaotic sound pulled a smile to my lips as the nostalgia returned and triggered a small wave of sadness. With the passing of my father, my brother moving away to pursue his dream career and the deterioration of my relationship with my mother I had grown quite dependent on my circle of friends. I noticed Will let out a sigh into the speaker and mumble something.

"Dustin says he loves you." Will's voice was hardly audible as he informed me of the proclamation, most likely to keep the other boys from hearing. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, my heart skipping a beat and, simultaneously, plummeting to the floor. The memories of the other week flooded through my mind, making me desperately push them back.

"Damn, Will, why would he say that? Did he think it was going to make me feel any better? I feel bad enough as it is for breaking up with him. You know I did it for both of our sakes, it wouldn't have worked out. I can't concentrate on the relationship, my mother and this place." I grunted in annoyance. "I want to come home." I grumbled and drew my knees tighter against my chest, the smile quickly fading from my lips.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain it all to me. I know," He sighed and I heard him say something to Dustin in response, "She says she misses you too." I paused until I heard Will cuss under his breath. I held my breath.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, he's fine." My heart officially fell through the floor, because I knew that he was anything but fine. I pushed the air out of my lungs, as though holding it in any longer would kill me.