Clearer (J.HALE)

16

I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and let out an aggravated huff. It had been almost three weeks, and I couldn't get it out of my head.

He ignored it, gliding through the tutoring sessions with that same bragging calm that drove me mad. He was patient and clear in his explanations but kept his distance. He didn't lean across the table to look at my work, he slid the paper out of my hands. He didn't sit with me in the short breaks between subjects, he went to the kitchen to make me food or wash the dishes. He wouldn't look me in the eye, and if he did, only for a fleeting moment.

It made the distraction even worse. I wanted him to look at me. I wanted him to brush my arm with his whilst checking my work. And he didn't. So, not only did I spend my time frustrated at the work I didn't understand, but also at him.

I turned onto a bumpy track and the truck jostled and creaked.

I still hadn't seen Jake. Even Jared hadn't come to see me.

Paul had dropped by a couple of times. Probably out of pity, but I didn't really mind. It was just nice to be near someone, rather than stuck in my own head. Aunt Meg tried but she had to work, and sometimes would shut herself away for days working on a painting, only stopping to eat or sleep. We hadn't discussed the incident with my mother or the subsequent revelation that I was genetically prone to breaking windows, but it didn't feel like we needed to. I took some time to get my head round things—time I had since finalising my decision about the little heartbeat. I still didn't know if it would hold mine or somebody else's hand in the future, but it was going to keep beating, and I was going to keep listening.

Meg had given me Emily's address and it was noon, so I assumed they'd all be there. I needed a verdict—were we friends, or not? The idea of turning up uninvited usually made my skin crawl, but I couldn't see an alternative. Only after I knocked on the door did I question my decision.

The door swung open and Emily did a double take. "Imogen?"

"Hi," I said, a little sheepish. I hadn't planned this far ahead.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, glancing over my shoulder as if she expected someone to be holding a gun to my back.

"Yeah," I said, scrambling for an explanation. "I was just, uh, in the neighbourhood, and I thought..."

She broke into a wide smile. "Come on in. I made muffins."

"Thanks."

Warmth spilled out of the open door and onto the porch, male voices bouncing back and forth in sniggering argument. The house was a little more organised than Aunt Meg's but had the same feeling—rustic and lived-in.

"Make room, everyone. We have a visitor," Emily announced as we entered the kitchen.

All eyes around the table landed on my face and conversation ceased for an elongated moment. All of them were there. Sam, Jake, Paul, Jared, Quil, Embry and...Bella. I tried not to show my surprise on my face

"Hey."

"Hi," Bella said, picking apart the muffin on the plate in front of her and smiling at me.

Paul rose from his seat and moved toward me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me into his side for a hug. I leaned into him, grateful for the structural support his huge frame provided, and waited. None of the others spoke or moved.

"Guys," Emily chided, shooing Jake to the side to make room for me at the table. "Be gentlemen."

I swallowed and allowed Paul to direct me toward the seat. He seemed to have sensed that I was having trouble with basic human function.