GODS AND MONSTERS ↝ P. LAHOTE

[15]

"What about this part?" Alicia asked as she flipped through the Quileute Legends book, scribbling down a quote onto a notecard and passing it to Lark, who stood at the helm of the police board.

In the few weeks since Lark had initially made the police board, she had since invested in yarns of various colors, connecting each of the different snippets of the legends to the side of the board they best corresponded to: red yarn for the Cold Ones to match the color of blood and brown for the Quileutes to match the color of a wolf's fur. Before long, the more she and Alicia worked on it the more it began to fill, until it finally resembled the board a police officer filled to investigate a murder.

Lark scanned over the quote describing the size of the Quileute wolf, and how it differed from a normal wolf. She smiled slightly to herself, recalling her mother's old story about the wolf in the mountains, and how it had been even bigger than she was, over twice the recorded record of the largest wolf known to man. She pinned it up on the board before cutting herself a piece of brown yarn and pinning it into place to connect the piece of paper to the pictures of the boys.

Leo hung upside down over the end of Lark's bed, watching the two girls work as she studied the board intently. The suspicious smirk she always wore never once faded, and she shifted, pulling herself back up and criss-crossing her legs while propping her chin up on her fists, elbows resting on her thighs.

"It's definitely detailed." Leo mused, studying the new piece of paper adorning the board. "No one can ever say Larkin Hudson doesn't give one hundred percent to whatever she puts her mind to."

Lark crossed her arms over her chest and studied the board. "I mean, it's all making sense." she said. "Legends say the Quileutes only change in the presence of the Cold Ones. After all, it's their job to protect humans from them. A family of people who are cold to the touch having a blood feud with a Quileute pack? You can't tell me that's not suspicious."

"If there were vampires and werewolves living in Forks, don't you think people would know by now?" Leo pressed.

Lark shrugged. "The legends aren't common knowledge."

"I think it's a cool idea," Alicia said, "and it would definitely explain a lot, especially the old feud between Jacob's family and the Cullens."

Leo shook her head, fighting the smile that threatened to creep up. "Why are you so hellbent on proving your boyfriend's a werewolf?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Lark insisted again, "and I know they're hiding something. The dots all connect."

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Marcus peeked his head inside the room, giving the three girls a friendly smile.

"Ladies," he greeted before turning to his daughter, "Lark, are you ready to go?"

Lark nodded. "Ready."

"That's our cue," Alicia said, grabbing her purse as the three girls followed Marcus down the stairs where Tristan and Diane waited, the former's suitcase and duffel bag packed and waiting to be loaded into the car.

"Let's go, let's go," Marcus hummed, helping his son carry his bags to the car, and the women followed them outside, Diane locking the front door behind them.

"Bye Tristan!" Leo called, giving the boy a hug. "Have a safe flight!"

"We'll miss you!" Alicia exclaimed, hugging the boy next.

Bidding the Hudson family goodbye, Leo and Alicia piled into Alicia's car, and Lark watched as they took off down the driveway before she turned back to her family, climbing in the backseat of her father's car next to Tristan.

"Junior year," Diane mused during the drive. "I can't believe my little boy's growing up so fast."

When they finally pulled into parking at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Lark grabbed hold of Tristan's duffel bag, hoisting it over her shoulder and following her family into the bustling building. They moved through the crowds, seeing mostly families getting ready to leave Washington State and head home now that their vacations were coming to an end.

"Well," Marcus announced as they reached the checkpoint for security, "I guess this is it."

"I'll miss you," Tristan said as he pulled their father into a tight hug.

"Let us know when you get there safely." Diane said as she moved to hug Tristan next before it was Lark's turn.

"Enjoy your senior year." Tristan said, pulling his little sister into his arms. "Make sure Paul's nice to you, and if he isn't, I'll kick his ass this Christmas."

Lark chuckled, fighting the tears that threatened to spill as she looked up at Tristan with a smile. "I will, I promise. Now go, you don't want to miss your flight."

Lark handed Tristan his duffel bag and he showed his plane ticket to the TSA agent, who let him through with a warm smile. Tristan entered the line, looking back at his family one last time with a small wave.

"I love you!" he called back to them, and Marcus wrapped his arms around both Lark and Diane, the three remaining members of the family bidding him goodbye once more.

As soon as Tristan was through security and out of sight, Marcus led the two Hudson women out of the airport and back to the car. As she settled back into the backseat, she couldn't help but feel the emptiness of her brother not occupying the seat next to her. Though she'd spent weeks without him when they had first moved, the months he spent back in Forks for the summer had nearly erased the feeling from Lark's mind, and she'd grown accustomed to seeing him every day as she used to before the move.

"A junior in college and a senior in high school." Marcus mused, his eyes flickering to the rearview mirror to glance at Lark before he turned back to Diane sitting next to him. "I think we're starting to grow old, love."