𝐀 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝◇P.Lahote◇

•°5°•

•Chapter Five•
Car ride with a kind stranger

I would be the first to admit that the boy standing in front of me is physically attractive, although, by the look on his face I'd say it's also safe to assume that his head was void of most thought.

He was just staring at me for no apparent reason. His stare is blank, and strangely, at the same time both warm and cold.

I look over him quickly. He has the same tattoo on his exposed shoulder as Embry Call, bare-chested and only wearing khaki shorts just the same. The boy is also most definitely Quileute with cropped raven hair and copper skin. It's too cold for these boys, especially in the American winter. I can barely handle it in the thick layers I'm wearing so I have no clue how he can stand the freezing chill of the wild.

He continues looking at me, now not just my eyes, but also raking up and down my body. His dark brows raise, perhaps in recognition. Does he know who told him? Perhaps Embry, since the two seems to be connected.

Embry pops his head out from beside the cabinet that rests between the kitchen and the dining area that we were lead into with crumbs coating his lips and eyes slightly wide.

He glances between me, the boy and briefly at Sue Clearwater, who I can feel move forward next to me. The silence is too loud.

I look away quickly as the room seems to tense.

"Sweetie, should we go?" Sue Clearwater asks me gently. I focus my eyes on her and nod.

The keys in her hand jingle as she walks through the dining room, towards a lounge room and out of my sight.

I hate being here. I hate the look the stranger was giving me. I feel like crying.

I hate it here. I hate my life.

I just want my family back. I need them. Please. Someone. I need my family. My real family.

I can't live like this. They're all gone.

I have no friends, no family and no way of getting out of this stupid town.
I hate myself. I hate what I was and what I am and what I know I'll then be.

Sue glances back at me as we walk through the home and look towards the front door and I can see the worry on her face. I can also feel the eyes of the boys behind me making me self conscious. Why the change all of a sudden? What the fuck happened to the strong, independent teeth breaker from a few hours ago that almost fought someone in the cafeteria? She was built from the despair and anguish from the loss of her family and suddenly she's self-conscious when teenage boys look at her?

Fucking pathetic.

Sue stops at the front door, grabbing keys and a large puffer jacket from the hooks next to it. There's a mirror there as well and I can see my reflection. She looks different from this morning. I don't know how exactly because her features are still wrong and her eyes are still sunken into her face and her hair is still damp and filled with leaves.

Then his face appears behind me, the random boy's eyes staring into mine. Ignore him, Rowan.

I feel Sue swing towards me, sending me another kind smile before giving the tallboy behind me a look.

"Well it's been lovely, right Paul, but you look like you need a good nap, Rowan. Sue here will take good care of you alright?" Embry says, eyes gleaming as he looks between me and the boy.

Paul.

His name is Paul.

•○•

T

he drive to my house was almost silent apart from the quiet music playing out of the radio. Today had been bad. I'd undoubtedly be in trouble with Jay when I got home. Shit, why did I have to be a fucking angsty teen and why did that white-haired girl feel the need to start shit with me? And then there was that boy. Paul.

"I don't know what's gone on today dear, but I'm sure you were meant to be in Forks high school?"

I turned to look at Sue, her gaze still firmly planted on the empty road ahead.

"Yeah. That was the plan. Didn't go as it should have I guess."

She sighed, "Well what happened then?"

I didn't want to answer. I was just tired and hungry and I wanted to go home. My real home.
"Some girl decided to start shi-stuff with me. She brought up my dad. I walked out. I don't know. She was just some psycho."

Sue was silent for a little, probably contemplating over what I'd said before continuing the conversation.

"Some people," She sighed, "some people just need to learn to mind their own business. I'm sorry that happened."

"Yeah."

"You know, if it doesn't work out there with them you're always more than welcome to come to the school on the Rez. You are half Quileute after all, Rowan."

Look at me. I wouldn't fit in there. My skin isn't as tan as theirs and my hair might be dark, but I don't look like I belong there. I'd be more of an outsider than in Forks.

"I can't." I could see her nod from the corner of my eye.

I'm still struck by the beauty of this place. The rain has made everything such a beautiful shade of emerald green.

We're almost at my house now, I can tell from the way the trees shift to open up for a fee familiar houses. Then we're there, pulling into the driveway of the house my mum built. The house where I shouldn't have ever stepped foot in. Something that shouldn't exist.

Then we're there. Pulling up to the driveway.

The gravel crunches under the thick tires and Sue Clearwater stops the engine and turns to me with another smile. It's slightly sad.

"Alright. Here we are," she then grabs paper and pen from the dash and begins to write. She pulls the paper and hands it too me, a bunch of numbers in neat writing in the piece.

"This is the home phone number if you ever need to talk or come over or anything really. I'm a good friend of Billy, as is my husband. We're all here for you. It's difficult losing a parent and your mother, well she is going through an incredibly rough time. I don't know all the details but the entire Reservation is here for you. You're one of us, honey."

She's too nice.

I take the number. I don't want to but I can't turn her down now.

The clock on the dash says 12:04. The beetle isn't in the driveway.

"Thank you. For driving me. And this. I'm sorry." And then I'm pulling on the handle and jumping out of the car with my bag and jumping to the front door. She waves as she pulls out of the driveway, and suddenly I'm all alone again.

Paul. His name was Paul and he wouldn't stop starting at me.

Why am I thinking about a random boy? God.

And that girl at school how ridiculous can someone fucking be Jesus Christ?

I don't have house keys and it's cold, but I have no way of getting inside the house so I just walk up the steps and sit on the porch next to the door.
It's quite and peaceful and the cold is making me start to drift off. It's nice here. Maybe, just for a second I can sleep.