Stronger
Prologue
“You look absolutely beautiful, sweetheart.”
“Simply exquisite.”
“He’s not going to be able to take his eyes off of you!”
The compliments washed over her as Kyrine stared in the full
length mirror, running her hands down her sides to smooth any creases and
blemishes of the breathtaking white gown she wore. It was a simple silk one piece with a hoop
neckline and long sleeves, showing off her slim curvy body, flowing out at her
feet. It had embroidery beading on the
front that made the dress shimmer in the lights, giving the dress that special
bridal feeling. The moment Kyrine laid
eyes on the dress; she knew this was the one she wanted to marry him in.
Her eyes closed thinking of her fiancé, not believing what an
unbelievably unselfish man he was.
Kyrine still had no idea how she was going to tell her mother what was
going to transpire later on that night, but she would figure it out eventually. All that mattered was being married to him, being
his wife and living. Kyrine swallowed
hard as her mother fixed the veil over her eyes, which was a simple silk sheer
material that brought out her beautiful midnight blue eyes. Her dark chestnut hair –it had natural red
tints throughout it- was half swept up in tons of spiral curls that framed her
face and rested on her shoulders gently.
Tears came to her eyes at the thought, remembering the first
time she met him and sighed gently.
Kyrine had to move to Forks, Washington because of an operation, diagnosed
with congestive heart failure at the tender age of six. She’d lived with this condition for over a
decade, though it’d been two years since Kyrine moved to Forks. She had multiple surgeries to replace heart
valves to help her heart pump faster, but it was getting to the point where the
heart wasn’t getting better or healthier.
Slowly but surely, her heart was slowing down as every day
passed, remembering what her cardiologist, Doctor Miles, told her a few years
ago. A heart transplant was needed in
order to save Kyrine’s life or she was going to die. Time was running out and Kyrine had begun
losing hope until Doctor Miles gave her the news that changed her life. Her eyes closed, remembering that moment
Doctor Miles walked in the exam room and gave her the news that changed her
entire life forever…
~!~
The door opened as
Doctor Miles walked in, a middle aged man in his fifties with graying short
black hair and deep grey eyes. He was
tall and the best, which is what the McTavian’s required, having moved from
their home in Michigan to Miami to see the best doctor in the world. He was the preeminent cardiologist in the
country, only the finest for their daughter, and the McTavian’s wouldn’t take
anything less than that.
“Well hello there,
Kyrie.” Doctor Miles greeted with a soft smile, holding her chart in his hand,
wearing dark blue scrubs with a white overcoat. “How are you feeling today?”
“Nervous.” Kyrine
repeated the same thing she told the nurse, Patricia, when asked earlier,
causing the doctor to chuckle softly.
“Well, there’s no
reason to be nervous because you’re here for a very good reason today.” Doctor
Miles set the chart down and pulled the chair up, sitting right in front of
Kyrine, Natalie standing beside her daughter in pure anticipation.
Kyrine felt as
though she couldn’t breathe; especially when Doctor Miles took her hand in his
own comfortingly, midnight blue eyes incredibly timid.
“Kyrie, I have
incredible news for you. We found you a
heart.” Doctor Miles announced with a bright smile, watching those midnight
blue eyes widen as they instantly filled with tears.
Natalie couldn’t
help it and instantly began sobbing, knees giving out as they hit the floor,
burying her face in her hands. “Oh thank you god!” She cried out with joy,
Kyrine just sitting there as huge tears slid down her face, not able to take
her eyes off of Doctor Miles.
“A-A heart?” She
stammered out, covering her mouth with a shaking hand when Doctor Miles nodded,
confirming it again.
“We found you a
heart, Kyrie.”
Kyrine couldn’t
help it and began crying as hard as she could, feeling as though her heart
would burst in her chest. Her mother’s
arms wrapped around her, holding her close as she buried her face in her chest,
clinging for dear life. They found her a
heart, which meant Kyrine wasn’t going to die.
She was going to live a full and happy life, slowly pulling away from
her mother as Natalie mopped her face up with tissues.
“The heart is in
Forks, Washington and they’re waiting for the donor to die. They will not take him off of life support,
but he only has so much time left.” Doctor Miles explained, causing Natalie to
nod, smoothing her daughter’s hair out with her hand.
“When can she get
the transplant?” Natalie instantly asked, hardly containing her excitement,
kissing the top of her daughter’s head. “You’re going to live, my darling.”
“Well, you will
have to move to Forks and wait until the heart is ready to be harvested. It can be anywhere from three to four months.”
Doctor Miles stated, sighing when Natalie and Kyrine looked at him in
confusion. “The family refuses to take the donor off of life support until a
family member arrives home from overseas.
They promised and signed a consent form that if the relative doesn’t
arrive home in time, they will take him off life support and harvest his
organs. That heart is yours, Kyrie.”
Kyrine just nodded,
still not believing this was happening, looking up at her mother through tear
filled eyes. “I’m sorry we have to move again.” She whispered, the guilt
washing through her, and Natalie just held her close.
“Don’t you dare
apologize, Kyrine Elizabeth McTavian! We
don’t mind moving. Forks, Washington
will be happy to have us just like Miami and Detroit did.” Natalie stated,
knowing Nicholas would more than agree to do anything for their daughter,
kissing the top of her head.
“Now then, you know
what needs to be done, but I want you to take extra precaution Kyrie. Minimal activity and I want to add a couple
of foods to your diet to help you gain some weight. You need to be strong enough to withstand the
transplant and ninety five pounds won’t cut it.
I’m also going to prescribe a new blood pressure medication to help that
lower, which means absolutely NO STRESS whatsoever.” Doctor Miles instructed in
a strict voice, knowing this girl would be fine as long as she obeyed what he
said. “I think that’s it, if you have any questions, you know how to contact
me.”
“I actually do have
one, Doctor Miles.” Natalie cleared her throat, placing her hands on Kyrine’s
shoulders gently but firmly. “Nicholas and I talked with Kyrie about this and
we don’t want anyone else doing the transplant.
We will pay you handsomely and do whatever it takes to fly you out to
Forks, Washington to perform the surgery.
We want only the best for our daughter, you understand right?”
Doctor Miles smiled
gently, nodding, and stood up from the chair. “I was already planning on doing
the surgery. When the organs are ready
to be harvested, I will be on the first flight to Forks.” He promised, causing
Natalie and Kyrine to sigh with relief, shaking both of their hands.
“Mom, I’m getting a
heart.” Kyrine whispered after Doctor Miles left the room, causing both of them
to burst in tears again, holding each other tightly.
~!~
“Don’t cry sweetheart, you’re going to ruin your makeup.”
Natalie McTavian stated, jolting her daughter out of her thoughts, trying not
to cry and couldn’t help it since this was her only baby girl.
Now she was getting married and Natalie just wished she could
have a little more time with Kyrine. She
remembered bringing her home from the hospital wrapped in a purple blanket
–Natalie despised the color pink- and the first time she’d taken her into the
newly built nursery. Kyrine was a lonely
child, Natalie only wanted one child and Nicholas understood that completely,
happy with their beautiful daughter.
Neither realized just how much of a nightmare their lives would become
six years down the road and how they’d gotten to this point now.
Swaying slightly, Natalie immediately wrapped an arm around her
daughter’s waist, frowning. “Kyrie, do you need to sit down?” She asked,
watching Kyrine shake her head, sighing heavily. “Sweetheart…”
“I’m fine mom, I promise.”
Kyrine smiled when her cousin, Amaya, walked up to her, wearing
a blood red strapless bridesmaid gown that went two inches above the knee,
hugging her hips and had a hoop neckline.
She had black lace arm warmers, being the only bridesmaid and maid of
honor, the wedding just a very small ceremony.
Amaya Robinson stood around five nine and had blonde hair with blood red
highlights throughout it –she changed it every three months to a different
color- with deep violet eyes. The
McTavian’s took her in when she was five years old, after her parents were
involved in a horrific car accident, both of them killed instantly on
impact. To say Kyrine and Amaya were
close was an understatement; they were sisters.
Amaya also knew what Kyrine was planning that night with her
fiancé and completely understood why.
“Why don’t you go find the coordinator and make sure
everything’s set?” Amaya suggested with a smile, wanting a minute alone with
her sister, tears shining in her eyes. “Give the bride a few minutes to collect
herself.”
Natalie sighed, knowing Amaya wanted to talk with her sister
alone, and kissed her cheek gently. “I’ll be right in the hall if you need me,
both of you.” She squeezed both of their hands before exiting, her sisters
Sally and Amelia following suit.
“Thank you.” Kyrine breathed a sigh of relief and went back to
staring in the mirror, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea overtook her. “I’m
fine.” She held her hand up before Amaya could touch her, just needing to
breathe. “I’m nervous, I’m only eighteen and I’m about to get married.”
“To save your life.” Amaya reminded her gently, placing a hand
on her shoulder, tears stinging her eyes. “How do you think it will feel?”
“I don’t know.” Kyrine whispered, still not believing she agreed
to go along with this, but at this point there were no other options. “You know
this is the only way, Maya.”
As much as Amaya didn’t want to admit it, she knew Kyrine was
making the right decision, swallowing hard. “Just promise me this isn’t the
last time we’ll see each other...” Grasping her hands, tearful violet eyes
stared into saddened midnight blue. “Kyrie…”
“I can’t promise that.” She whispered, slipping her hands out of
Amaya’s, knowing this was going to tear the woman apart. “We’ve already had this
discussion. It’s going to be a very long
time before we see each other again.”
A knock on the dressing room door caused both women to snap
their heads toward it, the father of the bride, Nicholas McTavian, poked his head
in with a smile. “Mind if I come in to wish my daughter well?” He asked,
causing both women to giggle and stepped inside, first hugging Amaya, his
second daughter in his mind and heart. “You look lovely.”
“Thanks Dad.” Amaya whispered, accepting a kiss on the cheek
before he moved to the most beautiful bride, even though she was slowly dying.
“I’m gonna go make sure Mom isn’t changing anything.”
“Good idea.” Nicholas chuckled, the door closing as he took
Kyrine into his arms, trying hard not to muse her. “You look stunning, Ky.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” She whispered, closing her eyes, remembering
when she told her father she was getting a new heart.
~!~
“What did Doctor Miles
say?”
“Daddy…” Kyrine
couldn’t help it as tears filled her eyes, feeling him cup her face in his warm
hand, touching her cold one over his.
She had cold hands because of poor circulation, though Nicholas had
gotten used to it over the past decade. “Daddy, I’m getting a heart.”
Nicholas’s deep sea
green eyes stared down at his daughter in shock, tears filling his own eyes,
and lifted her up as he twirled her around very gently. “My beautiful angel…”
He murmured in her ear, feeling her hold onto him as tightly as she could, not
believing this was happening.
“I couldn’t believe
it either.” Natalie was crying like a baby again, but couldn’t help it. Their family had been through pure hell over
the past decade and this news was the biggest weight lifted from their
shoulders. “We have to go to Forks, Washington, Nicholas.”
“Anywhere.”
Nicholas stated, setting Kyrine down on her feet, kissing the top of her head
lovingly. “We’d fly to Australia if that’s what it took to get you this heart,
angel.”
“You’re getting a
heart?” Amaya finally asked, letting the shock wear off, and tried like hell
not to start crying, but it wasn’t happening. “Oh man chick, that’s great! Get over here!” She hugged Kyrine close, they
were more than cousins, more than sisters…Kyrine and Amaya were best friends
and hung out as much as they could, though they were completely opposite.
“I know! I started crying in front of Doctor Miles
when he told me.” Kyrine sniffled as she pulled back, wiping her tears away,
giggling because Amaya instantly went to check her makeup and hair. “We have to
move again, I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing,
Kyrine.” Natalie ordered her daughter, feeling Nicholas’s loving embrace,
sighing gently. “We told you we’ll do whatever it takes to save you.”
“That’s right
Kyrie, stop worrying so much.” Amaya ordered, wrapping a loose arm around her
shoulders, a smirk spreading across her magenta colored lips. “So when do we
leave?”
“As soon as
possible.” Natalie had already called her realtor while at dinner with Kyrine
earlier that night.
“Forks, Washington
here we come!”
~!~
“Are you ready to do this?” Nicholas asked, trying hard to keep
his emotions at bay around his daughter, not wanting to let her go.
“Yes, I’ll be out in a minute.
I just need a minute to myself.” When her father hesitated, Kyrine
sighed and kissed his lips softly, hugging him tightly around the neck. “I’m
fine, Daddy.”
Nicholas nodded, hugging her tightly against him as his eyes
shut as well, swallowing hard. “I love you, Ky.” He murmured in her ear, being
very gentle because he knew how fragile she was right now, even though she
tried hiding it.
“I love you too, Daddy.” Releasing him, Kyrine turned back to
stare in the mirror, the door closing once more, and took a few deep breaths to
calm her racing heart…her dying heart.
No matter what, Kyrine knew she couldn’t back out of this
because it was her only chance to survive.
Her fiancé would give her what she needed most and Kyrine wasn’t going
to pass it up for anything or anyone in the world. He promised her as soon as they left the
reception, their wedding night could commence and Kyrine shivered at the
thought, clasping her hands tightly together in front of her.
This was it.
The time had finally arrived.
Grabbing her bouquet, Kyrine fixed a few flowers on it with a
smile on her face, inhaling the beautiful roses the florist had gotten for
her. It was made of blood red and white
roses, the colors of her wedding, the most important day of her life. The door opened and closed, Kyrine too busy
fixing her bouquet to look perfect for this moment and turned around with a
huge smile on her face, ready to walk down the aisle to greet her soon-to-be
husband.
“Hello Kyrine.”
Suddenly, Kyrine’s eyes closed as she slumped forward, a strong
arm catching her before she hit the floor.
He nodded once, lifting her up gingerly, knowing he didn’t have much
time to get out of there. Walking over,
he slipped out of the window he’d snuck in, knowing everyone was at the
ceremony, waiting for a bride that would never show up.
It was for Kyrine’s own good.
Chapter 1
~Past~
Preparing to move to Forks, Washington was definitely both
exhausting emotionally and physically.
Once the shock of the news from Doctor Miles wore off, Kyrine
began wondering what he meant when he said she had to wait for her donor to
die. Obviously her donor was still alive
and, with that being the case, Kyrine would be a murderer. She sat up in bed that night, after taking
her medications, sighing heavily while staring out the window. Kyrine looked down at her hands, wondering
what it would feel like to get a new heart.
To have someone else’s heart beating within her chest…someone who had to
die in order for her to live.
Kyrine already knew her parents had made the arrangements to
move to Forks, Washington and that just caused a new wave of guilt to wash over
her. It was because of her they had to
leave Miami, which meant her and Amaya swapping schools again. She wondered how Amaya truly felt about her,
if she really despised her with how much moving they had to do over the past
ten years. Kyrine wouldn’t blame her at
all if Amaya hated her, though it would break her already damaged heart.
Her mother would have a conniption fit if she knew Kyrine was
awake right now worrying about this.
Doctor Miles had ordered Kyrine to have absolutely no stress in her
life, or the bare minimum, which was very hard to do. How could she not think about the life she
was about to take in order to save her own?
Even though the donor was technically brain dead, that didn’t make the
guilt any less powerful.
Another thing Kyrine wondered was what new adventures lay in
store for her family in Forks, Washington.
Kyrine had done some research on the small town, the population a little
over three thousand people as opposed to over a million in Miami. They were going to be moving to a sardine
can, though Kyrine was actually looking somewhat forward to it. She didn’t like congested cities and,
according to the map, there was a lot of wooded area and the Pacific Ocean wasn’t
far off either.
Kyrine loved the ocean.
Slipping out of her bed, Kyrine walked over to the window and
pushed it open, allowing the warm breeze to blow through her raven locks. Forks, Washington never went past seventy
degrees, which she knew Amaya would despise because the woman hated cold
weather. Kyrine sighed as she walked
back over to slip back into bed, knowing she should be saving her energy for
the big move. No sleep would be coming
to her that night though as Kyrine took her diary out, unlocking it, and
proceeded to write down her thoughts about what was coming.
A new heart.
A new home.
Could this possibly be a new beginning for the McTavian
family? Amaya’s last name wasn’t the
same because Natalie and Nicholas felt it would tarnish her parents’ name, even
though they adopted her when she was five years old. Kyrine hoped Amaya wasn’t resentful toward
her when all of this was said and done, when she finally did get her new
heart. Whoever this donor was, Kyrine
truly owed them her life and closed her eyes, shedding a few tears before
finally calling it a night.
The following morning, Kyrine was up after only getting five
hours of sleep, walking into the kitchen where breakfast was waiting for
her. A fruit salad with a glass of apple
of juice, knowing this was probably a change in her diet since she’d lost more
weight. She looked over at Amaya, who
had her hair up in a clip, the magenta highlights looking as though they were
going all over the place on top of her head.
“Morning darling.” Natalie greeted happily, the sparkle in her
midnight blue eyes, which Kyrine hadn’t seen in a very long time.
“Morning mom.” She greeted softly, talking over to the table and
sat in front of Amaya, who was looking over some notes for her upcoming Biology
test. “Hey Maya.”
“Oh hey chick!” Amaya laughed softly; setting her notes down and
took a bite out of her honey cluster cereal. “I didn’t even hear you walk
in. Did you sleep well?”
“Some.” Kyrine chewed her bottom lip, seeing the dramatic makeup
Amaya wore was still intact, not able to help smiling. “How about you?”
“Meh you know how it goes with me. I’m an insomniac through and through, nothing
a little energy drink can’t take care of.” Amaya winked, her eyes rounded in
thick black eyeliner with matching eye shadow, a hint of magenta within
it. Her lips were also painted magenta,
along with the tips of her nails. “Hey Nat, did Nick say when we’ll be leaving
Miami?”
That stab of guilt cut through Kyrine, causing her to take a
small bite out of her fruit salad.
“I’d venture to say within the next month.” Natalie answered
truthfully, knowing they had some time to get everything adjusted before they
had to leave. “So you two will be able to say goodbye to everyone and cover any
loose ends.”
“Cool, I was just wondering.” Amaya honestly didn’t care how
many times she moved, enjoying the new adventures, a smile on her face. “I
think Forks, Washington is going to be awesome.” She winked at Kyrine, who
cracked a hesitant smile, the smile instantly vanishing from Amaya’s face. “Ky,
are you alright chick?”
“Yeah I’m fine.” Kyrine murmured quietly, not looking up at
Amaya, refusing to show her just how guilty she felt with this upcoming move.
Natalie had left the kitchen and Amaya took that opportunity to
slide over to where Kyrine was, sitting beside her. “What’s really going on,
Kyrie?” Amaya demanded, taking her hand, not even flinching at how cold it
was. She was used to it after ten years
and squeezed it reassuringly, sighing when a few tears slipped down Kyrine’s
cheeks.
“How come you don’t hate me, Maya?” Kyrine finally asked,
looking up at the woman she considered more than a cousin and best friend…more
like an older sister, even though they were mere months apart.
Amaya couldn’t help laughing softly, wrapping a comforting arm
around Kyrine’s shoulders. “Ky, there’s no reason for me to hate you. You’re my sister, my best friend, you’re the
one who gets me out of a lot of shit when I pull it with Nat and Nick.” She
chuckled, knowing she was somewhat of a hell raiser, but the McTavian’s didn’t
love her any less. “Why do you think I hate you?”
“Because we have to move again.” Kyrine sniffled, causing Amaya
to laugh softly again, kissing the top of her head.
“Chick, listen to me very carefully. There is no reason for me to hate you for
that. Hell, I’m sick of Miami and ready
for a new adventure. But that’s not the
only reason for this move…” Amaya lifted Kyrine’s chin with her hand, tears
shining in those violet eyes. “You’re getting a new heart, a second chance at
life, Kyrie. That’s the whole reason
behind this and I can’t wait for you to be better so we can run around and
raise hell together.”
Kyrine couldn’t help laughing softly, leaning against her
sister, sniffling gently. “I’m not a hell raiser like you.” She pointed out,
causing Amaya to wink with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“Trust me, when I’m done with you, you will be a bone-a-fide
hell raiser, possibly even crazier than me.” Amaya promised, taking the napkin
and mopping her sister’s face, kissing the top of her head again. “Now stop
worrying about it. You know this would
be happening if it was any one of us.”
“I know, I just can’t help feeling guilty.” Kyrine sighed
heavily, lowering her head again, and took another nibble out of her fruit
salad. “That’s not all that’s bothering me.”
“What else is?” Maya asked, arching a slow eyebrow at Kyrine,
taking her hand reassuringly. “Come on Ky, talk to me girl. What’s on your mind?”
Kyrine knew this was going to sound really stupid, but couldn’t
help feeling the way she did. “Someone else has to die because of me.” She
whispered, running a hand through her raven hair. “I mean…granted, the donor is
technically on life support, but they’re still alive and I have to take their
heart to live. How can I not feel guilty
about that?”
Amaya sighed gently, honestly not blaming Kyrine for how she
felt because she wasn’t sure how she’d feel if the roles were reversed. “You
just have to think of it as a part of the circle of life.” She knew that
sounded really cliché, but it was the truth.
“What is this The Lion King?” Kyrine retorted, trying to crack a
joke as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. “I know what you mean, sorry.”
“No problem.” Amaya grinned; glad Kyrine was trying to find some
sort of humor in this situation. “But honestly this is the way it’s supposed to
be, sweetie. Your donor is brain dead,
the only thing keeping them him or her alive is a machine with a lot of tubes
in their body. That’s it, without that
they would die. Whoever this is deserves
to be called a hero for being a donator and helping others live.”
“Yeah I guess you’re right…” Kyrine sighed as she took another
bite, knowing her mother wanted her to eat all of this, but wasn’t sure if she
could. “What time do we have to be at school?”
“We still have some time.” Amaya assured her, not caring if they
were late for school, since they knew Kyrine’s condition and whatnot. “Just
finish eating and stop stressing over everything. You can’t be worrying like this, it’s not
good for you, Ky.
Kyrine knew she was right, knowing Doctor Miles would be very
upset with her if he found out how much worrying Kyrine was doing. Worry was almost as bad as stress, which
Kyrine had to really limit herself on, and sipped some of her apple juice. Somehow, Amaya always made Kyrine feel
better, no matter the circumstances and Kyrine was blessed to have her in her
life.
Natalie walked back inside, seeing the girls were still eating,
arching a slow eyebrow. “Kyrine, I want all of that gone before you leave.” She
stated, remembering the weight loss, worry evident in her blue eyes. “Please?”
“I’m trying, Mom.” Kyrine assured her with a small smile and
looked over at Amaya, who winked at her encouragingly.
“Good, I have to get to work and your father won’t be home until
late. He’s going to be breaking the news
of our departure to the staff.” She watched Kyrine flinch and walked over,
wrapping her arm around her daughter’s shoulders, kissing the top of her head.
“Stop worry, darling. This is almost
over and we can finally have a normal, happy life.”
“Don’t worry Nat, I’ll take care of her.” Amaya assured the
woman she considered the closest thing to a mother, smiling when Natalie nodded.
“I say we take the day off from school today and just veg out.” She stated as
soon as Natalie left the house.
Kyrine blinked, knowing her parents usually didn’t mind when she
took a day off from school, eyes narrowing slightly. “You didn’t study for that
test did you?” When Amaya just rolled her eyes, Kyrine couldn’t help giggling
softly. “No wonder you want to stay home so badly.”
“Well I can’t fucking help it!
I don’t understand the shit!” Amaya whined, frowning as she looked down
at the notes, which were mostly scribbled with doodles and drawings. “Come on
Ky, let me use you as a scapegoat, please?”
“I don’t know…” Kyrine folded her arms in front of her chest,
tapping her arms with her fingers contemplatively. “What’s in it for me?”
Amaya laughed and walked over, wrapping her arms around Kyrine’s
shoulders from behind. “I’ll go to the video store and get our usual movies and
snacks. We can veg out and talk about
our big move to Forks and get your mind off of things. School sucks, come on Ky!”
Knowing she would probably regret doing this, Kyrine finally
groaned, nodding reluctantly. “Fine, fine I’ll call mom and have her call both
of us off.” She chuckled when Amaya jumped in the air, tossing her fist in the
air, and raced out the door to get to the movie store. Kyrine took her cell phone out and dialed the
number, waiting patiently for her mom to answer.
“Natalie McTavian speaking?”
“Hey mom, it’s Kyrie.
Listen, I’m not feeling so good and Amaya is worried. She’s going to stay home with me from school
today.” Kyrine said, hating to use her sickness as a scapegoat, but honestly
she hadn’t studied for the biology test either.
“Oh my god, darling, do you want me to come home?” Natalie’s
voice filled with worry instantly, causing a wave of guilt to crash over Kyrine
again.
“No mom, it’s fine. I
think I didn’t get enough sleep last night.
I had a lot on my mind and Amaya wants to stay with me just in
case. Can you call us off of school?”
Kyrine asked softly, chomping on a piece of pineapple, smiling when her mother
instantly agreed. “Thanks mom, you’re the best.”
“You rest, my darling. I
will take care of everything and pick up yours and Maya’s homework after I get
off of work.” Natalie stated and they hung up moments later, Kyrine feeling
awful for lying to her mother.
“Oh well.” She sighed and sat back down at the kitchen table,
finishing her fruit salad.
Amaya came through the door about a half an hour later, carrying
two bags of goodies with movies, causing Kyrine to walk over and see what she
picked out. “Ooo you know how much I love the Die Hard movies.” Kyrine grinned,
instantly taking the third one, and walking into the living room to get it
ready to start.
“Only the best for us.” Amaya called over her shoulder, bringing
the snacks in the living room with apple juice and Pepsi. They ran upstairs quickly, Amaya faster than
Kyrine, to change out of their school clothes and into pajamas. “So Nat bought
it then?”
“Yeah, I hate lying to her though.” Kyrine sighed, walking out
in a pair of white pajama pants with a matching long sleeved shirt. “That’s the
last time I do that, Maya.”
“Yeah, yeah whatever.” Amaya laughed, walking out in her black
pajama pants and matching tank top, instantly frowning when she noticed
Kyrine’s lips turning blue. “You need to really rest and relax today. Your lips are blue again.”
“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night…” Kyrine admitted
sheepishly, walking down the stairs slowly because she couldn’t exert herself
too much, snuggling on the couch with her favorite dark blue blanket. “I’ll be
alright.”
“Well just in case, you need to take at least a four hour nap
today.” Amaya ordered, worry clear in her violet eyes, having washed the makeup
off since she wasn’t going anywhere today.
Amaya knew Kyrine was running out of time and snuggled on the
opposite side of the couch, glancing at her.
They had to get that transplant fast because it’d been ten years since
Kyrine was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She’d had at least ten open heart surgeries
to repair damage to her heart and the doctor finally told them two years ago
that it was time for a heart transplant.
Deciding not to think about it right now, honestly not able to fathom
losing her sister, Amaya focused on the movie and laughed gently with Kyrine.
Chapter 2
A month later, the McTavian’s made the big move from Miami to
Forks, Nicholas having hired a moving crew to take care of everything. Natalie was extremely worried about them
breaking something, so Nicholas paid for extra insurance, wanting to ease his
wife’s mind. She had enough on her plate
what with their daughter’s heart transplant on the horizon.
Amaya was extremely excited about the move and kept assuring
Kyrine everything would be fine. They
said goodbye to their friends, who all wished Kyrine good luck with the heart
transplant, and promised to keep in touch via internet. Of course it never happened, but it didn’t
bother the girls because they always managed to make new friends wherever they
went.
At least Amaya did.
Kyrine was the quiet one and generally tried keeping to herself,
though people still befriended her. Out
of sympathy she wasn’t sure, but Kyrine didn’t question it. She simply rolled with the punches, knowing
she had to keep her stress level down like Doctor Miles instructed. Her heart would last at least another two
years if she didn’t strain it too much and kept up with her medications.
The house wasn’t as big as the one in Miami, though it would
suffice. It had two stories, the girls
having the entire upstairs, which didn’t bother them a bit. It was white with black trimming, the colors
mostly neutral, though upstairs was completely different. Kyrine’s room was different shades of blue, a
calming soothing color, while Amaya’s was decked out in magenta, black and
white all swirled together. The
carpeting was black all throughout the upstairs, which went with both of the
girls’ rooms.
By the time they arrived, the movers had just finished so the
McTavian’s could just kick back and relax in their new house. Forks, Washington was definitely different
and surrounded by a lot of woods, which both girls enjoyed because they liked
going for walks. Of course, Kyrine
couldn’t go for a long period of time, but it was good for her to have some
exercise.
“So what do you think?” Amaya asked, walking inside Kyrine’s
room, seeing all of her things were placed exactly where she wanted. “Do you
like it here?”
“It’s peaceful.” Kyrine replied with a small smile, knowing
Amaya would probably paint this small town red the first chance she got. “I
like the rain.”
“It’s way smaller than Miami, but I’m sure I can find something
constructive to do.” Amaya grinned; walking over to sit on Kyrine’s bed, seeing
her lips had a small tinge of blue to them again. “You’re tired.”
“I know.” Kyrine nodded, not able to deny it, yawning softly as
she stretched her arms in the air. “I hate jetlag.”
Amaya nodded, knowing the traveling couldn’t be good for Kyrine,
but luckily they didn’t do it often. “Get into bed and I’ll pop in a movie for
you.” She instructed softly, pulling the comforter back as Kyrine slipped under
it, having done this ever since they were little. “What movie do you want to
watch?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Kyrine whispered softly, yawning even
louder and longer this time, already feeling her eyes drifting shut. She was exhausted because of the jetlag
mixing with her medications, which usually knocked her for a loop anyway. “Love
you sis.”
Amaya looked over her shoulder at Kyrine and walked over, after
popping in the movie, lying beside her stroking her hair. “Love ya too, sis.”
She whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, vowing to do what it took
to protect her from anyone in Forks High School who even THOUGHT about messing
with her little sister.
Amaya was older than Kyrine by four months, but she still took
the big sister duty seriously.
“Is she alright?” Nicholas asked from the doorway, having
witnessed the interaction between his daughter and Amaya, smiling worriedly.
“She’s exhausted from the flight.” Amaya whispered, not wanting
to disturb Kyrine’s rest and slipped from the bed slowly, walking out with
Nicholas. “I’m worried about her too, Nick.”
“You know you can call me Dad, right?” Nicholas pointed out
quietly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You know we consider you like
one of our own, Amaya.”
“I know that Nick, but you know nobody, not even you and Nat,
can take the place of my parents.” Amaya hoped she didn’t sound mean when she
said that, but very rarely sugarcoated anything, not even when it came to her
aunt and uncle. “I love you guys, you know that.”
Nicholas chuckled, having gotten used to Amaya’s rather brash
ways, nodding as he kissed her temple. “Well I just wanted to let you know that
you are our daughter just like Kyrine.
We love you both equally.”
Amaya nodded, though she didn’t believe that, honestly fine with
it. “Thanks Nick.” She glanced back at the door, chewing her bottom lip
nervously. “She’s running out of time isn’t she?”
Nicholas sighed with a reluctant nod, not wanting to acknowledge
that fact, but couldn’t deny it either. “She really needs to rest a lot more
until the surgery is scheduled. She’s
going to be a whole new person with that heart.” He sounded confident, causing
Amaya to nod.
“I can’t even…I can’t lose her.” Amaya swallowed incredibly
hard, feeling a lump form in her throat, tears stinging her violet eyes.
“Losing Mom and Dad was hard enough, even though I was only five years
old. I still remember how I felt when you
and Nat told me about it. Losing Kyrie
would be too much for me, I don’t think I could honestly take it.”
“You’re not the only one, but we’re not going to lose her,
Amaya.” Nicholas pulled her into his arms, holding her close, not doing this
often because Amaya tried putting up a tough front with him and Natalie.
“Everything is going to work out, Am, I promise.”
Amaya could only nod as she clung to Nicholas for dear life,
glad she’d wiped her makeup off because right now it’d be smearing his white
dress shirt. “Sorry.” She whispered, pulling away a few minutes later, trying
to regain her composure.
Nicholas chuckled softly, running a finger down her cheek in a
fatherly way. “Anytime Am.” He winked, glancing at the door of Kyrine’s door.
“Let me know when she wakes up. Natalie
is cooking spaghetti and I know Kyrine will want some.”
“You got it, thanks again Nick.” Amaya watched him walk down the
stairs, knowing he would keep what happened between them a secret, and headed
to her own room.
Kyrine ended up sleeping throughout most of the night, which
didn’t happen ever, though it was a good thing.
She needed it, especially with how little sleep she’d gotten lately; it
was her body’s way of shutting down and forcing her to relax. Natalie made a plate for her and left a note
on her daughter’s nightstand in case she did get up starving.
Of course Kyrine was hungry when she got up at a quarter to five
in the morning, knowing she had her first day of school at Forks High School
that day. She felt rejuvenated and
stretched her arms in the air, slipping out of bed to turn her DVD player and
TV off. Amaya was such a saint and knew
exactly what to do to make Kyrine fall right to sleep.
After a quick shower, Kyrine brushed her teeth and hair, leaving
it down as it went to the middle of her back, wondering what to wear for her
first day of school. She decided on a
pair of blue jeans with a long sleeved white shirt, pulling a short sleeved
blue shirt over it that had a V shaped neckline. Slipping on a pair of white and blue tennis
shoes, Kyrine walked out and went downstairs to the kitchen, having read her
mother’s nightstand note about the spaghetti.
It was breakfast time, but Kyrine couldn’t pass up her mother’s
famous spaghetti, warming it up while she flipped on the small TV on the
island. Kyrine took that time to look
around the new house, seeing it was nearly the same layout as the house in
Miami, her mother had a certain taste she liked. The kitchen attached to the dining room and living
room with an incredibly big open floor plan, plenty of room to move around
freely.
The microwave beeped and Kyrine took the plate out, grabbing a
fork, and proceeded to eat every bit of it.
She was starving, having skipped lunch and dinner the previous day
because of how horrid her jetlag was.
Just as she finished the last bite, a sleepy Amaya came stumbling into
the kitchen, muttering something about needing coffee.
“Sit down, I’ll get it.”
“Thanks chick, you’re the best.”
Kyrine winked, rinsing her plate and fork off before slipping
them into the dishwasher, starting a huge pot of coffee. Her parents would want some no doubt, Kyrine
wasn’t allowed to have any caffeine because of her congestive heart failure. The caffeine would definitely speed up her
heart rate and that’s what everyone wanted to avoid happening as much as
possible.
“How did you sleep?” Kyrine asked, slipping back in her seat
across from Amaya, sliding over the cup of java.
“Like shit.” Amaya muttered, running a hand through her frazzled
blonde magenta highlighted hair. “You know how I am the first few nights in a
new place. I’ll adjust and be sleeping
like a log in no time. What time did you
get up?”
“About five this morning.” Kyrine answered, shrugging her
shoulders when Amaya raised a slow eyebrow. “I slept throughout the night if
you didn’t remember.”
“Yeah I know and you needed it.
Your lips are the color of roses again and you have a lot more color in
your face.” Amaya observed, sipping her cup of coffee slowly, sighing in
contentment as it instantly awakened her. “So are you excited about today?”
Kyrine shrugged, chewing her bottom lip. “I’m nervous to be
honest, but I know everything is going to be fine.” She smiled when Amaya
nodded, no doubt in her reassuring violet eyes, which is what Kyrine needed.
“Morning girls.” Nicholas greeted, kissing Kyrine’s cheek and
then Amaya’s head, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Did you both sleep well?”
The girls started laughing softly, Kyrine nodding while Amaya
shook her head. “I need to go get ready for school.” Amaya walked out of the
kitchen, having finished her cup of coffee, and headed upstairs passing Natalie
on the way.
“Kyrie, you ate spaghetti for breakfast?” Natalie sighed when
her daughter nodded, not able to help chuckling. “Do you have any room for
fruit?”
“Sure, I’ll eat a few pieces mom.” Kyrine knew she had to have
some kind of fruit in the morning because it was part of her eating
regiment. Her mother took it very
seriously, though there were some things Kyrine couldn’t resist…like her
mother’s spaghetti.
“What am I going to do with you?” Natalie chortled, kissing her
daughter’s forehead, setting a small bowlful of cup up fresh fruit in front of
her. “Don’t forget, you girls don’t have to be to school until eight o’clock.”
Forks had a later school schedule, though Natalie didn’t mind
it. They got out at four o’clock instead
of three, which would mean all of them would get home around the same time,
depending on how late Natalie and Nicholas worked. Kyrine smiled with a nod, knowing her and
Amaya would have a lot of free time to kill because her parents were somewhat
workaholics. Still, they always managed
to somehow always be there when either girl needed them or both of that matter.
“Well I am officially ready for the first day at Forks High
School!” Amaya announced with a grin, walking in with her dramatic makeup. She wore black pants that flared around her
black knee high two inch boots with a black long sleeved shirt that had slashes
throughout it, a purple material underneath so it didn’t show off any
skin. Her hair was half up and half
down, bangs angled for style, also having magenta streaks through them. “Kyrie,
you really should let me dress you one day.”
“No thanks, I prefer remaining conservative.” Kyrine replied
with a soft smile, causing Amaya to roll her eyes, grabbing a bagel with some
cream cheese.
“That’s because you’re no fun.” Amaya stuck her tongue out at
Kyrine, who reciprocated the notion, both girls laughing.
“Enough you two.” Natalie shook her head, looking amused,
wearing a blue and white pinstriped long sleeved pant suit with a silver dress
shirt underneath the matching cardigan.
Her beautiful blonde hair pooled down her back and over her shoulders in
waves. “Okay I really have to get going, you both have your keys right?”
“Stop worrying Nat. I
promise to take good care of Kyrie.” Amaya winked, causing Natalie to flash a
quick smile, kissing both girls on their heads.
“Call if you need anything.” She walked out, Nicholas having
already left, both of them lawyers so they had clients backed up. There were days when they had to fly to
different cities, though the girls didn’t mind because they had each other.
“You ready?” The excitement in Amaya’s eyes was contagious
because Kyrine felt her heart speed up a bit, nodding in agreement.
They both grabbed their book bags and walked out the door,
heading for Amaya’s red Toyota RAV 4.
They slipped inside and Amaya instantly began blasting Breaking Benjamin,
winking at Kyrine reassuringly. She
pulled out as they headed to Forks High School, the rain having not stopped,
though both girls didn’t seem to mind.
They arrived about ten minutes later as Amaya pulled into the
high school’s parking lot, cutting the ignition. Eyes instantly landed on the red Toyota RAV 4
and Amaya smirked, that mischievous gleam sparkling in her eyes. Kyrine groaned inwardly, really not wanting
to know what Amaya had in mind as they both slipped out of the SUV, Amaya
instantly going to her sister’s side.
“Do you all have a staring problem?” Amaya demanded sharply,
causing everyone to lower their eyes instantly, sighing happily. She still had the intimidation factor, which
is what was needed because they were the new kids on the block.
“Do you really have to do that?” Kyrine whispered, causing Amaya
to roll her eyes, shouldering a black book bag over her shoulder.
“Yes because they won’t mess with you if you show them who is boss
first.” She replied simply, causing Kyrine to sigh gently, both of them walking
past a group of people who had stared at them from the moment the red Toyota
RAV 4 SUV pulled into the parking lot.
The girls had every class together, thanks to the McTavian’s
request, because Amaya was the only one who could handle Kyrine if and when she
had an episode. They weren’t taking any
chances, especially with how close Kyrine was to getting her heart transplant. The school knew exactly what kind of
condition Kyrine had so she didn’t have gym on her school schedule, instead
taking another health class.
Kyrine was begging for the heart transplant to arrive so she
could be a normal high school student.
Chapter 3
The first class was science and Kyrine ignored the looks
everyone gave her, knowing both her and Amaya had walked in late. Mr. Stanley had simply nodded and smiled,
introducing both of them before asking to choose a table to sit at. Amaya squeezed Kyrine’s hand beneath the
table, silently letting her know everything was going to be alright. Surprisingly, the class went by fast with
Kyrine taking notes, knowing she would be putting them in an outline later on
to decipher them easily.
Kyrine was a straight A student and had been since the day she
started school, having the uncanny ability to rarely study and ace all quizzes
and tests. It also helped that some of
the material Mr. Stanley currently taught both girls already knew, Florida
schooling a little more advanced than Washington’s. When the teacher asked a question regarding a
constellation, Kyrine’s hand shot up and she answered without preamble,
impressing the teacher to say the least.
Amaya could feel a pair of eyes on her and immediately turned
her head, noticing a guy with short blonde hair and blue eyes staring back at
her. She smirked back at him with a wink
before turning back to the teacher, knowing she still had it even in
Washington. Not a saint by any means,
Amaya had lost her virtue at a young age and honestly enjoyed a good romp or
two with a guy, depending who he was.
She was picky in choosing the guys she slept with, not wanting to gain a
reputation for being the school’s easy lay.
After class, Amaya walked with Kyrine down the hallway, when
that blonde came strutting up to her. “What’s up?” The guy asked with a smile,
wearing what looked to be a Forks High School varsity jacket and blue jeans,
his hands shoved in the front pockets.
“Going to class, what’s up with you?” Amaya shot back with a
smirk, folding her arms in front of her chest, raising an eyebrow when his eyes
drifted from hers to her chest. “Hey junior, my eyes are up here.”
Chuckling, the guy nodded, though his eyes never left her chest.
“I’m fully aware where your eyes are, sweetheart,” He paused briefly to finally
trail them up her body before locking on fiery violet eyes. “I just happen to
enjoy another view right now.”
“Oh really?” Amaya stepped forward, pretending to be turned on
by him. “Do you know what view I enjoy?”
“Uh uh, what might that be?” He asked, her hand sliding slowly
down his chest and groaned, her touch already lighting him on fire. That groan quickly turned into a high pitch
squeal when her hand suddenly grabbed his lower extremities, squeezing as hard as
she possibly could. “OWWW!!”
Kyrine groaned, knowing exactly what Amaya was doing and shook
her head, stepping back to stay out of the way. “Let’s get one thing straight,
junior, I don’t appreciate being looked at the way you’re looking at me. I’m not a piece of meat dangling on a damn
string for your enjoyment to try catching.
And I’m not the slightest bit interested in anything you have to offer
me. So the next time you talk to a
woman, make sure you look into her eyes and treat her with some damn
respect! Do you understand me?” When he
didn’t say anything, she squeezed harder, smirking wickedly when he nodded.
“Y-Yes! God please stop
it!” He cried out and stumbled back when she shoved away from him, his groin
burning from how hard she’d squeezed. “You stupid teasing bitch!!”
Amaya growled and stalked after him, watching him immediately
retreat down the hallway holding his sack. “I think he got the message, don’t
you?” She asked innocently, though her eyes burned with mischief, daring
another boy to walk up to her without an ounce of respect.
“You do realize you’re going to get in trouble for that right?”
Kyrine couldn’t help chuckling when Amaya shrugged her shoulders, knowing her
cousin didn’t take any drivel from anyone.
“Hey, when a guy walks up to you fucking you with his eyes, he
needs to be put in his place.” Amaya simply stated, refusing to apologize for
what she’d done. “Maybe next time he’ll have more respect for a woman.”
Kyrine couldn’t argue with that and followed Amaya down the
hallway toward their next class. “I still think you overstepped boundaries.”
She whispered, causing Amaya to roll her eyes heavenward, draping an arm around
her cousin’s shoulders.
“That was mild, Kyrie dear.”
Around lunchtime, Kyrine walked inside the cafeteria of Forks
High School, seeing all the tables were taken up and decided to just go outside
with a bowl of fruit salad. Amaya was
down at the principal’s office due to punching a girl in the face for calling
her a freaky bitch. Kyrine couldn’t help
smirking, remembering how fast Amaya’s fist flew forward and chuckled softly,
the smell of rain in the air.
Spotting a table under a nearby tree, Kyrine headed in that
direction and slipped on the top of it, knowing she had to eat so she could
take her medication. Kyrine honestly
wished she could wait until after school to take it, but Doctor Miles and her
parents would have a fit if she didn’t.
Sighing, Kyrine began to slowly eat her fruit, wearing a heavy black
sweatshirt she’d brought with her because of how cold Forks was. Still she loved it, especially the fact that
it seemed to rain all the time, the sound of it tapping at her window very
soothing to both her mind and heart.
He watched her from a distance, raising a slow eyebrow as she
ate alone, wondering who she was.
Something was definitely different about this girl, though he couldn’t
put his finger on it. Of course, any new
girl intrigued him at first, but soon they got boring and he moved on to the
next one. This one definitely piqued his
interest and he decided to go introduce himself, hoping he didn’t intimidate
her.
“Hello.” He greeted in a low voice, watching as Kyrine’s head
snapped up to stare into a pair of unbelievable golden topaz eyes.
His breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her sad
midnight blue eyes, knowing there was way more to this girl. The amount of melancholy and kindness in
those eyes actually made his heart hurt, causing him to mentally scoff because
he didn’t have one. Of course she didn’t
know that and took a step forward, watching her instantly chew her bottom lip
nervously.
“Hi.”
Again, his breath hitched at the sound of her angelic voice,
closing his eyes to savor it.
“What are you doing out here all by yourself?” He asked, those amber
orbs locking with hers again, causing the girl’s eyes to lower to her food as
she took a small piece of pineapple in her mouth.
“Waiting for my sister.” She answered softly, wondering what
this guy wanted and hoped he didn’t cause any trouble with her.
Her heart was already pounding fiercely, something Kyrine knew
shouldn’t be happening, but couldn’t stop it.
This guy was very intimidating, standing well over six feet tall and
towered over her even as she sat on top of the table. He had short cropped black hair and wore a
long sleeved dark grey shirt with what looked like a black one underneath, the
sleeves rolled up to his elbows along with black jeans.
What captivated her most about him was the color of his eyes, she’d
never seen anyone with pure golden eyes.
His skin was pale white, reminding her of the moon and looked as though
he could crush anyone with one of his muscular arms. The shirts he wore stretched across his chest
to show off his strapping torso. When he
took a step closer to her, Kyrine instinctively backed away, setting her nearly
untouched fruit to the side.
Kyrine had to learn how to breathe again.
He frowned, not liking her reaction and knew he’d already scared
her, sighing. “I won’t hurt you.” He assured her, hating the fact he always
intimidated people whenever he came around, which is why he normally kept to
himself. “I’m sorry, I’ll leave…”
“No wait.” Kyrine wondered what made her say that and blinked,
watching him slowly turn those golden eyes back to her. “Please stay.” She had
no idea why she didn’t want him to disappear, but Kyrine already felt a
connection to him.
His dark eyebrow rose, wondering if she was serious and once
again became drawn by those midnight blue eyes, tilting his head slightly. “Are
you sure? I don’t want to scare you…” He
watched her nod, picking up her bowl of fruit again, a soft smile spreading on
his lips.
“Sit with me.” Kyrine requested in that same beatific voice and
he couldn’t deny her anything, already knowing this girl had her wrapped around
his finger.
Walking over, he sat down on the lower bench of the table,
looking up at her again. “What’s your name?” He asked in a soothing deep voice,
watching her take another shaky bite of fruit. “You don’t have to tell me, but
I am curious.”
“Kyrine. What’s yours?”
“Emmett.” He smiled gently, still not believing she hadn’t
stopped him from leaving. “Kyrine, that’s an unusual but beautiful name.”
Roses bloomed in her cheeks from his compliment, hearing his
soft husky chuckle and Kyrine once again felt her heart rate speed up. “Thanks,
Emmett is also an unusual name, though it suits you.”
He shrugged and moved to sit right beside her, staring down into
her eyes again. “Did you recently move to Forks?” He couldn’t help asking, his
curiosity burning to get to know more about her.
“Yes, this is my first day.” She sighed almost wistfully, glad
to have someone other than Amaya to converse with.
“Where did you move from?”
“Miami, Florida.”
That surprised Emmett because normally people who lived in the
sunshine state rarely moved all the way to a dreary rainy place like Forks,
Washington. “Interesting, do you like it here, Kyrine?” Her name slipped from
his mouth in a gentle caress and Kyrine honestly wouldn’t mind him saying her
name more often.
She nodded, taking another bite of fruit and closed her eyes
when a soft wind blew across her, causing a few wisps of black hair to brush
across her cheek. Emmett couldn’t stop
himself from doing so and reached out to swept them away from her face, tucking
it back behind her ear, their eyes locking again. Kyrine entranced him in ways Emmett couldn’t
begin to fathom, wondering where this angel came from and then remembered she’d
been in the warm sunny state of Florida.
“Why did you move from Florida?
Most people who live there prefer the sun over rain.” He pointed out,
their noses practically touching and Kyrine suddenly looked away, breaking the
eye contact.
There was no way Kyrine could tell him why she was really here
or anyone for that matter, not wanting to be pitied. “My parents are lawyers,
they had to move here.” She lied smoothly, though her voice trembled slightly
and Kyrine knew it was time to take her medication.
“They had to move from Florida to Washington because they’re
lawyers?” Emmett’s voice sounded skeptical and Kyrine knew she had to get away
from him, not wanting him to find out about her disease.
For once, she felt like a regular girl with a guy talking to her
and Kyrine didn’t want that to disappear, knowing it would the moment he found
out about her heart condition. This
feeling was too great, Kyrine now realizing what Amaya felt like every time a
guy walked up to greet her or try to make small conversation. Kyrine felt normal and blinked away the tears
that began stinging her eyes, not wanting to show weakness in front of Emmett.
“I’m sorry to cut this short, but I really need to get going.”
Kyrine slipped from the table and shoved her half eaten bowl of fruit in her
bag, slinging it over her shoulder hastily.
“Whoa, whoa hold on a second.” Emmett stopped her by reaching
out, his hand grabbing her arm, forcing Kyrine to turn around as their eyes
locked together. “What’s wrong?” He could see her trying to fight back tears
and frowned, wanting to help her with whatever she was going through. “Kyrine…”
“Please don’t.” She whispered, pulling her arm out of his grasp,
shaking her head. “I have to go, Emmett, I’m sorry.”
He could only watch as she headed inside the school as fast as
she could, frowning, wondering what had scared her off. Knowing there was more to Kyrine, Emmett was
going to find out, deciding she was his new interest. The bell ringing throughout the school
grounds signaled it was time to get back to class and Emmett groaned, wishing
he could just go speeding through the woods to clear his mind. Esme wouldn’t be happy if he skipped class
again and Emmett didn’t want to cause her anymore grief, reluctantly heading
inside a different way.
“Ky?” Amaya watched her cousin running toward her, blinking,
wondering why the hell she was in such a hurry. “Honey calm down.” She ordered,
knowing Kyrine was straining her heart, sitting her down in a chair in the
hallway. “What happened?”
“N-Nothing…” Kyrine had her bottle of medication in her hand,
trying to calm down as she leaned her head back against the wall, closing her
eyes. “I’m fine…”
“No you’re not, you’re full of shit.” Amaya growled, hating it
when Kyrine tried lying to her because it never worked. “What happened?”
Kyrine swallowed hard and lowered her eyes, struggling with her
bottle, Amaya taking it from her trembling hands. Amaya frowned, not liking how her cousin was
acting and handed over a pill along with her bottled water. Taking it, Kyrine swallowed down the pill and
placed a hand over her heart, trying to just breathe, feeling Amaya’s arm
around her.
“Breathe, Kyrine, breathe.” Amaya coached, wondering the made
Kyrine hyperventilate and looked up down the hallway, not seeing anyone following
her cousin. “You’re safe now, I promise.”
“I was never in danger.” Kyrine assured her, once she felt her
heart calm down to its normal slow beat, but didn’t move from the chair yet. “I’m
sorry if I worried you.” She wasn’t going to tell Amaya about Emmett, knowing
her cousin would go on a rampage and get hurt in the process. “We need to get to class.”
Amaya knew Kyrine was hiding something from her and hated it,
but knew she couldn’t push Kyrine, nodding. “Come on, the teachers all know the
reason we’re late.” When Kyrine frowned, Amaya shrugged because it wasn’t her
fault. “Your rents did it, not me.”
Kyrine wished her parents would just let her be a regular school
student, knowing they were too worried for her safety and well being to do
so. The heart transplant would change
everything and Kyrine could hardly wait, knowing they had to be patient until
the donor’s family came back from overseas.
Kyrine just hoped it happened sooner rather than later, honestly not
knowing how much more she could take.
Chapter 4
Emmett could only stare out the window as rain fell from the
cloudy sky, thunder rumbling shortly afterwards, which was very soothing to the
ears. He had his elbow pressed against
the glass above his head, his forehead doing the same thing, trying to get his
mind off of Kyrine. Never in his life
and existence had he ever encountered someone like her and Emmett knew she was
special.
Not yellow school bus special, but special as in she had
something more to offer and deep demons that she refused to unleash. He could almost smell the fear coming from
her, wanting to know all of her secrets that were behind those saddened
midnight blue eyes. Also, he could tell
that she was sick, but he had no idea just how serious it was, fighting not to
pry because it wasn’t his business.
Hell, if Emmett really wanted to, he could simply go to Edward
and ask him to read Kyrine’s mind, but again that definitely was an invasion of
privacy. He wanted to get to know Kyrine
and see if she would trust him enough to tell him what was wrong with her. Somehow, Emmett knew it would be quite awhile
before Kyrine opened up to him and he was a patient man, deciding he would
definitely be approaching her at school to befriend her.
“You’re a million miles away, Emmett.”
He turned and smiled sadly at the woman he could only claim as
his mother, Esme Cullen, before looking back out the window. “Yeah, got a lot
on my mind, sorry.”
Esme simply smiled and walked over to stand beside him, staring
out the window at the rain. “I’ve been watching you for the past five minutes
and you’re usually very alert when someone is close by.” She pointed out
softly, her voice sounding like an angel’s, turning to face him. “Do you want
to talk about it?”
Emmett wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, especially since he
was interested in a human, who could very well put their existence in
danger. Then again, Edward had done the
same thing when he fell for Isabella Swan and now she was one of them, married
and they both had a beautiful daughter named Renesmee Cullen. Isabella was a simple human girl that moved
from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks to live with her father, Charlie Swan, who was
the sheriff of Forks, wanting to spend time with him.
Her mother, Renee, had married Phil Dwyer, who was a minor
league baseball player. He’d gotten a
job offer in Florida and Bella didn’t want to intrude on their new life
together, so she requested to move to Forks to spend time with Charlie. Bella and Edward soon met, instantly having a
connection, had their ups and downs, but in the end they ended up getting
married just after Bella graduated from Forks High School. On their honeymoon, Bella wanted to feel what
it was like to make love human and ended up becoming pregnant shortly
after.
Edward wanted to kill the baby, but Bella refused, actually
asking Rosalie’s help to protect the baby from Edward, claiming she could be
saved during the birth by being changed into a vampire. Edward hated the idea, but ended up doing
what she wanted, saving her life after a rather bloody and brutal birth of
their daughter, Renesmee, a human-vampire hybrid. Emmett remembered that night and fought back
a shiver, having been evacuated from the house so none of them would attack
Bella since she was still human and there was a lot of blood.
The Volturi, which was their brand of royalty in the vampire
world and enforced laws –they were the foundation of peace and civilization as
well, even though most viewed them as supposed villains- paid a visit to the
Cullen’s after finding out about Renesmee.
Irina Denali –she was one of the original Denali sisters out of the
Denali Coven, which was located somewhere in Alaska- had gone to the Volturi
claiming that they spawned an Immortal Child.
She wanted revenge on her lover, Laurent, which was killed by the
shape-shifters that protected the lands of La Push, Washington.
The Cullen’s had a peace treaty with the Cullen’s, promising
never to feed on a human, only animals, and they couldn’t cross the treaty
line, which was at the very edge where La Push and Forks territory met. If the treaty was broken in any way, there
would be all out war with the shape-shifters and that was definitely something
the Cullen’s wanted to avoid at any and all costs. There was only one time the treaty had been
broken and that was Bella becoming a vampire to save her life, though Edward
had asked permission before doing so, not wanting a war with the
shape-shifters.
After giving false information to the Volturi regarding
Renesmee, Irina was executed by Caius, one of the main members of the Volturi,
and burned before everyone to add to her humiliation. Alice and Jasper had saved Renesmee by
tracking down another human-vampire hybrid, which was completely different from
an Immortal Child named Nahuel, which was enough proof to the Volturi that
Renesmee was not a threat to their kind.
The Volturi left in peace thankfully, promising to be back to visit and
hoped it was on better terms, though Emmett hoped he never had to see any of
them again.
His thoughts turned to Rosalie, his ex-wife, gritting his teeth
as he remembered how she’d just left without a word. It was a simple split, nothing special. Rosalie had decided she wanted to go back to
Volterra with the Volturi to join them, more importantly with Volturi guard
member, Alec. He had stayed behind for
several months after the Volturi came to investigate Renesmee, though the Cullen’s
had no idea.
Rosalie would sneak out at all hours of the night to see him,
claiming she was hunting and preferred doing it alone, which was very
suspicious to Emmett. They always hunted
together. Emmett had decided he had
enough of Rosalie’s lying and followed her one night, catching both of them in
the act. Alec had Rosalie straddling his
lap, both completely naked, and they were screwing deep in the woods where
nobody would hear them…or so they thought.
Emmett didn’t know what to feel or think, wanting to attack Alec
for destroying his relationship with Rosalie, but then he heard something that
changed everything. Rosalie had been in
the heat of passion and cried out that she loved Alec while he growled he loved
her in return. He could only watch in
true mortification as they had sex, rolling around in the dirt and grass
getting filthy, but none of it mattered to them.
The sounds of Rosalie’s moaning was something Emmett never heard
before because never once, in all the time they’d been together, had she
sounded like that when she was with Alec.
For hours, he watched as they took each other in every position and
Emmett finally pulled himself away just before the sun came up, deciding he
wouldn’t say anything to Rosalie. He
didn’t have to wait long because the following evening, Rosalie came to Emmett,
confessing her affair with Alec and she was going back with him to Volterra.
“Go.” Was all he said and Rosalie left the Cullen house that
same night with Alec.
For the next few years, Emmett kept to himself and was never the
same, often thinking about that night he caught Rosalie having sex with Alec in
the woods. He didn’t sleep, there was no
need for it, but slowly it tore Emmett completely apart, causing his temper to
rise. It finally got out of hand one
night when Edward came to him wanting to help and Emmett threw Edward through
the glass window of the living room, screaming that he didn’t want any
help. Jasper decided it was time to use
his gift, pathokinesis - an ability to both feel and manipulate emotions of
those around him, to basically control others emotions.
That night, Emmett was forced to talk about what was bothering
him, about Rosalie leaving and everything else.
Every time he would stop, Edward would read his mind and Alice would
help out by stating certain things that Emmett simply couldn’t say. With Jasper’s ability, Emmett couldn’t get
angry and lash out at any of the Cullen’s, even though he desperately wanted
to. After that, Emmett hadn’t spoken
hardly a word to any of the Cullen’s, just wanting to be left alone. Everyone knew it would only take time and
patience for Emmett to get over Rosalie’s infidelity, though they were honestly
happy that she was no longer there.
Nobody really liked Rosalie, but dealt with her for the simple
fact that not only did Carlisle save her life, but she was Emmett’s wife.
“Nothing to really talk about, Esme.” Emmett finally rumbled,
his voice low and distant, which told her not to push him.
Esme nodded in understanding and placed a hand on Emmett’s
shoulder, feeling the pain radiating from him. “I just want you to know that
whatever it is, whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen. You have family and friends here, Em.” She
said, wanting to remind him he wasn’t alone.
“I know, thanks.” He managed to give her another sad smile
before his face turned to stone again, feeling the itch to suddenly go for a
run through the woods. “Tell the others I’ll be hunting alone tonight.”
Esme could only watch as he opened the window and leapt out of
it, shaking her head, and turned around right into her husband’s waiting arms.
“I don’t know what to do for him anymore, Carlisle.” She whispered, clearing
her throat hoarsely.
Carlisle had watched the exchange between Emmett and his wife,
having kept an eye on Emmett ever since the incident with Edward occurred. “He
just needs time to heal, though Alice told me that he’s met someone new.”
Sometimes his adopted daughter’s skills were put to good use.
Shocked, Esme pulled back to stare into her husband’s golden eyes,
blinking. “What do you mean?” She couldn’t help asking, both of them walking
out of Emmett’s room. “I thought he was still upset over Rosalie leaving…” Now
she was confused.
“Make no mistake about it, he still is.” Carlisle ran a finger
down Esme’s cheek, smiling. “But whoever this new girl is will probably help
him heal faster.”
“We can only hope at this point.
I hate seeing him in so much pain.
It’s been at least three years since she left.” Esme didn’t even want to
think about if Carlisle did something like that to her, knowing he was her true
soul mate, lowering her eyes. “I just wish there was some way we could help
him.”
Carlisle loved the fact that, even though their hearts no longer
moved with life, Esme had never forgotten her human instinct to have one. “Only
time will tell, my love.” He kissed her lips softly, guiding her downstairs so
they could all get ready to go hunting.
“Did Alice tell you anything else?” Esme couldn’t help asking,
glancing up at him. “Like a name or what she looked like?”
“She’s human and goes to Forks High School, that’s all I know
for now. No name; Alice can’t look that
far in-depth, though Edward could if he was close enough to the human…”
Carlisle said it thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “I wonder…”
“No.” Esme held her hand up before another word could come out
of her husband’s mouth. “Edward and Emmett already have issues between them,
please do not make it worse.”
As much as he hated admitting it, Carlisle knew Esme was right
and heaved a sigh, nodding reluctantly. “Alright, I won’t.”
“Promise?”
He chuckled, kissing her once more. “I promise.”
Moments later, everyone split up into two groups to go hunt for
animals that helped sustain their existence.
~!~
Kyrine was in her bedroom that night brushing out the knots in
her hair and closed her eyes when a clump fell out, immediately tossing it in
the trash. She hated brushing her hair
and knew it was because of her heart condition, tears stinging her eyes as
another clump came out. It wasn’t
cancer, but congestive heart failure was almost as bad because it affected so
many areas of the body. Because of how
strong her medication was that Doctor Miles gave her, it was causing her hair
to slowly fall out, which is what chemo did to cancer patients.
That’s exactly what Kyrine felt like at the moment.
A knock sounded at her door moments later and Kyrine immediately
blinked the tears out of her eyes. “Come in.” She called out and smiled when
Amaya walked in, looking fresh out of the shower.
“Hey chick, do you mind if I use your brush?” Amaya asked,
walking in while towel drying her rat’s nest of a head, rolling her eyes. “I
swear, if I have to go through one more brush, I’m going to just hack this shit
off.” It had grown to the middle of her back and Amaya was already annoyed with
it.
“No don’t!” Kyrine shouted, immediately lowering her eyes and
Amaya blinked at the sudden outburst, noticing for the first time how truly
upset she was.
“Ky, what’s wrong?” Amaya tossed her towel to the side and
walked over to grab her sister’s hands, feeling how cold they were. “Talk to
me.”
The tears began flowing and Kyrine couldn’t stop them, Amaya
instantly pulling her into her arms. “I’m tired of living like this.” She
sobbed softly, not wanting her parents to overhear them and was thankful Amaya
had shut her bedroom door after entering. “Maya, my hair is starting to fall
out…” Pointing to the trash, Amaya’s violet eyes moved from her sister to the
trashcan, swallowing hard at the two huge clumps of dark chestnut hair, feeling
sick.
“Kyrine…”
“Please don’t pity me.” She sniffled, wiping her tears away and
pulled back from the embrace. “Mom and Dad do it enough, please don’t add to
it. I knew it was going to happen
eventually because of the strong meds I’m on.
Just once, I want to feel normal in my life and I don’t think it’s ever
going to happen. So please, just be
thankful for the hair you have, that you’re not having clumps falling out every
time you brush it after showering.”
Amaya’s heart broke for her sister and didn’t know what to say,
knowing time was truly running out for Kyrine to get this new heart. The donor’s family had to hurry because they
were racing against the clock, knowing before long Kyrine would be in the
hospital hooked up to machines that kept her alive. The blue lips and poor circulation, now the
hair falling out…Amaya wanted to call the doctor and demand to give up the
heart now, only caring about her living to see another day. The donor’s family would understand considering
this was a teenage girl that was dying and their family member could save her
life.
“I have an idea.” The light bulb suddenly went off in Amaya’s
head as they both sat down on Kyrine’s bed, smiling. “What if me and you went
out shopping for Nat and Nick?”
Kyrine’s eyebrows drew together, her mind temporarily off of
what just happened moments ago. “Shopping?” She couldn’t help echoing, seeing
the wheels in Amaya’s head slowly turning. “You know they’d never allow that,
not without supervision…”
“No check this out. Nat
told me that she had to go to La Push to a special store that sold a few things
her and Nick need for their special diet they’re going on.” She fought back a
roll of her eyes, secretly hating the fact that Kyrine’s parents were so
adamant about what they put in their bodies. “She can’t do it because of
meetings and neither can Nick. She was
complaining tonight during dinner, remember?
So what if we did the shopping for them?
It would be a fun day out for both of us and you seriously need to get
out of this house before you’re driven up a wall. I know I do at least.”
“They would never allow it.”
The sadness in her sister’s voice just made Amaya that much more
determined to do this, grinning with sparkling mischievous violet eyes. “Just
leave the rents to me. I promise, we’ll
be going shopping alone together. Don’t
worry about it, Ky.” Amaya would get permission even if it meant guilt tripping
Natalie, which was easy to do when it came to Kyrine. “You just get some rest
and leave everything to me.”
Kyrine reluctantly agreed and could only hope Amaya could
convince her parents to let her do this, desperately needing a day out without
them breathing down her neck.
Chapter 5
“Come on Nat, please?”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?” Amaya demanded, folding her arms in front of
her chest. “Do you have any idea what Kyrine is going through right now, what
she’s feeling? She’s not feeling like a
normal teenager and it’s bringing her spirits down!”
“It’s much too dangerous.” Natalie simply said, packing up her
briefcase for her meeting and sighed when Amaya wouldn’t drop the subject. “I
can’t risk…”
“Risk what? Kyrine going
shopping with me?” Amaya shot back, hurt shining in her violet eyes, lips
pursed tightly together. “You trust me with her at school and La Push isn’t
that far away from Forks! Give me one
reason why you don’t trust me to take her out shopping.”
“It’s too strenuous for her.” Natalie supplied, scratching her
head as she walked away from Amaya to grab the bagel out of the toaster oven.
“Walking around a store will be too much for her and I can’t risk that
happening.”
Amaya could not believe the words that were spewing out of
Natalie’s mouth, trying not to explode. “Look Natalie, Kyrine needs to feel
normal right now. Her spirits are down
and she was crying last night in her room because she was losing clumps of hair
out of her scalp.” She didn’t want to have to resort to guilt tripping, but
Amaya was running out of options and desperate.
Natalie’s eyes widened, turning to face Amaya. “She did?” Why
hadn’t Kyrine told her about this? “I didn’t know…”
“She told me she’s tired of not feeling normal and she’s sick of
you guys constantly watching over her.
She just wants a girl’s day out with me and it’s not like the store is
huge or anything. It’s a small diet
store that has what you and Nick need.” Amaya had done research on it the night
before, after talking to Kyrine about the shopping trip. “I swear, nothing will
happen to her, but you really need to start thinking about what Kyrine needs
and wants. She doesn’t ask for much and
what really shocks me is the fact that you allow her to go to school full-time,
which requires strenuous activity and walking, but yet you won’t let her go
shopping with me for a few measly hours in the next town over.”
Natalie sighed heavily, knowing she was being an over-protective
officious, but couldn’t help it. Kyrine
was her only baby girl and she was sick with a very serious condition that
would potentially kill her if the new heart didn’t come through. No matter how many excuses she came up with
in her head, Natalie knew she couldn’t argue the facts that Amaya threw at
her. Before she could open her mouth to
protest the shopping trip again, Kyrine and Nick walked in the kitchen.
“Morning sweetheart.” Natalie greeted with a smile, already
having a bowl of fresh fruit and oatmeal waiting for her daughter.
“Morning.” Kyrine mumbled sadly, taking the bowl and accepting a
kiss on her forehead from her mother, sitting at the table with her head down.
The smile on Natalie’s face faltered, causing her to look at her
husband worriedly before turning to Amaya, seeing the knowing look in her eyes.
“Ky honey, is everything alright?” She asked, walking over to sit beside her.
“Nope, I just wish I had more trusting parents.” Kyrine blurted
out and stood up from the table, pushing her breakfast away.
The pang of guilt suddenly hit Natalie like a ton of bricks,
tears filling her eyes. “Kyrine, you know your father and I love you and we’re
just trying to protect you…” She reasoned, frowning when her daughter refused
to eat her breakfast. “You need to eat for strength…”
“No I don’t, Mom!” Kyrine snapped, having heard the whole conversation
Amaya had with her mother and couldn’t help feeling resentment. “I’m not hungry
and if I don’t want to eat, then I don’t have to! I’m sick and tired of being protected, I feel
like I’m suffocating and all Amaya wants to do is take me out for a day, if
that! All because you don’t have time to
do your shopping and she’s offering just to get me out of the house for some
fresh air! Why can’t you see that all
she’s trying to do is help me while you’re trying to barricade me in this
house, sucking the life out of me?”
In all the years Kyrine had been alive, Natalie could not
remember her daughter ever lashing out like this, swallowing hard. “Kyrine…”
“NO!” Kyrine already had her school bag thrown over her
shoulder, tears filling her own eyes. “I’m sick of it, Mom. I asked Dad if I could go with Amaya and he
told me only if you allowed it. I’m sick
of it. You never let me do anything I
want to do. I know my limitations and
yet you STILL try justifying why you keep me locked in this house unless I’m at
school. I never want to come home from
school because I’m tired of being stuck under your thumb. I love you, Mom, but I want to feel NORMAL
for ONCE in my life! This is no way to
live and even Doctor Miles said that living as normal as I possibly can is GOOD
for me! But you obviously don’t believe
him or you’d let me go with Amaya for a simple shopping trip!”
Nicholas couldn’t help agreeing with his daughter wholeheartedly
and was glad she was finally standing up to Natalie. He tried so many times talking to his wife,
only to be shut down at every turn and finally gave up after awhile. But standing there watching his daughter
finally say everything that’d been on her mind did his heart good and Nicholas
had a feeling this had been building for quite awhile. He didn’t say a word when Natalie looked at
him, begging for help, and all he did was sip his coffee with a smile on his
face.
Natalie scowled at him, not believing he wasn’t doing anything
to help her and knew everything both Amaya and Kyrine told her was the truth.
“Fine.” She finally gave in, standing stiffly from the kitchen table, deciding
Nicholas would be sleeping on the couch for the next few nights. “As much as I
don’t think it’s SAFE or SMART for you to do this, I’m not going to stop you
from going with Amaya, Kyrine.”
Kyrine’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open and looked back
at an equally shocked Amaya. “Really?!” When Natalie stiffly nodded with
absolutely no smile on her face, both girls squealed with excitement and Kyrine
hugged her Mom tightly around the neck, a few tears of happiness falling from
her eyes. “Thanks Mom, I promise I’ll be safe and if anything goes wrong, we
both have our cell phones.”
“Not to mention we know how to dial 9-1-1.” Amaya piped in with
a smirk, wrapping an arm around Kyrine’s shoulders and winked down at her.
“Thanks for letting her go with me, Nat.
Now where’s the shopping list?”
“I have it.” Nicholas finally spoke and walked over, handing it
over without hesitation, grinning down at the excited girls. “Take your time,
La Push is beautiful.” Just to show Natalie he wasn’t afraid of her backlash,
he handed over a credit card, causing Amaya and Kyrine to look at each other
bewildered. “There’s a five hundred limit on it and I want you two to enjoy
yourselves. Ky, if you get too tired…”
“I’ll take it easy and rest when I need to, Daddy.” Kyrine
hugged him tightly around the neck, not believing he was actually giving them a
credit card and ignored the angry look on her mother’s face. “Thank you so
much!”
“You’re very welcome. Now
you two get going and make sure to stop to get some breakfast on the way to
school.” He knew Kyrine already had her medication, which is why he didn’t
mention it.
Unlike his officious over-protective wife, Nicholas actually
trusted his daughter to know her limitations with her condition and hadn’t felt
this good in what felt like years.
“I can’t believe you did that.” Natalie snapped as soon as the
girls were out of the house, shaking her head in pure disappointment. “What if
something happens to her, Nick?”
“You really should have more faith in our daughter and Amaya.”
Was all Nicholas said before walking out, actually inhaling the fresh after
rain morning air, knowing nothing could ruin his day.
~!~
Jacob Black was not happy in the slightest.
Scowling down at the list his old man gave him to go shopping at
the local store in La Push, he couldn’t help wanting to ball it up and throw it
away. What the hell did the old man need
that was so important it couldn’t wait until later? He simply shook his head, walking through the
woods as twigs snapped beneath his gym shoes, wearing just a pair of black
cargo shorts with a red short sleeved shirt that hugged his muscular chest and
arms.
It was bad enough Jacob couldn’t even go hang out with his
friends because his old man was still punishing him for what he did years
ago. Billy knew how to hold a grudge,
though honestly Jacob knew he was getting older and had brittle bones, which
made it difficult for Billy to go to the store by himself. Granted, Jacob knew he deserved everything
Billy gave him and more, but he couldn’t stick around after what happened to
the woman he supposedly loved, Isabella Swan.
He’d known Bella since childhood and when she moved back to
Forks after years of no contact, Jacob had slowly developed feelings for her
that he thought was love. Not friendly
love either. Bella had met Edward Cullen
while attending Forks High School and instantly fell in love with him, which
didn’t bode well with Jacob. He stayed
away though, only popping up once in awhile to check on her, or whenever his
father dragged him to the Swan residence to watch a football game with Charlie
on his big flat screen. It didn’t happen
often, but Bella always seemed to be home when he came by, which pleased Jacob
to say the least.
Unexpectantly, Edward and the entire Cullen family left Forks
months after dating Bella, though Jacob didn’t exactly know why and honestly
didn’t care. It took Bella four months
to get over Edward leaving before she finally went to La Push and began hanging
out with Jacob almost every day, doing life-threatening stunts like riding a
motorcycle or going hiking, anything to get her mind off of Edward. During this time, Jacob had gone through
several changes and tried pushing Bella out of his life because he feared for
her safety, refusing to tell her why.
It broke Bella’s heart and nearly killed Jacob on the inside.
The reason why Jacob couldn’t tell Bella why he pushed her away
was because he had become a shape-shifter, phasing out of the blue and joining
the wolf pack. It consisted of all his
friends Sam Uley –He was the alpha of the pack, though Jacob was supposed to be
as soon as he phased, but Jacob refused the job-, Embry Call, Jared Cameron,
Paul Lahote, Quil Ateara, Seth and Leah Clearwater –she was the only female in
the pack that phased-, Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea.
Sam had ordered Jacob that he couldn’t, under any circumstances,
reveal the secret of the Quileute tribe to Bella, which Jacob hated. Instead, he went to Bella’s and gave her
clues and even that wasn’t easy, but Bella had been smart enough to figure it
out on her own. He carried a gene that
descended from the Quileute tribe to protect the lands from one thing and one
thing only: Vampires. When Bella found
that out, she was torn because she still missed Edward deeply, but also didn’t
want to lose her friendship with Jacob.
Edward came back after being gone for six months, just when Jacob
and Bella were getting closer, completely destroying Jacob’s chance to be with
her. It tore Jacob apart because Edward
was a vampire, his natural born enemy, but he also didn’t want to hurt his best
friend either. Even though Bella went
back to Edward, Jacob flat out refused to stop fighting for her and did…up
until he found out Edward had proposed marriage and Bella accepted.
That’s when Jacob left La Push for a few months, needing to
clear his head, but he managed to make it back just in time for Bella’s
wedding. Edward had requested him to
make an appearance, a gift for his newlywed bride and Jacob reluctantly went,
only to find out that Bella was going to try consummating their marriage before
she was changed into a bloodsucker.
Jacob completely flipped out and lost his temper, vowing he would tear
Edward apart for hurting Bella and left the reception with Bella in tears.
That’s when Jacob decided to be a wolf for awhile, wanting to
feel animalistic so he wouldn’t feel the constant heartache Bella caused him,
and stayed phased up until Bella returned from her honeymoon deathly sick.
When Jacob found out about Bella’s pregnancy, after she came
back from her honeymoon, he immediately went to the wolf pack and told Sam
about it. Sam thought the spawn Bella
carried would be a danger to the lands and Quileute tribe, which they had sworn
to protect and ordered the pack to attack the Cullen’s to destroy the
danger. Jacob left the pack, along with
Seth and Leah, refusing to let anyone kill Bella because she was still human
and the pack had vowed to protect ALL humans no matter what.
Therefore, Jacob became his own alpha and had his own small
pack, protecting the Cullen’s from Sam’s pack attacking.
It ended up being that Sam’s wolf pack wiped their hands clean
of the problem and Jacob granted Edward permission to change Bella into a
bloodsucker to save her life. He felt
sick for doing it, but also knew it was what Bella wanted, refusing to let her
die because of his selfishness. He was
technically an alpha and ended up going back to La Push, Sam deciding that
Jacob was ready to be the only alpha of the pack. Jacob once again declined and told Sam he
wasn’t ready yet, just wanting to be a part of the pack again, but it was never
the same.
Jacob had been so deep in thought about the past that he didn’t
realize he’d been walking into the store, until he collided with someone,
blinking. “Crap sorry.” He mumbled half-heartedly and went around the person,
not even looking at them.
Kyrine watched as the distracted man walked away from her,
arching a slow eyebrow. “Yeah okay.” She snorted, not believing the half-assed
apology he threw at her and could clearly tell he was from the area.
She decided to split the list with Amaya so they’d get done
faster, wanting to get the shopping underway.
Amaya couldn’t help agreeing, deciding since it was a small store she
would be able to find Kyrine rather quickly if anything happened. Currently, Amaya was on the other side of the
store looking for some kind of diet pills while Kyrine took care of the food,
both of them wondering what the hell the rents were thinking.
Though now, all Kyrine could think about was the man who had
been rude to her, continuing with the shopping.
Chapter 6
Jacob knew he sounded like a complete ass to her person, but he
had other things on his mind, going down the pill aisle. “What the hell?” He
growled when he bumped into someone else and this time looked up, locking dark
brown on narrowed violet eyes.
“Yeah, I should ask you the same damn thing.” Amaya definitely
wasn’t one to back down and placed her hands on her hips, the cart in front of
her. “Didn’t you see me standing here looking for something specific? Why don’t you stop looking at the damn floor
when you’re walking and look up before you end up hurting someone, idiot?”
His eyes widened at the spitfire and Jacob actually found
himself backing away, holding his hands up. “Damn I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run into you, lady.” He
couldn’t help thinking how hot it was that a woman actually stood up to him the
way she had.
“Yeah well if you were looking straight ahead instead of at your
muddy shoes, you would’ve noticed and not collided into me.” Amaya snapped
back, refusing to accept his apology and snatched a bottle of pills from the
shelf.
He felt like a scolded dog, which was very close to the truth
since he was technically a wolf, and lowered his head a little. “I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to run into you, ma’am.” He tried again, this time more sincerely
and watched as her violet eyes softened just a little.
Amaya couldn’t help admiring the physique this man had on him
and tapped her chin in thought, contemplating if she should forgive him or not.
“If you’re really sorry, then you’ll make it up to me somehow.” She finally
said, leaving him with that thought before walking away to finish the shopping
list.
Jacob zeroed in on her beautiful rear and smirked, having a
feeling he would run into the violet eyed beauty again. Amaya could feel his eyes on her and winked
over her shoulder at him before turning the corner, seeing Kyrine headed her
way. She didn’t look exhausted, more
annoyed than anything, and Amaya wondered what could’ve happened since it
wasn’t exactly a big store. Then again,
she had been busy berating a big brute who was in desperate need of some
manners and eye coordination.
“Alright, who do I have to kill?” Amaya demanded, only half
joking and watched as Kyrine waved her off, hating it when she did that. “Come
on Kyrine, what happened?”
“Nothing, I’m done with my half of the list.” Kyrine refused to
tell Amaya about the big Neanderthal that nearly bulldozed her, thankful she
had enough sense to hold onto her cart. “Come on, I wanna do some real
shopping.”
Amaya decided to drop it for now, knowing Kyrine would
eventually tell her and headed to the counter to check-out the items. While they were standing in line making idle
chit-chat, Amaya felt someone tap her shoulder and turned to stare back at the
big hot dark eyed brute that ran into her earlier. She simply placed her hands on her hips and
stared hardening at him, wondering what he wanted and why he insisted on
bothering her.
Kyrine could tell Amaya was about to unleash on the guy and
decided to stick her nose in a magazine, facing forward toward the cashier.
“Well?” Amaya wasn’t a patient person by any means and raised an
eyebrow when the guy handed her a piece of folded paper. “Look, I don’t have
time for games so just spit out whatever it is you want to tell me.”
“You’re rude you know that?” Jacob growled, though amusement
shined in his dark eyes, his arms folded in front of his chest. “Just read the
damn piece of paper.”
Instead, Amaya balled it up and threw it right in his face,
smiling sweetly though it did not reach her eyes. “Sorry, but I don’t play
games with little boys. So when you
wanna be a man and actually tell me whatever you wrote on that paper, let me
know.” Before she could turn around, Jacob’s hand shot out to stop her, their
eyes locking again.
“Go out with me.”
His voice was low and husky, it made Amaya tingle all over,
though she wasn’t about to admit that to anyone. Neither of them noticed that Kyrine stepped
outside since Amaya had the credit card that would pay for the items. Amaya simply stared at the man with slightly
narrowed eyes, just like she’d done when he ran into her earlier, completely
skeptical of what he said.
“You want to go out with me.” It was a simple statement.
“Yeah, you said I had to make it up to you and I figured asking
you on a date would be the way to go.” He said with a smile, nearly taking her
breath away. “Come on, just one date.
You can invite your friend if you want and make it a double date.” Jacob
had no idea why he offered that, but if it made this violet beauty accept his
date offer, he was willing to do just about anything.
Amaya contemplated that and turned to ask Kyrine her opinion,
frowning when she didn’t see her sister anywhere in sight. “She went outside
for some air, said you’d pay for everything.” The cashier offered with a smile,
gesturing toward the open door.
“Oh…thanks.” Amaya turned back to face her potential date.
“What’s your name?”
“Jacob Black.” He answered with a grin, extending his hand.
“Most call me Jake though. What’s
yours?”
“Amaya.” She refused to give out her last name in case this guy
turned out to be a creep, shaking his hand. “Tell you what, Jake, you give me
your number and I’ll call you within the next twenty-four hours to let you know
if I accept your offer. I have to speak
with my sister first because that double date idea sounds promising and I’m not
going if she doesn’t.”
Jacob chuckled with a nod, feeling Amaya release his hand.
“Sounds fair to me.” He asked the cashier for a pen and took the piece of paper
that Amaya crumpled up, turning it over to write his cell number down on it.
“Here ya go, I look forward to hearing from you, Amaya.”
“I’m sure you do.” She retorted with a smirk, taking the piece
of paper and this time folded it to slip into her back jean pocket.
“Looking forward to it.”
Amaya paid for the items for the McTavian’s and walked out of
the store, seeing Kyrine was sitting on a nearby bench staring out into
space. The girl was lost in thought a lot
these days and Amaya began worrying if it had anything to do with the medicine
she had to take for her condition. She
walked over slowly with the three bags and sat down on the bench, slowly
reaching out to tap Kyrine on the shoulder.
“Hey chick, sorry about that.” Amaya didn’t know why she
apologized, but felt it necessary since this was supposed to be a girl’s day
out.
“No problem.” Kyrine smiled, turning to face her sister. “Got
everything?”
“Sure do, though I did get a rather interesting proposition from
that hot piece of La Push ass in there.” She giggled when Kyrine flamed red,
actually covering her cheeks as the cool wind blew across them, glad they both
brought sweatshirts. “Hey, you know I’m not the shy type.”
“Still…” Kyrine groaned, shaking her head as she tried getting
her cheeks to return to normal. “What did he ask you?” She was almost afraid to
ask and could see the mischievous gleam in Amaya’s eyes, groaning again.
“Well,” She paused, loving to keep Kyrine in suspense. “He asked
me out on a date.”
“Did you accept?”
“Not exactly…” Once again the gleam worried Kyrine and Amaya
could see the apprehension in her eyes, wrapping a comforting arm around her
sister’s shoulders. “Relax, I told him I’d think about it after talking to
you.”
Now Kyrine was confused. “Why me?” If Amaya said it was because
she wanted to be there for Kyrine, she was going to absolutely snap. “Maya…”
“Well he actually came up with a great idea, which is hard to
believe considering I don’t even know him.” Amaya studied her painted nails,
which was currently magenta, winking back at Kyrine. “He offered a double date
situation. I told him that if you didn’t
accept then there was no way I could go.”
Kyrine’s jaw dropped, putting her head in her hands. “Why would
you do that?!” She stood up from the bench infuriated, wondering what the hell
possessed Amaya to give up a date because of her! “I don’t need you babysitting
me all the damn time! Didn’t you hear a
word that I told Mom this morning?”
“Yes and I think it would be good for you to go on a double date
with me and Jake.” Amaya wasn’t fazed in the slightest by Kyrine’s outburst,
knowing exactly why she did it. “Come on Kyrie, when’s the last time we did
something like this? I know you can find
some hot hunk to ask out.”
“You’re out of your mind.” There was no way Kyrine could find
anyone who was interested in her, she’d barely spoken a word to anyone since
moving to Forks. “There is no one…” Kyrine suddenly trailed off and looked
thoughtful, turning her head to look out toward the woods again.
“Or is there.” Amaya suddenly remembered what happened to Kyrine
at school and narrowed her eyes, standing up from the bench. “Kyrine, when you
ran back into the school the other day, you were running from someone weren’t
you?”
Midnight blue eyes lowered to the ground and all Kyrine could do
was nod, remembering how Emmett had tried keeping her from running away and
asking what was wrong. “Yeah…” She hated that Amaya knew her so well and hoped
she didn’t go running off to tell her parents about the incident. “He didn’t do
anything to me. All he asked me was what
was wrong and I kinda…I just ran away from him…” Kyrine felt like a coward and
slumped her shoulders, heaving a sigh.
Amaya caught the fact that the person was a male and any male
around her sister without her there was unacceptable. She wasn’t going to tell the rents though,
that wouldn’t be smart, especially after the fight she had with Natalie that
morning. However, she was going to find
out who this guy was that scared Kyrine to the point where she ran back into
the school nearly hyperventilating in the hallway.
“That’s all he asked you and you ran off?” Amaya didn’t buy it,
narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “Are you sure?”
Kyrine knew exactly what Amaya was thinking, deciding if she
didn’t come clean that Amaya would go hunting down Emmett and that couldn’t
happen. “He came up to me while I was outside during lunch and started talking
to me. He just asked me innocent
questions like my name and where I was from, things like that. Harmless questions. He was really cute too.” She blushed, cheeks
flaming red again as a small smile curved her lips. “He was sweet too. He had these golden eyes that…I’ve never seen
eyes like them before and he looked strong, incredibly strong. He didn’t hurt me or anything, I swear
it. You know how emotional I get when
I’m asked what’s wrong because I don’t feel like repeating myself fifty
thousand times. I simply told him I had
to go back inside for class and he just let me go. I feel terrible because all he was trying to
do was be friendly and I totally blew it by running away from him.”
It sounded like Kyrine really liked this guy, whoever he was,
and Amaya decided that Kyrine was being truthful, grinning from ear to ear.
“Soo what you’re saying is he’s a really hot guy and you wouldn’t mind getting
to know him better?” She chuckled softly and patted Kyrine’s shoulder, letting
her know everything was going to be alright. “I think you should ask him out
for the double date.”
Her head shot up, midnight blue eyes widened in both shock and
fright. “No, I can’t! I can’t even look
at him right now, Amaya! I ran away from
him like a coward, he probably thinks the worst of me right now! How can I just walk up to him and say ‘Hey
Emmett, I know I ran away from you like a coward when we first met, but do you
wanna go on a date with me and my sister?’
Get real, Maya!” Kyrine was beside herself and Amaya looked thoroughly
amused, never seeing Kyrine act like this over a simple male.
“Emmett eh?” Amaya smirked when Kyrine realized what she did,
the groan telling her all she needed to know. “Well, I’m sure Emmett wouldn’t
mind going on a double date with you.
He’s the one who approached you after all and you didn’t exactly run
away from him. You did tell him you had
to go back to class.”
“But…”
“No buts about it, you like him and I have a feeling he likes
you. You’re asking him out on the double
date.” Amaya wasn’t backing down from this, daring Kyrine to argue or try to
coax her way out of this.
“But…”
Amaya shook her head as they began walking away from the shop,
heading to another one that was for them instead of the McTavian’s. “I already
know you’re going to say your parents won’t let you go out on a double date
with me. I think your old man is getting
sick of your mother’s overbearing ways and that’s why he gave us a credit card
to spend fully today.” Amaya was banking on using them against each other in
order to give Kyrine the freedom she wanted. “So we’re going to get you a new
outfit with shoes, jewelry, the works, along with me and you leave the rents to
me. I’ll make sure you get to go, even
if we have to tell a little white lie.”
Kyrine swallowed hard, looking up at her devious sister and
couldn’t help wondering if this was going to blow up in their faces. “I’m not
sure that’s such a good idea…” Lying to her parents is something Kyrine NEVER
did and always believed was wrong.
Waving her off dismissively as they walked into the dress shop,
Amaya guided Kyrine through the aisles, whistling. “I said leave it to me. It won’t be lying so much as keeping them
from the full truth.” She justified it that way, immediately pulling clothes
off the racks to try on.
“What exactly are you going to tell them?” Kyrine was suddenly
afraid of what Amaya was getting her into, chewing her bottom lip when an
outfit was handed to her to try on. “Maya, this isn’t right…”
“Trust me okay?” Amaya stirred her in the direction of the
dressing room, sounding flabbergasted. “I’m simply going to tell them we’re
going out for a girl’s night to catch a movie.” There was no reason the
McTavian’s had to know that they were going out with two guys, Amaya knew that
would never be allowed, not even by Nick. “Now go try that on and stop worrying
about it.”
In other words, Amaya was going to lie to her parents about the
double date entirely. Kyrine could only
groan behind the closed door as she began changing into outfits to model for Amaya,
not feeling good about this upcoming date.
Then something occurred to her: She hadn’t even asked Emmett if he would
go on this date with her and Amaya was forcing her to try on outfits!!
What if Emmett said no?
Kyrine paled and walked out to show Amaya the first outfit, her
stomach twisting at the upcoming conversation she would have with Emmett.
Chapter 7
What in the hell had Kyrine gotten herself into?
No, more importantly, what the hell had Amaya gotten Kyrine
into?
There he was standing across the parking lot of Forks High
School, looking more gorgeous than ever.
He had on a dark blue long sleeved shirt that once again looked like a
second skin on him with tight khaki pants, everything about him flawless. He currently leaned against his Jeep
Wrangler, looking as though he was waiting for something and Kyrine could
already feel she was losing her nerve to approach him.
The double date had been set for that Friday and it was now
Thursday. Amaya warned Kyrine if she
didn’t ask Emmett by the end of the day on Thursday, she was going to approach
him and ask him herself on behalf of her sister. Kyrine couldn’t have that, promising she
would do it and waited until the very last minute to do it. She pulled her gaze from Emmett and glanced
over at Amaya, who was tapping her wrist while leaning against her own car,
watching to see if Kyrine would do it or not.
When it looked as if Amaya was getting ready to approach Emmett,
Kyrine felt her legs begin moving, putting one foot in front of the other. Kyrine didn’t know what shocked her more, the
fact she was moving toward Emmett without faltering or the fact that she hadn’t
lost her courage to even attempt this yet.
She was definitely a shy person, Kyrine had never in her life asked a
guy out and the fact that Amaya had threatened to do it for her, made Kyrine
that much more tense.
“Hi.” She squeaked out, stopping a few feet in front of him, her
bag over her shoulders.
Emmett stared back at the midnight blue eyed beauty and couldn’t
believe it was Kyrine talking to him, afraid he scared her off when they met.
“Hey.” He turned to fully face her, seeing how nervous she was and couldn’t
help wondering what it was about, arching an eyebrow. “How are you, Kyrine?”
“Y-You remembered my name.” She observed, trying to get the
trembling out of her voice and took a deep breath.
He smiled, which nearly took her breath away, nodding. “Of
course I did. You don’t hear the name
Kyrine often, it’s unforgettable.” He almost said she was unforgettable, but
stopped himself just in the nick of time. “So how are you?” He tried asking
again, tilting his head slightly when her eyes just gazed at him for a few
seconds.
Her cheeks had flamed red at the compliment of her name and
Kyrine knew she was making a complete fool of herself, shoving her hands in the
back pockets of her light blue jeans. “I’m fine.” She didn’t stammer that time,
this was getting a little easier. “Actually, I uh I came over to ask you
something…”
“Alright.” Emmett bit back a chuckle at how adorable and cute
Kyrine was when she was nervous, folding his massive arms in front of his
chest. “What is it?”
“Umm well…” She swallowed past the lump that suddenly formed in
her throat, wondering why this was so hard to do, suddenly lowering her eyes to
the ground. “I umm…”
Stepping forward, Emmett took a chance and slowly reached out to
hook his finger under her chin, forcing those anxious filled eyes to meet his
again. “Don’t look down when you talk to me, Kyrine.” He ordered in a husky
voice. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.
You can ask me anything.”
That was easy for him to say!
He wasn’t the one standing here looking like a stargazed idiot trying to
ask him out on a double date! His voice
sent shivers throughout her body and Kyrine was finding it hard to think, her
mind becoming fuzzy. It took a lot for
her to nod her head, his touch ice cold, but felt incredible to the touch
because she was used to being cold. It
was comforting somehow and Kyrine felt a smile light her face, those golden
eyes piercing her down the depths of her soul.
“Would you…like to go out…on a double date with me and my
sister…tomorrow night?” She had to take several pausing breaths to ask him or
Kyrine would never get it out, the roses in her cheeks blooming fully, just like
when they first met. “My sister, Amaya, was asked out and…told him she would go
only if I did…”
She was actually asking him to go on a double date with her and
her sister?
Emmett didn’t know how to react or feel about it, but the
happiness infiltrated his body, knowing he was wrong in assuming that he scared
her off. “Do you have any idea how cute you are when you’re nervous?” He
watched her eyes widen slightly and chuckled, running a gentle cold finger down
her cheek. “I’d be honored to go out on a double date with you, Kyrine.”
“Really?” Kyrine’s smile turned into a full blown grin, her eyes
filling with excitement and felt alive for the first time in years. “Okay
well…we decided on going to see a movie and we’ll meet you at the theater
around seven. Does that sound alright?”
She hoped it did because that was the only time they could find that would suit
everyone, including the parents.
They still had no idea the girls were going out on a double date
instead of just the two of them.
Emmett had a feeling there was a reason why Kyrine and Kyrine’s
sister’s date wasn’t picking them up at their house, deciding not to question
it. “Sounds good to me. I’ll be there.”
He suddenly had an idea, wondering if she would go for it and glanced over her
shoulder at who he could only assume was her sister, his eyes moving back to
Kyrine. “Before the date though, how about we go for a walk through the woods
and I’ll take you home the long way?” He suggested, wanting to spend more time
with her now that she wasn’t afraid of him.
Kyrine didn’t know if that was a good idea, but one look in
Emmett’s eyes and she instantly melted. “A walk sounds really nice.” It had
rained again the previous night so the after rain fresh air was amazing,
something only Forks could offer Kyrine was sure of it. “I’ll have to tell my
sister though, if you don’t mind waiting.”
“Not at all, beautiful.
Go ahead.”
Kyrine blushed furiously and touched her cheeks before turning
around to walk toward Amaya, not able to wipe the smile from her face. “He said
yes!” She tried keeping it down, but the amount of excitement in her voice did
Amaya’s heart good.
“I have a feeling he wants something else from the way he was
eyeballing me over here.” Amaya stated, placing her hands on her hips. “Well?”
“He wants to take me for a walk through the woods so we can get
to know each other before going on the double date. He said he’d take me home. I won’t let him get near the house though.”
Kyrine didn’t want to blow their cover with the double date, having already
convinced her parents that it was just the two of them going to see a movie.
“Please Maya? I feel like I owe him
after running off the way I did last time…”
Amaya sighed resignedly, knowing she would have to come up with one
hell of an excuse for Kyrine’s absence and could tell how much this meant to
her sister. “Go on, I’ll cover for you.
When they ask, tell them you had to stay after school for an extra
credit assignment that I wasn’t a part of.” They had all the same classes so
naturally the McTavian’s would automatically ask why Amaya hadn’t stayed after
as well.
“Thanks Maya, I owe you one.” She kissed her sister’s cheek and
gave her a big hug before walking back toward Emmett’s direction, keeping her
bag with her since she was supposedly staying after school for extra credit.
“Everything copacetic?” Emmett asked, already opening the
passenger door of his jeep for her, smiling softly.
“Yeah.” Somehow, Kyrine knew she could trust Emmett and hopped
into the jeep, buckling up while he got behind the wheel, driving off moments
later from the high school.
Amaya could only watch as Emmett Cullen drove off with her
sister and hoped she did the right thing by letting Kyrine go, slipping into
her own car to leave.
“So, where are we going for this walk?” Kyrine asked after a few
minutes of silence, looking over at him.
Emmett smiled over at her and took her hand in his, surprised at
how cold it was. “Tell me where you live and I’ll know where to park the jeep
so it won’t be that far from your house.” He watched the nervousness return to
Kyrine’s face and sighed gently, knowing he would have to get used to that for
the time being. “You can trust me, beautiful.”
“I know.” Kyrine gave him her address and leaned back against the
seat, staring out the window at all the trees that surrounded them.
Ten minutes later, Emmett pulled over on the side of the road
and jumped out, opening the passenger door for Kyrine before she could even
reach for the handle. He simply winked
at her puzzlement at how fast he was, extending his hand and helped her out of
the jeep. Kyrine inhaled the air and
sighed in contentment, allowing Emmett to guide her into the woods, knowing her
parents would have a conniption fit if they knew where she was at that moment.
“So, what movie are we going to see tomorrow night?” Emmett
asked, breaking the silence between them, glancing down at her while they
slowly headed toward Kyrine’s house.
“I’m not sure what it’s called, but Amaya made sure it wasn’t
romantic in any way. She prefers action
movies so I’m sure we’ll all enjoy it.” Kyrine responded, not minding when
Emmett laced their fingers together and couldn’t help loving the surroundings
of the woods, the air smelling of pine and rain. “It’s so beautiful here.”
‘Not as beautiful as you.’ Emmett thought, still not believing
how trusting this human girl was and felt himself drawn to her in ways he
couldn’t explain. “What’s on your mind?”
“So many things.” Kyrine breathed it out in a mere whisper,
feeling them stop as Emmett turned to face her, staring up into his amber eyes.
“What about you?”
Emmett knew that was a vague answer to his question, but let it
go for the time being, not wanting to upset Kyrine. “Honestly?” When she
nodded, Emmett pulled her closer to him, towering over her tiny frame. “I’m
wondering why you asked me out. There
are a lot of boys in that school and yet you chose me. Why?”
Kyrine lowered her eyes and chewed her bottom lip, not expecting
Emmett to ask her a question like that. “You were the only one that…approached
me.” She didn’t know how else to explain it, not to mention running away from
him made her feel incredibly guilty and she wanted to make it up to him
somehow. “You’re the one guy that noticed me.” There was no way Kyrine could
call Emmett a boy because he was far from it.
“You’re very hard to miss, Kyrine.” His voice dropped an octave
and Emmett felt Kyrine shiver, instantly wrapping an arm around her waist as
their bodies pressed closer together “You have no idea how much you stand out.”
Her head once again spun and Kyrine felt herself melting into
his arms, feeling her knees weaken and suddenly couldn’t stand by herself
anymore. It was a good thing Emmett had
his arm wrapped around her or else Kyrine would’ve collapsed to the ground,
trying to breathe. Emmett saw how
flushed she was and could feel her knees trembling, her breathing quickening,
his senses much sharper than hers.
“Are you alright?” He asked concerned, suddenly lifting her up
and carried her over to a nearby log as he sat down, Kyrine straddling his lap.
“Is that better?”
What was wrong with her?
Kyrine just nodded and felt his hand cup her flaming cheek,
completely embarrassed that she nearly collapsed in front of him. It wasn’t because of her condition either, he
made feelings sprout within her she never knew existed. Her entire body felt alive and full of heat,
especially when her eyes locked on his again, his touch also being a
contributing factor.
“Sorry, I just got a little lightheaded.” She managed to say,
getting lost in his eyes again. “Emmett…”
“Can I kiss you, Kyrine?” His voice was merely a whisper now,
his mouth mere inches from hers, wanting to take it slow, no rushing. “Just one
kiss?”
Her heart rate skyrocketed, which Kyrine knew wasn’t good, but
couldn’t help how Emmett made her feel. “If you want.”
Her voice was so angelic and soft, it lit Emmett’s entire body
on fire, especially the feeling of her straddling his lap in jeans that hugged
her thighs and beautiful ass perfectly.
He’d been wanting to kiss her since the first moment he saw her in
school, which was at the table outside during lunch, when he first approached
her. He pulled her closer to him, both
of his arms now wrapped around her waist, knowing this wasn’t their date, but
Emmett couldn’t hold out any longer. Her
lips looked so delectable and delicious, he just wanted a small taste of them,
the curiosity of what they tasted like too intense to ignore.
Suddenly his lips were on hers and Kyrine’s breath was stolen
from her, instantly returning the soft tender kiss, a soft shaky moan escaping
her. Her arms wrapped around his neck
and shifted on his lap, hearing him groan against her lips and that just caused
the moment to intensify much more.
Kyrine knew if she strained her heart too much, she would end up in the
hospital and honestly didn’t want that happening after experiencing her first
kiss. She couldn’t pull away though and
shivered when his tongue slowly snaked out to swipe across her lips, instantly
opening her mouth, giving him permission to deepen the kiss.
Instead, Emmett broke the kiss and stared back at Kyrine, her
lips slightly swollen from what they just shared, smiling. “Sorry beautiful, I
don’t want to move too fast with you.” He explained, not needing air to
breathe, but knew she did, the taste of her lips still on every part of his
mouth. “I think I’d better get you home before they send out a search party.”
Kyrine could only nod and blushed when Emmett brushed his lips
very softly against hers once more before lifting her from his lap. He knew he would need to do something to
relieve his problem later on and wrapped an arm around Kyrine’s shoulders,
feeling her lean against his side. They
arrived at her house, but Emmett remained in the shadows, wishing he could walk
her up tot eh door at least to make sure she got there safely.
“So, until tomorrow night?” He pulled her into his arms again,
Kyrine’s smile once again making that tingling sensation course through his
cold body. “Seven right?”
“Yes, see you tomorrow at the theater.” Kyrine murmured,
accepting another soft sweet kiss from Emmett before heading out of the forest,
feeling dazed. “Good night, Emmett.” She whispered over her shoulder before
walking across the street and up to her front door, noticing him in the rapidly
approaching night.
“Good night, beautiful.” Emmett rumbled and watched as she
walked inside the house, closing the door behind her before heading off to his own,
knowing the family was going to notice something different about him.
Honestly, all Emmett wanted was tomorrow night to arrive so he
could see Kyrine again.
Chapter 8
Why couldn’t it be Friday night already?
Jacob sighed heavily, feeling completely restless and sat in his
small room of the Black house, leaning back against the wall. He couldn’t believe he actually asked a
paleface out on a double date, honestly not caring what the others thought if
they found out. Granted, Jacob had been
careful whenever he was phased not to let the double date, or Amaya for that
matter, enter his mind. When the pack
was phased, they had the ability to read each other’s minds, which was both
annoying and helpful, though it didn’t leave a lot of room for privacy. Amaya hadn’t called him to give him the answer
yet, but Jacob had a feeling she would, knowing he was very hard to resist.
“Jake?” Billy’s voice called through the door, causing Jacob to
stand up from his bed to see what his father wanted.
“What’s up?”
“Phone call.” Billy handed the phone over and rolled away in his
wheelchair back to the living room to watch television.
“Thanks.” Jake mumbled and put the phone to his ear, shutting
the bedroom door for whatever privacy he could get. “Hello?”
“Hey Jake, it’s Emily.” She greeted, waving Sam off when he went
to say something to her. “Listen, we’re having a little meeting over here
tonight and Sam wanted me to call to tell you.
I’m making dinner so if you haven’t ate yet…”
Why did Sam insist on forcing Emily to do his dirty work? “Yeah
I’ll be there, Em.” He looked at the clock, seeing it was a little after four
o’clock. “What time do you want me there?”
“Around six or a little after that.” Emily answered promptly,
busy stirring batter in a bowl to make homemade rolls. “Everything okay, Jake?”
“Yeah, just tired.” He answered, refusing point blank to say
anything more, rubbing his eyes. “I’ll be there.” Then something occurred to
Jacob, causing his eyes narrow slightly. “Emily, you have my cell phone number
right?”
“See you at six, Jake.”
The phone went dead and Jacob felt the anger consuming him,
rolling his neck as bones cracked under pressure, growling. What the hell was Sam up to? They hadn’t been the same pack ever since
Jacob went against them in order to save Bella and Renesmee. Jacob thought at one point he imprinted on
Bella’s vampire-hybrid daughter, but it ended up being false because Seth ended
up being the one to imprint on her.
Imprinting was an involuntary mechanism that forced shape-shifters
to find their soul mates, the ones the Quileute gods selected for them to be
with.
The pack was still having a hard time accepting that fact and
often stayed away from the Clearwater residence because Seth had invited
Renesmee over to the reservation for dinner.
Because she was a vampire-human hybrid, it didn’t break any laws in the
treaty, which Seth had to point out several times to the pack. There was no clause that stated a
vampire-human hybrid couldn’t step foot on their lands.
Just vampires.
Leah had moved out of the house shortly after Seth imprinted on
Renesmee Cullen because she finally imprinted on Embry Call, which nobody saw
coming. It was adorable the way they
baited each other and everyone was honestly happy for them. Embry knew Leah wasn’t comfortable with her
brother being with Renesmee, so he offered to get a place with her since they
would end up married with babies sooner or later. There was no rush, but Leah took Embry’s
offer almost immediately and moved out within a few short weeks after the
proposal.
Everyone was waiting for Embry to pop a marriage proposal next.
Honestly, Jacob was happy for Seth and Renesmee because they
both deserved to be happy and Renesmee would stop aging once she reached
seventeen. Because she was a hybrid, she
aged incredibly fast and the genes within her would stop the aging process,
according to Carlisle’s extensive research.
She would never look a day over seventeen, which was perfect because, as
long as Seth kept phasing, he would hardly age so it worked for both of them.
He was also happy for Embry and Leah because they deserved to be
happy, completing each other to near perfection.
Jacob knew he hadn’t imprinted on Amaya, but that wasn’t going
to stop him from going on the double date with her. Until he did imprint, he was going to date
whoever he wanted, be a free spirit, just like his best friend Paul. They, along with Collin and Brady, hadn’t
imprinted yet and were having a lot of fun trying to find their other
halves…Paul especially. He was
definitely a playboy and told everyone he didn’t believe in imprinting, feeling
as though it wasn’t supposed to happen to him.
It made Jacob think that maybe he was the same way.
Sighing again, Jacob went to stand up as he began taking his
shirt off, deciding he would phase to burn off some of this restless energy,
when his cell phone blared. Turning,
Jacob wondered who it was since he didn’t recognize the ringtone and picked it
up, seeing the name Amaya Robinson flash across the screen, a smile instantly
touching his lips. Flipping it open,
Jacob collapsed back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, deciding phasing
could wait.
“Well hello there, spitfire.”
Amaya chuckled softly at the sound of his voice and what he
called her, busy holding the cell to her ear as she continued doing her
toenails. “Hey yourself, Dasher.” She shot back, knowing he’d get a kick out of
that.
“Dasher?” Jacob scratched his chest, raising an eyebrow. “Since
when am I one of Santa’s reindeer?”
“You are an idiot.” Amaya laughed, leaning back while she let
the paint dry on her toenails. “I’m calling you that because you dashed and
didn’t watch where you were going, which landed you asking me on a double date
with my sister.”
Jacob smirked at her explanation and stroked his chin in
thought, deciding that was definitely a fitting nickname. “How many times are
you gonna bust my balls for that, woman?” He demanded teasingly, sitting up a
little, enjoying the sound of her laughter.
“As many times as it takes to make you realize that you need to
slow the hell down and stop acting like your pants are on fire, Dasher.”
“Alright, alright fine you got me.” He let out an audible sigh,
which caused her to laugh harder. “What’s so damn funny?”
“You.”
“Oh really? What’s so
funny about me?”
“Too many things to count right now.” Amaya shivered when he
growled, closing her eyes and wondered what he was doing at that moment. “Mmm
do that again.”
Jacob was surprised at how low Amaya’s voice dropped, actually
feeling his mouth go dry. “You like it when I growl at you?” That was
definitely interesting and Jacob put that in the back of his mind as a reminder
for a later time when they were face to face.
“Growling from any man who can do it correctly is incredibly hot
and…stimulating.” She smirked, deciding he deserved a little tease before she
gave him her answer, waiting until the absolute last minute to call him.
“Oh really now?” Jacob sat up a little more, licking his lips
and wondered what Amaya would think if he came to pay her a late night visit.
“So, I’m assuming your calling about the double date offer? We going or what?”
“My my what a pushy little man you are.” Amaya stood up from the
bed and walked over to stare out the window, wearing just a simple black
nightgown that was spaghetti strapped and went to her mid-thigh. “What will you
give me if I tell you the answer?”
“You love playing games with men don’t you?” He retorted,
dropping his own voice an octave, not realizing it turned Amaya on immensely.
Her seductive laughter told him he’d definitely gotten under her
skin a bit. “Oh you have NO idea, Dasher.” He was in trouble once she got her
hands on him, they definitely wouldn’t be watching a movie in the dark movie
theater. “But I do suppose I owe you an answer since you did ask me, yes?”
“That would be helpful so I know if I should make plans with
someone else or not.”
Amaya blinked, not expecting to hear that and narrowed her
violet eyes slightly. “Oh? And who else
do you have your eye on right now, Black?” She demanded in a somewhat cold
voice, gritting her teeth when he started laughing.
“Damn, I managed to get under spitfire’s skin!” He crowed
amusedly, hearing her huff over the phone and couldn’t help smirking wickedly. “So
what’s your answer? Yes, no, maybe so?”
Amaya was going to kick the living hell out of him when she saw
him tomorrow night, scowling. “That was not funny.” She grouched, clearly not amused.
“To think you’d ever choose to go out with someone else over me.”
“Only if you decline my offer.
Hell, I’m a free agent.” Jacob was cocky and openly admitted it, hearing
her growl at him. “Ooo should I call you a tiger instead of spitfire?”
“Keep it up, Jake.” Amaya warned, hearing him chuckle at her
annoyance and vowed to wipe the smirk off of his face she knew he currently
had. “And yeah, meet us at the theater at seven tomorrow night. Can you handle that, Dasher?”
“Sure spitfire, whatever works.” Jacob glanced at the clock,
seeing it was going on five and knew he would have to get off the phone soon if
he wanted to go for a quick run before heading to Emily’s. “I take it your
sister found a date?”
“Yes she did.” Amaya heard a knock at her door, knowing it was
time to end the call. “Gotta go, see you tomorrow night and please try to grow
some manners between now and then.”
Jacob didn’t even have a chance to respond because the line went
dead, wondering what hurried her off the phone so abruptly. He shrugged it off and closed his phone
before shoving it in the front pocket of his shorts. Opening his window, Jacob removed his shorts
and tied the cord around his ankle before attaching the shorts. Emily didn’t have replacement clothes and
none of the pack members appreciated nudity that much. He could handle the bare feet, hating to take
shoes with him and knew Emily wouldn’t mind.
Jumping out the window, Jacob felt the fire rush down his spine
as his body shifted in midair, landing on all fours seconds later, his
beautiful russet colored fur glistening in the twilight of the day. Jacob immediately took off into the woods,
running at top speeds and immediately pushed the double date or anything to do
with it out of his mind, in case anyone else was phased. He didn’t trust the pack members, they had
tried sneaking up on him a few times and Jacob was determined to have some
privacy, even if it meant forcing himself not to think about certain things.
It wasn’t easy by any means.
Hey Jakey. Paul’s voice entered his mind, causing Jacob to sigh instantly,
glad his suspicions were right. What’s
got you in a funk?
I’m not in a funk
and stop calling me that, Pauly.
Paul hacked out a cough, his silver fur glinting under the
cloudy rapidly darkening sky. I take it
you’re going to Emily’s for dinner? He loved annoying Jacob, it was one of
the highlights of his day.
That’s a stupid
question. What do you want? Jacob demanded irritably, though there was no malice in his
tone. Shouldn’t you be with your flavor
of the week?
We’re taking a bit
of a break. Paul decided to give
Jacob a visual of his flavor of the week, which made him hack out more, trying
not to laugh when his friend groaned. Hot
little number, isn’t she?
Man that is SICK. Jacob knew he’d be scarred for life after seeing something like
that, shaking his head. Do I even wanna
know how you got her to do THAT?
Paul ran alongside Jacob and looked over at him, a twinkling in
his dark eyes. I’m Paul, I can make a
woman do anything. He stated smugly, causing Jacob to roll his eyes as they
continued on toward the cliffs.
Uh huh and I’m sure
if she found out she was fucking a dog, she definitely wouldn’t do anything you
wanted.
Wouldn’t be too
sure of that, she’s kinky as hell. I’ve never
been with a woman quite like her. Paul
almost sighed wistfully, deciding to change the subject so he wouldn’t miss his
flavor of the week too much. What about
you? You need to get back out there, not
gonna find your…imprint…if you don’t keep looking. Paul couldn’t help
snorting out the word imprint, not believing it would ever happen to him. Then again, maybe you prefer penis?
Jacob was tempted to tell Paul about his double date, but
decided against it for several reasons.
Paul couldn’t keep a secret to save his life or keep his mouth from
running away with him. The pack didn’t
need to know his personal life and he would do whatever it took to keep it from
them as long as possible, even from Seth.
He told Seth everything usually because the little man could keep his
mouth shut, remembering when Seth first told him about imprinting on
Renesmee.
Seth felt Jacob deserved to know first, not to mention Seth felt
guilty because he honestly thought Jacob had imprinted. Being a vampire-human hybrid, Seth had to ask
Jacob if there was any way possible that because she was half human and half
vampire if there could be two imprints.
Jacob assured him he wasn’t angry and congratulated Seth, secretly
thrilled that he hadn’t because he didn’t want to be stuck with Bella’s kid as
his soul mate for the rest of his life.
I assure you, man,
I’m strictly for women. Jacob assured and
heard Paul cough again, suddenly tackling him in the grass. Come on hold still so I can leave a nice
mark on you for your flavor of the week to see!
For nearly an hour, the wolves wrestled around with each other,
which was the perfect way to burn off some of the energy Jacob had. They barely made it to Emily’s on time by the
skin of their teeth, barreling through the front door like a bunch of
animals. Emily was not amused and
pointed at the door, demanding them to walk in properly and without acting like
a bunch of immature buffoons. Whatever
Emily wanted is what she got, both Jacob and Paul walking inside and hugging
Emily, apologizing for their antics.
The meeting was generic, the same things being said about
bloodsuckers and whatnot. Seth hadn’t
left the pack, but he wasn’t as close with any of the members as he used to be,
not even with his sister. Jacob was the
only one he trusted to talk to, nodding whenever Sam gave him an instruction
where to patrol to protect the Quileute lands.
After they were all given their patrol assignments, Jacob walked out
with an extra kick in his step and instantly fazed, glad he got tomorrow night
off for the double date.
The best part was he didn’t even have to ask someone to switch
with him or make up some excuse, howling happily into the night.
Chapter 9
“Kyrine, sweetheart we’re going to be late for the doctor’s
appointment!” Natalie called, tapping on her daughter’s bedroom door and
stepped inside, trying to put a smile on her face.
“Sorry Mom, I’m almost ready.”
Kyrine pulled a long sleeved blue shirt on over a white tank
top, the lace of the tank top poking out of the bottom for style. She had on blue jeans and her white tennis
shoes, leaving her hair down because she honestly didn’t have the strength to
do anything with it. The night before
had taken a toll on Kyrine and she wasn’t about to tell her mother what
happened with Emmett, knowing the woman would just blow it out of
proportion.
No matter what the doctor said, Kyrine was going on the double
date later that night.
“You look tired.” Natalie commented, leaning against the
doorway, wearing a simple pair of black dress pants with a lavender long
sleeved top.
“Yeah, I didn’t sleep well last night.” Kyrine murmured,
finishing getting ready and could see the concerned look on her mother’s face,
sighing. “Mom, I’m fine and I don’t want you worrying about me. We both know I’m sick, but you suffocating me
with your overprotective ways isn’t helping me get better.”
Natalie frowned, wondering where this attitude suddenly came
from and had a sinking feeling Amaya had talked to her daughter. Then again, Nicholas had refused to sleep in
their bedroom the previous night, instead opting for the couch. They’d gotten into a huge argument over
Kyrine with Nicholas saying that Natalie had to back off with being
overprotective and Natalie reminding him that Kyrine was their only daughter
and she was dying. Things were very
stressful between the McTavian’s and the last thing Natalie needed was her
daughter reiterating what her husband had so blatantly and rudely told her the
night before.
“Come on, we’re going to be late.” Natalie decided it was better
not to respond to what her daughter said, just wanting to focus on getting her
better.
Sighing heavily, Kyrine nodded and walked out of the house,
slipping into the car heading off to the hospital. Doctor Miles had picked out a specific doctor
that would be taking care of Kyrine until it was time for the transplant. His name was Doctor Cullen and he’d been at
the hospital for several years, one of the very best. Natalie trusted Doctor Miles’s judgment and
hoped her daughter felt the same way, glancing over at her while soft music
played from the radio.
It wasn’t that Natalie wanted to be overprotective over Kyrine,
but she couldn’t stop it from happening.
This was her only baby, her only child, why couldn’t anyone understand
that? She’d been through hell and back
with Kyrine through the years, seeing her daughter literally on her deathbed in
the hospital with Doctor Miles pumping medication through her to keep her heart
beating. All Natalie wanted was for
Kyrine to get better, to get this heart and to be a normal teenager capable of
doing anything she wanted, reaching her goals.
Apparently, all she’d been doing was driving Kyrine away, along
with her husband, and Natalie didn’t want that.
They arrived about twenty minutes later and walked inside the
hospital, checking in at the receptionist, who directed them where to go. Doctor Cullen…Kyrine wondered if he was
related to Emmett and bit back a smile, knowing how observant her mother. Keeping the double date away from her parents
was extremely hard, especially since Kyrine wasn’t as coy and sneaky like
Amaya. Then again, she hadn’t even told
Amaya about how her walk with Emmett ended, surprised when her cheeks didn’t
flame red as the memory quickly washed over her, lips still tingling.
Once they arrived in the waiting area of Doctor Cullen, Natalie
sat down while Kyrine grabbed a magazine to flip through, eyeing her daughter
skeptically. “You’re awfully quiet today, darling.” Natalie observed, folding
her arms in front of her chest. “Any particular reason why?”
“I told you I’m tired, Mom.”
“Uh huh.” Natalie wasn’t buying it and watched as her daughter
idly flipped through the magazine, not even looking at the pictures, wondering
what was going on. “Amaya told us that you had an extra credit project
yesterday at school. What was it about?”
This was her mother’s subtle way of trying to find out if Amaya
had lied to her about where Kyrine was. “It was for the art class. The teacher told us that if we added an extra
part to the project we finished yesterday, then we’d get extra credit for
it. I know I’m going to be missing some
school once the transplant comes around, so I’m trying to prepare for it.”
Kyrine explained, already having the story ready in her head so it didn’t sound
like she was making it up.
“What was the project about?” Natalie pried, remembering what
Amaya said, but she hadn’t supplied what class or what it involved. “I thought
you and Amaya had all the same courses?”
Kyrine felt like ripping her hair out, but managed to somehow
keep calm. “There are two classes we don’t have together. Art and gym.
The school even called and told you about it before we had our first
day. Mom, just stop okay? Stop asking me questions about my schooling
and start trusting me and Amaya.”
“Kyrine…”
“No, I’m done discussing this with you.” Kyrine cut her off,
going back to flipping through the magazine. “I’ve never given you any reason
not to trust me and here you go again being suspicious.”
“Because I know something else is going on.” Natalie stated, not
born yesterday and couldn’t remember the last time her daughter took on extra
credit at school. “What movie are you and Amaya going to see tonight?”
“I don’t know yet. It’s
at seven, that’s all I know and it’s in Port Angeles.” Kyrine stated somewhat
irritably, finally tossing the magazine on the table in front of her.
“I don’t think you should…”
“Mom, I’m going to see a movie with Amaya tonight. I’m seventeen years old and Dad already gave
us the money to go. He told me to tell
you that if you tried telling me I can’t go, that you can take it up with him.”
Kyrine wasn’t trying to be mean to her mother, always having respect for her,
but right now she was getting on Kyrine’s last nerve.
Before Natalie could even open her mouth to retort, the door
opened and a nurse stepped out with a chart in hand. “Kyrine McTavian?” She
called, smiling when the women stood up and could already feel the tension
between them. “Hello Kyrine, my name is Gloria, how are you feeling today?”
“A little tired, but I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
Kyrine was always honest with her doctors, but they didn’t need to know about
the kiss that sent her heart racing the night before, which in turn exhausted
her. “Other than that, fine.”
“Good.”
Gloria first took her weight and found out Kyrine had actually
gained a few pounds, which was a very good sign. Her blood pressure came next and it was a
little low, but nothing for them to be concerned about. Natalie didn’t say anything and just let the
nurse do what she had to do, nodding when Gloria told them Doctor Cullen would
be in shortly to see Kyrine. Kyrine
thanked her and sat on the bedding with her head down, not able to look at her
mother right now.
A half an hour later, a knock sounded at the door and Doctor
Cullen walked in, Natalie’s eyes widening slightly. He was incredibly pale white, which instantly
reminded Kyrine of Emmett, and the same beautiful golden eyes. His blonde hair was slicked back and he had
the most breathtaking smile, a charm that made Natalie weak in the knees. He looked very young too, no more than in his
early twenties, but none of that mattered to the women.
“So you must be the infamous Kyrine I’ve heard so much about.”
Doctor Cullen smiled and extended his hand, watching his patient take it with
absolutely no hesitation. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“It’s nice meeting you too, Doctor Cullen.” Kyrine softly
replied and released his hand, tucking her hair back behind her ears as he
pulled the otoscope out of his white jacket, beginning the examination.
“So what grade are you in, Kyrine?” He asked while doing the
initial checkup, which was mandatory before he started the heart examination.
“I’m a Senior.” She answered with a smile, doing whatever Doctor
Cullen instructed her and nodded when he told her she looked in great shape all
things considered.
Doctor Cullen was specialized in every form of medicine, having
every degree with all masters. The heart
was definitely one of his favorites, though having young patients like Kyrine
was a little harder than others because her life was barely beginning. He kept a soft smile on his face, not wanting
to scare her in any way and asked her to lay back on the bedding while he began
pressing in certain areas of her abdomen, another part of the mandatory
checkup.
He fired up the heart monitor, which is what Kyrine was waiting
for, and removed her long sleeved shirt so it was easier for him to press attach
the electrodes presoaked in alcohol to her arms and chest. Doctor Cullen began the electrocardiogram
(ECG), a test that checked for problems with the electrical activity of her
heart. It translated the heart’s
electrical activity into line tracings on paper, the spikes and dips called
waves, which showed arrhythmias of her heart.
With congestive heart failure, it of course made the machine go haywire
and Doctor Cullen took his stethoscope out to listen to her heart while the ECG
test continued.
It took around ten minutes and Doctor Cullen nodded, removing
the electrodes while Kyrine pulled her shirt back on, sitting up chewing her
bottom lip nervously. She could tell the
look on Doctor Cullen’s face was filled with worry and Kyrine just prayed he
had some kind of good news for her, having had enough of these tests to know
when the doctor tried keeping in good spirits.
He pushed the ECG machine out in the hallway and shut the door, walking
over to sit down in the nearby chair with the chart out, writing down a few
things.
“Well Kyrine, this probably won’t surprise you, but your heart
is steadily getting worse. I know you’ve
opted not to receive a LVAD, but at this point, I don’t know how much longer
your heart will pump on its own.” He could tell that news completely crushed
Kyrine, knowing the transplant was so close yet so far away at the same time.
An LVAD was an implantable mechanical pump that would help pump
the blood from her lower left chamber of her heart to the rest of her
body. It would help with circulation and
was used for people who had weakened hearts or heart failure. Kyrine had been offered to have one implanted
in Florida by Doctor Miles, but told her it wasn’t necessary at the time. However, with this new ECG and not knowing
when Kyrine would get the donor heart, Doctor Cullen didn’t want to take any
chances, especially with this being her Senior year in high school.
This news was bitter to swallow and all Natalie could do was
look up at her daughter, tears filling her eyes. “Darling?” She could tell
Kyrine was upset and stood up to hold her hand, wrapping a comforting arm
around her shoulders.
“Is there no other way?” Kyrine finally asked, having tried to
avoid any other major surgery and swallowed hard when Doctor Cullen shook his
head.
“I’m afraid not, Kyrine.” He watched saddened as tears slid down
her face, standing up to walk over and took both of her hands in his cold ones.
“The fact of the matter is your heart is giving out slowly but surely. With all the activity in your life,
especially this being your last year in high school and graduation around the
corner, it would be in your very best interest to receive the LVAD. It would give you better circulation and give
your heart a much needed rest, giving us more time to wait for the
transplant. It is major open-heart
surgery to implant the device and there are risks of complications, but I
assure you this is your best option.”
“How long will it give her?” Natalie had to ask, looking up at
the doctor while wiping tears away from her daughter’s face.
“People can live with an LVAD for years and they are
lifesaving.” Doctor Cullen explained softly, trying to keep both women calmed,
especially his patient. “We doctors like refer to it as a ‘Bridge to
Transplant’. Most people who are waiting
for a heart transplant have an LVAD implanted just to give their hearts a rest
and letting the device do most of the work.”
“How long will the surgery take?” Was Natalie’s last question,
knowing Nicholas wouldn’t like hearing any of this.
“The surgery takes four to six hours, depending if any
complications arise. You’ll be connected
to a ventilator to help you breathe during the surgery and you will more than
likely be on it several days after the surgery.
You’ll be in the ICU and your lungs may not work right away after
surgery, so that’s why you’ll be kept on the ventilator. It’s a precaution more than anything.”
Kyrine’s eyes widened slightly and looked over at her mother,
who looked completely heartbroken. “H-How long will I be in the hospital?” She
hesitantly asked, feeling Doctor Cullen squeeze her hands gently, trying to
comfort her in any way he could.
“The amount of time you’ll spend in the ICU will vary, depending
on your condition before the procedure and how your body recovers from the
LVAD. I’ll say anywhere from one week to
a month, but a month is the worst case scenario, which you’re not.” He answered
honestly, trying not to let her tears bother him, even though they did. “You’ll
be prescribed antibiotics and blood-thinners to prevent infection and other
complications while you’re here. I will
order blood tests periodically to check your kidney function and make sure your
medications are working. If everything
goes well with your recovery from surgery, you’ll be able to return to school
and do anything you want. You will have
weekly appointments with me until the transplant to check on your progress and
make sure the LVAD is doing what it’s supposed to do for your heart. Because you’re waiting for a transplant, your
activities need to remain limited like they are now and your stress level has
to stay down because stress causes strain on your heart, which needs to be
avoided.”
“What are the risks?” Natalie could tell this type of surgery
scared Kyrine, but they needed to know everything that could happen during.
“Blood clots that can be prevented with the blood-thinners I
will prescribe, excessive bleeding, but that’s more after the surgery than
during. Infection…because the device is outside
of the body and connected through a port in the skin, germs and bacteria can
cause serious infection, but the antibiotics will more than likely prevent
that. The device can malfunction at any
time, it is a machine after all and if anything goes wrong with it, you need to
get immediate medical attention.” He stopped to take a breath, knowing this was
a lot of information to sink in for Kyrine, but there was one other risk he had
to tell her. “The last risk is right heart failure. The LVAD pumps more blood from the left
ventricle of your heart than what your heart might be used to before your LVAD
is implanted. Your right ventricle may
be too weak to pump the increased amount of blood needed for circulation and we
do have medication to improve the pumping ability of it. Worst case scenario, you may also need an
RVAD implanted to support the right ventricle.”
Those were a lot of risks and Natalie wasn’t sure what to say or
even think, looking back at her daughter with worry shining in her eyes. “How
long would she have without the surgery?” She finally asked after a few minutes
of silence, the doctor letting the information sink in.
“Based on the ECG, I’d say a month if that.”
Natalie closed her eyes and felt huge tears slide down her
cheeks, covering her mouth with her hand. “A month? Even with a dobutamine drip?” She swallowed
when Doctor Cullen simply lowered his eyes with a solemn nod of his head.
“With her condition, she would end up living in the hospital on
that drip and even then I’m not sure if it would keep her alive long enough to
wait for the transplant.”
As much as Kyrine hated doing it, she reluctantly agreed to have
the surgery, which was scheduled for the following week.
Chapter 10
Whistling.
He was actually whistling.
Alice had noticed something change within Emmett and wished she
could read his mind, knowing there was no way she could go to Edward. Their falling out had pushed Edward over the
edge and he hadn’t been around the household, staying in his little cottage
with Bella and Renesmee deep in the woods.
It wasn’t far away from the glass house, but enough that Edward and
Emmett had space from each other so there wasn’t any altercation. The family tried a few times to get them to
talk, but in the end Edward just simply left with Bella and Renesmee, refusing
to apologize for what happened.
“Hey Al.” Emmett grinned walking past her, wearing a black
buttoned up long sleeved shirt with the top two buttons undone and dark blue
jeans.
Alice blinked and slowly turned as her eyes followed him into
the bathroom, tilting her head slightly. “Hey Em.” She greeted softly, deciding
to follow him, her curiosity burning. “You look nice tonight. Going somewhere special?”
A smirk spread over his lips as Emmett looked at her through the
reflection, winking. “Maybe.” He sprayed some cologne on and decided to roll
the sleeves up on his shirt to his elbows, nodding when he was satisfied. “You
and Jazz doing anything tonight?”
“Probably just hunting, might run up to the mountains.” Alice
was still eyeing him, pursing her lips together thoughtfully. “So…who is she?”
“None of your business, Al.” There was no malice in his tone,
but he was in a hurry.
Emmett walked past her, heading downstairs to let Carlisle and Esme
know he was leaving for the night. He
was actually concerned about Kyrine because she hadn’t been at school all day,
wondering if he’d scared her off. That
was until her sister Amaya walked up to her, making sure he wasn’t backing out
of the double date with her and Kyrine that night. When Emmett questioned where Kyrine was, all
Amaya told him was it was none of his business and that he’d see her that
night.
Something made Emmett stop just outside the sitting room,
especially when Emmett heard them talking quietly to each other and simply
listened in. Alice went to walk past him
inside the room and Emmett’s hand shot out to stop her, pressing a finger to
his lips, wanting to overhear what their adopted parents were talking
about. Deciding to humor him, Alice
remained silent and also listened in, even when Jasper joined them moments
later.
“Car, there’s nothing you can do about it, darling.” Esme said,
watching as her husband sat on the couch with his head in his hands.
“You don’t understand, Esme.
She’s only seventeen and so young.
She’s had congestive heart failure most of her life, since she was a
little girl. And now I had to basically
hand her a death sentence if she doesn’t have this surgery.” Carlisle felt
horrible and knew his wife would help him through it, needing her more than
ever right now. “I love helping people, I love being a doctor, but…there are
some things I don’t like about being in the medical field and this is one of
them.”
Esme frowned and walked over to stand beside her husband,
rubbing his shoulders comfortingly. “Life is cruel and unfair, that’s one of
the many things you’ve taught me in all the time we’ve been together. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but all
you can do is perform this surgery to the best of your ability and give her
enough time until this transplant arrives.
The donor is there, but they’re waiting for the family to come back from
the army overseas, right?”
“Something like that.” Carlisle didn’t know the entire story and
rubbed his temples, finally turning to wrap his arms around Esme’s shoulders.
“The look her mother gave me when I told them about the surgery…I can’t get it
out of my mind. She looked as though I’d
sucked all the life out of them, figuratively speaking of course.”
Esme cracked a sad smile and kissed her husband softly,
tenderly. “Everything will work out for her and you’re going to give her a
chance to live longer with this surgery.
Just relax and try not to think about it until you’re at work. You have to learn to separate your personal
life from your professional.” Knowing she was right, Esme extended her arms to
Carlisle and felt him pull her into his arms, wrapping her arms around his
neck.
“Thank you.” He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers and
began dancing with her throughout the room, not caring if they didn’t have
music.
Emmett, Alice and Jasper stepped away from the door a few feet
because it was apparent Carlisle needed some time alone with Esme. “What do you
think that was about?” Alice wondered aloud, looking at Jasper before turning
her attention to Emmett.
“No idea, but we might go to school with her.” Jasper said
helpfully, looking over at Emmett. “Maybe we can find out who she is?”
Emmett could only shrug, his mind currently on his date for that
evening Kyrine, and left a few minutes later to head to the theater in Port
Angeles.
Alice and Jasper watched him go, deciding they would do the
investigating on who this seventeen year old girl was that upset Carlisle at
work.
~!~
Amaya came home from school and hoped Kyrine’s doctor
appointment went well, a big smile on her face, excited for their double date
that night. Natalie and Nicholas were
completely clueless, which is what both girls wanted and everything was going
according to plan. The girls would leave
at six o’clock to make it to the theater in plenty of time before the
guys. Jacob had called Amaya and left a
voicemail saying he would be a few minutes late, but he wasn’t standing her up,
promising to hurry.
“Kyrie?” She called out, beginning to head upstairs and stopped
when Natalie’s voice sounded from the kitchen.
“In here, Amaya.”
Just by the sound of her voice, Amaya instantly had a sinking
feeling in the pit of her stomach and headed in the kitchen, tossing her bag on
the couch on her way. Kyrine was sitting
at the kitchen table sipping some juice with Natalie, both of them looking
somber. Nicholas was nowhere to be
found, though it was still fairly early for him to be home from work. Kyrine looked up at Amaya and instantly felt
tears swell in her eyes, looking back down at the table while slowly taking
another sip of her juice.
Something wasn’t right.
“What’s going on?” Amaya asked, walking over to sit down at the
table beside Kyrine, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“We have to wait until Dad gets home.” Kyrine quietly said,
placing her head in her hand while closing her eyes, still not believing what
was revealed at her doctor’s appointment.
Now Amaya was really worried and frowned, worry shining in her
violet eyes. The last time Kyrine said
that it was regarding the heart transplant and them having to move from Miami
to Forks. The time before that Natalie
had called her while she was at school and Amaya was taken straight to the
hospital in Miami because Kyrine had collapsed at her doctor’s appointment,
being admitted. She was forced to go on
a dobutamine drip for a few days to give her heart a rest because it had
overworked itself, which was rare to happen.
Luckily, her heart managed to heal on its own to the point where
Kyrine didn’t have to live on it, but the limitations began.
“Nat?”
“We want the entire family to be here, Amaya.” Was all Natalie
offered, sipping coffee since she felt like all the energy had been sucked out
of her.
“Well when the hell is he coming home?” Amaya snapped, the worry
evident in her tone, honestly not caring about anything except her sister at
that moment. “I have a right to know!”
“I called him at work and he’s on his way. It shouldn’t be too long now.” Natalie’s
voice remained grave, not even getting upset with Amaya’s outburst because she
honestly had no energy left to exert.
“Are we still on for tonight?” Amaya had to ask in case she had
to call Jacob and cancel the double date, watching as Kyrine’s head shot up
instantly.
“No!” Kyrine swallowed hard when Natalie’s eyes widened
slightly, clearing her throat and lowered her eyes. “I mean no. What we have to say to you and Dad won’t
affect our movie night.” The double date was the only thing Kyrine had to hold
onto at that moment and Natalie agreed to let her go because of the upcoming
surgery.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, please don’t cancel on me, Maya. I need tonight, especially after…” Before Kyrine
could continue, all three heard the front door open and Nicholas rushed inside
the kitchen, tossing his briefcase on the counter.
Kyrine couldn’t handle the frantic look on her father’s face and
stood up, instantly letting him engulf her in his arms, tears streaming down
her face. She was a daddy’s girl from
the moment she was born and right now needed him more than ever, her crying
turning to heart wrenching sobs that completely broke his heart. Nicholas had no idea what happened at the
doctor’s and looked over at his wife, seeing the tears pouring down her face as
well, his breathing quickening a little.
“Kyrine baby, let’s sit down and talk.” He suggested softly,
frowning when the clutch of his shirt tightened and lifted her up in his arms,
sitting down at the table with her curled up on his lap.
Natalie couldn’t even look at her husband right now, ashamed
from all the fighting they’d done lately and how she treated her daughter. Instead of protecting her, Natalie had
stopped her from living and that’s not what she wanted, knowing she deserved to
be happy. She could only sit there and
cry, Kyrine’s sobs just making her feel worse and knew what they were about to
tell Nicholas and Amaya would change their family possibly forever.
Once Kyrine settled down enough to talk, she pulled back from
her father’s shirt covered chest, wiping her tears away. “Sorry.” She murmured
with a gentle sigh, finally looking up into his eyes. “Daddy, my condition is
getting worse.” It was the only way to start out breaking this type of news and
Kyrine didn’t know how else to do it, trying to take slow deep breaths.
Nicholas nodded, knowing the doctor was going to tell her that,
but didn’t say a single word, glancing over at his wife that was falling to
pieces. “Go on, baby.” He encouraged quietly when Kyrine didn’t continue,
running his fingers through her hair. “Tell Daddy what the doctor said.”
Kyrine took a few more deep breaths and finally spilled
everything about her examination with Doctor Cullen, not leaving out
anything. The LVAD surgery was scheduled
for next Friday right after Kyrine got out of school, wanting the weekend to
recover, though she wouldn’t be back in school until Doctor Cullen released her
to do so. She explained that it was a
life or death surgery because her heart was giving out on her quickly and,
without the LVAD, she would die within a month.
When Nicholas demanded if this Doctor Cullen was the best and he’d
spoken with Doctor Miles, Kyrine assured him, which made him feel a little better.
Amaya could only sit there in shock and listened to her sister
pour her heart out to both of them about the doctor’s appointment, silent tears
sliding down her cheeks. Kyrine was
truly dying, her time was really running out and without the LVAD, she wouldn’t
make it until the transplant arrived.
Suddenly, the double date was the furthest thing from her mind as Amaya
got up and immediately hugged Kyrine as soon as she was off of Nicholas’s lap,
closing her eyes tightly shut. She loved
Kyrine more than a sister, they were closer than closer, and if Amaya lost her
it would probably be the end of her as well.
“I-I’m gonna be there every single step of the way.” Amaya
promised, her mouth right by Kyrine’s ear, not letting her go as more tears
fell, both girls trembling slightly. “Even if I have to take off school, I’m
NOT leaving your side, Kyrie.”
“No.” Kyrine broke the hug to pull back, staring into Amaya’s
bloodshot violet eyes, wiping her tears away. “Don’t you dare stop living your
life because I’m sick. I would
absolutely hate that and feel guilty, which I know you don’t want. You can be there for me during the surgery in
the waiting room with Mom and Dad and even through the recovery, but you are
NOT missing any school. Do you
understand me?”
“But…”
Kyrine shook her head, smiling with hopeful blue eyes. “Listen
to me, I knew this was going to happen eventually and I’m ready for it. I’ll do whatever it takes to live long enough
to get that heart, even though I feel guilty every day that someone else had to
die in order to give me a chance. But I
don’t want to think about that right now.
I want to go to the movies with you and enjoy our night. I want to get my mind off of the upcoming
surgery and live. So stop crying and
let’s go upstairs and get ready.” She walked out of the kitchen, smiling when
Amaya began following her, knowing she would want to do her hair and makeup.
Nicholas and Natalie just looked at each other before he took
his wife in his arms, both of them apologizing for all the heated arguments
lately.
An hour later, Kyrine stared in the mirror with a smile, glad
she’d let Amaya talk her into getting this outfit for tonight. They both had to be careful with what they
wore, more Kyrine than Amaya –her style was always eye-catching, so the rents
wouldn’t think anything of it-, because she rarely dressed up for
anything. They both decided on a white
short sleeved baby doll that had colorful flowers embroidered from the middle
to the bottom along with dark blue leggings and white flats.
She left her hair down, allowing Amaya to put loose curls
throughout it and had two butterfly colorful clips on each side of her head,
pinning them just above the ears. Her makeup
was simple foundation with blue eyeliner and natural shimmering eye shadow,
pink gloss on her lips. She had a
beautiful matching butterfly necklace around her neck along with a matching
ring on her left pointer finger, her nails having a French manicure both girls
had done while they went shopping in Port Angeles.
Kyrine could only hope Emmett approved, chewing her bottom lip
nervously, and looked over at a breathtaking Amaya.
A mid-thigh high blood red tank dress hugged all of her curves
to perfection, though it left plenty to the imagination, which is what Amaya
wanted. It had black lace on the top and
bottom hems that gave it more of a gothic style along with black fishnet tights
that went with her three inch black Mary Jane pumps. They would definitely put her at Jacob’s
monstrous height, another thing Amaya wanted to achieve. Her hair was half up and half down, curled
and hanging down her back in a haphazard condition, the blood red and black
streaks- she’d specifically picked out the dye because of her dress- definitely
showing through the blonde. She also
added a black band that smoothed the top of her hair back for added effect, a
black lace choker around her neck and dangling earrings that looked like black
spider webs.
“You ready to go?” Amaya asked, trying to get the excitement in
her voice and glanced over at Kyrine, who looked incredibly tense.
Kyrine nodded, picking up her purse after placing some simple
diamond studs in her ears, hating the dangling ones, and followed Amaya out of
the house for their double date.
Chapter 11
Emmett stood outside of the movie theater, arriving before the
girls and Amaya’s date, wondering where they were. Then a sudden thought occurred to him and
Emmett couldn’t keep the smirk off his pale face, chuckling. Amaya was probably being stood up; he
wouldn’t blame the guy considering what kind of attitude she had.
Then again, she was definitely a beautiful woman, but nothing
compared to Kyrine. Her kind saddened
blue eyes and hair that looked soft to the touch…Emmett felt the familiar
tingle come over him as the memory of their kiss from the previous night
flooded his mind. And the best part was
she wasn’t afraid of him, there wasn’t an ounce of fear that came from Kyrine
whenever they saw each other, just pure curiosity.
His golden eyes looked up when headlights flashed in the
distance and Emmett could already feel the smile curving his lips, knowing it
was the girls arriving. He had excellent
hearing and vision, watching from his perch against the building as Amaya and
Kyrine stepped out, his mouth watering at the sight of his date. She looked absolutely stunning in white, like
an angel, and Emmett suddenly felt nervous about everything as she approached
him.
Kyrine noticed Emmett as soon as they pulled into the parking
lot and couldn’t stop smiling, everything from the day’s events floating out of
her mind for the time being. He was hard
not to notice because of his sheer size and figure, looking more gorgeous than
he did at school. As soon as the car
stopped, Kyrine stepped out of the car and headed toward her date, feeling the
butterflies erupting throughout her stomach as blue locked on golden
topaz.
Only able to watch as Kyrine floated toward Emmett, Amaya
couldn’t help smiling at how her sister was acting, knowing she liked the man a
lot. Amaya hadn’t said much on the ride
to the theater, trying to make small talk about anything except the
doctor. Kyrine wanted tonight to be
about fun instead of constant worry about her health, which Amaya honestly
didn’t blame her for. Though she had
told Amaya Jacob was going to be a few minutes late for the movie because of
some family business he had to attend to.
Emmett pushed off the building once Kyrine stood in front of him
and didn’t say anything at first, just allowing his eyes to devour her
completely. He drank every inch in, from
the top of her beautiful curled chestnut hair to the tips of her black
flats. How could an angel like this be
interested in someone like him? Pushing
that question out of his mind, Emmett wasn’t one to question much and extended
his hand to Kyrine, immediately pulling her into his arms as soon as her hand
touched his.
“There are no words, Kyrine, so I’m not even going to try
telling you how you look because there are none that scratch the surface.” His
deep voice rumbled, watching as the roses bloomed in her cheeks and ran his
finger down one of them, feeling the heat radiating on his cold skin. “Simply
exquisite.”
Kyrine fought the urge to look away from him, but those golden
eyes captivated her and kept her grounded, her lips shimmering in the dim
lighting above them from the theater.
Her hand reached up and caressed his soft face tenderly, the cold skin
not bothering her in the slightest because her body currently flooded with this
newfound heat that only came whenever she was with Emmett. He leaned into her soft touch and moved his
face as his lips brushed against her palm, sending shivers throughout Kyrine’s
body, her heart rate growing rapid.
“You’re gorgeous.” She complimented softly, running her thumb
across his eyebrow to smooth it and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth
when a soft growl escaped his lips.
“I really like it when you touch me.” He admitted openly, his
eyes closing briefly to enjoy her gentle touch, his hand covering hers as their
fingers laced together. “I wish we didn’t have to spend our time together in a
movie theater.” What Emmett really wanted to do was just take her deep into the
woods again where they were completely alone and ravage her lips with his
again, possibly her body too.
Now Kyrine was flushed and she had to look away from him, her
cheeks burning a deep crimson red because the look in his eyes were desire and
lust-filled. “The movie won’t be that long and we don’t have a curfew.” She
softly said, feeling Emmett hook his forefinger beneath her chin, their eyes
meeting once more as he brushed his lips against her forehead. “Do you?”
Emmett laughed, not able to stop from doing so because of the
simple fact that Kyrine had no idea who she was dating. “No I don’t,
beautiful.” It was an inside joke and Emmett stopped when he saw the confused
look on her face, simply winking. “So you’re saying I can get you alone after
this movie is over with?”
“Sure.”
Kyrine already informed Amaya on the ride over that she would
more than likely escape with Emmett once the movie ended, wanting to spend some
time alone with him while she could.
Once she had the surgery, Kyrine knew Emmett wouldn’t want to be around
someone as fragile and sick as her. She
wanted to look her best tonight so at least, once she was bound to the hospital
bed after her LVAD surgery, Emmett would at least have one memory of her being
normal and healthy…even though she wasn’t.
There was no way she was telling him about the surgery, or
anyone for that matter, refusing to let anyone from Forks pity her. It was bad enough Amaya already did along
with her parents, though Kyrine couldn’t stop them from doing so. She asked her parents to simply tell the
principal she was going on a month vacation with her grandparents and would
make up her homework while away.
“What’s on your mind, beautiful?” Emmett could tell that Kyrine
had delved into deep thoughts, raising an eyebrow when she jumped slightly at
the sound of his voice.
“Sorry.” Kyrine blinked a few times, mentally shaking herself
out of the thoughts and looked up at him with a reassuring smile. “I have a lot
on my mind, but I’m hoping you can get my attention on something else.”
Emmett smirked, pulling her into his arms again as their
foreheads touched, rubbing his nose against hers. “I’ll do my best.” He really
wished he had Edward’s mind reading ability at that moment, the curiosity
burning within him wondering what was on her mind, what was going through it.
While Emmett and Kyrine talked quietly by the theater, Amaya was
leaning against her car waiting for her own date to arrive, sighing. If Jacob Black stood her up, she was going to
make him regret the day he ever bumped into her at that diet store, folding her
arms in front of her chest. She couldn’t
help glancing over her shoulder at Kyrine and watched how comfortable her
sister was with Emmett, wondering if it was the smartest thing to do. She hardly knew the guy and was already
letting him touch her and kiss her forehead, even running his hand up and down
her back while they laughed together as if they knew each other for years. Then again, she couldn’t help thinking how
cute they looked together because of how tiny Kyrine was compared to Emmett,
chuckling softly.
“What’s so funny, spitfire?”
Amaya jumped about a foot in the air and spun around, instantly
glaring at a laughing Jacob Black and wanted to clobber him with one of her
Mary Jane shoes. “You asshole!” She growled, holding her chest because it felt
as though her heart had leapt into her throat. “You scared the hell out of me!”
Jacob tried to stop laughing, but couldn’t help it, his dark
eyes glittering with amusement. “Sorry I couldn’t resist. You looked really deep in thought and I
didn’t know how to approach you without scaring you.” He could tell she was
already irritated with him for being late and simply rolled his eyes, walking
toward her bravely. “Come on, you can’t stay mad at me.”
“Oh yeah, Dasher?” Amaya snorted and placed her hands on her
hips, angry violet meeting those hypnotic dark black orbs, the anger slowly
draining out of her. “Watch me.”
“Oh I am.”
Jacob stopped right in front of her, but gave enough space to
let his eyes slowly run down the length of her body, finally noticing what she
was wearing. That dress…Jacob suddenly
wondered what it would feel like to have those long legs wrapped around his
waist, rubbing the back of his neck. Her
style was definitely gothic, but it also had a little punk mixed in, never
dating a woman quite like her and a paleface at that. The only other paleface he somewhat dated was
Bella, but Jacob couldn’t even call it that, immediately pushing her out of his
mind.
“You look sexy as hell.” He blunted stated, watching the curve
of Amaya’s blood red painted lips develop into a smirk, extending his hand.
Amaya was too busy consuming Jacob with her eyes and fought back
the urge to attack, keeping her hands on her hips where she knew they were
safe. He wore a tight short sleeved
black shirt that looked like it would bust off of him at any given moment with
dark green cargo shorts that hung loose on his muscular hips. He had black sneakers on his feet, his hair
spiked and he smelled incredible. She
noticed a tattoo barely poking out on his upper right bicep, half of it covered
by the shirt, wondering what it stood for.
It was some kind of marking she could only guess it was Quileute
and it just made him that much sexier.
When she noticed Jacob still had his hand extended with that smirk on
his face, Amaya wondered if playing hard to get would work with him, deciding
to humor him as her hand slid into his.
Jacob slowly turned her around in a very slow circle, finally making her
face him again as his arm snaked around her waist, the material of the dress
lighting his blood on fire.
His arm scorched her skin beneath the thin material of her dress
and Amaya suddenly wondered if body temperature that high was healthy. As soon as she looked up into his smoldering
black eyes, she knew he was not only healthy, but he wanted her. So much lust…Amaya found it hard to breathe
and couldn’t remember the last time a man had this much of an effect on her, resting
her hands against his shirt covered chest.
The material didn’t hide his body heat much and Amaya honestly didn’t
care, suddenly wondering why they had to spend their time at a stupid movie.
All she wanted to do was ravage him from head to toe and knew
Jacob was thinking the same thing.
“Come on, we’re going to miss the movie entirely if we keep
standing here.”
Amaya stepped away from him and took his hand, knowing she had
to introduce her sister to her extremely hot date, her heels clicking against
the asphalt as they crossed the street.
Jacob’s eyes were only for her, wondering what suddenly made Amaya so
nervous and wondered if she was feeling the same way he was. A movie theater wasn’t the place to do what
he wanted to do to her, but Jacob would make it work, suddenly grinning devilishly
at the thought. The notion of whether or
not Amaya wore panties was among the dirty thoughts running through his mind at
that moment and Jacob fought back a groan, taking a chance to glance down at
her beautiful round shaped ass.
“Eyes up front, Dasher.” She ordered in a lower voice, having
felt his eyes burning a hole through her ass.
“My eyes would rather be looking at something else right now,
spitfire.” He laughed when she elbowed him, growling, deciding right then and
there she liked it rough.
Jacob had absolutely no idea just how rough Amaya liked it when
it came to sex.
“I’m sure they would, but you need to behave long enough to meet
my sister and her date.” Amaya stated, laughing when Jacob whispered something
completely vulgar in her ear and smacked him lightly, feeling her cheeks flush
slightly. “Keep it up and you won’t get anything from me later on.”
“Ooo promises, promises.” Jacob growled, low enough to where
only she could hear, and finally looked up at the couple they were on the double
date with.
“Ouch!” Amaya grunted when she felt Jacob squeeze her hand
harder, looking up at him through narrowed violet eyes and could see how tense
he suddenly became. “What the hell?”
“You.”
Emmett turned around and came face to face with none other than
Jacob Black, his own golden eyes narrowing, immediately placing Kyrine behind
him out of sight. “What the fuck are you doing here, Black?” He demanded
through gritted teeth, his hand on Kyrine’s to let her know that she was safe.
“I could ask you the same damn thing.” Jacob released Amaya’s
hand instantly and backed away a few feet, trying to contain the anger that
suddenly overflowed his body. “Amaya, care to explain to me why your sister is dating
HIM?”
Amaya was very confused, looking back and forth between Emmett
and Jacob, wondering what the hell was going on between them. “I’m going to
assume you two know each other.” It was obvious. “I had no idea you and Emmett
knew each other considering you live on the reservation in La Push while he
lives in Forks and goes to a different school than you do.”
The girls had no idea just how much history was between Emmett
and Jacob.
“Excuse me, but what’s going on here?” A soft voice finally
spoke up, Jacob’s eyes instantly moving to the owner of it, and swallowed hard
at the sight of Amaya’s sister.
Suddenly, it was almost as if the earth stopped moving and Jacob
felt his entire world spin off its axel, his feet cementing to the
sidewalk. Everything else disappeared
around him as his eyes locked with deep midnight blue, every part of his body
feeling like a magnet pulling him closer to her. It was almost as if a golden glow had
surrounded the beautiful girl and all the dirty thoughts about what Jacob
wanted to do to Amaya instantly vanished.
All the feelings he had toward Amaya went with those thoughts
and Jacob found himself barely able to breathe, think or even move. He couldn’t believe what was happening, who
he was staring at and didn’t hear Amaya calling his name or Emmett
growling. All he could hear and focus on
was the angel in white standing before him, knowing what just transpired in
what felt like hours, but was only mere seconds.
Jacob Black had just imprinted on Amaya’s sister.
Chapter 12
Kyrine felt her heart nearly stop with the way Amaya’s date
stared at her and felt an instant connection toward him, swallowing hard. She could feel the anger radiating from
Emmett, but all Kyrine could do was stare into two dark black pools filled she
couldn’t quite read. She was losing her
mind and had to say something, anything, finally managing to rip her gaze from
his, her entire body wanting to convulse from the intensity of their stare
down.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“Hi.” She extended her hand rather stiffly, a soft smile on her
face. “I’m Kyrine McTavian, Amaya’s sister.”
Jacob couldn’t stop himself even if a gun was pressed against
his head and took her small hand in his, swallowing it whole. Instantly, a volt of electricity shot up his
arm as soon as their hands connected and Jacob was betting she felt it
too. It just made the magnetic feeling
that much stronger and Jacob knew exactly why he was feeling this way,
wondering why the fates were so cruel.
More importantly, he wondered what this beautiful seraph was thinking,
feeling, experiencing, their hands slowly moving up and down in a slow motion
handshake.
“It’s really nice to meet you, Kyrine.” Her name even sounded angelic
and rolled off his tongue in a smooth caress, his eyes never leaving hers.
Emmett had enough of this and immediately stepped up, pulling
Kyrine gently but firmly out of the handshake against his side, wrapping a
protective possessive arm around her shoulders. “She’s my date, Black. You have your own.” He reminded the dog,
growling at the foul stench that suddenly radiated from Kyrine and knew she
would be smelling like it for the rest of the evening.
Jacob narrowed his eyes, not appreciating the way Emmett had
just handled his imprint, but knew he couldn’t pull her back toward him as much
as he wanted to. “I know that, bl-Cullen.” He hissed out, nearly calling Emmett
a bloodsucker, but caught himself just in time.
Taking Amaya’s hand in his own stiffly, Jacob pulled her to
stand beside him, both men staring each other down crossly. “Okay what the hell
is going on here?” Amaya demanded and yanked her hand out of Jacob’s while
Kyrine stepped away from Emmett, both of them looking extremely uncomfortable
with these turn of events. “You obviously don’t like each other, care to
explain to us why?”
Kyrine decided to let her sister do the talking and looked up at
Emmett expectantly, her blue eyes pleading with him to calm down. She took his hand and laced their fingers
together, all of the intense feelings she felt for him suddenly gone. Chalking it up to the awkward and tense
situation, Kyrine pushed the intense feelings she experienced only moments ago
with Jacob in the far recesses of her mind, wanting to have a nice evening with
Emmett.
“It’s a long story.” Jacob tried not to growl, looking down at a
bewildered and angry Amaya, a frown marring his tanned features. He had to be the bigger man and squared his
shoulders, clearing his throat. “A story we don’t need to get into right now
because we have two beautiful girls to entertain.” A movie was definitely out
of the question and Jacob wrinkled his nose, the icy sweet stench infiltrating,
causing him to groan.
“No, we’re going home.” Amaya walked toward Kyrine and blinked
when she shook her head in response, clinging to Emmett’s side.
“I want to spend time with Emmett.” Kyrine softly stated,
ignoring the glare from Jacob and looked up at Emmett with that same smile.
“We’re just going to go for a walk in the woods and...”
“Hunt?” Jacob jabbed through gritted teeth, refusing to let his
imprint go off alone with the bloodsucker. “Kyrine, maybe going with your
sister is the best for now.”
Amaya had no idea how Jacob felt toward her sister and honestly didn’t
care, nodding over at Kyrine, deciding to give her whatever she wanted. “Just
don’t get in too late and call me when you’re on your way so we can arrive
together.” She ignored the incredulous look that Jacob shot at her, shrugging
nonchalantly.
“Have you lost your mind?” Jacob demanded, watching as Emmett
once again wrapped an arm around Kyrine’s shoulders, the possessive look in his
eyes just pissing him off further. ‘Get your hands off of her!’ His mind
screamed and it took every ounce of resistance not to bellow that out, suddenly
wondering what he was going to do about Amaya.
“I’ll make sure she gets home safely, Amaya.” Emmett assured,
already pulling Kyrine away from the theater across the street away from the
dog, wrinkling his own nose in disgust.
Maybe the woods would get rid of the stench from Kyrine because
Emmett honestly didn’t want their date ruined because of Jacob Black. Kyrine couldn’t help looking over her
shoulder back at Jacob and her sister, more importantly Jacob, wondering what
the connection was between them as she leaned further into Emmett’s side. She trusted him and knew Jacob didn’t, which
bothered her for some ungodly reason. Up
until a few minutes ago, Kyrine didn’t even know Jacob Black existed and now
she was worrying how he felt about her going off with Emmett.
Again, what the hell was wrong with her?
They walked through the woods for a few minutes, letting the
silence build between them, until Emmett couldn’t take it anymore. “How come
you weren’t in school today?” He decided to start with that, meaning to ask her
that sooner, but it honestly slipped his mind.
“I had some things that I needed to do with my Mom.” Kyrine
couldn’t tell him she had a doctor’s appointment, not wanting him to know
anything about her illness. “She actually sliced her hand open on a knife while
making us breakfast and I had to take her to the ER.”
Emmett cringed, not realizing that Kyrine just lied to him and
tightened his arm around her shoulders a little more. “Damn, I bet that was
scary for you.” He looked down at her, seeing Kyrine nod and both of them
looked straight ahead again.
“Yeah it was.” More than he could ever know. “But they stitched
and patched her up, gave her some pain meds and she’s fine now. It’ll take a little while for her hand to
heal, it was an accident.” Kyrine hated lying, but knew she had no other
alternative right now, stopping when Emmett did.
“I missed you today.” He rumbled gently, pulling her into his
arms and glad they were finally alone. “I thought I scared you off when I
kissed you last night.” He realized how stupid that sounded as soon as it came
out, but Emmett wasn’t one to keep much hidden…besides his past relationship
with Rosalie.
He could never tell Kyrine about that.
“You did?” Kyrine couldn’t stop her cheeks flushing again,
smiling widely. “I missed you too, Emmett.
You need to stop worrying about scaring me off. I don’t scare easily.” Her hands ran down his
shirt covered chest, those midnight blue eyes meeting his. “And for the record,”
She paused to rise up on her tiptoes, Emmett leaning down so she didn’t have to
strain too much, cupping his cheek with her hand. “I enjoyed you kissing me and
I wouldn’t mind if you did it again.”
“Oh really?” His voice had dropped considerably, brushing a
strand of hair that blew across her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “What
would you do if I kissed you right now?”
“Do it and find out.”
Her soft voice challenging him was Emmett’s breaking point,
losing all sense of control and covered his mouth with hers, wrapping his
strong arms around her waist. Kyrine
moaned softly against his mouth, running her hands up his arms to wrap around
his neck, her feet suddenly leaving the ground.
She remembered how Emmett carried them over to a log to sit down so she
could straddle his lap and that’s exactly what he did, which Kyrine
enjoyed. She smiled against his lips and
knew there was no time limit, her cell in her purse, which slid off her
shoulder to land in the grass beside them.
Her hands moved from his neck to stroke his hair, experimenting because
Kyrine had absolutely no experience with men and hoped her kissing was good
enough for Emmett.
Obviously it was or he still wouldn’t be interested.
“Emmett…” She breathed out when his lips finally left hers,
moving down her jaw to her neck, loving how cold he felt.
He felt like pure stone and that just heightened her desire for
him more, her hands moving to the buttons of his shirt. Emmett pulled back slightly to stare in her
darkened eyes, which looked black in the woods, their only light the dim
moonlight that peeked through the clouds in the sky. They wouldn’t go too far, but Emmett wasn’t
stopping her from removing his black shirt, leaving him clad in a white beater
while he buried his hand in her hair, continuing the exploration of her
neck.
She was innocent, he could smell it and that just made Emmett
want her that much more. He would have
to take it slow because he didn’t want to scare or push her into something she
clearly wasn’t ready for. Arriving at
her shoulder, Emmett slowly began pushing the baby doll sleeve further down,
caressing the soft skin with his lips and tongue. Kyrine just enjoyed every second of this
moment with Emmett, knowing there wouldn’t be another once she had to go for
her surgery the following week.
Unbeknownst to Emmett, Kyrine couldn’t help letting Jacob Black enter
her mind as she made out heavily with him, giving everything she could at the
moment.
So many secrets they both held would eventually challenge their
budding relationship and feelings for each other once they were out.
~!~
“You have a lot of explaining to do, Dasher.” Amaya stated,
watching her sister walk off with Emmett and wasn’t concerned because Kyrine
was usually a great judge of character. “And unless you start now, I’m leaving
and finding someone who doesn’t ogle my sister in front of me.” She couldn’t
help feeling a little resentment toward Jacob, refusing to blame Kyrine for
anything because Jacob had been the one doing the ogling.
“How could you let her leave with that…THING?” Jacob had bit his
tongue to stop calling Emmett a bloodsucker, wanting to run into the woods and
rip him to shreds for touching Kyrine. “He’s not safe.”
Amaya raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly, placing
her hands on her hips. “Seriously?
You’re STILL on about my sister going off with her DATE?” Scowling,
Amaya never in her life felt rejection from a man and she wasn’t about to start
now, clenching her jaw.
Before Jacob could respond or retort, he felt Amaya grab two
handfuls of his shirt and yanked him against her, their lips crashing
together. Amaya had a lot of confidence
in her beauty and looks, always managing to make men weak in the knees begging
for more. She felt Jacob’s arms
instantly wrap around her waist pulling her closer, hell bent on getting his
mind off of her sister and solely on her, their tongues touching for the first
time.
As good as this felt, Jacob couldn’t help worrying about
Kyrine’s wellbeing alone deep in the woods, knowing Emmett could kill her if he
wanted to. But the way Amaya kissed him,
Jacob suddenly felt guilt consume him because he was supposed to be here for
her, instantly returning the kiss. There
was no love in it, just pure lust and apparently that was enough for Amaya
because she began running her hands up his shirt to feel his rock hard abs,
shivering. Jacob groaned when her mouth
opened for access and instantly took the invitation, tasting every inch that he
could reach while tightening his arms around her just a little more.
“Let’s get out of here.” Amaya breathed as soon as the intense
kiss broke, his hands resting on her hips. “Take me back to your place or
anywhere we can be completely alone.” Her violet eyes had darkened to a dark
purple clouded over with desire and Jacob couldn’t deny her that request.
Imprint or not, he wasn’t about to pass up in invitation like
that and kissed her lips soundly once more, lifting her up as her legs
instantly wrapped around his muscular waist. “What’s gonna happen once we get
there?” He kissed down her jaw line to her throat, nipping it gently with his
teeth, emanating some deep moans from her sweet lips. “Tell me, Ama.”
She actually enjoyed being called something new and tilted her
head back, letting him do his own exploring while holding her in his strong
arms right in front of the theater, the dress barely covering her panty clad
ass. “Get us there and find out.” She challenged, burying her fingers in his
thick short black hair and ripped it up to where their mouths clashed again.
Growling from low in his throat, Jacob knew this was probably
going to be a big mistake, but right now he couldn’t deny what his body was
crying out for. “In the woods good enough for you?” He demanded roughly,
watching as a sly smirk suddenly curved Amaya’s lips, her eyes moving from his
to her car before looking back at him.
“I’m not one to get dirty, but…I’ll make an exception for you
just this once.”
Giggling when Jacob growled, he slowly slid Amaya down his body,
letting her feel briefly what she was doing through his cargo shorts, and took
her hand as they headed toward the vixen’s car.
They knew ravaging each other in the movie theater parking lot probably
wasn’t the best idea, but as soon as Amaya and Jacob slid inside, he managed to
maneuver her to straddle his lap, that short dress around her hips now. Amaya was the one who moved her panties to
the side and unsnapped Jacob’s cargo shorts, the zipper sliding down to release
his current problem. She managed to push
his shirt up and over his head, raking her nails down his muscular chest while
Jacob managed to run his hands up the front of her dress to cover her bare
breasts, loving that she didn’t wear a bra and tweaked her nipples.
Neither cared who saw or heard them as Amaya covered his mouth
with her own, knowing having sex with Jacob on the first date was a little
slutty, but honestly couldn’t stop herself.
It was almost as if a possession overtook her and she craved to feel him
inside of her, staring into his eyes to make sure he wanted it as much as she
did. They didn’t say a word and Jacob
managed to pull a condom out of his pocket, sliding it on, knowing neither of
them wanted an accident to happen from this.
Only moaning and groaning flowed through the car as Jacob began
filling her until Amaya was pretty sure he couldn’t go any further. Her nails dug into his bare shoulders while
he rocked in and out of her receptive body, their heavy breathing telling each
other they were fully enjoying what was happening. It was a good thing the movie wasn’t going to
be over for awhile because that meant nobody was in the parking lot to witness
what was happening in Amaya’s car, thankful she had tinted windows.
At that moment, Kyrine was the furthest from Jacob’s mind, which
is what Amaya wanted.
Chapter 13
Several days passed and Kyrine was spending every available
minute with Emmett, even at school during lunch. It wasn’t fair to him and Kyrine knew it, but
every time he looked into her eyes, she felt like the normal teenager she
wanted to be. The weird thing was Kyrine
wasn’t dreaming of Emmett whenever she fell asleep, even though he was the only
man she could think about.
Only in her dreams, she saw Jacob Black, Amaya’s boyfriend and
Kyrine felt the guilt eating away at her.
Dreaming about her sister’s boyfriend was wrong, especially when
Kyrine’s feelings for Emmett were growing…except when it came to the dreams. Kyrine didn’t know what to do or think
because the dreams weren’t exactly PG rated and were filled with so much
passion that Kyrine actually woke up in a sheen of sweat.
Kyrine contemplated telling Amaya about them, knowing there was
absolutely no way she could tell Emmett, but decided against it. Between going in for life-threatening surgery
and trying to stay alive, it wasn’t the best time to tell Amaya about her
dreams regarding Jacob. Not to mention,
it didn’t look as though Amaya and Jacob were that serious, though Kyrine
hadn’t exactly asked about their relationship status.
It was awkward after what happened on the double date.
What was it about Jacob Black that forced Kyrine to dream about
him? She didn’t even know him and yet
felt this incredible sadness whenever she woke up and he wasn’t there with
her. What did it all mean? Kyrine knew Jacob felt the same connection as
she did the moment their eyes locked on the double date, the jolt of
electricity. Now she couldn’t get it out
of her mind, subconscious or not, and it was frustrating Kyrine to no end.
Whenever she was with Emmett, Jacob was the furthest from her
mind, but it was only when she was alone that he suddenly popped up. She didn’t understand why it was happening,
wishing it was Emmett she was thinking of instead of her sister’s
boyfriend. Groaning, Kyrine slowly stood
up from her bed and walked over to stare out the window into the dark night,
staring up at the full moon. Forks
didn’t have many nights like this and Kyrine suddenly wanted to experience it,
knowing everyone in the house was sleeping and should’ve been to.
She couldn’t.
Kyrine pulled a hooded white sweatshirt on over her head,
already having warm white pajama pants and slipped her tennis shoes on, leaving
the hood down. This newfound desire to
sneak out definitely was new for her, but Kyrine could feel her adrenaline
pumping and wouldn’t be getting much sleep.
If anything, sleeping was the last thing Kyrine wanted to do, especially
since every time she shut her eyes Jacob Black was there waiting to haunt her
even more.
Sighing, Kyrine glanced outside one final time before tiptoeing
to her bedroom door and slowly opened it, glad there wasn’t creaking. Kyrine stuck her head out, looking back and
forth before stepping out in the hallway, closing her bedroom door behind
her. Just a few minutes, a short walk,
and she would come back to get whatever sleep she could.
Slowly descending the stairs, Kyrine tried making as little
noise as possible and finally made it to the front door, looking over her shoulder
to make sure she wasn’t being followed.
Smiling, Kyrine opened the door and closed her eyes as the fresh cool
night air washed over her, knowing she was dressed warm enough to where she
wouldn’t freeze. This is exactly what
she needed, just a small walk to clear her head about everything that was and
had happened in her life.
Once Kyrine made it to the backyard, she stopped and just stood
there staring up at the moon, never seeing it so big and beautiful. Miami had a lot of distractions that took away
from the sheer beauty nature had, but in Forks everything was calm and quiet,
giving her the opportunity to really appreciate the beautiful nature that
surrounded her. Kyrine jumped when she
heard a rustling noise and turned her head, raising an eyebrow at the dark
woods that she’d been in countless times with Emmett.
Just not at night.
“Hmm…” Kyrine looked back at the house, knowing she should go
back inside where it was safe, but something told her to go into the woods. “A
little walk won’t kill me.” She rationalized, chuckling because she was talking
to herself, and turned to head into the woods.
The moon was her only light and Kyrine promised herself not to
venture too far from the house, not wanting to get lost. Twigs snapped beneath her shoes as Kyrine
moved branches aside to keep trekking, finally finding a dirt path and began
following it. She shoved her hands in
the front pocket of her hooded sweatshirt as she kept walking, blue eyes peeled
for anything that moved besides the leaves from the cool gentle breeze.
Kyrine stopped after a few more minutes, not hearing anymore
rustling, and chewed her bottom lip nervously.
It was time to head back to the house in case anyone woke up to check on
her, which Natalie was famous for. As she
began trekking back toward the house, Kyrine froze when she heard the rustling
again and whipped around, trying to slow her suddenly heightened heart rate.
“Is someone there?” She finally called out and knew it was
stupid to do, but Kyrine was beginning to panic a little. “Hello?”
Nothing.
She was back on the dirt path trail and Kyrine began walking a
little faster than before, not realizing she was heading further away from her
house. The rustling had stopped, but
that didn’t make her feel anymore and Kyrine didn’t know why, thinking she was
close to being home. She didn’t realize
how wrong she was and could feel someone watching her, knowing she wasn’t alone
walking in the woods.
Blood red beady eyes watched her every move, enjoying the sense
of fear and panic that radiated from her body.
He had watched her from her bedroom window and hoped she came outside
into the woods, where she would be easy prey.
Now he was simply toying with her, licking his lips and could feel the
blood racing through her veins, the innocence leaking out of her pores. Innocent blood was the sweetest and he had to
have her, jumping from tree to tree, smirking whenever she turned around to see
if she could see him.
She would never be fast enough.
When Kyrine heard footsteps instead of rustling, the panic
became full blown and she took off running down the dirt path as fast as she
could. Tears stung her eyes as she kept
looking behind her while running, knowing this was against doctor’s orders, but
honestly she wasn’t thinking about her heart condition at the moment. She was more worried about surviving and
finding her way back to the house, knowing her heart would eventually force her
to stop running.
When Kyrine looked back to pay attention where she was running,
she didn’t see a tree branch that was somewhat uprooted from the ground and
tripped over it. A soft cry echoed
through the woods as Kyrine flew over the tree branch and landed with a hard
thump on the ground before rolling down a small hill. She finally stopped against a hard log and
scrambled against it, ignoring her throbbing head and aching body.
Dirt covered her white hooded sweatshirt and pajama pants, but
Kyrine didn’t care, her face having smears of dirt on it as well. Kyrine looked from left to right repeatedly
and up into the trees, trying to figure out where the rustling and footsteps
had come from, blinking as a few tears slid down her cheeks. No matter how hard she tried, Kyrine couldn’t
move an inch and hoped she could somehow camouflage herself with the log,
knowing that wasn’t happening since she was wearing pure white.
Rustling sounded again and Kyrine barely had time to let out a
scream when a dark figured suddenly flew at her.
~!~
It was Jacob’s night off.
Normally he would be with Amaya having great sex, but they were
taking a night off to recharge the batteries.
Between patrolling twelve hour days, working at the local mechanic shop
that he co-owned with Paul and Jared and dating Amaya, Jacob was worn out. Not to mention, he couldn’t get the fact of
imprinting on Amaya’s sister, Amaya, out of his mind.
He knew imprinting was the Quileute tribe’s way of showing the
pack members the way to their soul mates.
However, Jacob couldn’t help enjoying his time with Amaya, but also knew
he could never fall in love with her because of Kyrine. He would never love anyone, no matter if she
was a complete and total stranger, as much as Kyrine and it wasn’t fair of him
to keep stringing Amaya along like he was.
Jacob decided he had to put some distance between him and Amaya
for a few days to clear his head. He
knew she wouldn’t like it, but also didn’t want their relationship to be based
on just sex, which is exactly what it was turning into. Maybe he would go and talk to Emily about
this situation, knowing she was the perfect person to talk to because she was
discreet.
She was also very understanding considering she had basically
stolen Sam away from Leah simply because he imprinted on her. Sam and Leah had originally been together and
everyone thought they were completely in love, but that was until Sam did the
unthinkable and imprinted on Emily. Sam
tried being with Leah after the imprinting, but all he could think about was
Emily and finally had to tell her.
Ignoring an imprint was one of the most excruciating and painful
experiences for both parties involved.
It literally ripped them from head to toe emotionally, mentally and even
physically. Jacob knew this because he
often went into Sam’s mind when they were both phased together and saw all the
guilt he felt for hurting Leah. Sam
often thought about how he tried staying away from Emily to make his
relationship with Leah work, but the amount of pain and agony Sam was in was
indescribable.
What Jacob wanted to know was how Emily felt during her time
apart from Sam because it would give him a good idea of what Kyrine was going
through. Then again, Emily had known Sam
all of a few seconds, just like Jacob did, before he imprinted on her while he
was with another woman. This was almost
identical to what Sam and Emily went through, which made Jacob believe even
more that Emily was the perfect person to talk to about this.
Suddenly, Jacob bolted upright in bed, his head snapping toward
the window with narrowed eyes. Another
thing about imprinting is Jacob could now feel every single emotion that rushed
through Kyrine, which currently was fear.
Ever since that night at the movie theater, her emotions were mostly
confusion and joy, but there was also fear.
It was nothing like this amount of fear though, Kyrine was
terrified and in danger.
Not thinking twice, Jacob ripped his shirt and shorts off before
leaping out the open window into the dark night, phasing instantly. Jacob raced through the woods at top speed,
going as fast as his legs could carry him and snarled when a scent filtered his
nose. It was the familiar icy sweet
smell, the smell of only one thing that made Jacob’s blood light on fire,
making him sprint because that smell was near his imprint.
A bloodsucker.
Kyrine was absolutely petrified and scooting further back
against the log, tears streaming down her face as her shoes dug into the
ground. Why did she leave the house
instead of staying safe and warm? Now
she was staring into the blood red eyes of a monster that was probably going to
kill her, though it was taunting her first.
She couldn’t even speak and closed her eyes, starting to pray to any
higher power that her life was sparred, crying even harder when the creature
cackled.
“Nothing can save you now, my sweet peach.”
Just before the bloodsucker could get even a finger on Kyrine,
their blood red eyes shot open when a ferocious growl resounded through the
forest, knowing exactly what it was.
Suddenly, a monstrous beast leapt over the log, forcing Kyrine to duck
down, the russet colored fur glimmering in the moonlight. Kyrine watched in both horror and fascination
as the huge beast attacked the blood red eyed monster to the ground, her mouth
dropped open and knew she was definitely straining her heart because of how
scared she currently was.
The beast didn’t waste a second and clamped his huge jaws right
on the bloodsucker’s throat, his teeth digging into the skin before ripping the
head right off. Kyrine screamed out as
the head flew over her head and the log, landing on the other side with a
sickening thud. It didn’t stop and
dismantled the monster by ripping off its arms and legs, tearing it to
pieces. Kyrine was shocked to discover
that no blood came out of the red eyed monster; instead it looked as though the
body parts were made of complete stone.
Jacob knew he would have to come back to burn the pieces later,
but right now he was more focused on making sure his imprint was alright. He slowly turned around and watched as her
midnight blue eyes widened, fresh tears stinging her eyes, instantly breaking
his heart. What the hell was Kyrine
doing out in the woods at this time of night?
He wanted to phase and give her a piece of his mind, but also knew that
would just terrify her further and somehow Jacob knew that was the last thing
she needed.
“P-Please don’t hurt me…” Kyrine stammered out in a alarmed
whisper, trembling from head to toe as more tears fell, not sure what to think
after what she just witnessed. “P-Please…”
His heart shattered at her pleading and Jacob had to take this
extremely slow, trying to think of a way to get her to trust him. He wanted to take her home, but the only way
to do that was stay in his wolf form, completely forgetting to bring a pair of
shorts with him. So instead, he slowly
lowered on all fours until his stomach touched the ground, his head resting on
it with his paws outstretched, dark eyes pleading with her through the darkness
to trust him.
Kyrine tried taking calm deep breaths to stop her heart from racing
and stared at the huge wolf for what seemed like hours. She couldn’t believe wolves were this
monstrous and knew Amaya would never believe her if she told her about this,
deciding against it. It would just make
her and the family worry more, which Kyrine didn’t need, not with her upcoming
surgery coming up…if she made it out of the woods alive. Her eyes locked with the dark orbs of the
wolf and Kyrine suddenly felt a sense of safety wash over her, not understanding
it, searching them for indication of danger.
She didn’t find any.
Very slowly, Kyrine pushed herself up from the log and wiped the
tears from her eyes, hoping her legs still worked after tripping over that tree
branch. She had a tear in her knees, her
face was dirty along with her chestnut hair and her hooded sweatshirt was
covered in dirt, a few leaves stuck in her hair. One foot in front of the other, Kyrine
hesitantly reached her hand out to the wolf and was shocked when it didn’t move
an inch, just kept staring at her with those big dark pleading eyes.
Had she completely lost her mind to trust a ferocious beast like
this and touch it?
Apparently she had, Kyrine’s hand came in contact with the huge
head of the wolf and slowly began stroking it, actually smiling through the
tears when the wolf scooted on its belly to get closer to her. It saved her life. Kyrine couldn’t help lowering her head to
press her forehead against the nose, the chill throughout her body suddenly
gone because of how warm the animal was.
“Thank you for saving me.” She whispered, actually kissing the
wolf’s nose and chewed her bottom lip when it looked up at her, wondering if
she should’ve trusted it. “I want to go home, please help me.”
Chapter 14
Her touch felt amazing, better than anything Jacob ever felt
before, and when she kissed his nose his heart nearly skipped a beat. Jacob heard her request and watched as she
backed up, slowly getting up on all fours to stare at her. He moved toward her and gently took the
sleeve of her sweatshirt, making sure not to puncture anything vital, pulling
her over to his side. He could tell she
was confused and huffed out a little, nodding his head toward her, hoping she
got the message of what he wanted her to do.
Kyrine blinked a few times, not believing a wolf of all things
was directing her what to do and closed her eyes, knowing she’d officially lost
her mind. Somehow, Kyrine managed to
straddle the wolf and leaned forward, wrapping her arms tightly around the
wolf’s neck as she buried her face in the soft fur. Jacob made sure she wasn’t going to fall off
before turning and running through the woods back toward her house, her sweet
smell of raspberry surrounding him.
He didn’t run nearly as fast as he had when Kyrine was in danger
from the now dismantled bloodsucker, but that didn’t stop him running
nonetheless. Jacob wanted to get Kyrine
home as quickly as possible, feeling her exhaustion and knew she would pass out
if she was outside much longer. Jacob
arrived at the house a few minutes later and stopped, seeing none of the lights
were on and came to the quick conclusion that Kyrine had snuck out to go
exploring in the woods.
Jacob definitely would have words with Kyrine at a later date.
Kyrine could barely keep her eyes open and had dozed off a
little, when she felt the wolf come to a halt.
She looked up from having her face buried in fur and breathed a huge
sigh of relief, kissing the top of the wolf’s head again. The wolf didn’t move an inch as Kyrine slowly
dismounted and stood right in front of it, those dark eyes once again locking
with hers.
Why did she feel like she recognized those eyes?
“Thank you so much.” She whispered, no hesitation this time when
she dropped a kiss on the wolf’s nose, smiling with great appreciation. “Stay
warm.”
Winking, Kyrine took off as fast as she could to the front door,
looking behind her as the wolf remained in the woods, but she could feel its
eyes on her. Jacob didn’t move a muscle
until he watched his imprint walk inside the door and closed it behind her, wanting
to make sure she made it in safely. He
didn’t even move after she was in the house, sure that someone had noticed she
was gone, only to see no lights besides the one in Kyrine’s room.
He walked over and looked up at the window, seeing her pull the
dirt covered hooded sweatshirt off along with the pants, watching her toss them
in the garbage can that was right by the window. She looked like she was hiding the evidence
and Jacob coughed out, which was his way of laughing when he was in wolf form,
not expecting her to be this sly. He
coughed more when she began plucking leaves out of her hair, trying not to
think about the fact he was watching her in just her white bra and
panties.
It was only when Kyrine walked away from the window is when
Jacob reluctantly left, feeling like a peeping tom, even though he just wanted
to make sure she was alright.
Jacob.
He groaned, hearing Sam’s voice in his head, and knew the alpha
had probably smelled the vampire in the area. Sam, there was a bloodsucker in the woods and I think it was the one
we’ve been tracking for the past few months.
It tried attacking Kyrine and…
Who is Kyrine? Sam demanded, already on his way to wherever Jacob was and had
sent the howl out throughout La Push for the other pack members. What happened?
She’s Amaya sister
and she was in the woods… Jacob knew he had
some serious explaining to do and ran away from the McTavian house, heading
toward where the pieces of the bloodsucker still lay.
What the hell was
she doing in the woods at this time of night? Sam wasn’t happy, growling as he headed in the direction of
Jacob’s scent. Everyone meet Jacob,
wherever he is, near the McTavian house. He knew who the family was and
they were innocent people, though he wondered what the paleface was doing out
of her comfortable safe house at three o’clock in the morning.
It took minutes for all the pack members to meet at the sight of
the dismantled bloodsucker, all of them growling from the foul stench that
still lingered in the air. Quiet all of
you. Sam’s alpha voice boomed throughout their heads, sitting down while
staring at Jacob with calm eyes. Explain
what happened, Jake. You aren’t supposed
to be patrolling tonight.
Jacob sighed with a nod, knowing he was supposed to be resting
and relaxing, but his imprint was in trouble and nobody knew he’d imprinted yet
or on who. He really didn’t want them
finding out like this, not this soon, especially when he was dating his
imprint’s sister. This was a big mess,
but Jacob knew if he lied to Sam about the real reasoning why he saved Kyrine,
there would definitely be problems among the pack. He would be considered a cheater in a way
because he was dating someone who wasn’t his imprint, which was a sin to the
Quileute tribe.
It was a sin, but one that Sam had tried a long time ago with
his situation regarding Leah and Emily.
Sam, I really don’t
want to discuss this in front of the pack…
Why not? Paul demanded, sidling up next to his best friend, both him and
Jared eyeballing Jacob suspiciously. What
are you hiding, Black?
Nothing.
Sam could clearly tell something was going on with Jacob and
tilted his head slightly, the black fur glinting in the moonlight. Something had been bothering Jacob over the
past few days, ever since he went on his double date with the two palefaces,
and Sam wondered if there was some kind of connection. Suddenly, it dawned on Sam that Kyrine was
Amaya’s sister and Jacob was dating Amaya...Sam decided that he would be
speaking to Jacob privately regarding the situation, deciding to let the rest
of the pack deal with the carnage of the bloodsucker.
Seth and Leah, dig
a hole. Embry and Quil, gather wood for
the fire. Paul and Jared, pick up the
pieces along with Collin and Brady. Make
sure they are all burned. Jacob, come
with me back to my place. Sam ordered and
turned around, heading back through the woods with Jacob following, knowing the
job would get done properly.
They didn’t dare think a word because the entire pack was phased
and could hear everything they were thinking, which is not what Sam
wanted. Jacob didn’t know how he’d ever
repay Sam for this and hoped the man realized why he did what he did instead of
letting one of the others handle it, like Paul or Jared, who were on patrol for
the evening. There was a very good
reason and Jacob wasn’t going to apologize for protecting Kyrine, looking up
when Sam suddenly stopped right in front of his house, looking over his
shoulder at Jacob.
I’m going inside
and have Emily get you some shorts. Sam
knew Emily was up because he’d bolted out of bed and told her something was
wrong, that he’d be back as soon as possible. Give me a few minutes okay?
Sam? Jacob swallowed hard and lowered his head, closing his eyes. I need to talk to Emily about this, if you
don’t mind. I know she’ll understand
where I’m coming from and then after I talk to her, I’ll tell you everything. Jacob
really needed to talk to Emily first because he had to know what Kyrine was
feeling and going through, if she was in as much pain as he predicted.
No problem, Jake.
Sam walked up to the steps and sure enough Emily was standing
there inside the screen door, holding a pair of shorts. He coughed out a little, giving her his best
wolf smile, and phased right on the porch, staring into Emily’s beautiful
eyes. She had three deep scars that ran
along the right side of her face and distorted her features, pulling down the
corner of her eye and mouth. Nobody
noticed it because of Emily’s beautiful spirit and kind heart, but Sam had to
stare at them every day and night of their life together.
When Sam imprinted on Emily, he came clean and told her
everything about the Quileute tribe, about the pack, his wolf form and
abilities. She completely brushed him
off because of his relationship with her cousin Leah. She tried convincing him to return to Leah’s
arms because Emily knew how much her cousin loved him, but Sam couldn’t because
of the imprinting. It went on for awhile
with Sam visiting Emily on a daily basis and she rejected him every time,
refusing to break her cousin’s heart by taking the love of her life away.
On the darkest day of Sam’s life, Emily ordered him to go back
to Leah when he came to see her like always, but he refused. He’d always left and tried doing what she
said, but the imprint was too strong for Sam to be with Leah. Emily called him a liar and said he was just
like his father, Joshua Uley, which outraged Sam, forcing him to lose complete
control of himself.
He phased into a wolf right in front of her and Emily was too
close, which is when he scarred her badly.
They told everyone as a plausible cover story that she’d been mauled by
a bear and he saved her life, but Sam and Emily, along with the rest of the
pack, knew the truth. After the
incident, Emily finally gave up and stopped fighting Sam, accepting him fully
and ended up destroying her cousin, which she still felt guilty about every now
and then.
She ended up being the caretaker of Sam and the entire pack
along with cooking, cleaning and finding clothes for the boys whenever they
forgot clothing when phased.
“Jacob needs some shorts…” Sam chuckled again when Emily simply
handed over another pair, kissing her lips softly. “Thanks beautiful.”
“Uh huh, now both of you get inside, I’ll make some tea.” Emily
ordered, winking and headed into the kitchen, while Sam went outside to deliver
the shorts to Jacob.
Jacob phased as soon as Sam came toward him, taking the shorts
with a sheepish grin. “Thanks Sam, I don’t know what any of us would do without
Em.” He honestly meant that and slipped them on, letting them hang loose on his
hips like always, not worried about a shirt.
“Neither do I.”
They both headed inside and sat at the kitchen table, Emily
tossing Jacob a shirt along with Sam, setting three cups on the table. “The tea
will be ready shortly.” She refused to give them coffee because Sam had to
patrol the following day and wanted him to be well rested. “Sam, you look
really tired sweetie.”
“I am.” He admitted, knowing he couldn’t lie to Emily even if he
wanted to. “Jake wants to talk to you if you’re up to it about
something…alone.”
Emily quirked an eyebrow and looked in Jacob’s direction, slowly
settling down at the table. “Then why don’t you go rest and I’ll bring your tea
up when it’s ready?” She suggested softly, placing her hand over his and
smiled, letting him know everything was fine.
“I’m actually gonna take a shower first.” Sam stood up and
kissed the top of her head, nodding at Jacob. “We’ll talk tomorrow about what
happened tonight.” He wanted to give Jacob plenty of time to talk with Emily,
having a sinking feeling he knew what it was about and headed upstairs to have
that much needed shower.
Once Sam was out of sight and hearing, Emily turned her full
attention on Jacob and took his hand, her kind dark eyes staring back at him.
“Take your time, Jake. I know
something’s been bothering you lately. I
was waiting for you to come talk to me about it.”
Jacob couldn’t help chuckling, knowing Emily had a sixth sense
about when one of the boys were hiding something or they were bothered.
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat, slowly pulling his hand out of hers to clasp
them together, resting his elbows on his knees. “The thing is…I don’t exactly
know how to tell you this without sounding like a complete asshole.”
“One thing I’ve grown to respect about you, Jacob, is your
straightforwardness about life. You
don’t hold anything back, even if it hurts someone’s feelings, which is a great
quality to have. You don’t take it too
far though and know when to pick your battles.” Emily explained gently but
firmly, wanting to give him the encouragement to spill out what he wanted to
talk to her about. “Anything you tell me will stay between us, you know
that. I won’t even tell Sam.”
“I know.” Jacob took a deep breath and knew there was no turning
back, raking a hand through his hair. “You know how I’ve been dating this girl
from Forks named Amaya Robinson?” When Emily nodded, Jacob swallowed hard and
suddenly had to stand up, pacing back and forth. “Well, we had a double date a
few nights ago with her sister Kyrine and her…” His eyes suddenly darkened with
inner rage and Jacob had to take several deep breaths before he could continue,
beginning to tremble. “Date.” He practically hissed that last word out through
gritted teeth.
“Yes I remember that.”
“Well, until that night I’d never met Kyrine McTavian and I
found out that the girls were really cousins, but they view themselves as
sisters. The McTavian’s took Amaya in
when she was a little girl after her parents died.” Jacob waved that off
because it wasn’t important compared to what he had to tell Emily. “Look, I’m
just gonna come right out and say it: I imprinted on Kyrine when I met her on
the double date.”
Emily’s reaction was not one Jacob expected, expecting her to
stand up and begin shouting every name in the book at him, telling him what a
heartless man he was for what he was doing.
Instead, she merely sat there with her hands folded in her lap, looking
calm as a cucumber, which confused him.
He slumped back in the chair and lowered his head in shame, knowing what
he was doing with Amaya was completely wrong in every way, but he was trying
with everything inside of him to ignore the imprint.
It was several minutes before Emily spoke. “So in other words,
what you’re telling me is you’re dating your imprint’s sister.” When Jacob’s
head shot up, Emily smiled sadly at him, having been in this situation before
and understood why he was adamant about talking to her. “And you want me to
tell you what to do about it because of what happened between me, Sam and Leah,
correct?”
Jacob nodded silently again, the desperation in his dark eyes.
“All I can tell you is to follow your heart, Jacob.” Emily
didn’t know what to say honestly because even she didn’t know how she managed
to rip her own cousin apart by taking Sam away because of the imprinting. “What
you’re doing with Amaya isn’t wrong. You
were dating her before you even imprinted and now you’re trying to stay with
her because you think it’s the right thing to do. I will tell you this though, imprinting can
be one of the most terrible things you will ever experience because of how
intense and deep the feelings and connection is between you and Kyrine. I tried fighting Sam for months and months,
sending him back to Leah whenever I could, but in the end the imprinting won
over because it was too strong for both of us to ignore.” She stood up and
kissed the top of his head, knowing she probably hadn’t told him exactly what
he wanted to hear, but what he needed to instead. “I know you, you’re a great
guy and you’ll make the right decision in the end.”
With that said, Jacob watched as Emily walked away from him and
upstairs to check on Sam, a cup of tea in her hands and leaving Jacob wondering
what exactly the right thing to do was.
Chapter 15
Kyrine never went to sleep after the wolf brought her home.
She took a shower to wash away the night’s events and changed
into warm clean clothes, a simple long sleeved baby blue shirt with black
pajama pants, thinking she’d be exhausted enough to sleep for a year. Her lips were tinted blue, which didn’t
surprise Kyrine in the slightest because she’d put her heart through a lot of
strain from being scared to death thinking she was going to die. Kyrine took in a shaky breath and
contemplated asking her mother if she could stay home, but decided against it,
desperately wanting to see Emmett.
More importantly, she needed to be in his arms.
Kyrine swallowed hard, not able to get those blood red eyes out
of her mind and decided sleep was definitely out of the question. She knew the doctor wanted her to get proper
sleep, but Kyrine was too terrified to even close her eyes, vowing to never
leave the house in the middle of the night again. Curling up on the huge windowsill, Kyrine
leaned her head against the wall as tears slid down her cheeks while staring
out the bay window, looking into the deep woods.
Her mind managed to replace the blood red eyed monster with the
warm dark eyed wolf that saved her life.
Kyrine didn’t understand it, having always thought wolves were dangerous
animals and never thought they were as big as the one she saw tonight. There was something about those warm eyes
that just drew Kyrine in and made her feel safe, like nothing in the entire world
could harm her. The most bizarre thing
about the whole night was she actually trusted a wolf, a hot blooded animal
that could rip her to shreds in two seconds, to take her home.
Kyrine pressed a hand over her heart and had managed to finally
settle it down, knowing what happened tonight was the last excitement she could
have until after the LVAD surgery. It
probably wasn’t best to keep seeing Emmett, but right now Kyrine didn’t care
about the consequences, missing him like crazy.
A funny thing was Kyrine also missed Jacob Black and again she couldn’t
comprehend why, the wolf actually reminding her of him. How peculiar it was that a wolf reminded her
of not only her sister’s boyfriend, but a man she knew absolutely nothing about
besides how hot he was in bed, according to Amaya.
The full lit beautiful moon suddenly disappeared as the sun
began peeking over the horizon and Kyrine knew everyone would be getting up
soon. She was taking the night from hell
to the grave, refusing to tell anyone about it, and had destroyed all the
evidence that proved she’d even left the house.
Amaya would simply berate her and her parents would keep her locked in
the house until her surgery, which Kyrine simply didn’t need, not when she only
had so much time left with Emmett.
Around six o’clock, Kyrine finally pulled herself off the
windowsill and changed into school clothes for the day. She kept the long sleeved baby blue top on
and swapped her pajama pants for dark blue jeans, wanting to be simple today. Surprisingly, the only mark that Kyrine
sustained from the attack in the woods was a small gash on her head, though her
hairline covered it up. She’d been very
lucky she hadn’t cracked it harder and sustained brain damage along with her
heart condition.
That was all she needed was brain damage on top of a bad heart.
Shaking her head, Kyrine outlined her eyes –she put eye drops in
them to get rid of the redness from her lack of sleep- with midnight blue
eyeliner and painted her lips gloss, thankful they had turned back to a rosy
pink instead of having the blue tint.
She brushed her hair again, leaving it down and slipped her white tennis
shoes on before heading out, swinging her bag over her shoulder. The smell of breakfast permeated the air and
Kyrine was suddenly starving, walking downstairs toward the kitchen, her
stomach growling.
“Morning.” She greeted softly, watching as Natalie used her
waffle maker, a plateful of waffles already on the counter.
“Morning sweetheart.” Natalie greeted with a smile and walked
over to set the syrup and butter on the table, a sparkle in her eyes.
Kyrine rolled her eyes when her mother turned her back, knowing
her parents had made up for their arguments. “That smells really good, Mom.”
She complimented, getting up to get a glass of orange juice, knowing she would
more than likely catch a cold from being out in the woods.
“Thank you.” Natalie flipped a waffle over in the maker, soft
country music playing from the radio above her head. “How did you sleep?”
“On and off.”
“Man, what the hell smells so good in here?” Amaya’s overly
boisterous voice resonated throughout the house as she walked into the kitchen
next, grinning from ear to ear.
“Waffles, Mom and Dad made up.” Kyrine stated deadpan, winking
when her mother turned around to glare at her, though it didn’t meet her still
sparkling eyes.
“Since when don’t I cook for my family?” Natalie shot back,
already dressed for work in a pair of black dress pants with a dark red short
sleeved dress top.
Amaya snorted, raising a slow eyebrow the same time Kyrine did,
deciding to be the one to retort. “Since we moved in here.” She sat beside
Kyrine, both of them giggling, just as Nicholas walked in with the same
sparkling eyes as Natalie had.
Oh yeah, they definitely made up.
Scoffing, Natalie rolled her eyes and turned back to making
breakfast, smiling when Nicholas’s arms wrapped around her waist, whispering
something in her ear. Both girls began
laughing when Natalie’s cheeks tinged a dark crimson red, groaning when
Nicholas followed that up by slapping her ass.
Kyrine had to lean against Amaya when Natalie squealed out her husband’s
name and actually chucked a waffle at his head, causing him to whip around just
in time to catch it, winking at her, before joining the girls at the table.
“That was totally wrong to witness and my poor virgin eyes will
never be the same again!” Amaya cried out animatedly, smirking when Kyrine
simply raised an eyebrow at her and nudged her at the table.
“Virgin eyes?” Nicholas chuckled softly, seeing Kyrine didn’t
look bad today, which was a good sign that her heart was still pumping with
life. “Did you sleep well, baby girl?”
“Yes Dad.” Kyrine answered for the third time and began
devouring the bowl of fruit that was placed in front of her, ignoring everyone
who was staring at her with wide eyes.
“Enough.” Natalie ordered, trying not to sound amused, and set
the plate of waffles on the table so everyone could dig in.
Breakfast was great for the first time since Kyrine could
remember, no tension and no fighting involved, not even an argument. She ate two waffles along with the fruit,
finally satisfied while Amaya ate two waffles with an orange. She had a thing for oranges and always
smelled like them, which apparently was very appealing to men. When Natalie and Nicholas began feeding each
other, the girls decided it was time to leave for school before they lost their
breakfast they just ate.
“That was totally not what I needed to see first thing in the
morning.” Amaya grunted, causing Kyrine to giggle as Amaya drove them to school
like always.
Because of Kyrine’s heart condition and the severity of it, she
wasn’t allowed to drive until after she got a new heart. Amaya didn’t think it was fair that her
sister had to miss out on so many experiences and driving was definitely one of
them. Kyrine assured her that she wasn’t
jealous and one day she would be able to get behind the wheel of a car,
refusing to let anyone get her down.
Even the upcoming surgery, Kyrine was still optimistic and Amaya thought
she was a true inspiration to anyone who had congestive heart failure.
They arrived at school, both deep in their thoughts and Amaya
honestly missed Jacob, having gotten a text message from him saying he needed a
few days to recover. She smirked,
knowing she wore his Quileute ass out, and decided to tease him a little while
she was in the shower earlier that morning.
It was a small video, but would definitely get a rise out of him and
Amaya couldn’t wait to receive a text or even a call from him about it. One thing about Amaya, she was not a shy
person and proud of her body, loving to show it off to those who she deemed
worthy.
Jacob definitely was.
As soon as Kyrine stepped out of the car, Emmett was right there
pulling her into his arms, hugging her close to him. She blinked when he suddenly pushed her away,
drawing her eyebrows together and watched as he wrinkled his nose almost as if
in disgust. Kyrine swallowed hard,
wondering if he somehow smelled the woods on her, even though she’d taken an
hour long shower as soon as she got back to the house. Somehow, Emmett knew something wasn’t right
and she looked over at her sister, thankful she was too busy texting on her
phone to someone, probably Jacob.
That made her feel worse.
“Emmett, what’s wrong?” Kyrine couldn’t help asking, chewing her
bottom lip as sadness filled her eyes, rejection slowly following.
He couldn’t help it.
Kyrine smelled like disgusting wet dogs, even though her body wash,
usually smelling like sweet raspberries, but it wasn’t covering the foul stench
up. Who the hell had Kyrine been around
from La Push? More importantly, when did
this happen because, according to Emmett’s memory, he’d been with her every
waking moment, only leaving her when it was time for her to go to bed.
“Sorry.” He grunted, knowing he just hurt Kyrine and could see
the refutation in her eyes, deciding he wouldn’t breathe her in while she
smelled horrible. “Ky, I didn’t mean to do that sweetheart. Please forgive me.”
“I-It’s alright…” Kyrine trailed off, having her arms wrapped
around herself and sighed when Emmett pulled her right back into his embrace.
“Is everything okay?”
Emmett smiled down at her, nodding and kissed her forehead
softly. “Yeah, I missed you.” He also had felt like something happened the
previous night, but didn’t want to jump to conclusions, especially while he was
out hunting with the family. “I actually wanted to ask you something.”
Kyrine instantly felt the butterflies erupt in her stomach,
staring up into those golden eyes of his. “What is it?” She quietly asked,
knowing the bell was going to ring at any minute to go to class.
“What are you doing tonight?” Emmett blurted out, not meaning it
to sound so forward, but he knew they were running out of time. “Are you free?”
“As far as I know.” Kyrine was all smiles again, leaning further
against him. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well,” Emmett paused briefly to move behind her, wrapping his
arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. “I want you to meet my
family tonight. Unless you want to do
something else, but I don’t want to keep you a secret anymore. I want to be with you in a relationship,
boyfriend and girlfriend, whatever you want to call it.”
Kyrine closed her eyes and felt the guilt sweep over her because
in a few days she was going to have to tell him she was going away for a month
for the surgery. Now he wanted to
introduce her to his family, to take her into his home where he slept, his
private haven. This was starting to get
out of hand, but as soon as Kyrine turned around to decline the offer, those
golden topaz eyes locked with hers and she instantly melted.
Emmett definitely didn’t play fair.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll send
Amaya a quick text and we’ll come up with a story for my parents.” Kyrine told
Emmett they were extremely overprotective of her and he hadn’t questioned
anything more.
Emmett chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “What exactly are
you going to tell them?” He wondered, raising an eyebrow when Kyrine chewed her
bottom lip.
The light bulb suddenly clicked in Kyrine’s mind and she turned
to quickly kiss Emmett on the lips, just as the bell rang. “I got it covered,
I’ll meet you out in the parking lot after school.” She jogged away from him to
catch up with Amaya, who was currently being hit on by a member of the Forks
football team. “Maya, I gotta talk to you.” She grabbed her sister’s arm and
guided her away from the jock, still feeling Emmett’s eyes on her.
“Where’s the fire woman?” Amaya demanded, blinking because she’d
never seen Kyrine act like this, both of them slowing down once they were in
the hallway.
“Sorry, but this is really important.” Kyrine took a few deep
breaths, knowing jogging was definitely against doctor’s orders, but honestly
didn’t care at the moment. “Emmett invited me out tonight to go meet his
family.”
Amaya’s violet eyes widened, turning to fully face her sister as
they both halted. “Seriously?” When Kyrine nodded, Amaya hugged her as tightly
as she could, happy for her sister. “What are you going to tell Nat and Nick?”
Kyrine smiled innocently, her eyes filled with mischief. “Well,
that’s where I need your help…”
Folding her arms, Amaya raised a slow eyebrow, listening to
Kyrine’s plan. “Okay...Let me see if I got this straight, you wanna tell the
rents that we’re going shopping and to a movie, so you can go with Emmett to
meet his family.” When Kyrine nodded, Amaya couldn’t help laughing and there
wasn’t a hint of amusement in her mirth. “So what do you expect me to do for
those hours that you’re gone with Emmett?”
“Well…Why not go see Jacob?” Kyrine suggested, feeling a sudden
sting of pain jolt through her body, ignoring it. “I know you guys are taking a
few days apart, but I don’t have much time left before my surgery.” Her voice
dropped lower, not wanting everyone in the hallway to overhear their
conversation. “So please, please do this for me, Maya. I’ve done a lot for you, especially in Miami
when you wanted to sneak out to see a guy and I covered for you with Mom and
Dad. I’m not asking much and I think
Jacob wants to see you.”
After the video Amaya sent him earlier that morning, she had no
doubt in her mind he did, eyeballing her sister skeptically. “We have to be
back at the house no later than eleven o’clock.
It’s a school night, which means our curfew sticks.” When Kyrine nodded,
promising to be on time, they hugged and walked inside their first class just
as the final bell rang, taking their seats.
Kyrine couldn’t stop smiling, hoping this school day ended
rather quickly so she could be back in Emmett’s arms.
Chapter 16
The longest day of school finally ended and Kyrine met up with
Emmett in the school parking lot with Amaya of course. Amaya didn’t want to seem like an
overprotective sister, but she was worried for her Kyrine’s safety because they
didn’t know much about Emmett. Hell,
Amaya really had no room to talk considering she had sex on her first date with
Jacob. But it wasn’t the first time
Amaya did that and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Amaya had a sinking feeling her and Jacob
wouldn’t last much longer and this was her innocent little sister, so her own
rules didn’t apply.
“You sure you’re gonna be alright?” Amaya asked for the
umpteenth time, glancing down at her sister, sighing when Kyrine rolled her
eyes. “You know I worry about you because I love you.”
“Keep talking like that and I’m gonna start calling you Mom.”
Kyrine smirked when Amaya made a face, winking. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Emmett just wants to introduce me to his
family and he’ll have me home on time.
We each have cell phones, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m still gonna worry about you.”
“Have you called Mom and Dad yet to tell them about what’s going
on?” Kyrine suddenly asked, knowing she couldn’t just leave with Emmett unless
the plan was set in stone.
Amaya rolled her eyes this time, snorting. “You really have no
faith in me do you?” It was a rhetorical question and caused a frown to form on
Kyrine’s face.
“I didn’t mean…”
Amaya laughed softly, kissing the top of Kyrine’s head. “I’m
just fucking with you, Kyrie.” She dodged a slap from Kyrine as they headed
toward Emmett, who was waiting by his Jeep Wrangler, tilting her head slightly
at his vehicle of choice.
“Hey beautiful.” Emmett greeted, hopping off of the back of the
jeep, smiling from ear to ear with pearly white teeth that Amaya knew couldn’t
be natural. “Everything set?”
Kyrine nodded, looking up at her sister with an encouraging smile.
“Yeah, Maya is just being a little overprotective and wanted to say something
to you.” All Kyrine could hope was that her sister didn’t embarrass her in
front of her boyfriend.
Emmett simply stared back at Amaya with slightly narrowed golden
eyes, remembering their earlier confrontation when Kyrine had been with her Mom
instead of at school. He simply asked
Amaya one question and she bit his head off for not minding his own business. The woman definitely had an anger issue, one
that she had to fix before she walked up to the wrong person one day and they
destroyed her. Because Amaya meant
everything to Kyrine, Emmett hadn’t spent an ounce of energy on her by
fighting, simply asking her to tell Kyrine to call him when Amaya saw her.
Amaya was thinking about the same thing and flashed him a cocky
grin, violet eyes gleaming wickedly. “I don’t think I have to tell you that if
you don’t take care of my sister and have her home on time, I will hurt you.”
Kyrine didn’t know about their little confrontation, deciding what her sister
didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. “Do we understand each other?”
Hurt him? Emmett could
rip Amaya apart in two seconds if he really wanted to, knowing there was no way
she could ever harm a hair on his head.
Of course, Kyrine didn’t know all of his secrets and Emmett planned on
revealing them all tonight with his family.
If he was going to have a meaningful relationship based on
honesty and trust, Emmett couldn’t keep anything from her, including what
exactly his family was. He’d already
went to Esme and asked if he could have a guest over that night, not really
giving her any details. When Esme asked
if this was the woman he’d been spending all of his time with lately, having
heard from Alice and Jasper, Emmett simply nodded and that was all that had to
be said.
“I’ll have her back on time safe and sound.” Emmett promised,
refusing to let Amaya ruin his mood and pulled Kyrine away from her into his
arms, kissing the top of her head. “Ready Ky?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Amaya watched like a hawk as Emmett helped Kyrine into his Jeep
Wrangler before getting behind the wheel, driving out of the school parking
lot. She looked down at her cell phone
when it signaled she’d received a new text message, sliding her phone open to
read it. Wanna meet up for a few hours
and hang out? It was from
Jacob. This plan was working out better
than Amaya originally intended, knowing her teasing video had definitely lit
something under him.
See you soon. Sending him a quick text back, Amaya slipped into her car and
headed toward the La Push border, knowing Jacob wanted to meet in their secret
place.
Kyrine wasn’t surprised when she received a text from Amaya,
laughing softly. “Lord…”
“What?” Emmett glanced over at her while driving through the
woods toward the Cullen house, which was deep in the woods just on the
outskirts of Forks.
“My sister is insane, that’s what.” Kyrine flipped her phone
closed and turned it on silent, slipping it into her bag out of sight. “She
sent her boyfriend a video this morning, wanting to tease him because he asked
her for a few days break, and apparently he had a change of heart because she’s
on her way to see him now.”
“Your sister is insane.” Emmett couldn’t help agreeing and
actually felt a twinge of pity for Jacob Black, wondering if the dog realized
what he got himself into. “She’s a wild one eh?”
“You have no idea.”
The rest of the drive was made with small conversation, Amaya
dropped for the time being, though Emmett had been mildly curious about how
crazy Amaya exactly was. He didn’t
understand how Kyrine and Amaya could be related in any way because they were
completely different, yet best friends.
While Kyrine was sweet and shy keeping to herself, Amaya was out-going
and had a no prisoner’s attitude, not caring what people thought of her. He both respected and loathed it, especially
after being snapped on for simply asking where Kyrine was that day she was with
her mother.
Kyrine couldn’t help wondering what she was going to do about
Emmett once she had to go away for surgery.
It didn’t help her surgery was going to be right in Forks because
everyone at school, including her principal, thought she was going out of town
for a month regarding family matters.
She felt guilty for lying to everyone, but Kyrine honestly didn’t need
the community knowing about her sickness, knowing it would just complicate
things with her life.
In Miami, everyone knew everything about her congestive heart
failure and threw fundraisers for her among other things. They tried to raise money for the family even
though they were financially well off.
It was terrible being pitied and constantly asked if she was alright
every day she would go to school, just wanting to be regular. It’s not that Kyrine didn’t appreciate what
the community did for her, but eventually it got tiring.
She wanted to keep it that way in Forks High School if at all
possible.
When they pulled up to the huge glass house, Kyrine’s mouth fell
open, her big midnight blue eyes widening as far as they could go. “This…is
where you live?” She looked over at him, blushing when Emmett laughed and
slipped out of the car to open the passenger door for her, extending his arm.
“Welcome to the Cullen home,” He grinned at her shocked state,
finding her even more beautiful when she blushed, those rosy cheeks adding to
her splendor. “My lady.”
“Thank you, kind sir.” Kyrine giggled when Emmett snorted, their
playful banter common and it was one of the main reasons why Emmett was drawn
to her to begin with.
Together, they walked up the stairs to the front door and Emmett
opened it, allowing Kyrine to step in first.
Kyrine couldn’t believe how beautiful the décor of the house was, not
knowing what exactly she was expecting, thinking the Cullen’s definitely had
great taste. Emmett gently took her
small black jacket off and hung it up, along with his, before taking her hand
guiding her through the house to the sitting room.
Nobody was there yet and Emmett knew Carlisle would be a little
late because of his job while Esme had a clothing line she worked on strictly
through the internet, having recently started it up with Alice’s help. Jasper did his own thing, though Emmett wasn’t
exactly sure what that was, and didn’t stick his nose in other’s business
unless he was brought into it. Emmett
guided Kyrine toward the couch as they both sat down, smiling when she snuggled
against his side, rubbing her shoulder up and down soothingly.
He hadn’t discussed exposing the Cullen’s secret with the
family, but Emmett figured since Edward hadn’t done that with Bella, he didn’t
have to do it with Kyrine. He was ready
to tell her everything, but didn’t want to blurt it out. He had to somehow ease the secret into their
conversation, deciding maybe a hypothetical approach would be best. As much as he wanted to, Emmett didn’t feel
the need to expose the Quileute tribe’s secret because that had nothing to do
with his secret besides they were mortal enemies.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“So what’s on your mind?” Kyrine asked, leaning against her
folded up knuckle while her elbow leaned against the couch, knowing Emmett
brought her here for a reason.
Emmett couldn’t stop staring at her and didn’t want the way she
was looking at him now to disappear after he revealed his secret. That’s what he feared most is that she would
laugh at him or run away screaming in terror.
If Emmett knew what Kyrine went through the previous night, he wouldn’t
be nearly as hesitant as he was now.
They had only been dating for a short amount of time, but Emmett knew he
was already falling for her…faster than he had with Rosalie.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me, Emmett.” Kyrine rose up to
wrap her arms around his strong muscular neck, staring into his beautiful tawny
eyes with a soft smile. “I know we haven’t known each other that long, but
there’s nothing you can tell me that I won’t understand. I’m not easy to scare off, remember?”
“I know, I know.” Emmett grumbled, hating that she was right,
but also loved it at the same time because she knew just what to say to make
him feel better. “I just…I don’t want you to not…” He didn’t know how to say
this, pressing his forehead to hers. “The way you’re looking at me now might
change once I tell you what I need to. I
don’t want it to change because I love the way you look at me. Do you understand what I’m saying, Ky?”
Kyrine didn’t know what to say honestly and nodded, simply
staying where she was with kind blue eyes. “I’ll never not look at you the way
I am right now.” She promised, hoping that didn’t sound stupid because it
didn’t make sense as soon as the words left her lips. “Just tell me. Rip the band-aid off with no anesthesia, get
it over with. That’s what Amaya always
tells me whenever I have a problem telling her something personal.”
Emmett took a deep breath, deciding he wasn’t going to stall
anymore and removed her arms from around his neck, instead holding his hands in
hers in front of him. “I’m dead.” He blurted out, watching the confusion
instantly register in Kyrine’s eyes and cringed when her hands suddenly slid
out of his.
“W-What are you talking about?” There was no humor in her
stammer and Kyrine wondered if this was a sick joke, blinking. “Emmett, what
are you talking about? You can’t be
dead…”
“I am.” Emmett took her hand and slid it under his shirt against
his ice cold skin, until it rested against where his heart should’ve moved with
life, his eyes locking with hers. “I exist, but I’m not alive. I’m a vampire, Kyrine.” He sighed when she
paled even more than normal, yanking her hand from beneath his shirt to press
it against her warm chest over her beating heart. “Please…”
Kyrine didn’t say anything for a good long while, simply staring
at her boyfriend as the shock flooded through her, trying to think
clearly. She opened and closed her mouth
several times, but no words were coming out, knowing Emmett was getting upset. When he went to stand up, her hand shot out
to stop him from doing so, pulling him back down even though he let her, their
eyes locking again.
“Vampires…exist?” She slowly asked, remembering how scared
Emmett was prior to telling her this, so the last thing Kyrine wanted to do was
freak out in front of him. “I always thought they were a fantasy or myth.”
Honestly not knowing what to think, Kyrine knew Emmett definitely wasn’t lying
to her because of how rock hard his body was and he didn’t have a beating
heart.
“A lot of people think that.” Emmett couldn’t believe she was
reacting this way, definitely not expecting it, glad he was honest with her.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. I won’t keep anything from you.”
Not knowing what to ask, Kyrine decided to just ask whatever was
off the top of her head. “So…you can live without a beating heart?” Kyrine
couldn’t help asking because of her current situation, trying to slow her own
down because she’d been through enough the previous night.
“Yeah.”
“And…how old are you?”
Emmett smirked, pulling her to sit sideways on his lap, wrapping
his arms around her waist while she leaned her head against his shoulder, still
looking up at her with curious blue eyes. “I’m over a hundred.” He wasn’t going
to pinpoint his exact age and ran a finger down her cheek, the roses blooming
once more. “But to everyone in school, I’m seventeen, but I was changed at the
age of twenty.”
Kyrine went to ask him something else when they heard throats
clear behind them, jumping off of Emmett’s lap as they both hastily stood up
from the couch. Her blue eyes widened at
the sight of her doctor, Carlisle Cullen, and knew this was definitely a
mistake coming here, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. So her suspicions had been confirmed: Emmett
was Carlisle’s father or whatever.
He was standing before her with wide golden eyes alongside who
Kyrine could only guess as being Esme.
There were two other people standing in the doorway and Kyrine instantly
recognized them as Alice and Jasper, Emmett mentioning them during one of the
times they hung out. Alice and Jasper
noticed Carlisle’s widened eyes and immediately looked at Kyrine, piercing the
puzzle pieces together, having their suspicions.
She was Carlisle’s heart patient he’d been upset about.
Chapter 17
“Kyrine.” Carlisle finally stepped forward with a gentle smile,
extending his hand to her, and had no idea that THIS was Emmett’s current
girlfriend. “So you’re the girl that’s had Emmett’s mind preoccupied these past
days, hmm?”
Her cheeks turned even darker and Kyrine didn’t know what to
think or do, completely forgetting about her suspicions regarding her new
doctor. “I guess I am.” She looked up at Emmett with a small smile, her hand
slowly slipping out of Carlisle’s, Emmett instantly taking it.
Carlisle bit back a frown because of how cold her hand was,
which was due to poor circulation because of her heart, worry shining in his
eyes. “How are you feeling, Kyrine?” He had to ask and watched as she tensed
from head to toe, drawing his perfectly shaped eyebrows together.
“Why don’t we go get some refreshments?” Esme suggested before
the girl could utter a word, smiling softly and pulled Carlisle gently by the
arm, trying to be polite.
Emmett was more confused than ever and actually scratched his
head, Alice and Jasper walking in to sit down on the other couch. “That was
weird.” He commented, looking down at his girlfriend, watching her shoulders
shrug and did the same thing himself. “Have you met Carlisle before, Ky?”
Kyrine closed her eyes, knowing she couldn’t lie to Emmett
because she had a feeling Carlisle would end up telling Emmett that she was his
patient. “Yes I have.”
She walked over to sit back down and tried figuring out how she
was going to get out of here without Emmett finding out her own secret. The guilt already surfaced because Emmett was
brave enough to tell her what the Cullen family was, which explained a lot as
far as Carlisle’s youthful flawless look, but Kyrine couldn’t bring herself to
tell him about her heart condition.
Emmett could tell something was bothering Kyrine and took his place
beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, letting her know he was there
for her no matter what.
“Here we are.” Esme walked in with a tray full of glasses filled
with water, setting it down on the table, taking one herself.
Carlisle followed after with another tray of cookies, looking
over at his wife as if she’d lost her mind.
He remembered when Edward brought Bella over for the first time and they
tried making Italian for her, only for Edward to say that she’d already
eaten. It was definitely amusing, though
Emmett’s ex didn’t think so and ended up shattering a bowl in her bare hands
right in front of Bella. Of course,
Bella already knew their secret so it wasn’t a huge shock to her. To make sure that didn’t happen again, Esme
decided to take a simpler approach with water and cookies, thinking Emmett
didn’t tell his new girlfriend about them.
She didn’t realize Kyrine already knew about their secret.
“Thank you, Mrs. Cullen.” Kyrine politely said, taking a glass
of water and cookie, chomping on it with a smile.
“Please call me, Esme.”
“And you can call me Carlisle since we’re not in the hospital
anymore, Kyrine.” Carlisle requested and took a glass of water his wife handed
him, trying not to wrinkle his nose at it.
Emmett laughed and shook his head when Esme handed him a glass
next, clearing his throat. “I already told her, you guys.” He stated, cringing
when Esme dropped the tray and Jasper in lightning quick reflexes caught it
with one finger, the glasses not tipping over or anything.
It was amazing.
“So, how do you two know each other exactly?” Alice inquired,
looking from Carlisle to Kyrine with an innocent smile, her twinkling voice
sounding like bells.
“She’s a patient of mine.” Carlisle answered before Kyrine
could, watching her eyes widen and immediately regretted saying that. “You
haven’t told Emmett yet, have you?”
Kyrine couldn’t look at Emmett, tears stinging the back of her
eyes, but she wouldn’t show them. “No.” It was time to leave as Kyrine stood
up, trembling a little. “This has all been fun and everything, but I’m not
feeling very well. Emmett, I need to go
home.”
Emmett frowned, wondering what came over Kyrine all of a sudden
and noticed she refused to look at him. “Wait a minute, what are you talking
about Carlisle? What hasn’t she told me
yet and why is she a patient of yours?” So many questions flew out of his mouth
at once, his eyes locking with the man he considered to be his father. “I want
to know what the hell is going on right now.”
“No!” Kyrine yelled, completely panicked by now and instantly
covered her mouth with her hand with huge midnight blue eyes, not believing she
just did that.
Every single pair of golden eyes landed on her and Kyrine
suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable, shaking her head at Carlisle,
pleading him silently not to say anything.
Kyrine had no idea what came over her, but she didn’t want Emmett
knowing she was deathly sick, wanting to enjoy whatever time she had left with
him. The LVAD surgery could kill her,
Kyrine wasn’t stupid by any means and had done extensive research on the
procedure, not wanting any surprises.
Carlisle had covered nearly everything the internet said, but Kyrine
still checked and Natalie called Doctor Miles to make sure he agreed with what
Doctor Cullen’s prognosis.
“You’re the girl aren’t you?” Alice stood up, a frown marring
her pale features and slowly walked toward the alarmed human. “You’re the one
Carlisle was so upset about…” Jasper and Alice had tried everything to find out
exactly who the teenage girl was that Carlisle had spoken privately to Esme
about.
“How did you know about that?” Carlisle demanded, standing up
from his seat, folding his arms in front of his chest while glaring at his
children. “You eavesdropped on my conversation with Esme?”
Alice lowered her eyes along with Jasper, even Emmett looking
guilty, and Carlisle merely stood there stunned. “I told you I heard someone
outside the door.” Esme stated, standing up alongside her husband, trying to
diffuse the situation. “No matter, it’s obvious what is going on here.” She
walked over to where Kyrine stood, gently nudging Alice to the side, and
couldn’t help feeling the way her husband did because Kyrine was incredibly
young to have to endure congestive heart failure. “Sit down, Kyrine. You don’t need to be afraid, no one is going
to hurt you here.”
“Is she the one, Carlisle?” Jasper wasn’t letting it go, watching
as Carlisle nodded solemnly and looked over at the human girl with sadness in
his eyes. “She’s so young…”
“I know.”
“Enough both of you.” Esme ordered, golden eyes flashing at both
Jasper and her husband, telling them silently that the poor girl was terrified.
“I want to go home.” Kyrine couldn’t be here right now and
blinked as a few tears slid down her cheeks, refusing to do what Esme or anyone
else said. “Emmett…”
Then it suddenly dawned on Emmett what Alice and Jasper were
referring to, remembering the eavesdropping conversation and felt his eyes
slowly move to where Kyrine stood. She
was Carlisle’s heart patient? Kyrine was
sick and he didn’t even know about it?
She didn’t look that sick, granted her pale complexion he chalked up to
not getting a lot of sun, but then Emmett remembered she used to live in sunny
hot Miami, Florida. Her hands were
freezing all the time, again he didn’t think anything of it and thought that’s
just who she was.
“Kyrine…”
“Please don’t.” She whispered, blinking as huge tears slid down
her face and if Emmett had a beating heart, it would’ve broken instantly. “Just
take me home, Emmett.”
“What surgery are you having?” Emmett wasn’t moving an inch,
watching her tense even more and didn’t care, refusing to back down. “What
death sentence did you give her, Carlisle?
What does she have?”
“I don’t want to talk about it!” Kyrine snapped, feeling Emmett
grip her shoulders and kept her head down, wishing Amaya was here to take her
away. “It’s none of your business! It’s
patient confidentiality, right Doctor Cullen?” How did Emmett even know she was
having surgery?
“It has to do with her heart.” Alice piped in, ignoring the
angry look Carlisle and Esme shot her. “I’m guessing it’s a surgery to help buy
her time until her donor is ready. She
needs a heart transplant, I’m guessing.”
It felt as though Kyrine’s entire world was crashing down around
her at warp speed and she couldn’t believe the audacity of Carlisle Cullen to
mention his patients outside of the office. “How dare you!” She suddenly
shouted, gritting her teeth as more tears fell from her eyes, not caring how
fast her heart pounded at the moment. “How could you break the patient
confidentiality by telling your family about me! I trusted you, Doctor Cullen and so did
Doctor Miles and my own family! How
could you do this to me?”
“He didn’t do anything, we did.” Alice said in a soft voice,
knowing she had really upset the human girl, but Emmett had a right to know
what exactly he was getting involved with. “We overheard him talking to Esme
about an upcoming surgery he had to perform on a teenage girl that was
life-threatening. He didn’t mention a
name and he didn’t say exactly what the surgery was, only that he had handed her
a death sentence. Jasper and I have been
trying to figure out who it is for the past few days and couldn’t…until now.”
The explanation was enough for Kyrine to calm down a little, though the anger
still burned in her blue eyes. “Please don’t be angry with him. Be angry with me and Jasper. Emmett didn’t even care about the
conversation because he was too busy being excited about his double date with
you and your sister.”
“I came clean with you about everything I am, Ky.” Emmett stated,
having kept silent long enough and forced her to meet his eyes by lifting her
chin with his finger. “You told me not to be afraid to tell you my secrets…that
you would understand no matter what. Now
I’m asking you to do the same thing for me.
I’m asking you to trust me enough to tell me what’s going on about every
aspect of your life.”
He was right and no matter how much Kyrine wanted to run in the
opposite direction, she knew she couldn’t. “Sit down.” She ordered in a soft
voice, knowing this was going to be difficult for him to hear along with
everyone else except Carlisle. “I’ll tell you everything.”
Doing as she said, Emmett lowered himself back on the couch,
pulling her down with him and kept a firm arm around her shoulders so she
couldn’t run away. “Take your time, beautiful.
I’m here for you, no matter what.” He promised, kissing her forehead and
that just made more tears fall from Kyrine’s eyes.
“Part me of me wishes you weren’t because then this would be so
much easier.” Kyrine whimpered, taking a tissue from Alice who sat beside her,
Jasper next to her while Carlisle and Esme remained standing.
Starting at the beginning, Kyrine explained how she was
diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the age of six. That followed with a lot of different
medications and surgeries, until three years ago at the age of fourteen when
she was told she needed a new heart in order to survive. Kyrine was instantly placed on the transplant
list, but nothing came and she knew her time was running out. That was until Doctor Miles came to her a few
months ago telling her he found her a heart and it was here in Forks, her
reason for moving from Miami. The donor
was currently on life support and couldn’t be removed until their family
returned from overseas to say goodbye to their loved one.
Her eyes slowly looked up at Emmett, having been looking down at
her hands the entire time so she didn’t lose her nerve when explaining her
heart condition. “I lied to you and I’m sorry.
I was with my Mom, but I went to my first appointment with Doctor Cullen
to see how my heart was progressing. I
didn’t know if you were related to him or not and I meant to ask you when I saw
you again, but it slipped my mind. He
told me my heart wouldn’t last me another month if I didn’t have an LVAD
surgery done, which is basically this little device that pumps my heart for me
and gives it a chance to rest and wait for my new heart.”
“When is the surgery?” Alice asked, seeing Emmett was stunned by
everything he just heard and trying to digest it all, her voice quiet.
“Friday.”
Emmett’s eyes shot open, staring down at his sick girlfriend and
swallowed hard as all the culpable tears poured down her face. “Friday…W-What
were you going to tell me, Kyrine?” He was almost afraid to ask and had a
sinking feeling he knew what the answer was.
Kyrine buried her face in her hands, knowing Emmett would hate
hearing this next part. “I was going to end things with you before the
surgery.” It was only a few days away. “Please understand, I don’t want anyone
knowing about my condition because…in Miami, everyone was so understanding and
kind to me that it was unnerving. They
would throw fundraisers to help raise money on my behalf, do car washes, even
though my family is financially stable.
They were exceedingly kind, almost if they were forced to be, and I felt
like everyone was always walking around on eggshells around me. Forks was my chance to be normal like
everyone else, my one chance to live fully, before my heart transplant.”
“What did you tell the principal and all your teachers, Kyrine?”
Esme asked, somewhat baffled by what Kyrine’s explanation and honestly didn’t
blame her for wanting to be treated normally.
“My Mom told them I was going away for a month or so to my
grandparents for personal reasons.” Kyrine answered, wiping her tears away and
knew Emmett was furious with her, not blaming him at all. “I don’t want pity
because I’ve been living with this illness for over a decade and I know what my
chances are at survival. This surgery
will help me, as much as I don’t want to do it, I know it’s in my best interest
to have it done. My teachers are giving
me my schoolwork on Thursday and if I miss more than a month, they agreed to
send it with Amaya to give it to me and I would send it back.” She slowly stood
up from the couch and stepped a few feet away from it, knowing Emmett needed
some time to himself to maul everything over. “I’m sorry for lying to you,
Emmett. I never thought a guy would even
be remotely interested in me and I was fine with it…until you came along and
changed my whole outlook on everything.
I’ll never be able to repay you for all you’ve done for me, for actually
treating me as a normal girl and making me feel things I’ve never felt before.”
There was no way Kyrine was telling him her dreams about Jacob Black, knowing
that would just anger and upset Emmett more than he already was. “I-I don’t
know what else to say except…I’m sorry…”
He didn’t say anything for awhile, just sat there with his hands
clenched tightly together staring straight ahead, every part of his body
tensed. “There’s only one thing I want, Kyrine.” He finally spoke, slowly
standing up from the couch and walked toward her, ignoring everyone else in the
room for the moment. “And that’s you.” Before Kyrine could even open her mouth
to protest, Emmett’s lips captured hers in a fiery kiss that made her weak in
the knees, gripping his arms to keep from collapsing. “You can’t get rid of me
that easily, beautiful.” He murmured against her lips once the kiss broke,
rubbing his nose against hers. “And I’m going to be there with you every step
of the way from here on out, I promise.”
All Kyrine could do was look in his eyes and knew he was telling
her the truth, a newfound hope restored within her heart.
Jacob Black suddenly entered her mind and Kyrine felt the urge
she had to tell him about her condition, not able to comprehend why. He popped up in her thoughts out of nowhere,
even when she was with Emmett, which hadn’t happened until now. Something definitely wasn’t right and Kyrine
wondered if maybe she should talk to someone about this, not
understanding. She knew she was slowly
losing her mind, especially when she began feeling guilty for telling Emmett
about her heart condition and not Jacob.
Kyrine had no idea she would have these feelings and an unbreakable
connection as long as she was breathing.
After spending a little more time with the Cullen’s and calming
down, Emmett took her home, the drive made in silence, with Kyrine trying to
think of a way to forget Jacob Black existed, while Emmett contemplated what
would happen if he lost Kyrine.
Chapter 18
“You actually TOLD him?”
Kyrine nodded and looked down at her freshly painted blue
toenails, both girls giving each other home pedicures, knowing Amaya was
shocked. “Yeah, I had no choice because his father is Doctor Cullen. He’s the one who is going to perform the
surgery.” She explained softly, pressing her cheek against her knee.
“Wow…” Amaya let out a whistle while finishing her hot pink
toenails, blowing on them a little. “So I take it your time with Emmett isn’t
going to be over before Friday after all?”
“Not at all.” Kyrine actually smiled and squirmed her toes a
little, chuckling when Amaya smacked the top of her feet to make her stop. “I
wasn’t looking forward to ending things with him and I’m relieved I came clean
before it was too late.”
“What made you decide to tell him anyway?” Amaya asked, mildly
curious and set the nail polish down on the nightstand, leaning back with her
feet angled up so her toes would dry faster.
Now Kyrine was in a dilemma because she didn’t know whether or
not she should tell Amaya about the Cullen secret. She couldn’t just come right out and say
Emmett and his family were vampires, Amaya would’ve laughed her out of the
bedroom. Not to mention Kyrine hadn’t
asked Emmett if she could tell her sister about what they were, so she didn’t
know if it was a good idea or not.
Half of Kyrine wanted to stay loyal to Emmett, but the other
half kept reminding her that she kept absolutely nothing from Amaya.
They were enjoying the evening together because it would be the
last one for awhile, the parents having left them alone to have dinner with a
couple they’d met while grocery shopping the other day. Actually, it was Natalie who dragged Nicholas
along, explaining to him that it would be rude if she showed up at another
married woman’s house without her husband in tow. Nicholas grumbled the whole way out the door,
mumbling about missing yet another game because of his wife’s social customs.
The girls could only laugh and ordered pizza, thanks to Natalie
forking over some money before departing.
“If I tell you why I told him about my condition, you have to
swear to me you won’t freak out, kick me out of your room and tell every living
soul what a lunatic I am.” Kyrine decided since she trusted Amaya with her life
that she could tell her about the Cullen’s, knowing Amaya could keep a secret
better than anyone.
Amaya couldn’t help laughing at how serious Kyrine looked,
wondering what had gotten into her and bit her lip when Kyrine began pouting.
“Oh come on Kyrie, the look on your face was priceless, how could I not laugh?”
She retorted, dodging a pillow that Kyrine lunged at her.
“Never mind, I’m not telling you now.”
Amaya tried not to laugh and gave her best pout, violet eyes
pleading. “Please? I swear on my own
grave I won’t freak out, kick you out of my room and tell every living soul that
you’re a lunatic.” She vowed, holding her hand while reciting Kyrine’s demands.
“Your secrets are safe with me, Kyrie.”
Eyeballing her skeptically for a minute, Kyrine leaned back
against the headboard with her arms folded in front of her chest. “Fine, I was
going to tell you anyway.” She chuckled when Amaya rolled her eyes, making a
hand gesture that told her to continue. “Emmett told me something about him and
his family that…quite frankly I still can’t believe.” Vampires existed is what
Kyrine actually meant, but she wasn’t just going to come out and say that.
“Since he trusted me enough to tell me his secret, I had to tell him mine,
especially with Doctor Cullen standing there asking me how I was.” It was
definitely gauche.
“So what was his big secret?” Amaya urged, seeing how nervous
her sister was, feeling her stomach tighten. “They’re not like orgy lovers are
they?”
“Oh my god, no!” Kyrine gagged, not believing what a sick and
twisted mind Amaya had. “Is that all you can think about is sex?”
Amaya smirked, not ashamed of her insatiable sexual appetite.
“Hey, it has to be something completely off the wall and nine times out of ten,
it has to do with sex.” She stated bluntly, beginning to start her second coat
of polish. “So out with it, what is so secretive about Emmy and his family?”
Kyrine giggled at Amaya’s choice nickname for Emmett, knowing he
wouldn’t appreciate it, but she couldn’t help finding it amusing. “Emmy? Do not let him hear you call him that.”
Kyrine’s eyes bugged out when Amaya grinned, saying he already had. “Oh lord…”
“Stop stalling, Kyrie.”
“Emmett and his family are…not like us.” Kyrine remembered how
Emmett told her and bit her bottom lip, refusing to just blurt out they were
dead. “They’re different…”
Amaya’s eyebrow quirked, stopping in mid brush to look up at
Kyrine. “Different how exactly?” She didn’t like the way this conversation
headed and had a feeling she would screw her toes up if she continued, deciding
to wait until Kyrine finally finished. “Just say it, Kyrie. It’s not that hard and it can’t be that bad.”
“It’s not exactly bad, just kind of…unbelievable, I guess?”
Kyrine didn’t know what other word to use and looked down at her toes, more
interested in them than this discussion. “I’m trying to tell you, it’s just
hard because I don’t want you to think I’m messing with you.”
“Didn’t I already promise and swear on my own grave I wouldn’t
freak out or laugh?” Amaya grunted, hurt shining in her violet eyes by now.
“Obviously you don’t trust me enough to tell me, so just forget it.”
Kyrine groaned, hating it when Amaya guilt-tripped her, and took
a deep breath. “They’re vampires.” She divulged, refusing to meet Amaya’s eyes
that had suddenly shot open. “I know you don’t believe me, but it’s the
truth. Emmett doesn’t have a beating
heart, he showed me and that explains why they’re so pale and have flawless
complexions. It’s why Emmett always
feels so cold and hard against me, like marble, when we’re touching. I didn’t want to believe it either, but…it’s
the truth, Maya. Vampires exist…”
As much as Amaya wanted to laugh and not believe a word Kyrine
just said, something wouldn’t allow her to do it. Truth was, Amaya knew something was going on
with Jacob, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure it out. His skin was always hot to the touch, but
felt amazing to Amaya because it wasn’t hard for him to warm her up.
When she questioned him about his body temperature, Jacob simply
brushed it off and changed the subject, which Amaya respected. Now that Kyrine was telling her about the
Cullen’s being vampires, it made her wonder about Jacob and what exactly was
going on with him, deciding she had to find out. He’d been distant from her the previous night
during sex and Amaya confronted him about it afterwards, only for Jacob to
thank her for another incredible romp and headed out to work.
Who the hell worked at a mechanic shop at ten o’clock at night?
“I believe you.” Amaya meant it and didn’t smile or anything
when Kyrine’s head shot up to stare at her in disbelief. “Don’t ask me why I do
because under normal circumstances I wouldn’t, but from the moment we moved
here, I knew this place was different from Miami.”
“Why?”
Amaya shrugged nonchalantly, resuming her pedicure with mild
interest. “I don’t know, just a feeling I guess.” She didn’t need to burden
Kyrine with her silly assumptions about her boyfriend, wanting tonight to be
about them. “And if you say that they’re vampires, then that’s what they are.”
Kyrine was stunned at how cool and calm Amaya was about her
revelation, wondering if maybe she was sick or something. “It doesn’t bother
you even a little?” She pried a little more, trying to get more emotion or…hell
Kyrine didn’t even know what she was trying to get out of Amaya. “They don’t
drink human blood either. They explained
it all to me at the house.”
“What do they drink then?”
Amaya still wasn’t staring at her like she’d grown three heads,
alarming Kyrine. “Maya, are you even hearing what I’m saying?” She waved her
hand in front of Amaya’s face, chuckling when she shot Kyrine a deadly glare.
“Of course I am! I just
asked what they drink didn’t I?” She blew on her toenails a little, having
finished the second coat and wondered what Jacob would think about her color
choice. “I’m listening to you Kyrie, okay?
I don’t think you’re insane or have lost your marbles. I believe you, I’m simply asking questions.”
“That’s just it.” Kyrine suddenly stood up and began pacing in
front of Amaya, chewing her bottom lip, her toenails already dry. “Why DO you
believe me so easily? I wanted to freak
out and bolt in the opposite direction when Emmett told me…”
“But you didn’t.”
Kyrine opened her mouth to say something and immediately closed
it, sinking back down on the bed. “You’re right.” She whispered, suddenly
understanding why Amaya was so calm about this because that’s exactly how
Kyrine had acted when Emmett told her. “I mean…I didn’t want him touching me at
first, but…I didn’t flip out and call him a liar. So why would I expect you to do that?”
Amaya smiled softly, scooting over very carefully so she didn’t
ruin her pedicure. “Listen to me, Kyrie, there isn’t any reason for me not to
trust you or believe what you tell me about anything. I’ve always believed there’s supernatural
beings out there around us, like spirits and witches. Hell, there’s even a religion based solely on
witchcraft. Granted, vampires I never
did believe existed except in movies and nightmares, but obviously they do.”
She pulled back a little, staring into Kyrine’s blue eyes. “The real question
is: Do you believe what Emmett told you?”
“Of course I do.” Her voice was softer now, Kyrine smiling shyly
as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “He’s given me absolutely no
reason not to trust him. There’s no
reason why he would just blurt out ‘I’m dead’ unless it was the truth.” Kyrine
knew deep down she was trying to convince herself more than Amaya and, as
always, Amaya grounded her to make sure she thought things over. “When he found
out I was sick, he told me he wasn’t going anywhere and I couldn’t get rid of
him that easily.”
For the first time since Kyrine and Emmett started seeing each
other, Amaya was starting to see Emmett in a whole new light. “He really does
care for you.” She commented and stood up from the bed, both of their stomachs
growling. “I didn’t think he did at first.”
This was new as Kyrine stood up to follow Amaya out of the room,
both of them heading downstairs toward the kitchen. “Why?” She trusted Amaya more
than anyone and wondered why she hadn’t voiced her opinion of Emmett until now.
“It’s not important.”
Kyrine stopped her on the stairs, turning her around until their
eyes met. “Be honest with me, Maya. Why
didn’t you think he cared about me until now?” She wasn’t letting this subject
drop, pursing her lips tightly together when it looked like Amaya was battling
inner demons. “Tell me.”
Amaya sighed and knew she opened up a whole can of worms by
opening her mouth, groaning. “Look, I just…I thought all he was after was what
every man is usually after, Kyrie. He
approached you out of nowhere, when none of the other guys in school did, and
it was a little suspicious to me. I
thought he was using you for some reason and that’s why I was extremely
protective of you against him.” When Kyrine raised an eyebrow, Amaya knew she
literally inserted her foot in her mouth. “Fuck.”
“Okay that’s it, I knew you were keeping something from me when
it came to Emmett and I demand to know what it is NOW.” Kyrine ordered in a
stern voice, flat out refusing to let Amaya walk away from her, gritting her
teeth. “We’re supposed to be completely honest with each other, Maya. Why can’t you just stop trying to protect me
and be blunt for a change?”
“Oh whatever! That’s a
low blow and you know it, Kyrine.” She growled, a little hurt by her sister’s
words, but knew deep down she was right. “Fine, you wanna know so badly, I’ll
tell you. Let’s go into the kitchen so I
can pop a pizza in the oven. I’m
starving and you need to eat too.”
“This isn’t a tactic to try to distract me right?” Kyrine eyed
her suspiciously, finally surrendering to what Amaya wanted and followed her
down to the kitchen, hopping up on the counter. “Now what did you mean by being
protective of me against him?” When Kyrine saw Emmett after her doctor’s
appointment, she knew something wasn’t right between Amaya and Emmett, but
thought she was reading too much into things.
Obviously she wasn’t.
Amaya didn’t say anything for awhile, preheating the oven and
waited until it beeped before popping the pizza in, knowing Kyrine wasn’t going
to let this go. Why had she opened her
big mouth and said anything about Emmett?
This was Kyrine first real boyfriend and Amaya knew how sensitive she
was right now, especially with her upcoming surgery on the horizon. Then again, if Kyrine didn’t survive the
surgery –Amaya flat out refused to believe she would be just fine- and died
without knowing the truth on her feelings for Emmett, then Amaya would never
get another chance.
Slowly, Amaya told Kyrine about the day at school that Emmett
approached her, asking where Kyrine was.
Amaya had completely blown her top and told him it was none of his
business and he should stay away from Kyrine if he knew what was good for
him. She basically told Emmett to take a
flying leap off a short pier, though they weren’t exactly her choice
words. She didn’t appreciate a man walking
up asking her about her sister’s whereabouts, especially when they didn’t even
know him.
“And you know the most fucked up thing about it was?” When
Kyrine slowly shook her head, not amused in the slightest, Amaya snorted. “He
didn’t even fight me on what I said. All
he did was smile and said ‘tell her to contact me when she has a chance,
thanks’ and walked away from me without so much as a fuck you. It was insane. It was almost as if he knew I was testing him
in a way, even though I really wasn’t. I
meant what I said because I thought all he wanted was a piece of ass because he
just looked like one of those fuck’em and leave ‘em types. Obviously, I was wrong and I’m sorry, Kyrie.”
It didn’t surprise Kyrine with what Amaya said to Emmett nor did
Emmett’s reaction because he really was a great guy. “No need to be sorry, I
know how you are.” She hopped off of the counter and walked over, both girls
embracing; a twinge of guilt suddenly piercing through Kyrine again because
Jacob Black was suddenly in her mind. “Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re welcome.” Amaya murmured, kissing the top of her
sister’s head, having vowed to protect her at any cost when they moved to
Forks. “Now come on enough with the boy talk.” It was starting to depress Amaya
because Jacob wasn’t nowhere near as sweet as Emmett was to Kyrine and it was
bugging her. “Let’s just enjoy tonight with pizza and junk food.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The last thing Kyrine wanted to talk about was Jacob Black,
especially to Amaya because she would blurt out something about the erotic
dreams she’d been having lately. That
just wouldn’t bode well for a girl’s night with Amaya. The girls laughed and watched comedy movies
while eating pizza, chips and candy, finally crashing out around midnight.
As soon as Kyrine’s eyes closed, she was instantly sucked into a
black vortex that ended with her staring into the dark eyes of Jacob Black.
Chapter 19
“What’s wrong with you tonight, Am?”
Amaya looked up at Jacob while they walked slowly on the beach
of La Push, enjoying the tranquility, shrugging. “I don’t know, just thinking about
some things.” She murmured quietly, wearing a simple long sleeved black dress
that went an inch above the knee and had a hoop neckline, carrying her black
heels in her hand as they dangled from her fingers.
For once, they weren’t sexing it up deep in the woods and Jacob
even invited Amaya to one of La Push’s bonfires, wanting to her mind off of
things. Something was bothering her, but
Jacob couldn’t figure it out, hating how hard Amaya was to read through those
violet colored orbs. Jacob wanted to make
things work with Amaya, even though all he could really think about was his
imprint, but he had to face facts she was with a bloodsucker. She didn’t want him and Jacob would rather
have a woman that enjoyed being with a man that had a beating heart instead of
a dead man.
Truth was, Amaya was depressed because Kyrine’s surgery was the
following day and she didn’t know how else to feel. This was a life-threatening procedure and
nobody knew if Kyrine’s heart was even strong enough to survive the surgery. All the tests the hospital and Doctor Cullen
had administered earlier that day came back with positive results. Doctor Cullen assured the McTavian family
that Kyrine would pull through as long as there were no complications, knowing
anything could happen once she was under the knife.
Amaya sighed when Jacob stopped her from walking, turning her to
face him, their eyes locking. She didn’t
even realize she’d been crying until he wiped her tears away with the pads of
his thumbs, frowning. Violet eyes lowered
to the sand as Amaya tried pulling away from him, but Jacob had her wrists in
his scorching hands, hating to show weakness in front of anyone. Crying was foreign to Amaya and the fact she
was doing it in front of her boyfriend completely mortified her.
“Talk to me, Amaya.” Jacob pleaded in his deep voice, seeing she
was trying to hide herself from him, and pulled her against him until her hands
rested on his shirt covered chest, placing his hands on her hips. “You can
trust me with anything. Whatever is
bothering you, let me help you with it, girl.”
“Damn it.” She whispered, more tears falling and hated herself
for it, feeling as though her heart was breaking. “Why does the world have to
be so unfair?”
“I don’t know, baby.” He hated seeing her cry and began rubbing
her back up and down, trying to soothe her. “The world is a cruel unforgiving
place, but at least some good comes out of it.”
Amaya snorted, trying to break away from him, but Jacob wasn’t
letting her budge. “There is no good in this world, not when…” She stopped
talking and turned to look out into the ocean, the cool breeze blowing through
her blonde blood red streaked hair. “Never mind, I don’t want to talk about
it.”
Jacob growled, not liking the fact his girlfriend was hiding
something from him, and whipped her around before smashing his lips against
hers. “Tell me.” He demanded in a husky voice, feeling her hands instantly
slide up his arms to wrap around his neck, her fingers delving in his thick
black hair.
“No.” Amaya knew she would completely break down if she did and
the last thing she wanted to discuss was her sister possibly dying tomorrow. “I
want to forget about it for tonight.”
Jacob suddenly released her and shoved his hands in the front
pocket of his black cargo shorts, his eyes moving to stare out into the water
this time. “You don’t trust me.” He muttered hurtfully, sighing. “I don’t blame
you for it, you don’t really know me and I don’t really know you.”
Frowning, Amaya felt guilty as she saw the rejected look on Jacob’s
face and began chewing on her thumbnail nervously. “You really want to know
that badly?” She finally asked, deciding maybe it was time she should talk to
someone about her sister, having bottled all of her feelings up inside for so
long. “Dasher?”
A smirk slowly curved his soft red lips as Jacob slowly looked
up, walking toward her. “Yeah spitfire, I wanna know what’s bothering you. I want you to trust me enough to tell me
anything that’s on your beautiful mind.” He reached out to run a finger down
her cheek, a tear landing on it. “Talk to me.”
“Alright, I want to sit down though.” Amaya didn’t care about
the sand and sat where they stood, burying her toes in the sand, loving the
feeling of it squishing between her toes.
Jacob sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and
Amaya leaned against him, needing warmth more than anything. “My sister is
sick.”
Jacob instantly felt his throat tighten at the mention of
Kyrine, feeling his chest constrict a little and tried keeping his breathing
controlled. “What do you mean she’s sick?
She has the flu or something?” From the moment Jacob imprinted on
Kyrine, he could always feel like something was wrong with her, but couldn’t
figure it out.
He was about to get all the answers to his questions.
“I wish.” Amaya coughed out a watery laugh bitterly through
tears, sniffling as more tears fell splashing into the sand. “I would give
anything if it was only the flu. No…what
I mean is she’s sick as in…she’s dying.”
His heart nearly stopped beating for a few seconds as Jacob
stared at Amaya, wondering if this was some kind of sick joke, breathing a
little heavier now. “D-Dying?” He stammered out, looking away from her to stare
down at the sand, having his knees belt up so he could rest his elbows on them,
blinking repeatedly. “I don’t understand, Amaya. Please make me understand, explain to me what
you mean.” Every part of Jacob’s insides felt as though they were currently
being torn to shreds, especially his heart.
“She has congestive heart failure.” Amaya stated, closing her
eyes tightly shut, her voice cracking. “She’s had it since she was six and she
needs a new heart…or she will die.”
“Have they found one for her?” He quietly asked, afraid if he
raised his voice any higher it would crack under pressure.
Amaya sniffled a little and wiped her nose on her dress sleeve,
honestly not caring if she ruined it or not. “Yes they have, that’s why we
moved here from Miami. The problem is
the donor is on life support because their family is currently overseas…or
what’s left of their family…and they’re the only ones who can officially give
the word to pull the plug. The donor’s
heart will go to Kyrine, but she’s running out of time. So tomorrow, she’s going in for a
life-threatening surgery to hopefully give her heart a much needed rest and
time to wait for the transplant. She
might not make it off the operating table alive, it’s going to depend on if her
heart can handle it.”
This was a lot to process and Jacob was aching from the top of
his head to the tip of his toes, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could
do to help Kyrine. “I don’t know what to say right now, Amaya.” He murmured,
raking a hand through his hair and didn’t dare look up at his girlfriend, so
much pain flowing through his dark eyes.
His imprint was going under the knife and Jacob couldn’t even be
there to say goodbye because Kyrine had no idea about the imprinting or what
was going on. She could die and would
never know he was her soul mate, the one she truly belonged with, instead of an
ice cold corpse. Jacob suddenly felt the
anger rushing through every part of his body and stood up from the sand,
backing away from Amaya. When Amaya
stood up as well to follow him, her bloodshot violet eyes wide, Jacob held his
trembling hand up as his teeth gnashed together violently.
“STAY BACK, AMAYA!” He roared, gripping his hair between his
fingers, knowing he couldn’t even escape into the woods out of sight because
the urge was too strong.
A scream echoed throughout the night as Amaya witnessed Jacob
leap high into the air and exploded into one big ball of russet colored fur,
landing on all fours in front of her in the sand, before letting out a
pain-filled agonizing howl.
~!~
The night before Kyrine’s surgery arrived faster than anyone
wanted.
Kyrine wasn’t feeling well after being poked and prodded all day
at the hospital or the fact she had to be at the hospital at seven AM for
preparation. She was scared about her surgery,
but also trusted Doctor Cullen, who had assured her everything was going to be
fine and he’d do everything in his power to make sure she survived. All Kyrine could think about the entire day
was what if she didn’t make it, what if her heart wasn’t strong enough or a
complication arose during the procedure.
There were so many things Kyrine wanted to do before she died
and hadn’t done nearly half of them.
Emmett had made her promise to spend the night before her
surgery with him, having a few surprises in mind. He wanted this to be the most special
memorable night that Kyrine would soon never forget, knowing this could be her
last night alive. He trusted Carlisle
and had faith in the man’s medical abilities, but there was always that chance
Emmett would never stare into her beautiful blue eyes.
He wasn’t taking any chances.
He showed up just after six o’clock and waited outside of her
bedroom window, knowing Kyrine was sneaking out because Amaya had already left
around five to meet her boyfriend.
Kyrine was finishing getting ready, wearing a simple light blue dress
that had long sleeves and went down to her knees with a V shaped neckline, her
hair down. She had no makeup on her face
and looked pale, hoping Emmett wasn’t appalled.
There was no reason to hide her sickness because the Cullen’s knew
everything, glad they hadn’t said anything at school about it.
A gentle tap sounded at Kyrine’s window, her head snapping up
from the vanity mirror and blinked at the sight of Emmett outside her window. It was a good thing her parents were
downstairs and her bedroom door was closed or this would’ve been awkward to say
the least. She still hadn’t told them
about Emmett and wanted to keep it that way, which is the only reason why
Kyrine had agreed to go out with Emmett on the night before her surgery. Walking over, Kyrine slid the window open and
cracked a small smile at Emmett’s handsome face, leaning over to softly kiss
his lips.
“Ready to go, beautiful?” He asked, not having a problem
climbing the thin tree outside her window, his quick speed and agility in his
favor. “I’ll help you down.”
“Yeah, let me grab my shoes.” She whispered softly and walked
away to slip into her black flats, refusing to be uncomfortable on what could
be her final night alive.
As a last thought, Kyrine grabbed her black sweatshirt and
slipped it on, turning her light off before heading over to where Emmett waited
outside her window. Kyrine had already
bid her parents good night, telling them she wasn’t feeling good and wanted to
be well rested for her procedure. They
each hugged her close and told them they loved her, making her promise not to
worry about anything besides her future.
Kyrine agreed and set up her bed to make it look like she was sleeping
in case they checked in on her during the night, knowing she would be out late
with Emmett.
It was Amaya’s idea.
Gently, Emmett pulled Kyrine through the window and let her
close it before leaping down from the tree, landing in the grass with silent
grace. Kyrine had buried her face in his
neck so she didn’t feel hardly anything, looking up when Emmett began carrying
her away from the house into the woods.
She was scared after the attack and tried not to show it, instead snuggling
further against Emmett, actually glad he was carrying her. Kyrine really didn’t have any strength left
and hoped Emmett understood, looking up at him as he smiled down at her.
“So where are we going?” She asked, breaking the silence while
they continued venturing through the woods.
“Somewhere special, just relax and trust me, Ky.” He murmured in
a husky voice, leaning down to talk right in her ear. “I promise, you’ll enjoy
it.”
Kyrine didn’t say anything, wondering if she would ever be able
to enjoy anything ever again, and decided trusting Emmett was all she could
do. She missed Amaya already, wishing
she could’ve spent her final night with her sister. As much as she liked Emmett and enjoyed being
with him, nobody took the place of Amaya, probably never would. Emmett stopped walking after a little while
and cleared his throat, jolting Kyrine out of her thoughts.
“Something on your mind?” He asked, gently setting her down on
her feet and watched as her eyes widened, pleased with his choice.
It was the most beautiful meadow Kyrine ever seen, looking all
around her and inhaled the incredible scent of the flowers that surrounded
them. Kyrine loved nature, which is one
of the main things she fell in love about Forks, along with the rain that always
soothed her in ways Miami couldn’t. Her
energy was suddenly restored as Kyrine slowly moved through the meadow,
touching the colorful flowers and turned around to face her incredible
boyfriend with tears shining in her eyes.
“This is breathtaking, Emmett.” She whispered sincerely, the
small smile now full blown, and allowed him to pull her into his strong arms.
“You’re incredible to do this for me.”
“No, you’re incredible for putting up with me and what I am.”
Emmett replied, pressing his forehead against hers as their lips softly
touched, his arms encircling her waist.
Something suddenly came over Kyrine as she pulled back from the
gentle kiss, taking a few steps back. “Emmett, there’s something I want you to
do for me.” Her voice became a little shaky, nervousness pouring out, but
Kyrine wasn’t changing her mind as she reached behind to slowly unzip her
dress.
“Kyrine…” Emmett felt his breath hitch in his throat as he
watched the blue dress slowly slip down her beautiful body, leaving her clad in
just a matching pair of lace bra and panties.
Kyrine slowly walked toward him, having kicked her flats off and
began slowly unbuttoning his black short sleeved silk shirt, midnight blue eyes
never leaving his, her trembling hands running up the length of his body. “I
love you, Emmett.” She took both of his hands in hers, gently pulling him while
she walked backwards, and pulled his face down their eyes locking. “Please make
love to me tonight.” If this was Kyrine’s last night alive, she wasn’t going to
spend it as a virgin, wanting Emmett more than anything or anyone on the
planet.
Not able to deny this entrancing woman anything, Emmett pulled
her into his arms to lift her up, gently guiding her down into the flowers and
hovered over her as they stared into each other’s eyes. “I love you too,
Kyrine.” He rumbled in a low voice, their lips connecting in a passionate soul
searing kiss as Emmett began slowly undressing the rest of her body, being as
gentle as possible so he didn’t hurt her.
Neither of them noticed the pair of dark rage filled eyes of a
russet wolf, watching as Emmett claimed Kyrine completely for his own.
Chapter 20
At seven AM sharp, Kyrine walked inside the hospital to check
in, Natalie on one side and Amaya on the other, Nicholas following suit.
Kyrine was extremely nervous and looked like she hadn’t gotten
hardly any sleep, glad her parents had chalked it up to being nervous about the
surgery. If they only knew what Kyrine
did and experienced the previous night with Emmett…she immediately pushed those
memories to the back of her mind. It was
definitely a night Kyrine would never forget and would die happily because at
least she got to say and do what she wanted with Emmett.
Amaya didn’t look much better, no makeup on her face, and looked
as if death warmed over. Truth was,
Amaya had bolted screaming in terror from the beach after witnessing her
boyfriend exploding into a giant mutant wolf before her eyes, scaring her
nearly to death. She was lucky her heart
hadn’t stopped and somehow miraculously made it home without crashing her car,
having blurred vision the entire drive from tears.
What the hell was going on in Forks and La Push, Washington?
First Kyrine found out Emmett and the Cullen’s were vampires and
now Amaya’s boyfriend, Jacob, morphed into a gigantic monster that could kill
her with just its jaws! Vampires and
now…werewolves? Amaya definitely didn’t
get any sleep and simply sipped cup after cup of pure black java, needing all
the caffeine she could get to make it through this dreadful day. She refused to not be here for her sister,
even if her eyeballs were red and swollen from getting zero sleep.
Who the hell could after witnessing what Amaya did?
Kyrine noticed the dark circles under her sister’s eyes, but didn’t
ask because she was more concerned about the surgery. She did wonder what was wrong and knew it had
to do with Jacob more than likely.
Kyrine let out a sigh at the thought of him. The guilt had returned tenfold as soon as
Emmett dropped her off the previous night, after their lovemaking, and Kyrine
couldn’t understand what was going on.
She loved Emmett; she hadn’t lied when she said it and during
their lovemaking, all Kyrine could think about was how wonderful his marble
cold skin felt against her. As soon as
Emmett was gone though, Jacob Black entered her mind and the shame nearly
devoured her, feeling as though she’d done something wrong. She was consensual and loved Emmett, who was
her boyfriend, so Kyrine couldn’t figure out why she felt like she just made
the biggest mistake of her life by giving her innocence to Emmett.
Kyrine had no idea that Amaya had already told Jacob about her
illness and the surgery.
As soon as Kyrine fell into a deep sleep, she was back in the
same meadow with all the sweet smelling flowers, laying completely naked in the
grass under the moonlight. Only it
wasn’t Emmett hovering over her, it was Jacob and Kyrine hadn’t fought him off,
giving herself completely to him in every way possible. It felt incredibly real; every thrust,
caress, touch and kiss more intense than it had been with Emmett, especially
when Jacob whispered in her ear she belonged to him.
Kyrine woke up trembling from head to toe with wide tear-filled
eyes, breathing heavily. The power of
the dream alone shook her to the core and Kyrine knew these dreams were getting
out of control. They were more erotic
and passionate than the next, but now Kyrine was dreaming about having sex with
Jacob in the same exact spot Emmett had brought her and taken her
virginity. It was border lining
invasion, but Kyrine couldn’t stop her subconscious from conjuring up Jacob.
In a very weird way, Kyrine felt like she cheated on Emmett with
that dream.
“Darling, are you alright?” Natalie asked, jolting her daughter
out of her thoughts, watching her slightly jump.
“Y-Yeah I’m fine, Mom.”
“I know you’re nervous, but there’s nothing to worry about.”
Natalie assured her softly, keeping an encouraging smile on her face, trying to
stay strong. “You’re in great hands with Doctor Cullen.”
“I know.” If only her mother knew what Kyrine was thinking
about, Natalie probably would’ve had a heart attack.
Something else was bothering Kyrine and it bothered Natalie that
her daughter wasn’t coming clean with her, wondering what it could be. She decided to let it go because the last
thing she wanted to do was upset Kyrine before her surgery. Today was all about Kyrine and Natalie had
made sure nobody at the high school knew about what was going on with her
daughter, not having a clue about Kyrine telling the Cullen’s.
“Kyrine McTavian?”
Closing her eyes for a second, Kyrine knew this was it and
nodded, slowly standing up while Amaya clutched her hand. Kyrine could already feel the tears burning
the back of her eyes and knew Amaya was trying to keep it together, but that
didn’t stop the tears from forming. The
girls embraced tightly as they let the tears flow, more Kyrine than Amaya,
knowing this could be the final time they did this and Kyrine wouldn’t go under
the knife without saying goodbye.
“What am I going to do without you, Kyrie?” Amaya whispered,
trembling slightly, not wanting her to let Kyrine go for anything.
“You’ll move on.” Kyrine pulled back to stare into Amaya’s eyes,
wiping the tears away from Amaya’s cheeks, smiling bravely. “Whatever happens,
promise me you will move on and live your life to the fullest. Promise me, Maya.”
Amaya frowned, gritting her teeth because she hated it when
Kyrine tried saying goodbye. “How can you expect me to make a promise like
that?” She grunted harshly, lowering her eyes.
“Because if it was you going in there to be cut open, I would
want you to do the same thing. We all
can’t live forever. So if this is my
time, then I can’t go without knowing you’ll be alright.” Kyrine wiped her own
tears away, looking back at her parents, who were waiting patiently along with
the nurse. “Promise me or I’m not going in there.”
“Goddamn you.” Amaya felt more tears slide down her cheeks and
pulled Kyrine against her for one last embrace, swallowing hard. “I…promise.”
She reluctantly stated, pulling back again and tapped Kyrine’s nose with the
tip of her finger. “I’ll see you when you wake up.”
‘Or on the other side.’ Kyrine added in thought, nodding,
refusing to give up hope that she would survive this before finally joining her
parents and the nurse. Before she fully
walked through the door, Kyrine looked back at her sister, blowing a kiss. ‘I
love you, Maya.’ She mouthed, the door closing behind her.
Amaya dropped back down in the chair of the waiting room,
knowing she wasn’t allowed back there, and buried her head in her hands. “I
love you too, Kyrie.” The tears didn’t stop flowing as Amaya curled up in the
chair, ignoring everyone else and ignored her cell phone vibrating with text
messages.
Nothing else mattered right now.
~!~
Jacob raced through the woods at top speed, snarling and
growling at anything that got in his way, even trees. His anger level was maxed out and he’d been
phased since the night before when he scared the hell out of Amaya. He knew Sam was going to be livid with him,
but Jacob honestly didn’t care, the wind ripping through his fur only angering
him further. Between finding out that
his imprint was dying and then actually watching as she willingly gave her
body, everything, to a bloodsucker was more than Jacob could handle.
He was at the breaking point.
Kyrine’s moans still filtered through his mind as images of
Emmett pulling her up to thrust deeper inside of her joined them. The way her body arched and moved in rhythm
with the dead man, the sweat glistening on her skin every time Emmett switched
positions to fulfill every one of Kyrine’s desires. It was enough to make Jacob sick because it
should’ve been him instead of Emmett making love to her in that meadow.
He hadn’t been able to leave, almost if his paws had been
cemented to the ground, feeling his heart being shredded repeatedly every time
his imprint moaned out the bloodsucker’s name.
Jacob could hear every single word they said to each other, the word
love pouring out of Kyrine’s mouth as she professed to Emmett, just hurt him
more. It was only after Kyrine released
and their sexual escapade ended that Jacob finally left, wanting to make sure
the bloodsucker hadn’t hurt her, though he had left bruises on her skin.
Jacob wanted to rip Emmett Cullen apart, just like he’d done to
other bloodsucker that almost attacked Kyrine, but knew he couldn’t.
The more he thought about it, the more rage filled him and Jacob
knew he had to find some way to break the imprint, knowing it was
impossible. The pull was too powerful
and Jacob knew Kyrine felt it too, even though she tried denying it repeatedly. The connection was simply too strong, which
is why Kyrine was losing control over her subconscious, forcing her to face the
truth. He stood outside her window night
after night, hearing her questioning herself about why she was dreaming of her
sister’s boyfriend. Why she was thinking
about him instead of Emmett.
It was really quite simple: She didn’t belong with the
bloodsucker and never would.
Jacob.
He was tempted to ignore Sam, just wanting to run as much and
fast as possible, trying to get his rage under control. What Sam? Now isn’t a good time.
Just the sound of his voice told Sam Jacob was angry about something, which
is why he hadn’t been able to phase back into human form since the night
before.
Make it a good
time, we have things to discuss and you need to calm down so you can phase
back. Sam ordered in his alpha tone,
knowing the command would automatically calm Jacob down enough.
The bonfire had been cancelled as soon as the pack overheard a
scream resonate from the beach, but when they arrived, Amaya had fled the scene
and driven back to Forks. Sam knew it
was Amaya because he witnessed Jacob phasing in front of her, having been sent
by Emily to retrieve them for dinner. He
stayed back and listened to the conversation about Amaya’s sister Kyrine,
cringing because Jacob finally came clean to him about imprinting on her.
If Sam had found out about Emily the way Jacob had about Kyrine,
he honestly didn’t know what his own reaction would be, so he wasn’t exactly
angry with Jacob. It was the fact that
Jacob had lost control in front of Amaya and could’ve potentially hurt her by
phasing as close as he did. He didn’t
want Jacob going through the same guilt and pain that Sam did on a daily basis,
even though Amaya wasn’t his imprint.
She was still his girlfriend though, a human being, and the pack had
vowed to protect ALL humans no matter the circumstances.
There was also something else bothering Jacob and fueling his
anger, which is what Sam wanted to get to the bottom of because their
communication wasn’t as good as it used to be.
If Jacob wanted to hide anything from the pack, he could do it by
putting up walls around his mind, because he left the tribe at one point to
defend the bloodsuckers because of Bella.
To the Quileute ancestors, whenever a member left the tribe of their own
free will, they were considered their own alpha and had betrayed the pack in a
way.
Growling, Jacob knew he had no choice except to respond to Sam’s
order, already feeling the anger diminishing from his body. He kept running through the woods, heading
toward Emily’s, knowing that’s where Sam was waiting for him. Stopping just outside of the house, Jacob
closed his eyes and felt his body return to its normal state, looking down to
find a pair of cargo shorts waiting for him.
Sighing, Jacob slipped them on before walking out of the woods, his lips
formed in one fine grim line, shoulders squared as he approached the front
porch where Sam was waiting for him.
“You did that faster than I expected.” Sam commented, standing
up from the porch swing he installed for Emily, opening the screen door. “Come
in.”
Jacob did as he was told and followed Sam inside, the smell of
food filling his nose, feeling his stomach rumble because he hadn’t ate since
yesterday afternoon. He knew what Sam
wanted to talk about and Jacob wasn’t sure if he could, sitting down at the
table, his eyes refusing to meet Sam’s.
Being angry at Kyrine was irrational and Jacob knew it because he hadn’t
gotten up the courage to tell her about the imprint yet, but he couldn’t help
feeling betrayed by her.
“What’s up, Sam?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Sam retorted, sitting down across from
Jacob with his arms folded in front of his chest. “I’m not angry at you for
phasing in front of Amaya, even though you already know it was very
irresponsible and dangerous to do it so close to her. I know finding out about Kyrine…” He watched
the anger flash through Jacob’s dark eyes, confusion registering in his own.
“You’re mad at Kyrine I take it?”
Jacob clenched his jaw tightly while gritting his teeth, a
flashback of Kyrine and Emmett together entering his mind. “Stupid BITCH!!” He
suddenly lost control and stood up, flipping the table over as the food that
was on it flew all over the place that Emily worked so hard to make.
“What the hell?” Emily cried, rushing out of the kitchen and
immediately stopped when Sam threw his hand up, standing in front of her.
“Stay back, Emily.” He ordered in a low voice, seeing just how
much rage Jacob currently had and knew this wasn’t a good idea to order him
over. “Jacob isn’t in the right frame of mind right now.”
Emily had never seen Jacob like this and watched as he punched a
hole right through their wall next, jumping at the rippling growl that tore out
of his mouth. She was terrified of him,
always thinking Jacob was one of the sweetest and calmest pack members, but
obviously she was wrong. Sam could feel
her trembling and pushed her back a little more into the kitchen, still
blocking her from view in case Jacob lost all sense of control and lashed out
at him, bracing himself for it.
“Jacob, calm down now!” Sam once again used his alpha voice, not
believing just the mention of Kyrine had set Jacob off in a frenzied rage like
this. “CALM DOWN!!”
“NO!!” Jacob knew he could block the alpha voice if he truly wanted
to and his rage was doing just that, not caring that his hand was bleeding or
the fact he was tearing Sam and Emily’s house apart. He didn’t care. “DON’T FUCKING TELLING ME TO
CALM DOWN, SAM!! WOULD YOU CALM DOWN IF
YOU SAW YOUR IMPRINT HAVE HER VIRGINITY STOLEN BY A BLOODSUCKER? WOULD YOU CALM DOWN IF YOU HEARD YOUR IMPRINT
MOAN OUT A DEAD MAN’S NAME WHILE HE FUCKED HER RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? WOULD YOU?!” He bellowed, not caring who
heard him anymore because the secret was out anyway. “GODDAMN IT, KYRINE!!!”
Ripping the screen door right off its hinges, Jacob tossed it
out of his way as he stormed out on the porch, already feeling the fire course
through his body, knowing he was going to phase again. Sam and Emily both looked at each other in
stunned silence and could only watch as a rage and pain-filled Jacob Black
phased right back into wolf form, tearing through the woods away from their
house. Emily immediately stepped away
from Sam as tears slid down her cheeks, bending down to begin cleaning up the
wreckage that Jacob caused, only for Sam to stop her.
“Go upstairs while I clean this up.” It was Sam’s fault for not
realizing just how angry Jacob was and ordering him over, so it was his
responsibility to clean up his pack member’s mess not hers. “Please.”
Emily kissed Sam softly on the lips before doing as he asked,
heading upstairs to take a soothing bath, completely shaken up by Jacob’s
explosion.
Chapter 21
Alice and Jasper could only watch as Emmett stared out the
window of his bedroom, knowing he was worried for Kyrine. Carlisle still hadn’t called them with an
update and it’d been hours, having promised to do so just as soon as the
surgery was over. Alice felt terrible
because she had a vision the previous night, a vision she still hadn’t told
Emmett about. The only person she’d told
was Jasper and he definitely suggested for her to wait until after they
received the call from Carlisle before telling Emmett about it.
Emmett was going out of his mind with worry, not believing he
agreed to stay away from the hospital until the surgery was completed. Kyrine had asked him to because of her
parents not knowing about their relationship.
He was fed up with hiding and sneaking around, deciding once he got the
call from Carlisle telling him Kyrine had survived the surgery, he was going up
there to see her.
Consequences be damned.
“Jazz, what am I going to do?” Alice whispered, looking up at
the love of her life, wishing he had the answers. “I do not want to hurt
him. He’s been through enough.”
Jasper sighed, using his pathokinesis ability to keep both Alice
and Emmett calm, though neither knew it. “We’ll figure it out, Alice.” He
whispered, suddenly having an idea and pulled her further away from the
doorway, not wanting Emmett to overhear them. “What if we went to Edward about
this?”
Alice blinked, her eyes widening slightly. “Have you lost your
mind, Jazz? Do you remember the last
time those two were in the same room together?” She demanded quietly, wondering
if Jasper was thinking clearly.
“Emmett needs family right now and it is time for them to make
amends.” He was already heading downstairs, having his mind made up, knowing
Bella could convince Edward to do just about anything. “Besides, Edward can
read thoughts and if anyone can break the news to Emmett about what’s going on,
it’s him.”
As much as Alice didn’t want to agree with Jasper, she couldn’t
stop nodding her head reluctantly. “We have to hurry. Carlisle could call at any minute and I want to
be here when Emmett receives the news.” She hoped for the best, but was always
prepared for the worst, especially with the current vision she had.
Bella was surprised when Jasper and Alice showed up at her front
door, having kept their distance ever since the explosion between Edward and
Emmett transpired. “Hey you guys…” She looked behind her when Renesmee walked
in, a huge smile crossing her beautiful face as she ran right into Alice’s
arms.
Alice smiled, lifting Renesmee up with ease and kissed her
forehead. “Hey Nessie.” She set the little girl down and immediately followed
her into the small living room of the cottage, stopping short at the sight of
Edward.
“I know why you’re here.” Edward hadn’t moved from the couch,
reading the local newspaper he picked up while in town earlier, not bothering
to look up at Alice and Jasper. “And what makes you think he will listen to
anything I have to say?”
“Because you’re the only one who can make him listen.” Jasper
piped in and walked over to sit beside Edward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“It’s time for this feud to come to an end.
Emmett needs the family right now…the entire family. The worst that can happen is you are rejected,
but at least you’ll have the courage to try instead of simply standing aside.”
Edward sighed, setting the newspaper down on the table and
leaned back against the couch, contemplating what Jasper said. “This will not
be easy for him to hear.” He stated, knowing he couldn’t turn his back on their
family. “I have felt his pain for months until recently. Her name is Kyrine, correct?”
Jasper nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, Kyrine McTavian. I take it you know what’s going on with her?”
He watched Edward nod, the small smile turning into a smirk. “You’ve been
spying.”
“Somewhat.” Edward smirked, shrugging nonchalantly and stood up
from the couch with Jasper, knowing the girls vacated so they could talk.
“Bella knows something has been going on, but I’ve kept it from her and
Renesmee.” The guilt hadn’t been easy to cope with, but Edward didn’t want
Bella rushing over to the glass house without knowing the full story first.
“Bella has a tendency to…”
“Overreact?”
Edward chuckled, clapping Jasper gently on the back.
“Precisely.”
“And what do I overreact to exactly, Edward?” Bella overheard
the end of their conversation, folding her arms in front of her chest, tilting
her head slightly with narrowed golden eyes.
Edward instantly lowered his head, knowing he put his foot in
his mouth, though the smirk never left his face. “Nothing, Bella love.”
“Uh huh right.” Bella knew what he meant by her overreacting at
times, but that was only because she followed her gut instincts. Sometimes it paid off, sometimes it didn’t.
“So I take it we’re going to see the family?”
Edward knew Bella was brushing what he said off for the time
being and nodded, knowing they had more important things to worry about at the
moment. “Yes.”
He also had overheard some of Jacob’s thoughts as well whenever he
was nearby the treaty line that separated the forest between Forks and La
Push. Again, Edward didn’t want to upset
Bella and kept it to himself. Jacob’s
thoughts were disturbing, especially when it came to Kyrine and Edward knew
about the imprint, wondering why Jacob hadn’t told Kyrine about it.
He figured it was due to her being with Emmett, but Jacob was
never that noble when it came to Bella back when he fought tooth and nail for
her against Edward and she wasn’t even Jacob’s imprint. There was another woman in Jacob’s mind
besides Kyrine and Edward had delved further in, finding out her name was
Amaya. He assumed she was his
girlfriend, but that was until Edward found out Amaya and Kyrine were sisters.
Jacob was dating his imprint’s sister.
“Father, you are troubled.” Renesmee stated as she looked up at
him, walking through the forest toward her grandparent’s house.
“I’m fine, Nessie.” He murmured softly, glancing over at Bella
and hoped she wouldn’t stay mad at him for too long.
They arrived at the Cullen house within minutes, walking inside
and Esme had just came downstairs, stopping at the sight of Edward, Bella and
Renesmee with Alice and Jasper. “Oh my!” She ran to Edward first, hugging him
tightly before embracing Bella, finally moving to Renesmee with a bright smile.
“It’s so good seeing all of you! What
are you doing here?”
“I was just about to ask the same question.”
Everyone except Edward cringed at the unmistakable voice of
Emmett, only because he could hear Emmett’s thoughts when approaching. “Good
evening, Emmett.” Edward greeted cordially, nodding his head once and knew
Jasper was already using his gift, along with Bella.
Bella’s ability was a mental shield, which was a power that
blocked any and all kinds of other powers acting on the mind, not necessarily
malevolent ones. Her mind was
impenetrable; no one could read her thoughts unless she allowed it. She could shield herself from all types of psychic
attacks and learned to shield those around her.
It definitely came in handy when the Volturi came to investigate
Renesmee because she could block out Jane, who was the most dangerous Volturi
member. Currently, she was shielding
Edward from Jasper’s gift because if Emmett did attack, she didn’t want Edward
calm, remembering what happened last time.
“Hey Ed.”
Emmett slowly walked downstairs past Esme, placing a hand on her
shoulder to let her know he wasn’t going to lash out, finally standing right in
front of Edward. Each man sized each
other up silently, both of them wondering if the other would attack and Emmett
finally extended his hand. Edward
instantly read Emmett’s mind, wanting to make sure this wasn’t a trap and
accepted after reaching the conclusion Emmett was being sincere, his own way of
apologizing. They were brothers, if not
closer, having lived with their existence for decades and centuries.
Everyone around them breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“Was that Carlisle on the phone?” Esme asked hopefully, breaking
the moment.
“He called already?” Alice demanded, trying to keep the panic
out of her voice and watched Emmett nod. “W-What did he say?”
Emmett didn’t look upset, which was a very good sign, but Alice
was still holding out for the absolute worse. “She made it through the surgery
and is in the ICU right now.” He notified, walking into the living room to sit
down, putting his head in his hands. “She’s still alive…that’s all that
matters.”
Alice really hated herself for what she was about to do, looking
at Edward for help and felt Jasper’s arm wrap around her shoulders as Edward
sat down beside Emmett. “Emmett, there is something we need to discuss.” He
watched as Emmett slowly pulled his head out of his hands, their golden eyes
locking.
“What’s going on, Edward?” Emmett demanded, looking up at Alice
and Jasper, slowly standing up from the couch as his stomach tightened a
little.
“It’s about Kyrine…”
Just as Alice said that, the phone rang.
~!~
How were they supposed to tell her?
The McTavian’s still couldn’t believe the news as they rushed to
the hospital to see their daughter.
Amaya was still at school and Natalie sent her a quick text telling her
to get to the hospital as soon as she could.
Kyrine’s surgery had been successful, after a minor complication dealing
with her heart, but it wasn’t life-threatening and Doctor Cullen pulled her
through without much difficulty.
It seemed as though the McTavian family couldn’t catch a break,
no matter how good of news came their way, feeling as though a cloud always
hovered over them. Natalie couldn’t stop
crying the entire way while Nicholas drove, her heart breaking from what Doctor
Cullen told them. Nicholas couldn’t
believe it either, having left an important office meeting to rush home to his
hysterical wife, trying to comfort her any way he could.
Even though he was trying to stay strong for his family,
Nicholas wanted to crumble just like his wife.
Nicholas pulled into the hospital parking lot fifteen minutes
later, both of them getting out just as Natalie received a text from
Amaya. She was on her way, having told
the principal something happened at home and she had to leave immediately. Apparently, Natalie didn’t have cell service
for nearly the whole drive because when they both stepped out of the car, Amaya
was waiting for them, rushing across the parking lot worriedly.
“What’s wrong with Kyrie?” She demanded, breathing a little
heavily and watched as Natalie broke down in Nicholas’s arms again. “Oh god
no…NO!!”
“Amaya, wait!!” Nicholas called, but the girl wasn’t listening
to him, knowing he couldn’t go after her with Natalie in this current state.
Tears streamed down Amaya’s face as she raced across the street
and into the hospital, her heart pounding vigorously. Kyrine wasn’t dead…she COULDN’T be
dead!! She was stronger than that! Amaya didn’t stop running through the
hospital hallways, knowing exactly where Kyrine’s room, and ignored anyone who
told her to slow down as tears flew behind her.
Amaya skidded to a halt just outside Kyrine’s room and looked
through the small window on the door, pushing it open slowly as more tears
fell. She hadn’t cried at school, even
though she desperately wanted to because of everything that happened lately. Between Kyrine’s surgery and finding out Jacob
was a mutant wolf, Amaya was at her breaking point, but all that mattered at
the moment was Kyrine. She lay prone in
the hospital bed still intubated, which helped her breathe, since she couldn’t
do it on her own.
Walking over, Amaya took Kyrine’s hand gently in hers, wondering
why Natalie was breaking down in the parking lot in her husband’s arms. They obviously knew something she didn’t and
Amaya couldn’t figure out what it was, looking up at the monitor to make sure
Kyrine’s heart still beat with life. Or
rather the LVAD was doing most of the work, giving her heart the break it
needed, her circulation already better because the hand she held was warm. Kyrine had always had cold hands, so that had
to be a good sign that she wasn’t dead, right?
“What’s wrong with her?” Amaya asked as soon as the door opened,
not even looking to see who it was because Natalie’s sniffling was enough. “Her
hand is warm and everything seems to be working fine, so why are you acting like
she’s dying?”
Nicholas could feel the tears burn his eyes and kept holding
Natalie, who currently had Kyrine’s other hand in her own. “Doctor Cullen will
be in shortly to tell us.” He couldn’t tell Amaya, knowing hearing it from
Carlisle would make it more realistic.
“No, you’re going to tell me now.” Amaya ordered, her violet
eyes flashing up at Nicholas, pursing her lips tightly together. “What the fuck
is wrong with her?”
“Watch your mouth, Amaya.” Natalie quietly reprimanded, though
she had absolutely no strength or force behind it, too busy worrying about her
little girl.
Before Amaya could respond, Doctor Cullen walked in at that
moment with a chart in hand, trying to find it in him to smile at the
family. This news was not something he
wanted to tell the McTavian’s, not after they put their full trust and faith
into him, but what happened was completely out of his hands. He had no control over the circumstances and
hoped the family understood, especially Amaya, knowing she was the closest with
Kyrine.
“I’m assuming you haven’t told her what I told you over the
phone?” Doctor Cullen asked in a soft quiet voice, watching as the McTavian’s
slowly shook their head.
“It’ll be easier if you tell her. She’ll think we’re lying or something…” Nicholas
hoped the doctor understood and watched as Doctor Cullen nodded attentively.
Personally, Carlisle thought the McTavian’s should’ve broken
this news to Amaya themselves, but he wasn’t about to argue with what they
wanted. “Amaya, the surgery went smoothly as I said and there’s nothing wrong
with her right now.” He wanted to start out with telling her something
positive, watching as those violet eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sensing a but somewhere in this explanation otherwise you
wouldn’t look as morose as you do.” Amaya stated, looking back at her sister
and felt a few more tears slide down her cheeks. “What’s wrong with her?” It
was a mere whisper filled with heartbreak and sadness, not pulling her eyes
away from Kyrine.
“There’s a very big chance that we’re going to have to insert an
RVAD as well because…” Carlisle was having a hard time saying this, Emmett’s
roar of anger and pain still echoing in his mind. “We have to find her another
heart.”
Amaya’s head snapped up the same time she stood from the chair,
staring at the doctor with wide eyes. “What?
What do you mean you have to find her another heart?” Her breathing
became labored a little, covering her mouth with her hand as the realization
crashed over her. “The donor…”
Carlisle nodded regretfully. “The donor passed away during her
surgery and Kyrine’s heart is gone. I’m
sorry.”
Alice’s vision had become a reality.
Chapter 22
Distraction.
That’s all Amaya needed and finally answered Jacob’s text
message after a straight week of no contact.
She refused to talk or see him after the episode at the beach, not
answering his text messages or anything.
Still, Jacob sent her at least one text message a day asking how she was
doing and when she wanted to talk, he would be waiting for her. Amaya thought that was incredibly sweet and
decided Jacob deserved a chance to explain what happened on the beach.
Kyrine was dating a vampire and now Amaya had found out she was
dating a werewolf or whatever Jacob was.
When Jacob received a text from Amaya saying she wanted to talk,
he couldn’t have been happier, knowing he could get information about
Kyrine. His anger had simmered for the
time being, especially after his explosion at Emily and Sam’s. Jacob still hadn’t shown his face around
there, feeling ashamed for the damage he caused and hoped he could somehow make
it right.
In fact, Sam had taken Jacob off of patrol because he wasn’t in
the right frame of mind. Also, Jacob was
banned from Emily and Sam’s until further notice because Sam didn’t trust
Jacob’s temper around his imprint, which the entire pack understood. Even Jacob did; he would’ve done the same
thing if he was in Sam’s shoes so he wasn’t angry or resentful toward them.
Amaya agreed to meet him at his house in La Push, which would
definitely be a first for her, after school that day. Kyrine was still in a coma, but Doctor Cullen
kept assuring them it was normal after major open heart surgery. She had no idea what was going to happen once
Kyrine finally did wake up and find out her heart was gone. She would have to wait for a chance at
another one while trying to keep her current heart beating in the
meantime.
That would require an RVAD to be inserted so both sides of her
heart were working at the same pace and Amaya knew Kyrine probably wouldn’t do
it. She knew her sister was tired of
fighting and it would take a lot of convincing on everyone’s part to make her
go through yet another open heart surgery.
Amaya didn’t see it happening and could already feel the tears burn her
eyes as she walked into Forks High School, sighing when Emmett walked up to
her.
“I’m not in the mood, Emmy.” She grunted, trying to sidestep
him, but it wasn’t happening. “What do you want?”
“I want to see her.” Emmett stated, having arrived at school
early just so he could purposefully run into Kyrine’s sister. “I’m tired of
hiding our relationship and I need to be there for her when she wakes up. I’m going after school, I just thought you
should know.”
Amaya knew this was coming eventually and simply nodded, rubbing
her temples. “I already told the rents about you.” She confessed in a softer
voice, the edge gone for now. “They didn’t freak out or anything, Natalie knew
something was up with us and when I told her you were Carlisle Cullen’s son,
she didn’t even put up a fight. Do you
know what’s going on with Kyrine?”
Emmett nodded solemnly, the sadness creeping into his gold eyes.
“Yes, that’s why I want to see her.” Of course he knew, Carlisle wouldn’t dare
keep something this grave about Kyrine from him. “I need to see her and I’ve
already asked Carlisle’s permission.”
“Then why are you even telling me this?” Amaya shot back
impatiently. “Were you afraid I would say you couldn’t see her or something?”
Emmett wasn’t sure, but felt it necessary to inform Amaya on
what he was going to do, clearing his throat. “No, but you have been covering
for us and I didn’t know you’d already told your parents about our
relationship.” He didn’t want to take anyone by surprise.
“By all means, go see her.
It might do her some good, though she hasn’t woke up yet.” Amaya walked
away from him just as the final bell rang, cursing, knowing she was going to be
late for class because of Emmett.