Fever

I was in the midst of lugging my overstuffed shoulder bag to the front door when my dad’s voice called me into the living room. The first thing that came to me was that he was going to lecture me about going out on my own, but then I realised that he probably didn’t even know how to lecture properly – that was my mom’s job. He was still sitting in his recliner, but instead of sitting in a relaxed position, he sat perched on the edge of the chair.

“Come here for a second, kiddo,” he patted the arm , “I want you to watch something.”

I turned towards the television, slowly lowering myself to sit next to my father. The town’s only news reporter was standing against the silhouette of the forest and bright yellow police tape that cut it in half. A small crowd was gathered behind her, and almost all of the police force was standing behind the tape, faces hard and morose.

“...have no leads yet, but their best guess is that this was the work of poachers or another predator of the forest, more powerful than these native brown bears. Officials say that more have been found in the same way – brutally slaughtered – and now we wonder this: what will happen once the bears are gone? Are the townspeople of Forks next?”

“I don’t like repeating myself, but I want you to stay out of the forest. There are no reasons for you to be wandering in there, especially if bears can’t even defend themselves,” my dad warned me.

“Don’t worry about me,” I smiled reassuringly at him, “you know I’m terrified of that place anyway.”

“Promise me, kid,” he raised his brows, “at least then I can sleep at night.”

“I promise, but you know that you’re still going to toss and turn. Especially if there’s some rabid mountain lion out there, slaying bears.”

I tried to make my words come out humorous, but the lasting words resounded in a dark, scary way that was slowly evolving into a worry. Bears were large animals, and it took a lot to take one down. But almost all the bears in the forest, all being slain horrifically? I swallowed that worry that was creeping up, and turned back to my father with a smile.

“I’m going to Seattle, anyway. I won’t be anywhere close to these trees in an hour or so.”

He let up a bit and gave into a small, momentary smile, “Very true.”

I glanced back at the footage on the news, watching as they showed stills of the crime scene. The reporter was interviewing one of the officers, but I tuned out their voices as I stared at the looming forest behind them, swaying with the wind. I had a feeling that was bubbling and churning in the pit of my stomach that I couldn’t pinpoint. But the trees and the footage left me with a feeling that something wasn’t right. Even that mysterious man in the forest had told me the forest wasn’t safe. What if there was something else going on that was far bigger than me? What it-

A horn blast disrupted my train of thought, and for a moment I lost my bearings. The horn blasted two more times in urgency, and I realised that Jasmine had come. I hooked an arm around my dad’s shoulders and pecked him on the top of his head.

“I’ll see you later Dad.”

“Have fun, be safe, spend your money wisely,” he ordered, “and make sure you call your mother after you check into the hotel.”

“Dad, really?” I groaned, picking up my things.

“She’s letting you go to Seattle, isn’t she?” he stood up.

“Fine, I’ll give her a call. See you tomorrow!”

I pulled open the front door and hurried out to see Jasmine leaning out of the driver’s side window, “Hurry up, girl! We haven’t got all day!”

“I’m coming!” I laughed, jogging over to passenger side.

I looked back to the doorway to see my dad standing in the opening, leaning against the frame. It was strange to have my dad see me off, especially when it was usually my mother screaming out final orders one last time. I was thankful for her Saturday morning book club meetings, and her tendency to waste her time chatting up the neighbours. I gave him one last wave before I slid into the seat, and closed the door behind me.

“Are you ready?” Jasmine asked with a sly grin on her face.

“I think so,” I nodded, “I think I can do this.”

“Do you want some pointers?”

I blushed, “No, I think I can do it myself. All I have to do is aim, right?”

She laughed loudly, “Not quite, you have to make sure you’re not stiff as a board. Otherwise, it’s like
you’re kissing a corpse.”

“I really didn’t need that image.”

She sped up, and took the road that would lead us to La Push beach where Jacob said he would meet me. My stomach was a mess, twisting and turning for multiple reasons. But in that moment with Jasmine trying to give me last minute pointers, I forgot about the bears and my parents, and I even forgot about Seattle. I just focused on the moment that I was set on having this afternoon.

“Remember, it takes at least two hours to get there. So we have to meet back here at four. Got it?” Jasmine said as the trees began to open up, and the gravel parking lot appeared, along with a familiar figure. “Kayla?”

“Oh – yeah, I understand,” I laughed sheepishly. “Four o’clock, on the dot.”

“It’s not my ass that’s going to get fried if we get caught.”

“Four o’clock, I got it.”

She pulled the car to a halt, her familiar smile stretching across her face, “Just remember to pucker, and don’t go in too hard. Nice and light for the first time.”

“Goodbye,” I laughed as I stepped out onto the gravel.

Jacob approached the car with his hands tucked into his torn jeans, with his trademark smirk draped over his features. I felt my heart skip a beat. Not because of his smile, or how breathtaking he was, but because of his eyes and how their sole focus was on me.

“Hi Jacob,” Jasmine called over the passenger seat.

“Jasmine,” he nodded.

“I want you kids to keep it PG, and I’ll see you back here at-“

“Four, yes, we know,” I groaned, “now get out of here!”

“What time, Kay?”

“Four.”

I slammed the door closed and waited until she pulled away before I turned fully to Jacob. I was huddled in a scarf and jacket, while he was standing there in only a tee and pants. I decided not to question his choice of clothing, and moved onto my next question.

“What are the plans for today?”

“Plans?” he asked with a chuckle. “I don’t know about that.”

“Oh,” I blushed again.

“How about I show you around La Push?” He extended his hand and I took it readily, the glove disguising his unnatural warmth once again.

“I would like that.”