Embrace the Rain

Have you ever had a terrible, awful day where nothing could go right? Have you ever wondered about anything else possibly going wrong on top of your awful day, and then suddenly the sky opens up and it pours?

Me too.

***

“You tell me the car’s been having problems now?” My voice echoes off the small interior of the truck. The man in the driver’s seat throws a rude glare my way, most likely because of the volume of my voice. Anger laced every word and I couldn’t help but nearly scream into the phone. “Well thanks so much Eric, no I’m stuck in the middle of no where and have no idea what I’m going to do about the shitty car you lent me!”

Eric, my mother’s wonderfully horrible, boyfriend screamed back a few choice words and I hung up before the driver kicked me out.

“This is your stop,” The chunky driver said rudely. He glared at me and I glared right back. “That means you need to get out. I’ll go unload your car. The towing costs sixty.”

“Sixty!” I yelled outrage. “You took me like two miles from the high way! How can that be worth sixty dollars?”

“It was ten miles and the fact that you nearly blew out my eardrum costs extra. Sorry princess, this is real life,” the driver responded snidely.

“Excuse me? What is that snarky comment supposed to mean?” I questioned after jumping out of the smelly truck. Cigarettes and dirty laundry, that was the smell and I was on the verge of nausea.

The driver just laughed and quickly put in, “It’s cash only by the way, princess.” I quickly pulled out my wallet and looked inside. I had a twenty facing me, plus the credit card my father gave me and I knew not paying this man could result in serious issues. Looking for any escape possible I notices the small photo taped to the dashboard inside the front of the tow truck. How had I not noticed this before? The tattered picture softened my heart and pulled down the wall I built around myself ever so slightly.

I took my small Tiffany heart earrings off. They were a gift from a boyfriend in the past and I had little to no connection to them now. As the bulky man walked back toward me I felt bad about being so mean toward him. He didn’t deserve all I had done, this wasn’t me. “Pay time, princess.”

“Here, I hope these will cover it. Every girl loves earrings. They’ll look very pretty on your girl,” I assured, pointing toward the picture. The driver looked back at the picture as well, and when he turned back around his face held a wry smile, showing off a missing tooth.

“Her birthday’s tomorrow and I wasn’t gonna get my pay check until Thursday, this covers it all,” the wide man answered. I nodded happily and turned to go into the shop when my cell phone went off again.

I picked it up, not bothering to look at the caller i.d.

”Mathia Analeigh where in the hell are you,” my father’s domineering voice shouted through my blackberry. My father, ugh, could I even call him that. He was a horrible man, he cheated on my mother. My mother was no better. The month after their divorce she went and found herself a younger man. I’d never believe for a second you could be happy in this world with another person. Growing up with my parent’s volatile nature left me confused about what love actually is. I was nurtured by nannies and watched by babysitters. No siblings to be seen or heard of. I was alone. My father and mother only cared about money and having an heir to the name, meaning me. Even though I’d never follow in either of their footsteps down the path of cutthroat business.

“I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere father,” I resounded clicking my Jimmy Choos on the ground. A benefit to rich parents was the clothes. My father said that in order to present a good image of him I always had to look my best. With him and my mother, appearance is all that mattered.

“Your grandfather is dead Mathia and all you can do is go gallivanting around. You’re a terrible granddaughter, your lucky he doesn’t have to witness this,” my father’s harsh words cut through. My grandpa was the only person who ever got to know me. I was crushed to learn he had died of a stroke and immediately asked my mother’s boyfriend for a car. Thus I ended up in this situation, tears in my eyes and no one with a tissue.

“Whatever, I’ll get when there when I get there. Goodbye father,” I hung up without waiting for a reply. The tears were going to wreck my makeup, so with the finesse I had mastered over the years, I slipped on my Prada sunglasses.

I quietly pushed on the door to the shop after taking a breath and then walked into another world.

***

“Yeah I get it Paul, you can’t come into work because partying is so important,” the phone held in my hand next to my head was in distress of being crushed.

I, for once in my life, found a place where I could be happy. Paul was ruining this happiness. The day Bella was turned and her baby was born my heart shattered. I couldn’t be a part of that life. It’s like the Bella I loved had died.

This sentiment left me bitter and the only way to bide my time was to work. I finished school early because all I did was catch up on missed assignments, I took courses at the community college near Forks and learned how to run a business in no time flat, and then I created my own auto shop.

I called it Jake’s Place. I built it as a replica to my garage and it was my home away from home, since technically home wasn’t home anymore. Paul moved in with my sister and I moved out to find my own place. It was closer to the outskirts of La Push, nearer to the highway. The place got a lot of business and in the past two years I’d seen all kinds of people walk through my doors.

Yet even with all this success, I was still a hollow man. After Bella’s baby was born, the wolves descended upon the Cullen abode. Seth and I helped petition Bella’s side. Everything was okay, except for the aching in my heart. Then the Volturri showed up and we protected Bella one last time.

That was the last time I ever saw her. The Cullen’s ran to start a new life somewhere dark and dank. I remained in La Push, cradling the last stitch of hope that I could find my perfect girl.

Deep inside me I always knew it couldn’t be her. Not with all the mystical mumbo jumbo going on. Maybe if I had been human and there was no such thing as vampires, but not as it was. There’s someone out there for me. I always imagined this girl would be quiet, sweet, small, and natural. Someone with no ties to material things, someone who would love cars and the woods.

At the moment though, this girl seemed like she would never appear.

The door was pushed open and the cell phone once in my hand, dropped to the ground with a clash. Paul’s incessant hellos were heard and then the dial tone.

The girl who walked in was beyond beautiful. Long, raven hair cascaded down her back and a tiny silhouette was showcased by a designer black dress. Her eyes were covered by expensive looking sunglasses and her feet were clad in even more expensive looking shoes. My eyes gradually drank in her endless tanned legs and then I was back to wondering why she had on sunglasses.

“Hello, my car broke down and was towed here. You can fix it right?” Her voice was snotty, but at the same time it wavered. Like she was putting on a show. The guys around the shop stopped to take a look, she was a rarity around here. A girl who could walk the runway at any given moment wasn’t someone to visit La Push. A couple guys whistled at the mysterious beauty, many just stared. I could feel the heat of jealousy roll over my spine.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, this girl. This girl that tumbled in out of nowhere was my soulmate, my imprint.

“Probably, I’ll take a look,” I replied leading her to the back where Harry had most likely dropped her car off.

“This isn’t going to take all day, is it?” Her tone was still clipped and harsh, it was beginning to get under my skin. “I have places to be and people to meet.”

“Listen, take a seat, shut up and I’ll look at your car,” I ordered. The alpha in me had leaked through and she immediately followed my commands. At first I thought I had won, but then she came back fighting.

“You can’t talk to me like that, I’m a paying customer. I want to speak with your manager,” she hissed getting riled up again. She pulled off her sunglasses in a fluid motion and I was lost in pools of the darkest brown on the face of the Earth. Her eyes held every emotion and it made me lose my breath.

***

The beautiful boy in front of me stopped talking after I pulled off my sunglasses. I feared the worst, maybe my mascara had run and he was humiliated for me.

“I am the manager,” his voice brought chills to my body in all the right ways. His voice was deep, warm like a lullaby. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever come across. His deep russet skin had me yearning to kiss every inch of it, his midnight black cropped hair left me with an urge to run my fingers through it. He was stunning and I was a wreck.

”Well…I,” I was at a complete loss for words when he began to step forward. His large finger tips brushed against my cheek and then he blew on them.

”Eyelash,” he whispered. This was an utter turn around from where we had been only minutes ago. The connection I felt toward him upon entering was only growing faster now.

“Did you make a wish?” I questioned.

“I wished I could know why your eyes are so sad,” he answered softly, pulling back to sit on a stool.

“I don’t tell strangers all my secrets,” I responded sitting down as well.

“My name’s Jacob Black. I’ve lived in La Push all my life. I have two sisters. My dad is an elder for the tribe. I love cars and have absolutely no clue what to say to pretty girls. I kinda just keep talking and can’t stop like word diarrhea,” he gushed in nearly one breath and smiled broadly. His teeth could light a whole third world country they were so bright. “Now I’m not a stranger.”

I laughed lightly, it was genuine and felt uplifting. It’d been so long since I felt happy and spending these few minutes with Jacob I’d gone from angry to confused to elated in the blink of an eye. I felt renewed, like someone pressed the reset button on my body.

“Still a stranger, but I’ll let it go this time. I’m Mathia Analeigh and I’m from California. My parents are divorced and I’m an only child. I can’t stand my life but I get by. I love clothes and shoes. I drove here to go to my grandfather’s funeral in Canada, but my car broke down on the highway,” I recited my own personal assessment and found talking to Jacob as easy as breathing.

“I’m sorry to here about your grandpa,” Jacob whispered sincerely. “How about I give you a lift, my car’s out front.”

Even in the darkest of times there is the light.

***

Mathia went to her grandpa’s funeral and the tears that had been kept at bay in my shop poured out of her eyes. I gently held her hand and then pulled her in for a hug.

Upon meeting her family I could see why she was the way she was. She certainly put up a brave front and I felt even closer to her, if that’s even possible. I made it seem like I was okay after Bella broke my heart. We were more alike then I ever thought.

As we walked back to my car after the funeral, she began to speak. Her lovely voice was pure music to my ears. “I don’t want to go back to California. I’m eighteen now and I need to start my own life.”

“You know we could really use a secretary at the shop. All the paperwork gets lost,” I chuckled tugging her along.

“Can I wear my heels to work?” she asked hopefully, her deep eyes sparkling in the twilight that broke through the sky.

“I guess you can be the exception to my casual work wear code.”

***

“Jake, the Michaels’ are here to pick up their van!” I yelled. Jake grunted in reply and quickly strode out of the garage, greeting the Michael’s’.

It’d been two years since I’d transitioned from California to La Push and I was happier than ever. I cut ties with my overbearing, unloving mother and father and started a new family with the pack. I told of the tribes secret after seeing Paul transform by mistake, but instead of shunning me like I thought they might, they took me in as family. I spent Sundays with Emily baking and could always be found at the beach with Embry or Quil.

I’d fallen in love with the boys and for once I felt that love back. Especially from Jacob. He became my best friend and my confidant; I told that boy everything, except for how I felt about him. Madly, completely crazy in love didn’t even begin to explain my feelings for Jake.

“Hey, you okay Mathia?” Jake asked kindly after bidding the Michaels’ goodbye. “You zoned out there.”

“Sorry,” I whispered picking up the papers I had been shuffling and putting them in the proper folder. With a glance at the clock and a large yawn, I got up and grabbed my coat. “Looks like it’s time to head on home Jakey boy.”

“Actually I was hoping I could take you on a sweet midnight stroll, ma lady,” Jake faked a British accent and it came out awkward.

“Stick to your own voice and I’ll go,” I laughed. I’d go anywhere with Jake.

We ended up on the farthest part of the beach. You could faintly hear the highway in the distance. A shiver fan up my spine, even though I had on my winter coat it was still too cold outside.

Jake’s large arm wrapped around my shoulders and he pulled me in close. “Cold?” he questioned, I nodded in reply. “You know when I first met you I thought you were a bitch.”

“Thanks love you too Jake,” I joked laughing softly. “I thought you were the typical good looking douche, if that’s what we’re talking about.”

“Good looking huh?” he questioned arching a brow subtly.

“You would only focus on that,” I laughed out loud and then plopped down on a fallen log.

“Anyway, after I got to know you I realized your pretty darn perfect Mathia,” Jake said earnestly as he sat next to me.

”I’m touched Jake, you brought me to the middle of nowhere to tell me that I’m almost perfect.”

“I’m glad your car broke down. Your worst day ever happened to be my best day ever,” Jake smiled cheekily pushing some of my long hair behind my ear.

“How so, Mr. Black?” I questioned, heat reaching my cheek as Jake left his hand on my skin.

“I finally imprinted.” His words hit me and soon my smile matched his own. After hearing about the magic of soulmates from the tribe I was blown away. It seemed so surreal that someone could find love like that. Especially after having my parents fall apart at the seams. Yet, with Jake forever seemed absolutely possible.

“I bet she’s a knockout with great taste in shoes.”

”I don’t know about the shoes, shouldn’t they be considered weapons.”

“Oh shut up Jake and just kiss me,” I laughed. He smiled brightly and pulled me in for the best kiss of my life.

***

Have you ever had a terrible, awful day where nothing could go right? Have you ever wondered about anything else possibly going wrong on top of your awful day, and then suddenly the sky opens up and it pours?

Me too.

But then with the bad comes the good. Because after the rain there’s always a rainbow with a pot of gold. In my case, though, at the end of the rainbow, there was a hunky teenage werewolf with a heart of gold.