Solar Eclipse

Chapter 4

I pulled on my shoes and walked down the stairs. Emily was there in the small living room, along with another woman and Sam. It felt weird to see Emily sitting down; she was always doing something all of the other times I saw her.
"Tiffany," Emily smiled. "This is my friend, Ravyn."
"Hello," I shyly mumbled.
Ravyn smiled in return and Sam noticed my shoes.
"Going somewhere?"
"I'm not sure," I answered truthfully. "I just don't feel like being in the house."
At that moment, Embry walked through the door.
"Embry," Sam said, "You and Tiffany go stop by the Blacks place. Tell Jacob I need to have a word with him."
When Sam said Jacob's name, my heart skipped a beat. We were going to his house.
"Uh, sure," Embry replied, and then gestured to me to come on.
I walked behind him to a Jeep and got in the passenger seat.
"Is this yours?" I asked after we pulled away from the house.
"Nah, Sam lets us borrow his car. As long as we keep the gas tank filled up," he told me and turned to smile at me.
I smiled back and looked out the windshield. The sky was dark and rain was starting to fall harder and harder each minute. I suddenly noticed that I didn't have a jacket on, like any normal person would have had. But I wasn't a normal person, and I didn't need it anyway.
"I wonder why Sam didn't just call their house," Embry mumbled.
"Well, before you came in, I was telling him how I didn't want to be in the house..."
He shrugged. "Yeah, that could be it."
We pulled into the drive way of a small, faded red house and parked next to an old, red truck. Embry turned the engine off and we got out of the car, jogging to the door. My heart pounded and I took a deep breath.
Embry knocked twice on the door and then opened it, stepping in. I followed him around the corner of a kitchen that was even smaller than Emily's, and paused when we stepped into the living room. Jacob sat on the couch, soaking wet, with a girl sitting next to him, soaked as well.
Jacob looked at Embry, and then he saw me. Our eyes locked and he smiled, making me smile in response.
The girl looked over at Jacob with questioning eyes, and Embry said, "Sam sent us over here to tell you he wanted to talk to you."
Jacob's smile didn't relax, but his eyes looked confused. He didn't look away from me when he answered, "What does he want to talk to me about? He could've called, but the visit was nice anyway."
The last part was obviously meant for me.
Embry's face became very confused. He looked at Jacob's grinning face to mine, and then to the other girl's face.
"Um... I'm not sure. He didn't sound pleased, though. I think it's something about ditching us for the passed few days." Embry laughed once and smiled.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll be there from now on." He winked at me.
I looked down, feeling the red in my cheeks get more and more prominent.
"Tiffany," Jacob said, taking me by surprise, turning my cheeks crimson, "this is Bella. Bella, Tiffany."
"Nice to meet you," she said quietly.
Bella smiled, but there was a hint of unhappiness in her eyes.
"Likewise," I replied, not knowing if I meant it or not.
Jealousy crept into my mind like a plague. For a moment, all I noticed was how close they were sitting on the coach and how comfortable they looked...
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what the hell happened to you two?" Embry asked.
Jacob's smile disappeared and he looked at Bella, looking disapproving.
"Bella decided that today, of all days, would be a good day to go cliff diving." he shook his head and gave her a scolding look.
Embry sighed loudly. "'Course."
Bella looked down with an embarrassed expression.
Jacob got up from the coach and walked over to me. He smiled at me and then turned towards Bella to say, "I guess I should get you home now. Hopefully your bloodsucker doesn't rip me to pieces."
Her face turned grave and she whispered, "Edward."
It all clicked then. That was the girl we were all protecting.
Jacob walked back over to Bella and helped her up.
"Do you want to borrow some of my clothes?" Jacob asked.
She shook her head, still upset. "No. I have some in the truck. I'll change when I get home."
"Okay, let's go."
He paused when he was about to pass me. "I'll see you later."
He winked and walked outside with Bella. When the door was closed and the loud engine from the truck outside started, Embry turned to me.
"Explain?"
I had only known him for a day, but he seemed trustworthy and kind. I ignored his question and walked out of the house. I got in the car and waited. He got in and started the engine. He didn't bother with his seat belt, and neither did I.
I sighed. I wanted to talk to someone. My mother's face popped into my mind and I knew that I missed her. She was the person whom I was closest with back in Seattle. I never fit in. At school, people thought I was the weird, chubby girl. I really wasn't that chubby. I was just shoved into the fat category because I wasn't a size zero. My mom was the person to teach me not to care what other people thought of me.
So did my dad.
I cringed at the thought of him. I tried not to think of him unless I absolutely had to. It was three years since my father's death, and it still stabbed a huge hole into my chest. I tried not to think of the car crash, but I couldn't stop it.
On his way home from work, he was driving passed a busy intersection and a drunk driver ran a red light, and that was it.
My throat seemed to tighten up and I shook my head, trying to forget before the tears came.
"Tiffany...?" Embry asked.
I cleared my throat and told him, "Well, I don't know what to tell you. I ran into Jacob at the house...and, well... I don't know." I searched through my head for a way to describe what I felt. "It was like...an automatic attraction. It felt so weird. I-"
"Aw, not you too!" he whined. "Sam and Emily, Quil and Claire-"
"Who's Quil? And what are you talking about?" I interupted.
"Quil's another pack member," he told me and then asked, "Wait, you don't know about imprinting?"
"Imprinting?"
"That's a no. Well, it's like...love at first sight? I guess you could call it that. Another wolf thing."
"So... You think I...imprinted on Jacob?"
He shrugged. "I have no idea. By the looks of it, he likes you, too."
***
I spent the rest of the day with the guys. We hung out in Sam's small living room watching random movies Emily bought while shopping with her friend. Emily kept cooking, so the snack supply never went down.
It was nice to hang out with my new brothers. Good to get to know them better. Paul was a hot-head; he got mad over the littlest things. Jared was a flirt, and Quil was a show-off. Embry was the most quiet of all of them.
The credits for Step Brothers started playing and I heard the front door open and close. From where I laid on the couch (I made the boys sit on the floor), I saw Jacob walk into the living room with Sam trailing behind him. I guessed that Sam had had his talk with Jacob.
He smiled at me and pushed my legs off the coach so he could sit. The room fell silent as they watched us and then Sam spoke.
"Jacob has informed me that the Cullens want to show us a few fighting techniques tomorrow night. We'll all be going. Also, I'm only going to patrol with two other people tonight because Jared told me that when he followed her scent earlier today, it was going all the way to Canada."
"Who's going with you Sam?" Paul asked with a full mouth.
"I was thinking Quil and Tiffany."
I sat up and folded my legs. "Why us?"
"You two are the newest to the pack. It would be good to show you guys some things."
I nodded, not feeling very eager. I would rather stay here and hang out with Jacob... I wanted to get to know him.
"You guys have an hour. I'm going to go patrol right now. See you guys later."
He left and the room started filling with chatter.
"Well," Jacob said. "We have an hour. What do you want to do?"
"I kind of want to talk to you in private," I told him turning red. "My room?"
He got up and held out his hand. I took it, and he pulled me up. We headed for the stairs, and he let me go first.
"Ooooooooh" chorused the boys and when we went into my room, I closed the door and plopped down on my bed, the feeling of happiness overwhelming me.