Dreamcatcher

Cause

There was no point in sticking around, no point in listening to some girl talk about how she wanted to help. Jacob had decided that as soon as the word tutor had left her mouth. Having to hear his dad yell when he returned home from the Uley house probably wasn't worth it, but he just couldn't stand to hear that girl go on for one more second. No one should be that happy about school.

The first hour spent staring up at the ceiling seemed to go by painfully slow. The sleep that he willed to come just wouldn't. All he could think about was that tutor girl and how Mr. Brodie was probably going to call his father as soon as office duties were over. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The second hour went by even slower. His eyes could barely focus on the conversation between the Salvatore brothers and some girl named Elena as they came in and out of focus on the television. Vampires, he thought. What a joke.

Just as the idea of sweet bliss from disappearing into another lucid stare crossed his mind, Billy entered the house. He knew this because of the sound the wheels on his father’s wheelchair made when coming up the ramp and when moving over the threshold of the front door. “Son? Join me in the living room please.” Great.

The silence was so deafening in the Black house that Jacob’s breathing could be heard, slow and shallow. Upon getting up, his bed creaked ever so slightly. That, too, could be heard. “Look, dad, I know you mean well,” Jacob spoke loud enough to be heard as he walked up the hallway. “I just don’t need a tutor. Just because I slacked off for a bit doesn't mean I’m stupid or anything,” quieter when he stood in front of Billy.

“I know that, son. But until you can prove to me that you’re willing, 100%, to go to school and do what you’re supposed to it has to be this way.” There was no pause in his voice, no thinking over the words as they were chosen. Billy Black had his mind made up, and Jacob was expected to respect that.

“After everything I've been through, somehow I thought you’d give me a break,” his voice was nothing but a whisper. Two steps. Two steps and he could be out the door. Jacob was falling fast, with no sense of how to stop. Something had gotten into his system and he needed to let it out, that much was obvious.

Taking two steps, he was gone; ignoring his father calling after him, ignoring the calls of Quil and Embry, ignoring everything. “He’s just a rebel without a cause,” Billy muttered as he let Embry wheel him back into the house while promising to find Jacob and make sure he was safe.

The sound of heavy boots on gravel and dirt became the only sound Jacob could hear as he walked further and further from his house. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. After a few minutes of walking at a pace considered walking despite his long strides, he found himself at the beach.

So many memories. Not that long ago he had walked along this beach with Bella, telling her the tale of the Cold Ones. He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands trying to shake himself out of the memory that felt as though it were forming before his eyes. Even more recently was the day he had saved her from drowning. Cliff jumping alone wasn't her best idea, but he admired her bravery. What was the point in being her friend if all she cared about was Edward? None of it matters now. I don’t matter now.

Picking up a rock Jacob rolled it over in his hand, observing it. It was smooth, vaguely oval in shape, a dark and milky brown color. He felt as if staring at it long enough would bring Bella back. Her hair would fly out of the center slowly followed by her face, pale in contrast. She would be back in his arms. With the deep pang in his heart, the rock was thrown farther than his eyes could follow. Just like Bella. Gone in the blink of an eye.

Cool air and light sounds of the waves rocking gently against the cliff side lulled Jacob into another trance. An old log made for a nice place to sit; his legs outstretched in front of him. Sunlight faded, almost unnoticed by the Quileute boy. Sunset would have been much more enjoyable if his already breaking heart wasn't shattering before him.

“I don’t get it,” his voice was directed at the waves, to no one in particular. “I don’t get why Bella left when she had so many people that cared about her here in Washington. She had me.” No amount of screaming into his fists or yelling at the darkening sky would ease his pain. “What was the point in leaving behind something, to go and have nothing? What was the point of hurting your father and ignoring your friends? What was the point of pretending to care about me so I would care about you, when I already did?

Word after word tumbled from his mouth and came through as a yell to cliffs and trees and ocean. “What did I ever do wrong in life that I had to lose the one person I care so much about? Can you tell me that, universe, can you?” His shouts of despair became sobs of sorrow as he sank back to the sand. “Why did I have to fill a void for someone who was only going to leave me with a bigger one to fill?”

Common thoughts of shouts to the world in order to ease pain must be incorrect, because the pain Jacob felt in that moment only doubled. When the tide came in his few tears were mixed with the spray of salt water that had splashed from cliff side and carried with the wind. A picture depicting that tomorrow was not very promising. “Please, I’m so lost,” the words he managed to breathe out were straggled as he caught his breath. “Just give me a sign of light returning to my life.”

When he returned from his slow walk back home everyone was waiting for him. Sam, Emily, Quil, Embry, Seth, Leah; the elders all sat on their porches with lamps to guide him in the dark. No one spoke, no one moved. It was as if everyone had understood his pain in that moment. The universe had sent him light. Even walking through his own door he was met with the silence that was much needed. His father grabbed his hand and squeezed it, nodding to the bedroom. Perhaps complying with the help that was being offered wouldn't be too bad. All he would have to do is make sure not to hold everything inside, and maybe he would be okay.
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Prompt: Rebel without a cause.
A big thank you goes to this lovely lass for being so sweet and supportive.