After Dark

After Dark (36)

--chapter 36--

Jacob Black

Brooke and I were at the beach. I know, it's abit strange at night but the things we were going to discuss weren't exactly for prying ears. We sat on a red and white beach blanket. On it there were take-away packets of Steers food (we were too lazy to actually cook something) and a litre of Coke plus two glasses.

The night was clear, with a few clouds here and there. Light ones, not the ones which say 'Thunderstorm!'. We were up on a ledge on the side of the cliff. The waves went in and out beneath us.

Brooke caught me admiring the view. "It's a pretty night isn't it." She commented.

"Yeah," I said and picked up a chicken leg and took a bite.

"I really like it here. Sure it's not as warm as Florida, but Forks is cosy, home-y, peaceful." Brooke said.

"Peaceful?" I asked with my mouth full.

She straightened up. "What d'you mean? I thought you and the Cullens were okay."

"We are, but there seems to be another vampire. I think she has allies."

"What? Who is she? What happened?"

"A few people have been killed, all of them drained of blood. I think her name is Crystal. She's blonde and goes to Forks High."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, she killed another vampire when you had left. I think there's some kind of fight or rivalry against two small covens."

"That means that there are more vampires than we thought."

"Maybe they have a leader. Someone leading all of them to one common goal."

Brooke didn't reply. She just sat there fiddling with her half-full cup of soda.

"D'you know something about it?" I asked.

She didn't answer. She continued looking at her Coke.

"Brooke," I said. "I trusted you with my secret. You can tell me anything."

She looked up at me. "Why do you trust me?"

"What?" I asked.

"I just came into town and you already trust me by like three weeks. One of them me not being here."

It was then my turn to be silent. I wasn't sure how to say what was on my mind.

"After you asked me if I'm sure that I honestly like Renesmee, it got me thinking. Like why you asked me that."

Brooke started playing with her soda again. "Why do you think I asked you about that?" She asked in a quiet voice.

I took her free hand and she looked at me with a strange expression on her face. I looked her straight in her eyes.

"I know I imprinted on Renesmee," I said. "But I like you too."

She looked away to the sea for awhile, then put down her cup, grabbed her phone and handbag and stood up.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked.

"Home." She said and started walking away.

"Brooke," I stood up and followed her into the forest.

One minute she was right in front of me, the next, she had dissappeared. I ran to where she had parked her car, and like her it had also gone.

I returned back to the cliff ledge to clear the stuff we had left, but when I got there, all that remained was rock, stone and grass. Everything had vanished. Like nothing had ever happened.

*****