Deep in the Woods (A Twilight Imprint Story)

Chapter 2

~Bailey~

Being back home for winter break after 4 months living in a dorm room at school felt weird. No more being surrounded by friends every night and no more classes to look forward to every morning. But also no more public bathrooms, no more loud girls running up and down the hallway, and no more concrete walls that trapped heat. It was weird, but nice. I missed my dad and even though he can be a pain in my neck, I was excited to spend some time with Jake. And all my friends on the reservation too.

Last minute my professor announced that my last final exam would be switched to a final paper that we could submit online, so I decided to come home a few days early. I didn't tell anyone though. I thought it might be fun to surprise my dad and possibly scare the crap out of my brother. It was kind of a game that we'd played since we were kids. One of us would hide somewhere and jump out to scare the other. Depending on his mood, sometimes he thought it was funny, other times he found it annoying. Either way, it was hilarious for me.

When I got home Jake was still at school and my dad wasn't home. So I decided to park my car around the back of the house because usually Jake parked his out front and I hoped he wouldn't see it. After I hauled my suitcases into the house, I locked the door behind me so no one would suspect I was home.

When I opened my bedroom door I immediately noticed my room looked different. My bed was made and the clothes I remember I had left in the corner of my room were cleaned up and put in the hamper. The closet door was closed, which I almost never did. And it smelled different. I figured my dad must have tidied up after I left but that was unusual for him. He always said "As long is your door is closed and I don't have to see it, I don't care what your room looks like."

I heard the front door open and heavy footsteps enter the house, and I immediately knew it was Jake. I grinned to myself and let out a short, quiet laugh. I figured I'd give it some time before I made my presence known. Let him settle in so it'd be more impactful when I went to scare him. So I opened my suitcase and started hanging up some of my clothes. Once I had hung up all my t-shirts and button-ups, I started to fold my pants and carried them over to my dresser. But when I opened the top drawer I noticed something that definitely didn't belong to me. A pair of very short baby blue shorts and a size extra large white t-shirt with a Hello Kitty graphic on the front. Based on the size of the shorts, I assumed that the shirt must be pretty big on whoever it belonged to. They were cute.

But who's were they? Did Jake have a girlfriend? That was the only logical explanation I could think of. And that meant she must have been sleeping in my room. Weird. But at least now I was able to scare him and embarrass him at the same time. So I took the clothes and walked down the hallway. I could hear the TV was on so I knew he was in the living room. I decided to turn the corner and shout,

"Hey Jake! Are these your booty shorts and hello kitty shirt I found in my dresser?"

Oh no. He wasn't alone. He was with a girl, most likely the owner of the clothes I was holding. And I had made a big show of holding them out in front of me, as if I was grossed out by them. What was even worse was the fact that when I yelled, she jumped, yelled "Ah!", and nearly fell off the couch but managed to land in Jake's lap. Very awkward. She quickly composed herself and held her hand to her chest as if I'd almost given her a heart attack.

"What the hell Bailey?" Jake asked sternly. But didn't yell like he usually would. I got the feeling this girl was usually jumpy, and it wasn't just my outburst at fault. He walked up to me and snatched the clothes from my hand. "When did you even get home?"

"Uh, like half an hour ago. I thought I'd surprise you and Dad by coming home early. I uh... didn't realize you'd have company." I felt like an ass. The girl was sat on the edge of the couch taking some deep breaths. Geez I felt bad, but I thought she was being kind of dramatic about it. Jake turned around and went back to sit next to the girl.

"Are you okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just need to catch my breath," she replied with a laugh and a slight smile. Okay so I didn't upset her, that was good to know. Now that I got a good look at her I realized she looked kind of familiar.

"Hey I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I thought it'd just be Jacob here," I stated, still standing in the hallway doorframe with my hands at my sides, kind of held out from my body as if I didn't know what to do with them. I felt out of sorts. I didn't really know what the best way to react was.

"It's really okay Bailey, I'm just easily startled is all," she laughed again. She seemed to have a good sense of humor about it at least. But she used my name as if she already knew me well. And then I realized she did. It was Harper Swan, a girl who used to hang with Jake and I every summer when we were younger. But I hadn't seen her in years, I just assumed she stopped visiting her dad and stayed in... Colorado was it? Or maybe Arizona. I wasn't sure. Honestly I didn't remember too much about her. I was a bit older than her so I mostly hung out with her older sister Bella. Who I was pretty sure Jake had a crush on. So now he was dating Harper? Odd.

"I uh... I'm gonna go finish unpacking now. Sorry again," I said kind of flatly. I had a tendency to freeze up in awkward situations. So I decided it was probably best if I just got out of there and left them alone.

~Harper~

Bailey seemed pretty uncomfortable when she left the room. "Hey is your sister alright?" I asked Jake.

"Yeah she's fine, she's just kind of a jerk sometimes. Don't worry about it."

She looked a lot different than I remembered. She was taller, which was to be expected considering it had been a few years. But her shoulders were much broader and her hair was really long and in two braids that laid over her shoulders. Her clothes were less feminine than they used to be. Army green pants that were tapered at the bottom and a gray striped t-shirt with a pocket on the front and rolled sleeves. I didn't want to make assumptions but I'll just say she looked like... more of a "tomboy" than she used to.

"She was just joking, I'm not upset Jake. No need for name-calling." He chuckled at that.

"Believe me, we've said worse about each other," he replied with a grin.

Jake and I spent the next few hours chatting, laughing, and watching movies. He joked that he was surprised I didn't fall asleep. The truth was I purposefully made sure I didn't. I didn't want to fall asleep on his couch and then be there when Bailey walked out in the morning, solidifying the fact that I often stayed in her room when she was gone. Although I'm sure that was obvious since she found my pajamas. After The Little Mermaid ended, I caved and Jake put in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It wasn't as horrible as I'd remembered. Bailey didn't come out of her room at all. Billy came home at some point between the first and second movie. My dad dropped him off when they finished their fishing trip. I was glad my dad was spending some time with his friend instead of just going to work and then staying home to keep an eye on Bella.

Once the second movie ended Jake and I decided it was a good idea for him to drive me home. Just before I got out of his car I said, "Let your sister know I'm sorry if I scared her with my freak out earlier. I feel kinda bad, she seemed nervous."

"Yeah whatever, I'll tell her. But I hope she felt bad for scaring and embarrassing you like that. It was crappy."

"She didn't embarrass me," I assured him. Which was mostly true. As I held my pajamas in my hand I remembered the look on her face when she held them. I assumed she was joking but it'd be a lie if I said it didn't sting just a tiny bit. Plus the fact that the first time I'd seen Bailey in years I was fighting off a mild panic attack. Okay maybe it was embarrassing. "Just make sure you tell her." I stepped out of the car, shut the door, and called "Goodnight Jake!" as I walked to my front door. I heard him yell, "Goodnight!" through his cracked window, and he drove away.

I spent the rest of my night cooking dinner for my dad and Bella and we actually ate together as a family. Granted, it was still very quiet, but it was nice. When I went to bed I thought over whether I should wear the shorts and Hello Kitty shirt to bed or throw them in my hamper. I decided I'd wash them tomorrow and that tonight I'd wear pajamas that hadn't reminded me of the embarrassment I felt earlier that day.