The Color of Misery

Chapter 5

Zahra

Aunt Sue kisses me goodbye as she gets into her car, waving excitedly before she pulls away, and I tuck my headphones into my ears, putting my iPhone on shuffle for the ride to the Uley house.

As far as I can tell, from what I've been told anyway, Sam seems like an amazing person. I've met Emily a few times at family gatherings because she's my second cousin, and she had always seemed extremely sweet, but we never really talked. Then the whole "Sam leaving Leah for Emily" thing happened and she was basically scorned. The whole thing was tragic, but I chose not to get involved, only comforting Leah when she needed it.

Seth looks up to Sam no matter what happened, though. He talks about him with bright eyes and an exuberance I rarely see. Jacob sees him as a mentor, being very serious and calm, but also very professional. Leah's mouth hasn't opened once, but her reasons are understandable.

I turn up my music, tuning out their chatter as we wind our way down the streets of La Push, surrounded by trees, shrubs, and evergreen grass. I lean my head against the cold window, losing myself in the song pounding against my ear drums.

Honestly, I am not excited to be away from the shelter of my own room, my tranquil bed, away from Kwoli... Unfamiliar places are so out of my comfort zone as of late, it's kind of hard for me to adjust, let alone just jump into situations that are completely new to me.

The sky above Jacob's car is looming and gray and dark, it looks as if it might open up at any moment and suck us all into a deep and abysmal torrential downpour of rain and darkness.

Well, aren't I a bright ball of optimism?

A light tapping on my shoulder pulls me from my somber reverie, and I look up, seeing Jacob's warm face smiling at me widely. He wastes no time in tugging an ear bud from my ear.

"We're here, Zahra." He tells me, the way he says my name sending chills down my spine.

"You ready for this?"

I shake my head, but pull out my other headphone anyway, stopping my phone from playing anymore of my favorite playlist. "Not at all, but let's do this. It's going to rain, and I don't want to be caught in it."

He laughs. "Nice to know meeting my friends is lower on the list than being caught in the rain."

I shrug. "I don't do well with new people."

"You did just fine meeting me." He counters after he rounds the front of his car to open my door.

"You don't count, I saved your life. You're forever in my debt."

Jacob

Her words cut me like knives, but oh, how right she is. I may as well be in her debt, the fact that she stopped me from doing something stupid was only icing on the cake.