Aurora - A New Dawn

CHAPTER 11 | RAVAGE

AUTHOR'S NOTE

MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of alcohol abuse, physical violence, brief emetophobia. Readers proceed at your own caution!

**I've added in rough language translations straight from the official Quileute website further in this chapter. I thought it best to include what the words/phrases mean underneath instead of in the ending note.

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"Excuse me," Jake said, gracefully standing and pushing out his chair in one swift motion. He ambled into the living room, hoping his phone conversation wouldn't monopolize the one at the kitchen table.

"Yo, this is Jake." He answered.

"Hi, is this the diner on Eagle street? Can I get a pepper-jack burger, some crinkle-cut fries, and a side of honey mustard to go?" Quil snickered. His voice was echoey, signaling that the call was on speaker phone.

"Shh, Quil—" Embry cut in, a muffled giggle from Quil wormed through the phone, "we finished closing, Jake. What's the plan?"

Jake paced the living room. "So, I'm not sure on exact time. Right now, I'm finishing up dinner at Bella's with Charlie and my dad."

Quil snorted, "you didn't tell us you were letting the wolf out of the bag." A belly laugh escaped him. "How did Chief Swan take it? Did he polish and reload his gun in front of you?"

"No, no, none of that." Jake instinctively rolled his eyes, "listen, I'm gonna say goodnight to Bells and then I'll head towards the rez."

"We'll hit Quil's first to buy some time." Embry murmured through the mouthpiece. "Are you gonna run here?"

"Yeah, it's the easiest and fastest way." Jake peeked around the corner to the kitchen to make sure he wasn't taking too long. Bella was still picking at the same corner of her lasagna, and Charlie was discussing the politics of baseball with Billy.

"Meet up in thirty-ish?" Embry confirmed.

"Yep. That's perfect. See ya soon." Jake ended the call and locked his phone, sliding it into his back pocket.

When he came back into the kitchen, Bella had managed two more bites of her food. Jake couldn't help the concern bubbling up in his chest, but he was proud of her progress. Small as it seemed to him, it must have been mountainous to her. He knew it was going to be a long time before she possessed a modicum of comfort when eating. Billy paused mid conversation and glanced up at his towering figure, the same one that was a few inches shy of touching the ceiling.

"Well, son, are you heading out for the evening?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, I promised to help Embry with some of the paperwork for the shop next week. It's my turn to balance finances and order supplies." Shit. I forgot I don't have a car with me, he thought. Jake recalibrated, without skipping a beat, "he's picking me up from here in a few."

Jake tried not to lie, but Billy understood Jake phased nearly every night for the last three years. It was his own form of therapy. Charlie's face lit up with the sudden realization that Jake wasn't going to stay the night.

"Sounds like you'll be very busy. Don't let us keep you." Billy nodded, patting Charlie's arm. "Gramps here, promised to treat your old man to some cold beers and the last Mariner's game of the season tonight."

"I'll take care of dishes," Bella added.

"You cooked. I'll clean, Bells." Jake replied.

Bella's eyes flitted to his and widened. Her jaw clicked shut as she set her fork down in question. "It's my mess, Jake. Not yours."