Blood Moon (A Twilight Retelling)

Six

I contemplated telling my mom what had happened to me when she pulled into the school parking lot, but as I walked to the passenger side of the SUV, I caught sight of the peculiar family getting into their own car. 

I paused as my hand hovered over the smooth metallic handle. My eyes narrowed as I surveyed the group in disdain. I couldn't spot the figure of my assaulter. I saw neither him nor Edward. The thought of him being so close to me, cold skin pressed against the scorching skin of my throat. His smell, the scent of pine carried by the fresh cool morning air. All of a sudden I could remember all the small details of our encounter, the way his eyes bore holes into my soul, his golden eyes, the ones eerily similar to the creature I had run into that morning. 

A shiver crept its way up my spine and I shook my head, finally opening the door and settling into the nice and warm leather interior of the car. 

"How was your first day?" I heard my mom ask as I tugged on the seat belt. 

"Too long," I murmured. I had hoped that my disdain wouldn't have slipped into my speech but nothing got past my observant mother. Her brown eyes narrowed as she quirked her eyebrows. 

"First days suck, it'll get better hon," her lips curled up into a gentle smile and the wrinkles on her forehead softened. I could do nothing but nod in agreement and lean my head against the cool surface of the window, watching as the raindrops raced down the glass and the green blur of the trees passing by as we drove off.

My mom was right. Things got better, but that was mainly because Jasper stopped coming to school. In fact, both him and Edward disappeared. The first day after our encounter I had found myself anxious about running into him while walking down the halls or in some dark corner where he might suddenly appear and try to choke the life out of me again, but it didn't happen. 

My classes went much the same as the first day with me scribbling messy notes of topics I had already learned at my previous school, though I could tell we were almost caught up by the the end of the week. 

At lunch I sat with Bella and the others. Bella having been the only one who witnessed the confrontation between Jasper and I, comforted me privately. We wouldn't speak of what happened in front of the group, especially not Eric and Jessica who were like the neighbourhood aunties and would very likely gossip about it to everyone which would turn into this huge thing at school which I did not want. I seemed to have drawn enough negative attention to myself by being me apparently, according to Jasper of course. 

After the first day of absence of the blonde menace, I could almost feel an invisible weight lift itself from my shoulders. I got changed into a pair of sweatpants and the team issued t-shirt as fast as I could. I had to cut my morning training short today after the previous day's events, and was definitely looking forward to the run today. 

As I tugged at the hem of my shirt, I couldn't help but feel out of place standing by the side of the school building. Other team members were already chatting and stretching, but I wasn't in the mood for small talk. I tried to focus on the open field in front of me, hoping the thought of running would ease my mind. Running always helped me clear my thoughts, even when they were a mess.

"Hey, you're the new girl right?" a voice chirped from behind, pulling me abruptly from my thoughts.

I turned to see a small girl with short, choppy brown hair grinning at me like she was buzzing with energy. She was almost bouncing on her toes, like she could barely stand still. The kind of person who probably couldn't go five minutes without doing something active. She had green eyes, almost the same shade as the canopy of the trees in the forest and a welcoming smile.

"Yeah, I am." I replied, feeling a bit awkward. "First practice."

"Awesome! I'm Caroline. I didn't think you'd be a runner when I read about you in the paper this morning, " she said, her voice bright and cheery. "You're gonna love it here. We run a lot of trails. It's the best part."