𝐎𝐑𝐏𝐇𝚰𝐂 | 𝙹.𝙷

CHAPTER 7

After the day at the beach I had a new sense of determination to figure out what was so weird about the Cullens. I had so many clues, I just needed to fit them all together. I had even taken to writing things down in a notebook to compile all my thoughts into one place. As the later months of the year began to shine brighter— literally— I found I missed the rain. I liked the colder, snowy seasons, the wet and damp seasons that made everyone wanna sit inside with one another and just be. However I seemed to be the only teenager in Forks who thought that, because during the lunch period at school, everyone made their way outside to eat instead of eating in the cafeteria. I waited for the Cullens to show up, the thought of Jasper in a t-shirt had crossed my mind and now it was kinda stuck there. 

“He’s not here,” Jessica sighed, her head tilted up towards the sunlight “Whenever the weather’s nice the Cullen’s disappear.”

“What do they just ditch?” Bella asked

“Nah, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen just yank them out for like, hiking and camping and stuff,” Hunter spoke up, the only other person who seemed to share in my dislike of sun, as she wore her hood up and sat hunched over her elbows

“I tried that out on my parents, not even close,” Jessica groaned

“Guys!” Angela ran up, dropping down in between Bella and I with an excited grin “I’m going to the prom with Eric! I just asked him, I took control.”

“I told you that would happen,” Bells smiled as Jessica pulled her in for a hug, then me

I didn’t really know what to do with Angela hugging me. It made me zone out a little bit, I think Bella and the girls were talking about Bella’s insistence on going back home to jacksonville the weekend of prom, but I was just thinking about Angela hugging me. I thought about Charlie and Camden, and how weird it was that people were just— around me, willingly. Not only that they were hugging me, trusting me, wanting me. I don’t think I will ever get used to that.

“Annie you coming?” Bella nudged my arm, I snapped my head up

“Huh?”

“Port Angeles, the girls are going dress shopping for prom, and I can grab that book from your store.”

“Oh yeah, sure I’ll go dress shopping,” I nodded

“Do you have a date yet?” Jessica grinned down at me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, starting to laugh to herself “Maybe you could ask Jasper, you two can stand awkwardly in the corner all right.”

“Hey, leave him alone Jess,” I frowned, standing up and yanking my book bag over my shoulder “You don’t know anything about him.”

I stormed off, coming to a shidding stop once I rounded the corner and waiting for my brain to catch up with what I had done. I had defended Jasper, quite aggressively. I didn’t even know anything about him, what was I so put off about?

After school Bella and I passed by the police station to see Charlie, and he asked us to get groceries for him. The sun had disappeared once again, the fleeting moments of sunlight turning into a distant memory as the fog and clouds began to swathe the town in muggy darkness. I waited outside for Bella to grab groceries, even though I had lost my arm sling quite a while ago Bella still insisted I not sprain it again. As I waited I made a game out of kicking pieces of gravel down the street, trying to kick it between car tires as they drove by. In the midst of my monotonous activities I shot a piece of gravel high into the air, making it jump all the way across the street. To my surprise I saw Jasper Cullen walking out of the town clinic where his father worked. I stopped short, weren’t the Cullens supposed to be camping?