Mimic | Jacob Black

43. World Enough and Time

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River watched the rain outside, listening to the soft pitter patter on the roof. The lights throughout Jacob's house were off, aside from the lamp in the living room where Billy was, but River and Jacob had been out for a while, so their eyes had adjusted to the dark well enough.

River's bare feet tapped softly against the wooden floor from his seated position on the edge of Jacob's bed. He had changed back into his clothes though–jeans and his hooded t-shirt. His hair was still drying and his skin was slightly damp, while the spare clothes Jacob gave him were now discarded in a wet pile in the laundry room.

Jacob had gone back to his house to grab more appropriate swim shorts for himself and River–as well as a t-shirt at River's request, since he just thought it was easier to keep his abundance of scars covered in public–before returning to the beach, where they stayed with the pack for a couple of hours, jumping off the edge of the cliff.

It wasn't as scary as River thought it would be. It was honestly fun, even without Seth's infectious happiness. It started raining at some point but they were already wet so it didn't matter.

Afterwards they all went their respective ways, while River drove to Jacob's house. Billy was there, and after the usual greetings, Jacob had sprung the topics he and River had talked about on him, hoping for answers.

"I'm sorry, River," Billy had said, "as much as I'd love to help you, I don't know anything about mimics."

River wasn't surprised, and he reassured the man before borrowing a towel to change his clothes and dry off. Jacob had gone to do the same, but Billy stopped him to talk about some other topic. River could hear their voices carrying through the house, accompanying the rain. It was so homey and grounding.

River had really been thinking about where he belonged in this world. It was something he would have probably been thinking about anyway, if he had lived in a normal place, with no mention of vampires or werewolves or supernatural abilities of the sort, but a little different. Figuring out where he fit in the world was no new question, but which world he belonged to, that was the question.

River didn't ever really believe he fit well into the human world. It just never meshed with him naturally. The vampire world... it had shown him life was so much bigger than he ever could've imagined, but it also nearly took his life multiple times. The werewolf world brought River the most comfort, and the only other person he cared about just as deeply as Bella, if not more. But that also made it so scary, because if he lost this sense of security... these people... Jacob... That was beyond anything River could handle, and there was a very real possibility of it happening.

Because he was a mimic.

That single fact made any sense of belonging feel impossible to accept. His own mind was a prison. His life wasn't truly his. And he didn't see how he could do anything about that.

Why me?

He had asked himself that question so much the words didn't feel real anymore, just sounds being repeated in his head over and over like a broken record. He wondered if he would ever get an answer. Whether this was all a part of something bigger, like destiny, or if it was all perhaps just bad luck.

"What are you thinking about?"

Jacob's voice pulled River's gaze from the window. He was wearing his sweatpants again, and nothing else.

River shrugged.

"Sorry Dad didn't have any answers," Jacob said.

"That's not bothering me, I didn't expect him to know anything," River responded.