Everything I've Needed (A Jacob Black Love Story)

Goodbyes Are The Hardest Thing (Ch 2)

Swiftly, I pulled out the letter and began to read it, my heart already doing jumps in my chest.

Dear Luce,

You’re probably wondering if I got attacked by a bear or something. I know it’s been weeks since I’ve last replied to you, and I’m sorry about that. I’ve just been really busy with school work and helping Sam out. You know, he is getting more and more demanding. I think it’s that big head of his…

Things on the Rez have been pretty.. normal I guess you could say. Jared finally got himself a girlfriend. I know. Can you hear the Hallelujah chorus? Remember that girl Kim Connweller? Well apparently her feelings were reciprocated by Jared. Who would have thought, huh? Everyone on the planet except Jared, that’s who. As for the rest of the guys, well they’re the same. Seth is still annoying and a little crazy.. he worries me sometimes. The other day he asked me if it was alright to ride my motorcycle backwards…As for Paul.. well he just pisses the hell out of me, so no need to mention him, really. As for Embry, he has been trying to clear the air between the relentlessly bitter Leah and Sam, but he’s failing drastically. I really don’t blame him. Nobody can help the Leah, Em, Sam triangle. Sam and Emily are still trying to figure out a good enough wedding date. They’re ranging for maybe late March or early April, but knowing them, it will probably be in July or August. Emily sends her biggest wishes by the way. She really misses you a lot. We all do. Me the most though. You know that.

I’m happy to hear that everything is going well with you. Just try to hang in there in your internship. It’s almost over and then you can come home. God I can’t wait until then. Only two weeks away! It seems like I haven’t seen you in forever, Luce. Three years is too damn long. And believe me, once I get you back in my sight, I will never let you leave. So really.. plan your life accordingly. I can’t wait to go back to the cliff where we always hung out. Do you remember that? I go there with the guys sometimes, but they really pale in comparison when it comes to being with you and being with them. We definitely need our dose of estrogen around here seeing as Leah seems to be lacking some. Please don’t tell her I said that. I want to live long enough to see you. Well I have to go now, Seth has been banging on my bedroom door for half an hour and I’m afraid the freak is going to break it. Write back to me!

Love and Miss you more than you could know, Tiny.

Jacob

Ps: Everyone says hi and they miss you. Yeah.. Seth broke my lock.

I read and reread the note, the same wide smile on my face. I absolutely loved getting letters from him. It really did make it easier to live alone all the way across the country away from everyone I know. I guess I should probably fill you in at this point. When I was fourteen, I was offered an amazing opportunity to spend the rest of my educational years at the LaPerla Fashion Institute in New York City. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make, for taking the scholarship meant leaving everyone I loved and heading off to live three thousand miles away. Alone. However, I knew that to fulfill my dream of fashion designing, I had to go. I had to leave everything behind.

I grew up on this little Native reservation called LaPush. There weren’t many of us, just about maybe sixty or seventy people living in the same part of Washington just outside Forks. I loved everything about where I grew up- the greenery, the beach, the small cottages we all lived in. It was simplicity- something I have always loved. All of this made it even harder for me to leave. But the hardest were the goodbyes. One in particular.

I looked up at the round, silver moon, its beauty nearly taking my breath away as it casted it’s shadow onto the tree tops below. I closed my eyes, savoring the silence and took a deep breath of the pine fresh air surrounding me. This was my home. Everything about it was perfect. The reservation was like a safe haven for me—even on a cool dark night like this one. The low sounds of the crickets blended together, creating the strangest lullaby. Maybe it was the fact that I was leaving it all behind tomorrow that made me cherish every little thing about this place. I tugged my cardigan tighter around my body, crossing my arms to shield myself from the cold Augustan night air. I haven’t really felt this much sadness about my leaving LaPush until tonight, after the farewell dinner my cousin, Emily had thrown for me. So I guess how I’m feeling is normal, after saying goodbye to pretty much everyone I’ve known your entire life. After the party was over and everyone had headed back to their houses, I decided to pay my favorite spot one more visit. The top of the cliff held so many memories for me, all of which I shared with Jacob, my best friend for fourteen years now. So you can just imagine how many memories came flooding back as I stood here. I let out a loud sigh and looked down at all the little houses—they looked even littler from this distance. One by one, their lights were turning off for the night. A sudden rustling from behind me, shook me from my thoughts, making me quickly turn around. My eyes were wide, trying to see through the dark air as my heart thumped loudly. I hated how easily I got scared. As the rustling got closer, I could feel my throat get drier and the blood rush from my face. Before I was able to form a scream, a tall figure appeared, the beam from the moonlight casting over him. At once, I felt my heart slow down and let out a heavy breath I didn’t realize I was holding.