In The Right Key

Chapter 20: Beneath the Fire Part 1

Chapter 20: Beneath the Fire (Part 1)

Jacob's Point-of-view:

Not gonna lie, I was kinda nervous. I mean, we were practically walking into a death trap like it was a candy shop. This James guy was some serious business. Not only was he creepy, he was deadly, too. Like, he actually killed people. I wondered a lot if Bella was completely off her rocker, leading him to her and all. But then I figured if someone were killing off people I knew (and random ones too) then I would be pretty pissed off. So it made sense for Bella to want to get rid of him, permanently.

But I also wondered, did I have to be a part of this? I knew that my ancestors were, but things have changed since then. I'm not some wolf shape-shifty thing like them. Only one part of that myth was true, and that's the part about vampires. But humans were strong then, too, right? Take the Third Wife for instance. She helped take the Cold Ones out, plain human. Would that be what it was going to take? Sacrifice?

Now, to be truthful, I wasn't just doing this because Bella's my friend. It was also because I kinda liked her more than I should have. She couldn't help that she was pretty. But damn, was she pretty. Everything about her was. Even her crazy parts. She was funny, too. I bet she didn't know it, but she was hilarious. Especially when heavily medicated or tripping over her own feet. I liked being there to pick her up when she fell. God, even when she was falling, she was pretty . . .

Wow, Jacob. Pick your balls up off the floor and go kick some vampire ass. Seriously, stop being such a girl, I had to remind myself. Being wimpy wasn't on the to-do list for the day. And I had to be strong for Bella; if she didn't have me as an example, I think she would crumble to pieces.

I headed out of my square of a room, ducking so I wouldn't hit my head again. Growth spurts suck big time. I'd grown at least a foot-and-a-half in the past month. Was that even possible? I was tempted to call up the Guinness Book of World Records people just to check if I could get an award or something. But then doctors would probe me and try to figure out what made me grow so fast and steal my spinal fluid.

Or something like that.

I shouldn't have been, but I was relieved when I saw Dad was the only one in the house. Don't get me wrong, I like Rachel and all, of course I do, she's my sister, but she could be a real pain. Who shows up at 4 in the morning after not coming home at all in two years? It wasn't cool and I made sure she knew it. Then she said if I were older, I would've done the same thing. But I didn't think I would have. Just because I was younger didn't mean I loved Mom any less.

When Rachel and Rebecca left after they turned 18, it was because our mom died. They just couldn't stand being in the small house with so many memories of her. I had a real problem with that, them leaving. I missed Mom, but I wouldn't leave Dad all alone, especially in a wheelchair. The twins blamed him for Mom's death, but I didn't. They were bitter and I really didn't want them around, but I wanted them to stay. Rebecca'd stayed in Hawaii with her husband, but Rachel couldn't stay at school. Why?

She said she didn't know either. That she'd just had a strong urge to come back home. Whatever. If I found out her true ulterior motive, I'm sure it wouldn't be quite so vague.

"Morning, Dad," I said as I walked into the kitchen. "Where's Rachel?" I just had to ask.

"Morning, son." He turned in his wheelchair and smiled. "Rachel's at the store. Said she'd be back in ten minutes but it's been near half an hour." He shook his head.

"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered. We were used to people leaving by now. It was almost a joke, but without the funny.

While I made my gourmet breakfast, and by gourmet I mean cereal, I started thinking about life. Life in general, how sometimes, for instance, it's like Fruit Loops. And other times, it's All-Bran. One way, it's colorful and fun, and another way, it's boring and tasteless. But either way, you can guess what's going to happen. There's only a set amount of things that can occur during your lifetime. You know, go to school, get married, have kids, die, and whatever else 'expected' thing is going to happen. But when it comes to me, life is Cheerios mixed with Lucky Charms and Reese's Puffs. And I would bet Bella's isn't that much different.