Discover Twilight

chapter iii

Parked beside Charlie's cruiser was a tan 1996 Chevy K1500 and a faded blue 1953 Chevy 3100 pick-up, my dream car. Charlie turned to see me standing on the porch, smiling as I walked out from the protection of the awning onto the moist driveway, "Kota, you remember-"

I cut him off completely when I saw who came with the vehicles parked in front of my new place of residence, more than excited to see familiar faces that I actually wanted to see now that I was back on the West Coast, "Billy! Jake!"

I crash into Jake, surprising him as I eagerly wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him more of a hug than I gave Bella. After unlatching myself from the tall fifteen year old's neck I then leaned down to hug Billy. The three of them laugh at my excitement but I didn't care, I haven't seen Jake and Billy since we left 6 years ago.

"Well look who grew up when I wasn't looking. You're so beautiful, look just like your mom. Good thing too because if you'd been plagued with your uncle's looks you'd probably want to kill yourself," Billy compliments me whilst insulting his best friend, making me laugh hysterically at the pinched look on Charlie's face.

Charlie gasps, looking offended at our laughter, "How dare you, I'm a beautiful man. If anything it'd be bad if she looked like my brother."

Out of habit I force fake laughter, not finding his joke funny because I miss my dad. He died when I was really little but I was old enough to remember how amazing he was. And from the limited pictures Mom has of him, I do look quite similar to him in my facial features like my freckles, eye color and having inherited his much paler complexion in comparison to my mom.

Despite him visibly noting the sudden stiffness in my deposition Jake was smiling like a dork, wearing a white button down shirt and a tie with his long ebony hair pulled out of his face. "Earth to Jake. You okay? You're smiling like an idiot over there," I shove him lightly into the 1953 that he's been leaning on.

He nods looking to Charlie as though to ask permission for something. Charlie smirks and gives him a short nod, granting him permission. "You like your homecoming present?" He smacks the bed of the truck with the back of his hand.

My jaw drops, surprised by the question, "You're kidding right? You know how much I love this truck, it's my dream truck, so please don't be playing with me." All three laugh at me and Billy tosses me the keys making me squeal like a little girl, granted I am a teenage girl so I thought my response was fairly natural. I open the door about to burst from joy and start up my truck. It roars to life, rumbling underneath me. "Oh my God! Thank you so much!" I exclaim. Their ever wide smiles on display, overjoyed by my pure happiness.

"Consider it an early birthday present, Kiddo. You're 17 now, right?" Charlie asks softly, still laughing.

Nodding, I thank him then check my wristwatch realizing that it's about time for a ball game to be on and skip out of the truck into the house, turning on a Mariners game only to be joined by the trio, who all looked surprised to find me sitting on the sofa watching the Dodgers at bat. I'm quite the opposite of my cousin in that I was gifted the natural grace and control over my body that Bella Swan was not, that I would rather be watching or playing a sport rather than sitting in my room and reading a book. She always considered herself a glitch, the least outgoing Swan in the bunch along with being unable to connect with anyone aside for me, why I was the exception I had no idea but I always found that my temper was what made me feel alienated from everyone else including my mother. 

The Mariners' right fielder dropped a pop fly, allowing the Dodgers to score two more home runs. "Oh come on! Learn how to catch buck-o, I thought this was a major league game not little league!" With three sets of side eyes watching my outburst, an eruption of laughter is cued by my embarrassment at the conclusion of the rant. Sticking my tongue out like a child, I stomp into the kitchen to get a new pop deciding that I wasn't going to act my age in response to their amusement. Not finding the desire to watch the final five minutes knowing the Mariners have no chance of even catching up, I take it upstairs to finish unpacking.

"Hey, need some help?" Jake offers, rapping his knuckles against the doorframe.

I look up from sorting through my clothes nodding as he crosses the room to get a bag to unpack. Selecting the bag Mom gave me at the airport, Jake pulls out an envelope and hands it to me to read. Not thinking twice, I rip the envelope open at the crease and read the letter decorated with my mother's messy script quietly to myself.
"Dakota, my beautiful girl. I'm so sorry about sending you away and I understand if you resent me but you shouldn't watch me die nor do I wish it. Everything I've ever done was to keep you safe and happy, that's why we moved to Florida a few years back. There are many things I've never explained to you like your name, or why we never talk about your dad, or that you have family living on the Rez because that's where I'm from. I love you more than air, babygirl. If you need more information, please ask Billy to fill in the blanks. Te amo bonita- Mom"

Jake's jaw is slack, shocked to hear the pieces of information my mother alluded to in her letter as well as hearing his father's name as the supplied informant, but he quietly continues to unpack the bag allowing me to process the letter, finding my Mom's favorite hoodie, a random carton of Robin Eggs, a small box full of pictures, and some random articles of clothing. Having finally processed what little information she gave in her 108 word letter, I take the paper tight in my right hand and Jake's wrist in the other leading us down the stairs to his father. I thrust the paper to Billy, not saying a word, silently instructing him to read. As his eyes scan the page rapidly, Charlie looks between us baffled by the scene he'd just witnessed, "What's wrong Kid?"

Having finished reading the letter written in my mother's shaky handwriting, Billy folds the paper gently and places it in his lap before answering the question at hand, "Tala seems to have very vaguely told Kota of her Quileute roots and said that I would be the one to ask and apparently all questions regarding that matter."

Charlie doesn't make a sound, either taken by surprise or feeling guilty that this is how I learned about my heritage, as I tap my Converse on the wood flooring awaiting Billy's explanation. Sighing, the family friend shakes his head then proceeds in explaining the situation, "Dakota, when you lived here with Charlie all those years ago, your mother brought you to the Reservation a lot. Before you were born and before your father had started dating your mom, she had a son. When he was very small, his father took him away from Tala, destroying her. For almost 20 years, your brother hasn't been allowed to see you or know of your existence because of how tightly tucked away he was."

"So... you know who my brother is, don't you?" I was in sensory overload, everything was running wild and that was the first and most pressing question to cross my mind. My head was pounding, filled with questions and memories of La Push from my childhood. Ears ringing with the sounds of my heart trying to burst through my chest cavity.

Surely the three men in the room could hear my organ overexerting itself as it awaited to hear the answer to my sole question. Billy took a beat, more than likely contemplating whether I could handle anymore change in my life. Jake and Charlie were silent as well, both of their faces held expressions of guilt and sympathy. Finally answering, Billy nods his head and as he began to tell me the name Bella opens the front door, smiling like an idiot. Charlie sees that I've had enough for the night and sends the Blacks on their way but as Billy rolls out the front door and to his truck, he looks back over his shoulder, "His name is Sam."