wild ↣ p. lahote

ix. let's be friends

"WHY DID YOU MAKE ME come all the way back out here just to pick you up and take you down to the Rez?" Bella asked for the millionth time.

Aurora looked out the dirty windows of the orange truck. They were driving down to the Rez, where Bella had just been with her dad. Aurora had called Bella and had asked her to go bring her down there.

"Because, Bella, I wanted to talk to someone there," Aurora said for the millionth time.

"Who?" Bella asked. Aurora had been refusing to tell Bella, but as they neared the Rez she was starting to realize that she would need Bella's help finding the man.

Aurora sighed and decided to capitulate. "I don't know his name, but he's in a wheelchair, and has a cowboy hat?" She looked sideways at Bella and tried not to get annoyed just by seeing her face.

"Billy Black?" Bella asked in surprise. "That's where I just was! How do you know Billy?"

Aurora frowned and thought for a moment, wondering if she should tell Bella. "You have to promise not to tell any of the Cullens, okay?"

Bella looked over at Aurora in confusion. They had never liked each other or been close, but here Aurora was telling Bella a seemingly big secret. "I don't know, if it's important... alright, I promise I won't tell them."

Aurora took a deep breath and watched the trees passing her as she spoke. "In the beginning of the summer, I had this dream. I was on a beach, in a boy's body, talking to this tall guy. And the body I was in was moving and talking all on it's own."

"What does this have to do with Billy?"

"Well, all of the sudden he was there and he knew that I was inside the boy's body, and he told me to come down to La Push. I just haven't gone down yet."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, Bella, maybe because I haven't known if it was a dream or not?" Aurora snapped. Bella's constant questions were really starting to piss her off. Why couldn't she just shut up?

"Okay, whatever," Bella said, eyeing Aurora in annoyance. The two did not get along well.

They slowly pulled into a driveway and parked in front of a small red house. Aurora stepped out of the door and took a deep breath. She was glad that she at least knew she was after a real person, but that didn't make her any less nervous. What was she supposed to say to Mr Black? "Hi, I dreamt about you a few months ago, what's up?"

Aurora followed Bella up to the door and inside, where Bella had been not thirty minutes earlier. They entered a small living room, where the sheriff was sitting watching TV with the man Aurora had seen in her dream.

The two men looked up upon Bella and Aurora entering the room. Aurora's dark gaze met the eyes of Mr Black, but she was met with no recognition. Instead, he smiled. "Who's this, Bella?"

"Uh, this is Aurora Ausín, my.. friend." Bella said awkwardly. "She wanted to—"

"Be shown around the reservation," Aurora interrupted with a bright smile. Bella turned around and gave Aurora a confused look, and Aurora smiled harder at Bella, hoping she would get the hint.

"Uh, yeah," Bella replied stiffly as she turned around. Thank god, Aurora thought to herself as she breathed out in relief.

"I'm sure I can find Jake and he can show her around," Mr Black said. Aurora started panicking—she didn't want to talk to some guy named Jake. She wanted to talk to Mr Black.

"Wait, before you go, Aurora, are you Edith's granddaughter?" Bella's dad asked.

"Yes, sir, I am." Aurora replied, smiling politely. She'd been asked this question countless times in the last eight months—her grandma had apparently been famous.