THE MOTORCYCLES DIDN'T NEED TO BE HIDDEN ANY further than simply placing them inJacob's shed. Billy's wheelchair couldn't maneuver the uneven ground separating it from the house.
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Jacob started pulling the first bike—the red one, which was destined for me—to pieces immediately. Heopened up the passenger door of the Rabbit so I could sit on the seat instead of the ground. While heworked, Jacob chattered happily, needing only the lightest of nudges from me to keep the conversationrolling. He updated me on the progress of his sophomore year of school, running on about his classes and his two best friends.
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"Quil and Embry?" I interrupted. "Those are unusual names."Jacob chuckled. "Quil's is a hand-me-down, and I think Embry got named after a soap opera star. I can'tsay anything, though. They fight dirty if you start on their names—they'll tag team you.""Good friends." I raised one eyebrow.
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"No, they are. Just don't mess with their names."Just then a call echoed in the distance. "Jacob?" someone shouted.
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"Is that Billy?" I asked.
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"No." Jacob ducked his head, and it looked like he was blushing under his brown skin. "Speak of thedevil," he mumbled, "and the devil shall appear.""Jake? Are you out here?" The shouting voice was closer now.
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"Yeah!" Jacob shouted back, and sighed.
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We waited through the short silence until two tall, dark-skinned boys strolled around the corner into theshed.
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One was slender, and almost as tall as Jacob. His black hair was chin-length and parted down themiddle, one side tucked behind his left ear while the right side swung free. The shorter boy was moreburly. His white T-shirt strained over his well-developed chest, and he seemed gleefully conscious of thatfact. His hair was so short it was almost a buzz.
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Both boys stopped short when they saw me. The thin boy glanced swiftly back and forth between Jacoband me, while the brawny boy kept his eyes on me, a slow smile spreading across his face.
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"Hey, guys," Jacob greeted them halfheartedly.
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"Hey, Jake," the short one said without looking away from me. I had to smile in response, his grin was soimpish. When I did, he winked at me. "Hi, there.""Quil, Embry—this is my friend, Bella."Quil and Embry, I still didn't know which was which, exchanged a loaded look.
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"Charlie's kid, right?" the brawny boy asked me, holding out his hand.
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"That's right," I confirmed, shaking hands with him. His grasp was firm; it looked like he was flexing hisbicep.
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"I'm Quil Ateara," he announced grandly before releasing my hand.
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"Nice to meet you, Quil.""Hey, Bella. I'm Embry, Embry Call—you probably already figured that out, though." Embry smiled a shysmile and waved with one hand, which he then shoved in the pocket of his jeans.
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I nodded. "Nice to meet you, too." "So what are you guys doing?" Quil asked, still looking at me.
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"Bella and I are going to fix up these bikes," Jacob explained inaccurately. But bikes seemed to be themagic word. Both boys went to examine Jacob's project, drilling him with educated questions. Many ofthe words they used were unfamiliar to me, and I figured I'd have to have a Y chromosome to reallyunderstand the excitement.
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They were still immersed in talk of parts and pieces when I decided that I needed to head back homebefore Charlie showed up here. With a sigh, I slid out of the Rabbit.
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Jacob looked up, apologetic. "We're boring you, aren't we?""Naw." And it wasn't a lie. I was enjoying myself—how strange. "I just have to go cook dinner forCharlie.""Oh… well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get startedrebuilding them. When do you want to work on them again?""Could I come back tomorrow?" Sundays were the bane of my existence. There was never enoughhomework to keep me busy.
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Quil nudged Embry's arm and they exchanged grins.
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Jacob smiled in delight. "That would be great!""If you make a list, we can go shop for parts," I suggested.
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Jacob's face fell a little. "I'm still not sure I should let you pay for everything."I shook my head. "No way. I'm bankrolling this party. You just have to supply the labor and expertise."Embry rolled his eyes at Quil.
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"That doesn't seem right," Jacob shook his head.
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"Jake, if I took these to a mechanic, how much would he charge me?" I pointed out.
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He smiled. "Okay, you're getting a deal.""Not to mention the riding lessons," I added.
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Quil grinned widely at Embry and whispered something I didn't catch. Jacob's hand flashed out to smackthe back of Quil's head. "That's it, get out," he muttered.
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"No, really, I have to go," I protested, heading for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jacob."As soon as I was out of sight, I heard Quil and Embry chorus, "Wooooo!"The sound of a brief scuffle followed, interspersed with an "ouch" and a "hey!""If either of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow…" I heard Jacob threaten. His voice waslost as I walked through the trees.
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I giggled quietly. The sound made my eyes widen in wonder. I was laughing, actually laughing, and therewasn't even anyone watching. I felt so weightless that I laughed again, just make the feeling last longer.
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I beat Charlie home. When he walked in I was just taking the fried chicken out of the pan and laying it ona pile of paper towels.
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"Hey, Dad." I flashed him a grin.
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Shock flitted across his face before he pulled his expression together. "Hey, honey," he said, his voiceuncertain. "Did you have fun with Jacob?"I started moving the food to the table. "Yeah, I did.""Well, that's good." He was still cautious. "What did you two do?"Now it was my turn to be cautious. "I hung out in his garage and watched him work. Did you know he'srebuilding a Volkswagen?""Yeah, I think Billy mentioned that."The interrogation had to stop when Charlie began chewing, but he continued to study my face as he ate.
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After dinner, I dithered around, cleaning the kitchen twice, and then did my homework slowly in the frontroom while Charlie watched a hockey game. I waited as long as I could, but finally Charlie mentioned thelate hour. When I didn't respond, he got up, stretched, and then left, turning out the light behind him.
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Reluctantly, I followed.
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As I climbed the stairs, I felt the last of the afternoon's abnormal sense of well-being drain from mysystem, replaced by a dull fear at the thought of what I was going to have to live through now.
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I wasn't numb anymore. Tonight would, no doubt, be as horrific as last night. I lay down on my bed andcurled into a ball in preparation for the onslaught. I squeezed my eyes shut and… the next thing I next Iknew, it was morning.
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I stared at the pale silver light coming through my window, stunned.
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For the first time in more than four months, I'd slept without dreaming. Dreaming or screaming. I couldn'ttell which emotion was stronger—the relief or the shock.
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I lay still in my bed for a few minutes, waiting for it to come back. Because something must be coming. Ifnot the pain, then the numbness. I waited, but nothing happened. I felt more rested than I had in a longtime.
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I didn't trust this to last. It was a slippery, precarious edge that I balanced on, and it wouldn't take muchto knock me back down. Just glancing around my room with these suddenly clear eyes—noticing howstrange it looked, too tidy, like I didn't live here at all—was dangerous.
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I pushed that thought from my mind, and concentrated, as I got dressed, on the fact that I was going tosee Jacob again today. The thought made me feel almost… hopeful. Maybe it would be the same asyesterday. Maybe I wouldn't have to remind myself to look interested and to nod or smile at appropriateintervals, the way I had to with everyone else. Maybe… but I wouldn't trust this to last, either. Wouldn'ttrust it to be the same—so easy—as yesterday. I wasn't going to set myself up for disappointment likethat.
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At breakfast, Charlie was being careful, too. He tried to hide his scrutiny, keeping his eyes on his eggsuntil he thought I wasn't looking.
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"What are you up to today?" he asked, eyeing a loose thread on the edge of his cuff like he wasn't payingmuch attention to my answer.
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"I'm going to hang out with Jacob again."He nodded without looking up. "Oh," he said.
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"Do you mind?" I pretended to worry. "I could stay…"He glanced up quickly, a hint of panic in his eyes. "No, no! You go ahead. Harry was going to come upto watch the game with me anyway.""Maybe Harry could give Billy a ride up," I suggested. The fewer witnesses the better.
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"That's a great idea."I wasn't sure if the game was just an excuse for kicking me out, but he looked excited enough now. Heheaded to the phone while I donned my rain jacket. I felt self-conscious with the checkbook shoved inmy jacket pocket. It was something I never used.
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Outside, the rain came down like water slopped from a bucket. I had to drive more slowly than I wantedto; I could hardly see a car length in front of the truck. But I finally made it through the muddy lanes toJacob's house. Before I'd killed the engine, the front door opened and Jacob came running out with ahuge black umbrella.
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He held it over my door while I opened it.
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"Charlie called—said you were on your way," Jacob explained with a grin.
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Effortlessly, without a conscious command to the muscles around my lips, my answering smile spreadacross my face. A strange feeling of warmth bubbled up in my throat, despite the icy rain splattering onmy cheeks.
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"Hi, Jacob.""Good call on inviting Billy up." He held up his hand for a high five.
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I had to reach so high to slap his hand that he laughed.
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Harry showed up to get Billy just a few minutes later. Jacob took me on a brief tour of his tiny roomwhile we waited to be unsupervised.
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"So where to, Mr. Goodwrench?" I asked as soon as the door closed behind Billy.
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Jacob pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out. "We'll start at the dump first, see ifwe can get lucky. This could get a little expensive," he warned me. "Those bikes are going to need a lotof help before they'll run again." My face didn't look worried enough, so he continued. "I'm talking aboutmaybe more than a hundred dollars here."I pulled my checkbook out, fanned myself with it, and rolled my eyes at his worries. "We're covered."It was a very strange kind of day. I enjoyed myself. Even at the dump, in the slopping rain andankle-deep mud. I wondered at first if it was just the aftershock of losing the numbness, but I didn't thinkthat was enough of an explanation.
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I was beginning to think it was mostly Jacob. It wasn't just that he was always so happy to see me, orthat he didn't watch me out of the corner of his eye, waiting for me to do something that would mark meas crazy or depressed. It was nothing that related to me at all.
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It was Jacob himself. Jacob was simply a perpetually happy person, and he carried that happiness withhim like an aura, sharing it with whoever was near him. Like an earthbound sun, whenever someone waswithin his gravitational pull, Jacob warmed them. It was natural, a part of who he was. No wonder I wasso eager to see him.
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Even when he commented on the gaping hole in my dashboard, it didn't send me into a panic like itshould have.