46.
I swear to god, Mom and Dad will definitely kill me. I can't believe it, since Jacob walked away from me I kept doing things I shouldn't do. It's almost scary. The only way I could attend the party without my parents turning Folks into a blazing hell was to convince them I needed to spend some quality time with Grandpa Charlie. It wasn't very nice of me to use him but it was the only way to sort of send him into a deep sleep and sneak out.
I've spent the past hour pretending to watch the match as Charlie drained down his beer in his favorite chair. How to neutralize enemies was the first thing I picked up while mastering my powers. With humans, it was quite easy to slip into their minds and suggest them to sleep. But deep sleep was tricky. Just like how I can read their mind, which I rarely do since the incident at my previous school, I just need to focus on them.
Charlie was not very sober to start with, so, suggesting his eyes to close was a child's play. I waited for him to start snoring to get up and rushed to Mom's old room to get ready. I kept asking myself why go through all the trouble. Like do I really want to go to that party? No, then why? I had that itch—that gut feeling that I had to be there. Like some mysterious voice calling me.
I got ready, wearing black leggings and a purple top. To finish the touch, I throw on a dark sweater. Something inside me stirred. I looked up at my reflection in the full mirror. I felt a presence in the vicinity. I went to the window and peeked out, the night was a moonlight one. Still, the stars shone brightly. I hear them before the highlights of a gray Volvo turned the corner and ease to a stop down the road. It was Jared. My phone rang making me flinched. My heart slammed in my chest. I could still tell them that I wasn't coming. I sighed and picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, I'm a block away," he sounded nervous.
"I'm coming," I quickly replied. "Let me lock the door and I'll be right there," I hang up before he could answer. Taking a deep breath, I rushed downstairs at full speed. The door clicked silently behind me. Charlie won't wake up until I wake him up. I hesitated on the porch. What if something happened to him while I'm gone? I shook my head. Forks were pretty safe. Grandpa Charlie was a cop. My family and Sam's pack made sure no monsters lurked in those woods.
The gravel crunched under my boots as I made my car to Jared's Volvo. With my hands slammed in my pockets I made an effort to walk at human speed and appeared relaxed. Genni peeked out of the passenger's door to wave at me.
"Great," I whispered under my breath. Reka would have loved this kinda plan. The shitty kinda plan. I slid into the passenger's seat and slammed the door behind me.
"Hey," I greeted them. They both turned around with narrowed eyes.
"Your grandpa is a cop," Genni stated. "No wonder you weren't eager to tag along," she commented.
"Are you sure about this?" Jared asked a little concerned. Frankly, I didn't know what I was doing. Being far from my mate was causing me judgmental errors. Closing my eyes, I reached out to him. Felt him stirred, his warm eyes gazing at me. I let out a raspy breath as the hollow feeling he left by his absence bites a chunk into my heart. Each day of separation was a little more painful. At least, that party was a momentary escape. I kept trying to escape, but from what? From this pain—this loneliness—or from myself?
"Let's go," I finally added. They turned to the front and Jared kicked the engine to life.