The Friends
I opened my eyes, staring at the white ceiling above me. I blinked, confused, and turned to look at the light peeking through the windows. Flecks danced along the golden rays, the possibility of a rare sunny day ahead.
An entire night without nightmares.
I marveled just at the thought of it. My fingers reached out to my alarm clock, a whole 8:06 AM. I was tempted to close my eyes and try to sleep a bit more.
An entire night. Without nightmares.
I sat up and scrubbed my hands with my face before smiling into my palms. Four months and finally nothing.
I felt fantastic.
Charlie could sense it. I had already eaten and gotten dressed when he headed down the stairs, still wearing pajamas. I guess he slept decent for once since I wasn't screaming. He'd slept in until nearly 10.
He didn't address it. Maybe he was afraid to jinx it. "You got plans today?" He eyed my jeans and sweater.
I slid my feet into my sneakers. "Going to see Jules."
"Alright, well you girls have fun. Harry is going to come over and watch the game."
"Clearwater?" Charlie nodded at my question. "Maybe he can pick up Billy on the way." Hiding away in the garage would be easier without anyone there to question it.
"Huh. Maybe." He walked over to the phone. I waved goodbye as I headed out, smiling to myself.
I was so giddy that I forgot to pack a jacket, so I shrugged into Jules' hoodie. I had left it in the truck so I would remember to bring it back to her.
I drove faster than usual. The engine whined in protest, but I couldn't help but get more excited with every mile.
Julie was waiting under the front porch when I pulled into the driveway. She met me at my truck. "Nice hoodie."
"Remind me to give it back to you before I leave."
"Harry is coming over to pick my Dad up in a bit. Want to hang out inside until he leaves?"
"Sure."
"Any chance you're decent at Shakespeare?" She asked with a grimace. "I was attempting homework before you got here."
"I'm the perfect person to ask."
An hour later, I was sure Jules would have at least a solid A minus on her English paper. Thankfully the subject was over Hamlet and not something as painful as Romeo and Juliet.
"Any chance you're decent at math?" I asked. "Calculus is the bane of my existance." Completely ignoring the fact that she would be a year behind me in the curriculum.
"Actually, yes." We got up from the dining room table, about to hit the door before Jules paused. "One sec."
She came back moments later with a bundle of cloth that had a cord coming from it.
"Heated blanket, since you're always so cold. The heat's gone out in the house before, so we had them tucked away in case of emergencies. And I don't ever get cold anymore, so..."
She held up the blanket again, giving me a little half-smile. I was touched. I felt a little stab at my heart.
"Thanks," I said softly before pausing. "Wait, you don't get cold?"
I remembered yesterday that she'd only worn a thin t-shirt and jeans, same as today. It was in the upper thirties outside.
"It's weird, I know. But it has perks. Like you stealing my hoodies and enjoying a heated blanket that I never need."
I smiled and held the door open for her, the two of us walking up the hill.
"So, what's on the agenda for the day?" I asked as we walked into the garage.
"We need to figure out exactly what we need. So I can continue disassembling them and you can write down what we need. Your handwriting is probably better than mine anyway."
I set up the blanket and plugged it into an outlet while Jules grabbed a pen and notebook. Curled up on the couch under a steady heat, I was ready to fall asleep. I resisted and listened, writing notes as Julie told me exactly what to write. I asked how to spell something on occasion and attempted to not look completely out of my element.
"This might get costly," she warned me. "I'm talking a couple hundred bucks."
"I can swing it." I set the notebook down beside me. "How's school going, besides you failing miserably at English?"
"Hey, I've got a C minus."
She started telling me about the drama at school, the trials of her classes. Apparently her two friends had gotten into a fight with some other guys last week.
"Quil and Embry? Weird names. Your best friends are guys?"
Jules laughed. "Don't let them hear you make fun of their names; they start fights for less. I think Embry was named after someone famous, and Quil is a family name."
"Well, tell me about these infamous best friends of yours. Something positive, maybe."
I heard yelling from the house, someone calling for Julie. I craned my neck from the comfort of the couch, but said nothing. I was too comfortable.
"Speak of the devil," Jules said with a sigh. She yelled out toward the open door. "Garage!" She went back to work on the bikes, looking visibly displeased.
Two boys appeared in the doorway of the garage. One was slender and tall, towering over Julie, with chin-length black hair. He had a sweet, shy face that was still rounded and childish.
The other was shorter, stockier, with his hair clipped into a buzz cut. He had an impish grin the second he called in, displaying a set of dimpled cheeks.
They both paused when they saw me on the couch.
Julie gave them a smile that looked suspiciously fake. "Quil, Embry. Meet Bella. Bella, these two are Quil and Embry."
"Embry Call," the lankier one said with an awkward one-handed wave.
The shorter one's eyes didn't leave me as he reached to shake my hand, his bicep flexing. "Quil Ateara." When I returned his smile, he winked.
"What are you guys up to?" Embry asked, rotating his entire body towards Jules. He tucked his hair behind his ear nervously.
"Bella and I are going to fix up these bikes," Jules explained, giving me far more credit than I deserved.
That seemed to unlock a secret dialogue option. The three of them were quickly locked into a discussion about the motorcycles; parts, prices, stuff I didn't really understand.
"You're into motorcycles, Bella?" Quil asked. "Embry has a dirt bike, I'm sure he'll give you a ride if you ask."
Embry blushed.
"Actually, it's a new interest. I've never ridden one before." I paused before looking over to Jules. "You can teach me, right?"
"Yeah, Bells, I can teach you."
Quil leaned to whisper into Embry's ear. Jules glared at them while the boys snickered to eachother. She guided them back to the topic at hand. I sat and listened for a while before I reached to turn off the heated blanket and got up.
Jules looked up from the strewn out bike in front of them. Her face was apologetic, bordering on shameful. "You're heading out cause we're boring you, right?"
"No, I just need to get home and feed Charlie. But I'm free on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the week; is it okay if I visit after school? We could just do homework, if nothing else."
Jules gave me a thousand-watt smile. "Yeah. That would be great. Want me to walk you to your car?"
"I'll be fine, promise. I'll see you Tuesday."
"Bye." Jules gave me a smile and a one-handed wave as I left.
As I trecked down the hill, I heard Jules complaining at her friends. "You jerks are the most embarassing..."
Driving home, I realized that I was still wearing Julie's hoodie. I sighed and decide I would give it back to her on Tuesday.