From Eden.

I leaned my head against the car window, closing my eyes and listening to the sound of the car’s engine as we drove. The clock on the dashboard read 5:43, the sky was still pitch black and the smell of coffee in the cupholder was a blessing to my nostrils. I was thankful I was in the car with Jacob, despite the early start. It was a twenty-eight hour drive from Saint Vincent, Minnesota to Huntington Beach, California and we had just passed the state line from Nevada and were officially in California.

“About seven hours to go.” Jacob mumbled. Nobody had been happy about having to stay overnight in a hotel, or having to be up at four in the morning to make the drive to our new house before the movers. Something told me that Laura and Henry were having it worse, because even at five in the morning, Christina still found someone to talk your ear off - even if she was sleep deprived.

“So how do you feel about the move?” Jacob asked randomly.

I lifted my slender shoulders up and down in a shrug. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
I pressed my head against the glass again, hoping Jacob wasn’t about to begin a conversation.

“You know, I did this for all of us,” Jacob began while I rolled my eyes, thankful it was still dark and he couldn’t see.
“I know you and your sister and brother aren’t too happy about it, but you’ll understand when you’re older. I think you'll like the new house,” he paused to turn his headlight beams on high, “it’s much bigger than our old one. The last owners converted the attic into a bedroom - was supposed to be the master but I think it would be better suited for someone like you.”

I knew he didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did, but I winced at his words.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that, Del,” Jacob sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“You know Christina and I are glad to have you. We were honestly giving up hope - with all of Christina’s miscarriages and the fact that Were women hit menopause when they’re thirty, you were a blessing. We never thought we’d get so lucky, but you’ve always been something else. You march to the beat of your own drum.”

Jacob didn’t say anything, and kept his eyes on the road. It was silent for a few minutes.

“You won't be going to the same school as Laura and Henry.” Jacob said, causing my brows to furrow.

“Why not?” I asked, turning my attention from the window to him.

“This place we're moving to - Bridgedell,” he shifted in his seat, “they have a school for Supes. Werepeople, Shifters, Fae, Witches, people who know what they are. I think if you were to go, they would catch on pretty quick how slow you age. You’ll be going to the local high school. We've already enrolled all three of you, so on Monday you’ll be a student of Huntington Beach High.”

Leaning my head back against the window, I shifted in my seat until I was comfortable, sleep tugging at my eyes. I stifled a yawn and blinked, determined to stay awake. The thought of being a new student left my stomach in knots.

I was stuck in the forest green, shiny, new, business-owned Honda car with Jacob for another six hours as we drove through California. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, to tell the truth. The Pacific Ocean was a light blue color against the white sand, and then it would fade out into a dark blue as it expanded out further into the unknown. As we passed through towns, I took the scenery in. How beautiful and expensive-looking the houses were. Some towered over others, being three stories high and some looked so small, you had to wonder how people managed to live in them. The sun was shining and Jacob had found a decent radio station as we turned onto Liddell street and was welcomed by a sign that read BRIDGEDELL. Est. 1996

“Alright, here we are.” Jacob said, a grin spreading across his face, as he pulled into a driveway that led up into a two story house.

Jacob had been right, it was much bigger than our house in Saint Vincent. There were two U-Haul trucks parked against the curb containing all of our furniture. The white picket fence that surrounded the yard was faded and a large oak tree stood proudly in the front yard. The house was a tan color, a deck wrapping around the front - and from what I could see, into the back as well - the roof was a dark blue tile that looked as hard and as rough as sandpaper.

“Do you like it?” Jacob asked, even though he already knew the answer. The grin on his face couldn’t get any bigger.

I nodded, unbuckling my seatbelt. I hadn’t noticed before that the garage was open and Christina’s silver van was parked inside.

“It looks like your mom and siblings are already inside. Come on, let’s get a closer look.” Jacob shut off the engine, unbuckling his seatbelt and climbed out out of the car, I followed suit.

Jacob held the white gate door open for me as I walked through it. He walked behind me as I continued to stare up at the proud house standing before me. I looked at the houses to my left, then to my right before walking in. None of them were as big as this one, nor did they have that special charm that this one seemed to radiate.

“This house has been here the longest,” Jacob said, as if he could read my thoughts. He had a knack for knowing the right thing to say at all times. It had occurred to me before that mind-reading was his special ability that all Weres develop once they go through the Change, which is just a fancy term of their first time Turning.
“It was the first one built when they created Bridgedell. All of the other houses were just built around it,” Jacob explained as we walked up the steps and stepped inside the house. It was even bigger on the inside.

While Laura and Henry were running through the entire house, picking their rooms and exclaiming how big it was, Christina was directing the movers, telling them where certain furniture went. The first floor of the house was dedicated to the kitchen, living room, dining room and laundry room. The living room was striped of furniture but the size of it was remarkable. The wood paneling on the ceilings made it seem almost palace like, and the wooden floor was a smooth, shiny, dark brown color that made sock skating seem like a good idea in this house.

It wasn’t much longer until the movers had brought in every piece of furniture on the U-Haul trucks and all that was left to unpack were the boxes. The last owners had done a wonderful job converting the attic into a bedroom, floor-to-ceiling windows gave me a gorgeous view of the backyard - and I could see why Jacob liked it so much, he was a werewolf, and, like all werewolves, the forest was his home, and I could tell there was probably hundreds upon hundreds of wildlife that fed off of the ground and trees, causing their bellies to grow. In other words, Jacob would be able to hunt all he wanted in that forest, and with any luck, some of the other Werewolves in the community would join him.

Later that evening, we were all sitting around our dining room table, stuffing our faces with the pizza Jacob had bought. The sun was beginning to set and we were all tired from the long journey. I knew tomorrow, the real unpacking would begin. Christina would want her home to look perfect before the weekend was over.

There was a knock on the door and we all looked up from our paper plates. Henry had a piece of cheese hanging out of his mouth.

“Who is it?” Laura asked, craning her neck to look out of the front windows to see if anyone was standing on the porch.

“Probably the neighbors,” Jacob shrugged, getting up from his spot at the table. I could see our front door from where I was sitting. I watched as Jacob walked to it and opened it, and there stood two people. One was a woman with olive skin and dark brown hair, and the other was the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on. His hair was a gorgeous raven color, that hung in his eyes. He couldn’t have been much taller than me, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in his posture. He was scrawny, but it suited him.

“Hi!” The woman said, I saw her stick her hand out for Jacob to shake it, “I’m Maria. Maria Baker, I live across the street from you guys,” she pointed her thumb to the robin egg colored house across the street after Jacob shook her hand, “we saw we had new neighbors so I figured we’d stop by and say hello!”

The boy standing behind her looked up and into our house. His eyes were the color of emeralds, like mine and for a moment, they met. I quickly looked away, back down at the half eaten piece of pizza and suddenly felt embarrassed.

Maria and Jacob talked for a moment more, but I had blocked out what they were saying. I kept my eyes on my food, not daring to look up.

Jacob shut the front door and walked back to the table, he sat back down and pushed his plate away.

“That was Maria Baker,” he said, taking a sip of his soda, “her husband, James, is on the Council along with another local family. She came by to meet us, to see what kind we are,”

“Who was that with her?” I asked, finally looking up from my plate. Everyone was now staring at me.

“That was her son, Zachary,” Jacob answered, “she also has two other kids, Matt and Zina.”

“What type are they?” Christina asked, getting up and taking her glass to the sink.

“She had a bird tattoo on her wrist, so I’m assuming Shifter. Her husband is Were, though. No clue what her kids are,”

As Christina and Jacob droned on, the image of him flashed in my mind again and again. I couldn’t believe that someone like him ever existed, and that he was my neighbor, of all things.

It was going to be a long weekend.

Notes

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