Purple Sky by A. Teller (unputdownable books .TXT) 📕

I laid my head back, looking at my phone. “Three days,” I said weakly, in disbelief. “And it’s already one-thirty?”

“You like to sleep. It‘s the best time for us to listen to your every thought,” he said. I glared at him, worried about what they heard. My mom’s human nature, sleep talking, was so annoying. Thanks mom… But I turned more panicked when the idea of tubes in me came to light.

“Jacob, what happened?”

“Carlisle said that your so-called “cold” was actually extreme hypothermia. You’ve been freezing from the inside out for about two weeks. And it finally caught up with you. He said I should stay, in case you need anything.”

“My feet?”

“Pink again,” he said, sighing happily. I wiggled my pink-again toes. I sighed along with him. Jake stayed, though Rose was not the greatest hostess. Their bickering only made me laugh, though I’d tell them once or twice to knock it off.

“So, when can I get out of these leashes?” I asked, holding up a few of the tubes attached to my arm.

“In about three hours. Carlisle said the clock starts after you wake up.”

He handed me a mirror, and I couldn’t believe how much better I looked. I had rosy lips again, my pale, pink flush was back, and my eyes were brighter and the brownish gold color they radiated appeared like dark caramel.

“Wow, I look great!” I said. He laughed, and I blushed a little.

“You do,” he agreed. At first, I thought he was being funny, asking instead of saying. But he really did say I looked good. And that was nice to hear.

Finally, less than an hour later, Carlisle removed my plastic tubes and helped me up. He said that I should be fine, but in case I wasn’t feeling well again, I should say so. I nodded, and Jake hugged me tightly when I stood up. His body wasn’t as warm, and I worried.

“Why are you cold?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah, that. Seth and I were just outside. I don’t feel cold though.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“It’s a wolf thing,” he said, grinning.

“No, it’s not. It’s another Jacob thing,” I replied, wiping the melted snow off his face.

“Another?”

“Stubbornness is your most prominent feature of course,” I said, walking out of the room. The house was dazzling, even better than before I was sick. It was beautiful, and Alice claimed responsibility happily. Jasper rolled his eyes, mouthing, “We helped.” I nodded secretly, and smiled all the same. Emmett came and hugged me, picking me up off the ground, swirling me around.

“You’re just as bad as your mom! So sensitive, even to the cold,” Emmett said, his booming laughter echoing through the house. I was surprised that our gigantic glass window-walls hadn’t broken yet from Emmett’s laughter. He finally put me down, and Rose came to lightly hug me. I sat on the couch, regaining my strength.

“I have something to show you,” Jacob said. I looked at him quizzicly until he held up his arm above us. A small, three leaf bundle of mistletoe hung by the doorframe. I smiled, looking back at Jake.

This kiss, I wanted.

He came closer, cupping my icy cheek with his hand. Holding me tighter, our lips collided gently. My cold lips and his warm lips intertwined perfectly, maintaining the most amazing temperature ever. I was awestruck, and couldn’t help but kiss him again.

Rose interupted us with a loud throat clearing, and we pulled apart quickly. She was holding a beautiful silver star. It sparkled and was the size of a steering wheel. “We wanted to wait so you could put the tree topper on,” Rose said to me. She cringed when she smelled the small but strong werewolf scent on me. Rose always described the smell as musty and dirty. I could smell it too. But to me, it smelled like cinnamon buns baking around the room. Suddenly, Jake’s smell changed. It went from slightly smoky and campfire burning, to all cinnamon. It smelled so good, I had to hold myself back from hugging Jake, just to smell him.

I smiled insincerely at Rose, giving her the impression to please, for God’s sake, be quiet. She could smell the scent of hormone raged werewolf all around me, but she cemented her voice. I took the tree topper delicately from Rose, who smiled. I flinched at her, realizing her true genuineness in the smile. Emmett easily picked me up, placing me on his shoulder with one arm holding me in place. I felt like I was in a highchair or standing on a parade float. I put the tree topper gently on the tree.

“So…” Jake began, coming up behind me, laying his chin on my shoulder. I flinched at first, but then I relaxed completely. “We have absolutely no decorations at my place.”

I gasped loud and dramatically, busting out in laugher afterwards. He laughed too, and then looked to Edward. Edward was disgusted for some reason. Jacob’s mind, no doubt…I looked to Edward who nodded reluctantly in permission. I smiled widely, flashing my white teeth as I ran up to my room, grabbing my bag, and ran back to Jake’s side in less than five seconds. Jake was smiling in victory towards Edward, flashing back to his memory of our kiss. Edward cringed as Jake’s memory of him claiming me raced in his head, and I finally nudged Jacob on the shoulder. He shifted back to me, asking if I was ready. I nodded and we walked outside. A took one last glance at our beautiful house. I hugged my family goodbye one by one. Emmett swirled me around again, but then, very seriously, he whispered, “Be careful.” I couldn’t tell if he was ordering me, or asking me. I didn’t respond. Bella hugged me, sighing a “We‘ll miss you” sigh. Edward kissed my cheek, cupping it in his hand. His cold, hard hands were still soft to me, comforting even. Staring into my honey glazed eyes, he tried for a smile. I raised an eyebrow and huffed a laugh to myself. “Listen to Emmett,” Edward breathed as I walked down the steps to Jake’s bike. I wondered why my family acted like it would be the last time they saw me. I feared… my family may never let me go.

We got to Jake’s house around three. Seth greeted us, taking my bags inside. I went into the guest room, where I usually slept. But as I looked around, my bed was gone! All there was in the room was a computer on a big desk, with a leather chair in front of it. The walls were grayish-purple, like I’d painted them. But they were also covered in pictures. Pictures of my family, Jake’s family, me and Jake, Bella and Edwards wedding photos. It was nice, but I had nowhere to sleep now.

“Uh, Jake?” I called from the room. He sailed over to my side, but relaxed.

“We gave your bed to Seth. So he could stay here instead of living with his mom. They’re not exactly…close, anymore.”

I turned to him, surprised. Seth was always sweet to everyone, but his mom was…harsh. She never liked the Cullens,. She didn’t like what me and Jake were to each other. She thought that two worlds were never meant to collide, and ours was crash landing. But no one believed her.

“So…I’m supposed to sleep….?” I began asking, hoping Jake would answer.

“You sleep in my room,” he said, opening the door in the back of the hallway. Blood rushed to my face as I entered Jacob’s room. It was a pale, cold gray wall color. Surprising, Jake’s room looking like my family’s skin color. He had drawers overflowing with clothes, and another door connected to a bathroom. Everything was everywhere. It was somewhat irritating, having no order in the room. Jake’s bed was beautiful though. It had a dark wooden headboard and frame, and had white sheets. Over the sheets was a burgundy comforter and four black pillows, neatly placed in a perfect line against the headboard. Why did his bedroom look so bad, yet he kept perfect tabs on his bed? I blinked a few times. He had a small, hand-woven dream catcher above his bed, and its beads drifted along with the hot air that blew from the house’s heater. The heater was attached to the ceiling, on only one side of the bed. I guess that’s where I’ll sleep.

“You’re bad at keeping house,” I commented. His laughed, and picked up some of his clothes frantically. He took out all the clothes from two of the drawers and packed them away in plastic storage tubs, putting them in the hall closet. “You can use these for your…clothes,” he choked. He’d seen my “sleepwear” before, and it made him nervous. Excited and nervous. I promised myself, no see through, Victoria secret, silky, cool….where was I going with this? Oh yeah, I’d promised myself I’d never where that in Jake’s house. A house full of male animals. Wonderful.

I spent about two hours cleaning all the nooks and crannies of Jake’s room. Dust was everywhere, clothes needed to be washed, and the bathroom was covered in all different kinds of films of shampoos, soaps, hair gel, and toothpaste! I scrubbed and washed and folded, the boys just sat back and watched in amazement. But I couldn’t let them just sit back and enjoy the show. I threw Seth a mop, Nate a trash bag, and I told Jake to go get a tree, since they didn’t even have one yet! Four days before Christmas, ugh… so much to do.

“Seth, mop the kitchen and bathrooms. Nate, you take all the food that’s expired from the fridge and throw it into the bag. Same thing with trash around the house. And I know there is plenty of food that’s gone bad. We can all smell it,” I ordered. Each of them inhaled deeply, and then coughed hard.

“Is that milk or tacos?” Nate asked, his face looking miserable and sour. Probably both, I thought. Thank God the hallway was carpet, and surprisingly clean!

“I don’t know, but it was nice knowing you,” Seth said, patting Nate on the shoulder as he moved closer to the fridge. I laughed, returning to my workings. It took us until about five-thirty to clean the whole house. Jake returned with the tree just as we finished. The boys plopped on the couch, faking their exhaustion. But it wasn’t over yet.

“Okay, guys. I’ll make you a deal. We finish decorating tonight, and I’ll make my special marshmallow chocolate-chip cookies,” I bargained. Their eyes lit up and they shot from their seats, racing to the garage. Jake smiled, locking the tree in place and holding my waist from behind.

“You know, those boys would work a lot harder around here if you could cook,” I teased. He laughed. I shuttered slightly at the feel of his breathe. The heat felt like a hairdryer on my neck. Seth and Nate came back, forcing Jake to release me and begin decorating. Seth and Nate kept dropping the glass ornaments, so I enlisted them in putting lights on the outside of the house, where they could punch as many rocks and topple as many trees as they wished.

“Jake,” I began. He looked up at me, holding a sparkly, red circular ornament. He put it on the tree, not caring where it was. He sat on the couch, and I sat next to him. I held my breath, against my instincts. But I was anxious, and didn’t want Jake to catch on.

“I can’t be away from you. I can’t even think of going twenty-four hours without hugging you or at least feeling your hand on my shoulder. I don't know why my hormones are…” I stopped.

“Your what?” he asked, wide eyed. Oh no...the one time he