Jacob watched the thread of sunlight that throbbed and pulsed in the water, the way it shifted and danced in the depths in a delicate and intriguing light show and pondered about the necessity of coming up for air.
But the silence, the vacuum silence and stillness was far too tempting.
Comforting.
Seducing.
He watched the waves crashed above his head, bending lights and shadows but inside the water--unlike his life, unlike his thoughts, unlike himself—it was calm.
He watched the tendrils of his black hair, wisping around his peripheral vision, like fingers moving in tune with some sort of untitled symphony.
He closed his eyes against the soothing lull of water, welcoming the whisper of silence that he was craving for.
Jacob had learned the virtue of silence, the value of privacy.
He embraced the sense of isolation, the disturbing feel of being suspended in motion, even the niggling claustrophobia as the water smothered his senses.
He opened his eyes and realized that he had somehow drifted closer to the surface.
The setting sun touched the reflective surface of the water, tinting it with the palest hint of red.
The color of water touched by blood.
He watched the bubbles of his breath climbed up the water, burst to the surface and wondered whether to follow it or stay behind and realized that his body was already hovering upwards, pressed and lifted by the undercurrents, pushing him slowly to the surface.
He tried not to dwell on the bitterness that smeared his throat at the irony, the implication that brought him to his earlier thoughts.
He didn't fight the slow, building pressure...both inside and outside of himself but nevertheless contained it ruthlessly.
Jacob broke the tumultuous surface and instantly the wind whipped and slapped across his face, his chest and throat burned while he took in large gulps of breath as goosebumps ran up and down his skin.
He blinked the water out of his eyes, pushed his hair from his face while he steadied his breathing.
The wind was a roaring force across the smoldering sky, splattered with a dozen hues of orange, red and pink.
The piercing calls of sea birds assaulted his ears.
Then, out of nowhere, there was a whisper in the wind that had Jacob tensing where he stood.
He looked sideways, toward the beach, his sharp eyes focusing on the two boys that stood tall and solid like the sentries they were. His brothers, the word was more than sentiment, more than even the literal meaning of the word itself. The bond was more than what they have become to each other, it ran deeper, farther then who they are, delving deep into the history of their tribes.
There was a time when Jacob resented it.
The lack of choice, the inevitably of it.
"What is it?" He whispered back, letting the wind carry his voice back to his brothers. Trusting their sharpen senses.
"She's gone with the vampire." Embry's voice was careful and worried, the two prominent emotions hovered in the wind that sighed against Jacob's skin.
A wave crashed against the rocks behind him.
"She's been gone three days." Embry continued.
"The council is converging. They call on you." Quil's deeper, harsher voice joined Embry's, still tangling with the rush of wind that took little bites along Jacob's wet skin.
Jacob closed his eyes tightly, fighting the red burning anger that pushed forcefully up his spine, threading in his thoughts, consuming them, tearing them apart.
He stood in the water with the ocean waves slapping against his skin as the horizon burned behind him.
He pushed at the anger, pushed through the pain that sliced his heart and opened his eyes, with a low, low sigh, he plunged into the livid water, swimming to the beach with strong, smooth strokes.
Like the ocean, life also has a knack for ignoring what he wanted.
