CHAPTER TEN:
NIGHT SHADOWS

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THE HOUSE WAS DARK when Shay arrived home. Cora's truck wasn't in the driveway and the front door was firmly locked, indicating that Cora and Seb were out somewhere. Shay let herself inside with a sigh, smudges of mascara staining the skin under her eyes as she stepped through the front door and switched on the living room light. 

"Cora? Seb?" she called out as she kicked off her heels and placed her purse on the table beside the door, just in case she was wrong and they were home. Silence. It was almost eerie as Shay stood alone in the doorway, her house and the street behind her strangely quiet. She brushed the odd feeling away with another sigh, pushing the door shut behind her and making her way into the kitchen.

On the dining table was a piece of paper, Cora's chicken-scratch handwriting hastily scrawled on one side of it. Shay picked it up, crossing over to the alcohol cabinet her mother had left behind where she took out a bottle of wine and a glass. As she poured herself a drink, she read over the letter, her eyes stinging in the aftermath of her tears.

Shay,

If by any chance you are home before we are (which would mean you didn't listen to me and come home early, you silly girl!) then we've gone into Port Angeles for dinner. I overcooked Seb's pasta so we decided to treat ourselves to some pizza and a movie instead.

Be ready to tell me all about your night when we get home! There's no escaping it, Chambers, so don't you dare try.

With love, Cora xx

Shay scoffed at the note, the tiniest of smiles tugging at her lips before her grin faded into a frown. Sipping from her wine, Shay made her way upstairs to get out of her dress and clean off her mascara, having caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror hanging up in the living room and deciding that she didn't want Seb or Cora to see her that way when they come home. 

She pushed open her bedroom door, wincing at the mess she and Cora had made earlier that evening. Stepping over the shoes that were strewn across her floor, she dumped her wine glass on her bedside table and searched through the piles of clothes on her bed for her favourite pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She found them at the very bottom of the mess, stripping out of her dress in favour of a more comfortable ensemble. Once she was changed, she started folding up some of the clothes, placing them in her chest of drawers or hanging them up in her wardrobe.

She didn't notice the open window at first, or the absence of the jean jacket that her dad used to wear before he died and Shay would wear it whenever she was missing him. It was only when she noticed its empty hanger that she paused, a gust of wind flowing through the window and causing gooseflesh to form on her skin.

"What the-" Shay frowned, crossing the room to where the window pane was pushed up and her curtains were half-hanging outside. She could've sworn she shut the window before she left, sworn that her dad's jacket had been hanging there, one of the only items of clothing she'd left untouched while she and Cora planned her outfit for the party.

Peering outside, the shadows seemed to seep out of every crevice in the street below, shrouding the row of houses in darkness. The streetlights were the only source of light, several tiny glowing dots that didn't do much for Shay's sight. Swallowing thickly, she quickly slammed the window shut, an eerie chill racing up her spine.

It was then that she heard it. 

There was an unmistakable crash from downstairs, like glass shattering along the living room floorboards. Shay's heart leapt at the sound, a terrified breath slipping through her lips. She was the only one home, she was sure of it. Or she had been until she noticed the open window.

Shay didn't know what to do as she stood frozen in the middle of her room, the bedroom door open wide. She had a clear view of the stairs leading down into the living room, but couldn't make out anyone or anything moving around. She slowly crept towards the door, fully intending on staying and hiding in her room when another crash sounded, followed by a hasty round of footsteps. 

That was when she knew she couldn't just sit there and hide. Someone was in her house. Who knows how long they'd been there, watching as she poured herself a wine and stumbled upstairs, as she got changed. The thought made her skin crawl as she crept across the hallway into her brother's room, grabbing his cricket bat from behind the door and lingering there for a moment. She'd left her phone downstairs on the kitchen counter, meaning she had no one to contact for help. Hopefully, whoever was down there would be gone by the time she got down there, or they'd be scared enough of her not to cause any more trouble.

Mustering up her bravest glare, she held the bat high over her shoulder, slowly edging out of the room and around the corner to where the stairs were. She heard more footsteps downstairs as she stood on the first step, her stomach lurching. Her heart was pounding in her ears, blood pumping fast as she slowly made her way downstairs, avoiding the creaking steps as she reached the bottom.

The sight she was met with chilled her to the core, the cricket bat dropping from her hands in shock. Riley Biers, the boy whose face had been plastered on missing person's posters for the past year, stood in a pile of glass by her open living room window, her father's jacket swung over his shoulder and a smirk etched across his face. But that wasn't what scared her, oh no. It was his crimson eyes and blood-stained teeth stretched in a wicked smile as he pointed to the wall opposite him. Then in a movement that was too quick to be human, Riley had thrown himself through her window and disappeared into the night. Shay rushed over to the window as he ran, searching blindly through the darkness for him. But he was gone, leaving nothing but a bunch of busted picture frames along the table that sat under the window and a warning scrawled on the wall beside it in bright red liquid.

BELLA ISN'T THE ONLY ONE WE'RE AFTER.

Shay didn't know what to make of that, and she didn't get the chance to dwell on it before a round of frantic knocking came from the front door. Shay's heart almost leapt out of her chest at the sudden sound, but it soon began to calm down as a familiar voice shouted out to her in fear.

"Shay!" Alice Cullen cried, knocking again. "Shay, answer the door!"

She raced across the room, hands trembling as they unlatched the lock and swung the door open. In an instant, Alice was embracing her in a hug, golden eyes raking across her figure in a frantic search for injuries.

"Thank god you're okay," she sighed, her hands cupping Shay's face as Emmett and Jasper moved past the two, taking in the cricket bat on the floor and the messy lounge room. 

"Did he say anything?" Emmett asked, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air, causing Shay to frown in confusion. "What did he do, Shay? You have to tell us."

"How do you even know-"

"Hey, I promise we'll explain everything soon," Alice cut her off, hands sliding away from her face as she pulled the older girl close to her side. "But you have to tell us what happened so we can help you."

"I didn't realise he was here at first," Shay sighed, running a hand through her hair as she frowned, watching Jasper shift through the glass on the floor with his bare hands. "It was only when he broke those frames that I came down here, and he was sitting on the window frame with my dad's jacket. H-His eyes were red, and there was blood coming from his mouth, and h-he just smiled at me and pointed at that message." 

Alice's face was grim as she read the words on the wall, fear in her eyes as she gripped Shay impossibly tighter. The message was clear to everyone but Shay, who's heart was still trembling in her chest. There was something so inhuman about Riley's actions, his eyes and his blood-stained smile and the message he left on her wall with a substance she didn't want to think too much about. And his mention of Bella, and the jacket he took? It didn't make sense to Shay, but nevertheless, it left a sour taste in her mouth and her veins thrumming with terror.

"Hey, you're okay now," Alice assured her, mustering up a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she turned Shay away from the living room. "Come on, let's head back to my place."

"My friend and my brother are meant to be home soon," Shay shook her head, glancing back at the mess Riley had made and Alice's brothers despite the younger girl's best efforts. "If they see this and realise I'm not home, they'll worry."

"It's okay, we'll clean this up and write them a note saying you decided to stay at Alice's for the night," Jasper spoke up, sending calming waves of emotion to Shay that had her frowning in confusion again. "Just go with Alice, Shay. Emmett and I will meet you there, and we can explain everything."

Shay let out a sigh before giving a reluctant nod. She allowed Alice to lead her outside to a giant jeep that must've belonged to Emmett or Jasper. Alice helped her into it with a surprising amount of strength, and then they were driving back to the Cullen home.

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"VAMPIRES," SHAY TESTED THE word on her tongue with uncertainty, a strange mix of trust and disbelief settling in her stomach where the butterflies had been. 

Sitting around her were the Cullens and Bella, each of them watching her with grim looks on their faces. At first, Shay hadn't believed a word they said, laughing at the thought of vampires and werewolves or anything remotely supernatural being real. But then Edward started reading her thoughts and Jasper changed her emotions and she stopped, a sick realisation overwhelming her. Vampires and werewolves were real. She was surrounded by vampires in that moment, she'd come face-to-face with one in her own house. That last thought sent a shiver down her spine as she sunk back in her seat and kept listening to the Cullens.

They promised they weren't like Riley or any other vampire with red eyes. Their eyes were gold because they didn't drink from humans - a thought that hadn't even occurred to a dazed Shay until they brought it up - they drank from animals instead and tried their best to value human life. They told her about their journey with Bella, from James and the ballet studio in Phoenix to a woman named Victoria (apparently she was James' mate, whatever that was) wanting to kill Bella as revenge. And that's how they came to be sitting there, telling her the truth about everything. Because she had seen Riley, he'd been sent after her by someone. They already knew he was targeting Bella, but Shay came as a complete surprise to them. 

Until...

"This is my fault," Alice murmured, and Shay's eyes snapped to her in confusion. She was sitting beside her at the kitchen table, her head in her hands as she listened to her family tell their story. If she hadn't gotten involved with Shay, Riley or whoever was controlling him wouldn't have sent someone after her. Shay would be safe from all of this. But because of Alice, she wasn't. "If I hadn't started talking to you, none of this would've happened."

"Hey, I don't blame you, Alice," Shay sighed, running one hand through her hair and reaching out to grip Alice's arm with the other. All animosity she had felt towards her earlier that night was gone, replaced with a strange numb feeling flowing through her veins like the calm before a storm. "I don't blame any of you for this."

There was silence for a moment, silence as once again, Riley's face appeared in Shay's mind, haunting her thoughts. She pushed the thought away with a wince, looking away from Alice and taking in the varying expressions the Cullens wore. "Just tell me what happens now."