Standard disclaimers apply: I own not any of this. Stephenie Meyer is the queen of Twilight.

Story begins when Sam and Emily tell Leah that they are now 'together'

SPOV

"Sam…" it was almost a whisper.

I could feel my heart breaking. The pain was driving me insane, but the frustration was worse. I loved Leah, I didn't want, in any way, to cause her pain. I hated myself for putting her through this, but more than that, I hated the fact that there was nothing I could do to ease her pain. I wanted to hold her and explain it to her. I wanted to erase the pain and hate that was now so evident in her eyes. I wanted to tell her that everything would be ok. I wanted her to look me in the eye and tell me that she understood.

I wanted… I wanted… I wanted… but that was all I could do. Wish, want… but it couldn't go that way. I felt repulsion for everything the old myths talked about, because it was all materializing in my life. How did life go so wrong in so short a time? I loved Leah but in a stronger inexplicable way, I now loved Emily. Maybe it would have been easier if the two girls weren't cousins… but then again, maybe not.

"You fucking son of a bitch." She didn't do as much as raise her voice.

"Leah, please…," Emily begged as she took a step toward Leah.

"Please what!" this time, her voice was louder and her tone was harsher.

"It's not his fault." Emily tried to defend me.

"Like hell it is!" Leah retorted. Her tone stopped Emily dead in her tracks which was probably a good idea. Leah was never one to fully control her anger.

"You don't understand…" Emily added softly. She didn't like to see Leah suffer either. She was trying her best to make Leah see some form of logic in this whole mess but the efforts were hopeless.

"Oh, I understand exactly what I need to. My boyfriend is dumping me for my cousin. I introduced you to him for crying out loud! What sort of a sick bitch does this to her own cousin?" Leah's anger was quickly turning to frustration but I knew her well. She would fight the tears with every ounce of strength she had left. She wouldn't let her weakness show… not in a battle where she was clearly losing.

"Lee…" I took a step forward and stretched my hand.

"Stay away from me you piece of scum!" she shot me a baleful glare which I knew too well that I deserved.

She gave Emily a disgusted look before storming to the kitchen. I followed her closely, still trying to get her to listen to me. She took a can of beer from the fridge and drowned it in one shot. She reached out and took a second one and did the same.

"Leah, please listen to me. You can't do this to yourself. I won't…"

"You won't what?" she cut me off, "Watch me wreck my life? Oh, there's no need to worry about that seeing you already saved me the trouble."

She reached out into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine. She popped off the cork and started drowning it straight from the bottle. I couldn't watch her do this anymore. I had to do something, but I felt as though my hands were tied. Emily was sobbing softly beside me, her breathing labored and her heart rate accelerated. I laid an assuring hand on her arm and squeezed a little.

She looked at me for a brief second before her attention moved back to her cousin. She was getting worried that Leah would drink herself sick and there was nothing we could do about it. I took a step toward her. She moved the bottle from her lips and gave me a hard look.

"I'm warning you, Sam Uley. Just one more step and you'll wish you'd never grown any balls." I could tell she meant what she said but that didn't stop me. When I was close enough, she took a swig from the bottle and then looked at Emily. A smile slowly spread across her face. Confused, I turned toward Emily. She looked as confused as I was. As I turned back to look at Leah, I came head-on with the bottle she was swinging at my face. It totally caught me by surprise; I had no chance at self defense. Pieces of broken glass scattered on the floor and the remainder of the wine soaked through my shirt. A warm liquid was flowing down my face and I immediately recognized the scent; my blood.

I knew the cut would heal within a few minutes but I wasn't so crazy about the pain. Emily pulled in a deep shocked breath before rushing to my side with a bunch of napkins from the table. I held the napkins to my face and turned back to Leah.

"If you knew what's good for you, you'd both leave my house before I do something we'll all regret." She stated simply.

"Leah…"

"I'm tired of hearing my name every few minutes. Get the fuck out of my house and save the remorse for somebody who actually cares!" she yelled.

"Sam… maybe we should give her some time too cool down." Emily suggested.

"I'll cool down when all the fire in hell has turned into ice. Until then, I'll be more than grateful if neither of you showed your faces around here."

"Leah…" Emily said softly.

"Get out and quit calling me. Uurrgghh!" Leah yelled.

I held Emily by the elbow and gently steered her toward the door. Her eyes were watering again. It hurt me so much to see both of them in pain that I almost shed tears of my own, but I knew I had to be strong. Not just for myself, but also for Leah and Emily.

When I got to the door, I turned back to Leah, wishing yet again, I could take away her pain. The anger in her eyes had been replaced by pain and sadness and the broken bottle had been replaced by yet another bottle.

She looked at me and simply shook her head. The message was clear to me. It was just as clear as though she had spoken out loud.

How could you Sam, I trusted you.

I'm sorry. My eyes pleaded. I willed her to understand. I knew how much this was hurting her because more than anyone else, I knew the true Leah. I knew that deep beneath the tough personality there lay a sensitive person like any other, maybe even more vulnerable than anyone else.

As I turned my face away, I thought I saw a tear fall from her eye. Leah… the toughest girl I'd ever met was finally succumbing to her pain? This was too much for us all. As much as I wanted to turn back to her… to really confirm that Leah Clearwater was finally showing her weakness, I couldn't. I feared that through her weakness, my weakness would be revealed too. I feared that if I saw her tears, I wouldn't be able to hold mine back. I had to man it up and move on. As much as I loved her, I loved Emily more. I just had to find a way of living with that.

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