Dear Embry,

It was so great to "hear" from you! It's totally fine for you to email me here at school whenever you want! I miss you guys all so much. Don't get me wrong, college is great, but at the end of a long day it would be nice to kick back in J's garage with my favorite guys.

But enough about me. OF COURSE I will answer any questions you have about college life! Though the school forcing you guys to take a class called "Life Skills" seems a little insulting. Unless it includes "How to Shapeshift into Beasts that Kill Monsters for Dummies" as part of the curriculum. No? Ridiculous! I mean, there are only 80 kids at your school, right? And 8 of you could really use that. (Ten if you count the 2 who already graduated!) That is 10% (or more) of the school population! I think you should petition the school board and make it so! Ooo! That could be your project for your Civics/Gov class!

Can you tell I'm exhausted? As I'm sure you remember, I get a little punchy when I'm tired. I should go to bed before I get sillier than I already am. Tell Jacob and Quil I expect them to email me, too! (Who am I kidding? Like they would actually write if they weren't being forced to for school. Tell them to call me at least!)

Take care,

Bella

I am so homesick. Embry doesn't realize what a lifeline he's just thrown me. The pack has been good with a few texts, and Jake called me my first night here, but they're all so busy with their own lives, I don't want to be all clingy. Besides, I'm supposed to be HERE now. I get to be in college, which is something that so many of them won't get to enjoy. It's selfish to not appreciate what I have right here and right now.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I'm calling Charlie.

"Bella?"

"Hi, Daddy." Wait. Did I just call him "Daddy"? Am I three? I must be more homesick than I realized.

I can tell he softens at the name though, because his voice changes, "Hey, baby girl. How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing great!" I answer with fake cheerfulness.

My father the cop can smell the bs from 2 states away. "Let's try that again, Bella."

I deflate a little, "I'm just a little homesick, Dad. I'm sure I'll be okay soon, but it's hard to go from having family and friends all around to suddenly being in a sea of people who I have no connection to."

"But we Swans are so outgoing," Charlie jokes.

I chuckle. "Yeah. I'm a regular Homecoming Queen."

"Just remember that all the other Freshman are in the same boat as you are, Bells. Look around for the other people who feel just as scared and lonely as you do. You love to take care of people and won't be able to resist. Before you know it, you'll have a friend."

"You're right, Daddy. I'm just having a bit of a pity party. I probably just need a good night's sleep."

"Don't forget to eat, too. I love you, Bells. I know you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Daddy. Talking to you was what I needed. Love you."

As I end the call, I smile a little. Charlie and I had done a good job in the last year of getting to know one another better. It's weird to start having a daddy/daughter relationship when you're 17. And then spending a year lying to him about everything Cullen did not help our bond any. Once the pack stepped into the picture after Cullens left, though, I started to see how important family bonds were and decided I needed to do everything in my power to fix what Charlie and I had. I started by sitting him down one night and explaining as best I could without mentioning magic or monsters what my relationship with Edward had been like. It helped me to realize a few things, too. Edward loved me, but it wasn't a healthy sort of love. And I put up with a lot of things that I wouldn't have from anyone else because A)it felt so good to not have to be in charge all the time after all those years of taking care of my Mom and B) Being with Edward meant having a family, which was something else I'd never felt I had.

It was a difficult conversation for both of us, but afterwards Charlie and I were better about being honest and being more open about our feelings and concerns for one another. Dad got better about telling me he loved me and giving me hugs, and I was honest about my life with him. Where I was going and who I was spending time with. The fact that I was on the reservation so much and he had eyes and ears all over it made him feel better, too, I think.

I smile as I finish getting ready for bed. The last year had been a good one, for everyone in my life. I could do this college thing. I ran first with vampires and then with wolves. What were a few thousand college students compared to that?

I adjust my dream catcher over my bed before I cuddle down into my favorite comforter. It's no wolf, but my big, fluffy, feather comforter with the flannel cover is pretty darn fabulous.

Dear B,

You're right about those guys not wanting to sit and write unless being forced. So, instead they told me to tell you, "Hi, Honey!" and "Hey, you Foxy Momma". I will let you figure out which one of them said what. I'm sure it'll be really difficult for you. ;)

Okay, so for my class I need to ask you the following questions:

How many college applications did you send out and how many schools accepted you?

What criteria did you use to choose the school in which you are currently enrolled?

Why did you choose college as opposed to working right after high school, or a trade school?

What does a typical day in the life look like for a student enrolled at your school?

Will you be incurring a lot of debt to acquire your degree? If so, how long do you anticipate it will take you to earn that money back if you are able to find a job in your chosen profession?

Are you completely bored of these stupid questions yet and regretting ever agreeing to answer them in the first place?

So, no pressure, but I kind of need answers asap. This portion of our project is due next week. I wish the class was more about Shapeshifting, then I'm sure I'd ace it without even trying! But what do I know about college? Nobody in my family has ever gone. The closest I knew before you were J's sisters and looked how that worked out. Before the whole fursplosion happened, I'd been thinking about it, but now? I don't see how that's supposed to work. This whole class seems like one more shining example of how irrelevant school is in my life now.

Geesh. Sorry to be such a downer. Let me see if I can think of a funny story… Quil tried to ask out Emily's sister who was down visiting from the Makah rez the other day. He was pretty sure he had that one in the bag, until her HUSBAND came up and put his arm around her. I don't know how the heck he missed the big ring on her finger, but that's our Q.

The library is about to close, so I have to end this.

I hope you were able to get some sleep, even though I think punchy Bella is a fun Bella! Thanks again for the help!

Your favorite (2nd? 3rd? 4th? I'm at least somewhere in the top 10, right?) Quileute,

Embry

I can't believe I wrote that. Can you say desperate and needy, anyone? I might as well just confess my undying love while I'm at it.

I could fill an entire book full of the things that I neither say nor type to her.

But none of them matter. She was cool with Jake imprinting, but anyone could see that it threw her for a loop. She told Kim that she'd never feel safe dating a wolf ever again. Kim told Jared and it was common knowledge to the whole pack in less than 12 hours. Jake felt guilty for it, but admitted that it was probably for the best. What if they'd been really in love, or even married? He thought he could fight it, but explained that all of a sudden with the imprint, he could see all the ways Bella wasn't actually that invested in their relationship. Like not only did he totally love Katie, but he could finally see all the times Bella had tried to explain her feelings as deep but not romantic the way he wanted them to be. It was like a mystic 2x4 to the head for him, but made it easier on everyone in the end.

It could have gone so badly. Bella rolled with it, though, and welcomed Katie to the pack better than anyone, and with zero weirdness. She's kind of amazing like that. It was there all along, but all the time spent with Jake after the bloodsucker left helped. Maybe being around me and Quil helped a little, too. I like to think it did. It's not like Jacob was talking books or school or college with her. That was all me. She and I would talk over her applications together when she'd bring them to work on. Jake was usually nearby, and the one she still felt most comfortable touching, but she really seemed to open up to all of us.

The first day she showed up at my house and brought cookies just for me you could have blown this wolf over with the wave of a feather. I didn't even realize she knew where I lived.

"Bella! What a surprise!"

"I come bearing cookies as payment for helping me with my trig homework yesterday," she said handing over a tin full of what I smelled to be her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

I felt suddenly shy and couldn't meet her eyes all the way as I mumbled about it being my pleasure and she didn't need to trouble herself.

And then she touched me- just lightly squeezed my wrist in her hand-and looked right into my eyes and said, "No, Embry. You really helped me. Thank you so much. Truly. I'm trying to get better about seeing all the ways people around me help take care of each other. And letting them know that I see it. So, please accept my thanks," she turned up one corner of her mouth in a shy smile, "And accept my cookies."

Jake would have hugged her. Quil would have fallen down on one knee and sworn something vaguely sexual if she always paid him in cookies. Me? I'm so smooth. (Not at all.) I stammered and blushed and finally chose sincerity as I looked back into her eyes. "You're welcome, Bella. But I will happily help you with anything at any time."

And as she smiled a beautiful smile at me and squeezed my wrist again before letting her hand drop, my wolf cocked his head to gaze with interest at the little woman standing in front of us.