My mouth hung open in shock. It was taking time for my brain to really compute this. My werewolf boyfriend was in front of me. On one knee. A velvet box in his hand. A ring in it that I was sure that he couldn't afford. He'd just spouted out something about being his sun and his moon, the center of his Earth, his imprint. A word that we had sworn we would never mention again after his first use of it. We would simply just be. No definitions. I guess I had taken the whole thing more casually than he had.
All I could feel in this moment was anger. We'd been together for about a year. And he had known from the beginning that when I graduated, that summer, I would be eighteen, and I would be moving. Not getting married. Not loosing my independence. Not to anyone. I would be moving. Me and a car full of my things, down the coast to Hollywood, California. It had been my dream, since I understood what acting was. And I had made this clear to him on more than one occasion. I was meant for bigger things than La Push and Forks. I was going to become somebody. Somebody important. And she wasn't going to let some high school boyfriend keep her from that, from her life.
"This isn't fair," I said to him point blank. He shouldn't be asking me to make this choice. To stay here with him. Or get to follow my dream? The only thing I'd ever wanted since I could remember? I had never been the kind of girl to get all tangled up in romance. I had never once as a child, or a teen fantasized about my perfect boyfriend, or my future kids, or even a wedding. In fact, until I met Embry, I would have proudly proclaimed that a wedding was out of the question. I didn't want what my parents had. My mom was a small woman, who usually quietly lived under my dad's thumb. She had to explode to get anything she wanted. I didn't want to be trapped. Especially not here.
His smile faltered as he rose to his feet again, towering over me impressively before taking the bag off of my shoulder and leading me to the bed. "I love you," he said, the pain at my not immediately launching myself into his arms and screaming yes, evident on his face. But I could only find so much sympathy or him. He had ambushed me, with something he had known I didn't want. And I was supposed to feel bad?
But somehow I did. I knew if this was any other world, or if this was happening later, after I gave Hollywood a shot, I would've done exactly what he wanted. I would have said yes without thinking twice. But I was no Emily. I didn't see a future in staying here, getting married, cooking for a pack, and making babies. That was too small of a role for me. "I love you too," I said, not realizing that I was crying until my voice cracked.
"Then marry me," he practically pleaded. As if he didn't see anything wrong with this request as if dooming me to be his partner in his small life should be some kind of honor. And anger flashed through me.
"No," I said forcefully, raising to my feet and backing away from him, towards my dresser, towards my bags. "I can't believe you would even ask me. You knew this was going to happen. You knew this was coming. You knew I was leaving, practically since the moment you met me. You always said that it didn't matter. That I could do what I wanted. And this is what I want. I want out of this town. I want out of this house. I don't want to be trapped here, with you, being small for the rest of my life." Her voice rose as she spoke until she was yelling the last of it.
"You could still…" Embry started. But I didn't want to hear anymore. I didn't see anyway that I could run off to Hollywood if I was engaged. And I just didn't believe that he could join me and simply be supportive. I'd never seen that happen in my life. Someone simply support you because it was the right choice to make. I wasn't willing to risk letting him make me into the perfect little wolf bride somewhere else. I could still be small in the center of Hollywood if I was tied down. And I was sick of being small and unimportant. I didn't want to feel small town anymore. I wanted to feel like a big city girl. I wanted to feel like someone with class that was well traveled. I wanted to feel like I was so much more than I was. And I had it in my head that only Hollywood and an acting career could make me that. It would make me rich, make me a household name. When everyone knew who I was, I was bound to be important.
I squared my shoulders. I was not going to let my leaving Embry affect me. It was not going to change my plans. Or my opinions. Even if saying good-bye hurt like hell. I was still saying good-bye. And I was still going to have a hell of a time living my life. Hundreds of miles away, without him and his imprinting chains. "I'm sorry Em," I said, my tone detached, my eyes looking at him, but not seeing him. As if he were already a memory. Part of my past. In a few hours this whole god forsaken place would be my past. And I'd be on the beginning of an amazing adventure. Which was just as it should be, this time of the year, after graduation. I grabbed my last bag and threw it over my shoulder and began bounding down the stairs. "Lock the door on your way out," I called over my shoulder before closing the door behind me. The hollow thud, echoed the sound that my heart was making inside my chest. But I ignored it. Time could heal all wounds. And eventually I'd forget all about Embry Call.
I threw the duffle bag in the backseat and got in the front. It was no time before I was on the road. Tearing through the greenery of town for the final time, leaving my hometown of Forks.
It wasn't until I passed the "Now leaving Forks" sign and heard the tortured, heartbroken howl let out into the night air that I broke down and sobbed.
A/N: I know the first chapters a little short, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. And I promise that future chapters will be longer. ANd please review...I'd love to know anything you thought, good or bad. :)