A one-shot based off of Love Remembers by Craig Morgan, which is centered on the one and only Embry Call. I hope you guys enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or the song.
…
The front door was light blue, a half circle window with a red frame at the top. My six foot, eight inch body barely fit through the door when I ducked but it worked. The knob was a shiny gold, with an unused deadbolt above it.
The door that had been opened and closed thousands of times, strained against the bolts holding it in when we moved in the new-to-us couch.
The door that I'd pushed her against, my calloused hands brushing over every inch of her silk skin. Trailing along her ribcage, pulling at her shirt that I hadn't even bothered to look at. Her fingers tangled desperately in my hair, her perfect mouth gasping for air as I left heated kisses along her jaw.
The door that she walked out of not two months ago, suitcase in hand, determined to find what she was looking for.
The door that was accompanied by a smaller, screen door with a wooden frame the slammed loudly as I watched her whisk down the front porch steps.
The door.
I took another swig of the cheap whiskey, barely feeling the burn as it went down. I'd spent most evenings staring at the door, and by now it was burned heavily into my brain. Every single wear and tear, each stain and scuff mark.
I couldn't remember much about that day but I sure as hell remembered the door.
Her lips were moving a mile a minute, but I drowned out most the words after she said she was leaving, catching a few here and there. Her slim fingers tugged aimlessly at her braid, a few tears glistening in her eyes as she spoke. I could hear every noise that sounded around me but I couldn't hear her voice. I wasn't exactly sure how my face looked as she stood straight up, pulling the suitcase with her.
She was nervous, I could tell that much from the look on her face. She opened the door too quickly, squeaking as it went, and nearly hit her in the face as she rushed. I couldn't even hear the last words she spoke, but I saw her mouth them, before pushing the screen door open and disappearing out of my view.
I'm not sure how long I stood there, and before long I realized that I'd fallen to my knees at some point.
But here I was, the complete center of my entire universe walking away from my life, and I was staring straight at the fucking door.
…
The first thing I did was follow her scent. It was hard, since she was on mainland and I had to stay hidden, but I followed her all the way to Seattle. Where I knew she'd gotten on a plane and disappeared from my life forever.
Jessica Stanley wasn't much help either, she just watched uncomfortably as I begged for her to tell me where she was going. I felt a prickling behind my eyes, and watched as Jessica's face softened slightly.
"Look, Embry," she said quietly. Her voice was slightly nasally. "She didn't tell me where she was going – I swear to God she didn't – but it seemed like she wasn't planning on coming back anytime soon. I thought, that maybe you did something to her but she promised me that you didn't."
"Did she tell you why she left?" my voice cracked, and I felt myself begging. Something that I didn't do very often.
She looked conflicted and I fought a growl. At least tell me something. Anything. "She said that she needed to live her life – she needed to get out of Forks. She doesn't want to be stuck here like her mother. She loves you, Embry. She loves you more than anything, but she needs to focus on herself right now."
I understood everything that Jessica told me, and if I was being completely honest with myself I could have seen it coming. When we first met she had been so reserved, she did most things by the book – and I mean the book – but that was until she discovered life outside of following the rules. Ever since her parents' recent divorce, which had every town in a thirty mile radius gossiping, she'd been so much more free spirited.
What I couldn't comprehend was the idea that she couldn't do all of this with me. Our love, just as she knew, was unstoppable. We were physically, mentally, and emotionally made for each other thanks to the Quileute Gods, and the only person that could get in our way of a happily ever after was the person that had succeeded in doing so – herself.
…
It took ten days before Jacob finally dragged my ass out of bed. He was able to relieve me of patrols, but when it came to my actual job he was at a loss. I watched as Quil stalked by the couch, pulling the blinds up with haste.
"Come on, man," Jacob pleaded. "The paperwork at the shop is piling up and neither of us know how to do it."
"Well maybe you should learn how to do it," I huffed. There was no reason for me to work anymore, other than paying the bills on the three bedroom house that I no longer fucking needed.
Jacob's expression went from sympathetic to pissed off in a flash. "You've got to pull yourself together," the words were dripping with alpha and I glared at him with full force.
"That's easy for you to say," I shot at him. "Your reason for existing didn't just fucking leave you."
"Whoa," Quil interjected, his face blinded to me by the immense amount of sunlight. "Your reason for existing is to protect the tribe, man. Imprinting is just a bonus."
Well it's a pretty shitty bonus if they can just up and leave you. It was supposed to be guaranteed – the imprints didn't leave. But here I was, miserable because of it, and I knew the rest of the pack was apprehensive now too. It sent out a message. If one imprintee can leave, then they all can.
"I doubt she'll even be gone long," Jacob reasoned with me. "She feels the hurt just as much as you do, remember that."
I shook my head violently. "I don't want her to hurt this much," I breathed, my hand clutching my heart.
I expected a snide comment about how she probably deserves it – the kind of comment that Leah or Brady would have made. The room was filled with silence instead, because my pack brothers had respect for my situation. They understood what it was like to imprint, and I could tell that they were trying their best to sympathize with me. But even if they saw it in my mind, they would never understand this pain.
…
I woke up almost instantly, the overwhelming smell of girly body wash that just smelled wrong hit my nose. I let my eyes dart around, taking in the surroundings. Every surface of the room had some sort of pink on it and I cringed at the thought.
My head pounded loudly, reminding me of the night before. It didn't matter how much I drank, or how many girls I spent the night with, every single morning I had the same feelings. Regret mixed with loneliness, sadness, and the feeling of cheating. But more nights that I'd care to admit, I did it all over again.
At least my wolf powers had given me something good over the years, besides imprinting. I could sure as hell escape from a one-night-stand's bedroom easier than a damn mouse.
…
It was eighty-seven degrees outside, which probably meant that it was the hottest day of the year in La Push. I sat on my mom's back porch, PBR in hand, trying my best to enjoy this one good thing in life like everybody else. Most people were at the beach, taking hikes to get pictures of the sun over views, or enjoying the day like me. But my step-dad John wasn't most people.
He just had to be cutting the fucking grass.
Just like he was cutting the grass two summers ago, on what was coincidentally the hottest day of the year. My eyes glanced over to the area where they usually kept the hammock.
It was the summer after she graduated college and the day after she'd learned about the legends and my turning into a giant werewolf. We sat on the hammock and talked for hours with our fingers intertwined, and I swear I could have sat and listened to her talk for hours. It was truly beautiful.
I always loved that she was able to be herself. She opened up to me in ways that she'd never done to anybody else, both physically and emotionally.
I knew that it wasn't John's fault, he didn't really know that he'd bring these memories. But that didn't stop me from breaking the lawn mower when he took a bathroom break.
…
I knew the windy road like the back of my hand, having travelled it dozens of times in the last year. I sped faster than I probably should have, but I was anxious to get home. To our home. The rain was pouring harder than it usually did, but my werewolf eyes were able to guide me through easily.
Her delicate fingers were tracing circles on my knee that was driving me absolutely crazy and I could feel pieces of her light brown hair tickling my shoulder where she laid her head. She always smelled like lilies and vanilla and it made my head spin.
"If you don't stop that, we won't even make it home," I warned her. Her busy fingers paused for the smallest second, and then continued again but moving farther up my leg.
She turned her head so she was facing me now, her warm breath teasing just below my ear. Her left arm wrapped around my neck, playing with the hair that was just starting to grow back, while her right hand continued to dance up my leg. "You have no idea what you do to me," she whispered, and I could feel it all the way down to my toes.
All it took was one more move of her hand before I pulled to the side of the road and cut the engine. It was pitch black out and the rain sounded heavy on the cab of the truck but nothing else mattered. My lips were on hers and she was everywhere. Her hands knotted firmly in my hair as I shifted her to straddle me and I kissed and licked every inch of her neck.
Our shirts were off in the same swift motion and I relished in the feel of her body on mine, trying to find a word to describe how it felt. Electrifying. Magnificent. Beautiful.
I loved every single side of her, but this side had to be in my top three. Nobody else had ever seen her this way – vulnerable yet confident – I was the only person she'd ever done these things with and it was the best feeling, to know that she was all mine. She left her perfectly composed shell only for me and it was beyond rewarding.
Her body moved and writhed above mine in pleasure, each time feeling just like the first. She felt just the same, if not better even after almost two years. I wanted to capture this moment and keep it forever – the feel of her uneven breath on my neck, the beads of sweat glistening on her shoulders despite it being New Years Eve, the pitter-patter sound of the rain falling on the metal surrounding us.
She was perfection in every sense, and she was all mine.
…
I watched as the sunlight glistened off of the ring in Seth's hand that he'd proposed to Melanie with. It was flashier than anybody would have thought he could afford, but he had been saving up for a while. Ever since he'd asked her it had been wedding talk 24-7 with them and I tried my hardest to block them out. She'd enlisted the help of all the girls except Leah, who hated her with a passion so fierce we were surprised Seth had even asked her.
We were also surprised because she wasn't his imprint, and in all honesty I think that's why Leah hated their relationship so much. She was mad at Seth for putting Melanie in the kind of position that she had been in years before, but Seth believed in his heart that he wouldn't imprint.
"It's supposed to be rare anyway," he urged. Of course, Melanie didn't know a single thing about the legends and she never would, and Seth would have to hide it from her but it was his decision.
Unfortunately for Seth, he was wrong. He in fact did imprint about three weeks after he popped the question and it took about two weeks for the engagement to be called off. Melanie was in a state of shock and despair, and while Seth felt bad for hurting her, he was falling madly in love with Leah's roommate from college who was absolutely perfect for him.
"What's your point, Seth?" I interrupted his ramblings harshly. He only rambled when he was nervous, and he was obviously here for a reason.
He looked startled for a moment before recovering. "I was just wondering what I should do with this ring, and I figured I'd come ask you. It wouldn't be fair for me to save it for Elaina and I just wanted to know what you did with-"
"She has it, Seth," I cut him off. I could feel my glare harden as I spoke. "I got it for her. It was hers. I didn't want it back."
It was quiet for a long while and I could see him thinking. "Oh," he said softly.
Yeah. Oh.
…
She loved taking any kind of photographs. Her specialty was hiding them in various places in the house, to find them unexpectedly and be reminded of the happy day. Of course she hadn't anticipated leaving at the time, and I had forgotten all about her game until I came across it.
It was rolled up and tucked inside the pair of dress shoes that I only wore on special occasions. I found it because I had been instructed by Jacob that the art gallery that the painting would be displayed in was fancy, even if they did accept a big painting with a bunch of wolves on it.
Her hair was soaking wet and her light brown eyes bore into mine through the picture. She was wearing jean shorts and the thin strap of her blue bikini was peeking out from under her tank top. Her perfect alabaster skin glowed from the camera flash. My arm rested lazily around hers and a grin was on my lips, something that I hadn't done since she'd left.
We'd taken a dip in the creek behind her parents' house at one o'clock in the morning, and it was the first time she'd snuck out. It was also our first kiss and it had blown my mind. She tasted like cotton candy and she smiled so bright at the end that I felt my knees go weak.
It was the night that I realized that she really had been made for me.
…
The art show had been boring and I silently cursed Jacob for making us all go. They had barely even touched on the wolf piece and I could have caught up on some sleep with my night off of patrols. It was raining again too, no surprise there. I turned and pulled hastily into my driveway, my eyes fixated on the HOUSE FOR SALE sign on the front lawn.
Quil had suggested I sell the house to lose the memories, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to part with it even getting an offer. I stalked up the sidewalk and pulled open the screen door, turning the knob on the front. It didn't budge.
This threw me for a loop considering I never locked the doors. I looked around at the neighbor's yards and that's when I saw it. Across the road in Mrs. Llewellyn's small driveway was a familiar green Subaru with the EAT LOCAL bumper sticker.
Everything seemed like it was in slow motion except for my heart which was in overdrive. I fumbled aimlessly with my keys while my hands started shaking.
This shaking was different though, it wasn't the kind I was used to. This was nerves, excitement, and shock all built up. I was frantic.
Before I had time to shove the key into the lock, the door swung open and all of my hopes came true. Here she was – the most beautiful woman in my entire universe – staring up at me with wide eyes and worry etched on her face.
She looked the same but different. She'd cut her hair so it fell just above her shoulders and her eyes were red and puffy. Her thin frame was frozen just like mine, a pair of jeans on her legs accompanied by a tank top. If it was even possible, her skin looked softer and her lips looked fuller.
I wondered idly if I was dreaming – it would be a cruel dream. But then I figured, even if I am dreaming I might as well enjoy it because this had nothing on my wandering imagination.
"Embry, I-" She didn't have time to finish before I crashed my lips to hers. I was half afraid that she would protest but she didn't, instead her legs wrapped tightly around my waist and her hands fisted my hair. It was the best kiss that I'd ever had in my life. I pushed through the door way and had her lying back on the couch in record time.
Her hands slipped easily under my shirt and her body grinded pleasurably into mine. It was like nothing I'd ever felt before, an overwhelming sense of joy. She broke our kiss, her breath uneven and beautiful, and looked into my eyes. That connection from the very first day was there and I could feel every emotion that she's ever felt push onto me.
I could feel love and adoration mixed with shame and regret. My reason for existing was right here, with me, and she was feeling everything just as much as I was.
"I'm so sorry, Embry," she choked out, tears forming on the corners of her eyes.
I kissed them away, refusing to let them ruin this moment. "It's okay," I reassured her. She was about to protest when pressed a finger to her lips. "We have plenty of time to talk, baby. Let's just feel tonight."
Her eyes ignited with a passion – the kind of passion that they always had. Her left hand came up to brush my cheek – which I noticed still held the engagement ring I'd given her six months before – and she breathed a sigh of relief. "I love you so much Embry Call," she whispered quietly.
I grinned brighter than I ever had before and pulled her as close as was humanly possible. "I love you too, Angela."
Fin.
…
I loved writing this more than I honestly thought that I would, and I'm thinking very seriously about doing a prequel, so please tell me what you thought. Thank you so much for reading! –J.