Chapter 1

"Emily, I'm not going to wait for you much longer. We need to get going or we won't get to La Push until dark!" I heard my mother's exasperated voice sound up the staircase

"I'm just about ready. I want to make sure I've got all of Leah's clothes. She wanted her black tank top that I stole last time." I shouted back, scanning my room again.

Spotting the tank sticking out from underneath my bed, I snatched the top from its hiding place, shoving it into my bag and stomping down the stairs with my arms full. I was going to stay with my best friend, sister, and cousin for the summer. Mom and I hadn't been getting along very well lately so my aunt Sue thought it best that I come to stay with them for a while. I wasn't complaining. Mom's been in an awful mood for months now after she and dad split, and nothing I do seems to make it any better. Everything I do is wrong. She literally yelled at me for leaving her sock drawer open the other day, which turned into a full blown screaming match about respecting her property. That was the last straw. I called aunt Sue and took her up on her offer. Now mom and I are headed over to La Push with my meager belongings.

"I hope uncle Harry made his fish fry." I said, attempting to break the silence that had settled over us as we drove down the familiar path to Leah's place.

My mom was silent at my tentative peace offering, not bothering to look up from the road. This was going to be a long ride.

"Look. I don't know what your problem is. I'm sorry it took me so long to find Leah's shirt. Don't worry, you'll get rid of me soon." I stared out of the window moodily, upset at her rebuff.

She never listens to me anymore. We used to be so close. After dad left she has been ignoring me and shutting me out. We used to tell each other everything. She was the first person I told after my first kiss, my first heartbreak. I could tell her anything, but now she always seemed preoccupied and uninterested.

An exhausted frown engulfed her face. "Emily I'm sorry. You know that I love you. I just have a lot on my mind right now. Things have been tough since your dad left. I have more bills to worry abo-"

"I know mom, but us fighting isn't going to make anything better."

"No it won't." She sighed. "I think a little space will be good for us. I just need to have time to work through this. Divorce is hard."

I didn't know what to say to that so I dug out a book from the small bag I had sitting with me in the front seat. The rest of the drive passed by quickly. I read my collection of fairy tales, most of which were very disturbing, and mom listened to a country station on the radio, occasionally singing along quietly to the familiar songs.

After 4 hours not speaking to one another, we finally pulled up to the familiar white house. Leah was waiting for me on the porch as usual, sitting next to someone I didn't recognize. The two were holding hands and looked moonily at one another. It must be her boyfriend, the one I'd heard about nonstop over the last several months. The two were getting very serious evidently.

"Em!" Leah lept up at the sight of our car and bounded down the stairs to greet me. I quickly exited the car and hugged her tightly. She looked a little different. Happier for sure, but there was also something different about the way she carried herself, like she was finally becoming comfortable with who she was.

"It's so good to see you Em. I seriously missed you, you have no idea!" She said, still hugging me close. "Seth will be happy to see you too. He's missed your cooking!"

"I missed you too little cuz! Is that Sam?" I whispered in her ear "He's cute!"

"Very." She smiled back proudly. Leah let go of me and went to greet my mother. "Hi aunt Cheryl. How was the trip?"

Mom finished pulling my bags out of the car.

"Oh good, good. How's your mom?" Mom snatched her up in a hug

"She's been doing just fine. She's in the house." Leah gestured to the white house behind her. My mom took it as her cue to go and find her younger sister.

"I suppose I'll leave you young people to it!"

As mom walked through the front door, Seth shot out of it barreling towards me. I was engulfed in another tight hug from Seth, the closest thing to a little brother that I had.

"How are you doing Seth? Wow! You've gotten so tall!" I ruffled the hair on his head. He stuck his tongue out at me.

Seth was an inch taller than I was now. He would never let me live it down. I hadn't seen him in months, but he still had that sweet childish smile on his face. He was always a sunny attitude about life.

" Yea I'm 5'7 now." He declared "I'm so glad you're coming to stay with us! Leah's always gone with Sam now and I get so bored being here by myself." I smirked at Leah after this proclamation but she wasn't looking at me, she was looking up at Sam.

"Sam come and meet my cousin Emily."

He stood from the swing gracefully, which was surprising for a guy of his size, and walked over to greet me. He never took his eyes off of Leah. She in turn, didn't take her eyes off of his. It's obvious they both have it bad. He reached us and wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. I extended a hand to him awkwardly, feeling a bit out of place in Leah's new relationship.

"Hi. It's nice to finally meet you, I've h-" My voice caught in my throat as he turned his head to look at me and grabbed my hand.

The smile on Sam's face fell immediately upon meeting my eyes. His expression quickly turned to disgust as he looked at me. What in the hell was this guy's deal?

"I need to go home." He mumbled, shrugging himself out of Leah's grasp and quickly stalking away towards the woods. He looked very angry about something, but what? Had I made him uncomfortable? Had he felt what I had? What in the world was going on?

"Sam where are you going? You said you were staying for dinner!" Leah shouted going after him, confused.

"I'm not hungry." He shouted back, not bothering to look in our direction. His shoulders were shaking with rage. What was this guy's deal? Sure I held onto his hand a little too long but surely that didn't warrant this reaction?

"You're going the wrong way Sam. Your mom lives over there!" She gestured the opposite way of the woods. "What the hell Sam? You know I've been excited for this all week." He didn't turn around to respond. Instead he sped up and disappeared into the small opening of the woods.

She sighed, exasperated and turned to me. "What the hell is his problem?"

"I don't know. He's your boyfriend." I said shrugging. That was the strangest experience I'd ever had.

"He's been acting so weird lately, you have no idea, and he won't talk to me about what's going on!"She shouted, a tear slipping down her face. "At first I thought him and his mom were having some problems, but when I talked to her she said that things were just fine. I made him promise that he wouldn't do this during this freaking dinner. I wanted you two to meet one another. You guys are like the two most important people in my life."

I didn't know what to say to make her feel better. Instead I grabbed her hand reassuringly.

"He'll come around. Let's go inside and see what's for dinner."

Leah laughed. "You know exactly what it's going to be."

"Harry Clearwater's famous fish fry!" We said together, laughter overcoming us.

(Later that night)

As Leah and I lay next to each other on her bed talking about boys and movies, my mind drifted to Sam. He was by far the most handsome man I'd ever seen. I was intrigued by him but I could be mature about this. I could be attracted to him and not be weird about it.

"Tell me about Sam." I said, not able to stop myself from asking about him.

"Well, his dad left him and his mom a couple of years ago so it's just him and his mom. He is so sweet to her Emily, it just completely melts me. He really stepped up when his dad left and has helped take care of her and the house. That's just the kind of guy he is and he's always taking care of me, making sure I'm happy and comfortable. He never lets me pay for anything and he gets along with mom, dad, and Seth so I couldn't really ask for a better boyfriend. Plus he's out of high school and a lot more mature than the boys at school."

"Earlier you said he's been acting weird lately. What's been going on?" I probed, dying to hear more.

"Yea." A pause. "He's been really moody lately, which isn't very characteristic of him. He's also been talking to my dad alone a lot, which is kind of weird. But I think I know why."

"Why?" I whispered back

"I think he's going to propose." she said, smiling sleepily

I turned on my side, facing the wall. What the hell was going on with me? "And would you say yes if he did?" I asked, holding my breath. I was afraid to hear her answer.

"Yea." She breathed. "Of course I would. I really love him."