A is for apple, B is for Blackwater
A/N: Hi all! Sorry it's been way too long since I updated any of my stories, I have a thousand excuses/reasons why but I'll skip that long list and just say I'm getting back in the hang of things. This is a series of one shots based on Kei Kat Jones, Cucumber07, and Sentinel10's brilliant Blackwater alphabet idea. Please, for the love of God, don't compare my little one shots with theirs though, it'll just make me sad lol. Those three are like Twilight fanfic gods, no lie. An amazing author by the name of Captain Spockette (Check out her stories. You will be so happy you did. Girl is amazingly talented) suggested I try this so this story is dedicated to her. Btw, some of these one shots will be very ooc but I honestly feel that's part of it being AU. Hope it isn't a problem.
Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight, don't want to either.
Argument: A reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong.
My relationship with him has just been a series of arguments. When we first met we playfully argued about my clothes. It was the night I met Sam. My girls and I were dancing wildly, having a good time. We paid no attention to the men in the dark corner of the club watching us, until he called me over. I remember tipsily swaying back and forth, trying my best not to spill my drink and still appear sexy at the same time. It was all for naught though when my cousin Emily elbowed me to get my attention. My drink ended up all over my leg and brand new heels. I had turned around to see what she was pointing at when I saw him.
He was beautiful, even now as he yells and screams in my face I think he still is. Head and shoulders taller than every other man on the dance floor. Even the strobe lights and smoke of the club didn't deter from his beauty. The fact that his deep brown eyes were glued to me made him even more extraordinary. He didn't look away from my face once.
I gulped and felt my empty plastic cup slip through my fingers as I leaned against the sticky wall. I will never forget the way I felt in that moment. Weak and strong at the same time. There he stood, finally. Gazing down at me, he smiled and slowly offered his hand. The club went silent to me then. I didn't hear my friends' hoots and hollers, the loud pulsing music. Just beautiful silence. I couldn't help but to smile back at his heartbreaking grin and slide my hand into his. He turned around and began to gently tug me behind him. So smitten was I that I didn't even say goodbye to my friends. Just followed him blindly.
He stopped once we reached the velvet rope that kept the peons from the VIP area. He nodded to the security, who lifted the rope no questions asked, and we went through. He led me to a large, crowded booth in the back. As he approached the booth, the silence started to die out. I began to slowly process the loud shouts and laughter of the booth's occupants. My tunnel vision ended and I began to look around. I noticed the half-naked women hanging off of the men's shoulders, I noticed the large stacks of money on the tabletop. I noticed the guns hanging out of the men's holsters. What shocked me the most was Sam Uley's presence.
Sam Uley was, still is, the biggest gangster our city has ever known. He made millions in drug distribution alone. Going into weapons dealing made him a billionaire three times over. But what he was known for the most was his ruthlessness. Cross him and not only you, but your entire family, will pay. He had our entire city by the balls. Politicians hired left and right, the police he paid out of pocket to be on his side.
I tensed up immediately. I was in way over my head. He squeezed my hand and gave me an reassuring smile as some of the men scooted over to make room for him. He sat down and tugged my arm so I fell in his lap. As soon as his body collided with mine, I forgot it all again. It's still like that sometimes. He eclipses everything. "So did you wear that dress just for me, sweetheart," he whispered in my ear.
I became a little girl again. Giggling embarrassingly, I whispered back that it was my cousins. He laughed and his cool breath sent shivers down my spine. He noticed me shudder and rubbed his hands up and down my arms, thinking I was cold. "I hope you never give it back then, because you'd be doing her a disservice," he responded.
I turned to face him and saw the slight twinkle in his eye as he teased me. "Why do you say that," I played along. He smiled bigger and moved forward to lean his head against mine. "Because she will never look as beautiful as you do in this dress. No one else will." He whispered. I laughed and we argued back and forth for several minutes, feeling as if we had known each other forever. My eyes had fluttered closed once his forehead gently bumped mine. I slowly opened them to find him staring deeply back at me. I will never forget the look on his face as he studied me. Or what happened next.
"I agree," a deep, monotonous voice said. With that the spell was broken and he and I broke apart. He turned to face the direction the voice came from and I followed suit. The leer Sam Uley gave me made me wish I hadn't. I had wanted to stay in that moment with him forever but Sam ruined it, just as he would ruin everything else in the future.
"Jacob, who's your lovely friend," he asked, as he leaned forward across the table slowly. My mouth had gone dry and I clung to him, to Jacob, tighter as he turned to face me. I licked my lips nervously, and both men followed the small action intently. "Leah," I said in a small voice, answering Jacob's unasked question.
"Leah," Jacob called out, still staring at me, before he cleared his throat and repeated himself. "Her name is Leah." His hand tightened around my waist and I soaked up the comfort. "She's a pretty little thing," Uley called out, as he shoved a few of his buddies out of the booth so he could step out. "She's beautiful," Jacob agreed, making me blush. A few of the guys around the table shouted their favorable opinions until Sam silenced them with a tiny hand gesture. I remember thinking that was a small display of how powerful he was. I should have paid more heed then.
"Exactly, so my question is: what is she doing with you," he said softly, dangerously. Jacob stiffened and my heart race reacted accordingly. I was scared. I saw Jacob begin to say something but what it was I'll never know. Sam cut him off before he could get it out.
"Leah Clearwater, correct? Your Harry's little girl," he chuckled to himself. "Your father owes me a lot of money. Did you know that?" I had, in fact, known that. My father's drug addiction was the very reason I was so familiar with the name Sam Uley. Everyone in the city knew who he was but not everyone had to come home to their father cursing his name daily.
Someone came up behind Sam and helped him slip on his expensive coat. He kept his eyes on me the entire time, waiting for my answer. I looked to Jacob for help. He gazed at me as if he could give me the right answer through his thoughts. Sadly, I didn't receive them. I turned back to Sam and saw that he had stepped closer. He was so close he was almost stepping on Jacob's toes.
"Yes, I knew that," I finally answered. Sam nodded and then did something I would never expect. He offered me his hand. It was much in the same manner as Jacob had just moments before. Only this time the gesture seemed cruel, as if I really had no say in the matter. His next words verified my fear.
"You can make all his debts go away, dear Leah," He whispered. I stared down at the hand and felt Jacob squeeze my side, as if it was a reflex. He didn't want me to go. I didn't want to go either. "It may just be time for your father to pay up. Does he have the money? You do know what will happen if he doesn't," he threatened just as softly.
Yesterday's headline immediately had come to mind at his words. An entire apartment building was burned to the ground resulting in 16 fatalities. The back and front exits had been locked and chained shut. The police said they had no leads as to who did it. Bullshit, it screamed Uley.
I stared up at Sam, horrified as he nonchalantly placed a cigar in his mouth. One of the scantily dressed women strolled over and lit it for him, before winking at me saucily. He took a deep pull and then blew the smoke out in my face. "Does he have the 4 thou," he asked, already knowing the answer. I turned to face Jacob again but he just sat there, his head hanging low, staring at the ground. I turned back and slowly shook my head no.
Sam smirked, humorlessly, and yanked me up before I could protest. "Didn't think so," He said smugly, as he draped his arm around my shoulder and started to drag me towards the back exit. My feet shuffled slowly as he pulled me along. I turned my head and strained to catch one more look at Jacob before we reached the exit. He had stood up and was staring after us, as one of his friends appeared to be consoling him.
Jacob and I had a deep connection from the moment I saw him, but as I stared at him from within Sam's all-encompassing arms I knew we weren't meant to be. He must have seen the fear and panic in my eyes as I was led away because he shoved his friend away and began to stride towards us. But it was too late. We were out the door before he could even get across the room.
Sam must have gotten a taste of something he liked that night because he kept coming back for more. I don't know what it was that drew him to me. I was frightened beyond belief that night. It was my first time. He tried to wine and dine me, did the whole chilled champagne, and beautiful hotel suite thing but I was frightened nonetheless. I was stiff and frigid. He would touch me and I froze up. He would kiss me and I would turn away. The look in Jacob's eyes haunted me during the vile act. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to escape it but his big brown orbs wouldn't go away. I remember wishing he hadn't been such a coward. I remember wishing he had saved me.
Sam's people dropped me off home the next day and I went along as if nothing had happened. I thought that was it. I was wrong. Two weeks later, Jacob showed up at my doorstep. That was the second time we argued. There was no playful banter that time. Just bitterness and anger. I didn't know this man from Adam but I felt something for him. And he felt something for me too. I had never believed in love at first sight and I still don't. But Jacob and I had immediately felt each other the night we met. Something about him reached out and grabbed me. It never let me go.
Every day, every minute, of those two weeks afterwards I had thought about him. Had thought about what could have happened if he had stepped up, if he had just brought me back to his place instead of to that table, if he had been my first and not Sam. If he had at least kissed me. All of those thoughts surged through my brain when I opened my front door and saw him standing there that Tuesday. I thought he had come to apologize, to make things right. He had come to bring me to Uley instead.
I flew at him once he told me. Beat my girlish fists against his broad chest and wailed. I cursed him, slapped him, spit on him. And he took it. He took all my shit, just like he took all of Sam's. Finally I broke down. My knees buckled and I slumped to the ground, sobbing. He wrapped his strong arms around me and gave me all the comfort he could. As I sat there and cried, he told me his story. He was in the same boat I was in. Jacob's father owed Sam an insane amount of money. Jacob's father was a veteran with an addictive nature. He was an alcoholic, a drug addict, and a brute. But Jacob loved him. No matter how much money he stole from him, how many brutal beatings he gave, Jacob loved him.
So one day when he came home to find Sam and his men beating his father to death, he tried to break it up. He actually got the upper hand for a while. Jacob was a big guy, massive really. He had one of Sam's guys when Sam pulled a gun and aimed it at his father's head. Jacob immediately dropped the guy and begged Sam not to kill him. Pleaded with him, said he'd do anything. With those words he had sealed his fate. He became one of Sam's cronies, sent out to do all of his dirty work. Eventually he got so good at what he did, Sam wanted him closer. He became Sam's right hand man.
He guarded Sam, Sam's money, dealt with Sam's enemies, and got Sam whatever it was he wanted. And back then, Sam had wanted me. He had no choice but to bring me to him. In that moment I hated him. I had trusted this man the moment I met him. I wish I hadn't. I can still hear his voice in my ear as he held my weeping body against his and whispered "Sam's men are in the car, watching us, across the street. If there was any way out of this, I would take it. I would take you and run. And never look back."
Soon after that I moved in with Sam. He gave me free range of his mansion and all the land surrounding it. His servants respected me, treated me like a lady and not the sad whore I was. I was lonely, in that big house in the countryside. I used to ask Sam why he lived so far from the city, the very city which he ran. His answer was simple. He didn't like to bring work home. I still wonder what he considered me then.
My family was very accepting of my new role as a gangster's girl. Sam sent presents and money to my family, over time seeming to forget my father's debt altogether. They couldn't have been happier. I, on the other hand, was miserable.
Jacob avoided me. He was in the house constantly, he and his men. As second in command he was very busy, yet no matter what if we happened to be in the same room his eyes were on me. About a month after I moved in, I cornered him in Sam's office. I wasn't allowed in there, but the men had all gone. Jacob was alone there and I trusted the staff to not say anything. I quietly snuck into the spacious, sophisticated room and locked the door behind me. I thought I had been stealthy, the door hadn't made a sound when I entered, yet he said my name as if he had been expecting me.
"We can't do this," he said, with his back to me as he put down his papers. He hung his head and rested his knuckles on the oak desk as he took deep, calming breaths. I said nothing, just rested my hand on his back as he repeated his words. I had moved forward and hugged his huge body tightly from behind. Just like at the club my body melted against his and we breathed in unison. He gave in for a moment before spinning around and holding me off.
Again, we argued. Why couldn't we do this I asked. Why couldn't I love him I cried. Because he'll kill us both, he reasoned. He wanted to give in. I could see how it pained him to tell me no, but he was stern and wouldn't budge in his reasoning. He wouldn't let me put my life on the line for him. He had already put my life on the line when he brought me to Sam's booth, I told him. He stood silent, knowing it was true.
I reached up to kiss him. Our first kiss. As heady and passionate as it was stupid and dangerous. I felt our souls merge into one as our tongues delved together. He cupped my head gently as he lifted my body up to his. My fingers grasped at his lush hairs, needing something to keep me grounded. Something to bring me back down to earth. As his tongue caressed mine and he moaned into my mouth, we were in heaven. We only came back down when we heard the pounding on the locked door.
Jake immediately brought me back down. I clung to him but he held me off. I reached for him once more and he pushed me. I stumbled back and looked at him with new eyes. I stared up at him, as he gazed down at me, breathing hard. "You are weak, and I hate you for it," I whispered, as I turned and opened the doors.
I remember being so angry, so bitter that I had hoped it was Sam at the door. I wanted to die rather than to go on living like this. Instead it was his maid Claire. With eyes downcast she warned me of Sam arriving home. He was in the driveway, his driver Paul was stalling him as best as he could. I had thanked her, let her fuss over my hair and then shooed her away. "I hate you," I whispered one last time before I left the room and went upstairs.
Jacob and I didn't speak for two years after that. We watched each other, were still drawn to each other but we never spoke. If he was in the library, I would come in and sit, silent, just absorbing his presence. If I was in the kitchen, he would sit, watch, and listen to Claire and I gossip, never saying a word.
My bitterness, my anger, grew during that time. I became an evil bitch. Any of Sam's men would attest to that fact. I was mean, surly, and nasty to everyone that I spoke to. The only exceptions to the rule were the servants and Jacob. Jacob didn't receive my anger because we didn't speak. In all actuality he and Sam were the cause of my change of attitude. I hated them both.
I stopped caring about what Sam would do. His consequences seemed miniscule after a while. I spoke out of turn, argued with him, and belittled him constantly. For some sick, twisted reason he began to care for me more. He doted on me, pampered me, and spoiled me rotten. He only beat me when I embarrassed him, which wasn't often. He had trained me in how to behave like the perfect gangster's wife, which is what I was to become. I married him a year later.
I had grown used to this sad excuse of a life. Sleepless nights, meaningless sex, constant misery. Then the threats came. Attempts were made on my and Sam's lives. New gangsters wanted to claim Sam's throne. Carlisle Cullen was determined to make the city his own, but Sam wasn't going down without a fight.
At times I sit back and wonder if Sam bumped his head and forgot how we met. Making Jacob my personal bodyguard was the stupidest thing he could have ever done. But he did it. At first things were okay, awkward but okay. We didn't speak, he just followed me everywhere. It was much like how it was before. Then one day, we had been sitting in the library when he asked what I was reading. At the sound of his voice my heart beat sped up and my palms began to sweat. It was the first time that he had spoken to me since that kiss. I had missed his voice.
Hesitantly, I answered him. He nodded his head and said no more. My heart rate went back to normal, but I couldn't help but to anticipate when he would speak again. The next day he asked me two questions, and I answered less hesitantly. It went on from there. We spoke more and more until there was nothing left to say. I felt like I had known everything there was to know about this man, and him me. Our connection flourished until I needed him so much it hurt.
Those two years had changed him. He claims it was my confession of hatred towards him that did it, but I believe it was our time apart. He was no longer the weak man I had known. The one who had changed my life so completely. This time it was he who chased me and I who ran in fear. Worry and stress over the Cullens claiming his territory had Sam more ruthless than ever.
I took the brunt of his anger. It all came to a head during a dinner party he had me host. I must have said the wrong thing, or ate with the wrong fork. I don't know what triggered his anger but the next thing I knew Sam had raced around the table and lifted me out of my chair. He slapped me so hard I saw stars. I remember preparing myself for his second blow only for it to never come. I opened my eyes to see Jacob holding his hand in a tight grip, keeping him from hurting me further. I had never seen such an confused look on Sam's face before. It astounded me.
He finally dropped me and I tumbled to the ground. "My job is to protect her, and that includes from you." Jake said before tossing Sam's arm to the side. Without another word he bent down, picked me up, and carried me from the room. He gazed into my eyes the entire way to my bedroom. The apology I saw swimming there wasn't just for tonight, but for every night since I met him. He tenderly set me down on the bed and patched up my busted lip. I remember waiting for Sam to burst in the room and shoot us both. He never showed.
As Jacob stretched out beside me on the bed and stroked my lip, I knew we were playing with fire. Yet I didn't care. I doubt he did either. He leaned over and kissed me, making sure not to press down too hard. I gave in to him quickly, no thinking, no worrying at all. I remember looking up and seeing Clair quietly closing the bedroom door as Jacob and I made love for the first time.
We were so wrapped up in the contrasting soft and hardness of our bodies we paid attention to little else. My moans and sighs harmonized beautifully with his grunts and groans. His hands were everywhere at once, yet they still didn't touch enough of me. My flesh had burned for him. It never stopped burning.
I needed him constantly. That night Sam had left the house after Jacob whisked me away. Probably to go shack up for the night with one of his sluts, my cousin Emily among them. We were lucky that night. Other times we weren't so lucky. Or so smart.
We had expected Sam to separate us after Jacob's obvious display. Instead Sam seemed to remain oblivious. We stole moments together whenever we could. I remember being surprised that Sam didn't smell Jacob's cologne on our bed sheets instead of his own.
We were happy, we were perfect. Still in hiding, but we would take what little happiness we could get. Life had robbed us of so many other moments, we took the ones we had greedily. Then I missed my period. Thought it was nothing until I started to throw up in the mornings. When I gained five pounds I knew. I was pregnant.
And that brings us to the present. Here I sit on the bed, as you clutch my hands and tell me not to do what I'm planning on doing. You want this baby. You want this baby more than anything you've ever wanted. You're willing to fight for this baby. Willing to fight for us. You've been saving money. Have been since that day you came to get me and bring me to Sam. "Remember what I told you," you ask, as you rest your head against my belly and plead. "I said I would run away with you, and I meant it. Come on, Lee. There's nothing keeping us here anymore. Run away with me," you reason.
"What about your father, Jacob? What about my family? Sam will massacre everyone we know if we try and leave! My family owes him too much as it is, I know eventually he will try to claim it," I argue. "We owe our families nothing, Leah. I've lived like a slave for that man for too long. My father gladly gave me up for his debt. So did yours," you say, as you hug me close as we both stand. "I want this. I want a family with you. My happiness is you."
I turn to face you when you capture my mouth with your own. Your kiss is deep, persuasive, and loving. All of your kisses are loving. "Run away with me," you ask one last time. I open my mouth to answer yes. A sound, immediate yes . . . when the door burst open and Sam and several of his men barge in. You whisk me behind your body for protection but it's too late.
I clutch your hand in mine so hard I think my nails draw blood from your palm as Sam's men open fire. I close my eyes and hug your back from behind, like I did all those years ago in the office. I whisper I love you in your ear. It's the first time I've ever told you because it has always been so clear that I never had to say it out loud. You whisper it back and I think it's fitting that we tell each other moments before we die.
The sound of the gunshots stops suddenly. I open my eyes when I realize I didn't feel an ounce of pain. Sam lies slumped on the floor, dead, while the men all put their guns away. I stare around shocked and confused, before Carlisle Cullen strolls into the room. Jacob's grip on my hand tightens even further. Surprisingly, Carlisle seems not affected by us at all.
He surveys the corpse then pats Jared, one of Sam's top men on the back. "Good work," he say, calmly. He turns to leave before looking back at Jacob and I. "I will only warn you once. Get out of the game or I will put you out of it. This is your only chance, Black." He growls before walking out.
Sam's men follow him out and we're left with the mess. We call 911 and tell the staff everything that has happened. We've come full circle as I sit in your lap on the steps outside and we playfully argue about where we should move. Sam left everything in my name and with the money you have saved we could go anywhere we want to. They cart Sam's worthless carcass out as we debate over either Australia or London. The childish argument dies down when you grab my face and kiss me till I'm breathless. Then we both agree that we'll pick some place that's best for our child. That's the one thing we can agree on.
ANA: Happy birthday To Me. I love you guys, I know I've been missing for a while but obviously I love you if I updated on my bday, right? Does that make up for my months missing? And idk how I feel about this story, honestly this was just my way of getting back on the horse. Sorry about the tense changes and everything. Just how the story came out. Will be updating my other stories soon. Blackwater love
Lauren