A/N:
I'm going to leave you guys to guess what's going on with Senalda. Also, I suck at writing emotional funeral scenes.
***Didn't do a ton of editing some there are probably quite a few mistakes. Sorry in advance.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.
"Wife?"
Leah rolls her eyes at her mother, while Senalda stands away from them, trying not to laugh at the shocked expression on Sue's face.
"Wife?" Sue questions again, confusion and shock etched all across her face. Emily and Sam copy her look, finally able to express their true feelings about the Senalda situation. "But you're not gay."
Leah groans and Senalda allows herself to laugh openly. Sue shoots a look at Senalda and the other woman offers her a grin. Luca tugs at his birthmother's side, begging to be let in on the joke.
"I'm bisexual and we're not talking about this. I'm here for Seth." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, settling herself again. When Leah opens her eyes again, her mother only sees raw determination there. For a moment it's the Leah Sue used to know, the one who ran away. "I'm here for Seth for the last time I can be."
Sue sighs, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "Tomorrow we're going to put him in the ground and that's it. No more Seth." She was sobbing now, her grief spilling out of her.
Before Leah or Emily can move comfort her, Luca is crawling into her lap and snuggling against her.
"It's okay, my most beautiful abuela, it's okay." Luca coos softly as he pats Sue's back gently.
Sue grips Luca tightly to her chest. For a moment she thinks of Seth as a little boy; tiny, innocent and sweet.
After a moment Sue loosens her grip on the boy and moves him so that they are face to.
"Luca?"
"Si, most beautiful abuela, the most handsome Luca at your service." The boy proclaims triumphantly.
Senalda shoots a look at Leah. The one that says, "You've made our son conceited by telling him how cute he is all the time." Leah shrugs back guiltily.
The moment between the two women is paused, when they hear Sue's laughter. Emily and Sam are especially surprised to hear the sound.
"Are you hungry?" Sue is smiling now.
Luca shrugs. "I could eat."
Sue laughs again. "How about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"
Leah smiles, Seth's favorite.
Luca began to wiggle in her lap. "Yes! Yes!"
Soon, Sue and Luca are up fiddling around the kitchen in their quest to make the perfect peanut butter and jelly while Leah, Senalda, Sam and Emily watch them in awe.
"She hasn't been this…alive in days." Emily comments. "Rachel and I came by the other day to bring food and she was just sitting here in the kitchen. She was staring out of the window, like she was waiting for Seth to come running out of the woods."
"H-how was she when she found out?" Leah asks quietly.
"She completely fell apart." Sam answers.
"You told her?"
Sam breaths deeply through his mouth like he's trying to clear a lump there. Emily grabs his arm and pulls him close.
"Leah…"
Leah ignores Emily, her eyes focused on Sam. "Who told her?"
"Embry." He answers quietly. "We saw his thoughts later."
Leah nods. "Call was a good choice."
Sam and Emily are both surprised; they expected her to call Sam a coward. Her calmness and acceptance of his decision is bewildering.
"You guys should go." Leah states before Sam or Emily can say anything else. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and I'm pretty sure we all could use some sleep."
Sam nods. "Alright." Then he turns to Senalda. "It was nice meeting you." Emily states the same.
Senalda gives them her best smile. "It was nice to meet you two as well."
Sue barely acknowledges the Uleys' departure, she's too engrossed in her little meal and conversation with Luca.
"Tomorrow." Emily states as they exit.
"Tomorrow." Leah repeats as she shuts the door on them. When she hears their car drive off, Leah leans her back against the door and slides to the floor, resting her head on her knees. She only looks up again when she feels a weight settle beside her.
Dark eyes stared into brown ones.
"Tomorrow is not the day that hurts, it's the day after that takes your breath away." Senalda's dark eyes are sad and distant. "Tomorrow is easy."
"Is that supposed to cheer me up?"
"No. It didn't cheer me up either but it was true all the same."
They sit there, quietly staring into each other's eyes, until they heard Sue and Luca calling for them, pulling them back into reality.
"We gather here today in the wake of a great tragedy. Someone has been lost to us…"
Leah could barely make out the words being spoken. So many thoughts were running through her mind.
How could this happen?
Why did this happen?
How could I let this happen?
How could I not be here?
How could I not be here?
HOW COULD I NO-
Leah feels Senalda grip her hand tightly. She looks toward the other woman with teary eyes before leaning (more like collapsing) into her side. The dress Senalda wears acts like a black curtain hiding Leah from the world. Content for the moment, Leah closes her eyes and breaths deeply trying to calm herself and stop her tears.
"It's okay, querida." Senalda whispers. "He's your brother, there's no shame in crying for your brother."
It's not the time but Leah wants to ask again, the question Senalda has already avoided once before. What happened to them? What happened to your brothers?
She pushes the thoughts away, instead choosing to bury herself deeper into Senalda's side.
"This young man was innocent, kind-hearted and just…"
Leah cringes as Old Quil, the elder presiding over the burial, speaks. They would no longer say his name, not for a long time at least.
Sue, who stands beside Leah and Senalda with Luca wrapped tightly in her arms, sobs quietly. The little boy in her arms rubs her face gently.
Leah images her mother feels the same as she does about the name thing. Every part of the boy they once knew is now gone, in body and in name.
Senalda grips her tighter and whispers something. Leah faintly hears the end of her words, "…en su gloria."
Of course the pack was gathered at the gravesite as well. They stood with Sam and Emily. The younger pack members didn't know much in the way of the past but just like the older members (Paul, Quil, Jared and Embry) they leered at Leah with contempt. Leah doesn't glance at them, she doesn't want to deal with their blame. Senalda does manage a glare in their direction though.
"While we may feel sad about the passing of this young man, today is not a day to mourn. We are here to say goodbye and to celebrate his life."
With that the service ends and suddenly Leah is dragged into another form of hell: the funeral reception at the Uley house.
Senalda stands in the doorway of Sam and Emily's house. The stench flowing out of the house is overwhelming to her.
"Seni?" Leah questions, placing a hand on Senalda's shoulder. The other woman looks completely startled.
"Huh?"
"I was asking if you were going to come inside. Luca and my mother are already going for the food."
Senalda tried to smile in place of the cringe her features really wanted to form, but Leah still sees through it.
"You told me I wasn't being real yesterday, now today I'm going to say the same. This isn't you. What's up?"
"It stinks!"
"It stinks?" Leah looks utterly confused.
"Yes! All I can smell is wolf, testosterone and sweat. I can't stand it!"
"Really? Because, you don't act like this at home." Leah grinned then. "Not at all."
"It's not the same. I can barely smell you. With them," Senalda glares towards the entrance of the house and Leah looks as well, like suddenly the mystery surrounding her wife's distress will be revealed. "It's like they constantly run through the fucking woods having no shirt parties in the damn river!"
All confusion leaves Leah and suddenly she turns very serious. "Trust me, they do."
"Trust me when I say I don't doubt it."
A moment of silence passes between the two. Senalda stares into the entrance of the Uley house and Leah stares at Senalda.
"We can't stay out here for long."
"I know." Senalda's eyes stay trained on the entrance.
Another long, silent moment passes between them.
"We have to go in."
"I know."
The decision is soon taken out of Senalda's hands. Paul comes to stand in the doorway, glaring at the them. Annoyed that he's been made to come get the two and angry that he has to spend even a second away from Rachel.
"Are you two going to come inside or what?"
Leah glares back and growls out, "Give us a moment."
"Look, everyone is waiting for you two to get your asses in the damn house. No one wants to sit around while you have a sacred meeting of the dykes on the front porch." Paul growls back.
Senalda's gaze focuses on Paul, nothing but pure rage emanating from her dark eyes. "So that's how you talk at his funeral? You insult his sister barely an hour after he's put into the ground?"
"She abandoned him!" Paul's face is growing red, his body trembling slightly.
"And you let him die." In Senalda's eyes, two can play Paul's game.
Paul growls at her and Senalda hisses back at him, much to the man's surprise.
"Stop it!" Even though her words or directed at both of them, Leah only focuses on Paul. "Get in the house. We'll be there in a minute."
Paul turns and goes, not before throwing Senalda the finger though. He can't take Leah's order without even a little defiance, of course.
"Pendejo." Senalda spits.
Leah takes her hand. "Come on, we need to go inside."
Senalda nods and follows Leah inside.
They quickly find Sue and Luca, sitting on a couch in the living room. The little boy is sitting on Sue's lap with a plate of fruit in his hands. The two of them chatting away about everything and nothing.
Leah notices immediately that only the pack members are in the living room. The only wolves in the room are the ones that Leah knows and remembers. Sam, Jared, Paul, Quil and Embry. Jacob did not show, nothing could detach him from his imprint and the Cullens. The rest of the guests (a combination of humans and the younger wolves) are outside, milling about in the backyard.
"Senalda," Sue pipes up when she spots Leah and her enter the room. "Why don't you take Luca outside for some dessert?" Luca beams at his mother, now restless and anticipating a sweet.
Leah (and Senalda) realizes immediately that they want Senalda and Luca out of the room. What for, she can only guess. Even though Senalda would rather be outside and away from the stench, she's seems hell bent on staying to find out herself.
"A fine idea! Run along, Luca." Senalda says with a smile, aimed at Sue. The older woman almost glares at her, the kiss that Luca plants on her cheek before running off prevents her from doing so.
Sam eyes Leah. "There are some things we need to discuss and it would be best if Senalda left."
Senalda rolls her eyes at him. "If it's about wolf slash pack business save it, I know."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Paul shouts at Leah. "You told her?"
"Calm down Paul." Jared states in the background. Leah finds this odd. Ever since imprinting, Paul seemed rather calm.
Paul looks at him alarmed. "She told and she didn't have the right to!"
Leah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Eyes still closed, she states, "I didn't tell her."
"Bullshit." No one else says a word but Leah could tell the others in the room agreed with his disbelief.
"Oh, fuck off!" Senalda. Leah takes some pride in the woman's fire.
Paul growls at Senalda again and she follows with her previous response, a hard hiss in his direction. And again, he backs up in shock.
Senalda doesn't step away though. "Back off and stop disrespecting my wife." She says lowly.
"She doesn't deserve anyone's respect! She walked out on the pack and she abandoned her own damn brother! And now she's parading this bitch a.k.a you around La Push."
"That's enough!" Sue states as she stands up from the couch and tosses a glare in Paul's direction. "Today is not about your petty disagreements or Leah's relationship. Today is about Se-," She stops herself at his name. "My son. I don't want today to be this way."
"And it won't be." Sam states before turning to Jared. "Go take a walk with Paul, don't come back until he calms down." The two men waste no time in leaving the house.
Sue looks to Sam gratefully. "Thank you. And you!" Sue makes her way over to Senalda. "We're going to find that beautiful boy and then talk about not instigating fights."
"But Mama Clearwater!" Senalda pleades defensively as the older woman leads her towards the back door.
"No buts."
Before Leah can follow, she feels a hand wrap around her arm. She turned to face Sam.
"We need to talk."
A/N: Expect this chapter to be revised. I found it a little hard to write and will probably do better working on it later. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review :)!
