(CHAPTER 4)
After the AP exam week passed and it got to where we had to hand in text books, I was more excited about leaving for Yale. I had a lot to leave behind, but I knew I would come home to see my mom, so I felt a little better after that thought.
On the last day of school, I got the last note in my locker.
I'm going to miss you like crazy. I've heard that you're leaving for Yale, congrats, once the week is over.
I wish you wouldn't leave. I wouldn't have anything to look forward to when I wake up in the mornings.
No matter how much I want you to stay, you should go live your life. I'll just hold onto the thought that you might come back some day.
I love you, more than you could imagine.
I closed my locker and felt a tear slide down my cheek. I put the note in my pocket and looked down the hall one last time, knowing I wouldn't see it again for the rest of my life. I turned and walked out of the school, driving home to finish packing up my stuff to fly out in two days.
The day before I flew out, I opened the door and saw Jake, Jared, Embry, Seth, Paul, Sam, and a couple other guys I didn't recognize on the other side. "What are all you guys doing here?" I asked them. "We need to show you something." Seth said, holding his hand out to me. "Let me just grab a jacket." I told him. I jogged to my room, grabbed a hoodie I was saving for the plane trip and closed the door behind me as I followed them away from the house.
"What do you need to show me?" I asked Seth as he and the other guys led me into the woods. "Just, do freak out, okay Lee?" Seth asked, stopping me. I nodded, scared of what they were showing me and going to tell me. Sam nodded to all of them and they all disappeared except for Sam himself. "Lee, the tribe legends, you've heard them haven't you?" He asked. "Ya, Seth has told them to me after I first moved here." I replied. "They're true. The part about the Cold Ones is true too. That's why we phase, to protect the tribe from the vampires." He said before quickly disappearing. I watched as the trees each guy had hid behind, a giant wolf stepped out from behind it. I looked to where Sam had gone and saw giant black wolf walking towards me. It stopped a few feet away, scared I would run, but I didn't. So it moved closer until it was looking me in the eyes.
"Sam?" I asked in a near whisper. The wolf nodded its head. I looked to the others and saw a wolf barely smaller than the others. I looked into its eyes. "Seth." I looked around and could pinpoint Jake, Embry, and Jared. The others were ones that were most likely the guys I didn't know. I moved my eyes and immediately looked into Paul's eyes. I had no idea how I knew, I just did. Without a word, the wolf nodded its head, silently telling me I was thinking right.
Seth stepped closer to me as Sam stepped back. I held my hand up and Seth raised his head to touch my palm. I smiled as the feeling if his fur. I moved my hand and wrapped my arms around Seth's neck. "Thank you for trusting me with this. I'll guard it with my life." I whispered to him before backing away. They all disappeared and came back as normal. Jared pulling leaves out of his hair. "Why does this keep happening?" He whispered, grabbing at his head.
"She didn't even flinch Sam. I thinks that's a new record!" Embry said, grinning. "Definitely. The only other one who was cool with it was Seth. He loved it. The rest of us freaked when we first phased." Jake explained, looking at me when he said last part. "Well, some legends always have some sort of truth to them. This case is just a little bit more truth than expected." I said, causing all the guys to laugh.
Before I left to drive to Seattle, Seth slid my suitcase into the trunk, closing it once it was in. "Ready?" He asked. "Ya, let's go." I replied, climbing in the driver side of the door. My mom got in the passenger side and Jake and Seth got in the back. "I thought Paul was coming?" I asked Seth as I cranked the car. "He changed his mind." He replied sadly.
I pulled out of the driveway and began the long drive to Seattle. My flight wasn't until after six, but I wanted to be there before six so I wouldn't risk missing it, so we were leaving at ten in the morning. Once I took off, my mom was going to drive my car back home with Seth and Jake. I had shipped my boxes yesterday so I was hoping they would be there the day after I got to Yale.
*At the airport*
"I'm gonna miss you furballs so much." I told Seth, hugging him tightly, then hugging Jake. "We will too. We'll write everyday, or we'll have your mom send pictures." Seth said, smiling and laughing. I hugged my mom as they called me to board. "Okay. Got everything." I nodded. "Okay, be safe. Call if you need anything. I will fly you right home if you want, remember that okay?" My mom told me. "Yes, mom. I love you. Bye." I said, hugging each of them one last time before I walked to my gate, turning and waving before boarding the plane.
*Pack*
"Paul, I can't believe you let her go." Seth said when he was on patrol that night. "I had to let her live her life. She doesn't need to be tied to this place when she obviously wants to leave. Who am I to stop her?" Paul replied before blocking his thought the rest of the night. "Just leave it Seth. It was his choice. He'll have to live with it." Jared told the youngest as they ran beside each other. "I know, but from what I've heard, she's going to be in pain until she comes back." Seth said with a whine.
*Lee*
I landed in Connecticut and got a taxi to the campus, and got to my room and saw my boxes had beat me here! I immediately went to the box with my laptop, pulled the packing foam off of it and set it on the small desk in the dorm. I opened it and saw a piece of notebook paper.
I set the cord back in the box and opened the note, sitting on my new bed as I began reading.
Lee,
I don't know how to tell you this. By now, you're probably at Yale and we've probably already told you about the legends. If not, well I'm screwed. But I'm sure we have, so I wanted to tell you that I was supposed to tell you one other thing that's part of the pack. I didn't tell you because, I was scared. I was scared you would regret staying and losing the chance of Yale. Being part of the pack, there's a thing that the fates allow us the ability of having. They let us imprint. Imprinting is looking into someone's eyes for the first time knowing you want to spend the rest of your life with them. Quil has already imprinted in Claire, she's four, I think. Right now all he is to her is a big brother and a protector. When she's older, she might want to be in a relationship with him.
That's an easy way of explaining it. Whoever a wolf imprints on, the wolf is whatever their imprint needs, a brother, friend, protector, a lover. Sam imprinted on Emily, Jared imprinted on Kim, and Quil has imprinted in Claire. This New Years, I imprinted too. I never realized what it was like to imprint until it happened to me. I finally realized why Sam wanted to die after hurting Emily, I finally realized why Jared and Quil wanted to spend all their time with Kim and Claire. I finally understood real love, not the fake love you give someone you have no real feelings for. I finally understood why Sam, Jared, and Quil would die before something happened to their imprints. And I finally felt the pain they felt when they couldn't be near their imprints.
I've felt that pain every day since New Years, every night I would go to sleep, hoping I would wake up and the pain in my chest wouldn't be there, but it always was.
I imprinted on you, Lee.
Everyday ever since that night the night at the diner, I've wanted to stop pretending to be the dick I act like at school. I wanted to act like myself. I wanted you to forgive me that day at the beach because I wanted to have a chance of you wanting to come back to La Push after Yale. But it all went to hell when you saw me talking to Jessica at the dance. Lee, I never wanted to see her again. I told her that too, but you left before I could explain. When you hid behind Seth, it nearly killed me.
The only thing that gave me hope you still felt something for me were the notes I left you. It was me. The secret is revealed. The guys don't even know it was me. I acted jealous for show, when I was wanting to brag to them how you were slowly, hopefully, beginning to trust me more, even if you didn't know it was me. Which I hope doesn't change it now that you know.
The only reason I'm writing this and didn't tell it to you in person is because, I think partly because I'm a coward, but because I want you to live your life how you've always wanted it. I saw how happy you were when you first found out you were accepted to Yale, and I always remember that when I think of keeping you in La Push, but then I remember how you want to leave so badly. So I let you go. I'm just hoping that 'if you love something set it free,' and something about if it loves you it will return, I just hope that's true. I just hope that even though I've let you go, you might come back to La Push some day.
I love you Lee. Every day until I die.
Paul
The paper slipped from my fingers, my hands moving to my face as the tears spilled from my eyes like dams breaking. I couldn't believe all this time he let me be a bitch to him and hardly talk to him, just because he loved me and wanted me to live my life how I wanted. I jumped to my feet and ran to the admissions office halfway across the campus, not caring about the site the other students saw.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked. "I think there's been some mistake. I'm not attending classes here anymore." I told her. "Oh. What's your name dear?" She asked, looking at the computer screen. "LeeAnn Kennedy." I replied. "It says that your first class is Monday at nine AM. Almost a full scholarship. Are you sure there's been a mistake?" She asked, looking over her glasses at me. "Yes, I'm positive." I answered. "Okay, where will you be attending classes instead?" She asked, typing away on the keyboard. "Washington." I replied, smiling.
I got back to my dorm and had my boxes shipped back to La Push, immediately booking a flight back home. I sent my mom an email to tell Seth. 'Seattle Airport, Flight 34C, 4:24 PM. Get Paul there.'
I got to the airport, got through security and boarded my flight. "Heading home?" The woman next to me asked. I nodded. "How did you know?" I asked her. "Twenty years as a psychology professor has its perks." She replied, smiling. "You look like a girl in love. Meeting him in Seattle?" She asked. I nodded, looking out the window as we took off. "Ya, a very special guy." I said, a smile on my face the entire flight.
When my flight landed, I stood by the gate, looking for Seth and Paul. After almost ten minutes of looking, I gave up and headed for a seat. "Lee!" I spun around and saw Paul running towards me, Seth behind him. I ran to meet him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he held me to his chest. I knotted my fingers in his hair. I pulled my head away from his neck and pulled his head closer to mine, our lips meeting.
I silently understood everything he had felt, and I silently told him everything I felt now. When he pulled away, I looked him in the eyes, breathing deeply. "I love you too. Everyday." I said, smiling. He smiled and moved to kiss me again. When he pulled away, I heard clapping all around us. Flight attendants and captains on their way back to their plane and passengers were clapping, all smiling at us. "What about Yale?" He asked suddenly. I laughed and smiling. "Screw Yale. I can go anywhere for college, but there's only one place with you in it." I replied, causing him to chuckle and kiss me again.
And that is how I fell in love with a guy I used to hate. After that we had rapid sex after getting married on the spot and I popped out a baby several months later. Kidding! Kidding! Funny, how you believed me though.
I went back to La Push with Paul, with the rest of the pack teasing Paul about me flying to Yale and not twelve hours later flying back, and took classes online through Salem State, one of my other two options, and worked full time at the diner with Sue. Once I was eighteen, I moved in with Paul and I walked with everyone at graduation, even though I had graduated. After graduation, Paul started a repair shop with Sam, Jake, and Jared between La Push and Forks. Since I got credits from my AP exams and taking the classes online, I managed to graduate two years after I started, right as Paul got the repair shop open and running, ready for customers.
The night we celebrated the shop opening, Paul proposed. We got married a year later right after my 21st birthday. Kim and Jared got married a few months later, and Emily had her and Sam's first baby in between the weddings. The night of the big bonfire to celebrate Sam and Emily's new baby and mine and Paul and Kim and Jared's weddings, I announced I was pregnant. Thus, causing Paul to fall off the log he was sitting on. Six months later, I had a healthy baby boy and girl. Now, Kim and Jared have a baby boy and Emily and Sam are waiting to give their son a baby sister.
Everyday, I look back at the day in the airport and know I made the right choice I coming back to La Push. And Paul and I say we love each other, everyday until we die.