Leah Clearwater; Wounded

Chapter Seven

Jacob's point of view

"Let's go talk to your mom," I breathed as I pulled back.

The night before... Well, I had lied to the guys. Why? The truth was... dangerous. Nothing had happened; well, depending on your depiction of nothing. There had been a lot of... kissing. It was like the both of us had been drunk on loneliness. Like our kisses; full of needing and desire for life. Which is why I didn't hesitate to kiss her again; calm her down. Whatever this was; friends with temporary.. livening benefits, or just a two-time deal, it was nice to just forget about some things for a while; the shit weighing us down for so long.

Of course, Bella had left me, too, in a rut. Her choosing Edward; her choosing the vampires - our enemies over me. But at least Edward and I were supposed to hate each other. Leah and Emily... They were family. They weren't supposed to hate each other and hurt each other. Bella. My heart sank a little - not because I still loved her, I was used to her and Edward being together - But because I remembered the pain I went through months back when she picked him over me. It was much the same as Sam picking Emily over Leah. Bella had loved Edward and I both, and Sam loved Emily and Leah. But Emily was the more dominant love; just as Edward had been for Bella.

Leah shook her head. "I don't want to go home - Emily's calling me later with wedding details." With an infamous eye roll, she stepped back, out of my grasp.

"Let's go away," I blurted speculatively.

"Go away?" She asked, raising a brow. She looked as though I just told her two plus two equaled eight.

A soft chuckle escaped my lips. "Like.. go somewhere; anywhere. Go home and get an overnight bag. Our cabin's up in the park, we can go up there for tonight. Get away from all of this for a while."

I saw it in her eyes; the idea was too inviting to pass up.

Leah's point of view

It didn't take long to get back to my house and once there, Jacob went to his own to get his rabbit and an overnight bag for himself.

"Mom?" I called out after kicking off my shoes.

"In here Leah," she called from the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm going to stay at Jake's tonight with-" But I cut off, Billy Black standing alongside my mom in the kitchen as I entered. The both of them looked to be in their glee; happy as clams. Lovely.

"Staying at Jake's?" She questioned, her smile only growing.

"He didn't tell me anything about this," Billy countered, however, his tone was far from disapproving.

"Uh, well, I was going to have a girls night with-"

"She's with Paul," Billy said, clearly amused.

I sighed. "We were going up to the cabin," I admitted.

My mom nodded, eying me carefully. "What's really going on between you and Jacob?" She asked curiously, her and Billy's eyes intent on me, waiting for an answer.

"Honestly? Nothing. We're just hanging out. I'm allowed to have friends, you know."

My mom's smile broadened. I knew she was glad to hear that Jacob and I were friends... That we were interacting at all.

Billy seemed content as well. Then again, he probably thought his son was running through the bases. "The cabin's locked, so he'll need the key."

I nodded, giving him a small smile. "I'll let him know."

"Leah," My mom said gently. "You and Jacob aren't.. romantically-"

"No," I said automatically.

My mom laughed softly; slightly... nervously. "I just don't want to be kept in the dark," she said seriously. I knew she hadn't been happy being kept in the dark about me and Sam's... activities until after the break-up. She hadn't been happy about them in general, but how was she supposed to tell her heartbroken daughter that she was grounded because she had sex with her boyfriend who had dumped her, making the break-up all the more painful? She couldn't and she didn't and her empathy was still something that took me by surprise.

I nodded, "You have nothing to worry about, either of you."

They both nodded and I backed out of the room before going upstairs and grabbing a small duffel bag and throwing a pair of pajama shorts, a couple tank tops, a pair of new shorts and other various things along with the necessities. I slung it over my shoulder, grabbing my wallet and shoving it in the bag as well before grabbing a sweater hanging by the door and leaving my room, slinging the sweater over my arm. I went downstairs and saw Jacob nervously talking with Billy and I grinned slightly. To be honest, all of this... even if we were found out; it was a rush. We were going away for a night; yes, one night, but still... I got to finally leave. Some part of me was scared that if I did leave for any time, though, that I wouldn't have the strength to return; the will.

I wanted Sam to be happy; I loved him enough to want that. I just didn't want to stick around to watch. It was something I'd always been sure of. I would never wish any harm on him. I loved him, against all odds and understanding. But staying here; hearing his thoughts on Emily; the baby... It was all too much. Something I was quick to accept an escape from.

"You guys aren't doing anything, right?" Billy asked, his tone as serious as my moms was moments ago, when she was asking me the same thing.

"Dad, no." Jacob said, seeing me come downstairs.

Billy turned, seeing Jacob's attention direct away from him and then nodded. "Be careful," he warned before exiting the house.

"You ready?" He asked, reaching out as I hit the bottom and taking my bag.

"Am I ever," I exhaled.

Jacob chuckled and we left the house, climbing into Jacob's rabbit and starting our apart two hour journey to the cabin. Two hours away from La Push; Two hours away from Sam and Emily and all thoughts of their baby growing in Emily's stomach. Two hours to sanity.

Jacob's point of view.

Finally, after two hours of driving, having stopped for gas once and to get some snacks to tie us over, we had reached the cabin. It was just passed Port Angeles, into Sequim. Billy had it for as long as I could remember, though we hadn't visited much since Billy got into his accident. I put the car in park outside of the brush-covered log cabin and took the keys out of the ignition. The sun had set about fifteen minutes ago.

"We can have a fire if you want," I offered.

Leah yawned, stretching as we both undid our belts. "A fire sounds good."

I was pretty sure I could of asked her to pick at carcass and she would of been content as long as Sam, or La Push wasn't involved. The thought brought a grin to my lips. "I'm sure it does," I mused.

"Hm?" She asked, opening the door and letting a cool breeze waft through the car.

"Never mind," I said as I got out and took the two duffel bags, along with the cooler bag. Leah grabbed a couple bags of groceries I took from the house and the pillows and blankets we'd taken. I wasn't exactly sure what was in the cabin so I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be sleeping on a sheet-less bed. Then, a thought occurred to me. "You can have the room with the double bed and I'll take the single." There were three rooms; one that Billy and mom used to sleep in, one for the girls, and mine.

I opened the door, turning the light on to light everything up as we both stepped in, Leah closing and locking the door behind us. She placed the groceries on the counter to our left and then, the pillows and blankets on the futon. I laid our bags beside the blankets and the cooler on the table before Leah came over to me, surprisingly, wrapping her arms around my waist. "You'll sleep in the double bed with me," she breathed gently.

I raised a brow. "Thought last night was a one-time deal?"

"Well I couldn't have you sleeping on the couch last night. It's uncomfortable. Besides, it was only kissing Jacob," she struggled to admit it, and I chuckled.

"I know, but you sure?" She was high on adrenaline; freedom and the night before she had been drunk on pain. Both things changed the way a person thought and their perception of what they truly wanted. I guess it was a good thing, though, that she hadn't decided to exile me to another continent for the night before, yet.

She nodded, her eyes meeting mine as her chest rose and fell. "I'm sure."

"You okay?"

She hesitated, keeping her eyes trained on mine. "I will be."

And for some reason, somehow, I knew she meant it. I nodded, kissing her hair. "Want me to light the fire?" She nodded and then, I went out back, the small cabin surprisingly still fresh and stocked with mostly everything we'd need. I went out to the car, taking some wood out of the back and then threw it in the fire pit as Leah made up the bed. I was just putting the dry wood into the small fire pit, logs surrounding it when the light I had from the back porch went out - the whole house dimmed, the lights blinking and then cutting out completely.

"Jacob?" Leah's shaky voice came from inside the house.

I chuckled softly before walking around the fire pit and entering the back door. Everything was black and I almost bumped into Leah as she made her way to the back door. I wrapped my arms around her small frame. "Still want me to light the fire?" I asked, resting my chin on the top of her head as she sighed softly.

"No,"

"Want to lay down?"

She nodded and I took her hand, guiding her into the master bedroom of the cabin. Once in there, I led her over to the bed. She climbed onto the bed and I draped the comforter over it, Leah having done the rest. I climbed up as well, taking her small frame into my arms as I brought the comforter up, around us. "Scared?" I teased lightly.

Leah laughed and more than likely rolled her eyes. "No, you?"

"Only if I wasn't with you," I stated half-teasingly.

Leah was warm; she smelled nice, her small fingers fit in between mine perfectly and her tiny frame but perfect curves felt nice in my arms. Maybe the way she was so hurt was like a challenge for me. I was progressively accepting Bella being with Edward. Actually, I was pretty much over it. I just had to get used to the idea. However, Leah was still hurting and if I could make her feel any better, I had to try. Especially with the wedding hastily approaching. I wanted to be her rock; her best friend. Even if that was it, considering I wasn't even sure if I wanted to have romantic feelings for anyone, let alone Leah, let alone if I already had them against my liking. It was just nice to kiss her; hold her and know that she let her guard down around me momentarily; she trusted me. She needed that and maybe I did, too. Some... female company.

Then, Leah stirred in my arms and she leaned up, our faces only inches apart as the night before came rolling back, our lips, gently grazing the others. I couldn't fight the urge I felt as I kissed her back; slowly, carefully. My arms tightened around her small frame, but then, she pulled back.

"Jake?" she asked softly, the moonlight just allowing me to make out her face in the dark.

"Yeah?"

"Before, you said about just falling in love normally... Do you really believe we can do that?"

The words made me slightly uncomfortable; why she had brought them up. "Uh, yeah, I do. Why?"

Leah shrugged. "Just wondering. Sam was in love with me, and that didn't matter when he imprinted."

I nodded, getting more of a sense of where she was coming from.

"The wedding's soon," she dropped my gaze. "Emily was supposed to call me about arrangements."

I shook my head, frowning. "Quite honestly, I don't know why they keep this up. It's like they're pushing your buttons more and more every day to see what rise they get out of you," I blurted angrily. It was true, though. They kept pushing her and one day, a part of me was afraid that they wouldn't have anything left to push.

She laughed softly, though bitterness made it's way into her voice. "They're full of remorse," she stated sarcastically.

I pulled her closely, rubbing her back gently, my hands resting on the small of her back. "He's sorry, Leah."

"How many more people are going to tell me that?" She asked, her voice full of stress.

"A lot," I paused. "Until you believe it."

She shook her head. "It's kind of hard to believe it when he's marrying Emily in, what, two weeks?"

I sighed, but nodded. Sam was like Bella with Edward. He loved Leah, but he didn't love her enough to chose her over Emily. They were both at fault, but seeing Leah have such hostility... Maybe if she just got rid of that, she could accept it more easily. No, she didn't have to forgive them and kiss their feet, begging t o be forgiven - that was a stretch - She just had to stop blaming what happened on someone; something. It happened and she understood that, however now it was time to let it go. She deserved to be happy.

I wanted the best for her and all the feelings going through me.. Especially the intimacy of having to endure one another in the same pack all those months back while protecting Bella... "Have you started those Yoga classes yet?"

She shook her head. "I was going to, but then the baby came along. How am I supposed to try and be calm when every second of the day lately, I've just wanted to phase?"

"And leave?"

She hesitated, "Maybe. I hadn't gotten that far."

I knew what that was like. "What stops you?"

She looked up at me. "You."

"Me?" I asked immediately, shocked.

She nodded, not dropping her eyes from mine. "Just.. I don't want to be alone. You said you were going to stay broken off from Sam's pack. That the Alpha gene was too powerful to turn off once you'd turned it on and then, you didn't. I had no one to go with, Jacob. I couldn't go myself, you know how well that doesn't work."

I merely nodded and sighed. "I was going to leave, but I just... couldn't leave Bella. Even after the kid and having her turned.. I don't know."

"There's always that pull."

"Exactly."

Things were quiet for a moment and then, Leah leaned up, placing her lips to mine and only moments later, she straddled me, both of our lips searching for something neither of us could seem to find before now; understanding. But it ended there, of course; the kissing. I took her into my arms and that's how we fell asleep; completely clothed and decent, with no wander hands moments before. However there was still a satisfactory edge to it. I was happy; light.

Leah's point of view

The morning came too quickly. At least when I was asleep, I didn't have to deal with anything but myself. Jacob's cell phone rung loudly, though, breaking me out of my slumber at a mere 9:04am. Who the hell was calling at this hour? Billy knew where we were. The sky was light and it streamed through the window even if the sun hid away.

Jacob's arms were loosely strung around my body, and I reached over him, grabbing his phone, looking at the caller ID: Emily's.

"Jake?" I said, nudging him gently. "Jacob?"

He groaned and turned before sighing, his eyes fluttering open. "Yeah?"

"Phone," I said hastily, passing it to him.

Jacob's brow furrowed and he hit talk, "Hello?" Sleepiness filled his tone and he rubbed his eyes.

He sat up and I stayed under the blankets.

"Yeah, she's here-" He paused. "No, we went to get aw-" Jacob rolled his eyes as he seemed to keep getting cut off. "Sam, chill out. We'll be home later today. Nothing happened, chill."

I sighed. That depended on your depiction of nothing. Why did he keep checking up on her? Sam had to leave her alone.

"Yeah, we'll be home later, see you then," Jacob said, hitting 'end'.

I looked up to him, sighing. "Sam?"

"Mhm. He kind of... freaked when he realized we were gone."

I smirked, "Gone? Like... he thought we had run off to separate to our own pack?"

Jacob chuckled. "Probably. He's just.. protective of you. He asked me if we had sex."

I almost did a double-take. "What?"

Sex... I couldn't have sex with anyone. Why? Because it brought back memories. Sam was the only one who had ever gotten me naked; got to show me how much he once loved me. Having sex with someone else... It was like washing all of that away. My heart hurt and my chest tightened, slightly, but I kept that inside. Sam.

Jacob let a loud belly-laugh escape. "Exactly my thoughts. Don't worry, I set him straight," he said, winking.

I rolled my eyes, laughing somewhat hesitantly. "He's really... something," I murmured, shaking my head.

Jacob chuckled, "Want to go home? Emily needs you, by the way." The way Jacob said it... somewhat, annoyed brought a smile to my lips as I remembered his words from the night before.

'Quite honestly, I don't know why they keep this up. It's like they're pushing your buttons more and more every day to see what rise they get out of you.'

Jacob cared and that was more than I could of asked for.

Author's Note:

The chapters just keep flowing out! I had this one almost written before I posted the last one because for about a week, it wouldn't let me post. Anyways, if you guys review, the next chapter will follow shortly! (:

Don't worry, there's going to be more drama. This one was a little more... sentimental, I suppose you could say. But there's a dress rehearsal for the wedding approaching and dress fittings, so, stay tuned. ;)

- Dramaticfield