The Call
Chapter 7
When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was looking straight into the dark fathomless orbs of Seth Clearwater. I smiled at him, and he returned it immediately, lifting one of his hands to trace his fingertips along my jawline before pulling me into a gentle kiss. "It's official," he grinned, "you're always beautiful." If I could have blushed, I would have. Instead, I bit my bottom lip and rolled over to look at my cellphone. "It's almost time to go," I told him, sitting up, stretching, and then hopped out of bed and went towards the bathroom; throwing my nightshirt off along the way. Seth groaned, cursing under his breath and then called after me, "was that an invitation, Swan?" I just laughed, though a part of me tingled with anticipation at the thought of finally seeing all of Seth in his naked glory, I was ultimately glad he refrained. He brushed his teeth while I showered, taking his own shower when I was done. We moved about each other like magnets, never touching yet always aware of the other's presence. When it was finally time to go, he took my hand on the elevator ride down to the parking garage where my car was (though I hated to drive in the city), and we headed towards the pier warehouses. Along the way, I told Seth about my plan to head back to the reservation that night.
"What," he gasped out, confusion filling his voice. "Did I-"
"No," I cut him off, "I love spending time with you, and I hope being home doesn't change that." He let out a relieved breath, assured me it wouldn't. "Truth is, I don't feel safe here, in the city. I'm a rural girl at heart." He grinned at that, squeezed my hand and told me I was his girl. I smiled back. "Besides, after today you've already missed two days of school, the week before Christmas Break. Tomorrow will be your last chance to review before your semester exams."
"You care about that?"
"I care about you, Seth. I love you." The words fell from my lips easier than I would have thought possible after all the heartache I'd experienced. "Let's just get this shoot over with. Then we can grab a bite to eat before packing up and heading home. Tell you what," I continued, noticing his sullen expression, "once we hit the interstate, I'll pull over and let you drive."
"Really," he perked up like a little kid that was offered free ice cream.
"Really."
The video shoot ended just after 12:30, and I was exhausted. "Good thing you're driving most of the way home," I commented as I stabbed my broccoli and cheese baked potato with my fork. Seth chuckled as he finished his fourth stake. "I mean it," I pressed, "I don't think I could keep my eyes open the whole drive."
"Don't worry about it," he smiled softly, one of his large hands encasing one of my smaller ones, while I ate with the other. "I'm man enough to keep you safe in a moving vehicle while you catch a little shut eye."
"Of course you are," I grinned, pushing the last few bites of my food around on my plate. "Come on. Let's get back to the hotel."
"Just can't wait to get me alone, huh, Swan," he teased.
The drive was quick, for one o'clock on a Tuesday in Seattle anyway, and we were checked out and on our way home before two. As promised, as soon as we'd cleared the city, I pulled onto the side of the interstate road and switched Seth seats. I adjusted my seat so that my back was reclined slightly, smiling when Seth removed his leather jacket to cover me with. I was a sleep in no time and before I knew it, I could feel myself lifted up and knew he was carrying me inside. I curled my body against his, holding him close to me after he'd lowered me onto my bed and tried to pull away. "Don't want you to go," I mumbled, blinking my eyes open.
"And I don't want to, believe me," he whispered back, turning his body so he was sitting beside me. "You were right about coming back today, I kind of promised Embry I'd help him with something."
I frowned at that, setting up and pulled my arms away. "Seth," I started with a hesitant sigh, "you agreed you need to focus on your exams."
"I can't just bail on him, Bella," he replied, clearly exasperated, "not like everyone else." I bit my bottom lip and thought quickly. "Ok, he's your friend, and obviously this is important to you," I reasoned. "But your grades are important too, Seth. What if… what if I helped Embry? Then he wouldn't be doing whatever by himself and you'd be able to study."
"You'd do that?"
"For you, sure." My smile faltered slightly as I leaned in and whispered conspiringly, "what exactly am I doing?" Seth burst out laughing, a truly joyous sound. "Nothing much, promise. Embry's grandmother moved down here from the Mekah rez a few years ago. She ended up building an antiques store and well… She died a few months ago, and Embry has finally decided to do something with it. Me and some of the guys volunteered to help him clean it up, only –"
"Other things came up," I cut him off.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I'd feel like shit if I ditched him too. He's been like a brother to me since I… started high school and all."
"It's settled then," I said firmly. "Your mom has the morning shift for the next three or four days anyway, and I have my cell if Charlie needs me. You just study, kay? I'll show up at Embry's bright and early. As for right now, it should be dinner time, right?"
He nodded, then looked down. "How 'bout I just pop over at Em's real quick. Let him know what's going on? I think mom ordered pizza already anyway. Charlie's pissed because she won't let him have any pepperoni." I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. I could just picture my dad pouting like a baby. "I'm not your parent," I finally told Seth. "Do what you want. Just know I'm here for you."
The next day, I showed up at the Call house shortly after Seth had left for school. Embry answered the door quickly, let me in as he finished cleaning up after breakfast. "Mom's great," he told me with a shy smile and a hint of a blush, "she's just not that good at keeping things tidy. But then I've never met a lawyer who was."
"Or one that had the time," I quipped, looking around. The house looked like Mr. Clean himself lived there. "So, what all are we doing today?"
"I got the antiques boxed up or sold off already. The ones that didn't sell, I've posted them on a website hoping to reach a wider audience. I washed the walls down yesterday and primed them. Today I was hoping to get some of the painting done, if not finished."
"I'm sure between the two of us, it'll be no problem," I reassured, glad I'd worn my comfy jeans and tatter t-shirt I saved for cleaning or gardening. "Need any help before we go?"
Embry looked over his shoulder at me as he patted his hands dry on the dishtowel. "Nah, I'm ready. I cleaned the shop's fridge out and stocked it a little a few days ago, and the toilet is in working order, so we should be good. Come on, I'll show you the way. It's not too far from here, actually."
He wasn't lying, the quaint little shop was only about a five minute walk from his house, on the outskirts of the La Push shopping area. The back area was surrounded by a thick forest, while the front area was clearly visible to passerbys. Hell, his grandmother had even put wooden benches on both sides of the entrance to attract pedestrians to widow shop if nothing else. "This is a great location," I couldn't help but exclaim. "And the building itself looks so inviting. Normally when a thick, gloomy forest is anywhere around it makes things look run down or at least slightly creepy, but this looks like a cottage out of a hallmark card or something. What are you planning to do with the place?"
Embry looked pleased, his russet skin deepening in a slight blush. "Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Believe it or not, I'm planning on making it a book store."
"Books," I sighed out wistfully. "Oh, be still my heart! You know any other circumstances and I might have considered this a date." His adorable blush lit up his face again. "R-really, Bella. I-"
I turned to look at him, his hands shaking as he attempted to unlock the door. I bit my lip, ashamed I'd rendered him in such a state, stepped forward and placed my hands over his. "Embry, I'm sorry. I was only teasing. I'll behave from now on." He looked at me, startled that I'd touched him, his nostrils flaring as he breathed deeply. Once again I watched his eyes dilate and darken as he took in my scent, and I had to wonder what was up with these Quileute men. "What if I don't want you to behave," he replied, his voice husky and lower than it had been previously.
"Embry," I started to question him, but his lips claimed mine fiercely. I knew I should push him off, tell him about Seth, but as soon as his tongue touched my lips fire erupted through my system and my brain shut down. Somehow we ended up inside the store, the front door shut and my back against the closest wall. When he finally pulled back for air, Embry leaned down by my neck and breathed deeply – just like Seth and Jacob had. Also like them, he moaned about how good I smelled – what the fuck was up with that? He straightened a bit, leaning back down to kiss me again when my brain suddenly started functioning. "I can't," I leaned back taking in his face. Hurt and confusion were the main two emotions, and I wanted to soothe him so much, I didn't resist when he pulled me against him.
"Did I do something? God, did I force-"
"No," I cut him off, "no. I… I liked it, Embry. Honestly when I started hanging out with Jacob after Cullen left, I felt like we had the most in common. I'm only sorry we didn't get to see each other more." He grinned at that, his eyes lighting up. "The reason I can't, is because Seth and I are kind of involved."
"Kind of involved," he questioned. "Are you or aren't you?"
"We are," I answered, though it sounded more like a question. He laughed softly, one of his hands tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ears. "I get it, Bells. You like Seth, you don't want to cheat. I respect that, I really do. But I also feel like you like me too, that we could have something special. I'm not asking you to cheat," he cut me off when I opened my mouth to protest, "or do anything you're not comfortable with. Seth and I are very close, more like –"
"Brothers," I nodded. "He told me, that's all the more reason why –"
"This could work," he grinned. "I know you don't know me well. But, Bells, we have three, maybe four days for you to get to know me right now. Seth and I, we're not the jealous sort – at least not about each other. I'm certain if we're all honest, we could make this work. That is, if you want it to." I didn't know what to say. I did feel something for Embry, but I didn't want to risk what I had with Seth. I opened my mouth to answer, but shut it each time. "Just get to know me, please Bella. We can start there, can't we?"
"Yeah," I agreed after a few tense moments, "we can start there." He smiled so brightly, it was nearly blinding. "Great," he gushed, relieved. "Let's, um, let's get to work then." With that he motioned towards the painting supplies on the floor. The top half, he wanted a sky blue, the bottom half a light sandy brown with an inch and a half stripe of silver to separate them. He told me once the painting was done, he was replacing the linoleum with dark oak laminated flooring. "I don't know," he rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at our progress before we took a lunch break, "maybe I should get some rugs too. It would help cut down on the noise."
"So would curtains," I teased, noticing all the widows had only blinds. Embry smiled, happy I was starting to feel comfortable around him. "Come on," he motioned towards the front door. "I'll take you to Ateara's Market for lunch. You do know they added a deli since you've been gone, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I've been there recently."
"Great!" He offered his hand and I hesitantly placed mine in his as he walked us along the sidewalk to the market. I'm sure we made quite the pair, both covered in random paint splatters. Embry and I both got a lidded Styrofoam plate of fried chicken, mash potatoes, and green beans, though he did get quite a bit more than me. I grabbed a PowerAde to drink, Embry grabbed a Rainer beer. As we ate, he told me about the garage Jake and Paul had opened together, that he and Quil helped out part time when things got really busy – which seemed to be most of the time. "Seth takes over for me in the summer though. He would do it all year, but Sue doesn't want his grades to suffer. I don't mind, especially now. You know, with me trying to start my own business and all." I listened and nodded in all the right places, though I was saddened to hear Seth, despite his high GPA, would most likely ended up working as a mechanic his whole life. It wasn't that I had anything against the profession, and if it truly made him happy I'd support him fully, it was just that I felt he had so much potential to do something amazing with his life. To me, it seemed like Seth was settling for the bare minimum of what was expected of him. Embry also told me that Paul had married Rachel Black a little over a year and a half ago, and they were expecting their first child – which was predicted to be a girl. "She's about five months along, and Paul is super protective," he said with a laugh. "I mean it! One time, Leah Clearwater was helping Emily move some furniture around in Paul's house – something about the cosmic energy flow being off of something – and Emily tripped on a rug and fell backwards onto the floor. She didn't even touch Rachel, but it surprised her enough that she screamed. Paul almost ripped the door off its hinges getting to her." Embry chuckled to himself until he was red in the face then shook his head. "So, what about you? What have you done since you left Forks?" His warm eyes looked at me curiously. "Why did you leave Forks?"
My appetite vanished with that question, the joy and ease I had been feeling left me as well. "I, um," I started, squirming uncomfortably in my red plastic chair.
"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," he said, clearly feeling the change that had come over me.
"No," I forced a smile, "it's fine. I mean, you'll find out anyway. Ok, so you remember I dated Edward Cullen for a while? It didn't work out, obviously. So, I hung out with Jake… Which didn't work out. Then I dated Quil." I frowned at that, remembering how my body used to respond to his. "Well, I more than dated Quil," I corrected, causing Embry's brows to crease in his confusion. "He was my first," I clarified. I smiled sadly, losing myself in my memories. "We didn't work out. Or, rather, I finally slept with him and he broke up with me the next day."
"What," Embry growled out in outrage. "He – you – he… That dick!"
"It's fine," I shrugged my shoulders. "I'd graduated the day before, so I called my mom and started college in Florida. I ended up meeting some guy named Evan Masters, we got engaged actually."
"You were married," he gasped in shock.
I shook my head then looked out the window. "No. A, um… A few days before the wedding, I found him with my then best friend. That was a year ago, I haven't – hadn't dated since."
"Until Seth."
"Until Seth," I agreed with a nod. "I actually thought my heart didn't work anymore. You know, like all that bad had bled the love right out of me."
"But you care for me too, Bella," Embry rushed out, one of his warm hands reaching acrossed the table to wipe a few of my tears away. I pulled back, excused myself to the rest room, and quickly left the table. I splashed cold water on my face, patted it dry with a paper towel, and forced myself to take a couple calming breathes. I was determined to play this whole thing off and get back to the comfort we'd had earlier. Fate is a cruel mistress, however, and I'd soon learn that wasn't in the cards for me.
