I wake earlier than normal and stretch out on the large bed. My legs are tangled amongst the crisp sheets as I glance at the time. It's six am and a light drizzle of rain taps at the white-framed windows. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing the humidity today would not be as high as it had been in the former weeks.

I take a quick shower, scrubbing my skin with soap and brushing my teeth. With a towel slung low on my hips I make my way out of the bathroom to the small kitchenette.

My reason for rising early sits atop the counter, dressed in sweats, a loose tee and muddy sneakers. She taps her thumbs against her cell, her pink tongue poked out in concentration. Her hair brushes forward into her eyes and my palms itch to sweep the black silk away.

I, of course, resist; reaching instead for the coffee pot and pouring myself a mug.

"Texting a boyfriend?" I ask, grinning at the scowl on her face.

She slams the phone down and rolls her eyes. "No! It's that stupid Candy Crush game. Jasper sent me a link and now I can't stop playing it. I can't believe he's already on Level 36 and I'm still stuck in 18."

"A game?" I query as I shake my head. Teenagers are strange creatures.

Her lips thin and her eyebrows press together as she looks at me. Only, she's not looking anywhere near my eyes. Her gaze sweeps across my chest, her throat bobbing as she moves further down, continuing all the way to my feet. It's strange to feel vulnerable under her wandering eyes.

"I always figured you for a tattoo kind of guy," Leah says as her eyes wander to meet mine again.

"Nope, no tattoos. All one hundred percent, Jacob." I reply as I slip the hot coffee.

We stand in silence amongst the small kitchen. She picks her nails intently while I finish the last of the coffee. For the last few days both Charlie and Sue had been away from the compound. Leah had muttered something about never being able to go with them and pouted for the first few hours. With no one else left in the house I supposed I was her next best option for entertainment.

The breakfast with her and her mother had been weeks ago, and ever since, she found question upon question to ask me. She was interested in my life, the things I had seen, places I had been. Much like a sponge, she absorbed the information, twirling it around in her pretty little head, before spitting out another question.

She's proved herself smart, inquisitive and sharp-witted. But she also shows signs of being an introvert, paranoid and a little feisty.

"Would you like to do anything today?"

I run a hand through my hair and head towards the bedroom. Grabbing out a pair of boxers, some cargos and a blue polo, I quickly slip the items on.

Turning I find her propped against the door jam, watching as I buckle the belt low on my hips. Reaching into the side draw near the bed, I check my gun, before slipping it into the back of my belt. It hides my embarrassment for a moment. It's not that I'm ashamed of my body, but feel as though I am crossing lines I shouldn't be.

"I know a place we could go for lunch? If you want. It's not too far from here. I'm getting sick of watching Lola and you make eyes at each other."

I laugh at her observations. "There have been no eyes."

She ignores me. "I don't see why you don't ask her out already."

Glancing at her, I notice a flame of jealousy in her eyes. It's subtle and quickly dims, but I catch it. "She's not my type." I affirm evenly.

"Really? But she's so pretty!" Leah huffs. "Not forgetting that she accidentally bumps into you all the time."

"Being attractive isn't everything, Leah. And I don't exactly have time to form a personal relationship while I'm working."

She bites her lip. "Do you think my mother is attractive?"

"What?" I ask as I turn to her.

"My mother. Do you find her... Would you ever be interested in someone like her?"

I ran a hand over my face. "Why are you even asking me these questions?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "My mother has always been beautiful, you know. She's always been the life of the party. Always shone brighter than anyone else. She always says I'm pretty and that modelling suits me, but... She's always had that easy kind of beautiful. The one where she doesn't need makeup and lighting and airbrushing." Her eyes are down cast and her face is sombre.

Stepping forward I brush a piece of fallen hair back behind her ear. She stills at the contact and I could swear she was holding her breath.

"Leah, when you find the one, he isn't going to care about any other beautiful women in the world. You are going to be all he sees. Your smile, your laugh; he's only going to have eyes for you."

Her breath stutters in her throat.

"You're going to make some son of a bitch, the luckiest man in the world, someday. But you have your whole life ahead of you. And if he ever, ever hurts you, I'll put a bullet through his knee."

She smiles at my comment, her long fingers reaching to fix the button on my polo.

"Come on," I ebb, grasping her hand and pulling her from the bedroom. "Let's go get some lunch."

...

After changing from her muddy sneakers and oversized clothes, we arrive at a restaurant. It's small; only able to accommodate no more than thirty patrons, but it's cosy and eludes a pleasant aura.

My eyes shift around the area as we walk into the establishment. I keep her close enough to me, in case of any impeding danger. A couple of men sit towards the back of the seating area and I feel a little uneasy. They don't seem to notice us so my nerves settle.

A pretty girl no older than sixteen greets us and leads us to a table. Her hair is braided down her back and the striped apron makes her look far younger than she probably is.

I pull the chair for my lunch buddy and catch the blush that appears on her cheeks. She thanks me quietly as our hostess brings pita, water and wine glasses to the table.

"So... How did you find this place?" I ask as I pour us both tall glasses of water.

"Jasper and I come here often," she smiles as she breaks some pita bread. "We both eat a lot and it's pretty cheap. You're actually the first person besides Jasper that I've brought here."

I smirk at her statement.

The hostess takes our food and drinks orders and scurries away.

"So, what are your plans after school? Graduation is four months away."

She twists her fingers slowly. "I don't really have many plans, yet. I know that I don't want to go straight to College. Maybe travel, see the world. Charlie doesn't want me to leave, but mom says it would be nice for me to get away from all of this. Maybe do some random classes like pottery or learning German."

"I did a lot of travelling in the army. Mostly the Middle East and Northern Africa so I can't help you on the 'learning German' front. Seeing other countries actually puts a lot of things into perspective, you know. It's nice to get away from the norm and do something for yourself."

A plate of Moroccan lamb is placed in front of me and the aroma sparks my hunger. Leah is served Chicken Korma and Dahl. We both tuck in excitedly.

"What is your sister like?"

"Rachel? Uh... She's alright, I guess."

"Is she your only sibling?"

I shake my head. "I have another sister, Rebecca. She lives in Hawaii with her husband. They're actually twins. And older. So you can imagine the Hell I went through growing up."

"Really? Twins? Wow."

I use a napkin to wipe my mouth and take a swig of my beer. "Yep."

"Are you close with your sisters?"

I shake my head. "We kind of lost contact once I left the Reservation."

Leah takes a sip of her water and swirls the chunk of lemon inside the glass. "Do you ever find yourself missing your family?"

I sit back and look at her. She seems genuinely interested in me. "Sometimes. But it's not just the people. I miss going to First Beach with my friends, miss that brothership with them. But I miss the way the air smells when the sun rises. The feel of the ocean against my skin. The sounds of my mother humming in the kitchen."

"You've never mentioned your mother before. Is she still in LaPush, too?"

"She died when I was sixteen," I breathe, cursing myself for the slip of mentioning my mother.

Leah takes my hand and squeezes it. Her fingers are warm and her slender digits look flawless against mine. Scars litter my knuckles and I feel a little ashamed. "I'm sorry."

She pulls her hand back and pushes her food around the plate. Her eyebrows are pushed together and her mouth opens and closes several times before she speaks. "My brother was ten when he died," she pauses for a moment. "He was on his way to school when it happened. No one could really tell us what happened but they found his body in a burnt out warehouse two blocks away. My mother was devastated. She blamed our father for the whole ordeal. She left him two weeks after my brother's funeral. I was six years old and didn't understand."

Like a jigsaw, pieces of Leah's life start making sense to me. The different surname, the cause for her mother and Charlie's worry.

"A year later, my mother married Charlie."

We pay for our meal and sit quietly in the car. Her eyes are watery and her bottom lip is pulled between her teeth. She's in pain and it hurts me.

Knowing that I can't make it better, I grasp her hand in mine and thread our fingers together. I share in her pain for the time being and she seems to understand.

She squeezes tightly to my palm and continues to stare out the window for the drive home.

...