Chapter 8
On the drive home that afternoon, my parents were discussing their hunting plans for the afternoon.
"Why don't you go ahead and go with Rose and Emmett, love," Dad said, squeezing Mom's hand. "I'll stay home with Nessie, and then I'll go out with Carlisle and Esme in a few days."
"Edward, you should go first. It's been so long since you've hunted," Mom said gently. They were both still reluctant to go very far from me, even though it had been a couple months since my birthday. Jake wouldn't be closing down the garage until five o'clock, so I decided to snag this opportunity.
"Why don't you both go tonight? Leah can come sit with me until you get back, or until Jake gets off work," I suggested.
"I don't know," Mom said hesitantly.
"Mom, I've been dying to talk to Leah since we got back. We really haven't had the chance to catch up with everything that's been going on, and me being so busy with school." I was trying very hard to concentrate on questions I was planning to ask Leah about her time at college so the more important things I wanted to talk to her about wouldn't be at the forefront of my mind. Despite my efforts, Dad picked up that I was hiding something.
"I think that would be fine, don't you Bella?" Dad winked at me in the rearview mirror, and we shared a smile. I was positive that he had a good idea of what I was going to discuss with Leah, but he was being cool and giving me some privacy and space.
"Well, if you think it's alright…," Mom said, the little pucker between her brows in evidence.
"Quil, Embry and Seth are well able to handle the perimeter for a few hours. Nessie will be fine in Leah's care," Dad assured her.
"Yeah Mom, you're not going to be gone that long," I piped in. "Besides, I don't need a babysitter anyway. I mean, what am I, seven years old or something?" I grinned.
"Very funny Nessie." She finally agreed to the arrangement, and I sighed with relief. Thanks Dad, you're the best, I thought to him. He smiled warmly at me again, then began chatting with Mom about other things.
"Hey Ness, what's up? Your dad said you needed to talk to me," Leah said as I opened the front door of the cottage for her.
"Hey Leah, thanks for coming. Let's go out to the garden," I suggested. We sat down in the blue and white striped chairs next to the little pond. I wasn't sure how to begin, so I asked her about college life, her studies, boys, the whole bit. She had enjoyed her time there immensely, doing well in her classes and getting her fill of life in the city. She was very proud to have acquired her nursing license, following in her mom's footsteps. She was planning on applying for a job at the hospital here in Forks as soon as the tense situation surrounding me eased up a little. As for boys, she didn't say much on the subject, so I didn't push it.
I took a deep breath. "Leah, I've got a problem, and I need your advice."
"I'm flattered Nessie, but don't you think your mom might be better suited to help you than me?"
"I didn't want to bother her with this right now, what with her being so worried about me. It's nothing major anyway, just something I need help figuring out," I said, looking down and picking at my fingernails. "Besides, it's sort of embarrassing….".
"Ah, I see. Boy trouble. What's going on?" She leaned toward me, patting my knee sympathetically.
"Well, um…it's er…about Jake," I said softly, cheeks flaming.
Leah straightened up automatically. "Tell me."
"It's complicated. Can I just show you?" I asked.
She nodded, and I lay my hand against her cheek. I thought back to the morning of my birthday, about the look in Jake's eyes and the way he'd softly kissed my forehead. I thought about the way I'd felt, the confusion as well as the excitement. I recalled Jake's face when he'd watched Nahuel and me, and, reluctantly, the interaction between Jake and Leah, and the jealousy that had run through me. I knew very well that Leah had a temper, and wasn't sure how she'd react to seeing this memory. To my surprise, she laughed.
My hand dropped from her face. "You…you're not mad about that?" I whispered.
"Nessie, you have nothing to worry about. I can see from your memories the way we must have looked, why you thought we were flirting, but please. Just please. I have no romantic feelings toward Jake whatsoever, and I know for a fact that he doesn't feel that way about me either. We've grown close since I joined his pack, but he's more like a little brother to me. An annoying little brother, sometimes. We understand each other, that's all. Bleh," she mock shuddered, "I can't imagine feeling anything more for Jake. Sorry, no offense." She was fighting to keep the smile from her face. After a short pause, she said softly, "Besides, I can't seem to shake my feelings for Sam," a wave of sadness passing over her face. I felt a stab of pity for her. I couldn't imagine what she'd gone through over the years, still harboring a deep love for Sam, having to see him happily married to her cousin, now with a baby on the way.
"That's not all though." I reached over to touch her face again, hoping to distract her from her sadness for the moment. I showed her what had happened the day Jake had been teaching me how to drive, how he'd almost kissed me.
"Wow," she said, her eyes widening. "You have had a lot to think over, huh? Seems like your relationship with Jake has taken a turn."
"Yes," I sighed. "I don't know how I feel about it all. I love Jake, he's my best friend and I don't want that to change. But…it might have been nice to kiss him." This was hard for me to admit, but talking to Leah about it was way less embarrassing than I imagined it would have been talking to my mom about it.
"Nessie, you need to do some serious thinking. Search your heart. It seems to me that maybe you wanted Jake to kiss you, and then your feelings of jealousy over him and me, and the way you feel every time he touches you…well, those are the kinds of things that friends don't experience with one another. Maybe you and Jake could talk about it, tell each other how you really feel," she advised.
"But what if we decide to take our relationship to the next level, then something happens between us, we break up, and then our friendship is ruined?" I blurted.
"Whoa, whoa whoa," she said, holding her palms out toward me. "Take it slow, one step at a time. Talk to Jake first, find out how he feels, then go from there." A weird look came into her eyes, one I couldn't quite identify. "You have no idea how lucky you are, Ness."
"What do you mean?" I queried.
"I don't know. I guess I just wish that I could imprint on someone, or someone would imprint on me, so that my love life would be secured."
My head snapped up and I looked at her sharply. "Leah, what are you talking about?"
Confusion colored her features, then horrified understanding.
"Oh…oh my God, Nessie, I'm sorry. I thought you knew. You didn't know?" She looked panicked.
"Know what?" I demanded.
"That…that Jake imprinted on you…," she trailed off in a whisper.
