Jamie lifted her head just enough to slide her hands underneath it. She was lying on her back on the living room floor, looking up at the ceiling as she listened to Collin and Brady bicker back and forth in a very heated debate.
Who was better? Batman or Superman?… It was actually kind of entertaining.
"Dude, Superman could kick Batman's ass with his little toe! He has fricken super powers!" Collin shouted.
"Yeah, but all Batman would have to do is get ahold of some kryptonite and Superman's toast. Batman could build some kinda device with kryptonite. He's a freakin' genius!" Brady shot back.
"But he's still only a human! Compared to Superman, he's a wimp!"
"I'll show you who's a wimp!" Brady shouted as he lunged at his best friend, sending the two rolling across the living room floor. Jamie heard Sam yell at them to 'Knock it off!' but they paid him no mind.
As they wrestled across the floor, Brady flipped Collin over to gain the upper hand, causing Collin's head to hit one of the legs of the end table. It shook and the newspaper that was on it fell to the ground, scattering across the carpet.
"Seriously guys? Look what you did." Jamie groaned as she sat up and crawled over to start cleaning up. Brady immediately froze, with Collin pinned beneath him. They both looked over at where Jamie was gathering the newspaper up.
"Sorry Jew." Collin stated with a small smirk, making Jamie glare lightheartedly at him.
"No you're not." she responded. Brady got off Collin and knelt on the ground beside her, helping her gather the paper up.
Jamie smiled at him before she picked up the front page of the paper. She froze and read the headlines. 'DNA SPECIALIST MURDERED'.
Jamie's mouth opened slightly as she skimmed through the article, looking for a name she hoped she wouldn't find. Unfortunately, her hopes failed.
Maria Anderson.
Jamie gasped quietly, before her breath caught in her throat.
Hearing the sound, Brady looked up at her in concern.
"Jamie? Hey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
Jamie dragged her gaze from the paper to look him in the eyes. "I know her." she whispered, tilting the paper in his direction.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen Sam was sitting at the kitchen table, watching his fiancé as she plopped balls of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet. He was silently planning how he could distract her enough to get some of the cookie dough from the bowl without getting caught. The big, fearless, Alpha wolf who fought vampires was actually a little scared of sweet, little Emily Young when she's angry and has a wooden spoon.
His thoughts were interrupted by three firm knocks on their front door. Sam furrowed his brows as he stood up to answer. Anyone who he would expect to come by, which mainly consists of the pack and imprints, would just walk in.
He opened the door, finding himself face-to-face with Chief of Police Charlie Swan. Sam's brows furrowed more in confusion. He glanced briefly at the man standing behind Charlie. He was about as pale as Charlie with a clean-shaven face, light brown hair, and ice blue eyes. Sam redirected his eyes to Chief Swan.
"Charlie, what can I do for you?" Sam asked curiously.
Charlie sighed, resting his hands on his belt as his breath made his brown mustache twitch.
"Unfortunately, Sam, this isn't a personal visit. I'm here on business." Charlie stated regretfully. The Police Chief hadn't forgotten that Sam had been the one to find his daughter, Bella, when she'd been missing in the woods when Edward broke up with her.
"Oh, is there something wrong?" Sam asked, trying to keep his tone from sounding rude.
Charlie cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, I'm hear on a kidnapping case."
Sam's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "What?!"
Charlie pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the man behind him. "Richard Anderson, here, claims you kidnapped his daughter, Jamie."
Sam eyes snapped up as a tremor rocked his body. His vision saw red as he looked down at the man who hurt his baby sister. Who neglected, beat, and cut his little sister. And now he dared to show up on Sam's front steps?! It was a miracle Sam's wolf hadn't already burst out.
"Sam? Sam!" the rage-filled fog clouding Sam's mind receded a little when he realized Charlie was talking to him again. He fixed his eyes on the Chief of Police, silently waiting for him to speak.
"May we come in and speak about this inside?" he asked politely. Sam glared over at Rick.
"I don't want that bastard in my house." Sam snarled, his fierce glare burning into the cruel man.
Charlie blinked in surprise, glancing over his shoulder at Rick, who was glaring right back at Sam. Charlie looked back at Sam, trying to keep everyone calm.
"Look, Sam, I don't want to have to arrest you. I know you're a good guy, and I'm really hoping this is a misunderstanding. So, can we please do this in a civilized manner? Just talk about this like three adults?" Charlie suggested calmly.
Sam sighed deeply, still not liking the idea of this monster being inside his home. Or even within a hundred miles of his sister and imprint. Begrudgingly, he opened his door wider and stepped aside to let them in. When he was about to close the door, someone else appeared almost out of nowhere. Embry stood on the porch, looking between the cop car and old Ford sitting outside, and looking through the doorway.
Sam sighed and muttered so only Embry could hear, "You're not going to like who's here."
Embry looked up and met Sam's eyes. Seeing the rage and fear in their depths made Embry's own eyes widen with realization before apprehension and anger filled them. Sam turned and entered the house with Embry on his tail.
Emily turned and met Sam's eyes, hers filled with worry and confusion.
Sam cleared his throat. "This is my fiancé Emily. Em, you should know Chief Swan, and this is…Rick Anderson." he practically snarled the name.
Emily's eyes widened and she looked over at the man who had hurt a member of their family. After examining him she turned and seemed to ignore him as she smiled at Charlie.
"Hi, would you like anything to drink?" she asked kindly.
Charlie smiled back at her as he shook his head. "No, I just drank some coffee. But thanks for asking."
Sam gestured to the kitchen chairs as Emily turned back to her cookies. "Please, have a seat." he suggested as he and Embry sat next to each other.
"I want to see Jamie. I know she's here." Rick demanded, glaring at Sam, who glared right back.
"I'm not letting you anywhere near her." Sam growled.
"Sam, what is this about?" Charlie asked in concern.
"Jamie told us everything." Embry answered instead, "We know he's been abusing her. We won't let her go back with him."
Charlie looked over at Embry, as if just noticing he was there. "It seems you've both become rather attached to this girl."
"Figures the slut would have a whole tribe of sex toys." Rick muttered under his breath, thinking no one would hear him. However, Sam and Embry turned and glared at him.
"Do you have something you'd like to say?" Sam growled.
Rick looked up at him, anger flashing in his eyes. "I want my daughter."
"She's not your daughter."
"The court seems to think so." Rick shot back with a smug smirk.
Sam turned to Charlie. "I refuse to let her go back to him."
"Is that really your call to make, Sam?" Charlie asked gently. "Do you have any actual evidence that he abused her?"
"She has scars all over her body." Embry answered, his arms starting to tremble at the thought of all the scars he'd seen on his sister's back.
"She told you that, huh?" Rick asked with a chuckle, "She's into that self-harm crap. All those scars you saw, she did to herself. I never touched her."
"Bull crap." Embry snapped, standing up abruptly as he glared down at the other man. "She has a scar that goes directly down her spine. It's impossible to do that to yourself accurately."
"Embry, Sam, you both seem to be rather protective of her." Charlie noted curiously.
"She's our sister." Embry answered, making Sam glance over at him. Embry had never told anyone outside the pack that Jamie was his sister, in case his mother ever found out that he knew who his father was. He wasn't ready to confront her on that topic.
Charlie blinked in surprise. "How is that possible?"
"Our half sister. We all share the same father." Sam explained as Embry calmed down enough to sit down.
"So…you found this out and kidnapped her?" Charlie guessed uncertainly.
Sam growled lowly and couldn't stop himself from glaring at the Police Chief. "No. Long story short; she ran away, made it to Forks, passed out from blood loss, we found her, got her patched up, she needed blood, Carlisle searched for a matching blood type, and found me and Embry shared a father with her. When she woke up we explained that to her, and she asked to stay here."
Charlie sighed and rubbed his forehead. When he looked back up he asked, "May I please speak with the girl, Sam?"
Sam and Embry looked straight at Rick for a moment before looking at each other apprehensively. Before Sam could answer, 'Hell no!', he felt a delicate, cool hand rest on his shoulder. He immediately covered that hand with his own and looked up into Emily's beautiful eyes.
"She'll be fine, Sam." she whispered so only he and Embry could hear her, "She may be nervous, but you'll never let him hurt her again. She's safe here."
Sam looked down thoughtfully before turning to look at Embry.
"Go get her." he murmured gently. Embry nodded with a grim expression before he stood and left the room.
When he turned into the doorway of the living room he stopped and stared in confusion. Brady and Jamie were kneeling on the floor, Brady's arm around her shoulder as Jamie stared blankly down at a newspaper in her hands; and Collin was sitting on the couch staring at them with wide, confused eyes.
"Guys?" Embry murmured loud enough to get their attention as he walked closer.
They all looked up at him, and Embry could see an undercurrent of anger and fear in Collin and Brady's eyes. They had heard what was being said in the kitchen.
"She's not going in there." Brady snarled, making Jamie look at him in confusion.
Embry sighed. "Charlie wants to talk to her, Brady. Maybe if we can get him on our side, Jamie can stay."
"What's going on?" Jamie asked, her voice quiet and raspy as she looked between her brother and best friend.
Embry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "The Chief of Police is here with…uh…"
Jamie's eyes widened. "No." she breathed, her body started to shiver in fear.
Brady pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "I won't let him get you, Jamie. None of us will, I swear it. You're not alone anymore."
Jamie squeezed her eyes shut as she swallowed. After a moment she nodded. Brady stood up and offered his hand to pull her to her feet. She let go and took Embry's hand tightly in both of hers, gripping it almost to the breaking point.
"It'll be okay." Embry whispered to her as he lead her into the kitchen with Brady behind them.
The second they rounded the corner into the kitchen, Jamie's eyes fell on the man who had abused and tortured her for years. He met her eyes for a second before they dropped to glare at her hands, which were clutching Embry's like a lifeline. Jamie subconsciously moved to hide herself behind Embry, which caused Rick to shoot up in a standing position.
"Get the hell away from him, Jamie! I'm taking you home, now!" he snapped, which made all the wolves in the room growl under their breath.
"I already told you," Sam growled, standing up slowly to glare down at him, "she's not going back with you."
"Okay, okay, let's just calm down, alright?" the Police Chief suggested gently from his sitting position before he turned to look at Jamie. "My name's Charlie Swan. I take it you're Jamie Anderson?"
Jamie shook her head 'no' immediately, causing Rick, Sam, and Charlie to look confused.
"Jamie Uley." she answered just loud enough to be heard. This answer caused Sam, Embry, Emily, and Brady to smile; while Rick glared at her and Charlie looked mildly confused.
"Okay, Jamie, can I ask you a few questions?" Charlie asked after a moment.
Jamie's eyes flickered to Rick before she looked back at Charlie, her face peaked out from behind Embry's shoulder.
"I don't want him here." she answered.
Charlie glanced at Rick before looking back at her. "No one's going to hurt you, Jamie. I just want to ask you a couple questions. Is that okay?" Jamie looked conflicted, but then she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked back at Brady, who was looking at her intensely. He wasn't smiling, but there was a protective glint in his eyes telling her she was safe. After staring into his eyes for a moment she sucked in a deep breath and turned back to Charlie, giving him a nod.
"Rick says that you were kidnapped, but Sam, here, said that you ran away. Can you tell me which is true?"
"I ran away." she whispered, causing Rick's glare to harden.
"Can you tell me why you ran away?" Charlie asked gently.
Jamie looked back at Rick, meeting his glare briefly before scooting to hide more behind her brother. She pressed her forehead to Embry's bare back and she shook her head, murmuring, 'Nu uh,'.
"If I asked you in private, where no one else could hear, would you answer?" Charlie asked gently. Jamie thought before shrugging her shoulders. After several moments she peaked out from behind Embry's shoulder and looked at Charlie.
"I don't want to leave." she whispered, "I want to stay here."
"They're making her say that!" Rick shouted. "He's crushing her hand to make her say that!" he insisted, waving his hand towards Embry's and Jamie's hands.
"Actually, she's the one clutching my hand like her life depends on it." Embry stated, lifting their hands barely, which caused Jamie's grip to tighten.
"Okay, so it seems she wants to stay here, and I take it you're going to want to take custody of her?" Charlie guessed with a look in Sam's direction. Sam nodded firmly. "And you still want custody of her?" he continued with a look to Rick, who also nodded. "Well, then, I guess this is going to be a custody battle, isn't it? The only question is; where's she going to stay until her guardian has been decided?"
"She'll stay with me." Rick answered immediately. "She's in my custody currently, so she'll stay with me."
Charlie noticed the fear flash in Jamie's eyes as she quickly hid herself completely behind Embry again.
"I'm not so sure that'll be a good idea, Richard. Since it'll be between you and the Uley's; I'm not sure if she should stay with either of you, just to play it safe and all."
"I know where she could stay." Everyone's heads snapped around to stare at Collin, who seemed to have magically appeared in the doorway between the living room and kitchen.
"And where is that?" Charlie asked gently, his hands folded together atop the table.
Collin met Jamie's eyes before meeting Chief Swan's. "With my Uncle Billy."
Charlie blinked. "You're Billy's nephew?" Collin nodded. "And you think he'd be okay with this?"
"Yeah, Jamie's friends with my cousins; and I know Billy would be willing to help out in any way he can."
Charlie nodded slowly. "Alright, well, I'll give him a quick call and see."
"Wait! Obviously these people are all friends with this Billy guy. They'll know where she is and be able to visit her. They have an unfair advantage!"
"Alright, just calm down. I haven't even asked yet, Billy might not be able to take her in during all this, though I doubt that. If it's necessary, I may put in the added law that no one involved in this be allowed on the property until everything's been sorted out. Now, I'll just step onto the porch and give Billy a call." Charlie announced calmly before stepping out onto the porch, cell phone in hand.
Awkward, tense silence filled the room instantaneously; so thick you could cut it with a knife. Through everything, Jamie had stayed hidden behind Embry's back, both her hands clutching his one as she pressed the front of her left shoulder into his back with her left temple resting between his shoulder blades, her head moving with each rise and fall as he breathed. She could feel Brady and Collin staring at her, and she looked up and met Brady's eyes. His concern and protectiveness were flowing to her through his eyes.
She slowly removed one hand from Embry's and held it out towards Brady, who stepped closer to her and took it in his own. The familiar, scorching heat of his skin seemed to chase away what was left of her fear, and she clutched it even tighter than Embry's.
After a few minutes of tense silence Charlie came back inside.
"Alright, everything's been set up. Billy said she can stay at his house as long as she needs; however we've decided it would be best that Rick, Sam, Emily, and Embry all be forbidden from stepping foot on Billy's property; just to play it safe."
At this Jamie stepped out from behind Embry. "You mean they can't go to his house? But Embry and Jake are best friends! He can't go to his best friend's house?"
Embry turned and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Jamie, it's fine. I hardly go over there anyway, we usually hang out around the rez, it's no big deal."
Jamie bit her tongue to keep from arguing as she stepped back behind him to hide again.
Charlie nodded. "Alright, with that settled, Jamie, why don't you go pack a few bags and I'll drive you over to Billy's, okay?"
Jamie sighed before she nodded. She released Embry's hand, but kept her grip on Brady's hand, tugging him gently in the direction of the stairs. Brady took the hint and followed her to her room.
He stood by her door as she placed a large duffle bag Emily bought her on the bed. She went to her dresser and started grabbing things out of the drawers. Brady could tell by her movements and dazed look in her eyes that she was running on autopilot.
"Jamie?" he asked gently. She gave no sign of hearing him as she went back and forth between the bag and dresser. With a sigh, Brady moved to intercept her by the bed, holding the clothes she was carrying in his hand to keep her still.
"Jamie, talk to me." he urged gently.
"What do you want me to say?" she breathed, looking up to meet his eyes with her own.
"Tell me what's going on in your head. What are you thinking?" he asked.
"What am I thinking?" she repeated. "I don't even know anymore, Brady. I've just caused everyone problems since I got here. I knew he'd come for me. I knew he'd find me. I kept telling myself to leave before he found me, but I love it here. For once in my life, I feel like I belong somewhere. And now, just when I have something good in my life, he has to show up and take it away from me."
Jamie continued ranting, and Brady stopped listening. He tried to interrupt her, calling her name, but she just kept talking. Finally having had enough, Brady did the first thing that popped into his head to shut her up. He kissed her on the cheek. The second his lips made contact with her soft skin, her words froze in her throat.
Brady pulled back and looked into her wide eyes that stared back at him in absolute shock.
"Can I talk now?" he asked patiently. Jamie closed her mouth with a swallow and nodded. "None of this is your fault. You were stuck in an abusive home most of your life, and you wanted out. You wanted to have a normal life. With people who love you and accept you as your are. Everyone wants that. And you finally had it, you still have it. Of course you didn't want to leave. And no matter how much crap this guy tries to start, you aren't going back to him. I won't let that happen, I swear it."
Jamie slowly lowered her eyes, staring blankly ahead. Brady slipped the shirt out of her hands and laid it in her bag before taking both her hands in his.
"But, what if…what if he wins and gets custody of me?" she asked in a voice so weak and quiet Brady wouldn't have heard it if he weren't a wolf.
"He won't." he answered firmly.
"But what if he does?" Jamie repeated, looking up at him with fear in her eyes. Brady hated seeing her like this.
He took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Then,…Okay, if he actually wins, which he won't, then…we'll run away."
"'We'?" she repeated, her eyes widening.
"Yes, 'we'. You really think I'll let you leave alone? If he actually wins, you and me will leave."
"But, this is your home!" Jamie argued. "Your whole life is here! You friends, your family; I can't make you leave all that behind, Brady!"
Brady let go of her hands with one of his, placing it gently on her cheek. "No, my whole life is wherever you are."
Tears immediately brimmed Jamie's eyes, causing her to grit her teeth and squeeze her eyes shut, letting her forehead fall to rest on his chest. That was single-handedly the sweetest thing she's ever heard anyone say to her. And she could tell he meant every word of it.
Brady's hands had come up to wrap around her, holding her tightly to his chest. "Jamie." he whispered into her hair, "That'll be our Plan B, okay? Our first priority is making sure we win this. I know you won't be happy on the run. I know how much you love your family, and the pack. Everyone will do everything they can to win this, okay?"
Jamie nodded against his chest, sniffing quietly as her tears finally stopped. When she gained her composure, she turned back to packing, allowing Brady to help her when he could.
After she had packed as much as she could into her duffle bag and backpack, they headed back downstairs, Jamie carrying her backpack over one shoulder while Brady carried her duffle bag.
The second they stepped into the kitchen, they noticed a few changes in the people standing in the kitchen. Emily was doing some dishes at the sink with Sam leaning back against the counter beside her, practically hiding her from view; Embry, Collin, and Charlie were all sitting at the kitchen table talking; but what surprised Jamie the most was that Rick wasn't there, and Paul and Jared were standing by the front door, talking quietly together.
Everyone seemed to stop talking when Jamie and Brady stepped foot into the kitchen.
"W-where is he?" Jamie asked quietly, her voice shaking. Brady took her hand from where he was slightly behind her as Embry stood up and approached them. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and hugged her gently to his side as he answered.
"Chief Swan thought it would be better for him to leave so he wouldn't have any idea about where Billy's house is."
Jamie nodded slowly, not really knowing how she was supposed to react.
"Well, if you've got everything packed, we may as well get going." Charlie announced, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the door, "Kori will have finished making dinner soon, so you ready?"
Jamie swallowed and nodded, biting back tears as she turned into Embry's chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly as her bag slipped off her shoulder to the ground, and feeling him return the gesture.
"Everything will be fine, Shorty. We won't let this break our family, alright?" Embry murmured into her ear before slowly releasing her.
She then turned to find Emily had stopped washing dishes and was standing near them, waiting for her turn to hug the girl that she had come to see as a little sister. Jamie quickly stepped into Emily's arms, hugging her tightly as she buried her face in Emily's shoulder.
"It'll be fine, sweetie. Just think of this as staying at a friends for a little while, okay?" Emily whispered gently, running her hand soothingly over the back of Jamie's head, like her mother used to do.
"I'm scared." she whispered almost silently, hoping the wolves wouldn't hear her, but knowing that was unlikely. Emily's arms tightened around her.
"Don't be. The guys won't let that man hurt you ever again, and neither will I."
Jamie nodded before she stepped back, smiling sadly at Emily, who returned the smile before she looked over her shoulder at her fiancé.
Sam stepped around Emily and pulled Jamie into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground as her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Don't you dare say 'goodbye'." Sam commanded quietly in a gruff voice, the voice that showed he was trying to keep his emotions in check. "This isn't goodbye because in no time you'll be back here helping Emily in the kitchen, doing your homework in the living room with the other kids, and yelling at all the guys for stealing your desert." Jamie giggled quietly into her brother's shoulder, and she heard a few other chuckles around the room.
"Thanks, Sam." she whispered before he placed her back on the floor. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before she turned to pick up her backpack off the ground. A throat clearing made her turn to see Collin standing by the table with his arms out in a 'what about me?' gesture.
Jamie giggled and dropped her bag again as she approached him, letting him pull her into a friendly hug as she asked, "Why do I need to hug you? I can see you anytime through all this." she asked lightly as he rocked them back and forth playfully.
"Cause I'm your favorite, obviously." Collin answered, earning a few scoffs from the rest of the guys. Jamie laughed as she pulled away and Collin messed up her hair. Finally, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door after Charlie, with Brady on her tail with her duffle bag. She was intercepted at the door by Jared and Paul, who hugged her in turn. She briefly thought about when she first met Paul and thought she wouldn't like him, but now he was like another brother, like the rest of the pack.
Once outside, she put her bag in the back seat, and Brady did the same with the duffle. He quickly pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly for several seconds before he let her go.
"See ya later, okay?" he murmured with a small, partially forced smile.
Jamie returned it, her eyes watering all over again. "Definitely."
With that she climbed into the back of the cop car, closing the door, and watching her home grow smaller as they drove away.
XXX
Wow, that took FOREVER to write! But, hopefully, it's to everyone's liking. Review to let me know what you think about this little turn in events ; )
Also, an idea for a Jacob X imprint story recently popped into my head, but I'm not sure if I'll write it or not. It's not tied to this story or You Don't Have to be Alone in any way, seeing as it's not Jake and Nessie. I have nothing against Nessie, I just feel like Jake got screwed over with that imprinting. I mean, he's stuck with Bella for eternity, and he has to continue phasing forever, even though he hates being a wolf in general. Plus, I feel like it's another way for Bella to get everything she wants (in case you can't tell, I don't like her, but I won't bore you with my rant)
So anyway, the basic story is that Jake imprints on a girl in his grade at school who went mute since her parents died. She ends up becoming friends with a few pack members, and Jake tries to deny it at first, but things come up and he really starts to care about her. It takes place from around the end of New Moon and through Eclipse. I don't want to give up too much about the storyline, but that's the gist of it. So, what do you guys think? Should I write it or not? (it probably won't be up until after this story is finished, if I do write it) Let me know what you think! : )