Sorry for the wait. R&R. Enjoy!
I don't own Twilight.
"Ugh!" I groaned into the worn fibers of the couch. My throat ached, as did my back from sleeping on the lumpy couch last night. I had been too tired after my 'conversation' with Claire the night before to clean my sheets and comforter of the itching powder that still lingered there. Conversation wasn't the correct term to describe my talk with Claire, torture seemed like a better choice.
I slumped off the couch and headed downstairs. I blinked groggily as I flicked on the light for the bathroom. Thank god for Saturday. I locked the door behind me. I didn't want to know what would happen if I didn't.
The shower helped get the kinks out of my back. I got dressed and sat down in the middle of my room. I stared at the contaminated bed with reluctant eyes. I knew it would have to happen sometime. I turned to face my open closet. My eye twitched as I saw the white bag with green Christmas trees on it. My unused Christmas present.
I could have taken Claire's advice. You have the power to get what you want, reach out and take it. My eye twitched again as I thought about sliding my foot into a walking death trap. I shuddered at the thought of me in the skirt. I didn't think I could do it. I knew I couldn't do it. It wasn't me.
I stood up, walked over to my closet, picked up the bag and dumped the contents out. I kicked them into the bottom of my closet. I took the empty bag and shoved my comforter and sheets into it. Contact with the comforter made my skin itch and I immediately scratched to get relief. I started to wonder why I hadn't tore Seth's arm off. I grabbed my car keys off my nightstand to find a new addition on the ring. A key with a blue ribbon looped and tied through the top. In anger I ripped the blue ribbon off and watched as it drifted slowly to the floor. Rejection hit me in a wave and I glanced at my closet.
"No" I said quietly to myself. I slid on a pair of shoes and ran silently upstairs. I set down my bag near the front door and headed into the kitchen. I itched my arm again. Collin was sitting at the table eating and Paul was getting coffee. Both stopped what they were doing when I entered the room. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a few granola bars from the pantry.
"Staring isn't polite" I commented as I walked back into the living room. It's official, everyone thinks I have gone crazy. But, then again, maybe I have. I wanted to scream, but reminded myself sane people didn't scream for no reason.
I grabbed my bag and headed to my car. I opened the door and tossed the bag into the passenger seat. I sorted through my key and found the key for my car, but I couldn't concentrate. I was staring at the newest key on my ring. What have I gotten myself into?
I loved Embry with every ounce of my soul, there was no doubt about that. I wanted to move in with him, I really did. But I had also wanted things that weren't necessary 'good' for my health. Like the cliff diving 'incident'. So I thought about this rationally. Was this the right thing to do? I was only seventeen. I pressed my forehead against my steering wheel, my keys still in my hand. I wondered if Embry had thought this through. Of course he did, this is Embry. But something was nagging me at the back of my mind screaming at me to pay attention. Screaming that this was a bad idea. I groaned, why couldn't things be easy? Oh, that's right, cause life isn't fair.
I stabbed my key into the ignition. I threw the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. I shook my head to clear it.
I drove to the small laundry mat focusing on the music in my car and the road. I scratched my arm again. My eye twitched and I sighed. I parked my car and sifted through my ashtray, that contained no ashes, for quarters. I grabbed enough for a large washing machine and soap. I walked into the small, dingy room and nearly walked out when I saw a towering figure among the white machines. I took a deep breath and walked farther in. Brady saw me immediately.
I headed to the nearest washing machine, wanting to avoid the conversation that was soon to come.
"Good morning Jade" Brady said politely.
"Yeah, yeah." I said rudely opening up the circular door of the dented white machine. I scratched my arm again, it was starting to turn red.
"I heard about last night." he said conversationally.
"Kinda figured as much" I muttered shoving the comforter in. I walked toward where you can by detergent from a metal vending machine nailed on the wall.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about what Embry gave you for your birthday." he said. I stopped walking, frozen in place. Of all the things I thought Brady would talk to me about, this was not one of them. I was totally caught off guard.
"I don't think it's a good idea. You're too young." he said quickly, using my silence to his full advantage. I sighed heavily and walked over to the metal box. I put my money in a cranked the handle. My soap fell into the bottom and I retrieved it.
"Ok, gotcha, age." I said heading back towards my machine.
"I don't know what Embry was thinking when he thought this was a good idea." Brady confided.
"Was he thinking?" I asked curiously. Hadn't I been thinking the same thing earlier? Brady laughed.
"It's good to know you haven't gone crazy, kid." he said pulling me into a vice-like hug. If I were completely human I might have been crushed.
"Did you have your doubts?" I asked breathlessly. He let me go.
"Of course, all the guys thought you lost your marbles." he shrugged.
"Oh, lovely." I said putting my money in the machine, there was heavy edge to my voice.
"We all know Embry has gone off the deep end." he joked.
"You have proof?" I asked.
"Let me see your keys" he ordered lightly.
"And if I said no?" I said defensively.
"I would take them by force." he said, his expression sure.
"Doubt you could." I said putting the soap in the wash and shutting the door. He chuckled and shook his head, leaning against the machine next to mine.
"Is that a challenge?" he asked, raising his eyebrows a smile still on his face.
"Yes. Yes it is." I said turning to him and putting my hands on my hips. He lunged at me and I jumped to the side.
"Ole" I said before dodging him again.
"Jade, give me your keys." he demanded harshly, tired of playing games. I stared at him defiantly before giving up. I pulled them out of my pocket and threw them at him before slinking off to a chair. I pulled my granola bars out of my other pocket.
"Which one is which?" he asked staring at the keys.
"I don't know." I shrugged opening my breakfast up.
"His key is on here, isn't it?" Brady asked sitting next to me.
"It might be…" I said before taking a bite. He shook his head.
"Look, I don't even know if I'm going to go through with this." I defended myself.
"Then why did you say yes?" Brady asked.
"I didn't say yes, I said I wanted to move in with him." I corrected him. "There's a big difference."
"Well that's not what Embry was thinking." Brady sighed.
"What was he thinking?" I asked my eyes narrowing.
"About how much he loves you. I about threw up. It was that sappy. " he shook his head. I chuckled.
"At least you have the decency to think about something else when you run. Even if it is about trees, or things that rhyme with green." he laughed. I shook my head, not one of my best moments.
"I hate to think about what my father will do when he finds out." I said.
"Contemplate castration" Brady said simply mooching one of my granola bars.
"No, I wasn't going to eat that. Of course you can have it, thanks for asking." I said angrily. He just laughed.
"So," he said conversationally "Did you nearly take Seth's arm off, or is he exaggerating?" I hung my head, ashamed.
"Nice, Collin owes me ten." he said smiling.
"You bet on me?" I asked.
"I always do, and I have yet to be disappointed." he said fishing out his cell.
He started texting. I would bet he was making Collin another bet.
"Jacob is easy to understand. Paul and Leah, obvious. Seth is tricky but follows the same pattern. Collin is predictable. Quil will do anything when it comes to Claire, otherwise totally unpredictable. Embry is simple, until it comes to you. I still don't fully understand that bond, and probably won't until I imprint. You my friend are extremely misunderstood or underestimated by most of your pack brothers . I however understand you."
"How many bets do you actually have going on right now?" I laughed. He paused for a second.
"Like twenty." he said. My face crumpled in confusion.
"I can't tell you about all of them, because some have to do with you. But I can tell you some. There's a bet going on about the baby. Gender, date of birth. There's a bet on who imprints next, I'm rooting for Jake. There's a bet on the baby's name. All kinds of stuff." he shrugged.
"That's only four." I said narrowing my eyes. I wondered how many were about me.
"A lot are about you and Embry." he admitted rubbing the back of his neck. "You weren't here when they were all about Quil and Claire."
"Are you swaying one of your bets by talking to me?" I asked.
"Naw, I know in the end, nothing I say will matter to you. You'll do whatever you feel is right." he smirked at me.
"That was oddly insightful." I commented.
"Don't get used to it, runt." he chuckled. An alarm went off.
"That's me" Brady said standing up. He yanked his clothes out of a dryer and shoved them in his basket.
"Bye, retard." I said as he opened the door outside.
"Bye, kid." he smiled before leaving.
Maybe Brady was right. Maybe this was a bad idea. The nagging part at the back of my mind agreed. If he was right, how would I break this news to Embry? Could I? Did I want to tell him? Was Brady right?
I sat in my car, my clean and dry laundry sat in the seat next to me. An hour later and I had no answers to the questions that swirled in my head. I was starting to get a headache, a sharp stabbing pain above my right eye. I still felt like screaming and my arm was bright red. Stupid itching powder.
I got out of my car, which was now parked at my house. I walked into an empty kitchen. I smiled to myself. Sometimes it was nice to come home to an empty house. It didn't happen very often.
I went downstairs and dumped my clean laundry on my bed and scratched my arm. I headed into the bathroom and washed the red and itchy part of my arm in an attempt to wash away the last traces of itching powder. When my arm didn't itch anymore I walked back to my room to find someone sitting on my bed. I took a deep breath and gave him a small smile. I don't think it helped.
"Hey" he said rubbing the back of his head. He looked weary.
"Hey" I said coming and sitting next to him. He took my hand in his.
"Listen Jade," he started "if you don't think that this is a good idea than that's that. Don't feel obligated to move in with me just because I want it. Take all the time you need. You set the pace."
"Embry." I shook my head.
"You don't want to move in with me?" he asked softly but I still heard the pain in his voice. That small pain lanced at my heart and stabbed it. Pain lashed across my chest. His pain is my pain.
"Yes I do." I said quietly.
"Then what's the problem?" he asked bringing his other hand up to brush the back of it across my cheek. I bit my lip. In truth I didn't know. I could have said age, I could have said it was the lack of sociably acceptable standards, but those didn't matter to me. The nagging feeling at the back of my mind vanished leaving me without an answer. He turned his hand over and cupped my face. I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand.
"I don't know" I whispered softly. He leaned in closer, I could feel his breath on my neck.
"Jade, I don't care what other people think. I only care about what you want."
"Only?" I asked. "So you don't care about dying kids in Africa?" I joked lightly.
"Jade" he laughed lightly, it sounded like he was savoring my name. I felt a feather light sensation on my neck. Then I realized Embry was kissing my neck. Oxygen was enable to reach my lungs for what seemed like the longest time. He chuckled against my skin. I couldn't stop my reaction if I had been aware of my actions. I leaned toward him and paused with my lips a centimeter from his. I hesitated for a moment before I leaned in and kissed him. I felt his heart skip a beat. I moved my lips with his for only a moment before I pulled back. So maybe I had taken Claire's advise, in the only way I could.
"I'm not sorry." I smiled at him before standing up and walking out of the room, leaving him staring after me dazed. I walked out into the forest and after stripping, phased. And running through the trees at incredible speeds, I felt like I was flying.
The rest of the day blurred past. I dealt with Jen and Kate with a smile on my face. The took my vague answers with as much grace as could be expected of my best friends. In other words I got slapped.
I lay awake on my bed, the sounds of the forest lulling me into a drowsy state. I smiled and thought that soon Embry's soft snores would send me to sleep.