Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the character "May" and the plotline.
AN- Hey guys! A lot of you want more romance and also for May to be stronger. Well, I've been slowly approaching that and I think I'm getting there! I've been planning on getting to the romance for a few chapters now, and I think I'm happy with how I have it all planned in my head. Now I just have to type it out!
Also, May will be showing her tough/stronger side in a few chapters. Don't worry, I got it all planned!
Enjoy!
Guest review responses:
Sophie: Haha, yeah that was an almost kissable moment. However, I had a better moment planned out ;)
Guest: Hm, I can't think of any other hybrid stories off of the top of my head. You're welcome to click on my profile and look at all the stories I've followed and favorited and search there for some. There might be a few, I just can't remember them.
Cupn00dles: Yeah, I've been taking it slow and trying to build up the romance. However, now I really like spicing things up a bit! Things are getting interesting…
.jaques: Aww, why thank you! I think you'll be pleased with this chapter. I've had it planned out for three weeks already, but I just needed to actually type it out. I hope you like it!
Chapter 15
I stirred.
I kept my eyes closed, but stretched my muscles as I awoke. A small yawn escaped my lips and I basked in the warmth of the morning sun.
My sheets were hot as they absorbed the heat from the sun's rays. It must be only an hour before noon, I deduced. The large windows in my/Renesmee's old room let in extreme amounts of sunlight that heat up the space fairly quickly.
I frowned as I suddenly realized that I couldn't feel the sun on my skin.
Opening my eyes slowly, I peered around the tiny area. The ceiling fan lazily whirred above my head. The sole window in the room let in a fraction of the amount of light I was expecting to wake up to. The rays that filtered through the navy curtains had cast the white walls into a blue haze. When my eyes landed on the quilt covering my legs, it hit me. All the previous night's events came rushing back to my mind.
A soft groan sounded from my right.
The strong, russet tanned arm that rested around my waist tightened ever so slightly and pulled me an inch closer to the figure behind me. My eyes widened impossibly large. I peeked over my shoulder to see the dozing young man resting peacefully. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as I took in the fact that Embry Call was sleeping in the same bed as me. He smelled like clean, crisp pine and earth. I failed to hold back a smile as I noticed that I did as well—partially due to the fact that I had to use his shampoo and shower wash last night…but also because he was pressed against my body, leaving his scent behind. My hair, clothes, and skin would most likely smell like him for hours. He began to stir and I realized that he too, was waking up.
But before any of us even thought of speaking, Embry's mom interrupted.
Her voice called from down the hallway. "I'm going to work! Embry, where are y—" her question died off as she appeared in the doorway.
Embry leapt from the bed (now fully awake and alert) and began trying to explain, but she just held a hand up to silence him. Shock crossed her features but then it was quickly replaced by anger. Eventually, that also faded in a second to form a cold, unconcerned apathy. "Embry, I'm going to go get the towels off of the clothes line before I go. Don't expect me to make it home for dinner." Her voice was level and monotone. She leaned around his hulking form and her eyes locked onto mine. They were utterly void of emotion, "It was nice to meet you."
She spun on her heels without another word and disappeared back down the hall from whence she came.
Embry sighed and ran his fingers through his already messy hair. I heard the sliding glass door leading to the backyard open. Seconds later, a shriek pierced the still, morning air.
I winced, coming to grasp exactly why Ms. Call was screaming her lungs out.
"The deer…" I pointed out to Embry. He groaned and hurried out into the living room. I struggled to detangle myself from the sheets, tripping in the process, and then I followed.
Just as I arrived, Ms. Call was storming to the front door. Embry was trying to calm her down, to no avail. "Oh great! Could this day possibly get started off any worse? What kind of sick people would just leave a dead deer in our backyard?" she wailed. "Probably one of Embry's steroid abusing, gang-banging friends pulling a prank" she muttered under her breath. I saw Embry flinch at her words and I tried to give him an apologetic look when Ms. Call wasn't looking my way.
She headed onto the front porch and slammed the door shut behind her. Seconds later, I could hear a car starting up in the driveway. Eventually the sounds of the car faded as she drove off for her shift at the diner.
A few moments of silence passed between Embry and I. He just stared at the front door with a longing look on his face.
The instant my stomach started growling ravenously, he seemed to break out of his state. "Well, that was awkward" he announced. Turning away from me, he headed into the attached kitchen.
I raised my eyebrow inquisitively as he began to rummage through the cupboards. I strode into the kitchen after him and entered just as he retrieved a tin coffee container from a shelf. He opened it and, surprisingly, the contents of the metal cylinder were revealed to be folded up pieces of paper. He sorted through them until he finally pulled out whichever one he was searching for.
"Embry, what on earth are you doing?"
"You mean 'what are we doing'" he corrected. "We are going to be making my grandmother's famous French toast for breakfast."
I stared at him skeptically. "I don't know how to cook anything that isn't steak." Okay, maybe that was exaggerating, but I truly didn't know how to cook anything that didn't come from animals. Eggs, dairy, and meat were about the only thing Ted knew to feed me as I grew up. I was like the total opposite of a vegan up until recently. I feared that if I tried to bake of pan fry something, I'd burn the entire house down.
Although, I can cook eggs pretty well. Ted taught me how to use the stove for frying eggs. I chewed on my lip and offered up this information. "Or omelets! I'm a fantastic omelet chef! I can make us some with a little bit—or a lot of cheese if you want. Maybe some bacon. Do you guys have bacon? If not, I can always run to the store and—" I rambled on nervously until he cut me off.
"May?" he smiled softly.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up and help me gather the ingredients for French toast, will you?" he teased.
I pursed my lips and then scowled. I snatched the recipe from his hands. Fine, I'd help make this strange toast if it allowed Embry get his mind off of his mom's anger. I scanned through the list and soon Embry and I had all the materials laid out on the counter top.
"Thanks for helping me out last night. I get really on edge when I need to feed and I had been putting it off for awhile." The nightmares didn't help either. "And thanks for…staying with me last night. I don't normally get such vivid dreams like that. I'm really sorry I made things worse for you and your mom." He shrugged it off and explained that I couldn't have done much harm. Apparently, his mom already thought he was troublesome without my help.
"So…how old are you exactly?" I inquired as he measured out the flour (according to Embry, adding flour to the batter made the toast extra crispy and it fried better. Grandma Call's famous French toast seemed rather complicated to me).
"Hm, I think now I'd have to be twenty-four. You kind of tend to forget these things after awhile of not aging anymore" he laughed. Huh. For being physically six years older than me, Embry could easily pass for as young as nineteen and as old as twenty-five. He just had one of those faces that you couldn't truly guess how old the person was.
"Your twenty-four and you still live with your mom?" I joked.
He chuckled, "Ha ha. Very funny, but no—not really. I actually have an apartment a few blocks away from here. I just come down and stay with her for a weekend every few months. When I do stay over here with her, she still acts over protective and attempts to ground me."
I laughed lightly as I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mix. "Oh, so why did we come here and traumatize your poor mother instead of just going to your place?"
He gave me a strange look and began to stir the dipping mixture for the bread. "Well, because her house is closest to the center of the reservation. It's safest and the elders are positioned around it. It's secure" he put simply. I nodded and got the bread out and ready to be fried.
"So, do you know how Renesmee is doing? I haven't seen her since before we went fishing yesterday morning. She said she was going to be down here hanging out with Jake. If she's still around here somewhere, do you think I could see her?" I asked curiously as I handed him two slices of bread.
He took them from me and dipped them in the bowl, "She's already left by now. Alice said she was safe from Nahuel since she turned nine already. Her and Jake probably headed back right after we arrived last night."
I raised my eyebrow. What else did Alice tell him? And when exactly would the two of them have had any time to talk during last night's situation?
"So…you gonna tell me what happened now?" I prodded.
He sighed as he laid the bread on the hot skillet. The batter sizzled softly. "I'll tell you most of the information I know—but that's it."
Most? Not all? I wanted to know everything! He must have caught my look of objection, because he put a hand up to stop me from speaking.
"I can't tell you everything. Alice made me promise. If I give everything away, apparently you'll try to fix the situation and end up getting yourself injured in the process." He gave me an understanding smile before continuing on "and the same goes for me, too. When Alice told me what was going on, I got angry and wanted to do something, anything to help—but she said that if I did, you would just end up getting hurt. So don't feel too bad about being unable to do anything. I know the feeling."
I sighed, relenting, and waited for him to elaborate.
"Okay, so you remember Rosalie explaining to us what Edward heard in Arnaud's thoughts? Right before I left the cabin?"
I tapped my chin as I thought back to last night. Rose said that, according to Edward, the moment Arnaud took in my scent… he had obsessive feelings over me and simultaneously craved my blood like a drug addict. I frowned and nodded to Embry that I remembered.
He flipped the toast in the skillet and proceeded to explain his story to me, all the while keeping his gaze on the pan. "I couldn't just sit there any longer. I was so angry. I was mere seconds from phasing." He stopped and turned his attention away from the food and looked me straight in my eyes.
"I couldn't bear the thought of someone hurting you" he said slowly. His voice wavered, full of emotion and sorrow.
This was what I loved the most about Embry. Despite the fact that we were just friends, he cared so deeply for my safety. He put so much into those around him. On more than one occasion, I had overheard him covering Collin's or Brady's patrol shifts when they were falling behind in school. He talked with Jacob over the best strategies to protect the reservation from threats. He even attempted to keep his mother out of the jumbled up world he secretly lived in as a wolf.
I smiled sweetly at him and hoped he knew how grateful I was that he genuinely tried to help me out. Hell, the guy went out and got me a deer last night out of the forest like it was a takeout order of Chinese food!
He returned my smile and continued "So after I left, I ran around the area to let off steam. Not even ten minutes later, Carlisle comes leading Nahuel and the rest of the guys back. Seconds after that, the door to the cabin bursts open. Alice, Esme, and Rosalie all rush out and begin speaking at that super fast, vampire speed. It was chaos—all the Cullen's were speaking at once and even my shifter hearing had trouble keeping up. Next thing I know, the little pixie is at my side and telling me that she had three visions simultaneously. She said that I needed to go get some things from your room, then she muttered any key pieces of information that she thought I should know, and before I had a chance to blink she all but shoved me into the forest!"
So Alice had a third vision that she was hiding from me? She told me the first two: Nahuel's arrival in Forks and then the Volturi's visit—which the exact date and time still remains unknown, I might add.
He took a deep breath after explaining all that and then added one more thing: "Before heading up to the house, I stole one fleeting glance back at the cabin. The last thing I caught a glimpse of was Bella preventing you from leaving the doorway. She knew to keep you from the group for just a couple of seconds—a few moments are really all a scheming vampire like Alice needs to come up with a plan" he laughed quietly.
"Okay, you're telling me that in the five seconds it took me to get up off the couch and walk out to the porch…Alice thought of a plan, shared it with all of the other Cullens, informed you of the situation, and sent you packing before I could catch on?" I sputtered dubiously.
"Precisely" he stated simply as he put the steaming toast onto a plate and then dipped some more bread into the batter bowl.
I scoffed and then moved about the kitchen, cleaning up supplies we no longer needed, and prodded "So…what 'key pieces of information' did Alice tell you? I know you said you couldn't tell me everything, but isn't there just a few tiny, itsy-bitsy details you could let slip without all hell breaking loose?"
He dropped the soggy bread onto the hot skillet and it sizzled. "Hmm…nope."
I groaned internally. Pretty much everyone knew some huge secret detail from one of Alice's visions—everyone but me! I grumbled and began to roll down the paper flap of the flour bag. I reached up above Embry to place the bag into the cupboard when my grip slipped…
And flour poured all over Embry's shirt.
He startled and backed up half a step with his arms held outwards in a 'what-just-happened?' look, spatula in hand. He glanced down at his clothes and then looked back up to glare at me. "Oh, it's on!" he shouted as he turned off the burner for the stove so that the toast wouldn't burn and then slowly stalked towards me.
My eyes widened and I started backing away quickly. His eyes narrowed and a low, rumbling growl came out of his throat. I squeaked in surprise as he lunged forward.
He ran his palm over his shirt, grabbing at the powder that clung to the fabric, and then smeared the flour over my left arm. I gasped, alarmed, and retaliated by scooping up some flour from the counter top. I held out my hand, keeping it level, and blew the fine particles into his hair like I was blowing a kiss. His laughter filled up the small space as he grabbed me and pulled me to his chest tightly, pressing my clothes against his. He scooped me up into his arms, making me squeal and giggle as he swung me around in circles. After a moment, he released me with a satisfied grin. I looked down and found myself to be sufficiently covered in the flour as well.
Our laughter slowly died off and I soon found myself to be pressed against the fridge as he leaned over me. Our heavy breathing was the only sound in the entire house as we calmed our pounding heartbeats. He looked down, into my eyes and I looked up into his. I reached out and brushed some flour from his hair.
I realized that it wasn't just the pull of interest mixed with allurement that drew me to him. The spark I felt when his skin met mine, didn't dominate my feelings for him. One moment, I felt like we were simply 'just friends'. The next moment, I could be feeling emotions for him I'd never felt before. Even if I wasn't entirely sure what kind of relationship we had, I knew that those superficial pulls didn't make up a truly happy relationship between two people.
Fondness for the other person's personality, character, traits, and nature was what made it real. I loved how sweet and kind he was. He was strong, but gentle. Intelligent and self assured with the pack members, but yet humble. He poured so much of himself into helping everyone around him.
Since the moment I met him, everything about him had enticed me towards him. I tried to hide my interest and downplay it, but for the three and a half weeks I'd known him, it only grew as I found out just how great of a person he truly was.
Was I falling for Embry Call?
His hand cupped the side of my face and his thumb brushed over my cheekbone, smearing more flour onto my skin. He looked at me deeply, searching my soul with his gaze.
"Embry—" I breathed out, but was cut off by his lips against mine. They were rough, but soft at the same time. He pulled me closer against him gently and it hit me like a ton of bricks: yes, I was falling for him.
All thoughts of just trying to remain friends while focusing on training and survival had completely been thrown out of the window that was my mind. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to just feel. My lips began moving with his and I felt all his affection and need pour into me. I could sense just how long he'd been waiting for this moment. How hungry he was for contact. My hands found their way into his hair while his cupped the back of my neck and my lower back. Our mouths moved slowly and with passion.
This moment could last forever and I wouldn't mind. In this minute, there was no worrying about rogue vampires or hidden secrets. It was just Embry and I. And then it ended. He pulled back just a few millimeters to let us breath. Air entered my lungs swiftly and exited in sharp, ragged breaths.
"May…" he murmured, lips brushing softly against mine as he spoke. I opened my eyes and looked up into his. They were filled with such deep, raw emotion. Need, wanting, caring, and joyfulness mixed together in those light brown orbs of his.
He brushed his fingers over my jaw line once more and I smiled at him gently. He took a step backwards and sighed, troubled. "So, where does this put us?" he motioned between the both of us with his hands. "You're leaving Forks at the end of the week "
"Well, I've actually been thinking about that a lot lately. What if I got a job here— and an apartment? I could stay! I could remain close friends with Renesmee and the others. You and I could see where this goes…" I trailed off and rubbed the back of my neck. This was the first time I've voiced my plan to anyone and I was worried how it would be taken. Plus, I was also extremely curious about where Embry and I stood in our 'friendship-turned-into-something-more'.
He looked at me, eyes slightly shining of hope, and took my hand into his. The hope died off and concern came out in them "What about your safety? Those vampires are still out there!"
I shrugged "They'll be anywhere I go. I figure here is the safest place for me to be. I just have to get the Cullens approval. After all, I am staying in their territory, attracting violent outsiders to the town. On the bright side, the pheromones and hormones in my blood should be fading less than a year from now."
I did the math in my head. I arrived here a month ago, late in September. Right now, it was the last week of October. Renesmee said she was born September tenth, and her ninth birthday was just a few weeks before my arrival in Forks. I was born the Summer after Renesmee, but nobody told me exactly when my birthday was. The Volturi knew of course. I was brought to them just days after I was born. Ted knew my birthday as well, but he took that to the grave with him. The Volturi was hiding something, keeping tricks up their sleeves by preventing me from knowing the exact date of my own birth. All I know for certain was that it was September when Ted was killed on that terrible day our apartment was broken into. It could have been anywhere between one or three months after my true birthday when that vampire had finally managed to catch onto my scent.
I would have to fear for my life for the next eight to ten months, never truly knowing the exact moment I would be safe.
I told Embry my estimated window of time and explained all the reasons behind it. He let out a low whistle and asked "So Ted was told to never reveal your birthday to you?" I shook my head 'no' and he continued, "You never celebrated your birthday?"
"Hmm… not really."
He chuckled and rubbed his thumb in small, circling patterns on the back of my hand as he held it. "Alice is going to want to make up for that. She'll buy you anything and everything you could think of and throw a gigantic party." An actual birthday party sounded fun, but I didn't want her spending any more money on me. I made an uncomfortable face and Embry laughed again lightly. "Don't worry, it'll stay our little secret."
He finished up making the toast and we finally got to sit down and enjoy breakfast. Right before I dug into the first bite, Embry stopped me. He made me close my eyes as he rummaged through the drawers. After hearing a bunch of noise and racket, he finally announce that I could look.
I glanced down at my plate and saw eight tiny, multi-colored candles alight and sticking straight up out of the toast. I laughed incredulously and gave Embry a smirk. "What's this?" I asked, voice rising in pitch with humor.
"One candle for each year. Happy belated birthday—er, birthdays" he answered. "Make a wish"
I giggled and closed my eyes, wishing that staying here in Forks would work out perfectly. I blew out the candles and thanked him with a soft kiss on his cheek. Tingles went along my spine as I remembered our first kiss just minutes ago. We dug into the meal and continued to talk and joke around. After breakfast, Embry left to dispose of the deer that was still on the back porch. He said it wouldn't go to waste if he placed it in the forest for the mountain lions to scavenge.
Just as I finished washing up the kitchen from out flour fight, the phone rang. Embry returned and answered it while I dried the dishes. Moments later, he hung up. "What was it?" I asked.
"That was Carlisle. You officially get to back to the house."
As much as I was happy to return to Renesmee and the others, hanging out here with Embry and just talking was enough to keep me content forever.
AN- Aww, they finally had their first kiss! Thanks for reading! I really appreciate all your time and help everyone! Reviews make my heart swell with so much joy and happiness! *tears up sappily*
Can I reach 55 reviews before Felix and the Volturi show up? Lets try!