Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns Twilight. I do not. I do however, own my 'gang'.

A/N: Also thanks to my awesome Beta, Blueboarderchick.

Thank you to my reviewers.

Congratulations to mauralee88,Enchantress In Black and dirtychicken for guessing Emily.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Chapter 21

The day after my breakdown, Taylor drove me to a homeless shelter to donate all the things I baked… well what I'd managed to wrestle away from Zach and Ryan. My friendship with Taylor grew even stronger after my episode. He'd seen me at my absolute worst and told me to snap the hell out of it, believing I was a lot tougher than even Jacob was willing to give me credit for. It was nice to know he didn't think of me as a shrinking violet.

I returned to my classes but I had to play catch up as I'd missed three days. Liz was relieved to have her 'blood sister' back. When she asked about what Jacob said to upset me, I just told her I found out he was dating someone. Even though I still felt the pain and sadness of Jacob's imprinting, I didn't allow myself to get carried away. And on the really bad days, I told myself that as long as I was the only one in pain then it was okay.

But there was one thing I was not okay with. A month had passed but I still hadn't heard from Leah. All my calls and text messages to her cell went unanswered. I was really beginning to worry. Our last conversation scared me as I'd never heard Jacob so angry before. I didn't think he would hurt her but then again, I wasn't dealing with the same Jacob Black I used to know. I was even thinking of asking Charlie to have Sue call me as he'd recently confessed to dating her. But I didn't know if I wanted to get her involved.

One night, I received a call from someone unexpected. I was chatting online with Angela in my room. She told me about a new guy she'd been dating. As I was thanking her for sending me the pictures from our vacation, my cell rang. I didn't recognize the number when I checked the caller ID.

I answered hesitantly, "Hello?"

"Um… Hi. Is this Bella?" I heard a female voice asked.

"Yes. Bella speaking." The voice sounded familiar.

"Hi Bella, it's me, Emily Young." Her voice sounded a little nervous.

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Why on earth would Emily be calling me? "Emily, um… how are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm calling about Leah."

I gasped. "Leah? Is she okay?"

"She's on punishment, Bella. Jacob put an injunction on her so she can't communicate with you." She said sadly. I finally understood why she wouldn't answer any of my text messages either. If he said she couldn't talk to me then Leah could have wrote but he'd effectively cut off all forms of communication. There was no way around the injunction this time.

It hurt to think that Jacob would do something like that. That he would deliberately try to hurt me by taking away my friendship with Leah. Then I figured out why Emily was calling me. Leah couldn't talk to me so she went to Emily to contact me on her behalf. Normally, Emily would never go against Sam but she must have felt like she owed Leah big time. And Leah, calculating woman that she was, must have predicted she'd feel that way.

"Leah wanted you to know why she's not answering your calls and that she's okay. She said to tell you she's sorry," Emily continued.

"Leah has nothing to be sorry about. I know it was an accident." I knew I shouldn't have cared considering what he'd done but I decided to ask anyway. "How's Jacob doing?"

"He's so angry at the two of you." Emily sighed.

"I know he is, Emily, but I didn't leave to hurt him. I just didn't want to end up like…" I didn't want to hurt her feelings but I had to be honest.

"Like Leah? Yeah, I know." Emily finished sadly. I knew she'd never forgive herself for what she and Sam did to Leah.

"I thought that by leaving I'd be giving him a chance at happiness without having to break my heart." My heart was broken anyway but she didn't have to know that.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Bella. I understand. In fact all of the wolf girls feel the same way I do." She confided.

That was a surprise. "What? I thought all of you girls hated me for leaving."

Emily sighed. "Hated you? Bella, all of us have seen what can happen when a wolf gets serious with someone he hasn't imprinted on. It's not that hard to understand why you chose to leave instead of staying and seeing it happen right in front of you." I bet Carmen shared that sentiment. It was nice to know they understood that I wasn't trying to be mean or vindictive by leaving. That for once, I was trying to put myself first.

"Thanks, Emily. Does Sam know you're calling?" I knew Sam's loyalty would lie with the pack and I didn't want to cause problems between them.

"No, he doesn't. And I think it's best if he never finds out. Let's just keep this between us girls." I never knew Emily could be that sneaky.

"Emily, how long do you think Jacob will keep the injunction for?" I was beginning to feel angry at Jacob. I understood why he was upset with me but he had no right to stop Leah and me from being friends. He had his perfect life with his soul mate, the least he could've done was leave me my friend.

Emily sighed. "It's going to be a while, Bella. And until then, Leah won't be returning your calls." She paused for a bit, and then continued, "You know, Bella, I have to say, I was really surprised when I found out that you and Leah were friends. But I guess I can understand why she'd talk to you."

I was curious. "Yeah? Why?"

"Because you might be the only person who could really get why she is the way she is." I guess Emily was right but she was wrong too. No one else ever really tried to figure Leah out. They were all so quick to permanently label her a bitch then leave it at that. At least Emily was trying to talk to her now. That had to count for something.

"How is Leah handling everything, Emily? I mean really." Leah wasn't the type to take this lying down.

"She's giving them hell. If they thought she was bad before, they were wrong. Sam told me the constant rage and resentment they feel from her has the entire pack on edge. She's definitely not making this easy for Jacob." I detected a slight hint of pride in Emily's voice.

"At least one good thing came out of this." I was determined to see the bright side in all of this.

"What?"

"Out of everyone, Leah chose to come to you for help." My tone was matter of fact.

Emily was tried her best not to sound too hopeful. "Yeah, that could have been because the other girls might not have gone against their wolves."

"That might be true but she could have gone to Rachel just as easily. So the fact that she came to you says something."

"Yeah, I guess so. But I know I still have a long way to go before she forgives me."

"But this is a step in the right direction." I silently vowed to do whatever I could to help their relationship along. "Will you call again, Emily?" Talking to Emily made me realize how much I missed everyone in La Push.

"I'll try, Bella. I have to go now. Sam will be home soon. It was good hearing your voice." I heard the smile in her voice.

"It was good to hear yours too Emily. Thanks for calling." After we said our goodbyes and hung up, I lay on my bed thinking about the conversation I just had with Emily.

It was nice to know that the wolf girls could understand why I left even if Jacob couldn't. I hoped he would one day though. After all, because of what I did he was able to be with Carmen now without the additional baggage.

We were all grateful when the fall semester of our sophomore year came to a close. I was looking forward to Christmas. It would be our first Christmas together since we became friends with Zach. Ryan decided to give Zach his room so he could be closer to us. Then he moved in with Liz and me, or more accurately, moved into Liz's room. It really didn't make much of a difference as Ryan was already a permanent fixture in our apartment.

We were trying to decide where to spend our Christmas vacation. Liz and I wanted to spend it at home but the boys wanted to check out the Ski Center. Well… Taylor and Ryan wanted to ski but Zach said his 'people' didn't fly down snow covered mountains with two sticks strapped to their feet. Liz and I won out in the end, with Zach being the deciding vote and we spent a ski-less Christmas together.

I brought Leah a silver bracelet and had each of the circles on it engraved with different friendship quotes. My intent was to remind her that she wasn't alone. That I hadn't forgotten about our friendship and that I wouldn't give up on her. I deliberately left out my name when I had it sent to her house. She would be able to tell it was from me.

It was about a week before winter classes were due to start. Liz and I were in the kitchen doing the dishes when she turned to me with her eyes full of mischief. "So I saw Dillon about a week ago and he asked about you again. He said to say hi."

I'd seen him around campus a few times since our lunch thing and we even had lunch together at the Dining Hall a few times. Rolling my eyes, I replied, "Does this conversation have a point?"

"Yes, it does. When are you going to start dating?" Liz pressed.

I groaned, "Oh for the love of God." Not this again. Ever since the whole Jacob thing, Liz had been on me non-stop about dating. "When I'm good and ready, that's when," I snapped.

She pouted, "Jeez, you're so bitchy these days. What's the matter? Are you on your period or something?"

I gasped, "God, Liz. I am not on my period. And stop tracking my cycle. It's creepy."

Liz refused to give up. "All I'm saying is that Jacob Black is not letting himself wither away on the vine like you're doing. Women only have a few years to be pretty and youthful and then zip. Your beauty is gone. That's all I'm saying." I felt a slight twinge of pain when I thought about Jacob and Carmen dating but I chose to ignore it. "You know what they say?"

I sighed, "No, Liz. What do they say?"

Liz grinned, "That the best way to get over a man is to get under another one."

I blushed furiously, "Liz, just shut it." I went back to scrubbing the pattern off the plate in my hand.

The ringing of my cell phone saved me from any further harassment. I dried my hands on a dishrag then answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, Bella." Alice's chipper voice rang in my ear.

"Hey, Alice. What's up?" I asked cautiously. I'd begged the Cullens to not send me any gifts for Christmas and I was worried Alice was calling to tell me they decided not to listen.

"Oh, not much. I was just thinking about you. When do you think you'll be able to visit us? The family really misses you, Bella." I got the feeling there was something Alice wasn't telling me.

I was a little worried. "Alice, is everything okay? You sound a little off."

She brushed off my concern. "I'm fine. So when do you think you'll be able to come up?" She pressed again.

"Alice, what's going on? Why are you so intent on me coming to Alaska?" I didn't have any immediate plans to visit the Cullens. I meant to see them eventually but I thought the distance might make things easier on Edward.

She sighed, "I was hoping you would agree to come without me having to tell you."

I sat at the table and Liz turned away from the sink eying me curiously. "What is it?" I asked slowly.

"It's Edward, Bella. He's making plans to come see you. I tried to talk him out of it but… I think it's better if you come here instead." Alice seemed to be choosing her words carefully.

I wanted to know if she'd had a vision but Liz was still in the room. "Have you seen something, Alice?"

"I saw him come to your apartment… He finds out about your attack and freaks out. By the way, you're in deep trouble with the family. How could you not tell us about what almost happened to you?" She scolded.

I rubbed my hand over my face. "I'd rather not discuss this right now, Alice."

"Fine but we are going to talk about this when you get here."

I didn't really have much of a choice. If I didn't want Edward to show up in Hanover then I would have to go to him. I grumbled, "Fine."

"Oh, and bring your friends too. We'd love to meet them." Alice's voice was back to its usual cheerful tone.

I hesitated. "Okay… I'll ask."

"Don't worry. They'll accept." Her words dripped with confidence.

"Alice, stop looking." I admonished her.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop. See you soon. Bye." Her childlike voice giggled.

"Bye."

My body felt exhausted as I put the phone down on the table and sighed.

Liz's stare was inquisitive. "What was Alice looking at?"

"Oh, it's not important." I changed the subject. "I'm planning to visit the Cullens in Alaska and they've invited you guys to come along with me. So, what do you say?"

Before Liz could answer, the boys came into the kitchen. "Say to what?" Ryan made a beeline for the fridge. He took out a bottle of soda and chugged half down in one gulp.

Liz grabbed the chair next to me and sat down. "Izzy's leaving to visit the Cullens and we're invited to tag along."

"Hmm… sounds like fun. Count me in." Zach said.

Ryan grinned. "Yeah. We'll finally get to meet this Edward guy. Looking forward to it."

"Yes, this should be interesting." Taylor smirked and I was suddenly hit with a sense of foreboding. I hoped our visit to a house full of vampires would be anything but interesting.

A/N: I can almost hear TeamSeth7890 screaming with excitement.A visit to the Cullens is coming up next.

I know some of you have questions about Taylor and I can assure you it's not what most of you are thinking.

I mean it's nothing wolfy but that's all I'll say on the matter.

Reviews make me update quicker so you know what to do. Review!