Rory POV

It had been two weeks since we had gotten home to Forks and things seemed blissful. I loved being around this much family and being able to get to know them through more than a computer screen. And the area itself felt…right. I wasn't sure if it was the memories or the possibilities of our futures here, but I had never felt more at home. It was such a good fit, and now I understood how my mother must have felt when she moved back here the first time.

While we were still being careful, it was nice to see my parents trust me to be on my own. Maybe it was because we were on our turf and there were countless people who would wreck someone who tried to mess with me. It was nice to be able to drive down to my grandpa's and have lunch, run over to La Push to babysit Aaron, Lua, and Lucas, or go shopping with Morgan and Lulu. It was the kind of life I'd been waiting for. We all had.

There were bad parts too though. Training for one. A few days after we had gotten here and settled in it was down to business. We had no idea when things could be going down with the Volturi but we wanted to be prepared. That meant using our skills to the fullest, and some of them needed to be dusted off. For me it mostly meant learning to one hundred percent control my ability. I needed to be able to move objects quickly, accurately, and powerfully. I also needed to refine doing so delicately, by way of practicing moving people. So far I was able to move most objects and have them slamming into someone with enough force to be a bullet, but moving someone from one area to the next was taking some finesse. If I could master it, it could be another way to keep the human ones of us safe. If I were able to see a vampire coming at someone and carefully move them from harms way, it could help things a lot.

Another bad part was more personal and had to do with my own feelings. Since moving back to Forks I had been able to reconnect with everyone in our extended family. I felt my relationships with the pack and their own families grow, and I loved it. But one relationship felt…odd.

Since I had first seen him I felt this pull towards Jacob Black. I wasn't sure what it was. Maybe recognition from knowing him when I was a baby. Whatever it was, it left me feeling uncharacteristically confused whenever I was around him. Usually I was a pretty confident and straightforward woman, but when I saw Jake my confusion over why I would feel so connected to him usually took over. Especially when he also seemed to act different around me than the others. Maybe he sensed me acting weird, and it was his reaction to do the same. I wouldn't blame him. The guy had been best friends with my parents since he was sixteen, and was there when I was born. Feeling anything other than friendship towards him would be wrong.

Then again my father was technically how many years older than my mother when they met….

But that was a stupid thought. It wasn't anywhere near the same. My parents were practically destined, there could have been a Shakespeare romance written after them. This was just some silly crush, and it would pass.

Until then, I tried my best to simply ignore the crush. Which proved to be difficult. Everywhere I turned, Jacob was there. He was the beta of the pack, and leading their own training. Then he was always at the main house, catching up with my aunts and uncles. Sometimes I'd come back to our tree house for dinner, and he would be in the living room watching a movie with my mom. Though it made ignoring him impossible, it also felt natural. As if he had always been there.

Even now, as I woke up I could hear his voice, muted in another room. I opened one eye, looking around the small room I had spent the first few months of my life in. In the four years we had been gone we hadn't left anything behind in the homes that stood here, so the full sized bed I had slept in since turning one and/or four; took up half the room. The other half was littered with my junk, clothes, and shoes. I managed to open the other eye as I heard the voices of Jake and my mother again. Usually I would be irritated. It was just past six and I didn't get up until seven to go for a run. For whatever reason though I was more curious than irritated, and managed to drag myself from my bed.

I looked down at what I was wearing; a doors tshirt that fell to my knees. I deemed it good enough and found a bra to scoop into. I probably should have put some sort of effort into making my face look presentable but I couldn't find the damn to give, so I just walked to my door.

I hesitated when I heard Jake's voice a bit clearer, sounding upset.

"Bella, I'm not talking to her about it. We all have enough shit on our plates without adding this to it."

"So you're just going to hide from it? I see how you look at her Jacob, why are you wasting time?"

My stomach sank. He had a thing for someone. Of course, why wouldn't he. So all this crushing and connecting was really just in my head, I could live with that. It was silly anyway and….

"How exactly do you suggest I tell your daughter I imprinted on her four years ago? Because I really don't see that going well Bells."

I didn't hear what my mother's response was as my hand clenched on the door knob, mangling it. Imprint. I was an imprint. I had been since I was born, and that was why we had a connection. That was why I felt a pull, that's it. Now that was something I couldn't find a way to live with. I thought the idea of imprinting was sweet and cosmic, but not this. He rarely even spoke to me and he was supposed to be it for me? And he's been stuck thinking that for four years? This was wrong.

"Rory?"

From my mother's call I realized she must have heard me break the door knob. I twisted it so the door would remain shut and kicked my bare feet around until I found sneakers under a sweatshirt. After tugging them on, I opened the window and jumped out. It was juvenile maybe, but my family did have a long history of sneaking out.

I wasn't even sure where I was going, I just needed to not be there. And while I caught Jake's scent as he must have opened the front door to see where I went, I ran further without looking back. It would have been a run I enjoyed with the cool May air whipping around, but I could barely think of anything other than what I had heard. Still, I somehow knew who I wanted to see.

I smelled the air as I ran, and caught his trail and scent. Within another few moments, I saw him scale down from a tree, a small smear of blood on his face.

"Aurora Carlie Renesmee you know better than to run up on me when I'm hunting. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? What if I wasn't in control?" My dad barreled on until he focused on my face. "Rory?"

"Did you know?" I caught my breath as I heard my voice catch. "Of course you knew. You've all been best pals for years, why would you know?"

"Rory." He wiped off his face and took a step forward. "Come on sit down."

I did, right on the forest floor, not caring that I was essentially in nothing but my underwear and a tshirt. "We'll take Jacob out of this for now and go with you explaining why none of you ever told me. Because I'm guessing I am the only one who doesn't know." When his face fell I could have thrown something. "That's….even more wrong than the act."

"We respected Jacob's wishes Rory, it's not like we were all constantly talking about it. The only one your mother and I discussed it with was Jake himself. We agreed with his thoughts on it being between the two of you. Especially with our lives being upside down we just didn't see a need to tell you, not if it would have stopped you from living the life you wanted."

"How could any of you know what life I wanted if you didn't bother to share something as important as this with me? What were you afraid I'd feel more like a freak since someone is forced to love me?"

"Aurora." Dad touched my chin so I looked him in the eye. "You know all about imprinting. Can you look at any of the imprinted couples you know and think they're forced to feel what they do? Can you look at your mother and I and think that?"

"No, but you guys aren't imprints."

"We would be if we were wolves, I'm sure of that. And while Jake hasn't spoken to me much about his feelings on the matter, I have eyes."

"From what I heard, mom said similar but he has never shown any interest towards me and even if he did, how am I supposed to trust it? He didn't make any effort to be in my life for four years. I had a relationship with everyone else in our family while we were gone, and I never heard from him. You'd think if he felt a bond towards me he would have done something instead of hide."

"Or he thought he was doing what was best for the both of you given the situation. I've been there before. I've been the one who ran, even though I thought it was the right thing to do. I've known Jacob for six years and I never saw him happier than when he imprinted on you. There was confusion about it sure, but he never thought it was forced. Just because he's kept his distance since we've been back doesn't mean he doesn't feel anything." He sighed. "I can tell you do."

I rolled my eyes. "What I might have felt doesn't really matter right now upon hearing everyone in my family was in on a secret that should have only involved he and I. I get it; this is a complicated situation, but Jesus Christ." I dragged my hand through my hair. "I deserved to know. You guys haven't exactly saved me from a difficult and abnormal life, why start now."

"Aurora, come on."

"No." I shook my head and stood, brushing pine needles off of me. "I have always been understanding about our lives. About having family through a computer screen and not having a home for more than six weeks. I never complained or acted out; I just did whatever needed doing. Hell look at me now, I'm training so I can fight these assholes off of us, when I should be partying with friends or thinking about picking a college. And yea, for the most part it didn't matter and I was happy just breezing along. But there comes a time where I have to think of me and my wants. I'm the one with an expiration date after all."

I saw the pain of that move across his face but I couldn't take it back. It had to be said. So instead I just turned away, heading back from where I came. By the time I got home, Jake was gone and my mother was left waiting anxiously in my room.

She got up, and in taking on look at my face, nodded. She didn't say anything, but instead she picked up my disregarded suitcase from the floor and started putting things in, knowing in that one look what I needed. To get out. I got more fully dressed and also didn't say a word, just watched my mother and felt a little more than anger. She still understood me, and didn't say anything about having someone come with me for protection. Out of anyone she knew what some of this was like, and she never once doubted me.

As I went to get my car keys and cell phone from the living room, she went to her wallet and handed me a fold of bills.

"Just take it, no arguments." She said, looking up at me. She looked worried and sad, but I could see in those eyes we shared that there wasn't anyone else who could get me more than her as she grabbed my face, touching her cheek to mine. "I'm sorry you're hurting, but you have to know at least this one thing."

"You love me." I finished.

"More than the rest. And you come back to me when you want to ok?"

I did no more than nod as I left, not sure what to say. I didn't want to fight or hurt anyone, and I didn't want to change my mind. For the first time I just wanted to be away from it all, from them all. And later when I was driving away, seeing the leaving Forks sign, I wondered if I would ever come back.