I was really surprised to find that so many people were still prepared to pick this story up where i'd so bluntly left it. Thanx to everyone who left a review.


It wasn't until I was safely inside the rabbit that I could finally begin to relax. I couldn't believe that I had almost phased in front of Bella, right in the middle of Charlie's living room.

The stench of vampires as Charlie had arrived home had overwhelmed me and I had immediately jumped into protector mode. Bella had been in the in a really vulnerable position a few minutes before. Fuck. What would have happened if Charlie had been just those few short minutes earlier? It wasn't worth contemplating. I wouldn't have been able to control myself at all. I would have phased right under Bella and probably hurt her badly or maybe even killed her.

I could feel the sweat bead on my brow as my mind skimmed over the countless outcomes that had thankfully failed to play out.

I had been foolish. I should have known better than to ever let my guard down.

On the vampire front, things had been very quiet here in Forks for a few months. Following the Visit from the little leech Bella called Alice and the brief encounter that I had had with the vamp stench that had came from the girl Lauren on First beach, there had been nothing, not a whiff of anything un-dead.

Charlie was saturated in the foul, sickening smell, so-much-so I was guaranteeing that he had had an up close and personal encounter with one blood sucking, mother fucking leech.

Just like the day on the beach this leech was not one that I could identify in the heat of the moment, but there was something about the stench that put me in mind of how the girl had smelled that day.

When I had phased in the bathroom I was unable to connect with any of the guys, so I immediately knew there was no threat in La Push. They were all helping with the preparations for tomorrow night. I had a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe a party wasn't such a good idea after all. I was about to lift my cell to call Emily and tell her to cancel the party when it suddenly lit up and begun to blast out its incessantly aggravating electronic tune. The number that flashed on the screen was not one I recognised and it was obviously not one I had programmed into the memory. I wasn't in the mood to talk to any random person. I briefly considered opening the window and throwing it into the bushes. No one ever called me, ever...

I stared at the phone as it played its ditty. Maybe if I stared at the number long enough I would have an epiphany and figure out who the caller might be. I answered the phone, one half of me expecting it to be a wrong number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is that Jacob Black?" The voice was nervous and unsure.

I didn't recognise the voice on the other end, and so answered cautiously, "Ugh... who's that?"

"Jake that is you, isn't it?"

"Ugh... yeah, yeah , this is Jake. Who's this?"

"Oh, thank god, it is you. I was so afraid that this was the wrong number that I didn't want to say anything until I was sure who I was talking to. I hope you don't mind I got your number from Mike's dad. I think you did some work on his car last year. Jake its Angela." The fact that it was Angela tilted me off balance.

"Ugh, Angela, right...Um what can I do for you?" I knew exactly why she was phoning, and despite her basically telling me to call her when we had bumped into her at the store, I now realised this was a conversation I didn't wasn't to have over the phone.

"Jake, I know things have been tough for you over the last few months, but I really have to talk to someone about what happened that day on the beach, and given what I remember I think it should you I speak to and not some random person that would probably have me committed at the first mention of werewolves." I almost shushed her as she said the words, to smite whatever she was going to say before it became audible, but I had to admit, she was being sensible although very blunt about it.

Truth was, she could have easily informed anyone who would listen, but she hadn't and I wasn't sure whether that was out of friendship to Bella or whether it was out of self preservation.

"Listen, Angela. I really don't want to talk about that day over the phone. How about we meet up somewhere and I'll tell you what I can." I could tell she was unsure of whether to agree or not; she took a few moments to decide.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" she asked, "Us meeting up, that is?"

It suddenly struck me, Angela was right to be cautious. I had grown so used to Bella being around and, at least until the accident, being so accepting that it rarely occurred to me that people would actually fear me.

"I can bring someone along if you like, if it makes you feel better." Jeez this was going to be hard not only was I going to have to try to explain to Angela about our tribe without actually telling her, but I was now setting myself up to have to face one of my brothers and tell him that an outsider knew about me.

"Ugh I don't know Jake, I don't know if that's a good idea. Would it be ok if I brought a friend?" Her question caught me off guard and as a result my brain seized. She quickly retracted, "Oh god, excuse me Jake, that was probably the stupidest question I've ever asked in my life, it's just... it's just you've got me a little freaked out. Of course I can't bring anyone along, how insensitive of me, please forget I suggested it; of course I'll meet you. When and where would be good for you?" Angela's tone had taken a turn. She seemed embarrassed and something else, sympathetic.

I suppose individuals react differently to abnormalities in people. Some ridicule, some are repulsed, some give acceptance, but this was different. I had the feeling that what Angela was feeling, was pity. The tone she took was like that of someone who had just offended a person with disabilities. I chuckled silently to myself; this girl was almost as absurd as Bella had been before the accident.

I let her off the hook. "Angela, it's ok, I understand." I said gently, trying to sooth her. "I can meet you somewhere public and I'm sure I can rustle up at least one semi-normal friend." I could hear her quietly giggle on the other end of the phone. "Is that ok then?"

"Yeah, how about at the football field next to the high school, say about one thirty tomorrow?"

"Is it busy on the weekend?"

"Yeah it can be. The jocks have practice there, is that a problem?" The tension was back in her voice.

"Nope... the more the merrier" I lied. The idea of having to explain away the severe injury of Forks high schools star player because he thought it might be fun to harass two Quileute kids that were totally out of place on Forks high footy field, did not appeal to me in the slightest. But I suspected there was no way I was going to get the chance to explain things to Angela if I didn't meet on her terms.

"Okay, see you then."

"Okay bye..." I shut the phone off and tossed it onto the passenger seat beside me.

Fuck, not only was I going to go public to her, but there was a strong possibility that I was also going to get my ass kicked by Sam.

The only answer to that was not to tell him and to not phase until after the event. If he found out what we had planned he would just order me not to meet up with her.

I was having an internal bust up. I couldn't believe what I was getting myself into, telling an outsider about our secret was a huge no-no, but it wasn't as though she was totally clueless, she had seen all the evidence she ever needed with her own eyes, but I was the only person who knew this.

I would have to ask someone that I could trust implicitly to accompany me tomorrow. The only person I could think of, the only person that I knew would try above all to both help me out and not blab to Sam was Leah. Ok she would probably throw a shit fit when she found out what I had planned, but one thing I knew for sure, she would do anything to defy Sam and go behind his back. This would be a major point score for her, and for my benefit, it would probably help Angela to relax if I brought along another girl.

The other plus, Leah would be a nice distraction for any Jocks that might want to try to take on the unsuspecting Quileute boys from the reservation. Oh yeah, and she could kick any guys ass when she put her mind to it.

Now all I had to do was ask her.

Leah was in a particularly shitty mood when I eventually caught up with her. She was drowning her sorrows by a little campfire on First Beach. The air was heavy with brine, you know, the way the air smells just before a big storm. The waves were crashing onto the rocks at the headland, they were angry and thunderous. There was definitely a storm behind them. Leah looked up as she heard me approach.

"Fuck," she breathed when she saw me. She downed the last of the beer in the bottle in her hand before reaching into the box, pulling out another and cracking it open with her teeth. The top popped as she cannoned it onto the fire in front of her.

"Hmm...Cute," I murmured in her direction. This was the last thing I needed. Leah in a mood at Christ knows what. There was no way she was going to go along with anything anyone said to her tonight.

She gave me a death stare. "Look, just...fuck off Jacob; I'm not in the mood ok."

"Ugh, yeah... I can see that for myself." I looked at the empty bottles lying around the campfire; there was easily thirteen lying around. "What's this anyway, you throwing yourself a little party, did we forget your birthday?" I tentatively tried to keep the questions as light as possible; I could see by her demeanour that whoever got into her path of self destruction tonight was going down with her.

"Ha fucking ha... that's right, take the piss asshole. You're close but you're not close enough." This wasn't like Leah, something really bad must have happened.

It was like Leah to get pissed, yes. It was like Leah to be a bitter harpy, yes. It was like Leah to be a crass cussing foul mouth of a woman, but it was not like Leah to combine the three together and throw a full on pity party, at least not in public and definitely not somewhere that any random person taking a stroll on the beach could witness the carnage.

I realised that this occasion didn't call for false humour and caution; it called for blunt questions and a preparedness to defend myself. I continued, "Jesus Leah, what's your beef?"

"Like I said Jacob, fuck off..."

No... I wasn't going to just fuck off, I needed her to quit her shit and help me out with my problem, even if I meant that I had to deal with her shit. I stared at her, trying to force her to look at me. It didn't work; she just continued to gaze into the flames, like she was in a trance. A gust of wind blew a shower of embers up into the night sky and the flames brightened momentarily, giving away Leah's disturbing secret.

The skin around her eyes was deep red and swollen, tears sparkles and glimmered on her cheeks. I knew at that point to ask her no more questions. She drew here sleeve across her face in an attempt to hide the evidence of her self-pity. Something really bad had happened.

I crossed the few feet between us and plonked myself down beside her. She tried to shift away from me but I wrapped my arm tightly around her shoulder and drew her close into my side. She fought against me, pushing into my side, there was little force there, it was a half hearted attempt to place some ground between us.

Deep down even Leah knew she needed to maintain some thread of connection to humanity even when she didn't want it to witness her pain.

I couldn't be sure what had brought on this recent outburst, the death of her father was still fresh in everyone's mind, but Leah never let her guard down there. She had remained stoic since the day he had died. I knew she blamed herself for his death, but it was a well known fact that Harry had suffered from a heart condition for years. Only me and the other wolves knew that he had passed away after witnessing Leah phase in the middle of his living room.

Leah sat stiffly beside me unwilling to bend and settled herself firmly behind the invisible wall she had built around herself since she had split with Sam. I leaned forward to fetch a bottle of beer from the box. Leah remained tightly wound beside me. I handed her the bottle and she opened it the same way she had her own, spitting the bottle top into the fire and handing it back to me. As I took the bottle, I felt her soften into my side a little; every now and then she would sniff and wipe her eyes with the cuff of her sleeves.

I don't know how long we sat in silence, both of us thinking out own thoughts, staring at the same flames and embers dance in the night breeze, swigging the few cold beers that were left in the box.

She eventually spoke when she reached for another beer and found the box empty.

"Fucking great...the perfect fucking end to the perfect fucking day," she said hoarsely, before tossing the box into the dying fire. I took one last swig from my bottle and handed her the remains. She took the bottle eagerly and drained it of its last few drops.

"Do you know what day it is today Jake?" The fact that she was addressing me and not just blurting shit out took me by surprise.

"I dunno, Thursday, Friday?" I asked, confused. "Why, is it your birthday?" I had thought Leah's birthday was around Christmas time.

She punched me so hard in the ribs it took my breath away. "No fucktard, it's not my fucking birthday. Jesus fucking Christ why do I need to be the only girl wolf in the tribe?" She paused for a long breath before continuing. "No Jake today is Friday the twentieth of August 2010."

I looked at her, trying to pick up clues as to what she was talking about. I quickly filtered through the dates I had committed to memory, every birthday and anniversary that I could think of. Little did I know how far up the wrong tree I was barking. What I should have been trying to filter through were the days when things that should have happened, didn't.

"Today," she continued, " is the day that Sam and I were supposed to get married, right here, on this very spot on this very beach." She poked her finger into the sand beneath us as she accentuated every syllable that passed her lips. "And today is the day that that insensitive prick chooses to announce to the world that his compulsory bride to be is carrying his bastard child." She whined a little as she said it.

The pain and sorrow I felt for Leah was overpowering. The two things she had wanted most in the world had been taken from her on the one day that should have been the happiest day of her life.

Her shaking began as a gentle tremor and it built and built until the convulsions cast off from Leah's grief had both of us visibly vibrating in the dying light from the fire. She pushed against me as I crushed her into my chest in a vain attempt to absorb some of the pain she was feeling, to make it just a little better for her. She thrashed her fists against my chest, but with each strike the force weakened, she was succumbing.

The wails of sorrow that left her chilled me to the bone; it was the sort of sound that made your heart stall. If I could have taken her pain and felt it for her I would have just so I would never have to hear her like that again, it was like a toxic mixture of defeat and despair. She was my pack sister, her pain was my pain.

After a while the shaking and the tears eventually subsided but the undercurrent of her unhappiness displayed itself in little burst as her breathing caught in sobs as it begun to return to normal.

"Why can't I make him love me Jacob, why can't I make his heart feel the way mine does?" I sat quietly in the darkness and listened "I try to block out the fact that he doesn't love me anymore, but it's like I'm in limbo. I still love him Jake and I'm not ready to move on. I need more time."

I had no answers for Leah. The truth was that time had run out for her the moment Sam had imprinted on Emily. There would be no more time.