~O~

Brielle POV

2:45 p.m …..4:00 a.m…Friday….Sunday…..November…..December…..January…..

The subsequent days and eventual months following the Halloween party sped by as my life was reduced to nothing more than a self imposed monotonous haze of false smiles and hidden tears. I didn't tell anyone my fears about that night and felt as if I was slowly losing my mind. I put all of my classes at the teen center on hold, under the premise that I wanted to focus on the holidays, but Leanne saw through that prevarication when each one passed without a change in my behavior. Embry was the greatest cause of my attitude problems because he was so caring. Quite a paradox, I know. He would never question my mood swings or why I refused to be near him as much as I used to. I knew that he probably falsely thought this was due to something he may have done and I was too selfish to quell his unnecessary guilt.

Skye was the only one who had some inkling as to what happened, and even more frustrating was the fact that she didn't speak a word about it. Not to anyone, myself included. Whenever I asked her why I was so out of it, she would respond, "Talk to Lucas, he knows what happened, I don't." I had to believe that my sister wouldn't keep anything from me that could cause me harm, and that was my only comfort. If things were really as bad as I thought, Skye would have told me, right?

To be honest, I didn't know what happened and every time I tried to think of the Halloween party, it was like trying to remember a quickly fading dream, catching errant details and feelings, but never understanding the whole scene.

So, much to my embarrassment, I asked Leanne to take me to a gynecologist. She was blindsided by my request, but did so regardless. No questions asked. However, she was puzzled as to why I preferred to go to Seattle for the checkup. I couldn't risk any rumors starting, it was bad enough that I had to deal with whatever news I would receive, and I couldn't handle being the subject of everyone's gossip.

We arrived at the small clinic on a wintery November morning. I bounced my knees in an attempt to calm my nerves as I waited to be seen. There were a few other girls inside, some with mothers, some with boyfriends, I assumed. No one looked familiar and I took small comfort in that fact. When my name was finally called, I followed a petite nurse to an exam room.

The pale blue interior was calming as intended, but the acrid odor of the sterile room was off-putting. Following the nurse's instructions, I stripped out of my clothing and tied the compulsory tissue robe. It covered my chest, but barely my torso, so I searched the cabinets and found another one to tie around my waist. After another twenty minutes to nervous waiting, the doctor entered the room. She was a statuesque woman with smooth skin the color of ground coffee. Her hair was short and in a meticulously coiffed style. Beneath her lab coat, she wore a pair of fire engine red stilettos. The doctor, whose name tag read Lynne, was a lovely woman who must have seen hundreds of teen girls every year. She didn't even flinch when I told her I thought I had unprotected sex.

After a series of mortifying questions, she told me to relax as she began the examination. I listened to the radio system the clinic offered and noticed all of the holiday carols that were in rotation. Thanksgiving was fast approaching and while the general mood of the clinic was cheery, I was anything but. As I stared at the ceiling, with my legs in the god-awful stirrups, all I could think about was what I truly had to be thankful for.

"Okay, Miss Choiseul" Dr. Lynne said, standing up, "everything seems to be in order. Now, we won't know about any possible pregnancy or STD's until the results from the blood tests come back. This usually takes about a week, but there are no physical manifestations as of yet."

I clutched the tissue robe closer around my body and disentangled my legs from the stirrups. "So, that means no…like…bumps or warts or flames?"

Dr. Lynne laughed lightly as she washed her hands. "No, no flames. However, I would advise no unprotected sex until the results come back and even then you may want to look into birth control. Monogamous relationships yield greater intimacy between partners, but you always want to be protected."

"Don't worry; I won't be having sex anytime soon." I assured her while trying to discreetly slip on my panties. "So…um, could you tell if I was a virgin or not?"

Dr. Lynne looked up from her clipboard and stared longer than I would have liked. "That's a new one. Why do you ask?"

I played with my bracelet, not wanting to see her judge me as I elaborated. "Well, let's say that someone was under the influence and couldn't be exactly sure that there was…any sexual activity involved. How could that person know, hypothetically?"

"It would be in that person's best interest to first confide in someone they trust and seek the appropriate legal actions. If she…or he was the under the influence, then that is sexual battery and said person can't be blamed for another's actions."

I knew where this was headed. All adults and figures of authority automatically assumed the worst, and while Dr. Lynne was hitting the nail on the head, there was no way I would form a police report. My rationalization was idiotic, but I would rather will the issue to go away, not delve deeper into the problem.

"Oh, well it was purely hypothetical." I lied, pulling on my pants. "I just didn't know if doctors could you know...know."

Dr. Lynne clipped her pen to the pocket of her lab coat and smiled. "Well, there are some things that we could look for. The hymen for instance, if it isn't torn, then that is a sign that a girl hasn't yet become sexually active."

"And mine was…" I trailed, not wanting to know the answer.

"Well, your hymen was torn, but in this day and age that can mean a lot of things. Girls are menstruating earlier than previous generations, and the use of tampons usually tears the hymen. Then there is also the case of sports- horseback riding, gymnastics, ballet and even cheerleading-are all sports in which the hymen is usually torn."

I absorbed what Dr. Lynne said, which meant I was still no closer to actually knowing anything.

"Any other questions?" She placed a small bag on the counter.

"No, that's all."

"Good, we'll get those results back to you as soon as possible." She smiled, closing the door behind her as she left.

I picked up the small bag and looked inside. There was an array of condoms, minuscule packets of lubes and pamphlets upon pamphlets about safe sex practices. Throwing the bag into the trash, I held onto the tissue robe as I allowed myself to cry. Not for the guilt of betraying Embry, but for me so stupid as to get involved with any of this in the first place. I had entertained the idea of Lucas as more than a friend, and now it seemed he was the enemy.

~O~

I strolled down the familiar hallways slowly, not needing to be anywhere for about another twenty minutes. It had become a ritual of mine since the new semester started. I would skip lunch and occupy my time with some wasteful thing. Usually it was reading bad teen lit in the library, but after a few weeks, I realized that they all had the same plot. Girl meets boy, they instantly know they love each other, villain comes in and ruins things, the relationship is miraculously saved and the villain thwarted as everyone lives happily ever after.

So, it was during my customary walk to my locker for fifth period books that I spotted something yellow sticking out of the side.

The inexplicable item was a sticky note that read: 'Locker 257'.

I tucked it into my pocket and gathered the rest of my textbooks. The spring semester was in full swing and I was now deciding on my senior classes for the fall. Time passed without care for those it left behind, Skye was going to be a sophomore in the fall and fourteen in a few weeks and I'll admit I felt ill seeing her grow up so fast. While the fall semester was bustling with football games, homecoming and the excitement of the holidays, the spring semester was abuzz with graduation, prom and summer vacation.

Renesmee returned to school full time and I was immensely glad that we had more classes together. Ness was probably ten times smarter than me, or anyone else for that matter, and she would amaze me with the amount of knowledge she held. It was her who encouraged me to take advanced math and science courses, and while they both were mentally taxing, she was a willing and helpful tutor. While I could avoid most of the pack easily, Renesmee was too good of a friend to let go. She never pried and had a way of knowing when someone wanted to be left alone.

Almost everything in my life was falling into place. Skye and Morgan were no longer friends and I was curious to know what caused the fallout.

"She's not someone I trust anymore, there's something off about her." Skye admitted .

We were stringing lights onto the Christmas tree and she must have felt the need to purge herself of whatever she was feeling.

"What do you mean?" I asked too casually.

"I mean that she would always ask about you and Embry and it all became too much. I trusted her in the beginning, but then she would ask me strange things."

"Like?"

"Like how long you two were together, when he would visit and things like that. Then, once she asked me to find out if you two were having problems and I told her to back off. I liked her as a person, but I wasn't about to go against my sister. Besides, I like you and Embry together, you match each other well."

I smiled genuinely at her loyalty. Skye was truly a faithful person and I loved her even more for it.

"Thank you; you don't know how much that means to me."

"Don't mention it, besides she could be so annoying with her vanity and narcissism, uugh," She smiled, detangling a set of jade and ruby lights.

Leanne and I looked into court proceedings to get Emilia and Jason back into our custody. Caleb was still a challenge, but once Leanne was started, she didn't give up. This was when I saw how much Charlie cared for my aunt, many nights they would fall asleep in the kitchen atop a pile of legal documents and records that they spent hours rummaging through. I doubted that most of what they were researching was legally viewable by the public, but Charlie exhausted all of his pull at the police station and it was a massive help.

The only thing out of sync was my relationship with Embry. My remorse over Halloween night would intensify every time we were alone. He was always patient and caring, which only made me hate myself more. I was too self-centered to tell him what happened, afraid that I broke some unknown rule and he would walk away without looking back. I couldn't blame him, why would I stay with someone I couldn't trust? It wasn't even two hours after he told me how he felt that I ended up in bed with Lucas. One more than one occasion, Lucas attempted to tell me that nothing happened, that he was only helping me, but I didn't trust him or my own memory. I knew something had to happen and while I didn't want to think Lucas was a part of it, the evidence was there. I never learned from my mistakes and always found a way to fuck things up.

Thanksgiving passed, then Christmas and New Year's and Embry and I were no closer than before. My birthday passed by without as much as a cake, which was how I wanted it. Turning seventeen didn't mean much to me and I saw no reason to celebrate. Embry still came over and gave me my present-a wolf charm to add to my bracelet. He told me how there were seven charms in total and each one held an important meaning. While the crescent represented his nature as a wolf, it was also to symbolize him being there whenever I needed him. Like the moon, he would be there for me at all times, even if I wasn't able to see him. The wolf was a symbol of his unending love.

"Just as I can't change who I am, I can't change how I will always feel about you." He whispered, delicately attaching the charm to the bracelet.

I cried harder than I could remember that night. He looked so hopeful and happy to give me my present and I couldn't give him anything in return. While we didn't formally break things off, we both knew something changed in our relationship. I even stopped kissing him as much as I used to, which my body hated, but my mind commended.

At my request, Embry stopped coming over every night. Slowly, the nightmares returned, and when I started to calm down, the dreams would then shift to Embry walking away from me and the hysterics would start over again. I had never been one to depend on anyone, and here I was literally crying over Embry every night. Tears that I had no right to shed because I was the one at fault.

As I turned down the hall, I hoped to find Embry before class. Unlike the previous semester we didn't have any classes together and in that moment I was glad for that. Now, I wasn't so sure. Being without him was becoming more difficult that I would have admitted and more than one night was spent with me peering through my window, hoping to catch a glimmer of his onyx fur in the forest. Even if I couldn't set things to the way they used to be, I still wanted to at least see him, feel him arms wrapped around me as selfish as it was.

I noticed that locker 257 would be on my way to class, so I stopped there and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe the note was meant for someone else? I imagined so, but as I was turning to leave, I saw that the hinge was sitting higher than the rest. The door wasn't flush with the other lockers and as I pulled on the lever, the locker propped open.

Inside lay a small, black case. A scrap of paper was taped to the front and simply read: 'For B.'

"What the hell?" I wondered, placing the case into my bag. My curiosity was peaked and I questioned what it could be.

I turned the adjacent corner quickly and as I passed by a row of lockers, I heard a commotion.

"I want this," a female voice said softly.

I walked by right in time to see Morgan against the locker with Embry's lips pressed firmly against hers. I skidded to a halt and stopped my tears from immediately falling.

"Embry?"

~O~

Embry POV

I was anxious to see Brielle as I grabbed some books out of my locker. I had to admit; I hated high school and on more than once occasion, entertained the idea of quitting. I already had my diploma and would rather be patrolling than walking the hallways and sitting in the repetitive classes. The past few months were hell as Brielle became more distant. She wasn't saying more than a few words to me each day and I was slowly losing my mind. I asked Edward to do a bit of reconnaissance, and tell me what was happening, but he refused to do anything unless she was in trouble. How he didn't see this as trouble was fucking beyond me; she was a walking corpse and I had no idea what the hell happened.

Brielle had shut down. She wouldn't say what was happening, but I knew it had to be pretty bad. When she asked me to stop visiting her every night, I painfully obeyed the request. I wouldn't visit her room, but most nights I would patrol and sleep in the forest just beyond her house. If she needed me, I would be there. I was man enough to admit my fears to the pack, which did little to help. Jake experienced some similar things, and even Jared had a hard time with Kim in the beginning, but no one knew what could have changed Brielle's behavior so drastically. I thought that maybe it was someone else, but wouldn't entertain that idea. While I was usually the mellow one, I was slowly becoming the aggravated, easily incensed wolf of the pack. Even Paul had to calm me down when the thought of Brielle with another man would send me into a furious rage. To say that the wolves were jealous was a major understatement.

While Bri was pushing me away, I tried to focus on the Volturi and the threat against the Cullens. This was different than the previous altercation with the Volturi, they knew about the wolf packs' alliance and now everyone important to us would be considered leverage. There were a few more attacks from arbitrary rogues, but there was never more than three at a time which made them easy kills. Tearing into vampires seemed to be the only thing keeping me from being in a constant pissed state. Slowly but surely, the attacks lessened and by the time the new semester began, there hadn't been one in weeks. But while things on that front were calming down, no one lost focus. A tangible feeling of danger hung over all of us and none of us took it nonchalantly.

It was during one of my more unbearable days that I was sifting through my locker, looking for an Advance Calculus book when I heard someone approach me.

"Embry?"

I groaned and turned to see Morgan standing behind me. "What don't you get about me not wanting you?" I snarled. My civility was out of the fucking window with Brielle mad at me.

Her eyes shifted, but she didn't waver. "I know and I am here to extend an olive branch."

I looked at her outstretched hand and wondered what the hell was happening in the universe. Shit wasn't making sense anymore.

"What do you want?" I closed my locker and began to walk towards the cafeteria.

"I just need some help with a trunk. We need it for the drama group, but it's too heavy for me to carry." Morgan said softly.

As much as I wanted to tell her to fuck off, I decided that I could move the stupid trunk, if only to get the incessant banshee away from me as quickly as possible.

"Whoa, this is the trunk?" I eyed the monstrosity skeptically. It was at least eight feet long, four feet high and three feet wide. It was filled to the brim with costumes, props, masks and whatever else the drama group used.

"It's not so big, besides you have all those muscles." Morgan squeezed my arm suggestively.

"Don't" I warned, "I'm here for one reason and it's not to entertain you."

She backed off, but didn't remove the smirk from her lips.

"Well, I have an idea of how we can move this." She suggested. "I'll place my back against the lockers and use my weight to support my end while you can pick it up on the other side."

I was about to just haul the thing myself, but Morgan's idea was the most reasonable. While I was big, I doubted anyone would have been calm if I placed the trunk on my shoulders and carried it easily to the drama room. The monstrosity would usually take four people to lift, so I conceded and picked up my end easily.

Morgan hesitated and looked behind her a few times before finally stooping towards her end of the locker. She idiotically hoisted her end above her legs.

"If the trunk falls it'll crush your legs. You need to angle it away from you." I instructed.

Morgan moved closer and then smiled. "I want this," she said softly.

She placed her lips against mine and I froze. What the fuck? She kissed me harder and I was about to move when she let go of the damn trunk, leaving me to hold all the weight. I momentarily buckled under the unexpected weight, then gripped the edges and started to lower it when I realized that this wasn't a coincidence. This was a plan, a damn plan that I, the world's biggest ass, walked right into.

Get her the fuck off of you! My inner voice screamed. It was a physical ache that ran through my veins and I felt it in my blood. No one was supposed to kiss me except Brielle.

"Embry?" I heard her ask. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. My body was trained to know her voice and her scent, which was now overpowered by the smell of salt.

I looked up in time to see Brielle leave hastily, tears forming in her eyes. I dropped the trunk, hoping that it would crush something.

"What are you doing?" I yelled as I shoved away from Morgan. She hit the lockers behind her viciously and I couldn't force myself to care as I realized what this must have looked like to Brielle.

"Why the hell do you want her?" Morgan spat, gaining her bearings. It was times like this that I wish everyone could see her for who she truly was; a vindictive and selfish person.

"I love her," I spoke confidently.

Morgan simply waved her hand, as if to brush off the idea. "You don't love her Embry. You probably fucked her a few times and now have stupid ideas about your feelings."

"Don't talk about her like that." I spoke through gritted teeth. I concentrated on how close Morgan was to me so I didn't phase and end up with a more fucked up situation.

"It's true. I mean you see how she is around that Lucas kid. I bet they're fucking and she just laughs at how pathetic you make yourself look over her. Besides, she's not even native, why would you want to dilute such a strong bloodline with someone like that?"

"Race has nothing to do with this."

Morgan tilted her head to the side and sneered. "You know what they say about you on the rez? Here you are, a full-blooded Quileute and you choose to slum it out with white trash. I can't believe that you're the same person from a year ago, the bitch has made you soft."

If it weren't for the crowded hallway, I would have phased, closeness or not. Before I could get out a word, she continued.

"You know that she tried to kill herself, right? Her trailer trash mother committed suicide and your sweet, little Brielle decided to try the same." Morgan smirked once astonishment crossed my face.

She tried to kill herself? When? How? No, that can't be true, why wouldn't she tell me this?

Morgan took the opportunity to pull her body against mine. "Don't fight me Embry; I can give you what you want. I'm the only one who's known how."

I grabbed her by her wrists, not attempting to hide my strength, and spoke as slowly as I could.

"Stay the hell away from me. I do not want you and I never will. If you so much as say another word to Brielle, you will regret it. I give my word to that."

Morgan's eye narrowed and she all but hissed back in response. I took my time letting her go, making sure she knew my threat was very real. Leah had been itching to get a hold of her for months now, and it was no secret that Morgan was scared shitless of her. I even considered the thought of having a Cullen help me, but I knew that was too drastic and I doubted anyone would willingly hurt her.

I turned on my heels and ran down the hallway, searching for Brielle. Her scent led me to the girls' bathroom at the end of the adjacent hallway and I could hear her crying inside one of the stalls.

"Brielle," I called in, cracking the door open.

"Go away!" She sobbed dismally.

"Please, don't send me away," I begged, not hiding the anguish I felt when she spoke.

She didn't reply and I walked inside. I could be expelled or suspended for all I cared at this point; I needed to fix things now.

"Bri please let me in." I beseeched.

"No, I can't face you right now." She cried.

I slid down the door and held my head in my hands. She wasn't going to forgive me and she deserved not to. How could I allow this to happen?

~O~

Brielle POV

I closed in on myself in the stupid stall. Why was I crying when Embry did what I had been pushing him towards? At least all he did was kiss her, I did much worse.

"Bri, please." He begged through the stall. "I can't stand being away from you and we need to talk."

I unlocked the door and he slid inside looking as though he had been crying as well. His hair was disheveled and his eyes bloodshot.

"That wasn't what you think," He began.

I sat on the toilet seat and pulled my feet to my chest, unsure of how to respond. Was he going to lie about it now? I know what I say and if he wanted Morgan I'd give him my best wishes, imprint or not.

"She kissed me and I swear that I had no clue what was happening."

"I don't care about that, you can be with her." I closed my eyes and sighed. "I need Nessie right now."

"I don't want her," he declared. "Brielle, I love you and would never do anything to hurt you. Please, tell me how to fix this." He held me close to his chest and continued to plead with me as my body trembled with my sobs.

I had started to cry all over again. Embry was apologizing and berating himself, but he wouldn't be if he knew what I had done.

"Bri, can't we-"

"No, I need Renesmee. I can't speak to you right now."

Embry didn't let go of me, staring with heartbreaking sorrow, but eventually left without a word. Within minutes Nessie was pounding on my stall.

"Bri, Bri…what happened?" I opened the door and she looked at me pitifully. "Embry's freaking out; Jake had to take him to the woods to phase, what happened?"

"If I told you something, can I count on you to no judge until you hear the entire story?" I asked, hoping the answer was 'yes'.

Renesmee leaned against the door and sighed. "You're not making any sense."

A pair of girls walked in then, laughing and chatting animatedly. They each gave us a pointed look and whispered to one another.

"We can't do this here." I sat up and wiped my face.

Nessie and I walked to the parking lot; she stopped in front of her car and turned to face me. "Okay, so what is so important that Embry pulled me out of class? And why are you crying?"

"Embry kissed Morgan." I whimpered. "I saw them in the hallway."

Renesmee was never one to get too upset or even annoyed. She would joke that she inherited both Bella and Edward's obstinacy and anger, that her being calm was to protect innocent bystanders. I now understood what she meant. Nessie's demeanor shifted and she looked feral as her eyes narrowed with my words.

"He...did...what?" She hissed.

"He kissed her, but that's not why I'm upset." I explained, taking a few steps back.

"How could he? He has a fucking imprint and besides, why the hell would he kiss Morgan. And what do you mean 'that's not why I'm upset?" You should be furious that he would hurt you like this." She paced, ignoring me as she began a tirade.

I tried to place a calming hand on her, but she quickly averted it. "He has to pay for this. There is no way we can let him just go free when he completely betrayed you like that."

"No," I cried, "I betrayed him."

"What are you talking about Bri?" Renesmee huffed, exasperated.

"I am saying that I….I cheated on Embry."

Renesmee is about to find out the whole story, how do you think she will react?

What about Brielle's test results?

What is on that disc?

Hope you all enjoy and Review! Review! Review!

Until next time,

-L

Preview:

Brielle POV

"Emilia…Emmy is that you?" I whispered into the receiver.

"She's hurting him again Bri….I can't make her stop and she's hurting him."

Nothing in my life could have prepared me for that sentence. Nothing could have equipped me to handle the complete and utter helplessness I felt in that moment.

"Who's being hurt?" I asked, hoping to God that she didn't mean Jason.

"Jay," Emilia whispered, "he wet the bed again and she keeps hitting him."

My body started to weep on its own volition while my mind went down murderous alleyways. I didn't need to know who was hurting Jason, the fact that he was in any kind of trouble was enough.

"Do…do you know where you both are right now?" I questioned my sister.

"We're with Miss Lily," she answered, "I don't know where, but it's by the ocean."

My heart skipped at her words. Could they have left the state? I looked at the number again, it was a Seattle area code, but that didn't mean much in helping with their location.