Emily spent most of her time nowadays trying to help him feel better about Jamie leaving. Embry wasn't having it. He needed to know why his imprint left him. Why? They were starting to get closer! He had hope that they would finally get somewhere with their relationship! So why? Why did Jamie leave so suddenly? It seemed everyone was happy but him. Hell, even Seth might be getting a girlfriend soon if he got his way. Some girl from his school was showing an interest in him when he came over to fix her family's various appliances, according to Seth's thoughts, and even Jae was telling him to go for it. Jae. Another thing that should have been happy. Yeah, Embry was glad she was doing better and was back, but he couldn't really enjoy anything without Jamie around. His life seemed kind of void of anything good right now, and that really freaked out his mom. She didn't know what was going on with her son. She couldn't know.
"Hi, Embry," Jae greeted softly as she came to sit next to him on the sofa. "How are you today?"
"Fine," he lied lamely. She gave him a sad look but didn't call him out. She knew better than to press someone who was going through something. "And you?"
"Considering how I could be, I'm doing well," she replied with a small smile. "It's nice here during the day. Everyone's too busy to be here, I guess."
He sometimes forgot that she didn't know their secret anymore. He wondered if she sometimes got suspicious about them coming and going at strange times. He wondered if his mom did. What did she think of her son when he snuck in and out of the house despite her punishments?
"You should go out, have fun," he told her. "It's summer. You should be out there making the most of it."
"There's not much for me to do. The only friends I remember having seem to be really busy, and you know I'm not the type to go out and make new ones."
"I understand."
Before he phased for the first time, he'd been incredibly shy. He couldn't really talk to anyone without Jake and Quil there for support. He'd barely spoken two words to Jamie at their first meeting. Maybe that's why Jamie left. Maybe he didn't really like Embry.
"Um, would you maybe like to go for a walk with me?" she asked hesitantly. "My doctor tells me I should get out more, and since I can't really do that alone without, um, another one happening, maybe it'll be better if you come? Maybe it would help you too."
He didn't know if he should. He didn't know if he could. He'd always held some resentment towards Jae because of her close friendship with Jamie, but now he could see that she wasn't just Jamie's friend. She was Jae Moon, and she just happened to be Jamie's friend. She also just happened to be Quil's friend and Jake's friend and Seth's friend. She was Kim's friend. But she wasn't just their friend. She was a fifteen-year-old high school student who liked the sound of a cat purring and considered Seth her best friend. She had trouble cooking anything other than ramen and had a hard time in school. There was no reason for him to hold any ill feelings towards her. They both were a little broken, and maybe they could help each other heal.
"Yeah," he finally said with the faintest hint of a smile. "Let's go for a walk, shall we?"
Their walks became a sort of daily routine for them. The first one was awkward beyond belief. They'd never really talked before, but they steadily got closer and more comfortable around each other, and soon they actually became friends. Confidants. Their talks helped, surprisingly. Embry still hurt in Jamie's absence, but talking about it actually made him feel better, even if it was just a bit. She didn't judge him. She didn't think he was weak. She tried her best to understand what he was going through, and he tried his best to understand what she was going through. They learned a lot about each other, and they even learned a bit about themselves. Their walks were therapeutic in a way.
"So, have you met Seth's girlfriend yet?" he asked with a sly smile. "She's actually pretty cute. I don't know how he managed to catch her eye."
"He hasn't let me," she admitted with a pout. "He's afraid she won't like the fact that his best friend is a female."
Yeah, Embry knew how that felt. But he'd gotten over it. Now he could see that if someone was jealous of something like that, maybe they shouldn't be in a relationship. No one should force their significant partner to choose between them and their friend just because they were jealous. It wasn't a good basis for a healthy relationship.
"If that's the case, he shouldn't be with her."
"I dunno. She seems nice from what he's told me."
"Then he doesn't have anything to worry about. If she's that nice, she'll accept you as his best friend."
"Hm, I guess you're right. But what about you? Anything come of the blind dates Quil and Paul keep setting you up with?"
"Nope. I haven't gone to a single one."
"Let me guess: you don't plan on going."
"You know me so well."
"Embry, I know that maybe their method isn't the greatest, but maybe you should consider talking to new people. And I don't count."
"I don't want to enter a new relationship, Jae."
"I'm not suggesting that. I'm just saying that it might be the right time to start getting over him. You shouldn't be hung up on someone like that. It isn't healthy."
"Jae, I can't really explain everything to you, but just know that I'll never be able to get over him. It's just not in the cards. Fate has tied us together."
"Then cut those ties," she told him simply. "Don't let some mystical force control your life. Make your own decisions."
"If only I could."
They lapsed into silence as they turned to head back to Emily's. He wondered again where Jamie could be. Who was he with? What was he doing? Was he happy? It hurt him to think about it. He knew Jae and Quil and Paul were right. He should be moving on. But was that possible? He thought about Sam and Emily and Leah. Did things really have to turn out that way? Could he really just move on from Jamie? Why did he leave? Why did he hurt Embry this way? Where was he?