37. Best friends share… everything.

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Thanks to BanSidhe [ruadh sidhe] and Feebes86 for betaing and pre-reading.

Quil rang her to say he couldn't get down to Forks today as he had planned the day before. Evidently Sam was having kittens or puppies or whatever about something. Any wolf that even thought of leaving the rez for whatever reason was going to be skinned alive. Plus they had patrols after school so neither of them could see her then. She was disappointed but assured him she was fine.

Bella was putting her books in her locker at lunchtime when she heard a discussion behind her.

"No," said a male voice she didn't recognise. "The big guy; the Rock impersonator is Quil Ateara…"

"…And you've met Jacob Black before," another voice helpfully supplied. "So you know what he looks like."

Oh no.

"We played football against the Quileute Tribal School a while ago," the first voice added. "And they only have about 100 students. So if it wasn't Jake, then the taller one must be Embry Call. Those three are usually together. But they're juniors aren't they?"

"They don't look it," said Lauren.

"Yeah, they are younger than us," his friend helpfully supplied. "Must be sixteen or so; no more than that."

She looked up to see Lauren and Jessica talking to a couple of the football jocks. Lauren had a look of triumph on her face. Names. She knew their names. And their ages. Bella just couldn't see how this was a good thing.

Bella slammed the door of her locker loud enough to attract their attention.

She stalked over there, flinging her bag over her shoulder. "Get a life, Lauren," she said in a deceptively sweet tone. "So now you know their names. So what? You could have just asked me." Jessica Stanley snuck off in the background with her phone in her hand. She never could stand up for herself. The girl was a sheep.

"Isabella," Lauren said.

"I could give you their phone numbers too… but I really don't think they'd agree to date you."

The boys made crowing noises.

"I'm not a cradle robber," Lauren sniped.

"What is going on here?" Principal Greene asked.

Everyone made non-committal noises.

"Are you sure you don't want to make that complaint about bullying, Isabella?" asked Principal Greene with a pointed look at Lauren.

"No thank you, sir. I'm not frightened of bullies and it just demonstrates their jealousy. The queen bee syndrome. I'm sure you've heard of it sir."

"Yes." He gave her an odd look. And then a pointed glare at Lauren. "Move along now, Miss Mallory," he ordered.

She tried to flick her hair and stopped herself again. Bella resisted laughing at her. Taken for a ride by a talent scout. Poor Lauren. [chapter 24] And she supposed her parents who must have paid for it. Fifteen thousand was a lot of money to be out of pocket for, on a scam.

Angela and Ben had taken point for her; standing at each shoulder. She turned. "Thanks guys." They sat together in the cafeteria and kept to non-dating topics for conversation. It wasn't difficult; the newspapers were all full of a spate of violent deaths and disappearances in Seattle. It was all anyone was talking about, luckily for her. Lauren's efforts to keep Bella gossip alive, just didn't matter to anyone else nearly as much as they mattered to Lauren. She prayed it was coming to an end. She wanted to ask Charlie about these deaths. She'd have to remember to do it when he got home that night.

She finished school, stopped in to buy groceries on the way home, did some study and got dinner going.

Embry finished his patrol and headed home. Sam was concerned about vampires in the area. Jared had picked up a scent and Sam was thinking something weird was going on with the deaths in Seattle. Anything described as 'animal attack' made the pack twitch. Just the violence of the deaths unnerved them too. It was too extreme; too violent. The police had no leads and no clue.

Embry could see the lights on in his house. Dammit, his mother was home from work. He couldn't smell any dinner cooking though. He could look after himself if need be. Worst case scenario was cereal for dinner.

But he wondered why she hadn't cooked. There weren't any leftovers to reheat. She might be in a bad mood. Given he was usually the cause of that bad mood; he sighed heavily and went to face the music.

She was sitting at the kitchen bench, a glass of something in front of her. He sniffed; gin. Gin always seemed to make her maudlin or mean. Bad choice.

"Mum?" he asked carefully.

"Embry," she stated.

She took a sip of her gin.

"I went to the bank this afternoon," she said conversationally.

He didn't say anything. Something made him suspect that this was going to be bad. He hated sneaking out; he hated lying to her. But the existence of the wolf pack was an important secret. One he didn't entirely trust his mother with. And she wasn't upset about him sneaking out. Her fingers drummed on the bench. But she was upset about something; he didn't need to be a wolf to know that.

"The bank teller was very interested when she saw my name."

Silence.

"It was your name she knew though. 'Oh you must be Embry Call's mother' she said. She asked me how I felt about my son being in a threesome."

Embry's heart fell. He thought instantly of Bella and Quil. Quil was always trying to tell him to be honest with his mother and he hadn't.

"A threesome, she gleefully informed me… with another man and a …white girl." She almost spat the last part.

He felt a sharp pain in his gut. He wasn't going to deny either of them. And somehow he knew she wasn't going to give him any other choices.

"I told her she must have the wrong Embry… but she was certain it was you. And Embry isn't a common name. Neither is Call around here."

He blinked.

"Is it true?" she asked in that scarily quiet voice.

"Yes," he whispered.

She closed her eyes very slowly and took another gulp from her drink. She rubbed at her forehead with the fingers of one hand. As if she was trying to erase her frown lines.

"Her daughter goes to school with the girl evidently." Another sip. "Is that who you were with? On the weekend? When you told me you were staying at the Ateara's?"

"Yes."

"Are you having sex?"

"Yes."

"You're sixteen, Embry."

He didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't broken any laws. He was old enough.

"So you weren't at the Ateara's?" She continued the interrogation.

"No." She didn't need to know where they were.

She stood suddenly.

"I don't know what to say Embry." She was winding herself up.

Uh-oh.

"I felt like such a fool… that this stranger in the bank would know more about my son than… I do," she blustered. "In the bank," she repeated as if the location had significance somehow. "She knew my son was having sex and I didn't."

He sighed heavily.

She heard that.

"Oh I am very sorry if I am keeping you up. Lord knows you need more sleep, what with the sneaking out at night. The involvement in this gang thing. It's just not good enough Embry. But I am your mother and I want to talk about this now."

Or shout at him about it. He tried not to think of Quil; if Quil came running over here it would get infinitely worse. His heart turned to Bella. "Bella." He didn't realise he had said it aloud.

"Is that her name?"

"Yes."

"And she's a Hokwat?"

"She lives in Forks." Hokwat was kind of insulting and he couldn't call her that. His inner wolf twitched. Please don't phase please don't phase. He had a memory image from Sam of phasing and hurting Emily. She was his mother; he couldn't do that. No he begged the wolf.

"What? NO?" his mother screeched. She must have asked him something and he had missed it. He held the wolf hard. He heard his cell phone ring.

"What do you mean 'no'. I asked you to tell me the other boy's name."

Embry just looked at her. His jaw clamped shut.

"Ateara… my god… it's him isn't it?" She glared at him. "That… Quil boy… your best friend…"

Embry's wolf twitched again at the way she said his imprint's name. He didn't like it. He could just leave… run if he had to.

His mother stood eerily still; watching him. Her eyes darted around suddenly. "Are you… fucking him?" she asked. She had made some kind of intuitive leap.

Embry's wolf would not allow him to deny his imprint. "Y-yes." Technically Quil fucked him, but he didn't think she was up for semantics right now.

She looked genuinely shocked. "And you didn't tell me?"

That almost made him laugh. He had put off telling her; but he can't tell her anything… even about the pack. She'd flip out. She hadn't earnt his trust, but he knew her. She'll still be upset that she hadn't got it.

"Oh my god… how long has this been going on?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "A while."

"And you didn't tell me," she repeated.

Embry beat the wolf down. He wanted to say some things to his mother and in order to do that he had to stay human. He clung to that ideal. It was that or let the wolf tear her apart and he couldn't do that.

"You?" he repeated. "Tell you anything?" His voice hardened. "Why would I? How can I?"

"What?" she actually looked astonished. He didn't usually talk back to her. He just hunched down and let her words wash over him… or tried to.

"Even now… all you care about is how this makes YOU look," he stated. "You're not upset that I didn't tell you… you're upset that this all happened in the bank… to you."

"That's not true…"

"Isn't it?" he was really humanly angry now. "I can't tell you anything! I never have been able to. The only thing you give a shit about your whole life is yourself."

"Wha…?" she started.

He didn't let her finish. "You blame ME for ruining your life. I was a baby! How was it my fault? I didn't ask to be born. You've always blamed me… made me feel as if I should never have existed. Your whole life ruined because of an unplanned pregnancy. Do you know how that makes me feel? Do you care? For a little kid to know that his own mother wished he had never been born! Why the fuck didn't you just use a condom and then I would never have existed!"

"Don't you say that. After I have looked after you and raised you and everything."

"Really? Sure, you put food on the table but that's about it. You don't touch me. You don't hug me. You resent my very existence."

"I hug you," she blustered.

"Not any more." He snorted derisively. "Do I remind you of him now?"

"How dare you speak to me like that…?"

For just a minute Embry remembered Quil's mum's reaction to the news. She had just wanted her son to be happy. She hadn't understood it and it had taken her a while to actually put it all together; but her first thought was for her son. And then she had hugged both his imprints and welcomed them to the family. Embry's heart hurt some more. The contrast made his own mother's reaction almost worse. He had tried hard not to think of Quil, but he needed him now. Quil.

"You?" he barked at her. "You won't even tell me who my father is," he pointed out to her. "Who is he?" As if she would tell him now. "He must have been a good fuck… he's fucked you for life."

She looked enraged. He wasn't sure if it was the language or the content she was upset about. "I won't tell you and I certainly won't tell you now…" she spat at him. Another pointless petty revenge on the child. Just as he thought.

"HA. See!" he crowed triumphantly. "What the hell is that about? Sixteen years of refusing to tell me or lying to me. What is the point of keeping it a secret now? The only person you are hurting now… is me."

She inhaled. "Get out of my house!" she screeched. She stood there, red-faced with rage.

"Your house? I live here," he argued.

"Not any more you don't! Get out of my house." She stamped her foot and pointed out the door as she screamed at him.

He was suddenly bewildered. He was the distraught, rejected child again. He spoke in a tiny voice, "Where am I supposed to go?"

"I don't care. I hate you. You've ruined my life. And now you are making me a public embarrassment. Dating hokwats! Having sex with… boys. You're a disgrace. You're just like your father!" she screamed at him.

He just stood there. He let out a whimper. It was a real whimper but she wasn't listening. She hauled the garbage bin over from under the sink and she started tearing everything that was his from the walls and throwing it in the trash.

He watched her try to erase him from her life.

"Mum?" another tiny whimper.

"That's it! We are done. Get out. Get out. GET OUT!…" She smacked at him with her hands when he didn't move.

His inner wolf had had enough.

The front door burst open and Quil barrelled into the kitchen. He grabbed Embry; locking his massive arms around his chest and pinning his arms. And he hauled him backwards. Sam grabbed him as well. Embry was growling now. It took them both to drag him out of the house and onto the front lawn.

Quil was whispering to him. "No Embry… no… she's not worth it… she really isn't… don't do it Em…. Please, don't do it…"

It was the 'please' that undid him. He collapsed suddenly. Quil sank to the ground with him. His arms still holding him tightly. Embry took one harsh indrawn breath and then he sobbed.

"You're safe now," Quil whispered. "You're with pack… smell us… we're here for you… pack."

Sam was there too. Embry could scent him. Sam patted him on the back. "Pack," he said. "You should have let us tell her about the pack Embry"

"Not helping, Sam," growled Quil as he rocked Embry.

He and Sam looked at each other. They could hear Tiffany smashing things inside the house.