In her heart, Leah knew that it wasn't Kim's fault that her professor always kept her class late and Leah's professor always let her class out early. But every Tuesday and Thursday, when Leah was waiting outside of Kim's psychology class, Leah couldn't help but resent Kim and her rambling professor. Which wasn't fair to Kim, of course, who had been nothing but friendly and polite to Leah and hadn't even accepted gas money for the three weeks that she had been driving them to and from Port Angeles. She just kept saying that once Jake fixed up Leah's new car then Leah could drive some and they'd be even. Kim was really sweet like that.
But still, there were only so many times that Leah could read the fliers on the bulletin boards in the lobby of the social sciences building. Her professor had let their class go a full thirty minutes early compared to the normal ten minutes, and Leah had time to kill. Deciding that she might as well use her time wisely instead of just pacing while waiting for Kim, Leah sat down at one of the couches in the social sciences lounge.
Leah took out her notes and tried to study, but her mind kept wandering. She was three weeks into classes and was somehow managing to balance work, patrol, and school, but she was tired and frankly found introductory microeconomics to be one of the most boring things on the planet. She could only read about supply shifts so many times…
Her eyes scanned the room. In the middle of the social science lounge, there was a table with a smattering of fliers on it. Everything from information about clubs to reminders to meet with your advisor regularly. Leah ignored most of them; she knew she had to meet with her advisor and she was already in a very exclusive club, and she wasn't looking to join any others, thank you very much. But a flier she'd never seen before caught her eye.
High school juniors and seniors! Start college early and earn college credits with Peninsula Community College's Head Start Dual Enrollment Program!
Without even thinking about it, Leah stood up and walked across the room. She grabbed the laminated flier and scanned it eagerly. Stereotypical pictures of a group of multi-ethnic students that were taken on a rare sunny day in Port Angeles graced the cover, but on the inside was a list of requirements and details about Peninsula Community College's dual enrollment program. She could think of three high school juniors whose favorite thing to complain about was high school. Leah grabbed three of the fliers and headed back to her seat, reading the requirements rapidly as she walked. They didn't seem that hard, even Quil could probably get in, she thought to herself. Embry would have qualified already, she knew, and Jacob should have no problem as long as he applied himself and actually turned in his homework…
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She yelped as she walked straight into someone. Leah dropped the fliers in shock, jumping back.
"You're good!" The man she bumped into said with a brilliant smile, "Here, let me help you." Without hesitating, he reached down and grabbed two of her three fliers – Leah snatched the other one out before he could reach it.
"It's Leah, right?" he asked.
"Yes…" Leah eyed him suspiciously. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't immediately place him.
"We have microeconomics together. I'm Danny," he stuck out his hand and handed her the fliers that he had picked up.
"Nice to meet you," she shook his hand and took her fliers back. Now that he mentioned it, she was pretty sure that he was the blond guy who sat in front of her. At least, that's what she imagined the front of his hair to look like.
"Nice to meet you, too," he smiled again. His teeth were slightly crooked, but the smile just seemed so genuine, "Do you hang out with a lot of high schoolers?"
"What?"
He nodded to the fliers, "You grabbed three of those dual enrollment fliers."
"I just…" Leah struggled for the words. It was none of this man's business who she spent her time with, yet she didn't want to say that her friends these days were mostly sixteen- and seventeen-year-old guys. It was pathetic, even if it was the truth, "I work with some," she finished lamely.
"Oh, cool," Danny nodded, "Where do you work?"
"I, um, do security for the reservation I live on. The Quileute reservation. La Push," Leah explained.
"Security? Like, keep people safe? Catch bad guys?"
"Something like that."
"Oh, that's sick!" Danny exclaimed, "That's badass. Is it dangerous? Or maybe not cause it's such a small place?"
"You'd be surprised." An image of Jake's broken body after the newborn battle filled Leah's mind, "We deal a fair amount of danger."
"That's really cool. I just work in the coffee shop on campus. The most dangerous thing there is hot water. And angry customers," he let out a laugh, "Do you live in La Push then?"
"Uh, yeah, I do." Never before had Leah's living situation bothered her, but suddenly she didn't want to admit that she still lived with her mom and her little brother at age twenty.
"Dang, that's a commute. I'm from just outside of Clallam Bay, originally. But I have an apartment here in Port Angeles. I did the commuting thing for one semester and said never again."
"I carpool with a friend. So it's not that bad."
"That's nice. Probably makes the drive go by faster. What do you think about the class?" he asked, gesturing to the microeconomics textbook that Leah had on the table.
"Micro? It's fine. What do you think about it?"
"Pretty hard, if you ask me. Lots more math than I would have thought."
It was just basic algebra, though it felt rude to point that out, "Yeah, I guess so..."
"Leah? Leah?" Kim wandered into the lounge, walking quickly before immediately slowing down when she saw Leah talking to Danny as if Kim thought she interrupted something.
"Hey, Kim." Leah had never been so happy to see Kim before. Leah waved her over, and Kim came apprehensively. Leah quickly shoved the fliers into her backpack and swung her book bag onto her back before turning to Danny, "This is my ride."
"Hi, I'm Kim, nice to meet you," Kim introduced herself.
"I'm Danny," he said smoothly.
"We better get going," Leah said, "Long ride back and all."
"Let me know if you ever want to study together, Leah. Or even just get a drink," Danny offered before she could leave, "Or if you ever stop by the coffee shop, I can hook you up with a free mocha… or whatever you like to drink. Here, let me give you my number."
Leah stared at him as he jotted down his number on the back of a scrap piece of paper, "Uh, thanks. I'll let you know, I guess."
"I'll be waiting for your call." She could have sworn he winked as he said it, "Nice to meet you, Kim."
Leah shoved the scrap of paper in her backpack, not even bothering to pretend to treat it with care. She barely muttered goodbye before she started walking briskly, leaving Kim to hurry to catch up with her, "Leah! I would have waited for you!"
"Why?" Leah demanded, "It's like an hour back to La Push. The sooner we get going, the sooner we'll be home."
"Leah, he was trying to flirt with you! He's cute! He offered you free coffee!" Kim protested. They were halfway to the parking lot now, the cold January air encompassing them. Kim was fumbling with her jacket zipper, trying to get it zipped up.
"So?"
"He's cute! Free coffee!"
Leah narrowed her eyes at Kim as Kim gave up on her zipper and instead fumbled with the keys, "I thought the imprint made you blind to all men but Jared."
"It doesn't make us blind, Leah. I can still tell when a guy is objectively good looking. And Danny is! I mean, not as cute as Jared but no one is as cute as Jared." Kim finally managed to unlock the car door. She threw her backpack into the back seat as Leah opened the passenger seat and put hers at her feet, "Jesus, it's cold. I'm so jealous that you never get cold anymore. Shit. That came out wrong."
Deep breath, Leah thought to herself, "It's fine, Kim," she mumbled. But Kim seemed to tell she had hit a nerve.
Five minutes into the silent drive, Kim spoke again for the first time. She still hadn't given up her hopes that Leah would call Danny, "I just really think you should call him."
"I don't know anything about him. Other than he makes coffee for a living and is from Clallam Bay."
"But that's why you should call him!" Kim protested, "To find out more about him! What if he's perfect for you?"
Leah didn't know what perfect for her was, but she knew that Danny was not it. He was so friendly, so outgoing. And blond. And he didn't exactly scream intelligent. In other words, he was the polar opposite of Sam. But maybe that's what Leah needed. She'd never gone for a blond guy before. Even her middle school boyfriend – if you could even call him that – had been just as Quileute as Leah was.
"I don't think he's perfect for me. But if I promise to think about calling him, will you stop bugging me about it?"
"Okay, fine, I'll stop!" Kim sighed dramatically, "So what were those fliers you had? Are you thinking about joining a club?"
Leah let out a laugh, "No. They're about the dual enrollment program. I picked them up for the boys. Though they might enjoy getting out of their senior year of high school."
"Wow, Leah, if I didn't know better, I'd say you cared about them," Kim teased, "Picking them up fliers for programs that would improve their life. That's big for you."
"I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to give them to them." That was a lie. Leah was definitely going to give all three of the boys a flier.
"Sure, sure," Kim was smirking now.
"Whatever," Leah rolled her eyes, determined to change the subject and get the focus off of her, "How was your class? Was that annoying woman still talking too much?"
"Ugh, yes! She just interrupts the professor every chance she gets – don't ask me why she thinks she knows more than someone with a Ph.D., but she does!" The two questions were like magic, and the rest of the ride was filled with Kim's complaints about her psych partner, followed by the pleasant silence and a conversation about Grey's Anatomy. That much was routine for the two of them.
Forty-five minutes later, Kim had dropped Leah off at her empty house. Leah had known that it would be deserted, or at least she'd guessed that much. Sue was working that evening and Seth had never spent more than thirty minutes alone in the house before he'd go off and find some friends. Today, Leah had no doubt that he was either with Jake and his minions or at the Cullens.
As Leah unpacked her backpack and lunch bag (she always had to bring snacks to class, lest her stomach rumble and interrupt the entire lecture), the scrap of paper with Danny's number fell out. She shoved it back into her backpack without a second thought. Even though she'd promised Kim she'd think about calling him, Leah was doubtful. But maybe someone so different from Sam, so different from every other guy she had in her life would be good. Or maybe it would be a good way to make microeconomics extremely awkward for the rest of the semester when Leah refused to sleep with him on the first date. It was impossible to know.
She sat down at the kitchen table, determined to study for the microeconomics exam next week. But as soon as she did, she opened her notebook only to see the dual enrollment fliers she'd picked up for her idiot pack mates. They'd be so happy when she presented them a way to end their high school career early; she just knew it. She could almost see the grin on Jacob's face. Maybe she should just tell them now. It would give them more time to study for the tests they had to take. Besides, she'd already sat through an hour and a half lecture on microeconomics. That was all her brain could take for one day. She wasn't Rachel.
Ten minutes later, she was approaching the Black's house. Rachel's car was outside, and with her wolf hearing, Leah could hear Rachel and Billy deep in a discussion about their upcoming trip to Hawaii. But further away, she could hear three familiar laughs. Leah opted to skip the pleasantries with Billy and Rachel and go straight to the garage.
She didn't bother knocking or otherwise alerting the three boys to her presence. She just opened the door and strolled right in. There were a pair of long legs sticking out from under Leah's Explorer that Jacob had convinced her to buy. It was a steal, but it needed a lot of work, and Jacob had promised to do it all free of charge. And so Leah, against her better judgment, gave into Jake's pressure and bought the car from an older woman and her son who did not try to hit on her in any way, shape, or form.
"Hey, morons, I have something you might be interested in."
Clang! Jacob hit his head as he rolled out from under the car.
"Hey, Leah!" he greeted her cheerfully. His coveralls were stained with grease, and not fully zipped up. His bare chest was greasy, too. Disgusting, Leah thought to herself, even as she took a second look.
"You brought us something? Is it poisoned?" Quil asked, appearing from the other side of the car. He was also wearing coveralls, although Leah could see a white wife-beater under his.
"It's not food."
"What is it then?" She'd almost missed Embry, who, unlike his friends, was sitting on the couch that had somehow appeared in Jake's garage, wearing civilian clothes with a chemistry textbook in his lap.
"Peninsula Community College has a dual enrollment program. You guys could go there and get high school and college credit next year, instead of returning to QTS." She held up the fliers and watched as they eyed them.
"Are you serious?" Embry jumped up and grabbed one out of her hands, "You mean we've been wasting away at QTS when we could of have been at college with you this whole year?"
Jacob and Quil wiped their hands on their coveralls, being the gross boys they were, before taking the two remaining fliers from Leah's hands.
"Now I see why you made her Beta, Jake!" Quil crowed after he scanned the paper, "This is the best thing you've ever done for us, Leah! Rescuing us from high school. Jared would never."
"Yeah, this is great, Leah," Jacob agreed, "Thanks for bringing us these."
"You gotta take these tests, though," Embry pointed out, "Look."
"Fuck, dude, there's one for every subject! Or the ACT," Quil groaned, "You'll get in just fine Embry, but what about me and Jake?"
"Well maybe if you two spent some time studying you'd be able to do it!" Embry said, "And we're gonna have to take the ACT anyway, might as well do it now so we can do this dual enrollment thing."
"We weren't going to have to take it for a couple of more months! I might get smart between now and then!"
"Are you really okay with us going to the same school as you?" Jacob asked quietly. He hadn't moved from her side after he'd grabbed the flier from her and he was standing so close that Leah could almost feel the heat of his body radiating from him. Quil and Embry continued to argue about the testing and the feasibility of getting into the program. Jacob spoke so quietly that he seemed to only want Leah to hear.
Leah shrugged, "I know how much you guys hate QTS. Hell, if I'd known this was a thing I'd have begged my parents to let me do it."
"It's really great of you to bring this to us. You really saved us. You should stay while we work on your car," Jake nodded at the couch that Embry had been sitting on, "We have warm sodas and snacks and great company."
"You aren't worried about the tests or anything?" Leah ignored his question and looked directly at Embry and Quil. Embry was now assuring Quil that Quil would be able to make it into the program, he'd just actually have to try in school for the first time.
"Leah, I've fought vampires and lived in the Canadian woods as a wolf before. I think I'll be fine."
"Those are very different skill sets."
Jacob shrugged again, "I'll study for them and if I don't get in and these two do, then I'll just drop out."
"Okay, Jacob." She glared up at him, noticing his teasing smile for the first time.
"You worry too much, Leah. So do you, Quil!" He called at his friends, "Let's get back to work!"
Jacob's words shook Quil and Embry out of their heated discussion and snapped them back to reality. Jacob and Quil both shoved their fliers at Embry, who took them without complaint before they headed back to the Explorer.
"You staying, Leah?" Jacob looked straight at Leah as he asked.
All three of their eyes were on her. Before she could even think about it, she found herself saying yes.
"Here are your keys, please feel free to call the front desk if you have any questions or need anything. Enjoy your stay!" Amy's voice sounded so much more sincere than Leah's did, but then again, Amy was undoubtedly kinder than Leah was.
The older couple took the keys from Amy and hollered their thanks before going to their room. The Resort did a steady business throughout the year, but January was undoubtedly a slower time, and Amy and Leah were rarely scheduled at the together. Today, however, their shifts overlapped by a full thirty minutes, and so they had time to chat, something that they rarely did.
Amy filled Leah in on the details of her holidays and her life; Leah had heard bits and pieces of it from Kim, but it was different hearing it from Amy herself. She was only a year older than Leah, but she seemed wiser somehow. And the diverging sides to Amy and Kim's stories could be quite funny (Amy stressed that while she was happy that Kim was happy, Amy personally thought that her younger sister could do better than Jared and hoped it was just a first love situation and Kim would dump him soon – Leah had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing).
The front desk phone rang with a piercing ring, interrupting Amy's story about a New Year's Eve party in Forks that had gotten out of hand. Using reactions slightly better than a human's, Leah grabbed it before Amy could, "Front desk."
"Hi, yes. We're in room 203. We were wondering if it would be possible to extend our stay for another night?"
"I'd be happy to looking into that for you."
As Leah pulled up the reservation computer program, something caught her eye. On the computer screen was an internet page for advice on how to return to college after taking a break.
"You're going back to college?" Leah couldn't help but ask as soon as she finished helping the guests.
"Not to Oregon State," Amy responded, "To Montana State this time. We have some family in Bozeman, so I'm planning on staying with them. I just found out that I got in a few days ago. But I'm not starting till the summer semester, so I'll still be here for another few months. And then it'll be you running this place."
"Me?" Leah balked. As if she needed more responsibility in her life.
"Well, you're the only other member of the front desk staff." That was true. Although Mr. Keyo and his assistant manager filled in when needed, Amy and Leah did the bulk of the front desk work, and they were the only two assigned solely to desk duty. Amy seemed to notice the panic in Leah's face, though, as she quickly added, "Only if you want it, of course. They normally hire some more people for the summer season.
"I'll have to think about it," Leah mumbled as she processed the surprising news, "See what happens…"
"You can make a decision about it later," Amy assured her, "Are you heading out?"
Leah glanced at the clock; it was now 1 pm. Her shift was over, having passed quickly this time, despite the few guests. Leah had managed to work her way through her to-do list, save for two items that she couldn't exactly do at work.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Leah reached awkwardly for her bag under the desk, "Have a good one, Amy."
"You too, Leah!" Amy said cheerfully.
As Leah left the resort, her stomach dropped. Today was the day. She'd promised herself that she would do two things today, and both were nerve-wracking. The first thing was that she would go talk to Emily. She had triple-checked the patrol schedule; Sam was on duty today, and so would not be home. As Leah crossed the reservation, she saw Jared's truck parked in front of the small restaurant that his family owned, and she knew that he, too, was working today. With the younger boys all in school, that left only Paul who could possibly be at Emily's, but from the way Jacob spoke, he was more likely to be at the Blacks.
So she hurried on, determined to make it to Emily's before she lost her nerve. Emily and Sam lived on the far edge of the reservation, in a house that had once belonged to Emily and Leah's great-grandmother.
Sure enough, there was only one car parked outside of the little house as Leah approached on foot. She didn't hesitate or try to figure outside who was inside, Leah walked straight to the door and rapped on it three times. The sound of little footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door.
"Claire!" She heard Emily cry. Claire's infectious laughter filled the air as the footsteps grew closer.
Leah didn't think to consider whether or not Claire would be there; she'd heard from Sue that Emily was watching her niece when Claire's parents, who had recently moved to La Push, traveled for work.
But still, the door cracked opened and Emily appeared with a shocked expression on her face, "Leah?"
"Hi, Emily. Can we talk?"
Emily studied Leah for a second before answering, "Of course. Come on in."
Emily swung the door open more widely and stepped back to let Leah in. Claire grabbed on to Emily's legs and gave Leah a shy grin and a small wave. Leah waved back. She hadn't spent much time with Claire since phasing, or even before that. Although Emily's brother and sister-in-law came by semi-frequently to see Sue, Leah had mostly taken to avoiding them ever since Emily had run off with Sam.
"Can you say hi to your Aunt Leah, Claire?" Emily asked.
"Hi," Claire said quietly in her sweet little voice.
Leah smiled at her, "Hi, Claire. How are you doing?"
"She's tired," Emily answered for her after Claire spent several seconds just staring up at Leah without responding, "It's her nap time."
"Am not tired!" Claire pouted before yawning.
"Remember what we talked about? How you're just going to lay down quietly upstairs? And it's okay if you don't sleep, but why don't you lay down quietly?" Emily spoke in a child-friendly voice, before bending down and picking up Claire, "I'll be right down, Leah. There are some scones in the kitchen. Help yourself to whatever."
"Bye, Aunt Leah," Claire called as Emily began to ascend the stairs.
"Bye, Claire," Leah called back softly. She waited until Claire and Emily had made it all the way up the stairs and Leah heard the soft close of the door of the second bedroom. Leah could hear Emily selecting a book and reading to Claire.
Leah made her way into the kitchen. As promised, there was a plate of scones on the counter. She debated taking one, before deciding not to. For once in her life, she wasn't hungry.
Emily and Sam's kitchen was brightly lit and pleasant. Before Leah had phased, all the pack meetings were held here, and it was easy to see why. Their table had been expanded to sit up to ten, although the chairs didn't all match and part of it was nothing more than a bench. On a set of hooks by the door were several ties that the wolves used to keep their clothes when they transformed. This wasn't the only house on the reservation where everyone knew the secrets of the wolves, but it was the only one where it felt like nearly everything catered to the wolves.
Leah heard the upstairs door close again, even more quietly this time, and then the footsteps of Emily descending the stairs. Leah took a deep breath.
"Should we sit down? Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Leah knew Emily well enough to recognize the nervousness in her voice.
"No, I'm good," Leah declined. She pulled out one of the mismatched chairs and sat down. Emily moved so she was directly across from Leah and did the same.
"How are you?" Emily asked awkwardly.
"I've been fine." It wasn't even a lie, not really, "How about you?"
"Good. I've been really good. We went up to see my parents at Neah Bay last weekend – they're doing well, too. But man, this weather always gets me down. The rain in January always seems so much harsher than the rest of the year," Emily babbled.
"We don't need to do the small talk thing." The words came out more harshly than Leah was intending.
"Right." The thin smile on Emily's face disappeared, "What did you want to talk about?"
Leah took a deep breath, "I've been thinking a lot about what everything that happened."
Emily just stared at her, "The imprinting? Or your phasing? Or what?"
"All of it."
"And?"
Another deep breath, "I've come to the conclusion that Sam and I would probably have broken up anyway. The wolf thing was too big of a secret to keep, it would have torn us apart one way or another. And I've seen the thoughts of wolves who have imprinted for long enough now to know that he would never have been able to stay away from you."
Emily's face was unreadable.
"So I don't blame you for stealing him anymore," Leah continued. She looked down at her hands, "It was just never meant to be for us. So I forgive you, I guess."
"Leah - "
"Wait, I'm not done. I forgive you but I can't just forget everything that happened. I understand now and I don't blame you for it but that doesn't mean it's all rosy. And to be quite honest Emily, I don't know that we'll ever be able to be friends again – at least not like we were before. But... I don't want to tiptoe around each other anymore."
"I… I think that's fair, Leah. I'd like that, too. And I really do feel horrible about everything that happened, and if I could change any of it, I would. I know you've had such a hard year and I really do miss you and I just wish I could have explained everything to you and I wish it wasn't like this. But I love Sam, Leah, I really do. And I really hope that one day you find someone who makes you just as happy as I am. And I know you will, there's someone out there for you."
"I know." Leah wasn't a hundred percent sure that she really believed it, but it was better than Emily's awkward reassurances.
"Of course," Emily flushed again. They let the words that both had spoken settle in between them, but after a while, Emily broke the silence, "Do you still want to be a bridesmaid?"
Leah should have known that Emily would ask this. Leah hadn't thought about it, but she still knew her answer. "If you'll have me."
"Of course I will, Leah," Emily beamed, before hurriedly saying, "But please don't feel pressured to do any of it that you don't want to!"
"It's okay, Emily. I can handle it. I promise."
"I just don't want you to do anything that will make you miserable."
Leah forced her face into a smile, "Thank you, Emily. But I'll be there to support you on your wedding day, just like we always said we would."
"Thanks, Leah. It's not quite what I always wanted, though. I never wanted to fall in love with someone you loved. I never wanted to hurt you. And I really am sorry about that."
The words made Leah clench her jaw, before she took another deep breath, "Well, hopefully, it'll be your dream day in every other way."
"Thank you, Leah, I hope it will be, too. I really am so excited about it."
"How's the planning going?" Leah asked. She would find about it all eventually anyway, might as well ask about it now. Better than being surprised on the day of.
Emily chattered on about the various plans she'd made for her wedding, from the catering (Jared's family's restaurant) to the venue (the Resort) and the photographer (their cousin who lived up in Neah Bay). The plan was to do it on the cheap, Emily explained, as they didn't have much money, something that Leah knew well. One of the downsides of getting married at 21, Leah thought to herself.
From there, the conversation flowed to Leah's classes and her new plans to become an accountant. Everything was still surface level, nothing deep. There were no secrets exchanged between the two; nothing Leah told Emily was anything that Sue or Jacob or even Kim didn't know. But it felt good. Not quite like friendship, but like friendly cousins. It was something they hadn't had in so long.
Eventually, the slamming of a door interrupted their conversation. They both looked up at the staircase, and little Claire pattered down. Her hair was messed up and her clothes were disheveled; clearly, she had slept, despite her insistence that she wasn't tired.
"Hi, Miss Sleepyhead," Leah greeted the girl, "Did you have a good nap?"
Ignoring the two adults, Claire headed straight to the little dollhouse in the corner of the room, "I play now."
"You can play for a few minutes," Emily warned, "But then we have to go pick your sister from school."
"Rissa?" Claire asked excitedly.
"Yes, we need to go pick up Marissa," Emily stood up from her chair, before turning to face Leah, "I'm going pack a snack for the girls."
"Play wif me, Aunt Leah!" Claire called.
Leah glanced at the clock. It was nearly 2:30; the kindergarten at QTS let out at 3. The high school let out at 2:15. Seth normally made his way to the Cullens or wherever he was spending his afternoon by 2:45, and Sue worked the early shift today and would be home by 5:30 if she didn't stop anywhere. There was one remaining item on Leah's to-do list; one thing that she promised herself she'd do. And she wanted to have the house to herself to do it.
"I'll play with you until it's time to go pick up Marissa." Leah sank down on the ground beside Claire and picked up one of the little dolls.
Enthralled to have a playmate, Claire happily barked instructions about how she should play the mommy, and what exactly the mommy should do (she should not make the kids nap and she should not make people clean up, but she should let everyone have candy for dinner). Leah laughed and followed Claire's lead. Fifteen minutes passed quickly.
Leah accepted a ride with Emily and Claire to QTS but bid her family members farewell as they waited for Marissa. Emily had invited her to stay for dinner, but Leah had hastily declined that particular invitation. No need to see Sam anymore than necessary, even if Leah wanted to repair her relationship with Emily. Plus, Leah was in a hurry to get home. The walk to the Clearwaters from QTS was nothing, and she wanted to get this over with.
The house was deserted when Leah arrived home. Seth's book bag was strewn on the floor by the door, a sure sign that he'd left for the Cullens. Sue was still on the clock. Leah grabbed her backpack from its hook and emptied its contents; she had to dig to find what she was looking for. But at the very bottom, she found a scrunched up piece of scrap paper.
Leah grabbed the phone from its cradle and dialed the numbers quickly before she could lose her nerve.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
If no one picked up, then it wasn't meant to be, she decided. But after the fifth ring, a gruff male voice came through the line.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Danny? It's Leah, from microeconomics."
A/N: I know, I know don't hate me! Blackwater is absolutely end game but this is a slow burn so we're still on this journey and this is part of the journey!
I'd like to thank everyone has given me feedback so far. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this chapter! I know the Leah and Emily scenes have had some very mixed reviews thus far so please let me know your thoughts on them.
Also, I know that so far I've kept this with alternating POVs every chapter, do people like that? I don't think I'll ever change POVs midchapter (just too difficult for me and I don't like the flow), but what would your thoughts be on a two chapters in a row in either Jacob or Leah's POV? I'm not entirely sure it'll happen but it is something I'm considering for future chapters.
As always, thanks for reading and please let me know your thoughts!