PREVIOUSLY-

He lifted me to sit on the counter while he got a washcloth wet then proceeded to wash the running makeup off my face. When he was done, he helped me off the counter and turned me around, beginning to take all of the clips and pins out of my hair.

He finished with my hair and I felt the immediate relief of it falling down freely. I felt his hands rake through it before he turned me back around.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, tilting my chin up for me to look at him.

"No, but I will be." I replied.

We walked back into the bedroom and he turned to look at me again. "Do you want to stay in here or go back downstairs?"

"Can I maybe get something to eat? Alice made me fast since breakfast yesterday so that my dress would fit right." He growled at my statement.

"Let's get you some food." He said to me, holding my hand and walking me back to the stairs. Before we walked down I stopped him.

"I don't think I'm quite ready to see everyone just yet…" I murmured to him. He stood still for a moment then looked back at me.

"They're leaving." He replied before we continued down the stairs. Sure enough, no one was there when we got to the kitchen.

Sam pulled out a seat at the table for me to sit down before walking over to the refrigerator and grabbing some things.

After a minute, he brought over a sandwich and sat the plate in front of me before sitting down in the seat to my right.

"You're not hungry?" I asked him, knowing that the wolves were hungry all the time.

"You're more important. I'll eat later." He told me with a smile, urging me to eat.

I picked up the sandwich and took a bite, closing my eyes to relish in the taste.

"How did you know my favorite type of sandwich?" I asked him after swallowing the bite.

"I just knew. Just like I knew what you needed upstairs." He replied. It must've been the imprint at work.

I ate about ¾ of my sandwich before I couldn't eat any more. I slid it over to Sam, who more than happily ate the rest after I told him to.

"Why did you only imprint on me now? Why not before?" I asked what had been on my mind the whole time.

"I don't know, to be honest. My only idea is that either you weren't ready or that you were under some type of control from him." He responded.

"I think you might be right about the control thing… I think he was dazzling me the entire time we were together and that's why I was so broken when they left. It was like withdrawals. At that time, I wasn't ready. This time it was my choice to leave. I was ready." I told him truthfully.

He growled again and I knew he was angry but not angry enough to phase. "Do you think there will be the withdrawals again since you left?" He asked after gathering himself.

"No, because this time I have you." I responded. "I'll tell you more about what has happened in the past year and a half later, but for now can we just sit and watch a movie or something? Take my mind off of things? I just want to feel...normal for a little while."

"Of course." We stood from the table and walked into the living room. I sat down on the couch while he put in a movie before remembering something.

"Charlie and Renee! I need to call them!" I said as soon as I thought about it. "They must be freaking out!"

"Calm down, Bella. I'll call them and explain what happened. Maybe not all of what happened, but the general idea. I'll tell them that you're going to stay with me and that they can come down tomorrow if they'd like. Is that okay?" He asked and I nodded.

I wasn't ready to speak with them yet and he knew that too. I wasn't ready to talk to anyone other than Sam.

He turned on the movie for me before grabbing his phone and walking to the other side of the room where I could still see him. I couldn't begin to describe how relieved and happy I was that he would do something like that for me when I just couldn't bring myself to.

I could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation, but I knew that it had somehow ended well and for that I was grateful.

He walked back over and took the seat next to me on the couch. I leaned over into his chest and he snaked his arm around me securely.

"What did Charlie say?" I asked him curiously but nervously.

"He was worried about you. He said Edward threw a huge fit and kicked everyone out immediately but wouldn't tell anyone why. I explained where you were and most of what happened. He understood why you didn't want to come back to Forks right now and he doesn't blame you. He sounded a bit relieved to be honest. He said he'd pass on the message to Renee and he told me to take care of his daughter. I promised him I always would. He's going to come down tomorrow." He explained.

"Thank you." I whispered to him.

"What for?" He asked.

"For everything." I replied, snuggling further into his chest.

I must've fallen asleep because I woke as I was being laid down in Sam's bed. He pulled the blankets over me and kissed me on the side of the head before walking to the doorway.

"Stay?" I asked him before he could walk out. He smiled and nodded, walking back to the bed.

He climbed in beside me and I flipped over, curling into his warmth, resting my head on his chest.

It was so comforting to feel the heat of his skin, hear his heart beating beneath his chest and move with the deep breaths he was taking in and out. How could I have ever wanted anything else? I fell asleep quicker than I ever have and slept the best sleep of my life.

When I woke the next morning, it was to Sam drawing lazy circles on my arm with his finger. I quickly realized that I was completely draped over top of him and attempted to lift myself off him only to be pulled back down.

"No moving yet. I'm the most comfortable I think I've ever been in my life." He spoke from underneath me.

"Mmm, me too." I muttered into his chest. "Do you have to patrol today?"

"I was supposed to this morning but Paul is covering for me. Paul and Jared understand what it's like to have an imprint and the whole pack has seen what happened from Seth's mind." He replied.

"I don't want to keep you from your alpha duties…" I told him worriedly.

"You're not keeping me from anything, Bella. One of the best parts about being alpha is delegating. Jared is my beta. He's in charge for right now. My top priority is you." He told me, but I felt like he wasn't telling me everything.

"There's something else, isn't there?" I questioned. He took a deep breath.

"Jacob came back last night." He replied. I sucked in a breath. "And he knows."

A/N- What do you think so far?