A/N: I can't believe I almost forgot to upload the chapter today. Schedules are hard, even when you already finished writing the stuff. To all of those who take the time to read and review, thanks, it means a lot to me. As always, love you all, you guys are awesome.

Chapter 4

It was way too easy to break into the Cullens' house, scarily so. Maybe they didn't care about security because they could just buy everything again?

Paul had watched, slack jawed in disbelief, as Riley had pulled out her lockpicking kit and entered the house within two minutes. It would have taken even less time, had Riley's aching hand still not been openly complaining about the earlier punch with burning pain jolting up her arm every time she so much as moved a finger. "Either you're a bigger badass than I thought, or the security is shit."

"Both," Riley said as she tossed a proud grin over her shoulder. She opened the door, and realized it wasn't nearly as cold inside as it should be. She even found there wasn't even an alarm system. Idiots. "See ya later, Lahote," Riley said, giving Paul a wave before slamming the door in his face. Or she would have, if Paul hadn't reached out and stopped her.

"Yeah, about that; there's been a change of plans," Paul said as he followed Riley into the house. "I'm staying here with you."

For a moment, all Riley could do was stare at him incredulously. "You can't be serious."

"You bet I am," Paul said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't feel right leaving your weird ass alone here, okay?"

"I don't need a guard dog," Riley snapped, but Paul didn't even blink.

"Too bad, cause now you're stuck with one." He passed Riley as he whistled loudly enough to annoy the hell out of her. "Now let's check this place out, I want to see what these rich assholes left behind."

"Ugh, fine," Riley grumbled. Her hand groped along the wall until she found a lightswitch, and she turned it on. She really didn't expect it to work, yet the room was immediately flooded with light. This house definitely didn't feel abandoned at all. It felt as if the residents had simply left for vacation instead of abandoning the town and a human girl for a planned lifetime.

Then again, maybe a human lifetime felt like a long vacation, who knew. Or maybe...they had felt on some level that they would be coming back sooner than planned.

Riley quickly searched the house with Paul, which took over an hour, the house was so big. Everything had been left behind save for the giant volturi painting in Carlisle's office, possibly some other personal valuables, and the food that had once been for Bella had been cleared from the fridge. There was no sign of anything broken or bloody, so Riley could guess they had cleaned up after the whole birthday debacle before they had cleared out. What pissed Riley off the most was that Alice Cullen's clothes were clearly the only clothes that would fit her, and of course Paul had to make fun of her for it.

"Hey, how long have the people here been gone, exactly?" Riley asked as she fell onto the way too comfy couch.

"About six months," Paul answered as he flopped next to her. "Why, afraid they'll come back and call the cops on you? Trust me, it isn't going to happen."

Yeah it is. To get her mind off of how soon their reappearance would be happening, Riley shoved Paul off the couch with her feet. He fell onto the floor and let out a surprised laugh before jumping up.

"You looking for a fight, Redwood?" Paul teased.

"Maybe later when my hand is all healed," Riley said with a shrug. "Wouldn't want to kick your ass handicapped, it would be mean to make that much of a fool out of you."

"You're such an asshole," Paul said as he sat back down next to Riley.

"Takes one to know what." With that retort, Riley sighed. "I really do need to work on paying everyone back for taking care of me. Know any jobs on the rez that I could take on?" Riley didn't want to pay them back just with money, but with labor and work. It was a thing she had learned from Sasha to show how much she appreciated what someone had done for her. Money was a quick payback, and should only be used when you borrow money or something of monetary value from another. Since Riley received actual care and time and effort from them, money wouldn't cut it.

"No fucking clue," Paul replied. Riley caught him messaging someone on his phone, but the roll of his eyes and the constant buzzing coming from the device put her at ease. He clearly wasn't trying to hide anything from her.

"What's going on?" Riley asked, just to be sure.

"It's Leah." Paul didn't even hesitate. "She found out you left and she's kinda pissed about it, even more pissed to know I'm staying with you and that I won't tell her where we're camping out at."

"Huh." Riley thought for a second, weighing the pros and cons of telling Leah the truth or not. "Swear her to secrecy then tell her."

"Really?" Paul looked over at Riley, stunned, but then smirked. "You're just looking for a chance to spend more time with her, aren't you?"

"Oh, trust me," Riley said with a smirk of her own. "I'd take a minute with that tall sexy woman over an oaf like you any day."

"You just can't handle a man like me," Paul joked, but then frowned mockingly. "Wait, so you're cool with talking about other people being tall, but I can't say you're a midget? How is that fair?"

"I can do whatever I want," Riley said as she shoved Paul off of the couch with her feet again in vengeance. "Besides, appreciating a beautiful woman who happens to be taller than me isn't the same thing."

"Dude, just admit it; everyone is taller than you; there's no 'happens to be' about it."

"That's it!" Riley grabbed the nearest cushion and shoved it in Paul's face, muffling his laughter. "It's like you're asking to die, La-" pain lanced up Riley's injured hand and she winced, letting out a hiss of pain.

Paul's laughter immediately stopped. Batting the cushion off of his face, he saw Riley cradling her hand and hovered worriedly. "Shit, you okay?"

"I'm fine, just stupid," Riley grumbled, shaking her hand like that would somehow help. Of course that only made it worse, and Riley started to become angry at herself. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Yeah, okay," Paul watched her with concern in his eyes, but clearly had no idea how to help. "Just be careful."

"I've taken showers before, Paul, I'm not that pathetic," Riley muttered with a roll of her eyes as she started up the stairs.

"That's not what I-" Paul's protests were cut off by another buzz of his phone, and Riley started to feel guilty. He was trying to help, and yeah, he wasn't the best at it, but Riley didn't have to be a bitch.

Great, now she was going to have to struggle to figure out how to give him an apology. She sucked at apologies.

It took way too long to find something Riley wouldn't cringe at in Alice's closet. She definitely drew the line at underwear, and after seeing that Alice's sock option was way too fancy for her taste, Riley decided to not wear those either.

After way too much work, Riley was finally able to shower. It was hard work just to strip without jolting pain, and it only meant her frustration was starting to mount. Still, when she managed to finally get naked, she hung Leah's clothes with care before turning on the shower. It might have been sappy as hell, but Riley would never purposely mistreat something someone gave her out of kindness.

Once the warm shower water hit her, Riley found herself groaning with relief. She hadn't realized until now how much she truly needed a shower, and the relaxation that came with it, until she was under the spray. It had been a crazy few days, even before she had somehow ended up in another universe. She had spent the last week having been discovered stealing by Nat, constantly being on the run, having to stick to the shadows and back alleys and never dare to risk actually falling fully asleep. The entire time, it felt like Nat was only a step behind her, and that woman wasn't going to give up until she had Riley begging for mercy. The whole lightning transfer shit was probably the best thing that could have happened to her.

Riley could somehow hear the front door being knocked on, and Riley tensed for only a moment before she heard the door open, followed by Paul muttering in disbelief, "I can't believe you actually came here."

"And I can't believe you actually broke into the leeches's lair," Leah snapped back. "What were you thinking?"

"It was Riley's idea, not mine," Paul growled, sounding surprisingly angry for a second. "It might be hard to believe, but for once, I didn't do any shit but drive her here."

Riley cocked her head, keeping her eyes closed as she paused in rinsing out the shampoo in her hair. After a moment, Leah sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything," she muttered. "I'm just…"

"Horny for some Riley ravishing?" Paul supplied helpfully.

Riley couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as Leah snarled. "Not you too! For the last goddamn time, I don't want to fuck her!"

"Sure, Leah, sure," Paul laughed. It was followed by a thud of some kind, and then a grunt. "Damn, you didn't have to hit me that hard."

"Yeah, I should've hit you harder," Leah grumbled. "Now where's Riley?"

"In the shower."

Riley decided this was her cue. "Hey Paul! I need some help up here!"

"You stay," Leah ordered Paul. "If she's still in the shower, I'll take care of it."

"I bet you will," Paul murmured suggestively.

"Fuck off, Lahote." With those words, Riley could hear Leah come stomping up the stairs toward her. She finished rinsing the shampoo out of her hair and had just put in the conditioner by the time Leah knocked on the door to the bathroom, following the sound of the shower water. "Riley, it's Leah. What do you need?"

"You know, my hand still hurts pretty bad," Riley said.

"Uh huh…" Clearly, Leah wasn't sure where Riley was going with this, but she was still suspicious. Smart.

"Well, it's really hard to shower by myself. Want to come join me, Leah?" Riley purred suggestively.

"Riley!" Leah growled.

"What?" Riley probably sucked at it, but she did her best to sound innocent. "I just need someone to help soap up my body...maybe-"

"You're asking me to kill you, aren't you?" Leah demanded, still behind the bathroom door, much to Riley's disappointment. "Wait. Were you going to ask Paul to soap you up if he had come up here?" Leah sounded genuinely annoyed at the thought, which made Riley smirk to herself. She had been right about Leah from the beginning.

"Nope," Riley answered lightly. "The plans changed when you showed up. So, are you going to join me?"

"No," was Leah's firm answer.

"You're no fun."

"I don't care."

Riley sighed in disappointment and started soaping herself up with her good hand, scrubbing hard before rinsing the soap off of her body and the conditioner out of her hair. By then, her entire body ached, and Riley realized she hadn't recovered as much as she thought she had. Her body felt heavy, clumsy with strain, and her bandaged hand ached more than ever despite Riley doing her best not to use it.

Toweling herself off with one of the unused towels took way more strength than it ever should, and her entire body was screaming for a break. In a moment of weakness, Riley considered asking Leah to help her get dressed, but quickly shut down the idea, scolding herself for thinking it. Even if Leah realized Riley was serious this time, letting anyone, even if it was someone Riley liked and somewhat trusted, to see her in such a vulnerable state...Riley was just asking for trouble.

Riley picked up the pants she was going to change into and started trying to put them on. It was a struggle. There was a lot of cursing, and her body threatened to give out on her more than once, but finally, Riley managed. She shook her head at herself in disbelief; a wrong move, as it caused the room to start spinning around her.

"Damn it," Riley grunted, right before her aching body decided it was time to give out. Riley started to fall, bracing for the pain, but instead, strong arms caught her.

"This is becoming a habit," Riley joked weakly as irritated dark eyes glared down at her. Behind that irritation was actual concern, and the owner of those eyes didn't bother to try and hide it.

"You didn't tell me you actually needed help," Leah accused Riley gruffly. "Wait, what do you mean a habit?"

"Obviously it's because you were the one who caught me last time I passed out," Riley replied, and realized she might have made a mistake when Leah's eyes widened at her.

"How did you-" Leah started, but got distracted by Riley's body. There was a second where the shifter felt lust, but that was overwhelmed by horror. Riley's upper body was the only thing still bare, and it was covered in scars. Some were small scratches, some possible to explain away as mishaps and injuries she got just from living life. Others, however, like the x over Riley's heart, and the large scar going wrapping around Riley's left hip, were just a few that couldn't be explained as anything but purposeful. Especially things like the cigarette burns, and what looked to be honest to god bullet holes. Some were faded, old, others still scabbed over, as if it happened just a few days ago. This was the body of someone who had gone through shit, maybe even torture; this was the body of a survivor.

Riley wanted to snap at the look of compassion and pity that appeared on Leah's face, but she held herself back. It had been a long time since she had been around someone "normal" and had forgotten that scars and wounds like hers weren't exactly common. She couldn't blame Leah for reacting when suddenly slapped in the face with something like Riley's scars.

"So, are we going to stay like this all day, or are you going to let me put a shirt on?" Riley asked dryly, her voice accidentally laced with annoyance. Damn, she really had meant to keep her tone casual.

Leah blinked, before quickly averting her eyes. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Not your fault," Riley was quick to assure her. "I kinda forgot that bodies like mine can be a shock to normal bitches like you." She totally lost all chances of getting hot with Leah, didn't she?

"No, that's not…" it was clear Leah was struggling with words, struggling to keep her eyes on Riley's. "I just...trust me, I'm not normal. I mean, I can handle…"

Riley rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the lightheaded feeling and the way her head started to hurt. "I know you're a shifter, dumbass, that doesn't mean you're used to seeing fucked shit." Fucked shit like me, Riley couldn't help but think.

"Wait, you know I'm a-how?" Leah's voice sounded strangled.

"Ah, fuck. Paul said I wasn't supposed to say that." With a grimace, Riley added, "Can I put a shirt on or not?"

"Yeah, course you can." Leah reached over, one hand still holding Riley up, and grabbed the shirt. Riley didn't ask for it, but Leah helped her put it on, much to Riley's chagrin, but she couldn't complain with how her head kept swimming. Once dressed, Leah carried Riley downstairs and sat her on the couch.

"She knows we're shifters," Leah said to Paul once she made sure Riley was comfortable. It wasn't a question, but a statement; however she still expected answers.

"Damn. Can't keep a secret for even a day, huh shorty?" Paul's grumble turned to concern when Riley didn't answer. She simply put a hand over her eyes and willed her body to stop fucking her over. Yet her body refused. Instead her body ached, her stomach churned, her head pounded and swam, and her injured hand, from the tips of her fingers to her shoulder, felt like it was on fire. As if lightning was still trapped inside. She was so tired, in so much pain, but Riley wasn't the type to give up or scream so easily.

"I usually can," Riley managed to mumble. Why did it feel like something was pressing down on her chest, squeezing her heart? She had been getting better, feeling better, so why did her body have to start doing this now? "I'm a great keeper of secrets. I didn't even tell you guys I know about vampires and the Cullens!"

"What?" Leah and Paul demanded at once, but they wouldn't get any answers. Instead, darkness again started to claim her.

"Fuck. I don't think I was supposed to say that." With those words, Riley was once again claimed by darkness.