Chapter 247: It's About Leah Part 1
My heart started to thumb frantically in nervousness. Would Leah phase due to the grief of her father? But she would have to start showing signs beforehand. I can't tell if she had already undergo the changes or not. I saw that she ran inside the recreation center, so I couldn't get a better look at her. Now that Leah is here, I wonder if Sue would tell Leah about the secret. She is going to have questions, especially for Seth. She is going to be worried about him and assuming the worst that has happened for him. She might probably think he is taking drugs to become ripped in a span of few months and being in 'gang' run by Sam.
I would want to tell her the truth and warn her that she needs to stay off from the reservation for the time being. She..might misunderstand and outlash in rage and grief. Who would want to be told that they can't come back home? Especially when she just lost her dad. She would want to stick around to support Seth and her mom Sue, but if she sticks around then she might be at risk of phasing. Knowing how Leah was in the books and movies, she hated being a shapeshifter. I don't want her to fall into the same fate as Seth. Seth is a sweetheart and would see this as a positive thing, but I know Leah wouldn't see it like Seth does. Since Leah and Sam had a history, it might still be awkward for Sam to be her Alpha. It wouldn't be as awkward as in the series since they broke up before Sam phased and Sam isn't with Emily.
Being told the secret, to stay away the reservation and possible fate she might fall into after losing her dad, it might be too much for her. I need to tell Sam about this and keep an eye on Leah for the time being. Of course, it isn't because I am suspicious of her. I just need to make sure the situation doesn't become worse.
But, how or even when do I tell Sam? I can't keep hiding what I know about Leah from him for long. He is bound to notice something is up with me…I don't know when and how I am going to tell him, but I need to tell him soon. For now, I need to attend the ceremony to keep an eye on Leah. If I do attend the ceremony, then would it trigger Alegria's memories again? I don't want to go under another episode in a middle of a funeral ceremony. I don't know..I do know that I don't want to stay in bed and mope even more. I want to attend the ceremony to support Sam and Seth.
I clenched the bed sheets tightly in anxiousness. It seemed like Old Quil sensed my inner turmoil, so he spoke as he interrupted my thoughts. He asked cautiously, "do you want to attend the funeral?"
I turned to look at him and said, "yes..but, I don't want the ceremony to trigger even more of her memories.."
He hummed, "it might be a risk, but I can stay by your side and keep an eye on you. Let me cast a blessing for peace on your spirit, so if it does come, you will be more equipped to handle them and not fall into mental breakdown."
I nodded slowly, "okay."
He closed his eyes and held my hand as he muttered a quick Quileute blessing over me. As usual, I have no idea what he is saying, but even so, I quickly felt more relieved. I don't know if it's just my mind playing tricks on me, or it's the effects of the blessing, but I knew that I felt more ready. I slowly got up from the bed, rinsed my face and fixed my appearance before I followed mutely behind Old Quil.
I avoided peoples' gaze as we walked into the huge hall. There were rows field with people from every age. The rows were spilt in the middle where Seth and Sue were on the ground weeping in front of a vase with the picture of Harry behind it. It seemed like Harry wanted to be cremated instead of being put into a casket.
Seth was cradling Sue in his arms as they wept together. It seemed like people were going up to speak about Harry in front of a podium. Billy and Sam were behind the podium, watching Sue and Seth carefully. Sam noticed my presence and quickly looked at me across the hall. I saw a faint glimpse of relief in his expression. Ahh, he's relieved that I was able to eventually come to the ceremony and support him. I was immediately brought to tears because I felt sorry that I wasn't able to be truly with Sam during this difficult time. Even though I came late, I was able to come. I tried not to be so hard on myself, but I was anxious. It's been so long since I was surrounded by so many people. My hands start to sweat in anxiety as I see people slowly to turn around to see who arrived at the ceremony. With sweaty hands, I walked slowly passing rows of people with Old Quil walking few steps behind me. That was when I noticed Leah.
Leah..she was drenched from the rain outside. She was few steps behind Seth and Sue. Once I walked past her and gave a quick glance. I saw that she was staring wide eyes of Harry's picture. She had tears falling silently down with a ghastly pale expression. My heart clenched tightly when I saw her expression. She is clearly in shock. She didn't notice that I had walked past her, so I walked slowly up the stage as people were giving me a small nod out of respect. I even saw Billy glancing at me, and he gave a small reassuring smile to me. I slowly went to stand by Sam's side as Old Quil went to stand close to Billy 's side.
Sam bowed his head to whisper closely to my ear and he whispered, "thank you for coming..I honestly didn't think you would come. I'm okay if you couldn't, but I'm glad you came."
I whispered back, "I'm glad I came too..Even though I'm late, but I'm here now."
He gave me a quick peck on the cheek before facing again the crowd. I used this time to look around the room. I noticed the pack were at the front row. However, I don't see Quil, Embry and Jacob. My eyes widened in realization. Ahh..Quil phased. He is probably being accompanied by Embry and Jacob. I guess the death of Harry is what triggered Quil to phase.
I came toward the end of the ceremony, so I only stood for about 30 minutes or so. Then, Old Quil ended the ceremony, from what I was able to conclude, a quick prayer for Harry's spirit to transition well to the spirit world. The moment Old Quil wrapped up the ceremony, I saw Leah falling in the ground wailing, weeping for her dad. Sue and Seth crawled toward Leah and wrapped their arms around her as they cried together.
Slowly, people began to exit the hall until it was only the pack, the council and the Clearwaters. Sam finally walked down from the stage to go towards the Clearwaters as I followed behind him quietly. He knelt to whisper lowly behind Seth's ear. Whatever Sam said, Seth nodded and whispered to Sue. Sue nodded and both picked Leah up from the ground by the arms. She started shouting angrily at them, "no, let me go. I can't leave d-dad."
Sue let go of her quickly, but Seth still had a hold of her arm. He sobbed desperately, "lee-lee, please."
She half sobbed and shouted angrily, "no. I'm not ready to go. You-you got to spend time with dad. I-I haven't, Seth. Let me go!"
Sam said in his Alpha tone, "Seth..let her go."
Seth froze and quickly let go of Leah. Leah fell back down on the ground. She wiped her tears roughly with the sleeves of her shirt and gave a confused expression between Seth and Sam. She quickly turned her head away from them and continued to weep bitterly. Sue had her hand on her mouth as she was trying muffled her sobs as well.
Sensing that he messed up, Seth croaked, "Mom..let's go" Sue nodded quickly in agreement. "Leah..we're going back home.. Come home whenever you are ready."
Sue wrapped her arms around Seth's arm as they slowly walked away from Leah. We followed closely behind them, and I gave one last glance at Leah. Leah was still crying in front of Harry's ashes.
For the remainder of the day, everyone went to their separate ways. Sam told me that they are going to dump Harry's ashes by the cliff that's facing the sea because that is what he wanted. They were going to do it tonight, but they wanted to give some time for Leah to grieve until she was ready to let go of Harry. Once we arrived home, we got take-out because we had no energy to cook. We mostly watched a movie and ate. I knew Sam wasn't really watching neither was I. We both just wanted to collect our thoughts about everything that happened today. We both fell asleep in the couch by accident. We were just so emotionally exhausted by everything.
We woke up late in the afternoon the next day. I was too emotionally exhausted to go with Sam to watch the Clearwaters dump Harry's ashes by the cliff. Sam was reluctant to leave me alone, but when he saw that I just want to rest, he was able to leave me behind. When he left, I continued to sleep some more. Eventually, I got hungry, so I forced myself to get out of bed and make something for myself. I made myself a small sandwich and ate by the counter. I was thinking deeply about Leah and I knew I need to tell Sam about Leah.
Okay, once he comes back, I will go tell him.
Better to tell him as soon as possible, then dragging this out and making drama out of it. I was washing the dishes when I heard Sam come in by the back door. I greeted, "Welcome home, Sam."
I didn't hear a response. That's odd. He would usually come to me immediately once he gets home. I turned off the faucet, wiped my hands with the towel, and left the kitchen. I walked around the house, and I saw Sam sitting by the reclining chair. He was leaning back against the chair with his hand rubbing his forehead.
I walked slowly up to him and asked, "Sam?"
I was two footsteps away from Sam. I wasn't sure if he wanted to be alone or not. I rubbed my hands from the anxiousness that was slowly building up inside of me. I think he noticed it, so he dropped his hand and looked at me. He looked so worn down. I could feel the waves of sorrow and sadness coming from him.
I asked carefully, "do you want to talk about it? Is it..about letting go of Harry's ashes today?"
Sam sighed, "It's just..seeing Harry's ashes being tossed away..it's like his death seemed more real to him. He's really gone.."
When he said the last sentence, he swallowed thickly. I walked toward him and sat across in his lap. I pulled Sam's neck to embrace him, and he returned the hug as well. Sam sighed very deeply as I felt his hot breath breathing down my back.
I whispered behind his ear sadly, "I'm sorry about Harry. Truly I am..I know..he meant a lot to you.."as I rubbed gently his back with the palm of my hand.
He said softly, "yeah..he did, but I'll be okay.."
I responded, "okay..we'll get through this together."
He echoed slowly but with a little more energy like certainty to his tone, "together.."
I pulled myself away to see his facial expression, just to be sure that it's okay for me to bring up Leah. He still had a sad expression from the slight furrowed eyebrows, but he didn't look as heartbroken or distraught like a moment ago. Maybe..my small gesture of comfort helped him He isn't completely okay, but he is getting there, so I think now seems appropriate to tell him.
I said hesitantly, "um..Sam?"
He hummed, "mm..yes? what is it?"
I gulped anxiously, "you know how Leah came to..the funeral? There is somethingI need to tell you about Leah from what I know what happened to her from my reality."
His expression turned serious, and he asked, "okay, what is it that you want to tell me?"
Author's Note:
Happy New Years everyone! I decided to drop a chapter today as a gift to everyone. I'm thankful for everyone who is enjoying my work despite of my endless grammatical errors. I didn't get to write the new stories liked I wish, but I will focus everything to keep writing this one.
I already have the next chapter in progress. Maybe by the end of tomorrow, I would upload it.
Enjoy!
