"Told you not to get Lee." He barked at Quill. She sat down next to him looking up at Quill with questioning eyes. Quill mouthed "panic attack" towards her.
"Claire?" He suddenly jumped up to stand up. Sure enough Claire was standing behind Quill. She ran up to Embry and he hugged her with all of his might. They both began to sob as he embraced her. It had been the first time they had been together since the attack and when he woke up. Embry was not letting go of her which made Quill nod towards Leah for them to leave. Leah felt weird doing so.
"Guys give us a second please." Claire instructed pulling away from Embry and making him sit down with her. Leah and Quill hesitantly left and went back inside.
"Here sit down." Claire instructed Embry. He slowly nodded wiping his eyes. He was still shaking very badly.
"You have a cig I can bum from you?" Claire smiled holding his other shaking hand sitting in the grass.
"You smoke and Quill will kill me." Embry managed to try to laugh. He handed her a cigarette and the lighter though making her scoff at him.
"I am not a baby." Claire huffed.
"Oh we know now." Embry choked out reffering to her and Quill's new sex life.
"Fuck you all know!" She said horrified and embarrassed.
"Afraid so. No secrets in the pack plus its obvious with you both." Embry smirked before shaking again. Claire squeezed his hand while he smoked with the other.
"Since when do you even smoke?" Claire observed.
"Since the vampires tore up every part of my body but my dick and my lungs." Embry shrugged making Claire wince. Embry could sense this and felt awful he said that in front of her.
"Claire I am sorry. I shouldn't say shit like that." He said hugging her into him.
"I just keep waking up screaming seeing them do what… what they did…" she teared up.
"I keep waking up hearing your screams in my head." Embry responded.
"Guess we keep haunting each other?" Embry pointed out.
"Guess so?" Claire said wiping her tears away. They sat together holding hands as Embry tried to regain his breathing.
"Okay damn Embry breathe. Keep taking slow deep breaths. You are legit about to start hyperventilating." Claire said kneeling in front of him. He just sat there gasping for air and his eyes were moist. She took the cig from his finger and threw it.
"I just couldn't…" He began as she waited.
"See… and the room was too much… too much." He gasped out explaining.
"Too stimulating and too much chaos?" Claire asked squeezing his hand.
"I wouldn't care but can't see." He explained shaking like he could have phased. Claire nodded.
"Okay got it." She reassured. She lightly hugged him and he pulled her in tighter as he slowly regained his breathing.
"Embry…" She began to say as tears fell from her eyes.
"I don't regret it." He finished for her.
"I don't regret climbing out of the car. Or agreeing to not ask for mercy in order to get you out. None of it was your fault. Besides getting you out got us saved." Embry gasped hugging her harder.
"It's all my fault." Claire sobbed.
"No kid it isn't. None of this is your fault or my fault or the pack's. It is evil and the evil got ripped to pieces. We survived we have to survive." Embry hugged her again and wiped away her tears.
"I keep having these dark thoughts Embry. I want to…" Claire sobbed in response. She was unable to finish the sentence.
"I've thought about it to. Thought about hurting myself but they covered my body in scars already. Thought about killing myself… I couldn't kill myself because of everyone. Couldn't do that to Quill or the pack or Jake or Clearwaters or you…" Embry choked out. It was the first time he had ever admitted what his thoughts were. After being tortured for days and mentally weakened it was impossible to feel more than an empty worthless vessel.
"Leah." Claire added. Embry looked up anad nodded.
"Yeah she saved me too. Seems like a insult to kill myself in response." Embry said grimly. Claire visibly shuddered.
"Or she loves you and would die if anything else happened to you." Claire huffed rolling her eyes at him.
"We haven't been the same in a while." He shrugged.
"She's afraid of pushing you. They think we've been broken. But physical touch to me is what reminds me to live. It reminds me that Quill loves me and I have a place here not dead. I don't mean just sex I mean love in general. But they see us as broken because we are. But we still need love and they don't know how to give it to us because they think they have to fix us." Claire explained.
"Can I tell you something?" He asked and she said yes.
"I told her I loved her the night I left. I didn't want to hurt her like Sam did. But the truth is I've been in love with her since the beginning. I just denied it. But now I am human and can't imprint. The threat of imprinting is gone and the ball is in her court." He revealed.
"You are so stupid." Claire laughed at him making him frown playfully.
"You got to push my cousin. Remind her the decision is hers. You made yours. Tell her it is her turn." Claire smirked.
"Show her I am not broken?" He laughed sarcastically.
"No idiot. Show yourself you aren't." Claire smiled before standing up and assisting him on sitting up.
