"I am so happy for you guys." Jared smiled as Leah walked over to him. It had been about a month since Leah had found out about the pregnancy. They were having a bonfire on the beach and Leah saw Jared sitting alone on the edge of the beach near the shore. She and him had never been close because she had always associated him as Sam's beta. But she could tell something was off with him and went over to check on him.
"Thank you. I think we are still in shock." She smiled at him handing him a beer.
"I am shocked Harry let him live. Pretty sure having raunchy sex with his daughter and impregnating her would have been a death sentence." He laughed taking a swig of his beer.
"Hey! It wasn't that raunchy!" Leah exclaimed playfully making Jared sarcastically pretend to choke on his beer.
"Leah I've seen some of it from the last couple times he patrolled before going to California… it was porn level." Jared rolled his eyes.
"Quill did say we would make excellent porn material." She smirked making Jared gag.
"Oh, come on like you and Kim haven't had raunchy ass sex!" She exclaimed at him, but his smile fell, and he shook his head no. Leah caught on that she had said something wrong.
"Hey whatever I just said wrong, I am sorry." She sincerely apologized. He made eye contact with her and squeezed her hand.
"Not your fault Clearwater you were never told." He shrugged.
"I just know before I came here… she tried to…" Leah trailed off.
"Kill herself." He answered somberly. She nodded in silence.
"Em never told you what happened? Seth never told you either?" Jared asked cautiously as she shook her head no.
"You don't have to tell me why." Leah objected but he squeezed her hand.
"It might be better for you to understand." He suggested before taking a breath.
"So, I actually imprinted on Kim a year before you came back to reservation." He started to say.
"I thought you imprinted on her in high school. Didn't you guys go to the same high school around the time you phased senior year?" Leah asked confused.
"I bullied her in high school. She kept to herself and didn't dress like other girls. She would hardly say a word to anyone and I was an arrogant douche bag with a huge ego. So she was just an easy target because she wouldn't defend herself and she wasn't like most girls. Her silence and how she dressed in these clothes way too big for her… was enough for my friend group to attack her. And I will regret how I treated her to the day I die. Not just because of the imprint but because I am so ashamed of how I treated her. And then when I phased I was too overwhelmed to even care about anyone in that school. I imprinted at a grocery store when she happened to walk by." Jared said tearing up a bit.
"I am not justifying it, but you were just a punk ass back then, she knows now who you actually are." Leah squeezed his hand.
"It doesn't matter Lee. I wake up every day knowing I can't take back my actions. I spend every day proving to her this isn't some type of prank or that I am worthy of her." He cleared his throat before continuing.
"So I imprinted on her at the grocery store and completely acted like an idiot. I mean… I was stammering and got all flustered because all those memories of how I treated her came flooding back and I wanted to puke. And I freaked her out coming onto her out of nowhere after all those years. She couldn't get out of there fast enough. So then I tried to keep running into her around La Push. She spent most of her time in a library, so I slowly approached her and eventually apologized. And she was so taken back but she accepted the apology because she's a fucking saint. We then met every day at the library and I slowly earned her trust and slowly we became friends. But she would never want to go to her house… she would always come to my apartment. And one day I learned where she lived in a trailer park. So, I went there one afternoon and heard strange noises." He choked out at the end.
"What was it?" Leah asked seeing him shake.
"It sounded like she was struggling and crying out for help. So, my wolf took over and I busted in there. And what I saw was the worst thing I had ever seen in my life. And I don't really remember what happened next because it was like a red cloud of rage came over me and the next thing, I know I am standing over her stepdad who is covered in blood. And I am standing there shaking and her crying is what brought me out of it." Jared revealed.
"Was her stepdad hurting her? And where was her mom?" Leah slowly asked.
"Her mom over dosed when she was young, and her stepdad was raping her. He had her face down on the bed as she struggled and cried and begged for him to stop. Turns out he had been doing it since she was small. That's why the guys don't touch her especially from behind. I don't know if you have ever realized the guys always ask her for a hug or whatever. Her dad always pinned her from behind as a power move." Jared shook pissed as fuck.
"What a sick fuck." Leah spat shaking herself.
"Yeah I have never been so close to actually killing someone in my life." Jared growled.
"I don't know how you didn't." Leah growled.
"I had her crying next to me. It snapped me out of it. I didn't want to be another monster to her. I gently led her outside and told her he would never touch her again. But I don't think she believed me. I think she was terrified he would make it worse."
"It was like everything clicked in that moment and I wanted to drop to my knees and beg her for forgiveness for everything I had done to her in high school. She dressed in baggy clothes to not get attention from horny assholes in school. She was quiet because of all those years of trauma.'
'So, then I ask her to stay at mine. It was just me being protective as an imprint, but she didn't know that. So, she had this guy she had barley just became friends with and not to mention a guy who bullied her all those years. So, she agrees to come to my apartment and spends a couple days there. And the whole time the only time she lets me touch her is holding her hand as she cried at night. I had begged and begged as an imprint to tell me what I could do for her. But she would tell me she was fine. She didn't trust me yet." He shrugged.
"So, one day I had to patrol. And during my patrol I get this pain suddenly throughout my body and Sam tells me he felt that when he swiped Emily's face. So, I bolted home to my apartment, and I am shouting for Kim. I was out of my mind. And I step on a piece of paper and I could've died. It was a suicide note…" He choked out wiping the tears from his eyes. Leah realized then she had been crying as well.
"It just said 'sorry' on it. One word destroyed me. I bolted to the bathroom and she was laying in the tub with the water slowly dripping and it was red. She had sliced her wrists and I got her out of the tub. Water and blood was everywhere but all I could feel was how cold she was. I quickly wrapped her wrists and called Carlisle breaking the treaty as I did. He quickly came and stitched up her wrists and we transferred my blood into her. Somehow we were a match." He shrugged before completely breaking down crying. Leah wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey guys." Leah heard a small voice and looked up to see Kim standing there.
"I didn't mean to make him relive it." Leah apologized. Jared tensed up and tried to hold everything back hearing Kim besides him.
"Leah it isn't your fault, just like it isn't Jared's either." She reassured sitting next to Jared.
"Hey Leah thank you for listening. Do you mind giving us a second?" Kim asked gently seeing Jared was trying to avoid eye contact with her. Leah nodded before turning to walk towards the bonfire.
"I never did say thank you for saving my life." She said lifting his face to look at her.
"Don't do that." He scoffed making her raise an eyebrow at him.
"Don't make me seem like the hero who saved your life. I hurt you for years." He spat.
"Yeah you did. But I also didn't slit my wrists thinking it was your fault. Jay, it was decades of sexual abuse and violence that shattered me. Not because you were a douche bag in high school. If anything, the reason I held on as long as I did was because of the days we spent in the library. Each day I would wake up thinking I could die but then I would remember I had plans with you. You saved me. I forgive the person you once were. But you mean so much more to me now." She said with so much conviction it caught Jared off guard.
"I am getting better. Yes I till have flashbacks and panic attacks but I am healing. I want to live and I need you to remind me each day that I was worth saving that day." She said as tears slipped out of her eyes.
"I promise I am here for you." He smiled gently wiping away her tears.
"Good, because I am in love with you." She admitted. It was the first time she had ever said it to him. They had been imprints for over two years and had just never jumped out of the friend zone.
"You love me?" Jared asked shocked but his heart was beating out of his chest. She nodded and he almost jumped to kiss her but realized how strong he came onto her in that moment.
"Jay, you can kiss me." She laughed wiping away her tears. He slowly put his lips to hers under the moonlight.
