Chapter 2
I escaped the madness of the house long enough to head to my room to unpack my stuff. I sat still and listened to the sounds coming from downstairs. I could hear the sounds of Leah and Jake bickering back and forth while Sue took turns scolding them for arguing in front of a guest. The commotion brought a smile to my face. As nervous as I was, I had a good feeling about the next year.
I opened my eyes and tried to focus all my attention on unpacking my stuff. All 7 suitcases my Aunt Alice insisted that I had to bring. I skipped the clothes and makeup and went straight for what was sitting on top of all of my suitcases. It was a stuffed wolf, my most prized possession—as silly as it sounded. It had sandy fur and dark eyes, a present Seth had gotten for me for my 5th birthday. Jake had always joked about how self-absorbed he was to get me a wolf that looked like him. In return joked that he was jealous. Let's just say the jokes stopped after that.
I looked around the room before deciding to set the wolf on the freshly made bed. Perfect. The room was plain, with a bed, a dresser, and desk, but there was a familiar scent that lingered throughout the room that I couldn't put my finger on. I tried to focus on something else as I placed pictures on the desk.
There was one of me and Jake when I was a kid, one with my parents when I was a baby, then there was a picture with Seth and Leah that we took at the beach last time I visited La Push. I had finished placing the pictures when I heard a knock on the door.
"Are you tired of Jake already?" a voice startled me from my thoughts. I looked to the door and there Seth was, looking the same as he always did, probably even better. His hair was longer and his muscles were more defined than I thought possible. Or maybe I never really noticed before. He took in my silence as shock and his grin got even bigger. "Surprise." This must've been the surprise Leah was talking about.
"Seth!" I screeched as I launched myself at him, just like I had with Leah. He caught me in his arms with ease. I had done this a thousand times, but it felt different this time. With all the stress I was feeling, it wasn't Jake or Leah that could calm me down, it was Seth, with his calm demeanor and gentle personality.
"What are you doing here? When did you get here? Who brought you here? How long are you here for?" all the questions were coming out of my mouth before I could give him a chance to respond.
"Slow down.." Seth rolled his eyes at my outburst. "I just got into Forks, Charlie dropped me off. I'm visiting my mom and Charlie for a while and as for how long, I'm not sure yet."
"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" I teased the wolf.
"And miss your first real world experience? Never." he joked. Until then, I was so elated that Seth was there. I had almost forgotten about the nerves in the pit of my stomach. The ones I didn't think were going away soon.
"I'm really glad you're here, Seth." I told him sadly, while still thinking about how in less than 48 hours my world was about to shift on its axis. .
"You don't sound happy." Seth looked at me, confused. I don't blame him. Since I was little, Seth was the one person my feelings never shied away from. Not that he was good at giving advice, because he wasn't. It was because Seth let me feel what I was feeling without trying to make it better. Everyone treated me as fragile as glass. Not with Seth. He was honest, what I had made him promise to always be, regardless of hurting my feelings. The exact opposite of my family and Jake.
"No, it's not that. It's just I really missed you." I went to my suitcase to busy myself with unpacking. As long as I didn't meet Seth's gaze, I knew I wouldn't have to talk about what was bothering me.
"I missed you too, Ness, but something tells me there's more to it than that." He said while he made his way across the room and sat down on the bed. Right next to the stuff wolf. It was almost comical. Here I had wolf Seth and human Seth, ready to listen to all my problems if I would let them.
"I guess I'm just nervous that's all."
"Nervous about what? School?"
"I guess that's part of it…"
"So, what's the other part?"
"It was easier when everyone was just a face I saw on Christmas or a gift I got on my birthday. Being here... with Charlie... what if?"
"You get too close."
"Yea," I know if sounded stupid, but that's another thing about Seth. With him, nothing sounded stupid.
"You know, Charlie will never tell you this, but it was hard for him when your mom left. He had finally got her back after all those years just to lose her all over again."
"But he didn't lose her."
'But he did, in a way. He tried to fill his time with my mom, and Leah, and me, but if you ask me that hole in his never really healed. I think maybe by you staying here, that's his second chance."
"I never thought of it that way. I guess we should head downstairs."
"Yea, from the sounds of it my mom is one insult away from putting Jake and Leah in the doghouse." He was right. I could hear Sue's voice as we made our way down the stairs. I looked around the small kitchen and noticed Brian was missing. It was probably for the best. There was no telling what would happen with two temperamental wolves in the same room.
"Leah Clearwater! We do not use that language in that house." Until that moment, I had never seen Sue Clearwater that angry. Let alone at her own daughter.
"He started it!"
"I don't care who started it." Sue gave her daughter a look that stopped whatever argument Leah was preparing for. She looked around the room, everywhere except for her mom and Jake.
"I've lost my appetite." Leah mumbled while shifting her gaze to the front door. I knew it was a matter of time before she was planning her escape.
"Same, I'm leaving-" Jake said before Leah interrupted him, "You don't get to leave. I'm leaving."
"What are we, 12?" Jake said through clenched teeth. I could tell he was holding on by a thread. A thread that was close to unraveling right here in grandpa Charlie's living room.
"One of us is." Leah whispered so low only the supernatural could hear her.
"Real mature" Jake snapped. Before Leah could respond, she pushed past Jake and ran out the front door. Well, no one had ever said Jake and Leah were the most mature. I put my hands on my hip and turned to Jake. He might have been my imprint, but that didn't mean I wouldn't tell him when he was being an ass.
"What did you do this time?" I didn't need to know whose fault it was, but with Leah and Jake, 9 times out of 10, it was his.
"What makes you think I did something?" Jake shrugged nonchalantly. Of course, because to him it's always Leah's fault. Leah was rude. Leah said something she shouldn't have. Leah wasn't making the choices Jake thought she should. I always thought he was better than the people in town who called her bitter and mean. Who didn't know the truth of the Leah/Sam/Emily triangle? As much as I hate to admit it, he proved me wrong with every encounter he had with her.
Once, Seth had let it slip that Jake had always felt a sense of betrayal when Leah left his pack and stopped phasing. It had been 2 years since Leah had phased and left the pack. Two years of trading insults and hardly being able to be in the same room as Jake.
"Because I know you…" I paused, then said, "... actually I know both of you. So, go after her and apologize and so help me Jake don't think about coming back to this house until you do." I said with a look that would make my Aunt Rose proud.
"When did you get so bossy?" Jake tried to mumble low, but I heard him anyway. "What was that?" I faked a grinned, giving him time to rethink what he just said.
"Fine, I'm going." He said not convincingly as he walked out the door.
"And you better mean it!" I yelled after him. When he was finally out of the door, I turned to Seth and grinned. "It's good to be home." and for the first time I actually meant it.
