Stumbling
AN: Just a quick thank you to everyone who read/favorited/story alert'd last chapter. I really appreciate it! Also, an enormously huge THANK YOU to everyone who went the extra mile to leave a review. Thanks for helping me out and keeping me motivated!
Moving on... yet again, I don't own anything Twilightish, or the last two books would've been very, very different.
Unbelievably, my good luck held for the next uneventful month. I slid effortlessly into my job at the Newton's store, I was starting to look a little less like the poster girl for starvation, and I'd been busy enough to have an excuse not to go back to the Cullen's since that last disasterous visit. The worst issue, besides my still messed-up heart, was my transportation, or lack thereof. Mom and I had been looking for a cheap car for me -and Seth, since he was old enough now to drive, even though he said he preferred running-, but so far nothing decent had turned up. At first, I figured I'd have to get used to running one way or the other dragging my shoes around my neck and my clothes tied to my leg.
But then, after the first week of trying to work out my schedule with Mom and having ro run to Forks for more than half of my shifts, Embry unexpectedly stepped in. I nearly fell over dead from shock when he'd offered me a ride again, but he seemed so genuine about it that I agreed. And then he offered me another one, and then another. Sometimes he showed up at the end of my shift, just lounging against his rusty, beat-up Ford in the parking lot like he had nothing better to do than wait for me. He claimed it was just because it was a good excuse for him to bring his car to the Cullen's instead of running so he could work on it there. It seemed like he and Rosalie had struck up an uneasy truce over their mutual love of mechanics, and at least he had something better to do than play Barbies with Jake and Nessie.
I didn't care what his reasons were. I just liked him showing up with that nonchalant grin of his, calling me B-Wolf and acting like he actually enjoyed my company. That was something I just couldn't fathom, but I kept my mouth shut about it and went with the flow.
Yep, things were looking up. I tugged on my boots, pulled on the orange blazer I needed to wear for work, and went outside to wait for Embry in the semi-sunny April morning.
I took a deep breath of the fresh, spring air and froze painfully on my front step at the scent that wafted to me in the breeze. Every instinct I had told me to bolt, but the door had already swung shut and locked behind me.
Sam stood in the middle of my front walk, looking like I'd just caught him in the act of deciding whether or not he should go up and knock on the door. My breath hitched in my throat painfully as my heart thudded, skidded to a halt, and lurched back into an uneasy rhythm. Could he hear that? Could he see the panic in my eyes? I couldn't hear anything but the buzzing in my ears as we stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment. The last time we'd seen each other in human form was the day Jacob broke off from the pack- the day before I'd turned traitor on him, at least in his eyes.
"Hi, Leah," he finally said, and the sound of his deep, gravelly voice nearly tore my fragile hold on my new life apart.
"What do you want?" I forced out as roughly as I could, working to paste an angry scowl on my face. It was hard not to crumble right there. It had been so long since I'd last seen his face or heard his voice, and I loathed myself for how much I'd missed him.
"You look... good," he said lamely, shifting from foot to foot, not quite meeting my burning gaze.
Good? Compared to what? The train-wreck I was the last time he saw me? Did he come here just to assuage his own guilt? Good- ha! I could've cried for his stupid white lie. I looked nowhere near the Leah that he had once professed to love.
"What do you want?" I demanded again, desperation adding the unfriendly sharpness I needed to my voice.
"Relax, Leah. I just need to talk to you," he answered, a bit of sharpness in his own voice. I winced a tiny bit, hating myself for visibly recoiling under his harsh tone, hating myself even more because I knew he saw it.
"Please. It's really important. Can we just go inside and sit down?" he asked gently, his voice soft again.
"No!" I snapped, my exclamation as hard as a slap in the face. "Whatever you've got to say, you can say it out here."
Like hell I was going to invite him in to sit around the kitchen table like old friends. There were some things I would never be able to handle.
"Alright, if that's what you want," Sam agreed easily, shrugging indifferently. I glanced at my watch impatiently, wishing fervently that Embry would come speeding up in his old junker and save me before I completely fell apart. In front of me, Sam squared his shoulders, suddenly all business.
"Leah, I came to talk to you about the Pack," he said heavily, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Pack-s. As in plural. There are two, remember? Your pack and Jacob-the-true-Alpha's pack."
I could tell that little dig about Alphas bothered him by the slight tightening of his lips, and I felt a tiny, vindictive sting of pleasure in the knowledge. He drew himself up to his full height, trying to use the authority in his eyes to cow me, but his Alpha claim no longer had any sway over me.
"That's what I need to talk to you about. We both know this isn't the way things are supposed to be. Jacob Black tore our family apart, and for what? To protect the very things that we're designed to destroy! It's unnatural. The way he spends every day with them, dragging the rest of you into danger, into the hands of those filthy bloodsuckers-"
"The Cullen's are good people," I interrupted, the acid in my voice surprising even me. God knows I was the first person to call them leeches or worse, and here I was jumping to their defense. But Sam's attitude, the way he practically spit the word 'bloodsuckers' out like it was disgusting garbage, rankled me more than I wanted to admit.
Sam stared at me a moment, like he was seeing me for the first time. I folded my arms tightly across my chest so he couldn't see my trembling.
"Leah, they're still vampires. I know you hate them just as much as I do," he continued in a softer voice, all friendliness now. I steeled myself against his words, his voice, as much as I could. Yes, they were vampires, and I... and I....
Suddenly, I had a stunning epiphany. I didn't hate the vampires. At least, I didn't hate the Cullen vampires. There really had never been anything to hate. It wasn't their fault the La Push wolves shifted. If anything, it was our ancestors' fault for forcing the treaty in the first place. No treaty, no wolves.
But Sam was still talking, and his gravely, deep voice drew me in unmercifully.
"It's not safe for any of you to spend time with them. We're natural enemies, us and the vamps. I'm just worried about your safety, Leah. Yours and Seth's, and Quil and Embry's, too."
"The Cullen's won't hurt any of us," I whispered hoarsely, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt underneath my armpits. I couldn't listen to his words, I wouldn't. It was horribly difficult to breath now; the short, ragged gasps I managed burning my throat like fire. "I'm just worried about your safety, Leah." Oh, god, keep me strong!
"They haven't, not yet. But that doesn't mean they won't. Leah, it's been months since the Volturi confrontation. You need to come home now. You need to come back to your real Pack," Sam insisted, the pleading in his voice and on his face doing a fairly good job of hiding the commanding undertone of his words. I shivered violently from head to toe, pain and anger rocketing through my body so hard it was difficult to keep standing.
Why, why was he doing this? I'd been in his head, for months. I knew how badly he'd wanted me to disappear. I knew how embarrassed I made him, knew how much he pitied me under his impenetrable armor of imprinted love. I would never, never go back to that, never be under his command and in his head again.
"Please, Lee-Lee. I want you to come back."
Now the world was spinning, and everything was falling apart. How could he say that to me? How could he be so cruel? An enormous stream of profanities streamed through my mind, and in that moment, I wished we were still linked, because I couldn't work them past my quivering lips. I could've killed him in that moment. And yet, part of me wanted to crumple into a heap, sobbing, because I'd dreamt of him saying that for so very, very long. But I couldn't let that part of me have the upper hand.
"You- how dare you say that to me? You- you- bastard, " I finally snarled out, wishing I had the strength to cross the short distance between us and pummel him into the ground. The sharp pains tearing through me left me frighteningly weak, unable to do more than glare at him and shiver violently.
"Leah-" Sam began, but I cut him off ruthlessly.
"Just leave me alone. I never want to see your face again," -a colossal lie I knew he could see right through- "Go back to Emily and leave me in peace!"
The loud roar of an engine pulling into the driveway distracted us both, and a familiar, rusty junker screeched to a halt. I nearly cried in relief as Embry unfolded his massive bulk from the front seat, taking in the scene with sharp, swift eyes.
"Hey, B. Ready to go?" he asked nonchalantly, but he eyed Sam with narrowed, unfriendly eyes.
"Absolutely. Never been more ready," I snapped, sudden strength returning to my wobbly legs. I hurried forward, desperate to escape into the waiting car.
"This isn't over Leah," Sam told me in a low, heavy voice as I brushed hastily passed him. "Someday you'll realize where you belong."
I ignored him and threw myself into the passenger seat, clutching myself to stop the trembling. Embry still stood facing Sam, his arms crossed over his chest. He was now so enormous that the two men stared each other down eye to eye.
"What are you doing here?" Embry asked him harshly as I tried not to look too much like I was cowering in my seat.
"I just had some things to discuss with Leah. Nothing I haven't already said to you," Sam replied evenly, but his voice was dark and rough.
"Are you that stupid-" Embry began heatedly, but I leaned across the driver's seat to interrupt him.
"C'mon, Tank. Let's just go. Please?"
He glanced back over his shoulder at me, dark anger twisting his features, but whatever he saw in my face stopped him in his tracks.
"Okay, Leah. We're going," he said, his voice surprising gentle. He threw one last glance over his shoulder at Sam before getting in and jerking the car into reverse.
Embry shot out of town, pushing the old car to it's limit while he grumbled darkly to himself. Whatever he was saying, I was too busy trying to hold myself together to pay attention.
How, how, could I have ever believed I was getting over Sam? How could I have dreamt that I was getting better at all? All I'd been doing was lying to myself. Sam had proven that to me the moment I'd caught his all too familiar scent on the wind. The pain was so intense I was literally reduced to clutching my sides to keep myself from shaking apart.
"Hey, hey, no shifting in the car, B," Embry suddenly exclaimed, watching me with real concern. It took a few seconds for his words to even register in my fogged brain.
"I'm not gonna shift. That's not why I'm shaking," I managed to mumble through my chattering teeth. Amazingly, it was true. Not once, not even when I'd wanted to rip Sam's head off and launch it across the country, had I been in danger of shifting. The pain, the incredible, sharp, ripping pain, was just too intense to be overridden by anger.
"Jeez, Leah. What did he say to you?" Embry asked fervently. The concern on his face was even stronger now, mixing in with the dark, black rage that had reared up the moment he saw Sam in my front yard.
"What did he say?" I repeated like a bizarre, demented parrot. I clutched myself tighter against the pains rocketing through me as each and every word he'd said replayed themselves in my head. What had he said? Nothing, but it was enough to completely destroy me. My god, it was so pathetic. None of my words could ever even prick him, but one phrase, one sentence, was enough to devastate me.
"He didn't say anything, really. Just that he wanted me to come back to his Pack," I forced out finally after the scowl on Embry's face grew frightening. It didn't make sense why he was so angry. It's not like my issues with Sam were anything new...
Oh, wait. Sam had said something about his talk with me being nothing he hadn't already said to Embry. So that's why Embry must be so ticked off! Sam had tried to convince him to come back, and Embry'd already told him to shove off.
My whirling brain kicked into overdrive, and everything suddenly made crystal clear, sickening sense.
Sam had been expecting Bella to die. And he'd been expecting Jacob to lose it and attack the vamps, reuniting the Packs. In the event that Jake didn't get himself killed, which, let's face it, was more than likely in that scenario, Sam had been counting on him to disappear again. Threat gone.
But now, with Jacob imprinted, he had to resort to other methods to get us back under his command. The truth was, he didn't really want me back. He wanted Embry, Quil, and Seth. Embry had already turned him down, maybe Quil, too. His next best bet was me. If I broke allegience with Jake, there was a good chance Seth at least would follow me. It was all a ploy, all of it. He didn't want me, not really. He just wanted what I could potentially get him.
Figuring all of this out had only taken a few seconds, but it had rocked me to my core. My stomach twisted, and I knew I was about to be violently sick.
"Pull over," I gasped, closing my eyes and swallowing convulsively. Embry took one look at my sweat-beaded, ghastly white face and jerked the car to a stop on the shoulder. I was out of the car and into the brush in a blinding rush, my whole body heaving with the force of my puking. Faintly, I registered the sound of something huge crashing away into the trees, but I was too busy being sick to care. Embry, I supposed, running away from me, the psychotic brain-case, as quickly as possible. Not that I could really blame him. Revisiting my morning hashbrowns wasn't my idea of a good time, either. I swallowed and gasped, clutching my stomach as I tried to pull myself together.
"C'mon, Leah, c'mon. It's not like you didn't already know how much Sam doesn't care about you anymore. Get a grip. Stop acting like you're going to die," I ordered myself.
The problem was that even though I knew how much Sam had wanted me to disappear, I never imagined he'd care so little about me to stoop to such a low ploy. To use the feelings he knew I still harbored for him against me. I should've known. If I'd let myself think about it, I would've realized he'd already done something like this when he told Jared to use my nickname to convince me to come back to La Push.
The thought made my stomach heave again, and once more I was bent over double in the brush. Suddenly, something cold pressed against my forehead as a strong, hot arm braced my shoulders.
"It's okay, Leah. You're gonna be fine," Embry's voice muttered anxiously in my ear as I dry-heaved helplessly. The cold wetness on my face was refreshing, and I was finally able to take a few deep, painful breaths. I took the wet cloth from him with shaking hands, and it wasn't until I'd washed my face off that I realized it was the T-shirt he'd just been wearing.
"Thanks. I'm better now," I mumbled, handing it awkwardly back to him. He clenched it in one white-knuckled hand but kept his arm around my shoulders, guiding me back to the car.
"Seriously, Leah, what happened? What did he say?" he demanded, fury quivering in his voice.
I sank into my seat wearily without answering him. The violent shaking was finally tapering off, and I was suddenly bone-tired. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and fall into the sweet, black oblivion of sleep right there in Embry's car.
He slid into the driver's seat again, but turned to look at me instead of starting the car. I glanced at my watch and sighed heavily.
"Crap. I'm gonna be late unless we get moving," I told him in the strongest voice I could muster. My throat was painfully raw from being so wildly sick, and I longed for something cold to drink, or at least something to rinse my mouth out with.
"Too bad. We're not moving until you tell me what happened," he told me stubbornly, crossing his arms across his bare chest. I glared at him stubbornly, not willing to dredge those fresh memories up to the surface again.
"I don't want to talk about it, okay? Let's just go."
Embry shook his head. "No way. Tell me what he said so I can go rip his head off."
"He didn't say anything!" I exclaimed, exasperated, and then withered under his dark glare. "I already told you- he just wanted me to rejoin his Pack. Except that he doesn't really want me back. He just wants Seth, and you and Quil. He was just trying to use me..."
I trailed off, clutching at my sides again while Embry growled to himself and started up the car.
"See? Nothing any normal person would've gotten psycho over," I muttered. "And definitely not worth ripping his head off for, either. He can't help it if I'm pathetic."
"Leah, you are not pathetic. Sam knew exactly what he was doing to you, the bastard," Embry snarled. "And stop defending him!" he added, and I realized I'd opened my mouth to do just that.
"What difference does it make to you, anyway?" I snapped, quickly changing directions. He rolled his eyes with an annoyed grimace.
"What the hell kind of stupid question is that?" he demanded.
"Just what I said. Why do you care if I freak out just because Sam talked to me?"
"Okay, if someone stabbed me in the gut, what would you do?" he shot at me, and I blinked, confused.
"Probably tear them into dog food," I blurted out before I had time to think about my answer.
"Exactly," Embry stated, like that explained everything. I glared at him and hunched down into my seat.
"That's completely different."
"Doesn't seem like it to me."
Miffed, I stared out the window without answering. He was way closer to the mark than he should be. I didn't really want people to know how every time I was faced with the fact that Sam no longer cared about me it left a new, gaping, bleeding hole that wouldn't heal.
We pulled into the parking lot, and I shoved my door open with a weary sigh. I felt so drained it was an effort to pull myself out of the seat.
"You sure you can work today?" Embry asked, a concerned frown creasing his forehead.
"I'm fine, really. I'm fine," I lied unconvincingly. "Let's just forget this ever happened, okay?"
"Sure. After I kick Sam's a-"
"No! No kicking anything, Tank. I mean it," I nearly shouted, absurdly pleased with the amount of force I'd managed to put into the words.
Embry gave me a crooked grin, but I could still see the subdued anger simmering in his dark eyes. "Is that an order, Beta-Wolf?"
"Like I could order you around," I snorted. "I'm just asking. As a friend."
Embry gave me a hard look, and I did my best to make my eyes as pleading as possible. I mean, beating Sam up would be a phenomenally stupid thing to do. Then the rest of the La Push pack would get involved, and we'd have another pack war on our hands. All because I'm a pathetic brain-case. Besides, Embry might end up getting hurt, and I really didn't want that to happen. Finally, he sighed and put his hand up solemnly.
"Alright. If it makes you happy, I promise I won't go beat Sam into a bloody pulp like he deserves."
"Thank you," I breathed fervently. "And, uh, sorry about your shirt."
"What's a puke-stained shirt between friends?" he joked with a shrug of his shoulders. "At least you didn't hurl in my car. That would've sucked."
"With all the trash in there, it'd blend right in," I feebly joked before I shut the door. My legs were still a bit wobbly as I headed toward the main doors, and Embry stuck his head out his window to frown at me.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Oh, go away. You're gonna make me late," I shot back at him, but I managed a weak grin for his benefit before he peeled out of the parking lot. He was apparently still royally pissed off, and even though I was worried he might break his promise about Sam, it made me feel a little bit better. It was more comforting than I could've imagined to have a friend who cared when you were hurting. And for whatever, unfathomable reason, Embry cared enough to want to rip Sam's head off for talking to me.
I punched in quickly and took a slight detour to the bathroom so I could rinse out my mouth, grimacing as I caught sight of my reflection. No wonder Embry had thought I didn't look up to working today. My face was a sickly, pasty white color with huge, bruise-like rings under my eyes. I looked like a washed out druggie.
Ugh. I felt like one, too. It was amazing how much that five minute conversation with Sam had drained me. Okay, maybe it was my pathetic breakdown in the car that wiped me out. I hadn't had that kind of meltdown over him in a long, long time. I'd thought I'd gotten over that stage, but apparently I was still a complete loser when it came to dealing with him. Maybe it was just because I hadn't seen him in so long.
Yeah, that sounded like a good enough excuse.
Thank god Embry was the only one who knew about it. If anyone else had seen it, I think I might have died from shame.
I did my work automatically, shuffling through the store to restock the shelves since there were no customers at the moment. Sam's words kept playing on repeat in my head no matter what I tried to do to distract myself until I felt like screaming until I went hoarse. I was shaking again as the pain, duller now, like a nagging ache, throbbed in my chest.
Why, why, why did he have to show up and drag me back down into hell again, just when I was starting to climb my way out?
"Leah? Are you feeling alright?" Mrs. Newton asked when I shuffled by her at the cash registers.
"Uh, yeah. I'm okay," I mumbled, even though I knew she could see the way the boxes in my arms were trembling.
"Are you sure? You look pretty awful," she said doubtfully. "You know, it's really slow today. If you'd like to go home, I think I could manage by myself until this afternoon."
I took a long minute to debate with myself. If I went home, I'd be all alone without anything to distract me from my misery. But then again, being at work wasn't helping distract me, either.
"Thanks, Mrs. Newton. That's probably a good idea. I'm not doing the best today," I sighed, setting the boxes down on the counter. She waved me out the door with some concerned advice about getting some rest, and I trudged wearily out into the half-sunlight of mid-morning.
For the first time, it felt like a colossal effort for me to shiver out of my human form into my familiar grey fur. Sighing, I flopped down on my belly, deciding to rest a bit before I took off for home.
"Leah? I thought you were working," Jacob's deep voice burst into my thoughts, and I jumped to my feet with a whimper. The waves of fury rolling off of him through our mind-connection were staggering.
"Did something happen? What's got you so angry? One of the bloodsuckers do something?" I snarled, totally pulled under by his anger. What the hell could've got him so rankled? Was Edward not letting him near Nessie or something? That was about the only thing I could come up with to justify his black mood.
He must've caught my train of thought, because he snorted in annoyance. "Don't be dense, Leah. Nobody's got a problem with me and Nessie."
"Oh. Right. Well, then what-" I started to ask, but I stopped in surprise as I realized he was running- fast- towards La Push. "Wait a sec, where are you going?"
"Where do you think I'm going? I'm going to have a little talk with Sam, Alpha to Alpha," he growled, and once again his black waves of fury threatened to drown me.
"You're going to... Oh my god. Embry told you. He told you about this morning, didn't he?!" my thoughts were a painful, betrayed shriek. How could he? What did he do, run off and laugh over pathetic little me with Jake and the vamps right after he'd dropped me off? The sting of betrayal was so strong it brought tears of frustration and mortification to my eyes. I was going to rip him apart! I was going to shred him into bits and then use him as a chew toy!
"Whoa, hey! Cut it out, Leah! You've got no reason to be mad at Embry. I made him tell me," Jake insisted, cutting into my livid thoughts. "And I need to know about this kind of crap."
"No, you really don't," I snapped back at him. "And Embry had no right to tell you about it, either."
"Leah, give him a break. He wasn't planning on telling me anything. He shifted right after showing up, but Edward caught some of his thoughts and told me I'd better go after him. I got the gist of it before Embry even knew I'd shifted."
Seeing it that way, through his memories, some of my anger faded. Okay, so it wasn't really Embry's fault. Stupid mind-reading leech! But seeing me- my pale, shaking, ghastly looking self being sick in the bushes- through Embry's memories was more than a little mortifying. And horrifying. Good grief, I looked like a total basket case.
"What did Sam say to you, Leah?" Jake demanded harshly.
"Nothing! I'm just a pathetic brain-case, okay? Back off!" I snarled in my thoughts. I was insanely grateful that he couldn't hear my unwilling whimper as the pain knifed through me again. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop the worst bits of Sam's words from surfacing, and groaned aloud when Jake caught them.
"He said that to you? He actually- I'm gonna break his jaw!" he snarled viciously. He was so incredibly furious now that I believed he meant what he said.
"Jake, cut it out. There's no reason for you to talk to Sam-"
"He better pray talking is all he gets from me."
I snapped my teeth in frustration. "Oh, shut up. Look, nobody's gonna leave your pack. so there's no reason for you to freak out like this. Just turn around and go back to your vampire-baby like a good doggy."
"Leah, if you think for one second that's what this is all about, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought. You know I never wanted to have any of you guys follow me," he snarled. I whined in confused frustration.
"Well, then, what is this about?"
"Look, Leah, you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but you're still in my Pack. Besides that, you're a friend. You don't deserve to be hurt like that-" he paused for a second, snarling involuntarily while I winced at the memory of my own, shaking self- "None of us want to see that, Leah."
"It's still my issue, Jacob. You really don't need to get involved," I insisted, but my thoughts were subdued.
"Remember when things were hell for me? The time you told Bella off?" he asked me, and I had to grimace a little at the memory. 'Told Bella off' was putting it very, very mildly. I was still stunned that Edward hadn't launched me across the river for that stunt. I could feel Jake grinning at my memories.
"Just consider this payback for that."
"It's still stupid," I groused. "You're gonna start trouble between the Packs again."
"No, I'm not. I"m the Most High Alpha, remember? He's gonna listen to me whether or not he likes it. He won't bother you again, Leah. I promise you that."
"You aren't really going to break his jaw, are you?"
"That depends on him. Just get your furry butt over the the Cullen's and phase, okay?" he snarled. He sensed my absolute rejection of that idea and growled fiercely.
"Just do it, Leah. Unless you want to come help me break some bones."
I grimaced bitterly, but there was no denying the Alpha order in his angry command. "Jeez. I thought you weren't going to boss us around," I grumbled, unwillingly heading toward the vamp's house.
"This is one of those make-an-exception-to-the-rule kind of times. 'Sides, Nessie thinks you hate her now since you never came back."
"Oh, dear. Let me go put the WonderVamp's conscience at ease," I snapped sarcastically, ticked off that he was making me go to the Cullen's partially so his precious Nessie would be happier. Stupid, annoying, stinky imprinting!
"More speed, less whining. Just phase back already!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" I shot back. There was no point in arguing with him, so I pulled myself back into my human skin the minute I hit the Cullen's woods.
I hadn't even gotten my underwear on before I heard the commanding, angry howl shatter the stillness of the spring air. No matter where Sam was in La Push, no matter what he was doing, I knew he'd have no choice but to answer that call. I shivered just remembering the anger pouring off of Jake's thoughts and wondered how much of that would be translated through the Alpha to Alpha connection.
I neared the clearing of the Cullen's front lawn, and I could hear Nessie shrieking with laughter as she played some wild game. Whatever it was involved a lot of chasing, and Seth, Emmett, Bella, and Edward streaked around the lawn with her.
Naturally, Edward caught Bella around the middle, and they had one of their all-too-frequent, gag-inducing canoodling moments. Good grief, they didn't sleep, so why didn't they get enough of that crap in the privacy of their own cottage? Maybe Emmett's jokes about Edward being a prissy 100 year old virgin were true and they...
Oh, crap. Edward's head swiveled around to pin me with his penetrating, tawny eyes. Ugh! Annoying, mind-reading, nosy-
"Hello to you, too, Leah," he said with a smug little quirk of his mouth.
Darn it to Kansas! All my half-formed hopes of skulking around in the woods until Jake showed up and then beating a hasty retreat to La Push blew away like so much dandelion puff in the wind as all heads turned to find me. This day just couldn't get any worse.
Squaring my shoulders and mentally cursing Jake and his stupid Alpha edict (happily offending Edward's uptight sense of proper, ladylike language in the process), I stepped out of the sheltering shade of the trees into the lawn.
I'd already scraped the bottom of the Bad Luck Barrel today, right?
P.S.: Please forgive any grammatical/spelling errors. I'm too sick to proof read very well right now. Thanks for reading!