Starting Over
AN: Once again, a quick note of THANK YOUs to everyone who's read this story up to this point. I hope you're enjoying it!!
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART to my reviewers! It's insanely helpful to hear if you're liking what I'm doing and any criticisms or flaws. I really appreciate you taking the time to do that for me.
Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns the Twilight universe, and she's one rich lady because of it. I'm just a poor girl having some fun, so sueing would get you NOWHERE.
"Hey, guys," I said lamely once I'd stepped out into the lawn. Awkwardly, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and waited for a response. The last time I'd been on the Cullen property, things had ended in a disaster; today I was just praying Lady Luck was already done messing with me.
"Leah!" Nessie exclaimed, all surprised excitement. She looked like she wanted to clap her hands and squeal for joy, and I eyed her with confused apprehension. She wasn't going to try to hug me or anything, was she?
"Uh, yeah. Hi," I returned uncertainly, making no move to go any closer to the group on the lawn. Edward, hearing my thoughts, reached over and scooped Nessie up into his arms. She patted his face happily, and he smiled across the expanse of grass at me, obviously trying to put me at ease. It wasn't really working.
"Yes, I think so, too," he murmured to Nessie, answering her unspoken communication. I eyed them warily, thinking loudly that cryptic conversations like that were hardly likely to make me feel more welcome. Edward grinned wider, and I immediately began singing the most annoying song I could come up with as off-key as I could in my head. The slight grimace he gave was extremely satisfying.
"Uh, aren't you supposed to be working?" Seth asked lightly, but I could see the concern lurking behind his eyes. Great. Apparently he knew about my morning escapade, too, thanks to Embry the Blabber Wolf. Ugh!
"It was dead quiet today, so Mrs. Newton gave me today off. Jake the Bossy Alpha told me to come here," I groused, hunching down as I shoved my hands as deeply as they'd go in my pockets.
"Doesn't want any witnesses when he kills Sam, huh?" Emmett chuckled, and my mouth dropped open in disbelieving anger.
What. The. Hell.
Emmett knew about it? They all did? That was it. The last freakin' straw. Somebody was going to get seriously injured for this.
"Where's Embry?" I growled furiously at Seth, my face a mortified scarlet.
"Uh, the kitchen, I think," he answered nervously. Edward and Bella gave Emmett matching, exasperated glares as I stomped past them.
"What?" he asked, putting his hands up innocently as they trailed in my wake towards the kitchen.
"Uh, Leah," Bella said in a low, nervous voice, "it wasn't really Embry's fault..."
"No kidding? You mean it was really your snooping, mind-reading leech of a husband's fault?" I thought viciously to myself as I yanked open the front door and marched inside.
"Actually, it was more Jake's than mine," Edward corrected quietly. "Nessie wanted to know why he was so angry."
Argh! Screwed again by the annoying, unavoidable imprinting crap! Oh, when Jacob got back here, I was going to bite him so hard it'd make his ancestors bleed!
Edward gave a tiny snicker at my violent thoughts, but I ignored him. Embry was first on my list of dead Pack members for spilling the beans in the first place. I wasn't really sure how I'd get back at Edward for starting the mess, since he could hear every angry idea I came up with. Bloody leech.
The kitchen was bright and cozy in the midday light, and Embry, as usual, was seated at the counter stuffing his mouth with the vamp's food. The look of lazy contentment on his face didn't even falter when he turned to see me standing in the doorway, framed by an eager Emmett, an amused Edward, a confused Nessie, and nervous-looking Bella and Seth.
"Oh, hey, Leah. Got off of work-" he started, but I rudely interrupted him by stomping forward.
"Embry Call! You... you..." I shouted, but that's as far as my rant got. Suddenly I was as calm as a cat in the sun, and feeling twice as good. "Oooh, yeah."
"S'matter, B? You angry about something?" Embry asked unconcernedly, focusing more on his food than me and my possible pissed-off rant.
"Um, I think I was," I scratched my head, and then decided it wasn't worth bothering about. Mmmm, those stools looked mighty comfortable, though. I floated over to one and sank down with a sigh of pure bliss.
"Jasper, I think you're overdoing it a little," Esme whispered, and for the first time I noticed the scarred vamp sitting silently in the corner of the kitchen, obliviously reading his book.
Oh ho. So that's what happened to my anger. Right at the moment, though, I was too calmly relaxed to care. In fact, I didn't really want it to stop.
"No, no. S'all good. I like it," I told them, waving a lazy hand and laying my head down on the counter. "I'm feeling kind of... groovy."
Embry reached over and patted the top of my head as everyone exchanged amused, laughing glances. Seth moved forward to get in on the food action at the counter.
"Wierd. I don't feel that much different," he mused as Esme helped to fill his plate to overflowing.
"That's 'cause you're always like this. My brother, the giant, happy wolf," I sighed contentedly. Seth eyed me warily and shook his head before he headed back outside with his food. I just giggled.
"Jazz! You got Leah high, man!" Emmett exclaimed, bounding over to give his brother an enthusiastic high-five.
"It's not funny, boys. Jasper..." Esme said quietly, her sweet, soft voice turning slightly stern.
"Actually, I think she likes it, Esme," Edward told her, an amused glint in his eyes. Bella smacked him on the arm as Nessie stared at me in open wonderment. I suppose the goofy grin pasted on my face was a first-time sight for her.
I made a supreme effort to raise my head and nod. "Yep. I haven't felt this good in... ever. Dude, you should, like, sell this. Ya'know, A hundred bucks for an hour of pure bliss."
Embry snickered into his plate of food as Emmett guffawed. It looked like Jasper was biting his lips to keep from grinning, and even Edward the Prude coughed to hide his laugh.
"Oops. That came out bad. You know what I meant," I clarified, too comfortable to care that I was embarrassing myself.
"Nessie-baby, why don't we go check on your aunts and see how many outfits they've found for you," Bella exclaimed as she grabbed Nessie from Edward and headed out of the kitchen.
"Jasper, really," Esme implored, and he put his hands up innocently.
"I'm not doing it on purpose. I was just keeping Embry calm, and she walked into it," he defended, and she sighed in defeat. The heavy waves of contentment lightened slightly, and I pulled myself back into a sitting position, propping my head on my hand instead. Esme looked marginally happier now that I wasn't melting off of my stool.
"I don't need any calming," Embry insisted, and I agreed. As long as that plate kept getting refilled with steaming, delicious smelling food, I doubted anything would bother him.
"Hey, is this gonna give me the munchies?" I demanded, watching as Esme filled his plate yet again.
"Are you hungry, Leah?" she asked kindly, and I gave a tiny nod, waiting for the tension and embarrassment to set in. It didn't. All I felt was comfortable and... happy. Esme smiled, and it was one of the most wonderfully kind, motherly smiles I'd ever seen. It would have warmed me all the way down to my toes, if I wasn't already so warm and tingly that I felt like I was wrapped up in a cocoon of fluffy blankets.
"Will one of you fix her a plate while I go check on Embry's shirt?" she asked as she headed out of the room.
"Sure thing, Esme," Emmett replied with an easy grin, and she patted him on the cheek as she passed. As soon as she walked out the door, my head was back on the counter again, dragged under by another wave of relaxation. Oooh, man. All my bones were turning into goo! Before I could blink, there was a mound of mouth-watering food placed tantalizing in front of my face.
"Eat up, Leah. It's about time you started to look less like a scarecrow," Emmett told me cheerfully, and I managed to prop my head back up on my hand so I could get some food into my mouth.
"Like the "Wizard of Oz"? Oh, if I only had a braaaain!" I giggled before taking a huge bite.
"Naw, more like a stick with a head on top," he informed me. "You need to get some curves back. Only a dog wants a bone, you know."
"Emmett," Edward groaned warningly as Embry nodded sagely and Jasper hid a snicker behind his book.
"Most of the guys I know are dogs," I told him seriously, then took an enormous bite of my buttery muffin.
"I'm just saying- you gotta have a little cushion for the pushin'. Right, bros?" he appealed to his brothers.
"Do not include me in this conversation," Edward pleaded, rolling his eyes. Jasper just continued to hide behind his book, and Embry was too busy eating to be bothered.
"Tank, do you ever stop eating?" I asked as he shoved an entire muffin in his mouth at once.
He swallowed and grinned at me. "The Tank needs fuel."
"Tank? Wha- how come he gets a cool nickname?" Emmett demanded with a mock-whine. I chewed slowly while I regarded him thoughtfully.
"You mean in the hundred-some years you've been alive, nobody's ever given you a nickname?" I asked finally. Mmm, tummy full. The floor sure looked like a nice place to nap. Yeah, right over there in the sun...
"Technically, he hasn't even been alive for a century yet," Jasper said quietly, then broke off in astonishment as I got off my stool and stretched out on the floor.
"Maybe you are overdoing it a bit, Jazz," Edward murmured as I made myself comfortable on the tiles.
Embry leaned over the counter to look at me. "Hey, you gonna finish your plate, B?"
"Naw, you go ahead. So how come you never got any nicknames, Emmett?" I mumbled sleepily.
Emmett grinned wickedly. "Oh, I've got a few-"
"Bedroom ones don't count," Edward interrupted swiftly, and I rolled over to glare ineffectively at him.
"Prude," I muttered, and Emmett laughed again.
"Jazz, dude, you've gotta get Leah high more often!"
"Like I said, I'm not doing it on purpose. None of the rest of you are acting drugged," he insisted, eyeing me with confusion.
Esme walked into the kitchen then, carrying a folded piece of cloth. "Here you are, Embry. Good as new. How's your food, Leah?... Leah?"
Emmett, Embry, and Edward pointed silently at me, stretched out like a happy, fat cat in the sun. Jasper ducked behind his book again.
"What are you doing on the floor? Boys, what is she doing on the floor?" Esme demanded, confusion and accusation in her sweet voice.
"Don't mind me. I'm just all blissed out," I told her reassuringly, but apparently I failed to put her mind at ease.
"Honestly, Jasper. Enough is enough," she reprimanded him, and he gave me a sheepish look.
"Sorry," he muttered, and suddenly the blanket of good feelings was gone. It didn't take long before I realized that the floor was actually pretty hard. I sat up quickly, shaking my head experimentally a few times. I still felt pretty good. Calm, definitely. And was that lingering feeling... happiness? Wierd.
Oh, god. What had I just been saying? And doing? Was I actually giggling with the leeches??
And just who the hell did Emmett think he was, telling me to get some curves? That bloodsucker was just one kick short of a boot up his rear! And Embry...
"Embry Call," I snarled, and the look he gave me now was a mixture of sheepish apology and hesistant concern.
"Jacob's back," Edward suddenly murmured, freezing me right in my tracks. All my ideas of dragging Embry out of the house by his ear until we got somewhere more private so I could tear him to pieces disappeared as I scrambled to my feet.
"Ah, man. That didn't take long. Must've been a weak fight," Emmett said disappointedly.
"Where is he?" I hissed at Edward, all the happy feelings absolutely forgotten in the wake of my surging embarrassment and fury.
"He just phased back. Leah-" his reply was cut off as I brushed swiftly passed him towards the front door.
"Alright! Leah verses Jacob!" Emmett exclaimed. "My bet's on Jake!"
"I don't know, man. She's got a lot of rage," I heard Jasper reply. Apparently I was going to have an audience. Wonderful.
"Ten bucks says she punches him in less than five minutes," Embry threw in, and I nearly turned around to punch him.
"I'm not punching Jake, Tank. You, maybe," I snarled.
"I'll take that bet," Emmett told him, and I threw my hands up in exasperation.
"Will you please just go away? I'm not here for your amusement. Not for your bets, or your mind-reading snooping, or your freaky mood-altering mojo!"
"Hey guys. What's going on?" Jake asked, coming up behind me.
"You!" I snarled, whipping around to face him, pointing a shaking finger at his face. It took a lot of effort not to phase and bite his head off. Literally. Yeah, that wouldn't be at all embarrassing, phasing in front my little audience of gamblers.
Jake took a step back from my accusing glare, looking totally confused. "What's up, Leah?"
"You- you- you stupid, imprinted, moronic blabbermouth! Did you have to inform everybody about my private issues? And then send me here just to make my day that much more fun?"
"Whoa, hey! I didn't tell everybody. Just Nessie," he defended weakly, backing up and putting his hands up innocently.
"Right. You just told Nessie and every other vamp in the house because you said it out loud! Vampire hearing, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Forgot about that," he mumbled sheepishly, and I had to work hard not to punch him. Guess Embry might not have been so far off with his little bet.
"Idiot. Why couldn't you have made something up? Did you have to go into detail?" I spat out angrily, and he had the grace to look suitably apologetic.
"It's not that simple, Leah. Besides, doesn't it kind of make things easier, having everyone know-"
My fist slammed into his jaw with a resounding crack, and he staggered back a step or two.
"Yes! Four minutes and 24 seconds. Pay up, dude," Embry exulted behind me while Emmett groaned.
"Ow. Darn it," I muttered, cradling my hand. That resounding crack had apparently been my fingers snapping like dry twigs. Holy crap, that guy's face was hard.
"Jeez, Leah. You've got a nasty right hook," Jacob said, rubbing his chin ruefully.
"Ha! Yeah, right," I muttered angrily, nursing my hand as the ache set in.
"Whoa, B, are you okay?" Embry asked me, concern edging his voice when he noticed my grimace. I just scowled in reply.
"You should get those set properly before they heal wrong," Edward told me quietly. I pulled a face at him while Embry and Jake leaned forward to get a look at my mangled hand. That was all fine and dandy for him to say, but I didn't have the first clue how to set bones, and they'd be healed before I could get to the hospital and see Carlisle. Any other doctor was completely out of the question.
"Actually, I've received several medical degrees. I could set them for you, if you'd like," he told me, carefully nonchalant. He knew how much I detested being touched by a vamp's icy skin, how I'd always gone out of my way to avoid any physical contact with them at all. But now, remembering my epiphany from this morning, that lightening bolt of understanding in my talk with Sam, I just sighed.
"Okay, yeah. Whatever. Do what you gotta do, then," I muttered, thrusting my hand out to him with a grimace. Even though I knew now that I didn't actually hate the Cullen vamps, it didn't mean I wanted to get all cozy with them, either.
Edward blinked at my outstretched hand for a moment. "Er, I think it might be better if we went inside to fix this."
I shrugged and followed him inside with my little audience trailing behind me. Embry took my mangled hand and held it up to examine it gently.
"Dang, B. How many did you break?"
"All of them, I think," I replied with a wince, pulling my hand back to cradle it against my chest.
"Does this mean Jake won?" Jasper asked indifferently as Edward motioned for me to have a seat on the sofa. Frowning, I perched on the cushions as Jacob and Embry plopped down on either side of me.
Edward left the room, and Nessie came flying down the stairs, followed closely by Bella and her doting aunts. They joined the group around the sofa, peering at me curiously. Nessie scrambled joyously onto Jacob's lap and gave him a giant hug, like he'd been gone a week instead of an hour. She patted his face, and he smiled at her.
"No, I'm fine. Leah broke her hand, but your dad's gonna fix it," he told her with a gentle smile. I nearly stomped on his foot in annoyance.
"How'd you break it?" Nessie asked me, sympathetic concern in her pretty, bell-like voice. She leaned forward just a tiny bit to get a better look at the mangled hand cradled against my chest, and it took a supreme effort on my part not to lean hard against Embry to get farther away from her.
"I'm just having a really bad day," I muttered, shooting Jacob a dark, venomous glare.
"Aw, c'mon Leah. Don't stay mad. You can punch me again if you want," he said earnestly.
"And break my other hand? No, thanks."
Bella nodded wisely. "Ah. You forgot to tuck your thumb in."
I stared at her, completely dumbfounded, while most of the vamps in the room chuckled quietly and Jacob looked a little sheepish. Since when did Bella know anything about punching people?
Edward hurried back in then, followed by an anxious-looking Esme. Great. Just great. The entire vamp family, minus Carlisle, all crowded around watching me get my bones put back together. Boy, had I been wrong when I thought I'd already hit the bottom of the Bad Luck Barrel earlier.
Reluctantly, I put my poor, aching, broken hand into Edward's frigid, but still gentle, grasp. He probed along the bones, eliciting an unwilling wince from me whenever he touched a tender spot.
"It seems like most of the breaks have almost mended. They'll need to be re-broken to be straightened," he muttered after a minute. "I wish we still had the X-ray machine here."
"Should I call Carlisle?" Esme murmured anxiously as the whole group leaned forward to get a better look.
"C'mon, they're just fingers. Snap 'em and pull 'em straight again, already," I ordered testily, more on edge from all the unwanted attention than anything else.
"Are you sure? If I don't do this correctly, Carlisle will need to fix them again," Edward informed me carefully. Even if he couldn't read my mind, the eye roll I gave him would've been enough.
"Alright. This is going to hurt. Maybe Jasper should-"
"No way! I've already had one trip too many on the Feel Good Train today, thank you. Just do it," I snarled. Next to me, Embry tried to hide a grin as Emmett's chuckle rumbled the floor from where he'd flopped himself down to watch Edward playing doctor.
"Did I miss something?" Jacob asked, completely confused when even Edward smiled to himself.
"No!" I insisted loudly before one of them could launch into the embarrassing tale of Leah on Jasper Crack. Unfortunately for me, I'd forgotten about Nessie the Living Movie sitting on Jake's lap. Smiling, she pressed her hand to his face, replaying some of the most embarrassing moments of my life. At least she'd left halfway through...
Jacob let out an enormous, barking laugh that shook the whole couch, and I wondered if my face could explode from blushing so furiously.
"I know, right? It was awesome!" Emmett exclaimed, laughing along with him. "But you haven't heard about what happened after Nessie left..."
"Shut up!" I hissed, elbowing a grinning Embry in the ribs as hard as I could.
"If you're done shaking the couch around, Jake, I'm ready to start," Edward said quietly, and for the first time in my life, I was grateful for his reserved solemnity. Jake and Embry instantly sobered up, and I braced myself silently. The Quilete wolves might heal fast, but that didn't mean we felt less pain.
Edward's icy fingers took hold of one of my aching bones just at it's sorest spot, and before I could take a deep breath or close my eyes, he wrenched it, hard. The resounding snap echoed in the silent room, and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheeks to keep from shrieking. Nessie whimpered for me, and Jake patted her soothingly. Bella turned a strange shade of green; I wondered if vampires could actually get sick to their stomachs. Ew, there was a gross thought. I really didn't want her hurling old blood all over the place.
"Jacob, why don't you and Bella take Nessie to find Seth? I think he fell asleep outside somewhere," Edward said casually without looking up from the finger he was taping straight.
"Huh? Oh- right. Good idea," Jake answered after a confused minute. He squeezed my shoulder awkwardly after he stood up. "Sorry about your hand, Leah. And the other stuff, too."
I wanted to stay mad at him. I really did. Unfortunately for me, Jacob was just a really, really hard guy to stay angry with. That, and I'd kind of gotten it off my chest when I'd punched him. Kind of. Really, I was just bone-tired and couldn't keep up more than one emotion at a time anymore. Right now, I was dealing with 'agony'.
"Yeah, yeah. Just go away before I break any more bones on your hard skull," I muttered. He grinned and banged out the front door with Bella and Nessie, Rosalie trailing along behind them like she'd already gotten bored with watching me get tortured. Little Alice wrapped her arms around Jasper's waist and settled in comfortably, apparently not disturbed by the sound of cracking bones.
"So... what exactly is the Feel Good Train?" she chirped in her twinkly, bell voice, and I sighed in irritation.
"Nothing. My fault- I just... overdid things a little," Jasper said quickly as Esme flashed him a significant look.
"Ready for the next one?" Edward asked me, and I gritted my teeth and nodded. Embry took hold of my good hand and squeezed it sympathetically. I would have pulled away in surprise, but Edward cracked another bone and I squeezed his hand with an involuntary, white-knuckled grip.
"You're doing good, Leah. Only about four more to go," Edward reassured me calmly, sounding exactly like a collected, detached doctor in an ER.
"Four more? I've only got 5 fingers," I reminded him tightly, still gripping Embry's hand. If the tightness of my grasp bothered him, he didn't show it.
Edward smiled wryly. "Some of them were broken in more than one place."
"Dude. You punched him so hard, you shattered your hand!" Emmett exclaimed from his spot on the floor. "Rock on, sister!"
"Glad you're excited about it," I muttered angrily, wishing he was laying close enough so I could give him a quick kick in the gut. I'd probably just end up breaking a few toes, though. Why couldn't Jacob just let me go home instead of sending me here?
"Wonder how things went with Sam, though. We never got a chance to ask him," Emmett mused, and once more I squeezed Embry's hand with a white-knuckled grip. I don't think he even noticed; the dark frown from this morning was back on his face as he balled his other hand into a fist.
"I don't want to know. Really," I snapped, wishing for the millionth time that this entire day had never happened.
Embry turned to look at me, still frowning. "But, B-"
"No. Forget it. The whole thing was just stupid, and I don't want to think about it anymore."
If I did, if I had to hear a play-by-play of Jake's 'discussion', I'd lose it. Edward snapped another finger, twice, and I was a teensy bit glad to have the excrutiating pain to focus on. At least it gave me a perfectly logical reason to scream.
"Ah, yes. That would make sense," Edward suddenly replied to an unspoken thought, nodding as he taped up my third finger.
"You know, that's really annoying," I ground out through gritted teeth.
"Tell me about it," Emmett agreed dryly. "Try living with him for a few decades."
"I was just thinking about why you got, ah, high earlier," Jasper explained, sounding a little embarrassed. "I'm fairly sure it's because you're... vulnerable right now. Emotionally exhausted."
Oh, for the love of- that wasn't at all mortifying. Crooked fingers or not, I wanted nothing more than to get up and march out of that house.
Snap, SNAP. Ugh. Now I felt sick to my stomach from the pain.
"Last ones," Edward murmured reassuringly. Esme's hand fluttered out like she wanted to pat me sympathetically, hovering a few inches away from my skin before she let it fall limply back down. I tried to slide my hand out of Embry's huge one, but it was trapped in an iron grasp. I don't think he was even aware of my tugging as he scowled unseeingly at the far wall.
"That should do it," Edward said finally, smoothing down the last piece of tape around my fingers gently. Ruefully, I examined my now mummified hand as the pain eased into the throbbing ache of my enhanced healing.
"Thanks," I muttered, meaning it even if my voice suggested otherwise. He gave me a crooked, unamused smile.
"Wait until Carlisle checks it over before thanking me. You might have to go through all this again."
Alice's eyes glazed over for a brief second. "She'll have to come back tomorrow to see him. He'll be at the hospital late tonight."
"Great," I groaned. I'd been planning to never come near this place again.
"At any rate, you shouldn't shift until you've seen him and we're sure everything's healed properly," Edward continued, scooping up his medical supplies. Double great. There went my escape plan. I'd been planning on sprinting home as soon as the ache in my fingers let up. Ah, well. Guess I'd just be hoofing it human-style. No way was I sticking around here for the next disaster to hit.
Finally, I managed to tug my hand out of Embry's and stand up. Emmett and Jasper were goodnaturedly arguing about whether Jake or I had won our little spat, but the psychotic, bloodsucking pixie pinned me with an intense stare.
I edged nervously toward the door, never turning my back to her. She may stand a good head shorter than me, but something about her always had me on edge. Like I was terrified she was going to come at me with a curling iron and some hot wax.
My eyebrows were just fine, thank you. Okay, so I hadn't plucked them in a long time. A really long time. But did she have to stare at me like she wanted to hold me down and yank them out by the roots right there?
"You know, short hair really works for you. It just needs a little fixing up. I could cut it for you."
The words popped out of her mouth like she couldn't help herself. Emmett and Jasper stopped mid-argument to swivel their heads to watch my reaction, and Embry's eyes flickered between Alice and I so fast I wondered if he'd get dizzy.
I couldn't even answer her for several long, silent minutes. I thought it might be the first time she'd ever even spoken to me directly, and I wondered if she realized that. I supposed my body language was screaming, "Whoa! No WAY, lady!", but for reasons I couldn't even identify, I didn't want to be rude to her.
Maybe it was just because her offer was sort of tempting. I mean, I'd seen some of the miracles she'd worked with human Bella...
"Uh, no thanks. I mean, maybe some other time. Yeah," I finally stuttered out, stumbling backwards for the door. I banged my bad hand against the doorknob, gave a muffled curse, yanked it open, and bolted.
"Way to go Alice. I'd say you officially scared her off from here for a long time," I heard Emmett grumble.
"Right. Like whatever the Jasper Feel Good Train was didn't already do that," she snapped back. "Darn it. She'd be so fun to make over, too."
Sometimes I really cursed my excellent wolf hearing. Time to get away from this house, and fast. Unfortunately, Seth caught up with me at the bottom of the steps, dragging his little search party with him.
"Hey, Leah. How's the hand? I can't believe you broke it on Jake's face!" he exclaimed, and I briefly considered seeing if his face would break any of my fingers.
"Yeah, well. Stupid me, right?" I muttered, pushing past him to head across the lawn.
"Where are you going? You're not supposed to phase when your bones are healing!" he called after me. Yeah, he'd know all about that, wouldn't he, since Bella broke some of his trying to kill Jacob only a few months ago. Maybe Sam was right and none of us should be here at all.
I merely growled an annoyed "I know" over my shoulder at him before plunging into the thick woods surrounding the lawn. I'd gone a fair distance before I realized someone was following right behind me.
I whirled around to shout at whoever it was, assuming it was Seth, and came face to face with Embry.
"What the- shouldn't you be collecting your ten dollars from Emmett or something?" I demanded harshly.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Naw. I can get it later. Hey, thanks for winning me that, by the way."
"Oh, sure. No problem. I just got a broken hand for it, but hey- you won your little bet," I sarcastically snapped as I held my bandaged fingers up for proof.
"I didn't think you'd hurt yourself," he grimaced. "My fingers wouldn't have snapped like that."
"Well, whoohoo for you. Next time, you punch him then."
"Next time, ask me and I will."
"Right," I snorted, and then I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose with my good fingers. "What do you want, Tank?"
He rocked back on his heels, his hands shoved into the back pockets of his jeans. The grin on his face was easy and relaxed, but his eyes regarded me cautiously, like he was afraid I was going to lose it any moment. Well, I suppose the lovely "emotionally exhausted" label Mojo Master Jasper had slapped on me sort of warrented that.
"I dunno. I'm just following you, I guess," he replied.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, I figured that part out. I'm just wondering why."
"Well, I know you're having a pretty rotten day, and I just wanted to, you know, cheer you up or something. That's what friends do, right? It's not so wierd."
"Yeah, actually it is," I told him bluntly. "I mean, I'm a messed up wreck. And I'm a bitter, bitchy harpy. Generally, everyone just wants me to disappear."
He grinned broadly at me. "I don't want you to disappear."
"Ugh! You are so... so... Look, I get the fact that your two best friends imprinted on kids and all, but why don't you go hang out with Seth or something?" I demanded, fighting the urge to stomp my foot in frustration. I didn't even know why I was getting so upset. Who cared what his reasons were? Did it really matter if he was just using me to kill the time? I was going to ruin everything, just because I was greedy and wanted him like me for me, not just because he was bored.
Embry folded his arms across his broad chest as he regarded me seriously. "Leah, when are you going to get it through your thick, stubborn head that the world doesn't hate you? Yeah, I could hang out with Seth instead, but I'd rather spend time with you. Sure, you've got issues, but so does everybody. You're a good person, and I just like being around you, okay?"
Well, what in the world was I supposed to say to that? I was floored, completely dumbfounded. Sure, I'd hoped we were building a tentative friendship, but I'd thought it was merely convenience on his side. Instantly, I forgave him completely for accidentally spilling the beans about my unexpected encounter with Sam this morning. Nobody had said anthing remotely that nice to me in a long, long time.
"Besides, you're prettier than Seth," Embry added with a smirk, and suddenly I didn't know whether to smack him or blush.
"That's only because you've never seen him in a dress," I managed to mumble and was rewarded by his deep laugh.
"See? Another reason I like hanging out with you, B-Wolf. You're hilarious," he chuckled, giving way more credit to my lame joke than it deserved. He waggled his eyebrows at me. "Especially when you're high on Jasper..."
I flushed red from top to bottom with embarrassment and fury, shaking all over. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny. Yeah, let's all laugh at crazy Leah."
Abruptly, I was crushed by Embry's massive arms in a bear hug so tight my ribs creaked under the pressure. I squeaked in protest and tried unsuccessfully to wriggle free.
"C'mon, Leah, don't be mad. You've got to learn to laugh at yourself a little bit again. Nobody's making fun of you or anything. Besides, it was kind of nice to see you happy like that. So don't be mad," he said, his voice rumbling through his chest under my ear. I scowled, but I stopped struggling. It was totally useless anyway. Even with my inhuman strength, he was still incredibly stronger than me.
"Right. That's easy for you to say. You weren't trying to take a nap on their kitchen floor," I muttered into his shirt. He chuckled, vibrating my ear.
"Yeah, Esme wasn't too happy about that," he agreed. "And don't worry about what Emmett said, either. I think you've got great curves."
Another statement that made me feel all warm and tingly that I just didn't know how to answer! I could hardly give him a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek and tell him I thought he was the sweetest guy in the world for boosting my poor, mangled ego a tiny bit. Instead, I opted for the safest reply I think of.
"You really stink, Tank."
It was true. The shirt under my cheek was curling my nose with it's icy stench. Embry laughed again and loosened his iron arms from around me.
"No shifting, alright? Don't want to screw your hand up again," he said seriously and I grimaced at him.
"It's pretty much healed. I don't think it'd do any damage."
"Yeah, but why risk it? Look, I'll drive you home," he said, grinning hugely at me. I started to refuse, but then closed my mouth and regarded him seriously for a few moments. A ride would actually be really nice...
"Alright. If you're sure you don't mind," I finally said, a tiny bit uncertainly.
"What are friends for, right?" he asked, shrugging cheerfully. I followed him out of the woods, smiling a little bit in spite of myself. I could hardly remember what friends were for anymore, but I had a feeling Embry was going to help me figure that out.
AN: Sorry if this chapter's wierd... wrote it while I was really sick. Also, please let me know if it was way too long, or if the length was okay. I tend to write really, really long chapters. Thanks!