Choosing a Path
AN: Sigh. Real life really gets in the way sometimes, you know? I am trying to update as quickly as possible, but between another story I'm in the middle of, life, and work... well, you all know how it is.
Enormous THANK YOU's to all who read and reviewed last chapter! Hopefully I got back to you all in person... and yes, I know I'm terribly slow about that, too. Sorry, sorry! But please don't stop giving me encouragement and ideas- I really, really need it! Thanks again!
Disclaimer: Me no ownies.
Work was boring. Oh, it was so boring. Don't get me wrong; I loved having a job and the freedom and income it gave me. But there were days, and certain situations, that just grated on my nerves. And standing idly behind the cash register with a politely interested expression while Mrs. Newton and Mrs. Stanley gossiped about the completely boring doings in Forks was one of them. They'd been at it for almost forty minutes, and I was starting to have pleasant visions of pulling their tongues out by the roots.
"Oh, and I was just thinking the other morning how Charlie Swan's daughter has been back in town for a good while now, and nobody's even seen a glimpse of her. Edward Cullen's been out and about a bit, but not Bella," Mrs. Stanley suddenly interjected in her usual fashion of whirlwind topic changes. My shoulders tensed up nervously at the suspicious, busybody tone of her voice and the conspiratal way Mrs. Newton nodded in agreement.
"Those Cullens are weird people," Mrs. Newton said in a low voice, shaking her head. "They way they look... if Dr. Cullen is thirty, I'm a pig's backside. None of them ever look any older!"
"It's because of the surgery," I blurted out, desperate to say something to curb their suspicions. Both women turned surprised, eager faces toward me, obviously excited to find out any new tidbit of gossip, and it sounded like I was dangling a doozy in front of them. I could feel the beginnings of panic welling up in my throat and swallowed convulsively.
"Surgery? What surgery?" Mrs. Stanley asked, eyeing me like a hawk eyes a mouse. I made a show of glancing around the room as if to check for prying ears and leaned forward conspiratally. The two of them looked like they could hardly contain themselves as they mimicked my movement.
"This is all really hush-hush, so don't breathe a word of it. But I heard that all of the Cullens look alike because they've all had an experimental type of plastic surgery done," I stage whispered to them. Their shocked gasps were very satisfying, and Mrs. Stanley put a hand over her heart.
"No! Really? Why?"
"Well, it all started when Dr. Cullen had some sort of facial disfigurement. I think it was from a disease or something. Anyway, a friend of his knew someone from... from Brazil who was trying this new kind of reconstructive surgery, and Dr. Cullen agreed to try it. The only problem is, the new face he was given doesn't really age. So he's stuck looking as young as when he first had the surgery," I explained, making the whole thing up on the fly and praying it was some kind of believable.
"Oooooh. I see now," Mrs. Newton breathed, and Mrs. Stanley nodded enthusiastically. "So the rest of the Cullens had this surgery, too?"
I nodded soberly. "Yeah. See, Dr. Cullen was working in the ER when Esme, Jasper, and Rosalie were brought in. They'd been in the fire that killed Jasper and Rose's parents, and they all had really horrible burns. Like, scarred from head to toe."
"Oh, my," sighed Mrs. Newton sympathetically.
"Awful," agree Mrs. Stanley. Wow, they were really eating this pile of hooey up! Emboldened, I nodded again and continued.
"Dr. Cullen thought so, too. He told her about the surgery he'd had, and offered to pay for her and the kids to have it done. Of course she had to agree, you know? Jasper and Rosalie had to have a bunch of those surgeries while they grew up- one every couple of years I heard- and after the last one, they both vowed never to have it done again. Esme's only had the one, like Carlisle. I guess it's really painful or something."
"And the others? The ones they adopted?" Mrs. Stanley questioned eagerly. Man, people really liked to hear about other's tragedies, didn't they?
"Well, after Esme found out she couldn't have kids, she decided that she wanted to adopt, or at least be a foster parent. So that's what they did, only Dr. Cullen wanted to find kids that had special needs- like for the plastic surgery he knew about. All the Cullen kids have had a few of the surgeries each, and as far as I know, none of them are planning to have another one for a long, long time."
"Well, isn't that just something. I never thought..." Mrs. Newton trailed off in stunned surprise.
"No wonder... It sure helps explain their unnatural good looks," mused Mrs. Newton thoughtfully. "And Bella...?"
Oh, boy. How to explain this one? I shrugged my shoulders casually. "That disease she got wherever Edward took her for their honeymoon was some kind of skin thing that ate away at her until she was just a scarred mess. She couldn't stand it, so she went to Brazil and had the surgery, too."
"Oh, my goodness! I can't believe it!" Mrs. Newton exclaimed, and I nodded.
"It's true. I've seen her," I insisted. "She's finally recovered, but that's why she hasn't been out of the Cullens' house yet."
"How does she look?" questioned Mrs. Stanley breathlessly.
I scrunched up my face to appear like I was thinking hard. "I'd say she looks a lot more like Esme than her own mother now. Too perfect. Too pretty."
"Oh, that poor thing. It must've broken Charlie's heart," Mrs. Newton said, shaking her head sympathetically.
"Yeah, he was pretty upset. So was Edward. But you do what you've gotta do, right?" I replied casually. "But remember, you didn't hear anything from me."
"Of course not. I won't breathe a word," Mrs. Stanley assured me hastily. Any idiot could see she was lying through her teeth, especially when she wasted no time saying goodbye and hurrying up the road to the diner. Mrs. Newton disappeared into her office and shut the door, but my sensitive ears could hear her picking up the phone to call everybody she could think of. Everything I'd just said was going to be all over Forks before you could say 'big fat lie'.
Now I just had to hope the Cullens wouldn't get too upset about it.
About two hours later, I was head and shoulders deep into restocking the top shelves when the bell above the door alerted me to someone entering the store. Glancing over my shoulder, I spied Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward casually strolling towards my step-ladder. I groaned to myself as I turned back to the shelves. Great. Of all people, why did Edward have to show up here today? My little 'Cullen Family Story' wasn't going to stay secret much longer with him around.
"Hey, little sister. Haven't seen you since the game," Emmett boomed cheerfully at me and jiggled my stepladder goodnaturedly. I scowled down at him.
"Since when am I your 'little sister'?" I snapped at his grin. Truthfully, I was kind of relieved that he was treating me the same as always. Despite Edward's reassurances, I was worried Emmett would hold a grudge.
"Since Charlie and Sue got engaged," he drawled, thankfully in a slightly quieter voice. "No escaping us now, Wolfy."
Rosalie sighed theatrically, but her exasperated look was undone by the amusement in her eyes when she looked at him. "Emmett, how many times do I have to tell you? Just because she'll be Edward and Bella's step-sister doesn't make her ours. Thank god."
"No kidding. I don't want to be connected to any more of you than I absolutely have to be," I added, shuddering a little to emphasize my point. Emmett shrugged his massive shoulders and slung an arm around Rose's waist.
"Too bad, girls. If Edward gets a new little sister, then so do I. We Cullens know how to share, right, Eddie?"
But Edward was too busy studying the closed door of Mrs. Newton's office to notice even the use of his hated nickname. His marble forehead creased into a confused frown as he cocked his head to listen intently to whatever Mrs. Newton was saying (or thinking). My palms started sweating again, and I rubbed them on the sides of my jeans nervously. Here it comes...
"Leah, why does Mrs. Newton think that all of the Cullens have had massive reconstructive surgery?" he questioned in quiet, confused amusement.
"Say what?" Emmett demanded, swinging his curly head back and forth between Edward and I.
"Reconstructive surgery? Massive reconstructive surgery?" Rosalie repeated with a frown. I turned my back to them to try to hide my blush and furiously started restocking the shelves again.
"I didn't say 'massive'," I muttered under my breath. I refused to look back at them, even though I could feel their sharp, tawny eyes burning holes in my back.
"What did you say, then?" Rosalie hissed impatiently as Edward cocked his head toward Mrs. Newton's door again. I sighed and stopped restocking long enough to offer a quick prayer to the gods of mercy.
"Newton and Stanley were in here gossiping like always, and they were talking about how you guys never age and how weird it is that nobody's seen Bella since the wedding and... and..."
"And?" prompted Emmet.
"And I told them you didn't seem to age because you'd had an experimental type of plastic surgery done, and that Bella had to have it too because of a skin disease she picked up on her honeymoon!" I blurted out in a mortified rush, realizing just how ridiculous it sounded and wishing I'd never opened my mouth in the first place.
Rosalie looked like she was torn between grimacing and laughing. "They bought that unbelievable pile of-"
"Yes. They did. Completely," Edward interrupted suddenly, a wide grin spreading across his face. Emmett guffawed loudly.
"Of all the stupid..." he began, but Edward cut him off with a quick elbow to the ribs and a nod in the direction of Mrs. Newton's door. Sure enough, a few seconds later, it flew open and she charged out. Catching sight of our little group, she advanced on us eagerly.
"Edward Cullen! And Emmett and Rosalie! It's so nice to see you!" she exclaimed in a much more friendly tone than she'd ever used around them before. There was something different in her expression, too. Something a lot like curious pity. Emmett grinned broadly at her, showing all his dimples with boyish charm.
"Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Newton! We just stopped by to get some new camping gear," he boomed out. Mrs. Newton beamed back at him.
"Oh, of course! What're you looking for...?" she led the way with Emmett and Edward trailing behind her, but Rosalie remained standing by my step-ladder. I eyed her warily as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared with narrowed eyes at the little group.
"Unbelievable. She really does believe your ridiculous story," she finally murmured. "Plastic surgery. Honestly."
I shrugged, still blushing with mortification as I diligently shuffled things around on the shelves in front of me. She transferred her tight gaze to me after a few silent seconds.
"You do realize this means we might be able to stay in Forks a few extra years, don't you?" she asked me seriously. I returned her gaze with a hard one of my own.
"That was kind of the point."
She nodded once, short and clipped. "Yeah. Well, I'm grateful. For Nessie's sake. And Bella's, too, I guess."
I was too stunned to do anything but stare back at her. Rosalie, thanking me? I hoped Satan had some sweaters, because hell just froze over.
Emmett strode up to us then, loaded down with all his new, unneccessary gear and a broad smile on his dimpled face. Mrs. Newton still had Edward trapped by the camping goods section. I could hear her bombarding him with a few not-so-subtle questions about Bella and tamped down a grin at his polite but non-committal answers.
"I'll ring you up," I muttered to Emmett as I slid off my step-ladder and hurried to the cash registers. He and Rosalie followed, and Edward finally managed to extricate himself to catch up with us.
"Why do you buy all this stuff, anyway? It's not like you use it," I asked in a low enough voice that only they could hear me as I sifted through the pile.
"Gotta keep up the appearances," Emmett replied cheerfully. "'Sides, sometimes we actually go camping."
Rosalie snorted. "We still don't use this junk."
"Honestly, we really came here to pass on a message," Edward informed me, giving his siblings a semi-annoyed look. "Alice thinks Charlie and Sue might be making the official announcement today, if everyone's at the house this afternoon."
"Oh," I replied after a moment's thought. So far, all we knew was Alice's vision that Charlie and Sue were going to get married in the near future. Nearly two weeks had passed since the baseball game without either of them saying a word about getting engaged, and personally I had been starting to wonder if Alice had been wrong after all. Guess not.
"So, you and Embry will head over after you get off work, right?" Emmett questioned as he gathered up his bags. I nodded and he flashed his big grin at me again. "Awesome. I've got a new video game I'm gonna kick his ass on."
"How many more centuries are you going to live before you finally grow up?" I demanded half-heartedly. He waggled his eyebrows at me.
"Rosie wouldn't like it if I got all serious and boring like Edward here, would you, Rose?"
In reply, she grabbed his arm and tugged him out of the store with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. Edward shrugged and followed after them with a casual, "see you later" thrown over his shoulder at me. I had to smile just a tiny bit to myself as Emmett's massive Jeep disappeared down the rain-soaked road. "Little sister", ha! Emmett Cullen needed his brain checked.
A few short hours later, I hopped into the passanger seat of Embry's beat-up Ford and grinned at my favorite person in the whole world.
He smiled back at me broadly. "So, we still parts-shopping for Molly today?"
"Nope, change of plans," I informed him, wrinkling my nose. "We're supposed to go to the Vamps'. Alice thinks Mom and Charlie are going to do the big announcement today. If everyone's there, that is."
"Awesome! Man, can you just imagine how embarrassed Charlie's gonna be?" Embry exclaimed, shoving the car into drive and stomping on the gas. Charlie's cruiser was parked in the Cullen's driveway when we pulled up, and Embry and I exchanged amused glances.
"You think Alice is gonna be right?" I asked him as we climbed out of the car and headed for the house.
"She usually is. This is gonna be seriously hilarious! I'll bet you he turns beet red and your mom has to do all the talking."
"Too bad he doesn't realize that we already know what they're gonna tell us!" I laughed.
The sports channel was on Emmett's massive flat screen- no surprise there- and Charlie, as usual, was parked in front of it. But instead of his typical complete absorption in whatever was going on in the sporting world, he was unusually fidgety. Emmett's seemingly random comments weren't helping the poor guy out, either.
"Guess the honeymoon phase is over for that team," he said at one point, and Charlie jumped and turned a nasty shade of purple.
"That's a real marriage of skills there," he commented a moment or two later, and Charlie twitched in his chair. From the gleam in the burly vamp's eyes and the way Bella was glaring at him, I made an educated guess that this had been going on for some time already. Next to me, Embry gave Emmett a huge thumbs up behind Charlie's back as I stifled giggles behind my hands.
Jacob pushed the front door open and headed over to us, and I stopped giggling abruptly at the glum scowl on his face. Nessie bounded up to him for a hug, but instead of the usual 'dear god, it's been two whole minutes since I've seen you, I thought I was going to die,' routine, he gently put her back on her feet and asked if she could find Seth for him. She darted away in a flash of bronze ringlets, and Jake turned to us with a heavy sigh.
"What's up, Most High Alpha?" I asked. He flashed me a dirty look for my lame attempt at a joke.
"Outside. We've all gotta have a little talk," he said seriously as Seth joined our group. Embry and I exchanged quick, confused looks, but dutifully trailed after him out the door and down the porch steps. Jake headed towards the woods, and I wondered if he was going to make us all phase for this 'talk'. Just before he reached the trees, he halted and turned to face us.
"Okay, Jake, What's up? Another run-in with Sam and his Pack?" Embry asked quickly, almost eagerly. I clenched my teeth together silently at the slight throb in my chest at the mention of his name.
"No, nothing like that. It's just..." Jake trailed off, looked back up at the house with unseeing eyes. "My dad told me today that the elders are planning another bonfire night for the Pack. Well, both the Packs, really. They want us there, too. All the shifters and their imprints. Dad thinks it's so they can put the pressure on us to come back to La Push full-time. Guess what Quil told us about Sam catching some heat from them was true. Dad didn't say much about it, but it seems like he's been dealing with a lot of that himself."
"Stupid, interferring, old bastards," I muttered darkly. Seth and Embry nodded slightly in agreement.
"Not arguing with that. At any rate, I told Dad I'd be there, see if I can take some of the heat off of him at least, but I wasn't going to say anything for the rest of you," continued Jacob wearily.
"I'll go," Seth answered immediately. "The Pack bonfires were always a good time. And if it'll make things easier for your old man..."
"Once word gets around La Push about your mom marrying Charlie, some people might not be too friendly with you Clearwaters," Embry stated solemnly. Seth's face twisted up the same way my insides did.
"If someone's got a problem with my mom being happy, then they're gonna have to deal with me," I growled. Then, before I could stop and think too much about the consequences, I added, "I'm in, too, Jake."
Embry, Seth, and Jake all turned surprised, apprehensive, and concerned eyes on me. I could almost hear their thoughts, they were written so plainly on their faces. And I didn't want to hear them, because then I'd start thinking about it myself. Seeing Sam, and Emily, together... Defiantly, I crossed my arms tightly over my chest and lifted my chin haughtily.
"What? I'm not welcome there?" I demanded. All three of them shook their heads vehemently.
"That's not it at all, Leah. It's just... everyone will be there. All the Pack members, all the imprints..." explained Jacob cautiously. Good grief! Did they all really think I was that fragile? Although I suppose my past breakdowns weren't stellar evidence that I wasn't. But I could do this. I could. Maybe.
I snorted derisively to cover my growing embarrassment. "All the imprints, huh? Somehow I'd be willing to bet Nessie's not invited."
Jake shuffled his big feet and scowled. "That's... I wouldn't have brought her, anyway."
"Stupid, prejudiced, blind..." muttered Embry darkly, his voice trailing off into an unintelligable growl as he glanced in the direction of La Push.
"We all thought the same way they do not so long ago," I reminded him tightly. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. We're all going, right? As a Pack. Maybe we can get everyone in La Push to back off once they see we're not changing our minds on this."
"Doubt it'll work, but I guess it's worth a shot," Embry agreed, shrugging. "So when's this great bonfire happening?"
"Next weekend, on the beach. I'll tell Dad to let the council know we'll all be there. If you're sure you wanna go." Jake directed the last bit at me, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Aren't you gonna be late for a tea party with your Barbies or something?" I shot at him. He rolled his eyes at me and headed back to the house, Seth on his heels. I heaved a heavy sigh and started to follow them, but Embry's big hand on my arm stopped me. The was a frown in his deep, chocolate brown eyes when I turned back to face him.
"You don't need to do this, B. Why go when you know it'll hurt?" he asked me seriously. My eyes slid away from his and I bit at my bottom lip with my teeth.
"You're the one who said I needed to get over him."
Embry's frown grew darker. "Well, yeah. But I didn't mean-"
"I can't hide away from anywhere I might run into Sam. Or Emily," I interrupted him quietly. "I can handle it, really I can. Besides, it won't be so bad if you're there to help me."
My admission of needing him around made a mortified blush creep up my cheeks, but it did wonders on Embry. His unhappy frown disappeared in a flash of teeth as he grinned broadly at me, his brown eyes twinkling.
"Of course I'll be there, B! As much as you need me," he replied cheerfully, slinging his arm over my shoulder and squeezing me playfully in a one-armed chokehold. "Tell you what, I'll even punch Sam for you if you need me to. You know- so you don't break your hand again."
"Well, it is your turn to bust his nose," I muttered as we headed back towards the house. "Thanks, Tank. Really."
"Anything for my B-Wolf," he laughed as he swung the door open with a mock-salute. I wished we were somewhere a lot more private than the crowded Vamp's living room, because I really wanted to hug him hard enough to crack a rib. I wasn't going to deny that there was a part of me that was completely panicked over the thought of seeing Sam and Emily together at the bonfire, but just knowing I had my Tank to lean on dulled it into a mere anxious ache.
The excited buzz in the air pulled me out of my musings as Embry and I joined the group surrounding my mother and Charlie. I nearly laughed out loud at the poor man's expression; he was redder than a radish and seemed completely incapable of speech. My mom, on the other hand, looked tolerantly amused.
"So, what's this 'big news' you have to tell us?" Alice asked eagerly, bouncing just the tiniest bit on her toes. I could tell she was trying very hard to restrain herself for Charlie's sake. My mother looked through the small crowd directly at me and smiled a very tiny, but very happy, smile.
"Charlie and I have decided to get married," she announced quietly in her calm, no-nonsense voice, but her eyes twinkled merrily. Alice squealed and hugged Charlie fiercely.
"I knew it! Congratulations!"
Charlie looked about as uncomfortable as he could possibly get, and everyone laughed just a little. Bella took pity on her poor father and merely gave him a quick, one-armed hug while she whispered something in his ear. The room echoed with everyone's congratulations, and even Rosalie smiled a little bit. I hugged my mom and grinned at Charlie, surprised to realize how thrilled I actually was about the whole thing. Vamps for relatives. Who'd have imagined that?
"Now I can call you Uncle Seth!" Nessie squealed from Seth's arms as she hugged him tightly around his neck. He laughed and hugged her back before she leaned away from him to look cautiously at me.
"Can I call you Aunt Leah?" she asked me solemnly. I swallowed the instant rejection that rose to my tongue, forcing myself to really look into her big brown eyes. She was going to be my family now. It was time I accepted that.
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess that'd be okay," I answered slowly. She beamed, and I fought a mini-battle with myself in the space of ten long seconds. Finally, hesitantly, I lifted up my arms and held them out to her. I don't think anyone in that room, human or otherwise, took a breath for the space of a heartbeat. Then Renesmee leaned across to me, and I pulled her into my arms.
She was heavier than I'd expected, and warmer. Her skin was satiny-smooth, but hard, and it was nearly as hot as my own. Much nicer than the icy cold I was expecting to feel. Her face glowed with surprised happiness, and I had to wrinkle up my nose in an effort not to beam too much of a sunshine smile back at her. Jake looked like he was about to burst with joy, and I swear Bella looked close to sentimental tears, if such a thing was possible for a leech. I turned and carried Nessie a little bit away from them, rolling my eyes in annoyance. For god's sake, I was just holding her! It wasn't like the eighth wonder of the world or anything.
Safely a few feet away from them, Nessie and I just looked at each other silently for a few minutes, getting to know each other in our own way. Slowly, she reached up and pressed her little fingers to my cheek, and this time I didn't gasp or jerk away. This time I concentrated on what she was trying to show me.
It was odd, and a little uncomfortable, to see myself from her memories. I was gaunt, disheveled, and angry-looking in her first memories, just few second snatches, really. I remembered how hard I'd worked to stay away from her in the beginning and grimaced a little. The images she was showing me switched abruptly, and now I saw myself smiling, no longer gaunt or bitter-looking, but happy and... pretty. Nessie drew her fingers away and patted my stunned cheek. Suddenly I understood exactly what she'd been trying to tell me.
"I'm glad I'm happier now, too, Nessie," I whispered to her, and she wrapped her arms around my neck to hug me tightly. Embry caught my eye from across the room and grinned as if to remind me that he'd told me she wasn't so bad not so very long ago. Childishly, I stuck my tongue out at him.
Alice's spiky black hair caught my eye, and suddenly I found myself contemplating the images Nessie had just been showing me. Sure, I'd come a long way in the looks department in the last two months or so, but I'd never gotten the chance to go get that decent haircut I'd promised myself. And next weekend, I was going to have to deal with holding the shreds of my heart together while I pretended to smile and be normal around Sam and Emily at the bonfire. Maybe it would help me get through it if I knew I was looking my best....
Without giving myself a chance to think about it logically or dwell on the sheer idiocity of what I was about to do, I gently set Nessie on her feet and slid unobtrusively across the room towards the deranged pixie. She turned towards me with a confused but friendly face as I reached her side.
"Hey, Alice. So... I was wondering...if, maybe, your haircut offer still stands?" I forced out awkwardly. She blinked at me, her mouth slightly open, and I hastily tried to backtrack gracefully. "But, you know, it's okay if it doesn't, I can always get it cut somewhere next week..."
"Are you serious? You'll let me do a make over on you?" she squealed suddenly, cutting me off. I raised my hands in alarm.
"Just a haircut. A haircut, not a make over!"
"Yeah, sure. That's what I meant. But you're serious?" she demanded again. I licked my lips nervously at the frighteningly excited gleam in her eyes.
"Uh, I guess so. But just a haircut. That's it!"
The words were barely out of my mouth before her icy, stone-like grip clamped down on my wrist and she was hauling up the stairs like a limp rag doll. I flashed a frightened, helpless look over at Embry, but Emmett already had him ensnared in his new video game. I doubt he even noticed me being abducted by the diminutive vamp.
Before I could catch my breath, dig my heels in, or fight back, Alice had pulled us into a large bathroom and shut the door with a decisive snap. I found myself firmly planted into a plush salon chair. surrounded by mirrors, lights, and more equipment than most ritzy spas would have.
"Now, then. Where to start?" Alice mused to herself, tapping her upper lip with one perfectly manicured nail. Her eyes had a terrifyingly determined glint in them as she looked me over from the tips of my short hair to the bottoms of my old sneakers. I broke out in a cold, nervous sweat.
Dear god, what had I just gotten myself into?