Bella POV
I sat on the hospital bed, my throbbing hand cradled in my lap. Leah sat in a chair close to my bed looking up hopefully every time a nurse walked past. We had been here for a few hours now and we were just waiting for them to review the x-rays. I sighed lightly and closed my eyes, leaning back against the pillows on the bed. I can't get rid of this guilty feeling that's been eating at me the last couple of hours. It gets even worse when I look over at Leah. She looks back at me with those beautiful brown eyes, full of concern. I can't shake what Jake had said when Leah came back to the garage.
"She's still in love with me!" He had snarled at Leah.
Remembering all of it made my heart sink. I don't deserve either of them because Jake was right. Deep down I always knew that I loved him but I kept lying to myself. Leah placed her hand lightly on my thigh and gently stroked it, comfortingly. I had to fight back tears that wanted to come to my eyes. The last couple hours have been hell, fighting myself. I have to choose one and stop loving the other, to be fair to my imprint and my…my what? I know I want to spend my life with Leah. I want to settle down with her, get married, have kids, and grow old together. But Jake...my love for him feels the same and completely different at the same time. I want him in my life through everything. I want him to live close, be my best man, and be the cool uncle to spoil my kids. Or was it more than that? This is torture I don't know what to do and I don't want to hurt anyone anymore.
"Bella…" Leah whispered, close to my ear. She kissed my cheek delicately.
I opened my eyes in response causing a single tear to fall and trail down my face to meet the spot Leah had just kissed.
"What is it?" She asked, cupping my face with her hand and brushing the tear away with her thumb.
"I'm scared to tell you" I could barely say above a hoarse whisper.
"You can tell me anything, I love you." She smiled at me sweetly. But I could see a little mischievous glint in her eyes, a small jab at my blurting I loved her earlier. She reminded me so much of Seth in that moment I couldn't help but smile back weakly.
"What Jake said earlier" I looked down and took in a shaky breath. "He's right" I swallowed hard.
Leah sighed sadly and removed her hand from my cheek to place it back on top of my thigh.
"I know"
My head shot up and I looked at her in surprise.
"The way you two interact-I'm not really sure how to explain how I know." She looked past me for a moment in thought.
"I guess it just doesn't seem too threatening. Like something in me is content as long as you are happy and loved. And if that means you have to love a bit to have that then it's something that's okay." She looked at me again with a small smile.
I couldn't do anything but look at her, tears silently falling down my cheeks. I don't deserve her.
"Please don't cry" she pleaded softly as she wiped the tears from my cheeks.
"It's a different love, I don't know how to explain it. It's something more than what I would feel for a brother or best friend. But it's less than what I feel for you. But somehow I feel attached to him the same way I feel attached to you." I sighed exasperated.
Leah smiled softly at me and leaned in, kissing me delicately like she was afraid kissing would hurt my hand. I smiled against her lips, ecstatic that I had told her and she was still here. I felt like 100 pounds had been lifted from my heart. I leaned up, off the pillows, into her. She wrapped her arm around the small of my back, supporting a lot of my weight. A small whine escaped me as I tried to get closer to Leah and couldn't because her other arm was very carefully protecting my swollen hand. She slowly pulled away from me and kissed my forehead before standing. I looked up at her with a small pout and leaned back into the pillows. I figure she heard someone coming but didn't quite understand why she was standing. Then everything quickly clicked into place.
Carlisle walked up to the end of my bed, holding a folder in his one arm.
"Hello, Leah. It is good to see you whole again."
To my surprise Leah extended her hand and returned the smile. This is the same woman who hated vampires more than anyone. She blamed herself for killing her father when she phased. And that only happened because of the Cullens. But here she was extending her hand to Carlisle, no threat whatsoever.
"It's good to see you again Doctor Cullen. Though I can't say I enjoyed our last visit."
Carlisle chuckled as he shook her hand then turned his smile on me.
"I wish I could say the same for you, Bella." He opened the folder in his arm and pulled some see through black sheets from it.
It took me a second to realize it was my turn to speak. I was still completely lost by Leah's civil behaviour.
"You know me Carlisle, I love visiting you at work." I smiled sheepishly.
Carlisle held up the x-ray image so Leah and I could see it.
"Well lucky for you there are no breaks. I suspect it's just a bad sprain." He replaced the x rays in the folder and placed it with the rest of the information the nurse had taken from me.
"I was told you punched something?" He asked, eyebrow raised, as he began to feel my hand.
"I uhm...I punched Jake." I murmured, looking down and watching Carlisle's hands work. They paused when he heard what I said and he began laughing loudly.
"Bella, I'd suggest you leave that sort of thing to Leah." His laugh fading to a chuckle as he began wrapping my hand.
"I'll be sure to fill that prescription, doc." Leah smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Carlisle turned my hand over and inspected his work on my hand and wrist.
"Good. Now you need to let this heal. No more punching brick walls." He looked back at me and smiled his fatherly smile.
"Thank you" I smiled back sheepishly, feeling stupid.
Leah drove us back to her house. The ride was mostly silent and I couldn't help wonder what she was thinking about. Was she actually okay with what I had told her? Her expression looked calm enough and she wasn't shaking anywhere. So I know she's not mad. But what if I had hurt her? We pulled into the Clearwater's driveway. Seth flung the door open and jogged to the truck, all smiles.
"You're home! Guess what moms making for dinner." He spoke so quickly his words seemed like one large word with no spaces.
Leah laughed and hopped out of my truck. She tried to grab Seth but he moved out of the way in a blur. Leah turned her head and smiled at me before chasing Seth around the side of the house and into the backyard. I followed at what must be a pain stakingly slow human walk. When I entered the backyard instead of seeing the two Clearwater siblings I saw two giant wolves rolling and nipping at each other. I smiled and moved to sit on the back stoop. As I watched the two wrestle and run around my mind wandered back to how to define my feelings towards Jake. Suddenly Seth's large wolf was licking the entire right side of my face, leaving a slobbery trail.
"Ewww!" I shrieked half joking as I wiped the slobber on my sleeve.
Leah's wolf pounced on Seth and flattened him right in front of me. She bit at the scruff of his neck and growled. She looked at me without releasing Seth and I smiled showing her I was playing around too. She released Seth and they continued to prance around.
"I really wish they'd stop phasing in their clothes." Sue sighed as she sat next to me.
I hadn't realized they had until she pointed it out. But now I noticed shreds of cloth littering the backyard.
"You two are cleaning this yard. And if I find a single piece of fabric so help me." She threatened.
Seth's wolf started picking up shreds of clothing, in its muzzle, and throwing it into the air like confetti. Leah's came and sat at the bottom of the stoop and rested her head in my lap. I rest my wrapped hand on top of her head and idly played with her ears with my other hand.
"What happened to your hand Bella?" Sue asked, concerned.
Seth stopped his confetti party and looked over at my hand. Then he trotted over and nuzzled at Leah's head, close to my hand.
"I uh punched Jake in the face" I mumbled, embarrassed.
Seth phrased back and started howling with laughter. I quickly looked away from him because he stood in front of us, naked. I felt Leah turn her head into me slightly and huffed, agitated.
"Oh my God, Bella, that's awesome!" He was crying tears of laughter now.
"Seth!" Sue bellowed, exasperated. "Put some clothes on. And then bring your sister some."
Sue turned to look back at me as Seth ran off, still laughing.
"What, may I ask, caused such a rash incident?"
"He erm, he kissed me when Leah went to the store" I squirmed, hating that this whole situation wasn't behind me yet.
"I see" Sue's eyes got dark and I saw the resemblance to her daughter. "He knows this violates pack rules on imprints. I'm sure Sam will speak with him. If not I'll have to speak with Billy."
"It's a bit of a difficult situation…" I trailed off, feeling my cheeks burn.
"I see" Sue's wise eyes met mine and she smiled before standing up.
Did she know something weird about imprinting that Leah didn't? Before I could look into it more Seth came outside and unceremoniously dropped something bright pink beside Leah and I. Before I could ask what it was he had disappeared back into the house, cackling. I heard Leah growl and felt the vibration against my leg. She stood and huffed at the pink garment. I picked it up as I stood, curious. I was holding a pink frilly dress in front of me but it looked way too small to fit Leah now.
"I can grab something for you if you want" i said as I loosely folded the dress back up.
Leah shook her head and then pointed her snout up at a window I recognized to be the bathroom. When I looked back at her I now just noticed the mud and grass coating her fur.
"Ahh. I'll be inside then" I nodded once.
Leah smiled a wolfy grin at me and I went inside. I went and joined Seth in the living room. When I sat down on the couch I heard the water in the shower start. I was curious and started evaluating Seth. He was wearing nothing but a pair of cargo shorts. His chest had dry mud all over it and there was grass and mud in his hair. He grinned and raised an eyebrow at me.
"What's up?"
"Where does all the fur go? You're covered in mud but it would have been your fur that was muddy…" I looked him over again, deeply confused.
"I dunno" he shrugged "I don't really think about it much. But hey! You punched Jake in the face" he threw a few punches in the air in front of him. "Badass Bella" He spoke in a movie trailer type of voice over voice "puncher of werewolves, destroyer of worlds" he grinned at me again and I couldn't help but laugh with him.
When Leah was finished showering we had breakfast for dinner which had Seth super excited. He enthusiastically explained how their father used to make breakfast for dinner when Sue went to her friend's one Saturday a month. He continued to explain that him and Leah each had special sous-chef roles. Seth was in charge of making scrambled eggs and Leah the pancakes.
Once dinner was done Leah invited me to her room and I caught Sue giving her a motherly look. Leah sighed in response and took my hand leading me to her room. She closed the door almost all the way, leaving it open an inch. I looked at her confused as I sat in her office chair.
"Can't have my girlfriend in my room with my door closed" she grumbled and then muttered something about getting her own house. I nodded my understanding and she walked over to me. In one swift movement she had me in her arms, my feet completely off the ground, and pushed the office chair away with her foot. I smiled down at her and wrapped my arms and legs around her.
"So, do you want to watch a movie or something?" She asked, leaning her face closer to mine.
"Sure" I smiled. I could feel my heart rate speed up just imagining what she could mean by "something".
She quickly deposited me onto her bed, kissed me, and then jumped back. Before I could protest she was moving around her room, retrieving a laptop. She then placed the laptop on a stack of books that was on top of an old looking blanket box at the end of her bed. Then she was sitting cross legged on the end of her bed, opening Netflix on the laptop.
"What do you want to watch?" She asked looking back at me over her shoulder.
I couldn't think of anything so I crawled to the end of the bed and sat beside her. I guess she wasn't happy with that because she pulled me into her lap and placed my hands on the laptop. I giggled at her and leaned back into her chest, she wrapped her arms around my stomach and buried her face in my hair. I started scrolling through the movie options trying to pick something but was having more and more trouble. Leah began kissing my neck and behind my ear. My heart fluttered and sent a jolt between my legs. I distractedly looked through the movies some more, trying to concentrate on the task at hand. Then Leah began nibbling on my ear lobe, I could feel my underwear starting to moisten and clicked a movie at random before turning around to face her. Leah scooted us back on the bed and laid back so I was now straddling her, she looked down at the crotch of my pants then looked up at me and smirked. I looked down, momentarily mortified that my arousal was soaking into my pants. Once I confirmed that my pants looked normal I looked back at her and was met with lustful eyes. I laid down on top of her and pressed my body against hers, kissing her hard. Her hands quickly found my butt and squeezed causing a growl to escape me. She quickly stopped our making out and tilted her head, listening. I made an apologetic face at her and she smiled seductively back. This time she sat up slightly and pressed her lips to mine. I slid my hand under her shirt and felt her incredibly toned stomach, running my hand over it many times. I could feel a slight smile on her lips as I tugged at her shirt, trying to get it off with one hand. I bit her bottom lip lightly to tell her I meant business and I felt her hips jolt slightly. Then her shirt was suddenly off and her hands were back on me, holding my hips and trailing under my shirt slightly. She was moving her hands over my body agonizingly slow and I began to tug at my own shirt. Having little success while trying to kiss Leah I pulled back and violently pulled my shirt up. In my haste I got myself half out of my shirt but stuck somehow. Leah chuckled lightly and helped me out the rest of the way. Once I was out of my shirt I had a chance to admire Leah in the dim light, laying back on her bed again. She lay there in her sports bra and shorts smiling up at me. I scooted down a bit and unbuttoned her shorts with one hand. She raised an eyebrow at me, impressed, but helped me remove her shorts fully. I took Leah in again, running my hand along her. Before I had a chance to fully appreciate her she had flipped us so I was under her and she was straddling me. Her hungry eyes took me in, pausing a long time on my bra clad chest. Then she leaned down and began kissing along my neck, I groaned softly and she quickly stopped, sitting back up. She looked at me with a "careful" kind of look as she listened again. When she was satisfied that no one was coming she went back to my neck but before she started kissing it she put her hand over my mouth. She resumed kissing my neck and I held back my moans with a little difficulty. She trailed her kisses down my collar bone but was kissing closer and closer to the hem of my bra. I moaned into her hand softly and was sure no one would be able to hear it. She went back to kissing up my neck and her other hand came up to caress my chest. My hips thrust into hers, involuntarily, and she let out the softest moan right in my ear. I frantically began trying to undo my pants and she helped me out of them in one swift pull. I squirmed and indicated that I wanted to move again and Leah rolled us so I was straddling her again. She rested both hands on my hips and kissed me hard. I couldn't take it anymore I just wanted her to fuck me already. I began grinding my hips against hers, trying to stifle my moans.
"We can't do this here" Leah whispered, sadly.
I ignored her and began pulling my underwear down. She held my hand still and shifted me so I was laying next to her in bed.
"Don't get me wrong, I really want to. But we can't, not here."
I sighed and nodded, disappointment probably written all over my face. Leah's face almost reflected how I felt so I cuddled up against her side and turned my attention to the movie I had started. Leah wrapped her arms around me, tight, and looked at the laptop too. She began tracing shapes on my naked back and I could feel myself starting to drift off.