So, many of you know that I write out of order…it's a horrible curse I swear. But the following chapter is actually the second chapter I wrote in this story (following chapter one) and I was just so enthralled with the idea of this story and these characters that I had to go back and fill in the blanks. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review. :)
I wake in a start from the loudness coming from outside. It's always loud in Marietta Mobile Home Courts but this is different. It's right outside our trailer. I groan in frustration as I hear the trailer door open then the click clack of my mom's heels against the linoleum floors. I wonder if she's alone for the briefest of moments but then I hear a crash as our one lamp falls and shatters to the ground.
"Trevor!" I hear my mom hiss and then she breaks into giggles, as if it's so funny that her boyfriend has broken one of our only personal belongings. Then there are more steps coming into the trailer — these ones boots — loud and heavy against the ground.
"Do you have beer or no because the Packie is already closed." A voice grumbles, before opening and closing the fridge. I knew there had been a twelve pack in there yesterday and the man with the grumbling voice must have found what he was looking for because I hear a can being cracked open, more thuds of his boots, and then the door slams behind him as he exits the trailer. I hear the click clack again and then another slam of the door. Okay, so they've left. Thank—
Music starts playing outside and I groan again. I hear another voice, this one a woman's, laughing. I have a math test first period tomorrow. I pull my phone out from inside my pillow case and check the time. 1:15 am. Damn. I tuck the phone carefully back into the case again before getting up and shoving my feet in my sneakers. I knew there was no way I was going to risk my mom finding out I had a — only slightly used — iPhone that she'd be able to pawn for beer money. I stomp out of my room and down the narrow hallway, stepping on glass from the lamp, making crunching noises with my sneakers.
One thing at a time. I tell myself and ignore the lamp, instead opening the door and heading out front. My mother is sitting perched on Trevor's lap, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Trevor's hand is dangerously low on her waist and while she seems to be trying to get his attention and entertain him, he is having a conversation with a man I don't recognize. I notice the man is wearing big combat boots. Oh, so this is who was stomping through my trailer. There are a couple of other people lingering around. Two women are passing a bottle of whiskey back and forth and dancing to the music. A third man is staring hungrily at both of them, drinking his own bottle of whiskey. Boots notices me first and I hold back a shudder as he eyes me up and down. His attention draws Trevor's and my mom's.
"Emma!" My mom gleefully proclaims, jumping up and stumbling towards me. She wraps me in her arms and I carefully pull back as I'm worried she will light my hair on fire with her cigarette. "Wanna hang? We still got some beer." She hiccups and continues to grin at me.
"No, I'm good." I bite my tongue, willing myself not to scream and fight with her. Playing along with her delusional life usually bode better for me. She became too defensive when I tried to fight with her. "I actually have a test tomorrow morning, can you guys go somewhere else?"
"All the bars are closed, baby." My mom frowns, glancing worriedly at Trevor and Boots — both of whom are now honed in on our conversation and me. I fidget nervously under their gazes.
"I just can't sleep when you guys are loud like this." I explain, swallowing the angry words that I want to say.
"Right…well…I…" My mom drops her cigarette on the ground, squishing it with the toe of her heels before turning back towards Trevor and Boots. "Trevor, we can go to your place?" I appreciate that she even asked because part of me didn't think she would care enough to even consider moving the party but I know from the look on Trevor's face that they aren't going anywhere. He doesn't even have to say anything in response. My mom turns back to face me, her smile a little less bright than before. "I'm sorry, baby, we'll keep it down okay?"
"Fine, whatever." I mumble, pulling my arm from her grasp and starting to head back towards the trailer.
"Well come on now, you don't have to leave, Sweetheart." A deep voice hums. I jump in surprise, not having realized that Boots has gotten up and inserted himself in the direct path between me and the trailer door. "You can still party with us."
"She's just a kid." Trevor's voice warns but he's still sitting on the chair and preoccupied by my mother who has already taken a seat on his lap again.
"Well she doesn't look like a kid." His voice is teasing but I still don't like it. I side step him and start to walk past. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" He snaps, no longer sounding teasing. He grips hard on my arm and pulls me back towards him.
"Ow!" I yelp, trying to pull away.
"Come on, baby, I'm just trying to have some fun." Boots shakes his head and pulls me even closer.
"Hey!" My mom snaps, seeming to realize that her friend isn't being so friendly.
"Get the fuck off of me!" I yell, shoving him hard in the chest. I know that this man must have drank a lot because one strong hit from me is enough to cause him to drop my arm and stumble back in surprise. I power walk back to the trailer ignoring the stinging in my arm from where he grabbed me.
"You bitch." Boots snarls from behind me and catching me by surprise. I suppose it's my fault. I hadn't even considered that he would follow me back into the trailer. He shoves me the rest of the way through the door and I stumble to the ground. My left palm digging into the shards of lightbulb and lamp on the floor. Out of instinct I crawl forward and pull myself up to my feet, rushing down the short hallway in an attempt to put as much distance between us as possible. I slam the door to my bedroom shut and quickly lock it. I can hear the others from outside yelling — my mom the loudest of them all.
"Fuck, FUCK." I mutter, staring at my hand and the blood. I'm shaking like crazy from the fear and adrenaline and it's only then that I realize I'm crying. I dive onto my bed and grab my pillow, pulling the phone out from where I had safely hidden it. I start to dial Sarah but stop. Because what the hell is she going to do? I hit the next number in my contacts.
"What's wrong?" He answers on the first ring. Because of course he does.
"SETH!" I shriek into the phone, partly because I don't know what to even say and partly because Boots has just started slamming on the door and I know it's not going to hold. Why did I trap myself in here? "Stop, stop." I sob. I realize Seth hasn't actually said anything back to me and I pull the phone back from my ear. It shows the call has been ended. I start to cry even more at that. I don't think Boots is actually going to kill me but I know he's going to hurt me and, I think back to laying in James Stowe's bunk while he had sex with me and I didn't say no, and wonder if this is going to be one of those times. The door snaps open, splintering the wood and the flimsy frame that had provided the tiniest bit of privacy for me in these thin walls. I know there is no way I will ever be able to fix the door now.
"Now you listen here, girl!" Boots growls at me and I scramble as far into the room as I can. My room is really only the size of a twin mattress with about a foot of space on each side. I wedge myself in the far corner between the mattress and the wall.
"Stay away from her!" My mom is also yelling. She's waving the broken lamp and hitting Boots with it. "Johnny, leave her alone!" So Boots had a name. He pauses for a second and even though I'm still shaking and crying, I make myself stop screaming, hoping he will forget I am there. Johnny whips around and slaps my mother across the face, knocking her to the ground. In one fluid motion he has reached across the small space in the bedroom and grabbed me by the hair, dragging me across the bed and pushing me down face first. I start to scream again but it is quickly cut off as he pushes my face into the mattress.
"You think you're gonna talk to me like that." Johnny yells in my ear. His hands are on either side of my arms, squeezing them tight and holding them in place. I try to kick him and manage to get one good kick into his side before he leans on my legs, effectively trapping me in place. "Your momma should have taught you some respect."
Johnny is suddenly completely lifted off of me and I gasp for air, scrambling up and away from him on the bed. Even though I had called him, seeing Seth standing there and holding this man against the splintered door in a chokehold surprises me. The shock of him actually being here and the utter relief I feel at seeing him makes me stop screaming and crying altogether.
"You fucking touch her again, you look at her again, you breathe in her direction again, I will fucking kill you." Seth is roaring in the older man's face. I have never seen Seth mad before or even raise his voice. Johnny looks terrified and seems to be struggling to nod in agreement and breathe at the same time.
"Seth." Another voice warns and I notice Embry leaning casually against the wall right outside my door. He's dressed like Seth in just a pair of basketball shorts. Seth drops Johnny onto the ground and the second his eyes turn to me curled up near the head of my bed, his entire body softens. I feel like he is trying to make himself seem as unthreatening as possible because he drops low near the foot of my bed and holds his hands out in peace. It's unnecessary because I could never be scared of Seth, even if he managed to hold a guy as big as Boots by his neck with one hand. I crawl forward and fall into his arms, letting him wrap me up close to him. His comfort makes me start crying all over again, no longer in fear but just in shock and relief.
"I'm sorry I took so long to get here." He chokes which surprises me. I was pretty sure it couldn't have been more than three minutes since I had called him. And I hadn't even told him where I was.
"My mom?" I murmur into his neck in question, wrapping my legs around his waist when he stands up.
"She's fine." He explains, hugging me even closer. "Quil's trying to convince her to come with us but she won't budge." I wonder how many of them are here seeing my trailer and thinking so much less of me.
"Well that guy is an asshole." Leah says, stalking into the room. She is wearing just a t-shirt dress even though it is freezing outside. "Embry's taking care of him, Jake will be here soon with the car, where's your stuff, kid?" I stare at her in shock until Seth reaches his hand up and runs his fingers over my hair. I know the action is meant to be comforting but I hiss in hurt as I realize my head is throbbing from where Boots — Johnny — had grabbed me by the hair.
"Shit, sorry, sorry." Seth sounds pained. His hand flutters around for a second, trying to decide where to place it that won't hurt me. He settles for my waist and sighs miserably. "You're coming with us, Leah can pack you a bag."
"I keep everything I own in my duffle." I explain and Seth's frown deepens.
"Everything?" Leah asks, leaning around us and grabbing the duffle bag sitting half under the bed. My coat is laying on the ground next to the bed and she picks that up as well. I didn't have very many clothes and almost all of them were folded neatly into the old Nike duffle. It wasn't like I had an armoire to keep my clothes in and having everything within reach had just always seemed easier.
"I need my keychain too." I explain. Leah follows my gaze and grabs the wolf keychain Seth had given me. I had stuck a thumb tack in the wall next to my bed and hung the small charm from there. Seth's expression smoothes out a bit. She takes it from the wall and hands it to me. I clutch it tightly in my right hand to make sure I don't drop it.
"Okay, let's go." She says, slinging the bag over her shoulder and starting to move around us to head back out of the room.
"Sarah's phone, Sarah's phone." I quickly remind Seth between my sniffles. I was not going to lose that tonight.
"On it." Leah says, pivoting and snatching up the phone from where it had fallen on the ground, shoving it in the bag and heading out of the room.
"I'm fine to be here." I say suddenly, though I realize I probably should have spoken up before Leah had grabbed all my belongings. "As long as he's gone, I can stay. Really, I'm fine." Seth is already shaking his head before I am done speaking and carrying me down the hallway.
"No way." He says. "Please don't argue with me." I don't want to argue with Seth especially after he just rescued me from…I don't even know what. I also have never once wanted to be in this trailer so I just lean my head back against his chest and let him carry me out.
"Emma, Emma!" My mom is crying in our tiny entry way/kitchen/living room. "I'm so sorry, he's never done anything like that before, I don't know what happened." I can see her cheek and jaw are still bright red and already look puffy but, other than that, she looks fine which is why I don't have any problem ignoring her and letting Seth carry me all the way out of the trailer, Quil following behind us. Trevor is leaning against the side of the trailer, smoking a cigarette and ignoring us completely.
"Hey, Shorty." Quil greets me, as if this is just a casual day. "You good?" He asks Seth and I glance up at Seth's face warily. He looks more serious than I have ever seen him before and incredibly angry. If he wasn't lightly stroking my side, I would probably think he was mad at me.
"Nope." Seth says simply, not elaborating and I wonder if he actually is mad at me. Leah has completely disappeared but Jake is sitting in the drivers seat of an SUV. Embry is in the passengers seat and, before I can even protest, Seth slides into the backseat, me still straddling his lap. Quil materializes next to us and Jake starts driving.
"Has she been shaking the whole time?" Jacob asks from the front seat and I know he is talking about me since I'm the only 'she' in the car.
"Yup." Seth answers, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. I hadn't even realized I was shaking but now that I'm aware, I try to stop but can't seem to. "I think she's in shock."
"Dr. Cullen said he'll be all set up by the time we get there." Jake explains. "Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Bells have already left." I shoot up from Seth's chest, leaning back so I can look him in the eyes. He seems surprised by my sudden movement and pauses in his rubbing on my arms.
"No hospitals." I choke out suddenly, closing my eyes so I don't have to look at him. "I don't have health insurance." I mumble the second part shamefully. I could never afford a hospital visit and, unless I was dying, I had no plans of ever stepping foot in one.
"We're making a house call." Jake answers before Seth can and I open my eyes, choosing to avoid looking at Seth altogether and simply turning my head to look at Jacob through the rearview mirror. He's watching me cautiously and I realize, like with most things in this group, Jake is in charge. So I decide my pleas to either be brought back to the trailer or potentially allowed to stay on Seth's couch would be best directed to him.
"I'm fine, really." I promise. "I don't want to cause anymore problems. I can go home."
"Emma, your hand has glass in it and has not stopped bleeding, you're shaking like crazy, and your nails have been digging into Seth this entire time like you're scared he's going to disappear." Jake says calmly, turning his attention back to the road. I wonder how he could possibly know about my hand since he hasn't even fully looked at me but once I remove my nails from Seth's biceps and look at it, I realize he is correct. It doesn't really hurt that bad, just stings, but I can tell, even in the dim light of the car, that there is a lot of small pieces of glass from the lamp lodged in it. "We're going to see a friend who owes us and he's going to clean your hand and make sure you're okay. No arguing and no insurance necessary."
I choose to ignore him and look back at Seth instead. I think this is quite possibly the last night I will ever spend with Seth. He probably feels bad right now for everything he saw in that trailer but I know once I am bandaged up, he is going to walk away so quick. I can't blame him either — phone calls from screaming girls in trailer parks at one in the morning is not what he signed up for. Seth wipes at my tears and places a kiss on my forehead, hugging me close.
"Casa de la Cullen." Quil mumbles from besides me and I turn my attention to him. He's staring out the window at the largest house I have ever seen in person. Every single light is on even though it is two in the morning and I wonder if they were awake before Jake called and told them we were coming or if they've turned every light on in the house just for me. Jake puts the car in park and all four guys are out of the vehicle very quick. I have to grip Seth with my good hand to keep from tipping — not an easy thing to do when I'm trying to also hold my wolf keychain. The front door opens before we even reach the steps, revealing a man and woman.
"I'm going to go." The woman says. "But I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am that this happened and to please let us know if you need anything, ever." The woman is speaking to Jacob but she turns her eyes to Seth at the end.
"Thank you, Esme." Seth says. The woman gives me a quick glance and heads past us out of the house and we all go inside. First Jacob, then Quil, then Seth holding me, and finally Embry. It's not that I have a problem with Quil or Embry but I do wish that it was Collin and Brady that Jacob had brought with him. I hadn't spent any significant time with Quil and Embry but Collin and Brady had quickly become two of the most important people in my life. I feel guilty for thinking that when they've all been so nice to me and literally came to my rescue tonight. But it doesn't change the fact that I wish Collin and Brady were with me right now too, especially in this stranger's mansion.
"I have everything set up in the kitchen." The man says. I feel a little sick. My entire trailer could fit in their foyer.
The doctor has set up in the kitchen with medical supplies on the sprawling island counter top. Seth takes a seat on one of the barstools at the end of the counter. He shifts me carefully so I am sitting facing the counter as well with my back pressed against his chest. I want to protest that I can sit by myself but I wonder if I really can and decide I should just enjoy any time I get with Seth. One of the most beautiful women I have ever seen is leaning against the stove, watching us. Another man, different from the doctor, with bronze hair is sitting in his own chair diagonal from Seth and I.
"Hey, Edward." Seth sighs. He's staring at me again, frowning, and I have to look away to avoid crying. He just looks so…upset with me and it's just making this entire night feel worse. I turn my attention back to the man who had greeted us at the front door.
"Hello, Emma." The man says. "I am Dr. Cullen, would you mind if I looked at your hand?" I know he is directing the question at me but once he has finished asking, he looks directly at Jacob. Jake nods his head and when I hold out my hand, he takes it gently in his own.
"I'm going to have to disinfect it and then clean it, removing all the shards of lightbulb." He explains. Again, I know he is talking to me, but he is still looking at Jacob. "It's going to hurt but if we don't remove the glass it's going to hurt more in the long run and will probably cause an infection."
"That's fine." I say, drawing his attention back to me. "Thank you."
The doctor gets to work on my hand. It doesn't hurt that bad, mostly just the liquid he uses to disinfect stings. I do my best to control my reactions because I notice that, after the first few times of me flinching, it's best for me not to. They all tense when I flinch, even Edward and the blonde woman, so I bite my lip and will myself to stay as still as possible. I wonder how the doctor can even see the glass. He is perfectly steady but has no ring light or magnifying glass.
"Careful!" Jacob snaps when I can't stop my cringe as Dr. Cullen removes a particularly large piece of glass from my hand.
"Jake." Both Seth and I say at the same time — me in surprise that he would yell at the doctor like that and Seth in a warning tone.
"He's helping." Seth says to Jake.
"If she wasn't Seth's, we probably wouldn't help her." The pretty blonde says, crossing her arms and looking pointedly at Jake. Jake growls slightly and she surprises me by growling right back. I wouldn't think that someone as pretty as this girl could make that snarling noise but I shrink closer to Seth at the sound of it.
"Of course we would help." The doctor says, holding up his hand which cuts off the growling from both parties. "We are happy to assist as a show of good faith on our part." I don't know what that means but I can tell Jacob is pleased because, while he still doesn't take his eyes off of the doctor, he has relaxed slightly. Embry has his eyes locked on Edward and Quil has his eyes locked on the blonde. "Perhaps you should go to your room, Rose?"
"I find that being outnumbered is a foolish thing." The blonde — Rose — says.
"You're already outnumbered." Jacob points out, "Four to three." Edward and Rose both roll their eyes in tandem.
"I am confident that Seth will not attack us." Edward says.
"And I am confident that he will protect his mate, giving me enough time to dispose of—"
"Rosalie." Dr. Cullen says, sharper this time. She lets out an annoyed huff and stomps out of the room. I don't really know what any of their conversation is about but I know I am stressing everyone out and I just feel so, damn guilty. I don't regret calling Seth but I regret causing problems for everyone. God, why do I always cause problems? I start crying softly again at that point and Embry growls at the doctor as if he is the reason for my tears. Dr. Cullen pauses immediately, staring at Jacob, waiting for permission to continue.
"What's wrong, is it your hand?" Seth asks franticly, moving his eyes between my face, my hand, and the doctor. I shake my head no.
"She's ashamed." A voice says and I realize it's Edward. "She thinks you aren't going to like her anymore now that you know where she lives." I wonder what expression must be on my face for this stranger to be able to read exactly what I'm thinking.
"What?" Seth makes a pained noise and wraps his arms around my waist even tighter.
"She also thinks you're mad at her."
"What!" He repeats again.
"All you're doing is giving her one word answers and she's never seen you frown before…of course she thinks you're mad at her." Edward explains and I feel myself flush. I don't even know how he knows this but he's correct. I wipe at my tears with my free hand.
"Em, I could never be mad at you." Seth whispers. "I'm mad at myself that I let this happen. This is my fault." I'm surprised at that because how could any of this be Seth's fault?
"What are you talking about?" I ask, "I didn't know him and I didn't think he would attack me but I shouldn't have assumed. It's my fault."
"I'm so sorry this happened." He chokes out and, for the first time that night, I realize just how upset he is but that he's not upset with me — he's just mad at the situation. I used to be mad at my situation too but it had been eighteen years and I didn't have any energy left to allocate being angry about my life. "Thank you for calling me…god, if you hadn't…"
Seth presses his face closer to me and I tilt my head back, allowing him access to my throat, knowing he is seeking comfort. I don't have a lot to offer but I can offer that. I know how much he likes my neck and he is always so content to press his lips or his nose to my pulse point. Jacob looks surprised by the action but Edward lets out a laugh.
"She's a quick learner." Edward says, shooting me a grin. "Are you sure she doesn't know how you guys operate?" Seth pulls back from my neck in surprise, as if he hadn't even realized what I was doing or how he was reacting. He glances at me and then at Jake and then back at me again. I'm finally rewarded with a grin from Seth, though his eyes don't look quite as happy as they usually do.
"Okay, done with your hand." Dr. Cullen says and, when I look back at him, sure enough my left hand is all bandaged up. "I'm going to give you some cleaning supplies and more bandages but I'd like to see you in a week, just to make sure you're healing okay. We can do that here or at the hospital — wherever you would feel more comfortable."
"Sounds good." Jake says with a nod but I can tell even he is less tense than he had been a few minutes ago now that the doctor and the tweezers are away from my hand. "Thanks, Doc."
"Can I also…" Dr. Cullen trails off. "Can I check your arms?"
I had been carefully trying to draw away the attention from myself and, even though my arms were burning and sore, I had ignored the pain and been careful not to react to it. I didn't want to cause anymore stress for anyone. Seth makes a pained noise in the back of his throat but lets me pull away and stand up next to the counter and next to the doctor. I had been wearing just a t-shirt with my sweatpants to bed but the sleeves were long — almost to my elbows. I carefully pull the sleeve of my left arm up to my shoulder.
Quil hisses and I know it doesn't look good. My upper arm has multiple bruises already darkening and in the shape of fingers from where Johnny grabbed me so forcefully. Dr. Cullen lightly touches my arm and examines the bruises. He does the same with my right arm and I don't even bother looking, knowing it must look the same as the left.
"Just some heavy bruising." The Doctor assures me. "You'll be sore and they'll take a few weeks to heal but you're going to be okay." I nod my head gratefully.
"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." I say and he offers me a kind smile. He glances behind me and his smile slowly slips.
"Seth." He sighs, "She's going to be okay." I turn around and am surprised that Seth looks like he's going to cry. His eyes are filled with tears that haven't fallen. I wrap my arms around him in a hug, something much easier to do now that I am standing and he's sitting.
"I'm okay, really." I promise, "Because of you, because of all of you. Thank you." Seth nods his head against my collarbone and, when he finally pulls back, he still looks miserable but not quite as upset as before. The look on his face is almost too much for me to handle, especially since I know that I have caused it. What if something like this happens again? I can't be responsible for causing him anymore pain or making him look like this. It's incredibly selfish of me to drag him down with me. I'm going to have to break up with Seth. I decide.
"Don't do that, Emma." Edward's voice is stern and I jump in surprise, glancing over at him wearily. I know I didn't say my thought out loud and I wonder if he could possibly be talking about something different than from what I am thinking. I'm sure my mom will want to skip town soon anyways and if I just break up with him now then I can save him any future devastation from the destruction I cause. I can—
"Emma." Edward snaps and I flinch again, attempting to duck behind Seth and almost falling. Seth wraps an arm around my waist to catch me and pulls me against his side. While Quil, Embry and Jake all turn their attention to Edward, Seth turns his attention to me with a questioning look on his face. I drop my eyes.
"Hey!" Jacob growls at Edward. "Stay out of her head!"
"Emma," Edward repeats, although much softer, "That is not going to solve anything, that is going to make things even worse."
"What part of stay out of her head don't you understand, Leech?" Jacob snaps.
"I'm trying to help." Edward defends. "You know I can't just not listen to her thoughts." I glance at Seth and he sighs slightly, glancing back and forth between Edward and I. Edward shakes his head back and forth, "Maybe now is not the best time—"
"Edward is a mind reading vampire but he's not going to hurt you." Seth says in one breath. Quil groans and shakes his head and Embry breathes in loudly through his teeth. I'm not one hundred percent sure if he's telling the truth but I glance at Edward's smiling face and figure that a mind reading vampire is probably the best explanation. "Carlisle and Rosalie and the rest of their family are vampires too and we can talk about this whenever you'd like."
"Okay." I respond, nodding my head once, then I turn to look back at Edward. "I won't." I mutter, letting him know I have taken breaking up with Seth off the table. He gives me a soft smile.
"Her mind is actually very peaceful. Sure, she's upset by the events of tonight, but her thoughts are still very kind. Her mind reminds me a lot of Seth's actually." Edward says thoughtfully, leaning on the counter and studying me. "She's not even scared of me, she trusts Seth so implicitly that when he says I won't hurt her, she believes him."
I did trust Seth implicitly and I knew he wouldn't have brought me here if he thought Dr. Cullen or Edward or Rosalie would hurt me. But I have also just watched the way the three pale vampires have treated the four boys and how Dr. Cullen has frozen at any sound of displeasure from Jake. They may be vampires, but these four boys are something. Edward barks out a laugh and I wonder if I should be scared of him.
"You, on the other hand," Edward turns his gaze to Jake looking not as nice, "Are always screaming in your mind and it gives me a headache." Jake's hard face softens into a boyish grin.
"I just want to make sure you're hearing me over Emma and Seth's peaceful minds while I'm thinking about your wife." Jake laughs. Edward narrows his eyes and growls.
"Fascinating." Dr. Cullen murmurs. "You know, Seth, I would love to study the imprint connection more if—"
"And that's our cue to leave." Jake says, "When the vamps want us to be test subjects, that's how I know we've been here for way too long."
"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." I say to the doctor. Even if he really is a vampire, he still pulled glass out of my hand.
"You are most welcome, Emma." He nods at me. "Please, call me Carlisle."
"Thanks, Carlisle." Jacob says, he gives a nod to both Embry and Quil and the two silently disappear out of the kitchen. Seth stands up and I can tell from the angle that he reaches for me that he thinks he is going to carry me out of this house. I side step and Seth sighs but wraps his arms around me in a way that I can still walk on my own. "We'll owe you for this." Jake sounds uneasy about that and I try to shrink into Seth's grasp even more, hoping Jake will forget it's my fault he will owe a vampire a favor. If that's really what Carlisle is.
"You have done much for my coven over the years, Jacob." Carlisle says firmly. "I am happy to do one small thing for you and your pack. Besides, like Rosalie said, she's Seth's."
"Yeah, yeah, Seth's your favorite, we get it." Jake rolls his eyes and turns his gaze to the second vampire. "Tell Bella I said hi, okay?"
"You can always come visit her yourself." Edward says, "I know she would like that very much." Jake hesitates slightly then nods his head.
"Thank you, Carlisle." Seth says.
As soon as we're back in the SUV, I finally relax. Seth has pulled me across his lap in the backseat again which I don't even argue him on. His fingers are tracing designs across my arms and his face is pressed into my hair. In random intervals, his lips press into my forehead.
"Are they really vampires?" I whisper as we cross into La Push.
"Yeah." Seth says, pausing in his tracing for a moment.
"I'm not ready to talk about that yet." I tell him truthfully.
"That's fine." He responds, resuming his tracing.
I'm asleep before we reach Seth's house.