Leah sat for a second eyeing the statuesque young blonde who was asking permission to join her. She didn't know Rosalie Cullen although their paths had crossed in a town as small as this. She couldn't recall a single exchange with her, only brief glances across a usually packed house party back when she had Sam at her side. The gorgeous blonde stood out in a room full of Forks teenagers as, Leah imagined, had she and Sam.

The one thing she did know was not twenty minutes ago her hand was wrapped around Rosalie's younger brothers balls as she brought him to his knees. Had someone had Seth in that same position Leah would not ask for entry to their car. The window would be smashed in with the broken glass as her weapon of choice. Leah sized up the slender blonde noting that although they were of similar build she was sure she could still take her. Sighing, she nodded for the girl to join her as she prepared herself mentally for the impending fight. Rose closed the door behind her as they sat in silence for a second.

"You look like shit Leah."

Her tone of voice caught Leah off guard. It wasn't bitter or angry, if anything it was almost sympathetic. She let her speak, still unsure of her motives.

"Edward called. Through the swearing and yelling I got the gist of what happened. I told him I'd come and pick him up, and then I saw you sitting in here on your own. Leah, I know we don't know really know each other and, trust me, I have no idea why I felt the need to do this, but I had to talk to you before you did anything stupid."

"You should be talking to your fuckwit brother. He probably needs some medical attention after sticking himself in that manky bitches claptrap."

Rosalie's eyes grew wide as she nodded to show she agreed. The two girls seemed to be on the same page.

"You don't need to tell me. I'm only picking him up so I can take him home and hose him down myself."

"I thought you and Swan were friends?" Leah asked, still cautious. She had seen the two girls out a few times, often with a small pixie-like girl at their side.

"We were. That's why I'm here. I can guess what happened when you walked in on them. I've been there. For as long as you know someone, for as long as you can be their friend, sometimes you just don't see the ugly side of them until they want you too..."

She was playing with her perfectly manicured fingernails as her voice trailed off. Her head tilted downwards as she tried to hide her eyes behind the long golden locks that fell across her face. Whatever she was thinking had been too much to verbalize and she was now lost in thought. For the first time Leah noticed the girl she thought Rose was, the one she had taken at face value during those fleeting glances, was not the person who sat next to her now. Her face was marked with pain, as if it had never known a real smile. The brief flashes of her eyes revealed a deeply scarring sorrow that Leah knew was all too familiar. Her wounds were no longer fresh but instead had aged rather than healed. She wore them now like a faded tattoo, a mistake that make-up was unable to hide. This was Leah before Embry, before Jake, post-Sam and post-Harry's death.

She surrendered her guard, letting go of the mistrust, of the suspicion. She had found someone else aside from Jake who shared that same jaded outlook. Allowing her the time she needed they sat in silence once again for a few more moments. Leah was a little startled when Rose's eyes flashed wider as if she was struggling against her own painful memories, like a swimmer pulling themselves out of a heavy current. Her eyes glistened and she flicked her hair from side to side to disguise the fact she was furiously blinking back her tears. Confident in her facade of strength, she looked back at Leah, clearing her throat to ask a question.

"Do you know Emmett McCartry?"

"Tall, well built guy I'd often see you with...the one that Sam played football with, right?"

"Right. Well, I don't want this to sound cheesy, trust me I'm not that kinda of girl, but Emmett was my first love. Okay- that sounds so lame. I know how young we are but really Leah, I know he was."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, trust me, I know."

Rose seemed aware that she didn't need to justify herself to Leah but she still attempted a small smile and nod in gratitude.

"I don't want to go into details but I can tell you this isn't the first time Bella has been caught doing something or someone, she shouldn't. All I can tell you is that you can't take anything she says lightly. If she threatens you, you better believe she'll follow through on it. She's sick in the head Leah, she'll do whatever it takes to teach you a lesson."

"I don't care. She is the one who is in the wrong. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet but Jake is going to find out about his 'perfect' girlfriend. She doesn't scare me."

Rose shifted her position to face Leah as she raised her voice to get her message across.

"I'm not kidding Leah. Emmett? We're not together anymore. In fact he can't even bring himself to look at me. I didn't reveal her secret to anyone. She told me this was a warning. If I even thought about telling anyone else I'd lose it all. I don't know how to tell you how serious I am. Just trust me on this."

"What the hell are you talking about? How could you let her put you in that situation? What happened, I need to know Rosalie."

Just then a loud horn began to beep repeatedly across the street. Both girls looked over to see a half dressed Edward Cullen holding down the horn while he yelled for his sister to get out of the car with the "psychotic bitch". A few residents were peeking out from behind their curtains at the scene the boy was creating.

"I better go sort him out. Give me your phone." Without thinking Leah placed it trustingly in the blonde's hand. She pressed a few numbers franticly and then her own phone rang for a half second.

"That's my number, and now I have yours. If you need to talk at anytime give me a call."

Edward started yelling again as one of the older locals stood and watched while talking into their cordless phone.

"Oh god, I've got to go shut him up before he gets arrested again. Remember, call me. I'll be waiting."

Rose leapt out of the car and stormed towards her younger brother. His erratic behaviour seemed to reduce with every step Rose took toward him. Smacking him across the head he winced as she commanded him to get in the passenger side. He obeyed, shrinking into himself as if he wasn't a good foot taller than his sister. Leah didn't have time to enjoy watching Edward get served. She had to get to get back to the station before a squad car was sent over to check out the disturbance. In a town this size that would make the front page news.

Leah burst through the front door of the station heading straight for dispatch. After informing them that the situation was under control she went to grab her coat from the back of her chair. She accidentally burst into Charlie's office, startling him as he jumped slightly.

"Look, I'm really not feeling great. I need to go home. I, ah, I don't know when I'll be back in. It's not a cold or anything- I just need a bit of time too..." He cut her off.

"Finally. If you didn't come to me by tomorrow I was going to force you to go on leave. You need a break kid, I get that. Take all the time you need. Your co-workers have forgotten what work is since you do it all yourself. I'll just spread it out between them; give them a bit of a reality check."

Leah smiled gratefully at Charlie and he returned it. He had probably prepared for more resistance from her.

"Thanks Chief."

She turned to walk away before he called out to her.

"You don't happen to know anything about a Mr Edward Cullen causing a disturbance a block away from my place do you?"

Leah's mouth went dry.

"No, of course not." She replied, a little panic lacing her tone. Charlie looked slightly confused and then gave her a reassuring smile.

"Oh, I was just going to say that if you did know why he was screaming about being in pain while half naked, out on the street, in this weather...well, if you did know who got him so worked up, you could pass on a little pat on the back from me."

Leah let out a nervous sigh of relief as she smiled back at him. He nodded at her and cleared his voice before changing back to his usual serious face.

"Alright, now I don't want to see you in here for the rest of the week, alright? Off you go."

She shared one last appreciative glance before heading towards her car. It was too hard being there with him, seeing Bella in his eyes. The bitch had no idea how lucky she was to have Charlie for a father.

The short drive home was filled with such thoughts. The midday romp was on high rotation, amongst the unlikely alliance formed with someone who had been a stranger only an hour ago. She needed to speak to Rosalie, to find out what exactly happened for her to lose Emmett. They were as good as married from the brief interactions she'd seen with them, it was impossible to think Bella Swan had ruined all of that.

Leah's stomach dropped as she pulled up outside the Clearwater residence. Jake would be here in a few hours and she wasn't sure how she would react. Seth would possibly be home, being on Summer holidays and only working a few days out of the week. Embry also had reasonably flexible hours. If just one of them were inside she could slip in, convince them of a headache, and sleep through to the evening, avoiding Jake entirely.

She opened the door, ready to leave the guys a note as back up if she needed to. Instead, she found three boys standing in the kitchen, surrounded by mess and looking much like a deer caught in headlights. After a moment of silence they all leapt forward, attempting to hide the food that covered the counter top.

"DON'T LOOK!" Seth shouted.

Leah turned around putting her hand over her eyes as she opened her fingers slightly giving her a thin gap in which to see the boys moving frantically to cover whatever they were doing.

"What are you guys up to?"

"What are you doing home so early!" Embry's voice, now close by, asked. She felt his arm around her shoulders as he guided her towards their room. Closing the door behind them she sat down on the bed with her eyes closed tightly together.

"Aww baby, you can open your eyes you know. We were planning on surprising you with dinner."

For just a second Leah forgot about Jake, she forgot about Bella Swan, she forgot about the whole day so far. All she saw was her loving, caring boyfriend who, along with her best friend and brother, had planned a surprise dinner for her. She grabbed at Embry's shirt and pulled his lips onto hers. Her hand moved around the back of his neck as she brought him closer and he struggled to keep his footing, falling forward into her as she let herself fall backwards onto the bed below her. His hand moved up her hip and along her waist before wrapping around her back and pulling her upright once again. He pried himself away with his eyes still closed as he bit on his now red bottom lip.

"…I, ah...I-cooking to do. You, stay here."

Leah smiled at the awestruck boy. She was surprised he found the strength to walk away from her after a kiss like that. He got to the door and turned around to her as his face grew concerned.

"Why are you home early Lee? Are you okay?"

The fleeting moment of happiness disappeared as the weight of her burden returned heavier than before. She realised her head really had started to throb but she had been too preoccupied to notice. The colour quickly drained from her skin bringing with it a light nausea.

"It's just a headache, nothing to worry about. I'm just going to sleep it off."

Embry walked back towards her as he ran a hand through her hair.

"You know I'm here if you need me. You don't always have to run to Jake when something is wrong."

The nausea increased as an overwhelming wave of guilt spread through her. As much as she thought Embry was clueless to her feelings for Jake, occasionally he would make a comment like this that would break her heart. Even worse, he casually strolled out of the room with a comforting smile in place as if his sentence was empty, meaningless. Her left it completely to her to take what she wanted from it and, like always, she chose to hope that it was nothing more than a boyfriend's concern.

The blanket below her suddenly became more inviting as she contemplated crawling under it and never getting up. As she pulled the heavy duck down quilt over her head she smothered herself in the comforting warmth. The darkness helped block out the rest of the world and she was free to give in to her exhaustion. The muffled sound of laughter in the kitchen was like a lullaby and she began to drift to sleep. She doubted she could sleep through the night so when she woke she would have to face the inevitable. She would need to speak to Jacob and she was pretty sure she knew what she had to say.