"Leah, I'm off to work!" I groaned loudly as my mother's yelling dragged me out of the best dream I've ever had. I rolled over and looked at the clock before dragging myself out of bed. How much of what had happened yesterday was a dream? Maybe all of it. My dreams were pretty vivid last night, after all.

I made my way down to the kitchen where I found a note my mother had left for me. I picked it up, yawning as I tried to focus on it. "Go talk to Charlie. He has lunch at the diner every day at 12:15. It will be public, so he won't be able to freak out too much. And call me to let me know how it goes. Love you! – Mom" Fuck. Of course it wasn't a dream. I looked up at the clock and frowned. 9 a.m. How was I supposed to waste 3 hours?

Once I had showered, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the living room, showered again and gotten dressed, it was finally a decent enough time to head off to Forks. I started up my dad's old green Ford truck and felt my stomach drop as I pulled out of the driveway.

For the entire 20 minute drive, I tried to talk myself out of turning around. You're not a coward, Leah. It's now or never, Leah. Maybe he'll even be okay with it, Leah. I snorted out loud at that last thought and added "in your dreams, Leah," as I pulled into the parking lot.

The cruiser wasn't there yet, so I climbed out of the truck and headed inside, earning some curious glances from what I'm guessing were the regulars. I didn't know where Charlie usually sat, so I took a seat at a table in the corner. The Diner was small enough that I knew he wouldn't miss me wherever I sat, but I wanted some privacy for the conversation I was planning to have. And I knew Charlie was polite enough to not leave me eating alone at a table, even if he really didn't want to join me. Huh, well, I guess that was something else I could add to the things I knew about my imprint. Sadly, it wasn't a long list.

Right on time, 12:15 on the dot, Charlie Swan walked in through the front door of the diner. My jaw dropped slightly at the sight of him in full uniform. I'd never really been one for cops, but damn, he made it look sexy as hell. He spotted me and smiled before my mind could fully explore just what I wanted to do with his handcuffs and I quickly put on a nonchalant front as he approached the table.

"Oh. Hey, Charlie. I didn't expect to see you here," I lied. "Yeah, I come here every day. You, uh, mind if I join you?" he asked, a curious look on his face. Unfortunately for me, as a cop, Charlie's got an amazing bull shit meter. I was sure he knew I wasn't here on accident, which only caused me to blush as I shook my head and motioned for him to sit. "It's actually a good thing you're here," I kept adding to the lie, not able to give it up, even if he didn't buy it. "I need to talk to you about something. Oh, and I brought this for you," I said as I handed over the shirt he had given me yesterday. I prayed he wouldn't notice the corner and he didn't disappoint as he kept his eyes on me, putting the shirt on the chair next to him without a glance. "Thanks. What did you need to talk to me about, Lee?" I tried not to focus on how cute he looked when his eyebrows knitted together and began to try and explain myself.

"Well, um, you know about Jake and Nessie, right? I mean, the, uh, relationship they share, right?" I looked up to see a dark look take over his face. Crap. I should have known not to bring that up. Charlie had been less than thrilled when Bella finally explained to him just why Jake was spending so much time around his little granddaughter. Less than thrilled was maybe an understatement. Drew his duty weapon and chased Jake out of the house was more accurate.

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the waitress approaching. "Good afternoon, Chief. What can I get for you both?" She flashed a smile in my direction, waiting for me to answer first. I never would have thought it was possible for a wolf to lose its appetite before now, but mine was gone the second that look crossed Charlie's face. "Um, a cheeseburger, medium, and fries," I responded, ordering the first thing that came to mind. My imprint ordered the same, causing me to smile, which fell right off my face when he looked back at me as the waitress walked away.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but this time it was me who cut him off, keeping my voice low. "I just meant to say that you know about imprinting. So I don't have to explain it to you," I said before swallowing hard and continuing, my voice starting to shake as I got to the point. "I know that you have that whole 'need to know' policy, but I need to tell you something and I really don't want you to freak out on me." Based on the look he was giving me, I could only assume that I looked like a nervous mess. Damn it, I knew I should have waited to do this. At least until after we ate so that I could make a quick exit if I needed to. "I imprinted, Charlie." He gave me a worried look, obviously making the connection a lot quicker than my mom had. He took a deep sigh and I wondered what was going through his mind when he finally asked "On?"

This had gone a whole lot quicker than I had thought. I was expecting to drag things out a little and kind of ease him into the idea. I felt my eyes prickle with the beginnings of tears as I whispered out "you," keeping my eyes down so that I wouldn't see the shock and disgust that I was convinced was on his face. Charlie blew out a loud breath and I heard his chair creak as he leaned back in it. "I'm so sorry, Charlie," I quickly added. "I never meant for this to happen. It's involuntary. I don't… I… God, I can't do this. I'm so sorry." And with that, I got up from the table and hurried out of the restaurant as quickly as possible at a human speed. What was I thinking even trying to tell him? I was an idiot. A complete idiot.

I walked right passed my dad's truck, knowing I was too worked up to drive, and headed for the edge of town where I could disappear into the forest and never come back.