AN: I own nothing! Everything in here belongs to Mrs. Meyer or Ninadoll.
A huge, huge, huge thank you to Ninadoll! She was so patient with me on this chapter and kept encouraging. It took me forever to write and she helped push me through the writer's block. She is an awesome beta, writer, and friend. You rock, Nina! Please check out her stories Rest of Forever, How Wonderful Life Is Now In You're the World, and How the Mighty Fall. You will not be disappointed and will smile, laugh, and cry! She is awesome!
Another huge thank you to my friend, shojioxlow. We need AP's to be the Drink of the Month, ASAP! Thank you for sticking by me!
Thank you to all of the readers and reviews for being so patient! School is out now so hopefully I'll be able to write a little more and get chapters out quicker. Ava and Scar have a lot left to figure out so their story isn't finished yet! Also check out Quil and Claire's story, Love You Madly.
Pictures and such are available on my blog liljenrocksfanfiction(dot)blogspot(dot)com. Thank you guys!
CHAPTER 16: A BIG DAY
SCAR'S POV
I woke up before the alarm. I couldn't help it. Today was a big day and the last thing on my mind was sleep. The sun wasn't even out yet and I was enjoying the warmth of being in bed with Ava, even though I had a billion things I needed to do before our busy day. Her head lay against my bare chest and I ran my fingers through her hair. It felt better than silk and the soft vanilla scent calmed my nerves a little.
It had been a little more than three years since Ava and I had officially debuted as a couple. In that time, we'd really made a life with each other. We lived together, Ava had finished her program and I was nearing graduation, and now it was time to make plans for the future.
"Do we need to get up?" Ava asked. I could hear a bit of dread in her voice but I decided not to say anything.
I wrapped my arms tighter around her. "We have a few minutes," I kissed her hair and thought about how perfect it felt holding her like this.
"I don't want to be late," she said but her fingers tickled across my stomach.
"We won't be," I kissed her hair again, then her forehead. I felt her relax in my arms and before I knew it, she was asleep again and I was left to my thoughts.
This morning/afternoon we were meeting Paul and Rachel for brunch. They were coming without their boys too. That meant business. Paul and I had become pretty close and I trusted him. I also knew that Jake knew that. I had a feeling brunch today would be the day Paul and I talked specifics, something I was a little scared of honestly. I knew I had to go back to La Push. I had a job there, at Shipo. My dad was there and while I was grateful to Nessie and Abby for taking care of him, I knew that he needed me to be there for him. I wasn't sure if Ava would want to go with me and I wasn't sure that I could be so selfish to make her leave her job as a pastry chef in a very chic, five star hotel in downtown Seattle to return to a Podunk town in the middle of Washington. I loved her too much to do that. So we had both been living in denial. I didn't bring it up and neither did she.
The time seemed to go by fast and I woke Ava about an hour later so that we could start getting ready. I knew I was wearing navy slacks and a light blue shirt sans tie. The problem was that after Ava had showered and done her hair and her makeup, she was faced with the challenge that plagued her whenever we went out. What would she wear? She literally tried on four different dresses. She put each on and then came to me in a sort of catwalk fashion show. With each dress I would tell her how beautiful she looked, only to have her shake her head and try on the next dress. The winner of the fashion lottery was a black and white floral print dress that she'd worn for dinner one night with Quil and Claire.
She looked breathtaking. Her hair was up, her make up was perfect, she was perfect. I don't think she realized how perfect she was though because the moment we walked into the restaurant and she caught eye of our dining partners, she stopped.
"Look at Rachel," Ava said as we walked towards the table and I could hear the nervousness in her voice. "She looks so beautiful and she has such a great sense of style. I'm so envious, hell, any woman would be envious. Her dress makes mine look like something from a thrift store. I'll never be able to be that for you."
I stopped her as we got closer. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You're already perfect for me." I could see her smile and that made my insides melt a little.
"Five minutes late? I hope you know when you're working in the engine department you can't be late," Paul said with a serious voice.
"Leave them alone, Winters," Rachel slapped him across the chest playfully. Rachel moved from her chair and met Ava, putting her arm around her in a hug. "Everything okay?" she asked.
"Yes, I just had some problems finding the right dress," Ava answered. I pulled her chair out for her and waited for her to take her seat.
"We were just going to order some mimosas," Rachel said. She motioned for a waiter and then ordered the drinks for us.
"Your dress is beautiful," Ava said as we looked over the menu. I wouldn't deny that Rachel did looked hot. She always did but she wasn't Ava. No one else on Earth was Ava. That's why I knew I'd never imprint. She was made for me and I for her.
"Thank you, Dolce and Gabana," she smiled. "You know, you and I are about the same size. I just did a little Spring cleaning. You should come over and look and see if there's anything that tickles your fancy." I could see Ava's mood ease with that and she smiled.
"Really?" Ava asked.
"Yes, ma'am. I have the perfect blue Calvin Klein dress that would gorgeous on you," she answered. The waiter came with orange juice and began filling our glasses.
Paul leaned over close to Rachel's ear and I hear him whisper, "Just don't give away that leopard print teddy. You know it's my favorite." I had to keep from breaking out into laughter when I noticed that Ava blushed too. Apparently Paul hadn't been as quiet as he thought.
Paul took Rachel's hand kissed it. He had a smile that I knew he only got when he was with Rachel. She smiled back and leaned over to kiss Paul's cheek. It made me a little jealous. They had what every other wolf I looked up to had. They were both successful in their careers, were as in love as they had been when they first fell in love, and they had children that they loved. That's what I wanted for Ava and I. I couldn't wait for the day that we would be husband and wife, with our own little ones. I knew that starting my engineering career at Shipo was the first step in getting there. I grabbed Ava's hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.
"Hey Chef, what is a grill-ade?" Paul asked.
"Um, it's a Creole dish that's like pot roast but it's made out of veal." That was my girl!
"Baby cow?" he asked with a bit of disgust on his face.
She nodded. "Baby cow."
"Well, I may be a jerk sometimes, but even I won't eat baby cow. Next," he said before he flipped the page on the menu. I squeezed her hand again and smiled with a nod. I hoped that she could see how extremely proud I was to be with her, how extremely proud I was of her.
The waiter came back and took our orders. There was no mention of business yet, even as we snacked on our appetizer fruit trays and muffins. Paul talked to Ava about how things were in the hotel restaurant business. It worried me, as I listened. She sounded so happy about her job and I wasn't sure what this meeting was going to do to that. I was a little relieved when Ava changed the subject and asked Rachel about the boys. I also was a little proud. I knew it was a long ways off but I had no doubt that Ava would be a great mother. She loved her nephews so much, as well as the Winters boys. I couldn't wait to share that experience with her too.
"Okay, well now, let's get down to business," Paul rubbed his hands together and then leaned down and then pulled a small stack of papers out just after the waiter had taken the last plate from table. "So, let's take a look at the contracts I've brought. We've already agreed that the best place we see you right now is in the Forks branch. I know you and Jake talked out some of the specifics. You'll be working in the engine design department. The question is, how soon after graduation will you be going back for Forks?"
I could feel Ava shifting next to me. "Um, I haven't thought about that yet," I struggled to get the words out.
Ava's dropped my hand and pushed her chair back. "If you'll excuse me," she got up quickly and when I grabbed for her hand she shook it off. She huffed and trotted off towards the bathroom.
"Shit," I groaned.
"What just happened?" Rachel asked. I didn't say anything but I dropped my head in my hands. Why had I been so stupid?
"Wait, please tell me you guys had discussed this already?" Paul asked.
"No," I sighed.
Both Rachel and Paul sighed too and looked at me. "I'll go talk to her," Rachel pushed her chair back and followed the same path Ava had taken to the bathroom.
"Man, you fucked this up," Paul chuckled. "You're totally in the doghouse." I guess Paul must have seen though that I wasn't laughing or even showing any sign of anything that could be jovial. "What happened, man?"
I knew that even though Paul was crude and loud and goofy around the wolves, he was devoted to his wife and kids. I could trust him with this. Where Seth was like my older brother, Paul was like that cool friend of your older brother that helps you get into trouble. Or in this case listens to you while you spill your guts. I told him everything. I told him about how I was afraid of rejection but also that I was afraid I would take her back to Forks only to have her live her life thinking about what she might have been if she had stayed in Seattle. "Tell me something," Paul said. "What are your plans?"
I didn't even have to think. I knew exactly what I wanted. "Forever," I said. "I want forever with her. I want her to be my wife, to be the mother of my children. I want to her to be there when I take my last breath."
"So what's stopping you from telling her that?" Paul asked. He was right. Why hadn't I made a bigger effort to tell her exactly what I wanted? I think I'd become complacent in our life and hadn't really wanted to think about anything that might jeopardize the relationship we had now. "Let me tell you a secret, women don't like being left in the dark. If you want a life with her, you can't just assume she knows that. And trust me, that girl's got it bad for you. You're probably more in love than any unimprinted couple I've ever seen."
"She has a job here, we have friends here, how can I ask her to give that all up to go back to La Push with me?" I asked and shook my head. "You know what that's like. You got out of there."
"I did but I got out of there to make myself someone that Rachel could be proud of. You are going back for the same exact reason," he took a sip of the coffee that the waiter had placed in front of him. "I'm telling you right now, though, you need to talk to her. It would be a pretty dumbass move for you to just fuck everything up because of what you 'think' might happen."
He had a great point there. It was just easier to run through the worst-case scenarios in my head than to actually talk it out. I guess that's because, in my life, that's how everyone did everything. My mom didn't want to talk stuff out with my Dad, so she just left. My dad didn't want to deal with all the shit that had been handed his way so he drank. There was never any compromise or conversation. Those were foreign to me. Which sucked because I knew that in Ava's family, other than Abby's seven months in Oklahoma, they generally talked things out, even more so now that Seth was in the mix. I would have to listen to Paul and take a page from the O'Brien/Clearwater family handbook, buck up, and tell Ava that I wanted her with me more than anything in the world.
That is if she ever came out of the bathroom.
"Sir," the waiter sat the check next to Paul. I watched him pull his wallet out of his back pocket. He placed a platinum colored credit card down. It was imprinted with his name and Shipo in silver letters underneath it. I wondered if I'd be strong enough to work my way up to corporate credit card material.
"Assuming that you guys get this figured out, when are you going to head back to Forks?"
I thought for a minute. "A week after graduation. That's three weeks from now. Will that be plenty of time for someone to come in and take my place in the showroom?"
He nodded. "We'll worry about that, Scar. You just worry about getting everything situated with Ava and getting back to Forks." Paul flipped through the pages of the contract he had in front of him, then pulled a heavy silver pen from his briefcase. He wrote something on a blank line and then slid them to me with a grin. "I added in your start date, then all that we need is your John Hancock and you'll officially be on your way."
I picked up the pen. I really wanted Ava to be here when I did this. She was my soulmate, my partner, and I needed her here, not just for support but because this was her life too. I clicked the pen and looked at the line where I was supposed to sign.
"Sorry, boys," Rachel's voice brought me out of my daze.
I looked up to see Ava's tearstained face. I knew that wasn't a good sign. Ava didn't cry often and I couldn't stand the pain her whole face showed when she did. It was like a sucker punch to the gut. I stood though as both she and Rachel took their chairs again. I sat as they did but when I reached for Ava's hand, she jerked it away quickly. That was like a second sucker punch to the gut.
I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to get down on my knees and tell her I was sorry, that I needed her to be with me now because this was going to be a huge step in our life together but she wouldn't even look in my direction. I sighed and put the pen to the paper to sign my name. Oscar A. Monroe.
"Alright," Paul took the papers and signed his name on the spot reserved for him. "I'm going to get these papers to legal first thing in the morning and you can start packing." He put his hand out for me to shake and I took it even though I could hear Ava growl next to me.
Rachel wrapped her arm around Ava as we all walked out together. "Remember what we talked about, okay?" Rachel hugged her as we got to the VW.
"I will. Thank you," she answered in a weak voice as she slid in the passenger's seat.
"Good luck," Paul said with a grin as he slapped me on the back gently. "You'll be okay, I know it."
Rachel moved towards me and enveloped me in a hug. "Take care of her, Scar. She's tough but she's fragile too. She needs to know what you want from her."
"I will," I answered. I got in the driver's seat and shut the door. You could practically cut the tension with a knife and I went to grab Ava's hand again but she jerked it away…again. It was silent in the car the whole way home. I knew that Ava was mad, I could practically feel her fuming. Her arms were across her chest. I knew this was bad. We didn't fight a lot but when we did it was for good reason and it was usually pretty heated. I pulled her Volkswagen into our spot and turned the car off.
"Ava, I—" my words were met with the slamming of Ava's car door. Yeah, this wasn't going to be easy.
I got out of the car and followed her to the condo. She reached the gate first and was sure to slam it in my face too, as well as the front door. I was not going to concede defeat though and I just nonchalantly opened the doors without making a scene. I continued following until she got to the bedroom door.
"Stop following me! I don't want to see you right now!" she said without facing me.
"We need to talk, Ava. I'm—"
"Don't you even fucking say you're sorry, Oscar!" I knew I was in trouble when she called me Oscar. She only did that when I had screwed up majorly. "I'm going to take a nice long bath. By myself. When I get out, if, it's a big if, I'm in the mood, I might listen to whatever pathetic excuse you have for shutting me out of your life!"
"It's not like—"
"No! Stop talking," this time she spun on her heels and gave me a glare that I swear could peel paint off a building. "I don't want to hear you right now."
I furrowed my brow and felt a tight frown forming. I felt a little like a child being reprimanded. My heart sunk as I nodded to her. She turned back to the bathroom, putting another barrier between us by shutting the door. I walked up to the wood that separated us and leaned in. "Angel, I know you don't want to hear me, but I won't let you forget that I love you and nothing will ever change that." I thought I heard either a sniffle or a huff from the other side. Knowing my badass Ava, it was probably a huff.
I decided to change clothes while I waited and slid on a pair of jeans and an old AC/DC t-shirt Ava had stolen from Seth. She always said she liked when I wore it because it hugged my muscles and I could only hope that would play to my advantage today when she came out of the bathroom. I plopped myself down on our bed. What if she kicked me out of the bed tonight? Neither one of us ever slept well without the other. Fuck! This was a huge fuck-up on my part!
I leaned my head back against the pillows on the bed and closed my eyes. I don't know how long I laid there but I snapped to attention when I heard the turn of the bathroom door knob. Ava strutted out, wrapped only in a towel. I decided to let her get dressed before I tried to start a conversation with her. She walked to dresser and pulled out clothes to put on but nothing else on her face changed as she dropped the towel and then teased me by very slowly getting dressed.
"I'm sorry I reacted like I did," Ava said suddenly.
"No," I started to think of everything to say to her but she interrupted me again.
"No, I really shouldn't have, it's just…" she walked towards me and sat on the bed next to me. "I have to tell you the reason why I acted like that. Scar, I love you," she swallowed and I started to get a little frightened. "I thought…I thought what we had was forever."
"It is, Ava. Why would you think anything different?" I asked. I had to resist the urge to pull her into my arms that second because I didn't want to keep her from talking to me.
"You've made all these plans without me," she said softly. "I just thought…It sounds stupid."
I shook my head and this time, I didn't resist. I put my arms around her and pulled her into my lap. "No, tell me what you're thinking."
Ava laid her head on my chest and took a deep breath. "I thought that we'd get married someday, have little baby wolves. I want that with you, Scar. I see that with you."
I rubbed my hand down her arms and felt her frustration lessen. "You don't think that's what I want?"
"You never asked. You never even said a word about going back home," she was getting angry again and I had to keep my own emotions in check to keep from snapping back. How could she not know that she was the center of my existence?
"I was afraid, Ava. You are everything to me. Do you know what it would have done to me if you decided that your job, your life here in Seattle was more important than me?" I said, as calmly as possible.
Ava shook her head. "You should've known that you're everything to me. My place is with you. Wherever you go, I go. We're a package deal, Scar."
"But what about everything here?"
"What about it? If we're going to build our life together, I want to do it with the people we love. I can get a job somewhere in Forks and if push comes to shove, I'll work with Aunt Tess," Ava said. "I'm with you for as long as you'll have me."
"Then we're going to be together for a long time," I said. Which was true.
"Or until you im—" I put my finger over her lips to silence her. I didn't want to hear that word. There was no imprint for me. Only Ava.
I held Ava in my arms and could almost feel the tension in the air dissipate. I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through her hair while I rubbed my nose to hers. "Where will we live?" I asked as quietly as I could but loud enough for her to hear. I didn't want to let go of her or feel the connection between us end in any way.
"Together," she said, equally as quietly. "We'll have to talk to Abby and Seth though. I don't know how how pleased they'll be with the idea but this Is what I want." I couldn't help the hope that welled in my chest. "Only if that's what you want too though."
"Of course it is, Ava. I've told you before, this," I picked up her hand and held it to much chest. "You and me, this is forever."
Ava looked at me then put her head on my chest again. "That's what I want too, Scar." I leaned back on the bed and kept her on top of me. She turned a little so that her knees were on either side of me. I swung my legs up on the bed. Ava pushed herself up so she was hovering over me but still close against me. "I love you," she whispered as her lips touched mine.
"I love you too." I hated when we fought but I loved to make up. We spent the rest of the day "making up." It was the best way I could think of spending a Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, that night, Ava insisted we call Abby and Seth. She refused to tell them our plans over the phone, which was probably a good idea since we really didn't know anything other than that we were moving back together. I wasn't sure how they would react to that. We made plans to go to La Push the next Saturday to visit them and tell them our plans for our future together.
Unbeknownst to me, during the week, Ava started her quest for a new place to hang her spatula. This was the item on the list that made me the most nervous. So imagine my surprise when she came home on Wednesday, ran through the door, jumped into my arms, and wrapped herself around me with a squeal. "I got a job interview! I got a job interview!"
"What?" I asked as she pressed a huge sloppy kiss on my lips.
"I have an interview!" she kissed me again. "In Forks!"
I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her. "Where, Angel, where?" I asked, probably a little more giddy than a man should be.
"You know the caterer that Jake and Nessie use for all their events?" she asked me. I nodded. "He gave me his card awhile back and told me to give him a call if I ever headed back to Forks. I called him this afternoon and we set up an interview! I have to go to the catering kitchen on Saturday and make five different dishes. I'm talking appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, and dessert!" She said it all in one long, rushed breath. "It's really happening, we're really going to start our life together."
"We are," I smiled, leaning into kiss her. "We have to celebrate."
"What? Are you kidding? I have a menu to plan and recipes to dig out! And I need you to be my guinea pig, of course!"
I hugged her tighter to me and realized something. I may not have gotten an imprint sign from the Spirits that Ava was my soulmate, but somewhere, somehow, someone was making sure we were together. I didn't know if it was God, or her parents, or maybe even Megan. All I knew was that more than ever, I truly felt like someone was looking out for me. As I held Ava in my arms, swaying back and forth to a silent rhythm, I didn't mind that there would probably be challenges ahead of us, that life would most likely throw us some curveballs. We were together, forever. And as soon as I could afford it, I would truly make her mine.
First though, I had to prepare myself for a visit to Seth and Abby's. That should be interesting.
AVA'S POV
I woke up before the alarm. I couldn't help it. Today was a big day and the last thing on my mind was sleep. I looked around the room at the bare spots on the walls where the pictures had only recently been taken down. Other things stayed the same. The bed was staying, the desk too. Seth said any wolves who might find their way to school or work in Seattle would always have the option of staying here.
In the three years that Scar and I had been an official couple, there was something about watching him sleep that never got old. It may have been bad of me, but I knew that my nephews had inherited Seth's sleep habits and I often found myself wondering if Scar and I had kids, if they would pick up his sleep style, which consisted of laying on his stomach with his arms wherever they may land. Usually they landed somewhere on me and I was okay with that.
"Are you awake?" he grumbled without looking at me or moving for that matter.
"Yes," I answered flatly. "You can go back to sleep, Scar. It's still pretty early."
"Having trouble sleeping?" Scar rolled slightly so that he was on his side, looking at me. He pulled me closer to him and as usual I felt myself melt into him.
"It's nothing," I lied.
He knew me better than that though. "It's not nothing. I can feel how tense you are, Angel." He slid his warm hand over the bare skin that peeked out from my tank top. I could feel my stress slowly ease up. It wasn't gone but feeling this close to him made it a little better. "Are you regretting our decision?"
I closed my eyes hard. I wasn't regretting our decision at all but I was slightly nervous. This place, our condo, had been such a large part of our relationship and maybe it was a little superstitious of me to think that things would be different when we weren't here, in this place, that had been our home for so long. "Never, Scar," I turned my head to look at him. "I'm just worried about what it's going to be like when it's not just you and I together, alone, when it's all the family and crazy best friends, and..." I sighed then.
Scar leaned up on his elbow so that he was hovering almost directly above me. "You know, I was a little worried about that too. But then I started thinking about how important our families and friends are to our relationship. Essentially without them, there'd be no us, right? As long as we're together, no matter who's there with us, as long as you're by my side, I know we're going to be okay. It's going to take some getting used to for sure. We have privacy here, we can truly just be us. That's going to change but not much. I promise."
That made me feel a bit better. Sometimes, I think I just needed to hear Scar say something for it to sink into my thick skull. "You're right," I whispered.
"You and me, kid," the right corner of his mouth twisted into a smile.
I thought of how right it felt for him to say that. I knew that there weren't a lot of people left on earth that Scar trusted. But he loved and trusted me and there were times when he was the only one that could calm me down and keep me from going postal on someone's ass or from having a nervous breakdown. Like the day we told Abby and Seth about our plans to move back to Forks together. Abby was excited about it. I knew she wanted me closer and she loved Scar. Ironically, it was Seth that wasn't too happy. As much as I knew he accepted our relationship and he was happy for me, as a wolf, in the back of his mind, the prospect of Scar imprinting was always there.
"Are you going to get married?" he asked as we sat at their kitchen table, eating a fresh batch of Napoleons I had made, knowing they were Seth's favorite and hoping that they might sugarcoat the blow.
I almost choked on my coffee but Scar, ever calm and ever ready to face any adversity our relationship might face, was Johnny-on-the-spot. "Eventually, yes, that's the plan," he answered Seth.
"Why not now?" Seth furrowed his brow and kicked the overprotective brother mode into high gear.
Scar again was cool as a cucumber. "Ava deserves to have a beautiful ring, a big wedding, a nice home. Right now we're not in the place financially to do that. We're both starting new jobs and we have some money saved, but I want to do this right." As if any of those things mattered to me. "I grew up poor, Seth. I know what kind of life that is and I like to think that Jake and you older wolves don't want me to ever have to go through that again. That's why you all made such an effort to get me through school. So when I do this, I'm doing it all out."
I gripped his hand under the table but I could tell by the way Seth turned to look at a smiling Abby that we had won. After that we got in contact with Claire's big sister and things were rolling along. We looked at three houses before we found a bungalow that fit us. One bedroom, one bath but it was open and a mix between modern and vintage. It was exactly what we were looking for and it was ours.
Today we were moving into that house. We'd packed boxes and Abby and Seth were coming today to help us.
I could feel a change in the air the moment Seth's Range Rover and Abby's Audi pulled up. Quil and Claire were behind them in his 4-door Jeep. I knew it wouldn't take all of those cars, plus my Bug and Scar's bike to get back to Forks, but it made me feel special to have so much help.
"This is going to be fucking fantastic!" Claire threw her arms around me the moment I opened the door. I noticed as she pulled away that she didn't look like herself. Her normal fun clothes were replaced with a large Forks High hoodie and loose Capri pants. Her face was pale and her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. This was not the normal Claire, even the normal lounging Claire.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine," she said nonchalantly and passed by me to get into the condo. "Let's get this show on the road!"
It didn't even take five hours to pack up four years of our life together. I guess part of that life was staying but regardless, there was so much more than material items that couldn't be put into any box.
"Five more boxes," Scar smiled as he heaved a large cardboard cube filled with miscellaneous pictures onto his shoulder. I was sitting on the floor in the kitchen, making sure I'd gotten ever single last cooking utensil out of the drawers and doors. .After a grueling interview process, I'd gotten a job at the catering company Ness and Jake used for most of their get togethers and I knew I was going to need every single weapon in my arsenal to be successful. While part of me swallowed hard at the realization, another part of me warmed a little at seeing Scar so excited.
After the last box was put into the cars, Scar held my hand as he locked the place up one last time. "Thanks for all the memories," I whispered as I touched the doorpost.
Scar turned towards me and pulled me into his arms. "Don't worry, Ave. We have lot more memories to make." I looked into his large brown eyes and felt a tug at my heart while I nodded. I knew now why Scar wasn't as worried about moving as I was. Seeing him in front of me like this, he wasn't afraid or sad because he knew we had a wonderful future in front of us.
"Thank you," I said to him as he held me tighter and kissed my nose. With one last look, we shut the gate behind us and walked into the next stage of our life via a caravan of cars headed to Forks. The trip seemed to take forever and yet pass quickly at the same time. And after a stop at Starbucks, we finally arrived, each one of us piling out of our cars.
"That is one green house," Seth laughed, getting out his car.
"Leave them alone, Seth. I think it's cozy," Abby said.
It was a cozy house, painted a beautiful bright green with denim blue stairs and cream colored columns, all accented by a red door. It doesn't sound like much but it was perfect. We started unloading boxes from the cars while Calista looked over paperwork.
"You guys are coming to Billy's birthday bonfire tonight, right?" Claire asked from her seat on the front porch, watching everyone else carry the boxes. I knew it was Billy Black's birthday but damn if I knew there was a party tonight. "You have to come! It's not a pack thing, so lots of people will be there. Petra and Embry are going to be there. Ness and Jake are going to be there and Ness is so pregnant she might actually have her baby on the beach! Can you imagine?"
I sighed loudly but knew I would end up going. The pack was family and I loved my family. Even though I knew that I'd probably be exhausted after a long day of travel and moving. I decided it didn't matter, I was going to the bonfire. It was a little like a welcome home party, knowing I'd be surrounded by family and friends.
I put the party out of my head for a bit and decided to help unload the cars. It was a little like a well-oiled machine the way we moved the boxes out of vehicles and into the house. Granted we did have several muscular wolves helping, it was still quite amazing. Calista left the lease papers for us to sign and after only two hours, every last box and every last piece of furniture was in the house. We said goodbye to the Clearwaters and Atearas as they headed to their homes to prepare for the party and while I wanted to start unpacking, I thought it wouldn't hurt to just rest for a minute. Sometime during that time, I decided to look over the lease papers and perhaps go ahead and sign them. I flipped through them casually and dug in my purse for a pen. Before I could even get through the first page, I noticed something was off. Everything had my name on it, Ava Caroline O'Brien, but there was no Oscar Monroe. I flipped again and again and again until I reached the last page of the papers.
"Scar?" I yelled to the back of the house for him. "Come here!"
He must've heard the urgency in my voice. "What's wrong?" he ran into the den where I sat, the papers in my hands and his expression dropped. He must know exactly what the problem is. "Can we talk about it later?" Scar asked. I could hear every ounce of fear in his voice and I have to admit it made me a little scared to hear his anxiety. There was nothing good that could come from this situation.
"No, I wanna talk about it now," I answered back with sass. I didn't like that we were fighting again but I needed to know why this wasn't going to be a group effort and I felt like he owed it to me. "Why isn't your name anywhere on the lease? I thought this was going to be ourhouse."
"It is, I promise. It's just…I'm doing it to protect you," Scar said softly.
"From what exactly?"
"Think about it for a second. What would happen if I imprinted?" And there it was.
Everything inside of me went numb as I mulled his words around my head. "You know what, Scar?
You're a fucking hypocrite. Anytime I say anything about you imprinting, you tell me not to worry, that it will never happen. You tell me I'm your soulmate and we'll be together forever. Apparently those are just fucking words to you," I was biting my bottom lip, trying really hard not to cry. "You don't mean them, do you?" By this time I was pretty close to his face and I was fighting every urge to attempt to punch him. It wasn't even that I was mad. I was pissed, don't get me wrong, but I was confused and hurt. I had believed for so long that he wouldn't imprint because he had told me so. Now that seemed like a lie. I expected lies from other men, from other boys, but not from Scar. Not from my Scar.
"I'm not doing it because I think I'll imprint, Ava, I just love you and want you to be taken care of in case," he remained calm, which pissed me off even more.
" You know that day at the restaurant when you didn't tell me about moving, Rachel told me that I never had to worry about you leaving me behind and that I loved you so much, the world wouldn't let you imprint. What am I supposed to think now, Scar?" I didn't give him a chance to answer back. I walked out of the den, into the kitchen. I expected him to follow me but he didn't, something I was grateful for at the moment. I tossed a few boxes and ripped a few open, finding just what I needed in the form of a giant Hershey's bar. I took it with me to our bedroom which was void of sheets and anything other than the bed and nightstands. What I knew I really needed to do right now was bake, that would be the thing to relax me but things in my kitchen weren't exactly ready for me to do any sort of cooking.
I sat on the bed for thirty minutes before I decided it was time to get ready for the party. I wasn't sure what Scar was going to wear, considering I'd locked him out of the bedroom from the boxes marked
"Scar's Clothes." Oh, well, I thought to myself.
We drove separately to the party too. I took my car while Scar took his bike. I couldn't think with him so near me. I knew my resolve would break and nothing would be accomplished and we'd end up right back here in a few months. I was so confused. How could he say that he loved me and wanted to be with me forever and then say on the other hand he was worried he might imprint? Especially when he was the one dead set on never imprinting.
Why couldn't who ever is in charge of imprinting not just have let us be together? Why wasn't I enough?
"Hello, Ava," Petra said to me as I walked towards the crowd on the beach. "Are you alright?"
I nodded. "Yeah, sorry," I said as she smiled at me and I sat down on the log next to her. "Um, Scar and I just had a disagreement."
"Sometimes Embry and I have disagreements too, but we always talk about it," Petra said. I loved Petra, not more or less than Claire, but differently. I felt like talking to her helped me deal with and sort out the adult stuff in my life. "Sometimes what I think is not what Embry is thinking and we disagree until we talk about it. It helps us understand each other. You and Scar should talk, Ava. That's the best thing to do." She patted my hand from across the space between us. Sometimes as simple as her words are, what Petra says in her innocent way always carries a ton of substance. I thanked her as I heard Scar's bike roar into the parking lot. I knew it was him but I didn't turn to look. I think he knew I wouldn't.
"Scar!" my oldest nephew ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to meet my boyfriend, who I was currently not speaking to.
"Hey buddy," I knew Scar was probably holding him up over his head. Again, I didn't look because I knew how much I loved watching Scar with small children and I knew every bit of angry resolve I had would start to decrease if I saw them. Instead, I walked around to the other side of the campsite to start the process of getting food.
The company I was going to be working for, named "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?", was catering the event and it was cool to meet some of the people I would be working with. After the meal was finished, we all gathered around Billy and sang Happy Birthday. Then the cake was cut.
"I hope you're going to be making all the cakes for us from now on," Jake said quietly after taking a bite from the too dry carrot cake.
"I'll see what I can do," I smiled as Jake patted me on the back.
"Alright, time for stories!" Jake announced as all the little kids ran to surround Billy.
"Any requests?" Billy asked.
"Tell the one about the Third Wife again, please, Mr. Billy Black," Ashley said from the back of the pack of little kids. She wasn't quite so little anymore, almost as tall as me, but she still loved to listen to the stories of the Quileutes although I knew that she still wasn't in on the pack secrets.
Billy grinned at Ashley and nodded. He told the familiar story again and the heirs of Taha Aki and the original wolves all listened with great attention. I always loved listening to all the stories but this one made me think and worry. The Third Wife, in all her courage, was an imprint. I guess, being as I wasn't an imprint, I could say that I could relate to the sacrifice she made, because I would do the same, I just couldn't get that Taha Aki had phased until he found his imprint. Would Scar do that? Would I be forced to grow old alone so the love of my life could wait until he found the person the Spirits most saw him with?
"You know, Mr. Black, I think you're wrong about something in that story," Ashley said when Billy had finished. I shook my head to try to concentrate on what my little sister could possibly think she needed to correct a tribal elder on.
"What's that, Miss O'Brien?" Billy asked very seriously. I could see the grin he was trying to hide on his face. Ashley loved Billy and loved listening to his stories. They always had animated conversations and I could only imagine what he thought she might say. It didn't help matters that everyone was now looking at Ashley like she was an alien or unicorn.
"You said that she didn't have any special gifts or powers. You said she only had courage but that's not true," Ashley answered.
"It's not?" Billy humored her.
"No, she had something much more important and valuable," then, like she knew what my head was saying to me, she looked straight at me. "She had love. She loved her husband enough to sacrifice herself. And she loved her tribe because she knew Taha Aki could then save her people. Sometimes you don't need magic, you just need love."
The crowd had grown silent as it absolutely hit me what she was saying. But how could she know about the wolves? About imprinting? About any of that? We'd all kept her partly in the dark all these years and yet she seemed to know exactly what I needed to hear. And while everyone looked at her, she only looked at me. Sometimes you don't need magic, you just need love.
"You know, Ashley, I think you are on to something there," Billy smiled at Ashley who had now turned to him. "Maybe one day, you and me can sit down and I can tell you some more stories. Then we'll compare notes and see what they mean to us."
Ashley hopped up from her spot on the blanket. "Really?"
"Really," Billy answered. "You know, there's something we can learn from this." He looked up so that he could have everyone's attention. "Our legends, like our tribe, change and grow. We cannot forget that sometimes the best lessons we can learn come from our children. I say that now especially looking at all the young faces before me, and all the young ones on the way." I looked over to see Jake wrap his arms around Nessie's heavily pregnant belly. Then I looked at Claire to see Quil lightly press his palms to her stomach from behind her. Sometimes you don't need magic, you just need love.
I could be that. I had that love, I didn't have an imprint and I didn't have any magical power but I could love. I could love Scar enough to build my life with him. Even if it did mean growing old alone while he continued to phase. I would take those years of love with him over the alternative of being alone.
By the time this realization had dawned on me, most of the crowd was starting to pack up and I stood, still staring at the fire. Until I felt his presence near me. Almost like I could sense him. "I'm sorry," I whispered. I knew he could hear me and before I knew it, I felt him take my hand. "I'm not going to worry about it anymore. I'm not going to worry about you imprinting."
"I don't want you to worry about that, Ava. I don't know why I did what I did, I just, I don't…" he trailed off but I knew what he was saying. It took a greater act of love for him to put my name alone on the lease than to put his too. "I'm not going to ever leave you," he whispered. Sometimes you don't need magic, you just need love.
"I know," I said. I did know. Even if he did imprint, I would never lose him. I would always belong to him, even if he wasn't mine. Imprint or not, I was his. And for the time being, in the unfortunate event magic stepped in, he would be mine.
Sometimes you don't need magic, you just need love.
AN: I hope you liked it and it was worth the wait! Please review!