Before this chapter starts. This may be the most difficult ending of the series for me. As a rule, I generally don't do perfect happy endings, I struggled so bad with this ending because part of me, That would be me, was screaming at me to give Collin and Leah their happy ending. The other part of me, the part that can't stand writing perfect endings, told me 'screw Dol's wishes. She's dead and her opinions don't matter.' Hey! Love you, Dol. You sure have a funny way of showing it. I know. Now, back to my point, I realized when I came back to this chapter today. It wasn't finished. Which is what I'm going to do now. See you at the end? Of course. See you at the end of the chapter.
Leah was born in a slaughterhouse. At that time, she'd had no one. No real family, nothing. She was a number in a line. All she'd been was one of many shapeshifters waiting for whatever terrible fate came to those shapeshifters that were taken.
When Emmett had arrived and bought her she hadn't expected anything good from the large vampire. Not in the least. She'd followed him out without question and kept her head down. It wasn't like she could truly communicate anyway.
It had been implied more than once by the vampires that she'd be put with a vampire who didn't need her voice. That she'd be used for the worst of things.
Emmett hadn't been like that. He'd been a great man, someone she would gladly refer to as her father. Up until the day Kachiri demanded he give her to her.
Leah would never blame any of what happened to her on Emmett because none of it was his fault. Not really. Kachiri took what she wanted and if she didn't get her way, people got hurt.
Then there was her Imprintee. The boy she met again and again. Not nearly as often as she wished. It was his presence that held her together over the years. People like Renesmee weren't ever as lucky. Anything that wasn't a vampire almost always broke in its own way, shape, or form. Stockholm, depression, insanity, there were endless things that happened to the different beings held by the vampires.
Leah hadn't succumbed to any of those things. Leah had always had someone to hold onto, someone to wait for. Even when she knew nothing could ever work between them. It was all she could do to wait to see her Imprintee. It broke her heart that they were so far and few between.
Then she died and saw him one final time. Only briefly but it had been long enough to know. For her it was years in the making but for him it was the end. She knew what it meant when she saw him appear after her death, she hadn't quite moved on yet. In that brief moment that she saw the world around her, her attention wasn't on the people panicking because of her death. Her attention was on Collin as he materialized out of nothing. As he knelt down by her corpse and spoke softly. The words rang through her as she felt something flood her. Something old and powerful. Something that made her feel lighter than air and like nothing at all.
She was being pulled away, in the last moment she rested her hand on his shoulder, tears filling her eyes as she was pulled into darkness.
That was then.
A long time ago. A lifetime ago.
Now she'd been reborn. If she tried hard enough she could remember the shadowy faces of her parents from her new life. The people that had been killed by a bear. They were foggy memories, people she tried not to think about. The wolf pack may have raised her. They weren't her family either. They'd been selfish in raising her new incarnation as an animal rather than returning her to society.
Of course there wasn't a single time she'd hate them for it because she'd found Collin.
That brief time with Collin had been everything she'd wanted since her childhood, even if she hadn't been able to tell him who she was, she'd been able to spend time with him and it was everything. Even if he hadn't known who she was, it had been him, the boy she'd fallen for all those years ago. Everything that could never be. For that brief time she'd gotten to be around him, even if she couldn't be with him. She could be near him.
Knowing your future made everything worse. All of it worse. A selfish part of her wished Collin had never met her. If he'd never met her she could've lived a semi normal life. If he'd never met her she never would've fallen in love. Her heart never would've been broken by him.
When Collin had been pulled into his memories Leah had been able to tell by looking at him. That had been a long time ago too. Not nearly as long as her first life but long enough.
She'd gone through the motions and called Brady who'd informed her of his family's new status as humans. While she'd waited for Brady she'd alternated between sitting with Mary and Vasilii and sitting by Collin's side.
Mary had slept the entire time they were there. Leah knew basically nothing about how to help her so she was forced to call Nahuel. Nahuel had told her that without the proper equipment there was nothing that could be done until she woke up. She'd warned him that he was going to die then hung up, not bothering to explain the details.
Mary hadn't woken up. Not for a while. It had taken Brady three days to make his way to them and when he'd shown up the way he'd looked at Mary had broken her heart. An Imprint almost as impossible as hers.
Leah had refused to leave Collin in the middle of the woods. She'd demanded Brady let them take him to one of the abandoned cities. Leave him there until he woke up.
The argument had been short, she was pretty sure he didn't have the energy for it. Brady had struggled to carry the statue of his cousin to the SUV and had set him in the very back. When Leah had joined in him the passenger seat she'd peeked in the back to see Mary sleeping in the middle seat with Vasilii under her, her head resting against his leg. Vasilii didn't speak a word until a month and a half later when Mary woke.
They'd left Collin in one of the close abandoned towns, setting him in one of the houses there because it was all they could do. When he woke it would be too dangerous to have him in the house. Not with all of the humans.
Leah had joined Brady in returning to their home in California. Leah had claimed the den as her bedroom and Vasilii had claimed the guest bedroom for himself and Mary. Leah didn't talk to anyone, not really. There wasn't much for her to say. She was waiting for Collin. Waiting for him to wake up.
It wasn't until two weeks after Mary had woken that anyone had pushed her into conversation. It had been Daula. Leah was grateful it was Daula. Daula didn't push conversation about what she planned on doing. Daula just told her stories. Stories of her daughter, of when her and Collin were children. Daula talked about how excited she'd been when she'd learned her mom was pregnant. For the first time since her and Collin's conversation she'd managed to smile.
Time went by. A lot of time. After the first year passed Brady had arrived with legal documents and the information that he was enrolling her, Ayla, Mary, and Vasilii in school so that they wouldn't spend all of their time sitting around the house. She'd accepted her new identity without a fight. Leah Clearwater. A false family brewed in memory of some of those they'd lost. According to her documents she was Leah Clearwater, sister of Ayla Clearwater and daughter of Emma Clearwater. They hadn't bothered listing a father because it didn't really matter.
Mary and Vasilii's identity had been of Mary's making. Mary and Vas-they'd decided Vasilii was too strange of a name- Uley were daughter of Dol and Paul Uley. It had been an obvious play on Brady's lineage and no one had commented on it. It was easier that way. According to the school system they were distant cousins that had come to live with Brady and Lila. The school system didn't pry. They were people, which was more than a lot of the world had.
School was boring, Leah learned this pretty quickly. When she'd been in Missouri, Emmett had educated her, so she would let Holly take over control during school and suffer through the day for her. Holly had developed better social capabilities though she was still pretty wild. One time she'd even bitten a class mate who had tried to push her down in the hall.
It had been a hilarious day. Especially when Brady had shown up giving her an all too knowing look which she'd smiled innocently at.
Things were getting easier.
Every night she would lie in her bed and reach out to feel the Imprint. It was her reassurance that he was still alive. That one day she'd see him again.
At some point in the second year they'd received a phone call from Brady's daughter letting them know that Collin was gone from the house they'd left him in. Not dead, just gone. They had checked on him occasionally but they weren't sure when exactly he'd left. There wasn't anything they could do. Based off the death tolls in the news there were very few shapeshifters and vampires left. Even then, they couldn't risk contacting those that were left. They had to give them a chance to escape the werewolves, even if they knew Vasilii's plan would work out.
Leah had waited. She'd waited for a long time after that. Waited for Collin. Time passed. Daula died, Seth and Nahuel stopped calling and they suspected they had been killed.
High school was worse than elementary and middle school. When she'd entered into high school she'd actually begun stepping into new territory education wise. Guys and girls had flirted with her and she'd rejected them, except once. The years of waiting for Collin were taking a toll on her. Part of her, a part of her that wanted desperately to be loved again, it had finally given in.
There wasn't a moment she'd regret it because it had given her an escape for two years. It had taken him two years to piece together how broken she was. While he didn't know the details once he'd realized she was using him to cope he'd confronted her and they'd agreed it was better to break it off before someone was hurt.
It was around Leah's twentieth birthday when Ayla and Mary came out to the family about their relationship. Everyone had known about it before then, everyone except Leah. Leah had been so lost in her longing she'd been blind as to what was happening in her very own house.
That was when she'd finally realized she might never see Collin again.
If Collin didn't come back the reason why he'd do it was easy enough. To give her a chance at a real life.
It wasn't what she wanted. Not really. What she wanted was her Imprint. The boy she'd loved since she was ten. After she understood what was happening she'd shut down. She'd shut herself out of the real world and fallen into a habit of reliving every memory she had of her time with Collin. She clung to that until finally Mary confronted her. Leah remembered the conversation clearly.
"Leah, open this damned door before I break it down!" Leah hadn't opened it; she'd just curled up into a tighter ball under her blankets and shut out the sound of Mary beating on the door.
To be honest, she hadn't expected Mary to actually kick the door open. The sound of wood splintering filled her ears and she had about ten seconds to jerk into a sitting position and turn towards the doorway before Mary was on top of her.
From an outside perspective the position might've seemed intimate, or maybe like the beginning of a rape. The way Mary straddled her waist and used her feet to hold the now struggling Leah's legs to the bed while she gripped both of Leah's hands in one hand and pinned them above her head to glare into the Leah's eyes as she held her down, her free hand clenched in a fist at her side.
Anyone that knew Mary knew better than to assume that. Mary had grown into a smaller woman. Shorter than the average woman. She'd made up for the risk of being a small woman by building up as much strength as she could while she was young. She didn't plan on being weak just because she was human. She knew how to fight and the fact that Mary had Leah immobilized scared her for more than one reason.
"Okay, Leah. I love you to death. Really, I do. You're part of my god forsaken fucked up family. But this shit has to stop. I love Collin. You know that. He's my brother. I ruined his childhood to have him by my side for eternity. What happened then happened and I'm sorry. I really am. But this has to stop. What you want from him he can't give to you. You know it and I know it. He won't come back. You need to accept this and move on. Dwelling won't help. This," what Mary did then stunned her.
It was an action she never would've expected from Mary. Not in a million years. Mary kissed her, she closed the distance and she kissed her and dammit. Leah would be lying if she said she didn't surrender to the feeling of closeness, no matter how fucked it was. She surrendered to the kiss and struggled against the other girl's hold for a whole other reason. The fight was futile and both girls knew it. When Mary parted she was relaxed and Leah knew that the kiss had no meaning to the other girl. It had been a point, a solid point.
"That was real." Leah blinked as she tried to recall what Mary had been talking about. When she did she turned her head away to stare at the white wall. "I don't know you, Leah. Not as much as I wish I did. But I know what you're doing to yourself. Torturing yourself with memories of your lost love will not make him come back. It will put you through Hell. You'll suffer and break apart until there's nothing left. But this. This here. Me being here. This is real. You have to stop clinging onto something that can never be because it will destroy you. If you don't want to fall in love, fine, don't fall in love. No one is asking you to do that."
"What I'm telling you is that you can't lock yourself away from the world. Stop hiding in here and reliving memories of what can never be and come out there. Spend time with the family, watch one of these terrible movies with us. Hell, if you want come join me and Angel and we'll give you the night of your life. Just stop doing this."
Mary freed her after that and just before she could leave the room Leah sat up and called after her, "Mary."
"What?"
"Has he contacted you?"
Mary went rigid in the doorframe, lethal silence for several long moments before she spoke softly. "No." Leah could hear the cracking in her voice then the other girl slipped out the doorway and she was alone.
Leah had thought over that conversation for a long while. Everything Mary had said and done had wedged into her. Lodged into her consciousness. Slowly she'd pulled herself together.
Things had been on a slow slope upwards for twenty five years when the most unexpected thing had happened. The last thing Leah ever wanted to imagine. Not after all that time.
Her and her husband had been at a park in Oklahoma, her curled into his side and watching their daughter play on the playground, when she'd caught sight of a familiar face settling into a bench across the playground with a blonde woman in his arms.
Leah's throat closed at the sight.
It wasn't possible.
There wasn't any logic to the sight.
Except…
Without thinking Leah had launched herself from her seat and stormed across the playground.
A thousand different emotions flooded her at the sight of him.
It had to be him.
She knew it was him.
Collin.
His name rang through her very core, she could feel her Imprint embedded in him.
It made no sense. He was a man. It had been around thirty-five years since she'd seen him but she knew. It was unmistakable. Even before the Imprint had made itself known she knew.
Collin was very human. That was the only explanation for why he looked forty-five. Basically the only reason he would still be alive.
Halfway across the playground she paused.
It occurred to her that something was wrong. Very wrong.
It was one thing if he'd woken up a vampire and stayed away to let her live her life. However, if he'd woken up as a human, there was no reason he would've chosen to stay away.
Unless he'd woken up without his memories. In which case…
Could she do this? Was it fair for her to confront him after all this time? 'A familiar face or location.' Mary had told her. They knew those were triggers for the ex-humans. Bella had been woken from her memory loss by Mike and Nahuel had been woken by Greece.
She was stuck standing there and staring helplessly as her husband tried to get her attention, when his shaking of her arms did nothing to help he stepped in front of her, cutting off her line of sight and snapping her out of her daze.
"Leah."
She blinked up at Jackson's worried expression, searching her mind for an answer but unable to come up with any words. How did one explain to their husband who knew nothing about the unnatural a situation like this? Think, Leah. Holly chastised her from somewhere far off in the back of her mind.
"I think I know him." The words flowed effortlessly, not a lie, she tried not to lie to him unless she had to. "I mean, I think I knew him when I was younger…"
Jackson searched her for a moment, frowning. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I thought…I thought he was dead." She admitted just as that all too familiar face walked up to them.
Oh God. Her throat closed as Collin smiled at her, like he knew her. He couldn't. It wasn't possible. If he knew then he'd left her.
Jackson followed her gaze, turning ever so slightly so that he was barring her from Collin. Like Collin would harm her. Like someone would be stupid enough to harm someone in the middle of a park. Well…they would be but she doubted it.
"I can't believe it." Collin sounded so casual though if Leah looked closer there was a certain degree of tension boiling just beneath the surface. "Leah? Is that really you?"
That anger that had melted away came back full force as he said what that sinking suspicion in her was telling her.
He knows me.
Without a thought she launched herself forward and past her husband, throwing herself into Collin with so much force that it knocked him back onto the ground and she landed on top of him, straddling his stomach with her legs. If it wasn't for the fact that Collin was an ex-human the action could've possibly hurt him. The only reason Leah was so capable of the movements was Mary's insistence that she stay in shape.
There was the distinct sound of screaming from around them as she threw the first punch, "You son of a bitch!" She screamed with all the fury she could muster, as she landed another punch. "Thirty five years!" She shouted as hands came down on her shoulders, trying to pull her off him. She jerked away from them and threw another punch, using her thighs to put pressure on the sides his stomach. Trying to cause pain though she doubted it actually did anything. It didn't matter that her Imprint screamed at her to stop. That she couldn't harm her Imprintee. She wasn't a god damned shapeshifter and he had left her.
"Leah!" This time he grabbed her hand as she went to throw another punch, his words a bit off and when she blinked away the tears she didn't realize she was shedding, she realized how much damage she'd done. The side of his face was already swelling and there was a blood trickling from the side of his mouth as he stared helplessly at her. Despite the punches she'd delivered it was obvious the Imprint had limited her on what she could do to him. Which did nothing but refuel her anger.
"Thirty-five years! Thirty-five years and you couldn't give us any damned peace of mind! Picked up a fucking cellphone!" She bared her teeth at him as she went to throw another punch with her free hand. Another hand caught her before she could land it.
"Leah, what the hell are you doing!" Jackson's voice finally pierced her angered daze and she glared down at Collin, her teeth still bared out of instinct. "Get off of him before someone decides it's a good idea to call the cops. I am so sorry-"
Leah knew what Jackson was about to do and she jerked her head up so she could see her husband, "Don't you dare apologize to him." Her gaze flicked to the playground where her daughter was staring at her with so much fear that her heart sank. "Take Emma to the car."
"I'm not-"
"Remember how I told you I have a complicated history?" Her gaze flicked back to her husband and he paled visibly. "Take her to the car. Okay?"
Jackson glanced back at Collin before he relented, releasing her and making his way to her daughter.
When she looked back at Collin he looked genuinely afraid. Which was a fair reaction. She needed to take a step back. "We need to talk." She stated coldly, pushing up off of him. Most the people in the park were staring at the reaction with fear but she knew no one had called the cops. It was one of the ways that humanity had devolved.
Without looking back to see if he'd followed she trailed off into the small woodsy area not far from the park, tears burning the corners of her eyes. Once they were a decent distance away she spun around, glaring at him.
"Explain."
"I know everything." He admitted, searching her carefully like she might attack him again.
"But?" She asked, not bypassing the fact that there was an unspoken 'but' there. Part of her told her the problem and it broke her heart.
"I'm not Collin. Not exactly. It's…When I woke up thirty three years ago I had no memory of who I was. Absolutely no clue. I woke up and I felt like I was dying. I managed to drag myself into this kitchen and there was no food. Some water bottles but no food. I downed two of them and took the third. With the very little energy those water bottles supplied me with I stumbled outside. By my luck a family was driving by. They asked me where my parents were and I told them I didn't know. I didn't know anything. They named me Alex for convenience sake and drove me to the nearest city, dropping me off at a hospital. The cops got involved and next thing I knew I was in the foster system. Fast forward about eighteen years and…I started having these weird dreams where this kid that looked like me when I was found would talk to me. He explained things to me. Sort of. Told me he'd been trying to claw his way to the surface for a long time. Said there was issues with memories. It was…disorienting. He started feeding me memories in my sleep, explained that we were like an Old Soul. Like you. But…"
"You're an Old Soul?" That was all out of that story that she cared about. If he was an Old Soul that meant…
"Kind of. Listen, Leah. I didn't confront you in that park to piss you off. I did it for him. But you have to listen to me. When he started talking to me, I was dating Alaine. I knew what he wanted. I knew he wanted me to find you. He wanted to give you a happily ever after but that wasn't me. I'm not Collin, I never will be Collin. I have a wife and a son. I have a family and my own life. You clearly have a husband and daughter. I know what you and him meant to each other. What you were. I know everything he did and everything he sacrificed to wipe the unnatural from the planet. I will let him out. It's only fair you get to talk."
"Wait." She searched him as she spoke, "Explain something to me. It's been thirty-five years. You said it took eighteen years for Collin to step forward and feed you those memories. Why did you never call us? Never let us have our final chance to talk."
He looked away. "I didn't want to. I knew just enough from Collin to suspect that you might've never moved on. I didn't want to be put in that spot. Yes, I knew where Brady lived. I knew exactly where to go to get in contact with you. I argued with Collin on this for months. He begged me. Pleaded and fought for control. I told him no. If I hadn't seen you with your husband and daughter today, I would've left the second you showed up."
"You should've called. Not for me. He had more family. I wasn't the only one." Leah glared at the man wearing the face of Collin. The man who wasn't him. Leah hadn't been the only one that suffered from Collin's absence. Despite what Mary tried to pretend, she had suffered from the disappearance of her brother. It wasn't a secret Daula had been broken by it too. They all had suffered from it.
"I should have. I didn't. Hate me all you want, what's done is done."
Leah gritted her teeth, tempted to throw another punch just to get some of her anger out. She didn't. Instead she just nodded her agreement, not sure what she'd say if she opened her mouth at that particular moment.
"Alright. Well I told you I'd let Collin talk so…" He trailed off as he shut his eyes, a couple moments later his entire demeanor changed and his eyes snapped open, the color taking on that unsettling ever-changing color that she'd only ever seen on three people. Collin collapsed to his knees, gasping for air as Leah dropped down in front of him.
"Oh God, I'm breathing. Actually breathing." Collin laughed giddily in front of her before lifting his head from the ground, still breathing a bit erratically. A massive grin covered his face as tears threatened the corners of her eyes again.
"Collin." It was all she could say as she tackled him to the ground in the same fashion she'd done with the other man before. Except this wasn't her being hostile. This was her being stupid, so very stupid. In that single moment it was her and Collin and nothing else mattered. It was her and her Imprintee. The one she'd been in love with since she was ten years old the first time around.
She caught herself with her hands on each side of his shoulders as she leaned in, pressing a passionate kiss to his lips that he returned with the same enthusiasm as she showed. It was desperate and everything she'd ever wanted though Holly reminded her from somewhere in the back of her mind as to why it was so very wrong. Why it was such a terrible idea.
A hand came onto the center of her chest and pushed up gently and she was forced to pull away when Collin turned his head slightly, breaking the kiss effectively and gasping for air.
"Leah." He muttered as she slumped down on top of him, burying her face in his chest as he arranged her so that they were curled up side by side on the ground. She wrapped herself around him to the best of her ability and buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Leah. We can't. I'm sorry."
She made a pained sound, knowing exactly what he meant and understanding it because she had Jackson and Emma. They seemed so distant, part of her didn't fully understand why she cared.
"I'm so sorry, Leah. So very, very sorry." She pressed herself closer to him as he wrapped his arm around her carefully, pulling her closer to him and pressing gentle kisses to her forehead. "We can't. I tried. I tried so hard. He refused and I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't force control. I drained myself after I handed away the powers. I think I drained my own soul. It…"
"Shutup, Collin." She muttered into his chest, "I waited. I waited for you. It took me eight years to realize that even though we knew you were awake, you weren't coming back. Mary had to stage an intervention. I thought she was going to beat the shit out of me. Instead she kissed me."
"She…what?" He sounded so shocked Leah couldn't help the smile from crossing her face as she curled closer to him. This she could do. Make a terrible story into something to smile about.
"I wasn't…I was in bad shape…I had locked myself in my room to relive my memories of you, I was in denial. She showed up and kicked the door down then straddled me holding me to the bed." Genuinely smiling, she could feel the astonishment in the movements of him, could almost feel him staring at her head. "Yelled at me for dwelling on losing you and to make her point she kissed me. I'm not into chicks. Not really. But there is something seriously hot about being held down by the oldest living creature. We made out and I was more enthusiastic then I'll ever admit about the entire thing." She was trying not to laugh. Most of what she said was bullshit, the situation hadn't been at all like that. Yes, she had admitted to herself at a later date that, despite the fact that she was straight, she did find that ancientness of Mary alluring. The situation hadn't been at all enjoyable for the reasons she'd stated. She'd been vulnerable and in a bad spot and surrendered to Mary because she'd been so lonely. She was enjoying this though, enjoying it all too well. Taunting him.
"That is not okay, Leah. She's my sister." A hand tangled in her hair and pulled gently yet forcefully until she was looking up at him.
"I didn't fuck her. Not that night."
He opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut, staring at her in pure unshielded bafflement.
She couldn't keep a straight face because his reaction was so perfect. She burst into a fit of giggles and felt so much younger than she had in years.
When she started laughing he rolled his eyes, realizing she was screwing with him. "I hate you." He muttered before leaning in and pressing a passionate kiss to her.
"No you don't." She muttered in response after he pulled away.
"She did kiss you, didn't she?"
Leah nodded, her eyes fluttering shut as his hand moved from holding her hair to rubbing her back. "I was in a really bad spot and she kissed me. Pointed out how real that was versus the memories I was reliving. It helped. A lot. Also, she did leave an opening that if I ever wanted to screw around with her and Ayla I could."
"Wait, her and Ayla?" He asked, pausing the movements of his arms and earning a pout from her.
"Yeah. I don't know when it started but her and Ayla were a thing when that happened. I guess you making her human was a good thing. Now they're married and living in New York."
"That's good."
"She misses you." She muttered softly as he returned to rubbing her back.
"I know. I wish…"
"Just call her. I'll call tonight and tell her the story of what happened here. Call her next Friday at nine PM. Surely your other soul fragment would be fine with a phone call."
"He has all the power so it shouldn't be that big of a problem. But… he's an ass. I'll try." Collin sighed softly and she buried her face in his chest again. "You spooked your husband when you mentioned a 'complicated history'."
Her husband. Oh she'd crossed a line. A line that she'd all too easily cross again for Collin. She wouldn't lie and say otherwise. In fact, when she returned home that night, she'd tell him the truth about this. She lied to him about everything about her past but this was something she wouldn't lie about.
She did care about him, didn't love him. Despite the fact that they were married, she didn't really love him. She loved her daughter, she didn't love her husband. She cared about him. It was Holly who loved him. Not her. Holly also didn't have the mental capacity to be in the relationship.
Telling him the truth was a terrible idea and she knew it. However, it wasn't fair for her not to tell him.
"I told him I had been the member of the mafia years ago and had to be put into witness protection."
"So you implied I was part of that?"
"Well I did beat your face in." She flicked her gaze up to see the damage she'd done. "It's pretty easy to assume that we had a bad history."
"We didn't." He stated matter-of-factly.
"We have a complicated history."
He hummed softly and held her close. "Not as complicated as it could be. I'm sure you've heard my mom's story."
"Bits and pieces." She admitted quietly, averting her gaze, not wanting to bring up how much the family had actually gossiped about Bella's relationships.
"I'm not an idiot, Leah." He responded.
"You sure about that?" She replied teasingly.
"Pretty damned sure."
"Fine. I know everything, including the nitty gritty details that she only ever told Mary. How her and Rosalie would spend hours upon hours bri-"
"Leah, I swear to God if you don't shut your mouth…"
"You're such a baby. How old are you now? Stop acting like a kid."
"You're talking about my mom. And you're acting like a freaking teenager so don't even start on calling me a kid."
"What about this situation possibly makes me come off as a teenager?"
The hand that had been absently rubbing her back returned to her hair and he pulled it until she was looking up at him.
"Well for one, you're laying here with me and not thinking about the fact that you have a family in the car waiting for you. A husband and a daughter that you named after your father. Then there's this," He leaned in and pressed a passionate kiss to her which she responded to eagerly, allowing herself to bypass the point he was making to her.
He was right. At that moment she was who she'd been all that time ago. She was who she was before she'd come to the realization that he wasn't coming back.
They should've stopped. The kiss quickly escalated and if they didn't stop she would cross a line.
Interestingly enough it wasn't her who stopped it. It wasn't Collin or the man he was sharing a body with.
It was Holly. Holly who never stepped forward unless she was forced to by Leah. Holly who was quiet as a mouse unless she felt she should say something.
Leah sank into the back of her consciousness for a brief moment, it was disorienting as hell as she went from being in complete control of her actions to ripping herself off of the top of a somehow shirtless Collin.
He blinked at her, staring in confusion for several moments as he clearly gathered his thoughts. Once Leah realized why her actions weren't hers she was pissed.
Holly! It took no effort for her to retake control. She held all the power by being the original soul. Which made Collin's lack of control over his body a bit questionable. That wasn't something to dwell on in that moment.
Emma. Jackson. Leah, don't you dare do this to them. Don't you dare do this to us. We can't have him and you know it. If you cross this line there will be no going back. Holly sounded desperate.
If you want me to stop, you have to take over. I can't keep going through these motions with him.
I can't. Holly told her, fearfully.
I can't go back to how things were…not now. Holly, I need a reason to not cross this line. Either you take over the relationship with Jackson or I do something I regret.
Leah settled back onto the ground next to Collin, he moved into a sitting position and she crawled into his arms. "I'm sorry." She apologized for letting that get carried away. Despite the fact that the very action had proved his point.
I'm barely even a person. Holly defended pathetically, trying to bury herself. Leah held her there. There was no way she was escaping this conversation.
"No you aren't. Thank you, Holly. For stopping us…it's not…she has her husband…" Leah knew by the way Collin tightened his hold on her that he wasn't grateful.
Make your choice, Holly.
Leah could feel Holly's conflict as she shut her eyes and leaned into Collin.
Okay. Holly agreed weakly.
Leah wished she'd said no. Leah wished that Holly had refused. If Holly had refused, she could've done something stupid. "We need to go." I don't want to go.
"I know." It's not right.
"Collin, I'm sorry."
"For what? What could you possibly have to be sorry for?"
"I'm sorry that I ever Imprinted on you." Carefully she pried her way out of his arms, pushing herself to her feet and turning to look down at him.
"I'm not. I'd do it a hundred times over just to spend a day with you."
"That's corny as hell."
Collin grinned and when she offered her hand he took it, pulling himself to his feet. They stared at each other for several long moments.
"Try to call Mary. Try to give her closure."
Collin nodded and pulled her into a tight hug, tears streaked her cheeks as she tightened her hold on him. "I love you."
"From now until forever." He responded easily as they pulled apart. In the back of her mind Leah was already planning. Holly was uneasy about the situation and voicing the complaints. They would handle it.
She kissed him softly before stepping away completely and making her way back towards the park, her hands tucking into the pockets of her jeans.
I won't force this onto you immediately. I'll give you time to adjust. A year. A year and I'm buried except for some time to spend with Emma.
Holly was silent for most of her walk back towards the parking lot, Leah could feel her conflict. Finally she responded. Okay.
The questions that followed asking about the eye color were answered with the truth. Holly actually told him everything that night, explained every last detail. Leah was happy laying low beneath the surface. If she wasn't in control she could hide away in memories, memories so vivid it was a wonder she'd never done it before.
The world didn't change much from then. There was still the occasional report of animal attacks or deaths in major cities. Until one day, they stopped. The world moved on, humanity had devolved a bit over the years but other than that it was…peaceful. Holly was happy being with her husband and Leah was happy playing mom to Emma over the years. After the event in the park no one heard anything from Collin. It was painful but it was easier. Knowing that Collin was alive had been one thing but knowing he hadn't chosen to abandon them helped. It gave them someone to resent and much needed closure on what had happened to him.
I'm sorry that this note is long as hell. I rambled.
I don't actually know what to say about this chapter other than holy crap it was difficult. I didn't like it. Agreed. Let me explain though, I came to this massive dilemma. As I mentioned at the start, I had two different voices yelling at me to do two different things. There was a massive war breaking out in my head. I'm tellin' you. It looked like Bella's head after Kachiri broke her mind. There were memories flying left and right, cannons going off, explosions and soldiers. It was the battle of the century. If there's one thing that's near impossible to do, it's to win an argument with yourself. Since I couldn't for the life of me win the argument I stepped into the center of this battlefield and told them to shut the hell up for ten seconds so we could make a compromise. This is exactly what happened. I happened to be on the happy ending side of the war before this moron ran out into the middle of the field. I told them, 'look, obviously I can't do a perfect happy ending. Sorry, Dol but your family is too cursed for that.' In which I responded with shooting her in the head. Lucky me it was in my head. I also told the other half of the battle, 'we also owe them more than just Collin died, the end.' So came the dilemma. I couldn't just kill Collin off but I also couldn't give Leah and him their happily ever after. The first option was make him a vampire. Make it so that he left and never came back in hopes that Leah would be happy. I did almost do that. Almost. Then I thought. What if he woke up human, an Old Soul -as caused by over exposure to the ancient powers-, and amnesiac. I also thought, what if the other half of his soul had the main control because Collin had nearly killed himself while doing what he did. And alas, this ending was born. I say I'm not happy with it because I really am not. That battle still is racing in my head and half of me still wishes I'd given them a happily ever after while the other half hates the prospect. Wait, is this it? I'm not positive. I know this is the last chapter of the trilogy. There won't be another full length story. So this might be the last time we talk? I can't really bring you into notes for my other stories, no matter how tempted I am. Then I have a confession to make. What's that, Dol? My favorite color is blue. Wow. I never would've guessed. Shutup. Is that why your hair is blue? It's the one thing almost all my incarnations had in common. Their favorite color. So you just ended up cursed with blue hair? Yeah. Okay, well this note has drug out long enough. Thank you all for reading this series, truly. I love you all. You have all been great and your reviews have kept me going. And my pushiness. Don't forget that. And her pushiness definitely has helped. It's weird to think that I started posting this series in May of last year. A bit surreal if I'm honest. I want to thank all of my readers who have stuck with me and Dol's bickering through most all of it. When did you start doing notes with me? Chapter twenty of Blood when you duct taped my mouth shut so I wouldn't talk about you bringing Rose back from the edge of death. Ah, yes. Good times. I wonder if I have any duct tape lying around… Nope, nope, nope! We need to say goodbye. I don't want to. I know. It has to happen though. Alright. Thank you all for reading, really. Thank you everyone. I've loved working on this series and it has helped me so much in my writing style as well as so many other things. I'm going to miss this little universe. You could always write a fo- No! Not writing another. My god. No. I love this world but it's done. A trilogy. Simple. I was kidding. I'm going to go now. I have some stuff to do. Any review from fifteen and forward will be answered in PMs if I can answer them. If you have questions, feel free to ask.