Chapter Thirteen

Hello, you lovely people! Thanks for the reviews/favourites/alerts on the last chapter, I really appreciate it! I had this already uploaded yesterday but forgot - I was so frazzled. Sorry!

17TH May

MURDER AND MISSING RISE

I hissed in annoyance, tossing the offensive paper down on the kitchen table in distaste. Seattle was being targeted by some weird serial killer and, as it wasn't very far from La Push, Embry was on red alert about my safety. He was terrified that I would either end up dead or missing like the many people already dead or missing. For once, I couldn't argue with him because I was scared of it too. Hence the reason I didn't object to constantly being followed or checked up on. A knock on my front door tore me from my musings and I rose to hesitantly answer it, seeing as I had been (briefly) left alone in the house whilst I waited for my next babysitter to check in. Opening the door, I saw the irritated face of Leah Clearwater and silently let her in. I honestly felt sorry for her having to put up with all the guys and, despite what they said about her being angry and painful to put up with, I fully supported her reasoning. But I knew she hated watching me like a sitting duck, so I generally kept quiet to avoid annoying her more than Paul or Jared or Jake already did. Clearing my throat awkwardly, I successfully gained Leah's attention.

"Do you want food? Drink?" I asked gently and she shrugged. Taking that as a yes because the wolves, boy or girl, were always hungry, I turned around and walked into the kitchen. Looking around in slight panic, I realised that there was a reason why Emily always supervised me in the kitchen. I couldn't cook!

"Need some help?" I jumped about a foot in the air upon hearing Leah's voice behind me. She may not like her unlikely wolf abilities but she used them to her full advantage. I coughed uncomfortably, feeling ashamed of my appalling culinary skills before nodding. She waltzed around my kitchen easily, pulling out two plates and a frying pan before delving into the fridge. None of the wolves even bothered asking anymore. Whoever's house they were at automatically became a free for all by nature. Soon enough, Leah had bacon, sausages and an omelette sizzling away happily on the cooker and I watched as she cleaned up after herself. I often wished, and I knew Emily did too, that the boys would clean up after themselves. They left such a mess behind that it was scary to look at.

"Where is everyone?" I asked tentatively. Leah was rarely my protector, so something big must have happened. Sam assured me that he didn't leave Leah out because she was a girl and I took comfort in that when I realised that Seth often had to stay home too. The younger wolves were often left on the reservation if something big was happening. She scoffed derisively before sitting heavily on the nearest chair.

"The red head has been hanging around again and they want to chase her off. Sam," she grimaced at his name and I felt a twinge of sympathy, "says we're ambushing her on Saturday night." Saturday was two days away. Oh the joys. I couldn't wait until Jake or Embry tried to tell me that little piece of information. Spitting from the various pans caused Leah to rise and dish out the food. She obviously ate most of it but I wasn't hungry enough to eat properly anyway. When I had finished, I tried to inconspicuously watch Leah as I wondered what would happen if she ever encountered Bella. The angry side of me wanted Leah to at least injure the pale face but something told me that wouldn't happen.

"Why do you hate Emily?" I suddenly blurted out and I was certain my entire life flashed before my eyes as I realised what a stupid question that was. Leah had frozen in her eating and I began calculating my chances of getting to an exit before she exploded into her wolf form and destroyed my house. I started lifting myself from my chair as slowly as possible to not attract Leah's attention when I noticed something. She hadn't unfrozen but she looked utterly defeated and her fork slipped from her shaking grasp. But she wasn't shaking like she would if she was about to phase. It took me a few moments to realise that there were tears dripping down her cheeks and then I felt truly terrible. Making Leah angry was easy but making her cry? No one had seen her cry since her dad died and before that it had been a long time. And I had just made her cry. "Leah, I'm so-." She raised her hand and I unintentionally flinched, making her sigh.

"I think it's time we talk . . . without the guys here." It was then I realised that, underneath all the Sam/Emily drama, the wolves, her own new furry secret and the bitterness she held for everyone and everything, Leah was still a girl. She had feelings and thoughts and she been thrust into a man's world with no explanation besides her genes. And then I really saw Leah. She put on a cold, collected front with a fiery temper and she threw thoughts of hate and anger at the wolves but she was hurting. The guys obviously didn't have the energy or the care to look past her anger to her fear, but I did. "I just need to . . . get things off my chest, I guess. It's not as if I can talk to Emily anymore and I don't even know Kim."

"But-." I began to point out that she didn't know me either.

"Kim's more attached to Emily. You're not as connected." I thought vaguely that I should feel offended but I didn't. Leah had a limited supply of girls to talk to and that was the truth of it.

"Leah, just talk. I'll listen – no interruptions," I promised and she finally relaxed enough, wiping her tears and picking up her fork.

"Being around Sam is getting to be too much. I've been a wolf for a couple of weeks now and I already can't stand it. I feel like a desperate, overly-attached ex that's just hanging around and he can't get rid of me. The others obviously can't stand me and it's like it's me against them. Even Embry takes Sam's side and Seth can't argue against them. And I guess I would be able to handle it if there weren't constant thoughts of Emily running through his head. I just . . . I know I'm not the best person to be around but I don't know what I did to deserve this." Leah's tears didn't restart but she looked very lost as she sat in my kitchen, looking down at her half eaten food blankly.

"Closure." Once again, words slipped from my mouth without permission but they meant something. Leah looked at me with wide, bewildered eyes and I realised she wasn't quite used to my quiet, simple words. So, I explained myself. After all, I owed it to her having sparked the entire conversation. "I think that you've been dealt a hand that, in the short term, doesn't look good. But, as the game goes on, you'll realise the value of the hand and win the game." I had no idea where the poker analogy came from but it was there. "You hold all the aces – keep your poker face and use it to get over this experience." I went silent, waiting patiently for her reaction. Her face was carefully blank as she mulled my advice over. Finally, after ten minutes of silence that was quickly becoming nerve wracking, she moved. Something that wasn't quite a smile but was as close as Leah got twitched her lips.

"Thank you, Hetani," she said sincerely and I shrugged.

"Feel better?" I asked, feeling better myself as I returned to simple phrases. She nodded thankfully and I grinned. Then she frowned and chewed her lip nervously.

"Can you . . . not tell anyone about this?" she asked and I nodded instantly. I knew she would think her A, B, C's if it meant keeping the guys from the knowledge so the least I could do was keep my mouth shut. The clock chimed six o'clock and I groaned, knowing it was time to face Jake. And I hadn't done my maths homework. I looked at the viciously annotated bits of paper on my kitchen counter and sighed, very aware that Jake would throw a girly fit. Leah was looking between me and the homework with a raised eyebrow. Standing up, she grabbed the sheets of paper and a pen before sitting next to me.

"What?" I asked bluntly and she glared at me.

"I'm helping you with your problem as you helped with mine." I breathed a sigh of relief before relaxing and listening to Leah talk through each problem with hope in my heart that I would finally understand.

Embry POV

I looked at the clock tensely, wondering where on Earth Hetani was. She was due at quarter past six and the clock had just hit seven. Jake, although he was eating, was twitching nervously and eyeing the clock disdainfully every few seconds. Everyone else was there, including Kim and Claire (Quil's two year old imprint – even Hetani had had a problem with that one) and eating away to their heart's content. I couldn't relax and my fingers were tapping out an irritating rhythm on the worktop that I was leaning on.

Finally, at quarter past seven, Hetani walked through the door. I almost fainted in relief and everyone else relaxed because I had. What shocked us all was that she walked through the door, smiling cheerfully and accompanied by a non-scowling, non-glaring, eerily calm Leah. Jake actually choked on the mouthful of spaghetti he'd just put in his mouth and I knew I was staring rudely. Beaming, Hetani walked up to me and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, snapping me from my stupor. Leah, although she didn't say anything, walked further into the kitchen and helped herself to food. Amazing us all, she nodded to Emily then retreated to a corner of the room and ate. I raised an eyebrow at Hetani who just shrugged innocently.

"Mmm, spaghetti," she murmured appreciatively and raced for the bowl before Paul took the last plate load. I watched in amusement as Paul glared at her and she simply stuck her tongue out, grabbed a fork and retreated back into my arms. Paul rolled his eyes but found some other food to satisfy his stomach. Shaking my head, I watched as Hetani talked between bites of pasta and laughed along with the wolves, her eyes occasionally drifting to a silent Leah. Something had happened between the pair of them but I would ask Hetani later. I doubted she would tell me in Leah's presence anyway.

Since the very beginning, I wanted to write this chapter. Please tell me if it's pushing Leah's personality too far but, in my defence, I feel that she is still a teenager underneath it all and needs to talk. I'll see you Tuesday morning (British time). Please assure me that thirteen isn't my unlucky number and review! Love Bianca :) x