II.
Escape
He stepped away from me finally giving me space. His action caused me to think more clearly, as if I was emerging from underneath the ocean. Quickly I changed into my wolf form just to protect my modesty. He didn't look shocked at the sight of me; on the contrary he was expecting me to do so. I was in Jacob's and Seth's head before I could hide anything. Jacob was now running to the west while Seth was now coming back. They were too busy thinking of other things so I hid the fact that I imprinted as fast as I could before they would notice my presence.
He's here! I screamed as loud as I could inside my head. I let them see the statue in front of me.
Oh shoot. We're coming, Leah! Jacob assured me. But before I could think of anything else, he started speaking.
"I am Ethan, wolf," he said suddenly with a voice as gentle as a feather yet as firm as a python's grip. I growled at the mention of the word "wolf".
Easy, Leah. We're here. Then the two wolf-boys returned to the picture. They were growling fiercely at the vampire. The vampire looked at the three of us without fear in his eyes. I slowly backed away and ran before the boys knew that I was gone.
The good thing about being the fastest in my pack is that I could run and no one will ever catch up. That was the only thing I was good at anyways- running away. I ran away and hid in the oasis of my mind when Sam broke my heart. I ran away from the world when I found out that I can become a wolf when I get angry. I ran far away when my father died when he found out that his curse was passed down to us.
Where exactly are you going, Leah? Jacob suddenly asked suspiciously, making me jump as if he was shouting directly at my ear.
I-I'm going to warn the Cullens about the vampire. They would want to know after what happened with the Volturi. I answered, surprised at the quickness of the formation of the lie.
You're not heading there.
I'm going to my house first, to get dressed, oh-so-smart Alpha. Just stay there all right?
Fine. Seth and I are going to phase back to our human forms to talk to this thing.
Wait! What if he decides to fight you? Besides, we need to have communication with each other.
Well, we'll need to know what he wants from all of us.
Fine, fine! Then I felt the familiar and the wonderful sensation of having the sanctuary of my own mind.
I looked for any signs of cars driving down the road in front of Charlie's. When all of the cars sped by, I quickly crossed the street and jumped once again in my room. I changed into my human form without thinking of it and packed everything that I could see. I quickly got in the shower, cleaning myself. Then I dressed and took everything that I have packed downstairs and into my car. The Toyota Celica purred as it comes to life.
I drove quickly to the familiar path of the Cullen house. It was strange being familiar to the path to their house but I have to be there all the time either because we needed to help them or they needed to help us. I did not care that I was over speeding at all. I love the feeling of exhilaration as I sped down the road.
The door flew open before I could even knock and standing in front of me was Edward Cullen himself. He looked urgent and weary and I know for a fact that he already knows about everything. He looked at me and an awkward silence drifted towards us. I don't think he has ever forgiven me for shouting at his wife for hurting Jacob so much before Nessie was born.
"This makes everything complicated, you know that, right?" Edward said, his voice was flat therefore I did not know if he was angry with me or not.
"I can't control it. Besides, we both know it's the last thing I want to happen. I don't know why you have to blame me for it," I replied coldly.
"I don't blame you for anything, Leah. It just makes everything much more complicated than it needs to be. We just need to know what he wants. What are you going to do now?"
"I have no idea. I'm just going to-"but before I could finish, an excruciating pain hit every part of my body, blinding me completely. I fell in my knees and my body trembled. I screamed in agony and Edward stepped in front of me. The others came outside, hearing my anguish.
"What's going on?" I heard Bella's voice drift from somewhere in my right.
"What's happening to her, Edward?" Carlisle asked, kneeling down to me.
"I don't know. I was just talking to her when she screamed. What happens when a wolf does not follow its imprint mate's desire?"
"What do you mean?"
"She imprinted on the vampire, that's why Alice could not see him any longer."
"What?!"
"Hey, could you guys just do something, please? I'm dying here!" I whispered and they all jumped. Someone carried me up the house and before they set me down I fell unconscious.
I blinked, once, twice, three times. The light was a bit blinding and the smell was stinging my nose. I sat up and shook my head. I was sitting at one of the Cullen's guest beds. I tried to remember why I was here when Ethan's face flashed in my mind. Then everything came back to me in one punch that almost knocked me out once again.
Esme came in like a ghost, carrying a bowl of hot soup like some kind of mother. She looked cautious and hesitant as if I was going to do or say something harsh to her that would hurt her feelings. She was too nice to be a vampire and it's amazing how someone as cold-skinned as she was see us as her children.
"I hope you're feeling all right now, Leah," she said softly as she cautiously set the bowl of soup at the bedside table.
"Thanks," I replied not really knowing what to say.
"Renesmee seem to want to talk to you," she said in her soft tone once again.
"Ok."
"You were right, Nessie," I said as she entered the room. She didn't say anything but stared at me. I looked away and silence engulfed us. I don't think we both don't know what to say to the other.
"I'm sorry that this just makes everything harder for you Leah. I know you don't want this to happen. What will you do know?"
"I don't know. I think I'll just escape. I can't be here, not until he leaves. Hey, where are the others?"
"They went to where the rest of the pack is."
"What?! The others can't find out!" I begged Nessie.
"Well, I can't do anything anymore. I mean, their all gone, except for Esme and me."
I got up and ran as fast as I could out of the house. It was hard not getting lost in the huge mansion but I got to the door and stepped out. My car waited for me in front and I quickly jumped in. I did not want to phase back to a wolf because I would have to answer to Jacob and Seth. I don't think I'm ready to let them know yet. But maybe they already know. I gulped as the thought formed in my head. I turned the wheel to the opposite direction and started to drive out of the town but then I had to make one final stop. Before I leave, I wanted to have some closure. At least one issue in my life would have some closure.
I stopped at the Reservation, not really knowing how to continue. I could see their house from down here and I was hesitant if I should really go there. It would be better if they never see me again. But I knew I can't have any peace if I didn't say anything to them any longer. I was the maid of honor in their wedding.
I parked in front of their home and turned the engine off, finding the courage to finally speak to them after all these years. I sighed and stepped out of the car. I could feel my knees turn wobbly, until I had to lean on the wall of their door to steady myself. I knocked three times clearly. I was praying with all my might that they weren't there. But of course it was in vain.
The door opened and Sam looked directly at me, curiosity being replaced by shock. He was still as handsome as I could remember as if he hasn't changed a bit also. But he did change; he grew a thin mustache and made him a look like some kind of Greek god. He stood there looking stunned at the sight of me and it was really making me uncomfortable so I was forced to look down.
"L-Leah, wh -what are you doing here?" he asked tripping over the words.
"I don't really know either. Is Em home?" I asked finally looking up at him, he was still wearing that shocked expression.
"Y-yeah, she's here. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Well, I need to talk to both of you, really."
"About what?" he asked, a hint of dread in his voice. I know he thinks I'm here to confront them about everything. Truth is I don't know how I will get closure at all.
"I want to talk to both of you first."
"Oh, come in then."
I stepped into their home. Everything looked so cozy as if the whole house was built for winter. A fire was crackling delightfully in the fireplace in their living room while two couches were tilted methodically so that one half were facing the fire and the other half was facing the TV.
"You've done well Sam. I'm really impressed," I said as I examined a number of china figurines in a cupboard.
"Thanks. But it's Emily's design so you should really be complimenting her not me," he said as I heard footsteps descend from the stairs.
"Who is it, Sam?" I heard Emily asked as she took the last step and I turned. An audible gasped came from her. Emily was still scarred from the accident with Sam a long time ago. Yet even though the ugly mark was prominent in her face, she was still extremely beautiful. She blinked in disbelief, making her long eyelashes flutter up and down, as if she was not sure if she was seeing me correctly. Then without warning she ran to me and hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe.
"Oh my gosh Leah! You're here! I can't believe you're here!" she said, her voice muffled under a clump of hair that belonged to both her and mine.
"Yeah, I can't believe it either," I gasped. She let me go and looked horrified. I knew she was now thinking the same thing as Sam: that I was here to confront them.
"Leah, I don't know what to say. I mean I know that you could never forgive me and-" she poured out but I shook my head to silence her.
"That doesn't matter anymore, Emily. I'm actually happy for you. I'm not really here to fight you two because of what happened. Finally I could say that I'm finally at peace with myself. I can't stay mad at you for the rest of my days anyways," I explained, adding in my head that I was only happy for them because I imprinted. The two looked shocked even more which made me smile. The gesture was not a sign of sincerity but rather a sign of amusement but I guess they thought otherwise.
"Thank you Leah. You don't know how much that means to me," Emily said, relieved after a brief moment of shocked silence. She gave me another hug then gestured me to go to the living room to sit. I obeyed and sat silently.
"Well, I guess I'm glad that I came here to have some closure," I said.
"Just out of curiosity, Leah, why did you suddenly want to fix everything between us? I mean you had all the time in the world, didn't you? We didn't exactly go anywhere, did we?" Sam asked and Emily nudged him, silently warning him not to spoil this "wonderful" moment of reconciliation.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," I began, dismissing Emily's worries and carefully choosing my words so that everything won't spill out at once. "Something just… came up and I have to leave right away."
"What happened, Leah? Is the pack all right? Does your pack know about this sudden departure?" Sam asked. Of course he was still a bit mindful about the pack, being its old Alpha.
"Everything's fine with the pack Sam. It's just me that really needs to go and no, they don't know that I'm going and where I'm heading. I don't even know that either," I replied.
"Well, what happened to make you leave, Leah?" Emily asked. I sighed. I guess I'd better lay everything out now.
"I imprinted," I said simply not being able to connect the words "imprint" and "vampire".
"That's wonderful, Leah! Why would you want to leave if you imprinted?" Emily asked in delight and confusion.
"I imprinted on… a vampire," I whispered solemnly and they gasped once again. I started to wonder how many more times they could gasp and looked shock without getting tired of it.
Sam opened his mouth to speak but then a little girl, barely a year old walked in the room. She looked completely like Emily but had Sam's eyes. She was a beautiful little girl that could compel everyone she meets. She looked curiously at me, trying to identify who this new stranger in her life is. It was my turn to be shocked. I looked to Emily, who was now walking towards her daughter to put her back to whatever room she came from, and then to Sam who was looking down at his feet, awkward at the situation.
"You had a girl," I said breathless as Emily carried her off.
"Yeah. Her name is Nicole," Sam answered, still looking down at his feet. I wondered what he was so embarrassed about.
"Sam, you do know what this means, right?" I asked seriously. He nodded.
"We're not certain yet, Leah, if she's going to become one of us when she grows up."
"I don't want that little girl experiencing the same thing as I am now," I blurted out, angry at them though I had no idea why I should be. I thought of the pain that I suffered when Sam broke my heart and now when I found out that I was a monster. I couldn't let that girl become like me. I don't like being the only female who can turn in a wolf but I don't want anyone else experiencing my unfortunate circumstances.
"We don't know that yet and if she does become one of us, we can't do anything to change it," he answered.
"I need to go," I said rushing out of the house and jumped once again in my car. I was running away again. I can't accept that an innocent little girl will turn out to be like me when she grows up. I know that I haven't done anything to make her this way but I can't help blaming myself because I felt like since I was the first female wolf, I opened that possibility that little girls like Nicole has the chance of becoming a despicable thing.
I was almost out of the Reservation when I saw the two boys that I have left behind, waiting for me in the road leading out. I gulped as they approached my car. I had the sudden desire to speed away but I was not sure if I could outrun them. Even though I didn't want to, I think it was time for me to stop running and finally face the conflicts raging in my life.