I feel like me thanking you for the reviews gets repetitive, but it has to be said: Thank you guys so much! I love hearing your comments and theories about the chapters to come. This is a little shorter than I planned, but its an important chapter either way. Enjoy!

Vinnie's POV

Chapter 17

To say I was confused would have been an understatement. I was stunned.

Leah had just left me.

I felt like I was being torn between where I was still standing next to the creek and where she had left into the woods. I couldn't understand it, and maybe I got the feeling misinterpreted, but I felt like she had just taken half of me with her dreaded departure.

A tiny voice told me to run after her, try and explain things better than I had, but a stronger one told me not to. I knew I would just hurt her more if she had seen me now, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause her more pain.

Somehow, my feet managed to carry me to my car, which I slowly drove back to my house. I opened the door and heard Embry come down the stairs.

He eyed me confused. "Why are you back so soon?" he asked. "I thought you and Leah were going on some date."

"We were." My voice felt dry, and for the first time, I noticed that my mouth had been agape and open since she left me in the woods; I had never closed it.

"So… what, did she just ditch you or something? I told you-"

"Embry, something happened, and I don't get it."

He looked at me worriedly. "What happened?"

"I… I told her the truth, and she just screamed and left me."

"You –what truth?"

"That I'm a werewolf." I didn't want to tell him that I had met her before when I was a wolf. I felt like it was our little secret.

"Ugh!" He threw his hands in the air.

"Was I supposed to keep it a secret from her? I know there's rules and everything, but I thought it was negated when I know the other person is a wolf, too."

He looked at me stunned. "Who told you that?"

"That's not important." I didn't feel like explaining everything to him. "But, Embry, you have to help me."

"Help you what?"

"Get her back. I know she need to be by herself, but… it hurts so bad."

"What does?"

"Her not being here, not being with me. I feel like I've been ripped apart or something. She…"

He laid a hand on my shoulder. "Vince, what the hell are you going on about? What do you mean 'ripped apart'? Did she attack you?"

"No, but I would rather her be angry with me than hurt because of something I must've done wrong. I can't believe she left me." I was thoroughly convinced that at this point, I had officially lost my mind. I had a girl walk away from me before. I've made girls cry before; not on purpose, but it happens. I've been broken up with by girls I had semi-serious relationships with. But none of that could compare to me right then, with Leah having left me and me not knowing what I could do. "What am I supposed to do now?" I asked Embry.

"Jeez, Vince. You're being a drama queen for no reason. If things don't work out, you can get a new girlfriend. There's this weird thing called 'moving on', Vince. Maybe it will do you some good."

I stared at him as if he were the dumbest person on the planet. "New girlfriend? Move on? I don't think you get it. She's everything. I can't." I ran my hands through my hair. "There is noting but her. There's no moving on from her, from this. I need her."

His eyes bulged out and he looked lost for words. Suddenly, he muttered loudly, "Oh, shit!" Throwing his hand to his forehead.

"What's wrong?"

"God, I thought you were just hopelessly in love with her, but-"

"I am." I didn't need to contradict that sentence. It was the truest statement I had heard all day.

"But you –Oh, man, Sam is not going to like this."

"What?" I was confused; What did Sam have to do with this?

"We need to get you to Sam's. Now." He headed for the door.

"But I thought you said he wouldn't like this."

"Oh, he won't, but you need to talk to him." He pulled my arm, but I stopped moving.

"Will it help me get her back?" I asked desperately. I didn't ignore how anxious I sounded, and the urgency didn't seem to be controlled; it just slipped out.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it'll help, Vince."

I couldn't tell if he was lying just to get me to go, but either way, the little ray of hope was something I needed to believe in.

I followed Embry as we made our way to my car. Somehow, he ended up in the driver's seat and I handed him the keys to my own car, but I couldn't find the will to care. I just wanted Leah back.

The ride to Sam's was a silent one, and all the while, I felt my heart racing loudly in my chest. Maybe Sam would have some answers for me.

When we pulled up to the house, Embry parked the car crookedly in the driveway. We both got out of the car and walked to the front door, Embry banging on the front door frantically.

Emily opened the door, looking a little frazzled, her hair in every which direction. "Embry, what are you doing here?" Her voice sounded half worried, half annoyed. I could only imagine what we must have been interrupting.

Actually, I didn't want to.

"As sorry as I am for interrupting your 'Sam and me' time, I really need to talk to him."

Her cheeks seem to get a little pink with the implication, but she nodded and turned into the house, leaving the door open for us.

"Sam, honey, it's Embry and Vincent," Emily called up the stairs.

A groan was heard, and he came down the stairs looking a little tired. "Vince, I thought I already kicked you out of my house."

I tried to show him a smile, but I could tell that it wasn't coming out right.

"What's wrong?" he asked both of us.

"Um, Leah knows," was all Embry said, sounding a little sheepish. "About Vince."

He sighed. "I had a feeling she would find out."

"Yeah, it didn't help that he told her."

Sam looked at me. "I told you-"

"She's one, too." I wanted to just skip the 'I'm you alpha and I told you not to do that' speech that I knew he wanted to say. I wanted answers. "I don't understand what happened."

"Did she hit you or something?" Sam asked me. "You look like she, I don't know, tore you apart or something."

"She left," was all I said.

"Yeah, that's the other thing," Embry said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure that he imprinted on her."

Sam's eyes went huge. "What?!" he nearly yelled.

Emily seemed to have the exact opposite reaction. "You and…" she smiled widely. "You imprinted on her?" she asked me happily.

"Imprint? What does that mean?" I asked.

"Maybe you and I should have a talk, Vince," Sam said, pointing to the back porch.

I went with him. No use trying to understand without an explanation.

"So, I have to be with her?" I asked. The way he had been explaining this whole thing –about how he had to leave Leah because he "imprinted" on Emily; how Leah didn't handle it well; how Kim and Jared, along with Paul and Jacob's sister Rachel were connected magically in the same way –made it sound like I was "stuck" with Leah, though I didn't feel like that. I felt a pull towards her, as I always had; I came back from Los Angeles because I couldn't stay away from her –when really, I just couldn't see me life without her in it. There was a difference.

"No, you don't have to, but you need to. You feel like that right? Like it hurts to be away from her?"

"Yes." Immensely so.

"And you feel like she's everything?"

She is. "Yes."

"And you love her?"

"More than anything."

He sighed. "Yeah, you definitely imprinted. But I still don't understand how this could happen."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're an anomaly as it is, as many people have already told you over and over again. You're like us in so many ways, but still completely different. Like you're…" He sighed. frustrated. "I don't know. We need to figure you out. What do we know about you dad?"

"Well, he went to UCLA from 1983 through 1985, then he upped and left without a trace with his new girlfriend."

"Did we find out who she was?"

I shook my head, "I messaged the MySpace page, and an alumni facebook I found. Nothing back yet."

He sighed. "I know we agreed not to concern your mother with any of this, but I feel like we're coming to a dead end. Maybe you should have her relive some college memories."

"How do I make sure she doesn't get suspicious?" My mom may have fallen for a loser and been a college dropout, but she was smart; oblivious, but not dumb. I was sure she'd figure out something was wrong if I started asking about my father out of the blue.

"Well, just ask her about what it was like in college. You two went to the same one. Pretend that you want to compare her experiences to your own."

I nodded. That seemed to be a simple enough task.

Soon after the meeting, I headed back to my house by myself –Embry had to go see Jacob about something –where my mom was sitting at the table, her work clothes still on her. She had become the manager of a restaurant in La Push when I was younger, using her college experience to help her. Though she didn't own it, she still was a significant part of its success, and many if not everyone in the town thought of the family oriented restaurant as a great place to be. I was proud of her because of it.

At my entrance, she looked up and smiled at me. "Hello, Vincent."

"Hey, Mom." I quickly tried to think of a plan to try and get her to talk about college. But what could I say?

Maybe if I asked her for advice. "Mom, do you think it was a good idea coming back home even though I didn't finish college?"

"It was your decision, sweetie, not mine."

"I know, but would you have done the same if you were me?"

She sighed. "Well, you know I didn't finish. Maybe it's a trend in the family or something," she chuckled.

"I kind of think that you had a pretty good excuse."

She walked up to me and patted my cheek affectionately. "Yes, I did. You are the best excuse," she laughed.

"What was it like for you in college?"

She walked into the living room and sat on the couch, and I followed after her. "Oh, it was a wonderful experience. Great people, great professors, wonderful parties," she chuckled.

"Did you have a lot of friends?"

She nodded. "Yes. Not many of them were very close, but they were companions nonetheless. One of them actually…"

I waited for her to continue. I could only hope the silence was her deliberating whether to tell me anything about my father or not.

"I was friends with your father before we fell in love," she smiled sadly. "He was a very kind man. I know I don't talk about him to you, but he really wasn't the devil, though I wish he were sometimes."

I was confused. "Why would you wish that?"

"It would be a lot easier to hate him if he were evil." She sighed. "He was very polite, very much the gentleman. I suppose that's where you get it from, because I certainly was no dainty princess. He sort of calmed me down. He had a big heart, always volunteering at the daycare. He was wonderful with children. That's why… I thought he'd be the perfect father for you. A perfect husband one day."

She looked on the verge of crying as she stared down at her folded hands. I was going to tell her that I didn't need to hear anymore –it was still painful for her to talk about –but she continued before I could say anything. "You know, the day I found out I was pregnant was the day he broke up with me? I was going to tell him at our dinner date, but it never happened. And I was going to tell him later, but he just left. I think he went back to Mexico City where he came from That's what he told me, anyways, but he could have been lying."

So Sue was right; my dad was Latino.

I put a hand on her's. "Mom, we got along just fine. You did a great job with Embry and me, better than he would have."

She smiled and kissed my cheek. "Such a good son," she said softly. "Do you know where your brother's gone to this time?"

"Over to Jacob's house, I think."

She chuckled. "I swear, its like those boys were raised together or something. I am glad they're such good friends, though."

I knew what she meant. "Yeah, me too."

She got up to leave for the kitchen. Just before she left, she said something.

I couldn't understand her. "What?"

"Annie. She's the one I hate since I somehow can't seem to hate your father," she chuckled without a trace of humor.

"Who's Annie?"

"Anna Saddler. She was the student who took your father away from me." Following the confession, she turned and went to the kitchen.

I didn't feel overjoyed for the news that I had been seeking finally coming to me. I just felt remorse.

I felt like I hated Anna Saddler, if not for ruining my family, then for just hurting my mother so much.

And so his birth story thickens.

And yes, its official: Vinnie did in fact imprint on Leah. As if you guys didn't know already!

I'm pretty excited for some reason to write the next chapter, mostly I think because no Cullen's have been in the story excluding Renesmee. I can't wait to write it!

Cocoa