CHAPTER 5

Embry POV:

"Hey Jake! You here?" I hollered as I walked into the garage.

"Yea!" Jake said as he stepped out from behind the hood of the car he was working on. "What's up, bro?"

"Just got done making out with a pretty girl, dude. You know, the usual," I answered. I had a quick make out session with Mandy right after school before I left for Jake's.

He laughed. "Hey, for once, I can say, 'Me too!' Bella just left to go to work."

"Geez, I'm glad I missed that. How's that working out for you?" I asked him.

"It's good, Embry, REALLY good." Jake raised his eyebrows up and down.

"OK, spare me the details, dude. Where's this truck that needs work."

"Over here." Jake gave me the lowdown on what needed to be fixed on the truck. I grabbed some tools and went to work. "Hey Jake! Crank some tunes, will ya?"

Jacob turned on the old boom box we kept in the garage and music blared. I really loved working in the garage. I liked being able to get my hands on something and fix it. Jake and I had been working in the garage since we were kids. We started on bicycles then moved up to a dirt bike. Then Jake got the VW Rabbit. We had an old guy named Mr. Collins that would help us out with parts and show us how to fix things when we got stuck. He's the one that gave me my truck. We worked on it for months before it even ran.

"Hey Embry!" I heard someone shout over the music. I pulled my head out from under the hood of the truck and saw Leah standing there. What the hell is she doing here? She has never been in the garage – ever!

"Leah? What the hell are you doing here?" I shouted. She had her hair in one long braid down her back and she was wearing her usual tank top and shorts.

She walked over to the boom box and turned the music off. "There. Hi Embry, how ya doin?" she said.

"I'm good. What are doing here?" I asked again.

"Leah? Is something wrong?" Jake asked as he walked into the garage.

"Nothing's wrong! Geez, can't I just stop by and talk to a couple of my buddies?" she asked.

Jake and I looked at each other then Jake said, "Buddies? Did she really just use the word, 'buddies?' " We both laughed while Leah rolled her eyes. "OK, fine! I came here to talk to Embry about something."

Jake looked at Leah then he looked at me. He had this quizzical look on his face. "Oooooo Kaaaaaay," he said. "I guess I'll go back to work."

"No, wait, Jake!" Leah said. "This kind of involves you, too." I looked over at her. The DNA testing. I hadn't even asked Jake yet!

"Leah, I haven't . . ."

"I know, Embry. But he's your best friend, and you know your're going to tell him anyway. Is it OK if he stays?

I sighed then nodded.

"I talked to mom today, and she said that she would definitely help us. She has a friend at the hospital who will run the tests for free, we only have to pay for the test kits. And, my mom told me that she would take care of that. She feels like the elders owe this to you, Embry. "

I started to say something, but she held up her hand and went on, "Look, she's right. She said she won't say anything to anyone, and they will do the test by numbers, not names. So no one has to know anything but you."

I nodded. Wow. I could really find out who my father is.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jacob asked Leah.

She looked at me. I cleared my throat and said, "Leah is helping me to find out who my father is."

"What? Why?" Jake asked.

"Because he needs to know Jake! Everyone has the right to know where they come from, don't you think? Except no one will tell him. Not his mom, not the elders. It's not right! We have a simple easy way to find out, and no one will know. I think it's the right thing to do." Leah explained.

"Look, Jake. I don't want to rip any families apart here, OK? If this works and I find out who my father is, I don't know that I will even tell him. If he hasn't wanted to come forward and claim me by now, I don't think he will just because I find out."

Jake turned away from us and ran his hands through his hair. I looked over at Leah. She nodded her head toward Jake, indicating I should talk to him. I rolled my eyes and walked over to Jake. I put my hand on his shoulder, "Listen, Jake. I already think of you as my brother, dude, you know that. But if for some reason Billy turns out to be my dad, which I don't think he will, I would never say anything to him unless I got your OK. You get that, right?"

Jake looked at me and said, "Yea, I know. I think of you as a brother, too. I don't need any test for that. But if you want to do this, then, I'll support you." He reached over and pulled me into a "bro" hug. He let go and asked Leah, "So how does this work?"

"Well . . ."

Just then Quil walked in. "Hey! Leah told me to meet you guys here. What's up?"

I looked at Leah. She smiled at me and shrugged her shoulders. I guess she was planning on me saying yes.

"Jake? Can you call Sam and ask him to come over here right away? Tell him its pack business, or something. I want to talk to everyone all at once," Leah said to him.

Jake nodded. He ran into the house to use the phone.

Quil looked at us and said, "What's going on? Why do we need Sam? This bloodsucker business?"

"Um, no. Pack business, really," Leah answered.

"Hey, while we are waiting, I really need to get back to work on this truck," I told them. I really just needed a breather. I couldn't believe what I was asking these guys to do. I grabbed my socket wrench and put my head back under the hood.

I heard Quil say he was going into the house to get something to drink. I figured he was going to pump Jake for more information about what was going on. Leah walked over to the truck and stood there quietly watching me work. "I'm sorry, Embry. I hope you don't feel like I'm pushing you. It's just after I talked to Mom, I got so excited, I wanted to tell you right away."

I glanced over at her. "Yea, it's OK."

I kept working until I heard the guys all walk into the garage. Sam was with them. That was quick! Now I was really getting nervous. What if they refused to do it? What if they got pissed at me?

I grabbed a shop rag and wiped the grease off of my hands as I walked over to meet them. "Hey, Sam," I said

"Embry. You all want to tell me what the hell is going on?" Sam asked sternly.

I looked at Leah. She gave me a small smile then said, "Embry and I were talking the other night and I realized how awful it is for him not knowing who his dad is. He hides it well," she looked at me then went on, "but it's hard, you know? So, I talked to my mom, and she is going to help by having some DNA tests run for him. That's what we need you guys for."

I spoke up, "Look guys. You have the right to say no, OK? I don't want to bust up any families, or have you guys hate me. I already think of all of you as my brothers. But, Leah's right. The older I get, the more this bothers me. Especially now, that I phased. If any of the elders know who my dad is, they are not saying. And if it is one of them, they must not want to claim me. Whatever, you know? I don't care. I just want to know. So, Leah says that each of you can take a simple test and it will show if we are truly brothers, by blood. "I took a deep breath and continued, "Like I said, it is up to you. I'm not going to say anything to anyone, and I don't want you to either. This is just for me. Do you guys get why I have to do this?"

Jake was the first to say anything, just like I knew he would be. "I'm in, Em. I'll do this for you."

I looked at Quil who had his head down. I knew this was a tough one for him. He really looked up to his dad. He never wanted to talk about this with me because he didn't want to think about his dad being a jerk to his mom by having an affair.

Sam came over to stand in front of me. "Look my dad wasn't much of a dad. He was an asshole, actually. If you wanna lay claim to him, be my guest! I'm in, bro." He squeezed my shoulder and stepped aside.

I looked over at Quil again. He was very quiet. I walked over to him and said, "You don't have to do this. I mean it. I understand."

He shook his head and said, "No, I want to. For you. I'll just have to grow up and deal, you know?"

I reached out and hugged him. "Thanks, man."

"OK, so how do we do this?" Jake asked Leah.

"My mom will bring the kits home with her tonight. So, you guys just need to come to my house tonight, and she will do the test. It's real easy – you just put this cotton swab in your mouth and get some spit on it. She drops it into a plastic bag and takes it to the lab. They will run the test and let us know the results. It takes about 2 weeks, she said."

The all nodded. "What time?" asked Sam.

"I don't know, maybe seven o'clock?" Leah said.

"OK. See you then," Sam said. He walked out of the garage.

"I'm going over to watch Claire right now, but I should be able to get there somewhere around seven," Quil said. "See ya later." He walked out.

Jake said, "I'm going to get back to work, but I'll be there tonight." He punched my arm as he walked away.

Leah looked at me. "You OK, Embry?"

"Yea, I'm good. I need to get back to work on the truck. See you tonight, OK?"

She nodded. "OK. Bye." I watched her walk out of the garage. I couldn't help but be amazed again at her doing this for me. I shook my head. Weird.

Leah POV:

I was anxious. Getting them to agree to take the tests was a big hurdle, and they all agreed. They all showed up and taking the tests wasn't that big of a deal. But waiting two weeks was crazy! Mom said that was standard – that's just how long it took and I would have to be patient. Patience was never one of my strong suits. Embry seemed to be handling it better than I was.

School was out for the summer now. Seth was lounging around on the couch in front of the TV while I was folding laundry. "You know, Mom is expecting you to mow the lawn today," I said to Seth.

"Yea, yea. I'll get to it," he answered as he flicked channels.

I rolled my eyes at him. He was a good kid. I should lay off. He would get to it.

I took the laundry upstairs and put it away. Now what? I had finished my chores for the day, except making dinner, and that wasn't until later. What was I going to do with myself all afternoon?

I looked out the window. It was a fairly decent day, so I decided to go to the beach. I could take a good book and sit there for awhile in the sun. I put on my bathing suit, threw on a pair of board shorts over it and shoved a beach towel and a book into a bag. I went downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water to take with me.

"Hey Seth! I'm going to the beach. Wanna come?" I hollered.

"Naw. I'm happy right here on the couch. Plus, I do have to mow the lawn," he answered.

See? Good kid. "OK," I said as I walked into the living room. "I'll be back in time to make dinner. See ya!"

We didn't live that far from the beach, so I was going to walk there. There was a shortcut that we used through the woods to get there. I put my sunglasses on and took off. I couldn't remember the last time I went to the beach just to sit and enjoy it. I had spent way too much time hiding from life. It was time to move on and do some things just for me.

I came out of the woods and onto the beach. It was a public beach, but not many people used it since it was on the reservation. There were some blankets and umbrellas scattered here and there, and kids making sand castles. Some kids came here to surf, but the waves weren't up for that today.

I decided to walk a little to find just the right spot. I saw a couple playing in the water then recognized Embry. He was splashing some girl wearing a bright pink bikini, who of course was screaming and giggling. God, I hated that! Why did girls think they had to behave like that around hot guys? Hot guys? Did I just . . . no. I looked again. I think this was Mandy, the girl that Embry had been seeing at the end of school. I didn't know he was still seeing her.

He reached over and grabbed her and picked her up. Another scream, and an "Embry! Stop it!" Yea, right, skank. You're loving every minute of it. It was making me sick to my stomach. All of a sudden they turned and were running right at me!

I started walking, hoping they wouldn't see me. "Leah! Hey Leah!" Too late! I turned to see Embry, water dripping from his slick black hair, and running down his face. He had a big grin planted there. He was wearing board shorts, and he looked a little more buff than I had remembered. I had to stop and wait for him to make his way to me.

"Hey Embry! Having some fun in the sun?" Fun in the sun? Did I really say that?

He laughed. "Yea, we are. What about you?"

"Um, just got here actually. I brought a book – thought maybe I would just sit here on the beach and read a little."

"Wow. Real fun," said the Bimbo.

"Oh, uh, Leah, this is Mandy. Mandy this is my friend, Leah," Embry said quickly.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I said politely. I bet you have no idea how to even open a book.

"Yea, hi. Come on, Embry! Let's get back in the water,"she said as she rubbed her body against his arm.

I shot my eyebrows up and looked at Embry. He smiled at me and said to Mandy-Bimbo, "Sure, babe. Just give me a sec here, OK? I have to ask Leah something. Why don't you go and grab the sunscreen? I'll come over and rub some more on your back, OK?"

She smiled and batted here little eyelashes at him, "OK." Then she threw herself at him and kissed him. It was rather gross and graphic. I think she had her tongue out of her mouth before she even met his lips. Ugh!

He peeled himself away from her and gave her a gentle push. She took off running down the beach, looking over her shoulder to make sure that Embry was watching her ass as she left.

"Um, sorry about that. She's . . ."

I put my hand up. "Say no more. She's real . . . perky!" He laughed at that. "I haven't heard anything yet, if that is what you are wondering. You know I will call you as soon as Mom gets the results."

"Yea, I know. I guess I just thought, when I saw you . . . that maybe you had heard," he said.

I smiled. "Sorry. It's killing me too. I can't stand waiting!"

He looked at me and smiled. "Don't take this the wrong way, but, I've kind of missed you. I haven't seen you much lately. Since we have gone back to our regular patrolling schedule, we haven't spent as much time together. How are ya?"

"I'm OK. I just got my grades for my online classes. I got an A in Psych, and a B in English Comp. I'm pretty happy with that," I told him.

"Hey, that's great! Yea, I got my report card. Not as bad as I thought – three C's and two D's. At least I passed 11th grade."

I laughed, "That's not bad considering all we have to deal with. No sleep, hardly anytime for homework," I said.

"Embry! I found the sunscreen." Mandy-Bimbo sang out.

He looked over at her then back at me. "Sorry, I gotta go. Are you doing anything later? Maybe we could get together? Take a walk on the beach? Jump off a cliff?" he asked with a big smile.

"Um, yea, I guess. I told Seth I would be home in time to make dinner. It's just him and me tonight. Mom's working. You want to come over for dinner?"

He looked surprised at that. "Uh, yea," he said. Then he smiled, "I would really like that. What time?"

"Six?"

"OK, see you then." He took off and jogged back to Little Miss Bikini Bimbo.

I decided where I was standing was an OK spot, so I took out my towel and spread it on the sand. I slipped off my board shorts and threw them in the bag. I decided to take a little dip before I opened my book. I walked down to the water's edge and waded in. The water felt really good. When your body temperature runs at 108, it was hard to spend a lot of time in the sun. I dove in and started swimming. The water felt really good running over my body. It was so relaxing. I couldn't get over how good I was feeling these days! I felt like I was finally coming out into the sun after years of being in darkness.

I swam for awhile then walked back onto the beach. I decided to let myself air dry instead of drying myself with the towel. I pulled my long hair to the side and squeezed the excess water out then I shook it out. I felt someone watching me. I looked over to where Embry was to see him staring at me. Mandy-Bimbo had her back to me, so she probably thought he was listening to whatever she was babbling about. But I locked eyes with him. Yes, he was definitely staring at me. I smiled at him, and he smiled back. Miss Bimbo turned to look over her shoulder at me. Uh-Oh! Busted! I quickly sat down and put my sunglasses on. I pulled my book out of my bag and opened it to the bookmark. I glanced over to Embry. He had his head down and I could tell he was getting grilled. I smiled when I noticed the small smile on his face. What a player! I laughed to myself.

I spent an hour or so reading and relaxing. Embry and Mandy had picked up their stuff and left soon after I started reading. I hoped I hadn't gotten Embry in too much trouble. I finally decided I had enough sun, so I gathered up my stuff and headed home. On the walk home I thought about what to make for dinner. I had seen Embry eat before. He was just like my brother and all of the rest of them. They pretty much ate anything, and a lot of it. I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs. That was something that filled you up and I could make a lot of it. I would add some salad and bread. I was actually looking forward to cooking dinner tonight. What's up with that?

Embry POV:

I couldn't take my eyes off of her! She had walked out of the water like some goddess in this black one piece bathing suit. It hugged every curve of her body, and was cut low enough in the front to show some cleavage. I had never seen Leah like this. She squeezed the water from her hair then she shook her head and her hair flew out all around her. I knew I was staring, but I couldn't help it. She was hot! All of a sudden she looked over and locked her eyes with mine. She smiled at me, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to get up and run to her. It was like I was being called to her or something. What is wrong with me? This is Leah!

Just then, Mandy interrupted my stare by smacking me. "Embry! Are you listening to me?" She looked over her shoulder to see what, or who, I was looking at. She looked back at me and said, "Sorry, am I not enough for you?"

"Huh? What, oh, yea, baby. Sure you are. Look, Leah has had a tough time lately, and I've been trying to help her through it, that's all. I'm really glad to see her here, out and around other people. Really!" Yea, dig yourself out of this one.

"You know, Embry Call, I heard about you. All of my friends told me that you couldn't be happy with just one girl. I told them, 'No, he's not like that. He really likes me.' Yea, right! Thanks for making me look like an idiot. Now all of my friends will get to say, 'I told you so!' like I need that!" Mandy was going on and on, and I knew I should be listening, but I just couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. I put my head down and couldn't help but smile. Man, I couldn't get Leah out of my head!

Mandy started gathering all of her stuff and shoving it in her bag. "I want to go home, Embry, right now." She stood up and picked up her towel and shook it out. Sand went all over me.

"OK, OK! I picked up my towel and walked with her to the truck. "Look, Mandy, baby . . ."

"Don't you DARE 'baby'me!" she yelled at me.

I opened the truck door for her and she got in. I walked around and got into the driver's seat. She turned her body away from me and stared out the window. I didn't see how I was going to get out of this one.

I drove her to her house. Before I stopped the truck, I tried one more time. "Mandy, I really am sorry. Leah and I are just friends. That's it. Nothing more. You have nothing to be upset about, baby. Like I said, she had a really bad breakup with her boyfriend. He's engaged to her cousin, and they just found out that she's going to have a baby. Can't you imagine how awful that has been for Leah? Her cousin!"

She looked over at me. "That is awful!

"Yea, it is. I just let her vent one night and get it all out. Since then, she has been feeling a little better, and I was just really glad to see her on the beach. I'm sorry if you thought it was anything else." Pretty smooth, dude.

I pulled up to her house and put the truck in park. She looked at me. I could tell she was trying to make up her mind whether to forgive me or not. She smiled. Score! "Well, maybe I did overreact a little. I guess you were just being a good friend."

"Yea, that's all, really."

She smiled at me and scooted over toward me. I put my arm around her and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around me and put her lips on mine and shoved her tongue into my mouth. All of sudden she had gotten really aggressive. I guess jealousy does that to a girl. I felt like she was trying to mark her territory or something.

We made out a little bit then I pulled back and said, "I gotta go, baby. I gotta get home."

"OK. Call me later?" she asked in her cute little baby doll voice.

"Sure," I said.

She opened the door and got out. I watched her walk up the sidewalk. She turned and gave me a little wave when she got to the door. What is she, five? I gave her a fake smile and waved back and she went inside then drove off toward home.

Why all of a sudden was I so annoyed at that? I used to think she was so hot and cute! I thought about how she had assaulted me with her tongue when I went to kiss her. I realized that I had just made a big mistake by talking to her and getting her to forgive me. I instantly regretted it. I should have let her stay pissed at me.