CHAPTER 24

Embry POV:

First day of my last year of high school. I sat there on the edge of my bed, still wishing I could take the GED classes with Jake and be done with this shit. I wasn't a kid anymore. I was ready to be an adult and move on with my life. But, I made a deal with my mom, and I was going to honor it. I wiped my face with my hand. I didn't get much sleep last night. I stayed at the hospital with Leah until around midnight then she made me leave to get some sleep so I could get up for school today. It took me awhile to actually fall asleep. Scenes from yesterday kept swimming in my head. Seeing Seth laying on that beach, man, that was brutal. I shook my head and stood up and headed for the bathroom.

I took a shower and brushed my teeth. I shook out my hair and combed my swoop of bangs over to the side out of my eyes. I got dressed in my standard shorts and t-shirt and went to the kitchen for some breakfast. I glanced at the kitchen table and noticed a box of donuts. There was a note:

Embry,

I'm proud of you. Kick ass at school today.

Love, Mom

I laughed. My mom just didn't normally say things like, "kick ass." I opened the box and took out a donut. I loved donuts! She even left coffee for me in the coffee pot. I poured a cup and sat down to enjoy my treat. I had some time before I had to pick up Quil. Just then, I heard a knock on the door. Who would be here at this time of the day?

I got up and answered the door. There with her beautiful smile, stood Leah. I felt my heart skip a beat! I noticed she was wearing a light blue t-shirt, shorts and flip flops now instead of her bathing suit and board shorts, so she must have gone home from the hospital for awhile. "Hey, baby, what are you doing here? I thought you were at the hospital with Seth." I moved back and she walked into the house.

"I was. But I wanted to come and wish you luck on your first day of your senior year." She stood in front of me and I smiled at her. "Plus, I wanted you to have the school stuff I bought for you." She held out a bag of school supplies.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do that," I told her.

"Oh yea? Do you have any notebooks? Pencils? Do you have a scientific calculator for Trig?" she asked with a smile.

I rolled my eyes and said, "No." She laughed and said, "I didn't think so. Do you have a bookbag?"

"Yes, I do have that, Miss Smarty Pants. See? It's right here." I pointed to my bag hanging on the back of a kitchen chair. I sat back down at the table and picked up my donut and took a big bite. "How's Seth?"

"Ooo, donuts. Can I have one?" she asked excitedly. "Sure, babe, help yourself." I pushed the box toward her as she sat down at the table. "Want some coffee, too?" She nodded as she took a big bite of her donut. I got up and took a cup out of the cupboard and poured some coffee into it. "Do you do milk or sugar in your coffee? I can't remember." I looked at her sheepishly and added, "Sorry."

She smiled and said, "Just milk." I got the milk out of the fridge and put it in front of her. She picked it up and added some to her coffee. She took a sip and looked at me over her cup. "Seth had another CT this morning at six. Dr. Cullen said the swelling was gone! Isn't that amazing? He wants him to stay in the hospital until after lunch, and if there are no further problems then he will probably let him go home. Of course Seth thinks it's cool that he's missing school and you guys have to go."

I couldn't help it. I was staring at her. Leah was sitting here, at my kitchen table, eating breakfast with me. I was amazed by that!

She looked at me and said worriedly, "What? Do I have powdered sugar on my face or something?" She reached up and wiped her chin with her hand.

I laughed and said, "No, you look gorgeous as always. I just can't believe you're here, eating breakfast with me. This is pretty cool."

"Yea, it is," she said with a sly smile. She leaned toward me and I leaned in to meet her lips with mine. It was the first time we had kissed since everything happened with Seth. It was a soft, gentle kiss. Just enough to take my breath away. She pulled back and said simply, "I'm sorry, Embry. I love you."

I looked into her beautiful dark eyes and said, "I love you, Leah." This time, I stood up and pulled her up to me. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her with everything I was feeling: relief that Seth would be alright, and that Leah had forgiven me, and how grateful I was to have her in my life. I loved this girl, heart and soul. She hung on and kissed me back with just as much feeling. She finally pulled away and said, "You don't want to be late for your first day of senior year."

"Yes, I do," I said with a grin. I put my lips on hers again and she gently pushed me away. "Oh come on, baby. Work with me here!"

She laughed and said, "Don't 'baby' me! Look, you need to get to school. You promised your mom."

"Oh sure, pull the 'Mom guilt card!' "

She pulled me close and said in her best sexy voice, "But, if you are a good boy and go to school, maybe you can continue this later with your hot tutor." She reached down and grabbed my ass!

"Oh yea, I'm going to like being tutored," I said as I bent down and put another kiss on her lips. She shoved at my chest and I broke away and said, "OK, OK, I'm going." I turned back to the table to pick up my cup and take a last gulp of coffee then I put the cup in the sink.

She put the school supplies in my bookbag and handed it to me. I picked up the box of donuts to take with me so Quil and I could eat more on the way to school. "I still feel stupid going back to high school," I told her as we made our way out of the house.

"Well, get over it! You'll have Quil, Jared and Kim there with you, so you can all whine together. Now go, and I will see you here after school. OK?" She stood beside her mom's car. I bent down and gave her one last kiss. "OK, you can count on it," I said with a smile. I opened the car door for her and she got in and I closed it.

I turned and got into the truck as she started the car and drove away. It was going to be a very long day at school.

I picked up Quil and we headed for the school. He was excited about the donuts and ate three of them on the way. I ate another three myself. He didn't mind going back. He didn't really have any future plans, other than waiting for Claire to grow up. Gave him something to do, I guess. I parked the truck and we walked into the building. I found my locker and took out a notebook and pencil out of my bookbag then threw it inside and shut the door. I smiled. Forgot the calculator, dumb ass! Trig was my first class. I did the combination and opened my locker to find my calculator. As I was looking in my bookbag, I heard someone say, "Hey, Embry. Long summer, huh?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Mandy standing there. Whoa. She was wearing a short red sundress and her boobs had definitely grown over the summer. They were practically falling out of her dress! Look up, man, look up. "Hey, Mandy. What's up?"

"Not much. I've missed you, Embry," she said as she leaned closer to me. "You still hanging out with that other girl, Lulu, or whatever?" She moved in a little closer.

I tried to step back but she had me trapped between my locker and the wall at the end of the hallway. I had nowhere to go. "Uh, Leah, and yea, she's my girlfriend." She leaned forward just a little to give me a better view of her chest then she gave me a little pout and said, "Gee, that's too bad. I thought maybe we could get together later." Look up, Embry! For God's sake, look up!

"Sorry, I'm a one-woman guy now, baby. Leah's the one for me. I'm seeing her after school. Um, I better get to class." I had the calculator in my hand and I slammed the locker door shut.

She smiled and said, "Whatever, Embry. It's your loss." She made sure that her boobs rubbed against my arm as she turned to go. I just shook my head. Man, what did I used to see in her? Well, besides her boobs and ass? Not much. I'm so glad I grew up and found Leah!

I had lunch with Quil, Jared and Kim. I smiled when I remembered how Leah said we could all whine together about being in school. Instead, I told them all about my encounter with Mandy and they cracked up. "Yea, where did she get those? You think those are real, dude?" Quil asked.

Kim smiled and said, "Oh Quil, you can do a lot with a push-up bra, you know. Apparently, she learned how." Then she looked over at Jared and said, "No. Don't even go there."

He grinned and said, "I wasn't going to say a thing! You are perfect just the way you are, baby." Then he leaned in and kissed her and she added, "Good answer."

Quil rolled his eyes at them then he looked at me. "I'm proud of you, bro. You weren't even tempted, just a little?"

"Nope. I only have eyes for Leah now. Guess I'm all grown up, huh?"

"Awwww, our little Embry is all grown up" he said. Then everyone else said, "Awwwwww."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Alright, knock it off." Everyone had a good laugh then went back to class.

School was out and I dropped Quil at his house then headed for home. I pulled up to my house to see Leah sitting on the front steps waiting for me with a big smile on her face. I like that. I got out of the truck and slammed the door then walked over to her. "Hey, baby!" I called to her. She stood up as I got to the steps and I wrapped my arms around her. "I missed you," I whispered.

"Me, too," she whispered back. She pulled back and gave me a quick kiss then asked, "How was school? Was it horrible?"

I laughed and took her hand and led her up the steps to the front door. "No, it wasn't horrible. I survived." I unlocked the door and opened it for her. She walked in and I followed, closing the door behind me. "I have some homework in Trig and Government," I said as I dropped my bookbag on the kitchen table and walked over to the fridge and took out a Mt. Dew. "Want one?" She nodded, so I took out another one and sat down at the table. Leah had already sat down and I set the can on the table in front of her.

She opened the bag and took out the books I brought home. I popped the top on the can and took a big swig. "Did Seth come home today?"

"Yes, we brought him home around two. Dr. Cullen said everything looks good. He put some stitches in the gash on his head last night, and it healed nicely. His ankle was only sprained, not broken and it's fine. He can go to school tomorrow. But, Mom says no more cliff diving for a long time. He wasn't happy with that one."

I nodded. "Well, I can see her point." Leah opened her can of pop and took a drink. She opened the math book and said, "OK, babe. What homework do you have in this class?" I told her the pages and which problems. "Did you bring home your calculator?"

"Yea, it's in there. Which reminds me, I have to tell you what happened this morning at my locker. I forgot my calculator, so I opened my locker again to dig it out of the bag. All of a sudden, there's Mandy, wearing this low-cut dress with these huge boobs falling out of it! I mean, she didn't have those when she was going out with me! Kim says she thinks it was a push-up bra or something."

"Really? She came over and hit on you?"

"Yea! She asked me if I wanted to hang out after school. I told her that I was still seeing you and I was a 'one-woman man.' Good one, huh?" Leah rolled her eyes at me and I went on, "She says, 'It's your loss,' and makes sure her boobs rub against me as she turns to go. Man, I can't believe I ever went out with her!"

Leah laughed and said, "I can! All your bimbo girlfriends were like that. Don't you remember?"

I thought about it and realized she was right. "I guess so. Man, what kind of an ass was I?"

"You weren't an ass. You were a normal hormonal teenage guy. Although, you seemed to be a little more hormonal than everyone else, but we won't go there. I can't believe she rubbed her boobs on you! Maybe I need to hunt her down and beat the crap out of her!"

"Can I watch? Or maybe you could wrestle in a pool of Jello? In bikinis?" I was laughing now. She rolled her eyes at me and smacked me on the arm. "Stop it!" she said with a smile.

"Alright, enough of that! Let's hit the books." She opened my notebook and put it in front of me with a pencil. "OK. You start on the first few problems and if you have a question, ask." She stood up and went to the fridge. She took out some turkey and cheese then hunted for the bread.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. "What does it look like? I'm making you and me sandwiches. I'm hungry."

"Awesome! Me, too." I finally started my homework while Leah made sandwiches. She sat one down in front of me and I ate while I did the first few problems. This math wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe I was too busy trying to score chicks at school, that I didn't pay enough attention to the teachers. Whatever. I just wanted to get through the next four months and be done with it.

She wondered into the living room and saw the book that Emily gave me for my birthday. She picked it up and brought it to the table. "Do you mind if I look through this while you do your homework?"

"No. Go ahead," I said as I took a bite of sandwich. We sat there at the table, me working and she reading, for almost an hour. "There. Done," I said as I closed the Government book.

She looked up and said, "Oh. That didn't take long. And you didn't even ask me for help." She turned the page and went back to reading. I put my books back into my bookbag and thought how weird it would be to actually turn in homework. That would be a first! I looked at Leah and asked, "You about done?"

" Hmmm? Oh, yea. This book is awesome! Would it be OK if I borrow it and take it home to read?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Oh, that reminds me." She dug in her purse and handed me the picture of me and Jake when we were kids. "Here. I made copies for Bella and me. You can put this back into your album. I love this picture! You guys were so cute!" I took the picture from her and put it on the table. We were pretty cute. Those were fun days for me and Jake.

"I need to call Jake. I told him I would keep working at the garage after school, so I need to get with him and work out some kind of schedule, I guess. I need to have time for homework, time to work, time to patrol, but most important, time with you. How am I going to do all of that?"

Leah smiled and said, "Well, you can work right after school then we can spend time together after supper. We can do homework together and maybe we can patrol together, too. It will work out, don't worry. And we will have weekends to spend together."

I stood up and pulled Leah up into my arms. "Yea, but what about time for this." I put my lips on hers and kissed her long and slow. "We need to find time for that, definitely," she said with a smile. Just as I leaned in for another kiss, I heard my mom pull up outside. I put a quick kiss on Leah's lips then said, "My mom's home." I let her go and she sat back down at the table.

The door opened and Mom walked in. "Hey! How was school?"

"Not as horrible as I thought it would be. And, get this: I already did my homework," I told her.

"What? My son did homework? I hope you don't give your teachers a heart attack!" she said with a smile. She came over and touched Leah on the shoulder and said, "Hi Leah. How's your brother?"

"Good. He's home resting and whining because he only missed one day of school! He gets to go tomorrow," she answered.

"Well, I'm glad he's OK. I know he gave everyone quite a scare. Especially this guy," she said as she put her arm around Embry. "If you will excuse me, I want to get a shower and get out of these work clothes." She walked back to the bathroom and closed the door.

"I better get going. We are all going to eat dinner together then I am running Seth's patrol tonight." She stood up and picked up her purse and slung it over her head and across her body.

"Wait. Do you want a ride home? Let me drive you. It will give us a little more time together." I hated letting her go. She smiled and said, "I would like that."

I grabbed a piece of paper out of my notebook and wrote Mom a note letting her know where I was. Leah picked up the book Emily made me and we walked out to the truck. We got in and I pulled out onto the road. "What time are you going out on patrol?" I asked her.

"Um, I think around eight. I don't know who else is out tonight," she answered. "I hope its not Paul. Man, he and Rachel are . . . well, I just hope Jake never sees that! And he flaunts it, he doesn't even try to hide it!"

I shook my head and said, "I know, right? That's not the Rach I remember! You know with all this hooking up, I can't believe there aren't more babies on the way besides Sam and Emily's. This pack will grow pretty big with all this going on!"

Leah laughed at that. "I know. " Then her eyes grew wide and she said, "Oh, man. I hope that just because I'm a werewolf doesn't mean I'll have a litter instead of just one at a time. Oh God, wouldn't that be awful?" We both cracked up at that one. "I'm so glad I'm on the pill!" she added.

I pulled into the driveway and put the truck in park. She looked over at me and smiled as she scooted closer. I put my arm out and drew her close to me and kissed her. She opened her mouth right away and teased me with her tongue. I let mine tease back. She scooted closer and put her arms around my neck. We sat there and made out for awhile. Finally she pulled back and said, "I better go." I nodded and said, "If you have to." She smiled and nodded. She scooted over and opened the truck door and got out. She closed the door and waved then walked up to the door and went inside. I just sat there and watched her go then realized how empty I felt when she was gone.