A/N: I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find time to write over the break. But, now that I'm back at school, I'm finding time again :) Thanks to everyone who was patient with me, and I promise to start updating with more regularity from now on!
Washington looked different when I got back. I hadn't realized it, but I had been letting the Cullens' assumed anger hang over me like a pendulum of guilt. The knowledge that they weren't angry, that they still loved me, opened my eyes like I'd been looking through a blurry film for months. The sun was brighter; the air was crisper. I felt lighter, and it was refreshing.
"You seem to be in a great mood," Jacob commented as he drove me back from Seattle, his arm slung around the back of my seat in his tiny car.
"I just had a really good time," I replied breezily.
"What did Alice do to you?" I made a face at him, and he laughed.
"She didn't do anything to me. I mostly just spent time with her family. I really missed Esme, and it was great to see Emmett and Jasper again. They have a beach in their backyard, did I tell you? It was amazing."
"What about Eddie?" Jake asked, his voice sarcastic. I rolled my eyes.
"He wasn't there."
"Does Alice know what happened to him when he ran off like a baby?"
"Jake, come on," I said tiredly, sighing. He glanced over at me, his eyes apologetic.
"I know, I'm sorry."
"She said he's just wandering around. He didn't go to them, which really bugs Esme and Carlisle. Esme said she just wanted him to come home."
"As long as he isn't here, I'm happy," he said arrogantly, wrinkling his nose. I turned to stare out my window.
"Change the subject before I get mad," I huffed, watching the trees whiz by the car on the highway. Jake was quiet for a moment.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I don't know. What did you do this weekend?" He was quiet for a beat too long. I turned my head, and the look on his face was almost pained. His eyebrows were pulled down and he was biting his lip, his jaw tight. He turned to me, his features relaxed, and I wondered if I'd just been seeing things.
"Nothing too exciting," he finally said, his voice bright.
"Jake, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." He looked at me quickly and smiled. "I mostly just hung out with Embry. I skipped school, rode the bike, typical weekend stuff."
"I don't believe you," I said, narrowing my eyes. His tone was too chipper, almost fake. "You're lying."
"Why would I ever lie to you, Bells?"
"Maybe because Sam told you to," I said with a hint of anger. Jake sighed.
"Sam isn't making me keep anything from you anymore," he said wearily, like he was speaking to a child about something for the hundredth time. He flicked on his turn signal and veered lightly off the highway towards town. "He gets that you're as close as an imprint to me."
"Is that what happened?" I tried to keep my voice even, but it wavered.
"Is what what happened?"
"Did you imprint?" Jake immediately dissolved into loud guffawing laughter, the noise bouncing around the car.
"God, those Cullens make you so melodramatic."
"Jacob Black, if you imprinted on some girl while I was gone, I swear-"
"Honey, relax," Jake managed, still laughing. "I promise, I didn't imprint on anyone. I still love you just the same."
"Then what are you hiding from me?" I tried to keep calm, feeling slightly hysterical. Nothing good crossed my mind: they had found another vampire that wanted me, someone had been hurt, the Volturi had come early...
"Leah's home," he said carefully, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I blinked once, twice. Jake slowed for a stoplight and turned to face me, his eyes guarded. The tightness in my chest uncoiled, and I felt my shoulders relax.
"When did she get back?" I asked, her angry face the last time I'd seen her after the battle popping into my head.
"Yesterday." He turned back to the road with the green light. "She's at home now, with her mom and Seth."
"Well, that's great news, isn't it?" I smiled, trying to understand what made him act so strangely. "It's good that she's finally back. I know you've all been worried about her."
"I guess," Jake mumbled, turning into my tiny driveway and cutting off the headlights. It was dark outside, and people were just starting to turn their lights off for the night.
"You don't sound happy." He stared in front of us, towards the garden in front of us.
"It's just complicated," he said finally, his hand falling from the steering wheel and moving to grab mine in my lap. He squeezed comfortingly.
"You know I'll find out sooner or later, so you might as well tell me now and get it out of the way." Jake turned to me with an expression of mock annoyance, and I smirked.
"Since when did you get so snarky?"
"Maybe your overconfidence finally rubbed off on me."
"Sure, sure." I laughed and squeezed his hand. He smiled.
"Just tell me." He paused for a moment, staring at me. I raised my eyebrows slightly, and he grinned.
"Fine, you win. She found someone."
"Found who?"
"She brought home a guy." I sat back in my seat and shook my head.
"I could smack you for making me worry, you know," I said, rolling my eyes. "A boy isn't bad at all. I'm glad she found someone, really."
"It's really bad, Bells," he said, his eyebrows furrowing, his expression serious. "She didn't imprint on him. He's just some guy she dragged back here, trying to get back at Sam. And he knows about us. I don't know how she got around Sam's order not to tell, but she did. And who knows what kind of damage this guy can do? We don't know him at all, and Leah's only known him for a few months. He could destroy everything." I tried to wrap my head around the problem, and suddenly I understood. Having an outsider in the loop, someone that wasn't entangled in the pack like an imprint or like me, was dangerous.
"Oh," I said quietly, staring down into my lap.
"'Oh' is right. And she's dragging up things that don't matter anymore. She's causing trouble just for the sake of it." I glanced back up at him, and his eyes were closed, like he was exhausted.
"Let's get inside, and you can tell me the rest," I suggested. He nodded, his eyes still closed, and I got out of the car. He pushed his door open and grabbed my bag from the backseat, following me up to the door. I pushed it open and was glad to see that the place was exactly how I'd left it. I flicked on a light to see. Jake set my bag down by the couch and immediately wandered into my room, the springs creaking loudly as he flopped down onto the bed. I followed him. He was splayed out like a starfish, his body stretching across the entire mattress. I poked his arm, and he turned his head to look up at me. When he understood, he moved to a sitting position against the headboard, and I sat beside him. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me to him, my head resting against his shoulder.
"Start with something easy," I suggested, his silence dragging. He sighed.
"None of this is easy."
"Now who's the melodramatic one?" I teased, poking him in the side.
"Shut it," he mumbled, shifting his chest to sink further into the bed.
"What about where she's been?"
"California," he said, almost automatically. "Colin phased once after his mom pissed him off and he saw her there for second before she phased back. It was the only time we ever saw her. And she said she's been there ever since then."
"Is her mom happy to have her back?" Jake laughed loudly, his chest shaking. I turned to look up at him, and he was smirking.
"Sue might just kill her. She's furious that she just ran off without a word. And she barely even called."
"She didn't seem mad the last time I saw her," I said absently, thinking back to the party at the end of the summer and the hushed whisperings about her daughter.
"I don't think she knew she was until Leah got home."
"I'd be mad if I were Sue. Leah's an idiot for running off like that and scaring her mom." Jake shrugged.
"I get why she left, I think," he said slowly, leaning his head onto mine. "She's had it real rough with us, you know that. I think she just wanted some space from all of us. It can get kind of crowded with ten guys in your head all the time." I bit my lip slightly, thinking. Leah hadn't chosen this, and she had always had it the worst, being the only girl and having Sam in her head constantly after he imprinted on Emily. She must've just finally had enough.
"What was she doing all this time?" I asked, sitting up a little. "She can't have had enough money to afford to live somewhere."
"That's what we were all worried about," Jake replied. "Her mom knew she didn't have money, but she was gone for so long. Turns out, she met the guy pretty early on, and he took her in."
"Where was she before that?"
"A hotel. She said she was there for about a week before she ran out of whatever savings she had. She was about ready to come home when she met him."
"Where?"
"That's another annoyance. She won't tell us. She refuses to phase because she doesn't want us in her head, so she's being very...selective with what she tells us."
"Have you met him?"
"Not yet," he snorted, sighing. "I had to go pick you up in Seattle before she had a chance to bring him over. He's here, though."
"What made her come back?"
"That's the crazy part. I have no idea. Her mom wasn't begging her to come home, we had stopped calling her, everyone had just sort of learned to deal. It was very out-of-the-blue that she popped back up."
"Maybe she missed you guys," I offered, but Jake rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe she missed her family. I know you said she and Seth were pretty close."
"It's an ab-" Jake cut off, his body tensing, his head whipping around to the side. I was suddenly scrambling, trying to sit up and look around all at once. Had the Volturi come for me?
"Shit," Jake mumbled. I turned to him, and the look on my face – probably full of fear – set him off. He was wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him all in one motion, one hand rubbing up and down my arm and the other stroking through my hair. I tried to breathe.
"Shh, Bells, it's okay," he murmured. "It's just the pack. It's all right, shh." I tried to catch my breath, and with his warmth engulfing me, I found my resolve again. I started breathing normally, and he kissed the top of my head.
"Is it bad?" I asked, not pulling away from him.
"I'm not sure," he said calmly. "It was only Paul, not Sam. But I better check it out, just in case." He lifted one hand to my chin and cupped it, his massive hands strong and sure, and gently pulled my face to his, kissing me long and slow. I was breathing heavily again when he finally broke away, grinning.
"I'll be right back," he said, kissing me quickly before untangling himself and quickly darting through the door. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. I felt safe with Jake nearby, and I knew he would be able to keep away whatever supernatural thing that wanted to kill me this month. I was exhausted, so tired of being afraid and of running and of worrying. I was going to go prematurely gray.
I didn't know how long he would be gone, so I decided to shower, still feeling dirty from the long plane ride. I turned the water hot and let it run over me, relaxing my tense muscles. I thought about the suitcase I needed to unpack, my job that started back up the day after next, dinner the next night that I wanted to have at Charlie's. I avoided thinking about Jake running around outside; I knew I would just let my imagination run wild again.
I heard a tiny knock on the bathroom door, and I peeked my head out from behind the shower curtain in time to see Jake pushing the door open slowly, his hair sticking up like he had slept for too long. His face broke into a grin, and I smiled back.
"Everything okay?" I asked, and he nodded once.
"Paul just wanted to get me up to speed on Leah's crap. Nothing too exciting." I rolled my eyes.
"You'll have to meet the guy eventually."
"Sure, sure," he chimed, opening the door wider to lean against the door jam. He had left his shirt off and his feet bare from phasing. "Are you almost done?"
"Not quite," I said, my smile returning. "There's this spot on my back that I just can't seem to reach..." Jake laughed, the sound echoing like beams of light all around me, and he stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door with a click.
I woke up to the sound of booming thunder, shaking the house and me in it. I shot up in bed, my quilt falling into my lap. Lightning flashed across my window and the thunder rumbled ominously. Jake's arm, which had slid down to my waist with the quilt, tightened around me, and he snored lightly. I glanced over at the tiny clock on my nightstand, and it was 9:15. I sighed, stretching my arms up above my head, and slid out of bed carefully to not wake Jacob. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, yawning lightly. I started unpacking my bag from the weekend, tossing most of my clothes into my hamper and tucking my bag of tiny travel shampoos under the bathroom sink. I peeked back into my room and saw that Jake had spread out to take over the entire bed, and I shook my head, smiling. I closed the door gently.
My food was depleted from not going to the store for a few days, but I had milk and a box of half-eaten cereal, so I made myself a quick breakfast. I sat on my couch, my legs curled up under me and my hands wrapped around the bowl, as I listened to the storm outside. I hadn't remembered the weather being this bad on the flight into Seattle. I wondered how long the thunder would last. There was another loud boom, and I ate a spoonful of food.
Jake was still sleeping in the bedroom. We had stayed up later than usual, not saying much; we were wrapped in arms and legs and blankets, re-memorizing each other. I had missed him more than I was willing to admit to him, but he reciprocated my joy in our reunion, his skin almost hot to the touch, his eyes rarely leaving mine. We had fallen asleep in a heap of limbs and relief.
I wondered when he was going to be done with school. He had finally gone to the council with the request to finish high school early, and they said they would discuss an early graduation. I hoped we would be able to leave Forks once he was done. I wanted to travel, I realized. After visiting the Cullens on the east coast, I wanted to see more. I was newly curious about unknown places and unseen cities. With the vampires gone from Forks, the wolves had little to do now besides run around Washington endlessly, and I hoped that Jake wanted to leave as much as I suddenly did. I thought about college, about the two of us living together close to a busy campus and making new friends. Angela and Ben loved it, and I realized with a smile that it was a possibility, another perk of my chosen life.
The thunder was getting quieter and less frequent, but the rain on the roof was still pounding. I finished my cereal and took the bowl back into the kitchen, washing it easily and sticking it to dry on the dish rack on the counter. I checked on Jake again, but he was still asleep, face-down on the bed, his fingers hanging over the edge. I sat beside him and gripped his hand, squeezing it in mine. I ran my hand through his hair and he stirred, moaning into the pillow. He rolled over to look at me with half-closed eyes.
"Mmm," he mumbled, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Good morning to you, too," I said, smiling. He made another tiny noise and stretched his arms and legs, sitting up. His bare chest had tiny lines through the skin where the sheets had left marks, and his boxers had rolled down slightly, exposing his tan line.
"It's raining," he said gruffly. "When did that happen?"
"I'm not sure, but it woke me up. I can't believe you didn't hear the thunder earlier."
"I can sleep through anything," he said, rubbing his eyes. I laughed.
"Are you skipping school today?" He looked at me with one eyebrow raised. I rolled my eyes, unsurprised.
"What do you want to do?" He reached over for my hand and smiled. I leaned over and kissed him.
"You need to get back to La Push," I said, and he groaned, falling back onto the bed.
"Leah can wait. I haven't seen you for days. I don't want to deal with her."
"If you get it out of the way now, we can spend the rest of the day together," I said in a sing-song voice, trying to get him back in a good mood. He laughed and sat back up, shaking his head at me.
"You're ruthless," he said, grinning.
"But you love me anyway."
"But I love you anyway." He wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me into his lap, his lips meeting mine with perfect synchronization, our bodies and minds linked. We sank back into the bed, and the thunder rumbled far away in the distance, the rain pattering away.