A/N: Thanks for the beta work Ashtwi. I still don't own Twilight or its character.
This chapter rambles a bit I wanted to establish Leah has some dimension outside the misery.
Chapter 6 Home Alone...I wish
"She giggles?" Emmett asked.
"Girls giggle, you know?" I answered absent-mindedly while Nate pressed a kiss to my earlobe.
"Girls do, but you don't, not once since I met you," Emmett argued.
No point in debating that; he was probably right, or absolutely right, to be technically correct. I went with a stand by response, "Whatever, dude."
"Do I make you happy, Beautiful?" Nate questioned me with the obvious. He looked so serious.
"Of course you do, silly. You breathe, it makes me happy." Mushy crap spilled forth, heartfelt mushy crap.
Alice breezed down the stairs with Jasper on her heels. "Was it a quiet night on the Western front?" She stopped a few feet away at a 'you stink but I'm not going to say anything about it' distance.
"We encountered one vampire less than an hour into our patrol. I destroyed it and the other pack searched, but did not find traces of any others in the area." Nate gave them a brief rundown of the night. Everyone snapped to attention.
"Who was it?" Jasper wanted to know.
I scoffed, "How the hell should we know? We didn't exactly perform a pre-head removal interview."
Rosalie sneered, "Maybe you should. Our friends are known to visit on occasion."
I thought about that for a moment, "Tough, tell them to call ahead in the future. Any vamp we come across that doesn't smell like you veggie vamps is going to get what's coming."
"It wasn't anyone we knew." Edward made the pronunciation as he and his family began their obligatory all day, every day visit.
"You guys agreed to the new boundaries." Sam had suggested the new boundaries, seems he would never forgive himself for letting a hostile vampire get close enough to see our Nessie. Quileutes from generations back must be rolling and spinning in their graves, we had a whole coven of vampires under our protection and when we weren't watching their backs, they had the job of watching ours.
"I would love to stay and chat but Jazz and I are on duty. Leah, you'll probably be back on your reservation when I return but I wanted to tell you it's been a pleasure dressing you. Thank you very much." Alice pumped her shoulders then repressed the hug, a gesture I totally appreciated.
"You're welcome; its...it's been unreal." I couldn't fathom why Alice had a bizarrely large collection of clothes in my size. She couldn't even 'see' me to anticipate I might have need for or would even accept her pushy vampire generosity. Maybe she had a shopping addiction and had run out of targets. "Your taste is excellent."
I looked at that ingrate Bella dressed in her uniform of jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers, whereas I stood in last night's dress which still looked nice enough for the unexpected early morning cocktail party even after a night out running the in the forest. I could hardly wait to see what I would be wearing today. I wondered if I got to keep the clothes, or were they like hotel robes and had to be surrendered at the end of my stay?
"Alice would be honored if you took the clothes with you," Edward volunteered. Great, now everybody knew I was a greedy cow. At least I would be a well dressed greedy cow.
"Of course, the clothes are yours. Take them home. Bye for now." Alice grabbed Jasper's hand and they were gone.
"Where are they going, surely they won't be running the border?" Since the conversation had finally moved past clothes Nate had something to say.
Edward explained as Alice and Jasper disappeared, "Alice can't see as well with you guys in the house. It interferes with her vision; therefore she will be using our cottage."
Nate wouldn't be able to stay here indefinitely; we couldn't put Alice out of her home. Where, oh where was the easy button when I needed it?
"Don't worry about that yet," Edward reassured me. Those three little letters, Y-E-T, made up such a powerful word. Suddenly I felt tired, the honeymoon was over. I wanted a shower and a nap.
"Wakey, wakey."
"No shaky, shaky." I mumbled in automatic response to Emily. We had been doing this routine as long I could remember. Wakey, wakey was followed by having the bed vigorously shaken, usually by jumping up and down.
"Then make quick like with the wakey, wakey." I opened one eye to peer at Emily. Her face was maybe two or three inches from my mine, not surprising since she was curled up in the bed next to me.
"Em, that's really creepy. How long have you been waiting for me wake up?"
Emily smiled, "Not long, maybe half an hour or so."
I stretched in the queen size bed, yawning, and rolled onto my back. The bed was an anti-Emily reaction. I got rid of the twin beds that had been in here forever when Emily stopped ignoring Sam. Mom told me not to but Daddy bought this one for me anyway. "Emily, you should have woken me up."
"I just did." Emily rolled on her back too.
"Sooner, Em."
"You were still snoring, you needed more rest." Like me, she was looking at the swirl pattern on the ceiling. It was ugly but Daddy painted it especially for me so it was special, still especially ugly however. Painting had not been his calling but he was a great dad.
I wondered how long she would have held out waiting for me. "I do not snore." Emily had been telling me this for years but until I heard it myself I wasn't going to believe it.
"Yeah you do, always have when you're especially tired." I opened my mouth to object but Emily hushed me, "I know these things so let it go." Emily knew every gory detail about me and she loved me anyway. She deserved a better best friend but, 'eh that's what blood will get you.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"It's time for you to tell me absolutely everything. Oh Leah, I'm so happy for you!" Emily snuggled a little bit closer to me, my heat didn't bother her. Satisfaction oozed from her. It was one thing to expect an inquisition; it was another to wake up to it.
I didn't try to move. Snuggling with Emily felt so right, like before the myths and monsters became reality. It was just me and Em, the Clearwater girls, as we were know all around La Push. Emily and I had steadily been gaining ground but the double edge of guilt that was keeping us apart would finally be gone now that I had Nate, my very own imprint.
"Can I get up, put on some clothes, and maybe get a bite to eat first?"
"No, of course not." Emily shook her head.
"How foolish of me to ask for so much. Can I at least pee?"
Emily pretended to consider that for a moment. "Okay, I'll allow that."
"Thank you your highness." I crawled out the bed and crossed my room to head down the hallway to the bathroom.
"What the hey?" I jumped back a little in surprise. Rachel was sitting on the sofa in the living room absently flipping through a magazine and Kim was cross legged on the floor at the coffee table laboring over homework. They both jumped too.
Rachel recovered first with an attitude, "I wish you people, and I use the term lightly, would show some common courtesy and make some noise when you move."
"I live here. What are you doing here?"
"Seriously Leah, you know why we're here, don't try to stall."
"I can't figure this out." Kim shut her text book and spoke irrelevant to the topic at hand, her signature conversation style. "Jared, will help me later." She stared blankly for a moment then joined us, "Leah start talking, I don't have all day."
"I'm not saying a word until you feed me," and with that I finally made it to the bathroom.
Wolfchicks were rude creatures, showing up at my house at the crack of 4:00 pm demanding a confessional. Rude and demanding, but they were my best friends now. What a huge difference a year makes; last year I wasn't close to any of them.
I made peace with Emily after Daddy died because Daddy would have wanted it, but mostly because I needed her. Selfish but true. We had peace but it wasn't the current, 'climb in my bed and watch me sleep' closeness we shared now. That closeness took time, I had to let go of Sam and my broken heart first. Carrying a torch for your best friend's fiancé puts a serious damper on the relationship. It wasn't instantaneous but I had managed it for the most part.
Despite being close in age and growing up in the same small community Rachel and I were not friends. However we did have a history, a history in which she kicked my butt. If one chooses to boast with bravado and trash talk about one Black twin, a shifty-eyed shoulder check should be performed first. I was bragging about how I had Sam and Rebecca, his previous girlfriend, would never get him back when she got tired of the ditzy surfer dude she chose over Sam. There may have been some unflattering adjectives thrown in here and there but I don't try to remember too much about that day. What I do remember is this; Rachel Black is freakishly strong and pretty damn fast. She gave no warning, she came out of nowhere like a ninja and proceeded to kick my ass. My friends managed to pry her off me and I let them 'restrain' me too while praying that she didn't get free during my face saving trash talk. I was pretty sure I could take Rachel now, so it was easy to hang out with her these days.
Kim was barely on my radar. She was a seemingly sweet, quiet girl in two of my classes. She was the dumb chick I occasionally snickered at but basically she was of no interest to me. However Kim, like Rachel and Emily, was an imprint and if no other truth of the pack holds up, imprints are loved by all. It is an unavoidable fact of pack life. I couldn't recall five words I had spoken to Kim but when I returned to regular class after wolfing out, every offensive word uttered to her might as well have been said to me. We had no idea how much flack Kim was taking when Jared wasn't around, but I sorted that out quick, fast, and in a hurry, because I am neither sweet nor quiet.
When I emerged the inquisition had moved to the kitchen. Emily was at the stove and Rachel was grabbing stuff from the fridge.
Emily asked, "We're going to do you up a bit of breakfast if that's okay?"
"Sure," I joined Kim at the table. "Whatever you make is fine, otherwise it was going to be cereal."
"Are you sure? I could get dinner started." Emily pressed.
"Why bother? I don't know if Mom is cooking here tonight, Seth is going to eat at the Cullen's regardless," and I finished with a little whine, "besides I'm hungry now. I don't wanna wait for dinner."
Emily rolled her eyes, "Okay, I'll fix you some breakfast. You always were a little brat."
"And whose fault is that?" I gave Em a meaningful look.
"Are you implying that I spoiled you?" Em asked with mock offense while starting her kitchen routine. She had spent more time cooking here than I ever did. She could navigate Mom's kitchen blind-folded.
"No, I'm stating it as fact. Between you and Daddy it's a miracle I turned out so well."
"Whoever said you turned out well?" Rachel finally backed out the fridge with her arms laden with fixings for my meal.
"Well, Nate for one is very pleased that I'm a werewolf. Sorry, no, make that a shapeshifter," I corrected myself. Who was I kidding; I could hardly wait to gush about my Nate.
Rachel raised one eyebrow to smirk at me "Oh yeah? I heard he always wanted a dog."
"Who told you that?" Their mates weren't even in my pack, damn gossiping wolves.
"My lips are sealed. If I reveal my sources, they might dry up." Rachel looked at me smugly.
I stuck my tongue out at her. "Your brother is gonna get it."
"You started it, now finish it. Tell us about Nahuel 'don't call him Nate'," Emily urged me.
"Hell, why don't you tell me? I may have missed something and you seem to know everything." They were too well informed.
"Oooh tell us what it's like to imprint," Rachel begged.
"That's what you want to know? They tell you everything but you wanna know that?"
Rachel lowered her voice, "Yeah, babe, you were like so freaking beautiful," she adjusted her voice, "is not a description. I want to know blow by blow. Did you know when you first saw him?"
"No, not the first time. I guess this proves imprinting doesn't happen in wolf form." It was a topic we debated the possibilities of since there was no proof one way or the other. "I thought he was fine and all that, and I was worried about him being there when the fighting went down, but it certainly wasn't the 'forever moment'. When the Italian Vampire Mafia left all I wanted was to find my mom to let her know Seth and I were alright."
Imprinting was fascinating business and we adjusted our theories often. It was time to give them the Leah Clearwater version.
I wanted to make this good of for them. I licked my lips, cleared my throat and started a slow rhythm on the table with my hands. After the few repetitions I let my voice come out husky and mysterious. "His scent floated to me, a wisp of sweetness on the wind. I turned to catch my intruder and my eyes locked with his and ...and I died. My heart sputtered and stopped." My hands stilled.
"Leah and everything that was me ceased with the silence in my chest. Before I could panic, not knowing whether to expect heaven or hell, my heart started again." I started a faster rhythm with my hands, "My rhythm was gone, replaced. My heart beat to a new rhythm, his rhythm, and with every beat I felt his essence pulsate through my veins and carry to every cell of my body. I was made anew; Nahuel became my life, my new reality. He was the reason my heart beat again." It was a fairly good show in my opinion for an unscripted piece.
Kim's eyes lit up, "Wow, Leah you could be a poet."
"Or a con-artist," Rachel scoffed. "Your heart stopped beating? Really Leah?"
"I might be a little dramatic but that's what happened." It sounded far-fetched but didn't everything these days?
Ever the peacemaker, Emily interrupted, "Leah, you are such a ham, but you know Sam says every imprint is a little bit different."
"My dad says that too," Rachel gave some, but not much. "But come on, your heart stopped?"
"I guess you don't know this," finally I could tell them something they hadn't heard already, "our heartbeats are in sync." They looked skeptical, "It's true, Dr. Cullen said it's been happening gradually since I imprinted." Attaching Carlisle's name was like the final word for those of us in the know. It might be instinct to distrust vampires but come on; he had like a million years of experience of medical experience.
"That's some deep shit. Whose heartbeat adjusted to whom?" Rachel wanted to know; I bet so she could run home and tell her daddy.
"Mine adjusted to his, not that I would ever tell him."
"Why not? You should tell him everything," Kim asserted, "you know, to get started off right."
Rachel couldn't resist, "Oh, she got things started off right."
"Oh yeah, it was one hell of a start," I leered suggestively and we all giggled.
Emily put a plate of scrambled eggs with toast and jam in front of me before taking a seat at the table.
"You know how everybody has their very own imprinting theory?" We did enjoy a good game of imprinting theories. Kim's theory was that after eleven years of a one-sided relationship with Jared the imprint was her due. She prayed and the gods had finally blessed her. I often told her the gods just wanted to keep her out of jail for the stalking charge. Rachel's theory was imprinting was two-way and Paul was just as much her imprint as she was his. Her theory was, 'Imprinting, because no one else would put up with this crap.'
"Nate thinks I was made for him."
"That's so sweet." Emily didn't know my Nate evidently.
"That's not a figure of speech. He absolutely thinks I was made for him, like he very much thinks Bella and Edward made Ness for Jacob, like a honeymoon momento."
"I like that idea of that," Rachel pondered out loud. "It makes the whole child bride thing a tad less creepy." She paused and went on, "She is such a perfect little darling, it's rather nice to think she was made just for my brother." Rachel had been touched by Renesmee. It gets everybody, she takes all prisoners. I was willing to bet the vampire spokesman from the other day was planning to kill us all and take the baby. She probably wasn't in physical danger.
"I can't imagine my sister would like the idea of that." Emily stated reluctantly.
"Amelia should have thought about that before she married Earl." I reminded the table. One of our many theories was that seventeen year old Quil and three year old Claire were mentally the same age therefore they could mature together. However the prevailing theory was that karma is a bitch. My cousin Amelia, Emily's sister, married forty year old Earl when she was just nineteen. It was already in the cards for them to get paid back. Earl was in for a rude awakening.
Rachel rapped her knuckles on the table. "Leah, you haven't thrown us off the scent. We want to hear about him, you, and the all the juicy details." Trust Rachel to pin me down. A good round of theories usually distracted her.
Kim asked, "Leah, are you afraid he's going to bite you ...you know, like when things get hot and heavy? Jared bites me sometimes."
"TMI! I don't miss being intimately acquainted with you and Jared's sexual proclivities."
Kim continued to look at me pointedly. She used to be more in awe of me. I must have lost my touch. "Okay, I am so not afraid of him biting me, it might be nice." I shrugged and smiled.
Emily started with a stammer, "Um, is he uh big?" Poor Em, trying her hand at what she thought was girl chat. She couldn't even make eye contact.
"He's my height, a little taller. Medium frame." I answered.
Rachel smiled slyly, "That's not the big she was talking about."
Well duh. "Oh, do you mean does he have a dick like a baseball bat?" I looked Emily in the eye waiting to see if I could make her squirm. She flushed darker, even better. Score. "He doesn't have the stuff of nightmares swinging down there if that's what you mean. He's a good, normal, no-stitching required size." It was uncomfortable knowing exactly what equipment their guys were working with, but brazen was the best tactic.
"That's where the magic comes in, how the hell do you fit those things inside?"
"You and Sam," Rachel paused then shrugged, I guess I wasn't the only brazen one around, "after he changed...you never did it?"
Emily averted her eyes, she knew about this already.
"Yes. Once. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. Painful. I tore and bled more than I had when I was a virgin. I was sore below and above where my rib was cracked. I tried to ignore the rib but I finally had to go to Mom for help. You know, Mom told me later that was why Dad finally had to tell her the truth. She taped my rib and saw the bruises all over me but she didn't ask me any questions. After she helped me into bed she asked Dad which gun she should use to put a bullet between Sam Uley's eyes. Dad wasn't too happy to find out Sam and I had a sex life but you all know Sue Clearwater does not play, so Daddy had to talk fast and tell Mom everything to save Sam. Daddy promised her Sam wouldn't touch me again. He didn't." It was just as well, my hoo-hah was traumatized and I think Sam was too. He never meant to hurt me; he just didn't know how to adjust for his strength or what to do with his new limb. He treated me like spun glass afterwards. It became one of those, 'been through so much together' incidents that made me love him more. Funny how that worked out.
"Once was more than enough for me. Hence the question, how?"
"It's the Vitamin D." Rachel stated with confidence, like she had been waiting for this exact question. "I think their semen has restorative properties."
"Bullshit, there is nothing restorative about a burning hot, sticky douche. Seriously, it was worse than phasing the first time."
"Leah, I hate to point out the obvious but you weren't Sam's imprint and that makes a difference." Rachel took some getting used to. She stepped on what used to be my most tender spot with steel tipped stilettos. Why hadn't Sam imprinted on me? What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I a wolf? Was I gay? Seeing thousands of versions of my one off dream of kissing Bella replayed nightly in the heads of a bunch of horny little boys had me questioning my sexuality. I had questioned everything about myself but in one moment Nate wiped all the doubt away.
"Don't look at me like that. It's not like its news to you. You have your own imprint now so you know there is nothing like it.
"I can't argue that. Nate is just amazing." Flashes of Nate's long wavy black hair hanging like a curtain around his face when he looked into my eyes while slowing working me toward an orgasm. The feel of his sweat slickened back under my hands, his smell, his sex filling me, leaving room for no other thought but him. Nate, Nate, Nate, umm Nahuel when I whisper it in his ear.
Kim's voice tugged me out of the third floor bedroom, "Leah, I think we should get to see Nahuel naked. It's only fair."
"What!" Emily asked.
"She's seen our guys naked; we should get to see hers." I wonder how Kim thought I should bring that about. Nate, meet my friends. Shih, no talking, just take your clothes off and shake your ass a little bit. Ahh that's a good boy. Now go on about your business so we can talk about you.
"I'll pass," Rachel dismissed the topic as though my Nate wasn't worth looking at. I didn't want her to see him naked but she could at least act like she wanted to, it would the polite thing to do.
"You know Rachel, Paul is not the best looking guy in the world. He's okay at best."
She looked at me offended. It just wasn't realistic the way she saw Paul. He was worth looking at a second time but he was not the god Rachel thought he was.
"Seriously, he is not the best looking guy in the world, not even close." I insisted. Rachel didn't scare me anymore.
"He isn't," Kim agreed with me, her face going soft and dreamy.
"Oh, so you think its Jared?" Rachel asked Kim.
"Oh course its Jared; he's the cutest boy I've ever seen." Kim enthused.
"I guess Jared and Paul are okay for 'boys', but Sam is the best looking 'man' in this corner of the world." Emily got into it too.
We all gave her the look. I used to be in love with Sam but even I knew Sam was slightly above average in looks. It was his personality that was the draw. Sam was always, 'Sam the Man' Uley. Even when he was twelve you could see he was 'the man.'
"Come on Emily, you think Sam is that good looking?" I heckled her a little.
"Yes I do, and just because you have an imprint now let's not forget you used to think so too." Emily sassed me.
"I think not! I'm not blinded by the magic. Sam looks good for somebody you know but certainly not mmmm good. Besides you're all wrong, you just don't know it. Nate's the sexiest thing on two legs. You just haven't seen him yet to get the full affect of his gorgeous face, his aversion to shirts..."
Rachel interrupted me, "You have to do better than that. They all have an aversion to shirts. I keep one for Paul in my purse."
"Oh my god, you too! I keep an extra shirt for Jared in my handbag!"
They both looked at Emily. "Sam keeps a full change of clothes in the truck, but I don't carry clothes in my bag. He's not a baby."
"Hey you asked about my Nate," I turned the attention back on me, where it belonged. "I can do better than shirtless; my Nate has thick, long wavy hair," I taunted them with the hair. Sam's whole pack wore buzz cuts. These girls wouldn't be running their fingers through hair for years to come. "Now know how wrong you truly are."
Rachel shook her head in mock sorrow, "Poor Claire. She's gonna grow up thinking Quil is the standard of male beauty." We all had to laugh. Quil was fugly like the bottom of a foot.
"It's gonna take her a whole life time to swallow that lie. It's a good thing they started early."
"So when do you think we'll get to meet him?" Kim asked.
"I don't know. He's not allowed on the reservation. You must have known this. You know everything else."
"Yes, we knew, but last I checked we are allowed off the reservation," Emily reminded me.
"By all means, I will invite you to that house that I don't live in to meet my vampire boyfriend who gave up people, what, like last week or something." My sarcasm faltered when I ran out of data.
"You don't know that either do you?" Rachel had me. I didn't know the last time he dined on human blood.
Emily caught my eye. "Lee, why won't you talk to him?"
I wanted to blame being in a house with hypersensitive ears all around. I wanted to make a joke about the sex. I wanted to blow it off with 'it's just been three days' but Emily used her most effective weapon on me, kind concerned eyes that saw through all the bluff and bravado.
"I'm so so scared. What if he gets to know me and all my ways and he doesn't like me? What if he rejects me? What if he doesn't want me? What if he leaves?" I was so afraid I wouldn't survive if he left and I didn't want to give him any reason. Nature had found me lacking once, what if it happened again?
Emily reached out to hold my hand. She understood the fear of rejection. She fretted that one day the magic would wear off and Sam would no longer want her, his unchosen mate.
Kim sucked her teeth with uncharacteristic attitude and Rachel exploded.
"See, that's the problem with you wolves. How many times do we have to tell you? Let me say it slow, the imprint goes both ways. He wouldn't leave you anymore than you would leave him. He doesn't want to leave you. There is nothing you could say or do to change that. It's the same for us." Rachel didn't understand what it was like to imprint, she just thought she did.
I guess I looked unconvinced, "Didn't he seek you out? He smelled you coming; he said you were magnificent like you were at the confrontation." Kim and Emily nodded backing Rachel up. They may as well be a part of the pack mind too; they might know more than I did. "He recognized you before you recognized him. He feels it too."
I couldn't totally ignore Rachel. Sam was a solid kinda guy, the exact opposite of his worthless dad. I think he could have made any woman a good husband. I wasn't biased; he really was one of the good ones. Jared too, he was cute and smart, a good catch. Paul was a different story; jerk was his defining characteristic even before phasing. After phasing he became an angry jerk. Rachel had worked her butt off finishing college early, earning a sweet entry level position in her field plus she had a boyfriend who adored her. She turned her back on it all after a single walk on the beach. She didn't have any history with Paul before that day. Paul wasn't as much of a jerk since the imprint but he was still Paul and she loved every bit of it.
Maybe she felt something, but it wasn't like the complete invasion of the imprint, maybe it was 'imprint-lite'. "I'll give it some thought." I said to placate her.
"Whatever!" Rachel threw her hands up in the air.
I heard Mom's car approaching. I guess Chief Swan would be here soon too.
Emily pleaded with me, "Listen to her Lee, Rachel's right. Do you remember the first story of an imprint? The Third wife? She sacrificed her life for Taha Aki to give him a fighting chance. What does that tell you? It's no ordinary love; we aren't with them just because we can't get rid of them."
"Exactly!" Rachel was passionate, "Our culture, like so many others, is centered on the male. We don't remember the Third Wife's name but if her thoughts were recorded you would find out she was forever changed by the imprint as much as any wolf.
Mom walked in amidst our debate, "Hey ladies. I'm not surprised to find you here. Are you playing a game of theories?"
"Pretty much Miss Sue." Kim filled Mom in.
"Leah, are you still sticking to your theory that everything is Bella's fault?" Mom shook off her coat and hung her keys and purse by the door before collapsing in a chair at the table.
"Aunt Sue, do you want anything? I can put on a pot of coffee?" Emily offered.
"No, I'm fine. I won't be here long; Charlie and I are going over to the Cullen's in a few."
"Mom! You didn't come check on me the whole time I was there but you're going to keep an eye on Charlie?" Mom had me committed to Vampireland and fled.
"First, watch your tone. I called several times but you were always sleeping. When I stopped by yesterday same thing, you were napping, as Esme delicately put it. Emmett said you needed several naps everyday right before Bella cuffed him on the back the head. Seth told me you were fine and I see Carlisle at work every day. I had no worries.
"Sorry, Mom. I just hadn't heard from you that's all." I wanted no part of a discussion involving the allusion of sex with my mom in the room. My mother knew this.
"So did you have a good time," Mom paused a few seconds, "visiting with the Cullens?" If you didn't know Mom as well as I did it would be hard to tell that she was just fucking with me.
"It was okay, I kinda got used to the smell."
"Since you blame everything on Bella will you be thanking her for Nahuel?" Mom asked, taking a dig at my favorite theory of all.
My mantra was, 'It's all Bella's fault'. Everything that had gone wrong in my life could be traced back to her. Sam's disappearance or the beginning of the end as I called it could be traced to right after Chief Swan came over to our house a hot mess because his daughter ran off back to Phoenix. Daddy and Billy plied him with beer and played seemingly everything in Daddy's blues collection. Both of them assured him that he hadn't done anything wrong and Forks was a great place to live. He got so wasted he spent the night on our sofa. At the time, I was vaguely irritated with the girl I could barely remember for being such a rotten ungrateful daughter but I could understand the urge to break out of this dull little place.
Now I knew vampires were all over these parts hunting her. I figured one came through our territory and Sam's instincts reacted. Wolfing and imprinting go hand in hand so of course Sam had to let me go in the shittiest manner possible to be with his Emily natural mate.
I was just gaining some ground from losing my two best friends to each other when I lost my daddy, my one constant source of unconditional love. I heard my mom say, "Carlisle Cullen could have saved him." Billy argued, "Sue, you don't know that." Mom's voice was in complete control when she answered him, "Yes I do, and I have seen him do far more in worse situations. He could have saved my Harry." Those words penetrated the grief and stayed with me even though I didn't really know who that was at the time.
Then I phased something I could easily put squarely on Bella's shoulders. Vampires were dining, buffet style, in our territory and we Quileutes couldn't phase fast enough. It wasn't long before I found out who and what Carlisle Cullen was and eventually through Jacob I found out why he wasn't there for my Daddy. He left the area with his whole family in an effort to save Bella Swan. My daddy was dead and it was Bella Swan's fault. I was miserable, I didn't have my Emily, I didn't have my Sam, I had lost my daddy and I was a barren freak of nature. My life was gone, Bella Swan destroyed it.
"Uh, no, I think not. I'm still a werewolf. I won't be thanking Bella for anything ever."
"Girl please, you would have never met Nahuel if you weren't a wolf. Well, it's possible you would have met him, it's just that he would have killed you." Rachel pointed out. "A real wham, bam thank you ma'am."
It was pointless to argue that having a man wasn't the sum of my being. I had something more, I had an imprint. If he wasn't the sum of my being he was at least fifty-one percent. The other forty-nine percent was starting to yearn for him. It had been hard enough falling asleep despite how tired I was when I made it home this morning. It had taken no time to become accustomed to having him around.
"By that same token all of you should be writing Bella thank you cards. Get your pens out; I will be going over there pretty soon."
"That's your theory, not ours." Emily stated. "I'll be heading home in a few minutes. Dinner time and all. So Leah, what are you two going to do? Are you staying here or moving to wherever he's from?"
"We're staying put. I tend to believe Nate when he says other vampires will be exploring this area, either curious or looking for a fight. I can't go now." I looked into the faces of my loved ones; I had a duty to keep them safe.
"Where are you guys going to live?" Kim asked.
"I don't know yet. Nate said we must have our own 'dwelling'. He totally talks like that. I certainly don't make enough...Oh shit! My job! I forgot my job! I haven't been and I haven't called." I worked part time at the little gift shop at the resort on the reservation. I worked the hours from right before check out to shortly after check in, easy hours. I slept late in the morning and got off fairly early in the day.
I left my mom and the girls at the table and went hunting for the cordless phone. It turned up in Mom's room. Late night Charlie calls? Hmm. I called from there for the privacy. It took no time for the manager to gleefully inform me that my double no call no show was job abandonment. He was triumphant in his victory of getting rid of me without having to fire me for my general bad attitude. I told him I had been sick but Bob responded with, "Everybody knows you were with your new boyfriend so don't try that. I hope he improves your attitude Ms. Clearwater but I am not willing to risk it. Goodbye." I was dismissed. Damn.
How did everybody know I had a new boyfriend? Boyfriend was such a lame word to describe my Nate but that wasn't the issue at hand. I would argue semantics with myself later.
I went back into the kitchen. "I don't have a job and according to Bob, everybody knows I have a boyfriend."
"This is true. I think Delores," Mom referred to Sam's mother, "took out an ad to announce it. She didn't really but might as well have. She has made it her business to let people know you moved on." Delores, the mistress of misinformation was at it again. She knew about the pack and took it upon herself to feed the stream of gossip in diversions away from the obviously strange fact that many of the young men grew several inches, bulked up, aged about ten years and ran around half clothed while following her son's lead. A few well placed words about Sam losing his track scholarship and people were off in a steroid gossip frenzy. She was that good. Sam never even had a track scholarship, it was purely academic. Delores' motor mouth was an amazing asset in keeping the secret.
Sam was her only baby so naturally she wanted to stop the negative attention he got for dumping me for Emily. People talked and Sam heard almost every word and it hurt him. He came between those Clearwater girls and it just wasn't right. Delores put it out there that Sam had been in love with Emily for ages and that after his near death experience he couldn't live the lie with me anymore, he wanted to be with his true love. That romantic claptrap helped deflect some negativity but my obvious broken-heart, and I admit I played it up at times, kept some hearts cold on Sam and Emily too for that matter.
"I don't think that was wise, people will expect to see said boyfriend but he can't come here." I paused hopefully, "Can he Mom?"
"No," She spoke firmly. "He can't." You couldn't accuse my mom of being wishy washy. "I'm not opposed to him coming onto the res, he's not a newborn, he obviously doesn't kill every human he approaches but I don't get to make that decision alone."
"I'll work on my daddy," Rachel volunteered.
"And I'll work on Sam," Emily would have my back.
Kim exclaimed. "Don't look at me. I don't know old Quil like that."
"The right pair of short shorts and that old dog might promise you anything," Rachel joked.
"I know right?" I looked at Emily. "You remember how he used say, 'You gonna make this old man have to go somewhere and sit down'?" We laughed. "It took us months to figure out what he meant."
"He said what?" Mom looked around at us. "And you didn't see fit to tell me about this. I ought to wring his old neck. I wonder how his wife, may she rest in peace, put up with him?"
It was going to take an act of congress to get Nate onto the res so there was no point in asking Mom if we could come shack up in her house. What to do? What to do?
"I really have to run now, if I hear about a job, I'll let you know." Emily stood first. "In the mean time don't stress too much, we'll figure something out."
"I'm surprised you were able to stay so long, I expected to hear howls or cell phone rings by now." I was on my feet ready to give my remaining guests the boot. I loved them but my skin was crawling from missing him, it literally craved his touch. I rubbed my arms to soothe myself.
"Paul's coming in this direction right now." Rachel paused, "I would say half a mile out." She said the pull was magnetic but I had never seen her gauge it like GPS before.
"Jared is too, I bet they're together." Kim got her backpack and followed Rachel out.
Emily gave me a hug and we walked to the door holding on to each other. "Please, don't worry too much. Everything will work out for you. It has too." She was giving me a final hug when Sam's truck pulled up.
They left in quick succession. Jared and Paul were together as predicted. Maybe I needed to listen to the girls; imprinting was evidently as accurate as Lo-Jack.
A/N My Beta is on vacation but the next chappie is pretty much ready. If you wish to read the unbeta'd version check it out on Menage a Twi, the fanfiction group and the discussion is called Lemon Prints, the title is a carry over from when I was sketching it out in google docs.