Erin grabbed her math book from her locker, adding it to the small pile of her other notebooks for her next class. She stood with her things clutched to her chest, closing her locker before turning to head down the hall.
She mentally groaned when she found her path blocked.
"Hi Erin." one of the three girls sneered, her expression looking like she smelled bad milk. The three girls were the same ones who'd told her nearly a year ago that she wasn't good enough for Jake, and had been doing so numerous times since. It didn't effect her like it had that first time, because she knew Jake loved her, so she never felt the need to tell Jake that they were continuing. However, since that first time she'd managed to at least learn the names of the snobby, popular girls. The leader, who'd just 'greeted' her with a sourpuss expression was Caroline. Her two cronies were Paisley and Brook.
"Is this going to take long? I have to get to class?" Erin asked impatiently, shifting her books and wrapping both arms around her things.
The movement seemed to draw Brook's eyes to Erin's hands, because her eyes suddenly went wide and she yanked on Caroline's sleeve and whispered something in her ear. Caroline's eyes also went to Erin's hands and a similar expression of shock and horror fell over her face.
"What is that?!" she demanded, pointing at Erin's hands.
Confused, Erin looked over the brim of her books at her hands. The only thing she could see that might set them off was the promise bracelet on her left wrist that Jake had given her on their anniversary less than a month prior. Upon seeing that, she realized why the girls were so upset.
Erin lifted her chin defiantly, looking Caroline in the eye. "It's a bracelet. I would've thought that'd be obvious."
Anger lit Caroline's eyes. "I can see that. I also know what the bracelet means."
Erin raised her eyebrows sarcastically. "Well, then why'd you ask?"
"Why the hell are you wearing one?" she exclaimed in disgust.
"Because my boyfriend made it for me for our anniversary." Erin answered pointedly.
"He was supposed to break up with you, not give you a freaking promise bracelet!" she yelled, causing a few people to look in their direction. "He can do so much better than you, why would he settle for someone so…gross!"
Erin raised an eyebrow and spoke before her brain could filter her words. "I think we have different opinions of 'gross'. Personally, I think it's gross when someone, such as yourself, goes from one guy to another. I don't see why guys would want someone who every other guy has had."
A few of the people who had gathered 'ooh'ed at her comeback, but she wasn't paying attention as she watched Caroline's face grow red with anger. Suddenly, a smirk tugged at her lips.
"Well, at least I'm not 'promised' to a guy who's obviously dating you to get over the Forks girl that left him for a rich kid."
Anger rushed through Erin's veins at the obvious jab at her boyfriend. "What?" she asked quietly, her voice low and deadly.
"You're obviously a rebound so he can get over her." Caroline continued smugly, knowing she'd hit a nerve.
Meanwhile, down the hallway Jake and Embry were stopping at their lockers to grab their things for class. Embry looked past Jake's shoulder and his eyes widened.
"Uh oh."
"What?" Jake asked, looking at him as he closed his locker.
Embry nodded past him and Jake turned to look down the hall. A small crowd had gathered, which intrigued him. A break in the crowd, however, revealed a trio of girls facing a single girl, whose back was to him. Jake's stomach dropped. He knew that girl like he knew the back of his hand.
Erin.
Just as he and Embry started down the hall to see what was going on, Erin dropped her things and lunged forward, one hand gripping a girl's hair while the other formed a fist and slammed into the girl's face.
Jake bolted forward, not caring that he dropped his things. He shoved through the crowd, which was chanting 'Fight' over and over. He stopped and watched the fight for a moment, wondering if he should step in. The girl had fallen to the ground, Erin crouched over her and slamming her fists into her face over and over. The other girl wasn't even trying to fight back, just trying to cover her face and screeching like a banshee. Embry chuckled as he came up next to Jake, thoroughly enjoying watching his little friend give a beat down on one of the girls who'd been tormenting her. Jake crossed his arms over his chest, giving Embry a smug smirk.
When the rich, metallic scent of blood reached their sensitive noses, Jake decided he should probably pull his girlfriend off the little witch. Sighing, Jake stepped forward and slipped his arm under Erin's stomach and waist, pulling her up and off the girl with ease.
"Alright, Slugger. Calm down." Jake suggested easily in her ear. Erin stiffened slightly before peaking over her shoulder at him.
"Oops." she muttered, looking sheepishly up into his eyes. Jake grinned, shaking his head in amusement.
"What is going on here?!" a voice demanded. Instantly, most of the crowd dispersed as a teacher approached the group that remained. Caroline's friends were among those who disappeared, leaving her sitting alone and bloody on the floor with Erin and the two guys. The teacher looked between Caroline on the floor and the girl practically dangling from Jake's arms. "Well? Care to explain what happened?" he asked expectantly.
Erin bit her lip, looking down in embarrassment.
"She jusd attagged be!" Caroline complained, her voice sounding strange as she covered her bloody nose. "She's a crazy bidch!"
Jake growled lowly in his chest, covering his face with the back of Erin's head. The teacher turned and looked expectantly at Erin.
Glancing nervously at the teacher, Erin answered, "She was badmouthing me and Jake." It was a lame excuse if she ever heard one, and Erin knew she was in for it.
The teacher raised an eyebrow at her. "And that clearly gives you a reason to beat another student to a bloody pulp." he agreed sarcastically. Turning to Caroline, he carefully helped her to her feet. "Come on, Erin. Off to the office with you." he waved for Erin to follow him as he started leading Caroline down the hall.
Jake gently set Erin's feet on the ground and she looked up between Jake and Embry.
"Uuuumm…I'll see you later?" she guessed nervously.
"Obviously." Jake answered, clearly wanting a long, detailed explanation of what just happened.
Erin smiled nervously, rubbing her sore knuckles, before turning and hurrying down the hall after the teacher.
Erin looked up from the chair in the Principal's office when a teacher walked in.
"So, we called your mom. In these situations we call a guardian to pick the student up for the day. However, your mother is…unable to come and pick you up before school gets out." Erin rolled her eyes. She should've known her mother wouldn't come. "So, you'll have to stay in here until school gets out. After that you're suspended from school for a week. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." she answered quietly, turning to look down at the desktop.
Erin was oh so tempted to scream 'Free at last!' at the top of her lungs when she left the Principal's office at the end of the day. She instantly headed for her locker, knowing Jake would find her there. Sure enough, she saw Jake, Quil, and Embry heading toward her locker from the opposite direction.
Her eyes met Jake's and she picked up her pace. When they were near each other, Erin stretched up and wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms going around her back.
"Classes were hell without you." he muttered in her ear before letting her down. He ran his hands down her arms to her hands, lifting them to inspect her bruised knuckles. "Are you okay?" he asked as he ran his thumb gently over her tender fingers.
"I'm fine. They just made me sit in the office all day because my 'guardian' wasn't able to pick me up when they called her." Erin answered with a roll of her eyes.
"You mean you had to sit in the office for almost 3 hours?" Quil repeated in shock while Embry's mouth fell open. "Did you just sit there, or did you do anything?"
"Nope. I had to just sit there." Erin answered, giving a shrug before letting her hands flop back to her side.
"So, what exactly went down? I haven't seen you that pissed since you fought Bella at the cliff." Jake asked, gesturing for her to go to her locker as they talked.
"Uuuummm…Well, those three girls have been giving me a hard time since we started dating, saying it won't last and blah, blah, blah…" The guys chuckled at the face she made. "They came up to me to probably start giving me crap. Then,…Brook noticed my bracelet and figured out what it was. She told Caroline, who got pissed. I might've been a sarcastic little snot when I responded." she admitted with a smirk, earning laughter from the guys, "Then, she got mad and called me gross, I basically called her a slut in return. Then,…then she went and said crap about you." Erin lifted her eyes to meet Jake's. "She made a dig at you and I got pissed. Next thing I know, she's on the ground and I'm pounding my fists into her face." she finished, swinging her backpack onto her shoulder.
"You didn't have to get detention to stick up for me. That's my job." Jake responded gently, taking her hand in his.
"Well, I wasn't about to let her talk crap about my boyfriend." Erin retorted, leaning up to kiss Jake on the cheek before letting him lead her out of the building.
The front door slamming shut made Erin look up from her science homework, the walls of the house shaking from the force.
"Alright, you little slut, what did you do?" Erin's mother, Deborah, asked as she entered the house, tossing her purse on the nearby ratty armchair.
"Huh?" was Erin's genius response. She wasn't sure what her mother was talking about.
"The school called me at work about you getting suspended. What the hell was that about?" Deborah demanded. "My boss got pissed that I had to answer the phone. I could've gotten fired, then where'd we be?"
Erin refrained from pointing out she herself would be just fine since her job paid just as well as, if not better than, her mother's. "I got in a fight at school." she answered dully before going back to her homework.
"Ha! I should've guessed. Who'd you piss of this time?" Deborah asked with a condescending smirk.
Erin glared up at her. "I didn't piss anyone off. I was…defending someone. And anyway, how's it any of your business?" she asked rhetorically before looking back down at her notebook.
There was a moment of silence before a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her off the couch, knocking her books to the ground. Deborah's manicured, red nails dug into Erin's arm, making her wince in pain.
"It's my business, you ungrateful little brat, because I brought you into this world. You get on the wrong side of me, and I can easily knock you right back out of it. You will never talk to me that way again." she hissed in Erin's face.
Erin managed to shake her off and took a few steps back. "Oh, yeah, you brought me into this world. And then you hardly took care of me and went on and on about how you wished I'd never been born. Yeah, you deserve the Mother of the Year Award." Erin agreed sarcastically.
Deborah smirked at her. "I bet I know why you got in a fight. It's about that boy, right? Jacob Black?" The way she practically purred Jake's name made Erin's skin crawl. "Did some girl tell you how it is? That Jacob's way out of your league and is probably just using you to fulfill his needs while he's in high school?"
"Shut up." Erin whispered, her eyes burning as she stared her mother down. "You don't know Jake, and you don't know me."
"Oh, don't I?" she laughed in response.
"Jake's not like the guys you sleep with. He's not just in it for sex, he's not a selfish pig. And I'm not like you. I won't just sleep with any guy that'll give me the time of day. I'm not a slut like you."
The smirk fell from Deborah's face, rage filling her dark brown eyes.
"You think you're better than me, do you?" Deborah retorted, stalking forward. Erin probably should've backed away, put some distance between her and her mother, but she was sick of being scared. She was frustrated and angry. And apparently that resulted in losing her brain-to-mouth filter.
"Better at keeping my legs closed? Yeah, just a bit." she retorted.
Before Erin had time to react, Deborah's hand flashed out and struck the side of her face, the impact knocking Erin to the ground. Her head knocked into the coffee table, leaving her laying stunned on the ground.
"That oughta teach you a lesson." her mother muttered under her breath before stalking out of the living room and into her bedroom.
Erin laid there for a few moments, her mind unable to focus on any specific point. All she knew was that her head hurt and everything was dizzy. That, and she needed one thing.
She needed Jake.
She grabbed onto the side of the coffee table, using it as leverage to push herself to her feet. Very carefully, she stumbled to the front door and walked outside. She didn't care that she was in her socks, or that it was pouring outside. The dizziness gradually went away, leaving only a mild headache. As she made it to the sidewalk, she picked up her pace to a jog and then a run.
Erin made it to Jake's house in a few minutes, barely paying attention to where she was going or what she passed. When the Blacks' red house came into view through the haze of rain, she slowed until she came to a stop at the end of the sidewalk right in front of the house. She stood there in the rain, not feeling the cold water run down her eyes, nose, and chin. Now that she was here, she didn't know what to do. She knew Jake would be angry that her mother hit her, but where could she go? She didn't want to go back, but she couldn't afford her own home yet, and she didn't want to impose on anyone.
Jake was sat in the living room eating dinner with his sister, dad, and Paul. They were watching a game on TV, cheering when their team scored. After a particularly loud cheer, Paul glanced over before doing a double take out the window.
"Jake?…I think Erin's outside." he announced quietly, his eyes squinting out the window to see through the haze.
"What?" Jake's head snapped up. He instantly placed his plate on the coffee table and stood up, moving to the front door. He opened it and looked out into the pouring rain. Through the gray haze he could just make out a form at the end of the walkway. The dirty blonde hair looked brown in the rain, but he could tell with his sharp eyesight as well as the tug in his chest that it was his imprint.
"Erin?" Jake called, leaving the door open a crack as he ran into the rain and down the walk. He came to a skidding stop in front of her when he realized there was red blood running down her face.
Erin stared blankly up at Jake as he stopped in front of her, her eyes blinking rapidly whenever a raindrop hit her eyes.
"Erin, what happened?" Jake asked worriedly, his voice loud to be heard over the rain. Erin blinked in confusion as he brought his hands up to cup her face. One of his thumbs swiped under her nose and pulled away to show the redness. Blood. Her nose was bleeding.
Erin's hand lifted to run her fingers under her nose, pulling it away to see blood mixing with the rain water and running down her fingers and hand.
"Erin. Tell me what happened." Jake ordered slowly, leaning down and cupping her head in his large hands.
"I'm…fine." she muttered distractedly, her head swirling.
"Erin, you're bleeding." Jake contradicted before scooping her into his arms. Erin slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Jake linked his hands under her butt and carried her swiftly back to his front door. When he entered the house, everyone turned to look at him and grew concerned when they caught a glimpse of her bloody face.
"What happened?" Rachel asked worriedly as she stood from her seat.
Jake shook his head at her. "I'm not sure. I've gotta take care of her before I get some answers. I'll let you know as soon as I get the chance." he explained as he was heading down the hall toward the bathroom. He set her gently on the toilet seat, leaning down to get a good look at her face. Blood was dripping from her nose, there was a light bruise on the side of her face, and on her opposite temple there was a bump.
Jake swallowed back a spew of questions because he knew his imprint was in no position to answer anything until she was taken care of. Jake stood up and whipped his damp T-shirt over his head before kneeling back down and carefully pressing it under Erin's nose. She winced and whimpered, her eyes closing. Jake shushed her and whispered numerous apologies, pressing a few kisses to her cheeks and forehead. He then noticed her skin felt like ice against his lips and realized she needed to warm up.
Jake pulled back just enough to look Erin in the eye. "Sweetie, I'm going to run you a bath, okay? I need to get you warmed up. Can you hold this to your nose, please?"
Erin nodded after a couple moments, lifting one shivering hand to hold the damp, black T-shirt to her face. Jake stepped away and started filling the tub.
While it was filling, he checked the temperature a few times to make sure it wasn't too hot for her cold skin. Then, he stepped back to her and gently pulled the T-shirt from her nose. He tilted her head back with his thumb at her jaw line, his eyes looking in her nose.
"Okay, it's stopped bleeding. Let's get you in the tub, okay? Are you okay with that?" Jake asked gently as he pulled her to her feet. He'd seen Erin naked before, but not in a situation like this. She was completely weak and vulnerable, and he didn't want her to think he was taking advantage of her. He just wanted to take care of her.
Erin looked up at him, her eyes big and helpless. She was completely trusting him. Nodding slowly, Erin allowed Jake to lift her arms and slip her shirt up and over her head. The cool air of the bathroom made her tremble before Jake's warm hands were back on her skin. He helped her out of her jeans, only just realizing she was only in her socks. Jake clenched his teeth when he realized she ran all the way to his house in the rain without shoes. He quickly slipped her soaked socks off her feet soon after her pants.
That left her trembling in the kitchen, wearing only her bra and underwear. Jake tried not to think like a teenage boy as he unclipped her bra and slipped it off. He quickly helped her step out of her underwear next before checking the water again. It wasn't too warm, so he turned the water off and gently scooped Erin up into his arms.
Cradling her to his chest, he carefully lowered her into the tub.
"Is the water okay?" he asked quietly as he slipped his arms out from under her.
"Yeah." she whispered, her eyes closed and arms wrapped around her body.
"Can I bathe you? Would you be comfortable with that?" Jake asked gently, running his hand through her wet hair.
Erin's eyes peaked open and looked up at him. "You don't have to, Jake. You've done enough."
Jake gave her a look. "Baby, I want to. You're hurt and cold. I don't want you to get sick. Just…please let me take care of you."
Erin's eyes softened and welled with tears. She blinked rapidly and nodded her consent. Jake swiftly pecked a kiss to her cheek before reaching up and grabbing some of his sister's shampoo. His wolf side was tempted to use his own shampoo, so she'd smell like him, but he figured she'd appreciate smelling like a girl more than a guy.
The sigh that escaped Erin's lips when Jake's fingers messaged her scalp made him grin. He worked the shampoo through her long hair for a few minutes before he helped her dip her hair under the water so he could rinse the shampoo back out. He repeated this with Rachel's conditioner before grabbing some body wash.
He gently helped Erin sit up in the tub so he could message her shoulders and back with the soap. As his hands slid down her neck he gently asked, "So, you wanna tell me what happened?"
Erin looked down, her eyes focusing on a small collection of bubbles floating on the water. "I…got in a fight with my mother." she admitted quietly.
Jake paused. "You mean…she hit you?" he asked quietly, barely keeping a growl from his voice.
"Well,…yeah, but I kinda deserved it." Erin rushed to explain.
"No kid deserves to be smacked like that." Jake argued. "Now, tell me what happened from the beginning."
After some hesitation, Erin did exactly that. From the moment her mother stormed into the house to when she smacked Erin and left the room. A low, continuous growl rumbled in Jake's chest as he messaged soap over Erin's lower back beneath the water.
"So, you ran here." Jake finished in understanding. It made sense she'd feel more safe with him after something like that. Erin nodded in confirmation. "How long were you standing outside when you got here?"
"Uuumm…I don't know…a few minutes?" she answered uncertainly.
"Why didn't you just come inside, or at least knock?" Jake asked, concerned as he ran his hands down her arms from her shoulders.
"I don't know." she whispered, but Jake wasn't sure he believed her.
"Erin, tell me the truth. Tell me what's going on in your head right now." Jake pleaded, slipping an arm around her chest to hug her from behind, his face nuzzling her neck.
Erin swallowed thickly, her eyes lowered. "Well,…I didn't know what to do when I got here. I knew you'd be angry at my mother for hitting me, and I figured you wouldn't want me to go back there-"
"Obviously." Jake muttered quietly.
"-but I don't think I've got enough money to get my own place." she finished.
Jake's brows furrowed low over his eyes, his head tilting with his chin on her shoulder so he could see the side of her face. "Your own place? Erin, you're still in school. You'll be 18 soon, but…Come on, Erin. You can't honestly believe you wouldn't have a place here. You can live here."
"This house is too small for you, your dad, your sister, sometimes Paul, and then me. I don't want to intrude, Jake." Erin shook her head.
"Rach and Paul are looking at a house in two days. They'll be moving out within a month. We'll manage until then. My dad, Rach, and Paul will all say the same thing. We won't let you go back there, Erin. It's abuse. She's been verbally abusing you for years, and it just turned physical. I won't allow her to hurt you again." he swore, tightening his hold on her and holding her close with both arms wrapped around her front.
Erin squeezed her eyes shut, turning and pressing her face into Jake's cheek. "Promise?" she asked quietly.
"I promise, Erin." he whispered back, turning and nudging her cheek with his nose. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
They sat like that for a few moments before Jake finished rinsing her off and then helped her out of the tub. He gave her a warm, fluffy towel to dry off with while he went to his room to grab one of his old T-shirts and boxers for her to wear.
Once she was dressed he pulled her into the living room for a moment. Billy, Rachel, and Paul all turned and looked at them expectantly.
"Erin's mother, Deborah, smacked her earlier, resulting in a bloody nose and then Erin hitting her head against a coffee table." Jake explained briefly, pointing at the small bump on Erin's temple. Erin looked down in embarrassment, ignoring the gasps and low growl in the room. "I told her she can move in here. I don't want her around that bitch anymore."
"Of course." Billy agreed instantly, looking both worried about Erin and angry at Deborah. "I'm sure some of the pack and imprints can help you get your things from the house when your mother goes to work next." he continued to Erin.
"I don't-"
"Erin, chill. We're helping. No one's letting you go back there alone." Paul cut her off before she could properly protest.
Erin smiled shakily at him. "Okay."
"Now that that's settled, we're going to bed." Jake announced, gently leading Erin back down the hall toward his bedroom.
Since she was already pretty much in pajamas, Erin climbed into Jake's bed and scooted under the sheet, still sitting up against the pillows. The sheets were cool and Erin found herself wrapping her hands around her arms to preserve some heat while Jake stripped down to his boxers.
As soon as Jake joined her sitting under the sheet, Erin scooted into his side, sighing at the warmth of his skin. Jake chuckled at her, more than happy to warm her up. With his free hand, Jake grabbed the hairbrush off his bedside table. Erin had left an extra one around since she spent so much time at his house anyway.
Jake carefully brushed through her long hair until all the knots and tangles were gone. Then, he pulled a hair tie from around the brush handle, slipped it on his wrist, braided her hair, and tied it off with the hair tie.
"There. Lets get some sleep." Jake suggested gently, noticing Erin's eyes were drooping from the soothing feeling of him running his fingers through her hair.
"Have I mentioned that I love you?" Erin mumbled as Jake helped her lay down, pulling the thin sheet over both of them and nestling her into his chest.
Jake smiled, gently brushing his lips over the tender bump on her temple. "Yes, but I do love hearing it."
"'Mkay. I love you." Erin mumbled, half asleep. Jake smiled down at her peaceful face, gently using his fingers to brush her loosely braided hair back from her face.
"I love you, too, Erin. I promise I'll never let you get hurt again." Jake whispered before allowing himself to doze off with his soul mate.