8 - Curiosity
Phil never prohibited me from visiting the cabin, but it would have been strange to show up there without him being in residence. Distracting myself from being able to truly realize that Phil and the cabin were gone was at first an easy task, all the responsibilities I had been neglecting suddenly became my top priorities. Many opportunities presented themselves which allowed me to have little to no free time to think: extra patrol duties, going with Jake to the Cullen's house so he could hunt with his mate, and all the odds and ends that needed to be done around the house and the store.
I don't know why I went with Jake to see the Cullen coven, it made everyone uncomfortable for me to be there. Hating the leeches had become almost like breathing to me and I found that it was a hard habit to break, not that I necessarily really felt like trying to break it; but I knew since Jake was mated to the hybrid he would not sever ties with them. It was not easy to think of them as "people" despite of the way Seth kept on and on about them. Honestly I still hated their deceased guts, they were the cause of everything that went wrong in my life. If it was not for them I might still have my boyfriend, my father, and my dream castle.
On the third evening of Phil's absence and my banishment from the cabin I slowed down enough to have dinner with my family.
"Nice of you to join us Leah," Seth told me as he passed the mashed potatoes. I looked up at my brother, he seemed to have shot up again. It seemed strange but the more powerful they got, the taller they became. Jake was the most powerful and therefore the tallest of the wolves. Sam had been the next in line, in both power and height. Now it seemed Seth was quickly catching up, if he kept growing at this rate he would soon pass Sam - that would be amusing to see.
"Hey Seth have you been sneaking the miracle grow again?" I asked him, slightly punching him in the arm. It was a trick I had picked up from the other wolves, it was a sign of affection to punch each other's arms. The harder you punched them the more you loved them, according to Paul. I think it was just an excuse to hit people, but hey as far as excuses went it was a pretty good one. At least Paul was good for one thing.
"I wish he would stop," my mother joined in jokingly, "I am getting tired of trying to keep him in clothes that are decent enough to wear to school."
"Speaking of school, how is it going?" I was a little ashamed to realize that we had not talked all that much in the past few weeks. Most of my thoughts had been preoccupied of late with getting back to my sanctuary at the cabin - and Phil, that little pesky voice added but I quickly squished it. Most of my patrols had been with Jake, so I had not seen much of my baby brother.
It was nice to know I could act like a human being outside of the cabin; at the beginning of our - I guess the best word for it might be friendship, though that did not feel all that right - when I would leave Phil and the cabin behind, my dark clouds would reform around me. I was a little better at keeping them at bay now; they were still there but I was able to push them aside a bit. My mother had seemed pleased with the changes in me, but more importantly she did not complain overmuch that I spent so much time with Phil. I think the spell that Phil had woven over he must have been really potent.
Maybe she did not complain because she saw me all day long. Working in the family store meant that I still interacted with my mom a great deal, but it was kind of a boss and worker interaction, not a mother and daughter. We had never been close, my father had told me on several occasions that it was because we were too similar but I think he had been trying to make me feel better.
"School is boring, less than a month before we get off for Thanksgiving." Seth said, interrupting my thoughts. I could recall the days when I too would count down to vacation. I did not necessarily hate school, it just got so tedious after a while.
"So what are you doing home?" Seth continued in between shoveling food into his mouth.
"Not that we don't love for you to be here," mother chimed in giving Seth a look.
"Have you decided to move back home or is this just a visit?" Seth continued, ignoring mother's warning glare.
I pretended to seriously ponder the question. "Just a visit, Phil had to go be an adult, his work could not be done long distance this time." I laughed at Seth, I had not been gone that often, had I? Now that I started considering it, I pretty much worked at the store, ran patrols, and hung out with Phil. I came home to sleep and shower. Seth was right, I had been gone a lot.
"I don't see how he can do anything long distance," my mother muttered under her breath.
"What was that mom?" I asked, fishing for more information.
"What? Oh nothing, just talking to myself." I guess she had forgotten both her children had super wolf hearing now. She had misunderstood me, I had asked for her to clarify her words not repeat what she had said.
Two things occurred to me all of a sudden; my mother knew what Phil was hiding from me. This meant that his secret was not a bad thing; it was probably a good thing considering it made my mother feel comfortable enough to let me spend a great deal of time with him. Then why was he hiding it from me? Maybe he was an accountant or something really boring?
I considered this for a minute, if he had told me when we first met that he was an accountant I would probably not have spent any time with him. I had a reputation to keep up. I laughed at myself. I had learned my lesson with nice men, I had wanted a bad boy, seems like I got lucky in that Phil turned out to be a decent man that on first impression might have come off as a bad boy. Not that he did not have his bad points, he was insanely addicted to speed. I still got scared sometimes when we would take the motorcycle out instead of the truck, but he was willing to teach me to ride so I did not complain overmuch.
"Seth I keep hearing about you and some girl, Jill Maples." My mother interrupted the silence.
My little brother interested in a girl, it looked like I had hit the older sister pay dirt. "Ooh really who is this?" I asked, mentally rubbing my hands together in anticipation. "Wait is Maples not the Rez cop's name?"
Seth gave me a sheepish look, and I knew my guess was right.
"Oh my god, you are really living on the wild side, trying to date a cop's daughter. Well at least you don't have to worry about him killing you when he will shoot you." I told him laughing.
Seth was a brave soul, Maples was the one cop we were all afraid of and as a general rule tried to avoid at all costs. He had noticed the "gang" that Sam had built around him and had been watching us like a hawk trying to catch us in an illegal act. He was a member of the tribe so of course he knew the legends, but like most of the tribe he thought they were just stories. Jake had asked the elders if he could tell Maples that the stories were true, he had been hoping to find an ally. The elders and Sam had shot him down - telling Jake no without even listening to his reasons.
"I am not dating her." Seth said with a level of disgust that only a fifteen year old could muster when it came to the member of the opposite sex - it was a combination of loathing laced with just the right amount of awe and curiosity. "We just went to a movie together."
"Oh really, that would be considered a date in my book." It felt good to tease Seth. "So have you kissed her yet? I want all the details."
"I don't want to date her," he said, I noticed a change in his tone. Why did my brother sound so forlorn?
"Then why did you go to a movie with her?" I tried to tease him back into his usual sunny mood.
Seth made a face, "I mean I do like her but what if I imprint on someone else. I would not want her to...well you know." All thought of teasing flew from my mind. Suddenly I understood, my brother was trying to spare Jill my fate. He had seen what Sam leaving me had done to my sanity, he wanted to protect her from that. My brother was sweet and selfless enough to spend the rest of his life alone to spare someone that pain. I don't know if I would have been able to be that strong.
Maybe you already proved you were not capable of being that unselfish. There were points in time when I thought Phil cared about me a great deal more than he let on. I had noticed he was really good at hiding his emotions, but occasionally his expression would slip, and I would see something that would make my heart beat a little faster - something beyond the lust. I was afraid what would happen if I tried to jump the friendship barricade we had erected between us, and while I was being honest with myself I was also afraid of rejection. Sometimes I would wonder why Phil kept me around, other than to help him navigate the woods. Well he sure as heck needed me for that, he had the worst sense of direction ever. I had learned to be a little more subtle when I redirected him, he had no idea how many times it was actually I that got us to our destination - he could give me a run for my money when it came to stubbornness.
"Speaking of imprinting, what are you going to do about Phil," my mother asked strangely echoing my thoughts.
I sighed and poke my food for bit. "Like he loves to remind me on a daily basis, ours is not a permanent arrangement, he will be gone in a few months. He is a big boy, I have not encouraged him, we are friends, just friends. Maybe I will meet someone when I go off to school." I told her trying to change the subject.
"How is your application process going?" My mother asked politely, but I could detect genuine interest in her voice. I knew she thought I was taking too long, I should have sent my applications to various colleges off months ago.
"Not well, I can't seem to think of anything worse than having to write those stupid essays." I made a face, thinking about the retarded questions you had to fill out along with the applications. How was I supposed to know where I saw myself in five years? I did not think "not in love with Sam" was the answer they were looking for.
"It is part of the process, no one else is going to do it for you." She told me in a chiding voice.
"Phil offered to do them for me," I told my mother with a smile, starting to eat again, hoping she would drop it.
My mother seemed to think I was kidding, and I did not correct her misconception. For some reason Phil seemed almost more determined than I was to see me go to college. I don't know why it came as a surprise, I was willing to guarantee he was a college grad. He seemed to be too knowledgable, though it could have been because he was such a voracious reader. From some of the comments and observations he had made it was pretty obvious he had done a lot of traveling and living; some of the knowledge he had stored away did not come from reading a book. I had picked up on the fact that at some point in the past he could have lived up to the bad boy image he projected when we first met. I got the impression that he spent some time just wandering around not really knowing what to do with himself, luckily he had found what he was looking for because I had never met anyone who was as comfortable in his skin as Phil. This was all speculation on my part, it could just be that his family was so scattered and so he had to travel to see them, but somehow that scenario seemed wrong. You just want him to be your bad boy, so you won't feel bad if he ever starts developing feelings for you. I really did hate that pesky voice.
The thought of taking Phil to meet Edward just so I could learn what he was actually thinking was very tempting. It was a scenario that often ran through my mind, especially when Phil was being a jerk and giving me absolutely no details about his past.
I knew Jake was considering it, just so he would know what Phil thought about us, the wolves. Jake wanted to know if Phil suspected something, it was imperative that we protect the tribe secrets. I know from Jake's thoughts that Sam had made a big push to use the Edward to interrogate Phil without his knowledge.
Luckily for Sam's well being Jake had been able to talk him out of that plan. Jake had solid arguments against reading Phil's mind. He had been afraid if we were to introduce Edward to Phil he would get suspicious, the Cullens were not exactly normal looking and Phil was an observant guy. He might not choose to dwell deeper into my secrets but he had to know I had concern could be easily circumvented by me taking Phil out to eat somewhere and Edward standing in the shadows - but I did not mention this to Jake, he did not need me to give him ideas. The second reason Jake did not want to use Edward was a little more personal, Jake had been in the position where he had not choice but to have his mind read, he did not want to think about that sort of violation. It helped when he saw through my thoughts that Phil did not seem interested in the oddities he may have noticed. He was not as curious as Bella had been and that was probably the strongest argument that saved Phil from being mind raped by Edward.
That night after the patrols instead of running home I ran to the cabin. It was all quiet on the inside, nothing moved. I risked shifting to human form and quickly ran inside. The back sliding door was unlocked, I don't think I had seen Phil ever lock it.
I padded through the house, it was strange being completely naked but it was not like I carried clothes with me when I went on patrols. Jake would occasionally take a pair of shorts tied to his hind leg but it was awkward to have to carry a shirt and pants. I was laughing just thinking of how surprised Phil would be if he came home right now. One scenario of how Phil would react to my nudity ran through my thoughts, and I stopped laughing. I was a healthy young woman, and my mind tended to go to the gutter quickly - but it had been over six freaking months of nothing. No sex, no kissing, hell at this point a hug would probably get me off.
In my mind Phil opened the door and looked up to see me standing in the living room naked, he would walk over to me with that long unhurried stride of his and pull me into his embrace. Dream Phil had no problem touching me, running his fingers slowly up my upper arms, and slowly moving them along my shoulders and to that sensitive spot behind my head in order to pull me into a kiss that would be slow and thorough. It would not take me long to get him as naked as I was, especially not with my wolf speed and strength.
I made a face at my fantasies, the most likely scenario was not Phil joining me in nakedness, he was more likely to rush upstairs to find me something to wear. He had this thing about making sure I was warm, he always had to get me a jacket or a raincoat.
He became quite upset one time when it was a little chilly outside and I was not wearing gloves. It drove me nuts sometimes how much effort he spent on trying to keep me warm, he had even gone so far as to buy me a pair of hiking boots. He had thought the sneakers I had been wearing had not been waterproof enough to wear on our hikes, I had absolutely refused to take them until he told me the alternative was him throwing them in the trash. I had learned that it was not a good move to call Phil's bluffs, he would have thrown them in the trash. My acceptance of his gift was not exactly graceful, I had told him that I was not made of "sugar and spice and everything nice."
Phil had not been bothered by my uncivil behavior, "of course you are Princess, you just have a little more spice than most girls." He told me with a wink and a smile.
The ringing of the phone startled me back to the present time, I automatically walked over to the kitchen to answer the wall phone before realizing my current location. It was not my house so I sure as heck was not going to answer it. I heard a click as the phone switched over to the answering machine.
"Hi Princess, I would suggest you turn off the alarm. Unless you want company in a few minutes." I heard Phil's voice, it sounded amused.
I ran across the kitchen to pick up the phone but it was too late. I held the phone next to my ear a little disappointed to be hearing only the dial tone. It took me a minute to register what he had actually said in the message, I had forgotten about the alarm. Moving quickly to the panel by the front door I put in the right code. Phil had never outright told me what it was, but I had seen him enter it enough times to have it memorized.
I walked upstairs realizing I had the house all to myself, my curiosity peaked. Curiosity killed the cat, fortunately for me I was a wolf. I had been in every room of the house except Phil's bedroom, there were various reasons for that. I was a girl and I could not just follow a guy into his bedroom, that might give the wrong impression or the right impression. It all depended on whether my libido or mind was in control. Second, Phil had always kept the door to his rooms closed, like he had a secret in there or something.
I should have felt bad for pretty much invading his privacy but my curiosity soon overrode the feeling. To my surprise the door to Phil's bedroom was actually open, I took a peek inside. Hey I had a good reason to go in there, I needed some clothes. Yeah right Leah, and it has nothing to do with the possibility of snooping through his things.
It was all super organized, Phil tended to try to put everything in its place. He had even tried to order my beads at one time. That had not gone well, he learned after that to leave my table alone. There were still times when he did not think I would notice that he would stare at my table in his study and just cringe. Well too f-ing bad, he would just have to get used to it. I happened to like my disorder, but more than that I enjoyed bothering him.
The theme of Phil's room was in accordance with the rest of the house. The walls were a light peach color with the dark cherry wood used in both the furniture and the floors. The bed was perfectly made, the peach quilt matching the walls did not have one crease on it; making me want to jump in the middle of it just to mess it up.
There was a sitting area to one side with a small table and lamp. The dresser was located in the other corner; the top was clear but for a small carved wooden horse - it was obviously hand made and of really good quality but the style was not one I recognized as being made by a native american. I headed over to the dresser, opening the top drawer. I found what I had been looking for, a pile of neatly folded t-shirts. I quickly pulled one on inhaling the scent of laundry detergent and if I took a deep enough breath the smell Phil. I smiled to myself and continued my search. The bathroom was just as ordered, maybe it was because this was not his house but you would think after a month of being here he would have more toiletries. I sniffed his shampoo and aftershave feeling like a pervert, but I was looking for whatever gave him that unique scent that I loved.
The closet was amazing in its size, I have to admit I did not think Phil owned this many clothes, I had not seen him wear a tenth of these. There was a section of several vibrant looking shirts that I was willing to bet were not picked out by him - I had only seen him wear black, grey, and navy blue never these reds or yellows. Maybe someone else had bought them for him and he did not want to hurt their feelings by throwing them out. By the side of the bed was one of the current best selling mysteries as well as a book of what looked to be poetry - it was in a language I did not recognize. I left his rooms disappointed, I had not learned anything new about him.
The pantry yielded some granola and the milk was not expired yet so I decided to "cook" myself some breakfast, then I went to the study to work.
Even though my mother wanted me to make more simple bracelets I could not help but be elaborate, especially here. I guess the simplicity of the cabin allowed me to be creative, there were no distractions here. I had been thinking about an especially elaborate piece, so I settled down to do some serious work for a few hours.
It was not until I was running home later in the afternoon that I realized Phil had called me by name, well Princess but to him that was my name. How had he known that it was me in the house? By the time I got home I had decided it was just him taking a wild guess, he must have been called by the security company that the alarm had been tripped.
A/N: All right ladies, here is a revised chapter. I am trying to cut back on the size of them because sometimes it seems like too much happens per chapter and things can get overwhelming.
TiffersStar1989: The elements that he surrounded with her, maybe possible he was doing something but I assure you it was not malicious. To answer one of your questions no he is not going to Forks to find out about the pack, he has a very good reason to be in Forks, part of that reason will be revealed soon and another part will take a bit longer. Glad you think Phil is yummy, but Leah saw him first so back off - kidding, if you want to go up against Leah go ahead, but I know I would get my butt kicked.
: Wow I am seriously digging these cool names, I am happy you like the story. I will try to update quickly, but some chapters might take me longer to edit than others.
Connect2tjb: Some of this stuff is mostly repeat, Leah has to find her way out of her dark place, but then we will have some fun. Horny teenage werewolf style :D.
Twilighter: There I updated jailbait and Leah all within a day of each other. You should be proud of me. :D By the way, totally enjoy the conversations.
ABarbieStory: I am happy you liked the last chapter, don't worry soon you will find out what Phil needed to do. I noticed that most girls don't mind the perverted Leah. I remember my asking if you girls wanted lemons or grapefruit and someone at one point asked for watermelon.