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Bella POV
I probably should have expected that my friends would be over first thing in the morning to 'chat', but somehow I didn't. So Angela and Jessica's arrival at my front door caught me by surprise.
"Um, hey?"
"Hi, Bella. Girl's day." Jess bounced inside.
"Well...Embry's coming over later.
"Oooo," they teased. Predictably, I blushed.
"We'll leave when we need to," Ange promised.
I'd always been told that my face was an open book, telegraphing just about everything I thought and felt. Maybe because of that I'd never really been one to verbally share all that much, so the idea of opening up and talking about something as personal as Embry and I's relationship was a bit hard. But I really could use some advice and perspective, and I trusted both my friends to keep my secrets.
"Does your dad know where I took you yesterday?" Angela got things started.
"Yeah. He caught me when I got back here." My mouth twisted in a bit of a smirk as I thought about how he'd reacted. "You'd've thought I was trying to sneak in drugs or cigarettes or something, the way he snatched the bag. And when he realized it was my new supply of birth control pills..."
"Toxic waste," Jessica laughed. "Right up there with tampons or sanitary pads on the shopping list."
We all shared a moment of female amusement at that male horror.
"So…" drawled Jess, "you're thinking that you and Embry might…"
Cue the red face. "I—"
They both reached out and laid their hands on mine.
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to show Embry how much you care and how much he means to you," Jessica assured me.
"We aren't planning—we—"
"They say it happens when it's supposed to," she continued.
"Is Embry pushing for it?" Angela questioned.
"No!" I denied. I stuttered and stammered my way through what had happened last night; a story that made both my friends squeal.
"Does your dad know that's why you got the pills?"
My reply was a shouted, "No!" More quietly, I added, "He'd lock me in my room for the rest of my life and shoot Embry."
"He'd have to catch Embry first," Jess commented slyly. "You do have that convenient tree right outside your bedroom window…"
I wasn't sure if this latest face-flame was because I knew just how often Edward had used that tree to enter my bedroom to watch me sleep, or from wondering what it would be like if Embry climbed it for a very different reason.
"My mom said that dads hate to see their daughter grow up, because they remember from first-hand experience just what teenage guys are like," Angela said.
I couldn't really argue with that. Charlie had tried to look out for me anyway, even though he rarely saw me; but after I'd moved in, and with all the stuff that had happened this summer…it was no surprise he was taking it to a new level. And now that he knew what I'd done today…well, that shotgun-threat might not be an idle one.
(flashback)
"Where'd you go, Bells?"
"Angela ran me over to the health clinic—"
"Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well when you got back? I would have taken you."
"I'm fine, Dad," I interrupted before he could get worked up any further. "I just had to get a prescription refilled."
"I didn't think you were still taking any of the medications," Charlie was confused.
"I'm not." I sighed, and then just decided to get it over with. "I got a refill on the birth control prescription I had from Phoenix."
"Birth control?!" Charlie's face got red, and the blood vessel in his temple started pulsing. "What the heck do you need with birth control? If that boy is—"
"Dad! I don't need it now, and I don't know when—or even if—I will. But wouldn't you rather I had it beforehand rather than thinking about it after the fact or not at all?" I was honestly amazed that I'd gotten that out without combusting, crashing through the floor, or something similar. It was also—or so I thought—showing a lot of maturity; something that many teens seemed to lack, if current TV programming could be believed. My dad didn't seem to agree, though; no doubt, he would have preferred it if I never had to consider any of it.
"If he ever does anything—"
"Embry has always put me first and shown nothing but respect and consideration," I informed my father, "and I know he always will."
"He'd better," Charlie warned. I resolved to give Embry a head's-up before the next time he came over.
(end flashback)
"But he does want to, right?" Jess checked.
"Yeah, I think so. Someday."
"It's good that he respects you-and himself-enough to wait. Some guys don't think with their heads. Or at least not with the one on their shoulders," she quipped.
"Jess!" exclaimed Angela.
"Well, it's true," Jess defended. "That's another reason I broke up with Mike. He was starting to push and I wasn't interested."
"Bella won't have to worry about that-Embry's not that kind of guy, right?" Angela started speaking to Jess and finished with me.
"No," I agreed. "Growing up with a single mom like he has, I guess he's a little more sensitive to that sort of thing. And even if he weren't, his mom had a talk with him yesterday." And so would my dad the next time he saw my boyfriend, I was sure.
"So what are you two going to do today?" asked Angela.
"He's going to help me start researching new cars. My truck got smashed up in that storm a couple nights ago, so I'll have to get something different."
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Narrator POV
Despite Billy's offer to handle everything, Charlie had decided to head down to La Push that morning and take a look at the truck himself. He'd have to take pictures for the insurance company anyway. It was a good thing he did. Some of the local boys were in the process of loading it onto a flatbed to get hauled away. Another couple boys were making headway in chopping the tree into smaller pieces for use, but he could still see the torn earth where the tree had been uprooted and the general idea of where it had landed.
"Hold up there," he called, already starting to walk along the side of the flatbed. As he passed one of the boys, Charlie thought he heard a muttered grumble, but he had other priorities. Stepping back to survey the front of Bella's truck, the deep indention from the tree was obvious. Everything looked exactly like what Billy had told him, so why was he feeling like he ought to be chewing these boys out for tampering with a crime-scene?
"Perfect storm of conditions," someone commented behind him. Charlie turned to see that it was Sam Uley. He held out his hand and Sam shook it firmly-Sam had been in his good books since finding Bella in the woods back in June. "Rain softened up the soil, wind rocked the tree back and forth until it just went down. Rotten luck."
"Yeah," Charlie agreed, pulling Bella's camera out of his pocket and starting to take some pictures.
"Getting her something new, dealing with the insurance claim...what fun." He circled around, taking pictures from all angles, and of the tree remnants as well.
"Here's the stuff from inside," a deep voice said.
Looking up, Charlie had to do a double-take. He looked like Jake-but didn't at the same time. At least half a foot taller, bulked up body, leaner face, Jake looked a good five-or more-years older than he had only a couple weeks ago.
"Thanks. Wow, guess you really hit a growth spurt, huh?"
"Yeah," Jake's mouth twisted. "Guess I did. Where's Bells?" his attempt at casualness failed miserably.
"At home. Sleeping in a bit, I think." Charlie didn't mention that she was also staying home because Embry would be coming over, both for respect for Bella's privacy as well as compassion for Jake. It didn't seem to make a difference though.
"Is Embry going to be there?"
"I think that's their business, son. You know him; you know he's a good guy. If he makes her happy, I'm not going to say anything against it. And if you're serious about staying friends with them, I hope you'll be happy for them, too," Charlie reached out to clap Jake's shoulder in sympathy and recoiled instinctively when he felt the burning-hot skin. "Shoot, Billy! He's hot enough to fry an egg on. Need me to take him to the doctor?"
"Thanks for the offer, Charlie, but not just yet. Jake, why don't you go lie down for a while? Quil, check the medicine cabinet and see what we've got, okay?"
Without a word, Jake headed inside, Quil moving to follow him. Charlie got another jolt when he really got a good look at the other boy. Quil had changed just as drastically as Jake had. What is the deal? Every instinct he had was telling in that there was something strange going on, but he just didn't know what. Figuring that distance might help right now, he decided to leave. He gave the insurance agent's address to the guy who'd drive the flatbed, asking him to stop by so that the agent could certify the truck as totaled. Then he drove off. His plan to head straight home before going to the station was postponed when he saw Sue's station wagon in their driveway; obviously she and Harry had gotten back from taking Leah to college. Sue opened the door when he knocked, and smiled. "Hi, Charlie. How are you?"
"Okay, Sue. Did Leah get settled in?"
Sue stepped back to let him in and he followed her to the kitchen while she talked about their trip and how Leah was excited to be starting school and work, and reconnecting with Rachel Black.
"If you're looking for Harry, I'm sorry that you've missed him. We barely got in the door before he went off to track down the other elders and get a look at the storm damage." In reality, Sue knew full well that the primary cause of concern was actually the developing romantic tangle surrounding Bella Swan.
Charlie just nodded.
Harry knew him well-the two having been friends since childhood—and Sue had come to know a good bit about Charlie Swan herself. It wasn't long before she asked, "Something on your mind, Charlie?"
"Have you noticed strange things going on around here?" he asked.
Sue laughed. "I've got two teenagers, Charlie. Strange is normal here."
"Yeah, I know, but this is more than that." He ran through the strange events of the past couple days: Jake's excessive reaction to Bella and Embry's new relationship, how he'd never worked on Bella's truck, and then the story Billy had spun him about the truck's demise, finishing up with the oddities he'd noticed about Jake and his new group of friends. "Something is just really strange about all of it," Charlie said.
Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie saw the tight expression on Sue's face. "Teenage relationships are never easy, are they?" she offered, speaking from experience. But that didn't ease Charlie's mind any; rather, it made him think that Sue, too, knew something that she wasn't saying. "I admire Bella for being brave enough to start a new relationship after being hurt so badly-I hope that being away at college will help Leah to do the same thing. It's sad if Jacob is willing to risk two friendships out of spite, but that's his choice and no one else's. Bella should do what's right for her, and not worry about anything else. And thanks for letting me know about Jake not seeming well; I'll go check him out. The last thing we want is to start the school year with something going around."
They exchanged goodbyes and Charlie headed for work. Sue didn't immediately head for the Black's, though. She unpacked, started the laundry, and thought.
Foolish old men, she thought. Thinking a story like that would fool a police chief. For being an outsider, Charlie Swan had sure noticed quite a lot. Granted, he'd lived here his entire life, and grown up with the sons of La Push's leading families.
Would he know any of the stories? She wondered. Possibly: hanging around Billy, Harry, and Quil IV, Charlie probably would have heard the stories that the young ones in the tribe learned but didn't believe. But even for a smart cop, it was a huge leap from where Charlie was at now to the truth behind the legends.
Sue also wondered if Bella Swan might be more of a concern. Being involved with the Cullen Coven like she had been, how much might they have told her? And if she was anywhere near as smart as her father, Bella might also be noticing quite a bit on her own. Or at least she might if she spent any time around Jake or any of the others. But from what Charlie had just said, it really sounded like spending time around anyone in the pack—not that she knew to call it that—was the last thing Bella wanted. But if she didn't, then how would Jacob have the opportunity to imprint on her. Will he, if and when he does actually see her again? She pondered the stunning thought. Sam had been positive all those months ago that Bella was a future imprint. When it wasn't Paul, it had left only Jake in everyone's minds until Quil had also phased. His mother, Joy, had been the first to ask, "Why Jake? Why not Quil?" Only, it wasn't Quil, which truly left only Jacob. So why was she worrying now, and for the past few hours?
Sue rubbed her fingers around her temples to ward off a headache. More and more, it all seemed like a big mess. For all that it was supposed to bring the wolf and his perfect mate together—to give them peace, comfort, strength, and be the ideal mother of the next generation of pups—imprinting often seemed to cause more problems than it solved. If Bella came to love Embry, and he her, then an imprinting between Bella and Jacob would be disastrous. Once again, she'd be ripped away from someone she loved, all but forced into a life-long relationship with someone she didn't love that way. Would an outsider like Bella see the imprinting as a blessing, or a life sentence? From what Sam had shared on the phone with Harry last night—and Harry had shared with her—Bella had been only feet away from Jacob, and yet hadn't wanted to look his way or stay near him.
With Emily, she'd had a difficult home life growing up—something all too common for native children. So naturally, she'd wanted an escape from that world, to have a loving and stable family, someone to love her and care for her. Was that what had pulled Sam to her at that peninsular tribal gathering? The Alpha needing a mate to protect and tend to—something that strong, independent Leah would have strangled him for trying?
Kim had had a crush on Jared for years—and all the while he hadn't noticed she even existed. And no sooner had she come back to La Push from the exchange program her parents had pushed her into doing, than she'd met and captured Jared. Had she wanted a tie to La Push that nothing could break?ll
If so, both girls now had exactly what they wanted. But what did Bella want? And were they things that Jacob, new wolf and likely future Alpha, could give her? Should he be the one giving them? Sue was glad that her own daughter now had the chance to find and make the life she'd always dreamed of, with the whole world at her fingertips. All Sue could think was that Joy had been right about this, too: Bella didn't deserve to have her choices taken away from her.
Gah! Sick of knotted questions with no answers, Sue made sure her house was in order and left to go find out what exactly what was going on and what was being done about it.
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Bella POV
After Angela and Jessica left, I tried to send an email to Leah asking how she liked being in Pullman so far and to tell her about me and Embry. But our internet was still down, so I settled for sending her a short text asking her to call me tonight to talk. Just then, Embry showed up. No sooner had I let him in the house, than he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
"Good morning to you, too," I managed, once he'd let me go.
"It most certainly is," he agreed. "So what's the plan?"
"Our internet is down, so I'm not sure."
"The grocery store might have a free magazine or ads, and there's always the library," he teased about our first date.
"Sure."
Our first stop was the local Thriftway, where Embry was right about the ad booklets. The library's internet was also down—it was something of a town-wide issue, apparently—but they did have magazines. Embry got the library staff to give us some paper and pens, and he helped me make lists of things I did and didn't want in a new car. He kept me pretty entertained, considering that the topic wasn't one I was really interested in. Embry had me right up against him as we wrote down the things I absolutely had to have, and the things I wanted if I could get them. Everything we looked at helped us come up with a nice list of car options to check out in Port Angeles this coming weekend. Even though the shopping gene—for anything other than household stuff—seemed to have skipped me entirely, I was looking forward to this trip, even if it would be a little awkward being with Embry with my dad there watching.
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Jake POV
I woke up with a new resolve to really work on things. I absolutely had to get a handle on myself and all the stuff going on, because being away from Bella any long was just not an option. So I tried a little small talk with my dad, who smiled in relief.
The guys came over to help get Bella's truck's carcass loaded onto a flatbed for its final journey to the Port Angeles scrapyard. The idea was to get it gone ASAP, but that didn't happen before Charlie showed up. He was in full cop mode, looking over the whole truck and not saying much. He had a good poker face, so I couldn't quite tell what he thought of the manufactured destruction-by-tree scene the pack had set.
After he'd left, I retreated to the private sanctuary of my garage to think about how much I'd nearly screwed things up today. If I'd been smart, I'd have stayed hidden in the house; Charlie had nearly fallen over when he'd seen how much I'd changed since he'd last seen me, and again when he'd touched my arm and felt my new wolfy temperature.
The rest of the day's got to be better, right? Wrong. It was only now that I realized I'd done something else pretty dumb: I'd handed all of Bella's stuff from inside the truck to her dad to take home for her. If I'd been using my brain, I would have kept it all and used it as an excuse to drop by her house, see her, and imprint on her and finally have something good in my life again.
But I soon was handed another excuse that was almost as good: the power outage we'd had because of the storm had meant that our perishables in the fridge had had to be tossed out—my dad's insulin having taken priority in the small portable cooler. And since the rez store had also lost power, I'd need to go to the store in Forks to resupply. So I'd just happen to swing by Bella's; with any luck, I'd find her alone.
Luck, however, wasn't with me. Bella wasn't at her house at all—I caught Embry's scent and knew she had to be with him. What I really wanted to do was hunt them down; I would have done it if not for Sam's Alpha order and the smidgen of common sense I was trying to listen to about it not being a good idea. I carried on with the other part of the plan and headed for the grocery store. It was there that I got a double whammy: the mingled scents of Bella and Embry that meant they'd been here not too long ago, and the echoing howls from out in the forest.
Shit! I thought. I spun my Rabbit around and sped toward the outskirts of town. Dumping my car in the first convenient hiding spot, I took a few precious seconds to strip my clothes off before phasing.
What's going on? I asked. Instantly, the minds of the others were open to me.
They're back!
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AN: Yes, I know, I'm terribly mean to be leaving this cliffie. Read and review, and I'll hopefully get lots of inspiration for the next chapter and be able to have it up soon.