Impasse
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Not An Imprint
Bella and Jacob went their separate ways once they left First beach. Jacob went off alone to track down Sam while Bella went to check in with Leah.
"Hello!" Bella called out as she cautiously pushed open the front door of the Clearwaters residence. "Leah, its Bella! Where are you?"
Her greeting was met with a muffled sob. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the living room. Proceeding with extreme care, she approached the closed door warily. She tapped on it gently with her knuckles to signal that she was coming in and then pushed it open.
As she slipped inside, she was confronted by the odd sight of Leah standing in the far corner of the room. She had her back pressed firmly against the wall. Her head was bent forward, with her long, silky black hair covering her face. Violent tremors rippled through her body.
On the other side of the room sat a young woman with satiny copper skin and long, straight, crow-black hair. She was dressed in a blue satin teddy and nothing else. She was the one sobbing. Bella presumed that this must be the eponymous Emily.
"W-who are you?" Emily choked out.
"I'm Bella." Bella introduced herself. "I'm a friend of Leah's."
This news seemed to surprise Emily. She glanced over at her cousin, who still had her head bent and back pressed to the wall. It was only then that Bella got a clear view of the bright red mark covering the right side of Emily's face. It was livid in color. Her right eye also looked slightly swollen, like she had been on the receiving end of a hard slap.
"Jeez, what the hell has gone on here?" Bella thought to herself. She said nothing more to Emily, instead turning away and going straight to Leah.
Upon hearing her approach, Leah finally raised her head. Her beautiful face was tearstained, her dark almond shaped eyes wild with terror. Her skin glowed with perspiration, while fine tremors continued to ripple down her limbs uncontrollably.
"Don't come any closer, Bella." She whispered hoarsely.
"What's wrong, Lee?" Bella asked, stopping in her tracks. "Are you ill?"
"It feels like my insides are on fire." Leah moaned as her head fell forward again.
"When did this come on?"
"Not long ago. I can't stop shaking."
Bella inched closer; her arms outstretched toward her friend. Leah was clearly in distress. She couldn't leaver her like that. And what was the deal with Emily? Why was she sitting there like a dummy while her own cousin was clearly suffering? And even though she had been the one sobbing, Bella was certain she hadn't seen any actual tears in Emily's eyes, unlike Leah's. Which could only mean she was faking being upset.
"Can you tell me what happened, Lee?" Bella finally reached her anguished friend. Ignoring Leah's continued protests she engulfed the taller girl in the comforting circle of her arms.
"She attacked me without provocation!" Emily cried suddenly, rising from the sofa.
Bella was startled by this news. She kept her eyes trained on Leah's, trying to decipher the truth from her anguished gaze. She knew that Leah would never attack anyone without good reason. Emily must have provoked her in some way. She suddenly remembered Leah's frantic phone call when she referenced Sam.
Bella let go of Leah and placed her hands on either side of her face instead. Touching Leah's skin was like touching a burning stove top. Bella felt anxiety ripple through her. This strange fever was too much like the one Jacob and the others in his pack had experienced right before phasing. But this couldn't apply to Leah. According to werewolf lore, the wolf gene only affected the male progeny. So, whatever this fever was, it meant something else entirely.
"Lee, you're not well. We need to get you to hospital." She said worriedly.
Leah shook her head vigorously in response.
"Why are you fussing over her?" Emily whined in the background. "I'm the one with injuries. I can barely see out of my eye."
Leah's teeth snapped together violently as she clenched her jaw. "Don't you dare act all innocent." She spat angrily. "You deliberately came onto Sam. You've spent your life trying to take what was mine out of jealous spite."
"That's not true." Emily refuted. "We're cousins. I would never do that. If anything, it's the other way around. Its not my fault that Sam has a wandering eye."
"You answered the door with next to nothing on!" Leah accused. Her words came out in an approximation of a human growl, taking Bella by surprise. "I warned mom not to let you come and stay. You've always been trouble."
"Hey, Lee, look at me, girl. You need to try and calm down."
Leah's jaw tightened even further as she tried to take Bella's advice. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, and then exhaling slowly. The trembling in her limbs lessened slightly, but her temperature seemed to rise simultaneously, which only alarmed Bella further.
"Lee, we really need to get you seen by a doctor."
"No!" Leah cried loudly.
"Okay, okay." Bella grimaced, letting go of Leah's hot face. Her feverish skin was burning the palms of her hands. "Please try and stay calm for me."
Leah nodded, her dark eyes glazing over. "I'll only calm down when you get rid of that bitch."
Bella slowly revolved at Emily's indignant gasp. "You heard her. Get out!" She ordered harshly.
Emily stiffened in disbelief; her pretty features twisted into a hostile scowl. "How dare you talk to me like that! You can't throw me out of my aunt's house dressed like this."
"I can and I will." Bella stated firmly as she rolled up the sleeves of her long-sleeved t-shirt. She made a show of cracking her knuckles like an old-time gangster on a black and white movie.
"That's disgusting!" Emily complained as she grimaced at the alarming sound.
Hysterical laughter spilled from Leah's lips as she watched Bella stalk slowly toward her cousin. Emily actually took a couple of steps back, much to her amusement. For the first time since Emily's failed seduction of Sam, the red mist of her anger cleared from her eyes.
"You wouldn't dare!" Emily faltered as she continued her retreat.
Bella's eyes narrowed. "You really want to put that to the test?" She challenged.
Emily had backed up to the opened doorway of the living room. She glared over at Leah in aggravation. "It figures that the only friend you've ever managed to hold on to is as batshit crazy as you are!" She snapped, before she turned around and fled out of the house.
With a satisfied smile, Bella spun back around and strutted over to Leah. "Now I've put the trash out you can tell me exactly what happened between you two."
Leah sagged against the wall in relief now that Emily was gone. She wiped her sweaty brow, the burning fever diminishing in its intensity now that Bella had sorted the problem.
"I always knew you had it in you, Swan." Leah admitted in a rare moment of praise. "You can be quite frightening when you're all riled up."
"I can, can't I?" Bella puffed out her chest and gave her best frenemy a mock bow.
"Oh, god, you are such an idiot." Leah laughed. "But I'm glad I've got you in my corner."
Bella smiled, pleased to see that Leah's odd burst of fever seemed to have peaked. Her complexion had returned to normal as well as her sardonic sense of humor. Now that she was throwing around the insults again, Bella knew that Leah was feeling better.
"Your cousin really gets under your skin, huh?"
Leah slid down the wall until her butt hit the floor. She ran her slender fingers through the sleek strands of her hair as she blew out her cheeks and exhaled sharply.
"It's lucky you turned up when you did, girl." She admitted to Bella in a low voice. "I was ready to kill her."
Bella knelt in front of Leah and peered up at her face. She didn't really believe that the other girl would have taken it that far, otherwise she wouldn't have removed herself as far from Emily as possible. The disloyal wench deserved that slap in the face for trying to come onto Sam as far as Bella was concerned. If she had been in Leah's shoes, she would have done the same. It was clear there was a lot of bad history between the cousins. She was surprised that Sue Clearwater had allowed her to stay. Surely Sue must be aware of the hostility that existed between the two girls. Unless they hid it well.
"Are you okay now?" She checked.
Leah nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am now. As long that bitch stays out of my way."
"You might have to let her come back in again at some point just to put some decent clothes on." Bella pointed out.
Leah's chin jerked up sharply. "Not on your life, Swan." A gleeful light had lit up her dark eyes.
"Leah, what are you planning?" Bella wondered. She knew that look. "What are you up to?"
"Follow me." Leah answered, rising fluidly back onto her feet with a grace that Bella could only envy. "If the deceitful little witch wants her clothes back…we'll give them to her."
Bella pushed herself clumsily upright, dusting down the legs of her jeans as she did so. "What do you have planned?" She asked curiously.
"You'll see, girl." Leah said with a wide smirk as she gestured for Bella to follow.
A/N-we'll find out what happened to Sam and Jacob in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!