Impasse

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A Talk at Home

Sam reached for Leah but she sidestepped him and turned her back. "Don't do this, Lee Lee." He pleaded. "Don't walk away."

Leah pressed her lips together in an effort to stop screaming. This couldn't be true. She was dreaming. She had to be. Any minute she would wake up from this nightmare to find her vivid imagination had been playing cruel tricks on her.

"I didn't ask or want this. I had no control over it." Sam put his hands on her shoulders as he continued to plead, but Leah instantly tensed under his touch and he let his arms fall back to his sides in defeat. "You may have given up on us." He said in a low voice. "But I haven't. I'll keep fighting whatever the cost."

Leah scrunched her eyes closed as a lone tear dribbled down her cheek. He sounded so hurt, so demoralized. She wanted to turn around and fling her arms around him and hold him tight. But her hurt pride wouldn't let her. It was bad enough he had imprinted at all – but for it to be on Emily – that was the part she couldn't get past. It was like fate had stuck a knife into her heart, twisting it back and forth to see how much it hurt.

"Will you please say something?" Sam begged helplessly. He would rather take her rage than this cursed silence. "Yell at me if you want. Hit me. I don't care. Just do something!"

Leah shook her head, her top teeth grazing back and forth along her bottom lip until she drew blood. She recoiled as the metallic taste of the blood filled her mouth. Her whole body was as taut as a coiled spring, waiting for the next blow to finish her entirely, her budding despair so visceral that it threatened to crush her.

Sam had been right when he told Jacob that she was more vulnerable than Bella in lots of ways. It took a lot for Leah to open up and trust someone. And when she did, she was the most loyal, pragmatic person imaginable. But when that trust had been betrayed, she immediately went on the defensive, building up walls of steel so strong and so high, that they became impregnable. Sam knew that was what she was doing now. She was shutting him out, preparing to cut him out of her life. She would willingly go to the extremes and do that than risk being hurt again. It was what he had been most afraid of. And it was happening right in front of his eyes.

There had been hope before. Just a tiny flicker against the wind. But that was gone now. Sam stood in the pit that had become his world. A world filled with darkness -the light of his love dying like a rose denied the sunlight which gives it life. And then he knew, he gave up because there was nothing else for him to do and that the best days of his life were over. With tears running down his face, he watched as Leah walked away from him, her back stiff, her posture rigid. She didn't look back and he didn't even try to stop her.

After picking Bella up from La Push Charlie sat down at the table with a grunt and unfolded the damp newspaper there. Within seconds he was clucking his tongue in disapproval.

"I don't know why you read the news, Dad. It only ticks you off." Bella said mildly. She wasn't really paying much attention. Her mind was too filled with worry about Jacob and Leah.

Charlie ignored her, grumbling as he shook the paper in his hands. "Just be glad that you live in a small town, Bells."

"Why?" Bella asked vaguely.

"Seattle's making a run for murder capital of the country. Five unsolved homicides in the last two weeks. Can you believe that?"

Bella shrugged, not really feeling alarmed by these facts. "I think Pheonix is actually higher up the homicide list, Dad. I have lived like that." She reminded him. And she had never come close to being a murder victim until after she had moved to Charlie's safe little town, though she didn't say that part out loud.

"Well, you couldn't pay me enough." Charlie said, putting the paper down.

Bella decided it was time to serve dinner. With chagrin she realized in her introspection that she had burnt the food. It was only simple noodles but they were all clumped together in a soggy morass. Sighing heavily, she used a steak knife to cut a portion of the destroyed noodles for Charlie and then for herself, while he watched with an amused expression.

"I know its not up to my usual standards." Bella complained when she caught him trying to conceal his smile.

"No one's expecting you to be perfect all the time, kiddo." Charlie said agreeably as he coated his helping with sauce and dug in.

Bella disguised her own clump in the same way and followed his example without much enthusiasm. They ate in silence for a moment as her anxiety over Jacob and Leah came back to torment her. Charlie was scanning the newspaper again as he ate, so to take her mind off her own worries, Bella picked up her much-abused copy of Wuthering Heights and tried to lose herself in turn of the century England while she tried to choke down the ruined noodles.

She had just reached the part where Heathcliff returns to the story when Charlie cleared his throat and threw the paper to one side.

"I need to talk to you about something, Bella." Charlie announced suddenly. He waved his fork in the air to emphasize his point.

Bella laid her book aside and gazed at him warily. The binding was so destroyed that it slumped to the table. "About what?"

Charlie's eyebrows pulled together as he cleared his throat again. "Its about Jacob." He said quickly.

Bella felt her face burn. "What about him?" She asked through stiff lips. Had Charlie observed something he shouldn't? She and Jacob were usually so careful around him, trying their best to give no hint of the supernatural that might disturb him. Maybe they hadn't been as careful as they thought.

"Easy, Bells, its nothing bad." Charlie rushed to reassure her.

"It isn't?"

"No."

"Okay." Bella's eyes narrowed as she continued to study him warily. "Why do you look so uncomfortable then?"

"I'm not." Charlie denied hastily, but the way he avoided looking at her directly spoke volumes. "So, I'm thinking that you and Jacob are clearly headed in a romantic direction…."

"DAD!" Bella exclaimed.

"Calm down, Bella. Sheesh." Charlie wiped his brow with the back of his hand. It was glistening with perspiration. "Its just Billy and I have been talking – "

"You and Billy have too much time on your hands if you spend it gossiping about us." Bella cut in again.

"Will you let me finish a damn sentence?" Charlie grumbled. "And me and Billy weren't gossiping. We're being responsible parents, that's all."

"Oh, god." Bella muttered, putting her head in her hands. Charlie was about to launch into the sex talk, she was sure of it.

Charlie emitted a weary sigh. "This isn't a parental lecture about the birds and the bees, if that's what you're worried about. Renee assured me she already had that talk with you years ago."

Bella raised her head again as she felt a dim glimmer of hope. "Then what is this about? Jake and I are fine. You and Billy have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I wasn't worried." Charlie said airily. "Its mostly Billy."

"Huh?" Bella was confused by this statement. Billy normally came across as one of the most laidback guys you could imagine. He trusted that Jacob could take of himself. He never interfered unless pushed. What could possibly be troubling him? It didn't make sense.

Bella and Charlie stared at each other for a long moment before he continued.

"Even though Jacob comes across as very confident, Billy is worried that his boy is quite fragile when it comes to matters of the heart. He's concerned that his boy's feelings may be a little one-sided. I said to him I didn't think so. That my little girl is not one to toy with a guy's feelings. You and Jake have been friend's forever, but even as old as I am, I can see that you really care about him a lot."

Bella's voice and eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Seriously? That's what you've been gossiping about? Whether I've friend zoned Jake?"

Charlie held up his hands defensively. "Will you stop calling it gossip? Its concern, that's all. And Billy is allowed to be worried. Jake may act and look a lot older than you, but sometimes a two-year difference at your age can create a wide gap, especially when it comes to romantic expectations."

Bella's throat suddenly felt swollen as she recalled the near kiss on the beach. She had to clear it twice before she answered. "I'm sorry but its really nobody's business but mine and Jake's. If something does happen, you and Billy will find out along with the rest of the world. Now, if that's all, I'm going to my room."

Charlie looked embarrassed now. "I didn't mean to pry, kiddo."

"Then don't." Bella muttered, stabbing her fork viciously into what was left of the congealed noodles on her plate. Scraping back her chair, she dumped the leftovers in the bin, and stormed off to her room to sulk in private.

As Bella pushed open her bedroom door a sharp jolt of unease washed over her as her eyes fell on a shadowy figure lying curled up on her bed. She nearly yelled for Charlie, until a faint sob gave away the identity of her mystery visitor.

"Leah?"

Bella quickly stepped to the top of the staircase, listening intently to make sure Charlie hadn't noticed her faint cry of surprise. She heard the sound of his muted voice. He was clearly on the phone to someone – Billy probably – reporting on their disastrous conversation. Well at least it would keep him occupied for the foreseeable.

Tiptoeing back to her room, Bella slipped inside and closed the door firmly behind her. Leah was sitting up now. Her arms were looped around her knees, hugging them tightly to her chest.

"How did you get in?" Bella couldn't help but ask.

"The spare key hidden under the ledge." Leah confessed tearfully. "I let myself in when I realized you weren't home. I had nowhere else to go."

"That's okay." Bella drew closer and sat cautiously on the edge of her bed.

"I couldn't go home with Emily there spinning her lies. And I couldn't stay at Sam's because…because…" Leah's voice faltered and she started to rock back and forth in her distress.

"Oh, Lee." Bella reached out and touched her friend's shoulder in empathy. "He told you about the imprint."

Leah's forehead fell to her knees. She made a strangled sound in the back of her throat. Her hands curled into fists as if she was trying to suppress a silent scream.

"Sam's fighting it, Leah." Bella said urgently. "If anyone can overcome it – he can. He's strong and he loves you so much. I know it must hurt like a bitch, but you need to stay strong."

Leah raised her head, her dark eyes showing the depth of her grief. It was clear to Bella that her belief had gone, that she had convinced herself there was no reason to hope. Her despair ran so deep, that she was holding fast to the certainty that her relationship with Sam was all over.

"Leah, don't do that!" Bella chastised her. "This isn't like you. You are not a defeatist. You're a fighter. So, fight!"

Leah shook her head again. She looked all wrung out. Her vulnerability clearly on display. "Its over. Its done. I'm not the one. Instead, it's my hated cousin. If that isn't the universe giving me the biggest fuck you possible, I don't what is."

"Sam is fighting it!" Bella persisted. "He has no feelings for Emily. He chooses who he loves and he has chosen you. I can't believe you're willing to just walk away and let Emily win."

"She's already won!" Leah retorted bitterly. "You're talking from a position of safety. The guy you've got the hots for has already imprinted on you. You haven't the first idea what it means to find out you are surplus to requirements. You know all about imprinting, how final it is, and how the wolf cannot resist. Sam will eventually weaken and run straight into Emily's open arms."

"Do you really have so little faith in his love for you?" Bella argued back. "Do you have any idea of the suffering he is going through right now just to stay true to you? Jake placed an Alpha order on him, forcing him to stay away from Emily. That alone must be ripping him to shreds, but he is willing to endure the pain it's causing out of his deep love for you. And all you can do is sit here and whine. Grow a spine, Leah, and go fight for your man!"

Leah stopped rocking and glared at Bella with hostile eyes. Bella glared right back. It seemed they had reached an impasse.

A/N-thanks for reading!