All characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.
A/N: Surprise, early posting! This chapter is filled with a major bombshell that will change everything… you'll see. For now, just enjoy the show and get ready for the drama to unfold.
Toodles!
Chapter 17
"Shopping with your mom is real hard work."
"Tell me about it." I mumble to Leah while trying to distribute the mass of shopping bags evenly in between each arm.
"Is she always like this?" Her eyes are on my mother as she walks ahead of us, her arms equally loaded with bags but not complaining in the least. Leah notices my struggle and takes half of my bags to join hers.
My mother misses the exchange, her eyes too busy looking through the windows of the shops on main street, stopping for a few seconds before deciding whether or not it's worth spending her time and money inside.
I sigh in relief. "Thanks, and always. I have enough clothes to last me two lifetimes. Clothes I will probably get to wear only a couple of times a year, if that, because the weather in Forks is absolute shit. But of course my mother would forget such a very important detail."
Near campus it was a lot brighter and sunnier, resembling something akin to normal weather in other parts of the U.S. at this time of year. Forks ran on its own seasonal rules. The only reason we were in town now was because my mom had begged me to bring her into the city to see the house I shared with Jacob and Embry, which they were both still occupying while taking summer courses. She loved the place, loved how well the guys and I coexisted in each other's living space so effortlessly. And it was true. Living with those two was much easier than living with her, or even my father.
I watch my mother walk into the next store we pass by and I give up, finding an empty bench nearby where I can sit and give my arms and feet at a moment of respite.
"I think we need to team up against her or else she'll continue to buy more shit we don't need."
Leah snorts. "Speak for yourself. I've never been this spoiled in my life. Your mother has gotten me so many clothes I would have never been able to splurge on for myself."
"That's true." I say, leaning my head on her shoulder.
She tentatively leans her head against mine, the only sign I will ever receive hinting to how emotionally supportive Leah is trying to be. I loved her so much for the attempt.
"So we'll keep shopping then. I'll just redirect her from buying shit for me to clothes in your size." I say to her, willing to sacrifice my poor tired feet to show Leah my thanks for her sacrifice today. "But I'm gonna need a longer break than this." I add, lifting my legs up in front of me and rotating my ankles to stretch out the kinks.
"There's a coffee shop a few stores down. It smells really good."
I lift my head up and try to sniff the air too but can't even catch a whiff of what she's talking about. "Awesome. I could really use some caffeine to energize me for a few more hours."
My mom pops out of the store she'd just walked into a mere two minutes ago and sighs, "I thought I caught a beautiful red dress that would look absolutely striking with your complexion, Bella, but when I picked it off the rack I saw the back lined with rhinestones. Definitely not your style."
I smile despite my exhaustion, her remembrance of such a small little detail meant more than she could possibly imagine.
"Definitely not." Leah nods along. "Can I also suggest we stop by a coffee shop or something before your sweet daughter here drops dead before reaching the next store?"
My mom's eyes shift to my sagging form, noticing for the first time how exhausted I look, and laughs. "I'm sorry sweetheart. You know how much I get caught up in our little shopping expeditions."
I would never call what she does 'little shopping expeditions' but sure, I guess we could go with that. "No worries, but Leah's right. I need some caffeine and maybe a muffin or anything else with sugar, if you want me to last any longer."
"How about I take these bags back to the car and meet you guys at the coffee shop?" Leah says helpfully, already reaching over to take the rest of my bags.
"Oh honey," My mom argues, "are you sure you can carry all of that by yourself?"
By the time my mother finishes her question Leah has already efficiently arranged all of our purchases along her arms.
"Yeah, I've got it. Don't worry about it. I'll just need the keys."
"Oh." My mom hurriedly looks through her purse and puts the car keys in Leah's hand, fearing she'll drop the heap of shopping bags down to the ground with one wrong move. But Leah's got it, they probably weigh nothing to her thanks to her supernatural powers, 'course my mom wouldn't exactly know that about her.
"I'll catch up as soon as I can." Leah says, as she walks in the direction we just came from.
"She's unbelievably strong." My mom marvels, watching Leah's back as she walks away with no visible effort whatsoever.
"Yeah, she's our strong wonder woman. It's all that weightlifting she does at the gym. She's always trying to get me to go with her but–"
"You'd rather be caught dead in the middle of a snow mountain than step foot in a gym. I know." My mom says with a laugh.
I smile again.
"Coffee?" She asks, matching my smile.
"Yeah, sounds perfect."
She hooks her arm through mine and we start walking down the street, sure enough, four shops over we reach a coffee shop. We walk in and my mouth practically salivates at the row of pastries displayed behind the glass counter.
"Oh look, Sweetheart! They have Tiramisu."
I look to where she's pointing and I swear I drool at the sight. "I definitely want that."
"What else?"
I keep looking at the row of pastries but I find myself suddenly very hungry, so instead I tell her I'll order a sandwich too. We move to the cash register, order a few coffees, sandwiches, and pastries so that Leah can take her pick. As my mom pays for our meal my phone dings. I pull it out and find a new message from Paul.
I still have the taste of you on my tongue.
Jesus that man… but did he really have to text me that while I was in public? I shake my head and respond.
I don't know about that… it's been more than a few hours.
His response is immediate.
Paul: Trust me, I do. I have a very good memory. You're a taste I could never forget.
I giggle despite my surroundings.
It's midday and I'm at a coffee shop. I don't need this kind of talk while I'm standing right next to my mother.
Paul: So you only like it when I'm balls deep inside you?
Definitely not. I reply, biting my lip. But I don't appreciate it when you're nowhere nearby and can't do anything about it.
Paul: Just one text and you're hot and bothered already? If I didn't know any better I'd think you're addicted to me.
I can't help it, I laugh. He was so full of himself.
"Who are you texting?" My mother asks at that precise moment. Her eyebrow raised and lips pursed, looking cheeky and highly amused.
I put my phone away without replying. "Just a friend."
" Just a friend, huh?" My mom repeats, not looking at all like she believes me.
To be honest, I wouldn't believe me either if I were her. I take our order number from the counter and turn away from her, searching for an empty table. I find one near the front window of the coffee shop and take a seat.
"Come now, sweetheart. You don't have to be coy with me. Let me live vicariously through you."
I scrunch my nose and shake my head. "Ew, Mom. No way am I telling you about him."
"So there is a him!" She exclaims, looking so pleased with herself.
Whoops. "It's a him, but we really are just friends."
"Who you also do other things with on the side." My mom states without question.
"Maybe."
"Is it Paul?"
I choke on my own spit. When I look back at her there's a triumphant smile on her face, knowing full well she's right and enjoying my reaction.
"What makes you say that?"
She rolls her eyes. "Oh, please. I've seen the way he looks at you. Whenever he's near you and even when he's not, his eyes are always coming back to you." She says, using her pointer finger to tap me on the nose. "He's a good catch."
Now I roll my eyes. "You only say that because, though despite his age, he owns a business already so you think he's wealthy."
"There's nothing wrong with wanting a successful man, honey." She says, looking to her left when our waiter arrives placing our drinks in front of us.
"You should know." I whisper without meaning to.
My mother's back stiffens and her eyes swivel to mine instantly. She waits until the waiter is gone before she responds. "I was a single mother, Bella. Of course I would want someone who could take care of us both."
Though they ever did. But I keep that harsh comment to myself and instead I say, "Sorry."
She stares at me for a good few seconds before she waves it away, gaining back her composure. "He's incredibly handsome." She continues on as if we hadn't just gone through a hiccup. "And he's absolutely infatuated with you."
"You can tell already with just one night?" I question doubtfully.
Since that night at the bar my mother hasn't been around the pack again, and especially the bar. We've been staying at home, walking around in Forks, or driving to the bordering cities to find entertainment. Today was the first time I've allowed anyone from the pack to join us, and that's only because I was bringing her to where I go to school and so it was inevitable. She was going to spend time with Jake and Embry so why not bring Leah along for the ride too?
"Sometimes a man will show you their feelings in their eyes, men don't always use words to express deep emotion."
"Insightful."
"I'm serious, Sweetheart. It's in the way they look at you, touch you, the way they treat you. If I've learned anything at all from my past relationships is that all those warning signs I chose to ignore, had been there all along. My fault, really."
And it's the first time I've ever heard her take any sort of accountability. She'd known those men she dated were complete crap but she'd ignored the red flags, preferring to be in any kind of relationship no matter how toxic it may be, rather than being alone.
"Again, we're just friends. We're just having fun and I'm leaving next year. There's no point in even thinking about being in a relationship right now. Not that Paul would be interested in such a thing."
My mom hums coolly, a secretive smile playing along her lips which she tries to cover with the rim of her cappuccino cup.
And suddenly I realize what I've just admitted to my own mother. Aw, Shit. "By the way, no one knows about us. So please don't mention it to our friends."
"Oh?" She says almost as if she's surprised by the request, but she just smiles and nods. "Whatever you want, Sweetheart."
Thankfully she doesn't complain when I move us onto another topic of conversation. Leah finally catches up with us right as they serve the rest of our food order, and I realize how truly thankful I am Leah is here to help me entertain my mother. It was nice to not be the sole focus of her attention. And of course, Leah regales my mother with some seriously saucy stories, stories highly inappropriate for the location we're currently in. Not that it deters her in any way.
It's surprising, but also not so much, to see how much Leah and my mother actually have in common. They gossip about boys while I try to enjoy my sandwich in peace, but I'm on the verge of tearing my ears off when my own mother decides to jump in with her own stories.
Please god, save me from this hell I've suddenly found myself in.
And like a prayer granted from above, the most unexpected person appears in the doorway of the café leaving the door softly closed behind him. Our eyes connect at the same moment and a wide smile lights up his face.
"Hey." He greets, just a few steps away while quickly making up the distance between us.
"Julian." I say in surprise, standing up and hugging him in greeting. "What are you doing here?"
"Shouldn't I ask you that? I thought you were spending the summer back home?"
"I am." I say, pointing down to the table. "My mother, Renee, came to visit and she asked to see where I lived."
His eyes swivel downward and he takes in my companions. "Oh hey, I'm Julian. It's nice to meet you."
"This is Julian, my friend from school." I say, introducing him to my mother.
My mom politely shakes his hand.
"And that's Leah, a friend from back home."
"He–" He gets cut off mid-greeting and just stares, a deep confused frown taking over his features.
I frown too but when my eyes turn to Leah, they widen a fraction when I find Leah just sitting there, eyes wide, lips parted in disbelief. The only distraction I have is my mother who lightly gasps and puts her hand to her mouth as if in surprise.
You've got to be shitting me… Now Leah?! This imprinting thing really chose the weirdest of times to present itself.
My mother's eyes turn to me and she smiles. Then she surprises me, even more than what's unfolding in front of me, when she mouths, "Love at first sight."
I blink stupidly and realize… of course my mother would think that. She's been stuck in her lifelong pursuit of a happily-ever-after probably since the day her mother birthed her into this world.
A few moments later Leah sucks in a sharp breath and closes her eyes, followed by the barest shake of her head. For a moment only silence fills the air until my mother decides to take matters into her own hands.
"Leah, dear, you haven't properly introduced yourself yet."
Leah blinks her eyes rapidly as if wanting to fall out of whatever supernatural black hole she'd fallen into. "Right, uh, sorry. Hi, I'm– uh Leah." She says, waving her hand at her side stupidly. She looks at her hand, realizes what she's doing and grimaces, gracelessly dropping her hand back onto her lap.
As one, both my mom and I shift our attentions back to Julian.
He doesn't respond, he still has that confused look in his eyes but he can't help but to smile noticing Leah's sudden awkwardness. "It's really nice to meet you. I'm Julian."
"Would you care to join us?" My mother asks with an amused look on her face.
Julian turns in my direction as if asking for permission.
In turn, I look at Leah waiting for any sign from her to know how to answer. When she makes the most imperceptible of nods I tell Julian we'd be happy for him to join us.
"Here, take my chair." My mother offers, immediately getting up from hers and already asking our neighboring table if she can use their unused one.
I internally shake my head in disapproval. She was making her intentions extremely obvious and I was sure both Julian and Leah were now fully aware of my mother looks on with pleased satisfaction when Julian takes the offered seat next to Leah.
"Would you like a croissant? We bought plenty."
At the offer, Julian's eyes snap up to mine again.
I smile at him apologetically. I was aware of how high-handed my mother could be. And I really hoped she wouldn't continue on making them both uncomfortable with her unwarranted meddling.
The left side of his mouth lifts up into a grin and he turns to my mom with a smile, "Yes, thank you." Once he grabs it he realizes he has nothing to place it on, nor a drink and he looks towards the counter. "Actually, I should have gotten a drink first before I sat down."
"Oh, don't worry about it!" My mom says excitedly, standing up from her seat and pulling me up with her. I almost stumble out of my seat in her haste. "Bella can get it while I go to the ladies room."
Julian clears his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, no, I can get it myse–"
"Nonsense!" She exclaims again.
To save him an argument he'll inevitably lose, I speak up then. "Don't worry about it, I got it. Mocha iced coffee?" I confirm, remembering his preferred drink of choice.
He smiles back at me as if happy I've actually remembered something about him. "Yeah."
"Got it." I walk away before my mother can publicly drag me away from our little table, and to give Leah and Julian some time alone without my meddling mother in the way. "Jesus, mom." I tell her when we've reached the counter. "You couldn't have made that any more obvious?"
"I know, I'm sorry!" It's hard to believe her when she follows it with an ear-ringing squeal of delight. "It was just the sweetest thing. Look at them!" Nodding back in their direction.
I watch Leah cautiously interacting with Julian, she looks deeply uncertain and so very uncomfortable. I pity her for a moment, but it disappears in the next when a small smile appears on her face as Julian responds back.
And honestly I'm surprised by Leah's quick adaptability. She was the most mercurial concerning her views on imprinting, but I never expected for her to react like this, so open and accepting. I guess I just figured she'd be so surprised that she'd run away from the guy and leave him there staring at her as she ran her furry ass off into the forest. I'm taken aback but also incredibly happy for her.
"Still, be less… you, mom."
She throws me an offended look.
I return the look with a 'you know exactly what I'm talking about' look. "You're putting Leah on the spot and making her uncomfortable. If you don't want her to suddenly go running off, you better stop making what you're doing so glaringly obvious."
"So act like nothing is happening. The same way I'll act when it happens to you."
I roll my eyes, "You are ridiculous."
She only purses her lips to stop herself from laughing. "Fine. I'll try." She acquiesces. "Now get your friend his drink while I go to the ladies room, I wasn't lying when I said I needed to. Oh and don't forget to order some extras for those two boys you've got back home."
I chuckle and shake my head as she walks away. While I wait in line to place Julian's order I pull out my phone again, finding another text waiting for me.
Paul: Tell me you're coming back tonight.
Should be. I reply. For a moment, I'm tempted to dish to him what just happened but I'm hesitant to share such news with him.
Paul acted as if he didn't care about the past struggles he went through while fighting the imprint, but I wasn't so sure. I was a bit afraid he would have some type of relapse by hearing the news of Leah… plus it wasn't my place to. Leah deserved that right and I would leave it in her hands to decide when she would share it with the rest of the pack.
After I finish with Julian's order I come back to the table. My mother was already back from the restroom minding her own business, for once, casually scrolling through her phone. I'm about to say something witty when I take a glance at the screen currently displaying her call log where it shows nine missed calls from Phil.
Just then she turns around and when she notices my eyes on her phone screen she immediately locks it. "Oh, hi honey. Did you order for the boys too?"
"Yeah." I answer, sitting back down to my seat and pretending as if I hadn't seen anything. I easily jump into Leah and Julian's conversation, all while in the back of my mind I wonder exactly why my mother has been actively ignoring Phil's phone calls.
She said they've been fighting but now that I thought about it, I haven't seen her call or text Phil once since she'd gotten here. She might've been when she went off into her bedroom at the end of the day but I honestly didn't think so. As far as what I knew of Phil, he was an early sleeper due to his strict early baseball practice even if they were actively fighting, she'd still talk to him on the phone, still keep a line of communication between them. And I wondered if she wasn't willing to answer his phone calls today because we were busy shopping, or because she just didn't want to talk to him.
It was still weird because from prior experience my mother has always been the one whose phone calls have been left unanswered. It's never been the other way around. So of course it makes me highly suspicious...
And yet, at the end of the day, it was her relationship and her drama to deal with and I couldn't exactly butt in and tell her what to do, especially while being unaware of the actual issue. Surprisingly, my mother has been very tight-lipped about it.I hadn't minded at the time but now, I regretted not having asked her more. Maybe I'd probe her about it another time, but right now, I needed to focus on Leah.
After lunch is over we all say goodbye to Julian. Leah begrudgingly says goodbye, but I can already detect the gloom in her demeanor when we continue with our shopping. It remains that way for the rest of the afternoon.
I've never seen Leah so distracted before, her eyes looking toward the entrance to every store every three minutes while her hands move absentmindedly through the racks of clothing. She doesn't last another hour before she claims she's too tired to continue, suggesting we head home instead.
However we can't just yet. The boys were now out of their classes and were waiting for us at the house to host my mom. Leah tries to stay engaged in conversation as we make the short drive and by the time we get to our shared home, she's almost back to normal, or as close as she can get after what's happened.
As we hop out of my mom's rental car I throw Leah a questioning look, silently asking if we were telling the guys of what happened earlier.
She immediately shakes her head, eyes so wide I'm initially startled by the fear I detect in them.
I nod and grip her hand behind my mother's back trying to reassure her as best as I can without using words. I'd keep that secret for as long as she needed me to, no matter how long it took her to make that decision.
She throws me a thankful smile as we enter my home. Jacob and Embry immediately greet us and I'm more than just surprised when Leah flawlessly acts like her normal everyday self. The guys not even once noticing the change.
Somewhere in the conversation, my mother brings up our run in with Julian. Without meaning to, my eyes abruptly shift to Leah's. I notice the stiffness in her shoulders, her eyes looking away and looking supremely apprehensive. I'm nervous my mom will say something that'll hint as to what happened with Leah so I jump into the conversation.
"Julian said he saw you guys at Sabrina's party last weekend."
"Yeah we went on Friday. He asked about you but we told him you weren't coming back until closer to the start of the fall term. This was before you told us you were coming for a visit today."
My mom's eyes swivel to mine and she frowns ever so slightly. "How close of a friend is he?" She asks suspiciously, her eyes quickly glancing at Leah before returning back to mine.
And here I thought our biggest problem would be my mother hinting at Leah's imprinting.
Jacob snorts out a cough, hiding his smile behind his fist, while Embry turns his head to the side to hide his own.
I take a glance at Leah, much like my mom did just moments ago. "We were a little bit closer than friends but it's been over since finals." I immediately state, adding clarification for Leah's sake.
"How long?" Leah suddenly asks, unable to keep her curiosity in.
"A couple of months before school ended."
Her eyes widen with realization, "Is he that guy you mentioned to Jess and I that one time?"
"Yup." I say quickly. She doesn't answer back, but she doesn't have to. I can already see the slight disgust she can't hide in her expression.
Shit, why do I have a feeling this is going to make things weird?
Then again it was weird, Leah just imprinted on a guy I've slept with before… many times before. Even I couldn't deny how weird it was, so I guess I understood why Leah was uncomfortable by the news. Hopefully Julian won't be too.
Suddenly, I wondered why it'd taken me this long to realize this one important detail. I hope it didn't change the way she felt about him… not that I knew what she felt at all since we haven't had the chance to talk about it since it happened.
"Well the past is the past." My mother says dismissively, knowing full well of how this news would affect Leah.
"Definitely." I say nodding along.
Thankfully the boys don't notice the awkward tension caused by that revelation and they change topics easily. I'm supremely grateful for not only their ignorance but their ability to take the unwanted attention away from me.
We stay to have dinner with the boys and before it gets any darker we say our goodbyes. On the drive back home when my mother is fast asleep in the back seat, Leah takes the opportunity to speak.
"It's weird isn't it?"
I barely glance at her while I'm driving. "Which part?"
"That you've had sex with him before. It's weird."
"It's only weird if you make it weird. It's not like Julian and I were in an actual relationship. I can assure you no feelings were involved."
"On his side too?" She asks skeptically, she doesn't let me answer before she's talking again. "I know you, Bella. I know you didn't have any feelings for him but you can't say the same about him. You tend to be very obtuse when it comes to other people's feelings for you."
"What does that mean?"
"That you're a heartbreaker. You sleep with a guy one night and the next day you pretend it never happened. Meanwhile, the other guy purposely remains in your friend's circle trying to stick around in the hopes that maybe they'll be able to catch your attention again."
I remain quiet, not knowing what to say to that. I guess it was true in a sense. Except I wasn't completely oblivious, it was more like I actively chose to ignore them. The faster they realized I was uninterested, the faster they would move on.
"And you continued somewhat of a relationship with Julian for quite some time. You let him come back. How can you be so sure that he didn't secretly harbor any feelings for you?"
I couldn't, and now I understood what she was getting at. "I don't think it matters if he did or didn't. In the end he knew that whenever I decided it was over, it would be over. I never lied to him or gave him any hope. I always reminded him we had an expiration date and that I would never have feelings for him. So either way, it doesn't matter." I highly doubted Julian saw me in any other way other than friendship. But everything Leah was currently arguing only made it seem as though she was working overtime to find something wrong with him. "Unless you're looking for an excuse to reject him."
Now it's her turn to remain silent.
I glance her way and see her looking out the window, her arm resting on the door while her hand lay dangerously near its handle, as if strongly considering jumping out of the car to flee into the forest. I was sure she was anxious to run in her wolf form, if only to exert some energy through her body so that her mind had the chance to catch up to everything that's happened today.
"I'm… not sure how I feel about it." She finally says after some time.
"Do you have to make a decision now?"
"No, I guess not." She answers, "But I also don't know how long I can stay away from him before it hurts too much."
I glance at her with worry. "Maybe you should talk to Sam or Jared, actually Paul would probably be the best bet."
"No way." She says immediately, shaking her head. "I don't want anyone to know. They'd force me to tell Julian and I need some time to figure out what I want to do."
"So you're just going to wait it out for however long you can?"
"Yup. Should be easy." She sucks in a breath as the words come out, refuting the words she'd literally just spoken.
We both nervously laugh at that. It was better to laugh than to cry whenever faced with adversity.
"Well, if this makes a difference in any way. Can I just say what a great guy he is? Like seriously, he's one of the most genuine people I've ever met. And that's saying something. Guys our age, as you probably already know, are jerks. I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you that." I say, throwing her a look. She nods along in agreement. "But Julian is different. He's sweet, funny, charming when he gets comfortable enough. He's wickedly smart, cares about his grades, not to mention he actually has goals. And he's not a nerd or anything, I mean he parties too, but he never forgets about why he's here, that college isn't just about partying but doing the necessary groundwork to establish a successful future."
At the mention of a future, Leah tenses. "Shit, his future. If I decide to accept the imprint he'll have no choice but to stay in La Push with me and that's not fair. I would have never wanted for someone to do that to me."
I believed her on that. She was a wolf herself, tied to the reservation lands by force, and she had no one to blame. Not one single person or anything physical to place the blame onto. All that was left was woeful resignation.
"True, but at the same time… shouldn't he get a choice, too? It doesn't seem right for you to reject him straightaway just because you've already assumed he'd never want to stay here for you."
"How very diplomatic of you."
I chuckle and look her way. "Not everyone hates small towns, and you never know, maybe he won't care as long as he has you."
"Maybe…" She says, her voice puttering out in thought. "Would you?" She suddenly questions out of the blue.
I frown in confusion, not understanding her question. "Would I, what?"
"Would you consider… staying here for love?"
I throw my head back and laugh. "That's a random ass question, Lee."
"Is it? I mean, who knows. You're going to be here for another year. What if in that time you fall in love? Would you be willing to stay in La Push… for him?"
My laughter dies down and when I look at Leah again, I see how serious she is in her questioning. I clear my throat and try to take the question just as seriously.
I've never thought about it before… of falling in love? I've been so focused on my education. On graduating and applying to law school somewhere that was sunnier than here. And with the way my childhood went. The idea of me falling in love at all was absolutely hysterical to me. I didn't have the mental capacity for it, in fact, I wasn't sure I ever would. I wasn't even sure if I believed in it at all. In the kind of love that would make me want to drop everything I've worked so hard for, for someone else. That notion itself was ridiculous to me. But with Leah asking me now, and with so much expectation radiating off of her… I wasn't exactly sure how to answer without hurting her feelings.
"I don't know." I finally answer with a shrug. "I've never thought about it before. And I highly doubt I'll fall in love with anyone in the short year I have left here."
"But what if you did?" She persists. "You don't really know. Shit happens and life changes so quickly. You don't really know what the future holds and so you can't completely deny that it can happen to you too. I mean look at me. Did either one of us ever think I would be finding my imprint on a fucking shopping trip with your mother?"
I guess she was right about that. Never in a million years would either one of us have guessed that Leah would be imprinting today, nor that, out of the billions of people in the world, it would have been Julian, my sort of ex.
Still, it was hard to imagine the same thing happening to me… well, minus the imprinting. Me falling in love with someone in such a short time? It still seemed impossible.
"In case you have forgotten, I'm not a wolf. I can't magically fall in love with someone like you just did."
She rolls her eyes. "It's not like that." She says, her eyes looking up into the darkened sky, stars shinning brighter the further we get away from the city. "I mean yes, I do have this desperate desire to be with him right now. I can already feel it. And I can't stop thinking about him… his scent… the sound of his voice… the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles…" She smiles without meaning to in response, and then she shakes her head to dispel the feeling. "But it's not an automatic love… though I can see how easily I could fall in love with him."
We both remain silent for a while. Both considering how different Leah's reaction has been to the rest of the guys, except for Paul of course, but that man seemed to be in a category all on his own.
"Is that scary?"
"It's terrifying." She answers back softly, almost at a whisper. "But in a way it's also comforting. Like this whole time I've been sleeping with guys was only a way for me to pass the time because I've unknowingly been waiting for him. Like I've waited for him to appear in my life to see what I was really looking for… if that makes any sense."
I turn to look at her and I catch the contented smile on her face before I have to shift my focus back onto the road. "So does that mean you're going to give it a chance?"
"I don't know." She answers back, though from her expression it seems as though she already knows what she wants to do, and it's not to follow in Paul's footsteps. But I don't mention that at all, letting her make the final decision on her own, when she's ready.
"Well, whatever you decide, Leah. I'm here for you."
She turns to me and smiles ever so slightly, but she can't resist it any longer and it quickly breaks into a wide grin. She lifts her arm and very lightly bumps me with her elbow.
"Thanks, Bitch."
