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Bella sat against the open back door, her legs stretched across the porch in the dark, scrolling through older messages on her phone. There were many she'd ignored while they were away, but Bella couldn't bring herself to feel guilty for it. She had needed the break from everything as much as Leah did.

She and Leah had slept through most of the afternoon and evening after returning from the station. Charlie dropped a pizza off for them before heading out to Sue's, which they found with a note on the table upon waking. Bella couldn't help but chuckle, assuming Charlie hadn't wanted to risk walking into her room after what he'd found the last time Leah stayed.

After eating their fill, Leah stumbled back to bed but Bella was wide awake. She couldn't stop thinking about Kai or the impossibilities of such a small world. How ironic that a man who'd bothered her for months would be the son of one who would hit on her and then rob her halfway across the nation?

Leah had said Kai reminded her of a cross between Sam and Jacob, but as Bella thought about it now, she could pinpoint some of Sam's features in his father. Their brows, eyes, and jawlines were remarkably similar, though Kai had a slightly shorter but wider build - more like Jacob's before his last growth spurt. The foggy memory of his kisses, his mouth on her throat, and rough hands fondling her intoxicated body in his lap, made her shudder.

I made out with Sam's dad… Ugh.

Stomach acid burned her throat as she swallowed down the urge to vomit again. The string of offenses Charlie mentioned bothered her more than anything else. A thief was one thing. Domestic battery? Sexual assault? A string of kids across the country, too? If she went on the trip alone and encountered him in the woods how she and Leah met him with Declan, would she go home traumatized? Would she have even survived it?

And to think, Declan was the one you were more suspicious of… Kai had made her incredibly nervous, however. Somehow, intuitively she'd known she shouldn't trust him, but overthinking had led her to believe that merely his appearance caused her uneasiness.

Hindsight was a bitch. Bella wasn't simply placating Leah when she told Leah that listening to her intuition would have saved her from a lot of bullshit in the past. Kai was just one example of those mistakes. Going to Edward's stupid family baseball game had been the worst, with Alice's ridiculous birthday party as the runner-up.

Bella chuckled to herself at the thought of Edward, of how he'd begged her not to do reckless things when he left. It seemed to be all she'd done since.

Rustling in the woods nearby pulled her attention as Bella locked her phone screen, shrouding herself in darkness.

"You know, most people turn the lights on, not off…"

Bella froze as the tall shirtless form stepped out of the trees and into the moonlight. "Sam?" What is he doing here? Bella stifled a groan as she wondered what Charlie told him. She doubted he was here for a simple house call. Someone stepped out behind him as Sam strode toward her, and Bella grinned as she scrambled to her feet.

Sam chuckled as he watched Paul dart around him and toward her, grabbing Bella just as she reached the steps. Paul pulled her into his arms and spun her around, leaving hard, pecking kisses along her cheek and jaw. She laughed from the tickling sensation, squeezing her arms around his shoulders.

Paul shoved his nose against her throat and inhaled deeply as he set her on her feet, then drew back to meet her gaze with a knowing grin. "Where's Lee?"

"Asleep in my room," Bella said, blushing.

Paul towed her back into his arms and she hugged him tight as he asked, "Did my Little Duck find her sunset?"

She snorted. "Yeah. Maybe? Too soon to tell, I guess…"

He chuckled, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I love being right."

"Oh, whatever," she said, playfully batting him away. Sam was staring toward Bella's bedroom window, looking pensive. She asked, "So, why are you guys here? How did you even know we were back?"

"We ran into Charlie earlier," Sam said, finally taking his gaze off the window where he now knew Leah slept. "We were out anyway, and Paul wanted to check if you were back yet.."

Paul just shrugged, still grinning.

"I see…" Bella eyed Paul suspiciously, unable to help the nervous uptick of her heart as she wondered whether Charlie was civil toward Paul. She hoped he would at least respect that Paul was her friend. "So what did Charlie have to say? He better have been nice to you."

"He grunted in my direction if that counts." Paul laughed as she shook her head.

Sam said, "He wanted to let me know my Father's up to no good, but that's nothing new." Paul snorted.

Bella was unsure how to respond to that and nodded out of habit. Sam scrutinized her reaction, searching for something in her expression that made her glance away. After an awkward silence, he turned his glare on Paul and said, " Damn it. I knew it."

Paul frowned and looked at Bella. "You better start talking, Ducky."

Stepping back onto the porch steps, Bella stammered, "Ab-bout w-what?" Bella silently cursed her terrible lying skills.

In a hard tone far closer to what Bella was used to, Sam said, "How about why new local charges pressed against my sperm donor coincide with your return."

"Probably because your dad is still the stupid prick all of La Push knows he is," Leah hollered from inside the house as the kitchen light flipped on, flooding the back entryway. Bella released a nervous, shuddering breath as Leah stomped across the kitchen toward the back door.

"Why are you here, Sam?" She looked fit to be tied, the fire behind her eyes visible even with the light at her back.

"Oh, that was me… I wanted to come by." Paul laughed, pulling a smile from Leah as she sat on the stairs behind Bella and tugged her directly into her lap. "Suspected you were back. I wanted to check on our little Quacker since she ignored my messages all week." He teasingly glared at Bella, failing to hold back his grin.

Bella leaned against Leah's chest, suspecting Leah needed her comfort to calm her temper while waving her phone up at Paul to see the screen. "I was going to text you right about when you guys showed up."

"Hi Pauly," Leah said belatedly, grinning as she shoved her face into Bella's hair.

"Hi, Leah."

Sam scowled at the three of them and rolled his eyes. "So, what the hell happened with Josh?"

Before Bella could respond, Leah said, "Long story short? We met him and his friend at a campsite. We ran into them again a few states over, so we hung out. He lied about his name, and he and his friend robbed us while we were asleep."

Sam scoffed. "How the hell could you not know who he was?" He gestured toward his face. "I look just like the stupid bastard."

Leah laughed but grumbled, " Trust me, Sam. He didn't look like any pictures your mom has, okay? The dude only looked about thirty, and he's built like a brick shithouse."

Bella caught a wary glance between Sam and Paul as Leah continued, "I didn't recognize him. Then again, I try not to think about your fucking face."

Bella twisted around to look at Leah, hoping she wasn't about to pick up where they'd left off at the bonfire after the funeral. She didn't have the energy for it.

Ignoring her, Sam looked down at Bella. "Why didn't you call me? I thought we had an agreement?"

Paul and Leah both glared at Sam before Paul turned toward Bella suspiciously. Leah's arms around her tightened as she tensed. Bella had never told Leah about Sam's request before they left, and she had a feeling it was about to bite her in the ass.

Keeping her eyes on Sam, Bella asked, "Why would I call?"

"Maybe because I asked you to tell me if something went wrong, and you agreed?"

"There was nothing that would have required your help, Sam. I didn't even know the dude who robbed us was your father until Charlie got the damn fingerprints today."

"Yesterday. It's after midnight."

" Whatever. The point is, there was no reason to call."

Behind her, Leah asked, "Would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Her hands trembled against Bella's midriff, and Bella could have sworn she felt Leah's body heat radiating into her back. She hoped Leah wasn't getting sick. She occasionally showed the same feverish signs that had plagued Jake and Quil only weeks before. Most of those symptoms had calmed while on the road, however.

Bella finally noticed Paul's defensive stance, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Sam. "I'd like to know the answer to that, too."

Sighing, Bella turned around to look Leah in the eye. She expected her to be angry, but she wasn't about to lie to her. "I ran into Sam before we left on our trip. He gave me his phone number and made me promise to use it if we found ourselves in trouble. I made him promise to let me know if anything went wrong here while we were gone too. That was it. That was the gist of the conversation."

Leah shook her head but seemed to relax. "I don't even understand why that was necessary… or why you didn't tell me about it."

Bella slid her hand into Leah's and squeezed it. "I should have and I'm sorry. I was afraid you'd get mad and it would start us off on an unpleasant note. I didn't want you to be upset just because Sam was trying to be nice for once."

Sam grunted, and the offending sound made Leah snicker. She sighed and kissed the tip of Bella's nose.

"You better tell me next time."

Bella sighed in relief. "I promise. I'm sorry."

"Such cute little lovebirds," Paul teased. "Bella's a duck, so what's that make you, Leah?"

"A fucking crow. Don't make me peck your eyes out, La Whore," Leah said, not taking her eyes off Bella's face for a second.

Sam cleared his throat and asked, "Are… you two…"

"We're something," Leah said. "And it's none of your fucking business." Her eyes turned from loving to cold as she glared toward Sam. Pushing the point, she asked, "How's Emily ?"

"And on that note," Paul said as he firmly shoved Sam toward the trees. Sam scowled at Leah as he walked backward a few paces before turning and stomping into the woods.

Paul turned and nervously ran his hand through his hair as he sighed. He jogged back over to the girls and bent down to kiss each on the cheek before playfully patting Leah's. "Mean mouth."

"You like it."

"I do, Mami." Paul pressed another kiss to Bella's forehead. "We'll chat later! You better answer my damn messages or I'll come back and spank your ass, Ducky!"

Bella's face was on fire, making Leah chuckle as Paul ran toward the break in the trees where Sam had disappeared.

Leah muttered, "Where the fuck are they even going?"

Bella chuckled, shaking her head. "I keep asking the same damn question."

"Come on," Leah said, patting Bella's sides, indicating she should stand. She'd done the same when they shared the lawn chair at Renee's. Bella couldn't help but wonder if Leah had picked up the habit after watching her with Paul.

"Let's go back inside before any more surprise visitors decide to pop out of the fucking woods. Your luck, it'll be Jake next."

"No shit," Bella grumbled as she followed Leah into the house.

Suddenly, a howl ripped through the air. Bella hoped Paul and Sam were safe as she shivered, shutting the door behind her.


The girls waited until the following morning to drag their luggage inside and shoved all their dirty laundry in Bella's hamper before Bella cooked breakfast. They had just finished eating when the front door opened and Charlie's voice boomed into the house to gain their attention.

Sue's laugh followed his noisy footsteps as they walked into the kitchen and immediately joined the girls at the table.

"Morning, kids."

"Morning Charlie. Mom," Leah said, standing. "You two want some coffee?" She grabbed the empty breakfast plates to put them in the sink.

"Sure, Leah. Thanks."

"So," Bella said, putting her coffee cup down. "How are you two this morning?" Charlie looked jovial but Sue seemed nervous as she watched Leah pour their coffee.

Charlie said, "We hoped we'd catch you both still here. I wasn't sure when you'd take Leah home."

Leah carried their cups over and sat them on the table. "What's going on?"

Sue said, "Before anyone says anything…" She waited for Leah to sit again before asking, "I need to ask you both something serious and I need a truthful answer."

"Shoot," Bella said, making Leah smirk.

"Are you two dating anyone? Other people? Each other?".

Leah frowned. "Does it matter? Bells and I…"

Keeping her eyes on Leah rather than their parents, Bella interrupted, "Is a label necessary? Do you two have an official status now or have you just gone with friends for twenty years?"

Charlie grunted over Bella's cheekiness as Sue bit back a grin and patted his arm before lifting her coffee mug for a drink. As Sue set it back down, she said, "We have a proposition for you both."

Leah glared at Sue suspiciously. "What?" It was Charlie's turn to snicker over Leah's tone.

"Well…" Sue hesitated. "I wanted to see how you girls feel about Bella staying with you and Seth at the house in La Push while I stay here with Charlie for a few weeks."

Bella nearly choked on her coffee as Leah's eyes widened in shock.

Sue said, "We could consider it a… trial run. I'd be closer to work while we're short-handed, and you two would be closer to each other. If everything goes well… maybe we could talk about me moving in with Charlie eventually and you girls could take over the main bedroom at our house. If you'd prefer, Seth can move into the master and you two can have the smaller rooms. For now, though, you'd have to share Leah's room… Until we figure out how things go, at least. I know Seth isn't the easiest person to live with lately."

Bella and Leah looked at each other, equally stunned. Leah shook her head and said, "I wasn't expecting that."

Bella chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Seth doesn't seem to like me much lately, but maybe now that Sam's being nice, that'll change?"

"Seth's just… adjusting to some things, Bella." Sue frowned at her coffee cup. "He's rarely home anyway… Spends a lot of time at Jacob's lately."

Bella rolled her eyes. "That explains a lot, honestly. Jacob and I aren't on good terms anymore…" Meeting Sue's gaze, she added, "But, I have nothing against Seth. Truly. I'm used to teenage boys with attitude issues. He'll figure out that I'm not so terrible, eventually."

"He's going to have to, somehow," Leah said with a shrug. "I mean, we should talk about this some more, but even if you didn't move in, my best bitch is going nowhere ."

"By the way," Charlie said, nudging Bella with the toe of his boot. "Joy was going to hire Quil at the store, but he's working with Sam and the others for the council. Joy needs someone in the afternoons, and wants to know if you want a job."

Bella beamed. "Really?"

If she lived on the reservation, working for Joy would be ideal considering the lack of local jobs versus how much gas her truck used. It would give her something to do while deciding what she intended to do about college… and she'd see Leah every day.

"W-when? I mean, when would all of this happen?"

Charlie grinned at her enthusiasm. She'd been searching for a job for months. "Well, Joy said she was hoping you could start at the beginning of next month.".

"I have three nurses going on maternity leave over the next two weeks," Sue said. "So, the sooner I stay here, the better. Within the next week, most likely. I foresee lots of doubles in my near future."

Leah asked, "So, we'd still have time to kidnap Quil and Embry for a camping trip this week?"

"Yep. Should." Charlie took a long pull from his coffee cup.

Sue said, "If you two are okay with this idea, then Bella is welcome to stay at the house whenever you're both ready."

"It's okay if you don't want to, Bells," Charlie added, gesturing with his hands like he often did when anxious. Bella couldn't help but grin at his discomfort. "You'll just have to deal with Sue being here too."

He was basically asking her permission to live with his girlfriend. It was adorable.

Schooling her features as best as possible, Bella sat straight, waiting for Charlie to take another drink of his coffee. "I don't know, Dad…. I'm a little concerned about your intentions toward Sue. Now, I assume you two are being safe, right?"

Charlie turned his head to the side as his coffee shot from his nose and Leah's cackling laugh filled the air.

Bella continued, "Because, Dad, it would be extremely awkward if Leah and I had to share a sibling. Having a mutual cousin is bad enough…"

Sue crossed her arms over the table and laid her head in them to hide her laughter as Charlie sputtered.

"I mean… people are already going to say we're keeping it in the family as it is, and Leah refuses to dress up with me like Joe Dirt characters for Halloween."

Howling now, Leah slid from the chair to the floor as Charlie got up to fetch some paper towels while trying not to laugh.

He muttered, "You're not fucking right, kid…"

Bella looked down at Leah and giggled. "He says that like we don't already know."


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