BOREALIS ☽ Leah Clearwater ✔

Chapter 1... New

It was the perfect day for a wedding. 

For once on this usually-rainy town, the sun was out and there wasn't a single cloud in the perfectly blue sky. The air hung heavy with heat and the birds sang in chorus amongst the trees.

I stood in my room, fighting with myself. The small square of paper felt like lead in my hand. It had arrived months ago, shortly after the alliance of werewolves and vampires had chased the Volturi out of Forks. Since then, I must have read it hundreds of times. I was a sucker for punishment, it seemed.

Set on a background of faded marigolds, encircled by a metallic blue border, the curling blue text read:

Please join us in celebrating the union of
Sam Allen Uley
&
Emily Louise Young
on May 19th, 2007 at 3:00 PM at Second Beach

The invitation was much fancier than what I had been expecting. And I had been expecting it... Dreading it, even. 

Something told me that the little pixie vampire—the one who had swept in at the last second and saved the day during the showdown with the crusty leeches from Europe—was responsible. Since the successful alliance, Sam had been much more welcoming of the vampire's involvement. He had even revoked the treaty line. They were now free to visit LaPush as often as they wanted. The two sides had made their peace.

There were still two sides battling it out in my head. 

Unlike all the other invites, mine had come with something special. A letter. I pulled it out of the envelope to read it again too.

Dear Leah,

I miss you, Leah, like I would miss my own heart. I can't express how much I regret the distance that has grown between us.

I know that our separation was the fault of my inconsiderate actions, but please know that my feelings for you haven't changed. You are my sister. I love you, always and forever. 

It would mean the world if you would consider being part of this special day. I know it may be too much to ask, but I hope you might consider being my maid of honor.

If you can ever imagine forgiving me, please, please, please give it a thought.

Your sister forever,

Emily

Like the jerk I was, I had never responded. I couldn't. Not because I wanted to say no—if it was that simple, I would've replied straight away—but because I wanted to say yes. 

Yes, our relationship had deteriorated significantly in this past year. And yes, I still nursed that grudge for her hand in ruining my life. And yes, I hated that she was marrying Sam—my first and only love.

But I still loved her, too. And we had sort of started speaking again...

For the old me, the answer would've been easy. However, things had changed. In a new pack, granted the reprieve from Sam's innermost thoughts, my wounds were slowly but surely healing. I could finally look at Emily and Sam with some sort of resigned acceptance. But that didn't make my decision any easier. 

Going to the wedding would be painful. Having to sit through a celebration of a love that had almost destroyed me would be no easy task, even if I was doing so much better. But by not going, would I regret it later on, as the years passed and the pain had dulled? When things were finally fully healed between Emily and I, would I regret not being there for her? 

If I did go, I could look back on this day with pride, proud that I had been the bigger person and taken the first true step to repairing what we once had. And hadn't I promised myself? To give myself a fresh start, to start anew?

Should I? 

Could I?

I took a deep breath. I didn't have much longer to contemplate my choices. It was noon, and the wedding would start in three hours. And I still needed to get ready; I couldn't exactly show up as a giant wolf. 

I wasn't sure if I could drive that fast. But if I ran... I could make it.

"Here goes nothing," I said aloud, taking another breath to steel me. Dropping the invite and the letter on the kitchen counter, I ran out of the house, burst into my wolf form, and ran into the woods towards Second Beach.

Here's to a new you, Leah Clearwater, I thought as I ran.

☾

It's a short chapter, but I couldn't wait to post something. I'm not ready to let Leah go... I can't help but think she needs some sort of resolution in her life.

-A