A rather monumental part of the summer began one cloudy day, where I was alone at the Blacks house, still hobbling about on my busted ankle.
Billy was out fishing with my dad and Jacob was patrolling. I didn't want to be home with Bella, even though our relationship was improving, so I came to chill here and wait for Jacob.
The house was at the end of the road leading to it, and it didn't get much vehicle traffic. So I was quite surprised to hear a car pull up. It wasn't time for Dad to be back, so I limped over to the door to see who it was.
A short, dark haired woman got out of a little grey car. She paused and stared at the house before walking up to the porch. I ducked away from the blinds to look a little less suspicious, and pulled the door open.
"Hi, can I...?" I trailed off. The woman standing in front of me had her hand raised to knock and she froze. I stared at her in shock and gasped. "Rachel?"
She smiled and nodded. "That's me. And you are?"
I let go of the door and hopped forward. "Liana Swan. Jacob's friend?"
Rachel's smile widened. "Of course. I remember you. How are you?" She gave me a big hug for someone several inches shorter than me.
I pulled back, "I'm doing good. This ankle sucks, but I'm doing better."
"Oh no! What happened?"
"Stairs." I said simply. I didn't want to tell the elaborate lie that we had come up with, and so I gave the answer that everyone but my dad got.
Rachel winced. "I'm sorry. Hey, are my Dad or Jacob here?"
I shook my head. "Sorry, no. Our Dads are out fishing and Jacob will be at work for a couple more hours. Did they know you were coming back? I didn't."
Rachel shook her head. "I wanted to surprise everyone."
I realized that we were still outside and so I ushered her in. "So, What do you want yo do while we wait? We could walk by the beach, or maybe just stick around the house."
Rachel wandered around the house for a minute. "The beach would be nice, but can you walk that far?" She motioned to my cast.
"If you drive to the beach then yeah." I was sick of being stuck in the house for so long and if I ever went anywhere, someone would come with me and either help me walk, or outright try to pick me up and carry me. Cough, Jacob, cough. So Rachel, being new to the situation, would likely trust me to know my own capabilities and let me walk on my own, however slowly it may be.
So ten minutes later we found ourselves at the beach.
We walked, well, Rachel walked and I shuffled along the mildly busy beach for a while.
"So, what does Jake do for work? Is it a summer job?" Rachel questioned.
I fumbled a moment before answering. "He, uh, he works for the tribe with a bunch or other guys as a security sort of thing. It's kind of a year round thing."
Rachel nodded. "Neat. Isn't he a little young though? Sixteen and doing security?"
I laughed at the irony. It was way more than just security. Sixteen, plus turning into giant wolves, plus fighting vampires, yeah, it was a lot. "Yeah, he is kind of young, but it had really helped some of the guys on the Rez to find good friends and stick to the right track." I answered. "Oh hey! There's some of our friends."
I waved at Paul and Jared who were thankfully both wearing shirts and shoes with their shorts. They waved back, and started to jog over.
Rachel looked a little amused. "Little Jake is friends with those guys? They are buff. And good looking."
I smirked. "One has a girlfriend, but the other is quite single." They could definitely hear our comments as they nudged each other. Also, Rachel was in for a surprise when she saw Jacob.
Paul and Jared met us and Paul grabbed my hands in delight. "My darling, I have missed you so! Your presence here is a balm to my aching heart." He proclaimed dramatically.
Rachel choked beside me and I laughed and pulled away. "Laying it on a little thick are we? What will Jacob say?"
Paul sighed and rolled his eyes. "'I'll rip you to pieces,' probably. Who's this?" He turned to Rachel.
I also looked at Rachel. "This is Jacob's older sister Rachel. Rachel, these goofs are Jared and Paul..." I trail off as I motioned to each one. Paul was staring at Rachel in shock and utter amazement.
I blinked. And blinked again.
The four of us stood silent for a long moment while Rachel and Paul stared at each other and Jared and I looked back and forth between the two.
As the realization of what just happened sunk in, I bit back a squeal. I was so excited for them. But then reality hit. Jacob likely wouldn't be happy, plus, we would have to tell the secret to Rachel and hope she reacts well.
Rachel broke out of the staring trance first. "Well, it's nice to meet you both. I'm sure I'll see you around a bunch this summer."
Paul snapped out of his daze and a huge smile burst onto his face. It was a real smile, not a grin or a smirk, but a full on smile that made him look rather handsome and cute. "It's nice to meet you."
A thought crossed my mind and I pulled Paul aside. "Hey, if you want to live, don't phase until Jacob is done and I have talked to him. Don't tell anyone til later either. He might be cool with it, but he might not."
We hung out with the guys for a few minutes before Rachel wanted to head back home. After we got into the car, Rachel sighed. "He was so cute. But I don't think I am staying for long."
A frown crossed my face. We needed her to stick around as Paul would never be happy if she left, and it wouldn't be good for him to head off on his own. "Maybe you will stick it out here for a while. I know your dad misses you. He'll want you around a much as possible."
Rachel smiled. "I'm here for the summer. After that, we'll see. But anyway, what was that between him and you? Are you a thing?"
I choked. "Me? And Paul? No way. He's fun, but just a friend, trust me. I am solidly set in my relationship. Paul just likes to flirt with me to bug Jacob."
When we got back no one was home, so Rachel unpacked her bags from her car and we settled in on the couch to wait.
After an hour or so of catching up, In which I found out that Rachel was thankfully very single, Jacob arrived. Rachel was in the kitchen getting a snack and so when Jacob came in the back door he didn't notice her or her car.
He was clad only in shorts as usual and came and enveloped me in a hug, also as usual.
"Missed you." He mumbled tiredly.
I wrapped my arms around him and soaked up his warm radiation. "You seem tired. But I think you might want to stay awake for a while. I have a surprise for you in the kitchen."
Jacob's head perked up. "Really? That's great, I'm starving." He pulled me up off the couch and planted a kiss on my lips before carefully pulling me to the kitchen.
He stopped short and so did Rachel. Jacob let go of my hand and wrapped Rachel in a hug. "When did you get here?" He demanded.
Rachel laughed. "Is that really you, Jake? You've gotten so tall."
I watched as they continued the hug for a little while longer, a warm feeling filling me.
They broke away and Jacob beamed. "I've always been this tall. You just got short."
We all laughed and Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, seriously, what are you taking? When I left you were her height." She nodded at me.
I came to Jacob's rescue. "He and some of the guys he works with have gotten pretty tall and strong because of the hard work they do, which means that they are always eating, which means they grow." Jacob nodded his agreement.
It wasn't entirely a lie. In fact, it was mostly true, there were just a few details missing. And so, true to form, Jacob got some food and we all settled onto the couch again, Jacob between the two of us.
Rachel eyed the arm that Jacob had placed around my shoulders. "When did this happen?"
Jacob swallowed. "Umm, a couple months ago. Around our birthdays."
The flow of the conversation moved easily, and we chatted the day away until Dad and Billy returned from fishing.
Billy was overjoyed, and I thought I saw him wiping at his eyes a couple times. The celebration of her returning began and my dad drove off to buy some chips and other celebration food.
But there still remained the situation with Paul.
As I suspected, Jacob was not impressed when I told him.
I managed to corner him alone after Rachel had taken her dad out for a walk, and decided that I should break the news to him before he found out through the pack mind.
"Soo, Jacob." I started. He glanced up at me in question.
"Yeah?"
I shuffled nervously by the counter. "Rachel and I went for a nice walk before you were done patrolling."
"You did mention that. What about it?"
I bit my lip. "Well, we met up with Paul and Jared on the beach. They happened to see us, and came over. And umm...PaulimprintedonRachel!"
Jacob blinked slowly as me as the rush of words came out. "What?" He asked flatly.
I grinned halfheartedly. "Paul imprinted on Rachel."
Jacob growled and jumped up from the table, moving to the door. "How dare he! I'll rip him to pieces!"
"Jacob Ephriam Black! You stop that now! He is your brother!" I squawked, pushing him away from the door and into the living room. He followed my direction, but only because he didn't want to hurt me.
"Brothers can be annoying and I can still want to kill him even if I love him." He snarled, actually snarled, but not at me.
The comment made me smile. "Awe, you love him!"
The boys almost never said anything outright nice about each other, as it wasn't their style of affection.
"Shut up. I love all my brothers. We can't help it. It is ingrained in us. But he imprinted on my sister!" Jacob huffed moodily.
I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. "And you imprinted on me. Look at us-wouldn't you want your sister to have something like what we do?"
Jacob flopped on the couch and crossed his arms, pouting like a child. "But why did it have to be him?"
I stood my ground in front of him, fed up with his antics. "Jacob Black! Paul is a very nice guy and will make your sister happy. You stop being stubborn and let them be. How do you think Rachel will feel if you tell her that you ripped apart the one person that will love and protect her for life?"
"Happy?" His expression was hopeful.
"No! Look on the bright side, now that he has someone he will stop flirting with me all the time." I argued and smacked his head with a pillow.
Jacob groaned and hung his head in defeat. "Fine! Fine. But I still don't like it. And I'm going to give him a stern talk."
I grinned again at his poutyness. "Poor you, it's not like he might end up being the reason she might stay."
Jacob just gave me a baleful stare. "You don't get it. I hear everything that goes through his head. He has almost no filter. And now he's going to be thinking about her. My sister. I might have to quit phasing."
I shuddered, now understanding more why Jacob was reacting negatively. "Oh.... Yeah."
Over the next few days Paul was over every opportunity he could. Which meant that Jacob was there to watch him, which meant that I had to be there to make sure that he didn't overreact. Rachel seemed amused by Jacob's behavior, but also a little taken by Paul.
Paul came to me one evening when Rachel wasn't around, and dramatically as ever, professed that we were doomed. "My sweet, it will never work between us. My heart has been stolen by another."
"I am crushed. But go, be happy with her." I replied just as dramatically. Jacob of course snarled at Paul and I smacked his arm lightly.
Rachel was accepting of Paul's attention to a point, but she still hesitated a bit. She told me that she didn't want to lead a guy on when she didn't plan on staying. Unfortunately for her, Paul would be crushed either way if she left.
So then came the problem of when to tell her. Jacob figured that Paul should wait for a while, but Sam agreed with Paul that he shouldn't wait too long. And so the next debacle happened.
I wasn't actually present for Paul first revealing the secret to Rachel, but I saw the repercussions. It was almost amusing how it happened.
I was happily minding my own business at home, once again alone as Dad was at work and Bella was wedding planning with Alice, when my quiet morning was interrupted by a grumpy shape shifter.
Paul was on my back porch before I realized what was going on, but he hadn't phased back yet. My jaw dropped in surprise at seeing his furry head through my door. Then it disappeared and a few seconds later Paul, now wearing shorts, stormed through my door.
"Paul! What's wrong?" I exclaimed. He was pacing in my living room and tugging on his hair.
He threw his hands down and groaned. "She hates me! I messed everything up and now she doesn't want to see me. She ran away and told me to leave." His voice cracked.
I had never seen Paul look this was before. "Oh no. What happened?"
And then the whole story spilled out of him. They had been going for a walk and started arguing about Rachel and that she wasn't planning on staying. Paul told her that he wanted her to stay and while Rachel liked him, she didn't see how he could possibly know they were the right ones. Paul told her that he did know and then said that the legends were true. She scoffed and said he was being ridiculous. He then up and phased which caused her to run away. He phased back but she demanded he leave and so he did.
And now he was having a pity party in my living room. I processed what he told me.
"So that's all you did? No context? Did you actually explain imprinting?" I asked him.
He nodded, then shook his head. "I didn't know what to say. I panicked."
I rolled my eyes at him. These big strong guys that were vampire killing machines had no clue when they were dealing with women. "Paul, you've got to explain everything to her and sooner than later. Just tell the truth and stay calm."
Paul shook his head. "She told me to leave."
The ignorance of that statement astounded me. "Paul, she didn't mean it. She panicked too. I know that you have to follow the imprint, but she really just wants you there. Now get back there and apologize to Rachel."
Paul nodded and after taking a few breaths, marched out the back door.
Not five minutes later my front doorbell rang.
"Yup!" I yelled. I limped to the door where I found Rachel. My laugh was cut short when I saw her face.
She sniffed and marched in my front door and started pacing.
I sighed. "What's wrong Rachel?" Though I already knew the answer.
She sniffled a tiny bit before flapping her hands and shaking her head. "You wouldn't understand."
I raised my eyebrow. "Try me. I think I know enough."
Rachel then, exactly like Paul did, spilled the whole story in a rush.
According to Rachel, the two of them had been on a nice stroll, when they had begun talking about life plans. Rachel expressed that she didn't know how long she wanted to stay in La Push and Paul got anxious. Rachel defended her position, and then Paul made a wild claim that the legends of the tribe were all true. Rachel couldn't believe it and said so. Then Paul took his clothes off and exploded. Rachel was shocked into immobility. Then he popped back into being human and that caused her to run away. She didn't know what to do so she left home and came here.
I sighed again. Why did everyone think I was a useful source of knowledge? "Paul means well. And he certainly didn't go about it all very well. You need to give him a chance to explain himself. When I found out I didn't react all that well either."
"Wait, you know?" Rachel asked.
I bit my lip and nodded. "Look I'm really not the best person to tell you about this. Go talk to Paul. He is at your house waiting for you."
While she was reluctant, she eventually left. I rolled my eyes again at the whole situation.
About ten minutes later I heard the front door and I sighed and yelled down the hall.
"I don't have any more life ad- oh, hi Dad. Hi Sue." I trailed off.
Dad looked at me and raised his eyebrow slowly. "Everything okay?"
I smiled sweetly and nodded. "Just fine. Just doling our life advice to stubborn people."
Dad laughed. "Well, I'm old enough that I've already heard most. But good for you."
He and Sue wandered down the hall and I stared after them thoughtfully. If I was going to offer Dad advice, it would be to marry Sue once she was done grieving. They were both clearly spending lots of time together and I could tell that Dad was starting to like her. But I would let them be for now.