I was rooted on spot in front a familiar old oak door that belonged to my home .I could tell the house was abandoned at the moment but that didn't stop me from walking away without infiltrating it .
I gave a little shove to the door that had been left unlocked and it creaked open by a few inches .Out of avidity and curiosity of what I might find within , I stepped in .
I blinked twice unsure now if I had crossed the threshold of the right home .The living room seemed have toppled upside down .Surely there hadn't been a probe here or was there ?
Moreover it seemed to have been abandoned for days .Had my mom and Seth vacated the Home?
But that didn't seem likely .Wasn't my mom living at the Swan residence ever since she got remarried?
Nevertheless I took a step forward careful not to break anything under my foot since I could hardly see the cold floor beneath that had been decorated with piles of stuff I would prefer was rather put in the dustbin.
Typically, i would have been inclined towards egressing a scene as this but the house in shambles happened to belong to me once . And instead of shrinking away from the dirty odour and grubby state , I smiled and delved in further with anxious eyes trying to take in each and every detail .
The boys must have had many hangovers at my home and it looked like they were determined and set in their motive of 'not' leaving the home tidy and uncluttered at any case but all the same i was pleased to know that they hadn't abandoned Seth in my absence.
When i had peered into my room , I was in for a surprise. It was as though I had never left. It looked just as i remembered and nothing was out of place. I suppose no one had entered my my room except for Seth and mom. The only difference was that there was a layer of dust covering the bed , floor, cupboards and window panes .
I picked up a battered book lying on the floor and wiped the dust of it . I flipped it over to see the cover and realized it was the very same book i had been reading over and over a while ago during my teenage life. The cover read ' The Best Of Me'- a story that had affected me a lot for certain reasons that i couldn't quite fathom .
I recalled the day when i had stomped out of this room with my belongings and I had accidentally bumped into the shelf and thereby making this very book fall to the floor with a thud .And without a backward glance I had proceeded on my way.
Coming back to the present, I took a deep breadth and placed the book in the right place and silently walked out.
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I drove my car to Forks where Charlie and my mom stayed, and on the way i had to look out for the signboards since the roads were hardly recognizable .I was to take the second left as per the guidance given by the lady at the department store when I heard a familiar voice.
I hit the breaks and the tires squealed with protest as it came to a abrupt stop. I almost dislocated the car door when I threw it open and jumped out. My boots crushed the icy sleet that was formed on the pavement and i walked past the warehouse store thinking hard if it had been my illusion .
With bated breadth and thumping heart , I half jogged past the clearing towards the thick canopy of trees listening closely to the softest of the sounds and then i heard his voice again.
"-I'll run a round or two before I crash."Seth was saying. My head snapped in his direction .My heart skipped a beat. There might be someone else by his side but i didn't notice and distantly I felt the faint soundless shimmer in the air and realized the others must be close phasing...
With his back facing me , he didn't see my approach but I saw it straighten when he heard my footsteps.
"Seth" i whispered .His feet remained firm on the wet grass while his torso turned slowly and hesitantly and finally his eyes met mine.
I stared back at him waiting for a reaction .At first he looked at me confused and bewildered and just before i could think he didn't recognize me, he crossed the few feet between us with four long strides and slammed his body against mine and almost lifted me off my feet as he gave me a bear hug.
"Your back "he cried .I ruffled his hair which was just as shaggy as i remembered. "I missed you so much"he continued in a small tone. A few seconds lapsed in silence which i broke.
"Um, Seth ...a little awkward here" i said tapping his back and he finally let go.
"I'm scared you might run away again"he admitted.
I rolled my eyes."I didn't come all the way here to run away again"
He tugged a few strands of my hair ."It's longer. I like it "
"Thanks .Can't say the same for you though " I mocked.
He shrugged ."Well, i'm so happy to see you again. I thought you'd never come back" he muttered. His eyes exposed the sorrow he felt within and i felt like hitting myself on the head for not turning up earlier.
Though we read each others thoughts when we were in our wolf form, Seth was careful not to think any of it since he presumed I was much happier staying in Carson city than I had been here. Though it was true, it wasn't entirely true.
"Where do you sleep?"I asked"Looks like you haven't been to our home lately "
"Crap. I forgot to clean all that mess we did last week. Did you see all that ?"
"Yep. All of it."
"And you aren't angry!" he stated.
"Why would i be?"I asked bewildered.
"You used to go hyper whenever you found anything out of place, remember. You still are a clean freak right?"
I chuckled.
"Whats so funny ?"
"The thought of me being surly .You should meet my friends. They tell i'm the sweetest person around "
"i'm not buying that"
I shrugged."Shouldn't you get going?"i asked pointing at the forest beyond.
"No, that's okay . I'll catch up with them later . Sam wouldn't mind-"he paused abruptly sucking his breadth and looking at me as though he expected me to reprimand him but I merely waited for him to continue.
He rearranged his features and changed the topic.
"Um..did you know charlie and mom brought a golden retriever .I don't think it likes me. Do you think it might know i'm a werewolf?"
"Don't be stupid. If you both wanna stay under the same roof , I'd advice you to be a tad nice to the dog"
" It's been a while since I went there. "
"What do you mean? What's wrong with staying with mom and Charlie?"
Seth dropped his gaze ."I dunno. I feel I don't fit in there anymore. I don't like the idea of spending Charlie's cash even if he is more than willing to look after me . It's time I get my ass to work"
I felt my throat go dry and I blinked. Funny that i still thought he was a kid when he had grown over the years.
"No you are not" I said firmly. "When I return to Carson city-"
"What the hell? You are going back?"he asked perplexed.
"Of course I am ". He looked like he might interrupt so i kept going ."I'm taking you with me ." I said and his mouth fell open.
"Really?, I.." he paused before he continued."I don't know what to say !"
"Think about it. I know you have been stuck in this place. You should really explore the rest of the world. Ask mom just in case"
"Okay. I will get to see your friends right?"
"Yep. But the girls are much older than you are so don't think about it "
"Shut up . I didn't mean that . I was just wondering... aren't they all humans?"
"Yep."
"Do they know about you being a werewolf?"
"Of course not. They would freak out ". I smiled at the thought.
"What if they find out?"
"Unless you tell them that yourself I don't see that coming"
He grinned .
"Are you done or you have any more questions that you are secretly planning to bombard me with? I was kinda hoping to see mom soon"I said puckering my lips .
"Oops sorry"he said looking around anxiously ."Aren't you gonna phase?"
"No. We'll take my car" I suggested. I didn't want to take any chance of anyone seeing me naked. It was one inconvenient and an unavoidable thing when you were the only girl in a pack of werewolves.
Seth followed me to my Verano and on the way past the blur of grey and green of the woods, he filled me on the details that I had missed in the past few years.
"Did you know?Collin imprinted!" he bursted out. .
"Hmm"I said nodding my head.
Seth looked dispirited with my lack of interest.
"He's younger than me" he piped in.
"It doesn't matter. It's not something you can control and age isn't a barrier here."
"Sure...but-"
"You wanna imprint?"
"Hell no"he cried out making me jump on my seat.
I peeked a glance at him and laughed out loud at the horrified expression glued to his face.
"Whoa...Leah "he said turning to me"You should do that more"
"Do what ?"
"Laugh . You look better "
"C'mon, it's not like you haven't seen me chuckle or something"
"Um... it is-I mean , you rarely found anything funny enough to even crack a smile before...but the change is good."
"Hmm."
"I suppose things have changed ?"
"A lot . How about you ?"
"Life's miserable " he groaned getting me all worked up.
"What happened ?"I asked troubled.
"Mom made me cook last night at the Black's."
I tried to hold back a snigger as I covered my mouth with the back of my hand.
"That's terrible."I whispered giving solace to him.
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We were still chatting when Seth rang the door bell and called out loudly for Charlie when the door opened.
"Hey kid" he greeted Seth and his eyes fell upon me. I swallowed hard brooding over his thoughts if was invited or not.
"Oh dear. What a surprise "he exclaimed.
And I was suddenly glad that he wasn't annoyed with my visit.
"Why did you not tell me earlier of her arrival?"he rounded on Seth.
"I was shell-shocked myself the moment i saw her today "
"How have you been child?"he demanded.
"I'm good Charlie. How are you?" I asked politely liking him more by the second.
"I'm doing great"he grinned.
He gave me a warm welcoming hug before he tugged me along with him as we proceeded into the living room.
"I can't wait for your mom to see you"he said and it looked like he was equally as excited as Seth was and I felt a warm gush of love towards Charlie for treating me and Seth like his own kids.
I hadn't been in touch with Charlie much before but right now I felt we would get along with each other just as fine.
Though my heart was exuberant at the moment, there was a tiny prick at it's corner when i saw Charlie and my mom who had just appeared from the kitchen.
Though both were not technically old, the manifest changes in them physically was too much to take in. The eight years seemed to have had a drastic effect by sucking the life out of them progressively.
"I ran to my mom and wrapped her tightly in my arms blinking back tears since bawling in front of everyone wouldn't be that good a sight.
"Leah"she whispered .
Damn! I missed her voice so much .
The hug was equally warm on both sides.
She drew back and placed her palms on either side of my cheek while her eyes roamed my face.
I perceived the wrinkles that had formed on her thin face , the weight she had lost over the years and a weight dropped in my stomach when I realized I didn't have much time left with her and that only made every passing day very precious.
I had been busy fretting over my half immortality that I had not given a thought about my mom who was merely a normal human. It unnerved me.
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"Ouch, Jake. Cut it out. It hurts"I whined rubbing the spot where he had punched.
"Look at you. You have grown so much"
"And I find you are just as younger"I said smirking.
He grinned stupidly before taking a bite from the pizza that had been brought for me.
It was evening and I sat abreast Jacob in a sofa by the corner while he ate noisily.
Mom and Charlie were flipping through the channels in the TV and I felt my heavy lids droop .Seth had to return back to the woods for patrols and hence had informed the other boys about my arrival.
I felt someone tug me and making me lie on something soft and flat and i was quite surprised with myself to not have woken up which would have been the case .I couldn't remember anything else and the next moment i opened my eyes , it was morning.
i blinked rapidly, looking around at the dimly lit room that was unrecognizable. I guessed it might have been Charlie's daughter- Bella's room before she got married to a vampire.
While I stretched myself on the bed, i heard voices in the living room and when i heard my name being mentioned, the conversation immediately peeked up my interest.
"...wonder what's gonna crop up now"Seth was saying.
"I can't see her getting hurt again"my mom replied and i sat up on the bed curious now .
"There's no way they won't run into each other in a small town as this."
It then dawned upon me on what they were talking about. For a few seconds had been baffled with their conversation that suddenly made all the sense. It almost seemed stupid of me not to guess it soon.
They could only be talking about one person who had been the reason for me to leave La push years ago. And now that i had returned , all pondered on how i would react if i came across him. Of course I had thought about it several times before leaving Carson city . Though i hardly gave him a thought anymore, i pondered on how i might feel if i met him again. Would all the love, hatred, passion,pain, rage resurface ?
Thanks for reading .
Keep reading to know how Sam and Leah's encounter is gonna be.
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