Enchanted | Jacob Black

fourteen

After we ate the breakfast I had made for us, we sat on the couch talking.

"Bella keeps calling." he looked away as if trying to avoid my reaction.

"So she's back?" I asked, remembering she had left to find her vampire boyfriend.

He nodded, "I've been avoiding her. I don't want to deal with her mess right now."

"At least she's okay," I said softly. I meant it, too. I had held resentment toward her for spending so much time with Jake, and I hated how it felt like she was just using him to get over her breakup. But I didn't wish her any harm.

I didn't want to discuss it anymore, instead changing the subject.

"How's Seth?" I asked him.

"He misses his dad, but he's quickly adapted to being a shape-shifter. Sam keeps him at home since he's so young." He smiled, 'he's pretty fast, but not as fast as Leah. She's the fastest one in the pack.

"Impressive. How is Leah anyway?" I questioned, tucking my legs underneath me on the couch.

Jake leaned back against the cushions, exhaling through his nose. "Leah's... Leah." He gave a half-smile. "Angry most of the time. I mean, can't blame her. Phasing isn't exactly easy on anyone, but it's harder for her, and on top of it, she has to deal with Sam and Emily."

"Oh, that's right!"

I had almost forgotten about this; it was the biggest gossip on the reservation at the time. Sam and Leah had been dating since her freshman year of high school, but he broke up with her and started dating Emily Young, her cousin.

"I still can't believe that!" I said, "how can she stand to be around Sam after the dick move he pulled. What an asshole." I mumbled.

Jake chuckled under his breath. "Trust me, it's not easy for him. It's hell, honestly. And not just for them but for the rest of us, too. We have to hear their thoughts all the time. It's complicated..."

I shot him a skeptical look. "Dumping your girlfriend for her cousin is not complicated. That's evil."

He gave a slight shrug, his jaw tightening slightly. "Yeah. From the outside, it looks awful. And it was awful for Leah. I'm not making excuses for Sam. What he did hurt her more than anyone deserves."

I frowned, leaning back against the couch. "Still sounds like a choice he made."

Jake nodded slowly, but there was a look of something unreadable in his eyes. But I didn't push it.

I nodded, feeling a pinch in my heart for Leah. Her whole life had been flipped upside down. She was now part of a pack she didn't ask to join. And she was also forced to watch someone she loved be in love with someone else? And not just watch but hear Sam's thoughts anytime he thinks of Emily. That's torture.

I shook my head. "That's so unfair," I whispered under my breath.

"I know." He muttered.

Before I could change the topic of conversation, a howl sounded in the distance. The pack was calling him; he stood up.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

The disappointment hit me harder than I wanted it to. I forced a smile and nodded, standing up, too. Before I could even figure out what to say, he hugged me.

His arms wrapped around me easily, warm and stable. I froze for half a second, caught off guard by how good and right it felt, before melting into him.

I didn't want to let go. Neither did he, apparently.

He held on a moment longer than necessary, then finally pulled back just enough to look at me, and for a second, he didn't move. His eyes searched mine like he wanted to say something else.