Flowers for Lilah (Seth Clearwater)

chapter nine

"Are you sure I'm not intruding?" I ask bashfully, as Leah, Seth and I walk up to the front of Sam Uley's house. I was shielding my small frame behind their tall statures, very nervous to step inside a house full of strangers. Especially intimidating strangers like Sam Uley's posses. They were all impossibly good looking, and they only kept to themselves. Here I was, this average, plain girl who never talked, when people looked at me, all they could identify me with is the dead parents thing.

"Lilah, you're one of us now." Leah says to me, exasperated, and I feel guilty for being so insecure, needing to be reassured all the time. "If anything, you enhance, not intrude. Right, Seth?" She smirks.

"Yes." Seth answers too quickly, then reddens. "I mean, you don't intrude."

I feel my heart increase as Seth holds Sam's front door open for me to squeeze behind Leah, and I'm suddenly in another typical Quileute Reservation home- they were all pretty similar. Tiny, made mostly of wood, with chipping paint on the outside. The inside of Sam Uley's house was much like mine of Seths, open, with the kitchen, living room, and dinning room all in one.

Sam's living room seems even smaller as it's giant members of Sam's pack fill iy, the only ones I recognize are Embry and Paul, who I met the night before. The rest I had vaguely seen around school, but had never learned their names. No one looks too interested in anything in particular as I enter the room.

"What's up man," One of them, sitting at a chair at the kitchen counter, greets Seth, who plops down at the counter.

"Not much. Where is everyone?"

"Out... searching," The tall man cuts off his sentence, looking awkwardly at me, like there's some secret I can't know.

Seth follows the guys eyes, "Oh, Jared, this is Lilah. Lilah, Jared. I'm about to tell her." Tell me what? I wave awkwardly.

This catches everyone's attention, Embry turning away from the TV and Paul jumping up, "Nice man! Lilah, welcome to the family officially."

"W-what do you mean?" I ask softly, embarrassed.

"Oh you'll see." Paul smirks. "How are you gonna do it? Want me to just let it rip? I could go for a run."

Embry starts laughing, "We both can! Let's go to the backyard!"

Jared, who seems older and more mature than the other two, rolls his eyes, "Shut up, you idiots, leave them alone. Can't you see Seth's freaking out as it is?" I turn my head to notice Seth nervously teetering on his chair, unable to sit still, looking incredibly troubled.

"Whatever. Cmon, Lil." Seth ignores them all and grabs my hand, sending warmth from my fingers straight to my heart. I can hear my heartbeat pick up at the contact, as Seth pulls us out through the kitchen, through the back door, and into the secluded back yard.

"S-seth what's going on? What were they talking about? What family?" I crinkle my eyebrows.

Seth sighs, running his hands through his hair. He seems extremely nervous. He paces around a little bit, "Lilah I don't know how to do this. I've never done this before, or even thought about doing this before. I thought once I found her it'd all come so natural, but I've never been more on edge in my life! I overthink every move with you and I can never get it right! I plan all my moves but then you're just here and you're so Lilah, and it makes it so much harder because I never want to upset you or make you afraid of me-"

"Slow down," I laugh at his nervously babbling. "We talked about this last night. You don't have to be nervous, it's just me: Lilah. I'm not scary."