Believer (Embry Call)

I'm The One

at the sail

Everything had gotten worse.

Not only had Quil joined his best friends in the cult, but shortly after that, the community was mourning the loss of Harry Clearwater. He had died of a heart attack while out on a hunting party with Charlie Swan. The news had hit everyone hard, especially his family.

Rikki had been at the Clearwater household when they had gotten the news. Sue had stumbled backwards, almost falling if not for the young Walker. She had sunken to her knees with Sue as the grieving wife screamed in anguish, tears running down both their faces. Leah had run into the woods behind their house, and Seth stood frozen for a minute before he was up the stairs and shutting himself in his room.

Soon after, Danny had come over with Sam and the rest of the guys. They found Chief Swan, Billy Black and many other tribe adults sitting in the living room comforting the crying woman. Charlie saw Danny looking around at the people and made his way over.

"She went to check on Seth," Danny nodded in thanks, moving forward to greet Sue.

Sam nodded at his pack, "Jared go check on them." The other boys had gone up to greet they're families while Jared made his way upstairs.

He could hear it from down the hall, the conversation they were having, and it broke his heart.

"Does it get better?" Seth asked his best friend who held him tightly. Rikki sniffed slightly, running her hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him down.

"It hurts less as time goes on, I guess. It feels like something is missing and you don't know where to look for it, but eventually you find it in someone else," Seth looked up at her with a a questioning look.

"Who'd you find it in?"

Rikki smiled sadly at the grieving boy. "I found it in Danny, and I found it in the guys before whatever happened to them, and I found it in Leah and Bella, but, most importantly, I found it in you. You were always there for me when I needed you, Sethy. I'm going to be there for you even if you don't want me to be, and i'll be there every step of the way."

Seth gave a watery chuckle and a few more tears escaped his eyes. Rikki wiped them away with the pad of her thumb. Seth pulled away from her slightly to look at her. He saw her red puffy eyes and dried tears on her cheeks, and he knew that she was grieving too, but here she was with him trying to calm him down. Seth couldn't have asked for a better best friend.

"Could you find Leah, please? I don't think she should be alone right now," Seth asked the girl next to him.

Rikki stood up from the his bed, wiping her face with her shirt sleeve. "Of course. Just get some sleep, okay?"

Seth nodded slightly, climbing under the comforter and snuggling into his pillow. Rikki knelt down next to the bed, wiping the tears from his face one more time while smiling at him. "I love you, Sethy."

"I love you more," Seth replied. Rikki leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his forehead before walking to the door.

Once in the hallway, Rikki saw Jared at the end of the hall. He look at her with a sad look, walking toward her slowly.

"How is he?" The question caught her off-guard, but she answered anyways.

"He's trying to sleep right now. He asked me to find Leah," Jared nodded and opened his mouth to ask another question, but Rikki brushed past him and down the stairs. He sighed to himself, following after her.

Danny watched as Rikki descended the stairs with red eyes, a sympathetic look taking over his facial features. Making his way over to her, he watched as she grabbed her coat, shrugging it on before moving to lace up her shoes. Jared stepped closer to the older man with a concerned expression. 

"Seth asked her to go find Leah," he whispered to Danny. The older male sent him a curt nod, moving around him to talk to Rikki. 

"Going somewhere?" Rikki didn't glance up at her brother, just continued to do the laces of her converse. 

"Going to get Leah. She ran into the woods when...when Charlie told us," Rikki stuttered slightly, subtly wiping underneath her eyes. 

Danny glanced back at Sam, who was listening intently. "How did she take it?"

"She...she looked like she was about to explode. She was so angry. I've never seen her like that," Rikki stated, finally looking up at her brother. Her eyes narrowed angrily as Danny and Sam exchanged glances again, Sam signaling Jared, Paul, and Embry to follow him as he walked out the front door. She stood up to follow them, only to be tugged back by Danny. 

"No, we're leaving," Danny spoke softly as to not anger her. It didn't work.

"I'm not going anywhere until I find Leah. Not Sam, not Jared, or Paul and Embry. Me," Rikki glared harshly at him, pushing around her brother to get to the door. She had made it down the steps and was walking toward the woods when somebody hoisted her over their shoulder. 

Danny carried her kicking and screaming to his car, tossing her into the passenger side. She sobbed loudly as her emotions finally got the best of her. Danny started the car driving in the direction of their house, listen to his sister weep with a heavy heart. 

"I wanna go home," Rikki mumbled once she had stopped sobbing, still having silent tears dripping from her eyes.

"Alright, we're going home," Danny whispered, reaching over to grab her hand. He took his eyes off the road when she pulled away from him. 

"My home is with Seth, Leah, and Sue; it has been since dad died."

Danny looked away from her, running a hand through his curly hair in exasperation, whispering to himself. 

"I know."