Defining Normal | EMBRY CALL

Breaking Down

"Look, I'm just going to get straight to it," Leah says, her eyes roving the room before settling on Lex. "I don't really like having you around, but you should stay on the Rez for awhile. We can protect you better here."

Lex narrows her eyes. She's met Leah twice, if that, and yet here she is, basically spitting in her face. For what it's worth, she's never been unkind to Leah - hell, they've never even spoken - so she can't conjure a single defensible reason for why Leah'd be so unfriendly. Sure, Lex's heard the standard lines about Leah's prickliness - boyfriend-stealing cousins, dead father, yada yada yada - but it doesn't explain why she's being straight-up rude for the sheer sake of it.

Lex crosses her arms tightly across her chest, her nails digging into the soft skin at her elbows. Control. "You don't like me? Sorry, Leah, I don't remember asking," she snaps.

Kim exhales sharply. "This is a bad time. Leah, I think you should leave. Now ."

"Actually, I think I'll stay. I want to see where this goes," she says, tilting her head as she stares at Lex.

"Do I need to call Jared? Go, and this never happened."

"Never happened? Seriously?" Lex says, eyebrows raised as she turns towards Kim. She spins back to Leah a moment later, frowning. "Please, go on. Tell me exactly what I did to piss you off so bad. I've literally said nothing to you," she huffs, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Leah snorts. "And what, I'm meant to praise you for that? Oh, thank you, Queen Alexandria, for doing the absolute least. You're such a pleasure," she simpers, her voice dripping with thinly-veiled hostility.

"Leah, that's enough. I'm calling him," Kim warns, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at the taller girl.

Leah simply shrugs. "Do it. I mean what I said, Lex. I don't want you here, but you're better off here than in Forks. Take the free advice."

"You really expect me to stay here after everything you just said? I'd get it if Embry were mad at me, but you? I don't even know you!" Her voice is too high, too shrill, too affected. She hates it, almost as much as she's starting to hate Leah.

"If he even had half a fucking brain he would be angry with you, but I don't think he's had a single independent thought in months," Leah growls, her eyes narrowing into threatening little slits.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that," she hisses, her firsts involuntarily balling at her sides.

"Why? Do you really think you get him better than I do? I've known him since we were in diapers. We grew up in the same street, went to the same school, had the same friends our whole freaking lives," she says, counting it out on her fingers. "I know him. I knew him before you even fucking existed around here. You don't get to walk in here like the world revolves around your white ass," she bellows, taking a few steps backwards. Leah's hands are shaking, almost blurring as she speaks, almost as if she's trying to fight the urge to throttle Lex.

The screen door flies open with a crash, almost rocketing off the hinges from the force. Judging by the reverberating bang outside, the metal handle's probably embedded deep into the drywall, but they've got bigger issues to handle. Jared's hulking frame occupies the entire doorway, like a giant eclipsing the sun.

"Clearwater, you better haul ass before Embry hears you're here," he warns, shaking his head. "I don't even know why you came down."

"Someone had to tell her," Leah says, cocking her head towards Lex.

Jared's eyes flicker rapidly between them like he's trying to finagle some complex numbers. "Jesus, what did you say? If you even mentioned -"

"She didn't," Kim cuts in, wrapping her fingers around Jared's trembling wrist.