like you do | leah clearwater

embry

Can we talk?

Juliet stared at the screen, unsure of what exactly to say. It had been weeks, maybe over a month since Embry answered her. Even when she'd see him around the rez, he wouldn't spare a glance in her direction. And now, after all this time, he wanted to talk. After Jake last night, and waking up to this, Juliet wasn't sure what to think.

Yeah
When and where?

Does this afternoon at First work?

His reply was instant. Juliet's eyes narrowed, she felt like it this was planned in some way.

Sure

She hesitating, wanting to say more but she was unsure of herself. She wanted to tell him to talk to Quil, but she knew he wouldn't listen. Embry was always really stubborn. A little noise then told her that Embry had logged off, and she'd missed her chance. Sighing, she pushed away from her desk and stood up, her arms moving up slowly as she stretched her back. Walking downstairs, she could hear quiet crying so she quickened her pace. Sitting on the kitchen floor, curled up in a ball and crying, was Bella.

"Bells?" Juliet kneeled down in front of her. Bella looked up, and Juliet was surprised to see just how bad she looked. Darker circles that usual, tear stained cheeks, red eyes, and a panicked expression made Bella look far worse than she usually did these days, and it only worried Juliet more. "What's going on? Are you okay?" Bella blinked a few times before seemingly realizing where she was.

"I'm fine." She insisted, wiping her face quickly and beginning to unwrap herself from the tight ball she had just been. "I'm fine, it's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Juliet frowned, and Bella sighed.

"Charlie's going out with that hunting party." Bella said, concern weaving through her words. "To hunt those wolves."

"Yeah, he told me about that last night." Juliet mumbled. "Don't worry about him. Dad's been hunting for longer than we've been alive, everyone in town has. Besides, I doubt they'll find anything." Bella still didn't seem convinced. "Maybe you should go back to sleep, Bella. You don't look good at all."

"I have to go see Jacob." Bella was now scrambling to her feet. Juliet stood, helping Bella up and making sure she was stable on her feet. With a second, still panicked, glance at her sister, Bella hurried away up the stairs.

—————

The rain beat rhythmically against the roof of Juliet's truck. The heater was on low and quiet sounds of Starless by King Crimson floated through the speakers as Juliet turned the page of her book. The Count of Monte Cristo was a book Juliet had read many times, her copy was old and tattered though she refused to buy a new one.

"Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when the storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you."

Juliet found herself becoming lost in the words of Alexandre Dumas, as she had many times before. She'd all but forgotten why she'd driven to First Beach at all when a loud knock on the passenger side window made her jump.

"Sorry, Jules." Embry chuckled as he slipped inside the truck, pulling the door closed behind him. "Didn't know you were so jumpy these days."

"I'm not jumpy." Juliet frowned, marking her page and sliding the book onto the dashboard above her steering wheel. She sighed, turning and looking at him. Much to her surprise, he was only wearing sneakers and jean shorts, despite the cold weather. "Aren't you cold?"

"Hmm? No." He shook his head, drips of water coming off of his hair. "Anyway, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" The frown hadn't left her face. Embry sighed again, staring out at the water.

"I'm sorry I've been such a bad friend." He said. "I know that you guys were upset after I started hanging out with Sam, I just...I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Juliet sighed. "You're not a bad friend, Embry."

"Tell that to Quil." He said glumly. "I tried calling him this morning, but he refused to talk to me. He said that Jake and I were terrible friends."

"He's just upset, he doesn't really think that." She assured. "I can talk to him, too. We still talk everyday. You just need to give him time, let him process things, okay? You've been out of his life for a long time, you can't just jump back in." He nodded. He glanced at the clock, and huffed.

"Shit, I gotta go." He groaned. "Sam's gonna kill me if I'm late." Juliet's mood soured.

"Sam, right." She shifted, now facing back towards the ocean.

"He's really not that bad, Jules." Embry frowned. "I hope you two can make up someday." The look on her face made Embry sigh. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but you have to trust me, okay? Sam...he feels horrible about what happened. He hates himself for it." Juliet scoffed.

"I find that hard to believe." Her voice was far more bitter than she'd been expecting it to be.

"Well I know he does, okay?" Embry insisted. "He wants to take back what he did, change it. But he can't. It wasn't his fault."

"Wasn't his fault?" She turned back to him. "He's the one who broke up with Leah. He's the one who started dating her cousin. It's absolutely his fault!"

"I can't explain it to you, and even if I could you wouldn't understand." He huffed.

"What can't you explain to me?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why? What's stopping you?"

"Sam." He admitted, his hand now on the door. "Look, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." She didn't say anything as he exited the truck, entering the rain once again. The door shut and she watched out her rear view mirror as he walked back towards the forest, and she could swear there was steam coming off of him.