The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 7

Rhea's POV

I parked the car for the second time and slowly walked up to the front door and knocked.

A very tall, very tan man opened the door, "Yes?" he asked.

"I'm looking for Sam Uley. Billy gave me his address," I said looking down at the floor. "My name is Rhea, Rhea Swan."

"I'm Sam. Come on in."

I walked into the rustic house and was greeted by the delicious aroma of a home-cooked meal. "Sam, who is it?!" a female voice called from what I assume was the kitchen.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I'm Rhea. I was wondering if you could tell me about... about imprints," I said looking between the couple.

"Why do you want to know?" Sam asked gruffly.

"Sam," the woman scolded. "Please, Rhea, come sit. I have some fresh cookies if you would like some."

"Do you have hot chocolate?" I timidly asked.

She nodded her head and I sat across from Sam at the table. A few minutes later a cup of hot cocoa was placed in front of me. I gave the woman a quiet thank you before looking between them once again.

"Now, what is it you want to know?" the woman asked. Sam wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

I looked away from the touching moment when I felt the familiar burn of tears threatening to fall. "Is an imprint really like having a soulmate?"

"In many ways it is. It's like having someone who loves you, quirks and all."

"Can you ever ignore a soulmate, an imprint?"

"A wolf can do it's best to forget the bond but it will always fail. To a wolf, our imprint is our everything. Nothing else can compare," Sam answered.

"Wolves?"

"You mean you don't know?"

"I know about vampires but... it's okay, you don't have to explain it to me. I understand that there are secrets we all must keep."

"Can I ask how you know about imprints but not about the wolves?" Emily asked.

I lifted up the journal and set it on the table. "Apparently and ancestor of mine was let in on the secret and he wrote down something about imprints being soulmates. I just needed to know that they were real."

"That who were real?"

"Jasper... the Cullens."

A soft growl could be heard in the tiny dining room. The woman placed a loving hand on Sam's cheek and once again I looked away.

"How do you know them?" Sam asked.

I felt a lone tear leak out. "Jasper said that I was his mate, but if they are as important as you say then he must have lied... maybe it was all a lie."

Two comforting arms wrapped around me and I let the floodgates lose. All the pain that was held inside came out, all the sorrow, and even some of the anger. We stayed like that until my tears dried and my sobs turned to deep breaths. The woman handed me some kleenexes and I thanked her. The awkward silence was broken by two short loud yells. Thundering feet stormed the small house and I braced for a mob of people. It turned out to be four boys. All tan, all tall, and all wearing jean shorts-just jean shorts. I looked at their faced and recognized all of them. Embry, Jared, Jake, and... Paul.

"How come she gets to be her but I can't tell Bella," Jake complained.

I stood up from the table and walked towards the front door. "It's okay, I'll just go. Thank you both, for everything," I said walking outside to the truck.

"Rhea! Wait!" Paul called after me.

"Wait for what?!" I yelled. "Wait for you to ditch me again, wait for everyone to leave me, call me a clingy freak with no real friends. I've heard it all Paul so tell me what am I waiting for this time!"

"Wait for me to explain. I was angry and I took it out on you. There was some shit with my dad and I was showing signs of the shift and I was pissed. I was pissed at what was being said about you and pissed at my dad and I'm sorry. The last thing I ever wanted was to lose you as a friend."

"To bad. You lost me anyway." I walked over to the monstrosity of a truck and started it. Paul got in the passenger side and turned the car off before taking the keys.

"Please Rhea. Tell me what's wrong."

"You want to know what's wrong?! Everyone leaves me. You left me, my so-called friends ditched me the first chance they got, my sister hates me, my mother can't stand me, and my boyfriend lied to my face before fleeing the country; so please tell me what is so wrong with me that everyone I love leaves me?!"

"There is nothing wrong with you. You are sweet, kind, generous, annoyingly selfless, and utterly perfect. The rest of us are idiots. Please come inside, have some dinner and I promise I will tell you everything."

I slowly nodded my head and he gave me back the keys. I got out of the car and we walked back inside. There were two empty places at the table and I took the one next to the woman, who I then learned her name's Emily. True to his word Paul explained everything. From his first shift to his last patrol. He told me that he first shifted after he found out I left for Phoenix. He also assured me that he didn't imprint on me. I was more than relieved to hear him say that. I did not need another soulmate in my life.

Later that night he drove me back home and promised me that if I ever needed him that he would be there. I thanked him before going inside. Bella was pissed at me, go figure, for taking the truck all day. I chose to ignore her shouts and just told Dad that I needed today by myself. He gave me a knowing nod before telling Bella to knock it off. She let out a frustrated sigh and stomped back up to her room.

"Dr. Saunders called while you were out," Dad said watching the football game.

"Oh, what did Matt say?" I asked.

"He told me that you agreed to try a sleep aid. How come you didn't tell me you weren't sleeping?"

"I didn't want you to stress you out even more. Bella's been enough of a pain lately that I didn't want to add to the ever-growing pile."

"Please, just next time tell me if something is bothering you."

"I swear. It's been a long day, I'm gonna try and get some rest. You should do the same.