Chapter 28

I was starting to have second thoughts. I mean, let's face it, Embry should be the one standing outside my house right now. He should be the one trying to get me to talk to him, and sort things out between us. I shouldn't be here.

Honestly, I'm sick of this. Why do I have to be the one that does everything? He hurt me! I shouldn't be apologizing to him!

I shouldn't.

But I miss him.

And let's face it, if I don't act now, some stupid girl like Brianna is going to realize how amazing he is, and snatch him away from right under my nose. And I don't think I could take that.

But I'm not going to apologize. No way. In fact, I'm going to waltz right into there and tell him frankly that he's an asshole who has no idea how to treat a girl.

I stomped over to his front door, and knocked loudly, tapping my foot impatiently on the front porch. It was almost a full minute before someone opened the door, and then I came face to face with Mrs. Call.

"Hello Cheryl." She greeted, seeming surprised to see me. "Embry's not here right now, I'm afraid… In fact, I'm not entirely sure where he is, I thought he'd be with you."

"Oh…" I replied, upset. "Um, never mind. I guess I'll drop by later. Thanks."

"That's all right, dear. Did you have a good time at the dance last night? Embry told me that he was going with you."

"Hmm? Uh, yeah, the dance was uh… it was great." I lied. "Bye, Mrs. Call."

She smiled at me before closing the door, and I walked back down the steps to his front porch. That was a complete waste of time. I was about to head home, when I saw something blue flash near the trees. I stepped closer, wondering what would be blue near the edge of an evergreen forest.

It was a t-shirt. A pretty big one in fact, and I didn't have to touch it to know that it was Embry's. I'd seen him wear it before. Well, I guess that was back when he actually wore shirts most of the time.

I sighed, leaning down and picking up the shirt. I wondered if he'd left it here because he'd phased and gone into the woods. It seemed a little careless of him, to leave his clothes lying around all over the place, but that wasn't what was on my mind.

Should I go in and look for him? It's not like I was in any danger, it was broad daylight outside, and if Embry was on patrol, then he would smell me and find me, right?

"Embry!" I called out, stepping into the woods. I told myself that I wouldn't go too far in, just enough that he'd be able to hear me. I mean, he had super-sensitive hearing, after all. It wouldn't be too difficult. I cupped my hands at the sides of my mouth, so that my voice was louder. "Embry!"

He didn't respond. I dropped my hands at my sides in annoyance, and took a couple of steps further in. Could he hear me? Or maybe he just wasn't answering on purpose. Feeling a little angry, I yelled out louder, going even deeper inside. "Embry! Are you here?"

Silence.

Okay, so now I was getting pissed off. I mean, what the hell is wrong with him? He doesn't come after me, doesn't try to apologize, and when I try to talk to him, he won't even respond?

"Embry, get your ass out here!" I yelled out angrily, as I continued to walk in. "I just want to talk to you, damn it!"

There was a rustle from the bushes behind me, and I turned around in relief.

"Finally, Embry, what took you so-"

Oh my god.

That's not Embry.

"Lost, are we, sweetheart?"

I think my heart stopped beating in my chest.

"Don't be afraid…" the voice continued. It had a melodic tone to it, and knew exactly where I'd heard voices like that before.

The man stepped a little further forward, and I could see him more clearly. He was tall and sickly white, a sort of inhuman radiance around him. He gave me a slightly maniacal smile as he stepped forward, licking his lips. I continued backing away, terrified.

"Get away from me." I muttered, the fear and panic evident in my voice. I couldn't believe that of all the ways to die, I was going to die at the hands of a bloodsucker. A stinking leech.

"It' s all right. I'm not going to kill you." The creature assured me, still stepping forward. He was a good distance away from me, but I knew that it didn't matter. He could probably cross it within a second if he tried. "You're a pretty little thing, aren't you? Maybe I'll keep you… it would be nice to have a companion."

My fear turned to rage in an instant.

"I'd rather kill myself than turn into one of you." I hissed at him. Maybe if I could just buy myself some time, Embry might show up…

"Oh but sweetie, that's not up to you." He replied softly, still smiling that maniacal smile.

"You won't get away with this." I told him, but I wasn't feeling so sure. If Embry was going to come save me, wouldn't he have done it already by now? "You'll be torn to shreds if you try to lay a finger on me."

The man grinned, and in a flash, he was standing much closer to me. I stumbled backward in horror but he grabbed me by the wrist.

Then I panicked.

"Let me go!" I screamed hysterically, trying to wrench myself out of his grip. No matter how desperately I wriggled and yanked myself though, his fingers remained still around my wrist. I watched as his smile slowly dropped though, and he tilted his head to the side, expression changing.

"What the-" he began, but before he could finish, a loud growl cut him off. He let go of my hand, and I dropped to the floor in horror as a huge sand-colored shape jumped at him, pinning him to the ground. It started to bite off the vampire's limbs, and I watched in horror, feeling ready to puke as it tore him apart, bit by bit with its huge canines.

It seemed to last forever, and I closed my eyes tightly so that I wouldn't have to watch, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks. I wasn't even entirely sure if I was crying out of fear, or relief, or maybe it was just the vampire's screams of pain that were making me shudder.

"Oh my god, Cherry, are you okay?" Did he bite you?" a voice demanded, sounding worried. I opened my eyes to see a blurry Seth kneeling in front of me. The wolf was gone, and so were the vampire's remains.

"I-I'm fine." I choked out, feeling a lump rising in my throat. Seth tried to help me to my feet, but my knees just gave way again, and he seemed to decided that I was better off on the ground.

"Damn it, I- wait, I'll get Embry. He's probably on his way here already, but…" He trailed off, jumping up and running off into the bushes. I didn't want to be left alone there, but before I could ask him to stay, he was already gone.

A few seconds later, Embry burst through the bushes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He roared, once he saw me curled up there against a tree, hugging my knees to my chest. I flinched at the loudness of his voice, but I couldn't look up at him. Tears were coming down my face again, and I bent my head, trying to hold back the sobs. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was? God damn it, Cherry, I thought you had some sense!"

"I'm sorry." I muttered softly.

"You're sorry? Sorry wouldn't have done a freaking thing if that leech had killed you! What is it with you, do you have a death wish or something, huh?"

"Embry, you're scaring her." Seth's voice said softly. I think he was trying to get Embry to calm down, but it backfired on him pretty badly.

"Screw you!" he yelled, turning on Seth. "Where the hell were you when this was happening? You were patrolling this area, how could you let a bloodsucker past? Sam should never have let you patrol, you're too immature to-"

"Stop it." I hissed, pulling myself to my feet. My voice was thick with tears and emotion, and I looked a hysterical mess, but I wasn't going to let him be such an ass to Seth. "He saved me."

"Cherry, stay out of this, I'll deal with you later." Embry told me firmly.

" No, you won't deal with me later!" I retorted. "It's not Seth's fault, he saved me, the only reason I came in here was because I wanted to talk to you!"

Embry's expression faltered for a moment, as he stared at me.

"What?"

"You heard me! I came in here to talk to you, because you're being a total and complete asshole! If you'd just come and apologized, I wouldn't have had to do this! So if you're going to blame anyone, I suggest you blame yourself!"

I regretted it the instant it came out of my mouth, because I couldn't bear to see the look on Embry's face. His anger disappeared in a flash, and it was replaced by this horrible expression of guilt and pain that made my insides twist .

"You're right." He muttered, turning his face away from me. He looked broken, almost like he was going to cry. "It's my fault. I keep screwing up, again and again, and…"

I couldn't take it. I just couldn't see him like that, so torn apart and broken. I threw my arms around him and hugged him tight. His hands slid around my waist too, pulling me closer to him, as his head rested on mine. I breathed in his scent, willing myself not to cry, until I heard an uncomfortable cough behind me. Embry loosed his grip, and we both turned to look at Seth, who was shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"Um, I'm just going to, uh… yeah." He trailed off, before disappearing into the bushes. I just watched him leave silently, before turning back to Embry.

"I'm sorry, Cherry." He muttered. His hands left my waist to cup my cheeks, and I found myself looking into his eyes. "About everything. About not trusting you, about getting pissed off…. I just keep making these stupid mistakes because I can't control myself around you, and…"

"All I wanted was for you to follow me." I mumbled. "I kept hoping that you would."

"I wanted to, I just…I thought you hated me." He admitted softly. "Damn it, I hated myself at that point of time. I never thought that you… I mean, I thought…"

"Just stop thinking." I told him, with a sigh. "That's probably what's been causing all this trouble."

He chuckled at that, and I could feel his chest rumble a little when he did it.

"If you insist." He replied, smiling slightly. "I'll just go with my instincts, shall I?"

I nodded at him, and he bent his head down to my level, before pecking me on the lips softly. He started to pull away, but I pulled his head back down, and kissed him, running my fingers through his short hair as his lips moved eagerly with mine. Our bodies seemed to melt together, and I knew in that instant that I didn't give a damn what had happened between us. I needed Embry, and I always would.

"Give me another chance?" he asked me softly, once we pulled away. His forehead rested against mine, and one of his hands moved to twirl my hair around his finger.

"Promise me something first." I muttered. "I want you to trust me more. I'm not Bella, and when I tell you that I love you, I mean it. And don't ever think that I hate you. I was mad, I'll admit, but maybe it was my own fault."

"As long as you make another promise in return."

"What's that?"

"The next time you decide to take a random walk in the woods, call me first."

- x -x-

A/N – I can't help but feel that this chapter sucks. I don't know why, I guess I ever really had this in mind when I started the story off, and it's getting too clichéd for my taste. I think it's going to end in the next couple of chapters, because I feel like the more I try to prolong the story, the worse it gets.

Anyway, please review! Criticism is welcome, as long as it's honest!