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     𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃 A FEW DAYS LATER, Sophie headed into her bathroom after watching a movie with her parents, she was wearing her pyjamas, grey pyjama shorts and a black tank top with her grey bunny slippers and her hair was tied up into a high ponytail.

She placed her plastic water bottle on her nightstand and headed over to her window to close the blinds only for a shadow in the woods to catch her eye. The same shadow she'd been seeing and she leaned her hands onto the windowsill, staring closer at the shadow before she flinched as it moved, circling a tree and heading further into the woods, disappearing from view.

Sophie furrowed her brows, a little confused as to why she kept on catching a shadow stood facing towards her house and once she looked back at it, it would disappear, it freaked her out but she closed her blinds nonetheless and headed out of her bedroom.

She rushed down the stairs and opened the living room door to catch something else, only it was worse and she rapidly smacked her hand over her eyes, "Ah!" Sophie screamed, running back up the stairs. To sum it up, she found her mother shirtless on the couch, unbuckling her father's jeans.

On her way back up the stairs, she squeezed her eyes shut out of disbelief only to trip on the top step, grazing her knee, making her yelp out again but in pain this time instead of fear. She quickly stabilised herself and made her way into her bedroom, closing the door behind her to lean against it.

Most kids have seen their parents in action, that was a fact but Sophie couldn't help but be completely grossed out by it, and quite frankly, pretty traumatised too. She switched her light off and sat down on her bed, climbing under the sheets and hiding under them.

The whole scenario kept playing out in her mind, making her grimace every time and she couldn't sleep, that was until a knock erupted on her door but she didn't reply, even when her mother's soft voice sounded, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut, "Honey? Are you awake?"

The door opened a crack, Corrine's head poking through to check on her daughter but once she saw her figure under the sheets, she nodded, leaving the room and closing the door behind her, heading into her bedroom with a strong feeling of regret.

She ignored her, mostly because she didn't feel like speaking to anyone but also because she was still grossed out, even an hour later. It took quite a while for Sophie to fall asleep and she was silently thanking the heavens that it was a Saturday the next day because she definitely couldn't go to school with such little sleep.

But little did she know, as she slept through the morning under her sheets, purple smoke engulfed her hand, lighting up the darkness between the duvet, illuminating the entire room and from afar, Sam Uley watched as a bright purple light shone through her blinds before it just disappeared, never to be seen again... or so he thought.

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THE NEXT MORNING, Sophie woke up pretty late in the morning and exited her bedroom ironically at the same time her father did, the two staring at each other awkwardly but before he could open his mouth to speak, she practically ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

To be honest, it was as awkward for Henry as it was for Sophie, never in a hundred years did he ever want his daughter to see what she did and he was so afraid that it would cause their relationship to fall apart. He dragged a hand down his face and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen to rant about his worries to his wife, who was busy making a brunch for some guests who were coming over in an hour.

In the bathroom, Sophie was brushing her teeth rushingly, wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible. She spat out the remaining toothpaste in her mouth and made her way out of the bathroom, straight into her bedroom. Once in her bedroom, she opened up her closet, searching for something to wear.

After a few minutes, she'd decided on a pair of black jeans and a grey flannel shirt, pulling on her Vans to go with the outfit. She brushed through her mocha hair and left it how it was, grabbing her bag and cell before leaving the room, heading down the stairs.

She argued with herself in her mind on whether or not she should say goodbye to her parents, but she knew they'd know that she was going to Embry's yet she still had that debate with herself. Eventually, she decided not to hold a grudge, something she was unable to do and she entered the kitchen, forcing a small smile towards her parents.

Henry was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest whilst Corrine placed different cheeses on a wooden board, making a beautiful charcuterie board and Sophie's smile grew just a slight bit at the sight.

Her father noticed her first, his eyes widening a little in surprise but he quickly fixed himself, acting as casual as possible, "Hey, daughter, where're you off to?" Henry asked, his words immediately throwing him off his game and Corrine chuckled, turning around to grin at the youngest St. James.

"Embry's, I just wanted to say goodbye." She informed them, adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder and Corrine nodded, spinning around and approaching her with her arms out for a hug, to which Sophie took a step back, shaking her head, "Too early."

"Sorry." Corrine froze in her tracks, wincing slightly as her daughter exited the room quickly, heading straight out of the front door. She hopped down the porch steps and unlocked her car, climbing into the driver's seat.

For music, she decided to try someone new and The Cranberries began to play, making her smile. Her voice was so beautiful and she would definitely be listening to the band more often.

When she arrived at the house, she just walked in, knowing none of the people in the family would mind, that was until she walked into the living room doorway in search of anyone to find a dark-haired man sat on the couch, a beer in his hand as he watched the television.

His cocoa eyes locked onto her green ones as soon as she stepped into view and she furrowed her brows, unsure of who was sat in her best-friend's living room. Sophie opened her mouth to speak when he looked away, unbothered by her present and her head snapped up the stairs at the sound of somebody hissing towards her.

Embry was leaning over the banister at the top of the stairwell, waving his hand gesturing for her to come upstairs and she immediately complied, rushing up the steps and following him into his bedroom, "Embry, who the hell was that?" Her voice was hushed, knowing the Call's walls were like paper mache.

"My dad." He replied, slumping down onto the edge of his bed and Sophie quickly dropped her bag to the floor by the door, sitting down beside him to give him a tight embrace. Embry had cried in front of her quite a few times, and she had broke down before him countless times as well, but unlike she'd expected, Embry didn't cry, he just hugged her back in silence as if he was emotionless.

It was as if his father, who he didn't even know anything about, meant nothing to him and she certainly couldn't blame him one bit, the man didn't deserve Embry's love, sweat or tears — not even a little bit.

They stayed like that for a while, and Sophie told herself she wouldn't pull away until he did, allowing him to take as much time as he needed until he felt comforted enough. Once they split apart, a tear fell down her cheek for reasons that were unknown and she giggled a little, wiping the tear from her lightly freckled cheek.

"Sorry, I don't even know why I'm crying." She laughed again, wiping her eyes and Embry began to laugh, a little confused as to why she was crying but he knew she was pretty emotional when it came to those she loved, so he mostly understood.

"You care too much." Embry fell back onto his bed but he didn't stay in that position for long when he sat back up again, his eyes wide in shock, "Shit, I forgot I have to babysit Seth Clearwater because there's an adult meeting. That's why my dad's here." He rolled his eyes, standing up from the bed and he looked down at her with a smirk, holding out his hand to her, "You want to join me? It's only, like, a ten minute walk to Harry Clearwater's house."

"Sure!" Sophie grinned, her tears long gone as she placed her hand in his, jumping up from the bed and they both walked out hand—in—hand, Sophie quickly grabbing her bag before they completely left the bedroom.

They walked straight past Embry's dad and headed straight out of the house, his mom was helping with preparing the food with Lucy Ateara and she also knew about the babysitting situation. He owed his father no explanation.

"It's been so long since the sun's been out." Sophie stated, staring up at the bright sky and Embry chuckled in agreement, swinging their hands between them.

"I've never actually been cold, you know. It's weird." He shrugged and she looked over at him with a look that was practically screaming that he was crazy, causing him to laugh a little with a playful roll of his eyes, "I know, I know, it's odd. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's a blessing." Sophie declared and he nodded, completely agreeing with her. He did overheat sometimes though, most of the time in the lowest of temperatures which was super strange, but he usually brushed it all under the rug.

It went silent for a couple minutes as they walked along the pathway on a road hidden by hundreds of trees, heading towards where the Clearwater home was when someone on a motorbike rolled down the road and Sophie knew exactly who it was as they slowed down, coming to a halt beside them.

He pulled off his helmet and his long hair fell out perfectly down his back, a grin on his lips mostly towards Embry, "Hey, guys!" Jacob greeted, placing his helmet on one of the bike handles and he climbed off, immediately wrapping Embry in a hug.

"Nice bike, bro." Embry complimented, his eyes glued to the idle motorcycle and once they pulled away, Jake looked over at Sophie, a much softer smile now on his face.

"Hug?" He offered, his eyebrows raised a little and she shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. His smile faltered a tad at her rejection but he internally accepted it, turning back to Embry, who was staring at the bike, "I just built it, got all of the parts from my dad's old bike. It's neat, huh?"

"It's awesome!" Embry took a few steps forwards, inspecting the vehicle with a huge grin, clearly jealous and Jacob chuckled, walking over to stand beside him.

"Anyway, are you going to babysit Seth?" Jacob asked, his eyes momentarily flickering over to Sophie, who had her eyes locked onto the side of his face until he looked over, causing her to snap her eyes away from him, her cheeks going red. Just because she got over him doesn't mean that she still doesn't find him attractive...

"Oh, yeah because of that whole meeting thing. Do you know what it's about?" Embry stood up straight, pushing some of his hair behind his ear and Jacob shook his head in denial, his eyes flickering over to Sophie again, only to find her staring at some birds that were jumping around in a nearby tree tweeting quietly. That made him smile a little.

"My dad keeps a lot from me, so I don't know. Sorry, dude. You should probably get going though before Sue murders you." Jacob joked, patting Embry on the back as the two began to laugh and once it died down, he looked over at Sophie, but she had distracted herself with the birds, so he thought it would've been best not to pry.

He climbed back onto his bike and pulled on his helmet, tying it properly and as he revved the bike, Sophie looked over, acting nonchalant to his departure, "I'll see you later, Jake." Embry waved at him and Jacob nodded with a smile, flicking down the visor before he reeved it once more, driving off down the road.

Embry watched him disappear down the long and narrow road and turned around, smiling over at Sophie, who smiled back at him, "Time to see Seth!" She began to walk down the path with a grin, practically running towards the Clearwater house and Embry chuckled, rushing after her.

"You walk so fast!" He complained and just as he caught up to her, she began to run off, causing him to laugh even louder, chasing after her, "Hey!"

"Catch me if you can! I'm faster!" Sophie teased, looking over her shoulder to look at him only for him to speed past her, making her slow down a little with furrowed eyebrows. She stopped completely and watched as he sped around the corner, a confused expression on her pale face.

It wasn't that he was faster than her, that wasn't why she was confused, she was confused because he was faster than anybody she'd ever seen, he was so fast he could win in an Olympics race or win in a race against a coyote. He was impossibly quick and to be completely honest, it terrified her.

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AME SPEAKS !!

this is probably the only author's note i'll do but i just have to say...

i had to incorporate the walking in on her parents IT HAD TO BE DONE IM SORRY

anyway, hope you enjoyed! kinda boring, i know but it'll get juicier soon i promise :)

@amxliewrites — 2024