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Silent and awkward.

​​That's the phrase I would have used to describe the car ride to Emily's. Usually, people only use that phrase to describe farts but it fits my current situation perfectly. I'm seated in between two people who have somehow pushed me away. On my left is Jared, who kept glancing from me to the road as he drove. To my right is my sister, who believed her problems were much worse than mine. And behind me sat the boy whose heart I had broken not too long ago. The tension was high, the awkwardness was deadly, and the cab was silent. It truly was silent but deadly.

"Jake should've warned us," Embry commented. The small window behind me slid open and Embry and Jared began to fill the silence. I felt Bella tense but I gave her a hand a small squeeze and she slowly began to relax once again. "But then again he shouldn't have brought his girlfriend with him."

​"It wasn't Bella's presence that upset him." I could feel them staring at me but I kept my gaze on my lap. "Jake bringing Bella got him mad, but having Clary there made it worse. He makes the choices he does so he can keep those close to him safe and well, now he can't do that."

"Because he doesn't want a repeat of what happened to Emily," Embry concluded.

​​"Some secrets shouldn't be kept a secret," I muttered quietly, though I knew they could hear me.

"Maybe those secrets should," Jared replied.

"Not if those secrets cause more harm if they're unknown." I retorted. Jared didn't respond but Embry did.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. The wolf's out of the bag, literally." He let out a chuckle.

​​​​​"Oh hey, when we get to Emily's, don't stare. It bugs Sam." Jared warned Bella.

"Why would I stare?" Bella mumbled.

"Well like you saw today, hanging with wolves has high risks," Jared began. "And unfortunately, Emily learned that the hard way." I knew this story. Not the version he told but I knew it. She wasn't attacked by a bear, she was clawed by a wolf - Sam. "Your truck is slow." I snorted. It was an unattractive sound but it made Jared laugh.

​​​"Don't bash the truck, she'll insult you to death." I teased my sister. She glared at me but glanced away sheepishly when Jared looked at her.

​​"Sorry." Bella stupidly apologized.

"It's fine. You know, it might just take us a day or two to get to Emily's." Jared joked.

​"Ignore him." I glared at him. Bella nodded at my words and looked out the window. It didn't take us much longer to get to Em's. I was glad that the awkwardness of the car ride was finally over but more was about to come. None with Emily, but lots with the other boy I had yet to confront.

Bella yanked open the door after the truck was parked and I was instantly hit with the heavenly smell of Emily's cooking. I climbed out of the truck quickly and stood at Bella's side. "Remember, don't stare at Em. You'll only anger Sam more." I warned her quietly. She nodded curtly and together, we slowly trekked towards the house. The door was already wide open as Embry and Jared had just barged in a second before us. I climbed the porch steps first and walked inside the house I cherished more than my own.

​"Clary!" Emily exclaimed. I sent her a wide smile and bounded into her open arms. She hugged me tightly, nearly cutting off my air supply.

"Hey Em." I smiled and returned the hug. She released me and she turned toward Bella. Bella stood in the doorway awkwardly and smiled at us.

"So this is the vampire girl." Em joked.

"And you're the wolf girl." Bella teased back. "But wouldn't Clary be a vamp girl too?"

"Well, I'm just engaged to one. And Clary has run with wolves forever, she'll always be a wolf girl first." Emily smiled warmly at my sister and held a muffin out to her. Bella grabbed it and thanked her before munching away on it.

​​"Ain't that the truth! She's a wolf girl through and through!" Jared and Embry cheered.

"No yelling in the house." Emily scolded them. The boys mumbled an apology and quickly went back to their muffins. Before anything else could be said, the sound of footsteps on the porch caught our attention. Sam marched inside and without a glance towards any of us, he made his way to Emily and softly kissed her hello.

"Hey, I'm trying to eat here," Jared complained.

"Then shut up and eat," Sam smirked at him before kissing Emily once again. Jared and Embry both made sounds of disgust but didn't say anything else about the PDA happening not too far from them. Laughing was soon heard and I moved towards the living room as Paul and Jake finally showed up. Jake quietly took Bella's hand and led her outside. She closed the door behind them and I was left alone with the boys I hadn't planned on seeing.

​​​They all turned towards me and just stared. I couldn't hide my discomfort, despite how hard I tried to. I couldn't handle it. So I walked away. I retreated into the guest bedroom and shut the door. I didn't lock it, that would have been pointless. They could just easily break it down. I say on the bed and clutched one of the pillows to my chest. I could hear them talking in the other room, their hushed whispers, frantic pacing. They wanted to come to talk to me but they couldn't decide who to send.

It grew quiet suddenly. A single set of footsteps marched down the hallway and three knocks rapped against the door. I mumbled a quiet "Come in." I didn't look up from my lap so I didn't know who was beside me. The bed dipped down and I felt a warmth envelop my side.

​​"Clary." It was Paul, they sent Paul. "If you've always known, why didn't you say something?" I shrugged in response. "We didn't mean to leave you like that, we just wanted to keep you safe."

​"You can't though," I whispered. "Not with Victoria around."

"Who's Victoria?" He asked.

"Someone who is trying to kill Bella and me," I told him. "The same one who hospitalized me."

"The red-headed leech?" I nodded and tried not to flinch at the nickname he used. "We have to tell Sam."

"By the way, you never said sorry," I mumbled and fiddled with my charm bracelet.

"A simple 'I'm sorry isn't good enough." He replied. "You deserve better." His words hit me hard. He's said these words to me before, right after Emmett left. "I'll tell Sam about the leech, but he wants to talk to you." I nodded and the bed shifted as he stood up and left the room.

The sound of a throat clearing was the only noise Sam made as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He sat at the foot of the bed and waited for me to make the next move. I nibbled on my bottom lip before slowly scooting to his side. He turned to look at me and as I met his eyes that were all it took for me to break down.

I sobbed into his shirt and he held me close. "You left me!" I cried. He cradled my head into his chest and I felt him nod his head. "You broke your promise! Why?!" He didn't answer but his hold tightened. He picked me up gently and sat me on his lap. "You promised," I whispered.

"I didn't want to." He stated. "I had to keep you safe and with the vampire running around it wasn't safe for you here."

"I'm not safe anywhere unless I'm here Sam," I mumbled. "Promise you won't leave me again."

​"I promise." He kissed my hair tenderly. "No more secrets, surprises, nothing but the truth."

Maybe this promise will be kept.

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"Perfect, we have bait." Jared creepily smiled at Bella. I chuckled because I knew he was kidding but Jake and Bella didn't. They both glared at him, one fearfully and the other, hatefully. Before any of us could move, Jake grabbed the closest thing to him - a muffin - and chucked it at Jared's face. Jared grabbed it before it could make contact and smirked smugly at Jake. I giggled as Jared lifted the muffin to his mouth and took a bite.

"Bella is not bait," Jake growled.

"Relax, I didn't mean it that way." Jared rolled his eyes. "Besides if we used Bella then we'd have to use Clary too, and I would rather die than send her out as bait." Jared glared at Jake.

"Thanks, jared, glad to know you care." I grinned.

"Don't worry girl, I got your back." He patted his chest and winked at me.

"No one is being used as bait." Sam declared in his booming voice. "We will decide on a plan on another day when we all have a clear mind." We all nodded in agreement. The sound of a horn honking drew our attention just as Bella's phone rang.

"Dad's here." She looked at me. I looked at Sam and Emily and they both nodded, seeming to know what I was about to ask.

​"I think I'm going to stay here tonight, "I told Bella. She nodded and gave me a quick hug before leaving the house, Jake following right behind her. "So," I turned back to the pack. "What's for dinner?" They all smiled and laughed. Paul tapped the chair beside him and I sat down. He handed me a muffin and I happily took a bite out of it.

"So are you still a cheerleader?" Jared teased and Embry laughed.

"I am. And we got new uniforms, you should see them, the skirt is shorter. The guys on the team love them, it helps them stay motivated throughout a game."

​​​"But it's not even football season anymore." Embry pointed out.

"Doesn't mean we can't still motivate the players." I shrugged. "Which reminds me, there's a party on Monday and I was hoping you'd take me shopping Em." She smiled and nodded.

"Do you happen to need a plus one?" Embry asked at the same time Jared asked why someone would have a party on a Monday.

"Monday is the beginning of Spring Break and I already have a plus one."

"Makes sense," Jared commented.

​"But who's the plus one?"

"Quil." And that started an uproar. Paul growled, Embry protested, and Jared began to fake cry. I rolled my eyes and finished eating my muffin. Sam and Emily laughed and I smiled warmly at them. They shook their heads and watched as the boys continued their antics. They had moved on from their protesting and had begun fighting on who would be the better date. Jared was out of the bidding seeing as his girlfriend Kim had plans for the two that night.

Eventually, Paul won. He rejoiced until I told him Quil was still going with me. He pouted and sat back in his seat and ignored me for the rest of the night.

Boys could be so dramatic. But I was grateful for the distraction because there was one thing that still weighed on my mind. I still hadn't listened to that dang voicemail.