The plane had landed in Seattle four hours later than scheduled due to a storm watch and my stomach had been in knots the whole time, my mind racing with every possible worst-case scenario about what happened with the pack and the Cullens. Mom and Chloe could tell that the worry was eating at my insides as Mom drove home, slightly going over the acceptable speed limit on the highway.

That worry didn't go away when we pulled into the driveway and Embry was sitting on our front steps, waiting anxiously. The look in his eyes was enough to stop me in my tracks, my purse dropping to the ground beside me.

"Autumn..." he called out softly, getting to his feet.

"He doesn't want to see me." I said flatly.

"Give him a couple of days to recover. He just doesn't want you to see him like this."

"I don't care! I'm going to see my boyfriend."

"Autumn," Embry said warningly. "He won't allow them to let you see him."

The moment his words sunk in, I sighed defeatedly and collapsed against the hood of my car. Mom and Chloe had gone inside to give us some privacy, although I could still see Chloe in the window; her expression was wary, her eyes locked on me letting me know she was was there just in case I needed her. I was silently grateful for my best friend as I shifted my gaze to Embry, who was nervously moving his weight between his feet.

"What happened this weekend, Embry? Spill it or else I'm driving to La Push."

"There... was a miscommunication between Paul and one of the Cullens - Emmett? He's the big one, right?" Embry continued when I nodded in acknowledgment. "We were trying to get Victoria, both the pack and the Cullens. We thought since you and Bella were going to be out of town, it would be a good plan to at least try to take care of her. And it was a good plan because she couldn't hurt either of you. If something happened to you..."

His voice trailed off before he cleared his throat, glancing at the ground. I caught the unspoken meaning and gave him a weak smile, nodding for him to go on.

"Anyways, Emmett lunged at Victoria but she jumped over the river to our side. Emmett jumped after her without thinking... and slammed into Paul. There was a standoff and they lunged at each other. We had to pull them apart, and Victoria got away."

"Does Bella know?" I asked him as I rubbed my forehead in disbelief.

"Not that I know of. She's not supposed to be back until late tomorrow morning, maybe even afternoon. At least, that's what Carlisle said this morning."

"You spoke to Carlisle?"

"Yeah..." Embry looked at me sheepishly. "He was putting a brace on Jacob's arm when I left the Cullens' house. Jacob was the one who pulled Paul off of Emmett, and he sort of dislocated his shoulder in the process. Paul shoved him back into a tree."

"Okay, I didn't need the imagery." I held a hand up, stopping him as nausea threatened to erupt from my stomach. "So, why didn't Jacob just call me instead of sending you?"

"He feels stupid, for his shoulder. Call it a bruised ego," Embry chuckled under his breath. "Plus, he knew you had a lot going on here. He didn't want to add something idiotic to your stress."

"I guess that makes sense," I mumbled disgruntledly, "but when you speak to him next, tell him I said he's 'not stress' to me either. His words, right?"

"You're right," Embry smirked softly.

"Thank you... and thanks for telling me what happened. You can go home, go get some rest."

"Actually..." Embry blushed in embarrassment. "I'm supposed to be on night patrol tonight. Keep an eye on you and Chloe. With Seth."

"Seth Clearwater?" I gasped in surprise. "When did he turn into a wolf?"

"Right after Harry's funeral. And uh... so did, uh, Leah."

"Oh boy."

"Yeah." Embry rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyways, I'm going to fill your mom in. Seth is on his way back, Sam's giving him a ride over."

I glanced at my phone and realized how late it really was the same moment my stomach decided to rumble loudly. Embry raised an eyebrow and I broke into a smile, giggling.

"Well, come inside. I'm sure Mom's making dinner, and I don't want Sam to yell at me for not feeding you."

Embry grinned at my teasing tone and followed me up the porch, not missing the way his eyes scanned the area before walking through the door. Mom smiled when we reached the kitchen, two extra plates already sitting on the counter as she worked to whip up a meal.

As Embry began to fill Mom and Chloe in, I heard the familiar sound of Sam's truck parked outside and silently excused myself. He and Seth were waiting on the porch by the time I opened the door, Sam watching me warily. I knew he was silently making sure I was okay before nodding to Seth to go inside. Seth closed the door behind him, leaving Sam and I alone on the porch.

"Don't be mad at him," Sam said quietly, his eyes focused on my face. "He's mad at himself for being reckless."

"I'm not mad," I blew my cheeks out in a huff and sat down in the new swing Mom had Charlie secure a couple of days ago. "I just wanted to see him."

"I know." Sam lingered near me, his arms crossed over his chest. "How was your visit with Lily?"

"I should've known you knew my grandma." I shook my head, grinning. "She gave me Giuliana's journals. I didn't realize there were so many, among the rest of her things. The boxes should be here within a few days, I think."

"Do you mean those boxes?" Sam nodded to the window that led to the living room, where the boxes were neatly piled in a corner.

"Yeah, those would be the boxes..."

"Looks like your grandma still has some magic up her sleeve." Sam laughed at my expression. "I have to get back. I'll make sure to tell Jacob he's an idiot and you're home safe. Oh, and Autumn?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"If you talk to Bella before Monday, don't tell her about what happened. Leave that to Cullen."

I nodded in response and Sam headed to his truck, his eyes just as cautious as Embry's a few minutes ago. The temperature dropped a couple of degrees as Sam left, and I went back into the house, shivering. Chloe met me at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes questioning.

"Sam isn't staying for dinner?"

"No, he was just dropping off Seth. He and Embry are on night patrol." I told her as we found Mom alone in the kitchen. "Speaking of, where did they go?"

"They already left to patrol." Mom said, setting our plates on the table.

"Oh. Well, I guess you'll meet Seth another time." I shrugged to Chloe. "He's like a mini Jacob, despite being two years younger than him."

"So, have you heard from Jacob yet?" Mom asked as she brought a salad bowl over to the table and sat down.

"Not directly from him," I told them what Embry told me outside. "And Sam told me not to be mad at him because he's mad at himself. I guess that's enough punishment for not telling me himself."

"I'm sure he's going to be okay," Mom patted my hand reassuringly. "Carlisle is a great doctor. And with Jacob's healing abilities, he's going to be feeling a lot better by Monday. Just give him some space, Leaf."

"Make him sweat it out." Chloe giggled into her mashed potatoes. "If his apologies are anything like his dates, you're one lucky girl."

"Yeah, I know." I giggled with her, my cheeks turning a pale pink at the thought of our date in the woods at midnight.

Despite Mom's reassurances, I couldn't help but worry about Jacob; if something had happened to him while I was out of town, the guilt would've eaten me alive. We were in too deep to not care about the other, and that alone scared the heck out of me.

* * * * *

By the time Monday rolled around, I knew there was no way I could keep avoiding Bella and her numerous phone calls. I felt horrible for blowing my other best friend off, but I had promised Sam I wouldn't say anything to her about Victoria and the guys. Mom or Chloe answered the door whenever Bella came over, giving her half-truths about me doing homework or not feeling well. I could hear the disappointment in her voice from the top of the staircase, hidden from the front door; to keep from going crazy, I hid in my bedroom with boxes of Giuliana's journals, peering over the pages that held my family history.

As I woke up for school Monday morning, my mood matched the gray clouds hanging in the sky: dark and gloomy. Sighing, I threw the comforter off of me and padded over to my closet, shifting through the hangers before deciding on a black sweater with a giant silver sequin heart on the front that Grandma Lily got me a few years ago.

Slipping the soft material over my head, I quickly finished getting dressed and grabbed a banana and a smoothie shake from the fridge before leaving for school just as Mom's alarm went off. Facing Bella after avoiding her for two days was enough for me to handle; I couldn't face Mom's concerned expression and double-meaning questions on top of it.

Pulling into my parking space at school, I sat there lost in my thoughts when a sharp knock on the window startled me. Noah peered through the passenger window, his eyes unreadable. Sighing, I clambered out of the car, grabbing my bag from the backseat.

"We need to talk." He growled, taking half a step back to let me out of the car.

"Now really isn't a good time, Noah." I said darkly, pushing past him. He grabbed my upper arm and spun me toward him.

"Stop avoiding me, Autumn."

"I'm not avoiding you," I scoffed, looking around the parking lot for any of my friends.

"Oh, really? You haven't answered any of my texts. You changed biology partners. You won't even look at me right now." He roughly tilted my chin toward him, waiting for my eyes to meet his. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about this now," I yanked away from him and spotted Edward's Volvo pulling into the parking lot. "I have to go."

"No, we're going to talk about this now. You haven't spoken two words to me since we went bowling... I thought we had a great time together. Now you're doing everything you can to avoid me. I want to know why!" He took a step toward me without realizing it, backing me against the hood of my car.

"Leave me alone, Noah. I don't have to answer to you." I hissed under my breath, my eyes narrowed. The wind whipped around us, blowing my hair behind my shoulders.

For a split second, fear flashed in Noah's eyes at the sight of me. Electricity flowed through my body, my blood charged with adrenaline. The roar of a motorcycle snapped Noah's attention away from me and I took the opportunity to kick his feet out from under him, knocking him on his butt. He glanced at me in shocked surprise as I placed my foot onto his chest, the heel of my boot pressing into his shirt.

"I don't care what you thought before, you will not bully me into anything, conversation or whatever else, just because you're a guy and I'm a girl. Yes, we did have a great time bowling, but we were never exclusively together. Now, I'm in a relationship with someone else and you better respect that. Or else we're going to have some issues."

"Do we have a problem here?" Jacob stood a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest. A look of amusement and concern passed over his face, his eyes searching mine.

"Nope." I smiled at him before shoving Noah back into the ground. "Noah was just leaving."

Straightening my sweater and picking up my bag from the ground, I intertwined my fingers with Jacob's and pulled him towards Edward's parked car, where he and Bella were waiting for us. Bella's expression was anxious as she took in the sight of Noah getting up from the ground.

"Leaf. What happened?"

"It's no big deal. How was Florida?" I hugged Bella, glancing at Edward over her shoulder; he shook his head slightly, tension radiating from his body.

"It was... good. I didn't realize how much I missed her..." Bella's voice trailed off as she noticed Jacob and Edward avoiding each other's gazes. "Okay, what's going on with you two?"

"I think you should tell her," Jacob muttered.

"Tell me what?" Bella demanded.

"There was... a misunderstanding between the pack and my family Saturday night," Edward said quietly, tilting his head toward Bella as students passed us, curious expressions on their faces.

"What kind of misunderstanding?"

"They were working together to get Victoria... Emmett almost had her, but she launched herself over into the pack territory. He jumped after her without thinking, and landed into Paul."

"And they went after each other instead of Victoria." Bella finished for him, shaking her head. "Is that what Alice's vision was about, and why you were so anxious for me to go visit my mom?"

Edward nodded reluctantly and Bella groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" She said angrily. "If anyone gets hurt because they're chasing down Victoria, that's on me, Edward! That's my fault!"

"No, it's not, Bella. This started with James," I rubbed her back.

"Is this why you avoided me when I came home?" She asked me quietly. "You knew?"

"Yes. Sam asked me not to say anything... which actually brings me to you." I turned to Jacob, who lowered his head. "Why would you try to pull Paul off of Emmett, knowing full well that you were going to end up getting hurt?"

"Wait, what?" Bella spun around to face Jacob, who sighed defeatedly.

"I'm fine. I just dislocated my shoulder. Carlisle treated me," he glanced at Edward, "which I'm grateful for."

"And I couldn't come to see you?"

"I didn't want you to see me hurt," Jacob caressed my cheek. "I knew it was stupid of me to get in between Paul and Emmett. I was mad at myself."

"I know. Sam told me when he dropped Seth off to patrol with Embry." I shook my head. "I'm not mad at you, but I am a little hurt that you told the pack not to let me see you. If the roles were reversed, wouldn't you be upset?"

"You have a point, and I'm sorry." Jacob kissed my cheek. "I have to go, your principal is on his way to break up 'a fight' between Edward and me. I can see the concerned eyebrow raise from here."

"This conversation isn't over," I called after him as he walked back to his bike. Slinging his leg over the seat, Jacob gave me a sly grin as he started the engine.

"I have an extra helmet."

"Autumn, you're not seriously going to ditch school?" Bella gasped. I turned toward her, walking backward to the bike.

"I'll see you later."

My grin as wide as Jacob's, I climbed onto the bike and wrapped my arms around his waist. Checking for cars and students, Jacob slowly eased the bike forward and took off for La Push, passing a bewildered and amused Chloe who gave me a thumbs up. Laughing at her reaction, I knew she would be waiting to bombard me with questions later.