Liplocked Lullabies

“Where’s Embry?”

I raised an eyebrow staring at him.

Ignoring the fact I was in shorts and an old t-shirt, and the fact that it was eight in the morning, I was perfectly fine.

“He went out with Sam.”

“Again?”

Jacob sighed, running a hand through his hair.

He had grown since the last time I saw him, but then again, so had Embry.

Though Jacob had grown about five inches, Embry had literally shot up. His once five-six figure was well past six-four now.

He had bulked up also, and it was so sudden, I was worried what had brought on this random transformation.

As far as I knew, I had never seen Embry even lift a weight. So why had he gained at least ten pounds in muscle?

I didn’t think that much of it though, and dismissed it as the affects of puberty.

“You can come in if you want.” I opened the door a little wider, attempting to hide my half-naked body.

“Um…” he looked around nervously. “I’m not sure if Bella wants to.”

I glanced down at the girl clung to his side and raised an eyebrow.

I didn’t even notice she was there.

But then again, I had been staring at Jacob the whole time.

She blushed slightly before shrugging.

“Sure, let’s go.”

She walked in but managed to trip on our patio step, Jacob leaning in to catch her.

I glanced at them both, and realized that they were probably a couple.

Why had he bought his girlfriend to my house?

Right.

He was looking for Embry.

Not me.

He could care less about me.

“Are you guys hungry?” Bella shrugged, looking awkward and uncomfortable.

Jacob nodded eagerly, leading this Bella character to the kitchen.

“So…Bella.” I stated, staring at her.

Brown hair. Brown eyes. She seemed so ordinary.

What did Jacob see in her?

“What’s up?”

“Nothing much.” She looked at me cautiously. I would too, if I was her. “Have I seen you before?”

“Doubt it. I’ve never seen you before.”

“Oh.”

“I’m Journey.” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Yes that’s my actual name.”

“Oh.”

“Is that all you can say?”

“Journey!” Jacob scowled.

Oh my god. He was protecting her!

“So, you needed Embry because…?” I said, turning to Jacob.

Maybe if I ignored Bella, she would disappear.

“Embry’s going to help Jake and I find some car parts.”

No such luck. I felt like shooting her right now.

“Oh.”

My turn to look like the retard.

Bella didn’t look like a mechanic, and since she could barely stand on her two feet for two long, I’m guessing I was correct.

As if reading my mind, she shrugged.

“Jake‘s the mechanic.”

“Well, maybe if you come back later…” I said, feeling uneasy at the fact that Jacob and his girlfriend were alone in my house.

Jacob had already scarfed down the sandwich that he had just finished making, and I was all too ready for him to leave.

“That would be good.” Jacob nodded, and I wondered how he and Bella had met each other. They seemed so different. “Can you tell Embry I stopped by?”

“Sure.” I nodded and proceeded to force a fake smile at Bella, who was grabbing Jacob’s hand to leave. “Anyway, I have some calculus homework to do…”

“Bye.” He nodded.

“Bye.” I muttered, before shutting the door and exhaling.

I heard the purr of Jacob’s car as it started up, and once it was safely in the distance, I looked out the window.

I had always had a small crush on Jacob, but he never seemed to return the favor.

He had dated a few girls, but as far as I knew, he was single.

But apparently, I was wrong.

And I had Bella as all the evidence I needed.

Something clicked for me, when Jake signed my cast back when I was ten.

He was so sad, and looked sp guilty anytime he saw me.

He stayed like this for months, but finally I told him it was okay, and I had already gotten my cast off so everything was healed.

He was so kind to me after that, but now I realized that it wasn’t because he liked me, but because he felt so guilty for breaking my arm.

I had gotten my hopes up and thought that he liked me, and even had a crush on me.

At that age, all my friends still thought that boys had the “cooties”, but I had other ideas. Let’s just say I’ve always been a little boy-crazy.

Either way, I followed Jacob around for weeks, until he got sick of me and went back to ignoring me and playing with Embry.

I was a little heartbroken, and I realized that the crush would probably go away just like many other boys I had “accidentally” kissed on the cheek.

But the crush never did go away, and even five years later, his name still sent a small tug on my heart.

Whatever.

I sat around for a while, before doing my calculus.

Halfway through my homework, I heard the door slam and footsteps were pounding on the staircase. I peeked out my door and saw an exhausted Embry clamber to his room.

“Embry?” I called softly, walking into his room.

He looked extremely tired.

Dark circles pulled at the bottom of his eyes and his eyebrows were furrowed. His eyes began to droop, and he yawned.

He gave me a weary smile in acknowledgement before stretching out on his bed. He was already too tall to fit in his bed, and his feet stuck out slightly.

“You were gone almost the entire night!” I watched him carefully as he nodded, probably totally unaware of what was going on. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Jay.” He muttered. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Are you on drugs?”

“No.”

“Are you drinking?”

“No.”

“Are you suffering from post-break up stress?”

He laughed at the last one.

“I’d tell you if there was something really wrong with me, okay?”

“Okay…” I eyed him skeptically, and instantly knew that he was lying. I

decided not to push it, and told him to get some rest. I would ask him when he was actually awake.

“Goodnight.” He mumbled, though it was muffled by his pillow.

“It’s nine-fifteen in the morning.” He grumbled something incoherent, and I chuckled, before closing the door.

My Embry.