Lost Without You

The ride from the diner to Emmanuelle’s house was silent aside from the radio playing in the background. If it was even possible for me, my heart beat was going faster aside the fast heartbeat that I had developed when I went through the transformation. I had just seen her for the first time day in a month and not only was I happy to see her, but I imprinted on her making me nervous just being so close to her. Sam and Jared are going to have my ass for this after saying that I would be the only that wouldn’t imprint and will probably drown me with the fact that I had not only imprinted, but imprinted on my best friend.

The Jeep came to a stop in front of a small green house that I recognized as the Carter’s home where Emmanuelle and her mom lived since her dad died the same year mine did. The engine of the car was cut off, but neither Emma nor I moved from our seats in the car. It was clearly obvious that we didn’t know what to say to each other, but I knew that I had to get her to forgive me so I could be with her, my imprint. I turned to face her, opening my mouth to say something when I saw her already climbing out of the car looking at me with a look that basically told me to come inside.

I climbed out of the car and followed Emmanuelle to the front door where she unlocked it and let us in. I closed the door behind me knowing Emma hates the door being opened during any time day no matter who was with her. I turned around to find her sitting on the brown sofa that sat in the center of the small living room staring straight ahead as some of the pictures that were hanging along the wall behind the TV. I walked over to sit down on the sofa beside her, quickly glancing over the pictures seeing some of the two of us when we were growing up and the rest were of her family.

“A lot of good times we had together, huh?” I asked partly smiling.

Emma nodded her head still not looking at me. “Probably would’ve had more if you hadn’t disappeared for a month.” she said before looking at me. “Well, are you going to tell me what’s been going on with you and exactly why I haven’t seen you in almost a month?”

“I . . . I . . .” I stumbled on my words not knowing exactly what to say. “I want to start off with that I’m sorry, really sorry that I haven’t been around lately. I never meant to hurt you in any way.” I began and was about to continue thinking of a way to break it to her to make her believe me when I heard a howl coming from outside which I silently groaned to.

“What was that?” Emma asked obviously hearing it.

“I’m sorry, Em, but I really gotta go.” I said jumping up from the couch, knowing that I can’t disobey Sam’s orders.

“What do you mean you gotta go? I thought you wanted to talk to me about what’s been going on?”

“I know and I’m sorry, but I really do gotta go. Please understand.”

“Paul, if you leave I won’t sit here and wait for you. I know, well thought, we were best friends but now I’m getting the feeling that I’m being stomped all over.” Emma stated her voice cracking a little at the end and I knew that it wouldn’t be long before tears would begin to make their way down her face.

It nearly killed me to see her like that, but I really had no other choice. I leaned over to gently kiss her forehead, something that I had never done causing me to feel sparks. It made me want to disobey Sam’s call, but I didn’t want to take the chance to disappoint him. Walking out the door, I took one glance back at Emma to see her arms crossed over her chest with a few tears leaking. I forced myself to look away from her to pull the door close behind me and run for the woods to phase. The minute I phase, I heard a loud sob coming from the direction of Emma’s house and I knew that it was her crying mostly about me.

I forced myself to run away from Emma in the direction of where Sam and Jared were waiting. Along the way, I noticed that I heard not two voices that belonged to Sam and Jared, but a third one that I wasn’t familiar with. Upon arriving at the scene, I realized the call was about a new member joining the pack probably something that I could of ignored for the time being and stayed with Emmanuelle, but I already made the mistake of leaving her and arriving here at the scene.

“This is what the call was for?” I asked getting frustrated.

“Tempter, Paul.” Sam ordered me softly.

“What were you doing with Emmanuelle?” Jared asked probably had already searched through my head about why I didn’t show up to any of my classes after first and found a picture of Emmanuelle in there.

With that question, my mind drifted back to Emma starting with me seeing for the first time in first period where I had imprinted on her playing all of the time I had followed her to the beach and the diner up to the point where I left her crying. I couldn’t control my thoughts about her and before I could control them Jared began rolling on the floor laughing, well what would sound like a laugh to a wolf. I looked up at Sam hoping that he would get him to shut up, but he was just looking at me with a wolf grin obviously had already seeing my thoughts.

“You imprinted on Emmanuelle? Your best friend? I don’t believe it!” Jared continued to laugh, rolling along the floor of the woods.

For some reason, the question along with him laughing had hit a nerve and pounced on him in attack mode. I growled in his face which he automatically stopped laughing to and slightly whimpered begging me to stop, but I wasn’t going to give out that easy. I was going to pay him back for that.

“You imprinted on Kimberly? The geek? I don’t believe it!” I thought back, mocking him.

He just stared at me almost shocked that I had actually mocked him and not about something funny or along the lines of stupid but something serious that only a few shapeshifters go through. Upon saying what I had, I felt a pang in my chest and realized that it was emotionally from Jared because even though he didn’t really look at Kim in school before he went through the transformation, it still bothered him that he along with one-third of the school had called her a geek, being the kind of girl to always do what she was told.

“Sorry, man.” Jared said realizing what exactly I had felt by repeating him. “I didn’t know.”

“Now you do.” I said before turning away and running away from them heading toward Emmanuelle determind to get her to talk to me, to let me explain.