like you do | leah clearwater

trust me

"Paul, I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Juliet ran through the open back door, Paul about ten feet in front of her. Embry and Quil were still at the table, both just about dead from laughing so hard. Paul was also laughing as he took off running around the side of the house, though Juliet followed him closely. As she rounded the corner the front of the house, Leah saw her and moved over, catching Juliet as she was running by. "Let me go, Leah! I gotta fucking get him." Paul had now stopped in the doorway, a smug smile on his face.

"Tired yet, Jules?" Juliet struggled against Leah's firm grip. Paul laughed again before moving into the house. Juliet stopped struggling, huffing angrily.

"Not that I'm opposed to you murdering Paul, but I would like to at least know why." Leah chuckled, and Juliet turned around in her arms.

"He broke my paint brushes." Juliet frowned. "Snapped them in half!"

"Why?" Leah raised her eyebrow.

"Because Embry bet him that he couldn't." She scowled. "He's dead, too." Leah snorted.

"Can you kill them later? We have a meeting in a few minutes." Juliet still scowled, but nodded. "Thank you." Juliet sighed, her arms snaking over Leah's shoulders.

"I hate them." She sighed. "Now I can't finish my painting."

"I'll buy you some new ones tomorrow." Leah assured. "I saw a set that would love when I was in Port Angeles this morning."

"You don't have to go all the way to Port Angeles." Juliet said. "I can buy some in town, it's fine."

"No, don't worry about it." Leah shook her head. "It's a nice run, honestly. I don't mind."

"Leah..." Juliet didn't want Leah wasting her money on something she could easily buy herself. Especially since she was working less and less these days, being so busy with the pack and everything.

"Stop being all gross and come inside!" Embry yelled out the door. Juliet sighed, pulling away from Leah, though their hands found each other quickly.

"Embry, you're dead!"

——————

"Hey dad." Juliet hadn't been to the house or the station in a few weeks, so she was pretty relieved to see Charlie stepping into Billy's house. Unsurprisingly, his arms were full of two cases of Rainer beer.

"Jake, help me out here." Jake got off the couch easily lifting the heavy cases from Charlie's arms and stalking towards the kitchen. Ever since Bella had "chosen" Edward over him, he'd been depressed. Though, Juliet figured he never would've had much of a chance anyway. "Hi Jules." Charlie wrapped her in a hug, and she was glad to accept it.

"How's things been?" She asked. She wasn't surprised to see that Bella wasn't with him, but she couldn't help herself. "Where's Bella?"

"She went to visit Renee this weekend." Bella raised her eyebrows. "Apparently, the Edward's parents gave her plane tickets for her birthday last year and they were about to expire."

"You let Bella go to Florida with him?" Her throat was dry.

"You know how she gets about him." Charlie grumbled. "Anyway, Renee wanted you two to visit. I would've rather sent you with her."

"Yeah." Juliet nodded. "Hey, it's just a weekend, right? No big deal." Charlie sighed, nodding before moving further into the party. Juliet darted outside, to where Leah was still sitting.

"What's wrong?" Leah noticed the look on Juliet's face as she sat down.

"She went to Florida with him, alone." Juliet's words were panicked and fast. "Leah, what if something happens. Not just to Bella, what about my mom and Phil?"

"Relax, Jules, take a breath." Leah's hands came to rest on the sides of Juliet's face, as they often did when Juliet started to panic. Juliet mimicked the deep breathing Leah had started doing, and had soon calmed enough for Leah to speak again. "Everything will be alright, Jules. As...as much I as I hate to say it, the bloodsucker did say he wouldn't turn her. And we do know they don't feed on humans."

"Are you telling me to trust the words of a vampire?" Juliet frowned.

"No, I'm telling to you trust me." Leah said. "I hate myself for it, but I believe him. I don't think he's gonna do anything to Bella. Especially not when Charlie knows where she went with him, and when they're around Renee." Juliet sighed. "Will you trust me?"

"Always." Juliet mumbled. Leah's hands finally moved from Juliet's face, taking her hands. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here." Juliet sighed.

"Die, probably." Juliet snorted. "You're lucky it hurts me to be too far from you."

"Yeah, I am."

—————

The pack had all left Billy's party early, and this was not lost on Charlie. It then fell to Billy, Sue, Emily and Juliet to keep him distracted long enough for him to forget. Jared and Paul had been out on patrols while the party was going on, and had picked up the scent of a vampire on their territory. They'd been tracking one in particular, a female named Victoria who was tying to get to Bella. Apparently, back in Phoenix the year pervious, Bella had actually gotten attacked by a vampire named James, though the Cullen's saved her and killed him. Victoria was James' mate, and wanted to kill Bella as revenge against Edward.

Of course, this story had sent Juliet into a spiral. One that Leah was sure to punch Jake for causing, though he still insisted that she should know. The second that they had picked up the scent, Paul raced to Billy's and the pack were gone in and instant. Sue was especially displeased that Seth was so eager to go vampire hunting, but all of them were-besides Leah. Now, it was just a waiting game for news, and distracting Charlie also served as a distraction for the other four. It got later and later, and eventually it was time for Charlie to head home. Juliet followed him out to his cruiser, trying to stall. She didn't like the idea of him being home with no protection, but she knew she couldn't keep him forever.

"Jules, can I ask you about something?" Charlie's cautious tone raised all kinds of alarms, though her expression remained neutral.

"Sure, what's up dad?" She leaned against the hood of the cruiser, trying her best to look relaxed.

"It's nothin', really." Charlie rubbed his neck. "I just, uh...I noticed that you and Leah..." Juliet's blood ran cold. "You two just seem to be real comfortable. It almost seemed like she hurt every time you weren't at her side." He chuckled.

"Oh, yeah." Juliet did her best not to panic. "We've uh, we've definitely become a little dependent on each other since I moved out here." Juliet tried to think quickly, avoiding looking directly into Charlie's eyes for fear he could tell she was lying. "And...well, you know how Leah is. She's still, you know...grieving and everything. She's a little emotional right now." Charlie nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer.

"Yeah, yeah course." He put a hand on the door handle before dropping it, stepping forward to hug Juliet. She hugged him back, trying not to be so stiff. "I miss you, kid."

"Miss you too, dad." They pulled away, and Charlie pulled the door open.

"Come into town sometime this week, huh? Maybe we could go out for dinner or something." He suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good dad." She nodded. "I'll call you." Charlie nodded, and got into the cruiser. She watched him pull away before she returned to the house. The distraction of keeping Charlie busy now gone, the room was tense. It wasn't that the pack was hunting Victoria, it was that she had come into Quileute land. She was getting more and more bold every time they picked up her scent, and everyone feared that it was only a matter of time before the worst possible scenario became reality.