𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬. sam uley

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

He talks to Jacob first because that's where the awkwardness is. Sam tells him how sorry he is, that he was wrong, but he only had the best interest for the town in mind when he tried to make his idea an action. Jacob takes it with a grimace and then he says, "It's okay, Sam. Looking back on it, I get it. I know why you did it. You were protecting everyone. I was protecting Bella. I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have left so abruptly."

And it's easier than he thought it would be. Sam claps Jacob on the back and smiles, and Sage is right because then he talks to Seth and Embry and Quil and everything is okay there, too. They're not angry. They missed his pack, too. They would love to go on a run with them.

Talking to Leah is harder. Sam goes over to her house one day when he knows that she's home, and Sue answers the door, a surprised smile on her face when she sees it's Sam.

"Sam! Nice to see you, honey!" She brings him in for a hug and Sam accepts hesitantly, patting her back until she pulls away.

"Hi, Sue," he says. "Is Leah around?"

Her gaze turns cautious. Sam tries to assure her it's not like that through his own.

"She's here," Sue says. "She's in her room. You can go up if you want."

Sam nods. He takes the stairs two at a time and reaches the second floor in less than two seconds. Leah's room is the last one on the right, and he walks towards it, feet getting heavier the closer her gets.

He steels himself before he can cower away, knocking on the white wooden door when he reaches.

"Come in," Leah calls from inside.

Sam enters.

It's the same as it's always been but different somehow. The blue on her walls seem different than when they were dating. The bed seems smaller, pushed in the corner where Leah sits on it, pen held in her hand as she stares at Sam with a surprised smile. Her laptop is open in front of her, and she seems to be working on something. Maybe Sam should have waited to come. Maybe he shouldn't have done this at all.

"Sam?" she says, breathes out unsteadily like she can't believe he's in here. "What're you doing here?"

Sam doesn't know. He had a speech planned, but it all flew out the window when he saw her sitting there on her bed, glasses sitting on her nose because even though she's a werewolf and has perfect vision, she still has trouble reading without them.

"Uh, well, I came to talk to you," he finally spits out, stepping into her room. Can't back out now.

"About?" She sounds hesitant, which Sam understands. He would be hesitant if she suddenly wanted to talk to him about something.

"Well, okay, getting right to the point." Sam wrings his hands out in front of him. He stares earnestly at Leah. "I came to talk about us."

"Us?" Leah sounds disbelieving.

"Yes." Sam stares at her, swallowing his nerves.

Leah sighs, the disbelief morphing into something else. He thinks she expected this sooner or later. Sam did.

"Alright," she says. "Go on, then." Leah gestures to the desk chair, and Sam takes a seat in it, using his feet to stop it from rolling anywhere.

"Well, I think you knew that this was going to have to happen sooner or later," he says.

Leah nods. "Yeah, I thought so. I figured it'd happen when you imprinted. I'm glad it was you, though. I was too chickenshit to say anything."

Sam's eyebrows raise. This is new. "I just-" How does he start it? "I. . . For so long, when I pictured a future, it was one with you."

Leah blushes, and Sam is glad that he is not the only one still affected by the other. "I-yeah, me too. You were the only person I pictured a future with."

"I thought that even though we didn't imprint on each other, we could have still been something because we were great." Leah nods, agreeing with him. "And then you imprinted and broke up with me and I don't think that was really fair, Leah. It wasn't, the way that you suddenly broke up with me the same day you imprinted, and it was awful. You broke my heart."

"I know," she says sadly. "I know I did, Sam. I am sorry about that. I've always wanted to tell you how much I was sorry. How much I wish I could have taken it back. I wished for so long to take back the imprint."

"Why didn't you at least try to fight for us?" he asks because he needs to know. He was heartbroken, then, and even though he is better now, the question still remains.

Leah's hair curtains her head when she hangs it. "I don't know, Sam. I thought because of Paul and Jared-their love stories. They sounded-I don't know. I loved you so much, but I couldn't help the pull Elis gave me, and it felt-right. It felt so right to be with him. He was so welcoming of me, and I didn't want to prolong the inevitable. Neither of us deserved to suffer."

A little something breaks in Sam's heart at the explanation that their breakup was inevitable, but he thinks about Sage's hand in his and thinks that nothing did feel as right as that. He understands Leah a bit more. He would have done the same in that scenario now that he's thinking about it.

"Yeah," he says lowly. "Okay. That makes sense."

"Sam, you have to know that I did love you. So, so much." Leah's eyes are watery, and Sam grins softly, taking her hand in his.

"I loved you, too." He says it without hardships, and it feels like a breath of fresh air. A sin lifted. He did love Leah, so much, but now he isn't in love with her. He still cares for her, still wants her in his life, but the part of him that craved her touch feels nothing. He craves the porcelain skin that Sage has, craves her small smiles and unsure glances.

Leah wipes her eyes and sniffles, and she pulls her hand away from Sam, but that's fine. He stares at her until she's ready to talk.

She says, "If it wasn't Elis, it would have been you."

But Sam shakes his head. He gets it now. He would have never been hers, or her his. They were not meant to be together in this timeline. Perhaps in a different life they were, but this is not where they thrive. And he is okay with that. He loved her and lost her, but he learned from her and that's what matters.

"It wouldn't have, Lee," he says. "You know this as well as I do. You would have imprinted and so would I. It was inevitable."

She sighs, defeated, sniffling. "I know. I know it was. But I can't help but think. . ."

Sam can't either. So many times, he's thought about what would have happened had Sage nor her brother come into the picture. He used to blame them; say they were a cursed family sucking the happiness from people who deserved it.

He doesn't think that, now, but he gets Leah's trail of thought. What if they had imprinted on each other?

"But you have Elis," Sam says.

Leah's face lights up as she gives a soft smile. "Yeah, I do." Then, she sends him a knowing look. "And you have Sage."

Sam smiles to himself. "I guess I do."

"So, you finally did take my advice?" She sounds smug.

Sam chuckles. "Just realized that imprints are never wrong, is all."