Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I broke my promise not to hurt you, I know. But I'm trying to keep it now. I need you to understand... even if you don't want to see me when you find out—"

"Find what out?" A pause. "What's wrong?"

"I can't do it."

"Yes, you can. I'll help you. We can... we can leave. Leave home, leave Sam."

"It's not something I can run away from. I would run with you, though. If I could." Jacob stopped, and when he spoke again, his voice was full of sudden hope. "Wait. Wait, I already— I told you. You know this. You can guess."

Bella sighed. "I don't want to play games with you—"

"You have to! I can't tell you, but if you remember— it was that day I ran into you at the beach. I told you a story— come on! I told you a story... about?"

I could tell she was reaching. "About... 'The Cold Ones'?"

My heart stopped when she said that.

"You said it was a stupid tribal myth."

"Was it? Are the Cold Ones a myth?" He asked pointedly, and even I could tell what he was alluding to.

Bella didn't answer.

"What else did I say?"

"That... the tribe made a treaty with them. They can't come onto your land and...."

I waited for her to finish with bated breath, curiosity consuming me. I hadn't been there. I didn't know. But she was, and she did, and if she couldn't remember—

"I don't know, I don't remember."

Damn it.

"Try, Bella."

I could practically hear her shaking her head with how exasperated she was. "You have to give me more. Tell me where to look. Is there something I should see—"

"No, that's too dangerous—"

"I'll take the risk. Jacob, show me."

He paused, hesitated, clearly not wanting to tell her, but we both knew he couldn't refuse here. "Where was the last place you saw me... the way I used to be?"

"The motorcycles— that clearing in the woods," she answered, without hesitation.

I pulled away from my hiding spot just outside her door, creeping back down the hallway to my room. I'd heard all I needed to. When Bella left, when she went to the clearing, I would be there, too. I'd managed to find out about the vampires without her help, without anyone's help. I wouldn't let her keep whatever Jacob's secret was from me, as well.

Chapter Text

"Like a leech lover's gonna help us."

"Watch what you call her."

I'd driven, staying far enough back from Bella so that she hadn't seen me. Ditching my car a ways back helped me to not alert anyone to my presence, but meant I'd had to walk the rest of the way. It was clear I'd missed a lot, walking in on an argument between Paul and Jacob. About, it would seem, the vampires.

Embry held a placating hand out to the two boys. "Get a grip, guys—"

But Paul and Jacob were so angry, their bodies began to shake, nearly convulsing. It was unnatural, unnerving, and sent an uncomfortable shiver down my spine.

Bella took a hesitant step back. "It's alright, Jacob, I'll go—"

They ignored her.

Paul scowled angrily. "All you care about is her—"

"Paul, back off," Sam commanded, a tone of finality in his voice that I would have surely been afraid to disobey. He didn't seem to have that issue, because he simply ignored it and continued.

"—and she doesn't give a crap about you—"

If it hadn't been clear that he was talking about Bella, Jacob's reaction made it obvious. He growled, rippling muscles tensing as he strode forward and shoved Paul.

Hard.

"Jacob!" Sam shouted, but the damage had already been done.

Paul rose, outraged, and threw his head back in a growl, the shaking intensifying. But it wasn't a human growl. It wasn't even remotely human-like, the sound that came out of his throat.

"Too late."

It was animalistic, as if he was a dog, as if he was a—

"Bella, get back!"

Paul fell, body shifting, morphing, the change accompanied by a loud ripping noise as his body grew out of his clothes, shredding them. Silver fur burst from his skin, covering his entire body, his arms and nose elongating before he finally touched the ground on four legs.

Wolf. A giant, freaking wolf.

I could barely pay attention after that, shock taking hold. Werewolves? Except, werewolves changed during full moons. Jacob changed into a wolf, too, russet brown. Bella was screaming. They had to be werewolves. Vampires and werewolves. But, it wasn't a full moon. Were werewolves different? I hadn't known that vampires could drink animal blood, or that their eyes would change color, or that their skin glittered, but those were minor changes. They still sucked blood and were immortal. Their base identities were the same. Presumably, it would be the same with werewolves. So, if they weren't werewolves— they still changed— no, they shifted forms. Shapeshifters?

Shapeshifters.

I finally focused on the scene in front of me again, to see wolf Jacob and wolf Paul fighting, snarling at each other, teeth gnashing as they tried to gain the upper hand. They quickly moved out of sight, into the woods, though the sound of their combined anger was still quite loud.

Sam started after them, kicking off his shoes. "Take Bella to Emily's place." Then, just like the others, he disappeared behind the tree line, leaving an eerie quiet.

After a short pause, Embry turned towards Bella with a smile that I felt was inappropriate for the situation. "Guess the wolf's out of the bag."

Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the clearing, and the sound of a huge tree falling over, presumably due to the wolves. When it hit, it sent a strong vibration through the ground. It made my already shit sense of balance worse, and I stepped forward to try to steady myself, but my foot came down right on a tree branch.

The Quileutes still in the clearing immediately looked up at me, my hiding spot blown. So, of course, I did the only sane thing one could do in that situation. I spun on my heel and ran back to my car.

I only made it a few steps before one of them was in front of me, blocking my escape. "Oh, no, you don't," Jared warned, reaching towards me. I jerked back, away from his hand, not keen on being touched by anyone, much less a—

"This one's scared," he said, not taking his eyes off of me, though I could tell he was talking to someone else. "Finally. Someone with some goddamn sense."

I took a hesitant step backwards, trying to see if he'd let me, but he did. So I took another one, and another, putting as much distance between us as I could.

Someone behind me laughed, too close. "Oh, come on. We're not that scary."

I whirled, seeing Embry, only a few paces away and coming closer all the while. "Stay back."

He smiled at me, trying to be friendly, I guessed, but it only unnerved me even more. "Relax. We're not gonna hurt you."

The shock wearing off enough for me to finally remember myself, I grabbed my trusty switchblade, opened it, and held it out threateningly. "I said, stay back."

He finally stopped, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Jared laughed heartily. "She's a fighter, isn't she?"

I glanced at him, but he hadn't moved, so he didn't seem to be a pressing concern, unlike Embry. "Natural consequence of being surrounded by... things trying to kill me all the time."

Embry raised his hands in surrender. "We aren't trying to kill you."

"Wow, that's so convincing," I assured him sarcastically, still pointing my knife at him.

"Twyla."

My gaze flicked to Bella, who was nowhere near as freaked out as I was. "Why are you so calm?"

She glanced back at where wolf Jacob and wolf Paul and Sam had gone. "Because I trust—"

I groaned aloud. "Damn it, Bella! You're too goddamn trusting! First the fucking vampires, now these giant shapeshifter wolf things—"

"Jacob won't hurt me."

"Again?" I clarified. "You mean he won't hurt you again? Because he's already hurt you, Bella, multiple times, might I add—"

"Hey, that's a little low—"

I emphasized the knife in my hand. "Shut it! No one is talking to you, Embry!"

"Okay, look," Jared interjected calmly. "I get it. You don't trust us. That's fine. Smart, even. You shouldn't trust us, in my opinion. So, how about this. Let us take you to someone who you do trust, and have them tell you to trust us."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Like who?"

Chapter Text

"Billy."

The wide smile that usually greeted me when I saw the aging Chief was nowhere to be seen. "My child. As usual, I'm glad to see you."

My hand clenched around the knife I'd refused to relinquish. "It doesn't feel that way."

"These circumstances are... less than ideal."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? I had no idea."

He frowned slightly. "Our boys mean you no harm."

"Yeah, I've heard that one before," I informed him, glancing around at the shapeshifters lingering at the edges of the room. "Another group who told me they wouldn't hurt me. To their credit, they didn't. But I'm sure y'all would absolutely love to tell me all about how they could've, and they'd probably say the same about you." My gaze finally came back to him. "But intending to harm me, and being able to— while they are quite different, their effects remain the same. And just because you don't want to hurt me now, doesn't mean you won't later. Ask your son."

Billy's brows furrowed as he took that in. "Has Jacob hurt you?"

I laughed bitterly. "Oh, I didn't mean me. I was talking about Bella." He opened his mouth to defend his son's actions, but I stopped him. "Look, I don't care why he did it. I'm sure he had a very good reason. But I also know that there was a time he'd never in a hundred years even consider hurting her, and then, he did. Intentions change, Billy, you should know that, perhaps better than anyone." I gestured around me. "I trust your people, because I trust you, and you trust them. But I don't trust what they are. And even the most trustworthy of people can still stab you in the back, given the proper motivation. However, considering what seem to be chronic anger issues within them, intentions might not even apply."

Sam crossed his arms over his — still bare — chest, glancing at Billy. "She's smart."

The chief smiled faintly. "Too smart for her own good."

He looked at me, then, his piercing gaze seeming to stare straight into my soul. "What do you know of our 'anger issues'?"

I sighed, collecting my thoughts. "Jacob... changed. Presumably to become... whatever y'all are. 'Mono', right? Bella told me it started with him getting pissed at Mike for not being able to stomach that movie they went to. She said it scared her because Jacob never got upset. Then, Charlie's talking about how they got into a fight, and Bella's coming home practically in tears, telling me he's changed and she can barely recognize him anymore. Then, today, he and Paul go at it because Paul called Bella a 'leech-lover' or whatever, and Jacob shoved Paul, who freaks out and turns into a wolf— point is, Jacob and Paul, at the very least, have anger issues they didn't seem to have before, and you just all but confirmed it affects all of you."

Abruptly, something occurred to me. We were at Emily's house, or so I'd been told. Emily Young. She had disfiguring facial scars from a bear attack that happened a while back, but... that was the rumor going on then, right? There were bears terrorizing the woods? Except, Bella had seen them, and said that they weren't bears, they were giant wolves. So, bears were the coverup for the Quileutes.

Anger issues... spontaneous shifting... Emily's scars... bears.....

Oh, my God.

"Where's Bella?" I asked quickly, my voice raising about an octave in pitch from my panic.

All of them seemed very uncomfortable with female hysteria, because they all looked at me like I was an alien or something.

"Uh... outside, with Jacob," Paul answered. "Why?"

I began backing away. "I need to get her home. We need to go home."

Billy called after me as I whirled around, intending to run away as fast as possible, but I almost ran into someone, instead.

"Woah! Careful there, now. What's wrong?"

My eyes landed on Emily, on her face, on the three red lines running down her cheek. They pulled her face down, forcing one side of her mouth into a permanent frown.

Bear attack, my ass. How had I been so stupid?

I pushed past her, careful not to actually touch her, and continued on my way. Rushing out the door, I saw them immediately, talking.

"Sam lost it for a split second; Em was standing too close— he's still messed up about it," Jacob was telling her, only confirming my fears. "I don't want to be that kind of nightmare."

"You're not like that. You save people, right? You saved me from Laurent."

That made him smirk. "Yeah, didn't mind taking him out. His red-headed girlfriend will be fun, too."

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Bella," I called, my voice shaky, my fear evident. "Can we go home now? I'd really, really like to go home now. Please."

She looked at me, confused. "I— I don't think we should leave."

"Why not, Bella?"

She glanced at Jacob. "Victoria is back, Twyla, and they can kill vampires."

My eyes widened at her ignorance, and I nodded slowly. "Uh huh, yeah, and do you know what that makes them?"

"Safe?"

"No, it makes them more dangerous than vampires!"

Jacob took a step forward. "Hey, look—"

I was in such a state of panic that my body practically went into autopilot, and I extended the switchblade still gripped in my hand towards him. "Stay back!"

Bella held her hands out placatingly. "Twyla, calm down—"

"No!" I shouted, positively shaking. "I'm the only one thinking clearly! I tried my best to get you to see reason when you insisted on hanging out almost exclusively with vampires, but did you listen? Of course not. And they didn't hurt you, so I backed down, but then what happened? They almost killed you, and he broke you! I thought you might've learned your lesson, but you turn around and run right into the arms of the next monster to come your way! Well, maybe you didn't learn, but I sure did. I'm not going to make the same mistake I did last time. I'm not going to let you get hurt!"

Jacob was upset, and he began walking towards me. "I'm not going to hurt her like that leech did," he hissed.

I shoved my arm in his direction, brandishing the knife. "Don't come any closer!"

"I'm not going to hurt you either!" he said, his anger evident, which contradicted the sentiment he was apparently trying to convey.

He was too close. "Jacob! I'm warning you! Don't take another step!"

"You're not listening to me! I told you, I'm not—"

He was within my arm's length at that point. His presence was far too threatening, and my hand was already poised. I flipped the knife so that I was holding it offensively instead of defensively, swinging it towards him as hard as I could.

It cut across his chest, drawing blood.

My eyes widened in fear at what I'd done. He froze, looking down at himself, at the wound I'd caused. Bringing one hand up slowly, he pressed it to the cut, and it came away red with his own blood.

Immediately, his demeanor changed, vibrating uncontrollably. I knew what that meant. That was what Paul had done earlier, before....

I backed away, unable to take my eyes off of him, as he morphed. Suddenly, instead of Jacob, a giant, russet-brown wolf was standing there, looking at me with murder in its eyes.

I screamed as it pounced, throwing an arm up in front of my face, only for it to be knocked out of the air by another wolf. The two began fighting, but I didn't stick around to watch. The moment I was out of immediate danger, I turned and sprinted away, into the forest.

What had happened? One minute, I was living a pretty boring life as a regular old highschool student. Suddenly, my best friend and housemate got involved with vampires, pulling me into the whole mess in the process. In her infinite wisdom, she'd gone and fallen in love with one of them, a being that was literally biologically designed to kill her, and confessed to wanting to multiple times. I barely got out of that situation with my life, and only because they, themselves, had decided to leave to "keep Bella safe". Except, instead of her actually being safe, she went and got herself involved with fucking shapeshifters, who not only tried to kill her, but me, as well! Again!

I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't. My life was far too precious to me to risk it trying to save hers, especially when she fought me every step of the way. If she wanted to be an idiot, and get herself killed, fine. I was done trying to help. I was done doing anything except what was best for me.

So, I kept running, holding on to the fact that no one had tried to stop me yet. Maybe they'd finally leave me alone. Maybe I'd finally be able to get the hell out of Forks, run away, find somewhere else to go where... things weren't always trying to kill me.

As if by chance, I came upon my car. Or, maybe I'd been subconsciously running towards it. Either way, I yanked open the driver's side door, jumped into the front seat, buckled myself in, and started driving.

The paths through the woods were easily wide enough to accommodate me, but it was bumpy terrain. Had I been in my right mind, I probably would have gone slower. As it was, I just wanted to get as far away from there as possible, as quickly as possible, so I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been.

Abruptly, I saw something move in front of the car. A silhouette, a shadow. It moved too quickly for me to see what it was, and when I looked closer, it was already gone. So, I ignored it, believing it to be just the light or my adrenaline-fueled mind playing tricks on me. I kept driving.

Except, then, it happened again. My heart rate increased exponentially, and I was torn between slowing down to try to figure out what it was, and speeding up to try to lose it. Before I could choose, I saw it once more. It stopped in the middle of the path in front of me, giving me just enough time to recognize it before my car hit it head-on.

Victoria.

Her solid body was stronger than the metal, and it bent around her, flipping over her. For a few eternal seconds, I was weightless, before I came crashing back down to Earth, upside-down. The top of the car smashed into the ground, my body coming after, only barely held in place by my seatbelt.

I undid that as quickly as I was able, the crash having jarred me, made me sluggish. As I fell onto my elbows, I took stock of any injuries, finding myself just sore, with some cuts from the glass of the window shattering, but nothing too major as far as I could tell.

Pushing open the door, I began crawling out, but something grabbed me by the arm, lifting me the rest of the way.

"Hm. You're not the right one."

Victoria's voice, as bright and tinkling as bells, belied none of her strength, or danger. Her grip was like a vice, digging into me painfully. I struggled, trying futilely to free myself, but all she did in reaction was put her other hand around my throat, nails cutting into my skin and drawing blood.

Her face broke out in a wide grin. "You're feisty. I like that. It's a pity, actually. I could've used you. But, you run with that damned girl, so I can't let you live...."

"Please," I gasped out, my feet kicking the air. "Please."

Her smile turned to a pout. "Oh, now, don't be like that. This is a blessing! I'm freeing you from your suffering as a weak, spineless little human. Don't worry, I'll make it quick. I have no desire to hurt you, only your friend." She brought me closer, her flaming red hair filling my vision. "No, all I want from you is a taste of that sweet, warm—"

A growl from my left, and her voice cut off. Victoria let go of me, shoving me away as she ran off in the other direction. A pair of wolves followed, chasing her back into the woods.

I hit the ground hard, my head smacking back against it and sending a pang through it. Even without her hand cutting off my air, I was having difficulties breathing. Unable to do anything but lay there, I relaxed, letting unconsciousness claim me.

Chapter Text

"What do you mean?"

The loud noise piqued the edges of my senses. Was it a dream?

"I'm not sure I can make things any clearer, Sam."

"Hey, watch yourse—"

"It's fine, Jacob."

"Fine? She's deathly afraid of us."

"She has good reason to be."

"Still! How could you—"

"I didn't choose this! Do you think I wanted this to happen?"

I couldn't move. I couldn't even open my eyes. It must've been a dream.

"Didn't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I saw the way you looked at her, even long before you changed. You wanted this, didn't you? You wanted her."

"So what if I did?"

"So wh— so what? Don't try to play it off like it's not important. It's everything."

"You're just jealous because you didn't imprint on the girl you're in love with! Don't take your anger out on me when I've done nothing to deserve it."

"Embry!"

"Take it back."

"Why? It's true."

"Jacob! Calm down!"

"At least Bella can stand to be around me!"

"You—"

"Outside! Everybody, outside! Now!"

"What about the girl?"

"I'll watch her."

"Thank you, Emily."

"I'll kill you!"

"Jared! Paul! Get him outside!"

As the shouting receded, I slipped further into unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

That time, I could feel myself waking up.

"What happened?"

"Car accident, last night. We checked her out, and she'll be fine. I figured it'd be best to let her sleep it off. Didn't want to bother you so late, either."

"Next time, do. She slept all through last night, and she still isn't waking up? That's weird, for her."

"Which is why I think someone should keep an eye on her. No one was in the car with her when she crashed, we only found her afterwards. I'm not sure what happened."

"Alright, well, thank you, Billy." A pause. "Hey— have you seen Bella?"

"I think she went to find Jacob."

"Are they... working things out?"

"They'll be fine, Charlie. Besides, you've got to get to hunting."

"Oh! I forgot all about that. Listen, Billy, would you mind keeping an eye on her while I'm gone? I don't want—"

"I've got it. Go."

Even after silence reigned in Charlie's apparent absence, I didn't want to open my eyes. As long as I was asleep — or, at least, pretending to be — I didn't have to face reality. I didn't have to think about Victoria, or the shapeshifters, or Bella's stupidity, or being in danger, or getting hurt, or—

"You're not a very good actor."

Stifling a groan, I sat up and looked over at Billy. "Only because you're freaking psychic."

He raised an eyebrow humorously. "Psychic?"

I gestured in the air. "Y'know, you can read minds and stuff."

"I know what it means. I simply do not understand why you would think I can do those things."

"Well, I was half-joking," I clarified, rubbing my face. "I don't think you're actually psychic, but you do know a lot of things that you should have no way of knowing."

He smiled faintly. "I watch. I listen. I pay attention. You'd do well to do the same."

I rolled my eyes, spinning so that my feet were dangling off the edge of the bed. "I watch plenty, I listen plenty, and therefore, I know plenty. Just because I'm not as patient as you, doesn't mean I'm not as observant as you."

Seeming fairly satisfied with that response, Billy looked me over. "You slept for a very long time."

"I had a very long day. Well, honestly, I've had a very long couple of weeks. Your son—" I cut myself off before I said something I would regret.

"I'm aware of the grief my son has caused you, and I apologize."

I smiled bitterly. "I appreciate that, but coming from you, it doesn't mean much. I'd rather it come from him."

He inclined his head toward me. "Understandable."

The silence that followed was... less than comfortable. I looked around the room, anywhere but at him, trying to find some way to fill it, but I came up short. Glancing at him, I found his piercing gaze was squarely on me, as if he was waiting for me to say something. That only made me more uncomfortable, until I couldn't handle it anymore.

"What?" I practically snapped at Billy.

"There's something bothering you."

"Psychic," I responded pointedly.

His eyes narrowed. "Tell me, child."

I hesitated, then sighed. "Something's wrong. I can feel it. Something's going to happen, and soon. Maybe even today. But, for the life of me, I can't figure out what."

"Is that all?"

I shook my head. "There's change coming. Big change. I don't think it's inherently bad or good, just big. And it's going to come about because of the bad thing that's going to happen."

He smiled proudly at me. "You do listen."

"You tell me a great many things, Billy, and I do my best to remember them all."

"No one has taken to my teachings as well as you have. Not even those who share my own beliefs and culture, which you do not. It's rather unusual, actually," he explained.

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I simply learned what you taught me and applied it whenever I could."

He hummed thoughtfully at that. "You're intuitive. That's what it is. And your feelings seem to be accurate, when you choose to listen to them."

"Listening to something that quiet is hard."

He chuckled. "I suppose it is. Well, I'll leave you be now. Charlie brought over a spare set of clothes and some toiletries, and there's a bathroom just through there."

"Thanks, Billy."

I got dressed, readying myself for what I was sure was going to be a very... interesting day, at the very least. When I was decent, I walked out of the Blacks' spare bedroom and into the living room, where Billy was just getting off the phone.

He spun around in his wheelchair to face me. "That was Emily. Apparently, Bella just left their place, freaked out about something."

I had the sudden, irrepressible urge to turn around, as if someone had just called my name, and I followed it. But no one had. The feeling was slipping away.

"Focus, Twyla. Concentrate. Tell me what you know."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and chased that feeling. It was elusive, and I feared I would lose it more than once. But, suddenly, it washed over me, filling me with a sense of dread, as the smell of saltwater — the ocean — wafted through the air.

My eyes snapped open. "I have to go."

"Where?"

"Home. I have to go home. Bella— she'll be fine. I think. But I have to go. Now," I explained choppily, not able to explain something I barely understood myself.

Billy nodded, rolling forward and reaching onto the counter. "Go. Take my truck," he offered, tossing me the keys.

I caught them, quickly walking towards the door and opening it. "I'll call you when I know more," I promised by way of farewell.

I got into his truck, started it, and drove back to Charlie's house as quickly as I could without breaking any laws. After what had happened the previous day, I kept to the main roads as much as I could, even though it cost me some time. Being alive was most important, I thought.

The moment I parked in the driveway, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and stepped out of the truck, a shiver went down my spine, the clearest sign that something was wrong. I scanned my surroundings; I felt like I was being watched, and I couldn't see who it was. That frightened me, made my pulse quicken, my breath come a little faster. My hand was still on the door— I could grab it, hoist myself back into the car. It would provide some sort of safety. If it was Victoria hiding in the shadows, it wouldn't do much, but for anything else, it would. Humans, wild animals—

Not wanting to waste any more time, I braced my hand on the door, stepping backwards into the truck and using my momentum to pull the door behind me as quickly as possible. I was moving to reinsert the keys into the ignition when a wave of calm rolled through me, quelling my fear.

Immediately, I sighed loudly, shoving the door of the truck open again.

"Seriously, Jasper?"

He appeared in front of me at once, holding the door open for me as I stepped out. "How was I supposed to know you'd react like that?"

I flapped a hand at him, not even deigning to give him a response as I walked towards the house. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here, too!"

The voice was so bright that I recognized it easily. "Of course you are, Alice," I muttered under my breath, but of course, with their stupid, vampire hearing, they heard me. Two vampires on my doorstep. That was just what I needed. Frustrated with the universe, I yanked open the door and went inside.

"You don't look very happy to see us."

I whirled on them in the entryway. "Should I be?"

The two shared a look. "Okay, you have a point," she admitted reluctantly.

"Exactly. So, why don't you guys just tell me why you're here?" I suggested pointedly.

Her golden eyes were wide as they met my gaze. "I had a vision. About Bella."

I crossed my arms over my chest, anxiety taking root in my head, but I did my best not to show it. "Bella's fine."

"Bella jumped off of a cliff!"

I froze. "What?"

Alice nodded worriedly. "That was my vision. I saw Bella jumping off of a cliff. Why would she do that? Why would she try to kill herself?"

My mind raced. Bella... she wouldn't kill herself. Not then. Not unless... but Jacob couldn't have done something that bad since I'd— well, could he have— no. He couldn't have. So, she wouldn't want to kill herself. But, at Billy's house— the ocean— no. There had to be a logical explanation. Cliff... cliff....

"Hey, Twyla. Have you ever thought about cliff-diving?"

"Well, sure, but I'd never actually do it."

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous, Bella, and I'm afraid of heights. Besides, when is the weather here ever conducive to that? It's always raining. Why?"

"Jacob was talking about it today."

I remembered her saying that. About a week before, right where I was standing then with Jasper and Alice. So, that was the answer, then. Bella went cliff-diving.

Rubbing a hand over my face, I sighed. "I'll kill her. I swear to God, I'm going to kill her," I muttered, sitting down at one of the chairs in the kitchen.

"You can't kill someone who's already dead," came the concerned reply.

I opened my mouth to correct her, to tell her that Bella wasn't dead, but then I went over what she'd said. "Um... vampires are dead, right? And you can totally kill them."

She huffed. "That's not what I meant, and you know it! Do you care about Bella at all?"

"Do you?" I countered, leaning back in my chair. "I never left her. I stayed right here, doing my best to save her from herself."

That shut her up. "That's not fair. Just because we left, that doesn't mean we stopped caring about her. We're here, aren't we?"

"Yeah, you are, but Bella's fine, so you can go back home now," I told her in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Before she could answer, the phone started ringing. I stood, crossing the kitchen to pick it up.

"Twyla."

"Billy."

"Listen, I just talked to Jacob. Bella—"

"Jumped off of a cliff?" I finished for him. "Yeah. I heard."

"...From who?"

I glanced at Alice and Jasper. "I've got a couple... unexpected guests."

There was a pause. "Oh. I believe... I believe I understand what you mean. The boys won't like it," he warned.

My grip on the phone tightened. "I couldn't give less of a shit what—"

"Twyla."

I caught myself. "Sorry. I couldn't care less what they do or don't like. At least these ones seem to have more control," I responded, eyeing the vampires in my kitchen, sure that they were hearing every word.

"More control?"

I rolled my eyes at the unfounded humor in his voice. "I knew them for six months— they only actively put Bella in danger once. I've known about your boys for a day— they've already actively tried to kill me and Bella, like, three times."

Jasper let out a quiet laugh at that. I sent him the most murderous glare I could muster, and, thankfully, he took the hint and shut up.

Billy sighed. "I suppose you're right. Which is why it'd probably be prudent to tell you my son is bringing Bella home."

I let the phone fall against my shoulder. "Damn it." Turning, I regarded Alice and Jasper, trying to figure out what to do. If Jacob found them there, with Bella in his grasp, who knew what he'd do? Shift right in front of her and have her end up like Emily? Or worse, if Jasper was within smelling distance, and Alice couldn't hold him back... but, then, Jacob would gladly tear apart any bloodsucker the moment they posed an active threat to Bella, because he'd already be aching for a fight. But she'd never let him unless absolutely necessary— she still wouldn't like it if Jacob killed Jasper, that'd destroy her. So, essentially, it would end in Bella getting injured, killed, or traumatized, not to mention the feud it would cause between the wolves and the vampires, a feud I would undoubtedly come in the middle of.

But the vampires were there, which meant their scent was there as well, and, seeing as dogs had a heightened sense of smell, I wasn't really willing to take that chance. So, the only choice was to make sure Jacob never showed up. But I needed to get Bella. Decisions, decisions, decisions....

With a resigned groan, I picked up the phone again and put it to my ear. Before I could speak, Alice grabbed it out of my hand, shocking me halfway to hell.

"No."

"Alice—"

She took a step towards me, but I kept my distance. "We can handle this."

"Screw you," I countered, snatching the phone back— the fact that she had to have let me was not lost on me. "I'll handle this. As of right now, neither of you are helping matters in any way, shape, or form. In fact, you're making everything so much worse. But, seeing as you refuse to leave, I have no choice but to work around your... inconveniences."

"Twyla? Is everything alright? I heard yelling—"

"Call Jacob," I interrupted. "Tell him to go to your house, not mine. I don't care how you do it, just make sure he comes nowhere near this building. I'll come by in a bit to pick Bella up and bring her back here."

"Twyla—"

"I'm trying to avoid an incident, Billy," I informed him pointedly.

He paused, then sighed. "Fine."

Dial tone.

I put down the receiver, whirling on the vampires. "Look. This is how it's going to go. I'm going to go pick up Bella. You're going to stay here and not do anything. When she gets back, you can do whatever the hell it is you came here to do. I'll let Bella take it from there, but there are rules. No hurting Bella — physically or emotionally — or me, preferably, and if you start a war with the wolves y'all will have to deal with it by yourselves without implicating either of us at all. Got it?"

I didn't wait for a response. I just shoved open the front door and left.

Chapter Text

“I’m taking her home, Jacob.”

“Like hell you are.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And why not?”

He slammed a hand down on the table. “Because it’s not safe! Not with Victoria out there, God knows where, doing God knows what!”

“Okay, can I just point out that, in the past 24 hours, I’ve almost been killed twice; once by Victoria, and once by you. And, might I add, if it hadn’t been for you almost killing me, Victoria never would’ve gotten her hands on me in the first place. So don’t lecture me about safety.”

Jacob glared at me. “I’m not going to hurt Bella.”

I rolled my eyes, laughing bitterly. “Okay. Look. In the past 24 hours, Bella has almost died three times. Paul, the cliffs, and Victoria. Maybe you won’t hurt her — though I find that really hard to believe, considering the fact that you’ve already done so in the past — but, clearly, you’re also having trouble keeping her safe. And the closer she is to you, the closer she is to people with just as little control, and much less reason to want her alive.”

He scowled, walking towards me. “You—”

I flipped open my switchblade again, holding it out towards him. “Are we going to do this again?”

He froze, turning his gaze upon the knife. “No. We aren’t. But you aren’t taking her.”

“Billy!” I shouted past Jacob.

He rolled into my line of view, unfazed by the sight of me holding a blade to his son. “Yes?”

“What do you think?”

He shrugged, mischief dancing in his gaze. “I think Bella should go home. She’s had a long day.”

His son spun around, incredulous. “But—”

“No arguments,” Billy interrupted sharply. “Let Twyla take Bella home.”

I smiled at the hothead, knowing he’d never disobey his father. I’d won, easily.