Not My Sister's Keeper

by nattlebeez

Summary:

What if Charlie Swan remarried? What if Bella Swan had a little sister up in Forks? What if Jacob was never written off as a love interest by imprinting on an infant? What if there was someone meant for Jacob the entire time? What if there was no love triangle? What if someone called Bella out on all of her insufferable traits?

 

Evelyn Swan is a freshmen in high school when her older half sister comes to live in Forks. Over the course of two years, her life is turned upside down time and time again by her sister's crazy dependency on her odd boyfriend, and the boyfriend's even stranger family.

Chapter 1

Evelyn crossed her arms firmly over her chest. “I’m not sitting in the back.”

“Evie…” her father started. “You can’t just stick Bella in the back on her first day here. You’ll let her have shotgun.”

Evelyn huffed, blowing a few strands of hair out of her face. She watched steadily out the window as they drove to the airport, green trees and rainy storm clouds hanging overhead. Her older sister, Isabella, was coming back to live with them. She hadn’t been home in years, it seemed. But then again, Forks wasn’t her home anymore, and it never really had been to begin with.

Bella’s parents, Charlie and Renee, had split before she’d even turned one. While Charlie had been heartbroken, his whole world ripped out from under him, he didn’t let his loss dictate his entire future. He married Evie’s mother, Amelia, just over a year after the divorce, and Evenlyn came along not much later. They were a happy little family together. While Renee kept primary custody over Bella, she would come up to visit for the occasional holiday and summer when they were kids, and Amelia was always excited for the two girls to spend time as sisters. When Evie was six, Amelia had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, being hospitalized for up to a few weeks at a time, and attending appointment after appointment for days on end. At one point, Charlie had been so preoccupied with Amelia’s care, he sent Evie to stay with Bella and Renee in Arizona for a short time. Billy and Sarah Black often took Evie when Charlie stayed overnight at the hospital with his wife, and Sarah would spend hours visiting Amelia when Charlie was not able to, staying overnight with her whenever she could. 

Finally, after three years of fighting and undergoing a double mastectomy, Amelia was pronounced cancer free by her doctors. She would still have to receive adjuvant chemotherapy for a few weeks, which Charlie and Sarah took turns driving her to and attending the appointments with her. In May of 2000, just a few weeks before Evelyn’s tenth birthday, Sarah was driving Amelia to an appointment at the oncology clinic outside of Seattle. On Route 101, the two women were struck in a tragic collision, both of them dying on the scene before paramedics arrived. The vehicle was folded so severely it took hours to retrieve the women. They were found with Amelia’s hands gripping Sarah’s right arm. Their bodies were so disfigured their husbands could barely identify them, and they shielded their children' s faces. Charlie never married again, and Evelyn never imagined he would.

The funeral was a somber event, held together as the women had known each other since childhood. Bella and Renee flew up from Arizona to pay their respects, though Evelyn barely spoke a word to either of them. Instead, she stood by Sarah’s children, clinging to Rachel and Rebecca like an infant, and gripping Jacob’s hand like it was her life source. After the service, Bella had followed her mother around quietly at the reception, and the two older girls politely greeted all of the guests who had come for their mothers. Jacob and Evie sat hand in hand on a couch together, staring dazedly into space and refusing to speak to anyone outside of their immediate families. They finally fell asleep leaning against one another’s shoulders, their faces red and splotchy, tearstreaks still running down their cheeks. Billy and Charlie carried their respective children home.

When they arrived at the airport, Evie leaned against the cruiser, waiting for her father to come back with Bella. The Port Angeles airport was tiny, especially compared to Phoenix, or any other airport, for that matter. But Evie loved it. She loved the quaint hominess and the humility of the little place. She recognized the disdain on Bella’s face as soon as she walked off the plane. She was looking up at the sky with disappointment, already missing the desert sunshine. She looked down at the small runway, face placid, and Evie saw her shoulders shrug and settle in an overdramatic sigh. It took everything for Evie not to roll her eyes. Bella hated small towns. They all knew Bella hated Forks, but she was never verbal in her disliking of the town. At least, not in comparison to Evie’s complaints. Bella was tepid and easygoing, where Evie was hotheaded and opinionated. While she’d say to their faces how much she hated the rainy little town, they could see through her attitude and the firm line she pressed her lips into.

Charlie went up to meet her uneasily, embracing her gently with one arm. He took Bella’s bag from her, gesturing towards the cruiser. Finally, Bella’s eyes landed on Evie. Her sister gave her an odd half smile, waving shyly at the younger girl. Evie pushed off the cruiser, standing at her full height. She waved to Bella, offering her a soft smile. 

“Hi, Evelyn,” Bella said. She pulled her into a firm hug, arms winding around Evie’s neck.

Evie hugged her back, arms firm around her sister’s back. “Hey, Bells.” They pulled apart. “Miss the sunshine yet?”

Bella chuckled. The two girls looked nearly identical. Bella wasn’t much taller than her, possibly a few inches or so. They both had ivory pale skin, and soft rosy cheeks. Bella had deep chocolate brown eyes, while Evie’s were a clear crystal blue, but both girls’ eyes were framed by full and dark lashes, and they had the same cascading soft brown hair, though Evie’s shone a lighter honey color, and Bella’s seemed to have woody red undertones. 

“Just a little bit,” Bella confessed. “I said my goodbyes to the sun before I left.”

Good God, Evie thought. She sounds just like her mom….hopefully she’s not some yoga-hippie freak like her, too. Charlie closed the trunk of the cruiser, going around to the front of the car, and Bella opened the passenger seat, slinging her backpack in on the floor. Evie groaned internally, not excited for the hour drive home in the back of the police cruiser. Silently praying she wouldn’t get car sick, she pulled open the door and climbed in. 

Charlie and Bella made stilted small talk, while Evie sat quietly in the back, trying to tune them out. He told Bella how he’d bought a truck for her off of Billy Black, a homecoming gift of sorts, and Evie seethed. She knew Bella would likely take it for granted: all the thought their dad had put into her coming home, all of the work and hours Jacob had put into fixing the truck up to sell it. 

“You can drive it on your own for now,” he told her. “And then when Evie turns sixteen and gets her license, you’ll share it.”

Charlie pulled in front of the house, parking on the street. He pulled Evie’s door open to let her out, then went around the rear to grab Bella’s bags for her. Evie unlocked the front door and went into the house, leaving Bella and Charlie to discuss the new truck sitting in the driveway. It was a quaint house, three bedrooms and two baths, which meant the two girls would have to share the little bathroom at the top of the stairs, and Evelyn didn’t think either of them had ever had to share a bathroom before. There was a master on the ground floor, where Charlie slept. He had almost offered up his room to Bella, wanting to give her the more comfortable space, but Evie had insisted there was no need, and that she could just keep her old room upstairs beside Evie’s. 

Bella’s room was the same green color Renee had painted when she was born. Charlie had tried to scrape together as much furniture as he could for her. He’d bought a new bed, larger than the one she’d slept in as a child when she visited, and he’d pulled the girls’ old rocking chair out of the attic, placing it in the corner of her room. Much to Evie’s chagrin, Charlie had brought the old family computer into Bella’s room and onto her desk, connecting it to the modem. There was a new desktop downstairs, but Evie had still whined about the unfairness of it.

“She’ll need it more than you, for college applications and stuff,” Charlie had told her, ruffling Evie’s hair. “Once she moves out for college, then I’ll move it into your room for you. Okay?”

Evie relented, knowing this was true. She wouldn’t need to worry about anything concerning colleges for a few years. Bella was seventeen, a junior in high school, while Evie was still only a freshman, not turning fifteen until that May. Neither Charlie or Evelyn imagined Bella would stay in Forks longer than she needed to. Charlie and Bella came into the house and up the stairs to her room. Evie leaned against the door frame, watching and listening to them.

“Evie picked out the bedspread for you,” he said, gesturing to the purple comforter.

Bella nodded, looking up to her sister in the doorway. “Purple’s cool.”

Evie let the corner of her mouth twitch up. Charlie came out, giving Bella space to unpack, and let a hand come down on Evie’s shoulder. He met her eyes, giving Evie a knowing look.

Be nice, he mouthed to her.

Evie rolled her eyes, but smiled at him all the same. She jostled his shoulder with her own as he went past her. He clambered down the stairs, and Evie turned to go to her own room again, but Bella stopped her.

“Hey,” she said. Evie turned to look at her again. “I uh…I brought you something.”

Bella shuffled through her things she was unpacking, and produced a small potted cactus, green and prickly, in a blue glazed terracotta pot. Evie took it from her uneasily.

“Oh,” she said, blinking. “Thanks.”

“It’ll probably die, but uh…” Bella shrugged. “Mom and I thought it would be nice.”

Evie nodded. Makes more sense that this would be Renee’s idea, she thought. “Cool,” she told her. “I’l put it in my windowsill. I doubt it’ll get enough sun, but that’s probably it’s best chance.”

She left Bella to unpack, taking the tiny cactus to her room. She pulled back the heavy pink curtains back to set the cactus in its new home. While Bella’s walls were green and mostly bare, Evie’s room was a soft purple color, and plastered with posters and photos. She had a Smallville poster hanging above her bed, Tom Welling’s bare chest with the Superman S hung up in a cornfield, and she had a bright and colorful No Doubt poster, along with several other bands like Green Day, and My Chemical Romance. She had framed photographs of her with her mother, both of her parents, one with her friend from school, Sophie Stanley, and a few baby photos with Jacob Black. Hanging over her desk was an overflowing corkboard, photos of friends, birthday cards and Valentine’s and photostrips and soccer medals and team photos all pinned up together. There was a large walnut armoire in the corner, with a full length mirror on the front, and the side of the wardrobe had been covered in stickers Evie had collected over the years. She had a grey bedspread with dark swirling florals on it.

She threw herself down on the bed, letting her ankles hang over the edge as she kicked her shoes off. Evie had been dreading the day Isabella returned, only because she would no longer be an only child. Bella had always been her sister, of course, but they were half-sisters, and they had seen very little of each other growing up. While most only children would complain about loneliness growing up, Evie enjoyed what solitude she was offered– she’d spent plenty of her childhood wrestling with Jake and being cuddled and coddled by his older sisters. She had never really been alone, anyway, because she had Charlie as her near constant companion. He’d been a dutiful and doting father, coaching her tee-ball team and volunteering at her school whenever he’d been able to. After her mother’s passing, Charlie had assumed the role of mother as well as father to her, intending to give Evelyn the most he could ever offer her.

She reached for her iPod off her nightstand, stuffing the purple wired headphones into her ears, and blasting the first thing she could scroll to– Stevie Nicks’ Bella Donna. Curling on her side, she let the witchy woman sing her to sleep, the little sun she could see already fading behind the treeline outside her window. Sometime in the middle of the night, a freezing Evie woke again, iPod dead and daylight gone. She sat up, slowly stretching, and reached to flick on her bedside lamp. Shivering as she stood, she kicked her shoes aside and stuck the iPod on its charger. She quickly peeked out her dark window, scanning the yard with the dim light their porchlight offered, and then pulled the heavy curtains closed. She shuffled over to her armoire, pulling the drawers open and yanking out the first set of pajamas she could reach. She nearly toppled over while peeling off her stiff jeans, then pulling her sweater over her head. Once she was changed for the night, she pulled back the covers and burrowed under her blankets, trying desperately to find sleep again. That’s when she heard the quiet crying. 

She glanced up at her digital alarm clock, a small plastic figure of Hello Kitty. 12:57. Evie strained her ears to listen again, trying to locate the noise. Muffled through the walls, she could hear the quiet sniffling of her sister in the other room. Bella is still awake? Evie thought, confused. She wondered why her sister even came if she would take the move this hard…she thought moving to Forks had been Bella’s idea in the first place, but listening to her quiet cries, she wasn’t sure anymore.

The next morning, Evie bounded down the staircase, feet pounding on the wood steps. Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table by himself, sipping coffee in his uniform for the day and reading the paper. Evie went to the refrigerator.

“Good morning,” she said, pulling a small carton of orange juice out.

“Morning,” Charlie replied, setting the paper down. “Where’s Bella?”

Evie sighed. “Blow drying her hair.”

Charlie raised a brow at her. If they listened hard enough, they could both hear the faint whirring of the blow dryer upstairs. Charlie glanced out the window, rain pattering heavily against the glass pane. Evie laughed.

“I know,” she told him. “I thought about warning her, but she’ll figure it out.”

Evie poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat beside Charlie. She brought her backpack to the table and pulled out a few pages of math homework due later that week to finish while she ate. Not long after, Bella quietly came down the stairs and joined them. Evie watched her sister out of the corner of her eye, and it took everything in her not to snort as she watched the longing look on Bella’s face as she watched the rainy scene outside the kitchen window. Eventually, Charlie stood from the table, placed a firm kiss atop both his daughters’ heads, strapped his gun to his belt, and left for work.

“What’re you working on?” Bella asked, glancing down at Evie’s homework.

Evie shrugged. “Just Geometry.”

Bella nodded. “Fun.” Bella stood, taking Evie’s bowl as well her own and rinsing them in the sink.

Evie blinked. “Thanks,” she said. She wasn’t used to people taking care of her other than Charlie.

Turning and standing against the corner, Bella just nodded again. “Sure.”

Evie shuffled all of her papers together, closing her notebook and loading her backpack again. She slung her backpack over her shoulder. “You ready?” She asked Bella.

“Yeah,” she replied. 

They went to the front door, Evie bending down to pull her Vans on, Bella sliding her feet into comically heavy rainboots and tugging on a down jacket. Evie glanced at the boots and coat warily, arching a brow at her sister. She was only wearing a fleece hoodie, the hood not even pulled up over her head. 

Bella looked down at her feet. “What?”

“I just, uh…” Evie gave a small, nervous laugh. “Well, I don’t know if you’ll need those.”

“It’s raining.” Bella told her.

“No, it’s drizzling,” Evie corrected. “Besides, you just have to avoid puddles. I don’t know if you’ll survive Forks weather if you need Muck boots and a winter coat every time there’s precipitation. You’ll be sweating in every classroom.”

Bella visibly deflated. “Let me try to get through the day,” she told Evie, sighing.

“Ooo-kay,” Evie relented, speaking in a singsong tone.

They loaded into the truck together, and Evie directed Bella to the high school. “Pull in here,” she pointed to the student lot where all of the upper classmen parked, and Bella pulled through and shut off the engine. 

“I’ll show you the Front Office,” Evie told her as they climbed out of the truck. Just to her luck, Evie jumped out of the passenger seat and landed in a monster puddle, soaking her cherry print Vans and seeping into her thick socks. She groaned, slamming the door and going around the truck to lead Bella to the office. Once Bella was adamant she’d be alright on her own, Evie sped off to find Sophie. She was at a table in the library buried under a tower of textbooks and math homework, studying for their semester math final. When she saw Evie she jumped up.

“You!” She cried, pointing at Evie accusatorily. “Evelyn Swan, you were supposed to call me last night and help me with this!”

Evie cringed. “Yeah, but my sister got in last night.”

“Oh,” Sophie blinked and sat back down. “I forgot about that. How’d it go?”

Evie pulled up a chair to sit beside her, shrugging. “I donno,” she told her. “She’s the same as she always is.”

“Hm,” Sophie made a thoughtful face. “So, quiet and slightly unnerving?”

“More like boring and melodramatic,” Evie grumbled, flipping through one of Sophie’s math books.

“It probably won’t be that bad,” Sophie consoled her, but her efforts were for naught.

Sophie was exceptionally pretty, like her older sister Jessica– dark curly ringlets, wide brown doe eyes, and freckles over her nose and cheeks. She was tiny, shorter than any of the other girls in their class. The girl was small, but mighty. She scared most of the lower classmen, even some of the older students, and was a killer forward on the girls’ soccer team.

“Sup, losers,” Samantha called, tossing her messenger bag onto the table and falling into a chair across from them. June Richardson was following behind her, and winced at the sound.

“Hey!” Sophie scolded, pushing Sam’s green canvas bag away from her work. “Don’t disrupt the flow, Sam.”

Sam rolled her eyes, tossing her legs to rest over the arm of her chair. She flipped open her phone’s keyboard, no doubt texting Lee. Sam had short blonde hair, cropped and flared out at the ends, and bright green eyes that reminded Evie of a cat. June took the vacant chair beside her. She was a quiet and meek girl, with pin straight strawberry blonde hair and soft blue eyes. 

“Well,” Sophie started, eyeing Sam’s combat boots warily. “Instead of getting your help, Ev, I had to rely on Miss Samantha here…” Sam saluted them, and Sophie gestured to the mountain of work in front of her. “You can see where that’s brought me.”

Evie chuckled. She and Sophie had both taken Algebra in middle school, choosing to take advanced math classes through high school, while Sam and June opted to take on-track math. The two of them were still in Algebra, while Evie and Sophie were working through pre-AP Geometry together.

Just before the warning bell rang, Evie stood. “Alright,” she told them. “Let’s get a move on, girls.”

Sophie looked up from her work with a frantic expression, glancing at the library’s clock. She jumped from her seat and scrambled to shuffle all of her papers and books together, carrying her books to class. The four of them went to class, marching through the school day together, parting ways at separate classes. Evie and Bella ended up in the same lunch period, smiling and waving at one another, but Bella had been pulled to her own table of juniors, including Sophie’s older sister, Jessica Stanley, and Evie sat with her regular crew, Sophie, Sam, June, and a few other freshmen.

“How was your first day?” Evie asked on the drive home, finally breaking the silence.

Bella shrugged dully. “Fine, I guess,” she said. “Nothing too eventful. Actually, most of the coursework is stuff I already did earlier in the year, so that’ll be nice.”

Evie nodded, turning to watch out the window as Bella drove down the highway.

Just as they pulled into the gravel driveway, Bella blurted out a question. “Hey, do you know the Cullens?”

Evie blinked. “As in, Dr and Mrs Cullen?”

Bella nodded. “And their adopted and foster children…”

Evie turned to face Bella more fully on the truck bench, shifting her heavy backpack that was resting in her lap. “Yeah, I mean, I see them in school sometimes, but they’re all older than me.” 

“Right,” Bella said, mostly to herself. “Yeah, that would make sense.”

Evie furrowed her brows. “Why do you ask?”

Bella gave a noncommittal shrug. “No reason, really. I just saw them today, and…I was curious.”

Evie narrowed her eyes at her sister. “You have a thing for the younger one, don’t you?” She pressed. “What’s his name? Edmund or something?”

Bella cringed away from her, reaching to open her door. “No, definitely not,” she said firmly. Evie could see the lie on her face, though. “And his name is Edward.”

Evie flung open her door, rushing up to the house after her. “You so totally do. Do you have any classes with him? Did he say something to you? They’re all absolutely beautiful, so I can’t blame you.”

“Stop gushing,” Bella shouldered Evie out of the way slightly so she could unlock the front door. “We have bio together, and we’re lab partners.”

Evie gasped dramatically. “Oh, that’s great! So you’ll be in such close proximity.”

“I dunno if that’s such a good thing, though,” Bella told her. “He’s kind of…odd. We were sitting less than two feet apart and he wouldn’t even look at me. He had this sour sort of look on his face, like I smelled bad.”

Evie wrinkled her nose. “You just showered this morning.”

“I know,” Bella dropped her backpack off on the couch. “It seemed rude.”

Evie shrugged, following her into the living room. “Maybe he’s just a douche,” she offered. “That family mostly keeps to themselves, anyway. Could be that’s why.”

Bella sunk down into the couch, sighing. “I guess so.”

Every couple weekends, Charlie would make the trek out to the reservation to visit Billy Black and Harry Clearwater, either to go fishing out on the water or enjoy a meal together. On gamenights, if the Seahawks or the Mariners were playing, they would all come up to the Swans’ house to watch on the flatscreen tv Charlie had inverted in. As long as she didn’t have any preexisting commitments, Evie would almost always join her father, splitting off to visit Jacob, and he would always drive his father up to Forks, though they were strictly forbidden from sneaking off to Evelyn’s bedroom.

“Evelyn Victoria, I love that boy very dearly, but I will not catch him upstairs and in your room.” He would tell her lovingly, yet stern. “Am I understood?”

“Yes, Dad, I get it,” Evie would mumble back in response, a furious blush spreading across her face. “Just please don’t embarrass me in front of him.”

The first weekend with Bella in the house, Evie was itching to escape the house and see Jacob again. Very early on Saturday morning, before morning light even crept up, Charlie quietly came into her room and gently woke her.

“Hey, Ev,” he said, a heavy hand on her shoulder.

“Hm?” She rolled over, squinting through the dark at her father. “Dad? What time is it?”

“About 5:45,” he told her. “I was going to drive out to the rez, Harry, Billy and I are going fishing for the day…”

Evie shot up straight in bed. “Really?” She asked, suddenly awake. “Okay, give me a minute, I’ll get dressed and go with you.”
He chuckled and left her to get ready, closing her door softly behind him. Evie ripped off her pajamas and pulled on the first warm pair of sweats and clean sweater she could find. She nearly tripped down all of the stairs tugging on her worn Vans, throwing a hand out against the wall to catch herself from faceplanting on the hardwood. Charlie was packing the cruiser with his fishing rods and tackle box when she ran out the front door, dressed in his well-loved fishing vest. He closed the trunk, looking up at his daughter with a fond expression.

“You ready, then?” He asked.

Evie stifled a yawn. “Yeah,” she told him, pulling the passenger door open and climbing.

On the ride out, Evie leaned her head against the window and let her eyes fall shut. Eventually she nodded off, and by the time they’d made it to Billy’s house, the sky was bright with the earliest morning light. Evie rubbed the sleep from her eyes, looking up at the quiet house. Billy and Harry were outside, loading Harry Clearwater’s truck for the day out. 

“Morning, Evelyn,” Harry called as she climbed out of the cruiser.

“Good morning, Harry.” She replied, smiling to them both.

“Morning, Evie,” Billy started. “Jake’s still asleep, last I checked. I don’t think he’ll be up for a bit, but I think he was planning to meet with some kids from school later today.”

Evie was decently acquainted with Jacob’s friends from the reservation, having spent plenty of weekends with them in Jacob’s garage, or exploring the La Push beaches and tide pools.

“Just crash on the couch till he gets up,” Charlie told her. “She’s still tired, fell asleep on the drive in.”

“Okay,” Evie said, nodding and smiling a bit bashfully.

She went into the house and collapsed onto the couch. Evie had spent many years of her life in the Blacks’ childhood home, spending the night when her mother had been in the hospital, Jacob’s older sisters watching them when their parents went out for an evening, and escaping Forks just to spend time with Jake. Sleep found her quickly, and when she woke up again she could tell it was late morning by the light in the house. She heard the refrigerator door close from the kitchen, and she sat up, head poking over the back of the sofa to search for the noise. 

Jacob was awake, rumaging around the kitchen in just his pajama pants. His dark hair was messy and tousled from sleep, falling down against his back. He turned and looked at her, glass of orange juice in each hand.

“Hi,” he said, smiling lightly at her.

She returned his smile. “Hi.”

He took a sip, walking around the back of the couch and sitting down heavily beside her. “I didn’t know you were going to be here today,” he told her.

“Yeah, Charlie woke me up this morning and asked if I wanted to come,” she explained, apologetically. 

He shrugged, still smiling. “Fine by me,” he said. “Quil and Embry were going to come over later for a bit, but they won’t stay for too long.”
She nodded. “Okay, that sounds good.”

When Quil and Embry were at the house, she left the room for a short period. Immediately upon her departure, she heard the two other boys pounce on Jacob, interrogating him fiercely. She pressed her ear to the door to hear their voices better.

“Come on, Jake.” Quil said faintly. “You still haven’t asked her out?”

“No, shut up, man,” Jacob replied.

“You’ve gotta do something,” Embry pressed. 

“I will,” Jacob told them. “It’s just…complicated.”
“It really doesn’t seem like it,” Quil argued. “Seems pretty simple, really. You’re both into each other– just do something.”

“And I will,” Jacob said again. “Eventually.”

Evie pushed off of the door, smiling to herself. Eventually was better than never.

Notes:

Hi guys! This fic popped into my head fully formed while scrolling through those cute "What I Would Wear In Twilight" tiktoks while thinking about how much I wish there had been somebody for Jacob the entire time instead of just getting written off form the love triangle and having him imprint on a literal infant bc he deserves more, so here we go! I promise, the Bella-bashing will be light, and it's mostly because I over identify with her and it's lowkey embarrassing. Also get ready for so much Jake content I literally love him so much it's going to be so great.
I will try to post biweekly. You can find me my writing acc on tiktok @glittertwin14 and my personal acc @nattlebeez. Thanks for reading!
xxx nattles

Chapter 2

The first weeks with Bella in the house passed by smoothly, and they all fell into a routine together as a family. Evie remembered how sporadic and carefree Bella’s mom was, and Bella’s personality reflected the exact opposite– perfectionist, a bit of a control freak, goody-two-shoes. Such a Virgo, Evie thought idly one night as she watched Bella cooking dinner. Apparently, Bella did all the grocery shopping and most of the cooking when she lived with her mother, and possibly a good portion of the cleaning and housework, too. Evie sometimes wondered if Renee qualified as a mother at all, but Charlie gave her a stern look when she voiced such.

Bella would make runs to the supermarket after school somedays, taking Evie with her. Evie would run and jump up on the cart’s handlebar, riding down the aisles, and Bella would cringe mildly as she watched. While Bella tried to take up cooking most nights, Evie always offered help, and some days Charlie would barge into the kitchen and send them both, telling them he was perfectly capable of cooking for his daughters, and sending them to do whatever homework they had. Evie would laugh at Charlie’s playful tone, but Bella would just blink, seemingly shocked at a parent actually caring for their children.

Evie gently elbowed her. “Don’t worry,” she told Bella. “He’s a good cook. Most days…”

She would call Jacob most evenings after school as she worked on her homework, and told him about her sister’s adjusting.

“She’s okay,” she told him one night. “Kind of controlling, like she doesn’t know how to operate with a fully functioning adult in the house.”
“Well, she was raised by a single mom, Ev.” Jake reminded her. “You know what living in a single parent household is like. You get used to doing things on your own a lot.”

“Yeah, but her mom sounds totally crazy. By the time Bella got here, she had three emails from her, and she had to ask Bella where her clothes were– she had left them at the dry cleaner’s, Jake. The dry cleaner’s!”

“Okay, yeah, that’s kind of weird,” he admitted.

“It just seems so different from our childhoods,” Evie said into the phone.

“I did have two older sisters taking care of me,” Jacob added. “And Charlie’s goal in life is to be like this supernatural parent. It’s kind of a high standard to live up to.”

Evie hummed in acknowledgement. “I just don’t get what my dad could’ve seen in her,” Evie spoke quietly. “She sounds…like a nutcase.”

“Evie…” Jacob started. “Have you ever even met this woman?”

“Yes, Jacob, I have.” She told him, annoyed. “Multiple times. And you have, too. It’s just, these stories I hear.” She shuddered. “Makes me glad she’s here. Which says a lot, coming from me.”
Jacob laughed.  

 

Bella was becoming increasingly popular at school as time went on. She sat with the same crew at lunch each day, beside Jessica, and it seemed as though a few boys in her grade had developed a thing for her. Evie didn’t mind, and she was happy that Bella seemed to be fitting in, but she was mildly annoyed that it was brought up by her friends so often.

“Jess says she’s like a ‘shiny new toy,’ ” Sophie whispered in History one day. “That’s why all the guys like her so much. 

“Okay,” Evie replied, not looking away from the blackboard.

“I mean, Mike Newton is practically slobbering all over her at lunch everyday,” she went on. “Jess is always so pissed about it– she bitches in the car the whole way home.”

“Jessica should just tell Mike she likes him,” Evie said, taking down her notes for the class.

“Yeah, but now she doesn’t want to because she thinks Mike likes Bella,” Sophie told her. “And if she did, things would get all weird between her and Bella, and then things could get weird between us.”

“Why would things get weird with us?” Evie asked flatly, still writing.

“Because my sister would have gone behind your sister’s back, and then we would have to stand by our sisters rather than each other.”

“Jess has liked Mike since first grade. I think she has dibs,” Evie deadpanned. “Besides, I can say definitively that Bella does not like Mike. Things wouldn’t be weird.” Evie thought for a moment before going on. “Also, I wouldn’t stand by Bella instead of you in that situation. That would be so weird.”

Sophie’s face split into a beaming grin. “Aw, thanks Ev.” Her smile dropped. “Wait– does that mean Bella likes someone else at school?”

Evie stopped writing. Shit. “No,” she lied. “I don’t think so.”

There was a fiery red blush creeping up her cheeks and the back of her neck.

“You’re so lying!” Sophie smiled brightly. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re still lying,” Sophie sang. “Is it Eric? Tyler?”

“Shut it,” Evie hissed, kicking Sophie’s chair.

Still smirking, Sophie turned to face the front of the classroom. Once they were in the hallway, though, she pounced on Evie again.

“You absolutely have to tell me who it is, Evelyn.” Sophie had a finger in her face. “We’re not leaving this spot until you do.”

Evie sighed. “I know that it’s no one in their little circle.”

Sophie dropped her hand, and Evie watched as the gears turned in her head. She quickly turned and dashed down the hallway to escape her friend's wrath. Sophie’s steps came pounding down after her.

“Hey!” She called. “Don’t you dare run, I’m not done with you!”

In late January, Evie rose to find a lovely crisp snow covered world outside her bedroom window. Her father was kneeling in the front yard, attaching snowchains to Bella’s truck before he left for work. Evie stood in her pajamas staring out at the scene for as long as time permitted her, before quickly changing and pulling on her parka. She ransacked the kitchen cupboards and pulled out a box of Pop-Tarts, tearing open a Chocolate Fudge package and heading out the door after Bella. They climbed in, and it took all of Evie’s self control not to crank down the window and stick her head out in the snow. Bella drove slow, so as to avoid any icy patches or sleet puddles, and Evie was grateful for any extra time she had to gaze out at the wintry picturesque scenes before it all melted. When they got to school, Bella carefully climbed out and went to the back of the truck, paying close attention to the tires. Her jaw went slack. 

“Hey,” she called to Evie. “Did Charlie put these on?”

Evie came over and looked down at the snowchains. “Oh, yeah,” she kicked the tire lightly. “I saw Dad putting them on this morning, before he left.”

“Evie!” Someone called.

Evie whipped her head around, looking for the source of the voice. There, at the top of the school steps, waving frantically, was Sophie and Sam, caught in the middle of a very mild snowball fight. Evie looked back to Bella.

“Hey, Sophie’s calling me,” she told her. “Gotta run, see you at lunch?”

Bella nodded dimly, still staring at the chains. “Yeah, see you.”

Evie sprinted across the lot and up the icy steps, only slipping mildly on a few of the steps. By the time she’d made it to the top and scooped up an icy snowball of her own, there was a sickening screech in the lot. Tyler Crowley’s van was sliding along the icy parking lot, heading directly towards Bella’s truck, Bella still standing right where Evie had left her. Evie dropped her snowball. 

“Oh no,” Sophie whispered.

“Shit,” Sam said.

“Bella!” Evie screeched.

In an instant, Evie was dashing down the stairs again, looking at her feet, trying desperately not to fall flat on her face on the cold concrete. She heard the nauseating crunch of metal on metal, and looked up to see Bella gone, the huge van slammed into the corner of her truck. 

“No!” Evie cried, sprinting towards the wreck. “ISABELLA!”

There was a large crowd of students forming around the vehicles, and Evie pushed and elbowed her way through them, trying to get to her sister. She pushed several students hard, and climbed into the bed of the truck, suddenly sick by the thought of what she might find. Peering over, she found Bella lying on the ground, completely unharmed, and Edward Cullen hovering over her. Evie’s brows knit together.

“What the fuck, Bella?” Evie exclaimed. “God, are you alright?”

Bella’s head whipped towards her, and she winced at the sudden movement. She made to jump off the bed, but a teacher tried to stop her.

“Hey!” Mr Varner shouted to her. “Get down from there, Miss Swan! Wait for the paramedics to arrive.”

Evie gave him a disbelieving look. “Um, no.” She told them. “I’m going to see my sister, thanks.”

The teacher guffawed at her, but Evie jumped down all the same. Edward seemed to be stifling laughter. Evie made sure to shoot him a dark look, glaring at the boy. She knelt down towards her sister.

“Are you okay?” She asked gently.

“She hit her head,” Edward told her matter of factly.

“Yeah, well, considering she’s lying on the ground, I kind of deduced that myself.” Evie rolled her eyes. “Thanks anyway, Captain Obvious.”

Edward’s shoulders shook with laughter, but Evie ignored him.

Once the van was pulled far enough away, Bella was loaded onto a stretcher and hauled into the back of an ambulance. Before Evie climbed on after her, Mr Varner stopped her once more.

“I think Bella will be alright, Evelyn.” He told her. “You can probably just stay at school for the time being. Your father will likely keep you updated.”

She glared at the teacher for a moment before climbing up into the ambulance. “Like hell I will,” she grumbled, buckling in. She pulled out her cellphone and called their father, much to Bella’s dismay.

“No, you don’t need to call Charlie!” Bella reached to swipe her phone out of her hands, but couldn’t manage with the neckbrace. “Don’t make a fuss, Evie.”

Evie blinked at her. “You were almost crushed by a van, Isabella. I think Dad would want to know.”

Bella huffed, but Evie continued to dial and call him anyway.

Once they’d arrived at the hospital, Bella was unloaded and rushed off for scans and exams, while Evie and their father were left in the waiting room, anxious to hear any news. Evie wrapped her arms around her dad’s middle, resting her head on his chest, and Charlie wound an arm around her shoulders.

“God, I hope she’s alright,” he whispered, shaking his head. “I hate hospitals.”

“I know, Dad,” Evie told him.

He placed a hand on her head, stroking Evie’s hair. “I hate car wrecks.”

Evie took in a deep breath. “I know, Dad.”

They stood in the waiting room for a moment, Charlie pressing his cheek to the top of her head, before parting. He reached to pull his cellphone out of his pocket.

“I should call her mother…” her dad sighed.

Evie fell into a chair nearby. “She’s going to be fine, Dad. I rode with her the whole way here, she seemed okay.”

“Still,” he said, dialling the number. “Renee would want to know. I would want to know.”

He walked off to a quiet spot in the waiting room to call Bella’s mother, and Evie stayed in her chair, watching out the window as the snow slowly melted. As the hours passed by and her boredom consumed her, Evie considered calling Jacob and telling him of the day’s events. She had pulled her cellphone out and almost clicked his number before she’d realized he was still in school. Internally groaning, she pocketed the phone and stared out the window again. She must have nodded off at some point, because before she knew it, her father was standing over her and lightly shaking her shoulder, Bella standing behind him.

“Ev,” he whispered. “Hey, Ev. Let’s go home.”

Evie blinked the sleep from her eyes. “Huh?” She looked up at them again, jumping from her chair. “Oh! Are you doing okay, Bella?”

She shrugged. “They’re letting me go.”

“Finally,” Charlie added. 

Evie looked up at them for a moment before nodding. “Okay. Let’s go home, then.”

Bella climbed up the stairs, having a very vibrant conversation over the phone with Renee when the three of them got home. Almost as soon as she hung up, she dosed up on Tylenol and fell into bed. Evie and her father ate leftovers quietly together, Evie still in a daze from her nap. She spent most of the meal staring into space.

“Tired, kiddo?” He asked her.

She blinked, nodding.

“Why don’t you just tuck in for the night,” he suggested, rising from the table. “It’s been a crazy day.”

Evie shook her head. “Nah,” she told him. “I was thinking about calling Jake.”
“Hm,” Charlie cast a knowing look over his shoulder at her, smirking slightly.

“Daaad…” Evie started.

“I didn’t say anything,” he put his hands up in surrender. “He’s a good kid, I like him.”

“Whatever,” Evie mumbled, desperately trying to hide her blush.

“Good looking, too.” He kicked the leg of her chair lightly, before speeding out of the room.

“Dad!” She called despairingly. Evie debated throwing a fork at his head as he laughed, but thought better of it.

Chapter 3

A few weeks after Bella’s near accident in the lot, Evie and Sophie caught wind of the juniors’ plans to drive out to the beach. They both begged their sisters to let them go with, and while Jessica caved rather quickly, Bella seemed less sure.

“Please, Bella, please,” Evie had her cornered in the hall after class one day. “I promise I won’t be a bother, I’ll just hang out with Sophie the whole time. Plus, I was going to ask Jake to come if you let me go, so I can just go and spend time with him and his friends, too.”

“It’s not that I imagine you’ll be some great pain,” Bella started, glancing around the hall and away from her sister’s pleading face. “It’s just, it’s not even my trip. I’d have to ask Mike and see if he’d have enough room in his car, and then–”

“But Sophie’s going!” Evie told her. “He let Sophie come!”

“Yes, well,” Bella pushed Evie out of her way slightly, making her way down the hall towards her next class. “Mike is going to the dance with Sophie’s sister, so it would be weird if he had said no.”

Evie frowned. “Ugh,” she threw her head back, groaning, Then she turned to look at her sister pleadingly again. “Will you please just think about asking him?”

Bella pressed her lips together in a flat line. “Fine,” she relented. “I’ll think about it. No promises, though, okay?”

Evie perked up slightly, but was still sulking when she finally made it to History with Sophie.

“Any luck?” Sophie whispered as she sat down, dropping her backpack beside her desk.

Evie shrugged. “I think we’ll just have to wait this one out and see what happens.”

Sam, Sophie, June, and Evie were all walking shoulder to shoulder into the cafeteria, laughing loudly about an obscene mispronunciation Mr Mason had made while reading aloud in English, when Sam stopped abruptly. The three other girls tripped on their feet, nearly stumbling to the floor. Sophie reacted first.

“Sam, what the actual–” she froze, eyes catching on what had stopped Sam in her tracks. 

“Oh,” June blinked. “That’s a new development.”

Evie laughed lightly, scanning the room for whatever they were staring at. Then, in turn, her own mouth hung open in shock. On the opposite side of the cafeteria, at a typically unoccupied table, Bella was sitting alone with Edward Cullen. Definitely a new development. The girls all shook their heads to break the daze, walking towards their usual table. Evie glared at the pair the whole walk there, and through most of their lunch period.

“Are you alright?” June whispered to her. “You look like you're going to throw your tray at someone’s head.”

Evie took a deep breath, ripping her gaze away from her sister and her new lunch date. She nodded to June. “I’m fine, Junebug,” she told her. “I just– something about Cullen gives the creeps.” Evie shuddered.

“Aw, you don’t like Eddie boy?” Sam laughed from June’s other side.

“No,” Evie pushed a bit of food around on her tray. “I guess not.”

“Why not? Kinda weird of you to all of the sudden feel protective over Bell,” Sam sat back, shrugging. “I mean, you don’t even really like your sister.”

Evie glared at her. “Yeah, but that’s different. I can be unenthusiastic about Bella coming to live with me and still not want her to hang out with a weirdo.”

After lunch, Evie trudged through two classes on her own, before wandering to the parking lot at the end of the day. She was still anxious to convince Bella about the beach trip and eager to interrogate her about Cullen at lunch. She stood with Sophie at the top of the steps, scanning the lot– Bella’s truck was gone.

“Okay, Jess is waving me down, so I gotta run,” Sophie threw her a bright smile over her shoulder as she raced down the steps. “Bye!”

“Bye,” Evie waved halfheartedly at the girl, still watching the lot with a confused look. Where the hell did Bella go?

She slowly walked down the slick stairs, rain dumping from the sky. Evie pressed her hands deep into the pocket of her coat, trying to preserve some warmth in her fingers. As she made it to the bottom, she pulled out her cellphone, about to call Bella and ask where she’d gone, when a shiny European sports car pulled up in front of her, the passenger window rolled down.

“Hi,” Edward called to her. “I’m Edward Cullen.”

Evie leveled him with an accusatory stare. “I know who you are.”

Edward smiled at her. “Your sister fainted in Biology today– blood typing– so I drove her home earlier…do you want to just catch a ride with me?”

Evie gaped at him slightly. “What?” She tried to wrap her mind around the concept. “You…drove Bella home?”

“Just get in the car, Evelyn.” He told her, chuckling at her near dumbfounded expression.

Evie glanced around the lot, watching the students slowly trickle out and leave for the day. Reluctantly, she pulled the car door open and slid into the passenger seat.

“You promise you’re not going to, like, kidnap me and kill me in an alleyway or something?”

Edward laughed. “Wow, you really are skeptical about getting in the car with a stranger, huh?”

Evie snorted. “Well I was raised by the chief of police,” she reminded him. “So that definitely did put some ideas into my mind. ‘Keep your head on a swivel,’ and all that.”

“Hm,” he nodded faintly, an amused expression on his face as he pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the road. Quiet classical music was playing from the car’s stereo system, and it took all of Evie’s willpower not to laugh at how boring it made Edward seem, listening to classical alone in his car by choice. They soon arrived at the Swans’ house, Bella’s truck in its usual spot in the driveway. Edward stopped Evie before she clambered out of the car.

“Can I ask you something?” He started.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, hand on the door handle.

“Why are you so against my spending time with your sister?”

Evie arched a brow, appraising the boy across from her. “Why are you suddenly interested in hanging around her?” She posed. “Also, why am I not allowed to be protective of her? Isn’t that some sort of dutiful sisterly right I have?”

Edward shrugged lightly, a small smile ghosting across his lips. “You’re just very…firery about it, is all. Overly concerned, it seems.”

She glared at him. “I think most people who know me would consider this an average amount of concern on my part.”

Edward raised his hands in defeat, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Evie pulled her door open, quickly climbing out and pulling her backpack over her shoulder.

“Thanks for the ride,” she grumbled.

“Have a nice night, Evelyn,” he told her before she shut the door.

Evelyn stomped up the front steps to the door, quickly unlocking it with her house key and swinging it open. She kicked her shoes off in the entryway, and marched upstairs, tossing her backpack into the open door of her bedroom haphazardly, and barged into her sister's room. Bella was lying on her bed, a headphone plugged into one ear, a small pile of homework spread out around her. She looked up at Evie’s boisterous entrance.

Evie placed her hands on her hips. “Wanna tell me why Edward Cullen just drove me home?”

Bella blinked. “Because he was kind enough to offer…?”

Evie stormed over and threw herself down beside Bella, some papers crinkling under her weight. “I’d like a legitimate explanation, please.”

She shrugged. “We were blood typing in Bio today and I really don’t like blood. I fainted and went to the nurse’s office, and he got the receptionist to excuse me from Gym, so he drove me home.”

“Really?” Evie asked, disbelieving. “That’s all that happened?”

“Yes,” Bella confirmed. “Why do you ask?”

Evie rolled onto her back, tossing her head back. “Because that’s what he told me, and that means he was being honest.”

“Oh, stop, Ev,” Bella kicked her leg. “He doesn’t have sinister ulterior motives; he was just being friendly.”

Evie turned her head enough to meet Bella’s eyeline. “Boys always have ulterior motives. You should learn to be more paranoid, it’s good for your personal safety.”

Bella stuck her tongue out. “You spend too much time with Charlie.”

“Well, he is my father,” Evie said, narrowing her eyes at Bella.

Bella gave a small hum in acknowledgement. “I invited Edward to go on the beach trip this weekend.”

Evie faltered, hoping she was mishearing her. “What?”

“Today,” she confirmed. “When he drove me home.”

“Why would you do that?” Evie asked, tone laced with frustration. “I thought you said you didn’t want to bother Mike with asking for an extra seat.”

“I just wanted to ask him,” Bella said flatly. “So I did.”

“Did you talk to Mike then?” Evie felt a sneer creeping across her lips, though she didn’t care enough to keep it contained.

“No,” Bella admitted. 

“So, you just invited him to someone else’s trip without even asking if it was cool,” Evie spat. “When I’ve been asking you to go for weeks. Me, your sister, not some random kid who just ignored you in class.”

“He’s not coming, Evie,” Bella told her. “Calm down. He told me he wouldn’t be able to.”

“That–” Evie clenched her jaw. “That’s not the point, Isabella.” She pushed up off of her bed, and went to the door. “God. You know, you’re kind of a headache.”

 

After begging, pleading, insisting, and arguing, Bella finally asked Mike whether he’d mind if Evie joined along on their La Push trip, mostly to reconcile with her little sister. Of course, he instantly said yes. Lee Stephens, the sophomore boy Sam was seeing, would be driving his mom’s minivan, and Mike was taking his family’s Suburban, so they would have plenty of seats. Evie squealed for joy and ran from the room to call Jacob and ask if he would be at the beach that weekend. Saturday morning, they all met at the Newtons’ family store and piled into the cars for the trek out to the water.

They spent the first part of the day gathered around a small driftwood fire, debating who was staying on the beach and who wanted to hike to the tide pools. Bella and her friends, Jessica and Angela, had joined the group leaving for the hike, but Evie was adamant in staying on the beach, waiting for Jacob’s arrival. During their absence a small group of teenagers from the reservation wandered over to their group, among them being Jacob Black.

Evie’s face split into a grin at the sight of him, and she raised up to greet him with a fierce hug.

“Hey!” He cried, returning her embrace. He glanced around to scan the group as they pulled apart. “Isn’t your sister supposed to be here?”

“Oh, she just went on a hike with some of the other kids,” she told him. She tugged on his arm, leading him toward the fire. “Come get some food and sit down.”

Evie and Jacob sat beside one another on a piece of driftwood, and Evie dutifully introduced him to the group. Sam waved happily to him, and Sophie smiled brightly before making an obscene expression and winking at Evie once Jacob had turned away. Evie blushed violently, hoping it was covered by the heat of the flames. One of the older boys had begun introducing each of those in the group to the kids from the reservation when the hikers finally emerged from the woods. Bella wandered through the crowd closer to where Evie was sitting beside Jacob.

“Bella,” Evie called, waving her sister closer. “This is Jacob Black, Billy’s son.”

Bella smiled politely, but it was obvious Bella wasn’t making the connections. “Oh, hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Well, we knew each other when we were kids,” Jacob told her. “You would remember my sisters better, though, Rachel and Rebecca.”

“Oh, okay, that makes sense.” There was still very little recognition on her face.

“Dad bought Billy’s truck, and Jacob did like months of work on it,” Evie finally chimed in.

“Oh!” Bella exclaimed, laughing nervously as the names finally clicked together. “Okay, yeah, that definitely makes a lot more sense.”

Jacob chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t say months of work,” he started.

“Jake,” Evie stopped him. “You were in that garage forever.”

He shrugged, relenting a bit.

Bella took a spot next to Angela, and Sophie came to sit beside Evie. She slid further down the driftwood log and closer to Jacob to allow space for Sophie to sit with them, Evie’s shoulder rubbing against Jacob’s upper arm and their legs touching, almost their entire sides pressing against each other. One of the other girls called to Bella from across the fire.

“Bella,” Lauren Mallory started. “I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn’t anyone think to invite them?” 

Evie ground her teeth at the question. Clearly she wasn’t the only one who’d been displeased at Bella’s new lunchmate, though she hardly knew why it would bother Lauren. 

An older boy from the reservation chimed in before Bella could respond. “Do you mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen’s family?”

Evie felt Jacob stiffen beside her at the tall boy’s response.

“Yes, do you know them?” Lauren asked bitterly.

“The Cullens don’t come here,” the older boy told her firmly.

Evie blinked at his strange statement. Jacob grimaced, clearly put off by the tension between the groups. Evie turned more towards him, speaking in a hushed voice.

“My sister invited one of the Cullen kids,” she told him quietly.

Jacob looked down at her. “Really?”

“I thought it was weird,” she said, looking towards the fire. “They’ve been talking and spending time together…I think he has a thing for her or something, but I don’t know.”

Jacob blinked. “Huh.” 

 Sophie tugged sharply on one of Evie’s braids.

“Hey,” she said sweetly. “Will you come out to the woods with me for a minute?” She leaned in closer to whisper. “I have to pee.”

Evie leaned back a bit. “Okay,” she said. “Just ask Sam.”

“Yeah, but Sam’s with Lee,” she nodded over to the couple, very obviously invested in only each other at the moment. “And I don’t wanna interrupt them.”

Evie glared darkly at Sophie, but Jacob bumped her shoulder a bit. “Go ahead,” he said, smiling down at her. “I don’t mind.”

Sophie jumped up and offered Evie a hand. “Okay,” Evie rose slowly. “But I’ll be right back.”

Jacob nodded, teeth flashing as he grinned at her. Sophie looped her arm through Evie’s and pulled her deep enough into the woods that none of the others could see them. Evie threw a glance over her shoulder, and felt Sophie do the same.

“Oh my God, Evie!” She said quickly. “He is cute, he’s absolutely adorable.”

Evie laughed. “I told you so, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t really know what to think of it, you know?” Sophie released Evie’s arm and went to put a large tree between them. “Gosh, where have you been hiding him all these years…”

“Right here, I guess.” Evie was smiling stupidly to herself.

“Are you going to ask him to the girls’ choice dance at school?” Sophie offered.

Evie gnawed at her lip. “I thought about it, but I’m not sure if he’d want to.”

“Oh, that’s a stupid excuse,” Sophie told her. “What, are you scared or something?”

Evie scoffed lightly, but made no response.

“You are scared!” Sophie exclaimed from the other side of her tree. “I never thought I’d see the day– Evelyn Swan is scared of something.”

“Okay, okay, you can calm down.” Evie told her. Then in a quiet voice, “Do you really think I should ask him?”

“Yes!” Sophie cried. “What are you, crazy? You absolutely should.”

After a few minutes, Sophie popped back up from behind her tree and they made their way back to the group, and Evie let the thought of asking Jacob circle around her head several times. The path seemed to wind on much further than the first time, but eventually they found their way back to the beach, walking towards the large fire. When they returned, Jacob was no longer on their log from earlier, though the other kids from the reservation were still in the group. She scanned the small crowd for him, asking when she was unable to locate him.

“Hey,” she went up to Jacob’s friends Quil and Paul. “Where’s Jake?”

“Oh, he went down the beach with some girl.” Paul told her. “I thought it was you.”

“What?” Evie asked, confused.

Bella’s friend, Angela, appeared at her shoulder. “Bella went with him, Evie.”

Evie blinked. “Oh,” she said. “Thanks.” She sat back down at her spot next to Sophie, grinding her teeth. By the time Jacob and Bella reemerged in the group, Evie thought she could feel a deep crease between her brows. Jacob had a sweet puppy-dog look about his face, while Bella sported a similar furrow in her brows to her sister. Evie was seething at the sight of them.

Jacob sat back down beside Evie. “Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” she ground out. He didn’t seem to notice her indignation.

“I was walking with Bella,” he told her. “She’s cool.”

“Yeah, I know.” Evie glared across the fire at her sister. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Oh, she was asking me what Sam meant by the whole Cullens comment,” he replied, shrugging. “So, I told her the wolf legend and the thing about the Doctor’s family.”

“Hm,” Evie looked back at Jacob beside her. “I thought you weren’t supposed to tell other people legends from the Tribe.”

Jacob glanced over at her nervously. “Well, it’s your sister, Ev.” He swallowed. “I figured it was probably okay. Plus, it’s not like anyone else is going to know.”

Evie scoffed lightly under her breath, and several of the older kids announced they wanted to leave before the rain set in, so they all began to pack up for the day. Before they left the beach, Jacob shot up from his seat, offering Evie a hand as she stood.

“I’ll walk with you guys back to where you parked,” he told her. Evie didn’t miss the way his eyes glanced over to where Bella stood with Angela and Jessica.

“Okay,” she said.

Evie and Jacob took up the rear in the group, and she kicked a few small rocks as they walked, watching them scatter across the sand. A small voice in her head told her to just pull him back and ask him, but an angry part of her conscience stopped her.

“You really don’t like Bella staying with you?” He asked, out of earshot of the rest of them. “I thought she was cool.”

Evie kicked a small rock with particularly more force than necessary. “Oh, don’t be stupid, Jake,” she spat. “She was just interrogating you about the Cullens because she likes one of them.”

Jacob’s steps faltered. They’d mostly made it to the lot by then, standing at the top of the staircase. “I–” he abruptly turned to look at her. “What?”

Evie crossed her arms over her chest defensively, rain coat crinkling loudly. “She’s not into you.”

Jacob blinked. “I didn’t–”

“Evie!” Sam shouted from the minivan. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Look, I gotta go,” she told Jacob, leaving him at the end of the parking lot. “It’s fine. I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Wait, Ev,” Jacob made to grab the sleeve of her coat, but she was already out of his reach.

“Bye, Jake.”

Evie went to the minivan, quickly climbing in and sliding the door shut. As they left the parking lot, Jacob was still standing at the end of the top of the beach stairs with a very dazed look on his face. 

Sophie turned to her, speaking quickly. “So?” She prompted. “Did you ask him?”

Evie leaned her head against the window. “Not yet.” She closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep on the ride back to Forks.

Notes:

Okay, this might have been a bit of a weird one, but I promise it'll all turn out great and I'm about to pick up the pace with it, so just be patient! <3
Thanks for reading, I'll hopefully have the next chap posted very soon!
xxx nattles

Chapter 4

Evie woke early in the morning to a sharp screeching scream, and a loud clattering from Bella’s room. She shot out of bed, throwing the covers off and rushing to Bella’s room. She tried the handle, but the door was locked. Evie jostled it again, confused, before finally knocking.

“Bella?” She asked through the door. “Is everything okay? The door’s locked.” She could hear someone rustling through the room on the other side of the door.

“Yeah,” Bella called back. “Just a second.” After a moment, Bella pulled the door open. Evie scanned her sister and the room, blinking from the sudden brightness. Bella was still fully dressed from the day before, and all of the lights in her room were still on. Evie saw the source of the crash, her sister’s CD player, scattered on the wood floor.

“Are you alright?” Evie asked warily. “I just…I heard screaming.”

Bella nodded quickly. “Yeah, just a bad dream,” she reassured her. “Everything’s fine.”

Evie blinked. “You’re still dressed.”

Bella nodded again. “I know, yeah, I uh– I fell asleep after we got back. Didn’t change or anything.”

“Okay,” Evie yawned loudly. “I’m just gonna go back to bed then.”

“Yeah, go back to sleep, Evs,” Bella told her. “I’m sorry for waking you.”

Evie went into her room and shut the door, falling into bed again. She tried to sleep, and while her subconscious was light and airy, caught in a place between being awake and dreaming, she could hear Bella rummaging around in the other room. Eventually, the bathroom door opened and shut, and Evie could hear the shower staring up. She craned her neck to look at her old Hello Kitty alarm clock: 5:39. Evie groaned, pulling a pillow up over her head. She heard her own bedroom door open, and she threw the pillow off, searching through the dark for the source of the noise. 

Charlie was creaking the door open, standing veiled in the hallway. “Hey,” he whispered. “Is that Bella up?”

“Yeah,” Evie told him, pushing herself to sit up in bed. “She fell asleep almost right when we came back yesterday.”

“Oh, okay,” he took a seat at the end of her bed. “Well, I didn’t know if you were awake, but I’m heading out to go fishing today…”

Evie pulled her lip between her teeth, gnawing anxiously. “I don’t think I’ll come with this time.”

Her father furrowed his brow, confused. “Why not?”

“I, uh…” She turned away from him, looking towards the dark window. “Jake and I got into a little bit of an argument at the beach yesterday. Well, I got into it, he kind of just stood there…”

“Hm,” her father frowned. “Do you want me to talk to him about it?”

“No!” Evie exclaimed, reaching for her dad. “No, whatever you do, don’t do that. I’ve already embarrassed myself enough I think.”

“Okay,” he said.

Evie fidgeted with the loose end of her pillow sham, avoiding her father’s analyzing stare. “I’ll probably call him and apologize later or something,” she confessed. “It was stupid of me, I was just mad.”

“Alright, kid.” He patted her feet under the covers affectionately. “I’m leaving, then. Be good, and be nice to your sister.”

“Okay, Dad,” she looked up as he left, pulling her door shut as he went. “Love you.”

While Evie could hear the electronic whirring noise of her sister’s hair blowdryer through the walls in the bathroom, sleep finally found her. She pulled a pillow back over her head, and then drew the covers up and over as well, nearly suffocating herself. When she woke, the room was light, and she pushed herself up dizzily. She started for the bathroom, starting the shower water until it ran hot, and shivering as she got in. She scrubbed the salt and any stray sand from the beach out of her scalp and off her skin, rinsing the layer of sweat from her blanketed cocoon off of her skin. When she emerged from the water, the bathroom was thick with steam and the sweet smell of girly shampoo and soaps. Going back to her room, Evie pulled on clean sweats and one of her ratty MCR t-shirts Charlie had begrudgingly bought her for Christmas. She pulled her wet hair into a french plait down her back, and neatly made her bed, fluffing all of the pillows and placing her little stuffed dog propped up at the center. 

Bounding down the stairs, Evie realized she was home on her own– Bella wasn’t in the house. She glanced at the kitchen clock, 11:47, and then poked her head through the front curtains. Her truck was still there, so Evie wasn’t sure where she could’ve gone. She shrugged to herself, letting the curtains fall shut and puttering around the kitchen. She pulled out a package of Pop-Tarts, putting them in the toaster, and pouring herself a glass of milk as she waited. When the strudels popped up, she quickly plated them and dashed up the stairs to her room again, closing the door behind her. She sat at her desk as she ate, pulling a few small homework assignments out. She finished eating, wiping the crumbs from her hands, and began working on a science paper, something about Yellowstone Park wolf populations and reintroductions. She was nearly finished when the phone in her room rang, jumping as it startled her out of her focus. She picked it up.

“Hello?” 

“Evelyn!” It was Sam. “You won’t believe the story Lee told me, I can’t believe he didn’t tell me about it sooner.”

“Okay, go for it,” she told her, sitting back a bit in her rickety desk chair.

“Well, you know how Lee’s taking eleventh grade Bio this year?” She asked.

Evie rolled her eyes. “Yes, I think you’ve told us about a thousand times.”

“Right, well, Bella got put in that class with him,” she told Evie. “And Edward Cullen is her lab partner, so they sit by each other everyday.”

Evie was suddenly much more curious. “Go on,” she told her.

“Apparently the other day, just before we all went to the beach, Edward wasn’t in class, he was skipping or something, but they were bloodtyping, and Bella fainted.” Sam was speaking quickly. “So Mike Newton took her to the nurse, and everyone knows Mike totally has a thing for your sister.”

“I didn’t know that,” Evie told her truthfully.

“Oh,” Sam said. “Well, I’ll tell you more about all of that stuff later.

“But, after he took Bella, Lee fainted, so when Mike got back to the classroom, he just hauled Lee to the nurse, too. And when they got there, guess who was sitting with Bella!”

Evie groaned a bit. “Edward Cullen?”

“Yes!” 

“Yeah, I knew about some of that,” Evie told her, twirling the phone cord absentmindedly. “Bella told me about it a little bit. He drove her home that day, and then came back and gave me a ride, too.”

“What?” Sam exclaimed. “You didn’t tell me that.”

Evie sighed. “Well, it didn’t feel super important…” she corrected herself. “Actually, I guess I just didn’t want it to feel important; this whole Edward thing with her just weirds me out. He’s creepy.”

“Hm,” Sam was thoughtful on the other line. “I think we should all have a debrief on this.”

“Oh no, Samantha,” Evie groaned. “I do not want to spend any additional time on this subject– let’s just move on.”

“Oookay,” she said. Evie could hear the smile in her voice. “So, how’s your boy-toy, Jacob, then? Sophie said you were gonna ask him to the girls’ choice dance.”

Evie winced. “I kinda picked a fight with him yesterday.”

“Oh?” Sam was intrigued. “Do tell.”

“I accused him of having a thing for my sister,” Evie confessed. “As we were leaving. I told him she’s not into him.”

Sam was silent for a moment. “Why, on God’s green earth, would you do that?”

Grimacing, Evie went on. “Because he went on a walk down the beach with her!” Evie reminded her. “And then came back looking all dumbstruck like a little puppy. It made me mad.”

“Evie, the boy is obsessed with you!” She laughed. “Everyone could see it, he hardly left your side the whole time, and then walked a quarter of a mile back to the cars with us.”

Evie groaned loudly. “Yeah, I know. It just made me mad…” She chewed at her lip. “He hasn’t even asked me out, you know that?”

“Well, yeah, but you’ve practically been dating since middle school anyway.”

“No,” Evie said firmly. “We are not dating until he asks me out. That’s how it works. He doesn’t get out on a technicality here.”

“Okay,” Sam relented a bit. “But does he know that?”

Evie sighed. “No,” she admitted.

“Then you should probably tell him.”

A heavy silence floated between them through the telephone line. Sam suddenly spoke again.

“I think you should just ask him to the dance,” she told Evie. “Clear the air, it’ll be like a fresh slate.”

Downstairs, Evie heard the front door open and shut. “Hey, my sister just got home, I gotta go, okay?”

“Call Jacob!” Sam shouted over the phone. “Ask him!” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Evie grumbled. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Bye, Ev!”

Evie hung up her phone, sighing. She rubbed her eyes, feeling a slow tension headache building up behind them. She pushed herself up and went down the stairs, freezing near the bottom of the steps. Bella was in the entryway, peeling off her socks. She looked like a wet cat, hair plastered to her face, windbreaker soaked through.

Evie stared at her. “Where were you?”

“I went on a walk,” Bella said. “I wanted to clear my head.”

“You hate the rain,” Evie came down the rest of the stairs. 

Bella pulled off her wet coat. “I needed fresh air.”

Evie shrugged. The rest of the evening was quiet, Bella doing her own homework in her room, Evie finishing her paper. Their father returned home in the evening with a hefty load of fish; Evie had to keep herself from laughing at the way Bella’s nose wrinkled looking at it. When Bella returned upstairs, their dad turned to Evie as they packaged the fish for the freezer.

“Jake asked about you,” he told her.

Evie’s hands froze, empty ziplock bag open. “Oh. What did he say?”

Her dad shrugged. “Asked if you had said anything about him to me…or Bella.”

Evie grimaced. “Huh,” she was trying to remain evasive in the subject of her argument.

“Did you end up calling him today?”

“No,” she told him truthfully. “The day got away from me.”

“Alright, well,” he dropped his knife in the sink, turning the warm water on to wash the fish from his hands. “Don’t let this go on for too long, kiddo. He looked like a kicked puppy.”

Evie sighed. “Alright.”

 

Later in the week, Bella was dragged off to Port Angeles to go shopping with two other girls in her grade, and Charlie staged an intervention. With Bella’s departure for the evening, he invited Billy Black to watch a basketball game, and Billy brought his son. Apparently the two fathers had grown tired of their antics and moping about, Evie too stubborn to call Jacob and make up, Jacob too confused to know if she wanted him to. While she had meant to call him and apologize for her verbal accusations, and she really did want to ask him to the dance, as time ticked on and her phone sat unringing, she grew annoyed and angry at Jacob for never bothering to call her and ask what had been wrong. She knew it was illogical and unfair of her, but she was angry all the same, and the more she thought on it, the more frustrated she became with him. Why hadn’t he just asked her out yet? Everyone seemed to think he liked her plenty, and he’d even said he was going to. Why was she the one who had to branch out to him? She was growing angry and impatient with his seemingly flippant attitude towards her.

Evie opened the front door unknowing of her father’s schemes, completely caught off guard by the sight of Jacob standing behind his father. She had one headphone in, iPod in the pocket of her sweatshirt– Jacob’s sweatshirt, which Evie suspected he had left at her house intentionally. She blinked out of her daze.

“Hi, Billy,” she said, surprise evident in her voice. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”

“Supersonics game,” he informed her. “Charlie offered to host, and I brought Jacob to keep you company.” There was a conspiratorial glint in his eyes that tipped Evie off.

“Right,” Evie said, and she looked up to level Jacob with a hard look. She moved out of the doorway to let Billy in, and turned to go back to her room before Jacob could walk past her.

His hand shot out to take hold of her wrist. “Evelyn, wait,” he said, grip firm. “Come outside for a minute, I wanna talk to you.”

She looked down at his hand around her wrist, and he quickly let go.

“Please?” He asked.

She stepped out onto the porch, pulling the front door shut behind her. Standing stiffly, she gave him a hard look. “What?”

“What are you so angry about?” It looked like he was almost trying not to laugh, which only made her more mad.

“Don’t laugh at me, Jacob,” she told him, eyes narrowed. “It’s patronizing, and you know it pisses me off.”

“Okay, I promise I won’t laugh,” he said. “But I’m still…confused. Nothing you said made any sense, and then you didn’t call me all weekend.”

“You didn’t call me either,” Evie reminded him, arms crossed over her chest.

“Yeah, well,” Jacob leaned against a porch pillar. “I didn’t really know what to say.”

She leaned against the front door, mirroring his body language. She raised a brow at him.

Jacob sighed. “I’m not into Bella, if that’s what you were mad about.”

“Okay,” Evie said flatly. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“Really?” Jacob asked after a beat of silence. His patience was wearing thin. “You’re not letting this go?”

“I don’t know if I believe you,” she told him truthfully, sharp edge in her tone matching his indignation.

Jacob glared at her. “Well, that’s stupid of you.”

Evie guffawed. “You know what, you don’t get to be angry here, Jacob.”

“I think I do,” he told her, annoyance evident. 

“No,” Evie spat angrily, marching up to him with an accusatory finger in his face. “I do, not you."

"I'm trying to apologize!" He exclaimed.

"Well, I don't accept." She stuck her nose up, stubborn and unrelenting.

“Why are you so mad about this?” He asked her again. “I don’t get it.”

“She was using you!” Evie exclaimed, throwing her hands. “She wanted to hear what you had to say about the Cullens, and that was the only reason she was even talking to you.”

“What does that have to do with you?” Jacob’s face was scrunched up in confusion. “I told you, I don’t like her like that. We were being friendly.” 

“She’s not your best friend, I am, Jacob.” She reminded him.

"Yes, I know that. I was being nice, catching up-- we haven't seen each other in years."

"It looked like you were slobbering all over her."

Jacob was struck by her words. Glaring at her, he denied it. "Well, I wasn't."

“She has not been here, waiting in the goddamn wings for you for years, obsessed with you since the seventh grade, I have. Okay?”

The hard look on his face faltered, and Evie stepped back, realizing what she'd confessed. She opened her mouth to correct herself, to take it back, but she was quickly cut off.

Jacob quickly stepped forward and closed the space between them. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers in firm a kiss. One of his hands came up to the side of her head, the other slowly gripping the fabric of his sweatshirt she was wearing. Evie was startled by the straightforwardness of his actions, and by the time she’d wrapped her mind around what he’d done, Jacob had already pulled away from her. He smiled a bit, looking down at her.

“Better?” He asked, wide grin stuck on his face.

Evie nodded, still in a daze. “Yeah,” she told him, and she rolled up on her toes to kiss him again, less chaste and much slower than the first one. The fingers of his hand at her head played with her hair, pulling her earbud out of her ear by the cord. She pulled away from him suddenly, looking up at him with a stern expression.

“I’m still waiting for you to ask me out,” she told him. “This doesn’t just fix everything.”

Jacob laughed, head thrown back. “I know.”

He wound an arm around her shoulders, and made to go into the house with her, but she stopped him. 

“Actually, that’s not true,” she started, sighing.

Jacob arched a thick brow at her, a smirk spread across his lips. “Oh?”

She reached up to anxiously play with the seam of the sweater. “So, this weekend at school, we’re having a girls’ choice dance, where the girls go and ask the guys they like…”

A sparkling grin was plastered on his face once more. “Uh-huh.”

“And I was wondering…” she swallowed. “Well, there aren’t any guys at school I wanted to ask.”

“Right,” Jacob said.

“Would you want to go with me?” She asked quickly. “I had been meaning to ask you this weekend, but I kinda just blew up the way you know I do.”

“Of course you meant to,” he chuckled. 

She glared at him. “Don’t sound so sure of yourself,” she tried to pull away from his embrace, but he tightened his grip, laughing. “I can always ask someone else.”

He laughed again. “On the week of the dance?”

She furrowed her brow.

He looked down at her, smiling stupidly. “Of course I’ll go with you.”

Evie couldn’t fight the way the corner of her mouth pulled upwards. “Right. Good, I’m glad that’s settled, then.” She smiled at him, fully.

Notes:

Hi guys, sorry if this felt a bit rushed, I was really wanting to get this one out. Here comes all of the fun parts! Hope you like it!
xxx nattles

Chapter 5

The day after she’d asked Jacob to the dance, Evie walked out the door for school to find Edward Cullen in front of their house, waiting to drive them in. Bella was standing by him, speaking quickly. She glanced over her shoulder when Evie walked out, crossing the yard to meet her before she caused a scene.

“You’re joking, right?”

Bella winced. “Don’t make it weird, okay? You have the tendency of being slightly dramatic.”

“It is weird!” Evie exclaimed in a whisper, hoping he couldn’t hear her.

“No, it’s not,” Bella told her. “We’re…friends, okay?”

Evie glared at her. “So now he’s our ride to and from school?”

Bella looked down at her feet, kicking a loose piece of gravel. “He drove me home from Port Angeles last night.”

“What?” Evie stared at her sister. “Did you meet him there or something? I thought you went shopping with Jess and Angela.”

“I did,” she confirmed. “But I ran into Edward, and uh…he bought me dinner and drove me home.”

Evie blinked. She turned to look at Edward, still waiting by his car for them. “Fine,” Evie said, hauling her backpack to his car. “But you're telling me more about this later.”

Evie pulled the back door open and climbed in without greeting Edward with more than a hum, and he proceeded to open the passenger door for Bella and let her slide in. They drove in uneasy silence, and upon their arrival Evie left them for her friends.

“What the–” Sophie gaped as she watched Bella get out of Edward’s car.

Sam stared with wide eyes.

“Don’t start,” Evie told them, putting a hand up to stop them. “We’ll talk about it later.”

 

And so, Edward Cullen dutifully drove the Swan girls to and from school on most days. Though Evie didn’t care much for the intrusion of her routine, she couldn’t complain about his car– a crisp and shiny new Volvo, with a spacious back seat that gave Evie plenty of room for her moping in the mornings. It was typically a quiet ride, though sometimes Edward and Bella were already deep in a conversation of their own walking to the car at the end of the day. Very rarely, Edward would extend a hand to her, trying to include Evie.

“What about you, Evelyn?” He asked her one day.

“Huh?” Evie hadn’t been paying attention, staring out the window as the little town whizzed by.

Edward smiled brightly in the rearview mirror. “Are you going to the dance this weekend?”

“Oh,” Evie was surprised. “Yeah, I am. I’m going with Jacob Black.”

Edward arched a brow at her in the mirror. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“Uh…” Evie looked for the right response. “I mean, not officially. We haven’t really been...dating for too long.”

“They call each other every day,” Bella told him. “And anytime our fathers are together, they go and see each other.”

“Well, we’ve known each other our whole lives,” Evie pressed the back of her hand to her cheek, trying to fight her blush. “So we’ve been best friends for as long as either of us can remember– truthfully, it’s all we’ve ever known.”

Edward’s eyes flashed with curiosity. “And you want him to be?”

Evie blinked, slightly lost. “Be what?”

“Your boyfriend,” he offered.

She turned to stare out the window as they pulled into the school parking lot. “I’m definitely not opposed to it,” she mumbled.

He laughed, parking the car. “Then I wish you the best of luck, Evelyn.”

“Thanks,” she told him as she climbed out of the Volvo.

 

“It’s a semiformal dance, Jake,” Evie told him over the phone as she finished her homework.

“I don’t exactly know what that means,” he confessed.

Evie laughed. “It means you don’t have to wear a tux, just dress nice– slacks or dress pants, a button up shirt, a nice belt.”

“Don’t we have to color coordinate?” He asked. “My tie to your dress and all that?”

“No, that’s for Prom,” she was still laughing. “This is just a little spring dance.”

“And corsages…?”

“Prom,” she confirmed. “This is much simpler.”

“Okay,” he said. “This doesn’t seem like it’ll be too hard then.”

“Yeah, well I did the hard part,” she reminded him.

Jacob scoffed on the other line. “I was getting there. Plus, isn’t this a girls’ choice dance?”

Before Evie could respond, there was a soft knock on her door. Charlie pushed the door open slightly. 

“Hey, I’m gonna talk to my dad, okay?” She told Jacob. “I gotta go, but I’ll call you back.”

“Okay, yeah,” Jacob said. “I’ll talk to you later then. Say ‘hi’ to Charlie for me.”

Evie smiled. “Bye.” She snapped her phone shut, and her dad came into her room, sitting in her desk chair. He cleared his throat.

“So you two made up then?” He asked her, feigning innocence.

Evie arched a brow, still smiling a bit. “Right, like you had nothing to do with that.”

He smiled. “I may have mentioned something to Billy about it. He came here of his own accord, though.”

Evie rolled her eyes fondly. 

“He’s important to the both of us, Evelyn,” her father told her. “I want him to stick around for a while.”

“I know, Dad.” She told him.

“And you are very important to him and Billy, kiddo.”

She smiled. “I know.”

Charlie sighed.

“I asked him to the girls’ choice dance,” she told him quickly. “It’s this weekend.”

He gave her a surprised look. “That was a quick turnaround.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t have much ground to be angry with him,” she confessed. “I told you, it was a stupid fight. And I’d been meaning to ask him anyway."

Her father let out a slow breath. “A dance, huh?”

Evie nodded, looking up at him nervously.

“You’re still so…little, though.” His voice was almost mourning, like he couldn’t believe she was possibly old enough to go to dances and have dates for such events

She scoffed playfully. “I’m in high school."

“Yeah, and so is Bella, but she’s not going,” he reminded her. 

“Bella is…” Evie searched for the proper explanation to describe her sister’s decisions. “Incredibly antisocial.”

He sighed again, nodding once. “She’s going into Seattle that day,” he told her. “Will you want me to drive you guys?”

Panic flooded Evie’s veins at the thought of arriving at the school dance in her father’s police cruiser. “No!” She told him. “No, it’s okay, we’ll get a ride with Lee and Samantha.”

“Lee Stephens?” He asked. “Is he old enough to drive you all? His six months are up on his license?”

“Yes, he got his license in September– he drove some of us out to the beach.”

Charlie nodded. “Okay, then.” He stood from her chair. “Goodnight, Evie.”

“Goodnight, Dad.”

The day of the dance, Evie, Sophie, and June all went to Sam’s house to get ready together. Evie had pulled an old dress of her mother’s from the back of her father’s closet. It was a long glittering purple piece, a light lavender hue with beading along the top and the hem of the skirt, with thin straps at the shoulders. She had asked her father’s opinion, slowly filing through her mother’s old formal wear.

He ran a hand over his chin. “That one was Amy’s favorite,” he told her as she pulled the long purple dress out. “She wore it a lot when we were first dating.”

Evie held it up against her shoulders, watching herself in the mirror. “I love it.”

“You should wear that one then,” he said from where he sat at the edge of his bed. “You’d look beautiful in it.”

While Bella was always told she looked like her father, dark eyes and dark hair and reclusive nature, Evelyn took after her mother in nearly every way. She had her mother’s dazzling blue eyes and light, glossy hair, and Charlie had mistakenly called her “Amy” more than once in the heat of an argument, her temper matching that of what her mother’s had been.

“You’ll look a lot like your mom,” he told her, eyes shining with pride.

Evie beamed at him, her dress decided on.

She paired it with simple gold jewelry, small hoops and an old locket, and a pair of black ballet flats. She pulled her hair into an updo to show the low back of her dress. Lee arrived with another sophomore, D.J. Garrett, Sophie’s date for the night, and Jacob was dropped off not long after. He was dressed in navy blue dress pants and a crisp white button up, per Evie’s instructions, and half of his dark hair was pulled back out of his face. She smiled at the sight of him, haloed in the front porch light, rain drizzling from the stormy sky behind him.

“Hi,” she told him, grinning.

He took in her dress, the open shoulders and framing at her collarbones. “Wow,” he breathed. “You look…really nice.”

If it were possible, she smiled brighter at him, pink flushing across her face. “Thanks. And you do, too.”

He stepped into the house and slid one hand up against her face, kissing her softly. When they parted, she took his hand and pulled him into the other room to reintroduce him to the group, having met most of them in passing the day at the beach. He smiled politely at each of them, though his attention hardly flickered from her constant presence at his side. She entwined their fingers as they stood together, clutching the same arm they were connected by with her free hand.

Sam’s mother came around with a camera, insisting everyone get their turn before they left, even if their parents weren’t there to take the photos of them.

“Do you really think Chief Swan will want to miss this?” She asked when she got to Evie and Jacob. “You look gorgeous, Evelyn.”

“Thank you, Mrs Wells.” Evie pressed her smile into the side of Jacob’s shoulder.

“I’ll make sure you all get copies of these,” she told them all once she’d finished. While she wasn’t particularly fond of having her photo taken, Evie was eager to get ahold of the pictures.

They all piled into Lee’s family minivan, Evie pulling Jacob into the back row with her, Sophie and D.J. occupying the middle seats, and Sam sitting shotgun with Lee. They sat down for dinner at one the town’s only somewhat formal restaurants, the seating area packed with students dressed for the dance. At the table, Lee and D.J. asked Jacob baseline questions, while Sam and Sophie made ostentatious faces at her from across the table. She avoided their eyes bashfully, and gripped Jacob’s hand under the table.

On the drive from the restaurant to the school, Jacob looked down and spoke quietly to Evie. “I think your friends like me.”

Evie chuckled. “Well, Sam was practically ogling you over dinner.”

“Hm,” Jacob pressed his smile into the side of her head.

When they arrived at the school, Jacob offered Evie a hand in helping her out of the car, and she looped her arm through his as they went up the stairs. They all spilled into the gym, where music was already playing loudly, echoing through the school hallways. There were small balloon arches and paper cut outs lining the walls and doorways, trying to transform it somewhat into a formal room. Evie pulled Jacob to the center of the room, his hands gripping her waist lightly as hers came up to his neck, wrists resting on his shoulders. He was much taller than her, and still growing at an undeniably quick rate, so she had to crane her neck to look up at him when they stood this close. Graciously, Jacob bent forward and spoke in her ear as they talked.

“I’m really glad you came,” she told him, his deep brown eyes staring down at her. “It means a lot to me.”

He glanced between her eyes for a moment, just watching her expression, before leaning in to kiss her chastely. “I’m glad you asked me to,” he said. Evie laid her head down against his chest for a moment, smiling to herself, and he gently rested his chin on her head. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” 

They remained close for a while longer before their serene moment was broken.

“Uh-oh,” Jacob said.

Evie pulled back to look up at him. “What is it?”

His eyes were across the room, and a small smile was sneaking across his lips. “Your friends are coming over here,” he told her. “I think they’re planning to steal you from me.”

Evie glanced over her shoulder to find Sophie and Sam marching determinedly towards them. 

“Okay, kid,” Sam clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s our turn now.”

Jacob laughed good-naturedly. “I’ll go get a soda or something,” he said as he passed Evie off to her friends.

Sophie squealed in her assault as she jumped Evie with a hug. “Oh, I’m so happy for you, Ev!”

“Woah,” Evie laughed, trying to find her balance. “Thanks, Soph.”

“Come on,” Sophie tugged the two other girls closer to the speakers. “Let’s go dance!”

The three of them enjoyed a few songs, breathless with laughter and sweating from exertion by the end of it. Evie insisted she go and find Jake before he got too bored, and Sam stuck her tongue out pointedly as Evie left them, still laughing. Evie went to the drink table at the back, scanning the room as she went. Jacob was leaned against the far wall, chatting with D.J. over cups of punch. Evie smiled to herself, and watched as his eyes flickered over to her, alight with excitement. She served herself a small glass, sipping her punch unsuspectingly as Jacob meandered toward her. He had her caged against the table, and she looked up at him through her lashes. He leaned in close to speak to her, words brushing against her neck.

“What is the likelihood,” he whispered. “Chaperones are actually doing rounds tonight, and will catch us out in the hallway, just the two of us?”

Evie felt a furious blush rushing to her already pink cheeks. She shrugged, glancing around him to the corners of the room where the chaperones were posted– all of them seemed very immersed in their conversations, paying little attention to the students.

“I would say decently unlikely,” she whispered, looking up at him again. She toyed with the hem of his sleeve with her unoccupied hand “They seem relatively understaffed.”

“Hm,” Jacob didn’t even try to hide the wide smirk dancing across his lips. Evie wanted to lean in and kiss the look from his face.

He plucked the plastic cup from her hands, setting it back down on the table, and pulled her out to the hall, both trying with all they could to remain inconspicuous. Once free of the gym’s colorful lights and the crowd’s eyes, they rushed down the hall, Evie leading him to a quieter spot, peals of laughter bouncing off the lockers. She pulled him into a dark and secluded corner down the hall, where she figured no one would care to check or bother to wander to. She backed herself up against the wall, releasing Jacob’s hand and letting him walk towards her on his own. 

“Hi,” he breathed, suddenly very close to her again.

“Hi,” Evie replied, mouth tilting up in search of his.

He teased her for just a moment, sharing the same breath, taking in each other’s closeness. Evie reached out to take hold of his shirt, gripping the fabric tightly, and one of Jacob’s hands wound around her waist while he used the other for leverage against the wall, coming up to rest beside her head. Finally, he leaned forward and captured her lips with his. A small sigh escaped Evie’s throat, and she felt him smile against her lips. Her hands left his shirt, sliding up over his chest, his shoulders, and coming to rest at his face. She ran her hand over his jaw, sliding her fingertips up to dance behind his ear. The fingers of his other hand carded through his hair, tugging sharply at the roots, pulling him down closer to her. His hand beside her head slipped away as he leaned down further, resting the length of his forearm against the wall instead as he deepened the kiss, hand cradling her head gently. 

His hand stayed firmly planted at her waist, and Evie could feel his fingertips digging into the flesh through her dress, willing himself to remain ever the gentleman, not allowing his hands to wander. Evie smiled against his lips, and gasped when she felt his tongue dart out to trace the sharp point of her canines. Jacob had not kissed her like this before. The other kisses were sweet and unassuming, kind and gentle– this kiss was needy and bruising. As if all the years of desire, and wanting to press her up against the wall like he had her now, had finally boiled over and consumed him. It was exhilarating. Evie felt like she was high, though she didn’t legitimately know if she could compare the feelings. She felt intoxicated, on his breath, on his touch, on the feel of his lips. Everything he wouldn’t let his hands do was spoken through the actions of his mouth against hers.

“Ah!” There was a sharp shriek, and the pair jumped apart. Sam was standing before them, a smirking Lee Stephens behind her. “I knew you two had snuck off! Lee told me he didn’t think either of you were the type, but I knew we’d find you out here!”

Evie groaned, head falling back against the wall. “Sam, we thought you were a teacher,” she whined. “You scared us half to death.”

Sam snicked. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave you alone.” They went back up the hall, hand in hand. “Have fun!” She called over her shoulder in a singsong voice.

Jacob chuckled, leaning up against the wall beside her and watching them go.

“I thought I was dead,” Evie told him, laughing. “Charlie would never let me out of the house again.”

“Nah,” Jacob looked down at her. “He’d give up after a few hours, he’s too soft on you.”

Evie gazed up at him. Even through the dark, she could see his lips were ruddy and his face was flushed from being kissed, and she’d tousled his hair noticeably. Evie blushed, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Me, though?” Jacob went on unknowingly. “He might actually have shot and killed me. Billy would’ve helped him, too, knowing how much he favors you to me.”

Evie wasn’t particularly listening. She stepped in front of Jacob and took hold of his crisp collar, pulling his head down toward her. He lowered his head, allowing her to reach his lips and letting her kiss him. It didn’t go on nearly as long as earlier, Jacob pulling away slightly after a moment.

“As much as I’m enjoying this,” he said against her lips. “And believe me, I am enjoying this– I don’t necessarily want Charlie to shoot and kill me tonight.” He returned her kisses, speaking between them. “So we should probably go rejoin the dance.”

Evie pulled her head back a bit. Jacob scanned her face in the dark, and quickly snuck in for one last quick peck, before standing back to his full height. She released his collar, straightening his shirt for him. He smoothed back his hair the best he could, and took her hand as they went down the hall and back towards the gym.

Chapter 6

Evie quickly found that kissing Jacob was a newfound favorite pastime of hers– after the dance, when none of the others were looking, he kissed her in earnest in the backseat of the van, and then when his ride finally picked him up from the Swans’ house, she kissed him again on her front porch. Evie smiled through the window as she watched the car drive off, and Bella materialized behind her.

“You two seem to be very in sync,” she said.

Evie let the curtains drop. “We’re…figuring it out.”

“How was the dance?” Bella asked.

Yawning, Evie went around to the living room and collapsed on the couch. “It was amazing. And exhausting. I feel like I could sleep for two days.”

Bella chuckled. “I wonder if you'd still smile in your sleep.”

Evie’s hands came up to her cheeks, not having realized she was still smiling like an idiot. She blushed violently, her fingers testing the heat of her face. “What’d you end up doing today?”

“I, uh…” Bella hesitated. “I spent the day with Edward Cullen.”

Evie’s hands dropped from her face. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Bella confirmed. “He’s taking me to his house tomorrow to meet his parents and his siblings.”

“Wow,” was all Evie could say. After a moment, “Does Dad know?”

“Um, no, not yet.” Bella admitted. “I was going to tell him tomorrow.” She met Evie’s analyzing stare, raising a brow of her own. “Does Charlie know you’ve been making out with Jake?”

“Hm,” Evie thought for a moment, suddenly fascinated by the seam of the couch cushion. “It’s a new development between us.”

“So, no.”

“I hadn’t exactly gotten around to sharing the details of my relationship with him yet, no.” Evie hissed playfully. “I’ll tell him about it eventually.”

Bella gave her sister a knowing look, and they both laughed.

The Sunday morning after the dance, Evie found herself in an empty house again, Bella visiting the Cullens, and Charlie gone out fishing. She finished what homework she’d missed from the day before, and in the afternoon collapsed on the couch with a book for English, catching up on what sleep she’d missed the night before. She’d flipped on a rerun of a well-loved sitcom, letting the jumbled chatter of the TV hum her to sleep, her book long forgotten on the floor. She woke to the sound of the front door opening, her father stepping inside and kicking his boots off. Straining her ears, Evie could hear Bella talking quietly on the phone in the kitchen.

“Okay, Jessica,” she said. “I’ll call you later, bye.”

Their father came into the living room, looking over the back of the sofa at Evie. “Hi, kiddo,” he said, smiling. “Tired?”

Evie yawned in agreement.

Charlie set to work in the kitchen, fixing dinner up for them, and Evie snatched the book she’d discarded up from the floor. At the sound of their father puttering around the house, Bella came bounding down the stairs. Evie blinked. She hadn’t realized Bella had come home yet– she must have arrived when she was still sleeping. Evie watched lazily as Bella approached their father at the kitchen table.

“Hey, Bel,” Charlie called fondly. “What did you do with yourself today?”

“Well, this afternoon I just hung around the house…”

Lie, Evie thought.

“And this morning I was over at the Cullens’.”

Evie heard the soft clatter of their father dropping a utensil. “What were you doing there?”

“Well, I sort of have a date with Edward Cullen tonight, and he wanted to introduce me to his parents…Dad?”

Evie slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter as she listened to Bella explain the technicalities of dates, and boyfriends, and tell him how soon Edward would be there to pick her up.

“He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Where is he taking you?”

They heard Bella groan. “I hope you’re getting the Spanish Inquisition out of your system now. We’re going to play baseball with his family.”

“You’re playing baseball?” Their father asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

“Well, I’ll probably watch most of the time.”

“You must really like this guy,” Charlie concluded.

Evie giggled.

At the sound of an engine pulling in front of the house, Evie craned her neck to try and see through the front windows, but it was raining too hard to make out anything. She slouched back down, ducking her head to remain mostly out of sight. The doorbell rang, and Charlie went to answer it, letting the boy in. Evie poked her head just barely over the back of the couch again, watching the awkward scene play out.

Edward’s eyes flashed over to them. He took in Jacob for a moment before glancing over to Evie, and cast her a small smirk. Evie couldn’t help but roll her eyes, turning to look away with an annoyed groan.

After Bella and Edward had left, Evie ate in the living room with her father. Charlie changed the channel to his game, and Evie was trying her hardest to focus on her reading for school, but she was very distracted by the idea of sneaking off to her room to call Jacob. She hadn’t spoken to him since the dance, and she’d left her phone upstairs for most of the day. She was curious if she’d missed any calls from him during her afternoon doze. Right as she was about to excuse herself, her father stood from his seat, clicking off the television and snapping his recliner shut loudly.

“Let me take your plate, Ev.” He told her, carrying his own plate as well as hers back into the kitchen.

“Oh,” she hopped up to follow him and help with the dinner mess. “I’ll help you with the dishes, Dad.”

“No, no,” he shooed her out of the kitchen before she could start. “You and your sister baby me too much– I can clean up for once. Go and call your boy.” He gave her a knowing look.

Evie blushed. “Thanks, Dad,” she mumbled, rushing up the stairs.

Closed in the safety of her room, Jacob laughed at her retelling of the events with Edward and Charlie. 

“Man,” Jake started. “I’m glad you and I have known each other for so long.”

Evie was fighting a smile. “Why?”

“Because I’ll never have to meet your father like that.” Evie pictured the frozen fear on Edward’s face, and Charlie’s best attempt at looking frightening.

“Aw, come off it,” she laughed. “You know he’s just a big softie, Dad’s not scary.”

“Well, yeah, I can say that now because I’ve known him all my life,” Jacob countered. “But, still– the Chief of Police? No way that isn’t terrifying, with his gun hung up by the door and everything.”

Evie laughed, but it faded into a soft sigh.

“What?”

Evie fidgeted with the ends of her hair. “I do not like Edward,” she confessed. “He’s weird.”

“Hm,” Jacob waited for her to go on.

“He and his siblings all sit by themselves at school, and they never talk to anyone else– except Bella, and that only started like a week ago. And that’s only Edward who talks to her, none of the others even glance at her.” Evie shuddered. “They all give me the creeps, like there’s something up with that family.”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting superstitious, Evs. You’re starting to sound like my dad.”

“I’m not saying they’re monsters, or whatever it is your dad’s stories say. I’m just saying I don’t like them.”

Evie remained on the phone with Jake for most of the evening, putting him on speaker while she finished her homework at her desk, shoving her phone between her ear and shoulder when she crept downstairs to steal a box of Little Debbie brownies, dashing back up the stairs to her room. Eventually, she hung up the phone, somewhat fearful of her father’s reaction when he received the next phone bill. Much later in the night, she heard the house phone ringing in the kitchen, and listened through her open door as her father answered. It was Bella’s mother, Renee. Evie crept out of her room, sitting at the top of the stairs and listening carefully to one side of the conversation.

“Bella’s out right now,” he told her. “I can have her call you back later, if you’d like.”

He paused, listening to the woman ramble on.

“Oh,” he finally said. “You think you’ll be going back to Arizona then?”

He was quiet again.

“And you’re wanting her to, what, just come back and live with you again?”

Evie froze. Bella’s going home?

“I don’t know, Renee. I mean, she’s adjusting pretty well. Getting settled and comfortable, making friends and going out. She’s on a date tonight, did you know that?”

His next pause was extended, listening much longer than before. He offered her small hums as she spoke. Evie listened intently, waiting for his next response.

“I can talk to her when she gets back in,” he finally said. “I’ll tell her to call you and talk about this…okay, bye, Renee. Tell Phil I said, ‘Hello.’ ” He hung up the phone, sighing loudly before returning to his room.

Going back to her own room, Evie thought carefully on the matter at hand. She didn’t particularly want Bella to leave. Not anymore, and not quite yet. She’d gotten used to another body in the house, picking up chores, making meals side by side in the kitchen. Evie had grown attached to her quiet presence, sitting in the car together on the way to and from school, elbows brushing at the table during dinner and breakfast. 

Evie jumped at the sound of the front door slamming shut. She’d let her mind wander much longer than she’d realized, and it was late in the evening by then.

“Go away, Edward!” Evie could hear Bella’s muffled voice as she stormed through the house. In an instant, their dad was chasing after her, calling for her.

Evie stepped through her doorway just as Bella slammed her own door shut.

“Leave me alone!” She shrieked.

Their father was pounding on Bella’s door, jiggling the locked handle. “Bella, are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I’m going home,” Bella’s voice cracked as she spoke through the door.

Evie came up slowly behind her father. “What happened?”

“Did he hurt you?” Rage flashed across their father’s face, evident in his tone.

“No!” She howled back.

“Did he break up with you?”

“No, I…” her voice was shaking, and Evie thought she could hear rustling through the door. “I broke up with him.”

Suddenly, the door flung open, and Bella pushed past the both of them, rushing down the stairs. Their father was on her tail in an instant, following after her, taking the steps two at a time. Evie trailed behind.

“What happened?” He shouted. “I thought you liked him.”

Still standing on the stairs, Evie watched the scene play out before her. He caught hold of Bella’s elbow, a move all too familiar with Evie from the many temper tantrums of her own, spinning Bella around before she’d even realized what he was doing. Her usually pale face was red and splotchy, tears dried along her cheeks. Evie could see Bella’s breath catching in her chest, shoulders shaking as she was breathing. She glanced away from their father, looking up at where Evie stood hovering on the stairs.

“I do like him,” Bella whispered, her voice breaking as she looked back at their dad. “That’s the problem. I can’t do this anymore! I can’t put down any more roots here! I don’t want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like my mom did! I’m just making the same dumb mistakes as her. I hate it– I can’t stay here another minute!”

She was screaming in their father’s face now. Charlie dropped his hand from Bella’s arm, jumping away from her like he’d been physically shocked, his hand electrocuted, but Evie’s anger reared its ugly head. 

“Then get out!” Evie screamed at her from the steps. Both of their heads whipped around to look at her. “Get out, Isabella! It was obvious you never wanted to be here from the beginning. Leave!”

“What? No,” Charlie shook his head, reaching for Bella once more. She had turned away from them towards the door. “No! Stop it, Evelyn. Bells, you can’t leave now, it’s nighttime.”

She didn’t turn around again as she spoke. “I’ll sleep in the truck if I get tired.”

“You're crazy if you think you're taking our truck!” Evie shouted. “We were meant to share that!”

“Evelyn, be quiet!” Her father told her. Evie snapped her mouth shut, grinding her teeth in frustration. “I– Just wait another week, Bella.” His voice turned pleading. “Renee will be back by then.”

Bella halted, turning slightly to look at him. “What?”

“She called while you were out,” he pressed on, speaking quickly at her hesitation. “Things aren’t going so well in Florida, and if Phil doesn’t get signed by the end of the week, they’re going back to Arizona. The assistant coach of the Sidewinders said they might have a spot for another shortstop.”

Bella shook her head. “I have a key,” she told him in a quiet voice.

“But I just got you back,” he whispered. Their dad reached for her again, hand gently outstretched, but Bella stopped him.

“Just let me go, Charlie.” Her voice was filled with rage, and she pulled the door open sharply. “It didn’t work out, okay? I really, truly hate Forks!” Bella ran out the front door and to the truck in the driveway.

Gasping, Evie ran down the last few stairs and to the doorstep with her shell shocked father. Hot, angry blood pumping through her veins, she went to chase after the other girl, but her dad grabbed her sleeve, stopping her.

“No,” he said, voice broken. “Let her go. We can’t stop her.”

“What do you mean?” Evie stared at the truck’s tail lights as Bella drove off into the dark. “Are you crazy? We can’t just let her go–” 

Turning back around, Evie searched her father’s face, and found a truly heartbroken man. Evelyn was wrenched back in time, hurtling through years of pain and grief, to the day her mother died. When Evelyn was nine, she followed the muffled sound of quiet crying through the house, creeping into her parents’ bedroom. The room was mostly dark except for a dim light coming through the closet door, just slightly ajar. She crept across the room, peering through the tiny crack. Her father was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. He held his head in his hands, crying quietly. Evelyn watched his shoulders shudder, shaking his head as he sobbed. He looked so young, broken and scared like a little boy. It terrified Evelyn. She’d never ever seen her dad look so devastated, face crumpled, shoulders caved in, chest wracked with sobs. Slowly crawling away from the closet and out of the room, she vowed never to see her father like that again. Losing her mother had brought her enough grief for a lifetime– watching her father mourn his wife, the woman he’d planned to spend all of his life with, that cracked Evelyn’s heart clean in two.

Evie stared up at her father, tears trickling down his face. “Dad?” She whispered. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.”

He put up a shaking hand to stop her. “It’s alright, Evie, I just–” his voice broke. “I need a minute.”

Trembling, he walked back into the house. Evie followed him, closing the front door behind her. Walking towards the stairs, her father sunk down, head in his hands, collapsing on the steps. He cried, shaking his head, choking on quiet sobs. Evie watched him, frozen, feeling like the same helpless nine year old little girl she’d once been.

“I’m sorry,” Charlie choked, trying to pull himself together. “I’m sorry, I just can’t–”

“It’s okay, Dad.” Evie whispered. “It’s okay.”

* * *

“That was the same thing my mom said when she left him.” Bella confessed. “You could say I was hitting below the belt.”

“Don’t worry. He’ll forgive you.” Edward told her.

Bella stared at him, naked panic shining in her eyes. “And Evie?”

Edward offered her a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Bella shook her head. “I didn’t know what else to do,” she told him.

“Evelyn is…very protective of him. They went through a lot together.” Edward reminded him. “She’s seen him at his most vulnerable, and she took it as her job to protect him from ever feeling that way again.”

Bella swallowed. “And I just erased her years’ worth of effort.”

Edward sighed. “Let’s just take this all one task at a time.”

Notes:

Hi again! Sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter...I was pretty busy with the holiday and the new Stranger Things eps, which btw were pretty great and now I'm wanting to write (or read) a Byler fic. This was kind of a short one, and the next one will probably be short-ish, too, but I'll probably pic the pace up soon!
Thanks for reading!
xxxnattles

Chapter 7

Evie sat at the bottom step of the stairs, anxiously gnawing at her cheek, and listening as her father spoke on the phone. Neither of them had slept very well. She’d heard him pacing throughout the night, creeping up the stairs more than once to poke his head in her room and check on her. Evie had called Jacob not long after Bella left, frantic and scared, trying to keep quiet enough to keep her father from hearing.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to call so late, I just–”

“No, it’s alright, Evelyn. Don’t be sorry.”

Her voice shook as she spoke as she explained it all to him. “I just can’t sleep, I’m scared that she’s going to…”

Jacob voiced the fears that she couldn’t. “Get in a wreck?”

She shuddered. “Yeah,” Evie admitted, whispering. “I keep picturing her. Like it’s stuck in my head and I can’t get it out, I can’t shut it off.”

She heard him sigh into the phone. “I know what you mean.”

“She wouldn’t listen to us.”

“What did you say to her?”

Evie winced. “Actually, I probably wasn’t much help.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, I was angry with her. I was so angry, so I just told her she should go.”

Jacob sighed again.

“Dad was trying so hard to get her to stay, and I told her to get out.” Evie swallowed. “I feel terrible.”

“No, don’t do that, Evs.”

“I do! I shouldn’t have said anything, I just made it worse.”

“No, there was nothing you could do to make her stay, Evie.” He told her firmly. “She’d already had her mind set on leaving before she even came into the house. You couldn’t have changed her mind.”

“I could have been kinder…”

Jacob scoffed, laughing lightly. “We all know that’s not your strong suit. If she knows you well enough, she knows not to take too much offense.”

“I wish I didn’t get so mad,” she confessed. “What I would give to have even an ounce of self control in those moments.”

“You get hot-headed sometimes, that’s alright. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Maybe not directly, no. But if something happens to her…”

“Evs…”

“Jake, what if something happens to her?” She whispered fervently. “God, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll never be able to forgive myself.” Her voice broke.

“You can’t let yourself think like that, Evelyn. It was her choice to go. She went of her own free will and volition, okay?”

Evie nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her. “Okay.”

They were quiet for a moment, listening to the silence coming through each line. 

“Do you want to just…stay on the line tonight?”

Evie sighed. “Would that be okay?”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “I don’t mind.”

After attempting to sleep on his thoughts and respecting the time difference, Charlie called Renee first thing in the morning. Evie was already awake in her room, having whispered a quiet good morning and goodbye to Jacob before they hung up. She came down the stairs loud enough to allow her father to hear, letting him know she was there, waiting.

“She left last night,” he told her. Evie could hear the woman shrieking on the other end of the line, just barely incoherent. “She told me she’d pull over and sleep if she got too tired to drive…she’s a smart girl, Renee. I trust her, but she was upset.”

There was a long pause, in which Evie could hear Renee’s faint yet panicked squabbling. 

Her father sighed. “Of course I tried to stop her. Evelyn and I both, well– we tried to talk some sense into her. She just didn’t want to listen, she wouldn’t hear anything we had to say.”

Evie thought she heard Renee ask what Bella had told them.

“She was angry,” he started. “Shouting something about her roots, not putting any down here in Forks. Making mistakes…she had just come in from her date with the Cullen boy…she broke up with him and came right inside, stomping through the house and hauling her things downstairs. She said, ‘It didn’t work out.’ ”

He paused again. It was eerily silent in the house, no wind hitting the windows, no wind creaking the old frame.

“She was crying. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her so emotional…she’s usually so reclusive, you know?”

Renee spoke again, and Charlie let out a long breath.

“She won’t be there for at least a day or two…she said she’d call the both of us. Just get a flight when you can, meet her there. I don’t think she wants to chase after her right now.” He paused again, just for a moment. “Thank you, Renee. Okay, bye.”

He hung up the phone, slowly coming out of the kitchen. Evie looked up at him. She’d bitten her nails down to the quick. Charlie glanced down at his watch.

“Were you wanting to go to school today?”

Evie stared at him blankly. “What if she calls? I don’t want to miss it, or–”

“You’re not missing anything here,” he reassured her. “There’s nothing we can do but wait. If she calls, all we’ll be able to do is pick up. You should go to school, get your mind off of this.”

Evie swallowed. “I don’t know if I’d be able to focus.”

“It’d be good of you at least to try.”

Sighing, Evie pushed up from the stairs, going up to her room to get dressed for the day. 

Evie spent the day desperately trying to distract herself to no avail. She went from class to class in a daze, her mind continuously wandering back to Bella. Images of her sister sprawled out on a dark, wet Washington highway invaded her mind, the truck wrapped around a sturdy tree or a light pull. Evie hated that she’d taken the truck, not solely because it was the truck their father intended them to share, but because she was terrified of her sister driving so long, so far, all alone in the dark. What if Bella fell asleep at the wheel? What if there was a drunk driver out? Evie tried to keep her mind from wandering into miserable scenarios, but the sight of Bella’s brown doe eyes, wide and unseeing, was seared into her mind, or her frail legs broken at odd angles, her dark hair wet with blood. 

“Hey,” Sophie whispered, nudging her arm in History. “Are you alright?"

Blinking, Evie shook her head a bit, trying to clear her mind. “Yeah, uh…” she glanced over at the other girl. “I’ll tell you about it at lunch.”

Evie explained the situation to Sophie, Sam, and June. She was brief, not including the more emotional details. They all sat back in their chairs, stewing on the information. Sam spoke first.

“Do you think he tried to get in her pants?”

“What?” Evie nearly shrieked at the girl.

“Cullen, do you think he, ya know–”

“No!” Evie told her firmly. “No, she would’ve told us.”

“I don’t know,” Sam countered. “Your dad’s a cop, he’d hunt the guy down and skin him alive.”

Evie stared at her sharply. “No. He didn’t do anything, Bella would have at least told me.”

“What was she so upset about?” June asked.

“She didn’t really say, she was just…angry. And sad. She yelled a lot. She was spewing all this bullshit about getting stuck, hating Forks, and it didn’t make any sense.”

“So what brought it all on?” Sam asked her.

Evie sighed, frustrated. “I don’t know, she didn’t say. It’s almost like she was just–”

“Stir-crazy?” Sophie offered.

“Yeah,” Evie nodded. “Like it was all pent up.”

“Hm,” Sam chewed at her cheek thoughtfully. “I guess it was a matter of time, then.”

“I guess so.”

Lee dropped her off after school, and Evie bolted into the house, throwing her backpack down at the entryway.

“Dad?” She called, going from room to room on the ground floor. “Dad!”

“In here,” he called from the living room.

Evie stood waiting impatiently in front of him. “So?” She finally asked, “Did she call?”

Her father nodded. “She called from Twin Falls a few hours ago.”

“Wha–” Evie blinked. “Idaho?”

“She’ll probably make it to Phoenix by tonight or early tomorrow.”

“Did she stop?”

“I don’t know– she didn’t say.”

“Is she going to stop?”

“I didn’t want to pry. She told me she was safe, and she wasn't going to do anything stupid. I trust her not to try and kill herself.”

Evie collapsed onto the recliner, grumbling silently.

Her father sighed. “Esme Cullen called while you were at school.”

Evie’s brows drew together. “What for?”

“She wanted to apologize for…whatever happened last night. She said they were all worried about Bella, that Edward is just a mess over it. Said he doesn’t know what he did to upset her.”

Evie scoffed. “That’s rich.”

“She asked if Dr Cullen could fly with Edward and his sister down to Arizona and try to talk to Bella.”

“What?” Evie nearly jumped out of her seat. “Why would they do that? What would they say to her?”

“Edward wants to apologize, and…” he let out a slow breath. “Try to convince her to come home.”

Evie stared at her father, face scrunched up in confusion.

Seeing her expression, Charlie shook his head. “I know, I know…I told her she’s not likely to be convinced, that she’s truly set her mind to it.”

“So they’re not going, then?”

“I told her I wouldn’t stop them.”

“Are you serious?” Evie stood from her seat, gesturing wildly. “Did we not see the same thing last night? Hear the same words?”

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard them,” he said, mostly to himself. “Mrs Cullen seemed very optimistic, though. She was adamant Edward’ll get her to at least reconsider it. It felt wrong to turn them down, and I– I’ll take any chance I can get, Evie.”

Evie huffed. “Well, I’m not holding my breath.”

“No one is asking you to, Evelyn.”

Tuesday and Wednesday went similarly at school for Evie, minus the nightmarish daydreams of her sister’s demise. She was able to think with a slightly clear head when she wasn’t worried about Bella ending up splattered on the pavement somewhere, though she was still outraged with her. Evie couldn’t imagine a time she’d been more angry with one person, a new wave brought on each time she remembered her father’s broken expression at her departure. Wednesday afternoon, though, things went differently.

“Evelyn Swan,” a member of the school administrative staff appeared at her classroom doorway. “If you’ll come with me please. Bring your things, you’re going home for the day.”

Confused, Evie slowly gathered her belongings. Sophie caught her eye on the way out. Evie simply shrugged at her. Her father was waiting in the main office for her, and quickly ushered her outside, where the cruiser was waiting for them.

“What’s going on, Dad?”

“We’re going down to Arizona,” he told her, swiftly driving them to the house. “Your sister was in an accident.”

“What?” Evie felt as though her heart had stopped in her chest.

“She’s alright, she’s okay– Renee’s with her right now.” He reassured her. Evie’s heart started beating again. “Not a car wreck, she– well, Bella tripped and she uh…fell through a window?”

Evie blinked. “Fell through a window? How?”

He almost chuckled. “Well, it’s Bella. She found a way.”

They got to the house and went separate ways to quickly pack. Evie threw the first things she could find into her small suitcase, which had seen very limited usage throughout her life. Her father was waiting at the staircase for her, and they threw their things into the trunk and drove away. Charlie headed towards Tacoma, knowing it would only be a waste of their time to wait for a connecting flight from Port Angeles to Seattle, as they were typically very limited. Not long into the drive, Evie fished her ringing phone out of her pocket– it was Jacob. She looked up to the clock on the dashboard, seeing he had just gotten out of school. They hadn’t spoken since the day Bella left, Evie neglecting to call him as she was too preoccupied with worry.

Her father briefly glanced over her shoulder, sighing. “Go ahead and answer it,” he told her.

“No, it’s okay. I can talk to him another time.”

“We’ve got a long drive ahead of us, and you won’t have very much time at the airport. Pick up the phone, Evie.”

Fighting a smile, Evie flipped her phone open. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Jacob’s familiar voice came through. “How are things going?”

Evie fidgeted a bit. “I’m not exactly sure…”

“Okay…what’re you up to then?”

“I”m actually in the car with my dad,” she told him, leaning her head back against the headrest. “I’ve got kind of a crazy story to tell you…”

Notes:

Two chapters in one day! Wow, what are the chances? Hopefully I'll have the next one up before the end of the week...this one was going to be a lot shorter, but I wanted to throw in the phone call with Jake becaue #traumabonding I guess. Felt appropriate, plus it is a Jacob fic so...anyway! Hope you enjoy!
xxxnattles

Chapter 8

Evie was sitting on one of the stiff vinyl benches in the hospital cafeteria, picking at a turkey and cheese sandwich. Her father was sitting across from her, scarfing down a large bowl of chicken noodle soup that had looked much too watery for Evie’s taste. Beside her was Alice Cullen, eating just as much of her own sandwich as Evie was. Alice and Edward Cullen had flown down with their father just a day or so before Evie and her own father. They’d gotten a hold of Bella, asking her to come and meet with them, to allow Edward to apologize and ask her to return to Forks, asking her to go home to Evelyn and Charlie. They all said she’d agreed to meet at their hotel, and drove out to see them. On her way up to their room, she tripped, tumbling down two flights of stairs and out of the hotel window. 

She had just gotten out of surgery when Evie and their father arrived. Bella had sustained extensive injuries, including a Tibia fracture, four broken ribs, and multiple cracks in her skull. She’d undergone three blood transfusions for all the blood she’d lost in the accident. Their father was vibrating with rage when he’d seen her, covered in bruises, resting in a medically induced coma. He’d been hellbent on suing the hotel, though Evie coaxed him to calm down a bit. They’d been waiting at the hospital for just over a day, anxious for Bella to wake up.

Charlie glanced between the two girls and their food. “You girls not hungry?”

Evie shrugged, dropping her hands to her lap. Hospitals had always robbed her of an appetite.

Alice gave him a polite smile. “I had a big breakfast.”

Charlie nodded, going back to his soup. When he had finished, he cocked a brow at Evie, looking from her face down to her uneaten sandwich, and back up again. Evie pushed the tray towards him, and he quickly snatched the food off her plate. Evie leaned her weight against her arms on the table, looking out the wide window to the dry and desolate scenery. Past the winding and busy roads of the city, filled with commercial shopping centers, overflowing with residential neighborhoods where every house looked the same, the dirt mountains stood tall in the distance. It had only been a few days, but Evie missed her home state. The towering green trees and tall snowcapped mountain range felt like the enclosures of a cradle, wrapping their little town up and holding it together. Everything in Phoenix was too open, too flat, and too dry. The earth was brown and sunscorched, ugly and bare. 

Her father kicked her foot under the table, pulling her from the trance.

“Hey, kid,” he started. “Don’t mope the whole time, okay?”

She nodded, sitting up straight on the bench.

He sighed. “Why don’t you go call your friends or something, I bet they’ve been waiting to hear from you.”

Evie shifted nervously in her seat, glancing at Alice. “No, it’s okay. I don’t want to be impolite or rude or anything.”

“It’s alright, Evie,” Alice told her, placing a cold hand on her shoulder. “I don’t mind. All we’re doing here is waiting, really.”

Evie still hesitated.

“Evelyn, go.” Her father told her again. 

She pushed up from the table, leaving the cafeteria and wandering down the hall. Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, she checked the time before calling anyone back home, ensuring they weren’t still in school. She knew her father was right, they’d all be wanting to see at least some signs of life from her. Evie kept each of the calls brief, first Sophie, then Sam, June, and finally, Jake. The girls all asked if Bella was alright, and when Evie thought she’d be coming home. June offered to lend her any notes she’d missed, and Sophie filled her in on the geometry quiz she’d have to do a make-up for. 

Naturally, Jacob’s call was the longest. Evie had meandered through most of the open wards in the hospital, roaming the less busy hallways, and climbing through the echoing stairwells. She’d finally landed in a quiet sitting room towards the higher levels of the building, overlooking the parking garage and helicopter pad. She collapsed into a chair, still on the phone with him.

“You know what’s kind of weird?”

“Huh?” Evie prompted him to go on.

“My dad’s going crazy over all of this,” he told her.

“What d’you mean?”

“Everything that happened with the Cullens, and Edward and his dad with your sister…” He explained, “It’s freaking him out.”

“ ‘Freaking out’ in what way?” Evie asked him. “Like he thinks they had something to do with…her accident?”

Jacob sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, you know how he gets, the old man is going crazy over all his superstitions and theories. This is just…pushing him over the edge, I guess.”

Evie hummed thoughtfully. They were both quiet for a minute, shuffling through their respective swimming thoughts.

“I miss you.”

Evie let herself smile, knowing he couldn’t see her face and the fierce blush his words brought on. “I miss you, too. I’ll be back home soon, though. Dad doesn’t want me missing much more school.”

“Good,” Jacob said. “That’s good.”

The doors to the sitting room opened silently, and Carlisle Cullen came through. He smiled fondly when his eyes landed on her, striding purposefully towards the corner she had taken residence in. She smiled slightly back at the man in return.

“I’ve gotta go, Jake,” she said quickly. “I’ll call you again later, okay?”

“Okay, yeah. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye,” she said, snapping her phone shut.

Carlisle stopped in front of her, still smiling politely. “Catching up with friends from home?”

Evie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Your father mentioned you were getting a bit bored.”

She shrugged. “Just restless, I think.”

“Well, your sister’s awake now.” He told her. “I think it shouldn’t be long before they discharge her, and you’ll be on your way back home.”

“Really?” Evie stood from her seat.

Carlisle motioned for her to follow him out to the elevators. “Yes. Your father wanted you to come and see her with him.”

“Okay,” Evie followed him.

They stood in the elevator silently, riding down to the floor Bella had been roomed in.

“I, uh…” Evie fidgeted as she pulled her words together. “I wanted to thank you for coming down and talking to her. I know she can be a bit stubborn, so I’m not sure what you guys said to her to make her come and see you, but…I’m glad she’s going to be okay.”

Carlisle offered her a small smile. “Of course.” The doors opened smoothly, and he strode out, Evie following in tow. “If you say Bella is stubborn, I’m not sure I want to witness your own obstinate will in comparison. I’ve heard a few tales…consider me deterred, Evelyn.”

Evie grimaced. “Yeah, I can be a bit…brash. My mother used to call me ‘bull-headed.’ ”

He chuckled. “Edward is similar. He was adamant on seeing your sister, seeking her out and reasoning with her as much as she would let him.” Carlisle took stride just slightly ahead of her. “He felt quite guilty about everything that happened when she left, you know. And everything that went on here.”

Evie rolled her eyes behind the man. I wonder why, she thought to herself. 

They paused in the hallway before the room. Bella’s mother, Renee, was in the hallway talking loudly on the phone, to whom Evie assumed to be her husband, Phil. Renee was just as rambunctious and chatty as Evie remembered from her childhood. Evie continued down towards the room Bella was in. She peered in through the small window, finding Bella laid back and awake, speaking quietly. Edward was sitting in the armchair at the foot of her bed, allowing Evie a view of the back of his head. He hadn’t left the room for an instant nearly the entire time Evie had been there. Bella stopped talking suddenly, her eyes flickering to the window as if someone told her Evie was standing there, watching. Her lips quirked up in a halfhearted smile, though it turned into more of a painful grimace. Her face was badly bruised, black eyes and ragged cuts along her cheeks and forehead. Her head was bandaged a bit, too. Evie opened the door, slowly coming through. Edward turned to face her, nodding briefly as she came in.

“Hi, Ev,” Bella said, her voice hoarse from not speaking for so long.

“Hey.”

“How long have you been in Phoenix?”

Evie shrugged. “Dad and I flew in late Wednesday. Not too long.”

“Oh,” Bella said, nodding slightly. She winced at the movement, and Edward stiffened, almost jumping. It took all of Evie’s self control not to roll her eyes again.

“Has he come to see you yet?”

“Um, no. Not yet.”

Evie nodded and dropped into the stiff plastic chair beside the hospital bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Dizzy,” Bella admitted. “Everything’s all fuzzy in my head, and the room has been spinning on and off.”

“Do you want to just go back to sleep?” Edward chimed in, voice filled with concern. “We can call the nurse and ask for your next dose of pain medications.”

Bella shot him a look that Evie was unable to read. “I’m fine. I want to talk.”

“We don’t have to talk right now,” Evie told her, glancing between the two of them. She almost felt as though she was intruding on something, which only made her angrier with the strange boy. “You can sleep it off, Bella, it’s okay. No one wants to rush you.”

“No, I would like to talk for a bit. I’ve been sleeping for what feels like forever.”

Evie nodded, settling back into the chair.

“Firstly,” Bella started, staring down at the IV in her hand. “I need to apologize to you.”

“We don’t need to hash everything out right now,” Evie quickly interrupted her. “You can rest. Let’s not go through all of it prematurely.”

“No, I want to say this.” Bella pressed on. “Evie, I’m sorry.”

Evie stiffly glanced over at Edward from the corner of her eye, not wanting to have a personal moment with Bella right in front of him.

“It’s okay,” Bella told her, seeing the look she was giving him. “He knows everything that went on, and what I said to the two of you.”

“Oh.”

Evie waited for him to offer to leave the room and give them a moment, but she quickly realized there was no separating the two of them. Bella went on.

“I never should have said those things to Charlie. It was…inexcusable, and hurtful. I was angry and scared, but that doesn’t make any of it okay. I’m really sorry, Evelyn.”

Evie nodded briefly, waiting.

Bella blinked. “Well?”

“Oh, um,” Evie sat up a bit. “Thank you.”

Bella scrunched her nose a bit, making a face. “You were pretty pissed off. I don’t think ‘thank you’ is going to cut it here. Tell me how you really feel, Evie.”

Evie arched a brow at her. “You really want me to say this right now?”

“Yes. I do.”

She looked at the boy, who was pointedly staring at Bella’s hands. “Even in front of him?”

“Just spill it, Evie. You’re making me anxious.”

Comically, Bella’s heart rate had, in fact, begun to accelerate. Edward stared darkly at the monitor, as if he were willing it to calm down.

“I–” Evie almost started, but stopped herself. “I can’t do this when you’re all drugged up, it’s not fair. I feel like I’ve got you cornered.”

“I’m not some wounded animal,” Bella spat. “Just say it.”

Evie laughed darkly. “Well, you kind of are– have you seen yourself lately?”

“Evelyn!” Bella raised her voice as much as her hoarse throat would allow. “Just. Say it.”

“Fine,” Evie snapped. “Yeah, I’m pissed off at you, okay? You got Dad’s hopes all up, telling him you were coming home, and acting like Forks was growing on you.”

Bella nearly flinched, quickly composing her face again. “Yeah, I did.”

Evie took in the girl’s placid face, no sign of true remorse or emotion. “That’s it? You’re just– confessing it?”

“I’m owning it,” Bella told her. “I’m taking responsibility for it, and apologizing for it.”

Evie scoffed.

“Well, what else am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, I just–” Evie stared at her, remembering the broken look on her father’s face. Bella really did look so much like Charlie sometimes. It only added fuel to the fire for Evelyn. “You chewed him up and spit him out. How do you think that felt to watch, huh?” Evie realized she’d been leaning forward slightly, inching closer to Bella. 

“I didn’t want to hurt his feelings like that, Evie, I promise–”

“Oh, bullshit!” Evie spat. “Yes, you did. You knew exactly what to say to rip his heart out and finally get him to let you leave. If you really wanted to leave that badly, you could have just had a civilized conversation. You could have waited one more week like he asked, or just slept on it.”

Bella’s eyes were watering, and she tried to blink the tears away. “I know, and I’m sorry.”

“Sometimes, sorry doesn’t cut it. I mean, what if you’d gotten in a car wreck? Or if you hadn’t miraculously survived this accident, Bella? Do you know how guilty Dad would’ve felt if he never saw you again?”

A stray tear escaped Bella’s eye. She didn’t bother brushing it away.

“Evelyn,” Edward voiced. Evie blinked, as if suddenly remembering he was there. “Give her a bit of grace.”

Evie ground her teeth, reminding herself that Bella might not remember everything she’d said, and she was still recovering from major injuries. She took a deep breath before going on. 

“The fact of the matter is, Dad and I– well, it’s been just me and Dad on our own for so long, Bella. You never really wanted anything to do with us, you never came to visit anymore. And then you practically showed up on our doorstep, coming to live with us…” she let out a shaky breath. “Dad was so excited for you to come home, and you were so apathetic about it all. I get that you’re a mellow person, but all of this–” she gestured between them. She steeled herself, pressing on. “You know, Dad’s not as tough as he lets on, and definitely not concerning…the two of us.”

“I know,” Bella said. “I know that, and I really am sorry.”

Evie nodded. “Good.” She paused, thinking for a moment. “He and I went through a lot together, a lot that you weren’t there for. I just want you to remember that, okay?”

Bella nodded.

Evie stood from the chair. “I forgive you,” she told her. “I think I do, at least. But, it’s going to be a while before I can ever trust you, especially with him.”

“I know that,” Bella said. “And when I come home, I’ll–”

“Wait, what?” Evie stopped her. “What do you mean, ‘come home?’ ”

Bella gnawed at her lip. “I’m coming back to Forks.”

Evie stared at her, dumbfounded. “I’m sorry, excuse me? After all of this, you just– what? Changed your mind?”

“Well, Edward and I talked, and I–”

Evie looked to Edward, still pointedly looking away from her. “He scared you all the way to Arizona and you’ve changed your mind just like that?”

“No, Evelyn, it’s not like that–”

“No, Isabella, it is like that.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You went on a date with the kid and then hightailed it out of Forks.”

“Evelyn,” Edward finally snapped. “Calm down.”

“No!” She barked. “This is ridiculous, I mean–” she groaned, turning to storm out of the, but she stopped in her tracks. Glaring at Edward, she told him, “Listen, I might not trust her very much right now,” she pointed to Bella. “But I sure as hell do not trust you.” 

Edward barely even blinked. “Okay,” he told her. “I understand that.”

Spinning on her heel, Evie marched out of the room, blinds shaking on the door as she shut it behind her. She pushed through the hallway, and locked herself in the first bathroom she could find, not intending to speak with anyone for at least a few hours.

Notes:

Ta-da! As promised, here we go! I'm hoping to form a more constructed schedule for posting, maybe like Sundays and Wednesdays every week? I'll try to be writing more often so that I'm able to keep on top of that for you guys. Also, thank you for interacting! Kudos and comments are always always always appreciated! I'm usually checking them constantly the first day or so after I post. So thank you!
xxx nattles

Chapter 9

Bella was only kept in the hospital for a few more days before finally being discharged and sent home. Their father was understandably wary about her decision to return to Forks, not fully believing anything she said until the heavier pain medications had finally worn off. While he had been indescribably grateful for Carlisle coming all the way down to Arizona to seek Bella out, Charlie was frighteningly cold to Edward the entire duration of their stay in Phoenix. He was the only person who’d finally gotten the boy out of Bella’s hospital room, much to both of the young couple’s dismay, and engaged in what seemed to be a very colorful conversation with the boy. Evie was strictly not allowed to hear or ask what her father had said to him, though she’d been able to watch his face as he spoke through Bella’s window. She fought to keep the smirk off her face. 

Renee generously offered to take Evie out and show her around Phoenix, getting the girl out of the hospital and keeping her from going stir crazy. Once alone with Evie, though, Renee was quick to pounce on her, interrogating the girl immediately. They were walking through a smaller strip mall, window shopping briefly, when she began asking questions.

“Can I ask you about this Edward boy?”

Evie blinked. “Oh,” she said. “Sure, yeah. Ask away.”

“Well, what do you know about him?”

She thought for a moment. “His family moved to Forks a few years ago, he must have been in eighth or ninth grade…you’ve met his sister, Alice.”

“Yes, she’s lovely.” Renee gushed.

“He was adopted by Dr Cullen…he and his wife fostered two other kids, Alice, and then another boy, Emmett, and they were adopted, too.” Evie thought back, trying to remember everything. “Mrs Cullen has a niece and nephew they adopted as well. Rosalie and Jasper. They’re twins.”

“Huh,” Renee said. “They seem like incredibly generous people. And he’s so young, too.”

“Yeah,” Evie nodded.

“And what do you think of him?”

“I don’t know…he’s not really my type,” she confessed, laughing.

“No, I mean, what do you think of his character, his personality.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know him that well. I couldn’t say.” It was only a partial lie.

Renee paused, chewing on her thoughts. “Do you think she’s in love with him?”

Evie nearly jumped. “What?”

“Your sister,” Renee clarified. “Do you think she’s in love with Edward?”

Evie stared at her, perplexed at the woman’s words. “She– I don’t know, we haven’t really talked about it that much…actually, this is kind of a new thing, if I’m being totally honest.”

“A ‘new thing?’ ” Renee became concerned, her eyebrows knitting together. “How new?”

“Pretty recent…” Evie admitted. “He drove her home from school…maybe a few weeks ago? And they were only really eating lunch at school together for a few days before that, maybe. He started driving both of us, and then she met his parents.” Evie narrowed her eyes as she spoke. “Renee, this all happened after their first real date, the night he met Dad. You know that, right?”

“Yes, well, that’s what I was told, but I wasn’t sure how truthful that was, or what else was going on.” She gnawed at her lip, suddenly looking very much like her daughter. “Is that really all that’s happened?”

Evie quickly put her hands up, in a sign of surrender. “Bella doesn’t give me details,” she told Renee truthfully. “So I don’t know everything.”

Renee studied her expression for a moment more, before finally sighing and strolling on. 

“I think he’s in love with her.”

“Obsession doesn’t always mean affection,” Evie offered after a beat. “I mean, they’re young. Bella’s never dated anyone before. Maybe it’s just the whole ‘first love’ thing.”

Renee gave her a side long look, smiling softly. “You’re a bit of an old soul, Evelyn.”

Evie scoffed.

“You are,” she repeated. “How else did you get so wise?”

She shrugged. “Life experience?”

Renee shook her head, laughing.

“I don’t know…paying attention?”

By the end of the following week, Evie was back home and in school like normal. Bella was still stuck at home on bedrest, and kept under serious new rules from their father: once she wasn’t bedridden, there would be a curfew enforced, and “visiting hours” for when anyone was coming over…Evie desperately hoped it wouldn’t give him any new ideas where it came to her and Jacob. 

The one thing she was least excited about with Bella’s return to school after recovering, was witnessing her back with Edward again. He wasn’t typically in the house, neither of them incredibly fond of the idea of their father’s supervision while they spent time together. Whenever he did come over, Evie was quick to escape to any of her friends’ houses, or leave to spend time with Jacob. At school, though, it was inevitable– there was no escape

 

“Hello,” Sam snapped her fingers in front of Evie’s face. “Earth to Evelyn– anyone home?”

Evie blinked, turning to look away from Bella and Edward. “Sorry,” she mumbled. They were sitting together in the cafeteria, and Evie had been caught brooding.

“Be careful, if you glare for too long, they might start to think you actually like them.” Sophie chuckled.

Evie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She quickly stood from the table, gathering her things together and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Their lunch period was about to end.

“Why do you hate Eddie boy so much again?” Sam fell in stride beside her.

“Oh no,” Sophie groaned. “Please don’t get her started on this for the thousandth time, Sam.”

Evie threw up her hands, plowing on anyway. “It’s just gross!” She exclaimed. “They’re so codependent, and they barely even know each other! She ran out of Forks faster than I knew was possible, and now all of the sudden they’re back together again?” Her tone was exasperated. “They’ve known each other for a few weeks.”

“Two months,” June corrected.

“And they’ve been dating for even less than that,” Evie went on without stopping. “It’s just weird.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever Miss ‘I’ve-known-my-boyfriend-since-we-were-in-diapers,’ ” Sam said smiling.

Evie blinked, blushing furiously. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she reminded them quietly.

Sam smirked, narrowing her green eyes at Evie. “Can you really say that about a guy when you’ve tasted his tonsils?”

Sophie made a faint retching noise, while June giggled. Evie continued to blush, completely mortified.

“It’s just–” she searched for the words. “Complicated. We’re seeing each other, but I don’t know if he’s really my boyfriend, per say.”

Sam cocked a brow. “Sure…”

She shoved Sam a bit. “You’ve said the same thing about Lee. It’s complicated, you know that.”

“I told Lee that I wasn’t his girlfriend until he asked me to be,” Sam reminded her. “That’s how it goes.”

Evie narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “Then why are you teasing me about this?”

Sophie chimed in, laughing. “Because you and Jacob have been a thing forever!”

“Not forever,” she told them. “It’s new.”

“Right, okay,” Sam was disbelieving.

“Well, it has been a slowburn between the two of you,” June said.

They all laughed.

Sam nudged Evie with an elbow. “Just ask him,” she said. “I’m sure he already thinks that’s the case. He likes you too much to be weird about it.”

Evie sighed, smiling. “You’re probably right.”

They split off down the hall for their separate classes, and Evie tried not to think about any of it too much.

 

Despite his steadfast cold front towards Edward, over the weeks, Charlie had quickly begun warming up to the idea of his younger daughter in a relationship. Evie knew this was only because he’d known Jacob since he’d been in diapers, though she found that was no reason to complain. Evie took what she could get, graciously, and was careful not to push or ask for too much. In turn, they knew when to creep around him, never overly affectionate in front of her father, and never too quiet when he was just on the other side of the door. Jacob still wasn’t allowed up in her room, per her dad’s old rules as well as the new ones, so they chose to be smart and work around his schedule at the station.

Evie was settling into the center of the sofa, head leaned against the back of the couch. She watched as Jacob came around the couch, turning to lean the back of his legs against the sofa’s arm and collapsing backwards across the cushions with a sigh, his shoulders landing in her lap. She reached out to his hair, pulling it from beneath under his head to fan out like a dark halo around his head. He smiled up at her.

“Hey,” Jacob started. “You’re going to the prom in a few weeks, right?”

“Pfft,” Evie shook her head. “No.”

His face dropped. “Wh-what? Why not?”

“I’m an underclassman, Jake.” She told him. “A junior or senior would have to invite me to go.”

He ran a hand over his face, groaning. “Oh, crap.”

Evie laughed. “What is it?”

“My dad may or may not have offered to buy me the last few parts I need for my car if I crashed your guys’ prom…” he confessed. “And I may or may not have absolutely taken him up on it.”

Evie’s mouth fell open in shock for a moment, before she let out a full belly laugh. “That,” she started, choking on laughter. “Is so profoundly stupid.”

“I only did it because I thought you would be there!” He exclaimed. He ran one hand through his hair, tugging at the roots. “Oh, man. This is going to suck.”

“Why did he put you up to it?”

Still covering his face, he shook his head. “Promise you won’t be royally pissed off, okay?”

“That’s not at all frightening,” Evie chuckled.

“It’s about your sister.”

“Oh.”

They were both silent for a while. That had been enough of an answer.

“He’s still not…over that?”

Jacob shrugged as much as he could while still horizontal. “He thinks they must be plotting something. He’s scared for Bella. I told you, it’s weird.”

“I mean, I knew he was superstitious, but…”

“It’s creepy.”

“Yeah,” Evie nodded. “It kind of is.”

He sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“And you’re still going?”

“You know how long I’ve been waiting to get that master cylinder,” he reminded her.

“Hm,” was all Evie had to offer.

They sat quietly for a few minutes. Evie’s hand had found his hair again, twisting and untwisting small strands absentmindedly. Sam’s words had snuck their way into her brain, festering and stewing in her consciousness. Well, Sam’s word. Specifically, the one word, boyfriend. Labels were strange. Everything with Jacob was so familiar to Evie, but also so new. She didn’t know where to push and where to pull, and where she wasn’t supposed to do anything. What she did know, though, was that she liked him. Very much. She had for a very long time. So maybe she ought to be the one to push here?

“What’s on your mind?” He asked suddenly, pulling Evie out of her swimming thoughts.

“Not much,” she lied.

Jacob hummed. “You seem preoccupied.”

“I don’t know. Just thinking.”

“If the whole prom thing is a big deal to you, I won’t go.” He told her, pushing up out of her lap a bit. “You just have to ask, I don’t mind.”

Evie laughed. “No, it’s not that.”

“Oh.” Jacob’s brows knit together slightly. “Then what is it?”

She bit sharply at the inside of her cheek. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah.” He said, “Though this feels like a bit of a trap.”

“Even if it’s very stupid and kind of brash?”

“Definitely a trap then.”

She glared at him briefly, but Jacob only beamed up at her, a bright and toothy grin plastered on his face.

Evie took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Am I your girlfriend?”

Jacob’s smile faltered, and for an instant, he looked as though she had struck him. “What?”

She grimaced. “Please don’t make me repeat it…”

“Well, I mean,” he quickly pushed himself up again, sitting up fully beside her on the sofa. “Yeah. I thought you were– are, you are. Right?”

“So,” Evie started. “You’re my boyfriend?”

He scratched his head. “Was I…not? Before?”

“I just wanted to clarify, because lots of people can be weird about like ‘labels’ or whatever, and we’d never discussed it before.” She rushed her words out in one breath. “I didn’t want to just assume, and we’ve been friends for so long, it seemed more appropriate to ask or say something than to just wait way too long, and then it would get weird.”

“Evs,” Jacob stopped her, laughing lightly.

She peered over at him. “Yeah?”

“Yes, you’re my girlfriend.” He smiled at her again. “Is that the answer you were looking for?”

She smiled back at him, feeling a sharp blush spreading across her face. “Yes. Thank you.”

He leaned down towards her, still smiling, and captured her lips in a warm kiss. No longer laying in her lap, Jacob had the advantage of his height again, towering just slightly over Evie. She had to tilt her head up to meet him, and slowly, either by the force of weight and gravity, or their synchronized pulling and pushing, Evie was forced to lean further and further back on the sofa, lips still moving against his, Jacob still towering over her. Her back hadn’t yet hit the cushions, when the front door suddenly burst open.

Jacob and Evie sprung apart in an instant, quickly moving to opposite ends of the sofa. The heavy thud of Bella’s plaster boot against the hardwood came through the house as she slowly made her way into the living room.

“Hm,” Bella eyed the two of them carefully, no doubt witnessing their frantic separation. “Homework?”
They glanced at each other nervously, though Evie thought he looked far more smug then he ought to in this situation.

“Yeah,” they both replied.

Bella chuckled, leaving the room and the two of them on their own again. Jacob’s shoulders shook with silent laughter, and Evie was quick to reach out and swat at him.

Notes:

Well, I added the "fluff" tag, but my only issue now is I'm not quite sure if I'm confident in where the line between "fluff" and "cringe" lies...hopefully this wasn't too bad of a read, because honestly, this was one of my least fav chapters as far as writing goes. But at least I'm on a roll, here's another chapter for you <3 I had great visions for how this one was originally supposed to be structured, but in the end it just didn't really work out.
Thanks for interacting, kudos and comments are appreciated.
xxx nattles

Chapter 10

The school year came to a finish smoothly, with no more near death incidents for Bella. While Bella was still stuck in her heavy cast, Edward drove the girls to and from school again. Evie had no intention of warming up to the boy, but she strove to be civil with him all the same. He and Alice, with Evie’s help, managed to trick Bella into attending the prom. The two other girls spent the day primping and pampering her in the Cullens’ elaborate and extremely well lit bathroom. Evie had been gawking slightly when she’d first seen the house, Bella elbowing her sharply and instructing her to close her mouth. Once she was dressed and her hair done up, they’d finally sent her off in the car with Edward, still without a clue of her destination. The two girls burst into laughter together as the car pulled out of the long gravel driveway, ecstatic with the success of their plan, and Alice drove her home. Jacob called her after he left, following through with his father's plans. He groaned about how embarrassing and awful the entire interaction had been, and Evie laughed, listening to him. He explained how understanding Bella had been toward the scenario, and told her he hoped she found it as funny as Evie had.

Evie’s birthday was at the end of May. Turning fifteen, she got her learner’s permit, her father driving her to the Department of Licensing to get her picture taken and the little card printed. He signed her up for the summer Driver’s Education course as a birthday gift. The three of them, Evie, Bella, and Charlie, all drove to Port Angeles together for the evening. They sat down for dinner at an Italian restaurant Bella had suggested, and then caught a showing of Cinderella Man, as Evie and her father had both been waiting to see it together. The weekend of her birthday, Sophie, Sam, and June all slept over, and Charlie let them rent three movies– Spider-Man 2, 50 First Dates, and The Notebook. Evie ripped back the wrapping paper from each of her gifts, receiving a deep purple and grey Casio Baby-G watch from her father, a leather bound journal from June, and a Duct tape wallet and coin purse made by Sophie. Sam had put together a list of songs and had Lee burn them onto a CD for her, and she handpainted a soft watercolor cover for the custom case. They all stayed up late shrieking quietly and whispering rapidly to each other. 

“What did Jake get for you?” June asked sweetly.

Evie smirked. “He made this for me.”

She stuck out her hand to show them the intricately woven soft leather bracelet, which wound around her wrist twice. There were small glass beads in the shape of little stars hung on the chords, all surrounding a silver crescent moon charm that the leather had been woven around, securing it in place. She twisted her wrist left and right to show the girls, the beads making a soft twinkling sound as she did.

 The girls all cooed, examining the bracelet with awe.

“This must’ve taken hours,” Sophie said decidedly, reaching to grasp hold of Evie’s arm to get a better look.

Evie beamed at the statement. “He spent two weeks working on it.”

“Wow,” Sam blinked, running a finger along the little stars. “He did a good job.”

Pride swelled in Evie’s chest. “Yeah, he did.”

At the end of the year, Edward’s three oldest siblings, Jasper and Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen, all graduated. They spent the summer on elaborate celebration travels and camping trips, and then went off as a group to New Hampshire. They had been planning to attend Dartmouth together for years, apparently, and received large scholarships and grants to do so, though everyone in town knew they didn’t really need any such thing. Over the summer break, Bella had gotten a part time job at Newton’s Olympic Outfitters, Mike’s family sporting goods store. When Bella wasn’t off running about with Edward or, on a rare occasion, lounging in the living room with him, she was out working. Evie was left in an empty house again that summer, though she didn’t mind. 

Whenever he could swing a ride, Jacob would come by, and whenever he knew Charlie wouldn’t be there to catch him without a license, he drove himself. The two of them would make good use of their time in the house on their own, always respectful of her father’s presence. They were sure only to break his rules when he wasn’t in the house with them. Evie often asked Bella to drive her out to the reservation, too, when her work schedule allowed it. She and Jacob would hide away from the rain in his garage, and she’d sit and watch as he worked on his Volkswagen. After successfully crashing the Forks High School prom, his father made good on his promise and bought some of the final parts for the vehicle. By late summer, it was nearly finished. Occasionally, he would pull it out of the garage and drive Evie around La Push– not often, though, as it always made Evie anxious that he drove without a license, and she was terrified of getting caught. He laughed at her a few times for it, but after she chucked some smaller tools at the back of his head over the matter, he learned to keep quiet.

They didn’t spend the entire summer hiding out in the Swans’ house or his little garage, though. Whenever the weather and her father allowed it, Evie would join Jacob and his crew on their trips out hiking and exploring the Hoh rain forest. While it warmed up slightly, just to the high sixties, the sky over them typically remained somewhat dreary and drizzly. They all would push through the wet weather and venture out to the beach, sometimes Evie’s friends from Forks tagging along. Jacob would take hold of her hand and pull her along to the recluded tide pools and the steep cliffs along the water’s edge. She’d capture his forearms in a firm grip to keep balance, laughing loudly with him as they teetered across the slippery stones, angry cold water licking at their ankles. He’d lean in and steal a few kisses while they were away from the prying eyes of his friends and the teasing jeers of hers. 

Staying out late, Evie arrived home long after the summer sun had gone down beyond the ocean’s horizon. Everyone pulled blankets out of the trunks of their cars, bundling together closely around the beach fire. Evie wrapped a thin quilt around her shoulders, finding her seat just in front of Jacob, and he pulled her back to lean against his chest, his legs propped up on either side of hers, and his chin resting in the nook at her shoulder. The pair of them smiled absentmindedly, stealing as much time day by day as Evie’s loose summer curfew allowed.

“Hey, Evie,” Quil called to her across the fire. “You should come with us.”

She hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation. “Come where?”

“We’re all going out backpacking in a few weeks,” he told her.

“Oh yeah, Jake told me about that.”

“So,” Embry chimed in. “Come with us.”

She grimaced. “I dunno if my dad would let me…”

“It’s not just the two of you,” Quil said. “We’d all be there, too. And Embry’s dad will be with us.”

Evie turned back slightly to peer at Jacob. He caught her eye, shrugging.

“You can come if you’d like,” he told her. “It’s not an easy trip, though.”

Evie quirked a brow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s not an easy hike,” Embry stated. “It’s a decently long loop.”

“Where are you going?”

“Down south a bit, there’s a summit where you can see three of the mountains,” Jacob informed her. “Hawkeye Point.”

“Snowgrass Flat,” Embry said. “It’s a pretty popular spot for avid hikers in the summer.”

Evie nodded. “Okay,” she decided. “I’ll talk to my dad.”

They packed up shortly after, crossing the dark beach and climbing the stairs to the parking lot, Evie clutching Jacob’s hand on the walk back. Before parting ways, she rolled up onto her toes, reaching to kiss him goodbye. Then she climbed into Lee’s van, taking the backseat with Sophie, nodding off on each other’s shoulders during the drive back into town.

 

Evie proposed the camping trip to her father over dinner one evening not long after they invited her. She explained how a group of Jacob’s friends were going, how Embry’s father was taking them all, and that she was invited to join them. He frowned, dark eyebrows drawn together.

“And Jake asked you to go with?”

“No,” she told him. “Quil and Embry did, Jake’s friends who are going.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Are there any other girls going with them? Any other parents?”

“Uh,” Evie scratched her head. “I hadn’t really asked much, but…no, I don’t think so.”

“So you would be the only girl?”

She blinked, nodding slowly. “Probably.”

Her father took a deep breath, staring off at the woods through the kitchen window. Despite being late in the day, it was still bright out, the afternoon sun having burned off some of the cloud coverage. The forest looked alive with color, brilliant hues of greens glowing in the light. He scratched at his chin, thinking deeply on the matter.

“Gee, I don’t know, kiddo.”

Evie groaned inwardly.

“Let me think on it a bit,” he decided.

She perked up instantly. “Okay!”

“That’s not a ‘yes,’ ” he reminded her. 

“I know.”

He did think about it, for what seemed like weeks to Evie. She was dying to bring it up again nearly every time she saw him, but she knew doing that would decrease her chances drastically. So instead she waited incredibly impatiently. Evie felt like a little kid sitting on their hands during a long church service, told to sit still and be quiet. But eventually, she could hold it in no more. After only a few days, she pounced on her father.

“So, have you decided yet?”

He looked up from his tackle box, caught off guard. “On what?”

“The camping trip,” Evie reminded him.

“Oh,” he sighed, frowning a bit. “You know, that area really is known for bears. Goat Rocks in the summer? They’re all over the place.”

Evie arched a brow at him.

“Well, it is true.” He told her. Then, adding, “I also thought…well, I mean–”

She was rolling on the balls of her feet as she waited for his answer. 

“I don’t think this year is such a great idea. What with you being the only girl going, and you and Jacob are still so…” He gestured vaguely in her direction.

Evie deflated visibly. “Oh.”

Charlie let out a deep breath, looking at her softly. “Look, Evs– I’m still so new at this whole ‘daughters in relationships’ bit. Give me a little time, give me a little grace. I don’t want to jump the gun on anything because I think I can trust you too much.”

Evie opened her mouth to interject, but her father raised a hand to stop her.

“I’m not saying I don’t trust you, or that you’ve given me reason not to,” he added. “I just…would appreciate patience. Take this slow. For my sake, if not for yours.”

Evie stared at her feet, taking his words in. She nodded. “Okay. Yeah that makes sense.”

Her father reached out to ruffle her hair. “Let’s touch base on this again next time they all want to go, okay? Maybe I’ll have a change of heart.”

She smiled at him. “Thanks, Dad.”

The rest of the summer progresses slowly. Evie filled her unoccupied hours by rifling through Bella’s book collection, consisting mostly of English classics and Victorian poetry. She burned through several Jane Austen books, finding her favorite to be Emma, and quickly realizing it was likely because of the similar plotlines it shared with Clueless. She also Bella had a small collection of poems by Alfred Tennyson, which Evie had found particularly disheartening and depressing. Tucked in the very furthest corner of Bella’s bookshelf was a ratty secondhand copy of Carmilla, which Evie quickly finished, finding the contents particularly intriguing and slightly disturbing. Behind that was an ancient book with the cover taped together, half torn off, titled The Feast of Blood. Evie made it halfway through before she began having nightmares, and immediately returned the book back to its hiding place on her sister’s shelf.

Twice over the summer, the girls all took a day trip to Seattle. June often spent long portions of the summer with her father, who worked a fancy tech job and lived in the city, so they all visited her together. They walked down to the pier, meandering through Pike Place, buying fudge from the artisan chocolate shoppe, eating fried fish and ships, and exploring the aquarium. The sights and the smells of the aquarium made Evie motion sick after a short while, though, so she stuck to the fresh air of the Puget Sound. 

Jacob was only gone for a few days, and came back with a spread of photos to share with her– the view from the peak, the boys all posing together at the snowy cliffsides and in front of the glacial lake, shots of them each dunking their heads into the icy creek. There was a candid Quil had snapped of Jacob that he quickly shuffled away from the rest of the images, indiscreetly trying to hide it from Evie. She instantly shot a hand out to snatch it from him, ripping the image from his hand. A bleary eyed Jacob sat half burrowed in a sleeping bag, staring blankly at the ground in the early morning light, with the worst bed head Evie had ever seen. Jacob’s sleek hair was typically smoothed back, uniformly falling down his back and around his face. He could very easily tie it back with little effort and no restraint from the hair itself. In the photo, though, his hair stuck up at odd angles around his face, bumps and creases along his head back to where she assumed he’d tucked it into a ponytail or bun the evening before. He wrenched his arm out to take the image back from him, but she held it away from him, cackling loudly at the photograph.

“Evie, no!” He whined, reaching for her hand.

But the damage was already done. She stepped away from him, arm extended behind her, still laughing. “No way,” she told him. “I’m keeping this one!”

He groaned, though his efforts decreased slightly.

“Maybe I should frame it…” She teased, bringing the photo to her chest. “Oh! I can’t wait to show my dad, I know he’ll just love it.”

Jacob’s face blanched. “No…”

“Yes,” she laughed. “Maybe we’ll hang it on the fridge.”

He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, groaning again.

Evie loved his hair very much. Sometimes he’d let her put little braids into it, weaving the thick strands into tight patterns. She loved watching him pulling it back as he focused on something, callused fingers smoothing out any unevenness and tying it at the back of his head. She loved how little pieces fell out at the front when he’d been working for too long or too hard, and how he’d absentmindedly brush them out of his line of sight, tucking them behind his ears. She often caught herself wanting to reach forward and brush them out of the way before he’d noticed they’d come loose, though she stopped herself, feeling that for some reason, she wasn’t quite allowed to do that yet.

The approaching school year loomed over their heads like a perpetual stormcloud refusing to move on. As July faded into August, August passed by much faster than the rest of the summer had, and Evie was forced with the harsh reality of abandoning her dreamlike summer. As hard as she tried to fight it, time marched on despite her, and Evie found she could not freeze the moment anymore than she could freeze their physical forms or stop any of them from growing or changing. It all kept going, and the peaceful summer finally ended.

Notes:

New chapter out early for you guys! Hope you like this one, it was fun writing it. New Moon comes next ;) which, personally, is my favorite book and movie...mostly because of the Jacob content, though that's all we really get here.
Thanks for reading and interacting!
xxx nattles

Chapter 11

School began smoothly. Evie had a place on the girls' soccer team, along with Sophie and Sam, practice taking up several of her evenings throughout the week. Bella’s birthday was September 13th, just after the start of the year. In the weeks leading up to it, she insisted that Evie and their father did not need to get her any gifts, and that she didn’t want any celebration. Regardless, they still brought a few small presents into her room the morning of her birthday, and the two of them whipped together a quaint birthday breakfast while Bella had still been getting ready for school upstairs– blueberry pancakes, homemade whipped cream, with bacon and sausage. Her mother had sent an empty scrapbook, which Bella was meant to fill the blank pages with events of her senior year. Their father had purchased her a digital camera for her to document the year with, and Evie picked out a collection of colored pens, markers, and tapes for the scrapbook. Bella accepted them all sheepishly, thanking them profusely before the girls piled into the truck for school.

“Hey,” Bella started, once they were on the way to school. “Don’t tell anyone it’s my birthday today, alright?”

“Yeah, I know, Bella. You’ve told me like a hundred times already.”

She nodded. “I just wanted to…make sure.”

“Don’t worry,” Evie told her, slightly exasperated. “I’m not going to say anything.”

Bella nodded again, and they continued the ride on in silence.

When they arrived at the school, Edward and Alice were waiting for Bella at the steps. Evie bit her cheek to keep from saying anything snarky, though she saw the smirk left on Edward’s face.

“Good morning, Evie!” Alice called to her.

“Hi, Alice.” Evie replied, nodding to the pair of them as she passed.

She left Bella to the Cullens, going on to find her own friends. With their older siblings having graduated just the year before, Edward and Alice spent more time with Bella while at school, rather than lurking in the shadows as a family. While Evie shouldn’t have particularly cared much, since she had her own posse of friends and the two sisters hadn’t ever spent time together at school outside of driving to and from, it still rubbed her the wrong way sometimes. 

The day went on as usual, with no events during the school day, and no attention brought to Bella’s birthday. When classes had finally ended, Evie walked out to the parking lot to find Edward and Bella waiting for her together at the truck.

“Edward’s going to ride home with us,” Bella told her, caution underlining her tone. “And then I’m going over to the Cullens’ after dinner.”

Evie froze. “Oh,” she said. “I thought we were ordering in with Dad tonight.”

“Alice planned a whole thing for me,” Bella confessed sheepishly. “I didn’t think you guys would mind too much. I don’t even want to do anything for my birthday.”

“So, you are doing something for it then.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Edward chimed in.

Evie sent him a stormy look for only a split-second, then turned back to Bella. “Ordering in is not doing anything.”

Bella gave Evie a pleading look. “Evelyn…”

Evie stared at her for a moment. “Fine,” she grumbled, walking around to the passenger side of the truck and climbing into the cab.

Sliding onto the bench together, Edward took the middle while Bella drove, leaving the passenger seat for Evie. She glared darkly out the window, trying desperately not to brood over her sister’s birthday. If Bella wanted to go and do something, she was in her full rights to do so. Evie shouldn’t throw a fit over it, that wasn’t fair. 

Edward twiddled with the stereo on their way to the house. “Your radio has terrible connection.”

Evie rolled her eyes, subtly sliding further down the bench away from him.

Bella reached out to swat his hand away from the stereo. “If you want a big fancy radio, you can drive your car.”

This brought a small smile to Evie’s face. At least Bella liked the truck as much as she did. By the time they got to the house, she’d resolved her frustration a bit. She opted not to storm up the front steps and into the house, trailing behind her sister instead. She set her backpack on the entryway bench, hanging her coat up and kicking her shoes off.

“How are you spending the afternoon then, Bells?” Evie asked.

Bella smiled. “I was going to watch a movie for class.”

Evie blinked at her sister.

She laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing too boring. Romeo and Juliet, the 1968 version. Wanna watch with us?”

Evie shrugged, relieved it wasn’t actual classwork. “Sure.”

Edward and Bella took the sofa together, while Evie plopped into the armchair. While she had no personal vendetta against older movies, she did find the Leonardo DiCaprio version much more captivating. Not far into the film, she had nodded off, dozing in the large armchair. She stirred briefly, woken by the sound of soft conversation under the movie’s audio, someone discussing suicide and contingency plans, though that made complete sense as conversation topic in relation to the movie’s plot. Her consciousness faded out again for a short while.

Evie jolted upright in her seat at the sound of the front door closing. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she was aware of her sister lightly laughing at her, and their father’s heavy footsteps coming in.

“Hey, kids.” He said happily. He was carrying a large pizza box from their favorite spot, likely the big fancy combo they always liked. “I thought you would enjoy a break from anyone cooking or stuck with dishes on your birthday.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Bella told him.

They all filed into the kitchen, grabbing plates and serving themselves several slices each. Edward didn’t take any, though Evie and Charlie were both used to his abnormally small appetite by now. He didn’t usually join them for mealtimes.

“I was wondering if I could borrow Bella for the evening?” He finally asked Charlie.

Their father blinked. Bella gave him a bright, hopeful look, as if asking him to let her go with only her eyes. He frowned, thinking on the question.

“That’s fine,” he replied. “There’s a Mariners game on, so– I’ll be watching that tonight.” He reached down to scoop up Bella’s new camera off the table. “Here,” he tossed it to her, a mistake.

Just as the camera was about to clatter to the ground, Bella missing it completely, Edward’s hand shot out lightning fast to catch it.

Charlie’s eyebrows shot up. “Nice save,” he told him. “If they’re doing something at the Cullens’ tonight, then you should take some pictures, Bella.”

She took the camera from Edward. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Have fun,” he waved them off.

The pair made it out the door, and Evie’s father sank into the couch where they had been sitting. He shot Evie a questioning look.

“Are you not going with them?”

“Nah,” she shrugged. “It’s fine, though. I’ve got homework and stuff.”

He sighed. “I should talk to her about…including you a bit more, huh?”

Evie sprung up in an instant. “Oh no,” she told him. “No, that’s okay, Dad, I really don’t mind.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are you sure? I think she’s spending more time with Edward than at home, you know. I want the two of you to get time together.”

“No, truly, it’s alright.” Evie reassured him. “We just have separate friends.”

He gave her an appraising look, then sighed. “Okay, then. Go…finish your homework, or whatever it was you were planning on.”

She nodded, quickly turning to dash up the stairs. Evie had no intention of invading Bella’s time spent with Edward, and wished terribly that she could banish the thought from her father’s mind. What if the situations were reversed? She shuddered, imagining if she and Jacob had to make space and time to include her sister if Bella were stuck on her own more. That was a turn of events she hoped to avoid completely.

Evie went to sleep late that night. She’d been so busy with her schoolwork that she’d lost track of time. Jacob had called her late in the evening, and she’d clicked him on speaker, listening as he told her about his day and his plans for the weekend. Much later, she heard the familiar roar of Bella’s truck engine, and the telltale sound of their front door opening. Evie could still hear the sound of the Mariners game on the TV floating up the stairs. Bella and Charlie made brief, quiet conversation. Jacob was still talking when Bella appeared in her doorway.

“Hi,” she said lightly. 

“Hey,” Evie said, turning in her desk chair to look at her. 

“Is that Bella?” Jacob asked, having heard their greetings.

“Yeah,” Evie affirmed. “You’re on speaker.”

Bella made a face. Mouthing to Evie, she glanced at the clock at her bedside and asked, You’re still on the phone with him?

Jacob called out over the speaker phone, cutting Evie off  from responding to her question.“Hi, Bella!” He said cheerily. “Happy birthday.”

She winced. “Thanks, Jake.” 

Evie’s eye was caught by the flash of a white bandage as Bella went to leave the room, pushing off the doorframe.

“Hey, wait.” She called.

Bella paused and turned to look at her.

“What happened to your arm?”

Immediately her opposite hand came up to clutch at the bandage. “Oh,” she blinked. “I fell.”

Evie cocked a brow at her, questioning what she’d said, but Bella had already left, ducking off to the bathroom before going into her room. When Evie finally turned in for the night, burrowing under her piles of blankets and quilts, she was greeted not by a pleasant sleep, but a petrifying nightmare. 

She was strolling on First Beach at LaPush in perfect weather, warm sun shining through the clouds, calm waves trickling up the shore. She was accompanied by a sweet looking dog. He was quite tall, stopping just at her waist, and covered in a warm rusty colored fur that Evie found herself tempted to bury her face in. He shared several traits with a German Shepherd, or possibly a Husky, though Evie couldn’t exactly place the breed of the dog. He carried a small bit of drift wood along the beach, dragging it through the damp sand. The dog dropped it at her feet, barking playfully at Evie, seemingly asking her to throw it for him. She obliged, chucking the stick as far down the beach as she could manage several times, the dog never tiring. After one throw, the driftwood was caught in the wind, hurtling out into the sea. Instantly, the weather turned, a dark storm appeared overhead, the waves crashing fiercely onto the sand. Evie sighed, disappointed, and she turned to leave. The dog jumped into the freezing ocean at full speed, though, darting after the branch

“No!” She cried, terrified of the large dog getting swept out by the tide. “Come back!”

The dog kept going, paddling out as far as he could manage. Evie chased after him, running out into the water, fighting the icy tide, calling after him. The dog kept swimming. The water became too deep for her to walk, and she tried desperately to swim to him, but the angry waves were too strong for her to fight. Thunder clapped above them, and lightning flashed in the distance, illuminating the dark sky for only an instant. 

Evie cried out to the dog, who she had suddenly lost sight of, and was met with sad, squealing howls. The sounds were coming from all around her, whimpers vibrating from the sky, painful whines bubbling up from the ocean. She turned to and fro, treading water tiredly, frantically searching for the dog. He was nowhere to be seen, though it sounded as if he were directly beside her.

“Where are you?” She shouted. “I can’t find you! Where did you go?”

The dog kept crying for her, though she was unable to find him. As her legs cramped from swimming, and her body gave way to the freezing temperatures, Evie gulped in as much air as she could. The ocean was pulling her, dragging her down by the heavy weight of her feet. Evie could still hear the dog, muffled slightly by the water and the sounds of the ocean. She was sinking like a rock in the water, plummeting down, down, down. She couldn’t make her way to the surface. She was going to hit the bottom, she’d never save the dog, and no one would ever find her, not unless she was washed ashore. Just as she thought the water could go no deeper–

“Oof!” 

Her head had thumped on the hardwood floor of her bedroom. Eyes wide and alert, she searched the dark room. It was early morning, by the light coming in from her window. Evie was shivering, covered in a cold sweat from the dream. She’d rolled right off her bed, smacking onto the floor head first. Gingerly, she brought a hand up to massage the back of her head. Tossing the mess of blankets aside, she went to the bathroom, eager to rinse her sticky sweat off and warm up a bit in the shower. As the water heated, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was stuck to her forehead, damp with sweat. Her blue eyes looked crazed, shadowed by heavy bags from a restless night. She sighed shakily, pulling open the curtain and stepping under the stream.

Bella was unusually quiet in the car ride to school. Evie fidgeted nervously, glancing over at her sister periodically on the drive in. She was staring blankly out the windshield, completely frozen besides her breathing. Evie wondered if she was even really paying attention to the road.

“Hey,” she started. “Are you alright?”

Bella shook her head, snapping herself out of the daze she’d been caught in. “Yeah, thanks. I’m fine. Just lost in thought a bit.”

Evie nodded, eyes returning to the road in front of them.

“Do you always call Jacob…so late at night?”

Evie blinked. “Sometimes, yeah. I mean, he had just been talking and we’d lost track of time. It wasn’t really that late, though.”

Bella gave her a look from the driver’s seat. “It was nearly a quarter past eleven, Evie. I don’t know if it’s cool for you to be talking to him so late. Does Charlie know how long you guys talk for, or how late you’re on the phone till?”

Evie huffed. “You got home from your boyfriend’s at that time. I was on the phone with mine.”

“Sure, but I’m…”

“What, an adult now? As of like twenty-four hours ago. You’ve been together longer? The two of you are slightly older?”

She shook her head. “Not ‘slightly,’ Evie.” She mumbled. “Both of us are older than you two.”

“So what?”

“I just think that maybe fifteen is a little too young to be staying on the phone with your boyfriend all night.”

“It wasn’t ‘all night,’ ” Evie corrected. “We hung up not long after you were in my room. And, even if it was, why do you care all of the sudden?”

“Well, I didn’t know until now.” Bella added. “And I don’t even know if Charlie knows, so maybe someone ought to tell you–”

“Look, you’re not my mom, okay?” Evie told her firmly. “You’re barely even my ‘older sister.’ So stop trying to parent me.”

Bella grew quiet at that. “Okay,” she relented.

They rode the rest of the way to school in stormy silence, Evie glaring out the passenger side window. They pulled into the parking lot, and Evie quickly jumped from the cab of the truck before Bella had even put the truck into park. She slammed the door shut, and Bella cringed at the sound. Edward was standing alone by his car, Alice nowhere to be seen. Evie noted that he looked particularly reserved this morning, though he still shot Bella a questioning look as Evie quickly marched away. She rushed to catch up with her, quickly taking hold of her sleeve in an attempt to stop her.

“Evelyn, wait, please.”

Evie stopped. She spun around, pulling her arm free and stared at Bella.

“I’m sorry, okay? I was…out of line. I didn’t mean to offend you, and it wasn’t my place to say anything.”

Evie gave her a noncommittal shrug. “It’s fine,” she said flatly, turning away again. “Don’t sweat it.”

Bella sighed as Evie marched off towards the school building, not caring to look back at the pair of them as she went. 

“How do you feel?” She heard Edward ask behind her. “How’s your arm?”

“Perfect,” Bella told him. Evie could hear the lie in her voice. They were silent the rest of the walk in.

Evie was in a sour mood the remainder of the day, the following after that. She tried not to let her poor attitude show to her friends, though, hoping they wouldn’t see through her false smiles and halfhearted laughter. Bella always knew how to dampen her mood, it seemed, and she had already been grumpy from her lack of restful sleep that night. It was rare someone could shatter Evie’s heart, or plain and simply hurt her feelings, but the girl was very easily offended. She was prideful, boisterous and stubborn; she hated being told what to do, especially by someone who hadn’t seemed to care much about her for most of her life. Where had Bella been for the first fourteen years of Evie’s life and childhood? She was so distant with Evie and Charlie even living in their home together, that she didn’t want to spend the evening of her birthday with them, choosing to go off with a family she’d only just begun to know as of recently. How come she all of the sudden felt the need to step in, and thought she had the right to correct her? 

Evie brooded, her temper boiling over throughout the next day. Bella had worked the evening after their argument, and Evie had been stuck at soccer practice for most of the afternoon, trying to channel her frustrations into her footwork on the field, and sweat out her irritation when they went out on their team run. After returning home, she'd been allotted time enough to hide in her room when Edward showed up, awaiting Bella’s return home from the store. The next day, though, she had no desire to spend an afternoon cooped up in the house with her. Throughout the schoolday, she frowned at the mere thought of riding home with Bella. Samantha had gotten her license in early August, so at lunch, Evie schemed up an escape plan, asking for a ride.

“Hey, are you doing anything after school today?”

Sam shrugged coolly. “Lee and I had plans, but they might be off. I’ll have to check with him…why do you ask?”

“Oh…if you’re busy, it’s not a big deal. I was just going to ask for a ride.”

“Well, I can still drive you,” she amended. “But why not just go with your sister?”

Evie winced. “Bella and I got into it yesterday. I was kind of wanting to avoid her.”

“Do you need a place to chill? Because I won’t be home till later…”

“Maybe…” Evie thought about it, not quite wanting to return home while still angry with Bella. “Would you be willing to drive me out to LaPush?”

Sam nodded. “Sure, I gotcha covered.”

 

Bella was waiting for Evie by the truck after school. Edward was standing beside her, and they were talking quietly as she approached.

“Do you mind if I come over today?” He asked her in a hushed tone.

“Of course not.”

Evie rolled her eyes, their plans in motion securing the need for hers.

“Now?” Edward prompted, opening the truck door for Bella.

Evie couldn’t have planned her escape fast enough.

“Sure,” Bella’s voice seemed to be fluttering with nervousness, though Evie didn’t care to know why. “I was just going to drop a letter for Renee in the mailbox on the way. I’ll meet you there.”

Reaching into the cab of the truck, Edward snagged what Evie assumed to be the letter Bella had referred to. He shot her a small, crooked smile.

“I’ll do it, and I’ll still beat you there.”

“Okay,” Bella told him.

Evie was nearly to the truck by then, standing before both of them. Bella had climbed into the driver’s seat, and Edward was standing at the open door. He turned to go just as Evie made it to them.

“Evie,” he greeted her, striding across the lot.

“Edward,” she replied, equally indifferent.

Bella sighed. “You ready to go?”

“Actually, I hitched a ride,” Evie told her, gesturing to Sam waiting against her car behind her. “I’m going out to LaPush for the day. I probably won’t be home until dinnertime, or later.”

“Okay.” Bella sounded unsurprised, as if she’d been expecting this answer, or had been given the information already.

“So…” Evie slowly stepped away. “I’ll see ya.”

“Yeah. See you at home.”

Evie climbed into Sam’s car. Her parents had given her a 1986 Ford Festiva for her sixteenth birthday, all white paint, with a smooth tan leather interior. Sam referred to the vehicle as her “baby,” and insisted everyone wipe their feet before climbing in, and properly stored their backpacks in the trunk to avoid scratching the leather seats. At first, they’d all found it hilarious, though after a few weeks, it had grown a bit tiresome. Sam popped her dark sunglasses on, though it was overcast and raining, and sped out of the school lot, heading out towards LaPush.

Notes:

As promised, a new chapter! Hope you enjoy, I liked writing this one...we're also about to hit a lot of the fun parts, so I'm excited for that! Thank you all so much for any interactions, especially comments. I am always always paying attention to those, they're great encouragement to keep writing!
Thanks
xxx nattles

Chapter 12

“Did you call Jake and let him know you were coming?”

“Nah,” Evie told Sam. “He won’t care either way.”

Sam gave a curious hum. “What if he’s not home?”

She chuckled. “I can almost guarantee you he’s in his garage right now. And if he’s not, I’ll just wait for him with his dad. He’ll enjoy the company.”

Sam shook her head, laughing silently at her friend. 

Evie instructed where to pull around when they got closer, up through the clearing towards the house. As the car pulled up to the garage, Jacob’s familiar head of black hair poked out the door. At first he was confused by the unfamiliar vehicle, but as Evie climbed out, retrieving her bag from the trunk, he smiled brightly, quickly coming to meet her. His long hair was let down that day, moving fluidly down his back as he jogged to the car. He stopped at the driver’s window, offering Sam a hello.

“Geez, Jacob.” Sam stared at him. “I swear I saw you like three weeks ago and you somehow tripled in size.”

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. “Oh, yeah, uh…late growth spurt, I guess.”

Evie came around from the trunk to stand beside him, beaming up at the tall boy. He pulled her book bag from her shoulder. 

“Thanks for dropping her off, though.” He smiled back down at Evie, dropping a heavy arm around her shoulders. “I could use a hand with the project I’m working on.”

A snarky smirk spread across Sam’s face. “Right…” she said slowly. “I’ll bet you could use a hand.”

Jacob’s face dropped for just an instant, though he tried to recover quickly. Evie shot the girl a dark look, grinding her teeth.

“Okay, thanks for the ride, Samantha.” She told her quickly “You can go home now.”

“Don’t work the girl too hard!”

Evie’s shoulders shook a bit as she held in her laughter, waiting for Sam to pull away from the house. She managed to glower at her for as long as she was in Sam’s vision, breaking once she was out of sight. 

Jacob sighed tiredly at her laughter. He looked down at her again, his arm around her tightening a bit. 

“Hi,” he said sweetly, finally giving her a proper greeting.

She smiled at him. “Hi.”

He shook his head. “You thought that was funny, huh?”

Evie’s smile brightened. “Just a bit, yeah.”

He rolled his eyes at her, smirking slightly. She pushed up on her toes a bit, reaching for him expectantly, and he craned his next down to meet her in a kiss. She smiled against his lips. 

Pulling apart, he gave her a thoughtful look. “Do you really think I’ve grown that much?”

Evie shrugged. “I don’t know, I hadn’t really noticed.” She ran her eyes over him, taking in his size. “I think it’s probably less drastic because we’re together more often. 

He arched a brow at her.

“When you watch it happen over time and close up, it seems slower. Like waiting for grass to grow.”

He simply hummed at her answer, swooping in to steal another kiss. Evie was in no position to deny him. It was true, he had gotten quite tall. She hadn’t been able to tell much, though, except when they were close like this, or kissing. His change in height had become apparent when she’d had to stretch even more to reach him, and he’d gone from just bending down a bit to fully craning his neck and slouching his shoulders to meet her. Evie had no reason to complain, though, as he hadn’t just grown vertically. He’d filled out quite a bit, too, which Evie had unmistakably taken note of. She enjoyed sitting on the stool in his garage, watching the muscles of his back and shoulders ripple under the thin material of his t-shirts as he worked. She also didn’t mind the way they felt under her hands, greedily running them over his shirt, and down the warm skin of his arms as he held her. That was something she’d never admit out loud, though.

They strolled to the garage together, ducking out of sight before Billy could discover her presence. While he was much less strict than her own father concerning the two of them, it was always smart to avoid what they could. The less he knew, the better, as Billy was known for repeating everything he saw back to Charlie. In the garage, Jacob found a seat on the stool, while Evie sat up on the hood of his Volkswagen, her feet swinging against the bumper.

“So, come to escape the wrath of your sister?”

Evie rolled her eyes. “More like escaping so as to avoid unleashing my wrath upon her.”

“Ah, yes,” he nodded. “That sounds more like it. What was it this time, then?”

She sighed deeply, looking away from his face. “Kind of about you,” she confessed.

“Really?” Jacob’s eyebrows shot up.

“Nothing crazy,” Evie quickly added. “Just weird. You and I were on the phone, and she came in, remember?” He nodded. “Well, the next day she gave me this whole thing about how I’m ‘too young to be on the phone with my boyfriend so late.’ ”

Jacob frowned. “It wasn’t even that late.”

“I know! That’s what I told her.” Evie huffed. “And she was all like, ‘Does Charlie know?’ Because she refuses to just call him ‘Dad,’ except directly to his face. And then I blew up on her and made it all way bigger than it was…”

“As one does,” he chuckled.

“But still.” She crossed her arms defiantly. “It’s not her place to say anything about it. Why does she care all of the sudden?”

He laughed lightly at her, and Evie glared at him. “I take it she doesn’t know you fall asleep on the phone a lot.”

Evie rolled her eyes again. “Yes, but that’s none of her business. And my dad does, so it wouldn’t even matter if she did know or cared about that.”

At this, Jacob stiffened. “He does?”

“He’s not always happy with the phone bill,” she told him, glancing around at the tools scattered across the floor. “He asked me why my minutes were so high, and I was honest with him.”

He swallowed. “And, what was his reaction?”

She laughed a bit. “He told me to stop spending so much time on the phone with you when I can just come out and see you instead.”

“Oh,” Jacob blinked. “That was it?”

“Yeah,” she told him truthfully.

“Hm,” he nodded. “And this–” he gestured towards her, referring to her surprise arrival, “–is you…following through on that?”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve never showed up unannounced before,” she said lightly.

He shrugged, smirking. Pushing up from his seat on the stool, Jacob stalked towards her.

“And you’d never turn me away.”

“How presumptuous of you,” he added, stopping to stand at her knees.

Boosted up by her seat on the hood of his car, the gap in their heights was closed a bit. He no longer towered over her dramatically, but simply loomed a bit. She settled an arm atop his shoulder, reaching around to run her fingers through the hair that fell against his back. He leaned in, stealing her breath as he kissed her thoroughly. One of his hands came down against the hood of the car beside her, supporting his weight, while his other hand gently cupped her face, his callused fingertips tracing patterns along her cheekbone. She wound her fingers through his hair, and he sighed against her lips as she threaded them closed to his scalp. Evie tugged him closer by the hold she had. 

When she finally pulled away from him, Jacob frowned, offended.

“What?” She asked, laughing. “I thought you said you were working on a project?”

“I was kidding,” he pouted.

Still laughing, she kissed him once more, before sliding off the car and tugging him along to show her whatever he had been working on before she had arrived.

They stayed hidden in the garage for most of the afternoon. By early evening, the sun had begun to tuck away behind the treeline, shining brilliant hues of silver and gold through the clouds as it set, and blazing beams of light through the open garage door. Jacob had clicked on his little stereo at some point, and Evie sat perched on the stool, legs crossed at her ankles, sitting contently. She listened to the songs playing through the radio, and watched the colors of the light swirl in the sky as the sun became completely hidden for the day.

Jacob appeared by her side, her backpack slung over his shoulder, wiping his hands with a work cloth. He stood watching her as she stared out at the horizon.

“C’mon,” he finally said. “Let’s go in.”

She hummed quietly, slipping off the stool. “Doesn’t that look gorgeous?”

“Mm-hm,” he replied, still not looking away from her face.

As they walked up to the house, he took her hand, entwining their fingers

“Do you wanna stay for dinner?” He asked softly.

“That’s probably a good idea,” she told him, letting her head fall against his shoulder and leaning against his arm. “It’s later than I thought– might as well just stay and eat.”

When they got inside, though, it was apparent that Evie staying over would not be the case. Billy hung up the phone just as they came in, a frantic expression on his face. 

“Dad?” Jacob’s tone was concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Charlie just called,” he told them. “Your sister is missing, Evie. They’re trying to scrape together a crew to look for her– your dad seems to think she got lost in the woods out by your house.”

“Wha– lost in the woods?” Evie shook her head, confused. “Bella never goes out there.”

“Apparently she left a note. Sam Uley is driving in to help look for her, he’s swinging by to pick you up first.”

“Sam?” Jacob’s brows furrowed.

“Don’t start this now, Jake.” Billy told him firmly. “We’re all just trying to find her, okay?”

“How soon is he going to be here?” Evie asked.

“Not long, just a few minutes.”

“I’ll go with,” Jacob volunteered instantly.

When Sam arrived, the two of them jumped in quickly and they sped off towards Forks. There were a few cars parked in front of the house when they arrived, several people gathered out on the front lawn, of them including Harry Clearwater and, of course, Evie’s father, still dressed in his work uniform and Sheriff's jacket. Evie sprung out of the car, Jacob on her tail, launching herself towards her father.

“Dad!” She called.

He looked up, face flooding with relief at the sound of her voice.

“What’s going on?” Jacob asked. Evie glanced around at the crowd in their yard.

“We’re sending out teams,” Harry informed them. “They’re all searching the trails, and…anywhere else she might have wandered off to.”

Evie turned around to look for Sam, the boy who had dropped them off, but he was already gone.

“How do you know she’s out there?” Evie asked him.

Charlie sighed, reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket. “She left this,” he said, unfolding the note to show them.

Going for a walk with Edward, up the path. Evelyn’s in LaPush with Jake today.

Back soon, B

Evie frowned, staring at the words as Jacob took the note from Charlie’s hands.

“ ‘Up the path?’ ” He read. “How far could she have gone?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie admitted. He took the note back, refolding it and shoving it into the back pocket of his pants. “Her bag was still in the truck when I got home, so I imagine they left as soon as they made it to the house…and she still hadn’t turned up by the time I got home from work.”

Evie looked up at the sky. It was nearly dark out, twilight. If she’d left just as they’d gotten back…Evie wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what had happened, especially taking into consideration how accident prone her sister already was.

“Well, where’s Edward?” Evie asked, brows furrowed deeply.

“I tried the Cullens not long after I got home,” he told her. “No answer. So, I called the hospital, trying to reach Calisle. Dr Gerandy told me he’s gone– they all left town today.”

Evie gaped at this. “What do you mean?”

“He took some big job at a hospital in Los Angeles…I can only imagine what they offered him.”

“They up and left, just like that?”

“I doubt they gave him much time to consider it,” he told her. “And with only the two kids home now, instead of all five…the move was probably much easier than it would’ve been for them before.”

Jacob blinked, shaking his head. “Wait, so– you didn’t know they were leaving at all until just now?”

“No,” Evie told him.

“Bella didn’t mention anything about it?”

“I don’t think she knew.” Charlie supplied.

Evie rubbed at her temples, groaning. “She probably ended up storming off on some psychosomatic rampage in the woods after he told her.”

“What can we do to help?” Jacob asked, standing to his full height beside Evie.

“Stay put,” Charlie told them sternly. “I don’t want either of you Wonder Twins wandering off trying to save the day or anything.”

“But, Dad–”

“ ‘But Dad,’ nothing. You’ll help me most by giving me peace of mind.”

Charlie shook his head, stepping away to speak with one of the search groups. He was likely trying not to imagine what sort of situation Bella had landed herself in out in the dark after all these hours. Evie’s negative input would not have been helpful, and the concept of her storming off in the dark to search for her sister couldn’t have brought him comfort.

“C’mon,” she told Jake, nudging him with her elbow. 

She quickly went up the steps to the house, Jacob sticking like glue to her side. He followed her into the kitchen, leaning against the counter as she began puttering around. Evie figured, with such a large crowd, not knowing when the search would end, she might as well make a pot coffee. She pulled the filters from the cupboard and retrieved the grounds from the pantry. Jacob watched out the window with a dark expression as two unfamiliar boys from the reservation appeared in the group, edging towards the treeline.

“So,” she started, pulling him out of his spiteful daze. “Are you gonna tell me what you have against Sam Uley?”

He shook his head, still frowning out the window. “Nothing, really.”

“Uh-huh.” Evie filled the pot with water. “And that’s you’re glaring daggers at those guys?”

He blinked, softening his expression instantly. It was no use, though, as he’d already been caught.

“I’m assuming those are Sam’s little…posse members, I’ve heard so much about?”

He tried to remain flippant. “Yeah.”

“What’s their issue again?”

Jacob took a deep breath, shoulders slouching a bit as he started. “It’s Paul and Jared…” He nodded out the window to the boys darting out into the woods. “Sam’s always been on the Council’s leash– doing whatever they ask of him, and they fawn over him like he’s God’s greatest gift to Earth. Now they’re both following him around like little puppies, taking orders left and right. It’s so strange.”

“What happened to them that started it?”

“I don’t know about Sam, but…Jared was acting weird for a while. He missed some school, came back, and then they were inseparable. Same with Paul.”

“Huh,” Evie clicked the pot on to brew. “What does your dad think of it all?”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “You know how he gets,” he reminded her. “He believes every tale and story that’s ever come around. He probably thinks they’re some sort of ancient spirits here to protect us.”

Evie quirked a brow. “He hasn’t told you?”

“ ‘Council matters only,’ ” he told her. “I’m not allowed to know, apparently. Not yet anyway.”

“But…he’ll tell you eventually.”

Jacob shrugged, and Evie went over to lean against the counter at his side. The coffee maker sputtered loudly as it brewed.

“He thinks I’ll join them,” he said in a quiet voice. “That it’s only a matter of time before it’s my turn.”

She stared up at him.

“It freaks me out a bit,” Jacob admitted. “Like everyone else around me knows my fate, and I’m still stuck in the dark. It seems like they’re waiting for me to break, and I have no clue what’s on the other side.”

Evie sighed heavily, pressing her forehead against his shoulder and leaning into him a bit. “I think I know about as much as you do, if that helps at all.”

He chuckled lightly, resting his chin atop her head.

“I’m sorry it scares you.”

His words tickled the top of her head, his breath brushing over her hair. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”

She nodded against his arm.

“Being around you helps me feel normal,” he confessed quietly, his voice just barely over a whisper. “I know I’m not going to slip away when you’re with me. I feel like the same old me.”

Jacob’s words melted her. There was nothing she could hope her presence could provide him more than comfort or relief. If that was how he felt just spending an afternoon with her, Evie was content to spend the rest of their lives side by side. She tilted her head up, meeting his dark eyes. In the shadows of the evening, the brown was so dark it nearly looked black, framed by his thick lashes. Evie was often caught off guard by the softness of his eyes in comparison to the rest of his hard face. She always imagined he would have such beautiful daughters. He smiled softly, and her breath caught.

“What?” He asked, his voice light.

Evie swallowed. “I think I–”

At that moment, the coffee maker shrilled loudly, and Evie jumped out of her skin. It beeped for several seconds, announcing that the full pot had finished brewing. She shuddered, let out a shaky breath.

“I think I’m gonna take some coffee out to my dad,” she told him, voice quivering slightly. 

Reaching up, she pressed a chaste yet firm kiss to his lips, then turned away to busy herself with filling several cups with coffee. He helped her bring them outside and pass out the mugs to those who were still gathered in her yard, as she could only carry two at a time without spilling the contents and burning herself. The men outside were grateful, nodding in thanks and going back to the search. Her father pressed a kiss to her forehead, gently stroking her hair.

Evie sat down on the porch steps. She was shivering in the cold, but did not want to return inside for fear of missing any news. Jacob went in and retrieved a heavy coat from the coat rack and a blanket from the back of the coach. He dropped them both on her shoulders, smiling fondly at her before walking off to speak with Harry Clearwater. After a while he came back and, finding that she was still cold, sat close beside her. Taking one hand at a time, he rubbed some heat back into her fingers.

“You can go inside, you know.” He told her quietly. “No one’s going to be upset with you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to miss anything.”

“Nothing has happened in hours.”

She rested against him, and he switched hands. “No. I’ll stay out here.”

When he was finished, she pulled his arm into her lap, clutching one of his hands with both of hers, and she leaned her weight fully against him. He was warm, much warmer than the loose knit blanket he’d brought out for her. She watched the treeline for a little while, as long as she could manage, but eventually sleep crept up on her, and she was dozing on his shoulder.

Notes:

And another one! Now that we're officially in New Moon territory, I feel like there will be much more familiar plot points and it's going to get way more exciting. I don't know when I'll have the next when up for you, but hopefully it'll be soon! As always, thank you for an interactions! I'll be watching + responding to comments...hope you like this one!
xxx nattles

Chapter 13

“Any news?”

“No, they haven’t found anything yet.”

There was the familiar crunch of gravel, as a few new cars pulled up to the house and a few pulled away, leaving for the night and joining in to help.

“Are you and Billy sure these boys know what they’re doing out there?”

“I promise you, Charlie. Those boys know the woods better than anyone.”

“Even all the way out here?”

“Even out here.”

Evie drifted gently in and out of consciousness. The sky was dark, and Evie could hear a large group of people talking quietly. It was freezing, a dampness hanging in the air and clinging to her skin, though someone was keeping her warm, fingers gently running through her hair and pushing it from her face. She blinked slowly. Opening her eyes, she found that the world was sideways. No, that wasn’t right. She turned, looking up a bit, and found that her head was resting in someone’s lap. Jacob. 

He was leaned up against the porch’s pillar, head back, staring dazedly off at the busy crowd of volunteers. One of his hands was absentmindedly combing through her hair. At some point in the progression of the evening, Evie had curled up on the porch and laid her head in his lap. One of her hands had been tucked under her cheek, while the other was still clutching his opposite free hand. She gave his hand a squeeze, and he looked down at her, slightly startled.

“Oh,” he said. “You’re awake.”

She groaned sleepily, pulling her arm out from beneath her to read her watch. 3:37. Evie sat straight up, nearly smacking heads with Jacob.

“They still haven’t found her yet?”

“Shit, Evs!” Jacob pulled his head back, dodging her, though he rubbed his jaw as if she had hit him. “No, they haven’t found anything.”

Evie blanched. “What are they even doing out there?”

“The best that they can,” he told her honestly. “I mean, half the town’s here. They’ll find her by morning.”

“It is morning,” she hissed. “And the woods are massive. We can’t possibly know what happened to her out there.”

“They’re going to find her, Evelyn.”

“There’s gotta be a better way to handle this.”

“Look, your dad’s sweating bullets over there, okay?” Jacob nodded towards Charlie. “Everything that can be done is being taken care of.”

Evie opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself. Watching his face, an open and earnest expression, she let herself calm down a bit. Jacob wouldn’t lie to her to make her feel better– he was painfully honest. Relenting, she nodded. Jacob slung an arm around her shoulder, and she let him pull her back against him, resting against his chest a bit. More awake now, Evie scanned the crowd that had blossomed across her yard: an ambulance had pulled in front of the house, no doubt waiting for a repeat of Bella’s near fatal incidents. Groups rotated in and out of the woods, scanning through all of the paths and trails near their house, fanning out across several acres of the woods. Several of Bella’s schoolfriends’ fathers were in attendance, Angela Webber’s father, Mr. Newton and his son, Mike. Evie nodded towards him, pointing Mike out to Jacob.

“That kid is just about obsessed with my sister,” she told him quietly.

“Even though she has a boyfriend?”

Evie snorted. “He’s been plotting to split them up since the day they started seeing each other. He was starstruck the second she stepped in town.”

Jacob chuckled, and his laughter jostled her shoulders a bit.

Suddenly, a booming voice came from the woods.

“I’ve got her!”

A hush settled over the lawn as Sam Uley stumbled into view of the house, still hidden slightly by the trees. A raucous commotion broke out in the crowd at the sight of Bella, wide eyed and shivering, being carried in Sam’s arms. Charlie sprinted towards them. Evie and Jacob both sprung up from the porch, trailing behind.

“I don’t think she’s hurt,” Sam told them all. “She just keeps saying, ‘He’s gone.’ ”

Evie’s hand came up to cover her mouth. Edward. So he’d told her, and he’d left her in the woods on her own. That was how she’d had to learn. Struggling slightly, their father took Bella from Sam’s arms, staggering towards the house and up the porch steps. Sam held the door open for them, reaching a tentative hand out so as to catch Bella if their father couldn’t support her.

“Blankets, Evelyn!” Her father instructed her, depositing Bella on the sofa in the living room.

“On it!” She sprang into action, dashing up the stairs to the cupboard in the hallway.

Dr Gerandy checked over her, asking if she was hurt, checking her temperature, quickly counting her pulse. A crowd had formed in the living room, watching over Bella– Mike and Mr Newton, Mr Webber, Sam Uley and the other boys from the reservation. Jacob and Evie stood together behind the sofa, and Evie piled two quilts up over her sister. Crouching down, Evie knelt over the back of the couch, gently brushing her sister’s hair back. Her hair was damp from the rain and the forest floor, and her skin was ice cold to the touch.

“What happened to you?” The doctor asked her cautiously. “Did you get lost in the woods?”

Bella frantically scanned the room, her eyes glancing from face to face. Everyone was crowded around her. Evie knew it must’ve made her uncomfortable, being watched so closely. Bella pulled one of the quilts up to her chin, nodding slowly.

“Yes. I got lost.”

The doctor continued prodding at her, running his finger under her jaw, probing at her neck. “Do you feel tired?”

Bella nodded helplessly, closing her eyes.

The doctor stood, speaking to their father in a hushed voice. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with her, just exhaustion. Let her sleep it off, and I’ll come check on her tomorrow.” He glanced down at his watch. “Well, later today, actually.”

Charlie walked the doctor towards the door, still speaking quietly. “Is it true? Did they leave?”

“Dr Cullen asked us not to say anything,” he told him, glancing cautiously at the onlookers throughout the room. “The offer was very sudden; they had to choose immediately. Carlisle didn’t want to make a big production out of leaving.”

Charlie scoffed lightly. “A little warning might have been nice.”

Eyes still closed, Bella found the edge of one of the quilts laid upon her, and yanked it up and over her head. Evie imagined she didn’t want to hear any more of their conversion concerning the Cullens and their departure. Most of the crowd had dissipated by then, heading home once she’d been recovered from the woods. Those who lingered, though, herded together to the door, and Evie and Charlie whispered their thanks to them as they left. He firmly clasped Sam and the other boys from the reservation on the shoulder as they went.

“Thank you boys for finding my girl,” he told them. “I don’t know what I wouldn’t have done if you hadn’t been here.”

 Sam nodded to him. “Of course, Chief Swan. We were happy to be of use.”

Jacob trailed slowly behind, following them out the door. Charlie reached forward to ruffle his hair as he passed. Jacob stalled, waiting to say goodbye to Evie.

“Are you alright?” He asked her quietly.

She nodded wordlessly, offering him an unconvincing smile.

He pursed his lips, glancing to her father behind her. She knew what he was thinking, silently debating whether he should call her once he got home. She smirked a bit, halfheartedly, and nodded firmly once more, hoping he would read between the lines.

He cracked a small smile at her, nodding in response and taking a small step backwards.

“Okay then.”

Moving quickly, Evie launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle. After a moment’s hesitation, he reciprocated, firmly embracing her at the shoulders. She could feel his face press into her hair.

“Thank you for being here with me,” she spoke against his chest.

He nodded against her head.

They pulled apart slowly, skipping out on a kiss goodbye with Evie's father watching over them from the house. Jacob went after the other boys, climbing into Sam's car with them, and Evie watched as they drove away.

While Bella’s reaction to the Cullens leaving town was outright hysterical, there was a group from the reservation who had rejoiced at the family’s departure. The night Bella had been found, Evie’s father had received a call about a celebratory bonfire, outside the reservation, out on the cliffs by the water’s edge. He had been getting calls all night, mostly concerned folks from the town, checking to make sure Bella was alright. This call was something else, though. Evie stood in the dark at the top of the stairs. She’d been waiting for Jake to call, expecting him to do so as soon as he’d arrived home. She silently listened to the one side of the conversation.

“What? You’re sure it’s outside the reservation?” He paused, letting the caller reply. “But what could be burning out there?” He waited again. “Look, I’ll call down there and check it out.”

He hung up, rapidly dialing for Billy Black’s house. 

“Hey, Billy, it’s Charlie–sorry I’m calling so early…” He spoke quickly and quietly, answering Billy’s questions about finding Bella. “Thanks, but that’s not why I called. I just got a call from Mrs. Stanley, and she says that from her second-story window she can see fires out on the sea cliffs, but I didn’t really…Oh!” He listened as Billy explained the fires, annoyance growing in his features and evident in his tone. “And why are they doing that? Uh huh.” His hand came up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, brows furrowed in frustration. “Really? Well, don't apologize to me.”

Evie didn’t listen long enough to hear the end of their call. She crept into her room, shutting the door quietly behind her, and rapidly yanked her phone out of the pocket of her jeans discarded on the floor. Flipping it open, she called Jacob, listening to it ring once, twice, three times before he picked up.

“Hey,” he said. She could hear people in the background. “Sorry, I know, I was going to call–”

“No, it’s fine.” She cut him off, speaking truthfully. “I’m not upset. Are you home right now?”

“No,” he told her. “That’s why I didn’t call yet. I was going to, but Sam dragged me out here…”

“Are you out by the beach?”

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “How’d you know that?”

“My dad got a call about fires on the cliffs by the water– he called your place, and your dad said something about it…since you hadn’t called yet, I thought you must be out there with them.”

He sighed. “Yep. You thought correctly.”

She pulled back the covers, climbing into bed as they spoke. “What are you all doing out there?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain,” he started. “It’s kind of complicated.”

“I’m sure I can keep up,” she told him lightly. She didn’t want him to hang up quite yet, not ready to face the silence of her empty bedroom on her own.

He laughed a bit. “I don’t doubt it. So, you know how there’s all the stories about the Cullens’ family, and where they came from?”

“Like, how some of the kids on the reservation won’t see him at the hospital?”

“Yeah, that, too. But more so why they won’t see the Doctor, and what they all are. What they do.”

Evie thought for a moment, trying to sift through the stories she’d heard and what she could remember about the Cullens and the Quileutes animosity. It came to her suddenly. “Oh, right, them being some sort of monsters.”

“ ‘Cold Ones,’ ” he reminded her. 

“And they’re a threat to your people.” She added.

“Right. Now that they’re gone, though, the threat is gone.”

“What kind of threat did they pose exactly?”

“Well, it’s a very weird story,” he took a deep breath. “Quileute legends say that there is magic in some bloodlines. There’s lots of different legends and stories that show different ways the magic can manifest in someone physically. Whenever the Cold Ones are near, though, the magic in the bloodlines presents itself as a curse.”

“What kind of curse?”

“I don’t know,” Jacob admitted. “There’s different stories, some of them are more secretive and only told to certain members of the tribe. The legends have to be protected, you know? Trade secrets and all that.”

“Uh huh.”

“I just know that it’s a curse, and it’s supposed to be this unbearable weight. You remember Emily Young, right?”

The image of Sam Uley’s beautiful fiance with a scarred face came to her mind. “Yeah.”

“And her scar?”

“Yeah,” Evie whispered.

He didn’t go on, only letting Evie’s imagination run on.

She gasped quietly. “Are you saying that…the Cullens did that to Emily?”

“No! No, no, no,” he corrected. “I mean, not directly. Oh, what am I saying– I don’t think they had anything to do with it, but there’s talk that…” He paused, threading his words together. “Some people say that the curse is what caused her accident.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I don’t really know what to think of it, and I’ve never asked what happened to her, but…” He trailed off. 

“So you’re all celebrating that the curse is broken?”

“Now that they’re gone, it’s supposed to be.”

Evie stared up at her ceiling, confused. “I thought you didn’t believe all of these stories?”

“I don’t have to believe them to want to come out to a party with them,” he reminded her.

Evie sighed. “True,” she conceited.

They sat quietly for a moment, listening to the silence over the line. Evie thought Jacob must have wandered away from the fires a bit, as she couldn’t hear anyone in the background any longer. She imagined him walking, hand shoved down into his pocket, trudging his feet along in the dark. Her heart squeezed at the image in her head– she missed him terribly, and she’d only just parted with him

“Are you doing okay?” Jacob finally asked her. His voice was gentle, filled with concern.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” She whispered back. “I just…didn’t want to go to sleep quite yet.”

He sighed, filling in the blanks she left out.

I’m scared, and I don’t want to be alone.

She spoke up again before he could say anything. “And I wanted to hear your voice.”

Jacob chuckled. “Do you want me to stay on the line for a bit?”

Evie contemplated the offer, tempted to accept. She didn’t want to impose on his night out, though. “No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” she told him. “Go and have fun. I’ll call you tomorrow or something.”

“Only if you’re positive,” he insisted.

Evie laughed lightly at him. “I’m hanging up now, Jacob. I want you to have a good time, okay?”

“Alright.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Goodnight, Evs.”

“Goodnight, Jake.”

Isabella did not adjust well to the Cullens departure. To be frank, she did not adjust at all. It was as if Evie’s sister had become a ghost, floating through the house like a transparent spirit. She drifted from work and school, rarely ever speaking unless directly spoken to. Over time, their father grew increasingly concerned for her. Bella had always been a relatively reserved and even tempered girl, but she was not unfeeling. This version of Bella that had evicted Evie’s sister and took residence in the place she’d once lived, was a miserable human being who despised existing. No, she did not despise existing– she hardly knew that she was alive at all. Evie imagined Bella wouldn’t be able to give any response at all if you asked her the date, as the world seemed to move rapidly around the girl with no concept of the passing of time. She was frozen, struck in her soul by an unseen force. Her heart had become alabaster, her mind a blank stone.

When Evie was a child, her mother always instructed Charlie to remove any ammunition from his gun before hanging his belt after returning home for the day. They had a child in the house, and they had no desire to witness or be at fault for a fatal accident with the firearm, or grieve their young daughter. For her entire childhood, the first thing her father did when he walked through the front door was remove the bullets from his pistol. At some point in her early teenage years, he’d stopped doing so. Her father must have figured she was old enough not to shoot herself by accident, and nowhere near depressed enough to do it on purpose. 

Sometime in late October, shortly before Halloween, Evie’s father picked her up after a late practice, coming directly from the station to the school field. She was still dripping with sweat, her shirt sticking to the small of her back and the spot between her shoulder blades. It was a warm autumn so far, overcast and muggy. The summer heat wouldn’t burn off until early November, Evie figured, when the temperatures would drop drastically, snow trickling in wet flurries from the sky. The evening had a soft breeze floating through the air, brushing through her dirty hair. They drove home with the windows down, riding in comfortable silence, Evie exhausted from her practice, and her father from his workday. 

Evie and Charlie went through the front door together. Evie was telling him about the coach’s plans for their first game of the season, and he was listening expectantly, excited to watch from the stands. She stomped the mud out of her cleats on the front porch, kicking them off in the entryway. Her father stepped out of his work boots and slid his sheriff’s jacket off. For the first time in years, she watched her father hang his gun belt by the front door, and immediately click the bullets out of place, pocketing them for safekeeping. Evie’s rambling halted suddenly, somewhat stunned by what she’d witnessed.

He avoided her eyes, though she couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not. How long ago had he begun doing this again? How hadn’t Evie cared enough to notice? Was everything going on with Bella cause for such great concern? She decided it might be time to start paying more attention.

“Austin Marks is throwing a party on Halloween,” Sam informed the group, tossing her bag down at their lunch table. “All of you are coming, and we’re going to have a great time.”

June blinked. “A party?”

“I’m assuming none of us have any actual say in this,” Sophie said, not looking up from where she was unpacking her lunch box. 

“Nope!” Sam fell back into a chair beside her.

“What kind of party?” June asked.

“What kind do you think?” Sam smirked at the girls. “Conner’s older sister buys him whatever, and Austin’s parents are taking his little brother to Seattle for some dirt bike race or something.”

Sophie sighed dramatically. “If Coach Clapp catches us, all three of us will lose our spots for the season– you remember what happened to those senior girls last year.”

“If my dad catches us, we’ll probably never see the light of day again–”

“And that’s why we’re not getting caught,” Sam told them matter of factly. “I’ve already got it all sorted out. Don’t you worry your pretty little minds, Sam is here to save the day for you all.”

June fidgeted uncomfortably. “I don’t know, Samantha…”

“Oh, sweet Junebug, you don’t actually have to do anything.” Sam said, shrugging. “Just come with us. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

Evie smiled. Thinking for a moment, she quickly asked, “Can Jake come with?”

“Sure,” Sam spoke around a bit of food. “The more the merrier.”

Sophie finally looked up fully, examining Sam through narrowed brown eyes. “Did you wrangle this invitation through Lee?”

Sam’s expression soured instantly. “No,” she said firmly. “I got us in purely by my charm and friendliness. I don’t know what Lee will be doing on Halloween, and frankly, I don’t care.”

Sophie and Evie both rolled their eyes. Lee and Sam had developed an on-again off-again relationship that gave them all whiplash. Samantha had a temper to match Evie’s, but the girls all knew Lee cared too much about her to stay away for too long, though. Even when they weren’t together, they could always spot him in the stands at their games, braving the rain to watch her play, cheering her on regardless of the last fight they’d have. Evie figured they’d probably be made up and together again by the night of the party, and Sam would come up with another reason to break things off again within the week afterwards.

It was planned and set in stone. The girls would all collectively get ready at Sam’s house before the party, and she would drive them to Austin’s place in the evening. Evie called Jacob between school and practice that day, extending the invitation to him.

“You’re sure it’s cool if I’m there?”

“Of course it’s cool,” she reassured him. “I wouldn’t be asking you to come if it wasn’t.”
“Fair point,” he laughed.

Evie shoved her phone between her ear and her shoulder, tugging her socks on over her shin guards. “You should ask Quil and Embry to come, too.”

“You think so?”

“Samantha said ‘the more the merrier.’ ” She pulled the laces of her cleats tight.

He hummed thoughtfully. “I’ll talk to them, see what they’re up to.”

“Cool.” She smiled brightly, and imagined he could hear it through the phone.

“Cool.” He repeated. 

“Okay, well, I’ve gotta go.” She told him. “I’ll call you after I get home.”

“Aright,” he said. “Have a good practice.”

 

Evie was always dead on her feet after practice. The high would only last so long, usually long gone by the time they pulled into the driveway. She would trudge up the stairs to the bathroom, peeling off her socks and sweaty clothes as she went, and stand under the hot stream of the shower as long as she could bear it. She let the water work into the muscles of her neck and her back, sitting on the floor of the shower when she was too tired. Once she was dried off and had pulled on pajamas for the night, she’d finally scarf down a reheated dinner, and hole herself up in her room for the night. When she had the energy for it, she’d call Jake up and talk, though she mostly just listened to the sound of his voice when she was truly exhausted. He’d ramble on about whatever stupid tussle he and Quil had gotten into, or something silly his father had said, and Evie would complete as much homework as her brain would allow her to manage for the night. Bidding the boy goodnight, she’d hang up and crawl into bed, ready to succumb to a long and heavy sleep. All her life, Evie had slept like the dead, especially after a long day and a hard practice. Recently, though, she’d had difficult obstacles stuck in the pathway of her consistent sleep schedule. A few hours into the night, Evie would be knocked out hard and snoring lightly. Then the screaming started.

Notes:

Oooookay, here's the next chapter for all y'all...and I think this is the longest one yet. I just had a LOT I wanted to squeeze out and that I needed to fit in here, and I still had to cut a ton out of this chapter, too. Hope you like it, though! It was a fun one to write, and I think it's pretty good. Also, if you've been reading the latest chapters as soon as they're posted, make sure to go back and skim them super quick because I've been adding little bits and pieces as I go maybe a day or so after posting them. Anyway, thanks for reading and interacting! Next chapt should be up sometime early next week.
xxx nattles

Chapter 14

Evie bolted upright in bed, gasping for air. She blinked rapidly, attempting to see through the fog in her eyes and find the source of the noise that had woken her. Confused, she waited, wondering if it had only been her imagination, or an already distant nightmare. Then it returned again. The guttural, shrieking and ear-bleeding screams of her sister through the walls. For only an instant, Evie winced, the volume painful to her still sleep-addled mind, but once reality washed over her, she launched from her bed, throwing the blankets to the floor and sprinting from her room. Evie’s door flung open, and her father was already there, rushing to his daughter, taking the stairs two at a time. Evie lost her footing running down the short hallway, slipping in her socks on the hardwood and nearly crashing her head into the wall. Scrambling, she made it into Bella’s room. She was unconscious, thrashing in her bed, still screeching loudly.

Their father was leaned over her, frantically trying to wake and pull her from the torture locked inside of her mind.

“Bella,” he called, shaking her shoulders slightly. He repeated it louder, “Bella!”

She woke with a start, eyes snapping open, chest jerking as she breathed laboriously.

Evie hovered behind their father as he sat at the edge of Bella’s bed, watching her from over his shoulder. There were tearstreaks down her face.

“Shh,” he stroked her hair as she scanned the room, looking like a frightened animal caught in a trap. “It’s alright, sweetheart– you’re home, you’re safe.”

She stared up at him, brown eyes blown wide. After a moment, she nodded and pressed her face into his cheek, mindlessly searching for comfort.

“What’s wrong, Bels?”

She stared at him wordlessly, slowly shaking her head.

“You don’t want to talk about it?”

Bella shook her head again.

He sighed. “Are you going to be alright going back to sleep?”

Bella blinked a bit. It seemed as though her mind was coming back to her, piece by piece. She was conscious again, though not fully awake or aware. “Yes,” she answered hoarsely. “I’ll be okay.”

He watched over her for a moment. His opposite hand had found hers, and it looked as though she were grasping onto it like a lifeline, afraid she’d slip back into the nightmare if she released him.

“I’ll go get you some water,” Evie said, slowly going out from the room.

She returned with a full glass, carefully offering it to her sister, and setting onto her nightstand when she’d taken her fill. Their father was still there, holding her hand, waiting for her breathing to return to normal. He exhaled slowly, reading the alarm clock at Bella’s bedside. It was the middle of the night.

“I’m going to go downstairs and go to bed,” he told the girls. He looked at Bella softly. “I want you to try and do the same, okay kid?”

She nodded up at him, face placid and her expression blank.

Groaning softly, he stood from the edge of the bed, leaving the room and returning downstairs. Evie took his place, pulling her feet under her as she sat at the end of the mattress. She looked down the bed at her sister, who was staring back at her. Her face was pale and sweaty, dark hair sticking to her forehead. She could see the tendons in her neck and the shadows of her collarbones in the small tanktop she wore to sleep.

“Are you alright?” 

Bella nodded once, giving no further response.

“Do you want to tell me what it was about?” Evie asked. “Sometimes that helps.”

“I–” Bella choked on the words, her voice still scratchy from screaming. She didn’t meak Evie’s eyes when she spoke again. “I don’t remember.”

Evie frowned. She thought Bella was lying, but she didn’t want to tell the girl such, for fear of pushing her away or getting kicked out of her room. 

“Okay,” Evie said, letting it go. “Would you like me to stay with you?”

Bella looked up at her, face suddenly slack with shock, rather than unfeeling and inexpressive. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded quickly, accepting her sister’s offer, pulling back the purple covers to make room for the girl.

Evie crawled up the bed beside her, scooting under the blanket and lying down across from Bella. They laid facing each other, an arm’s reach apart. They each wedged their hands under their heads, watching the other carefully. Bella’s breath stuttered as she exhaled, still uneven and shaky.

“Goodnight,” Evie whispered.

“Night,” Bella said back.

 

When Evie woke the next morning, her hand was grasped firmly in Bella’s. She didn’t know who had reached for who in the night, wondering if it was Bella seeking comfort and the safety of another body nearby, or Evie seeking to comfort the girl herself. There was a soft creak at the door. She quickly looked over, not moving from the spot she’d woken from. Her father was standing just on the other side of the door, carefully peaking in on them. His eyebrows rose at the sight of Evie beside her sister, and he looked quite happy at the sight.

He smiled softly at her. “Morning, Evs.”

She smiled back at him.

 

The night terrors and screaming became a regular occurrence. With how heavily Evie slept, she usually wasn’t woken until the tail end of Bella’s dreams, finding their father sitting in Bella’s room with her, comforting her quietly. Sometimes she’d go down the hall to sit with her sister, but after a while, she began pulling the covers up as far as she could in bed, or pulling one of her pillows over her head, desperately trying to block out the noise. Sometimes she wouldn’t be woken by the screams at all, but by a soft dip in her mattress. Bella would creep down the hallway and into her room, curling into Evie’s bed with her. She just needed the warmth of another body beside her, and the comfort of knowing she wasn’t alone. Evie didn’t mind. She’d scoot over sleepily, allowing room for Bella to climb in with her.

Evie had nightmares of her own, too. In her dreams, the dog from before returned again. She was deep in the woods in her dream when she saw him again. This time, he was no longer the same large dog, but a small pup, jumping to and fro excitedly, his bark only a light squeak. Evie gasped at the sight of him, instantly kneeling down to pet his puppy-soft coat, the warm russet color.

“You’re back!” She cried happily. “You’re alright!”

The puppy launched itself into her arms, licking her face lovingly, squeaking happy little barks at her. Suddenly, there was a sharp cracking noise in the forest behind her. Evie rose from the ground, letting the little pup fall from her arms. She turned to scan the woods, and though she saw nothing there, the forest changed instantly. It was no longer the familiar place she knew– a darkness hung in the air, danger vibrating around her like a warning. The oxygen tasted different. Someone was in the woods, watching her, and she felt the carnal instinct to sprint away as far as she could in the opposite direction. Someone was intending to kill her.

She turned to scoop the puppy back into her arms again, but he was gone. In the puppy’s place was not the dog she had known from the first dream, either, but a massive wolf, towering over her, and growling venomously in the direction the noise had come from. Evie stumbled back in fright, shocked by the animal’s transformation. The wolf was huge, its muzzle alone larger than the pup’s entire body had been. It stalked closer to the noise, its heavy footfalls shaking the forest floor. The wolf placed itself between Evie and the danger in the woods, and it seemingly desired to protect her from whatever was there. There was a flash of shimmering silver, a monster darting across the woods, too fast for Evie to track with her naked eyes. The wolf’s jaw snapped angrily in warning, digging its feet into the ground before her. He pounced, leaping out of view, leaving Evie only to listen to the nauseating sound of teeth scraping against stone.

Evie never woke from her dreams screaming as her sister did. Usually, she was frozen in fear, locked into paralysis by the nightmares which still danced across her vision. When she was finally able to move again, she was so exhausted from trying to escape the torment of those visions, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything but roll over and bury deeper into her bed. She never told her friends about the dreams, though they noticed her exhaustion.

“Wow,” Sam stared wide eyed at her. “You look…”

“Exhausted?” Evie offered. “Like a zombie? Yeah, I know.”

“Maybe you just need a new concealer,” Sophie supplied. “We can go shopping and find you a nice one, and the makeup counter ladies always do such a good job matching them…”

Jacob was the only one whoever pried the stories out of her. She was rarely able to lie to him, and when she did, he saw right through them. He wanted to hear what was bothering her, and he often wouldn’t let it go until she told him. They were sitting in the Volkswagen in his garage, Evie in the driver’s seat with the hood of her sweater pulled up, Jacob sitting shotgun beside her. She was fiddling with the radio and flipping through the stations, and he watched her, content. He reached a hand out to touch her face, gently tracing his finger along the dark shadows hanging under her eyes, marking her obvious exhaustion.

“What was it this time?”

Evie sighed, her hand dropping from the radio knob. “I dreamt that my sister fed my dog to a monster that lives in the forest behind my house.”

His brows shot up his forehead, caught off guard by her answer. “What kind of monster?”

“I don’t know.” Evie sat back in the seat, drawing her knees up to her chest. “It’s too fast for me to see. I just know that it’s something I should be scared of.”

“And Bella fed…your dog to it?” He sounded unconvinced. “You don’t have a dog.”

“It’s this little puppy that’s in my dreams sometimes,” she confessed. “Sometimes he’s a dog, sometimes a puppy, other times a wolf.”

“Huh.”

Evie went on. “It ripped him apart. I couldn’t see it, I only heard him whining.” And gurgling, as the pup drowned in its own blood.

Jacob reached across the center console to take hold of her hand, engulfing hers with his large one. His callused fingers traced patterns across the back of her hand. Evie let her head fall back against the seat, looking down at their intertwined fingers. She squeezed his hand, holding it tight. 

“How’s Bella doing?”

She shrugged limply. “Pretty bad.”

He squeezed her hand back. “Still…screaming, and everything?”

Evie nodded wordlessly.

“Has she told you what the night terrors are yet?”

“No,” she admitted. “I think they’re something with Edward. She talks in her sleep sometimes, mumbles stuff about…him, and leaving her.”

Jacob hummed in response. “It really meant that much to her, huh?”

“I guess so. He must have, at least.”

She felt him staring at her, studying her expression intently. “And he never calls or writes at all? Just left, and never reached out again?”

Evie nodded again. “He didn’t even give her a number to call him at,” she told him. “Not Alice, either. Bella says he wouldn’t let Alice say goodbye…”

“They were good friends, right?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “They were really close.”

Evie didn’t like talking about the Cullens. She was a very protective person, and fiercely territorial. After everything Edward put her sister through, she hated him. She hated that even after all Bella had gone through, he still had a hold on her. She knew there was something else going on, that there was something off with the Cullens. She didn’t believe Billy Black’s ghost stories, but she didn’t trust the Cullens, either.

After listening to her dreams, and hearing about all of Bella’s night terrors, Jacob bought Evie a little dream catcher from a small shop in LaPush. It was a small handmade piece, bound with leather strips and tightly woven. At the bottom hung several smooth, small stones, and a small wolf charm. Evie knew the wolf was held in significant regard in the Quileute tribe, so it wouldn’t be uncommon to find it in the imagery and art around the reservation. It made Evie smile to know Jacob thought to choose the wolf charm for her. She hung it just above her bed, taking solace in the sight of it as she went to sleep each night. While she debated whether the catcher actually worked, she still found warmth in the reminder of him. 

Halloween approached rapidly, and Evie grew increasingly excited for the party at Austin Marks’ house. The girls all sorted out their costumes, June going as a Ladybug, Sam as Kill Bill, and Sophie choosing to go as an angel. Jacob was planning to tag along, with Quil and Embry with him. 

“So, what are you going as?” Jacob asked over the phone.

She smiled. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

He laughed deeply. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she told him. “What d’you think?”

“I think…that is incredibly ironic. And that it’s going to be great.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Oh, no reason. I just think it’s funny.” He replied. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll see you tomorrow, though, okay?”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.” 

 

The girls all piled into Sam’s Ford Festiva on Halloween evening, costumes and all, and drove to the party. Sophie and Evie took the backseat together, June riding in the front. Sophie leaned forward to speak as Sam drove.

“So, have you and Lee made up yet?” She asked. “Or are you two still pretending to hate each other?”

Sam gripped the steering wheel tightly, rolling her eyes. “I’m still mad at him, thanks for asking.”

“Why?” June prodded.

“Someone told me he’s going with Ashley Dowling tonight. So, I’m not particularly hankering to patch things up with him.”

“Oh, that’s just a silly rumor, Sam.” Sophie shrugged it off. 

Sam flicked her short hair out of her face. “Yeah, well, if he wants to fix things, he can let me know.”

They pulled onto the Marks’ street, opting to park a few houses down. It was beginning to get late, and most of the younger trick-or-treaters were trickling back home for the night, carrying their loot of candy behind them. The four girls walked arm in arm together up to the house. It was a large craftsman style house, two tall stories, with a wide porch and a spacious garage on the side of the house. There was a collection of dirtbikes and motorcycles leaned against the garage. As the girls went up the porch steps, they could hear the soft boom of music from inside. They knocked on the front door, and shortly after, it swung open, inviting them in.

Notes:

Here's the next chapter for you guys! I'm working on the next one right now, it shouldn't be too long till I've got that one up, too. This one wasn't my fav, and it's kind of short, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!
xxx nattles