DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight.
Chapter 12- Mirrors
"Miss Swan."
"Miss Swan, are you listening to me?"
A kick to my leg broke me from my daze. "Mara, wake up." Ems whispered.
I blinked a few times, confused. "Miss Swan, are you awake now?" asked my teacher. I nodded slowly, pretending to be interested in the foreign symbols on the whiteboard. "Well then, can you tell me how to solve this equation?" She asked me, smug whore.
I swallowed, sharing a look with Ems. She shrugged, obviously not knowing the answer. Mrs Bale looked at me expectantly; drawn- in eyebrows raised. "I don't know the answer." I said, earning a few giggles from the back of the room. She narrowed her creepy little eyes at me, "Mara, you of all people should know that I don't tolerate disrespect."
"I'm not being disrespectful, I don't get it!" I claimed. It wasn't a complete lie.
"Are you implying that I'm a bad teacher?" Mrs Bale asked, face getting red. That escalated quickly.
"I never said that!"
"I have never met such a disobedient child in my life!" she screeched, matching the frequency of the school bell. I chose that moment to bolt out of the classroom; I think her husband must be deaf or something because her angry voice is damage-worthy.
I placed my books into my locker, smiling at the collage of Polaroid photographs on the door. Most were images of Lisa, Emmy and Quil but there was one sneaky photo of Jacob and me. It was the only picture of us that I refused to part with; the others were put in the shredder.
"Mara, are you ready?" Bella asked, opening her locker. Unfortunately for me, her new locker was now directly next to mine. Now we are 'locker buddies' as well as sisters, great. I slammed my locker, turning to face her.
"Yeah, let's go." I muttered.
[Page break]
The Quileute schools got let out a lot later than us. Bella and I were leaning against the truck, waiting for the boys in silence. Last night Sam called the house asking to speak with Bella, she was out and I was in the house alone. He wanted us to pick the boys up from school and then head down to the house, easy enough.
"Did Sam say anything else?" Bella asked me, sounding a bit nervous.
"No. Why? Did you do something wrong?" I replied, looking straight ahead. Trust Bella to mess things up.
"No, it doesn't matter." She replied shortly. Bella was an awful liar but I let it go. She must have inherited her inability from my Mom, she couldn't tell a lie for all the money in the world. I sighed and jumped onto the hood of Bella's truck, swinging my legs in the air. I wasn't really up for light conversation with Bella today; for once it wasn't entirely her fault. Yesterday I asked Dad if he wanted to go out for Dinner with me, I had been saving up for a few weeks to take him somewhere nice. Unfortunately, he had too much paperwork to do at the station but he promised we would go out when he was free.
Being a cop, my Dad knows how to make up a convincing lie. Dad had already booked a table for two at the same restaurant I was going to take him to. Emmy works there so she texted me right away asking me what the hell was going on. My immediate thought was 'lady friend' but I was very wrong.
It turns out he already had plans with his favourite daughter, Bella.
Emmy told me that when she asked where I was, they made up some excuse about me 'being too busy.' I was pretty much crushed, when they got home I pretended to be asleep and I left for school really early this morning so I could avoid him. I didn't even want to look at his face.
"Look there they are!" Bella said, waving to the group of boys. I was still trying to work out how we would all fit in her truck, even without Paul and Jared it would be a squeeze.
"Mar, hey!" Quil said, ignoring Bella and lifting me into a huge hug. I smiled into his shoulder, inhaling his strong aftershave. "Ducky, I missed you." I mumbled before he set me down on the ground. He assessed my face for a few seconds.
"Are you okay? You look pale." He said with a worried frown on his face. The group went a bit silent, noticing my appearance. "Can we talk about it later, Quil? I'm really not in the mood right now." I said, hoping he would sense my discomfort. He nodded and jumped into the bay of the truck, followed by Embry who winked at me in the process. That left Bella, Jacob and I to sit in the cab.
Bella drove and Jacob sat in the middle of us, leaving me to sit by the window. I zoned out of their conversation, I wasn't very interested. Instead, I counted the trees; I got to about thirty-five when a wave of dizziness came over me.
"Bella, I feel really dizzy." I whined, closing my eyes. It was like there was a constant buzzing inside my head, it felt awful.
"Mara, you don't look too good." Bella said, taking a hand off the wheel to reach over and feel my forehead. Safety first, that's what we Swan's live by. "Mara, you're really cold." I shivered, was this some sort of wonky virus?
I groaned and put my shaking hands to my head. "It's f-freezing and my head is killing me. Can't you drive any faster?"
"We will be thirty minutes." Bella snapped. Jacob looked at Bella and then looked at me, as if he was trying to decide something. I rolled my eyes and looked away, leaning my head against the window. My eyelids were starting to get a heavy and I had trouble keeping them open, before I drifted off into dreamland I felt a warm hand grab my shoulder and pull me towards a warm body. If I had the energy to do so, I would have resisted. I snuggled into the toasty figure next to me and was out within thirty seconds.
Bella's POV
I gripped the steering wheel, eyes focused on the road in front of me. Mara was currently tucked into Jacob's arms, sleeping like a baby. To say I was angry is an understatement.
"The redhead keeps on running us in circles." Jacob whispered, ending the silence.
"Really?" I asked. "Aren't you tired?"
He yawned, "Yeah, Sam wants us to run more patrols." He looked like he hadn't slept in days. I nodded and fixed my gaze back to the road. How long will it take them to find her? The Cullen's caught James in a matter of hours; it had almost been a week. I had got to know the pack and they seemed to grudgingly accept the fact that I'm involved. However, they welcomed Mara with open arms; treating her like family. What is so special about her? Quil and Embry practically worship the ground she walks on, Paul doesn't stop with his innuendos and Emily treats her like she's a long lost sister. I didn't get it.
A loud snore broke me from my thoughts; I smiled and looked at Jacob. My smile soon faded when I noticed his position, it was like something out of a teen movie. The side of his head rested on the top of my sisters head and the arm that wasn't around her shoulder was wrapped around her waist. Mara was tiny in comparison to Jacob but it somehow worked, for the first time in a few weeks Jacob looked relaxed. I would be happier if he didn't feel so relaxed with HER. I fumed as we drove into Sam and Emily's driveway, cutting off the engine with a bit more force than necessary.
Quil and Embry jumped out of the truck and bolted inside, obviously eager for food. They nearly knocked Emily over, which received a warning growl from Sam. I jumped out of the truck as Emily came over to greet me.
"Bella, hey!" she exclaimed. "Where is Jacob and Mara?" I narrowed my eyes and was about to reply when Sam let out a laugh.
"Jacob, wake up." he ordered, prodding at his arm. Emily rolled her eyes and swatted him, "Don't wake him up like that! You'll wake Mara up too! Quil texted me to say she's ill." Sam looked a bit embarrassed and muttered an apology.
"Did I fall asleep?" a husky voice asked. Jacob began to stretch when he noticed my sister tucked into his side, his eyes widened a bit.
"Should I wake her up too?" he asked me. I was about to reply when Emily practically pushed me out the way.
"NO!" she whisper-shouted. "She's sick, either you or Sam can carry her to the couch. If she wakes up, you will have no muffins for a week." With that, she walked inside. Sam shuffled his feet and looked at Jacob.
"Jacob, she's all yours." He put his hands up and ran inside. Jacob cursed and looked at me, I fake-smiled and decided to play the nice card.
"Don't worry Jacob, just carry her inside and then we can go for a walk or something." He winked at me and untangled himself from Mara, gently propping her up on the seat. My blood boiled as he got out of the truck and slipped his arms under her, lifting her up bridal style. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into him, what a little slut.
He looked tense as we walked into the small house, as if he was afraid to drop her or something. Quil and Embry both wore shocked expressions as he walked over to the couch and tried to set her down in-between them. Mara grasped onto the back of Jacob's neck, refusing to let go. He struggled to get out of her grasp; she whimpered and thrashed about a bit. Jacob wore an almost painful expression.
I didn't like it.
"Jake, I want to go." I said, trying to hide the venom in my voice. Jacob snapped his head towards me and loosened his grasp on Mara, practically throwing her onto Quil's lap. I hid my smirk as Quil shot Jacob a glare before wrapping his arms around my sister.
"Let's go, Bells." He said, grabbing my hand and striding out the house. I could feel the heated glares of Embry and Quil on our backs but I ignored them. Ever since Jacob picked me over them, they had some sort of grudge against me. I didn't get why they were so surprised, Jacob will always pick me.
Even Mara won't change that.
Mara POV
"Maybe we should just wake her up."
"Quil, Emily told you not to."
"But I'm bored Embry." A voice whispered.
"Glad to see you enjoy my company."
"You guys are so loud." I croaked, opening my eyes and glaring at the two boys standing above me. I was lying on Emily's couch, covered by a patchwork blanket that smelt like cinnamon.
"She's awake!" shouted Quil; I winced at the loudness of his voice. Suddenly the whole living room was crowded. Emily and Sam decided to join us, along with my dear sister hiding behind Jacob.
"Quil Ateara, what did I ask you not to do?" Emily hissed, holding up a spatula. Quil visibly paled before pointing at Embry.
"He made me do it!" I rolled my eyes and slowly sat up; the room was still spinning slightly. Embry sat on the armrest of the couch and put a hand on my back to keep me steady; I smiled at him before turning to Emily.
"How long was I asleep?"
She looked at her watch. "About 3 hours. It's almost 8. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night and I haven't eaten all day." Emily gave me a worried look and I looked away.
"I was bored without you, Boo. I ended up drawing all over your cast to pass time, I'm pretty proud of It." Right enough, my pink cast was covered in various Quileute symbols and drawings. Quil was always good at art; he always drew pictures of me and Jacob. I think he still has them somewhere.
"Let's go get some food in you, Mar. Will you help me dish out the food?" Emily asked my sister, wandering into the kitchen with a reluctant Bella behind her.
[Page Break]
"Quil, can I stay at yours tonight?" I asked. Embry spat out his water and Emily dropped her fork on the floor. I looked around the table at everyone's dumbfounded expressions; it was as if I had just told them I killed a puppy.
"What?" I asked. Jacob and Embry were looking at Quil like they wanted to slit his throat, what was their deal? "I stay there all the time, it's no big deal." I said casually.
"No big deal?" Jacob said sharply. Bella seemed as shocked as I was, I looked at Emily for help but she was looking at her plate.
"It's not like me and Quil are having sex or anything, Jacob. We just sleep in the same bed" I laughed, trying to ease the tension. I don't think that I did a very good job though.
"Mara, you should just shut up now." Quil said, his voice sounding squeaky. "You can't stay tonight because I have patrol, sorry Boo." I sighed; I really didn't feel like going home.
"Why don't you just come home?" Bella said, sounding frustrated.
"No." I said shortly.
"Why not?"
"Don't act like you don't know." Emily sensed the awkwardness and signalled for Sam to help her with the plates.
"Don't talk to her like that." Jacob said, meeting my gaze. He didn't know anything and he was acting like I had done something wrong. Bella smirked at me with her dull eyes, something inside me snapped.
"She is my sister so I can talk to her however I want. Bella, I am not coming home because I don't want to be in the house right now. I don't want to be around Dad, I don't want to hear any more of his lies and I certainly don't want to spend any time around you." I screeched, pushing myself up from the table.
"Mara-"
"Embry, just leave me alone." I said, storming out of the house. I hated it when I got angry at Bella in front of my friends, mainly because I spiral out of control.
I sat outside for a while, shivering as the cold air brushed my skin. Quil and Embry had left already but I ignored their goodbyes, I would call them later. I jumped when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder
"You shouldn't sit outside in the cold." Jacob said, placing a blanket around my huddled form and sitting on the opposite side of the swing. I didn't answer and looked towards the dark outline of the trees. The silence wasn't awkward; it was actually rather comfortable.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, I was just tired." I said softly.
"That's not what I mean."
"Don't concern yourself with matters you aren't involved in." I said shortly, he let out a chuckle.
"When something's wrong, you always start talking proper." I breathed out through my nose and looked away from him.
"It's my Dad." I choked.
Jacob sighed. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I shook my head, a stray tear escaping my eye. "Not really." He smiled tightly and nodded.
"Sam and Emily offered their couch but I don't think that's a very comfortable option." He said. "My dad just called and asked if you wanted to stay at ours, he really wants to see you." My jaw dropped, the last time I stayed over was at least a year ago. I knew it wasn't a good idea but I really didn't want to go home. I couldn't face my Dad so why not receive comfort from another one?
"Are you sure?" I said, looking into his eyes. "I don't want to be any trouble." He gave me a smile and let out a laugh.
"You're always trouble."
I smiled. "I do try."
AN: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have had a busy week at school so I'm sorry it took ages for me to update. Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming!
Jacob and Mara need a ship name! Please review and give me some ideas and comment with your opinion on the storyline.
Thanks again! Love you guys!
Cupcakexo
