Her father's car was in the driveway when Amethyst pulled in, filling the girl with instant dread, so she gave herself a moment to collect her thoughts in the driveway before making her way inside. Thankfully, the house was still, meaning neither of her parents were actually inside.
Amethyst trudged her way up the stairs to her room and peeled her jeans off. She frowned when they were too tight on her legs despite fitting around her waist, but pulled a pair of violet NYU sweatpants on to keep her warm.
She grabbed the phone after walking downstairs and went to turn on the television, deciding to watch a movie for the first time in a while. She flicked through their collection, sighing when she realized there weren't any ones that interested her in the house. Amethyst began flipping through the channels instead, wanting something to watch as she waited for Tyler to call. Stuck in the Suburbs was on, and the girl let it play out with a bit of amusement at the irony.
Her legs ached when she pulled them on to her chest, the bruises on her abdomen also aching. Amethyst ignored it, wrapping her arms around her legs to keep in the warmth.
The phone rang about half an hour into the movie, making the girl jump. "Hello?"
"Hi, I was wondering if I could speak with Amethyst Ashford, please?"
"Speaking."
"Oh, hello dear. It's Chloe Harman from the library."
Amethyst sat up straighter, letting her feet drop off the chair. "Yes ma'am, of course. How are you?"
"I'm great, thanks for asking. Just curious, did you have a chance to walk around the library while you were here?"
"Yes ma'am, when I filled out an application my friend showed me both floors and the different sections."
"Good, good. And what did you think of it?"
A smile pulled up on the girl's face. "It's wonderful. Obviously it's no Library of Congress, but your sections are logical and the building has a great atmosphere to it. Plus, we saw the list of activities you do over the summer and throughout the semester. It seems as if you are very involved in the community."
"Yes, well we certainly like to be. So, Ms. Ashford, would you enjoy working here?"
"I'd love it." Her heart was pumping.
"Well, great! We've already made some calls to your references and they all spoke very highly of you. I was just wondering if you could provide me with one local reference? Just so we could make sure we know how you're adjusting."
Amethyst pulled on a strand of hair that was hanging down near her face. "I can ask one or two of my teachers to call on Monday." Another though occurred to her the moment the words slipped out of her mouth. "Could a family friend be a reference as well?"
"Of course. Just have any one of them give me a call as early next week as possible. Once we've caught up, I'll give you a call to figure everything else out. Sound good?"
"It sounds fantastic."
"You, my dear, are a very impressive sixteen-year-old and I'm excited by the chance of working with you. I'll call you next week."
"Thank you so much. I'll talk to you next week."
Amethyst could barely keep in a scream of excitement when she hung up the phone, instead laughing as she felt a tear slip down her face. The offer was a huge step in the right direction. She was proving her father wrong in the healthiest way possible, and she couldn't be happier.
The girl waited with excitement for the phone to ring again, answering it the second it did. "Guess what?"
"You're going to pay me a million dollars?"
Amethyst felt a frown tug at her lips. "Alice?"
"Hey, Esme wanted us to invite you over this weekend."
"She did? And how did you get this number?"
"Our parents work together, silly. We wanted to invite you over to watch a movie Saturday night and help us decorate the house for Christmas."
Amethyst snorted. "You wanted to invite me over to work?"
"No, more so making it possible for you to get out of the house if you wanted. An extra set of hands didn't ever hurt anyone, though."
"I don't know. I was going to hang out with Tyler and Angela this weekend and then get started on exam review work on Sunday."
"Well, let me know if your plans change. You can always review for exams here with us, since we have some classes together."
"Yeah, sure." The girl felt her lips pull down. "But doesn't like half your family hate me or something?"
A giggle came through the phone. "Jasper just gets moody, don't worry too much about him. Go ahead and call if you change your mind. My number is on the piece of paper I gave you before you came over for the physics project."
"I will." Amethyst wondered what she had done with the paper. Tuesday felt so very long ago. "Bye, Alice."
"Talk to you soon!"
She hung the phone up, staring at it curiously. Alice, in fact all of the Cullen family, always sounded as if they knew something she didn't. The screen on the phone lit up again, prompting the girl to answer it before even actually hearing a ring.
"Hello, Ashford residence."
"Were you staring at the phone waiting for me to call?"
Amethyst laughed at Tyler's comment, pulling her knees back up despite the pain. "No, you're actually my third call today."
"Popular, aren't we?"
"Apparently. How was practice?"
He sighed. "Not so great."
"What's wrong?"
"I think I sprained my ankle."
"Oh, Tyler," she said, a frown appearing on her face. "Are you still at school? Do you need a ride? Did you go to the doctor?"
"I'm fine, I just can't drive home. I'm using coach's cell phone. I already called Mom, but could you go pick her up so she can drive my van home? I really don't want to leave it here all weekend."
"Of course." She stood up and glanced down at her clothing, deciding it didn't matter that much. "We'll be there in about twenty minutes."
They hung up the phone and Amethyst quickly pulled her boots back on before heading out to her car. Her muscles didn't appreciate the movements, but she pushed it aside, focusing on helping her friend.
When his mother climbed into the car, she seemed a little bit surprised by the cranked heat. "Not adjusted to Forks weather yet?" The woman laughed, settling in as Amethyst headed toward the school.
"I guess not, considering the fact I'm basically always freezing." The girl reached over and turned the heat down. "Sorry about that."
"No worries, I actually just really appreciate the help."
"Of course. Tyler's been very kind to me since I moved here and it's nice to be able to repay him at least a little bit."
Mrs. Crowley smiled and reached over to pat Amethyst's knee, not realizing the shock of pain it would send through the girl. "He thinks the world of you. I'm so happy you two are friends."
Amethyst smiled slightly, more trying not to cry out from the pain. They drove in silence until they reached the school, where both women climbed out of the car.
Tyler waved weakly when they approached from his position on the curb with his left leg stuck straight out in front of him, ankle wrapped up.
"I knew it would happen eventually," his mother said with a laugh as they approached. "You've played too many sports for too long without any injuries that it was destined to happen."
The boy groaned as the two helped him up from the ground. He was careful not to put too much weight on Amethyst, always careful of her own injuries as they helped him hobble out to his van.
Once he was safely in the passenger's seat, he looked guiltily at Amethyst. "Looks like we aren't doing anything this weekend."
"It's alright. Angela said she probably wouldn't be doing anything this weekend either, so it gives me more time to review for finals." Amethyst didn't say anything about Alice inviting her over, figuring that would be an entirely different battle to pick, as even Tyler found her relationship with the Cullens odd. "You just focus on getting better."
"You, too."
She leaned over to kiss his cheek before closing the door as Mrs. Crowley thanked her again. Amethyst waved her comments off with a smile, walking over to her own car and cranked the heat back up the instant the engine turned over, not putting her car into gear until it had kicked in fully.
As she drove home, Amethyst considered the fact Alice had basically known her friends were going to be unavailable. The small girl had made a comment earlier about being good at making plans, but it didn't explain her seemingly uncanny knack for stepping in when necessary. She had been the one to pull Amethyst away when she had been ready to deck Lauren and she had seemed so sure the brunette would get lost while driving to their house. And then there was that phone call, where she had correctly predicted that neither of the brunette's friends would be available for the weekend.
She pulled into her driveway and parked, leaning back in her seat with a sigh. Amethyst didn't want to cut the engine, but knew it would be a better idea to go inside and curl up with a blanket. She could also make herself a cup of hot chocolate, a thought that was incentive enough to make her climb out.
Amethyst wasn't sure Alice could have predicted the fist that went across the girl's face as soon as she walked into the kitchen. She cried out as her father hit just above the spot her mother had Tuesday night, falling to the floor and curling herself up away from him.
"Why are you so stupid?" He was screaming at her, and Amethyst silently hoped a neighbor would hear and come save her. Dave punctuated each of his next words with a kick to the girl's shin. "Why do you not listen?"
"To what?" she cried, trying to pull herself out of the kitchen. Her body still ached from her mother's abuse and she was scared her father would create permanent damage.
Dave stomped over and grabbed her arm, yanking the girl up and dragging her to the living room. "Look!" he shouted, throwing the girl toward the television. She looked up and noticed it was still playing the movie she had turned on when she first got home.
Realization swept over the girl while dread bubbled from her stomach. "I had to go-"
"Do I look like I care?" He shoved Amethyst again while she was on the ground, putting her straight on her back. "You just don't listen and your mother and I are tired of it." He put his foot down on her chest, glaring at the girl.
"Dad, please," she begged, reaching up to wrap her hands around his leg and try to move it. "I was helping a friend."
Dave laughed as he began to press down on her chest, making Amethyst gasp for air. "You don't have friends. No one wants to spend their time with an idiotic," he pressed harder, "worthless," harder, "fat, ugly piece of waste."
"Dad," she gasped out, tears leaking out of her eyes. "Dad, please."
He finally stepped off her chest moments before she was sure she would pass out, glaring at the girl for an instant before grabbing her by her sweatshirt and hauling him up to his eye level. "If you slip up one more time, you will be sorry." He dropped her back to the ground and walked into the kitchen, leaving his daughter sobbing on the ground.
Amethyst didn't dare staying there for long, dragging herself off the ground despite every muscle in her body crying out. She climbed up the stairs using her arms and legs, finally collapsing back to the floor in her bedroom.
She laid there and cried for an unknown amount of time, wondering how her life had ended up such a mess. The door to her room opened and an ice pack was tossed at the girl, who cried out when it landed on her freshly bruised stomach. Amethyst knew the ice packs were never acts of kindness, instead given to her to try and make the bruises less visible.
Pressing the pack to her eye, she finally let her mind go dark, falling comatose despite the sunlight still shining in through her window.
Amethyst woke up when it was dark outside, almost screaming at the pain that seemed to envelope her body. She pulled herself onto her bed and under the covers, hoping at least stopping her shivering would lessen the ache. Her ice pack had become water so she left it on the floor, finding herself crying again as she forced herself back to sleep.
The house was silent when she woke up. She assumed her parents were out shopping or eating or doing whatever they always did without her, so she decided a bath was in order. Amethyst found her breathing to still be slightly uneven as she dragged her body out of the room and to the bathroom, turning on the hottest water she could get.
The girl cried out when she sank into the scalding water, but instantly found her muscles unwinding. Amethyst washed her body slowly and purposefully, aggravating the injuries as little as possible.
When the water got cold she finally drained the tub, climbing out and wrapping the largest towel they owned around herself. She shivered her way back into her bedroom, grabbing a long sleeve shirt to wear under her sweatshirt and pulling her sweatpants back on. Amethyst climbed back into bed with plans to sleep for another few hours, happy at the thought of being in dreamland instead of the real world.
However, even dreams didn't prove to be an escape for her that day. Instead her sleep was plagued by more beatings and odd honey eyes staring her down from every direction.
She awoke for a third time to her door swinging open. "I thought I told you not to bother the Cullen children."
"I don't," Amethyst said with a groan, trying to pull herself up.
"Then why is one of them on the phone for you?"
Fear washed over her again when she remembered the treatment she had received the last time her mother had confronted her about the Cullens. "That must be Alice. She offered to help me review for my physics final. I didn't want to disappoint you guys by bringing home a low grade."
"You're already a disappointment," Carla hissed, shoving the phone into her daughter's hand. Amethyst waited until her mother had slammed her door before actually picking up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Are you alright?"
Amethyst looked down at her body, picturing the bruises covering most of her skin. "Yeah, why?"
"You never called back when you said you would last night."
She sighed, pulling the covers back up to her chin to keep the warmth around her frame. "Sorry, Tyler sprained his ankle and I was a little focused on that."
"Too focused for one call?"
"I said I was sorry already." The girl felt the exhaustion creep back in, fighting to keep herself awake.
Alice sighed. "I know you did. I just got concerned. Will you come over today?"
"No, not today."
"Tomorrow then."
Amethyst tried not to scream. "I don't know, Alice, I'm not exactly in great shape right now."
"Why not?" The reply was slightly hesitant.
"I don't know, I'm exhausted and cold and think I'm sick and my body aches. Please don't make me leave my house."
The silence stretched between the two. "Please, Amethyst. It's important to me that you come over tomorrow. You should really get out of your house."
"What do you know that I don't?" she asked, too tired to really care.
"I'll be by to pick you up around two. Please, be awake. It doesn't matter what you wear or anything like that."
"My mom won't be happy."
"Why not?"
The girl barely heard Alice's last response before she slipped back asleep, unable to force herself to function any longer.
Amethyst slept through the entire day, noticing the sun was already high in the sky when she finally managed to shed her exhaustion. She stood up and immediately went to the shower, stretching out her muscles despite the pain. The injuries only got worse the longer she let them set.
She looked into the mirror when she climbed out, unhappy to see that her left eye was black so soon after the other one had healed. Amethyst turned away from the mirror, not wanting to see the rest of her body.
The pain relief cream, probably one of her smartest purchases ever, was waiting for her on her nightstand. The girl liberally applied it to her skin and stood in front of her closet, trying not to put too much pressure on her re-injured knee. Amethyst knew she wanted to wear something that looked nice enough for her to be around the Cullen's, but wouldn't press too much on her skin or expose any bruises. She finally settled on a green tank top under her black cardigan with black leggings.
Amethyst couldn't put on her watch, as there was a bruise on her wrist where she normally kept it, but she did notice it was almost 1 p.m. The girl groaned mentally but dragged her ottoman over to her mirror, sitting down to do her makeup.
She noticed her concealer was running low, a fact that caused her concern. Amethyst made a mental note to get more as soon as possible as she slowly covered her face. The bruises on both cheeks were turning green, but her eye was almost pitch black. She took extra time to contour her face, trying to hide the swelling as well as she could.
Once the scars and bruises were finally hidden, she checked her watch again. Exhaustion was creeping back in to her bones after doing her makeup for half an hour, a sign the girl did not find encouraging. The phone ringing made her jump when she looked up to see the wireless handset was still in her bed.
Amethyst forced herself over to pick it up. "Hello, Ashford residence."
"I'll be there soon."
She sighed. "Alice, I really don't want to come over."
"But my family really wants to see you."
"Can we not do this next weekend or something?"
"I already gave you a pass for Saturday, you're not getting out of today too."
"I'm not trying to get out of anything." Amethyst rubbed at her forehead, feeling a headache coming on suddenly. "I'm really just not feeling good."
Alice sighed. "Please. Amethyst. I know you aren't feeling great and you said something about your mother not wanting you to come over, but it would mean a lot to us to be able to have a friend over while we're getting ready for the holiday. I'm sure you know people don't come to our house."
"Then why me? I've gotten into a fight with at least three of you, so I would think that would put me lower on the list of people you guys want over."
"Because you're fantastic." Amethyst was shocked by Alice's statement. She didn't receive compliments very often, and getting one from a Cullen was close to winning the lottery. "We've spent a few years with most of the people in Forks and none of them have struck us as being as fiery and wonderful and smart and argumentative as you are. We all enjoy having you around and would love your company."
Amethyst had an internal battle for a few moments before sighing in defeat. "Alright, I'll see you soon. I live on Merchant's Road."
Alice squealed in excitement, making the brunette's lips twitch up slightly. "No problem. I'll be there in a snap." They disconnected the line and Amethyst felt apprehension sneak back in at the thought of telling her parents.
She walked downstairs with her phone still in hand, placing it back in the charging cradle. Following the sound of the television, Amethyst spotted her father sitting in the living room.
"Hey, Dad?" Dave didn't respond, but she kept going. "Because exams are soon, a friend of mine has offered to give me some help with physics to catch up." Her mother had seemed to buy the lie last night, so she assumed she could use it again. "Alice Cullen is coming to get me in a few minutes."
"I don't care. Figure that out with your mother later."
Amethyst assumed that was as close as she was going to come to permission, so she backed out of the living room before immediately going outside. She wasn't expecting the pouring rain and was grateful she had thought to grab her heaviest rain jacket before stepping outside.
The silver Volvo pulled up moments later and Amethyst climbed in, relieved when she saw a towel tossed over the passenger seat.
"Hi."
Amethyst paused. "I thought Alice said she was coming."
"I'm here, too." Alice leaned forward between Edward and the brunette, smiling at her. "Edward's just protective and doesn't let me drive his car."
"Because you don't take care of it. It isn't a sports car that can keep up with all your recklessness, and it is currently pouring rain," he commented, pulling out of Amethyst's driveway. His eyes danced over to the girl who had fallen silent, her arms wrapped around her torso lightly. "How're you feeling?"
"Alright," she commented, not making eye contact. "Could we turn the heat up?'
"Sorry, it's all the way up."
Amethyst grew embarrassed, wanting to shrink in her seat but her muscles preventing the motion. "Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He merged on to the interstate before glancing over again. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Just peachy," she murmured, watching the rain pound down on the car as they settled in to silence.