Heh. Another chapter, good for me.

Onwards.

Chapter 14

After the incident with Bella, she decided to shut down entirely. I didn't know why, and she wouldn't tell me why. She would skip meals, and I often had to bring them up to her or she wouldn't eat. She had lost a significant amount of weight and her go to responses were "I don't know", "I forgot" and "I'm sorry". I was fed up, to be entirely honest. It was just a bunch of excuses, one after another all the damn time, and I was fed up. Most of the time I put off going home.

I developed the habit of studying at Willow's or spending the weekends over there. Sometimes I went hiking through the woods (utilizing trails, of course) or spent morning to night in La Push just because I didn't want to go home to my obviously depressed sister who was on her shittiest behavior. No, she did not have the decency to even act okay for other people.

"So, this bit with Sir Dracula and his greatness," I started, leaning over against Willow's shoulder to show her the paragraph of the book I was at. She sighed.

"You're still that far back? We were supposed to be done with that part a week ago," Willow said in exasperation.

"I know, I know," I said dismissively, "I'm reading it now though." Willow sighed with a fond smile on her face. She then used her highlighter to point out the important bits and helped me skim the book better. The book was really boring to be honest, and it reminded me too much of he-who-shall-not-be-named, and in turn, reminded me of my useless sister. Great, now I'm angry again.

"You okay, Mads?" Willow asked me carefully with a note of concern. I sighed, slumping into her.

"No, I'm just so fuckin' tired," I whispered against her shoulder.

"Well, you just read this book and cry on my shoulder," she smiled slightly as she told me this, "All will be okay." I nodded slightly with a muffled "okay" and went back to reading the drollest book I'd ever had the joy of reading. Willow patted my head lightly and went back to her math homework.

XXX

"Eyy, sis," I said, leaning out of the doorway. There were no leaves on the trees anymore, "Time to pull yer ass out of bed. I'm going to get the bathroom before youuuuu." Bella started moving, but not because I was stealing the bathroom from her, but because we had school in a little while, and she never really protested anything anymore.

I stood in front of the mirror, running a brush hurriedly through my hair and cringing when I jerked it through a tangle mercilessly. I took the time to pull it into a fuzzy bun after I removed all the curls from my hair. I had the biggest dark circles under my eyes, and for a moment, I wished I wore glasses because Willow's always hid her dark circles a little. It was less blatantly obvious that she'd stayed up the night before. I sighed, deciding there was nothing I could do about it. I had just worked really hard to finish Dracula, which I would be having a test on later.

I padded down the stairs with a yawn, finding Bella asleep against the table and Charlie reading the paper.

"Howdy, family," I muttered, going for some cereal. Neither of them acknowledged me. I didn't bother with Bella because she seemed completely ready to go. I sat down in between them, merrily munching on my wheat chex. I think I liked quiet mornings, though I could deal without the mildly depressed feeling coming from Bella.

XXX

"So you finished the book?" Willow asked me at lunch, and I nodded, my spoon hanging out of my mouth. She smiled slightly at that.

"Good, but I'm guessing you probably need the history homework then," she said, sliding me a piece of paper. I stared at Willow in awe.

"You're a goddess," I whispered, looking over the sheet. I could almost hug her. Willow grinned.

"I know," she said, regally tossing her hair over her shoulder with one hand. I laughed at that. I quickly used her answers to finish up my history homework before passing it back to her.

XXX

"I haven't seen you in awhile," Embry said, sitting next to me. I smiled slightly at him.

"I've been a little busy..." I responded. He nodded amicably.

"Me too," he hummed softly. I turned to him curiously.

"What have you been up to anyway?" I asked, "I haven't seen you with Jake or Quil."

"I hang out with Sam now mostly," Embry responded as if this wasn't a strange thing, but Sam had found my sister, so I really didn't have a thing against the guy. It was just weird that Embry had suddenly exchanged peer groups.

"Why's that?" I inquired, sliding my cold hands under my thighs.

"I guess I'm just going through some stuff that they can relate to better," he replied. I felt my expression soften.

"Oh. You okay?" I asked with some concern. Embry gave me a smile.

"I'm fine. I'd be more worried about you," he answered kindly. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, feeling a little offended. Embry gave me a smile then.

"Just that you seem sad," he responded. I looked away from him then, blushing slightly.

"I'm not really," I denied softly without much vigor. I knew it was an untrue statement. Embry patted me on the back lightly, and I noticed just how warm he was.

"Dude, you're like a heater," I said, grabbing his hand. Embry laughed as I held it to my face. Then he looked up to see Jacob, staring at us weirdly.

"Hey, Jake," I waved, letting go of Embry's hand quickly. Jacob didn't say anything for a long moment, and I felt my heart constrict.

"Hi," he said softly, "I guess I'll leave you two alone." He walked off quickly, and I watched after him in confusion and a little hurt.

"What?" I asked, looking over at Embry who had a sad look on his face.

"You still like him?" he asked me. I gazed at Embry silently for a moment.

"Sadly," I looked away, my voice holding a bitter tone. Embry leaned back away from me with a sigh.

"I feel like there will be some heartbreak there," he said softly. I looked over at Embry, my mouth slightly open.

"I know," I respond. His eyes met mine, and we stared at each other silently for a minute. Then Embry stood.

"I better go," he said before running off. The words I would have said were still caught in my throat as I watched after him.

What's this? What's this? There's jealousy everywhere. I've lost my mind, probably.

~Minatu