A/N: I'm feeling a little down on this story because I haven't been getting a lot of reviews, except for my few loyal readers who review every chapter. (Love you guys!) I know people are reading it, but they don't seem to be reviewing. Is it because it's not worth the reviews? If I'm doing something wrong, let me know!

Anyway, without further ado, welcome to Claire's misery.

I lay in the damn bed, in that damn shirt for two damn days. I didn't sleep, I didn't shower. I only got up to use the washroom and eat.

I hadn't heard from anyone, although I'm sure my cell phone was probably dead, no one came to see me. I hadn't heard from my dad which was surprising, but I'm sure someone had filled him in. It was probably Seth, maybe Emily.

I briefly wondered how she was doing, remembering her stricken face. I thought about Kim a lot too, and her kids and I constantly thought about Nessie and wondered how she was fairing.

There weren't a lot of people I didn't think about. Except him, I refused to think about him.

It was Monday morning, and I wondered if Katie would be willing to go around and collect all of my homework. I wasn't even thinking about going to school, until someone barged in my house and straight into Quil's room. The sight of him made my heart hurt, with his dark skin and height he looked too much like Quil.

"Claire, get up." Brady pulled off the blankets and I didn't even care that my shirt had ridden up and he could probably see my butt. "Have you honestly been lying here like this for the last two days? You reek, get up and get in the shower."

I rolled over and sat up, feeling my hair stick up all over the place. "I'm not going. Now leave."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm so much stronger than you. I'm not afraid to strip you naked for the world to see and shove you under the water. Now, that's only last resort so you better get up and get cracking." I stared him down for a minute, trying to call his bluff, but he reached out and grabbed a fistful of my shirt and I jumped out of bed.

"Okay, I'm going." I muttered. And Embry thought I was pushy. I turned on the hot water and got under and the water on my skin felt like bliss. I was quick and I did not let my mind wander and I ran from the bathroom to my own room in a towel and threw on a pair of Addidas track pants, rolled down the waist and put on a white long sleeve shirt. My wet hair went up in a bun and I went out into the kitchen.

Oh no, Brady was cooking.

There was a giant plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and toast and a glass of orange juice on the table for me. I raked over it with my eyes hesitantly. Was it edible?

"Claire, eat the food. I didn't poison it, it's not burnt." He said, sounding annoyed. I put one bite to my mouth and it tasted fine, so I started spooning in the eggs. He sat down next to me, his plate the size of Mt. Everest.

I shook my head at him. "I didn't know you could cook."

"I don't really like to tell people. Besides, if the pack found out they would make me cook for them and that's just demeaning." He shoved eight pieces of bacon in his mouth at once. "Eat up. You look like crap. What's up with the bags?"

"I've been having trouble sleeping the last couple days."

He rolled his eyes at me. "You girls always worry way too much. They are going to be just fine, okay? I wish I was out there with them…"

"You should be." I grumbled. "You should have went and let Quil stay home in your place. You just don't understand."

"No I don't, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you sulk. I promised Quil that I would look after you and that's what I'm going to do!"

"Quil won't be very happy when he comes home to my dead body." I muttered, trying to ignore that dull pain in my chest at the mention of his name.

Brady threw the dishes in the sink. "I won't have time to kill you because he'll be back before you know it. Now let's go, school time." My protests fell short and I complied before it resulted in him threatening me with violence. As we pulled up the school, I frowned at him. "Oh don't look at me like that. Get out of the car. I'll be here to pick you up after school."

"Bye Brady."

"Oh by the way, how's your friend Katie? Has she been asking about me?"

I slammed the door shut and rolled my eyes. "Goodbye Brady."

"Come on, I just want her number!" He yelled at my retreating form and honked the horn repeatedly. "Bye Claire!"

To my biggest surprise, life went on. Time didn't stand still like I thought it would, being away from Quil and not knowing what could happen to him. Seth and Brady informed me that they could feel the buzzing presence of the other members in their heads, but they couldn't hear them.

I didn't expect them to, because they were thousands of miles away, but it still hurt.

I woke up every morning and had breakfast, courtesy of Brady, and I went to school with Katie, who knew nothing except for the fact that Quil and his friends were away on business. I knew what she was thinking, what kind of mechanics go to Italy on business? But thankfully, she didn't ask. And then after school I went to Brady's. Or I hung out at Emily's.

My poor aunt was hanging on by a thread for her kids, but I could see her slowly falling apart. Looking into her eyes made me sad, but I didn't want to go home to my empty house.

It had been a whole week and Nessie wasn't picking up my calls. I worried about her, like my dad worried about me. I wish he would stop calling me and showing up at my house unexpected so I could stop hiding under Quil's bed until he left.

I'm not sure why, but I didn't want to talk to him.

I was playing a card game with Brady before he left for patrol and we were sitting on my floor. "How come Quil hasn't called me?"

"Too risky." He said, distracted by his hand. "We don't want them knowing our whereabouts or anything like that, just in case. And we definitely don't want them to find out about imprints. That would be the easiest way to break down the pack."

"So I'm a liability?" I muttered.

"Nah, you're just Claire." He ruffled my hair and I scowled at him. "Well, I gotta get going if I'm going to make my shift on time. I'm gonna come crash here after patrol, okay?"

I frowned and followed him to the door. "Okay." I hated the thought of being alone. I had become attached to Brady's side this past week.

"You'll be just fine." He murmured and wrapped me in a tight hug. The familiar feeling I got when his warm arms wrapped around me made me content and he kissed my head. "See you later, Claire-a-gator."

He jogged out the door. "That sounds so lame." I said to myself.

"Yeah, lame like you!" He yelled from halfway down the street. Stupid werewolf hearing.

I checked the clock and it said six o'clock. I had approximately five hours before I went to sleep. I made grilled cheese for dinner and ate it. I did the dishes and put them away and I sat on the couch with a giant blanket wrapped around me, flicking through the channels.

I found a movie on one of the channels and I didn't bother checking the description, the only thing I knew was that it was a horror.

Oh… It's a movie about werewolves. Just my luck.

I flicked to a re-run of Teen Mom just as there was a knock at the door. I snuck my way over to the door and looked through the peephole before throwing it open. "Nessie!"

She looked horrible, even worse than I did. Was it normal for a half vampire to look so unhealthy? "Hey, can I come in?" She had a large bag over her shoulders.

"Of course… You look terrible." I said bluntly. "Haven't you been eating?"

She shrugged. "Not as much as usual. I usually hunt with Jacob…"

Oh yeah, I forgot Nessie liked blood. I crinkled up my nose in disgust. "Well we have plenty of human food here, Ness. What's with the bag?"

She glanced at me hopefully. "I was hoping I could stay with you for a while. I'll even pay rent. It's just that my house is already big enough when it's just Jake and I but now that I'm alone…"

I shrugged. "You're always welcome here. But just so you know, Brady practically lives here too." It was true, he had so much spare clothes in Embry's bedroom and I always offered him up a place to sleep after patrol or on those nights where he just needed to get away from his house. He was lonely too, he had Seth but he missed his roommate and brother Collin.

She shot her eyebrows up. "I didn't think you were friends with Brady Evans."

"I wasn't. But I guess Quil asked him to keep an eye out on me while he was gone and Brady took that to a whole other level. At first it was annoying, just like Embry used to be but he grew on me too. I like the company. He's practically my brother now."

"At least you're in human company."

I gave her a sympathetic smile and put my arm around her. "Hey it'll be just fine. Brady promised me they'd be back in no time and that we didn't even need to worry."

"I know who the Volturi were. I still remember them from so many years ago…" Her eyes closed and she shuddered. "They were horrible. I still have nightmares about them. These vampires that overtook them… If they are worse than the Volturi, I can't even imagine."

I blinked at her, my heart slowly sinking into my stomach. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that everything that Brady told you was a lie, Claire. You have every reason to be scared."

"Why don't you go ahead and get set up in my room." I pointed to the door. "I need to go for a walk."

"Be careful." She whispered. "It's cold."

I grabbed a coat and a scarf to put on before I went out the door and started walking. It was dark now, and it really gave me the creeps. I never went out after dark unless I was with Quil or another wolf and I felt a little rebellious.

But I got like five minutes before Brady sniffed me out. "Claire, what the hell!" He yelled. "I leave you alone for a night and you decide it's a good idea to go wandering off alone at night?" I refused to look at him and I didn't say a word. "Claire… What happened? What's wrong?"

Do not cry, do not cry Claire. That's what I repeated in my head about three times before I burst into tears and screamed. I took Brady aback and he jumped a little. "I hate you! Fuck you, Brady."

He went to touch my arm and I picked up the biggest rock I could find and hurled it at his head. "Shit, what the fuck!" I punched him in the chest and it fucking hurt but I punched him again until I couldn't feel it and screamed more profanities at him. "Claire, relax! Calm down!"

"You lied to me! You said that everything was going to be fine and I didn't need to worry!" I cried. "Quil is out there fighting possibly the most dangerous vampires in the world and you're telling me to fucking chill!"

"Oh Claire, come here." He pulled me into his arms.

"Don't touch me." I muttered weakly, but my efforts were futile, he was just so strong. "I still hate you."

He chuckled. "Well, that's okay. You're supposed to hate your older brother. I need to get you home, Clairy Fairy."

"That has got to be your worst nickname yet." I complained as he dragged me by the wrist back in the direction of my house. "Are you coming in?"

"Nah babe, I'm on patrol all night. The only reason I'm not in wolf form is because I needed to drag your butt back home. Get in the house, stay in the house and go to bed." He kissed me on the cheek.

I scowled. "You sound like my mother. And you have dog breath." And because he thought he was so funny, he licked me.

He licked my face. Oh my god that's disgusting. "Bye Claire!"

"You're a disgusting creature, Brady!" I yelled at him and slammed the door, wiping my face furiously with my sleeve. "Stupid dog… Hey Ness! Want to watch a movie?"

No answer. I crept to my room and opened the door and found her passed out on the bed, fully clothed with her bag unpacked. Poor girl was probably freaked out in a big house all alone. I shut the door quietly and changed into a pair of shorts and one of Quil's tees. I curled up on his bed with a book and read until I could no longer keep my eyes open and then I turned off my lamp, curled up under the blanket and went to sleep.

I was aroused, a little later by the sound of a high pitched wail. I shot up in a panic and raced into my room, scared that Nessie was hurt. But she was still asleep…

Her mouth opened and she screamed again, and I noticed the tears on her face. "Nessie!" I shook her arm. "Renesmee, wake up."

Her eyes flew open in a panic and she let out a gasp of air, wiping her face. "Claire, is that you?"

I hugged her tightly. "It's me, Ness. It was just a dream, you're fine."

"It wasn't me who was hurt…" She whispered.

"Jacob is fine too. Your family is fine." I reassured her, stroking her still perfect curls.

She shook her head. "It wasn't them either. It was Quil…"She glanced at me. "Do you feel okay? Are you in pain?"

"No I feel fine." I told her, but with a growing sickly feeling in my stomach. "Quil is fine… It was just a nightmare." I told her and myself. Quil was fine.

"I hate sleeping alone." She whispered and I knew exactly how she felt. "Can I come sleep with you?"

"My door is always open. Come on."

She curled up in Quil's bed with me and I lay there thinking about her nightmare. Unconsciously, I grabbed her hand and we fell asleep intertwined together.

I woke up to an empty bed and the clock told me that it was past noon. I could hear dishes clattering around in the kitchen. That was probably Nessie. I heard snoring from across the hall. That was definitely Brady.

As I walked into the kitchen, disoriented and hungry, I noticed a third figure sitting at the table. I flicked a glare and Nessie and she shrugged apologetically. "Hi Claire, how's life hiding under the bed?"

I sighed. "Hey Dad, how have you been?" He shot me a disapproving look and I sighed again and took the cup of coffee that Nessie was holding out to me.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Since I moved out."

Nessie shot us both glances and grabbed a granola bar. "Yeah, I'm going to go in my room…"

"She's living here now?" He asked.

"Yeah they're just staying temporarily until the other guys come home. It's nice having company in the house, for the first two days it was way too quiet."

He looked at me. "I heard from Emily that Brady was staying here. Just don't go getting yourself into any trouble."

I snorted and sat down next to him. "Don't worry Dad. Quil is my soul mate, remember? Even if he's away, I'm only going to be loyal to him. That's one thing you don't have to worry about."

"I didn't like the idea of you living with two boys, even if they were Embry and Quil and I don't like the idea of you living with one I barely know." He grumbled.

"Brady's cool, Dad. He's like the brother I never had."

He didn't look convinced, but he gratefully changed the subject. "Speaking of brothers, your mom has been calling you for days. She wants to let you know that your ticket is booked for the day after Christmas break starts." He told me casually.

I froze. I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to be going to visit my mother over the break. "Dad…"

"Claire, no. You can't back out. Your mother is excited to see you and Danni is coming home too."

"But what if Quil…"

"if Quil comes back, I'm sure he will be more than happy to get a ticket and come with you. And if he comes back while you're away, you can come home at any time. So far, you only have a one way ticket."

I felt a little better, but still wary. I was leaving in a month… That was more than enough time for Quil to come back, wasn't it?

A/N: To all you Butterflies readers, don't worry! I know i usually update one after another but I just so happened to crank this one out first and figured I'd post it. Kim and Jared are coming!