Yay we reached 200 reviews! Thanks for everyone for reviewing and keep reviewing please :) So, here's the next chapter and I apologize for the slightly long wait. And for all of you who asked about JJ and Elissa's conversation of them making up, I decided to leave it out. I do reference it in this chapter-which you will see when you read. But, I wanted you all to visualize it the way you wanted. This chapter is important because it builds what's going to be happening with Tessa (which is going to blow your minds...yay!). As Elissa and her family members start making up and getting along again, their family problems are going to be squashed by other issues. So, behold chapter 18! Enjoy and please review!

3x2 + 12 + 9x - 20 + 6x2 - x

I stared at the equation, tapping my pencil on the edge of my notebook. I had been on this question of my algebra homework for the past fifteen minutes. It wasn't that I didn't understand how to do it; I found math relatively easy.

It's just that I couldn't seem to focus on it.

Before we had left for Denali, my teachers had been more than generous to give me piles and piles of homework for the trip. They didn't want me to "get behind on the curriculum". But I had too many others things to think about to worry over getting my homework done on time.

I glanced at the clock again, watching the time tick away in front of me. With a loud, desperate sigh, I quickly scrawled out an answer to the equation and attempted to move onto the next one; only twelve more to go.

2(x - 9) + 6(-x + 2) + 4x

Ugh.

I tossed my pencil to the side and stretched, wincing as my arms cracked loudly. I needed a break. I hopped off the couch, yawning and curled my sock-covered toes together as I padded into the kitchen. It was cold.

Uncle Jasper and Grandpa Edward were quietly conversing at the kitchen counter. They had several piles of paper in front of them. There were numbers and numbers written out across pieces of stark white paper, along with a particular object that I had been searching out for days.

My cell phone.

"Hey," I exclaimed. I hurried over and snatched my phone up. "What are you doing with this? I've been looking everywhere for it!"

Grandpa raised his eyebrows. "We were just trying to track the number that sent you those messages."

"Oh," I said, embarrassed by my irrational behaviour. "Sorry. Do you need it back?"

Uncle Jasper shook his head. "No," he sighed. "We've got everything we can possible use to track it. Not having much luck though. Whoever is doing it knows what they're doing. They've somehow blocked their number."

"Strange," I muttered, confused with their technical talk.

I moved to the fridge and peered inside, feeling hungry but unsure of what I wanted. I knew it was close to dinner time, but I had been feeling more hungry than usual these past few days. I think it had something to do with how much I was consumed with worry these days; eating my feelings and all that good stuff.

"You're going to let the penguins out," Jasper teased after I had stood in front of the open fridge for several minutes.

"Shush," I grumbled.

"Do you want me to make you something?" Grandpa asked, amused by our bickering.

"No," I said with a sigh. I quickly chose a bright green apple and shut the door behind me.

"Wash it first," Grandpa reminded me when I went to take a bite.

Right. I nodded.

I walked over to the sink and ran the fruit under the steady stream of room-temperature water. My eyes wandered to the window above the sink that overlooked the backyard, a frown forming on my face.

Tessa, Uncle Emmett, and Aunt Rose were throwing a baseball back and forth, the speed of the ball nearly making it invisible in the air. They seemed to be having a great time, laughing whenever one of them missed a catch or ran into each other in the midst of receiving the ball.

"Liss?" Jasper asked softly.

I quickly looked away, a blush forming on my cheeks. This past week in Alaska had been hard for me. I couldn't help but feel jealous over the way my family had easily bonded with this strange girl. Especially Emmett and Rose; one of them always seemed to accompany her.

I didn't like it.

I felt replaced. It was preposterous to feel so, but I did. I had barely seen my aunt and uncle the entire week I had been here. After my argument with Emmett the other day, he had been extremely cautious when talking to me. I had forgiven him and apologized for my behaviour, but our relationship still seemed strained. He wasn't the same, joking uncle that I had grown to love.

But, as I watched them fool around with one another outside, I realized his mind was preoccupied elsewhere.

I had to remind myself that this house was more Tessa's home than my own now. Even though I had grown up here, I lived in La Push now. This was not my home. This was my Grandpa Carlisle's home.

I was just a visiting guest.

"Elissa," Grandpa Edward said sharply, looking at me with an expression mixed of sternness and concern.

I blushed again, before I quickly left the room, not in the mood for a lecture. It was hard to get used to living with a mind reader again. I wasn't used to having to sensor my thoughts anymore. I wanted to kick myself; Grandpa was sure to not keep those thoughts to himself.

The whole house was going to know what a whiny, sensitive person I was by the end of the day. Keeping secrets was not one of Grandpa's strong suits.

My phone buzzed in my hand. I jumped, glancing down at the screen.

ANDY

I took a deep breath before pressed the 'talk' button.

"Hello," I whispered.

"You know it's been just so long since I've talked to you last, I almost forgot what your voice sounded like."

I sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I've been…preoccupied."

"So I heard," my cousin murmured. "Are you okay?"

Leave it to Andy to play mother hen. I knew I should have just kept avoiding his calls, like I had been the last two days. I didn't want him to overreact. I felt smothered enough with the way JJ and Noah had been acting.

"I'm fine, Andy. It's just a black eye."

I sat down on the edge of the couch. This felt like it was going to be a long conversation.

"Well, black eye or not, I'm not very impressed," Andy grumbled.

"Andy, really I'm okay," I lied. "It's hardly even a bruise anymore."

That wasn't exactly true, but Andy didn't need to know this.

"Oh, yeah?" Andy said. "Send me a picture of your face then."

I opened my mouth, trying to come up with some smart alack comment in return, but I felt tongue-tied.

Andy took my silence as an answer of its own. "That's what I thought."

I flopped down on the couch in frustration. "Please don't worry."

"I'll stop worrying when you get back to La Push," Andy replied, his voice softer now. "When are you coming home, Lissa?"

I felt tears prick my eyes. I missed my cousin so much.

I had the exact same conversation with my parents two nights ago. I wanted to go back to La Push. I wanted to be with Andy and Bronson and everyone else.

I wanted to go home.

"I don't know," I whispered sadly. "Soon, I hope."

"Me too," he murmured. "We all miss you."

I sniffled. "I miss you guys too."

Andy sighed. "Ok, well I'll call you again later tonight? Ok little cuz?"

I wiped the corners of my eyes. "Sure."

"Liss?"

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"Your brother wants to talk to you."

The phone suddenly felt like a million pounds. I nearly dropped it. What was I supposed to say? Did I want to talk to Bronson? Was I ready to forgive him?

"Okay."

I held my breath as I listened to shouting and then the telltale shuffle of the phone being passed around. I shouldn't have felt as nervous as I did just to speak to my own brother. But I was.

"Hey, Lissy," Bronson said.

A sob built up in my throat and I swallowed past it. "Hi."

"How are you?"

I bit my lip. "I can't deal with this Bronnie. I don't want things to be awkward between us."

My brother sighed. "I know," he said. "Me either. And whether you want to hear it or not, I'm really, really sorry; I never should have said those things to you. You did the right thing, keeping those messages to yourself. I never wanted to hurt you, Lissy."

I was really crying now. "It's okay."

"No, it isn't," Bronson exclaimed. "But I promise to make it up to you when you get back. I can't even begin to explain how sorry I am, Lissa."

I took a deep, shuddering breath. "You had every right to be angry, Bronnie. I should have told you what was going on the moment it all started. I'm sorry too."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, okay?" Bronson soothed. "Let's just put this behind us. Connor's been giving me extra patrols for being such an ass."

Laughter bubbled on my lips. "Well tell him to stop, okay? I'm not angry anymore."

"I'm glad," he said, sighing with relief. "I miss you guys. Are you coming home soon?"

The backdoor slammed open and I watched Tessa slide across the hardwood floor and into the sitting room. She froze momentarily, catching sight of me spread out across the couch, causing me to stop breathing completely. She smirked at my reaction, sending me a smile full of her sharp, bright teeth, before she skipped up the stairs towards her room.

I hated her.

"I don't know," I admitted softly. "Mom and Dad won't give me a solid answer. There have been…other things keeping them busy."

"So I heard," Bronson said. "Care to explain to me about your little mishap?"

I bit my cheek. Everyone back home had heard from JJ and Noah that some vampire had punched me in the face due to lack of control. It had been a total accident—which wasn't exactly the case. But what they didn't know was that she would be coming back to La Push with us. I knew that Dad had discussed it with Sam, but other than that, no one else knew. They wanted to tell them all at once.

"Too complicated," I laughed.

There were voices in the background, yelling at Bronson. I heard him sigh.

"Do you have to go?" I asked.

"Yeah," Bronson said. "I've got a patrol shift in about ten minutes."

I tried not to get too upset. "Okay, well call me later then? After your patrol?"

"Of course," he murmured. "You be safe out there, Lissy-loo. I'll see you soon."

"Okay," I whispered. "I love you, Bronnie. Have a good patrol."

"Love you too, baby sis."

The phone clicked.

It felt like there had been a weight lifted off my shoulders after the conversation with Bronson. I was glad that we were able to make up. I didn't like fighting with so many of my family. I needed my brother.

Tessa and Aunt Alice bounded down the stairs, both adorning specially-made baseball uniforms.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Alice smiled widely. "There's going to be a thunderstorm soon. We're going to play ball. Do you want to play too, Lissy? Your uniform is still hanging up in your room."

I used to love playing baseball with my family when I had lived here before. It was such a rush and a lot of fun to be a part of. I hadn't played in such a long time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tessa laughing loudly with Jasper and Rosalie in the kitchen. I felt my shoulders slump.

"Um, no thanks, Aunt Alice," I said. "I've got a lot of homework I need to do before I go back to La Push. And I think it's gonna be too crowded as it is."

Aunt Alice hurried over and pulled me into her lap. "Elissa, no one could ever replace you. You're family, honey. No one replaces family. We all love you so much and we don't want you to feel like a stranger in your own home."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

She tilted my head up so I met her gaze. "I mean it, you stop thinking like that."

I nodded, knowing I was being ridiculous. I couldn't help it though.

"And if you don't want to play, that's fine, but we need a score keeper," Alice said. "So you're coming."

I couldn't help but laugh at her persistence. "Okay, Aunt Alice, I'll come."

"Great!" she cried happily, clapping her hands. She pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, before she bounded out into the kitchen.

I silently got up and placed my half-finished homework on the nearby coffee table, before I went upstairs to change into some warmer clothes. If Aunt Alice was forcing me to go, then I wasn't going to suffer alone. I knew JJ and Noah were hiding out in JJ's room, playing some sort of video game. They were definitely coming with me.

"I'm on Emmett's team!" I heard Tessa yell from the kitchen.

I frowned.

Maybe a game of baseball would be a good thing.

Especially if a certain someone happened to land a baseball bat in the face.

If only…

I hurried up the stairs to the second floor of the house and pushed open the fourth door in the hallway. I poked my head around the door frame and giggled under my breath.

For two teenage werewolves that always bragged about their amazing hearing, they certainly hadn't noticed my sudden appearance now. Their eyes remained glued to the small flat screen TV on JJ's bedroom wall, their fingers pressing buttons constantly.

Not caring that I was about to completely interrupt their game, I leapt across the floor and jumped onto the big, queen sized bed. I landed sideways, my feet on JJ and my head in Noah's lap.

"Seriously, Liss?" JJ complained, angling his body around mine to see the screen.

After our very, very long talk yesterday, JJ and I were completely back to normal. We had spent a good hour in the living room, just dishing out things to each other. I think I spent the majority of it crying my eyes out and apologizing. I had never seen JJ look so utterly guilty in his entire life. But after putting everything that had happened in the past, I couldn't believe how relieved I was to have my big brother back in my life.

Noah discarded his controller completely. He leaned down and pressed his lips chastely to mine, rubbing his nose on my cheek sweetly.

"Hi," I murmured softly.

JJ shoved a pillow over my face, groaning. "Cut it out, you two."

I threw the pillow onto the ground. "Only if you guys promise to come suffer through a family baseball game with me; then I'll stop."

They both hesitated.

I sat up quickly. "Please," I begged. "Tessa is going to be there and I can't handle her on my own."

JJ sighed dramatically. "Someone should have told me that little sisters were such pain in the asses."

I didn't pay any attention to him, turning my pleading gaze to Noah. He studied my face for a moment, holding my hand, before his shoulders slumped visibly. I felt a small smile work its way to my face.

Noah nudged JJ with an elbow. "Are you really going to leave your little sister to fend for herself with a new vampire that's already proven herself to be volatile?"

He obviously didn't have much concern about hiding his hatred for Tessa.

JJ grumbled after a moment before he nodded. "Fine, we'll go," he cried. "Enough with the guilt trips."

I leaned over to kiss JJ's forehead and then pressed my lips tightly to Noah's for a long moment before I stood up.

"You owe me," JJ muttered.

I smiled happily as I dragged the two of them out of JJ's room.

Thank God for werewolves.

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