Sorry, I meant to get this out yesterday but there's been a lot of stuff going on recently. And to Dinopoodle - nice pick up on the hints. Any guesses? Okay, I'll let you get to the story but look out for the note at the bottom.

Chapter 53:Return to Normalcy, Mostly

The Monday after the competition didn't take long to arrive and then I was returning to school. It was almost surprising to find that classes had started to become just a bit more tranquil after the conversation with Edward, the previous tension seeming almost non-existent. Oh, if you looked for it, you could definitely still see it. Lauren was still frosty around both Cullens and I could almost constantly feel Edward's eyes on me. I tried not to let it get to me, though, tried to not think about why. Still, it would take more time than we had been given so far for it to go away completely.

The biggest change when it came to school though was home ec. With Chelsea missing the past few weeks, I had been shuffled around between groups, filling in when another student was absent or out sick. It meant that class was always unpredictable. I didn't know if I would be working quietly along one group or trying to keep control of my tongue at the gossip that another group was repeating. It almost made me want to just work alone but that was something the teacher wouldn't allow. Today I was stuck with Alex and Maddie again.

I was doing my best to block out her words. I glanced over, catching Alex's blue eyes and he gave my a sympathetic look. Whenever I worked with them, Maddie mostly ignored him, turning all her attention to catching me up about any rumors that were going around school. After all this time, you'd think she would have gotten the hint that I wasn't interested but she was just as bad as Jessica in that regard. Oh well, at least when I was with them it gave Alex a bit of peace.

"Did you hear what I said?"

I sent Alex a pleading look before turning back to the blond-haired shrew sittng beside me.

"Of course, I did. Why would I ever think to not listen to a word you uttered?" My voie were completely monotone as I spoke. At this point, she was lucky I was even answering her. If it wasn't for the fact that I was trying not to cause any trouble than I wouldn't be sitting here playing nice.

Her lips puckered, her eyes flashing for a second before she started speaking again. I almost turned back to Alex but her words, for once, caught my attention.

"As I was saying, apparently there's been no word on Chelsea whatsoever. I heard my dad saying that they haven't found a trace of her, even after all these weeks. She hasn't contacted her family yet either. I hear that they are worried sick."

I made a non-committal sound, trying to act like her words didn't bother me. But to be completely honest, I was worried about Chelsea. No word? No sightings? What could have happened to her? Not to mention I could still feel the guilt gnawing away at my stomach. What if that day she had come to me for help? If she had needed me and I had done nothing. I just wish that I knew—

I lost my train of thought as I contemplated smacking myself. I think I had just reached a new level of stupidity. I didn't know if Chelsea was okay but there was someone who did, or could if I asked her to.

For the rest of class I ignored whatever Maddie said. I wasn't interested in it at this point, too focused on what she might see. Alice could look for me, she could check in on Chelsea. At the very least, it would ease my worries if she was alright and if she wasn't, well then I would figure that out when I knew for sure.

The rest the day passed as I mostly filtered it all out. Even gym with Edward was only a bit of a hazy memory as I headed out of the building. As soon as the door closed behind me though, my head was up, scanning the lot for Alice.

She must have known I was looking for her because almost immediately I found her standing next to my truck.

I sped up, walking quickly over to her side. She didn't say anything, only pointed to my vehicle. We both climbed in though I made no move to start the engine. Instead we just sat there as the parking lot quickly emptied.

I'm sure Alice was waiting for me to talk but I couldn't seem to force myself to. Despite wanting to know, there was a part of me that didn't want an answer. What would I do if something bad had happened to Chelsea? What would I do if she was fine and perfectly healthy? She was only sixteen. She should be back with her family, working her problems out, not running away from them.

I almost snorted at the thought, realizing I was being a bit of a hypocrite.

"As soon as I saw you asking I looked into the future for you." Alice's words pulled me from my thoughts rather abruptly. It was slightly startling and though I hadn't moved whatsoever, it almost left me feeling as if I had experienced whiplash.

"And?"

She didn't speak for a second and then her eyes clouded over again, her jaw slackening just the smallest fraction. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" I repeated, slowly. For Alice not to know, well, that didn't help my worry. Wasn't it only the wolves that she couldn't see?

"That's what I mean. When I look for Chelsea, I don't see much. Flashes of unfamiliar landscapes, hazy images and sometimes I see a person. Never her though. The fact that I am seeing something though, means that she is at least alive. If she was dead, I wouldn't see anything so the fact that I'm seeing something should be a comfort."

I sighed, leaning forward to rest my forehead against the steering wheel. "That's all you've seen?" I asked, glancing at her from the corner of my eye.

She hesitated, only a second before shaking her head. "Once or twice, I've seen our kind."

My heart jumped at the information but I didn't know what to make of it.

"It's not like that," Alice quickly reassured. "The vampire I see, well, she almost looks familiar. I can't place her though. I'm sure I haven't met her before but I can't seem to shake the feeling. I don't think the vampire is any danger to Chelsea though. If that was true, I'm sure I would see her future disappear."

"So then what does that mean?"

Alice paused for only a second. "I think it means that Chelsea okay, just unsure what she is doing which isn't surprising with how she ran away. I'm sure she didn't have a plan. I will keep an eye out for her though, do my best to see if she does get in any danger."

The worry loosened, now only a small ball in the pit of my stomach. That was at least something. I just hope that everything turns out okay. Unbidden, a picture of Chelsea flashed through my minds eye, her red hair vibrant.

I could feel my eyebrows scrunching together in confusion for a second. Red hair. Victoria. Again, I wanted to kick myself. How could I have forgotten about Victoria these past few weeks? I knew that I needed the time to relax but really? Completely forgetting about a vampire that was out to get me might have been going a bit overboard.

My gaze focused on the cracked leather on the steering wheel as I consider my next question for her. "Have you seen anything about Victoria? About her being around here?" I had to work to force the words between my numb lips. Still, even then I didn't look at Alice, only put all my attention on tracing the dark lines. I didn't want to see Alice's facial expression as she answered, didn't want to know if her answer was going to be bad until it was forced upon me.

"To be quite frank, any scent we have come across from her is weeks old. I'll gives the wolves credit, they were doing a good job keeping her away." She paused before continuing. "When it comes to visions, well, that's a bit more complicated. I just keep seeing flashes from her, so many that make no sense that it is distracting and actually a bit of a pain."

"So then she's not around any more?" I questioned, slightly surprised.

"No, she's not."

Her answer worried me more than it probably should. If Victoria wasn't around, wasn't still trying to get to me, then what was she doing? She wasn't the type to just give up, to let things rest. Not after going to Laurent, not after pulling up an old favor. She must be planning something, trying to find back-up or pull up old favors, especially if she knew that the Cullens were back.

"Well, thanks for being honest." I told her, truthfully. Even if the information did worry me, I would still rather know it than be left in the dark.

"It's the least I can do and you don't have to thank me for being honest. I never make the same mistake twice."

I could feel my lips twitching up. "Well, that's good to know."

"Are you going to be picking Alisha up?"

I rolled my eyes. "As if you don't already know."

She gave a light chuckle before shaking her head. "Don't worry, thing between you two will go back to normal eventually."

I gave her a look and she winced sympathetically. "Okay, maybe not normal but close to it. It will help after you can start going places again and actually spending time with her outside of the house."

"Yeah, that's hard to do when I'm still grounded."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry, you'll be off the hook soon."

I didn't question her words, sure that it was something that she had already seen. That would be good if she was right though. It meant I would be able to go down to the reservation and talk to Sam. I'm sure he knew through Jake that I was grounded but I didn't want to wait too long to meet with him.

Alice's groan had me dragging my eyes back to her. "You're planning on going down to visit the wolves, aren't you? Your entire Saturday just disappeared." She grimaced at the end of her words, her hand already messaging her forehead.

Well, it's nice to know when I'll be heading down to see them. I should give Jake a call and give them a heads up.

"Alisha has two more competitions, right?"

I'm sure Alice was only asking so she could change the topic of the conversation if her heavy sigh was anything to go by. I nodded. "She has one this Sunday and then next Saturday."

"Good, I'm sure it's not a surprise but we'll probably be coming to both." She told me before turning and looking out the window. "I should go, you'll have to get Alisha soon."
With a glance to the clock, I confirmed Alice's words. "I didn't realize so much time had passed." I told her honestly.

She only shrugged her shoulders, smiling again. "You know how it is, time flies when you're having fun."

I snorted. "I wouldn't necessarily call this fun."

"Then we will have to do something that is to make up for it."

"That would be nice."
There was the slightest pause before she broke out into a wide grin. "Really? It would be so nice to hang you with you again, like really do something and catch up, not like it was when Rose and I stayed the night. Not to mention Esme wants to see both of you again."

I chuckled at her rush of words before gesturing to my truck, trying to change the topic before she actually started planning stuff. "Did you want a ride home?" I asked. It wouldn't be good to make all these plans when I was still officially grounded, even considering Alice's visions.

She waited a second before shaking her head. "Nah, I'll run home. Besides, this will give you and Alisha a bit of alone time."

"I'm not sure that will do any good, especially if she doesn't want to listen right now." I told her.

Alice merely shrugged as she opened the door, already climbing out. "Well, you'll have to talk to her sometime and you never know, you could get lucky."

I highly doubt that. Before I could say the words though, she was gone, the door softly clicking shut. I only shook my head, starting my truck and putting it in gear as I started towards Alisha's school.

In the end, I pulled up with only seconds to spare, the doors opening up to let the children out just as I was putting my truck into park. Almost immediately I could see Alisha walking out the door by herself. Her eyes zeroed in on me and then only a minute later, she was climbing into the same spot that Alice had vacated.

To be honest, I tried to say something during the ride home, tried to come up with something that would bridge the gap that was growing between us. Just like with everything else, I was tired of it, tired of all the tension. I wanted things to go back to how they used to be, before the Cullens left and everything got so complicated. I knew that couldn't happen though so instead, we listened to the low music coming from the old stereo and before I knew it, we were arriving home. Alisha didn't waste any time climbing from the truck and heading inside. I followed after her, leaving my phone on the table in the kitchen before heading upstairs.

I spent the next hour or so doing homework, occasionally checking in on Alisha. She always gave me a look though when I did but I ignored it for the most part. When Dad and Kathy got home, I hung around them as Dad made spaghetti. It was nice, with both Dad and Kathy around I didn't have to cook nearly as much and Kathy managed to keep the house clean so I didn't have to worry about that either. It was a relief, being able to come home and just focus on homework.

When the spaghetti was done, we sat around the table and I listened as Kathy told a story about what had happened at work. Apparently a mother had come in crying because her two year old had swallowed some spare change. She hadn't been too impressed when they told her that it would pass naturally.

Alisha laughed before perking up. "This weekend can we do something fun?" She asked before slurping up some noodles.

"Well, you have your competition on Sunday so that is going to take up a good chunk of the weekend. We might not have time to do anything more." Dad told her.

"So? We can do something on Saturday then." She supplied.

I caught the glance Dad shot Kathy before he shook his head. "Sorry, but we're working that day. We have Friday off though so maybe we can have a movie marathon or something after you getout of school."

"Aww, but that doesn't give us much time. I wanted the whole day to do something." She told him.

I looked away, grabbing my cup of water and taking a sip of it. From the corner of my eye I could see Dad shake his head again. "No can do but maybe another time. What about Anna though? She'll be free on Saturday."

Even without looking I could already image the grimace that would appear on Alisha's face.

"But that's no fun. She's grounded."

I rolled my eyes, I didn't need a reminder.

"Well, you'll have to do something around here then." Dad said.

"Couldn't you two find another anime to watch?" Kathy suggested, leaning back into her chair. "You seemed to enjoy the last one that she showed you."

I could hear Alisha's huff before she turned her blue eyes on me. I met her gaze, watching. She seemed to be contemplating something before she turned back to dad. "No thanks. I don't want to hang out with her anyways."

I could feel my eyes narrowing, my hand clenching around my fork. "Brat." The word slipped out without any thought and for a second I didn't even realize that I had been the one to say it. When I did though, my hand immediately flew to cover my mouth as my eyes widened considerably.

Her eyes flashed in surprise before widening, a look of hurt filling them. It was only a second later that she fled, running away from the table, her small feet thumping against the stairs. It ended with a loud crack as her door slammed shut.

Shit.

I heaved a sigh, immediately burying my head into my arms. Well, that definitely wasn't what I had meant to do. I don't even know why I said it. I hadn't even been thinking anything like that. It had just sort of slipped out. I wonder, how much worse would this make things between us?

After a second, I tilted my head, peeking between my arms at my dad. He had gone back to eating his spaghetti though Kathy kept shooting uncertain look between him and I. After a moment she stood. "I going to use the bathroom," she muttered before walking out of the kitchen as well.

I didn't bother lifting my head when my dad put his fork down, just buried my face back beneath my arms.

"Your not in trouble if that's what you are worried about."

Although it wasn't, I was so surprised that I couldn't help but glance up at him.

"I can't say I'm proud of what you did but I understand. You two are siblings and siblings fight. You've been handling Alisha's attitudes towards you these past couple weeks very well and this is the first time you've had a slip up. Besides that, there are plenty worse things you could have called her." He explained to me before running his hand through his hair. "That being said, this weekend, you two are going to do something together. You will have some quality time and work this out."

I only nodded. I was sure that he wasn't in the mood to hear me say that I thought it probably wouldn't work as well as he hoped. Still, I wouldn't go against it, I could always hope that he was right.

"Now let's finish up. I have to be at the hospital early tomorrow so I want to get to bed."

Dad turned back to his food, not seeming worried about what had just taken place. After a moment of silence, I did too. Eventually, Kathy returned but Alisha never did.

That night, I slept fitfully. It felt like the very air was pressing down on me and even after I opened the window and threw the blankets off I still felt smothered. It only started to abate as the clock ticked close to three in the morning. After that I was able to slip into a restless sleep.

The next morning, I was glad to head to school. Kathy had volunteered to drop Alisha off the night before so I didn't have to worry about it. All I had to do was put my truck in gear and drive. About halfway there, I rolled the window down and allowed the wind to stream though the cab. The air was cool and moist with a promise of the rain to come. It felt heavenly, especially after the night I had. The drive didn't last nearly long enough.

The school parking lot was only about a quarter of the way full when I pulled in. Apparently I was early. For a second I debated on turning around and continuing my drive but I didn't have gas to waste. Maybe I could just go for a ride on the bike sometime soon instead. That would be nice, to feel the freedom that came with the speed.
I left the windows down as I waited for the parking lot to fill up, enjoying every cool breeze that blew through the cab.

Unbidden, an image of Alisha flashed through my mind, her startled eyes wide with hurt. Of all things, I wanted to kick myself for calling her a brat, even if it had been unintentional. That had been the same word that Rosalie had used when she had left. I was sure that it did not bring back good memories for my sister.

I jumped at the flash of white I saw in my peripheral as Edward appeared, standing next to the drivers side door. I took a quick glance around but the parking lot seemed to be void of people, even though it was a bit fuller than when I had last looked.

"Good morning," he said, his lips twitching into a small smile.

"Morning." I replied automatically. There was a short silence that we both just stared at each other, neither of us speaking. It was in those seconds that I noticed his eyes were darker than they had been on Saturday. They were more of a warm amber now, the color of maple syrup when light shined through it.

"May I walk you to school?" he asked, gesturing to the building.

I couldn't help the snort that escaped. "Not much of a walk."

He shrugged, not seeming too perturbed by the fact. After a second, I rolled up my windows, grabbed my bag and climbed out.

We were halfway across the parking lot before he spoke.

"I heard what you and Alice talked about yesterday and I just wanted to let you know that Alisha still cares about you."

His words were so unexpected that I stopped walking, turning to face him instead.

"And how do you know that?" I questioned. Though I had no doubt that Alisha still cared about me, I was curious about his thoughts.

"At the competition, she was upset that you were comforting the other girls and not her. She was jealous." He explained. "It means that she still cares, just that she has to work through stuff first. She is only eight after all. She doesn't have the skills to look at it logically like an adult would."

I sighed angrily, running my hand through my hair and tugging harshly on the ends. "Yeah, well I probably just gave her more then."

His eyebrows rose in surprise before I elaborated.

"I guess I just got frustrated last night with everything that's going on. I accidentally called her a brat."

He looked torn between wincing and trying not to laugh at my blunder.

"Well, that certainly complicates things." Although he wasn't laughing, there was definitely mirth in his voice. I didn't know whether to walk away because he found the whole thing humorous or to chuckle with him.

"You know," he said, voice serious again. "You could always tell her the truth. She knows something is up, both with us and with everyone down at La Push."

I bit my lip, only contemplating his words for a second. "I would rather she be mad at me than know what's going on. It's too easy for her to slip up and she's too young to have to carry this burden."

"Is it really one though?" He asked, his tone lighter than it had been the entire conversation, even if it almost did sound forced. "Is knowing us, knowing our secret really that much of a burden?"

I had to take a moment to make sure I was answering honestly. If I had been asked that last year or even last summer, I would have said no. Having them as friends, as a part of the family, it had been worth it. Even after what had happened at Disneyland, the pros had still outweighed the cons. But now...

"Sometimes it can be."

He didn't seem to like my answer but he didn't say anything either, just nodded resolutely.

"But... there are other times when it was nice having all of you around. For instance, every time Alisha's face lights up when she see Rosalie and having you as a handy-dandy ice pack was always convenient." I told him, grinning.

Edward snorted and fixed me with a stare. "I'm positive that Alisha does not watch Blues Clues anymore."

I only shrugged, still grinning.

In a second, Edward had taken a step forward, only a foot or so away now. If I had wanted to, I could have reached out and touched him, could have took his hand-

"You know, there was a time when you used to light up when you saw me."

His words seemed to drift between us, heavier than any of the others ones that had been spoken so far. I didn't know what I was supposed to say to that, what he expected me to and all the while he just stood there, his warm eyes locked with my own. Belatedly, I realized that my hands were already clenched into fists and shaking slightly, my palms already heating up slightly. I pressed them deeper into my pockets, hoping he hadn't noticed.

A loud honk came from behind me and it was so unexpected that for the second time so far today, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I glanced around, noticing that the parking lot was a lot fuller than it had been last. There was a dark green car, idling a few steps away. Apparently we were standing in one of the few open spaces that was closer to the building. The driver, a senior in our year, honked again as he gestured angrily to the space.

I flipped him off, glaring right back at him but still started heading towards the buildings again. Edward followed.

"So Alice was telling me about how she wanted to hang out with you soon. Would you and Alisha like to come over for a game night when you are no longer grounded? I promise it won't turn out like the last."

I was so glad that he hadn't brought it back up, that he hadn't tried to continue the previous conversation. At the same a bark of laughter escaped my mouth before I was able to clamp my lips shut, trying unsuccessfully to control my grin. "No blood-thirsty party-crashers this time?"

He shook his head before speaking again. "Everyone liked the idea. Emmett wants to play against you on the Wii. He says he still needs to pay you back for the pie."

"Tell him to bring it. He lost at Just Dance and he'll lose again."

"Carlisle would like to talk to you as well. He's curious about the new development in your gift."

My steps faltered for only a second as an image of Jane, withering on the ground, flashed before my eyes. In the next instant though, it was gone, replaced by the brick buildings of the school. "Okay."

"So you'll come then?"

"Definitely, sounds like fun." I didn't even have to work to sound convincing and surprisingly, I was actually looking forward to it.

"I'm glad. I'll see you in AP Lit then." He said, nodding as he took a step away.

It took me a second to realize that we were standing outside of my history class, blocking the door. A few other students were heading our way.

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

He waved, already turning towards his class. The smile he wore as he did so did funny things to my stomach.

Okay, so I'm all done with my finals! YAYYY! I turned my last one in on Wednesday, then busted this thing out yesterday and today. Sorry it's a bit short. So, I hope to return to the weekly updates now that I'm out for the summer and if I ever don't post on Thursday, you are welcome to hound me to make sure I do. Thank you to everyone that has been leaving reviews. They are really helpful and I've been trying to respond to them on messaging instead of in the chapters. If I didn't respond to yours I'm sorry and you can leave another one that I will definitely respond to. Again thank you for your kind words. I'll see you all next Thursday!