Author's note: This short story is part of a reimagined Twilight universe, so not all elements comply with canon, but the important stuff does.

Cross-posted on AO3 under the same name.

Content warnings: Contains a not inconsiderable amount of swearing, because Rachel has had a rough few years and is done with everyone's shit.

The winter sky was heavy and grey outside. Rachel switched the light on in the kitchen as she and Jacob began to tidy up in preparation for their father getting home with the pre-Christmas groceries. The bulb flickered a little as it came on, dim and slow to warm up.

'I'll put some more wood on the fire,' Jacob decided.

'Good idea. It's freezing,' Rachel agreed.

He disappeared back into the living room for a minute or two.

Rachel gathered up the plates from lunch, brushing the crumbs from the table into her hand. The flowers that she'd brought with her last week were dropping petals; she cleaned them up too, pulling out a few dead blooms and tossing them into the compost bucket.

'Do we need some more logs in?' she asked as Jacob returned.

'I filled it up this morning,' he said. He had an armful of clean dishcloths, which had been drying in front of the woodstove. He put them onto the counter and started to fold them, ready to put away.

Rachel watched him for a moment, a painful little smile tugging at her cheeks. Then she turned aside, brushing the sting away.

'I'm really proud of you, little brother,' she said quietly, stacking the dishes into the sink.

Jacob ducked his head sheepishly. 'Huh? Why?'

'You're so mature these days. Better than any of us, really. I don't know how you manage it.'

He looked even more embarrassed.

'It's no big deal,' he said.

'It is a big deal. You've been taking care of dad for three months now, almost on your own. I'm so sorry you've had to do that. You're not even fifteen yet. You shouldn't have to grow up this fast. I should've come home sooner.'

'Seriously, it's been okay. Sue's been round tons to help out with the chores, and Charlie's here every-'

'That doesn't make it right!' Rachel snapped, gritting her teeth. 'Sue's got her own shit to deal with, and Charlie's- ...busy. You can't be responsible for everything when they're not here.'

'It's not that bad,' Jacob insisted. 'Dad can still do tons, so it's-'

'I'm not going back to Seattle.'

'What?' Jacob was aghast.

'I'm quitting. You guys need me. This is more important.'

'That's- Rach, that's dumb! You've already done a year, you've spent a ton of money, you can't just ditch now.'

Rachel gave him a black look as she turned the tap on full. 'That's the sunk cost fallacy. It's not that big of a loan, I can pay it off. What's dumb is leaving my little brother and my sick dad on their own with no support. That's stupid and immoral. I am not doing that.'

They both felt the sting of her accusation, the barbs of it pricking at the empty space where Becky should've been.

'How are you going to afford to pay it back, though?' Jacob insisted.

'I'll get a damn job, just like everyone else,' Rachel said impatiently.

'Doing what? You were supposed to get a good job once you got your degree, there aren't any good jobs here apart from the rangers,' Jacob said quickly.

'Don't patronise me, brat,' Rachel snapped. 'They're hiring at the supermarket in Forks, and Leah said they need a new janitor at the school now that Joanie's had her baby. I'm not scared of getting my hands dirty, I'll work as hard as I need to to make this work.'

'But- Rach, you don't have to do that,' Jacob tried again. 'We don't have no support-'

'Bullshit!' Rachel snapped. 'We're not charity cases, we don't need help from Sue or- or some fucking coloniser. Our friends don't have enough time or resources to spare. We are a family, and we can take care of ourselves, we just have to stick together.'

Jacob looked shaken at the ferocity of her reaction. 'I- I know, but... Sue's got time, she said so, and Charlie-'

'Stop talking about Charlie!' Rachel spat. 'Charlie is not part of this family! He doesn't belong here and we don't need his help.'

'I know!' Jacob burst out, his voice cracking slightly. He glared at her, eyes glittering with emotion. 'I'm not saying we need it, but- Look. You have to go back to college. We're fine, we don't need you here.'

'Don't start that,' Rachel growled. 'I'm done. Period. This is not a discussion.'

'That's bullshit!' Jacob retorted angrily. 'You're the smartest one in this family, you're supposed to do something awesome with your life, and you're this close, don't let this crap get in the way of that!'

'Shut up, you idiot,' Rachel snapped.

'Becky left because she didn't want to get stuck here!' Jacob shouted. 'So I'm not letting that happen to you instead!'

'Becky can go to hell, the selfish bitch!'

'I'm quitting school!'

'You're what?' Rachel's voice shifted from a screech to a dangerously low snarl.

Jacob straightened up defiantly. He was going to be taller than her in less than a year, she was sure of it; he was already tall enough to look her in the eye. 'I'm quitting. So you're not going to. Go back to Seattle and stop talking shit.'

'Like fuck you are,' Rachel spat. 'You are not dropping out of highschool, you little brat. Dad would fucking kill you if he heard you say that.'

'Dad's agreed.' Jacob laid down his trump card triumphantly.

Rachel's mouth dropped open. 'He has not.'

'He has!'

'Do I have to smack the old man upside the head?!' she burst out, clutching her brow. 'Am I taking fucking crazy pills?! You are not leaving school at fourteen, Jacob Black!'

'I'll be fifteen in three weeks!' Jacob protested. 'I can still study at home, and it means I can get a part time job as well, so-'

'Oh, sure, what fucking job are you going to get around here? If there's no work for me there sure as hell isn't any for you,' Rachel sneered.

'Sam's going to hire me!'

'Sam? Doing what?' Rachel demanded incredulously.

'He's starting a shop! We're going to fix cars, him and me,' Jacob said fiercely, eyes sparkling.

'You- I'm going to fucking kill that guy,' Rachel said through her teeth. 'That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Sam Uley is a useless sack of shit, just like this father. You think he's going to make any money doing that? You think he'll make enough to pay you? That's the biggest lie I've heard since my goddamn sister last opened her mouth.'

Jacob was red-faced with anger. 'He's already started,' he said defiantly. 'I've been helping him on weekends, and I've made fifty bucks so far-'

'Oh, wow, that'll show me, then,' Rachel said sarcastically.

'It's a start!' Jacob shouted.

The front door slammed, and they both jumped guiltily.

'Charlie said he'd help me get a bank account set up after my birthday-' Jacob went on passionately.

'Fuck Charlie!' Rachel screamed, and flung an empty jar off the counter.

Jacob leapt backwards as the glass smashed on the floor, bursting out like a glittering flower across the old grey vinyl. In the tinkling silence, they both stared at the mess for a moment, stunned.

There was a clatter at the kitchen door. Both of them whirled around. Charlie was standing in the doorway, string bags full of groceries in both hands. He met Rachel's fiery gaze with a steady look.

'My ears are burning,' he said mildly. 'What've I done this time?'

'Oh, don't fucking start,' Rachel snarled.

There was a splashing noise as the sink suddenly began to overflow. Swearing, Rachel roughly yanked the faucet closed and pulled the plug out, snatching up the dish towels Jacob had just folded and sopping up the mess.

'That's not the kind of language your father cares for,' Charlie said evenly, stepping inside gingerly. Glass shards crunched under his boots.

'Don't start. Don't you dare.' Rachel turned on him again, teeth bared. 'You are not in charge of this household, you do not get to read me the rules.'

'I don't plan on it, Rachel. Do you want to tell me what's going on here?' Charlie said, putting the grocery bags onto the table.

'Fuck off,' Rachel spat. 'I'm so sick of seeing your fucking face in my house, you slimy asshole. Just leave!'

'Rachel's trying to quit college,' Jacob burst out furiously.

'I'm quitting?! What about you, you little shit?!' Rachel yelled, smacking his shoulder. 'You're trying to drop out of highschool!'

'Ow!'

'Everybody stop.'

Charlie's voice was low and curt, brooking no argument. Rachel turned on him, fists clenched, ready to brook it anyway.

'Jake. You okay there?'

Jacob was rubbing his arm, staring at his sister in shock. She flinched as she realised what she'd done.

'Shit. Jake- I'm sorry. I didn't-'

'It's okay,' he said quickly. 'I'm fine.'

She put out her hand to him hesitantly, touching the place where she'd hit him. 'I shouldn't have done that,' she said, voice low. 'I'm really sorry.'

He shrugged. 'Didn't really hurt,' he said, grinning to show nothing was wrong. It was a little too brittle to be true.

Charlie picked up the broom from the corner. 'Let's take this one at a time,' he said, starting to sweep up the mess of glass methodically. 'What's this about you dropping out of school, Jake?'

'Dad said I could,' Jacob said fiercely.

'That doesn't sound to me like something your dad would say,' Charlie said, lowering an eyebrow.

'What wouldn't I say?'

Billy had wheeled himself into the doorway while everyone was preoccupied. He had two more bags of groceries in his lap. He stared at the mess incredulously.

'What in heaven's name happened in here?' he asked, baffled. 'Was there an earthquake while we were out?'

'Rachel's trying to-' Jacob started.

'What the hell is this about Jake dropping out?' Rachel demanded.

'Dropping out?' Billy gave Jacob a stern look.

'I'm not- not exactly dropping out,' Jacob admitted guiltily. 'Just- I'm not going to school anymore.'

Billy rolled his eyes. 'Jake and I agreed he could start home-schooling. There's a decent curriculum for self-study here in Washington, he'll be able to do his schoolwork online and only have to go in a handful of times a year to sit tests,' he said, wheeling over to the table where Charlie had made a path through the debris. 'Does that clear things up a little?'

Rachel glared at Jacob, who had the grace to look embarrassed.

'That's a little better,' she snapped. 'But why are you even letting him do that? It's got to be better for him to keep going to the tribal school, he's a social kid, he needs to be with other kids his age!'

'Come on, I'm not an actual child anymore,' Jacob objected, red faced.

'His friends are right here, he's not going anywhere,' Billy pointed out, stacking his bags onto the table beside Charlie's. 'Jake's been struggling to focus in class, and we decided to try this out and see if it suited him better. It's not like it's any inconvenience, since I'm at home all the time now anyway. This way we can look out for each other and keep each other company.'

Rachel deflated.

'Rach is talking about quitting college,' Jacob interjected quickly, while he had the chance.

Rachel turned on him ferociously, hackles back to full strength.

'Excuse me?' Billy said sharply. 'You're doing what?'

Rachel froze and glared at her father. 'I'm not leaving you two on your own like this, it's ridiculous!' she said sharply. 'Jake can't be expected to do everything around the house now, and I'm not letting Sue Clearwater or Charlie Swan come in here and take over!'

'Nobody's taking over,' Billy said firmly. 'I'm not completely incapable yet, Rachel. Jacob and I are doing fine, and we have all the help we need. I'm not letting you give everything up for no reason.'

'No reason?!' Rachel burst out. 'You are not no reason! I'm so sick of this, I hate that my family is this- this broken mess now and that fucking Charlie gets to be the one to sort it all out, I'm sick of hearing about everything last because I'm so far away, I'm sick of- of feeling like- pieces of my family keep vanishing-'

She slammed her fist onto the counter, heaving in a ragged breath.

'I'm not going to be the next one to go away and leave you two with nothing! We're family, and just because my fucking sister was too selfish to take care of you, I am not letting this fall apart!'

Her voice finally cracked and she clapped her hands over her face, while her shoulders shook like a tree in a storm.

'Rachel, love...' Billy said quietly. 'I'm so sorry you're hurting. You shouldn't be alone with these feelings. Thank you for sharing them with us.'

The tears were creeping between her fingers and dribbling down her wrists. A muffled 'fuck you' escaped anyway.

'You know, love, this is not a disaster. The world is not ending, and nothing is broken that can't be mended. Not even our hearts, Rachel.'

There was a trembling sob, and she swayed again, battered by a far off wind.

'Come to me, my daughter.'

For a few more moments she stood, and then she stumbled to him and knelt on the floor, her head resting on his knees. Her shoulders shook and her helpless crying filled the kitchen. He stroked a few strands of her hair back from her brow tenderly, lightly ghosting his fingers over the heavy braid at the nape of her neck, touching her salt-wet cheeks, her chin, the curve of her ear.

Charlie carefully tucked the broom away, pouring the dustpan full of shattered glass into the trash bin as quietly as he could.

'I'll go and park the car,' he muttered, and softly left the room.

Jacob hesitantly caught his father's eye. Billy beckoned him with a nod, and he joined them, sitting on the floor beside his sister and resting his head between her shoulderblades, pressing his cheek to the soft, worn flannel of her shirt. His arms crept around her waist, and the three of them sat there with no more words while the storm raged itself out inside Rachel's body.

Outside, a gentler rain began to fall. Charlie sat in the car with the radio playing Christmas songs, looking up at the clouds, and as he sometimes did, wished he hadn't given up smoking years ago.

'Miss you, Sarah,' he said quietly.

Evening fell, and the cold rain trickled down the windshield.

Thanks for reading.