What a delight it is to meet you again, dear reader. The inspiration for this chapter is none other than "Simmer" by the immensely talented and eldritchly powerful Hayley Williams. May her reign be long and fruitful. I love you.

Simmer

Dr. Gerandy was unimpressed by Bella's repeated visits and nearly apoplectic about Bella injuring her hands even worse, but he remained as impartial and effective as ever as she recounted her fake story in the room. Leah had been told to wait outside, and so Bella was alone as the doctor applied butterfly closures to the small cut on her temple. He checked her a concussion and a few other things but found nothing else wrong with her. After about an hour, he let her go. She thanked him and walked out to find Leah sitting just outside, her heel tapping incessantly on the tiled floor.

"All clear," Bella told her. "Let's head back."

"No concussion?" Leah asked she stood. At Bella's denial, she nodded. "Thank god."

"Not a good look, giving the police chief's daughter a roughing up."

"No, not that. I meant it's good that I didn't hurt you too bad."

"I wouldn't say that," Bella argued as they left the hospital.

They rode in silence for a while. Bella had lost any and all interest in speaking to Leah Clearwater. That odd tingling, that nagging sensation from before, had disappeared completely, leaving Bella with nothing but the remnants of that hole she'd been working on plugging up. She wouldn't slip back into that hollow existence that she'd been in before, waking up and going through the motions, unfeeling and blank, not responding to the world happening around her. She refused to allow anyone or anything have that sort of power over her anymore.

But really, she was stupid to think that she and Leah could have been friends, that they might have been able to help one another from the ridiculous trauma of a rotten breakup. They didn't know one another, probably had nothing in common apart from having shitty ex-boyfriends. She felt so idiotic, so embarrassed, that she didn't realize she was crying until Leah's hand found her arm. It was so unexpected, so unwelcome, and she flinched harshly.

"Don't touch me," she shot out.

"I'm sorry," Leah said quietly.

"I wanted us to be friends," Bella laughed acidly, her tear ducts now working overtime. "Can you believe that? When Seth told me about you this morning, I was so excited. Another girl my age, dealing with the same thing as me. It was perfect. When I was in the hospital yesterday, Charlie said something about Jake, and I felt like I had to come to La Push today. It felt right, in my bones. And then when Harry told me about you running off, I felt it again. I needed to go find you."

Leah was silent, staring ahead as she drove. Bella tried to stop the tears and sobs in her chest, but they were being unruly, her heart refusing to listen to her head. They ripped themselves out of mouth; great, ugly, loud sobs that were both cathartic and traitorous. Leah had seen her hurt enough – had hurt her enough – and she didn't deserve to see Bella's tears, to see her vulnerable.

"It was stupid, I know," she hiccupped. "I figured it out the moment you said something about me lying out there in the woods, I felt it. I just really wanted to not feel so alone in this. I really needed a friend."

"I didn't know," Leah said.

"How could you have?" Bella asked sharply. "You barely let me speak before you hit me."

A few minutes later, they pulled into Billy's driveway. Bella felt so tired, so exhausted. She didn't want to deal with Jake fussing over her or being mad at Leah, or Seth apologizing for his sister for hours. And she didn't want to deal with Leah at all, in any capacity. Being in the same room, in any sort of close proximity to the girl, made her skin crawl. It was like her fight or flight response was in overdrive.

They sat there in silence after Leah turned the truck off. Bella was waiting for Leah to respond to her earlier statements, to see if she had anything to say at all. But it didn't seem that way, and after a few minutes she sighed and opened the door.

"Bella."

She stopped.

"I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong at all. And I wasn't even mad at you, not really. I just feel so angry all the time now, not even about Sam. Just mad. Furious. And I start shaking and I don't know how to deal with it. That's why I stay away from everybody, because I don't want to hurt anyone. But that's no excuse. You didn't deserve that, and I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I really could use a friend, too, and I'm sorry I fucked that up."

"I know," Bella replied, turning to face Leah. "Don't sweat it, Leah. You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine."

She watched Leah hang her head and nod slowly before getting out of the truck and walking toward the house, watching Leah head toward the garage. She could hear Jake and Seth piddling around in the faded red barn and decided that was not where she wanted to be.

"I'm gonna take a nap," Bella told Leah. "Tell Charlie to wake me up when he gets here."

"Sure," the older girl nodded as she walked away. Bella watched her, hating that things had worked out in such a shitty way for the both of them. It felt like heartbreak.

It was dark by the time Charlie shook her awake. She yawned thickly and stretched out on the Blacks' old, beaten-in La-Z-Boy, smiling up at her father.

"Hey, dad," she said softly. "Catch a big one this time?"

"Oh yeah, kiddo," Charlie chuckled, holding his hands out far past his shoulders. "Caught one this big. It was a monster, though. Couldn't fit it in the car, so we had to throw it back."

"Damn," she muttered good-naturedly. "There's always one that gets away."

"I'll get him next time, Bells," he promised. "Sue and Emily just showed up, we're headed over to the beach. You good to go?"

"Yep," she replied, hopping surely to her feet. "Doc told me to tell you that I am totally fine and otherwise unharmed, apart from this," she finished, gently tapping her temple.

"Dunno how you survived this long, Bella," he laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. He led her out of the house, keeping a close grip on her as they walked. The night air was far chillier, and she was exceedingly grateful for her thick winter coat. The stars were out in fine form, gleaming proudly against the backdrop of the night sky. The further they walked, the more Bella wondered where Leah had gone. She chided herself harshly, throwing all thoughts of Leah Clearwater from her mind.

The massive piles of driftwood she'd seen earlier on the beach had been pulled into a massive bonfire, surrounded in a massive circle by the most even pieces. Great dead logs served as benches, most already filled by people as they spoke and laughed. Charlie led her over toward the outskirts where Sue Clearwater and an unfamiliar woman that Bella assumed was Emily had set up tables for food.

"Don't stare at Emily," Charlie muttered to her as they walked. "Poor girl got mauled by a bear around the time you moved up here. She's self-conscious about it."

Bella didn't have much time to react to that before the woman in question turned to them, her smile wide. Bella tried hard not to stare, but was indeed horrified by the long, garish scars that marred the girl's face. Long claw marks drew half of her face into a permanent scowl, but Bella felt that it only made her more beautiful. She looked strong like that, like a survivor. But she did find that knowing this girl was the reason that Leah was so bitter and angry all the time didn't color her opinion of Emily very well.

"Howdy, chief!" she called out. "And this must be Bella."

"Hi, Emily," Bella said quietly as they ganged up around the tables. Sue heard the greeting and ignored Charlie completely, her eyes on Bella. She moved around the table, whispered into Emily's ear, and came around to where Charlie and Bella stood.

"Hey, Charlie. You mind if I borrow Bella for a minute?" she asked.

"Uh, sure?"

Sue smiled and motioned for Bella to follow her over toward the fire. She watched the roaring flames shift in color from vibrant reds and oranges to sudden sparks of blue and green. She remembered Mike telling her about driftwood fires, how the salt caused chemical reactions in the wood.

"Seth and Jake told me what happened earlier today," Sue said quietly. "I am so sorry about my daughter, Bella. Harry and I are so worried about her, but we don't know what to do anymore."

"It's okay, Sue. I wasn't hurt that bad. I just want to forget about it," she promised. "Is she – uh, is Leah here? At the bonfire?"

"She's down at the beach," Sue told her.

"Sue," Bella said suddenly. "I – I promise I'm not being disrespectful, but I think forcing Leah to see Emily is a bad idea. It's bad for her, to have to be reminded of Sam and Emily. She's really hurting, and it's making her lash out. I mean, I don't really know anything, but I'd hate it if I was told to spend time with the person my ex cheated on me with. Even worse when they're family."

"Maybe you're right," Sue murmured, staring into the fire. "Did anyone ever tell you about the Quileute legends, Bella?"

"Jake did," Bella said, confused. "When I first moved back, a few people from school invited me here. Jake and Sam showed up after a while, and we talked about some of them."

"Which ones?"

"Um," she closed her eyes, trying to be nonchalant. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, terrified of her knowledge of the Cullens being discovered. "The Quileutes being descended from wolves, I think? Something about Cool – no, Cold Ones? I think that was it. We had to leave when it started to rain."

Sue hummed, chewing on her lip. She opened her mouth to speak, but a low, strong voice interrupted her.

"Sue, Emily's asking for you."

Bella turned to see a Quileute man, vaguely familiar, nod in Sue's direction as she walked off. She watched him approach, watched his body language. He looked tense, frustrated. But when he saw Bella, he smiled softly and nodded.

"Good to see you again, Bella. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you."

Sam Uley, she realized. She hadn't been of sound mind in the forest, not enough to notice how absolutely built like a brick shithouse the guy was. He easily towered over every person on the beach, well over six feet tall. And he was shirtless, even in the icy January air.

"Hey, Sam," she said eventually. "Thanks, for… you know."

"Anytime, Bella," he said kindly. "You and Charlie are always welcome here. You're family."

"Making nice with the pale-faces?" a boy piped up from behind Sam. He was nearly as tall as Sam, and smiling, too, but his smile was harsh, almost cruel. Bella was reminded oddly of Lauren Mallory. Spiteful, angry, mean-spirited.

"Can it, Paul," Sam said firmly. "Go bother someone else."

"Yes, sir," Pail grinned, throwing up a mock salute. He trudged away quickly, and Bella noted that he was shirtless as well. She felt a niggling sensation in the back of her mind, like she was missing something that was staring her in the face.

"Paul's an ass," Sam told her. "But a decent enough guy most of the time."

"I know the type," she joked. "Is there something in the water here on the rez? I only ask because people don't typically grow into giants. Jake's growing like a weed, too."

"Good food and clean air," he laughed, but it rang false in her ears. Definitely fishy.

"Well," she tried. "I'd better get back to Charlie. It was good seeing you, Sam."

"See you around, Bella. Be careful around the woods."

A/N: QUILEUTE PACK enters stage left. SAM is a puppy dog, PAUL is an ass in every universe, and BELLA is eternally confused. I feel so bad for this girl, honestly. She gets consistently wrapped up into potentially lethal plots by means of falling in love with unsavory creatures. Please, R&R!