A/N: Anyways, Edward's yeeted himself to Alaska. Enjoy!
It's two AM and I can't sleep. Frustrated, I pull myself out of bed and pad down to the living room. Unsurprisingly, everyone is down here. Mom lingers around the piano, tracing a slow finger over the keys.
Jasper and Emmett as having some sort of hushed discussion by the windows and they shut up the second they see me. Jas tries for a smile, but it's brittle. Emmett sighs, running a hand over his hair. Alice sits in the center of the room, eyes shut. She doesn't acknowledge me. Rosalie crosses the room in a heartbeat, wrapping her arms around me.
"What's wrong, sweetheart, couldn't sleep?" she asks quietly. "He'll be okay."
"Will he come back?" I ask. Edward might not be my all-time favorite, but he's my brother. I've never lived apart from any of them.
"Of course, darling," Dad loops his arm around both of us, smoothing my hair down. "You should get to sleep. You've got school tomorrow."
"Can I just be down here?" I feel incredibly childish, but I can't help it. Someone blurs out for a blanket, so I camp out on the sofa, my head pillowed on Rosalie's marble thighs. It's not the most comfortable spot, but I fall asleep fast.
The next day, all five of us pile into one car, leaving with plenty of time. Jasper drives fast but reasonably. Alice and Rosalie hold my hands in the backseat, but that might be more for them than for me.
"We need a cover story," I say as we're pulling in. "People are going to ask about Edward."
"Visiting family? Sick?" Jasper offers.
"Explosive diarrhea?" Emmett counters. That one pulls at least a chuckle out of everyone.
"The question is what we're going to do when he comes back," Rosalie mutters, looking down at her hands. "Come on, we've got a show to put on."
Classes go by pretty normally. I sit with Beau during history, which is strange. He's the reason my brother's gone, even if he doesn't know it, but I can't fault him for that. We're both quiet today. There are bags under his eyes, but I'm sure I match.
At lunch, we sit with our usual crowd, but neither of us are focused. I can't help zoning out, my thoughts on Edward. He must've gone up to Denali. They don't particularly approve of me, but they've always liked Edward.
At the end of the day, we head back home, desperate for any news on Edward. Mom's expression tells us everything we need to know.
"He says he's alright," she tells us. Translation: he doesn't intend on coming back, not until Beau Swan is truly gone. It's a pretty quiet night after that.
Slowly, as the week goes on, life returns back to normal. I tell all my friends that Edward's got the flu. Beau is the only one that doesn't ask. Rosalie starts to talk about contingency plans, but I try not to listen to that. I understand that she means only to protect us, but I can't shake the dread I feel in the pit of my stomach.
Saturday night, Edward finally comes back.
"Hey!" I scramble up from my spot at the kitchen table. Before I can even head his way, he meets me, wrapping me up in a brief hug. "If I could punch you in the face, I would. What the hell took so long?"
"Missed you too," he says in a deadpan, the slightest smile on his face.
"We're so thankful that he's back," Mom says, pressing a kiss to Edward's cheek. He really does smile then, and I can't help but join in.
"What's the plan?" Rosalie asks, ever the realist.
"I need to face this head on," Edward says, his smile slipping into a grimace. "I'll hunt as much as I can before school on Monday, then I'll smooth things out with Beau, see what he knows."
"If it helps, he hasn't said anything about you all week," I offer.
"You're friends?" Edward looks at me with a frown. "When did that happen?"
"It's no big deal," I tell him, a sour spot on my good mood.
"It might not be a good idea. I can't see Beau and Edward if you're in the way," Alice says with a frown. "I'm sorry."
"So, you guys get to tell me who I can and can't be friends with now?" I can't help the acid that climbs into my voice, though I understand. Beau's safety is more important than my feelings right now.
"Just let me talk to him first," Edward says. "We can decide after." There's a quiet that settles over the family, until Rosalie speaks up.
"I don't think this is a good idea," she says. It's the fifth or sixth time she's brought up moving, but no one wants to think about it.
"That's complicated," Edward says, replying to something she thought. "Please."
"Will it be hard for you even if you feed tomorrow? Like what if you feed a lot?" I ask. Dad tips his head to the side.
"I've never really found a hard limit to feeding," he says. Edward shakes his head, part of some silent conversation.
"Well, I don't want to move." I sound like a petulant child, I know, but I can't help it.
"Let's just see," Edward says soothingly. "I don't want to run away." There's a firmness in his tone that we've never really heard before, so we relax. Surely, Edward, who'd been clean for eighty years now, could handle this. Beau couldn't be that much of a temptation.
"Let's go huntin'," Jasper drawls. Everyone relaxes, clearly by Jasper's hand. I roll my eyes and he tips an imaginary hat towards me. Edwards nods, moving towards the door.
"I could eat," Emmett volunteers. "I'll come too." With that, the boys are out the door, blurring away, dark streaks against the greenery.
"It's going to snow," Alice says softly. Rosalie purses her lips, arms crossed. I feel bad, though I know it's not my fault. She's only thinking about the family. Everyone forgets that in the face of her harsh attitude. I know she doesn't mean to that way, driven by her own anxiety and need to protect.
"I believe that Edward will be able to handle this," Mom says, though I can't be sure who she's talking to. Maybe herself.
"Of course," Carlisle says. "I have faith in him."
The next day starts as normally as possible. I wake to a snowball fight, Jas and Em hurling slush at Edward, trying to work him up into a reaction. After the sixth time he's patiently shaken away the snow, they'd turned on each other, bored.
As we drive, I can't help remembering a winter from when I was small, a particularly bad snowstorm. They'd cancelled school, so my siblings had taken me out to celebrate my first snow day. I remembered the way Jas had crouched next to me, helping me shape the powder into tight balls. Alice and Rosalie had pretended not to notice me, jumping in mock-surprise when I'd nailed them.
The tense silence in the car makes me long for the simple memory, for easier times, for a world without Beau Swan. I feel bad the instant I think it; none of this is his fault. Besides, we're sort of friends.
The day passes without incident, and when we get to lunch, I act as normal as possible. Sitting next to Jessica in my usual spot, I watch my sibling trail into the cafeteria in a pack. It looks horrifically conspicuous.
"So, your brother's feeling better?" Angela asks, genuinely concerned.
"Sure," I say, leaning back in my chair. "He was a real asshole about it though. Talk about man-flu." This pulls a laugh from Emmett, though they're playing with ice, so who knows. Beau chuckles wryly.
"I'm sure your bedside manner is impeccable," he says quietly. I smirk at him.
"If you ever get sick, you know who to call," I tease. My anxiety eases and I relax, settling in to laugh with my friends like normal, including Beau.
Beau pulls a textbook out, flicking through the pages, but his mind seems far away.
"No lunch?" I ask gently. He startles at the question but shakes his head.
"Actually, I feel a little sick," he says, gesturing to the soda untouched before him. "This'll settle my stomach."
I nod, turning to Lauren, though I keep an eye on Beau. He's watching my siblings laugh, acting perfectly human. I hope it looks normal enough to him.
Lauren flips her hair, telling us all about the date she went on with her new college boyfriend. Personally, I think he's got to be a tool from the stories I hear, but Lauren seems to like him enough. I've learned not to piss her off.
"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica says to Beau, surprised. I whip around and shoot him a glare. Act normal, I think. If there was ever a time that I wished he could read my mind…
"Does he look mad?" Beau asks nervously. He avoids my gaze expertly and I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
"No," Jessica says slowly, confused. "Should he be?"
"I don't think he likes my very much," Beau explains.
"Whatever, forget my brother," I say quickly, desperate to salvage the situation. "He's just an asshole. He doesn't like anybody."
I can feel my power starting to rise, tendrils swirling up in response to my anxiety, but I squash them back, focused on normality.
Please, I pray, please let things be okay.
A/N: Let me know what you thought!