Disclaimer: I do not, nor will ever, own the Twilight Saga, or any of its characters and plots.
TW: This story will contain references to child abuse (physical, mental, sexual), self-harm, and suicide attempts (both past and present).
Izzy
"Ahh!"
She woke with a scream, scrambling to escape the burial shroud. Instead, she landed on her arse in the middle of the Cullens' living room, with five genuinely concerned vampires looked at her.
She couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe? Oh, dear god, she was going to die. Just another statistic – killed by her inability to bloody breathe.
She barely recognized Jasper rising from his chair, abandoning whatever card game they were playing to come to her. It was almost sweet, except he wasn't exactly what she needed at the moment.
"Ash, you bloody dipshit, why would you do that?" She shouted, promptly ignoring Jasper's hand.
She ripped the blanket off of her, untangling her body and rising slightly unsteadily. There was no answer to her verbal question, not even a hint of a whisper from the back of her mind. Actually, there was nobody there.
She was alone. Oh god, had they left her here in this miserable existence? What a bunch of arseholes.
"Eden? Dolan? Onyx?" She whispered, staring blankly at the deck of cards on the table.
Nothing. Not even Isla's small flicker of dreams, nor Sylas' slightly annoying chatter.
"Izzy – "
"NO!" She screamed, raising her hands to her hair.
She saw Esme's face fall, but she didn't care.
Her family was gone, her true family. Where had they gone? Would they return? She knew how to make them come back, and even if they didn't return, at least she would join them.
Alice gasped, and Edward jerked to his feet, his face hard.
"You are not attempting suicide." He said, his eyes darkening with anger.
Izzy felt a bit betrayed. He had never announced her thoughts out loud before.
"You never considered killing yourself before." He replied.
Of course, she hadn't. She was supposed to keep them alive, just like Ash… except Ash hadn't mind skipping out on his duty.
"Your mind has been through very traumatic events in the past forty-eight hours. They may just be recovering, like you were when you wouldn't wake up." He said, his voice gentler.
It made sense. Had she really been asleep for two days straight? Wait… what had happened? The last thing she remembered was getting dressed before school.
"There was an incident with two nomad vampires." Carlisle said, correctly interpreting her expression.
"Oh." She said, looking at Jasper.
He held out his arms to her and, relieved, she entered the circle of his arms, relaxing as his gift flowed through her. He always made her feel better, and not just with his gift. Just being near him made her calmer; it was the same with Edward. The very thought of choosing between them made her feel nauseous.
"I want to go home." She muttered, looking at Edward.
It was Carlisle who replied.
"We don't think that is a safe option right now. The two nomads weren't travelling alone, and when they don't return, their… friends may seek revenge. We attempted to cloud your scent from the scene as much as possible, but they might find something that will lead them to you." He said.
"So, you're keeping me captive." Izzy said coldly, pulling away from Jasper.
Carlisle looked surprised.
"Absolutely not. This is for your own safety." He insisted.
"If you honestly cared about my safety, you would've ignored me altogether." She snapped, clenching her hands into fists at her sides.
"You were a threat to us." Rosalie said, walking into the room with Emmett behind her. "Surely even your pathetic mind can see that."
"Rose – "
"Do you think I asked for any of this? Why the hell are hundred-year-old vampires attending bloody high school? Are you asking for something like this to happen?" Izzy shouted, and Rosalie scoffed, her eyes narrowing.
"We should've killed you when – "
"We wish you had! It's not like we have anything to live for!"
Izzy's words were harsh, the tears trickling down her face having more to do with anger than any real sorrow. And yet, she could feel it – the overwhelming need to be gone.
Esme choked out her name as she ran from the house, ignoring the rain that splashed against her face and the mud that stuck to her bare feet. Like always, Jasper and Edward followed her.
"I want to go home, Red." She whispered, closing her eyes.
She didn't care if they stayed with her. She wouldn't want to be alone right now anyways, who knew what she'd do if she was.
"We'll take you." Jasper said.
Relieved, she followed them into the Jeep.
Onyx
He woke from what felt like a decade long nap.
Jasper's and Edward's scents permeated the air, and when he opened his eyes, he discovered why. Both of them were touching him in some way – Jasper with his arm underneath Onyx's head like a pillow, and Edward with his arm draped over his waist.
The coldness of their bodies were comforting. He really didn't want to move, but then he heard the phone ringing downstairs.
Jasper chuckled when he hesitated, brushing the back of his knuckles over his cheekbones. An image flashed through Onyx's mind, one caused by his own overactive imagination, and the resulting spike of lust caused Jasper to growl lowly, and Edward's arm to tighten around him.
He smirked, shifting forward, and pressing his lips against Jasper's, while simultaneously pressing his ass against the hardness he could feel forming in Edward's pants.
Edward inhaled sharply, his hips moving against Onyx's a few times before he managed to regain control over himself. Jasper was having a harder time, his tongue ravaging Onyx's mouth, and his hands slipping lower down his body.
The moment he touched Onyx's waistband, however, a flood of disgust and self-hatred slammed into Onyx so hard, he felt almost dizzy. Jasper immediately pulled away, his eyes widening at the intensity of Onyx's emotions… except they weren't Onyx's emotions.
"Eden's back." He managed to say before the intense nausea made him jerk out of bed, running to the bathroom.
He'd barely collapsed next to the toilet before everything he had eaten last night came back up in disgusting chunks. When all that remained was stomach acid, he finally managed to get control of himself.
Eden fled back to the shadows, comforted by Izzy.
Onyx sighed, and hopped in the shower, washing away the last of his arousal and disgust. Their vanilla soap swirled through his senses, calming him down. He was relaxed by the time he got out and ran across the hall to get dressed.
Thankfully, both Edward and Jasper had left his room, allowing him to throw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and some underclothes before he joined them downstairs.
The phone was once again ringing when he walked into the kitchen and, annoyed at everything that breathed, he stormed across the room and snapped, "What?"
"Don't you fucking use that tone with me, you ungrateful little bitch." Came his mother's voice across the line, and his fingers clenched around the receiver. "Why is it that you haven't been at school the past few days?"
"Because I dropped out and joined the fucking circus, you ignorant piece of shit." Onyx sneered, hating every ounce of her being.
"You little bitch – don't you dare play these games with me." She screamed.
He had had enough. Just as Edward walked into the kitchen, Jasper behind him, Onyx threw the phone hard against the tiled floor, causing the receiver to crack in half, and the top portion to fly off against the wall, leaving a small crack in the plaster.
"Hey, hey…" Edward attempted to soothe, rushing forward with his hands raised.
Onyx's mind swirled with anger, and fear, and the overwhelming desire – he barely considered the extent of his actions when, the moment Edward reached him, he grabbed the front of Edward's shirt and pulled his mouth down to his.
Screw tradition: if they wanted both of them, they would have them. They deserved something good in their miserable lives.
A part of Onyx's mind expected Jasper to be angry with them when he finally pulled back, but Jasper just smirked.
"It's about time." He said, coming to stand beside them and, to his utter surprise, he leaned over and kissed Edward.
"Oh, that's fucking hot." Onyx murmured, hearing Eden's vague agreement.
They laughed, pulling apart.
"Now, come on, we need to get you another phone." Edward said, lacing his fingers through Onyx's.
Eden
She stared at the rows and rows of telephones, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming between her temples as the salesperson droned on and on. Jasper's hand was in hers, and Edward had his hand on the small of her back. She probably would have snapped at the salesperson if it wasn't for them.
She felt a bit groggy, though, like she'd been asleep for a long time. She faintly remembered that morning, and the horror she felt the moment Jasper's hand had slipped too low, but how they ended up in a phone store, she really had no idea.
Did she break hers?
"So, this one has quite a longer reach, which is great when you're on the phone with a friend, and this one is very sturdy, which would probably be the better option if you drop it again." The salesperson said, his smile far too cheerful to be working with telephones.
She wouldn't be surprised if he was a showman or something on the side.
"What about one that keeps you from strangling your abusive parents?" She asked, and the salesperson balked, his eyes widening in horror.
"Eden…" Edward murmured, more to Jasper than to her.
She'd discovered it was their way of recognizing who she was.
"I – uh – "
"I'm only joking, Will."
She glanced at his nametag. His last name seemed familiar.
"Don't you have a sister that goes to Oaks?"
His eyes seemed to widen further if that was possible.
"Oh, I thought you looked familiar. Ilyssa, isn't it? My sister, Amanda, is in your year, and I graduated last year." He said.
She tilted her head, peering up into his eyes innocently.
"Yeah, she's such a sweetheart, isn't she? It's horrible what the other girls have spread rumors about."
The salesperson blinked, a stony expression on his face.
"What have they been saying about her?" He asked, the light glinting off his eyebrow ring when he moved his head.
Eden sighed.
"Oh, just that her father is in prison, and her mother is on some hardcore drugs." She said quietly, glancing around the nearly empty store.
He paled dramatically, his hand automatically reaching out to hers. She flinched back, and he dropped his hand, seemingly startled.
"Uh – um." He stammered.
"Thanks for your help, William, but we have to leave." Jasper said frostily, tugging Eden out the door.
Edward followed, a small frown on his face.
"Stop being a pussy." She muttered to herself.
They were in a mall, she realized with a small jolt of surprise. What mall was this? She couldn't remember ever going to the mall.
"What's wrong?" Edward asked, and Eden scoffed.
"As if you don't know, Red. Usually Ash does it, or Onyx when it's an emergency, but Ash is absent, and Onyx is being a prick."
She glanced down at her hand in Jasper's, and then pulled away.
"You know what? Stay here or something. I can do this alone."
She would prefer to be alone, of course, but there wasn't much choice here in the middle of a crowded mall.
"We're not leaving you. In case you've forgotten, there may be vampires out for vengeance."
"What?!" Eden blurted out, spinning towards Jasper, and drawing the attention of those around them.
Of course, they had vampires out to get them. Why wouldn't they? Everything else seemed to be crashing down around them.
"Hey, Ilyssa, I thought you were saving your freakishness for school hours!" A guy she vaguely recalled seeing around school cried out, and his friends began to laugh.
Eden smiled, and slipped away from Edward and Jasper, approaching the group fearlessly.
The friends began to taunt her as she came closer, "Awe, you want a piece of him?"
She stopped right in front of the smug guy, looking up into his face. Then, with all of her strength, she lifted her knee and hit him directly between his legs. He screamed out in pain, his face reddening as he fell to the ground, his hand brushing hers.
Memories flooded her mind, overlapped by another set of memories as one of his friends grabbed her arm, yanking her away.
"You little bitch!" He snarled, smacking her clear across her face.
She didn't feel the pain, only the anger that welled up inside of her, clouding her judgement as she lunged at him, punching him square in the nose and then turning and knocking another guy to the ground that dared to grab her. He joined the first guy in clutching at his groin and moaning in pain.
"Hey, break it up!" A security guard shouted, shoving through the group of boys.
"Let the girl go." He snapped at the guy that was holding her arm, and the guy protested, tightening his grip until the guard pulled out his taser.
"Get out of here." He told her when the guy released her, and Eden nodded, hurrying back to Jasper and Edward before he could change his mind.
Edward sighed when she returned to their side.
"Are you okay?" He asked her as Jasper lifted his hand to her burning cheek.
Eden leaned into his touch, the coldness of his hand soothing the burn.
"I'm fine." She answered Edward, her eyes flickering towards the group of boys now being accosted by three security guards.
The one who had hit her glared back at her. Edward took her hand, and the boy glanced at him, and then at Jasper. A foreboding chill ran down her spine.
"C'mon, Eden…" Jasper murmured.
She silently followed them from the mall, comforted by Edward's hand in hers. It was probably the only reason she wasn't breaking.
Jasper hopped in the driver's seat, leaving Edward in the passenger, and her in the seat between them. Why they were driving one of her father's cars, she didn't quite know. What she did know, was that she was glad they were on either side of her.
She felt protected, surrounded by the two men she knew she could trust completely. She remained silent on the drive home, staring blankly at Edward's hand in hers as she leaned against Jasper's shoulder. Her mind waged a war that she knew she would lose.
For the first time, she felt utterly alone in her head. Not even Izzy was present. She missed the chatter that she had learned to block out.
"We're here." Edward said softly, and Eden looked up.
They were at their house – the Cullens' home. That was fine, except she really didn't want to deal with the rest of their family.
"They went hunting." He answered her thoughts.
That was a relief. How was she to explain away the mark on her face without drawing attention to her inability to be "normal"? If she was anyone else, they would've been unaffected by their peers' constant downgrading of her character.
Why did the smallest things always set her off?
"That's enough of that." Jasper whispered, turning her face towards him.
As he pressed his lips to her forehead, she couldn't help but smile. The action made her feel so… young – like he was her caretaker, her protector, and she was just his.
Her eyelids fluttered closed.
