Everyone else left slowly, in waves. I stayed in the kitchen, sitting in the dark so I could watch the woods for any sign of… Hell if I knew. I wasn't really thinking anything: just watching the woods and listening as the talk in the other room got quieter… then quieter… still quieter… quiet… silent… only the night around us, only the wind whispering at the windows, only the patter of rain lulling me to calm down. Calming me as my chin began to drop, my eyelids grew heavy. Everything was so still. So peaceful. Calm.

RING.

"SH**!" I yelled. I heard my dad shushing me from the other room as he ran to catch the phone. As he reassured the voice on the other line I rolled my eyes, looking over at the clock. 5am. Who the hell calls at 5am? And why am I so vulgar this morning? Oh, right, it's 5 am and I haven't slept. Sh**.

"Genny?" I turned to find my dad, his face ancient and exhausted and smiling falsely. "You should be in bed."

"Yeah, well." I shrugged and stood up, walking over to snatch a mug from the dish drainer. "That would involve stairs. One of many enemies I don't feel like facing right now." I grimaced as I thought of the others.

He laughed. "I'll call the school in a couple hours. You ok with a day off?"

"This is Gen, dad. Not Isabella." I yawned hugely as I dumped a load of apple cider into my cup and attempted to drink the powder. I sputtered and hurried over to spit it out in the sink.

"Go to bed, Genny." My dad said. "We'll be here when you wake up."

I glanced over, giving him a tired smile. He thinks I'm concerned? But there must have been some fear or guilt or worry in my smile because my dad came over and engulfed me in the first hug he'd given me since I was nine.

When he pulled away, our eyes were both bright.

Then he practically pushed me to the stairs and I was forced to go back to my room.

I didn't plan to go to sleep so instead I checked my phone and found seven missed texts from Jacob and Paul. Luckily, the very thought of interacting with both of those two exhausted me.

I was out before I hit the pillow.

That next month?

It was amazing.

It was like I didn't have a sister. Like she'd died, but without the grief. My sister was still the boring idiot she'd always been, but now she didn't bother me with it. She never said much at all anymore, actually.

In my head it was karma, justice, good old payback. She'd put that dick before her family? Before her twin sister? 'Fine.' I imagine the universe saying. 'You only want him? I'll take him. How you like them apples, Bella Swan?'

I did not yet feel guilty about my role in all of this. As far as I was concerned, Isabella would be much healthier without a Cullen spoiling her for all other human company. And if a flicker of compassion or conscience hit me? I just had to look at my wrist and study the scars James had left to remember him by. All in all Bella's refusal to help me in one my moment of need had left me rather coldhearted when it came to her. The lack of apology, the lack of change over the past months had only fueled my resentment until hearing her shriek in the middle of the night from nightmares or heartbreak was almost boring to me.

Can you blame me?

Bella's friends did.

In fact, I think they stuck with her for a lot longer than they would have had I been supportive. I like to think it was still shorter than if I'd threatened them to help her out. But as it was, I got to enjoy their glares for the first month too. It was fascinating: the crowd of boys who 'loved' her started to realized they had no clue who she was. People stopped talking about her.

Then we started to realize…

Bella wasn't going to wake up.

"Morning, Gen."

I blinked in surprise as I walked into the kitchen to find my father. Lately he'd been out the door before I hit the first snooze on my alarm. Bella, of course, had driven off fifteen minutes ago in her monster of a truck. And now I found myself alone with my dad.

"Morning." I said uncertainly. I began to walk around the tiny kitchen, trying to find materials for a short breakfast. A dry bowl of fruit loops and a glass of oj later, I sat across from my dad at the kitchen table.

"I want to talk to you."

"Mmmmmmm…." I said. Hurry, hurry, hurry! But you can only eat dry cereal so fast before your mouth just says 'no'.

"You been talking to your sister?" Dad asked.

I shook my head slowly and surreptitiously shoveled another huge spoonful of fruit flavored sugar wheat into my mouth.

My dad frowned deeply. "Has she been talking to anybody?" He asked then.

I looked at him for a minute, wondering if I was now being employed as a spy. If so, what were the chances I could convince my dad to agree to a secret code and messages left in a pre-agreed to spot in the backyard? Would we be team Swan? Why did I have such a stupidly girly last name? Then I shook my head, pushed a perfectly styled curl out of my face, and absentmindedly poured half the glass of orange juice into my fruit loops.

"Has she—"

"Sh**!" I'd taken a bite of the orange juice fruit loops. He frowned at me and I winced. "Sorry. Um."

"Has she gotten any better?" Apparently my sister's zombieness is more important than my bad mouth. Thank goodness.

"No. But give it time dad. At least a week for everyone month they dated." I took another bite of fruit loops and winced at the tongue deadening sweetness. After that they weren't half bad.

"So that's since the day of your accident?" Dad asked.

I froze for a second and then replied as casually as I could, refusing to look at my scars.

"No. Since before homecoming I think."

My dad sighed the deep and heartbroken sigh of a man who has only daughters. Which reminded me.

"You tell mom?"

He shook his head and looked out the window. "Would it help?"

"No."

He laughed. "Ok, Gen."

I chugged the rest of the orange juice and ran out of there as fast as I could. I saw my dad follow me out of the house as I turned the key to the ignition of my little white car. His face was lost in thought, his brow furrowed with concern for his younger daughter. I bit my lip, finding new thoughts creeping in to my head as I drove away.

How long was this going to last? A month without Isabella was wonderful. Two months? A gift. But if it didn't end…

What kind of idiot reacts to a boy dumping them like they were-oh, I don't know—tortured and almost killed by a pair of vampires? You'd think she'd been through some horrifying trauma… and she has! But she walks through that with a shrug and is then flattened by her first boyfriend moving out of state? Gee, I wonder which of the Swan twins inherited their mother's flair for the dramatic?

To be honest?

Both of them.

I'm… I'm not proud of how the next months went.

Oh, who am I kidding.

It was amazing.

...

Author's Note:

Really short chapter so I'm publishing early. More Longer chapter to come tomorrow. I'll respond to your wonderful reviews then. Thanks again for reading!