-MAISIE-


I could hear Bella moaning through the roaring in my ears. I felt like my head was still underwater, the way sound came muffled and distorted to me. Too bad I wasn't cold anymore, as I was when Irina dragged me through the water. I was hot, down to my bones. It felt like there was fire raging beneath my skin, sapping my energy so that I stayed slouched against the boulder Irina had thrown me into, knees pulled up to my chest and face buried in my arms.

If I was dying—or turning—I would do it in what minimal privacy I was afforded here.

That was my plan, anyway, but cool hands pulled my arms away and exposed my mediocre hiding attempt. I was too weak to fight against it, and then those cool hands were cupping my cheeks, forcing my face upward.

"Throw it up." Gunner's red hair came into watery focus first, bright even in the moonlight. At least compared to his pale, scared face.

"What?" I asked, voice cracking and failing, throat burning from the seawater and venom I had swallowed that night. Slowly, the details of my brother's face became clear, and I could make out the frenzy and fear making his hazel eyes bright in his pallid face.

"Throw it up," he repeated. Was he yelling? Or was that just an effect of the roaring? "Like the night you fought Maria. Throw it up or I'll make you do it myself."

My mouth was already hanging open as I stared blankly at Gunner. He took my hand and forced it toward my mouth, and finally I understood.

He thought if I made myself throw up the venom, I might save myself.

"That's gross." I wasn't entirely certain, but I thought he rolled his eyes at me.

I wasn't so sure, but in that moment, I knew I had to. If not for my benefit, then for his. To ease the terror drawn so plainly on his face.

Even though it felt like I was moving through concrete, I did what Gunner wanted. The venom was just as acidic and vile coming up as it had been when I swallowed it. My already raw throat was lit afire anew and tears—somehow hotter than my skin—rolled down my cheeks. I nearly choked on it before it was all through; but bless my brother. He rubbed my back through the whole gross ordeal.

"There," I rasped, voice almost failing me entirely now. "Happy?"

I felt like I couldn't get enough air in my lungs, but I had no idea if that was from the venom or the retching. A fever lingered, but the fire that had been raging in my bones and muscles ebbed. I was left with a deep weariness that threatened to pull me under. Maybe Gunner had a point about ridding my stomach of the venom after all.

"Yes," he sighed. I wasn't sure what everyone else who had been there during the fight—Bella, Seth, Leah, Sam, and Jacob—were doing. To be honest, I didn't even know when Gunner had gotten back. My world had condensed to the pain and the distorted sounds of Bella's moaning before Gunner lifted my head.

Now he slid his arm behind my back, sitting me up better and coaxing me to climb onto his back. I gladly let my little brother carry me, eyes fluttering shut and succumbing to the exhaustion left in the wake of my fight with Irina.


I woke up when my feet hit the ground, jolting something akin to consciousness. My head still spun, my body feeling heavy and drugged. Gunner was holding me steady by one arm as I started to rub at my face.

"Ow, crap," I gasped. In my sluggishness, I had forgotten the fact that I had bruised my face and broken my nose. Or, rather, Irina had done all that.

"Yeah, you broke your face," Gunner so helpfully informed me.

"Uh, yeah, I remember. I was there." Slowly, I felt solid on my feet again. Moving any part of my body was still a struggle, my limbs feeling heavy and slow. Eventually, I realized we were standing outside the Clearwater house. Leah and Seth were still with us, of course, and Jacob had joined us. He was carrying Bella the same way Gunner had been carrying me, but he didn't set her down.

Leah, Seth, and Jacob were all clothed. I wondered vaguely at that—the werewolves were naked when they shifted back. I knew that from Leah's stories and all the times she had complained about bein the only female wolf. I almost asked, but Gunner cut me off.

"We came up with a cover while you took a nap," Gunner explained. "As far as any of our parents need to know, Jacob met up with us at the beach. When the sun went down, we headed to his house and you wanted to drive Bella's motorcycle he keeps there, but you crashed and Bella was riding with you, which is why y'all are hurt."

"Why do I have to be the one to crash? And why don't Leah and Seth have cover stories?"

Seth's smile flashed white in the night. "Werewolf regeneration skills. Nothing to lie about when you're already healed."

Leah rolled her eyes at him. "We're hardly X-Men. You don't actually know how to drive a motorcycle, Maisie."

"Oh, yeah." I had forgotten that little truth. For all the rides I had taken on the back of Jasper's bike, I had no idea how to drive it myself. It all made sense to my muddled brain, but only time would tell if it would fly with our parents.

Charlie was distraught, of course, fussing over Bella but not at all surprised that she had ended up hurt. He admitted that he expected Bella to somehow get scuffed during the volleyball game she didn't participate in, looking sheepish all the while. Sue, on the other hand, seemed to have assumed something closer to the truth had happened. Her dark eyes watched us all warily as Jacob set Bella on the couch gently.

Our parents weren't all that surprised, either. Gunner and I had gotten ourselves into trouble together enough in our lives that the appearance of my face tracked along with our past behavior.

"Maisie, your face looks yuck," Ava enthused, not ashamed at all while sharing her brutally honest opinion. She scrunched up her nose and stuck out her tongue, a physical manifestation of how I felt right at that moment.

"My face feels yuck." The rasp had mostly faded from my voice even though I had to breath through my mouth. It sounded thick, though, unable to form the words correctly through the pressure in my broken nose.

"Not a smart move, Maisie Daisy. Think Carlisle would take you in as a house call patient?"

Bless. Dad was giving us an excuse to go to the Cullen house, which was our plan anyway. Mom's hands were all fidgety around my face, never quite touching me, afraid to touch any part lest she hurt me. "I think Dad's right. You should get straight to Carlisle, whether he's at the hospital or at home."

"He should be home," I lied. I had no idea if Carlisle was working that night or not, but I knew Edward or Rosalie could examine the damage to my nose and set it. "Gunner can take me."

I gave a sigh of relief when neither argued, but I had Ava to thank for that. She was tugging at Mom's hand. "Can we go home, then? We don't have to go to Dr. Cullen's?"

"No," Mom said eventually, reluctantly. "I suppose not. Drive carefully, Gunner."

Leah was fast. When Sue came back from the kitchen with an ice pack for the big, deep bruise on Bella's leg, Leah pecked her mother on the cheek. "I'm gonna go with them, just to be safe."

She ushered us out the door and into Gunner's car before anyone could protest. I leaned my head against the cold glass of the window and waited for Gunner to get going. But there was a pause; a car door opened and shut, and Seth's voice was filling the backseat. "Rude. I want to come, too."

"Fine," Leah allowed, the word curt. I hadn't bothered to open my eyes, but I could practically feel the annoyance rolling off her in the moment. "I guess it's not a terrible idea to have backup."

Parading as only hurt so far as my obviously broken nose was exhausting. I still felt weak and feverish, my body heavy and dully aching. On one side, the window cooled my blistered skin. On the other, I could feel Seth's natural heat rolling off him, we were in such close quarters in Gunner's back seat. But his warmth was different than my fever, almost soothing on my aching muscles.

I shouldn't have been surprised I fell asleep again.


This time when I woke up, it was because of the cold jolt of Jasper's hand against my cheek. He must have caught my head when he opened the car door before I could tumble out.

"I thought you said she purged herself of the venom?" I wondered if Gunner could hear the edge to Jasper's honeyed words. I leaned into Jasper's touch, welcoming the cooling rush his skin provided against my own. "She's like a furnace."

Was I, though? I definitely didn't feel as hot as I had before Gunner made me puke. "Yeah, but you're cold."

My voice was slurred with sleep even to my own ears. Jasper's softened when he answered me. He had gently lifted me into his arms by that point, and I buried my face in the crook of his shoulder. I could feel the thrum of his voice when he spoke. "You're right, mi amor."

Jasper walked slowly, I suppose not to jostle me. Or perhaps he was assessing me, because I assumed he addressed Gunner again. "Her heartbeat is stable, at least."

I was wrong, Carlisle wasn't home, but Esme was. Jasper set me on the couch, disappearing momentarily and returning with a washcloth soaked in cool water. He started to dab gently at my face, touch featherlight. Esme fussed over me just as my mother had, hands fluttering around my swollen, aching nose. "Rosalie!"

Esme's call for her daughter wasn't that loud—you would think she was calling Rosalie to come downstairs. But Rosalie came through the sliding glass door that was in the middle of the back, glass wall of the Cullen's living room.

"What have you done to yourself this time?" Despite her tone, there was no bite in her words as she swatted Jasper away and cupped my chin. "Your nose is a mess. Can you even breath through it?"

"No," I admitted. Rosalie had used the question to distract me. Before I even processed what she was doing, her fingers pinched the bridge of my nose. I felt the cartilage grind against itself as Rosalie righted my nose, the motion letting loose a new wave of blood. It fell hot and fast, spilling into my mouth. Thankfully, Rosalie snatched the washcloth from Jasper's hand to staunch it.

With Rosalie crouched before me, I was able to see Emmett and Alice come racing through the glass door. Rosalie had left it open in her haste at Esme's call. Emmett skidded to a stop abruptly but Alice, ever so agile, side-stepped him before she could slam into his back.

"Damn, Maise! Fight a vampire again?" The glitter in Emmett's pale gold eyes belied his teasing amusement.

"Yes," Seth enthused somewhere behind me. Gunner, Leah, and Seth must have followed Jasper inside. "She was a badass."

Then he launched into a retelling of our altercation with Irina. My nose had stopped its second wave of bleeding, and though Rosalie was tugging at my arm to clean the scratches Irina left behind, I reached for Jasper with my other. He let me curl into his side even as Rosalie insisted on cleaning my arm. I was hardly listening to Seth's excited retelling, more preoccupied with how tired I was.

I must have looked as horrible as I felt. Any energy I had had been spent on playing my part in the ruse for our parents. I was spent, and nobody argued with me falling asleep with my head on Jasper's chest.


A/N: Hello, friends!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed since last chapter and asked if I am well. Yes! My family and I have been very lucky during this time. I'm hoping that all of you can say the same.

I know, I know, I know. I said I would have more written and out during this time. Let me explain: I got scared. Plain and simple.

I think, when writing fanfiction stories, it can be so intimidating because of the dreaded 'Mary Sue' situation. You never want your character to feel like they are coming across that way. And even though I have a LOT planned with the Volturi to explain my reimagining of vampirism within the Twilight universe, that is still a few chapters away. I got it worked up in my head that the events of this chapter and the next two would upset or turn people away before we get to the chapters with the Volturi.

The way Stephenie Meyer wrote the supernatural characters in Twilight, I feel, left a lot of gray area. I intend to exploit that soon.

Also... guys... Midnight Sun is finally being released! Did y'all see that?