Something Wicked This Way Comes
"Did you borrow a shirt or something?" Bella's question prompted Evie to glance up from the textbooks and notebooks open and spread out all around where she sat in the middle of her bed. She glanced at the open drawer Bella nodded to and shook her head. "I would have told you if I did, why?"
"Weird, because I remember shutting this drawer before we left for school this morning." Bella muttered, mostly to herself. She flopped down across her bed after grabbing her battered copy of Wuthering Heights, picking back up where she left off. At one point, she glanced across the room at Evie. There was this tension between the two of them as of late and personally, Bella wasn't fond of it. Out of everyone, Evie was probably one of few people Bella really didn't like the idea of losing. Evie and Charlie were the two biggest hold ups in the life altering decision she was currently on the fence about.
Oh, she knew she wanted to be with Edward. She had every intention of becoming a vampire. She'd never felt like she fit anywhere until he came along.
She just didn't want to leave behind tension and pain. She'd been making efforts to patch up the tension between herself and Charlie for weeks now, since the trip to Florida to ask Renee for her blessing.
Evie had been harder to make things right with.
It hit her out of the blue. The entire reason it was so hard to try patching things up with her sister was the simple fact that Evie seemed to be making Jacob happy. So much happier than Bella ever could've dreamt of making him. And then there was the tiniest shred of jealousy in the realization that Bella was having lately. She'd probably been a substitute for her younger sister all this time.
"Hey."
Evie glanced over at her sister and blinked a time or two to take some of the strain off of her eyes. "What's up?" she asked as she stretched a little, gazing at her older sister in concern. They hadn't really been talking much at all since she moved in with their father. Things had gotten even more tension filled when Evie chose her friendship with Jacob over Bella's feelings about it.
She hated the tension between them.
"I've been thinking…" Bella trailed off and gave a quiet sigh as she weighed her next words carefully. "You were right. That argument we got in a while ago about me only having an issue about you spending so much time with Jacob because I wanted him too? You were right."
Evie studied her sister intently. "Okay..?" she muttered, waiting on whatever else it was that her older sister seemed to be struggling to say. Before she could get anything else out, Evie spoke up. "I'm sorry if it hurts you. But I'm not going to stop being his friend, okay? I need you to understand that. None of us are bending over backwards to make you give up Edward. I shouldn't have to give up my friendship with Jake."
"I think I'm starting to feel okay with it, actually. He's so much happier now. That's.. It's what I wanted for him. I just wanted to apologize, okay? Because you're my sister and I love you. And I don't want to start my new chapter in life with bitterness between us?" Bella said it after a few long and heavy minutes of pause. It hurt like hell, knowing what she was going to do was going to change her relationship with her family. That she might not even be able to stay in contact because her very presence around Charlie, Renee or Evie might result in danger falling upon them.
If Evie was Jacob's imprint though, as she'd began to suspect lately just going off of little physical cues he gave when he was around her, she knew that if nothing else, Charlie and Evie would be relatively safe. It eased her mind.
But that didn't change the fact that the right thing to do in the situation was for her to leave. She'd rather do that than stick around and have to answer some really hard questions that she knew her father and sister well enough to know that they'd have eventually.
Every fiber of her being wished that somehow she could kind of hint to the existence of vampires, what she was planning to become and what Jacob was to Evie without pulling her in and still allowing her younger sister to have a relatively normal and safe existence.
Because Evie deserved to know.
She needed to know.
"I love you too." Evie answered after a long pause. She eyed her sister carefully and after a few seconds passed, she spoke up, asking the one question she'd been dying to ask, "Do you still love Jacob?"
Bella tensed slightly. Remembering her suspicions about Jacob being bonded to her younger sister. Knowing that Evie was the sole person responsible for pulling Jacob out of a pretty dark place lately, she knew there was only one acceptable way to handle the question's answer and after taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and shook her head. "I don't love him like that at all. There are different kinds of love, you know that. I think that maybe when Edward was gone I thought I could love him that way but really, I just loved the idea of him. The comfort being around him gave me? But no.. I don't love him. Not like you're asking me about."
Truth was, she did love Jacob. She'd probably always love him in some small way. But she loved her sister even more and it was time for her to do something selfless. Knowing that she'd be happy for the rest of her extended life state with Edward was a huge comfort as she prepared to do what she planned in regards to pushing Evie closer to Jacob. Evie was her baby sister and Evie deserved to feel the love that filled Bella's heart full to bursting every single time she thought about Edward Cullen. Bella wanted that for her sister and she had this strong suspicion that Jacob Black was it for Evie in that respect.
Evie eyed her sister warily. She wasn't sure whether to buy it for a second, what her sister seemed to be saying. She nodded though. "You two need to make up before you go off marrying Edward. It's better to find out you're about to make a huge mistake than making one and having to deal with the fallout. Look what happened when Mom left Dad the way she did when we were kids." Evie pointed out.
She hated saying it, but she also didn't want Bella going through with marrying Edward only to realize down the line that she didn't love him in the way she thought. Deeper down, Evie just wanted to make sure Bella got it all out of her system so if Evie ever did get brave enough to do something about her own growing feelings for Jacob, she wouldn't have to spend every waking moment wondering if today would be the day her sister came to her senses and rushed back, begging Jacob for another chance at things.
Evie scoffed at herself and thought about the fact that she was just a teenager, that she shouldn't be feeling things this deeply or wanting to get quite so wrapped up in a person. She reminded herself that life happened and it wasn't as if the person she supposedly loved this week would still be the same person she loved next week.. Or even tomorrow. She was 16 going on 17. Everything was in flux and her hormones were all over the place right now.
She needed to put any thoughts of the future and Jacob away into the depths of her mind and just enjoy the present. Let things happen.
Watching her sister go through literal hell with Edward Cullen had definitely shown her that.
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing isn't going to be a mistake. I.. I can't explain it, okay? I can tell you that when I met Edward it was as if I fit. For the first time in my entire life, I fit."
Evie considered what her sister said. After a little thought, she nodded. Gazed at Bella in concern before asking in a stunned tone what she meant by finally feeling as if she fit.
Bella explained it and Evie listened, shocked to realize that Bella had struggled their entire lives. She'd never felt like she fit anywhere. She'd always felt as if she were pretending to be someone she wasn't and after she met Edward, she stopped feeling that way. Evie considered what her sister was telling her and then sighed, raising a hand to drag it through thick brown waves. "I just.. He's hurt you in the past. You're my sister and I love you, so my natural instinct is to try and protect you. Guide you in what I feel is a safer direction."
"Safe isn't always the best direction though." Bella said it and a certain shock settled over her because until Edward, it wasn't something she ever stopped to consider she'd feel so strongly about. Or even agree with.
"Yeah, that's true."
"Honestly? I love Jacob like a friend. Like a brother, even. I don't.. I don't feel the way you think I do about him. So if that's the only thing stopping you from acting on whatever you feel for him, stop letting it." Bella advised.
Evie snickered and shook her head. "It's harder than that."
"Does it have to be?"
"No, but.. I'm just.. Like, I want to tell him, I really do. Then I stop to consider the fact that if I were to tell him, there's a good possibility it'll freak him out or make things really awkward between us and right now they're going great. I don't want to mess that up, either. Because if that gets messed up, not only do I lose the guy I'm starting to love, I lose my best friend. There's no winning."
"No, there's only no win if you don't try, Evie." Bella coaxed.
Evie mulled it over.
"I'm being serious, okay?"
"Okay, alright. Eventually, I'll work my way up to doing something about it. In the meantime, there is something you can do.. At least apologize to him and make up. Admit that you shouldn't have led him on if you did somehow. Because I really don't want you to lose him as a best friend either." Evie glanced at her sister as she said it. Bella nodded. "I'll try again, I promise."
Somehow, Bella found herself thinking, I really don't think he'll care about an apology from me one way or another. Because I think he's starting to realize the only reason he was pulled to me as strong as he was is because of my sister and my connection to her.
"Back to what you asked me earlier.. Did you leave the door unlocked this morning when you left, Bella? Because now that I'm thinking about it, I didn't have to use the key to get in when Jacob dropped me off this afternoon?"
Bella tensed. Felt herself starting to panic just a little. Her immediate thought was that someone connected to Laurent was behind it and knowing what she knew, knowing what she couldn't even begin to explain to her little sister, that really worried her.
A rock pinged off of their bedroom window and the two sisters shared a look.
"Were you expecting Edward?"
"No, not tonight.. Jake wasn't coming by, right?"
"He doesn't come by at night, Bells.."
"Okay, look.. You need to go in the bathroom."
"What? No. Are you insane, Bells? What are you gonna do, huh?"
Another rock hit the window and Bella pulled herself together long enough to glance down. Letting out a ragged breath as soon as she saw Jacob scaling the tree that led up to their bedroom window. She opened the window.
Evie gave her sister a smirk. "No Edward tonight my a-.." only to have her words trail away when Jacob tumbled through the bedroom window.
"Jacob? What the heck?" Evie stared at him in confusion, tugging at her hair. Jacob took a few deep breaths and got himself calm. He glanced at Bella and Bella nodded, instantly understanding what Jacob wasn't saying out loud.
"Oh.. Uh.. Are you here to talk to Bells?" Evie asked, fidgeting awkwardly as she glanced from one to the other. Jacob shook his head. "No, I came to see if you were okay."
"What do you mean see if I'm okay?"
"Well, I was out in the woods with the guys and I thought I saw someone lurking in the backyard. Then I saw Charlie leave and I wanted to make sure I was just seeing things." Jacob explained as his breath caught and he prayed to whatever God might be listening that for now, Evie went along with his explanation and didn't question anything.
Luckily enough, she seemed to accept it at face value.
Then Bella spoke up. First she apologized and then she told Jacob what she and Evie had just been discussing, the open dresser drawer and her missing sweater as well as the fact that Evie couldn't remember actually having to unlock the front door when Jacob dropped her off at home earlier that afternoon.
Jacob tensed.
Bella spoke up. "Maybe, just to be safe, I should call Charlie at the station. I'll go do that." and as quickly as she could, she made a hasty retreat, leaving Jacob and Evie alone to have their private moment.
Jacob stepped close to Evie and checked her over carefully. Just to convince himself she was definitely fine and earlier when he smelled that familiar scent of burning decay, he'd gotten to the house in time. Before any of those fucking mosquitos they'd been catching the scent of on patrol lately could actually make their way into the house and do whatever they were planning.
Something happening to Evie was a risk he wasn't willing to take at all.
"Is everything okay, Jacob?" Evie asked, gazing up at him in concern. A little panicked because for some unknown reason, Jacob seemed really tense. Kind of like he was freaking out about something. And apparently, it had been enough to prompt him to come to her house at night. Through her bedroom window.
Not that she minded, of course, but she was starting to feel like there was something he wasn't telling her.
And that thought bothered her. It bothered her a lot.
Jacob slapped on what he hoped was his most convincing smile as he nodded. "Yeah. I just thought I saw someone in the woods near your house so I came by. I was worried, okay? All those attacks lately, I didn't want to take any chances." Jacob eyed her solemnly, a hand settling on her hip as he gazed down at her. Unable to stop. Stepping closer and closer until no space remained between them.
Bella peeked in. "Charlie's sending a guy to look around. Just to be safe. I told him Jacob thought he saw someone in the woods and came to check on us and he asked if maybe he'd stick around until the guys come and give the all clear?" Bella glanced as Jacob as she asked.
Jacob nodded. "I wasn't planning to go anywhere."
Bella stepped back out to tell Charlie what Jacob had just said and the second the door was shut behind them, Jacob closed the distance between himself and Evie. Giving her hip a squeeze as he took a deep breath.
"Jacob, what's going on?"
"Nothing, I swear." Jacob hated saying it but for now, it was the safest answer. It was the only one he could give for now, until he figured out exactly what was going on.
"Evie! Charlie wants to talk to you. He's taking notes just in case there's more to this." Bella called through their bedroom door. Evie glanced at Jacob warily but then she managed a smile and a nod. "I better go talk to Dad."
Bella wandered in and at first, that quiet and heavy tension lingered between them. And then she finally asked the question she'd been dying for an answer to.
"Is Evie.. is she your imprint, Jacob?"
Jacob nodded, gave a fond smile as he chuckled. "She is. But if it matters, I think I was replacing her with you even before that? I'm kind of.. Starting to realize that now. It's weird how that works."
"Mhm.. Any idea how you're going to tell her?"
"Not a clue. Any idea how she'll take it?"
"Also not a clue.. I think whatever is going on tonight has something to do with the Cold One you and the pack found in the woods. The one that almost attacked me? As far as that, it's all I can come up with. It makes sense, I mean the attacks are getting closer and closer to Forks."
"And a Cold One was pretty much stalking Evie, Jess and Angela through the mall two days ago. I'll tell Sam. If you find out anything from the mosquito tell me, okay? Because the pack can't handle things on our end if we don't know what the fuck is happening."
"Noted. And Jacob?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm.. I'm sorry. About everything that happened."
Jacob shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter either way. I wish I'd stopped to think about everything myself, to be honest."
The flashing blue lights drew Evie down the stairs and she wandered to the front door, opening it for the two men who worked with her father. After she let them in, she wandered back upstairs and into the bedroom. "Cops are here. They want to know if we think anything was stolen."
"I mean, that one shirt of mine."
"Wait, let me make sure nothing of mine is missing.." Evie mumbled as she wandered over to the dresser and opened the drawer below the one Bella asked about.
"Nothing.. Wait, no. That plaid shirt.. The old one that belonged to Dad that I slept in and stuff? It's not sitting on top of the dresser.. Who the hell comes into a house and takes two shirts though?" Evie wondered as she laughed a little and shook her head.
Both Jacob and Bella tensed because they had a slight idea of a certain scenario in which someone would do that very thing. Jacob tensed, clenching his fists. Shoving them into the pocket of his shorts so that Evie didn't see or pick up on his sudden tension.
Bella felt her stomach churn.
Could someone who knew Laurent be after her now? Or was this something entirely different? Did it have to do with James and Phoenix?
All Bella knew is that she wasn't getting a good feeling all of the sudden.
"Okay you two, stop being weird."
Jacob glanced at Evie, who was gazing at him thoughtfully and he raised a brow. "What do you mean?" he asked Evie as he tensed even more, wondering if Evie was starting to suspect there was something going on she didn't know about.
He felt relief wash over him when Evie stated calmly, "I know you two are angry at each other right now but the whole glaring daggers thing both of you are doing right now isn't fun or comfortable for me at all, okay? I love you both. I hate all the awkwardness."
Bella could see Jacob's relief when Evie said what she did say instead of what he'd obviously been afraid she'd ask. She gazed at Jacob matter-of-factly as if to point out non-verbally that Jacob definitely needed to figure out a way to tell Evie what was going on and he needed to do it soon.
And the events of the night convinced Bella that maybe it wasn't the worst idea for her to fill Evie in on everything that had really taken place. Maybe if she knew what was really going on, right under her nose, it would drive home the point that she needed to be careful. More aware of her surroundings. Less quick to dismiss things like she tended to.
She'd have to talk to Edward about explaining what really happened in Phoenix as well as what he and his family were, sooner rather than later. Because of her father and sister, Evie was the one Bella felt was more likely to believe anything she had to say and take it seriously.
The cops peeked into the room.
"Everything is clear. We didn't see any other signs of a break in. Chief Swan said you remember lockin the door this morning before you left for school?" a stern faced bulky officer asked as he took out a pen and a notepad.
"I do. I lock it every single morning. Habit." Bella explained before going quiet.
The officer turned his attention to Evie. "And you don't remember havin to unlock it this afternoon?"
"No sir. I actually don't even think I remember getting my key out. I mean, I could have and just been too preoccupied to remember, but I don't think so, sir." Evie answered.
The officer made his notes and then gazed at the three teenagers. "There's been a few break ins. Some kids have gone missin. Sure you've all seen that poster for the Biers kid."
Then it hit Bella.
She'd seen the poster on their coffee table downstairs when she and Edward were talking to Charlie a while back. But she'd put it off to nothing of concern.
The sisters nodded.
"Just be careful, alright? Do what your old man tells ya when it comes to safety. I'll go back and let Charlie know you're both okay and nothing was found."
"Yes sir."
"Definitely."
The cops left and Bella and Evie let out a few ragged breaths as they shared a look.
After a few seconds, Jacob spoke up. "Evie, I think maybe it's a good idea if you come to my dad's in the afternoon when Bella and Edward or Charlie isn't here."
Evie nodded. Just knowing that someone might have been in the house with her for an hour or two while she'd been there totally alone was enough to make her agree to it without question. It was also more than enough to make her skin crawl as her mind filled with scenarios that she counted herself lucky hadn't occurred while she'd been there alone.
"I agree with Jacob." Bella added.
"I need to get going. It's getting late." Jacob stood at the window, reluctant to actually leave like he knew he needed to. Evie wandered over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. "Thank you for staying with us. Thank you for coming to check on us when you thought you saw someone in the woods near the house."
Jacob squeezed her tight and gazed down at her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, duh." he smiled, even as he was still trying to get his heart to leave his throat cavity.
Tonight had been a close call. Too close of a close call.
He definitely needed to figure out a way to tell her everything soon. All of it. Even if Bella wasn't going to. Someone needed to. She deserved to know what was happening.
Even if it took a while to process. Even if when he told her about imprinting on her she decided that wasn't something she wanted to deal with.
All that mattered to Jacob was Evie and her safety.
Everything else came after that.
Note: Obviously, I'm working up to the newborn army even more here. This is kind of a spin on things to hopefully involve Evie more in everything that takes place. I'm also working up to Jacob -and Bella, telling Evie everything that's going on. Sorry in advance for the over abundance of Bella here, but it kind of couldn't be avoided and the conversations she had with both Evie and Jacob needed to happen imo. I'm trying to stick to what I feel are her better qualities when I do have to deal with writing her into this fic, hopefully I'm doing that right. It's a stretch because while she's not a character I hate I didn't particularly care for her either. There will be more fluff and tension and stuff soon I promise.
Also I want to really thank everyone who is leaving any kind of feedback on this fic at all, whether it be in comment form or merely by adding it to your reading lists. I'm honestly both surprised and thrilled at the fact that people actually do seem to like this. I'd been scared as hell that noone would simply because of the way I planned to write it all out and have things happen. So I love you all and I thank you for taking the time to read.