AN: Hello ladies and gents. I had accidentally sent this to my beta (alicecullenisrealinmyworld) before I had sent the last chapter, so it's all ready for you to read! Just a quick note before you read, if you haven't skipped this part already is that Maqahla and Raven are based off of my sisters Emily and Riley. Emily is 8 and is Maqahla and Riley is six and is Raven. These conversations and arguments that Kim has with them and that they have with each other- they are so totally real, it's not even funny. Sometimes I scare myself with out perfectly I get their personalities down. If they knew I was writing about them, this whole story would be rewritten and it'd be all about Maqahla and Raven! Seriously, I love them- they're so cute but they bicker back and forth all the time, even though they're each other's best friends and I just love them to bits. Other than that, any other character has just been formulated in my mind. SO! Just keep that in mind. (: Anyways enough of this long rambling, thank you to my beta for being fabulous, as always, and please review at the end and tell me what you think!

I was already showered and almost ready for bed when the phone rang.

"The fuck is calling so damn late at night!" Dean shouted from his bedroom. I rolled my eyes and ran into the living room to grab the phone.

"Hello?"

"Kim?" It was Avenue and she sounded upset; her voice was shaking. "I'm sorry I'm calling so late. I…" She paused and let out a dry sob.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She sniffed again.

"No. Could you- do you think you could come pick me up? Could I spend the night at your house?"

"I-" It wasn't too late; it was only nine, but the girls were already in bed, Mom was gone and Dean was still pissed off at me. I sighed. "Sure. Yeah. I'll be over in a little while."

"Thanks, Kim."

I hung up the phone and then knocked on Dean's door.

"Dean?"

"What?" he snapped. I pushed open the door. He was lying on his bed, and staring at the ceiling while playing some Beatles song on his guitar. He rolled his eyes to me. "What do you want?"

"I'm going over to Avenue's," I told him. "And she's sleeping over."

He shrugged and his eyes went back to the ceiling. "Why are you telling me?"

I frowned. "I just thought I'd let you know I was taking the car and that the girls-"

"There isn't enough gas in the car to go all the way to First Beach."

My jaw dropped. "Why didn't you get gas after you went out to eat?"

He shrugged. "Didn't feel like it."

"Dean!"

"What?" he snapped back. "Jesus Christ, Kim, just fucking walk! Stop nagging the shit out of me!"

"What the hell is your problem?" I shouted at him. He was like a girl, PMSing and it was starting to get old.

"Nothing, just-fucking stop talking and close the door on your way out."

I slammed it shut and when I turned around, Maqahla and Raven were staring at me, wide eyed. Raven had half her face hidden behind her blanket.

"Why are you and Dean fighting?" Maqahla asked. I rolled my eyes and ruffled their hair.

"Because that's what brothers and sisters do."

"You don't fight with me or Raven."

"That's because you're little," I told her and picked Raven up, holding her on my hip. "C'mon, let's get you guys to bed."

"I'm not little," Maqahla protested.

"Me neither," Raven piped up. "I'm almost as tall as Maqahla!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"All right, you guys," I said, trying to end the argument. I tossed Raven onto the bed and she giggled as Maqahla grumbled, crawling after her. I cracked their window open to let in some fresh air. At least it was warm out. I turned back around, giving them stern looks.

"You have to go to bed now, okay? I'm leaving and-"

"Wait!"

"Where are you going?'

"Can I go with you?"

"No, I wanna go!"

"You always get to go!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Guys!" I said exasperatedly. "Neither one of you are coming with me! I'm going to go pick up Avenue and she's spending the night here. I'll be right back. You're going to stay here with Dean and go to sleep! It's bedtime!"

They groaned, but allowed me to kiss them on their foreheads and then snuggled up to each other, closing their eyes.

Funny how they could fight and then love each other in the next second. All Dean had been lately was mean and nasty to me.

I closed their door behind me, and then went back to my room to grab a fleece jacket and put shoes on. I wondered what could possibly be bothering Avenue at this hour that she had to call me to come get her. This was new and different for me. I wasn't sure how to feel.

Avenue lived over by First Beach. It took me about twenty minutes to walk to her house and when I arrived, I noticed that all the lights were on and the front door was wide open. Her parents' car wasn't there, but instead, there wasa black pickup truck sitting out front.

I walked slowly up to her house, and then paused as something smashed loudly inside. What the hell was going on?

"NO! Stop it!"

There was another loud crash from inside and I sprinted into the house. I hadn't been there in ages, but it didn't look any different.

Except…in the hallway, there was glass and it was everywhere, shattered into a tiny million, reflective pieces.

Except it wasn't glass; it had been a large mirror, and it used to hang in the hallway in front of Avenue's room. I spun around, looking into her room to see a man standing above Avenue. She was on her bed, tears streaming down her face.

"Stop it!"

"Why were you fucking talking to him! Tell me!"

"I wasn't, I swear!"

"I saw the text messages, you stupid bitch! Tell me!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Avenue!" I shouted and the man jumped back. I recognized him vaguely from school; his name was Keith.

"Who the fuck are you?" he snarled at me. "Get out of here!"

"Up yours, asshole," I shouted at him and stalked by him to grab Avenue's hand. She was shaking like a leaf and I knew that my cold hands weren't helping her any. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Her boyfriend," he snapped, trying to reach around me to get to her. "And she's fucking cheating on me-"

"Get over yourself," I shouted and pushed Avenue out into the hallway. "You're a pathetic loser! I'm calling the cops!"

"Fuck the police!" he shouted and I slammed the door shut in his face, holding the doorknob tight with my hands. On the other side, he roared.

"Grab the phone!" I shouted at Avenue. The door banged violently and my whole body shook from the force.

He was going to break down the door.

"Avenue!"

"I'm calling!"

It wasn't technically the police, per se; there weren't any police officers on the reservation, just men that the council had appointed to break things up, if something of this nature were to happen.

Which wasn't often. So I hoped they answered.

The door shook violently again and I could hear Avenue crying into the phone.

"Avenue!" I shouted; I heard a cracking from the door and a vicious growl from the still unknown man inside. "Run!"

I waited until I heard her footsteps fall before I counted to three in my head and then I booked it. I could hear his heavy footsteps behind me and I ran quickly, down the porch steps and followed Avenue who was half way down the road.

"Avenue!" I shouted, sprinting after her. Her long curly hair was blowing behind her and I could hear her sobbing. "Stop, Av, wait a second!"

She did, her shoulders shaking heavily. I grabbed her and hugged her hard, as she sobbed into my shoulder.

"What the hell happened?" I asked her breathlessly. "Why is Keith of all people-"

"My- my boyfr-friend," she sobbed harder. "Kim-"

"It's okay," I said. Looking around to make sure that there was no one, I pulled her into the woods, staying on the edge. We both jumped as Keith screamed in rage on the front porch, kicking down one of the posts holding up the railing. I had my arms around Avenue as she shook silently.

The next thing I knew, I was being grabbed around the middle.

The scream built up in my throat and had just managed to escape when a hot hand slipped over my mouth, muffling me.

"Shhhh," Jared's voice breathed in my ear. To my right, Avenue was in a similar position, but it was Paul who was whispering in her ear. She looked at me, her eyes wide and scared. I nodded at her.

"The Forks police are on their way over," he whispered in my ear. "Just stay quiet."

"Avenue!" Keith was screaming now and kicking out. He dented the side of his truck and sent a garbage can flying. Avenue whimpered in Paul's hand. "Avenue! Get your ass back over here!"

I shivered in Jared's arms and- discreetly- I tried moving in closer.

Jared held onto me more tightly.

"Avenue!" Keith screamed again and then dropped to his knees in the middle of the road and cried into his hands. Avenue whimpered again. Paul tightened his grip on her because she looked like she was going to bolt at any second.

Something was seriously wrong with this Keith guy.

A black police car with flashing lights drove by us just then and stopped in front of Keith. Jared and Paul pulled us closer into the woods. I turned my body towards Jared and whispered in his ear.

"Shouldn't Avenue go talk to him?"

Jared shook his head. "No, Billy's got it taken care of."

I frowned at him. "Billy?"

"Black," he told me and I nodded. He was our head of the council. "He's best friends with Charlie, he's the Chief of police in Forks. Just let him get Keith cuffed and in the car."

I nodded again and suddenly- Jared and I were face to face, chest to chest and I wasn't cold. It was such a strange feeling- a great feeling- and Jared smiled at me.

"You're not cold," he said a little triumphantly. Like he could read my thoughts. I smiled back at him.

"Jared," Paul hissed at him and slapped his arm, giving him a dirty look. Avenue's tears were an endless stream over Paul's hand. He nodded grimly over to Charlie and Keith, who was handcuffing him and stuffing him into the police car.

When he was done, Charlie faced the woods where we were hiding and Jared put his voice close to my ear again.

"Hang onto her, okay? We'll be right back."

Paul handed Avenue off to me and I wrapped my arms around her again.

"What's going to happen to him?" Avenue croaked after a few minutes. We watched silently as Officer Swan talked to Jared and Paul, gesturing with his hands and then he pulled out a cell phone. Jared turned around and beckoned to me.

"C'mon, Avenue," I murmured, pulling her gently.

We walked out of the woods to where the police car was. I could see the back of Keith's head bowed and his shoulders still shaking in the back of the car. Officer Swan shut his cell phone and looked at Avenue sadly.

"You all right, kid?"

She nodded, crossing her arms tightly.

"Want to tell me what happened?" he asked her gently. I nodded encouragingly at her and she walked a short distance with Officer Swan. I tried to avoid looking in the police car.

"Are you okay?" Jared asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Not too sure about her, though."

"What happened?"

"She just called me and asked me to come get her."

"Where's your car?" Paul asked me.

"I walked," I said. Jared's eyes practically bugged out of his head.

"You what?"

I glanced at Paul. "I walked here?"

"At night? Alone? By yourself?"

"Alone and by yourself mean the same thing, you moron," Paul said, snickering. Jared ignored him, still staring at me.

"Where's your car?" he asked me anxiously.

"It didn't have gas," I said exasperatedly. "Because my shit brother was too lazy to get to the station after he went out with his friends."

Jared sighed, rubbing his face angrily.

"All right, Kim- listen. These woods- they're not safe. You should really stay out of them."

"Unless we're around," Paul chimed in.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

They exchanged glances.

"We'll tell you some other time," Paul promised.

"What isn't safe about them?"

"Another time," Jared repeated waving his hand. "Just stay out of the woods. Please?" He blinked his eyes and he looked so innocent and sexy and just. Sigh. How could I have said no? I gulped.

"Sure."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"What are you guys doing out here, anyways?" I asked, clearing my throat. "How did you know where we were?"

"Billy called us," Paul said, jamming his hands into his pockets.

"We do the patrol around here," Jared said to my questioning stare. I was surprised.

"Oh."

Officer Swan came back over alone and clapped Jared on his shoulder.

"Thanks for the call, guys." He turned to me. "You can bring her home now, if you'd like. I called her parents and they're on their way back."

I nodded.

"What's going to happen to him?" Jared asked, nodding towards the car. I'd forgotten that Keith was even here.

"Well, we'll hold him over night, but this is his first offense and he didn't hurt her, so we technically have to let him go. But I suggested to Avenue and her parents when I spoke with them on the phone that they should file for a restraining order."

Made sense. Officer Swan shook both Jared and Paul's hand, nodded to me and then got in his car and drove away. Avenue was holding herself and hadn't moved since Officer Swan had brought her away. I walked over to her.

"What do you want to do?" I asked her. "You could still sleepover if you want."

She wiped her eyes and shook her head. "I told my mom I'd stay."

"What happened anyway?"

Her face flushed slightly, though her demeanor never changed. "He saw some guy's number in my phone…and he freaked out."

I frowned. "You weren't really cheating on him, were you?"

She shook her head. "No. He just doesn't trust me."

I shrugged. "Guess you won't have to worry about that anymore, right?"

She gave me a tight smile. "Thanks for your help, Kim."

I gave her a hug. It felt awkward. "No problem."

She looked over my shoulder at Jared and Paul. "Um. Thanks."

They shrugged back. "Don't mention it."

Avenue's parents pulled up then and her mother shot out of the car. I backed away slowly, waving goodbye.

Suddenly, I was exhausted.

"Can I walk you home?" Jared asked me quietly when I'd made my way back over.

"I thought you said it wasn't safe to walk alone," I said teasingly.

"Well you won't be alone," he shot back with a smile. "You'll be with me."

Words have never sounded better.

Paul gave a smug cough before backing away slowly. "I'll see you later, man."

"See ya."

I looked over my shoulder to see Avenue's mom hugging her fiercely and her dad picking up the kicked garbage can.

"Ready?" Jared asked. He smiled at me, while butterflies assaulted my stomach. I nodded and we started walking back.