A/N: Oops... I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter. It's horrendously short, but I had the inspiration to kind of, sort of finish it to the point where I felt satisfied enough to post it. More will be coming soon. I'm sorry if the editing is complete garbage.

SIX

The five day weekend began on a sour note.

Most of the anger dissipated overnight, but I felt determined to go see my brother. Sophie and Dom were under the impression that Theo was staying over at the Cameron's for the weekend, simply content knowing he had made good friends. I suppose I could have found out what the hell was going on last night when Jacob called, although the irritation at being ignored for the entire day would have caused me to make more snarky marks than necessary. Now that I felt more calm and collected, I could find out the truth.

Post-breakfast, I retreated to my room, my fingers dialing Theo's number. Annoyingly enough, the call went to voicemail. I didn't bother to leave a message. Instead, I immediately called Jacob.

He picked up on the third ring. "Alba," he said, sounding relieved, "I was worried when you didn't call me."

The irony of that statement sent me into angry town yet again. "You were worried?" So much for keeping my cool.

"You have every right to be mad at me for not calling you back yesterday, but I promise your brother is well taken care of. He's staying with Jared and Tyler. He's completely fine." Jacob spoke slowly and gently, as if trying not to set off a bomb.

"Jacob, you have no right to do that. He's my baby brother! I'm coming to get him. He should be at home!" I exclaimed, pacing quickly back and forth across the hardwood floors of my bedroom.

Jacob's voice sounded stressed. "No—don't do that. I mean, that's not necessary. Let him chill out at their house. You guys have a break from school, he'll be fine—"

I interrupted him. "After what I saw yesterday, I want to see him. I don't understand why you of all people are telling me I can't. You're supposed to be my friend, and you ignored me all damn day after hauling Theo in your car after what happened. It wasn't normal."

"I'm sorry," he responded, and I knew immediately he meant it genuinely. "You are my friend. I just think it would be best-"

Despite his apology, it didn't add up in my head. "I have to go, Jacob. I'll talk to you later."

All I heard before hanging up was Jacob saying, "Alba, wait!"

Protective sister mode officially took over. Fuck what Jacob said. I was going to see my brother. He couldn't tell me no.

Sophie let me borrow her car. I looked sort of a mess, having hurriedly taken a shower and dressed in mismatched clothing, my hair tossed messily into a low bun, stray strands sticking out from the ponytail that secured it. My appearance was obviously the last thing on my mind. I couldn't help believing that Jacob and my brother were hiding something. Why else wouldn't I be able to see him? It didn't make sense.

I drove rather wildly to Jared and Tyler's house, having waited long enough in my opinion. When I approached the driveway, I saw with a sinking in my stomach that a familiar VW Rabbit sat parked in the driveway.

Had Jacob suspected I would go against his wishes? Or had he been here the whole time, making sure Theo was okay?

I parked Sophie's car in front of the Cameron's house, slamming the driver's side door behind me as I marched purposefully up to the front door. My hand raised to knock on their front door, when it opened of its own accord. Jacob stood behind it, his face looking exasperated.

In the far corners of my mind—the rational, non-angry, non-stubborn parts that rarely won over their counterparts—I felt a twinge of happiness at seeing Jacob. Truly, however, I wanted to smack him for being so infuriating about this whole situation.

"Where's Theo?" I demanded. That was definitely the right word to describe the tone of voice, as well as my stance as I stood there: feet planted firmly, arms crossed over my chest.

Jacob rubbed his eyes; he clearly had not been getting much sleep. "Alba..."

"I don't care what you say, I'm not going anywhere until I see my brother."

A slow grin began to spread the corners of his mouth, which simultaneously confused and further irritated me.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked, feeling my brows furrow together.

"The look on your face—and the determination you have." Jacob started laughing. "You're so goddamn stubborn. Theo told us you wouldn't listen to me, but I thought you might. He was right." He continued to laugh.

"Stop laughing." It only made me madder.

Jacob grinned. "Stop pouting."

I took a long, deep breath, then exhaled before responding, refraining myself from rolling my eyes. "Come on, Jacob, stop playing games."

He stepped his giant frame away from the door, allowing me to pass through. Walking with typical long strides, he led me through the kitchen toward the basement door. There didn't seem to be any evidence that Iris or her husband were home, so I assumed they were at work or otherwise occupied as Jacob and I walked down the rickety steps into the dimly lit man cave I'd come to know and love.

Theo lay lazily on the couch, his long legs hanging off the far edge. A video game controller in his hands, he played the same zombie game he and Tyler favored. Speaking of, Tyler sat on one of the bean bags, encouraging and aiding him as usual.

I felt myself exhale in relief. Of course, Jacob reassured me that Theo was safe, but seeing it was something else. The fear of losing my brother existed irrationally in my brain. I couldn't take another loss; I might not survive it.

"Theo, Jesus Christ, don't ever scare me like that again." I went over to the where he lounged and hugged him tightly as best I could in his current position. I quickly released him when I notice the sweat that clung to him. "Ew, why are you so sweaty?"

My brother handed the controller to Tyler to take over playing the game. He used his arms—why did they look so much more bulky now? Had he been working out?-to push himself into an upright position. "Sorry, it's kind of hot down here."

I sat down on the arm of the couch beside him, brimful of questions. Jacob hovered near the couch at the opposite end, his muscled arms folded over his chest.

"What happened to you yesterday? Are you sick?"

Theo exchanged glances with Jacob, as if asking permission to speak. "Kind of sick. I just had a bad stomachache. Old Quil helped me out, gave me some medicine. I'm feeling better, but Iris is letting me stay over for the rest of the break."

I frowned. "What kind of medicine?"

Jacob stepped in here. "It's not really medicine. It's sort of an old cocktail full of good herbs and stuff, like ginger. He's into natural remedies."

Theo nodded in agreement. "He's really cool, Al, you'd like him."

Out of everything strange that occurred over the last twenty-four hours, perhaps the strangest of all was my brother's overall demeanor. While still the moody teenager I'd come to accept, he appeared slightly more at peace. A welcome change, but I wondered where it came from. Maybe all the friends he'd acquired. Certainly they were good people for taking care of him so well.

"We're doing the bonfire Saturday night," Jacob added. "You should come. Old Quil is going to tell the stories I told you about when you first came here."

I nodded, not committing to anything. I still felt some type of way about how Jacob handled all this. Whatever "this" was.

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" I wondered next.

My brother had the decency to be embarrassed. "Sorry...I wasn't feeling too good. I didn't feel like talking."

I rolled my eyes. "Theo, with all due respect, you're fourteen years old. You can't just disappear like that. It's not cool."

"I texted Sophie," he defended himself.

"Yeah, and you made me look like an idiot, getting sent to voicemail a million times. You couldn't have sent me a text, too?"

Theo shrugged, his eyes trained on the TV. "Sorry."

"Sorry," I muttered. "Whatever."

The same grin reappeared on Jacob's face. "C'mon, Alba, he's fine. Stop pouting. I promised you he'd be in good hands."

Easy for him to say. He didn't have to be worried all day and night. What I said was, "Whatever," which only made him smile more.

Despite getting to see that Theo was safe and sound, I had a nagging feeling that there were thousands more questions still lingering. Something weird was happening, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Knowing my nosy ass, the truth would come out eventually. I hoped I could be patient enough until then.

I hung out with Theo for a good while, until I felt like my presence was cramping his style a little. I reluctantly left him and Tyler to themselves. Jacob followed me upstairs, where he led me to Sophie's car. I unlocked the door, opening it, then turning to look at Jacob.

"You know, I really hate what you did," I told him.

He ran his hand through his hair. I noticed how torn he seemed at the fact that I was upset with him. "I know, Alba. I'm really sorry. I did what I thought was best, for Theo and you."

I couldn't understand that explanation. What would have been wrong with me seeing him yesterday? There had to be underlying information to what went on, but I decided not to push the subject. I wouldn't get any farther than I had gotten. At least I got to see Theo. That was what mattered, I supposed.

For now.

I sighed in defeat, feeling all leftover annoyance and anger roll off my body. All the negative emotions could really take a toll on you. "It's okay, Jake. I forgive you. It's just—he's my little brother, okay? Sometimes it seems he's all I have left. If anything happened to him..." The thought faded out, but the implication hung heavy in the air between us.

At that moment, Jacob took one of my hands in his. The gesture was more intimate than I could handle, though I let him do it, relishing in the skin to skin contact, how warm and comforting that small gesture was.

"Theo is not all you have left," Jacob assured me, his eyes locking with mine. "As long as I'm around, you'll never be alone."

I did not know how to properly process the words he said; how full of meaning they were, one of the most sincere statements anyone had spoken to me. I could tell just how much he meant the words he spoke. I opened my mouth to say something in return, but fell short, simply nodding.

Jacob brought me close to his chest, his arms engulfing me in their protective nature.

As we released from the hug—the chill of the early afternoon more pronounced without his heated embrace—I looked at him once more before getting inside the car. "Thank you, Jacob."

A/N: Please let me know what you thought! Any guesses on what's going on? Favorite character? Leave a review with your comments, questions, concerns, etc. Till next time!

XOXO