A/N~ Haven't updated this in forever, but honestly one of my favorite stories that I've written. So sorry about that, I'm definitely gonna try and make sure to update more often! Dedicated to Ana.
Sitting around the table with the triplets was different than the first time I'd done it. Instead of feeling awkward and unwelcome, I felt helpful and in a way, at home. This time, though, the tension was more extreme then it'd ever been, and the silence was unending.
I nursed my chipped mug of tea, not bothering to ask for cream and sugar. This was no time for cream and sugar. We had bigger problems on our hands. For one, the mass of men…wolves? Shifters?...whoever they were, outside hell bent on destroying the little girl upstairs was really putting a damper on the night.
Tyler was the first to speak, his voice a scratchy whisper. "If it comes down to a fight, we'll need more than a teenage girl with pretty eyes." He says, though I'm no insulted. For one, he thinks I have pretty eyes, and secondly, he was completely right. How long would I fend off the impending doom just outside the house?
"Don't go there." Damien shakes his head at his brother, though I can tell he was thinking the same thing.
"Don't go where?" I question, confident for the first time tonight. Someone had to get things done around here. "If you have an idea, we should at least consider it." I prod the group, though they seem reluctant to talk about it. "It's your daughter we're talking about." I turn to Tyler, who seemed to have a frown permanently carved into his face.
"The Cullens." He says, as if I should know what he means. When he sees the look on my face, he continues. "They're vampires, in Forks. I think we should ask for their help." He admits, but Damien and Matt are both shaking their heads like it's the worst idea ever.
"No," Damien orders, "No one knows about her, you have no idea what they'll do!" I've never seen him so wound up before. It was like he was…scared of them. He was always so collected and determined, it was weird to think of him as someone who was truly afraid.
"Well if they can help-" I start, but Damien cuts me off before I can even begin.
"No." he shoots me down with a stern look. "We can't risk it." He's up from the table now, pacing the kitchen but keeping his eyes trained, like daggers, out the window.
"We're already risking it!" I fire back. They had a chance to get some real help, some real protection, and they were passing it up. "We can't sit around here doing nothing! Tyler's right, how long do you think they're going to sit out there waiting? A week from now, we could all be dead!" The realization hits me like a punch in the gut. We could all be dead. And not just Natalie, or the triplets, but me too. I could be ripped to shred in a matter of seconds by the wolves out there. By Nathan. Or Paul.
The boys just stare at me for a minute, a mix of emotions playing on their faces, like they're trying hard to figure out the right thing to do.
"I'm going to them in the morning." Tyler tells us, his voice low and defeated. "Whether you come or not is your own choice." He leaves us, and heads up the stairs to what I presumed was his daughter's rom. Damien turns to me with the harsh expression of a disappointed father, but it fades quickly, and he spares me a small smile.
"If we're gonna do this, we should probably get some sleep."
Waking up the next day was like waking up at summer camp. There was lots of noise and movement, something I wasn't used to with spending the nights alone at my house. Damien leaned over me, softly shaking me awake and said something about me dreaming about him. I roll my eyes and blink the sleep out of them. Despite Damien's offers to share his bed, I wound up sleeping on the couch, and was now faced with the triplet's morning routine.
They were already fully dressed in jeans and some kind of tee shirt, making them hard to tell apart. Huffing, because it was honestly too early, I yanked the covers away from me and made my way into the kitchen where Damien had set out a dress that had been left in his room from an overnight guest a few days before, if you know what I mean. It was soft and blue, and at the V-neck dropped a little too low, but at the moment that was the least of my worries.
"What about Natalie?" I ask, because surely we weren't just going to leave her here alone, and unprotected while we went out. Tyler shook his head though, as if I were wrong.
"They won't be back until tonight. It's too risky to do anything during the day, and most of them have school or work anyway. They'd be stupid to come now." He assures, and I nod because what else was I supposed to do?
Damien looks at me, a convincing smile on his face and his hand extended towards me. "Ready?" He asks, but he seems to be telling himself more than anything. We head out to Matt's car, where me and Damien slide into the back and I flinch because the seat belt is too cold.
"When we get there," Matt tells us, "Let me do the talking." With a pointed look at Tyler, he speeds out of the drive way and rushes his way through the streets of La Push and Forks until we turn onto a small street leading through an array of trees. Their house had to be just up here.
It hadn't occurred to me that I was about to walk into a house full of vampires. What the hell was I thinking? But this was for Natalie. And I gave them my word I would help anyway I could, right? There was nothing to be afraid of, right?
We stopped in front of a big house, with glass windows and an arching door frame. It wasn't what I thought. How many vampires lived here, anyway?
We step out of the car in sync, as if no one wanted to be the first one. We'd barely gotten a chance to take a step when a boy was at the door. He looked my age, only bigger and scarier. With short black hair and wide shoulders that could crush you like a bug.
"She said you'd come." The man rolls his eyes, and I don't think that's what any of us were expecting him to say or do. I look to Damien who had his eyes narrowed in suspicion, and wondered if I was the only one who was curious.
"Who?" Matt asked, his voice strong like he wasn't afraid. The boy gives us each a once over, his eyes lingering on my face longer than it should have before he opens his mouth to speak. Before he can, a small girl slips out of the door next to him, a smile on her face as she approaches us like we're good friends.
"I'm Alice." She tells us, and extends her hand to Damien, who doesn't take it. I step in front of him and take it instead. Giving a small shake and a meek smile.
"Sorry about him, you know how guys are." I joke, and awkwardly chuckle, though she seems amused.
"We know why you're here." The boy on the step tells us, "Alice has been talking about you coming for weeks now. She said you needed our help but we don't know what you need our help from." He says, and curiosity is leaking from his mouth. Like blood, I think.
"We live on the res," Matt says, and Alice interrupts, her eyes wide.
"So it's the wolves you need help from then? I can't see them in my visions." She explains. I look to the triplets, but they seem about as lost as I feel. I give her a look that lets her know that we had no idea what she was on about, and her eyes widen further in understanding.
"Come on in," She offers, "Meet the rest of my family. I'll explain everything inside." The big guy who was standing at the door retreats inside and Matt and Tyler follow. I have to grab Damien by the hand and yank, hard, before he starts walking beside me, and into the house.