a/n

Apparently, hell is icing over as we speak because I think I actually made my deadline! I very much enjoyed writing this chapter, and hope you all enjoy it as well.

Oh, and I almost always forget these disclaimers, but Twilight and its related characters are not mine…blah blah…don't sue…blah blah…

Also, Elisa's back in school this chapter and so we have teenagers being teenagery, meaning there's some language. There is also some innuendo and discussion of illegal substances.

Evening Falls

Chapter 22

Intervention

I woke up face down in a pool of drool the next morning to find gray light flooding the room from the muted dawn. I was half hanging off the bed, my fingers nearly grazing the carpet, and the alarm clock was shrieking next to me.

Surprisingly, in the two seconds that it took to move over to click off my clock, the last vestiges of sleep left me and I felt surprisingly clear headed, much more so then I had in days, if not weeks. I probably should have been irritated with Jasper for dosing me with the equivalent of a psychic sleeping pill without even asking, but I had to admit, it had been a long time since I'd had such a good night's sleep.

My good mood instantly faded as soon as I caught sight of my self in the free standing mirror next to my dresser and I jumped off the bed and hurried over for a closer look.

My heart sank rapidly as I contemplated the horror that was reflected at me. During the night, evil fairies had apparently descended upon my face and changed all my bruises to the most vibrant, neon shades that existed in the Technicolor rainbow. My black eye was the worst offender; having turned several stomach churning shades of purple and green.

"Rosalie!" I wailed loudly, turning sideways to see if it was just as bad in profile. It was.

Rosalie appeared seconds later at my side as if she'd teleported herself there. She was fully dressed and looked like a model about to sit for a photo shoot, even in her jeans and plum colored sweater. I felt like even more of a troll than I had six seconds earlier.

"What are you carrying on about now, Elisa?"

I turned to face her fully and she flinched. Clearly, no other explanation was needed. "I see," she tilted my head upwards, looking me over carefully.

"Can't you do anything?" I begged. "Cover it up with makeup or something?"

Rosalie shook her head, looking aggrieved. "I'd have to cake it on – it will just draw more attention to it." She brushed my hair back from my face. "This is as bad as it's going to get, I promise. By Monday they'll have faded enough that we can cover what's left easily."

She heaved a sigh and turned towards my closet, swiftly pulling out a hanger. "I looked through your clothes yesterday, trying to find something that would cover up the marks on your neck. This is the best I could do."

The garment she was holding out to me was a cream colored turtleneck. I took it with the smallest sigh I could manage. It was a lovely sweater, obviously top quality but…well, it looked like something my mother would have worn.

I hanced another sideways glance in the mirror, imagining myself with my patterned skin and no neck style and whimpered quietly. Rosalie looked deeply sympathetic. "It's just one day," she reassured me before turning back to the closet. "Let's find you something to wear with it."

We were interrupted by a tap on my cracked door. It opened fully to reveal Alice, clutching the cordless phone from the kitchen.

"It's Esme," she explained, holding it out to me. "She wants to talk to you."

"Thanks," I mumbled, taking it, slightly diverted from my fashion crisis by her appearance. The panic that I had felt yesterday was mostly gone, but it still felt very awkward between us, like I had been caught reading her diary.

I forced myself to stop thinking about her and pay attention to Esme's voice in my ear. She was filled with apologies for not catching the flight back this morning like she and Carlisle originally had planned but apparently the Quileutes had asked for a day to talk amongst themselves. I was dying to ask about Jacob but she didn't mention him and I was too self conscious to bring him up with Rosalie standing right next to me.

After I had reassured her several times that we were all perfectly fine and that everyone was taking very good care of me, I hung up the phone.

To my surprise, Alice was still in my room, holding out a hanger to me with a tentative smile on her face.

"I think this skirt might be a good fit with that sweater," Her voice was very careful, almost nervous.

"Thank you," I said, hardly able to disguise my surprise, but feeling warmed by the gesture as I took the soft gray skirt from her. It had been a long time since Alice had taken an interest in my wardrobe.

Rosalie made a skeptical noise as she scrutinized Alice's choice, but apparently she couldn't find anything to criticize because she remained silent. I looked between the two of them, feeling the sudden chill in the room. Apparently, I had not been the only one who had taken Alice's distant attitude personally, and by the look on Rosalie's face she was not quite so willing to forgive and forget.

"Come on, Elisa," she said, deliberately ignoring Alice, "go get dressed and I'll do something with your hair."

She practically shoved me towards my bathroom but just before I entered, I turned back to Alice, who was hovering near the doorway with the uneasy air of someone who wasn't sure if they should stay or go. "Alice? Do you think maybe you could pick me out a pair of shoes too?"

Her anxious expression dissolved into a much warmer smile. "Of course."

I returned the smile and ducked into the bathroom,

By the time I was ready to go, my hopes were at least partially realized. Rosalie clearly understood how much of a travesty it was that I had to go out in public with a face that resembled a rejected Pucci print. She took extra care with my hair, brushing it until it gleamed, curling it with her own iron, and fastening it back with a pearl inlaid barrette from her own collection. By the time she and Alice were done with me, I was relatively confident that if I wasn't such a Bride of Frankenstein at the moment I might actually look good.

"That's much better," Rosalie was telling me happily as we waited on the porch for Emmett to pull up in the car. "No one will even notice – " she broke off at the look I shot her. "Alright, I'm not going to lie to you. They'll all notice. But at least you have fabulous hair." She winked at me, and I couldn't help but giggle, despite my feeling of impending doom. In less than an hour, I was going to see Jimmy for the first time in over a week, and it would be rather crushing if he shrieked and ran the other way the second he caught sight of me.

A horn honked impatiently and I looked up to see Emmett leaning out the driver's side window of the car. "Haul ass, ladies, it's not like they're going to wait to ring the bell until you get there!"

"It looks like you're expected, Elisa," Rosalie announced as we pulled into the school parking lot.

I looked out the rain spotted window and my heart, which had been residing somewhere in my shoe for the entire car ride, leapt back into my chest with a near painful jolt. A figure in a blue hoodie was slumped against the light pole that stood sentry at the end of the parking lot, watching us pull in. As we got closer I could see his tell tale blond hair escaping the hood over his head. He stood up as we drove closer, his expression impatient, clearly waiting for me.

However, I wasn't the only one having a reaction to Jimmy's presence. Emmett's normally light hearted face darkened noticeably. "I don't like you hanging out with that kid," he grumbled as he slid the car into the parking space. "Do you have any idea how long his disciplinary record is?"

"Emmett!" I turned scarlet as I realized that he'd made good on his threat to check Jimmy out.

"Probably as long as yours would be if you were a human student in this day and age," Rosalie slapped his arm and I was immensely grateful for her intervention. "Give Elisa a little credit. She knows what she's doing." With that, she climbed out of her seat and pushed the chair back so I could climb out.

Emmett grinned at that and conceded the point with a shrug. I grabbed for my book bag, suddenly desperate to be out of the car before he decided to confront Jimmy and ask him what his intentions were.

"Elisa," Rosalie froze me with a steel look as I started to climb out of the car. She leaned towards me. "You'd better know what you're doing."

I gulped and squeaked an incoherent reply. She raised an eyebrow, apparently satisfied by my slight tremor, then she tilted her head, giving me a final once over. "By the way, I'd lose the sunglasses if I were you."

I touched the frame of my enormous sunglasses self consciously. It had seemed a good idea to grab them when we'd left the house – I was thinking of hiding my gigantic shiner by going incognito but maybe she was right. It was gray and drizzly out and my wanna be movie star look would stick out like a sore thumb.

I forgot all about my sunglasses when I stepped out of the car. Jimmy now was only a foot away, tapping his sneaker on the curb as he waited for me, and I desperately hoped he hadn't heard anything they'd said.

Rosalie and Emmett must have said goodbye at that point, but I barely noticed them pulling away – my attention was focused solely on Jimmy now. He looked even better than I'd remembered, the only boy I'd ever known that could make jeans that grimy look good.

When Jimmy saw me look at him, his face broke into an overwhelmingly bright smile and he rushed forward.

"Elisa!" Abruptly the grin faded. "God, your face – " he stared for a second at the bruises that my massive lenses couldn't conceal, then shook his head as if he'd interrupted himself. "I have been freaking out over you! Nobody in the office would tell me anything, and if it hadn't been for Thornhill giving me updates, I don't know what I would have done. " He ran a hand through his dark blond hair in agitation. "I mean, a car accident – that's gotta be rough, especially after, you know…" He lowered his voice but didn't finish, giving me a significant look.

I actually didn't know what that was supposed to mean…his light blue eyes were extremely distracting, especially with that thrilling concern so obvious within them. "Um…what?"

Jimmy's expression was becoming more and more concerned and suddenly it clicked. Elisa, wake up and pay attention. He's talking about your family having died in a car accident, you moron. Of course he would assume I'd been extra traumatized by this latest car related incident, and here I was, ready to compose sonnets about his eye color. This was the time to put on a good show to back up our cover story and I couldn't let myself get sidetracked now.

The usual pain that coursed through me whenever I thought of my family was an instant ally. I could feel my face start to crumple involuntarily. "Yeah, it was – "

"Hey, Elisa!" Much to my relief, we were interrupted by a loud voice calling my name. I turned to see two of Jimmy's friends, Connor and Mercer, heading our way. The fact that they were talking to me was a bit surprising; they usually sat with us at lunch but I'd never exchanged more than the usual pleasantries with them.

As they got closer, I fully appreciated for the first time what a study in opposites they really were. Where Mercer was black, tall, and rail thin, with a shaved head, Connor was so short that he looked like an escapee from elementary school. His hair was a dyed bright raspberry red tangle, and he was as white as I was.

When they reached us, Mercer grinned down at me. "Heard about your accident, Elisa. Nice tread marks!" Both of them were staring at my face and I flushed self consciously.

I rolled my eyes. "Uh…thanks?"

"Man, that bruise looks massive! I think it's bigger than the one I got when I face planted trying to jump a park bench on my skateboard. Take off the glasses and give us a better look," Connor was practically standing underneath my chin, staring upwards.

I groaned silently, looking at Jimmy for help, but he just smirked and pulled my book bag off my arm.

Slightly distracted by his unexpected chivalry in carrying my bag for me, I was quickly brought back to earth by an insistent voice.

"Come on!" Connor reached up and tried to pull my glasses off himself but I ducked out of his way with an indignant squawk. What was the big deal, anyway?

"Fine, then, take a look," I gave in and pulled the sunglasses off with a flourish. Connor and Mercer's reactions didn't disappoint. Their jaws dropped simultaneously and then Mercer let out a loud whistle. I couldn't help but laugh at how easy it was to impress them. Only boys would think giant bruises were some kind of badge of honor.

"That is one magnificent mark. If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd been in a fight!" Mercer finished his examination and stood back, beaming as if this was the ultimate compliment.

I giggled nervously. "Only with the airbag."

They both laughed appreciatively at this and I began to relax. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all. Sure, I was already getting the side eye and snickers from some of the passing students, particularly members of the clique that I had declined to join on my first day, but Jimmy hadn't seemed too repulsed. Plus his friends were acting like I'd passed some kind of initiation and was a full fledged member of the club now.

I turned my gaze back to Jimmy, but he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was digging with seemingly no shame at all through the bag that I'd thought he was trying to carry for me. "Hey! Personal space! What do you think you're doing?"

"Looking for this," Jimmy pulled my cell out and immediately began dialing. "I'm putting my number in your phone. No way am I going through another week like this last one."

I heard a buzzing and he tossed my phone back to me and dug his own cell out of his jeans. "Now I have yours too – " He looked up at me as he spoke and instantly his words cut off in a strangled croak.

Any relief I had felt earlier had a shorter shelf life than the average Volturi tourist. Jimmy was staring at my fully exposed face in utter horror, exactly the reaction that I'd feared. Something shriveled inside my chest as I stared back at him, and I was seized with the urge to run to the bathroom and hide for the rest of the day.

Before I could contemplate whether there would be crying along with my hiding, he seized my upper arm in a tight grip, turning to Mercer and Connor. "We'll catch up with you guys later, alright?" It was a clear dismissal.

Connor and Mercer exchanged deeply amused looks as Jimmy pulled me away, oblivious to his expression. "Oooh, they want to be alone!" Their teasing hoots might have thrilled me under normal circumstances, if it hadn't been for the direly serious look on Jimmy's face.

"We need to talk," Jimmy nearly growled the words through gritted teeth and then he was tugging me across the lawn towards the school. I wanted to demand an explanation for his unscheduled freak out but Tandy Newmeyer, who apparently had called on the powers of darkness to conjure herself up at the most inconvenient moment, stepped into our path. My irritation at seeing her was increased by the fact that she was far prettier than someone wearing that amount of black mesh had any right to be.

"Jimmy, I thought you were going to meet me in the café –" Tandy caught sight of me and her scowl deepened. "Oh, it's you. Guess you survived after all." Her tone implied that this was a deep disappointment, and I gave her an acid look in response.

"Not now, Tandy," Jimmy shot her an impatient look and maneuvered me around her.

Tandy looked stunned by his brush off. She hurried forward to step in our path once again. "What's with you?" She demanded of Jimmy.

Jimmy heaved a sigh and we stopped abruptly, long enough for me to yank my arm out of his grip. "That's what I'd like to know too, Sasquatch Boy. I have enough bruises already without you dragging me around, thank you very much!"

"Do you now?" Jimmy's lips twisted and I noticed that his Newfie accent, barely noticeable at times, was getting stronger. "I was just looking forward to how you were going to explain how your 'car' managed to reach out and pummel you with its fists."

Tandy and I gasped at the same time, and she turned back to stare at me so fast that I was amazed she didn't give herself whiplash. Now I was caught in their dual, unrelenting gaze.

"I don't know what you're – " I was perilously close to stammering, and my heart was thudding in my chest.

"Wait a second," We were standing next to the school building now, and Tandy shot a wary look at the students milling within earshot. "Let's go down there," she pointed to the outside stairwell that led to the basement level of the school, where the science labs and the cafeteria were.

Before I could tell Morticia to mind her own damn business Jimmy had reclaimed my arm and was marching me down the concrete steps. As soon as we reached the relative privacy at the bottom, I pulled out of his grasp once more.

"Alright, now what's going on?" Tandy asked sharply, with some nerve, since I was the one who actually had the right to know.

Jimmy ignored her, his razor sharp gaze zeroed in on me. "How stupid do you think I am, Elisa?"

"I don't t-think you're stupid," I choked. Great. Now I was stammering. What was going on here? He just couldn't be saying that he knew I hadn't been in a car accident, because never in our Vampire Subterfuge 101 sessions back home had we ever covered the part where they didn't believe you.

"Do you have any idea how many fights I've been, Elisa?" Jimmy's voice was more controlled now, but his jaw was still clenched tightly.

No, but I'll bet Emmett does, I thought to myself. Out loud, I said, "A lot?" The feeling of being backed into a corner was growing stronger by the second.

"Yeah, a lot," Jimmy nodded, his face grim. "So I know what it looks like when someone gets hit." He crossed his arms. "Look at her, Tandy, and tell me with a straight face that an airbag did that."

Oh God. Oh God oh God oh God. He was saying he didn't believe the car accident story. Dammit, how could this be happening? And since when were teenage boys allowed to be insightful, anyway?

"Y-you're t-totally wrong– " I tried to object but I was stammering even more and turning a brilliant shade of red at the same time. It was definitely not my finest performance and even as I watched, the doubt on Jimmy and Tandy's faces solidified into certainty.

As Tandy looked me over, her dark eyes widened. "Nice turtleneck, Elisa. I don't suppose that's a hickey you're hiding under there, is it?" Her words were swimming in sarcasm.

My hands flew to my neck guiltily as my blush became even hotter. "I don't know what you're talking about!" To my alarm, my voice trembled. I was digging my own grave deeper by the second and I had no idea how to climb out of it.

I didn't think it was possible for Jimmy to look any more upset but at Tandy's words his face went an odd shade of gray. Without another word he strode over to me. I realized his intent too late but even as I started to whirl away he had caught my sweater by the neck and yanked it downward to expose my neck and collarbone.

I should have shoved him away but I couldn't move, even when Tandy moved closer to me, looking sickened. "Are those what I think they are?" She muttered to Jimmy.

He let go of my shirt abruptly and I stumbled back as he looked at her. "Yeah. Those are finger marks." When he turned to me, his lips were white with anger. "I suppose the car tried to strangle you too, right?"

I couldn't speak. I just shook my head slowly, tears welling in my eyes.

"Elisa, this is serious. You have to tell us what's going on." Tandy turned on me. "Did someone hurt you?" Her voice rose again when I didn't answer. "Stop standing there pretending like you don't know what we're talking about!"

"Elisa, come on," Jimmy broke in when I still couldn't master the power of speech. His voice was low and anxious now. "Hey, you can talk to us, OK? I didn't mean to get so mad. It's just – " He stepped closer to me, trying hard to force an imitation of his usual smile. "I have this burning urge to kill whoever did this to you, and if you don't tell me, I just gotta start going through everyone you know. Can't you narrow it down a little?"

I shook my head, even as the tears spilled over onto my cheeks. A sound between a laugh and a sob ripped from between my lips. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Tandy folded her arms across her chest in a direct imitation of Jimmy. "We know you weren't in a car accident, don't we?"

I stared at their unrelenting figures. There was nothing else for it. Slowly, I nodded. "But…I can't…please, just trust me. I can't tell you anything else."

Jimmy groaned loudly and he gestured towards me. I jumped back, not sure if he was trying to comfort me or strangle me himself. Tandy pushed him back. "Let me handle this, Jimmy."

She turned towards me. "Look, Elisa, I may not like you, mostly because you're a chirpy pain in the ass who's somehow magically hypnotized my best friend into thinking you're the best thing since chocolate chip cookie dough. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to sit back and pretend none of this ever happened. I mean, have you seen yourself? Nobody deserves to be hurt like that. Not even you."

I moistened my parched lips. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "All I can tell you is that it's not what you think it is."

Tandy sighed loudly and exchanged an exasperated look with Jimmy. "Fine. Since you're too stupid to help yourself, I guess we'll have to do it for you."

She stepped back, turning to him. "We have to go to Principal Wilkers."

"Wilkers is an idiot," Jimmy answered her, ignoring me as I tried to protest. "Thornhill is better. He'll know what to do."

"Wait, wait, wait!" True panic assailed me as they began to ascend the stone steps.

Jimmy turned, two steps above me, to look down. His face was set. "I'm sorry, Elisa, but Tandy's right. If you can't help yourself someone has to step in."

Oh, this just kept getting better and better. The Cullens' spent over a century keeping a low profile and now because of me they were going from mysterious and rich to child abusing deviants overnight.

"You guys don't understand! Would you wait?" I ran past them up the stairs, turning to block their way. I had to clear my head and think of a way out of this, but the only thing floating through my mind at the moment were the Lifetime movie titles that were going to be inspired by my life, like Victimized By Vampires: The Elisa Jensen Story (or maybe Buried Out Back: The Nameless Social Worker's Story was a touch more likely.) Oh God, if I didn't fix this now everything was going to be ruined.

"Look – " I held up my hands. "OK, you're right. We lied to everyone. There wasn't a car accident."

Jimmy and Tandy had stopped in front of me and now they exchanged a significant look. I blocked them more fully before they could start walking again. "If I promise to tell you the real deal, would you guys stop trying to go all afterschool special on me here?"

"Save the cover up, Elisa, I'm not interested." Tandy started forward again.

I turned to Jimmy, my eyes welling with fresh tears. "Please!"

He regarded me for a slow second, then, to my immense relief, Jimmy reached out and grabbed Tandy by the elbow. She gave him a furious look but he was already pulling her back down the steps. "C'mon, Tandy, this is too serious to screw up. I think we at least need to hear what she has to say."

Relief made my eyes well up even more. I had no idea what I was going to tell them, but at least now I had a chance.

Jimmy led the way back to our spot in the entry way. He turned back to me, arms folded, waiting.

"OK," I swallowed hard. My hands were shaking. "Do you both swear never, ever, to tell anyone what I am about to tell you?"

"You've got to be kidding – " Tandy began hotly but Jimmy cut her off.

"Depends on what you tell us." His face was unmoving, and I could tell that was as good as I was going to get.

Here went nothing. My mind, which was usually so good at coming up with stories, was dangerously blank, and I could tell by their impatient expressions that they weren't going to wait long. "Alright…so, this didn't happen in a car accident, like you already know." I touched my bruised face lightly. "It was – " A tiny voice in my mind screamed at me to shut up, but her name had already jumped to my lips. "Bella."

Oh hell, why did I just say that? Way to sell out, Elisa. If my vampire family had to rely on a moron like me to not blow their cover, they might as well give up now and surrender themselves to science for study and experimentation.

"Bella?" Jimmy's brow furrowed as he tried to place the name. "The girl you talk about all the time, the one that just married your cousin? She did this to you? Are you serious? I mean, you talk about her like she's some kind of saint, like you – "

"Idolize her," I admitted, as he struggled for words. "At least…I did."

Unexpectedly, my voice cracked. Abruptly, I sat down on the bottom step, the weight of everything on my shoulders suddenly too heavy. I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull this off.

"Hey, Elisa…don't cry," Jimmy looked nearly panic stricken himself. He followed my lead, sitting down next to me. Tandy eyed us for a moment then went to sit on the step above us.

"What happened?" Jimmy urged once the imminent danger of waterworks seemed to have passed. "You two got into a fight?"

I bit my lip hard. It was too late to change tracks now. I was going to have to run with this one. "It wasn't really her fault. She wasn't herself."

"What do you mean?" Tandy demanded.

"She…um…" My mouth was cotton dry. "Bella…has a problem. It made her – different."

I could see by their faces that my vagueness wasn't going over too well. "What kind of problem?" Tandy was relentless. "Was she on something?"

Without any better ideas, I nodded again, hoping that would be enough.

Of course it wasn't. "What was it?" Freaking Tandy. Did she need me to draw her a diagram too?

"Um…heroin," I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head and then cringed silently. Fabulous. I really hoped that being known as a drug addict with violent tendencies was preferable to being revealed as a blood sucking fiend, because otherwise if Bella ever came back to St. John's she would really kill me this time.

"So what happened?" It was Jimmy that spoke this time. "What made her go after you?" He moved closer to me on the step.

Of course I couldn't tell them the truth, that apparently in Bella's eyes I really was the next best thing to chocolate chip cookie dough. Despite my annoyance at her fifty million questions, Tandy's prompting had given me sudden inspiration. I plunged ahead, feeling my gift for storytelling renew itself. And since the best lies were always rooted in truth, I decided to start there.

"OK, so last weekend, it was Bella's birthday. And um – she kinda has this social anxiety deal going on, where she can't stand being the center of attention. But I really wanted to throw her a birthday party, you know? I mean, a few presents, some cake…what's so bad about birthday cake, right?"

To my surprise, Jimmy and Tandy were hanging on my every word as if I was making total sense so far. Heartened, I continued. "Well, anyway, I guess I pushed it a little too far. It was only supposed to be family, but some other…old friends of hers showed up." I closed my eyes for a moment, seeing again the nightmarish image of Irina and her cohorts, appearing out of the trees. "They um…brought a not so great present."

"They brought her the drugs?" Tandy asked helpfully.

I nodded. "Yeah. " I felt dizzy as I remembered Dax stalking me in the garden, Bella running between us…the way that blood had gushed from her torn throat…

"What did she do to you?" Jimmy's voice was a horrified hush.

I shook off the memories and delved back into fiction. "She was completely out of it, like she didn't even recognize any of us or understand what was going on. I think she targeted me because she was mad about the party. I was the one who forced her into it. If it hadn't been for me, she would have stayed clean – none of this would have happened. So she - " My breath was coming in pants now. "She attacked me."

In my mind, Irina's hand flashed towards me again; I felt myself hit the garden wall. My head and face throbbed in memory, but I forced myself to continue. "And then…she choked me."

As I talked about it, it was like it was happening all over again. I could remember all too clearly strangling in Bella's grip, unable to breathe. My voice became a rasp and it was a struggle to not hyperventilate. "Anyway, I don't remember much after that. I guess she finally realized what she was doing."

"You don't remember?" Jimmy's eyes bulged in sudden realization. "She choked you until you passed out?"

"Damn," Tandy muttered from above us. "That is one crazy bitch."

Jolted at hearing Bella described that way, I shook my head in protest. "It's not like that! I mean, it is like that, but she's – that's not who she is! She's never been like that before. It wasn't her fault; you just don't understand."

"I hate to break it to you, Elisa, but if she willingly took the drugs, then it's completely her fault." Tandy's voice was flat. She'd been leaning towards me but now she sat back against the wall, folding her arms across her chest. "And I do understand, more than you realize."

Jimmy's hand tilted towards her and I saw the surprise on his face, as if he hadn't expected her to say what she was going to say.

Tandy sighed, shifting forward once more, her eyes fixed on my face. "My older brother Trent is hooked on crank." Her voice was very flat now.

Crank? I'd heard the term before, but I wasn't sure exactly –

Tandy broke into my thoughts as if she'd read them. "It's meth, Elisa."

"Ohhh…" I said, and then winced in horrified understanding. "That's really bad."

"Oh, you think?" Tandy's voice dripped with sarcasm.

I shot her an apologetic look and much to my surprise, she gave me a small smile. "Sorry. I'm a little touchy about it. Listen, I'm not telling you this so we can bond and cry together. I'm just saying I get the wanting to make excuses. My family has done it for years. But the last time Trent showed up, talking the same old talk about how he was going to change, he ending up stealing my mom's bank cards. He took everything we had. We got evicted because of him and spent six months sleeping in my uncle's living room until my mom scraped together enough to get another place. He never even came back to check on us or say he was sorry."

She looked away from me now, as if she didn't want me to see her expression. "You can't trust an addict and trying to justify what they do leads nowhere. No matter what is going on with her, that doesn't give her the right to use you as a punching bag."

"I know," I stared down at my feet. "I just – I can't believe I was so stupid. Everyone warned me about what could happen. They said we had to let her go away, someplace where she would be safe. But I wanted so bad to believe that Bella would be different, like she'd have some super self control and nothing would have to change." I took a deep breath. "I'm really mad at her," I admitted. "I feel rotten about saying that after everything she's done for me, but I am. I thought she was going to kill me! How do I get over something like that? And then…they just left. Both she and Edward walked out like I meant nothing to them. They didn't even say goodbye! I mean, I know they had to but - " The lump in my throat was making it hard for me to finish.

"Where did they go?" Jimmy asked curiously. "To a rehab center or something?"

"I'm not exactly sure," I mumbled. "Something like that. They're going to be gone a long time."

"You're lucky," Tandy turned her head back to me. Her eyes were overbright, but not damp like mine. "At least she's trying to get better. You have hope. That's more than most of us get."

I felt very small and petty now, sitting here feeling sorry for myself, especially in the face of what Tandy had just revealed. "You're right," I whispered. "I'm really lucky. I guess maybe I forgot that for a little while."

We sat in silence for a long moment before I cleared my throat. "Hey, you guys…I'm really sorry that I lied to you. It's just – "

"You wanted to protect her," Jimmy said, and I was filled with more guilt at deceiving him again. "I get that. It's going to be hard enough on all of you without people talking behind your backs. You don't need to worry about us saying anything. I swear we won't."

"Thank you," I answered as Tandy nodded. "Not just for keeping quiet. It may not have seemed like it a few minutes ago, but it means a lot that you were worried about me."

"Alright, now you're asking for it," Jimmy grinned and jumped up, pulling me up with him. He held out his arms exaggeratedly and I laughed, letting him pull me into a hard hug.

When he released me I caught sight of Tandy's face over his shoulder. She looked like she was gritting her teeth.

"Um…" I stepped in her direction hesitantly. "Are we hugging too?"

Tandy looked as if I'd just offered her a maggot sandwich. "I'll pass," she snapped.

I laughed again, feeling so giddy with relief that I'd managed to smooth everything over that I couldn't be offended.

My euphoria was dampened slightly when I noticed how quiet it was. The grounds were empty now, eerily silent when compared to the cacophony earlier. "Oh, crap! The bell rang!"

Jimmy snorted. "About fifteen minutes ago, Elisa."

"Oh no," I moaned. "Late on my first day back – Rosalie is going to kill me! I'd better get to class."

Tandy elbowed Jimmy in the side and he nodded reluctantly. "Us too."

I reached down to pick up my book bag as the two of them began to ascend the stairs.

There was a long squeak followed by a loud bang from somewhere above us; the sound of one of the outer doors opening and slamming closed again. The three of us froze in our tracks, and Jimmy turned to look at me, placing a finger over his lips.

Someone was walking in our general direction; I could hear the footsteps getting louder. I held my breath. The last thing we needed was –

"JAMES RAFFERTY AND TANDY NEWMEYER!" The voice boomed down to us and my stomach curdled as Principal Wilkers appeared at the top of the stairs, his face like a thundercloud. Strands of his comb over blew in the rising breeze. "Only a few weeks in and you two are already cutting class. Just as I had begun to hope that this year would be better, here we are, right back where we started from." He crooked a stubby finger at them. "My office, NOW."

Jimmy's shoulders slumped. He started forward, but I ran around him.

Principal Wilkers nearly jumped out of his loafers at the sight of me. Clearly, he hadn't seen me hidden behind the two of them.

"Elisa Cullen! Where did you come – oh dear." He was staring at my face. "We're very relieved to have you back. I was quite sorry to hear about your accident."

"Thank you. Principal Wilkers, I just wanted you to know that Jimmy and Tandy weren't really skipping class. I mean they were, but it's not their fault." I gave him my best wide eyed expression, knowing my face still bore the evidence of recent tears. "The car accident really shook me up. I wasn't ready to come back to school, and I guess I fell apart a little. They were trying to talk me into going to class. If anyone should be in trouble, it should be me."

Principal Wilkers looked completely discomfited. "I see. Well…er…" he looked at the three of us. "Under the circumstances…I suppose an exception could be made…" With that, he dug into his pocked and pulled out a small white pad. Taking a pen from his jacket pocket, he scrawled on it, repeated the process twice more, and bestowed each of us with a sheet. I stared at it, realizing with astonishment that it was an excused absence slip.

"I want all three of you in class next period, and from now on," Principal Wilkers was clearly trying for a stern tone, trying to reclaim some of his lost authority even as Jimmy began to smirk. With a brusque nod, he turned and went back the way he came.

Jimmy gazed at me in blatant admiration. "Did you see the way his spine turned to jelly at the sight of you? Your family must be loaded!"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Seems to help, doesn't it?"

He laughed. Then out of no where, he grabbed my hand. Immediately, electricity began to shoot up my arm as he started to lead me up the steps.

"Have you had breakfast?" he asked suddenly. "Because I haven't, and I think if I exploit you for sympathy, the cafeteria ladies will hook us all up. Want to give it a go?"

I giggled. "Sure – " I started to say, but my words were cut off as Tandy shoved past us. If Principal Wilkers face had looked like a thundercloud, then her expression was a hurricane warning.

"Count me out. I'm going to class," she announced, her voice still hard as she leaned down and picked up her book bag with an angry jerk.

"Are you kidding? We just got get out of jail free cards and you're going back in?" Jimmy stared at her. "What's with you?"

The way Tandy's eyes dropped to his hand, still clasped around mine, was a dead giveaway. "I have a group project due this period. I did most of the work, so I want to be there to get most of the credit. Besides, - " her voice turned glacial, "The two of you two probably want to be alone anyway." She shot Jimmy a final, blistering glare, and before we could protest, she had stomped up the stairs and disappeared.

As happy as I was to find the two of us with some unexpected alone time, the slight hurt on Jimmy's face still made me want to call her back and slap her. Talk about a mood swing. "Jimmy, is she on medication? You can tell me, I won't judge. It would explain a lot, actually."

Jimmy shook his head. "Just…give her some time. She'll get used to you. She's just…well, it's always been her and me since the third grade. I guess she's kinda – "

"Jealous?" I supplied.

Jimmy frowned. "Maybe," he mused and then his voice turned concerned. "But I mean, she's not jealous because she thinks you and me - I mean, it's not like that with us, never has been."

I shook my head. Boys! They were so clueless. Maybe it had never been like that for him, but I would have easily bet that it was an entirely different story for Tandy. If she didn't clearly wish I'd stumble over a cliff I would have almost felt sorry for her.

"I'll talk to her later," Jimmy was still looking a bit too distracted for my liking. "It's getting out of hand. I'll try to make her understand that you and me are – "

"Are what?" My palms were starting to sweat a bit, and I hoped he didn't notice. But what exactly did he mean by that? That we were just friends? My hopes plummeted at the thought.

For several seconds too long, Jimmy didn't answer. He just stared at a spot over my shoulder as if the scarred brick wall had suddenly become fascinating. Finally, he looked at me again.

"Does it still hurt?" He murmured.

"Does what hurt?" He was standing very close to me, so close I could smell his soap and something sweet, like syrup. Pain seemed like a very foreign, far away concept at the moment.

"Your face. I mean, it looks like it really hurts," he explained, and the blood started pounding through my veins when he reached up and carefully placed his fingers on my cheek.

Not when you're touching me. I couldn't speak out loud; I was too afraid my voice would crack, so I just shook my head slightly.

He didn't drop his hand. Instead his fingers trailed a light line down my cheek and goose bumps broke out on my arms. He was even closer to me now.

"I really like you, Elisa," his voice was hesitant. "It's kinda…new for me. And I think it's weird for Tandy too. That's why she's acting like this."

"I really like you too," I whispered back. So please, for my sake, shut the hell up about Tandy before you kill the mood.

He broke into a smile at my words and much to my delight, he moved even closer. We were almost touching now, barely an inch left between us.

"So…if you like me…and I like you…" His voice was barely audible now even though he was leaning down towards me, and he was speaking so slowly I thought I was going to scream from frustration. "Then maybe we should…"

Yes! I have no idea what you're going to say but I think we totally should, so could you just get to the point already?

And then he angled his head downward and I lost any ability to care at all about what he was going to say. The inch between had disappeared and his lips were a hairbreadth from mine, so close that I could smell his toothpaste and I had a millisecond of worry that I hadn't brushed my own teeth thoroughly enough. I mean, nobody warned me there would be kissing today and there was so clearly about to be – thank you Kissing Gods for cinnamon flavored dental floss; I'll buy it by the basketful from now on in gratitude.

And then his lips were just barely brushing against mine and I forgot to breathe and didn't care any more about dental hygiene. His lips were incredibly soft, and his fingers were winding through mine. My eyes were falling closed and even though the kiss had just started I knew with all certainty that it was going to be absolutely, positively, the best kiss I'd ever –

"Elisa Cullen!"

This could not be happening.

The trilling voice from above was like a bucket of ice water dumped abruptly on our heads. We both jumped apart immediately and my first instinct was to grab him and pull him back, consequences be damned, but the sound of high heels clicking on the asphalt were coming closer and closer. "Oh, there you are!"

I groaned almost silently as the rotund Marcie Hughes, our school secretary, appeared at the top of the stairs. She beamed down on us, clearly unaware that she had just disrupted the moment I'd been dreaming about for weeks. "Principal Wilkers told me you were out here, Elisa. I have something for you." She indicated something white in her hand and gestured for me to come up the stairs to her, clearly not wanting to navigate the steps in her teetering heels.

I couldn't suppress my glower as I reluctantly walked towards her. Jimmy followed right behind me, much to my disappointment. I'd hoped that he would wait where he was so we could finish what we had started as soon as I got rid of her.

"What is it?" I had to mentally pinch myself hard to keep my tone polite.

Mrs. Hughes didn't seem to notice. She tapped what appeared to be a white envelope on her palm. "Now, Elisa, under normal circumstances I'd be a little put out with you over this. After all, I'm very busy and I can't be running all over the place hand delivering students' personal mail, which has no business being sent to here in the first place."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but she was smiling widely with the manner of someone bestowing a great favor. "However given your…situation, I suppose I can make an exception just this once. Just do me a favor, and give your friends your home address from now on." With a final lipsticked grin, she pressed the envelope into my hand and turned to walk back into the school.

"Personal mail?" I stared at the envelope in bewilderment. There was no return address, just my name and the school's address scrawled in black ink. "Who would be – Jimmy?"

Jimmy had been shuffling from foot to foot next to me. Now he began to edge past me, not exactly wearing the happy expression of someone about to go lip to lip with his cinnamon scented paramour. "Where are you going?"

"I have to…" He was stammering worse than I had been earlier, and it couldn't be more obvious that he wanted to get away from me as fast as possible. "I gotta get to second period."

"But we still have ten minutes until the bell rings!" What had I done wrong? My ex boyfriend would have had his tongue down my throat by this point and be trying to unhook my bra on top of it. How had Jimmy managed to go from hot lips to cold feet so fast?

"Yeah, but I forgot my books in my locker so – " He gestured helplessly towards the school, already backing away from me.

"I'll go with you!" I insisted, stepping forward, but he looked even more panicked at this.

"No, it's cool, Elisa – I'll see you third period, OK?" With that, he turned and nearly ran off. As I watched him go, any self esteem I'd ever possessed fell into the dirt and was trampled repeatedly. I didn't know what had gone wrong, but clearly, something had.

I wanted nothing more than to flop down on the steps and sulk but the bell was going to ring for second period any minute. I had no choice but to get moving.

As I slumped up the steps I remembered the envelope that Marcie Hughes had given me and looked down it absently. I still couldn't figure out why anyone would send mail to my school. It had to be a mistake somehow.

I stopped walking as I read the black handwriting on the envelope. It almost looked deliberately messy, like someone had scrawled my name in an enormous hurry. Who would –

Jacob.

My heart began to hammer rapidly as I hurriedly tore open the envelope. It had to be him! After all, it made total sense. Of course he wouldn't want to write to me at the house and risk the others seeing. How he had figured out what school I attended was a mystery I'd try to figure out later.

I pulled the card out of the envelope with shaking hands. It was a greeting card, the type that could be bought in any store. I smiled as I read the front. Missing You was printed in bold red font and a so cute it was almost creepy cartoon bear grinned up at me. OK, so this wasn't quite enough to make me forget about my near miss with Jimmy, but it sure was a good start.

Everything changed when I read what was written inside the card.

Your secret is safe with me.

-S

The world began to swirl around me as pure terror tornadoed through my brain, smashing everything else into debris.

Not Jacob.

Sebastian.

To be continued…

UPDATED: For those of you who want a refresher on Sebastian, you might want to re-read chapters 16 and 17.

I am so sorry that I inadvertently revealed this ending a few chapters ago, when my outline was completely different. I hope that there was enough twists in this chapter to make up for it.

In the next chapter, Sebastian's message unnerves everyone and unspoken resentments threaten to fracture the Cullens just when Elisa needs them the most.

Reviews as always are shamelessly courted.