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Chapter 176

Big Brother

Jake

It was hard to watch Leah suffering at night. She was fine during the day, but when the night came, it was all over. Evening after evening she would withdraw, wanting to be alone, and cry herself to sleep. On Wednesday night, after she had met with Nanuk again, I had thought things would get better, but her quite acceptable good mood had lasted only insignificantly little longer. I had not been present when she had met the brothers, but she had shown me during our usual evening run.

She had linked arms with them and the three of them were walking along the shore. Chatting about all sorts of things. Akai had stumbled during a story and had unintentionally pushed Leah into Nanuk's arms. It was another one of those moments between the imprinted when they almost forgot everything around them, but they both stuck to their plan.

I didn't know if I should congratulate Leah for continuing to not allow anything more than friendship or if I should yell at her to finally give up. It was now not just an extremely stupid situation in general that Leah was in. Even though she cried for Marcus at night and those tears were definitely real, Leah and Nanuk still couldn't deny that there was a spark between them. But who knew what Nanuk would do if he knew Marcus was gone. It didn't mean he'd immediately run off to break off his engagement. That would kind of make me feel like second choice if he did that just because of that fact. In that respect, I could understand Leah not wanting to tell Nanuk. But how long was that going to last, please? ... Lol. If I already didn't know what to do or think about it in general, why should it be better or different for the two of them?

Today was Thursday.

After practice, I stayed with Becky.

We wanted to study together. The only question was for which subject. I had bio in mind, with some hand-to-hand combat training and "wrestling", but Becky was thinking more of math. We both had no major difficulties with math, therefore we were done early to repeat all the topics of the first semester. There was only one matter with which we were a bit stuck. Analyzing graphically presented statistics.

"You know who might help with this?" my star asked, tossing her booklet aside.

She wheezed tiredly and rested her head on her knees offended.

"Dad?" I asked purely rhetorically. As we all know, he could do anything.

Becky smirked.

"Yeah, that one probably would too ... But I meant Marcus," Becky said.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

"Probably," was all I said.

We were silent, sitting on the floor and staring somewhere.

Maybe I had no right to do it, maybe it was just idiotic simply because it was Leah's relationship, but I missed Marcus.

"We could drive to his place," I suggested cautiously.

What were the generally accepted social rules about this? Was I allowed to visit my sister's ex? On the other hand, what was normal or customary with us?

Becky had jerkily lifted her head.

Was she smiling? I was not sure.

"He's at work and I could use something to eat anyway," I mumbled afterward.

"How do you know that?" she asked in amazement.

"I ran into Maggie yesterday by chance. She told me he was working any make-up hours today that he missed for whatever reason."

"Did she say how he was doing, too?"

"Not particularly. That's all ... She generally kept a very low profile. Mind you, who knows what he said at his house. He couldn't very well say that Leah imprinted on someone else."

"Then you should go see him!"

I nodded. I rose.

I bristled.

"Uh ... don't you want to come?", I asked, slightly confused. The subject of Marcus was taboo with all of us. Simply because we all missed him. Now I had somehow assumed that Becky would want to come along.

She chuckled.

"Nah, never mind. I'd rather leave you two guys alone," she smirked. "But you can give him a message from me," she said, and then gave me a big peck on the cheek.

"Nope, I'd rather keep that one to myself!", I stated.

"Egotist!"

"When it's about you, always!", I said and kissed my star properly, so that it would last until tomorrow morning. Or at least for a few minutes. "See you tomorrow then, my star!", I kissed her again after saying goodbye to her parents and brother and standing in the front door.

She snuggled up to me, almost taking my breath away.

"Maybe I'll stop by for a little while tonight to make sure you're alone, too!", I teased her.

"Mmm ... I'll definitely leave the window open," she murmured with relish.

Nighttime break-in through the window. It was now at the top of my 'to do' list. I had never done it before, but hadn't Dad used to do it to Mom? Every night? Dad always wanted us to follow his example, didn't he? I doubted he meant anything like that, but he had not said so explicitly.

So I drove to Portland, to the diner where Marcus worked.

I parked right behind a very familiar to me dark blue Audi.

Becky had suggested that she could drive me here so that we wouldn't then be in two cars going back to Saco, but I had no idea if Marcus even wanted to see me.

Maybe he just wanted to forget about all of us as soon as possible and not see any of us.

With mixed feelings, I stepped through the door and looked around.

The store was well attended, as always. At least always when I had been here. Either I was in the area by chance and ate here or we were here with the group to take Marcus with us after his shift.

I saw Marcus right away. He was standing with his back to me at one of the table niches and was elegantly stacking dirty plates on one hand.

I always found it fascinating how expertly that looked with him. As if he were doing it professionally ...

Then Marcus turned away from the table, turned in my direction, saw me, and almost dropped the plates.

As I said, almost.

He was able to avert it after all and then came towards me.

I didn't like the way he looked. As if he hadn't even slept properly in the last few nights. Exhausted and also a little powerless. Haggard. Overtired.

"What are you doing here?" he addressed me as he stood right in front of me.

"I miss my brother," I stated truthfully.

For a moment we just looked at each other.

I wasn't sure what would happen next. Whether he might kick me out.

"And the fact that you're hungry can't be coincidental?" he asked.

"Bullshit!", I said. How did he come up with that?!

"I miss you too, Jake," he said then, though, and we high-fived like we usually do.

We immediately passed each other. He went around the counter to the left to enter the kitchen. I sat down at the counter on the right. On the way, I waved to the other waitress I'd seen here a few times before. Invitingly, Marcus stopped behind the counter in front of me before walking through the door.

"So ...", I began. I tugged at his polo shirt to read the name of my waiter. "... Marcus? What can you recommend?", I asked.

"The usual?"

"Sounds tasty!"

Grinning, he went into the kitchen and put down the dirty dishes.

"Jake's here. He'll have his usual," he announced to Thomas, the cook and owner of the diner.

"Okay," the latter merely replied.

Apparently I have been here more often than I had spontaneously assumed.

"The same for you?" asked Thomas afterwards.

"Nah. Not hungry," I heard Marcus' answer indifferently.

"That's what you said yesterday too," Thomas replied attentively. "Is everything all right with you? You usually eat plenty while you're working, but since yesterday you seem like you're not quite yourself anymore," he noted with concern.

"Everything's okay," Marcus said grumpily and left the kitchen in a hurry.

At least that's what it looked like when he came shooting through the door.

He ran both hands through his face and further through his hair before shaking his head vigorously. Unprompted, he brought me a glass of Coke. He continued to go about his work. Took orders, handed out glasses or plates, gathered dirty dishes until he then leaned in front of me. For the moment, all customers were served.

"How's Becky," he asked first, then, as he sipped his own glass and relaxed for a moment.

Always with an attentive look over the clientele. That's how I knew him. He didn't want to risk losing this job just because friends of him were here and he therefore neglected the clientele. Thomas wasn't exactly a stickler for the rules in this regard, but better safe than sorry.

"Well. Actually, I'm supposed to give you a kiss from her, but I'm sure you'll forgive me if I keep this one for myself," I asked innocently.

"Don't know yet," he said with a vague smile. "Maybe I'll get it from her personally," he teased me.

"And you? ... School, studying, working, ...", I asked cautiously.

He nodded dejectedly.

"It's going."

Wow ... what an eloquent answer, I thought in fascination, raising my eyebrows critically.

"Backwards and with a running start. But it's going," he then admitted.

However, I didn't know what to say about that either.

Fortunately, a guest just waved for the bill. My meal was also ready, and I got it served by Marcus.

Cheeseburger with extra cheese and bacon, plus onion rings and potato skins with a wicked sour cream.

I unwrapped the overrated cutlery from the napkin and set it aside.

All I needed was the napkin. Within reach.

I took the big burger in my hands and bit into it with relish.

Really tasty!

"Brandon sprained his hand on Tuesday," I told him.

He asked, chuckling, how that happened.

I grinned.

He had stumbled against me during practice.

While the chewing and further irrelevant chatting, I watched begrudgingly as Marcus shoved one potato skin after another with plenty of sour cream into his mouth. Until my plate was empty. I narrowed my eyes angrily.

I had gotten three of them off.

Before I could voice my resentment about the unacceptable service of this place, two new plates came out of the kitchen. One plate with a burger and onion rings, which landed in front of Marcus. One with new potato skins, which Thomas positioned in front of me.

"Break!" he murmured to Marcus with a stern face.

The little game with chewing, chatting, and potato skins was repeated. Only this time the other way around. Thomas also brought us each a piece of cake.

Very attentive staff here!

Marcus' break was quickly over, and he continued to work.

I stayed, nevertheless.

It was not yet ten o'clock in the evening and the place was already emptying, so he was able to linger with me for a chat quite often.

"Looks like we're about ready to close up," Thomas noted from the kitchen as he peered through the hatch at some point.

I then helped to collect the last remnants of dishes, Marcus wiped over the tables and the counter, his colleague washed glasses. And then it was time to lock up.

At just a little after ten o'clock.

"I'd suggest you could still come along for a chit-chat, but I doubt you'd want to," I said as we made the very short walk to our cars.

"Let's drive to my place," Marcus suggested.

I nodded in agreement, and we briefly discussed the details.

On the way, he would stop at a gas station, and I would stop at Abigail's, whom I immediately called.

Abi was sitting on the porch with her girlfriend, already waiting for me. I waved a greeting to the bubbly blonde Abi had met on New Year's Eve, while Abigail joined me at the car. She handed me a bag of weed and I handed her the money for it.

"Seems to be going well with you and Jessie," I noted smiling.

"Oh yeah. She's totally cute!" sighed Abigail in love.

It made me happy for Abi and I hoped it would last for a long time.

"Thank you!", I said, pointing to the sachet.

We gave each other a kiss on the corner of the mouth, and I drove again.

Then we were already sitting on the rather flat roof, next to the window to Marcus' room. Luckily it hadn't snowed today, so the roof was dry. Marcus rolled us a joint while I liberated a six-pack of beer.

Sitting there, drinking, smoking pot, chatting, increasingly chuckling. It did really good again.

"Any news on my bus, by the way?" asked Marcus at one point as I lit the second joint.

At the question, I shook my head.

"I don't like that it's still with you guys. That Rosie should be renovating it even now ... It must go against her grain," he reflected.

"Oh, come on. Rosie likes to tinker," I said succinctly.

"Yes, but of all things MY bus? Still now? After I ...", he started to say, but did not speak further.

I finished my bottle, nodding as I did so.

So now we had arrived at the more sensitive issues.

"How are you doing ... without Leah?", I asked, handing him the joint.

He looked saddened, pulled at it for a long time, and lowered himself with his back on the roof.

"Lousy," Marcus replied as he puffed out the smoke.

He put an arm across his forehead, and we were silent for a moment.

I saw how a drop rolled out of his eye.

"I feel like I've lost my will to live somewhere. The drive for my life. Nothing seems important anymore, everything is just going mechanically without me really being in it ... I miss her so much that it hurts."

"I can understand that," I said. That wouldn't be any different for me with Becky, however, I would never leave Becky. "But then why did you break up with her or not go back to her?"

"Because it wasn't about me, it was ... her."

He handed me the joint and I took a drag with relish.

"As long as Nanuk exists, Leah is not able to love me the way she might want to ... It was hard to admit that to myself. I was willing to share Leah to some extent with him. But Leah is not able to do that ... Did Edward actually tell you why I exactly broke up with her?"

"Because you don't want to stand in the way of their happiness!", I summarized.

"So to speak. She loves me, I still don't doubt it, but she can't reconcile it with her conscience to be interested in two men. You've seen for yourself the meaningful looks they give each other as if out of nowhere, and all that's arrived with me is the feelings of guilt for just that ... Last week Tuesday we were out in Portland with friends of mine. That was the last night that Leah was really mine. The one where she kissed me and really loved me. She was completely free of any concerns or pangs of conscience. She was simply Leah! ... But after that it only went downhill. Slowly, but steadily. She never really kissed me once since that night. She just couldn't do it anymore."

"But ... I did see you do it," I questioned.

"No, Jake. Our lips touched. She also hugged me and stuff. But that's all. That wasn't Leah anymore. And forgive me if I say that your sister is usually anything but a well-behaved angel."

Since I already heard enough about her thoughts from my twin, I could unfortunately confirm that. But that's exactly why I usually didn't watch Leah when I was present. In this respect, I had to admit that I had actually not noticed more between the two.

"I'm sorry, Marcus," I said, because I couldn't think of anything better to say.

He just nodded and we finished the joint in silence.

"Is she at least together with Nanuk now?" asked Marcus almost contemptuously.

"No ... He doesn't even know you broke up. Leah won't tell him."

"Why not?"

"Different reasons," I said, and he nodded invitingly. "They made this plan together so they wouldn't lose Kate or you. You may be gone, but Kate is still there. And Leah doesn't want Nanuk to break his engagement only because of this fact. That would make her feel like a second choice or like she's pushing him into something. But she doesn't want that. She doesn't want to be the guilty one ... Besides, it may well be that he doesn't want to do it of his own accord. That he just takes note of this fact, but continues to live his life as before with Kate. I guess Leah in doubt wouldn't want to be affronted that way either. ... But she also just wants to be friends with Nanuk. Nothing more ... Besides, she's hoping you'll take her back if this just goes well long enough."

"I'm ... not going back!" stated Marcus.

Maybe he was trying to say it convincingly, but with me it came out rather sadly.

"Leah and Nanuk are only getting in their own way. One day they'll realize that, won't be able to keep it together, and will give up their fight. And when that day comes, at least Leah won't have to think about whether she's allowed to."

I laid with my back on the roof as did he and we opened the last two bottles of beer.

We kept silent and looked up at the cloudy night sky. And we actually fell asleep on the cold-as-ass roof.

Fortunately, Marcus had a blanket under him.

I woke up to the sound of beer bottles rattling softly against each other from a gust of wind, swaying ominously. It was dark.

Well, it had been when I had driven to Portland from Becky. It felt like the middle of the night now, though. A glance at my phone more or less confirmed that. It was just after midnight. According to this, I hadn't slept very long. Dozed off, I should probably say, or I wouldn't have heard the clinking of bottles.

I texted Dad.

Not that he was going up the walls in fear again.

Sorry. I fell asleep. I'll be home soon.

Okay

came back posthaste.

Marcus was still asleep.

I smirked afflictedly.

He had one hand outstretched towards me and the fingers were against my arm. One hand to the heater. Or one hand to the wolf.

I nudged him.

No reaction.

I turned a little in his direction.

"Marcus!", I said clearly and shook on him.

Nothing.

His head fell to the side without resistance.

"Marcus!", I said again and immediately stood up straight.

Not a good idea. Three beers and two joints. I was feeling pretty dizzy, and I dropped right back down to my knees and shook my head vigorously. Wasn't getting any better. I was kind of shivering, even though I wasn't freezing. But I was close enough to Marcus and put my hand against his neck. His heart was beating, and he was probably still breathing.

I sighed with relief.

But what had I assumed? That a perfectly healthy, athletically active young man would die just because he had been lying on the cold roof for a little too long? Jake! Grow up! He's just sound asleep. And from the looks of him in general, I suppose I should let him sleep. But I was too dizzy to carry him. If I lost my balance, we'd both end up one story down on the lawn.

I still had the cell phone in my hand, which I used to dial immediately.

"Jake? What's wrong?" Dad called out before I even heard a ring.

He sounded worried, but that was only logical, since I had written just two minutes ago that I would be home soon.

"Dad. I think I need your help," I said carefully.

"What happened?" he asked immediately.

Sounded like he was already standing next to the bed instead of still lying in it.

"Don't panic, Dad. Everything's fine. We just fell asleep, but I'm afraid I can't hoist him into his room right now," I explained.

"Why ... can't you?" asked Dad, confused.

I ran a hand through my hair in an agitated manner.

Well, I didn't really have an explanation for that right now.

"I don't know. We've been sitting on the roof for about an hour and a half, in our thick winter jackets, having drunk a few beers ...", I reported the details, but then broke off in mid-sentence.

"So?", however, Dad dug deeper.

Great. Now I had to tell my old-fashioned dad about drugs?

"And ... smoked pot."

"And will you also reveal to me where you are so I can be of assistance?", Dad sounded far calmer than I would have guessed now.

"Oh, yes. With Marcus," I admitted. Nobody but Becky knew that I was here.

Dad would come.

I threw the blanket, which Marcus had taken out with him because of the cold underground, a little bit around him.

I wanted to actually go through the window, and bring in the empty beer bottles, but everything swayed if I removed my head too far from the floor - or in this case from the roof. Therefore, I just stayed seated for the time being.

I found it quite funny. On New Year's Eve I had had no problem after smoking pot. I was still surprised that it had not quite unfolded its effect. Why did that then hit me now of all times on the circulation?

Not four minutes after I hung up, Dad was there. He jumped elegantly from the side onto the roof of the house.

"Hi ...", I grinned.

"Jake," he stated tonelessly at first, kneeling between us.

He apparently checked to see if Marcus was still alive, as I had earlier, but also put a hand to my throat.

"Your heart is racing and you're hypothermic by your standards. Are you dizzy?" Dad wanted to know quite worriedly.

I nodded, growing increasingly tired, but he was already picking Marcus up from the cold underground.

"Sit tight, Jake," he instructed me, briskly carrying Marcus, blanket and all, through the window into his room.

Then he went to get me.

It was like a head-butt when Dad pulled me up.

He propped me up until the window, sat me in an armchair, and began undressing Marcus.

"You need to get out of those cold clothes. You both seem to have hypothermia," he explained in passing, having already turned the heating up to its highest setting.

No idea what that meant, but I just stayed seated.

"Low temperature or simply undercooling."

I swallowed.

Was that dangerous? Had we been far too reckless when we sat down outside so that his ma wouldn't notice any of the grass?

My dad looked at me.

"If you hadn't woken up, this could have backfired in some way," he said seriously.

Damn!

I closed my eyes, tried to relax inside, because I was still shaking. However, I did not get to relax.

"Jake!" someone shook me so that I was startled.

Carlisle? What was he doing here? Or was I hallucinating? Was that part of this hyperthermic?

"Jake! You kindly need to stay awake!", I was explained.

Yes, that was Carlisle. His anxious face hovered right next to Dad's. They took off my jacket and my freezing cold shoes. Then I saw a needle flashing in the light of a bedside lamp.

"No!", I clarified loud and clear.

At least I thought so. It had not been quite so loud. My attempts to somehow save myself from this also failed miserably. Dad held me tightly, whereby it didn't look as if it would cost him very much effort.

"Jake, please! If Marcus is hypothermic, that's one thing. But if it's affecting my son, a self-healing Spirit Warrior, I want to know how that's even possible!" said Dad meekly, and I surrendered.

I had no more strength anyway. Apparently I didn't just get a shot. Carlisle pushed up my sleeve and drew blood from me. I didn't feel his cold fingers or the needle. I only saw in a slight blur how the red liquid collected in something transparent.

Dad and Carlisle spoke to each other as they did so.

Therefore, Marcus lay undressed but wrapped in blankets in his bed, his temperature was already rising very slowly, and his circulation was absolutely stable. Mine, on the other hand, kept dropping, which did not please the doctors at all. Even though I noticed less and less, I could still see that Dad and Carlisle were getting more and more nervous. This scared me. Too quickly and quietly for me to understand, they were now discussing. Or maybe I was just drifting into fatigue. I don't know for sure. I also didn't know how long they discussed until I had some hands lying on my face that I didn't really feel but only saw.

"Jake!", Dad shook me a little that I looked at him between my heavy lids. "Can you phase?" he asked urgently.

I did not know. I closed my eyes and tried to find the animal. But there was nothing. No little tranquil fire that I could grab and pull over the human body like a blanket. Not even a little spark was there. Or was I simply too tired to feel the supernatural power?

They pulled me up from the armchair.

One on the left, one on the right.

So they walked up and down the room with me.

Well, I dragged myself more than I actually walked. They kept telling me not to fall asleep, to move instead, to get my circulation going, to wake up the wolf in me.

It took a while, but then I actually noticed the wolf.

Or let's say I felt the burn, which had never seemed so pleasant as it was now. More and more the feeling gathered in my limbs. The burning was pleasant. I could make out Carlisle and Dad's cold hands on my skin, leaving with my arms more and more of their supportive shoulders and walking increasingly on my own. Under my own power.

Dad still walked by my side. Carlisle stepped toward me just as I was walking toward him again.

"Sounds all good again, Jake," he stated, but grabbed at my forehead and looked me in the eyes. "Wolfish temperature, calm heartbeat, steady breathing, no red eyes. How are you feeling?" he asked me.

"Hungry?", I offered.

He smiled reassuringly and said I could probably stop walking.

"What luck. While walking, it's not so comfortable with sleep," I said and yawned.

Carlisle jumped out the window chuckling.

"You're okay?" asked Dad very intently, turning me by the shoulders in his direction.

"Yes, Dad. Everything feels the same as usual. I don't feel dizzy or anything anymore either," I said seriously.

"Thank God!" he sighed in relief and hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry I scared you so much," I murmured, returning the hug just as firmly. I had seen in Dad's eyes how scared he had been for me.

"Weren't you at all concerned about how your body might have reacted to the grass? After all, you're not human anymore?" asked Dad, detaching himself from me a bit.

I swallowed.

"No ... um ... we smoked one on New Year's Eve, too. I was feeling pretty good then. So I pretty much didn't think anything of it," I reflected, forcing myself now not to think about the fact that we'd all smoked pot on New Year's Eve. Wasn't working. Damn it!

Dad rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Such a typical father gesture that let me chuckle. Something like that just didn't want to fit with his appearance.

"Teenagers!" he mumbled, amused. "Do you still have some of that. Maybe it's the quality of it that affected you so physically."

I looked around for a moment and went to Marcus' jacket, which was lying on a chair next to the bed. I rummaged a bit, but then I found the bag with the remaining grass.

It would still suffice enough for a joint.

"Does this actually have any effect on vampires?", I asked as I handed him the bag.

"No," he merely said.

I narrowed my eyes.

The answer came to me now somehow too quickly and precisely.

"Tried it yet?", I asked, therefore.

Dad smiled.

"Sure," he smirked. "Was Emmett's idea."

Then Carlisle was there again. He had gotten me one of those ready-made sandwiches from the gas station around the corner. They weren't necessarily delicious, but you could eat them in case of need.

"So, what was that all about?", I asked him, chewing the last of it.

"We don't know that for sure," Dad said, seemingly continuing to be unwilling to leave the seat next to me. "But you really should get to bed."

I nodded and wearily dropped into the armchair to put on my shoes.

"Maybe you should stay here tonight, Jake," Dad reasoned, however. "For one thing, I'm sure Marcus' family has noticed that you're here but haven't left yet. For another, Carlisle will be staying the night as well, as a precaution, in case anything happens in the next few hours. I'd rather that he keep an eye on you at the same time. Having a wolf lying next to him would also do Marcus a lot of good. In two ways, actually. Because of your body temperature, of course, but also because he would feel that he is not alone."

I nodded again and threw my shoes aside.

Actually, I was quite happy for this suggestion. I was really exhausted and just wanted to sleep. But ... do you get coffee in bed here?

Dad smirked.

"By the time I get here with it, it'll be cold!" he stated matter-of-factly.

"Ever heard of thermal cups?", I asked just as matter-of-factly with a subsequent yawn.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice then asked from the bed.

Marcus had woken up.

Carlisle immediately sat at his side.

"Hello, Marcus. How are you feeling?" he asked confidently.

"Confused?", Marcus ran with one hand through his face. "What are you guys doing here? And how am I going to get to bed? Weren't we sitting outside? ... And why are you getting undressed?" he looked confusedly from one to the other.

Dad walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"You fell asleep in the cold and were both hypothermic. When Jake woke up later, he wasn't able to wake you up or carry you into the warmth. That's why he called me. And if Jake suddenly doesn't have enough strength to carry a person, I want to know from Carlisle how that can happen," Dad explained in summary.

"I'm fine!", Marcus said thereupon.

"Jake as well, but even though your body temperatures are already back to normal, I don't want to take any chances. Carlisle should oversee your vitals for the rest of the night," Dad said.

"Jake is staying here, too. So I can keep an eye on both of you," Carlisle added.

Marcus seemed to consider this for a moment and then let himself fall with his back again into the bed.

"Well, then," was all he said.

I undressed and climbed into bed next to him.

"But don't confuse me with Becky again!" he threatened in my direction.

I shrugged noncommittally, which let us both laugh.

Unfortunately, I couldn't promise that. Whenever we lay in bed together for whatever reason, mostly with Leah and Becky together, there had actually always been some kind of mix-up during the night. When Becky and Leah were in New York, the night before Christmas Eve, or when the four of us had fallen asleep somewhere. It didn't matter. Had happened every time.

"You should be asleep. It's already after one!" Dad commanded us.

Smirking.

"And you go home. Bella will certainly worry if she wakes up and you're not there," Carlisle commanded him in turn.

With a kiss on my forehead, he wished me a good night.

"Of course I'm worried about you, Marcus. You're still part of my family," Dad told Marcus, with which he apparently responded to thoughts of his.

He also gave him a kiss on the forehead.

We quickly fell asleep.

When Carlisle woke us up the next morning, we were lying in bed completely tangled up in each other, which was not really otherwise expected.

It was just before six o'clock and I didn't get any coffee!

Accordingly, my mood was.

Carlisle tortured us one more time extensively.

Taking our blood pressure and temperature. It could have been worse. Blood again, for example. He was satisfied, said that everything was within the human/wolfish normal range and disappeared through the window when he heard that Jules had just gotten up.

"You look pretty recovered," I noted with surprise as I was just getting dressed.

Marcus was leaning against a table next to me. The bags under his eyes, which I had seen so clearly yesterday in the diner, had almost disappeared.

"That was only the second time I've slept more than a few hours at a time since Sunday," he admitted sheepishly.

"When was the first time?", I dig deeper curiously.

"On Monday afternoon. When I went to pick up my things, I fell asleep on the sofa at your house."

"You're that down about the Leah thing?", I asked, crestfallen.

He nodded and let his head hang.

I leaned next to him.

It had been his own decision to separate from Leah and he had not done it voluntarily. I had fully understood that by now.

"It wasn't a lie what I said yesterday," I said.

He looked at me questioningly.

"I miss my brother!"

"Then maybe we should do this again when we get a chance," he suggested cautiously.

"By all means! But maybe without falling asleep on the roof," I nodded in agreement.

I left in the same way I had come here. Through the front door, after I had at least met Jules in the hallway.

"Jake. Give Becky a kiss for me," he urged me as we high-fived farewell.

"And what kind of one?"

"I'll leave that up to you!" he smirked.

On the way home, I picked up rolls for breakfast as usual.

Leah had just come in from running when I got home at 6:30.

"Well, were you able to tear yourself away from Becky after all?" she teased, walking past me up the stairs in her bathrobe.

As she disappeared from my sight, I sighed with relief.

Dad probably hadn't told her then where I had really been that night. That was good. We didn't talk about Marcus here in the house anymore, because we all knew how sensitive Leah reacted to it at the moment. Because we were experiencing the same thing with her every night. As soon as the time came that Marcus would be here under different circumstances, Leah started crying. Hearing that I had been with him would have seemed pretty unfair to her. Actually, it was, but I couldn't help it.

I dumped the rolls into the designated basket on the ready set table, crumpled the bag and quickly went upstairs to wash and shower.

When Leah stood in the shower after me, Dad joined me.

"Carlisle just called in," he commented.

"And? Does he know what was going on with me?"

"Not exactly. Your blood values from tonight are apparently impeccable. As if everything had been in perfect order. In this respect, we suspect the interaction of drugs, alcohol, the very cool outside temperature without any movement, and on top of that, that you fell asleep. After falling asleep, one first falls into a deep sleep phase in which all bodily functions are immobilized. In Marcus' case, which caused his body to cool down."

"So it was actually reckless!?", I startled.

"Marcus was still a bit away from medically relevant hyperthermia. In this respect, nothing would have happened if you had woken him up or simply put him to bed and then come home. But taking drugs always has something to do with recklessness!" Dad lectured me seriously.

I didn't know how much Dad knew about me in that regard. I had never talked to him about it before, because that time was actually behind me.

"I smoked pot quite a bit for a while," I admitted to him at one point.

Dad sat down on my desk chair with interest while I got dressed.

"Way too much. At the time when I skated. At first it was just off and on, but it got more and more. Until I was actually just walking around stoned. At the time, I thought it was pretty cool."

"And if you thought it was so cool, why did you stop at some point?"

"Leah and Lisa gave Bran and me quite an ass kicking. We had shown no interest in absolutely anything anymore. Everything had become indifferent to us. That got on the girls' nerves so much that they finished us off one night."

"And after that it was over? Must have been a very convincing speech by the ladies."

"Yes and no ... When I was together with Abigail, I started again. Well. You can't really say started. I don't know Abigail any differently than that she smokes one now and then at parties or something. So I just joined in again. Simply because I like the taste. New Year's Eve Abi happened to be at the party we were at and of course had grass with her. That was my first joint in months, and I hardly noticed anything. I even thought about whether the wolf was responsible for the fact that I hardly noticed anything," I confessed.

Dad peeked pretty expressionless.

"Are you disappointed or angry now?", I asked cautiously.

"But no, Jake. I thank you for your candor. For telling me all this without me asking you to ... It's like with alcohol. I don't have any objection to it, as long as you don't overdo it. I know that you usually don't overdo it. These are things that are part of growing up. You try things out, test your own limits. It's not a written law that every teenager has to try these things, but most of them do it ... And unlike David and Bella, I know that I have to include Leah, Becky, and also Marcus in this consideration. But for next time, I would be very comfortable if ..."

My cell phone announced a text message and Dad paused.

I turned to my cell phone on the bed.

No intruder tonight :-(

appeared on my display.

Oh ... Crap.

I'll make up for it! Promise!

I wrote back.

Woe if not!

I smiled and just saw Dad leave my room smiling.

I was looking for a sweater in the closet when my baby brother came to pick me up for breakfast. He crawled across my room.

I held two sweatshirts in my hands. One in black with a hood.

My newest favorite piece. Becky had picked it out on the internet, and she looked so cute in it when she wore nothing but it.

The other was dark green without a hood, but with crooked attached pockets, an equally crooked zipper, and a collar that looked more like a scarf.

Cool part. Becky also looked cute in it.

"Which one?", I asked the fashionably absolutely competent young man on my floor. You shouldn't be fooled by the little planes on his sleep romper!

"Da!" he pointed to the green one.

So I threw back the black one and put on the green one.

With a happy Ced on my arm, who played unflinchingly with the zipper, I went downstairs.

At the table, I greeted Mom and Leah in a good mood each with a kiss on the cheek.

School was brutal today. Every teacher taught us that exams started on Tuesday.

Monday was a holiday, but then three days of pure horror would follow. On Tuesday and Wednesday there would be two exams each, and on Thursday three. And a week later, on Friday, there were the report cards and the new schedule for the next semester. And these were just the midterm exams! I didn't want to imagine how hard it would be in summer when it came to the real final exams. Fortunately, practice was cancelled for today.

So by 4:30 p.m. I was already on the road to the lake, along with Leah and Becky on my back.

Our parents were already over at Esmé and Carlisle's, once again swimming with Ced.

We wanted to follow.

For me and Becky, History with Jazz was on the schedule right away, Leah had English with Carlisle.

Well, what can I say? We were really letting it rip for a Friday night. Oh well. Whitewashing didn't help any more.

'Do you think he's already there? We should be able to hear him already, despite the distance,' I asked Leah mentally as we hasted through the forest.

I didn't hear Nanuk, which kind of upset me.

If we had to wait a long time for that one, too, dinner would be delayed even more. But Leah didn't know either. They had agreed on the time yesterday by phone. But Leah began to worry. I wish I hadn't asked!

A short distance from Brandon's cabin on the lake, we stopped and got dressed.

I had last seen Nanuk in person on Saturday and had never been to one of their meetings.

Leah said they would both always get dressed again before they got to the cabin, since they didn't know if the other would be there yet.

Herewith taken note of.

But we were taken by surprise.

Nanuk was already there. Apparently already for a long time. He had set up a picnic for all of us in the sitting area, which was right next to the hut. He was sitting on the bench, leaning against the wall of the house, reading. When he saw us coming, he immediately jumped up and walked briskly toward Leah. They hugged each other tightly.

Meanwhile, I marveled at the food he had dished up.

It looked really good.

"My mom ask if we are available to be food testers. She had today off and tried new recipes. This is the result," Nanuk pointed to the table.

"I thought she only had a café?" asked Becky in amazement.

But other things than just cakes and such stood there.

"Yes, but she wants to expand the range a bit," Nanuk explained.

"For the optics, it's definitely full points!", Leah stated enthusiastically.

I agreed with that, but ...

"... you must have looked pretty silly when you brought that here," I laughed, pointing to the large basket that was off to the side.

"The way Akai and my grandpa were having fun, I think ... in any case!" stated Nanuk, and we sat down.

I sat next to Becky, and we fed each other with things we absolutely had to try. I graciously praised his mother's cooking skills, even if it was all finger food.

We chatted merrily as we did so.

About anything and everything.

He had taken Leah as an example, had been here before, and used the time to tackle with his studies again. So he had one of his books from college with him. After all, he would be heading back to Boston on Monday evening and would be going back to college every day starting Tuesday.

Leah choked on this statement and coughed violently.

"But ... how ... will we see each other when you get back to Boston?" she asked, so startled that I was staggered.

She was really scared.

Nanuk put a very gentle hand to her cheek.

"Boston is not the end of the world, Leah. I put it into a route planner earlier. There's not a hundred miles separating us. By car, just an hour and a half drive ... How fast do you think we are as wolves to meet somewhere in the middle?" replied Nanuk with a smile.

I noticed how the two of them were already sinking back into each other's gaze and cleared my throat loudly.

Then I changed places with Leah.

However, the distance between the two was not of much use.

But it went on cheerfully talking until the table was eaten empty.

Thanks for reading!