Troubleshoot

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Bella and Rachel

Once a firm decision had been made Bella acted on it straight away. Early the next morning she climbed into her trusty truck and set off for La Push. She hadn't called ahead to give Rachel any pre-warning, deciding catching her unawares would be the best course of action. She knew that Paul was already out patrolling, so he definitely wouldn't be there, and Billy had stayed overnight at the Clearwaters according to Charlie. It would just be Rachel alone in the house.

Perfect.

So pent up with determination was she that Bella drove faster than she normally would have. The old Chevy was positively wheezing by the time it grated to a stop in front of the familiar faded red house. A lump came up in her throat as she stared at the little place that had once been her refuge. It had been weeks since she had last set eyes on the place. Even in that short time she sensed the air of neglect hanging over the house. The paint was peeling. Shrubbery had grown around the front porch. The windows hadn't been cleaned. All the jobs that Jacob routinely did to keep the place presentable had been abandoned now he wasn't there to pick up the slack.

Something inside Bella hardened at the sight of the house's ramshackle appearance.

Even before she cut the engine, she saw the net curtain twitching at the front window. It had to be Rachel peering out to see who the early morning visitor was. The sudden silence as the truck's roar died felt ominous to Bella. She suddenly realized she was going to have a fight on her hands if she was going to get Rachel to listen to her.

With a steely glint in her eyes, Bella climbed out of the truck, slamming the heavy iron door closed as she jumped to the ground. Rachel suddenly appeared in the doorway, her face blank with shock. She was still wearing her pajamas, her silky black hair tangled and unkempt.

"Bella?" She questioned in confusion. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Its not that early." Bella corrected her. "It's gone eight o'clock."

A surly expression crossed Rachel's pretty face. Her almond shaped eyes-an exact replica of her mother's- shone with irritation. She crossed her arms defensively over her chest, her mood turning sourer with each passing second.

"Dad isn't at home." She said pointedly.

"I know that." Bella tried to keep her tone as polite as possible, but already she was struggling. "It's you I've come to see. I want to talk to you about Jacob."

Rachel rolled her eyes heavenwards. "I see. I assume you've already got tired of hosting my little brother at your house. Kick him out if he's taking advantage. He's still got his bed here if he ever decides to get over his little strop with dad."

Bella felt like her self-control was a finite resource in the face of Rachel's contrary attitude. She couldn't believe what had just come out of the girl's mouth. Did she have such little consideration for her brother's welfare that she didn't care what happened to him? What had happened to Rachel in the intervening years she had been away at college to turn her into such a selfish harpy? Had she always been this way? Or was she so easily influenced by Paul, despite the four-year age gap?

During childhood, Bella had been acquainted with Rachel and her sister, though they'd never become real friends. Bella knew that the sudden death of Sarah, their mother, hit the family hard. Rachel and Rebecca, however, had a harder time dealing with it than Jacob, and when Rachel received a scholarship from Washington State University in Pullman to study computer engineering, she moved away from La Push and rarely returned home to visit. Her sister, Rebecca married a man named Solomon Finau as soon as she was old enough and moved to Hawaii.

When you factored all this information in together, it showed a pretty self-centered attitude toward family. It seemed both twins had no qualms about leaving their little brother to shoulder the burden of their increasingly disabled father's care alone. They never came home to help, or even to give Jacob some respite from the daily grind. And now that Rachel had returned, she was still focused only on herself and her needs.

Bella wondered if Rachel would even still be here if Paul hadn't imprinted on her that day at the beach. Rachel was obviously an intelligent girl. She had graduated early from college after studying computer engineering. It was a career she could utilize anywhere, in some shape or form, even somewhere as remote as La Push. But since coming home, Rachel didn't seem inclined to put her newfound skills to use, instead wasting her days lounging about the house with Paul whenever he wasn't patrolling.

Knowing that she had a big mountain to climb in regards to forcing Rachel to pull her weight, Bella straightened her shoulders, jutting out her chin as she tried to appear taller.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"Why?" Rachel eyed her critically.

"So we can talk."

"About?"

Bella frowned, feeling the fire seed of her anger growing hot in her belly. It wouldn't take too much for it to erupt. Her skin grew hot, chasing away the cold, even though the temperature had to be close to zero outside. She imagined this was how Jacob must feel, right before he phased. The intense heat, the adrenaline surging through his veins. Bella wished she could channel that energy now and turn wolf. She could imagine herself snapping at Rachel's heels as the girl ran off screaming for her life. It was a pleasant picture and eased some of Bella's frustration.

"I already told you, I'm here to talk about Jacob." She stated as calmly as possible.

"And I already told you to send his sorry ass home if he's outstayed his welcome. What more is there to say?"

"Oh, there is a lot more, I can assure you." Bella snapped. "So, we can either go inside and talk like civilized people, or we can have the debate on the front porch. I don't care as long as I get you to listen to me and see sense."

"You can't order me about!" Rachel replied scathingly. "This is my house!"

"That Billy pays for!" Bella countered, quickly losing her cool again. "Jacob has already told me you contribute nothing financially."

"Trust my little brother to be the one running off like a spoiled child telling tales to the leech lover!" Rachel retorted. A sneer contorted her features as she looked Bella up and down with such an intense dislike that it took Bella's breath away. "Oh, yes, Bella Swan, Paul has told me all about you. Not my little brother's sanitized version-according to him, you're a freaking saint-no, Paul told me the truth. You've done nothing but manipulate my brother from day one, using him to make yourself feel better. And you're still doing it. So don't you dare stand there, acting all superior. I know your type. You like to act the martyr. Well, I see right through you!"

Bella was so taken aback it took her a moment to recover from Rachel's hurtful ranting. She breathed deeply through her nose, trying to hold back the easy tears that threatened to spill down her face. She would not cry in front of this hateful girl.

"You know nothing about me."

"And I don't want to!" Rachel seethed. She jabbed a finger in Bella's direction. "I am not going to stand here being lectured to by the likes of you. So, you can turn around, get back in that dilapidated piece of shit you drive, and go back to your cozy little life in Forks."

It was the last few words that Rachel spoke that Bella focused on. What did the girl mean her cozy life in Forks? She and Charlie were comfortable, but not particularly well off. She had to save and work hard for any opportunities that came her way, just like any other teen. Rachel made it sound as if it was easy, like she was some rich kid who had everything delivered to her on a plate. Which was so far from the truth, it was laughable. She was an only child of divorced parents. She had gone through enough emotional trauma of her own growing up with flighty Renee as a mother.

Bella fell silent, regarding Rachel more closely with troubled eyes. Rachel stared back at her, her hostile expression not quite hiding the scared child within. Bella could see it now, the pain inside, the soul drowning in this persona Rachel had carved to fit a world of indifference. But she couldn't help someone like that, not unless the tears came and Rachel admitted what was really going on.

"I know what its like to be angry at the world, Rachel." Bella said carefully. "I know what its like to try and numb the pain. It doesn't work. You can't hide from it. It just eats away at you. Something happened when you were away at university, didn't it? Something that made you ashamed to come home?"

A tremor rippled through Rachel, making her shudder from head to toe. Bella's empathy only seemed to ignite the fury that seemed to be her constant companion these days. The well-intentioned words Bella spoke triggered something in her that came from fear. There was heat in her voice as she answered.

"Are you trying to psycho-analyze me, Little Miss Perfect?" She sneered.

"No." Bella reasoned. "I'm trying to understand why you act the way you do. You're unhappy. Anyone can see it if they cared enough to look. I would like to help, if I can."

Bella could see Rachel balk at first, so accustomed was she at hiding behind her fiery temper. Bella was different, she had learned to absorb things and then respond more than react these days, trying to dampen situations rather than adding to the flames. It had been a lesson hard learned from all the emotional trauma she had suffered in recent months.

All the fight seeped out of Rachel. She wilted like a flower denied the heat from the sun. She slumped, dejected, in the doorway, her dark brown eyes reflecting the misery inside.

"I failed, okay." She muttered in defeat. "I flunked out of college. I didn't even make it past the first semester."

Of all the things Bella expected to hear, this wasn't it. She managed to keep her facial expressions as well as her tone neutral when she asked why.

"Was the course too difficult? I mean you're a scholarship girl. I thought you would have found it easy."

"It wasn't the course. If I'd bothered to put in the hard work and study, I probably would have made it through."

"So, what happened?"

"You should know. The same happened to you, didn't it?" Rachel continued in the same defeated tone. "I met a rich guy. I thought I meant more to him than I did. I neglected my studies. Everything was great for the first few months. Then he got bored. I panicked. I changed everything about myself just to please him, to stop him from leaving me. But he left anyway. So, there was I was, heartbroken, alone, heavily in debt, with no college degree and no place to stay. I had no choice but to come home with my tail between my legs. Happy now?"

Bella was shaken to her core by Rachel's admission. If you took away the supernatural elements, so much of Rachel's story mirrored her own with Edward. "So, you came back and lied about graduating early?"

"I could hardly tell the truth, could I?" Rachel said bitterly. "That I'd allowed some rich kid to screw me over. And then I came home and Paul imprinted on me. Bam 'its love at first sight.' Now I have a devoted man for life. But in having that, any other opportunities I have are ruined. I'm tied to the one place where I don't want to be. Coming home was supposed to be a temporary solution, so I could lick my wounds and figure out how to start again. But now I have been thrown into this whole world of the supernatural, without the first clue in how to navigate it. So, tell me, Bella Swan, with all your vast experience, what am I supposed to do now?"

A/N-thanks for reading!