like you do | leah clearwater

killing

Things had, for all intents and purposes, returned to normal. Jake was back, which was nice, though he spent most of time brooding in the woods. Not just about Bella either, but about Paul and his sister Rachel. He'd imprinted on her when she'd come home while Jake was gone, and he was very unhappy with news. Leah was constantly complaining about his obnoxious thoughts, while Juliet was just glad she didn't have to share a brain with anyone, let alone Jake. Renee and Phil left a few days after the wedding, Charlie returned to work, and Juliet spent most of her boring work days trying to come up with some way to tell him about her relationship-though she was drawing a blank.

Her leg bounced absentmindedly as she sat on her stool behind the counter, her eyes scanning lazily over the familiar pages of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

'It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that many people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.'

The sound of the phone ringing made Juliet jump, dropping her book and losing her page. "Fuck." She mumbled, picking up the phone and holding it to her ear. "Olympic Books and Bakery, how can-"

"Juliet." Rosalie's serious voice cut through her own. "You need to come over now."

"Now? Rose, I'm working." Juliet sighed. It's like anyone had come into the store all day, but still. "I have like three hours, can it wait?"

"It's about Bella." Her tone worried Juliet. "Can you come now?"

"Y-Yeah just let me close up, I'll be there soon." Juliet slipped off the stool.

"Good, hurry." With that, the line cut off. Juliet scrambled to grab her things, barely stopping to scribble down a note on a post it to put on the front door.

———————

Carlisle and Rosalie were waiting outside when Juliet pulled up. "What's going on?" Juliet asked as she climbed out of her truck. "Is she okay?"

"She's..." Carlisle sighed, side-eyeing Rosalie.

"She's pregnant." Rosalie firmly, and Juliet's eyes widened. "And she's been asking for you all week, come on."

"All week?" Juliet let Rosalie let her inside, as Carlisle followed them. "I didn't know they were back..."

"Jules!" Bella's voice was scratchy as she called out to her sister. She was sitting on the couch with Edward at her knees, his expression agonized as he looked up at her. Her skin was a sickly pale shade, her face was thinner, and she looked more frail than a corpse. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here."

"Bella..." Juliet breathed, moving over the couch. Bella's hand reached up and wrapped around Juliet's, Juliet being surprised at just how cold they were. "Oh, Bella..." Juliet sunk into the couch next to Bella, and Rosalie was close next to her.

"I know we can't tell dad, but I didn't think it was fair to leave you out of this." One of Bella's fragile hands moved from Juliet's, and rested on her stomach. "I want you to know your nephew." One look at where Bella's hand was and it was enough to make Juliet's eyes bugged. Bella was huge, she looked like she'd been pregnant for nearly a full term-though she'd only been gone for a month.

"Nephew." Juliet couldn't think, she didn't know what to say.

"We don't know what it is." Rosalie pointed out. "But Bella's sure it's a boy."

"I know he is." Bella nodded. "Will you stay, Jules? I know it's probably not fair to ask, but-"

"I'll stay." Juliet nodded automatically. "Of course I'll stay." A small smile settled on Bella's face, though it didn't do much to quell Juliet's unease. "I'll have to call Leah, and tell her..." Juliet knew that wouldn't be an easy conversation.

"No need." Edward finally spoke up, and his voice sounded just as agonized as he looked. "Jacob's coming. The pack knows."

"Jake." Bella smiled like a child getting her most wanted toy on Christmas. Juliet knew he wouldn't be okay, he'd probably be on the warpath. One glance down at Edward and she could tell this was true.

"Juliet." Alice finally made an appearance, standing near the stairs. "Can we talk?" Juliet had never seen Alice so far from Bella, so displeased looking, so she nodded and followed her upstairs. They entered Alice's bedroom, and she shut the door harshly. "That thing is killing her." Alice's voice was also harsh, and her words brought Juliet out of her daze.

"What?" Alice was pacing back and forth, a deep scowl on her face.

"It's killing her, and Rose won't let us save her." Alice didn't seem to care that Rosalie could obviously hear her. "Emmett and Esme are backing her up. There's nothing we can do, and Bella's going to die." The words cut through Juliet like a sharp knife.

"Can Carlisle...?"

"I don't know." Alice now stopped, standing in front of Juliet. "And that thing, I can't see it."

"What?" Juliet breathed.

"Just like those stupid mutts, I can't see it." Alice huffed a sharp breath, and then her nose wrinkled back. "Ugh, Jacob's here."

"What can we do, Alice?" Juliet mind began to turn to panic. "There has to be something..."

"I don't know." Alice threw her hands up, returning to pacing. "I've tried and tried to figure it out but I don't know! Because of that thing inside her, I can't see Bella's future either! I'm completely blind!" Her fingers massaged her temples in small circles. "It's giving me a headache." Juliet let out a small breath, falling onto the ottoman near the door.

"I can't stay and watch my sister die, Alice." Juliet whispered, her head falling into her hands. "I just can't." Alice was on her knees in front of Juliet in half a second, her cold hands resting on Juliet's knees. "I can't."

———————

Juliet's hand was shaky as she lifted the phone to her ear, her thoughts wandering. Jake had broken away from Sam's pack when Sam decided that Bella and her baby needed to be killed, before it could be a threat to the tribe. Juliet didn't like thinking of it as a baby, especially not after seeing Bella's black and blue stomach, which she attributed to it just 'being strong'. Seth had followed Jacob, and they were out patrolling the Cullen's property while the Cullen's stayed locked inside the house. The phone rang, and rang, until it went to voicemail.

"Hey Lee." Juliet's voice was weak, and she tried to keep herself from starting to cry again. "I'm not...I'm not coming home. Not for a while. You know why. I..." Juliet bit her lip, choking back tears. "I love you." Her voice shook as the tears began to fall. "I love you so much. I'm sorry." Juliet hung up the phone and dropped it on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and burying her face in her hands as sobs began to rack her body. Alice was with her in a second, her arms tight but not crushing around Juliet's shoulders.