𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠¹| 𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ✓

I.XI

Bella didn't speak to Lucine all morning, the tension could be felt from outside the house. Charlie was still hauled up in his room asleep, the girls didn't want to wake him up knowing he needed the sleep after what happened over the weekend.

Bella tossed the key to Lucine as she grabbed her backpack. "You're driving today." She raised an eyebrow as she hurriedly grabbed her bag and ran after her sister to the truck. "Why am I driving?"---"I just don't feel like driving today."

Lucine looked down at Bella's hands, they were shaking. Lucine knew Bella would find out today but she never realized that she would be this nervous. Lucine just nodded. "Okay." She walked to the driver's seat and waited until Bella got into the truck to start it up.

***

They got to school a bit earlier than usual so they stood outside their truck to talk. Bella kept zoning out, thinking about what she saw. The Cullens showed up a while later, and Bella fell into some sort of trance as Edward walked by. Suddenly, as Lucine was mid-sentence, she started walking towards the forest, Edward following after her. The rest of the Cullens showed up around Lucine.

"Is he going to tell her?" She asked them. Alice hummed a response. "No matter what we said, he was dead set on telling her." They stayed quiet as they watched them walk into the forest, out of their sight.

"They're both so stubborn, Bella told me last night that she thinks you guys are vampires. I had to lie through my teeth." She let out a sigh as she turned to face them. Rosalie engulfed her in a hug, she always did have this maternal calmness to her. She combed through her hair soothingly.

"I know you feel bad Lucine but I don't think she'll hate you for helping us." She sighed as let go and looked over at Jasper. "You're probably right. Regardless, she was going to find out; she had to." The last part came out almost as a whisper. "What do you mean, she had to?" Emmett asks making Lucine cover my mouth.

"I- um- I-" The bell rang just in time. She points towards the school with her thumb as she stutters before turning around and speed-walks towards the school, away from the Cullens.

Stupid stupid, how could you let it out? She scolded herself as she walked to English.

***

School dragged on, and Bella never showed.

Lucine sat at the lunch table with everyone, Mike wouldn't stop staring. "What is it?" She asked him, not looking up.

Mike cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "What's um- what's going on with your sister?" Lucine stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.

"Why do you wanna know?" He looked around at everyone before answering. "Well, she hasn't been at school all day, I was just wondering." Lucine looked around at everyone, all of them attentive, awaiting an answer. "She's sick." Simple. They nodded, dropping the subject.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and everyone's eyes on whoever it was attached to. She looked back to find Emmett looking down at her with a certain look on his face.

She sighed as she smiled at him, "What do I owe this great pleasure?" Emmett laughed in a mocking tone. "Come on Lucine, we need to talk to you." He nodded toward the back table where the rest of the Cullens were. She looked at them giving them a wave and a smile.

She looked at her friends, which couldn't keep their eyes off the big guy that was Emmett. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." She said with a smile, just as she was about to start walking Tyler stopped her. "Tomorrow?" Lucine sighed, "Yeah, this conversation might drag on for a while." He just nodded as he smiled at her.

Alice and Rosalie walked on each side of Lucine as they walked over to the Cullen's cars, she stopped next to her truck. "I can't just leave my truck here guys."

"I'll drive it to the house, you go with Rosalie." She shrugged as she tossed Emmett the keys, walking towards the car as Rosalie started it up.

***

"You know I would never hurt you, right?" She never moved her eyes from the road; Lucine just stared down at her hands before looking at Rosalie with a smile. "I know you wouldn't, but I also know that never is a hard promise to keep." Silent tension fell over the car, the radio stayed off.

Forks was beautiful; she watched as the leaves moved against the wind. How the grey clouds sprinkled themselves over the small town. Forests ran for miles and miles and Lucine wished to run through them before leaving.

I have to leave eventually.

Don't I?

She looked back at Rosalie as her eyes stung from the tears that threatened to escape.

"Hypothetically speaking," Rosalie's full attention was now on Lucine while her eyes stayed on the road. "If I were to disappear one day," Rosalie cut her off. "Don't ever say that." The words came out so quickly that Lucine barely registered them. She let out a sigh as she clenched her jaw. Lucine has never seen Rosalie like this, so... Scared.

She placed a hand on her tense shoulder to show her that she was still there. "It's a what-if scenario, Rosie, I'm still here." She finally looked at her. Fear ran through her eyes as she looked at her.

After a few seconds, she looked back at the road. "You're my best friend, Lucine, in my eyes, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me." she held her hand tightly. Lucine smiled as a stray tear made its way down her face. She brought Rosalie's cold hand up to her cheek, letting her feel that she was alive and well, that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"I'll always be here."

I hope. I hope I'll always be here.

Rosalie smiled as she ran her thumb against Lucine's cheek, feeling the warmth of the living as they pulled into the clearing where the Cullen's home stood.