Writer in the Dark - J. HALE

35 - ʙᴀᴄᴋ?

HAVING JUST failed to reach Victoria once again, Athena thumped down the forest path that led to the Black household with a scowl replacing her usual smile. She had gotten so close to getting her, closer than she had before Embry interrupted a few weeks ago. She actually managed to get into her mind, just about close enough to shut off one receptor in her mind that would help in the future. Victoria's ability to sense Athena's presence had been severed so quickly that the ease of it shocked her somewhat. For a moment she thought that she would finally get the satisfaction of ripping off her head but that turned out to not be the case. So she thumped out most of her anger with the soles of her feet, leaving identifiable boot markings in the damp soil with every step she took.

Her mind became free of turmoil about one hundred meters away from the Black household and her usual smile had replaced itself. With a lighter walk, she sped up then stopped completely when a heartbeat reached her ears. She could tell it was that of a wolf, due to the quickness, but from such a distance she couldn't quite make out the difference between the wolf scents that masked what they normal smelled like. So her brow raised in surprise when an aggravated Jacob turned the corner, taking his feelings out on a bush.

"Woah now let's not harm the nature," she said as she sped forward, making him aware of her presence. The two were surrounded in silence as she looked down to the plant, checking no damage that it wouldn't be able to sort on its own had been done. "What's got you in a twist?" she asked, looking back up to the infuriated wolf.

"Your kind," he seethed, beginning to pace back and forth. Athena decided to ignore the obvious dig, given his current state, but that did not mean it hurt any less.

"My kind?" she asked, moving out of the way so he could pace easier. It calmed her mind too so she understood why he did it, though it was weird for her to witness.

"The Cullens," he replied through his teeth, the word clearly being very difficult for him.

She involuntarily sucked in a breath of shock. She had expected maybe Victoria or something to do with Laurant but not this, nowhere in a million years this. "Which one?" she asked, voice noticeably quieter than before.

"Alice," he replied quickly, with the same negative tone as all the others. "And Edward, technically," he continued with even more difficult than before, falling to notice the fall of interest in the corners of her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked softly, listening to the decline in his rapid anger-fueled breaths.

"Bella jumped off the cliff after seeing you and Embry do it ages ago, said it was something to do with adrenaline I don't know," he trialled off, looking vacantly into the treeline.

"She's still doing that? Lucifer," she replied, swearing under her breath as she wondered what on earth had been going through her mind at the time.

"When I took her home, there was- Alice was there," he continued and paused as Athena raised a brow, eyes widening at the sudden mention of the vampire.

"Why?"

"She said she saw Bella try to kill herself," he explained with a furrowed brow. 

"She can see the future," she responded quickly, answering the question that he had been pondering over since leaving the Swan house.

"So then Edward," he continued with a nod, seething his words at the name. "He rang the Swan house and asked if he could speak to Charlie. So I said he was planning a funeral, which is true technically, but he mistook it for Bella's funeral."

"You could have worded it a little better Jake," she spoke softly, hoping not to show her slight anger for the way he handled the situation. After all, he wasn't even halfway sixteen yet. He had the times to make mistakes and learn from them, she had learned that that was the age that most mortals made the most mistakes. It normally spans between the ages of sixteen to twenty, give or take a few years. But even then, the mistakes that were carried through their lives just occurred less frequently. Making mistakes made her feel more like the mortals, even if she hated herself for being so stupid and making them in the first place. It was a hard scale to balance.

He sighed deeply. "Anyway, now Bella's going to Italy to save him from killing himself through the-"

"The Volturi," she interrupted, seething herself this time as she absentmindedly pulled her arms closer to her body. Jake looked even more confused as seconds passed, wondering why she had reacted in such a way. She sighed softly and pulled her arms away, instead choosing to play with the ring on the necklace around her neck as a comforting thing. "If this was a movie they'd be the villains that try to kill everyone for their own benefit," she explained with a light smile, finding the quick analogy a perfect way of explaining them.

He nodded in understanding, showing his own smile that comforted her a little. She was not ready for the influx of memories from back them right now. "So they're not vegetarians like you then I take it?"

"Oh hell no, quite the opposite actually," she chuckled and lost the battle of keeping the thoughts at bay. Instead of swimming around her head in the background, they now came to the very front of her consciousness and weakened the feeling in her legs. She muttered, "It's awful."

"And Bella's going there? She'll die," he responded, brow and eyes wide in alarm.

She immediately shook her head. "No, she won't. Not if Alice is there and Edward, they'll protect her with their lives," she explained, pausing when she noticed that it was not doing the job in convincing him. "Just like you would." She started to walk again, quick enough that he could keep up but not as slow as a normal mortal would travel.

"I would do a better job," he replied once he caught up to her, matching her stride without any trouble.

 She scoffed softly, "Not against the Volturi. They're ruthless and you do not stand a chance, especially against some particular members of the cult," she paused, battling the thoughts of a certain person that came to mind. "You need to lose this 'i'm better than everyone else' attitude because it's making you into the type of person that suffocates everyone around them."

"Harsh," she responded, taking on an annoyed tone that she knew meant something from her little rant had gone in. She just hoped he would act on it soon.

"I prefer truthful," she shrugged as they stepped through the threshold of the house. Jake sighed deeply and pushed forward, half slamming the door to his bedroom as he closed it. An awfully confused Billy turned to look at her for answers to his son's sudden mare, which she gave with an exhaustion filled sigh, "Lovesick issues. "

"Ah," Billy replied, glancing back at the door in concern. After s few seconds he turned back to her, looking at her with an expression that she knew all too well. Athena wanted to sigh that sight, not having the energy to go through that right now. He continued, "That doesn't explain your mood though."

She chuckled softly and pinched her temple, lying down on the sofa as if she could fall asleep at any given time. It certainly felt like it. She explained it all in a few minutes, telling the story as best as she could without showing her feelings about it but of course, Billy figured them out. Like he always did. "I mean I get why she didn't come and see me and all. I guess I just wish she did," she sighed deeply, resting an arm over her eyes.

"You think they're gonna come back?" he asked quickly and quietly, voice filled with concern.

"I seriously doubt it. They can't really, it'll be too suspicious," she paused, letting that thought sink into her mind. In every case, her body wanted to reject that thought. "But I wish they would," she continued, voice so soft that he could barely hear it.

"I know you do. Just-"

"Be careful I know."

He sighed, "I'm serious Athena. You can't let yourself go down that rabbit hole again, I haven't seen you like that since you first came here."

"I know Billy. You don't need to tell me again. I'll be careful I promise but that does not and will never change the specific feelings that surround that family and the people... or person... within it," she sighed deeply, running a hand through the roots of her hair. "But we don't need to worry about that, because they're not coming back."