𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 / 𝐈𝐕.

VII.

all acquaintance be for naught

ALICE hugs me goodbye carefully like she's worried I might fracture and shatter. She and Jasper will make the trip down into the deep battlefields of the South in search of a vampire who seems like a fable.

Edward told me she was old, as old as Aro, but far more knowledgeable and open-minded. According to his account, she was created by the first vampire to walk the earth. If anyone would know the truth about my predicament, it'll be her.

"Just, don't die until I get back and can scold you for being stupid." She says, letting go of me. Alice had yet to say anything for or against my pregnancy, and I'm certain she's doing this out of pity towards me and Edward for being so foolish. But I appreciate it nonetheless.

"I won't. I'd hate for you to do all that work for nothing," I chuckle, watching from the corner of my eye as Rosalie watches me with folded arms and narrowed eyes. There's a sudden attention to me that she hasn't previously presented, almost as if that past envy she had for my humanity has resurged now that I'm with child. And it tugs at my heartstrings every time I catch her staring.

Alice wrinkles her nose at me before turning to hug her mother goodbye. The family exchanges these impromptu farewells before the couple rushes off. Edward's hand brushes over my shoulder, his eyes flickering with worry as she leaves. She's seen something that's upset him, but in his attempt to keep me a little less stressed, Edward is biting back the vision.

But I don't need to read his mind to see right through him as he follows me up the stairs, his hand cautiously stretched out and ghosting my back. As if my condition has turned me paper thin, able to be torn apart by the wind itself.

"I'm worried about your sister," I voice to Edward as I lead him to the kitchen in search of something to satiate my stomach. Surely there's something in their butler's pantry that's appetizing.

"Alice will be fine," Edward replies with a hollow tone, still distracted by whatever Alice's vision conceived.

"No, not her. Rosalie."

His eyes seem to flicker in the direction of the garage as the muffled sounds of her working away at her car flit through the kitchen. "This can't be easy for her, Edward."

"It's not easy for anyone, Heather." He argues as I settle on a can of peaches. "You don't need to worry about Rosalie, she's got Emmett to fret over her."

"The same way I shouldn't worry about whatever vision Alice had that upset you so much?" I retort, forcibly setting the aluminum can down on the counter. The sound echoes off the walls like a gunshot.

Opening his mouth to respond, he quickly closes it and we fall into a stalemate. Neither know what to say as I work at opening the can of peaches. Each twist of the can opener clicks sharply in my ear as illogical tears prick at my eyes.

"I'm just trying to make things easy for you in this uneasy time, Heather. You have your health and well-being to worry about, I don't want there to be too much else disturbing you, like the problems of my family." Edward quietly speaks up, a look of guilt painting his face as I try not to cry.

I sniffle and nod in response, knowing he's just trying to watch after me. But it feels like I'm sinking into a sea of chaos, with the waves crashing over my head anytime I resurface. Everything is out of my control, everyone seems to be hiding something from me and it terrifies me. Nowadays I can barely rely on my own body to keep me afloat.

"Why don't you call Leah and see if she'll come by?" Edward suggests, putting his phone down on the counter next to my open can of peaches.

"I thought we weren't going to involve the Quiluetes in this? Don't want Sam accusing you of breaking the treaty." I ask as the urge to give in to my tears only grows stronger. Fuck pregnancy hormones, they're truly the worst.

"If it'll make you happy, then I'll deal with the consequences."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Gray twilight has settled above the house and I'm beginning to think she's not going to come when headlights shine through the trees and climb up the drive. Closing my book, I quickly hurry off the couch and past the curious Cullen family members down to the front door. Edward didn't tell any of them that she'd be coming around, but I'm sure they'll figure it out soon enough by scent and voice.

"Heather?" Leah calls out to me the second she opens the truck door. Eyes wide like she's seeing a ghost as I make my way down the front stairs onto the gravel. It crunches under my feet as I practically run and pull her into a hug.

"You don't know how happy I am to see you, Leah," I tell her, pulling away from the hug and studying her appearance. It feels like an eternity ago that I saw her, but in truth, it's been two-- three weeks.

"Are you still, y'know? You?" She asks, looking at me with caution. "You don't smell the same, but you're still warm." 

"I'm still me, mostly," I say, wincing as I remember I have to tell her about my predicament.

"What does that mean? Mostly?" Another natural question as Leah tries to piece together why I've suddenly returned to Forks. She never expected there to be a homecoming.

"Promise me you won't freak the actual fuck out?"

"Heather, will you please tell me what's going on? I'm terrified of whatever shit you and Edward got up to in Alaska." Good, reliable, no-nonsense Leah. Ready to take action at a moment's notice or to stop and listen.

"I'm uh..." My voice drops to a low whisper as I finish the sentence. The news hits like a cold flash and her face falls with terror as her hands tighten around mine.

"What's going to happen to you? What are we going to do, Heather?" Leah stresses, looking like she's about to tear her hair out and rip out Edward's throat in vengeance. "You're going to die."

"Leah," I try to pry my hands out of her stone grip. Who can blame her for such a reaction? She's voicing out the intrusive thoughts that I can't say out loud. "This is something I have to take day by day. The risks are high, I'm aware. But I know what I'm doing."

Or so I say.

The lights from the house flood out onto the gravel as night consumes the sky. I can feel a summer storm rising in my bones that ache as I shift. There's confusion from her as she silently tries to comprehend why I'm going through with something so tumultuous. Leah looks at me like I've spoken to her in tongues or grown a second head, completely and utterly befuddled.

"Sam and the pack aren't going to like this." Leah finds her voice again, speaking slowly in an attempt to hide any fear. "What do you need me to do?"

"That's the spirit." A small smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as I pull her into another hug. One way or another, whether one foot in the grave or kicking alive, I'm going to see through this.