Edited 6/9/22.

A/N: This chapter contains swearing.

***

Marshall is fiddling with one of his acoustic guitars when he hears the front door open downstairs. Edward's scent reappears. Quiet voices shuffle between one another in response to his presence. Random noises from plucked guitar strings become louder in an attempt at drowning out any conversation. It'd be great to not deal with any more drama tonight.

Bella's birthday was a complete disaster. Incessant fighting while she was getting stitched up only made things worse. The house continued to feel stagnant even after she left.

Overall, the night has just been a total clusterfuck.

Marshall finds his fingers moving in a sluggish manner. He isn't paying attention to the notes he's plucking; and his guitar makes random noises against the silence of his loft. Dissonant sounds help keep him occupied.

He knows that someone in the family is going to confront him at some point. Both for not doing more to help Bella, and for not deescalating the tense situation between his coven mates.

Since he's one of the physically older members of the family, it's expected of him to be a voice of reason in big situations. That's how it was when they confronted Laurent's coven. And that's how it's expected to stay—because that's how it's been for years.

Now that Marshall's decided to put his foot down about what's expected of him versus what he actually wants to do, rifts are becoming larger and larger. They're probably only going to continue doing so with the way issues have been developing.

Annoyed thoughts are interrupted by his phone going off. A tired gaze falls to the device sitting face down on the cushion beside him. He places the mahogany colored instrument onto the floor, leaning it against the sofa. The phone is grabbed with a single hand. A short text message is met with a frown.

Rose:

Could you come downstairs? There are some things we need to discuss as a family.

Marshall doesn't bother sending a reply. He tosses the device down onto a random cushion before rising to his feet. He slides on his black house slippers with the pointed cat ears on them.

His pace is slow and lazy. Tension coming from downstairs can be felt clear as day. It makes him not want to go, but he knows if he doesn't then someone will just come upstairs to get him.

His jaw clenches. Arched eyebrows furrow. Both hands are pulled into tight fists in the large single pocket of a hoodie too big to be his own.

Descending the first floor staircase, Marshall comes face to face with his family's hard expressions. They've chosen to stand around the room rather than sit on any designated furniture pieces. Edward is facing outside through one of the large tinted windows making up the front wall. Carlisle is standing in the center of the room with his body stiff as a board. Everyone else is huddled in a small group a few feet away. Marshall stays near the staircase after stepping off of the last platform.

"...What's this about?"

"What happened tonight with Bella was... unfortunate, to say the least. It could've ended a lot worse than it did. She could've been killed." Edward continues speaking with his back turned. "...I've come to the realization that it was a mistake for me to fall in love with her. Us being here is only going to continue to cause problems. So the family has decided it's time for us to leave Forks."

Marshall's eyes widen. "Excuse me? And when did 'the family' decide this- because I certainly didn't."

"Marshall," Carlisle chimes in, "you witnessed first hand the extent of Bella's injuries. She could've gotten hurt worse than she was. Edward's right- her being around us is detrimental to both her safety and ours. We all could've had a slip up tonight. On top of that, people at the hospital are starting to notice that I'm not aging. It would be in everyone's best interest if we left. We're a family and-"

"No."

Marshall walks further into the room. His rebuttal is met with looks of shock from multiple people.

A tall stance remains firm, and his expression remains serious. Furrowed eyebrows scrunch further together. His frown deepens. Fists are clenched so hard that they start shaking. Visible trembles travel up both arms.

"Don't try to pull the fucking family card on me- this isn't fair! You guys don't just decide these things without all of us present!" Marshall yells. Unwavering focus settles on Edward. "Just because you want to leave doesn't mean that I have to- especially when you didn't even talk to me about this! Where was my input?! Or did that not matter to you?!"

"You said you didn't want to get involved."

"Yeah- when it comes to Bella! Not my livelihood! Just because you fucked up doesn't mean that I need to face your repercussions for you!"

Edward turns around fully. He walks toward the center of the room with heavy steps. Marshall does the same from his position with full intent on being confrontational. Rosalie aims to walk forward to deescalate the situation, but Emmett holds her back.

He knows better than to get in between a fight when the older Hale finds his temper spiking.

Edward and Marshall meet with enough anger to make the surrounding atmosphere feel suffocating. The former tries to appear more intimidating by baring his teeth. The latter hisses in return, unfazed, and doesn't back down.

"How exactly did I mess this up? Huh?" Edward presses.

"You kept Bella from being changed! All of this could've been avoided had you just let her transition! But no- you'd rather have her as a liability than have her be able to protect herself! You'd rather run away from your problems instead of dealing with them!"

"Oh, that's rich coming from you."

"Edward." Rosalie warns.

"No- he wants to start shit? Let him. Let him say it," Marshall interrupts.

The brunet continues, "That's rich coming from the person who could barely handle his own emotions- so he went out and slept with anything that would give him the time of day. That's rich coming from the person who couldn't get into a committed relationship for literal decades because of his trust issues!"

"That was my choice!" Edward is forcefully pushed back. "How fucking dare you! I slept around because I liked to- I slept around because it was my choice to do so! The fuck do you know?! Me having one night stands wasn't some fucking attempt at running away from my emotions! It's me having a good fucking time! I don't run away from shit- unlike you! I'm not the one who's running for the goddamn hills because I can't handle some human's blood! I'm not the one who's trying to run away because I can't protect my mate!"

"She needed us! She needed us, and you weren't there!"

"Because it's not my responsibility! It's not my fault you can't protect your own mate! It's not my fault you were the reason she almost died! It's not my fault that you refused to change her! You're doing a disservice to literally everyone because of your fucking ego!"

"She's part of this family! Had you gotten involved, she would've been safer! You got involved last night and it saved her life!"

Marshall lets out a short, bemused laugh. "I didn't get involved with shit! I didn't risk my life- or do anything like that! All I did was help her with an injury- something you should've done instead of just standing there! It's called having some fucking common decency!"

"And protecting her isn't common decency?!"

"Not at the damn cost of my life!" His voice raises in exasperation. "For fuck's sake- she's your mate, not mine! If you want to risk your life for her, be my guest! But don't expect me to be so ready to kick the bucket just for your sake! Don't expect me to jump straight into the arms of death just because you asked me to! I've already had my life ripped away- I'm not about to do it again because you didn't have the balls to turn Bella! You knew it'd be dangerous when you got together! You knew her life would always be at risk- and you still decided to keep her human! That's not my fault- it's yours!"

Edward pushes Marshall back with worrying strength. It's reciprocated with an even rougher shove. They aim to start throwing punches when Carlisle steps in between them. Other members of the family do the same to manually separate the two brothers.

"Stop it- fighting isn't going to get us anywhere," Carlisle states with a frown. "We can continue to talk this out-"

"You mean the way you talked it out before telling me we were leaving?!" Marshall challenges, his voice wavering. The sound sheds light on how upset he genuinely feels. "You're all so ready to jet- you didn't even discuss it with me! You know that's not fair! What- did you really expect me to pack my bags just because you want me to go with you?! Have you forgotten that you're not the only ones with ties to this place?!

"My friends are here! My job is here! My life is here! My boyfriend is here! And whether or not any of you give a shit about that- I'm not leaving him behind just because the rest of you want to jump ship at the earliest sign of trouble!"

Trembling arms are ripped away from the hands holding him back. He finds himself breathing quickly.

Every inhale is met with a certain choker rubbing against his collarbone. Unbeknownst to the vampire, his shoulders lower in response to the silver pendant making contact with his skin.

Paul's distinct smell wafts into Marshall's nose from his bonding mark. It's as if the mark itself is acknowledging its owner's anger and is releasing the comforting scent to calm him down.

"We may be a family, but that doesn't mean families don't split up," he announces. "If you guys want to go and start over somewhere else, that's fine. But I'm not- I'm not leaving. Not after I've finally started to settle down. You guys aren't taking this away from me. We've parted ways before when I went to live with my father. I'm not above doing so again."

"Marsh..." Rosalie's voice is soft.

The older male glances over and takes in his younger sister's appearance.

Her eyes are wide. Short breaths escape her through parted lips. Her posture is stiff. Marshall catches sight of her necklace; the woman's signature Cullen crest. It makes him huff in annoyance.

"Rose, I love you. Whether you go or stay, that's not going to change. But nobody, not even you, is taking this away from me. So if you guys want to leave- fine. That's your choice. I'm making mine by staying here."