I borrow some of Emily's dress clothes for the interview at the diner. There's no need to buy nice clothes, since all I need to work at the diner are jeans and a shirt they will supply. I show up for the interview without my arm in a sling. It probably should stay in a bit longer, but I want to look like I'm able to carry around trays. After all, if I look any more disabled than I already am, I doubt I will be hired. The woman who interviews me, Marie, is nice enough.

When I get out of the interview, I expect Embry to be waiting for me. After all, he drove me. Instead, I find Bella. She holds a box in her hand and a sheet of paper in the other. She is standing in front of a beat-up truck. It must be the only car Carlisle could get on such short notice.

"Hey," she says, trying to wave with the sheet of paper in her hand. She bites her lip and looks down, sighing.

"Hey," I say to her.

She hands me the box, "open it."

Doing as she says, I open the box. My old hearing aid is in it. I can tell from the slight chip in the paint that it is mine. Taking it out of the box, I turn it on and put it in place. I can hear out of both ears again. Everything finally feels balanced.

"That was quick," I point out. Usually, a repair only takes a day, but I was at least a little concerned that the hearing aid was unsalvageable.

"Yeah, Carlisle is good like that," Bella says. "Listen, we're sorry about the accident yesterday. Jacob said he told you about Alice's narcolepsy?"

I nod, "yeah."

"Just, if anyone asks, Rosalie was driving," Bella says. "For insurance purposes."

I got it. I'm no stranger to lying.

"How'd the interview go?" she hands me back the sheet, which has my hearing aid information on it.

I shrug. I've never had a job interview before, so it's a little bit difficult to gauge my performance. "Well enough, I think. I'm hoping if it doesn't go well, I can get something else."

She nods, "I had better get going. Nice to see you."

"Do you know where Embry went?" I ask, grabbing her hand as she goes to leave.

I flinch, her hands are icy. Freezing, even for a September day.

My heart begins to race. No, Fawn, you're being crazy. She is probably just anemic. It's delusional; it's impossible. It's a lie.

"Sorry," I manage, pulling away.

She blinks and exhales, "I didn't see Embry. Did he go back to the reservation?"

"Maybe?" I shrug. I search the sidewalk for his car, peeking over the truck to the other side of the road.

Someone is staring at me and smirking. A woman, whose features are hard to make out. She's Asian, short and slender, and I'm sure she's staring at me.

"What are you looking at?" Bella says.

She turns her head to look, just as the woman turns away. The woman lowers her sunglasses onto her face and Bella looks at me and continues to peer at the woman.

"Nothing," I lie. I wonder how long she's been watching me. Is it my parents, sending someone to come find me? How could they have figured out where I've gone? "I need to go."

"Call Embry and I'll drive you to the border," Bella says, racing back to the truck.

She moves around to the driver's side door and gestures for me to get in the car. I load up into her truck and she begins to drive us away.

I dial the phone, putting it on speaker, and Embry answers the phone.

"Hey, Fawn, I'm just around the corner picking up a few groceries tonight. We're having fresh fish!"

"You're on speaker with Bella," Bella says into the phone. "I just picked up Fawn from the diner."

"Yeah, I had a massive headache," I lie, "I think it's the storm coming."

"Ouch," he says. "Meet me at the grocery store?"

"Sounds good," I say, even though everything sounds awful right now.

When I hang up the phone, Bella looks at me. Her lips are parted slightly, and she opens her mouth to speak but shuts it immediately. She turns back to the dashboard to look out the front window.

I reach my hand up to my head, getting ready to feign a headache. It should be easy, especially considering the accident I just had. Being in Forks and La Push has only gotten me more injured. Maybe I picked the wrong place to settle down. Where else I would go, I don't know. I need to be where it rains.

We do the handover, and Embry waves at Bella when I get in the car. Sitting in the front seat with Embry is odd. He's a fun guy, if a little quiet.

"How'd Bella know I would be at the diner?" I ask.

He shrugs, "must've been talking to Jacob."

"They seem close," I point out.

"Yeah, they are," Embry says, with a finality which means I shouldn't pry.

He asks me how the interview went, and I tell him fine. We're mostly quiet for the rest of the time because I am still pretending to have a headache. He drives, his grip on the wheel is tight. His broad shoulders are tense. Something is wrong.

Then again, everything is wrong. It seems I've been found. If I can just last a few more weeks, then my parents and their friends have no claim to me. They'll still try to drag me back, but if I get law enforcement involved, they'll stay away. The group to which I sued to belong prefers to handle things themselves. Law enforcement hasn't exactly been useful in the past.

"Jacob's sister is coming to visit tomorrow," Embry points out. "The one who is dating Sam's friend, Paul. They like to play charades with Jacob."

"How do they play now?" I ask.

Embry's eyes widen. "Oh, they don't. Not really. I'm sure we'll think of something."

The silence that follows makes my spine crawl. A thought occurs to me that hadn't occurred before. "What does the person I'm hiding from look like?"

"Have you seen anyone following you?" Embry asks. He slams on the breaks, stopping the car. I jolt forward, bracing myself against the glove box to prevent my head from smashing into it. Embry moves the car, pulling over onto the side of the road.

"No," I say. If they believe I'm being followed, they won't let me take the job at the diner. I can handle myself, as long as I'm not up against my past. "I'm just on the lookout."

"Is that what bothered you today?" he asks again. "I'd... I can help you if you're honest."

"No," I tell him again. "I saw no one. I'm just trying to be prepared."

"I'll ask... we'll figure out who we need to worry about," Embry says. "I'll talk to Jacob about it later."

I sit back in the car, letting the silence carry me off. Once we are home, I change into more casual clothes. Everything has been moved into Jacob's father's room. The bed is less cozy than the one in Jacob's room. It smells like Quil in here, which is to say it reeks. Jacob smells much nicer.

After I come out, I help the boys make dinner. We slave away in the kitchen, skinning the fish and taking out the bones before we cook it. The process is long. At some point, Quil and Embry get into a fight, throwing fish guts at each other. I narrowly escape the chaos.

When we are done, and all the fish is in the oven, I heave a sigh of relief. Everything feels normal, though I know everything is not the same at all. I need some release. Some way to get out the jittering in my system.

"What if I just watch you cliff-dive?" I ask, looking at the boys. "Would that be acceptable behaviour?"

"That could work," Quil points out. He looks to Embry for approval.

Embry lowers his shoulders. "But Jacob said-"

"I just want to watch," I offer, though to be honest, I am scheming.

"I don't think Jacob will complain if we take Fawn out of the house while his sister visits," Quil offers. He pulls out puppy dog eyes and pouts his lip. "Please?"

"Fine," Embry whispers.

"Jacob!" Quil yells up the stairs. "We're taking Fawn out to celebrate her interview. Fish will be done right when the others arrive. Think you can manage it?"

It takes a second for Jacob to reply. "Fine by me."

Quil pumps his fist. He wraps his arm around mine and drags me out of the house. The three of us pile into the cars and drive away. Embry rolls the window down and Quil sticks his head out the window. He yips like a dog, and Embry copies it.

"We going to the top?" Quil asks.

"We'll go lower so that we don't scare Fawn," Embry says.

As we drive, I see the cliffs in question, and I get what they mean. The cliffside is monstrous. It's got to be several hundred feet tall. I doubt anyone could survive a jump like that, but apparently, they have. Everything just gets stranger and stranger the longer I am here.

~~~~~

Some little hints and quips. Who is following Fawn? Is she even being followed, or is she just going crazy? I'd love to see your predictions. Anyway, I'm excited to see you all soon!