Marie is my co-worker. I don't need to ask why. The gift on the porch, left by that dreadful vampiric creature. I can only imagine. Like a cat leaving birds behind for its owner. A gift, unwanted.

I let Embry lead me back into the house without saying a word. Jacob is inside, standing with his arms crossed.

"What part of stay put do you not understand?" he demands, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Not now," I whisper. It's the most that I can bring myself to speak.

"Fawn-"

"I said not now!" I shout, and it rips out of me.

I swear the sound sends shockwaves like an earthquake. Jacob clings to his cane and Quil bumps into the wall. Embry takes a step away from me, looking down and shaking his head. I feel my shoulders heaving as I rage. I want to smash the lamp against the chair. I want to slap Jacob in the face. Every part of me aches to get out this anger.

I was taught that acting emotionally would only get me killed. I need to be calm and cool and collected. While these shape-shifters might bring out the best in me, they also bring out the worst.

Looking over them all, I wait for someone to speak.

I command the floor.

"She's dead, isn't she?" I ask, rolling my shoulders back and forth to relieve some tension. I wince as I move the dislocated one. Too soon from the accident. It's only been like four weeks.

"We've called the police," Jacob answers my question without confirming. "Thankfully, Jared's Dad is the head of the La Push police force, so they won't make you move out, and we won't have to lie about you being a runaway since he's attending. He'll get it."

I nod and sit down on the couch. No part of me wants to go and look at Marie. I've never seen a dead body before, not even at a funeral. Marie was always nice to me, bringing me coffee and warding off the vampire woman. It hasn't hit me that she's dead. I'd like to keep it that way.

It takes maybe ten minutes but the La Push police force arrives. An officer with the last name Cameron, who I come to learn is Jared's Dad, interviews me. He asks me questions about work, and about what I was doing before all of this. Jacob is beside me the entire time, and he mentions that I'm being stalked, though we keep out the fact about the vampires.

Eventually, they also call in the Forks police department to help with the scene. Apparently, this murder is like a series of murders that happened in Forks a few years ago. I don't imagine it was her; if she was here years ago, the Cullens would know the identity of the woman.

It takes several hours for the police to clear out, with the body in tow. They figure she was killed at a primary location and brought here, from what Embry whispers in my ear. I can't hear what the police officers are saying for the most part, but eventually, they are gone with the body.

It's far too late at night, but I still cannot fathom what to do. The clock ticks by, and I know the sun will soon grace the horizon, but even if I wanted to sleep I couldn't. The four of us sit together, Embry and Quil in their usual spots on the chairs and Jacob and me on the couch.

"Why would this happen?" I ask, looking around. "Why would she do this?"

"She's obviously trying to break you down," Jacob answers, stretching his arms up above him.

At least the others are taking it pretty well. Quil looks the most shaken. His knees won't stop jittering, as if they are filled with rocket fuel and can't help but try to reach the atmosphere. Embry, on the other hand, is quiet. Even by Embry's standards. His eyes are locked on what spot on the wood floor. I try to see what he is looking at, but whatever it is, is imperceptible to me.

"I want to go to the beach," I tell them, and I get up.

No one protests. I walk into the bedroom and get my bathing suit, putting it on under my clothes. I plan to actually swim, not just wade. I want to submerge myself and scream, and not hear it or have anyone else hear me either. I want to expel all of this negative energy that has gotten trapped inside me.

When I get back out, no one has moved from their positions. I clap my hands together, and the three heads turn in my direction, "come on boys, let's go."

No one answers me. I take a pillow off the couch and gently hit Jacob with it. He grabs the pillow out of my hand and yanks it away. He tosses it across the room, and it hits a lamp, nearly tlting it over.

"Okay," it's all I can manage to say.

Embry mumbles something, but I'm so tired of asking these men for clarity when they mumble. I'm not going to be bothered by it any longer. Instead, I go over to Quil and drag him to his feet.

"I want to go swimming," I tell them. "So help me I will walk into the forest right now and beg that vampire to come and bite me."

Jacob gets up from his spot and comes over to me. He grabs me by the wrist and begins to pull me upstairs. From there, he leads me towards his bedroom.

"What are you doing?" I ask, pausing.

He sighs, "do you trust me?"

Not really. Not after all the lies that he has told. I shake my head even though I know he doesn't see it.

He heads inside his bedroom, "come on, I want to show you something."

Eventually, I follow in after him. The room is surprisingly tidy, but I imagine if there were clothes on the floor, he would trip and fall frequently. From there he climbs on his bed and opens his window. He pulls himself through so that he is standing on the lower part of the roof.

"Come on," he says. He waits for me on the other side, peering out into the night.

I follow him onto the roof. I've never been particularly afraid of heights, but I am nervous about navigating a poorly shingled roof with a blind person. He gets down on his hands and knees and feels the way over to a higher part of the roof. Jacob pulls himself on top of that, gesturing for me to follow.

Thankful for my training, I trail after him. Walking over to the roof is the easy part. When I pull myself up, I realize how much strength I've lost not working out over the past few weeks. Up on the highest part of the roof, Jacob is lying down. He bites his lip and pats the spot beside him.

"Come here," he says, more an order than an offer.

I do as he says, lying down on the ground and staring up. There is a cloud ceiling above us, thick and dense. I worry it will start a torrential downpour, and that we will be stuck up here. Jacob's head is steady forward. You might not think he was blind.

"Is it cloudy tonight?" he asks. "Can you see the stars?"

"Yes," I lie. Not to be malicious, but because he speaks with a soft smile on his face.

"I used to come up here all the time and star-gaze," he tells me. "You don't get stars like this in the city. They are beautiful out here."

When I nod my head, I realize I need to vocalize my agreement, "I've never really had time for stars. The convent made us work until we exhausted ourselves every day. I didn't have time for most things, actually."

"You had time for karaoke," he corrects.

I shrug. I've actually never done karaoke before. I'm just learning more about technology the longer that I've been here. When we were little kids, me and this guy in the convent who was the same age as me, used to sing along to every song in between our workout sessions. It used to bother the few kids older than us and amuse the ones who were younger. I guess I just wanted to feel safe like I did then.

The only person I miss is him.

"Well, now I have plenty of time," I admit, staring up above me. "I'm going to have to get an apartment soon."

"I know," Jacob sighs. "There might be a few people in town around your age who are looking for someone to help them with a spot."

I don't make much in tips at the diner, and though they've bumped me up to be working every single weekday, from open until the dinner rush, I still have barely saved any money. It is hard to fend for yourself out in the real world.

"I'll figure it out," I say. "Maybe I'll be a vampire by then and I'll join the Cullens."

"You'll be fine," he says. "I'll... we'll kill anyone who gets too close to you."

It rubs me oddly, but I know that hemeans it. He means it so deeply.

~~~~~

More cuteness. Also, sadness, but cuteness. I've written up to chapter 33, which I think is the penultimate chapter of the book (I'm not entirely sure), so I might be rushing this stuff out. For now, enjoy!