CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
LIAR, LIAR

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"I'M SURE THEY WERE in there," Embry insisted, hands gripping Mae's hips from where she stood in front of him. "There were two. I can't figure out which ones, though."

As soon as Embry had sensed the Cullens in Mae's house, the two had gone straight to Sam and Emily's. Mae couldn't lie, she was disappointed that their date had been postponed again (and she looked so good, too) but the thought of two vampires — regardless of their vow to be vegetarian or not — invading her space like that made her skin crawl. The only explanation for how she didn't notice them was Lina. They must've been in her room, their voices drowned out by the blaring music. But why? Did she know what they were? And if she did, how on earth had she kept that to herself? Why even let them in?

"At least we know why she's been so weird now," Jared pointed out with a sigh. "She knows. The fucking leeches told her."

"And yet we're the ones she has a problem with?" Leah scoffed. Being out of school already, she hadn't seen Lina Song around much, but from what Mae and the others had said, it was enough for her to already dislike the girl. "She and Bella must get along great."

Jacob's eyes darkened in warning. "Leah, don't."

"What?" she huffed. "I'm just saying. Clearly, this chick runs with vampires. Why do we care if they were in her house?"

"Because it's Mae's house too," Embry snapped with an unusual amount of anger. Leah paused, the first signs of an apology on her face. Embry's hands just tightened their grip on Mae, like he was afraid the Cullens would take her from him if he wasn't close enough. "She should know when blood-suckers are near her."

"Well, what are we going to do about this?" Maggie asked when the others stayed silent. "If Lina does have a connection with the Cullens, we can't stop her from seeing them. I know you don't like to hear it, Jake, but she's another Bella situation..."

"I can talk to Carlisle," Sam suggested, though he didn't sound too happy at the prospect. "See what she knows about them, about us. I know she's your sister, Mae, but she's an outsider."

Mae frowned, too lost in thought to reply. If Lina was an outsider, then what did that make Mae? She wasn't a wolf, nor was she a vampire. She found out about the supernatural by chance.  Presumably, so did Lina. So what was so different about them? Why was Mae allowed to know and yet Lina couldn't?

"I can talk to her," she offered, interrupting whatever else Sam was about to say. Embry shifted behind her, his disapproval evident, but Mae refused to look at him. "You're right, Sam. She is my sister. So let me be the one that does it."

"What makes you think she'll tell you anything?" Leah sneered. "You said she's pissed with you."

Mae just shrugged. "I won't give her a choice." She turned around to face Embry, who'd previously been frowning at the back of her head. "Can you take me home?"

"Mae, I don't know..."

"Embry, please," she sighed. "You can even wait in my room while I do it. I just don't like the thought of sitting here knowing they're in there with her. With my dad and Kira."

Resignation settled in, though he still didn't look happy about it. He nodded, letting her go as Sam pulled him to the side with the other guys. Mae didn't bother trying to listen in, feeling utterly defeated at the thought of facing Lina. It was her own idea but that didn't make it any easier. As if she sensed her dilemma, Maggie wandered over, looping an arm around the girl's waist and letting Mae rest her head on her shoulder.

"Is this a bad idea?" she murmured, voice low in case Embry heard. 

Maggie's lips formed a thin line, prominent rings of exhaustion lingering beneath her eyes. Mae reminded herself to check in more with the girl. She was still yet to know the story behind her and Victoria. It must've been getting to her, how all her friends, her boyfriend, had put their lives at risk for her so many times. Mae's own arms came up to squeeze Maggie's waist, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"From personal experience, I'd say it's better coming from you," she said, finally pulling away to look her in the eye. "My brother, Zeke, he found out at the worst possible time, and all the boys tried talking to him but it was different with me. I'm his family. He knew he could trust me when I told him the guys were good. And sure, you and Lina aren't on the best terms right now, but she knows you better than anyone else here. What reason could she have not to believe you?"

At the mention of Maggie's brother, Mae was reminded of Zeke Sullivan. She remembered the night Maggie drove her home from her first failed date with Embry, how the older boy had pulled Maggie to the side for a second.

Does she know? he had asked, Maggie shaking her head and hissing for him to keep it down.

But he had known. And as far as Mae was aware, he wasn't dating anyone in the pack. Zeke Sullivan was just Maggie's brother, like Lina was Mae's sister. And yet Lina was the only outsider? It didn't add up.

"You ready to go?" Embry asked as he approached where the two girls stood. The pack watched him leave before their attention turned to the muffins Emily was laying out on the table. It was now or never.

"Yeah," she nodded, murmuring one last goodbye to Maggie before grabbing onto Embry's outstretched hand.

She wished she could hold onto that moment forever. His touch was warm and assuring, a source of comfort as Embry's car drew closer to her house. Before she knew it, they were parking the car and heading inside. She prayed Lina would see reason. That at the end of this, she would have her sister back. Everything would go back to normal.

Until it didn't.

"I'll wait in here," Embry said as they passed Mae's bedroom door. She could hear music in Lina's room again, but judging by the tense but not furious glint in Embry's eyes, she assumed that neither of the Cullens were in there. It was just Lina being... well, not exactly Lina. Mae didn't really know Lina Song anymore.

Hesitantly, she knocked, waiting for her sister to answer. Her foot subconsciously tapped against the floor, body unable to stay still with a racing heart. After what felt like forever, Lina answered. Her dark hair was pinned up in a bun, pajama bottoms loose around her hips.

"Mae?" she frowned. "I thought you had your date with Embry?"

"I did," she said, swallowing thickly as the concerned look in Lina's eyes hardened into distrust. "Can I come in? I need to speak with you."

It was so formal, cold, like she was talking to a mere stranger. For a moment, Mae thought she saw hurt flicker across Lina's face; harsh, pulsing like a bruise, but it faded into dust as Lina sighed and wordlessly stepped back to let Mae through. Her footsteps were slow, jarred by the slam of the door. It felt strange to be in there, like she was searching through a tomb, her sister's bed a coffin and Lina a walking corpse. Mae half expected a Cullen to jump out of her wardrobe at any second, tackling Mae to the floor, tearing into her throat to prevent her from spilling their secrets. She shuddered, then forced herself to look into Lina's waiting eyes. Lina wouldn't let them do that to her, right?

"What do you want?" she sighed again, lips pressed in a firm line. Her arms were crossed, like she was preparing to fend off an attack. "I was kinda in the middle of something."

Mae glanced over at the phone discarded on Lina's bed. It was plugged into her charger already with a red, dead battery flickering on the screen as it waited to be booted back to life. Was she on the phone with them, draining her phone of life just to hear their voices? The thought made Mae's heart pang, vision blurring at the edges.

"You know," she stated, so softly she wondered if Lina heard her.

The silence was thick, endless. She could feel Lina's stare burning against her jaw, looking for weak spots to press. Lina Song was Mount Vesuvius, Maeve Cooper the innocent city of Pompeii. At any moment, the volcano would erupt, and Pompeii would be eradicated off the map.

"Why would you keep it from me?" Lina asked — no, demanded. There was no hurt, just pure fury.

Mae's shoulders slumped, but she forced herself to stay standing, to match fire with fire. "It's complicated, okay—"

"No shit, Mae. You almost died," Lina snapped, prompting her to look up in surprise.

How did she know that? Did James and Kira know? Quickly, she shook off the thought. If her parents knew a vampire had wrapped their hands around their daughter's neck, lusting to take her life source away from them, the family would be already halfway back to Portland. 

"And I suppose your new little friends told you that," she scoffed, unable to bite the remark back.

Lina's eyes narrowed. If she was a cartoon character, steam would be hissing from her ears. "Yeah, they did. Unlike you."

Mae sighed. "What do you want me to say? This wasn't my secret to tell."

"We've never kept secrets from each other. Not important ones."

"This is bigger than anything we've ever thought to keep to ourselves," Mae protested, voice catching. She couldn't believe it. "Lina, the pack—" Lina cut her off with a scoff, eyes rolling. Now, it was Mae's turn to be defensive. "What? You have a problem with the guys now?"

"Let's just say I've heard unpleasant things."

Mae laughed. It was a hearty sound, one bubbling with rage. If it was anyone else, she would've already gone for the throat. "I could say the same about your friends. The Cullens. They're blood suckers, Lina."

"Don't call them that," she exclaimed. "Your boyfriend is a werewolf, for Christ's sake. A howl at the moon monster."

Mae shook her head. "Clearly, you're not as educated on this as you think you are."

"Well, maybe I would be if my sister wasn't a liar."

That was it. Mae took a step closer, towering over the girl with a fearsome glare. If Lina wanted to hurt her, Mae would hit back, again and again. Embry and the pack were good. The Cullens were not. "At least Embry's heart beats. Your new besties are corpses. Their hearts are infested with frickin' maggots—"

"Emmett and Rose mean a lot to me," Lina snapped. "It doesn't matter if their hearts don't beat. I like them."

Emmett and Rose. Well, at least Mae could put names to faces now. Lina's stare was angry, but it was also afraid, like she was waiting for Mae to pull the final punch, hit her right where it hurt. Lina had never been open with Mae, with anyone really, about her sexuality. Where Mae could shout from the rooftops that she liked boys and girls, Lina was always afraid, too caught up on what people would think to join her sister in her expression. Mae had always had a feeling but she'd never wanted to push the girl. And as hurt as she was, she wouldn't breach on that now. She would wait for the storm to pass. For the moment Lina came to her wanting to tell her.

"I think you should go," Lina whispered, eyes glassy. Her breath was shaky, like she couldn't believe she'd just said that out loud.

Mae sighed. "Lina..."

"I said go!" the other girl shouted, hands suddenly reaching out to shove Mae back. The girl gasped in surprise, struggling to steady herself as Lina wrenched the door open and pushed her all the way through. "I don't even recognise you, Mae."

"Lina, come on."

But the door slammed, and that was that. A second later, music started to blare, but Mae could hear Lina's faint sniffles. The volcano had erupted, and all that was left in its wake was an open wound. Reluctantly, she turned away from the door and retreated to her own room, longing for Embry's comforting touch again. She wanted to curl up in his arms and hide away from the world, from Lina's heartbroken stare, from every cruel word. 

As expected, Embry was waiting on her bed when she came in, sad eyes watching as she closed her door and locked it. As if a lock could keep out a vampire.

"She, uh—" she began, struggling to find the right words to explain it. "She said..."

"I heard," he said, voice soft as he slowly approached her. "Come here."

And as she wanted, she found herself in his arms. She clung to the back of his shirt, face buried against his chest as one hand cradled her back and the other wrapped around her shoulders. Here, she could close her eyes, pretend that werewolves, vampires... everything just didn't exist. Here, she was happy, not quite as alone as she felt with not one but two sisters who didn't want her anymore.

"Why would she say that?" she asked, voice cracking. Embry's grip on her grew tighter. She felt him sigh into her hair. "I don't get it."

"We should get out of here," he suggested after a minute of silence, only pulling away to look her in the eye. "Being around her will only make things worse."

"But my parents..." The argument was quick to die on her tongue as she looked out her window. He was right. She couldn't be here. One more song played by Lina, just a question from James or Kira, and she would shatter and crumble. "Yeah, let's go. You can make yet another missed date up to me finally."

Embry smiled. A hand brushed beneath her eye, catching a tear and wiping it from her face. She hadn't even realised that she was crying but she could feel it now, unfurling in her chest like the Titanic sinking into the ocean. So she clung to his hand, grip impossibly tight, and allowed him to lead her towards the open window. 

As the two lovers disappeared into the woods, Embry pulling funny faces to make Mae laugh, a shadow watched on from the house they left behind. The shell of a girl sobbed, lips bloody from biting on them, and turned away with vengeance following her like a bad omen.

Mae wasn't as right as she thought she was. Lina Song was a volcano, the threat of Mount Vesuvius a knife over their heads. But she hadn't erupted yet. Pompeii took time to fall to the ways of nature. If Lina had her way, Maeve Cooper would too.

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A/N: There's a huge spoiler from Maggie's fic in this chapter. Did you guys pick up on it? 👀 Let me know what you think it is!