CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
AS GOOD A REASON

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DRIVING PAST THE FAMILIAR 'Welcome to Forks' sign flooded Mae with an unshakable sense of deja vu. It was like the very first time all over again, only now she was squashed between Spot and the pile of her sister's unwashed clothes that had taken up much of the backseat in their caravan. The streets were blanketed in early morning fog. Rare pieces of sunlight splintering like shards of broken glass were tucked away behind the clouds. The view was nowhere near as beautiful as some of the sights Mae had seen in the past few months, but it was home and Mae wished desperately that she was happier to see it.

She stared down at her phone, at the address Lina had sent her. Dread mingled uneasily with her deja vu. Allison had asked no questions when she guided them in the opposite direction to Mae's house, but she'd seen the look she shared with Verity when Mae asked them to take Spot for a while and she knew it was bound to come up, somehow, sooner or later. Mae could only hope it would be later. Maybe even once Allison and Verity were back on the road. She had enough to think about as it was.

Slowly, Allison made the turn down the Cullens' winding driveway. For a second, as the tires skidded against the rocky surface and Allison muttered a curse before correcting them, Mae couldn't help but think of the trees on either side of them as prison bars. They were vast in number, their skyscraper branches revealing only pieces of the pale grey sky. Eventually, the driveway opened up into a spacious yard but Mae's heart weighed a ton as Allison pulled up and they sat together in silence for a while.

"What's going on, Mae?"

"I don't know," she admitted, deciding it was easier to be as honest as she could be. "But I'm sure it's nothing bad. You know Lina would've called dad and Kira first if something was seriously wrong."

Allison hesitated. Verity squeezed her arm, prompting Allison to drag her eyes towards her. "Mae's probably right. Doesn't Lina have partners? Maybe something happened with them and she just needs her sister. You remember what that's like."

Subconsciously, Mae held her breath in wait for her response. Finally, Allison sighed and nodded. "You call me if you need me, okay?"

Mae's shoulders slumped and a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she nodded. Thank God for Verity. "Will do."

"I mean it."

"So do I."

A slow grin crept across Allison's face, mirroring Mae's expression. "You're so annoying. Now get out of my caravan."

"Actually, it's Verity's — okay, I'm going!"

Much to Allison's bemusement, Verity insisted on helping Mae with her luggage. While Mae's sister sat stubbornly in the front seat, the older woman helped Mae bring her suitcases up to the front porch after Mae made sure to give Spot a lingering scratch behind the ears. There was no sign of movement within the house, but there were several lights on inside and the garage door was open, indicating signs of life (hah!) on the property. Verity took a second to admire the floor-to-ceiling windows (tinted, of course, except for the one by the door) then shocked Mae by drawing her in for a hug.

"I've enjoyed getting to know you, Mae," she said when she pulled back. "Keep in touch, please? I know Allison likes to hear from you, even if she won't admit it."

Mae struggled to swallow around the sudden lump in her throat and — oh no, were her eyes shining? Were those tears Mae could feel building behind them? Allison would never let her live it down if she saw Mae crying over having to leave her. She quickly forced them away with several stubborn blinks.

"I hope everything goes okay with the caravan," she said, choosing not to acknowledge what Verity said about her sister. She knew it was true. Despite her hard-headed nature and her love for giving Mae shit, Allison hadn't taken her eyes away from the two girls while they talked. Where words sometimes failed, she showed how she loved through actions. "And—"

She wanted to ask Verity not to mention where Mae was to her parents. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she knew she couldn't do it. James and Kira would find out somehow, and they'd panic if Allison and Verity refused to reveal her whereabouts. They'd think the worst, and even if shit was about to hit the fan, Mae didn't need them banging on the Cullens door at this second.

"You should go," she said instead. "Before Allison drives off without you and steals your van."

Verity let out a laugh and pulled her in for one last hug before skipping down the stairs. Mae stayed where she was until both girls were waving out the window — Spot crammed between them — and turning back down the driveway. She could feel time stealing away from her with every breath. Any minute now, she'd have no other choice but to knock on that door and face whatever waited on the other side. But for now she could pretend she was still in that van with the three of them, eager for the open road ahead.

The door clicked open behind her then, ripping her from her fantasies. Slowly, Mae turned, suddenly unsure what to say to Alice Cullen as she peered at Mae with those owlish golden eyes of hers.

"Maeve." Alice's voice curled around her name in that soft bell-chiming, birds chirping tone of hers. Now, Mae couldn't smell the sickly sweet scent of a vampire like Em— he could, but she couldn't help but pause and cringe as Alice stepped towards her. Granted, the vampire only raised a thin eyebrow before picking up the handles of both her suitcases like they weighed nothing. "I expected you sooner."

Mae scoffed. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Lina's upstairs with the others," she continued like Mae hadn't spoken. She practically danced towards the staircase, hopping up them one-by-one while Mae's jerking movements reminded her of a robot with rusted limbs. The house was nice, deceivingly so. Like the cheese of a mousetrap appealing to the mouse. "We missed you at the wedding."

"I'm here now," she shrugged as they rounded a corner. She gazed at the dozens of graduation caps in vague horror. "You know what they say. First comes love, then comes marriage... then something about a baby?"

Alice's expression momentarily darkened before quickly clearing. Mae watched her closely, curious. It seemed the Cullens had mixed emotions about this child(?) in Bella's stomach, maybe even disapproved of it. Alice didn't say much more, though. She led Mae into the living room where she left Mae's suitcases next to the door, then disappeared to sit beside her partner, who looked just as pained as ever in his spot beside the open window. Mae wasn't paying much attention to him or any of the others, who had varying reactions to her arrival on their doorstep. Even the few unfamiliar faces amongst the group seemed wary and she supposed she couldn't blame them.

But none of that mattered to her then. The first person she sought out was Lina.

"You're here," her sister gasped, leaving Mae with no time to reply before she flung her arms around her shoulders and squeezed her tight. Mae could feel her shaking, though she tried her best to hide it. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course. Who needs a holiday anyways?" she whispered into her hair where she inhaled the familiar scent of her strawberry shampoo.

She didn't realise how much she'd missed Lina until she was standing there in the flesh. She looked tired. Her face was pale and somewhat sickly, but nothing else about her had changed. At least that was one thing Mae could count on.

Lina pulled away to respond and that was when Mae spotted Bella. She laid across the lounge with a knitted blanket thrown across her lap, but the growing bump hidden beneath it was unmistakable. It had only been two months since Mae last saw her — give or take a few weeks, sure, but in the scheme of things it didn't make much of a difference — and yet Bella looked ready to pop. She could barely lift her head to smile at Mae. As she did, the skin around her mouth pulled taut across the sharp, hollowed out planes of her cheekbones.

Bella Swan was on death's door, and yet she clutched her stomach with a soft touch, like she'd never been happier. Mae didn't know what to think.

"Hi, Mae," Bella whispered in that croaky voice of hers. "It's been a while, huh?"

Lina was quick to return to her side where Rosalie was already hovering. The blonde gave Mae a once-over before reaching for Lina's hand. Behind them stood Emmett, his burly arms crossed as he grinned and waved at the newcomer. Mae waved back, taking a step closer and wincing when Bella's appearance only got worse up close.

"A while is one way to put it," Mae said. "You sound like you've been chain-smoking cigarettes."

Edward — who Mae hadn't noticed was sulking in the corner — suddenly appeared in front of her with a dark glare. If it wasn't for Bella letting out a choked laugh — Mae feared she'd crack a rib from the force of it — she had a feeling that Edward would've thrown her out the window for her comment.

"I feel like I've been chain-smoking cigarettes," Bella's laughter faded with a sigh. She ghosted her hand across her stomach. "Did you see—?"

Someone cleared their throat behind her. Mae whipped around, nearly jumping sky-high when a warm hand clamped down on her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"Jake."

Jacob regarded Mae with steely eyes before yanking her in for a hug. Mae let out a yelp, awkwardly patting him on the back when he made no move to let her go. "You missed me that much?"

"I wouldn't go that far," he scoffed and pulled back. Part of Mae was thankful for the distance. Her heart felt like it was being boiled alive at the familiar warmth of Jacob's touch, even if it wasn't necessarily his. "But you disappear on us for two months and you think I didn't miss you even a little bit? I'm offended."

Mae averted her eyes. "Does he know I'm here?"

Jacob's jaw clenched. He glanced to the side where one of the unfamiliar faces was sitting — as it turned out, she wasn't as unfamiliar as Mae first thought. Sitting beside a redheaded boy, who watched Jacob with eagle eyes — not that Jacob would look at him — was Jia Littlesea. Mae recalled seeing her in this very house all those months ago and couldn't help but flinch at the fading red hue of her iris'. So she was a vampire now. Mae really had missed a lot, or maybe she'd just blocked most of it out.

"Sam has the place surrounded but from what Leah has shared, they're not prepared," Jacob revealed. Nobody seemed surprised by this. Mae presumed they'd already had this conversation hours ago and he was merely trying to catch her up. "They would've seen you pull up but you're protected. They can't harm you."

Mae nodded, her head already spinning and she hadn't even been told everything yet. At the very least, she knew Embry was aware she was back. She wondered what he was thinking, how she hadn't noticed the weight of his gaze on her while she'd stood outside earlier. Surely, she would've felt his presence, known he was close after so long apart. How had she been totally oblivious when she'd so keenly felt his absence?

"We can catch up later," Jacob said with a glance down at his watch. "I'm supposed to be doing a perimeter run with Seth right now. I made Leah swap with me so I could say hi."

"Leah and Seth are here?"

Seth, she could somewhat understand, but Leah? Since when did Leah Clearwater bother with the Cullens? Heck, since when did she care enough about Bella Swan to betray her pack for her and a baby that might be some kind of cross between human and demon?

Then again, the same could be said about Mae.

Jacob nodded. "You should come with me. Seth is excited to see you. He nearly beat me to the punch when we heard your car out front."

Mae's lower lip caught between her teeth. She glanced at the windows. Despite knowing they were tinted, she couldn't help but feel awfully exposed, like Embry was staring at her in betrayal and heartbreak even then. She wouldn't be able to bear it if she went back outside. Not yet.

"Maybe later," she said. "I need to figure out where I'm staying first."

"Don't be silly," Esme spoke then, appearing by her side with a cautious smile. Everything about her seemed maternal. It caught Mae off guard, but the sight of her didn't immediately set her on edge like the others. "You can stay here. We don't have many spare rooms left but I'm sure we can organise something. Would Gideon mind sharing, do you think, Bella?"

The sickly girl shrugged as Mae's brows furrowed. "I'm not sure. She's out in the yard with her camera. When she comes back in, we can ask her."

Gideon? Mae pondered the familiar name. Surely it was a coincidence.

"Well, I can still show you around," Esme offered, her voice taking on a hopeful tone that tugged at Mae's heartstrings.

"That sounds good," she agreed before turning back to Jacob. He was oddly quiet, staring over at that redheaded boy now that he was no longer looking back. "I'll catch you later, Jake. Say hi to Leah and Seth for me."

Her voice snapped him out of his trance. Stumbling over his words, he muttered a quick response before he rushed out of the room with a strange pink tinge dusting his cheeks, almost like he was blushing.

Huh. Weird.

"Come on," Esme gestured to the door. "Lina can join us."

Mae was glad to leave the crowded room — as spacious as the Cullen house was, having thirteen people crammed in the one area was a bit much regardless of how many were human — but the ache in her chest never did fade as Esme and Lina showed her around. She suspected it would be something she just had to get used to, not that it was getting any easier.

What a way to be welcomed back.