CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:
SIDE OF SORROW
(trigger warning: graphic depictions of blood and gore)

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THE HOUSE WAS JUST as they'd left it. Carlisle, Esme and Emmett were yet to return but Mae couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not. She knew it scared Lina. The door to the room she'd been sharing with her partners was firmly shut when Mae, Jacob and Jia wandered inside. Mae knew it bothered Rosalie too, but the blonde girl was trying her best to focus on Bella to keep herself from closing down. Mae could hear her voice disapproving of something that Bella was saying in the living room. Jacob followed the noise, smiling to himself when he heard Finley speak up in defence of his cousin and a bemused Jia taking Rosalie's side as she ran on ahead. Mae decided not to join them, peering up at the landing for a moment before trudging her way upstairs.

There was a faint whisper of voices coming from the other side of the nearest door. Lina paused the show she was watching as Mae knocked then sheepishly crept into the room.

"You're back," she said, the colour draining from her face. "How'd it go?"

Mae hesitated. Already, the past few hours had blurred together, leaving her tired but alert, waiting with bated breath. "How we hoped it would. I think. Guess we'll know soon."

Lina was quiet for a moment. Vaguely, Mae noticed her fist shaking as she clutched the television remote between her fingers. Then, just when she thought her sister was going to burst into tears and Mae would have to do the whole awkward comfort thing, she tucked her knees up to her chest which left a space on the black leather couch beside her. "Wanna sit?"

Flicking her gaze to the documentary Lina was watching, Mae shrugged. "Sure." 

Lina unfroze the television and the voice from before started to list off facts that went in one ear and out the other. Mae couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was about, but it caught Lina's attention again — or it seemed to, at least. Just when Mae had started to relax, sinking into the folds of the couch with the intention of disappearing into her head, Lina suddenly shut off the television which enveloped the room in shadow.

"What're you doing?" she groaned, turning her head away when Lina switched on a lamp. She just wanted to sleep, to pretend for a little bit longer. The image of Embry's face was etched into the canvas of her eyelids. It quickly faded as she opened her eyes to be confronted by the dim yellow light now stretching from corner to corner.

"I've made a decision," Lina declared.

Mae frowned at her. "Okay."

"About college," she continued.

"Oh."

Frankly, Mae hadn't been expecting that. School was the last thing on her mind at present. She knew she was missing it, as was Lina and pretty much everyone else. Summer had drawn to a close around the time that Allison and Verity dropped her off. Another thing, she was sure, their parents would be furious about. It did surprise her, however, that Lina was thinking about it enough to share it with her. Until then, Mae hadn't dwelled on it for more than a second, maybe two. 

"And what is this decision?" she asked, then feared she'd regret it.

"I've been looking at the University of Alaska," Lina said shyly.

Mae definitely regretted asking.

"Alaska?" she repeated, her voice rising in pitch. "But that's so far away. Where's this come from?"

Conveniently, Lina ignored the last part of what she'd said, instead choosing to justify herself. "Forks was just a pitstop for me, really. You know this, Mae. I'm not one for small-town living. Besides, Emmett and Rose have said they'll come with me. You know they have cousins in Alaska, and—"

Her rambling continued but Mae was no longer listening. There was a lot she wanted to say. Too much. The selfish part of her wanted to beg her not to go. Please, Lina. We've always had each other. But she couldn't make her pick. Her excuses weren't entirely wrong. Lina was restricted by a town like Forks. She'd go nowhere, and the thriving mind in her head would be wasted.

Lina's voice faded into a whisper. "I understand why you needed to go with Allison, Mae. I get it now. I feel like I need to start again. Please don't hate me for it."

"Hey, as if I'd hate you," Mae nudged her. "Just save me a bed in your new place. So I can visit."

"Of course," Lina's smile stretched from ear to ear. Her shoulders relaxed. "It won't happen until after graduation anyways. And I have to get in first. I might not get in."

"You will," Mae said, rolling her eyes. "You're—"

She was silenced mid-sentence by the sudden outbreak of worried shouts echoing up the stairs. Both Mae and Lina's heads snapped in the direction of the door. Mae sat forward, breath hitching, wondering what on earth was going on. Was it Carlisle, Esme and Emmett finally returning? Was it the wolves? There were more shouts followed by doors slamming. The instant Lina heard Rosalie crying Bella's name, she was out of her seat and rushing from the room with Mae chasing after her.

"Rose, what's going on?" Lina reached the bottom of the stairs just as Alice shoved Rosalie out of Carlisle's office. Both of their eyes were pitch black but Rosalie was visibly trembling as she stared at the patches of red staining her hands. "Is that blood?"

The sound of Lina's voice broke through Rosalie's trance. She tore her eyes away from the red, hastily rubbing her palms against her jeans. But it was too late. Lina had already been exposed.

"Go to Jasper, Alice," Rosalie told her hovering sister. "I'm okay. I promise."

Alice either seemed to trust her word or she'd seen enough of the future to know that Rosalie's momentary loss of control would have a safe ending. She disappeared up the stairs as Lina crossed the room to Rosalie, leaving Mae staring wide-eyed through the open office door.

Bella was laid across the surgical bed Carlisle had set up for her check-ups. She was crying out, face twisted in agony, with her stomach cut open in violent ribbons of red. Jacob was holding her hand, urging her through the pain, while Edward, his mouth stained, leaned down to bite through the soft flesh of her stomach to the baby who had decided it wanted to be set free.

Mae's vision tunnelled. Head spinning, she bolted past Lina and Rosalie to the front door but the fresh air brought her no relief. She stumbled down the last step, throwing her head over the nearest bush to empty the contents of her stomach. A moment later, someone was there smoothing her hair back from her face.

Embry, her mind thought, reeling from the warmth of the person's skin. He'd come after her. He'd left Sam's pack and joined Jacob's at the last second, unable to be apart from her any longer.

"You're good, Mae," said a voice that certainly wasn't Embry's. "Let it out."

Leah, with her hand gripping Mae's curls into a ponytail, turned to speak to someone over her shoulder. Gideon appeared then, bringing a bottle of water up to Mae's mouth for her to drink from.

"Let's sit down," she said, bringing her over to where Seth sat against a tree. The forest was at their backs, twisted with darkness, but they were more concerned with the violent mirage visible through the glass doors that led from a balcony into Carlisle's office. 

"Her heart's fading," Leah informed them, her head angled towards the house as she listened attentively.

Seth sighed miserably. "She's not going to make it."

He was right. Just a minute later, those glass doors slammed open and Jacob sprinted from the office, his entire body wracked with sobs. Behind him, Edward pressed his palms into Bella's broken chest, trying to bring back the beat of her motionless heart. Even Mae could see it was futile. He could bite every inch of her skin, breathe air into her lungs with his own empty organs, but Bella Cullen's life was over before it truly began.

Mae wanted to be sad for her. She was, but foremost she just felt sick. She couldn't stop thinking about the blood. For a horrifying moment, she was back in Sam Uley's house, barrelling into Victoria as Maggie's blood stuck to everything it could touch.

No. That was months ago. Mae wouldn't think of it anymore.

Without her realising, Jacob had come to a decision. His trick in the woods had become something more. Jaw clenched, eyes blazing, each step he took towards the house was calculated and deliberate. He would take out the problem. He would kill the monster that had killed his friend. He would make it right.

Twigs cracked under heavy feet. Rocks scattered. Still woozy but slowly coming to, Mae lifted her head and almost immediately froze. The branches of the bushes parted around the large body of a wolf. Sam. Behind him, half a dozen pairs of eyes blinked against the night sky, their bodies soon following them. The bottle slipped from Mae's hand, pouring water over her shoes. The others turned at the noise.

Leah was quick to yank Mae to her feet, shielding her and Gideon behind her as she and Seth backed up to the house.

"Both of you, get inside," she ordered. "Now!"

Mae hesitated for only a second, then Gideon had a hold of her hand and they were in the entryway. Edward, Alice and Jasper were already standing on the balcony steps; half a family separated. As Gideon tried and failed to lead Mae upstairs, Jia left the living room, head bowed, to join the others outside against her friends. Finley was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Jacob or Lina. Then, as Mae finally relented and let Gideon tug her along, she passed the living room door and saw the unusual scene inside. Rosalie was gripping Lina's waist, careful of the hold she had on Bella and Edward's baby. Jacob and Finley stood facing each other. Jacob was red in the face. Finley was solemn. Mae took one look at the baby girl and turned away, shuddering.

Outside, the sounds of fighting ensued.

"We should—"

"No," Gideon tightened her grip and shook her head. She already knew what she wanted to say. "Mae, we'd only get in the way."

"At least we'd stop them," she tried and failed to wrench her arm free. "Don't make me sit here and listen, please."

"You think this is easy for me?" Gideon shot back, finally releasing Mae. 

Oddly, Mae's feet suddenly seemed rooted in place. Gideon leaned against the wall, forehead pressed to her hands. She reminded Mae of herself then. Just like Lina upstairs as she professed a desire to leave Forks. Just like Maggie accepting that death could and would come for her. Just like Jia warring against her immortality. They were all girls ripped apart with the pieces glued back together in the wrong places. 

"Please don't go out there, Mae," Gideon begged. "Not yet. Not until we know what we're going to see on the other side of that door."

"Okay." She dropped to the lowest step, bringing her legs up to her chest, hands pressed over her ears in an attempt to block out the noises. She heard a wolf howl and squeezed her eyes shut. "Okay, I can wait. I can."

But the second Jacob and Finley emerged with the baby — the root of their problems — wriggling about in Finley's arms, she was up and following after them. She stood by the door, arms curled around her stomach, as the wolves forced the Cullens into a tight circle only broken by Jacob shoving in front of them. 

"Stop," he shouted over Sam's growls. The others seemed stunned. They were unsure what to make of the baby they'd convinced themselves was some kind of wicked creature. "It's over."

"You kill her, you kill me," Finley said, which didn't seem like much to Mae but was everything to the wolves.

Sam's features contorted with anger but as Jacob phased and stood against him, teeth bared, Sam's head bowed in assent. The rest of the wolves immediately backed away. Mae heard Edward saying something to his family.

"Whoever a wolf imprints on can't be harmed. It's their most absolute law." His gaze flicked to the blank lines of Finley's face. "Thank you."

Finley held out the baby to him. Edward accepted his daughter, cradling her fair-haired head to his chest and smiling, teeth dripping with drying red. Mae couldn't find it in her to feel disgust anymore. She was too wary to be relieved, tired once again, and horribly confused.

"Did Jacob imprint on a baby?" she rounded on Gideon in horror.

She saw Lina shake her head in disappointment from where she hovered further inside. 

"No, you idiot," Gideon laughed, smiling fondly when Mae merely blinked at her. "Isn't it obvious? Jake imprinted on Finley."

"What?" Mae gasped. "When?"

Gideon shrugged. "Dunno. I thought this was old news."

Mae rubbed her aching temples. The wolves had retreated into the woods. Only Sam emerged to converse with Carlisle in terse but amiable tones. Carlisle offered him his hand. Sam shook it. Just like that, bygones were bygones. The wolves and the Cullens were once again on the same side, each other's reluctant neighbours and allies.

It was time for Mae to go home.