twelve.
::mad woman::

"what did you think i'd say to that? does a scorpion sting when fighting back? they strike to kill, and you know i will"
—taylor swift

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Everything.

Everything had gone wrong.

So much had happened in a short amount of time for the girl that she was struggling to process everything. She paced back and forth with tears in her eyes before glancing over towards Bella whose arm was being treated by Carlisle Cullen. Esme had been the only one allowed close enough to Althea once things went south. Having calmed her down from a panic attack when things were being broken and Bella was bleeding.

Vampires were real. And the Cullens were vampires.

It had all been starting to make sense to the girl. They were very different from her and Bella. Edward had admitted how human she had made him feel. And it was so clear to her now. She was a little scared due to the events that unfolded. But as things began to settle she did feel a little sense of safety ironically enough. Her mind recalled when Edward had told her repeatedly that the family would never let anything happen to the girl ever. And they were still able to make sure she was safe, the same thing couldn't be said for Bella who had gotten a simple paper cut that made Jasper snap.

"I got you some hot chocolate to help," Esme came into the room, handing a mug over to Althea.

"Uh, thank you," Althea nodded her head in appreciation.

"I'm sorry that this is how you had to find out," Esme apologized.

"It's... alright? I was bound to find out," Althea admitted, her head hung lowly as she looked at the ground.

"But it isn't how we would have wished for you to find out. We know it's a lot to take in," Esme said, her hand gently resting on the human's shoulder. "Rosalie's rather upset that you had to find out. She hates that you'll view her differently now. They're all beating themselves up out there."

"I knew that you were all different. And a part of me had a hunch you all might have been connected to the cold ones the Quileute legends talked about. I've also always been told I was a little too smart for my own good since I was younger. I just didn't want to know if it didn't concern me at all. You all must have rules or something?" Althea rambled.

"We do. Which is why we tried our best to keep to ourselves in order to stay safe along with keeping everyone else safe. But certain circumstances came up and here we are," Esme explained.

"It's going to get messy, isn't it?" Althea wondered.

"Possibly," Esme paused for a brief moment. "Edward is wanting to talk to you," Esme informed Althea who looked over to Bella who was still talking with Carlisle before letting the woman lead her out of the room. Leaving her with Edward who stared out the large window into the dark night.

"This is all my fault," He spoke up, refusing to turn towards the girl in shame.

"No, it wasn't. Not necessarily. You never asked to be like this," Althea told him.

"But if I never let Bella in, if I never gave into it all, none of this would've happened. I just thought even though you hated me, if I did something you asked me to try then maybe things would get better. I would still have you in my life by being with Bella. But I didn't think longer about the consequences. Now it's all wrong," Edward said.

"Edward, how is Bella any different from me. We were seeing each other since around the time you moved to Forks. And you never seemed to have doubts," Althea pointed out.

"We all felt safe with you. I felt safe with you. I didn't have to worry about having a slip up. You didn't ask questions even if you noticed something strange. You treated us like we were humans and we never had to worry in return," Edward explained. Telling Althea exactly how it was when it came to the family. They had never felt like she was a threat to them or their safety. Their secret was safe. Even when they all decided that Althea could be told after knowing her for a couple years, they had felt like it wouldn't jeopardize them and alert the Volturi. But now, Bella was constantly raising red flags for them and making them act on their vampire instincts. It was only a matter of time before shit really hit the fan.

"Bella loves you. She knows how important it is to keep your secret. You should be able to feel safe with her if you love her too."

"Even if I have feelings for her, it's not just our safety. Ever since she entered my families lives, she has been getting hurt. How am I supposed to be with her if I can't even protect her. If I can't protect her, what if I can't protect you?" Edward worried.

"You're still there every time. You can't be there every small second to make sure she doesn't get a scrape on her knee. Bella's an ultimate clutz, she's been one long before she met you. It's something you have to get used to and not beat yourself up over," Althea placed her hand on his tense shoulders. They relaxed under her touch while he looked down at her.

"And regardless, you wouldn't have been able to shake Bella from entering this world. You were all she wanted. You're all she wants. She would've kept pushing until she got what she wanted," that made Edward let out a bitter laugh. Instantly thinking of how Bella was pushing to be turned now too, knowing that it was inevitable until she got what she wanted.

"All she ever does is get hurt when she's around me. I'm not good for her," Edward shook his head.

"Again. Bella is accident prone. And that's not your decision to make on if you're good for her or not. You make her happy, Edward. If you weren't good for her, she wouldn't be happy," Althea tried to reason with the boy.

"She would be better off without me. The both of you would be. Maybe you had made the right choice when you first decided to distance yourself from us and broke it off with me. We're a danger to the both of you," Edward sulked.

"Jesus, Edward. Fine, if you want to be bitter about this then I'm going to tell you like it is. Relationships are about the ups and downs. If you would rather run away from this instead of face it head on then maybe it's best that you leave. If you don't want to think about how Bella would feel about your actions, maybe you should run away like the coward you are. But if you break her heart, I swear to god," Althea seethed at the boy. The only thing he could think of was leaving. It pissed her beyond belief. Not only had he been so persistent on being in her life, she had also finally learned part of the secret the Cullens had and now Edward would rather leave than face the repercussions of it all coming undone.

"I have to go home. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, but I can't be here anymore right now," Althea said, digging for her keys before she made her way out the house. Dodging any of the other Cullen members. Needing time to digest it all herself. But what the girl didn't realize was that by the time she would go looking for more answers on everything, they would almost all be long gone.

🐺🐺🐺

For the next three days, the Cullens hadn't shown up to school. And Bella had made note of that, informing Althea that she had to sit with her usual friend group. Finding it all a little suspicious of the timing, the younger girl had instantly thought of the worst. They had left. It was the only possible answer. So on that Friday, Althea had returned home from school after her only two classes to see Edward there standing by the front door.

"Bella won't be here 'til after school," Althea commented.

"I know. I wanted to talk to you first. I wanted to apologize about the other night," Edward told her.

"It's fine. I was eventually going to find out one way or another. But if I recall, you said you would explain things to me," Althea brought up, Edward slightly grimaced at that. Knowing that this was all going to be a bit more difficult than he planned and he wasn't even breaking the news to Bella yet.

"Well, there's been a change of plans. I don't think you'd need to know all the details if we're not in Forks anymore," Edward began.

"What? You're actually leaving?" Althea asked in slight disbelief.

"It's the only way to keep you both safe. If we're all gone, there's no more problems for the two of you. You can live a normal life without any complications," Edward told her.

"A normal life? You can't just expect us to live a normal life after something like this is sprung on us! You constantly said how much you all wanted to protect us. Protect me? I still don't understand why. But you also said you wouldn't ever hurt me. If you all leave, you'd be hurting Bella and you'd be hurting me. What then? You can't just force your way into someone's life and then just walk out of it once they finally get used to you!" Althea yelled in frustration.

"Althea, it's what's best for the both of you," Edward said.

"Bullshit! You sure as hell can't walk into my life and then walk out of it with no warning like a revolving door. No. If you leave, Edward. Don't come back. I'll have to deal with all the mess you left in your path. The damage you would do to Bella. If you left, I don't care if it would hurt me. I care that it would hurt Bella. If you break her heart, I never want to see you again!" Althea spat with hatred. Fuming at the thought. She could deal with some of the pain of their departure, people left a lot. But Bella had found her happiness in Edward, which means Althea would have to witness it be ripped away from her.

Edward hung his head low but refused to speak. Althea had caught on that the decision had already been made and he was dead set on not changing his mind. The girl scoffed in response to the silence he had given her.

Pushing past the boy to go inside, she slammed the front door behind her. Once she stormed upstairs into her room she couldn't help but let out a frustrated scream. Quickly pulling out her phone, she searched for Rosalie's contact. It didn't even get to ring before the automated message said the number she was trying to reach was no longer in service. And so she tried Emmett then Alice. Each one she had gotten the same exact response. Tears fell down her face when she realized they were truly gone. And Rosalie, the second person in the family she was close to left without saying goodbye.

🐺🐺🐺

Althea had fallen asleep crying and once she had woken up, she realized it was an hour after school had finished. Preparing herself to face her sister until she had discovered her nowhere in the house. The younger Swan girl called out to Bella, her truck was in the driveway but she was gone. She stepped out onto the front porch as her voice echoed off the house. Althea slipped into her sneakers before she rushed into the woods. A gut feeling she had made her believe that Bella was in there. She kept following down the trail while she continued to call out to her sister.

"Bella!" Althea screamed out. Her voice traveled through the trees. Leaves crunching and twigs snapping under her feet. She couldn't help but shiver as the sun began to set. The girl had no idea how far she had gone through the woods, but she did know that she had gone off the trail some time ago.

Feeling more tired the further she went, she was thinking of turning back when she heard Bella's faint cries to Edward. Bella cried out one more time before it all went silent. But it gave Althea enough time to rush in the direction she heard her sister in. She soon came stumbling onto the older girl who was curled up beside a fallen tree stump.

"Bella! Bells!" Althea hurried to get next to her sister. She had fallen to her knees and began to shake the girl. Her lips were beginning to blue while she trembled with tears streaming down her face. The sight made Althea's own eyes water. Pulling Bella closer to her to try and give her some sort of warmth Althea had left in her. Bella continued to cry while Althea had silent tears streaming down her face. All she knew was that they were too far into the woods and lost. But her main priority was making sure Bella was protected.

Althea had to keep shaking her head to stay awake. Trying her best not to fall asleep when any animal could appear. Someone needed to be on high alert. But the girl who held her sister's sleeping form in her arms was exhausted and shivering. Her own lips were starting to turn blue after she had taken her hoodie off to drape over Bella.

A twig snapping made Althea's head snap in the direction it came from. Squinting her eyes in attempts to try and see anything in the darkness of the woods. She squeezed Bella tighter towards her body in her own way of protecting her.

"Over here!" An unknown voice called out. Then as Althea's eyes adjusted to the darkness more, she saw two male figures come from around a big tree.

"Are you alright?" The man asked, stepping closer towards the sisters. Althea shrunk a little in her place, unsure of if they were people to trust. "Your father is looking everywhere for the two of you. I'm Sam and this is Paul," Sam had introduced, pointing to the other boy who wasn't standing too far away, but it was still hard to make out his face.

"I couldn't leave her alone," Althea mumbled. Sam gave her a sad smile before going towards Bella's unconscious body to lift her up.

"Let's get you both home," Sam told Althea. Holding Bella in his arms while Paul helped Althea stand up. The girl's body was cold for him to touch, but he was quick to scoop her into his arms before she fell due to the jelly feeling in her legs. Though she had been on high alert, the moment she settled in his arms she seemed to melt at the warmth his shirtless body radiated. He was like a walking heater to her. The girl curled more into the boy's side, slowly falling asleep while him and Sam began to carry the two sisters throughout the dark woods.

"We'll find them Charlie," Harry Clearwater assured the panicking father who had a team set up outside the house trying to find his daughters.

"Charlie!" Jacob called out once his eyes landed on Sam Uley and Paul Lahote with the two Swan girl's in their arms. Charlie broke out into a sprint towards his daughters with Jake in tow.

"They're alright. Althea kept guard of her the entire time," Sam told Charlie who took Bella into his arms.

"I got her, thank you Sam," Charlie was grateful for the two boys finding his daughters, he nodded in Paul's direction. Jacob glared at Paul before he took Althea into his arms. Jacob had despised Sam and his followers, and Paul Lahote was the perfect follower who also had quite the temper. Always getting into fights in school before Sam pulled him into his cult. And the thought of Althea being touched by him repulsed Jacob. And the boy felt even more uneasy while he caught Sam's watchful eyes. The girl stirred in Jacob's arms as she felt the warmth being stripped away from her.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay, I got you," Jacob comforted Althea, carrying her into the house behind Charlie and Bella. Jacob had put the girl in her room, tucking her into her bed. He made sure she was bundled up with extra blankets before he stepped out of the room.

Charlie checked over his youngest, and he couldn't help but want to cry. She looked paler than usual and some small dark bags under her eyes from how exhausted she was. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek before placing a kiss on her forehead, turning off the light to the bedroom to let her rest.

Althea's eyes had fluttered open before she looked around in a slight panic. Realizing she was back in her room in her own bed. She got up to change into comfy clothes that weren't dirty. Then her mind had traveled to Bella. Althea was quick to exit her room and go into the bedroom next door. Seeing Bella curled up in her bed, her eyes half shut. Althea lifted up the cover before scooting besides her sister. Bella had instantly turned over and pulled her sister in for comfort before they both fell asleep again. Both of the girl's not realize that after that day, their lives would be changing more. But while Althea kept living on and adapting to life without the Cullens the best she could, Bella would feel like she was frozen in time.