chapter twenty-two

It was a Saturday evening, the week of Christmas holidays. Holidays that none of the household celebrated. It was almost like no one knew how to celebrate anymore, they were stuck up in some sort of automated routine just to pass their time. Titus was out, he had finally scored a date with Wendy Biers thanks to the help of Emmett's coaching while Kaz and Newt had gone out to spend their annual 'bro' day together, leaving Este alone in the home for the first time in a few weeks. She had been way passed due for some time alone.

The air was thick. Something hadn't seemed right all day. Maybe it was something with the weather, or maybe it was Este falling back into that same pit she had fallen into after she had killed Finn Carnehan. Who knew killing a bad guy would make you feel like one was well? Carlisle had talked her into talking to him about it, trying to help her navigate through her grief as he called it. Este thought it was a bunch of nonsense as she felt no remorse for his death, but from how Jasper had explained it to her she felt grief for her loss of innocence in it all.

Este had spent a majority of the morning in her bed. Resting in the comfort of her covers while occasionally checking her monster proof phone to send messages back and forth with her brother, their best friend, and their other best friend on a date, while also responding to the multiple Cullen's who happened to be messaging her about a variety of topics. Rosalie for the most part telling her she needed to stop canceling plans with the excuse of 'the Underworld needed her' while Alice kept telling her she was going to drag Este somewhere else with her and Jasper soon.

Este let out a small sigh before running her hands through her hair. Her nose scrunching up as she felt the grease build up, she needed to shower. Paying no mind to the way she thought the day had been off, walking over to her dresser as she grabbed her shampoo before making her way into the bathroom. Cutting the water on the hottest setting as she began to strip off her clothes and stepping into the steam of water. I swear, one shower. One shower, let me have that before anything else starts up. I'm not even taking a bath this time.

A small hiss left her mouth as she scrunched up her face as she moved back her arm, the scars from Finn were almost completely healed. The stitches were gone, nectar and ambrosia had sped up the healing process for the most part. The girl let out a sigh as she moved her arm out of the stream of water as she let it run over her face, water dripping down her lips as they parted momentarily before she began washing her hair.

She pulled back the curtain of the shower after turning the knob and cutting the water off, stepping out onto the floor mat. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body, leaning into the shower as she squeezed some of the water out of her hair. Only pausing when there was a knock on the bathroom door and as far as she knew, no one was home yet. But all she needed was those dates to pop in her head for her to know exactly who was out the door. Dang it, Alice and Jasper.

"I'm a little busy right now, maybe come back later," Este called out as she let go of her wet hair, clutching the towel as she stepped in front of the bathroom sink, "Come back in four to five business days."

"Eury, it's just me and Jazz. He's in your living room." Alice's voice rang through the door, but there was something in her tone that caused Este to pause, "We aren't coming back in four to five business days, come on."

"I just got out of the shower, can you at least give me ten minutes?" Este questioned as she continued to stand there, looking at the door as if she was staring at Alice, "That would be lovely, seeing as I just got out of the shower."

"Get dressed," There was almost a hint of embarrassment in Alice's tone as she hurriedly spoke, "We need you out of the house."

"Monsters can't even get me here," She huffed lightly at Alice before moving along as the vampire gave her a firm look, "Right - right. Vampires aren't Greek monsters so I'm not protected. Got it."

Este didn't say much else as she listened to Alice's footsteps walk away from the door. This caused the girl to brush her teeth before quickly slipping through the shadows into her room and shutting the door quickly. She got dressed at a record speed, putting on a pair of jeans and an old Nirvana t-shirt before tying her wet hair into a messy bun since she wasn't sure what else she had time to do with it before she walked out of her room, stumbling as she finished tying her shoes.

With everything happening, nothing was said about the mess that resided between the three. Este was glad that it hadn't been brought up again, and it was left in her hands. But she hated the fact that it was something that everyone seemingly knew about, and she had no clue what to do or say about it.. Despite how her cold, not dead, heart felt she didn't understand anything.

Este glanced at something rustling outside, which then caught her attention by the movement of the woods.

There was knocking against her door, and Alice peered her head in, "Hey, come on," She paused, seeing her standing by the window, "What are you looking at?"

"Probably a deer or something," Este brushed it off as she moved away from her windows,

"Come on," Alice ushered the girl.

"Jeez Al. What if I wasn't fully dressed yet?" Este questioned as she rolled her eyes, walking down the stairs as she retorted, "Not everyone has enhanced speed you know," She rolled her eyes as she leaned to look through the doorway of the livingroom to see Jasper standing there, so she waved.

"Text your brother and Kaz and everyone else and tell them to stay away from the home for a bit. We are taking you to our house," Alice grabbed the girl's good arm and dragged her into the living room with no further explanation.

"Should've kept an 'and' could for you," She joked before asking, "Well before I send a slightly alarming and ominous message like that, care to tell me more about what the heck seems to be happening? Besides the vague nomad commentary?"  Este asked as Jasper nodded in response to her wave, weird southern gentleman shit.

Jasper sighed as he looked over at the girl, she always had been one who you couldn't leave anything out of, "When we get you out of here. I suggest we move quickly, darlin'."

"Stupid southern sass," Este muttered as she shot him a small glare before letting out a small laugh despite a pit of wariness forming in her stomach as she took her phone out of her pocket to send a quick text to her brother and best friends.

She was quick to follow the two to their car and getting in the back seat. Luckily, she always kept some sort of weapon on her and the way the hilt of her dagger dug into her back made her aware she had in fact grabbed one. She was always prepared to stab someone just in case she needed to. Lately, she had not been one to take any chances. Everything had been coming back around, and Este feared that meant something else was coming for them.

"Este, there are some nomads passing through, we just need to make sure they don't pick up on any of you," Alice hummed as she opened Este's door, breaking the girl out of her thoughts, "So for the next few hours you are staying here."

"Oh. You had me worried for nothing," Este mumbled under her breath as she crossed her arms while Alice stayed close to her while Jasper led the way, "Nomadic vampires, lovely. Favorite friends to visit in my past time. Maybe another chimera will come through your kitchen in the meantime."

"You always have some kind of comment," Jasper let out a low laugh before he noticed something, that something being the dagger that she carried everywhere, "Are you really bringing your knife?"

"I always have a dagger on me. You should know this," Este emphasized dagger as she spoke, smirking slightly, "Protection from monsters. Not like they can hurt you anyway. So you've got nothing to fear but these hands, Cowboy. And another chimera coming through the kitchen."

"Enough with the kitchen chimera commentary," Alice pinched her nose.

So far, the Cullen home was a lot different than the first time that she had been there. Though, it was an enlightening experience. Este and Emmett had to be physically separated after he had cheated in a game of UNO which resulted in her throwing a dagger at his head, which he had dodged with ease before Carlisle had to grab it and make sure nothing broke. Este did not like losing. Especially when her opponent had cheated and won unfairly. Or was named Emmett Cullen.

Though, Esme had been shocked by the girl's outburst. Despite everything, none of them had actually seen her throw something or do something that wasn't saying random comments. Jasper ended up having to grab the girl before she tried to take Emmett on in a fight, and when she threatened to shadow travel everyone turned on every light that the house had so that she couldn't. Which only annoyed her further.

"Does anyone actually know if turning on all of the lights can stop her from shadow traveling?" Rosalie called out as she continued to flip on all of the lights, just as safety precautions as she looked around the room, "Or are we all just assuming since it seems logical."

"Seems logical," Edward was the one to shrug and flip on the lamps as well as flashlights that they had found, "No shadows, no traveling. If she can shadow travel without shadows, wouldn't it be called something different?" Before he proceeded to say, "Besides, she doesn't use her abilities unless she has to. Even then, she'll get gravely injured before she even attempts too."

With all of the medical knowledge that Carlisle had picked up over the years, Este had wondered if anyone in his mortal life had any ties to Apollo. Or Athena, which would make sense too as he knew a lot about everything. He loved Shakespeare, and had given a copy of Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton to Este after Jasper had placed her down on one of the couches after they were sure she wasn't going to disappear before they could grab her.

Este flipped through the pages as her eyes glanced over the page, skimming over the words. Only pausing when she felt the couch dip from the right side. She peered over to the side to see Jasper sitting at her side. His hands clasped together as he leaned forward as if he was planning something. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for him to sit with her, but his expression seemed upset or distant.

"Are you okay, Jazzy Scooter?" Este asked as she shut the book and sat up, a smirk on her lips as she tilted her head to the side, "You look like a little kid who watched the Land Before Time," She remarked while putting the book on the table.

Jasper made a face at the nickname that she had come up with for the day before shaking his head as he sighed, "I'm fine. Just... thinkin' about some things," Southerners and their ways of speaking.

Este stuck her tongue out at him before masking it with a grin as she poked his arm, "Well, what are you thinking about if you don't mind your favorite body shot asking?" Yes, Este was still on the whole body shot train.

"My past," There was a way that it just slipped off of Jasper's lips as he answered, looking at his hands before he glanced back up, his gaze remaining straight ahead.

Este paused as she tried to find words of comfort, which she was not very good at, so, she shrugged her shoulders and mumbled, "If it is painful, don't think about it," Unsure of what else to say. 

Jasper gave her a half grin as he turned to look over at her,  "That's a lot easier said than done ma'am." stupid texans, fix your accents please and thank you.

So, Este came up with the best plan that she always could when dealing with emotional things, "Then I will distract you. Alice can help, if she's still here," leaned back into the couch as she began to trace the cut on her bad arm.

Jasper let out a small laugh, before his eyes caught on to what she was doing, causing him to remove her hand, "And how will you distract me Ms. I-do-not-talk?"

"More like Ms. No-emotional-shit," She corrected before holding out her hand, "Give me your hand and I will show you."

When Jasper placed his palm in Este's, she tapped his fingers before she let her hands create a small shadow in his palm before she moved it to her hand. Moving it back and forth as well as causing it to get bigger which intrigued the honey blonde vampire in front of her. Though, he pulled his hand back as he felt the dampening of her mood, but she continued to mess around with the shadow.

Alice had leaned in the doorway of the room, watching the entire thing while Este seemed to be in a sort of daze as she messed with the shadow. Jasper reached forward again, and Este moved the shadow back until she let it disappear as she flared her nostrils. Jasper looked at both of his hands, as if he was inspecting them before glancing over at Este's. A look of confusion on his face before he looked at his hands again.

"You definitely distracted me," He let out a chuckle as he placed his hands down again, his eyes still remaining on hers as if he was trying to figure out how the shadows had appeared and disappeared before his very eyes.

Este held a small grin as she shrugged her shoulders letting her hands fall back into her lap, "See, I told you I would," She then turned back and nodded at Alice, "Hey Allie."
"Este, your decisions are all changing," Alice bounced over as a small laugh left her lips, "Your decision has changed." She furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?" This prompted Jasper to turn and look at her, giving her a look of confusion as he tried to figure out what she meant. As it could be a plethora of things she could be changing opinions on.

"I should block you like I do to Edward, he hates I won't let him read my mind but I quite like my privacy," Este muttered as she raised an eyebrow, "Let me think my life over without it being announced, please." Definitely blocking her from seeing my future at some point.

Alice slowly nodded before adding, "You know that we would never hurt you. Take your time," as something twinkled in her eyes.

"My decision has changed," Este answered slowly, "Newt won't be so mad, Kaz will lose his mind that I'm probably going to end up hurt. But why keep pushing back? I'm a demigod, life is shorter and I like a little risk."

    I think the shortness of my life was further proved two weeks or so ago with Finn, so.

Alice looked over at Jasper as she lit up, bouncing excitedly in her seat next to the two, "We won't hurt you." She chided the mere suggestion of such, "Are you sure?"

"Sorry, let me consult my twin over you both," Este deadpanned before she tilted her head, "Yes, I am very much sure. Unless you'd like my stubbornness to go back to being no."

"Well darlin'," Jasper's tense demeanor cracked momentarily as he smirked.

"Do you want to be our girlfriend?" Alice blurted out the question before anyone else could say anything.

"If I said no, I'd be stupid because you're vampires or stubborn," She joked before rolling her eyes as she sighed, "Course I will-" She let out a small shriek as Alice picked her up, despite Este being taller than the girl, and spinning her around.

"Careful, Alice. Eurydice seems to be shocked by your sudden burst of happiness," Jasper teased.

Este gave him a side glare the moment her feet touched the ground, "Quiet, Jazz-hands."

Alice then remembered something and began rambling "Oh! I meant to tell you - there's another person coming, Edward's mate. I bet that you'll love her! Did you know that another new girl is coming in January?" Alice asked with a wide smile.

Este blinked as she shook her head, January was just two weeks away and it happened to be the month that the twin's would turn eighteen, "No. I didn't," She responded shortly.

"I bet you will love her." Alice beamed with a bright smile, continuing to bounce on the balls of her feet, "We all will."

And I bet that I won't but I'm not going to tell you that, "Well have to see," Este replied shortly, trying not to ruin that happy look that had rested on Alice's expression, "You know how I am with people," She mumbled while making a face.

"Well darlin'," Jasper couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the girl's words, "I think it's hard to miss how you are with people," God dammit the southern drawl, can I tape his mouth shut? Will that stop me from feeling sick?

Este then shifted the conversation as she looked at Alice, "You love new people don't you?"

"She does," Rosalie spoke as her voice held slight annoyance, being loud enough so Este could hear her from wherever she was in the home.

Este furrowed her eyebrows as she decided to respond to Rosalie, "Is everything alright Rose?" She asked softly, not having to yell since vampires had really good hearing.

"Perfect."

"But with that comes some concerns," Alice started causing Este to raise an eyebrow as she looked at the woman, "Everyone might need to keep a little distance. Just so it doesn't draw too much attention. That might end badly for all of us," She almost cringed at her own words as Este's eyes narrowed, "Not that it will."

"Oh, so now this entire thing is a hazard," Este asked as she looked at Alice as her eyes narrowed, "This entire time you've been saying that and I had no problem with space but it seemed that everyone else did and now you say there has to be more space?" She was slowly getting more and more ticked off.

"Alice," Jasper gave the woman a look, almost warning her as he looked at Este, "Este, it isn't you that is the hazard. You are misunderstanding what..."

"Be quiet," Este rose to her feet as she looked down at the blonde who rose just as quickly as she had, "Don't say anything else. I'm going to talk to Rose," She was clearly ticked off as she walked out of the room, trying to draw her emotions away from her features.

    I just got into a relationship with them and now this starts? Great.

    Why was this bothering her as much as it was? Originally, she wanted to keep a distance from them. But, then they slowly built themselves into her life. They became her friends, she nearly trusted them. Yet, here they were. Throwing her to the curb because someone else was coming in that deemed everyone else who wasn't a vampire a 'hazard'. Simple expenses for the sake of one person joining, huh?

The girl's phone began to ring, causing her to pause in the hallway as she slipped it out of her pocket. Flipping open the nokia as she watched her brother's contact pop up on the small screen. Placing it to her ear after answering, pressing it closely to her ear as she slid turned off a single light so she could slip into the shadows. Being around the vampires more caused her to use her abilities just a little. The shadows were where none of the vampires would be able to hear this conversation.

"Hello?" Este answered, keeping her usual monotone voice as she leaned back against the dark wall, staring into the nothingness that happened to be in front of her, "What is it? Don't tell me you got attacked," She sighed.

"Este? Este, hey," Newt's connection was going crazy, causing occasional static before she could hear his heavy breathing, "Are you there? Hello?"

The girl rolled her eyes before concern bubbled up in her, "What is it, Newt? Are you okay? You're breathing pretty heavy, even the static can't mask it," She bit down on her lip as she let out a small yawn.

"You are still at the Cullen's, right?" Newt questioned in response to his sister's tone, "You aren't at the house either, right?" Well didn't I tell you earlier that they made me leave the house?

"Yes, why?" Este began to bite on her nails as she glared when the shadows disappeared as the light had been flipped back on by Emmett who smirked at the girl, causing her to flip him off before going back to her phone call.

Kaz had begun yelling in the background, but too far for anything he said to be coherent or audible enough for her to make it all out, that was until Newt spoke again, "You might want to stay away from the diner for a while."

"Newt what in the Tartarus have you done?" Este let her head fall back as she closed her eyes, worry and annoyance being the soul thing that she was running off of, "Don't tell me that someone can see through the mist."

"No, no one could," Newt assured her before he stalled for a minute as police sirens sounded causing her eyes to widen, "There was a mishap with a Chimera in the diner." Great, you're now going to be on the FBI's most wanted list. Again.