"When I took this job I did not sign up for this," Leah groaned, cautiously scraping leftover food from a customer's plate into the garbage can. Evelyn grinned, the hot water from the sinks nearly burning her hands as she scrubbed at the dishes that had already been emptied.

"Don't act like you haven't washed a dish before, Leah."

"I thought waitresses didn't have to wash their own dishes, doesn't someone else have that job?" Leah grumbled to herself as she grudgingly moved on to the large stack on the counter beside her.

Marie came into the kitchen just then, arms full of books and papers as she walked toward her office in the back of the building. "Unless someone answers my ad in the paper for a dishwasher it looks like your stuck with the job, sweetheart." At Leah's scoff, the woman grinned. "Oh, hush, I'm paying you extra for staying late to help. I don't want to hear any complaining."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Evelyn countered, giggling when she saw Leah grimacing as she struggled to avoid getting ketchup all over her hands while scraping one of the plates.

Once Leah had successfully cleaned off all the plates, she moved to Evelyn's right to start drying the dishes that she had already washed. They worked quickly and quietly together, the only sound being the splash of water and soap suds and the gentle clink of the plates as they were stacked on top of each other.

"Seth and I used to take turns doing this with my mom," Leah spoke suddenly, breaking the peaceful silence. "Back when we were younger."

Evelyn smiled to herself and nodded. "Me too. It used to be kind of a bonding moment for us, I guess."

"At least you didn't have an annoying little brother stuck to your side the whole time trying to keep all the attention on him." Leah sounded annoyed when she spoke about Seth, but from the corner of her eye Evelyn could see the fondness that the girl held for her little brother. "And at least now we're getting paid."

Evelyn smiled softly to herself, her fingers stilling for a brief moment as she lost herself in her thoughts. "I always wanted a sibling," she breathed, and suddenly she was taken back to that day months ago when she and Edward had stood in her kitchen in the very same position as they were now, washing dishes and bickering like they had grown up together. Her heart clenched; it had been the first time that she had thought of him as a brother-like figure to her, and the sudden reminder of him was like a punch to the gut. She hated to admit it, but she missed him, too.

She shook her head, mentally locking her memories away once more. "So Leah, do you have any fun plans this weekend since you aren't working?"

Leah shrugged, not stopping as she aggressively dried the worn, aged plate in her hand. "I don't know, I think we're planning on having a cookout on Sunday. A bunch of family friends are coming. So basically no different than any other boring weekend in my life." She sighed loudly before eyeing the brunette next to her. "What about you?"

"I'm going shopping in Port Angeles with Bella and one of our friends from school. We might see a movie, too, but I don't know yet."

Leah scrunched her nose. "I didn't know zombie girl was out of her funk yet."

"Leah!"

"Sorry,but it's kinda true," Leah shrugged, though she didn't sound very apologetic. Evelyn didn't really blame her, though; she didn't know Bella the way she did.

"She's not a zombie, Leah. She's just... lost, I guess. She got her heart broken but I think she's finally starting to put in an effort to get back to normal."

Leah scoffed, aggressively putting the plate she was drying on the counter. "Whatever, all I know is that I know what it feels like and I'm not acting like my whole world just ended."

Evelyn froze for a moment, blinking in surprise at the bitterness in the girl's tone. Leah had never mentioned dating anyone before, and by the sharpness in her voice she assumed that whatever had happened must have happened recently.

Leah noticed Evelyn's sudden silence, her face settling into a scowl as she realized the slip up in her words. "Don't say a word. I don't want to talk about it, especially not with you. Forget I said anything."

Evelyn nodded, handing her the last dish. "Not a problem. But, hypothetically, if you ever felt like you needed to talk about something, I like to think that I'm a pretty good listener."

Leah didn't answer, but she didn't come back with a snarky comment or insult, either, so Evelyn knew that her words hadn't upset her further. She pulled the plug in the sink so that all the water and soap suds could drain, and quickly dried her hands.

She glanced around the kitchen, trying to find anything else that had to be cleaned before they went home, and her eyes fell on the almost overflowing trash can that Leah had been using earlier.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go take this out."

Leah didn't turn around as she continued drying dishes. "Be careful."

Evelyn quickly tied off the two trash bags and hauled them through the kitchen towards the back door. They were easy to carry, especially since she was in the best shape of her life from being in the middle of the school basketball season. She used her back to shove open the rusted metal door, and the sudden wave of cool night air that washed over her made her breath catch in her throat. It was dark outside, a few hours past closing time, and the only light outside was from the lamp hanging between the door and the dumpster on the backside of the building. The forest stretched out behind the restaurant, an endless thicket of bare tress covered in the remnants of the past week's snow.

Evelyn was humming to herself as she threw the trash bags into the dumpster when a sudden snap of a twig behind her made her freeze. She held her breath as her head whipped around, her eyes narrowing as they scanned the treeline as if she would be able to see anything in the darkness. That same nagging chill began to creep up her spine, and as the hairs stood up straight on the back of her neck she knew that she was being watched.

"Hello?" She called, instantly regretting it as soon as the word left her mouth. She should have just went inside, but frustration and curiosity from the past week had made her brave, a little reckless, even. She slammed the dumpster lid shut, took a deep breath, and took a cautious step towards the trees.

"Who's there?" She called again, her heart thudding loudly in her ears. This is so stupid. So, so stupid. No response came. She took another step closer."Why are you following me?"

There was no answer, but her skin still tingled with the feeling of someone's eyes on her. Someone who she currently could not see, and doing their best to keep it that way. She waited with baited breath, the tension around her building, when the sudden sound of the restaurant's old back door flying open made her yelp in fear. She whirled around, eyes wide, but then relaxed the moment that she saw it was Marie who stood in the doorway.

"Geez, Evelyn, I didn't know I would scare you that bad. The whole block probably heard you yell."

Evelyn shook her head, the strange feeling of being watched already dissipating. "Sorry, I was just daydreaming, I guess. You just surprised me." Her heart rate was slowing down, and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Marie frowned at her niece's odd behavhoor, but nodded towards the interior. "Leah just finished up. I told her she could go home. I'm finished with all the office work so I'm ready to leave when you are."

"Yeah, sure, I'm ready," Evelyn breathed, still slightly shaking from the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins moments before. She took a few steps towards the door to follow her aunt inside, pausing in the doorway to take one last look at the forest beyond.

The trees stood like still sentries of the woods, and there was no movement or wildlife to be seen. The ominous feeling had vanished, but still, Evelyn was skeptical. Whoever it was had come back, and she had the odd feeling that she had come very close to finding out who it was tonight had Marie not interrupted. She didn't know yet if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Evvy, are you coming?" Marie called from the front of the restaurant, breaking Evelyn out of her thoughts. She shook her head once, closing the door and locking it right behind her.

Whoever, or whatever, was watching her would come back. And next time, she vowed, she would be ready.

***

Two nights later, Evelyn found herself between Jessica and Bella as they exited the movie theater in Port Angeles. She was barely listening to Jessica's ranting, her thoughts on the mysterious being from the restaurant that seemed to be showing up more and more often as time went on. Though she tried to tune her out, Jessica's voice still managed to pierce her thoughts.

"I don't know why you wanna sit through all those zombies eating people and no hot guys kissing anybody. It's gross." Jessica shook her head as they walked, clearly still disgusted by the graphic movie Bella had made them watch. "Like, why are there even that many zombie movies, anyway? If it's supposed to, like, draw some kind of parallel about leprosy-- my cousin had leprosy, it's not funny, you know?"

Evelyn rolled her eyes, shoving her hands deeper into her pockets as Bella merely hummed in response. Leave it to Jess to make everything about her. Normally she would have more patience with Jessica, but tonight she was on edge: worried about Bella, and the fact that she was being followed. She eyed Bella beside her, who looked just as empty as she did before the movie even though she was trying to seem engaged. Her heart broke for her friend; she had no idea what it was going to take to get her back on the path to a normal, human life. Clearly, shopping and movies was not working.

Jessica, oblivious to her audience's disinterest, continued. "And like, is it supposed to be a metaphor for consumerism? 'Cause don't be so pleased with your own, like, self-reverential cleverness, you know? 'Cause some girls like to shop, but not all girls, apparently." She looked pointedly at Bella, who didn't even seem to notice the accusatory and bitter tone in Jessica's voice. "I was surprised you even called at all."

"Maybe she shouldn't have," Evelyn mumbled under her breath, earning her a painful elbow to the ribs from Bella. She pressed her lips together in a frown.

"Like, your depression thing, I totally get it. I'm totally, totally worried. But after a while, it's like, you're still bumming? Evelyn is fine now, so like, why aren't you, too? And I'm going through stuff too, you know? I mean, Mike just deciding he wants to be friends? It's hard, you know?"

Evelyn's patience with Jessica had finally worn thin, and she was about to tell her to educate herself on what depression really is when she noticed that Bella had suddenly stopped walking. She had tuned them out and was focused on something just down the street, and when Evelyn followed her line of sight she saw a group of bikers outside of a bar at the end of the block. She was suddenly reminded of the last night she was in Port Angeles almost a year ago, and a chill went down her spine. She knew Bella had to be thinking the same thing.

"Let's keep going, guys," Evelyn murmured, trying to urge Bella along, but she wouldn't budge.

"I think I know those guys," Bella said, and Jessica and Evelyn stared at her with wide eyes.

"Well they seem great. Can we go now?" Jessica asked, and for once Evelyn agreed with her. But Bella shook her head, taking an unstable step towards the men.

"No, I just want to go see something." With that, Bella started more confidently towards the bikers.

Their catcalls grew louder when they noticed her approaching them. Evelyn grabbed her friend's arm roughly, yanking her back towards them. "Bella, what the hell? You don't know them at all. Let's go." She tried to pull her back towards their cars, but Bella yanked her arm from Evelyn's hand.

"Can you just stop acting like you're my mom, or something? I don't need you telling me what to do! I'm going." And with that, she turned and strode towards the bikers who seemed to be waiting for her with open arms.

Evelyn flinched back as if Bella had slapped her. She hadn't spoken to her that way ever since she had known her. But she was too scared and frustrated to be hurt by her words. She crossed her arms as she stood by Jessica and watched Bella walking away from them.

"Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you when you get yourself killed!" She called back to her. Bella didn't turn around, instead choosing to walk noticeabley faster towards the men.

Evelyn hoped that once she got close, Bella would realize this lapse in judgement and turn back. But her mouth opened in shock as she watched her friend speak to one of them and then hop on his motorcycle behind him. She gritted her teeth as her fists clenched beside her. She's an idiot. The tires on the bike squealed as they sped off into the night, and then she and Jessica were alone.

"Oh my god, I can't believe she just did that. I can't deal with her anymore, I'm going home," Jessica said from beside her.

Evelyn looked at her incredulously. "You just watched her disappear with some strange guy and you're just going to go home? Are you kidding me, Jess?"

Jessica threw are arms up in frustration. "Well, what the hell are we supposed to do? I didn't make her go with him!"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe call the police? Or call her dad? Like a good friend would do if someone they cared about was in trouble."

Jessica rolled her eyes, pulling her car keys from her pocket. "Whatever. Bella has some serious issues and I'm not sticking around to get caught up in them, too. I'll see you later." And with that, she turned and continued towards her car parked down the block, leaving Evelyn alone on the street corner.

Evelyn was grumbling to herself as she leaned against the building behind her and pulled her phone out. She dialed Charlie's number, groaning when she got his voicemail, but she still decided to tell him what was going on.

"Charlie, hey, it's Evelyn. Um, I just wanted to let you know that Bella... well, she kind of got on a motorcycle with some guy... from school." She lied a bit, because she knew he would be even more angry if he knew Bella was with a stranger. "She's being reckless, and I'm worried... I'll bring her straight back when she comes back. I'll see you soon."

She hung up and stood against the building for a few more moments to see if Bella would come back, but when she saw the remaining men looking at her in a way that made her uncomfortable she decided to go get her car and wait for her there.

Her heart was pounding as she walked, the knot in her stomach only growing. Where the hell is she? She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Bella. I should have tried harder to get her to come with us. She glanced at her watch, and seeing that it had been almost ten minutes, made herself walk faster towards her car. Maybe I can follow them if she doesn't come back in the next few minutes.

It didn't take long to get back to the theater where she had parked her car. The cold air stung her face as she nearly ran across the sidewalk. A movie must have just ended, because a large crowd of people were now exiting and milling around in front of the building. She tried to hurry as best as she could through the people, pushing and shoving around them so that she would be able to pick up Bella in time when she hopefully came back from her motorcyle ride.

She was almost through the crowd when suddenly she slammed into a man's shoulder hard enough to make her breath catch in her throat. The force from the impact made her involuntarily step back to keep herself from falling. Her shoulder and upper arm immediately began to ache and her free hand flew up to clutch her injured arm. She whirled around to tell whoever it was to watch where they were going when she froze at the sight of a deathly pale man with a pair of golden topaz eyes. His eyes widened slightly when he realized that she had seen him. Her mouth went dry, but before she could say anything, she blinked and he was gone.

She stood still on the sidewalk as the crowd finally dispersed, leaving her alone and the man long gone. Had she been hallucinating? She rubbed her shoulder, which she was sure would be bruised tomorrow. She certainly hadn't imagined running into him; his body had felt like she had collided with an actual stone wall. But where had he gone? She didn't know how he could have disappeared so quickly in a crowd of humans without bringing attention to himself.

She hurried the rest of the way to her car to wait, ignoring the ache in her arm as she turned up her Jeep's heat and held her frozen hands up to the vents. She knew there were other vampires in the world; James, Victoria, and Laurent were evidence of that. But from what the Cullens had told her, she thought that their lifestyle was rare among their kind. Perhaps she was just imagining things, but then again, she would know those eyes anywhere. She had spent months with vampires who had the exact same ones.

Hopefully that was just a one time thing, she thought to herself. She wasn't sure how she would feel if she had come to find out that another family of vampires was living so close to her home. I've had enough vampires for a lifetime.

She was starting to think that she would have to call the police or go after her friend when she finally spotted Bella making her way towards the car, and suddenly she was angry at her friend all over again. She didn't say a word to her as she got into the car, and Bella didn't bother to, either. They both put their seatbelts on and settled in for the hour-long car ride back to Forks.

Evelyn's knuckles were white from the iron grip she had on the steering wheel. She had been expecting an apology, or at the very least some sort of explanation from her friend when she got in the car, but the fact that Bella had offered neither made her even angrier.

When they were only a few blocks away from Bella's house, Evelyn made a sharp right turn and pulled off onto a side street, pulling off the road and cutting the engine. Bella frowned, turning towards her. "Ev, what are you--"

"What the hell were you thinking, Bella?" Evelyn exclaimed, the anger clear in her voice. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? You could have been killed for all I knew!"

Bella's eyes widened at the ferocity of her friend's voice and the sharp anger in her clear green eyes. But still, she wasn't happy that Evelyn was treating her like a child. "Well I'm fine. Nothing happened and we can just forget about it, okay?"

"Bella, we can't just pretend like this didn't happen--"

"Yes we can!" Bella cut her off. "I'm fine. We don't have to tell anyone else about it and--"

"I called Charlie," Evelyn blurted out, and she was ready when the realization hit Bella and her face contorted in anger. She knew that her friend wouldn't be happy with what she had done.

"You what? Why would you do that?"

"Why wouldn't I? You just disappeared on a goddamn motorcycle with some stranger and I had no clue where you were! I didn't know what else to do."

Bella ran her hands through her hair in exasperation, eyes incredulous. "Ev, do you even realize how much trouble you've just gotten me into?"

"That I got you into? Bella, I'm not the idiot who got on a motorcycle with some random loser! I was only trying to help!"

"See? This is what I was talking about. I already have two parents, I don't need you acting like another one when you're just supposed to be my friend. I don't need your help, either, so you can go ahead and just stop trying!"

Eveyln flinched, abruptly turning away from her friend and staring straight ahead at the road, fighting the tears that now threatened to fall. "How could you even say that to me, Bella? Especially when you know what I've been through." Her voice was shaky, and she hastily wiped her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

At the realization of what she had said, Bella sighed and took her hand. "Ev, I'm sorry, I didn't even think about what that sounded like when I said it." Her voice was soft and apoloetic. She squeezed her hand gently, willing Evelyn to look at her.

"Bella, I worry about you because you are my friend. I've lost almost everyone I've ever cared about in my life and tonight I was scared I was going to have to add you to that list." She looked at Bella then, hoping that she saw where she was coming from. "I'm sorry that I've been a little overbearing lately... I just don't want to keep seeing you suffer. But you were reckless tonight, Bells. You can't keep doing that."

Bella nodded solemnly. "I know."

The girls were silent for a few moments before Bella spoke up again. "I saw him."

Evelyn frowned, eyeing her curiously. "Who?"

"Edward. I saw Edward. He was telling me not to do it, but he would go away everytime I thought about listening to him. So... I just kept going so I could see him. I had to see him."

Oh no. "Bella, Edward wasn't there."

"Yes he was! Ev, I saw him, I swear--"

Evelyn shook her head. "No, Bella. You're seeing things. Whatever you think you saw was a hallucination." When she saw Bella shaking her head with tears welling in her eyes, she sighed and squeezed her hand. "The Cullens aren't coming back for us, Bella. They left and they won't ever be back. We're on our own now." Her voice was soft, and she knew Bella was thinking of what she lost with Edward the same way she was now thinking of everything she had lost with Jasper.

"What are we gonna do, Ev?" Bella asked, leaning her head on Evelyn's shoulder as they sat in the darkness.

Evelyn sighed, resting her head on top of Bella's and squeezing her hand once more. "Well first, we gotta face the wrath of Charlie... sorry about that, by the way." At Bella's soft chuckle, she smiled.

"I can handle him. But...what about everything else?"

Evelyn sighed, closing her eyes. "I have no idea, Bells. But we'll figure it out."

We have to figure it out. And after tonight, Evelyn wasn't sure Bella would even survive if they didn't.