Familial Bonding

"Hey, Dawn?" 

I looked over as I shut the driver side door of my Camry, cocking my head, "Hm?" I hummed, rounding the hood to join Bella as I flicked through my keychain. The overcast sky slowly darkened overhead, just a thin ribbon of orange and pink hugging the western horizon as we climbed the front steps; although there hadn't been much to do while I was working, Bella had stuck around the shelter to talk and find out more about the supernatural world. I'd filled her in about demons as best I could but told her if she wanted to know anything about Edward or the rest of the Cullens that it'd probably be best if she asked him directly. I hadn't wanted to overstep and tell her something Edward might have wanted to tell her himself. Although less than thrilled at the prospect of having to wait, Bella didn't push the issue once I'd made it clear I wasn't telling her anything else and went along with the change in subject from vampires to demons, if not somewhat reluctantly. 

"I know we're not going to talk anymore about vampires, but I wanted to ask..." She followed me into the shelter of the porch, "You...drink blood, too...right?" I looked back as I unlocked the front door and let us inside, smiling faintly in confirmation, "How do you...I-I mean, where...? Does Elizabeth...?" 

"If you're asking if mama uses her positions as a nurse to supplement my diet, no. I don't drink human blood." Putting my shoes in the rack by the door and hanging my jacket up, I ran a hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face, "I drink animal blood. You never wondered why we live out in the middle of the forest?" 

"It isn't just because wolves like being out in nature?" Bella furrowed her brows, following me back through to the kitchen, where mama looked up from cooking as I chuckled, "Well, that's part of the reason, but being in the forest also gives me a chance to hunt if I need to in a pinch. Once a month, I go further out to stock up; deer blood's my favorite." 

"Finally figured everything out, dear?" Mama smiled at Bella, who nodded quietly, which made mama chuckle, "Feeling overwhelmed yet?" 

Bella frowned, thoughtful, "It is a lot to take in but it's not so much that it's overwhelming yet. Dawn's told me a bit about demons, especially wolves...it's made me understand some of your and the boys' past behavior. Why none of you ever enjoyed the city and always seemed so at home in the woods; why you all like meat so much." She eyed the chicken frying in the pan on the stove as I chuckled under my breath, "Dawn was just telling me a little about her vampire diet." 

Mama's smile softened as she returned her attention to the food, "Something she picked up from her biological father. He had her drinking animal blood from day one; he believed it was more humane than getting her used to human blood and then trying to wean her off it later." 

Bella nodded quietly, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, obviously still thinking about our earlier conversation about my father; I shook my head to tell her to just let it go as I pulled out a chair at the kitchen island and sat down. Her frown deepened, but she sighed, conceding, and sat next to me. 

"So, Bella." Mama hummed, "What's your next move going to be? Knowing what Dawn, the twins and I are, I have no doubt you know what Edward and his family are now as well." 

Bella flushed red and ducked her head, even though mama hadn't looked up from the frying pan, "Well...I-I planned on talking to Edward and learning more...seeing where things go from there..." 

"And that's what you truly want?" Mama glanced up then, her expression open and understanding, showing her complete trust that my stepsister would make the right decision for herself; Bella nodded silently, still unable to meet her gaze, even as mama continued to smile softly at her, "Then we'll support you in this, Bella, in whatever way we can, all right? That's what family does, what it means to be a part of a wolf pack. We stick together, no matter what." 

Bella glanced up, smiling faintly and nodding, before she dropped her gaze to the countertop to trace invisible patterns into the granite. I patted her back gently, letting her know I was there for her no matter what and she smiled out of the corner of her mouth at me. 

The rest of the night passed uneventfully; after dinner, Bella and I headed upstairs to get some last-minute homework done, which mostly consisted of proofreading our rough drafts for the Macbeth paper we had due on Wednesday and sitting down together to work out a couple difficult Trig problems before bed. 

It was the first bright rays of sunlight that awoke me the following morning instead of my alarm; I lay in bed for a few extra minutes, blinking the sleep from my eyes and trying to comprehend the clear yellow light streaming in through the windows, watching dust motes dance around near the floor before I sat up, surprised. 

"No way..." I murmured, throwing the blankets aside and hurrying to the window to look outside; a clear azure sky decorated in thin, fleecy white puffs greeted me, pulling a smile onto my lips, "Goddamn. Ain't we lucky?" I chuckled, unlatching the window and throwing it wide open; warm, dry air filled the room and I inhaled slowly, enjoying the breeze as it played with the ends of my hair. Sunny days were a rarity in Forks, but multiple within the same week were even more so; someone was smiling down on us. 

I got dressed in something a little nicer for school to celebrate, pulling on one of my rarely used lavender blouses and some black jean shorts and brushed my hair up into a high ponytail; even if I wasn't overly girly, I still enjoyed dressing up every great once in a while, especially on days like these. Grabbing my bag and a nice pair of sandals to go with the outfit, I descended the stairs into the attic, my ears perking with interest when I spotted a figure disappearing around the doorway across the room. I smiled, listening to the excited skip in Bella's step as she climbed down the stairs before the attic door opened and closed behind her. I'd figured she'd be happy about the sunshine since it was so rare here compared to the places she used to live in before. 

It was just too bad that good mood wasn't going to last once she realized days like these meant the Cullens weren't in school with the rest of us. Well...might as well let her enjoy the nice weather while she could, at the very least... 

Nodding to myself, I took the secret staircase to the kitchen, beating Bella to the table, where the rest of our family was already seated for breakfast. Mama smiled as I kissed her cheek before sitting down, complimenting my outfit while Bella skipped into the room cheerfully, making it easy to pick up on her mood. 

"Nice day out." Charlie commented as he finished his coffee, earning a beaming smile in return that made mama giggle, her own smile softening at seeing Bella so happy. 

"It is." Bella hummed as she took her seat alongside him, pulling an unused bowl and box of cereal toward herself. Charlie smiled softly as he watched her, the corners of his chocolate brown eyes crinkling handsomely, bringing light to the romantic both our mothers had fallen in love with, still present even after more than a decade. He hadn't changed all too much from how he'd looked when Bella and I had been toddlers, although he sported more than a few silver hairs and had a couple extra wrinkles that made an appearance on his face when he was worried; to be fair, though, those could very well be the result of raising a klutzy daughter alongside three supernatural kids who could do things human children could not. I still often wondered how Charlie hadn't had a heart attack after all the dumb, dangerous shit the twins and I got ourselves into. 

"You know, there's something that's bothered me for a while..." Bella piped up after our parents had left for work. I took a bite of toast as Geo cleared his plates and brought them to the sink and Henry was working on the puzzles on the back of his cereal box. "Charlie doesn't look like he's aged much since we were little. Every time I look at a picture of how he looked when I was a baby, you'd think it was just taken. Is that some sort of demon trick? Did your mom put some kinda pull on him?" 

I couldn't help but laugh at the way Bella's eyes widened when she asked this, shaking my head, "Calm down, Bella, mama didn't put any spell on Charlie, he's fine. Although, the way she was able to keep him from aging is a demon thing." Bella stared at me expectantly, waiting, and I rubbed my neck, thinking of how to word this so she'd understand when Geo spoke up from the sink. 

"Ma marked him as her mate, that's how he still looks like that." 

Bella blinked, turning to look at our younger brother, "She...marked him? What does that mean? Did she...scratch or bite him or something?" 

Sighing and shaking my head, I cleared my throat to regain her attention, "Well, um, sort of...look, it's like this: when a demon marks someone as a mate, it's the demon equivalent of wedding rings to humans. A demon can have a 'traditional' wedding with the person they want to be with but in order for the couple to be considered married in demon terms, the demon has to mate with their partner and leave their mark on them. The mark is meant to show other demons and supernatural creatures they're off limits and that they're protected by their demon mate and their family." Bella furrowed her brow, "I still don't see what that has to do with Charlie looking so young..." 

"I was getting to that." I flicked an ear at Bella and she smiled apologetically, "There's another aspect to it that can change the nondemonic partner, if not somewhat; when a demon marks a mate, they form a sort of...bond with them, in which the demon is able to sense how they're feeling or if they're in danger, even if they aren't in close physical contact. A human or another supernatural creature can feel the same things from their demon partner, although it's unsure just how strong that connection is for them. But, along with that bond, the couple's lifelines become entwined, so whether the demon's mate is a human, vampire, or other supernatural creature, they'll be able to live as long as the demon. Charlie's life span has been extended exponentially, so he's going to age at around the same speed as mama, which is why he looks like he's still only in his twenties." 

Bella nodded slowly in understanding, her eyebrows pinching as she turned this over in her head while we finished breakfast; she didn't speak up again until we were slipping on our shoes and shrugging on our bags, each of us grabbing our rain jackets, just in case. 

"Dawn, how long do demons typically live?" 

I hummed as we swung the front doors closed behind us, "Depends on the demon species, really, kinda like the life span of different creatures. A dog and a beetle don't live the same length of time." 

"Okay..." Bella paused, thoughtful, "So, what's the average life span for wolf demons, then?" 

We unlocked our cars and I rolled down my windows before coming around to help with hers', "Hm, the average life span for a full demon wolf...well, we aren't quite sure how long it is until they die naturally considering demons are usually getting into fights over territory or resources, but as far as I know a wolf can live from between two to five thousand years. I can't say I know how long the twins, or I, are going to live, unfortunately...I've been aging at about the speed of a normal human so far and seeing as how I'm the only half demon vampire we or the Cullens know, there isn't a lot of knowledge about it, so it's a lot of guess work. Carlisle's been running tests on me since I was fourteen and has noticed my growth has been slowing recently, so more than likely I'll stop aging within the next couple of years." I paused, scratching my ear, "I should actually go see Carlisle about that to get a check-up and find out exactly when I'm going to be fully mature..." 

Bella nodded quietly as we got into our cars and drove to school together; we were a few of the first to arrive, which wasn't surprising with how early we'd left. Bella took the opportunity to use the rarely used picnic tables out behind the cafeteria while we waited for the first bell, taking out her Trig homework to look over the problems we'd worked on the night before to be sure she had them correct. I laid my rain jacket out on the grass next to her and flopped down on top of it happily, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin and hair as I buried my face into the pillow of my arms with a sigh. Silence enveloped us as we both settled in to enjoy the nice day together and I closed my eyes to sunbathe, listening to the sound of the forest as the school slowly filled, feeling a familiar pair of eyes watching from the shadows nearby. 

(You're really gunning for stalker status, aren't you?) I hummed to myself without lifting my head, inclining one of my hidden ears to the left, where I could sense Edward standing. There was a low, derisive snort, just audible enough for my sensitive hearing, and I hid a smile, (I guess I can understand, though, considering just how preoccupied you've been with Bella since she arrived.) 

That earned a low growl in return, accompanied by a faint rumble, like a tree had just been uprooted; I hummed in understanding, aware that Bella and I were no longer alone. Mike had arrived by now and was making small talk, building up his courage to ask what he really wanted. Bella reminded him of our essay due and I could practically feel Mike deflate, picturing the delighted look that would undoubtedly be on Edward's face. 

(Hey, if it makes you feel better, Bella's been just as preoccupied with you as you've been with her. And she sure as hell is going to miss you once she realizes you're not in school.) He gave a low 'hmph.' (Fine, don't believe me. Just wait until she sees your empty table in the cafeteria. And if you're wondering, she's pretty much figured everything out. So hopefully that makes you feel better about Mike trying to ask her out just now.)  

Edward barked out a laugh, although I couldn't tell if it was for what I'd said or if it was for Bella's death threat toward Mike. 

Stifling a smile, I sat up and stretched as Bella admonished Mike for not noticing Jessica's feelings earlier. 

"About time for class, isn't it, Bells?" I asked as I got to my feet, pulling my messenger bag on and gathering up my rain jacket; she nodded, stuffing her books back into her bag. Mike was silent as we all walked to building three for English and I privately hoped he was at least considering giving Jessica a chance. 

The morning passed quickly; Jessica was in good spirits when we met up with her in Spanish and she talked of nothing except the shopping trip in Port Angeles she had planned with Angela and Lauren that night as we headed to lunch. She invited Bella and I to join them, even though neither of us really needed a dress. Bella hesitated, obviously unsure of her own schedule that night. I was unsure whether I would go myself; on the one hand, a shopping trip with the girls sounded like a lot of fun, but on the other, well...I'd have to contend with Lauren, and given the choice between hanging out with her and getting a tooth extracted, I'd be making an appointment with the dentist in a heartbeat. I could stand being around Jessica considering she at least knew how to be cordial, and I genuinely enjoyed Angela's company but Lauren...there was not enough incentive in this world to possibly make me like her in any way, shape, or form. Well...I suppose I could survive a night with her if I really tried, I had nothing better going on anyway. I didn't give Jessica my answer straight away, though, when Bella said she might be able to come, that she'd need to talk to Charlie first, not wanting to put my stepsister on the spot. 

The cafeteria was nearly full by the time we arrived, having been let out five minutes later than usual, so it didn't take Bella long to notice Edward and the rest of the Cullens' absence, especially as she glanced toward their table per usual before sweeping the room to see if Edward was sitting by himself, just like last time. Her happy mood immediately evaporated, like water on a hot stove, her hope dwindling as she lowered her gaze, watching her feet while she shuffled along behind Jessica in line. 

The rest of their group was already seated around their table by the time we sat down with our lunches, and I took a seat on Bella's other side as she sat next to Angela and Mike offered Jessica the empty seat next to him. She beamed and took it happily, wiggling in place as though nonverbally claiming her spot. 

Shaking my head, I tuned into Bella and Angela's conversation, interjecting my opinion when it felt appropriate; Angela was asking Bella about our Macbeth paper, which Bella answered in a listless voice, as though someone had sucked all the happiness straight out of her, staring at the water bottle she'd purchased in an effort to hide her misery. When Angela brought up the shopping trip, Bella immediately agreed, although I knew it was going to be little more than a distraction from her depression. Well, better she had something to preoccupy her so she wouldn't be wallowing in her misery. I accepted the invitation myself, mostly since I'd already decided I'd wanted to go and partly because I wanted to keep an eye on Bella, just to be safe. 

Things didn't get better after that; Bella's descent into desolation only seemed to worsen as we walked into Biology, and she noticed her table was empty. I sighed and shook my head as she plopped down in her seat, pulling her supplies out mechanically, as though she was on auto pilot. 

(Christ, I hope it isn't going to be sunny too much longer...or it's going to be a loooong week.) I inwardly groaned as I sat at my own table, wondering if Bella was going to survive another day without Edward or if she was just going to keel over from withdrawal. No doubt Edward was having a panic attack about now thinking Bella was dying because she was missing him, (Yeah, I'm gonna get chewed out for that.) 

Sure enough, as we were leaving Biology, I heard a low voice call my name from the woods nearby. I suppressed a smile. 

"Hey Bells, why don't you go on ahead, I forgot something inside." I pat Bella's shoulder, but she barely seemed to acknowledge me as she shuffled off toward the gym for her final class. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I waited until she was far enough away before I swept my gaze around to be sure no one was watching and headed for the woods. 

"You're hilarious, you know that?" Edward growled sarcastically as soon as I entered the protective shadow of the forest; I laughed and stretched. 

"Did you not see how depressed Bella was once she'd realized you weren't in school?" I quirked a brow as we moved along toward the tree line closest to the gym, "It's just been a couple hours." 

Edward huffed as we found a fallen tree to sit on together, crossing his arms. I sat on my rain jacket again to keep my shorts from getting wet since the log was still damp. 

"So, she finally figured it out..." He murmured after a stretch of silence; I glanced at him out of my eye and smiled, nodding, "What did you tell her about us?" 

I shrugged, looking out over the school grounds once more, "I figured you'd want to be the one to tell her everything that concerns you and your family, and about vampires in general, so I mostly told her about demons and our family. She wasn't as interested in us as she was in you, but there was some there, at least. You're likely gonna have a lot of questions to answer the next time you see her." 

A corner of Edward's lips twitched up in a smile, "That I do not mind. I'll answer any questions she's got for me. Just as long as she doesn't mind answering some of mine." 

I suppressed a snort, "That might be a little tougher, but I'm sure if it's you, she'll happily comply." 

He gave a soft chuckle, "So, what piqued your sister's interest in the supernatural anyway? Aside from our heroic deeds." 

"Seems it started when we skipped that blood lab on Friday; once she got home, she asked to borrow my supernatural book." I reached into my bag to pull out my thermos and took a sip, "Jacob telling her the old Quileute legends was probably what cemented her theories, though." 

"Your Jacob told her about us?" Edward quirked a brow and I shot him a glare, "I've told you, Edward, he isn't mine, he's just a friend." Just as it had when I'd said it to Jacob in his garage, it proved more difficult to get those words past my lips than it used to be. I clenched my fist in my shirt and took a healthy pull from my thermos, feeling Edward's gaze on my face, gauging my reaction. 

"Yes, but you want him to be so much more." He whispered, as though it was a precious secret no one else needed to hear. I looked up, frowning, and shook my head as I glanced away again, "No, I don't. He's just meant to be my friend, nothing else." 

"You and I both know that's a load of bull." I could hear the frown in Edward's voice even without looking at him; I shook my head again, slower this time, "Look, can we just drop this? You should be focusing on Bella and your own love life, not mine." 

His hand covered mine, squeezing tightly until I looked up again, "You deserve to be happy, too, Dawn." 

I smiled weakly, "I will be, Edward...one day. My love story will happen when the time comes, so I'm not too worried about it right now. What I am worried about is helping my sister get used to our world and helping the two of you. I can worry about myself later." Twisting the lid back onto my thermos, I returned it to my bag and stood up, adjusting the strap until it leaned against the back of my left hip, "I'd better go, class is almost over, and I want to get home to put my stuff away before our girls' night. Will I be seeing you there?" 

"You really think I could stand staying beind while the woman I love goes somewhere that dangerous?" Edward chuckled, getting to his feet, too, "I know you're strong enough to protect her, but I'm not taking any chances." 

"Oh please, even if I had an army with me, you wouldn't be able to stay away from her." I smirked, shaking my head as he chuckled again, "I get it, Edward, new love, you want to be near her and make sure she stays safe. I'm not offended by that. Bella's the same way and I'm sure I will be, too, once I've found my chosen mate. It's perfectly normal, no matter what species you are." I started out of the trees, "Just be sure to stay nearby, you know the city isn't exactly my favorite place." 

Edward's chuckle followed me out into the sunlight, and I smiled quietly to myself as I cast a quick glance over the campus before using my supernatural speed to cross to the parking lot. I was pulling out of the school just as the final bell rang and I drove straight home. 

I was ready to go by the time Bella pulled into the driveway, but not seconds after she walked through the front door, the house phone rang. The two of us exchanged a look before she picked it up, since she was closest, and I listened to her half of the conversation as I came down the stairs. Even from where I was standing, I could hear Jessica's excited voice from the earpiece, telling Bella she needed to reschedule our shopping trip for tomorrow night since Mike had caught up to her after school to invite her to dinner tonight. Bella did her best to sound excited, but her voice lacked the right amount of emotion, which Jessica, thankfully, didn't seem to pick up on before she hung up. 

In an effort to distract her, I asked Bella if she wanted to help me make up the fish Charlie had brought back over the weekend for dinner, which was marinating in the fridge as we spoke. She shook her head, still obviously upset, and told me she would just go upstairs to do her homework, check her emails, then maybe see about going outside to enjoy the sunlight while we had it. I frowned, but decided not to argue and followed her up to the attic, deciding to get my homework out of the way since I still had some time before I needed to start dinner. 

Homework took a little more than an hour to finish and I procrastinated a bit by playing on my computer until I absolutely needed to return downstairs, wanting to get it done before the rest of the family got home. Bella came down as I was taking out what I needed, one of our old, ragged quilts under one arm and her favorite book, a collection of works by Jane Austen, in her hand. 

"Gonna do some reading and sunbathing, Bells?" She nodded and headed for the double glass doors at the back of the kitchen, which let out onto the wrap around porch and backyard, "Have fun, don't get sunburnt." 

"Can't make any promises." She mumbled as she disappeared outside, pulling a chuckle from my lips as I set a pot of oil on top of the stove and turned on the burner. Through the back window, I watched her fold the quilt in half and lay it down just outside the porch, being mindful to avoid the shadow of the house, before she laid down on her stomach, crossing her ankles in the air as she flipped through her book to find a story to read. Across the wide lawn, hidden within the canopies of the surrounding forest, I could sense Edward watching her, still careful to avoid the sunlight. No surprise there. 

Shaking my head in amusement, I returned my attention to the task at hand, deciding to give the two some privacy, knowing they'd both prefer it. Bella liked to be left to entertain herself and Edward wouldn't do anything rash; he'd always been the careful one after all and I knew he would still be so, even with his current feelings and urges. And even if he did, I knew I'd be able to stop him before any harm was done. 

With that thought in mind, I hooked my iPod up to the speaker system on the counter and set it to my party playlist for something to listen to while I cooked, humming along to the music and dancing my way around the kitchen. This was the way I liked to do things, instead of enduring a school dance; no crowd, good music at a moderate volume without it being ear shattering. It'd be better to have a few friends to enjoy this with but... the rest of the Cullens couldn't come around yet without Edward freaking out, and I wasn't up for spending time with Jacob or the boys with how confused I felt. There was just too much going on in my head and in my life right now, I needed time to try to sort it all out without screwing up my friendship with Jacob...so I would just have to contend with dancing by myself, at least for now. 

This would be how mama and Charlie found me when they arrived home that evening, both pausing in the kitchen doorway to watch with amused smiles. 

"Having fun, sweetheart?" Mama giggled and I glanced over as I turned the music off. 

"Yup," I purr, "Dinner's gonna be a few minutes." 

Charlie nodded, rubbing his neck, "Good, that gives me time to catch the score on the game." He excused himself to the living room as Bella came in the back door, stifling a yawn behind her hand and looking as though she'd just woken from a nap. Mama giggled again, smiling reassuringly when Bella mumbled a quick apology and explained what had happened. 

"It's fine, sweetie, don't worry, we're glad you're enjoying the sun. Now, why don't you go toss that quilt downstairs and help Dawn and I set the table?" 

Bella nodded and went to do as mama asked; after dinner, the four of us (Geo and Henry were each over a friend's house for the evening) sat down in the living room to watch TV together. Mama put on a show we'd enjoyed in the past since Bella wasn' particularly invested in baseball. It was a supernatural show, which Bella didn't seem to mind too much; Charlie just seemed happy to be spending time with her as he did the rest of us, and I could tell being here with us seemed to help offer Bella something of a distraction from her depression. 

"Oh, mama." I spoke up during a commercial, drawing her attention away from the TV, "Jessica and Angela are planning a trip to Port Angeles tomorrow night to go dressing shopping for the dance and they want Bella and I to go with. Are you and dad okay with that?" 

"Jessica Stanley?" Charlie spoke up, looking over from his recliner. I nodded, "And Angela Weber." 

His eyebrows knit in confusion, "I thought the two of you weren't going to the dance, though?" 

"I don't believe they are." Mama smiled sweetly at him as Bella sighed, sagging her shoulders in exasperation, "But that doesn't mean they can't give the other girls some constructive criticism about what they're going to wear." 

Bella shot mama a grateful look, happy for an older woman's perspective, earning a gentle smile in return. 

"Well, all right." Charlie looked uncomfortable at the realization that this kind of topic was out of his depth, although he tried to appear stern with his next words, "It is a school night, though." 

"We were planning on leaving right after school, so we shouldn't be out too late." Bella told him. Charlie hummed, thoughtfully, before glancing at mama to see what she thought. She giggled. 

"I think it'd be nice for Dawn and Bella to get out and spend some time with girlfriends. You two have fun, okay? Just be sure to be careful in the city, keep your wits about you, there are rogue demons around that you wouldn't want to cross paths with." 

"We'll be careful, thank you, mama." I smiled gratefully at her and kissed her cheek before getting up to do the same to Charlie, "And thank you, dad. We really appreciate it." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

The following morning was just as sunny as yesterday; I decided to be bold and wear something a little different. During one of my summers in California, Renee and mama had taken Bella and I shopping and bought me a beautiful, knee length violet sun dress, which I didn't often get to wear thanks to Forks' usually rainy weather. I might as well wear it when I have the chance. 

Bella was in something of a mixed mood today; while happy for the sunlight, there was still a depressed edge lurking just under the surface. We left for school at the last second, likely so she wouldn't have extra time to sit and think and so she could scan the lot for Edward's familiar silver Volvo as we were trying to find parking spaces. The lot was almost completely full by the time we arrived, and we had to park in the last row before we hurried to English, though we were able to slip through the door before the final bell thanks to my supernatural speed. 

It was much the same as it had been yesterday, although Bella was a bit more subdued than she had been, little flickers of hope flaring in her eyes dying when she didn't see Edward or the rest of the Cullens in the cafeteria or our shared Biology class. 

Our plans in Port Angeles were still on, which I knew was a relief for Bella since it would provide the distraction she needed. And what made the trip even better? Lauren would not be joining us due to a previous engagement. Now Bella and I could relax and not have to worry about Lauren's snarky, rude comments or her passive aggressive attitude. At least now we could enjoy ourselves; I even entertained the idea of picking up a few new clothes for myself while we were out. After all, I had my own money to do with what I pleased, so why the hell not? 

Just as I did yesterday, I sat with Edward for the better part of the final hour before heading home to drop my stuff off, grab some cash from my secret stash, and put my wallet and keys in an extra handbag. I was brushing my hair by the time Bella arrived and I only had to wait about five minutes for her to get ready before we headed back down to jump into Jessica's old white Mercury. Our next stop was Angela's house and then we were heading out of the town limits toward Port Angeles.