Troubled Minds | Quil Ateara [2]

Vingt-Deux

She stood at the top of the stairs wearing only a towel. She felt torn, unsure if she should simply go back to her room, or if she should down stairs and sort out the yelling match that was currently taking place.

She carried herself down the stairs on shaky legs, her legs burned with each step. It was a lot harder than she thought it would be but then again, she was educated well enough to know that her immune system was currently fighting off some kind of cold and her skin and muscles were trying to repair themselves.

Her foot landed on a creaky step and silence filled the lower floor. With one hand curled around the railing tightly and the other gripping the towel, she shrunk away from the various looks she was receiving and focused on getting down the last few steps.

"Oh Andy," Alice cooed softly. "What happened to your side? Did Victoria do all of this to you?"

She shrunk into herself even further as she heard the vampire's words. She was well aware of how awful she appeared to be and that there wasn't much she could do to change it.

"I might have jumped out of Bella's truck as well." Andy cringed once she realized how awful it sounded and by the look on Alice's face, she knew she was in trouble.

"You did what?" the vampires voice was dangerously low. Andy refused to look her in the eyes, scared of how much trouble she was going to be in. "What kind of stupidity possessed you to do that? Was the truck moving?"

"Yeah, it was moving," Bella pipped up. The eldest Swan stifled a laugh at the look on her sister's face.

"Jacob wasn't letting me out. He was just going to drive away but I knew that it was you inside," she replied hotly. She gave the boy a look, daring him to contradict her.

"You jumped out of a car just to see me?"

Andy shrugged. "Well yeah, I wasn't going to just let myself be dragged away when you were so close to me."

Alice stared at her in silence for a moment before smiling at the young girl lovingly. She shook her head softly and made her way to stand by her at the stairs. She looked her over slowly, analysing every cut, scrape, and bruise. The vampire's hands fluttered around Andy's pale skin with immense care, keeping in mind the fragility of the small girl.

"What did you want to say, sweetie," Alice hummed. "What brought you down here in a towel?"

Andy's cheeks flushed - she was positive that she had just created a new shade of the dreadful colour - and heat spread along her neck and chest. A full blush was clearly showcased by her lack of dress.

"You guys were fighting, I wanted it to stop," she stammered out. She refused to meet anyone's eyes and she began to feel sick to her stomach. "Someone around here is always yelling and it's sickening. I want to sleep but instead I'm forced to listen to your loud mouths."

Lifting her gaze, her eyes easily found Jacob watching her with a fierce scowl. She recoiled, leaning into the cold embrace of Alice.

She willed herself to put on a brave act, fake confidence surrounding her. "You shouldn't be here Jacob. Not only are you not welcomed here, but a man died today. A good man that was one of your father's best friends. Harry Clearwater was family to you and it is disrespectful to be here instead of with the others on the reservation."

Jacob's scowl hardened into a glare and Andy felt herself losing any courage she had plucked up in order to speak.

"She's right Jake," Bella spoke up. The Swan girl stepped in front of her friend. "You have no right to look at my sister like that, especially when she's right. Your father and the others need you, don't be that guy."

Her heart swelled. It had been so long since she had felt thankful or trust towards Bella and her actions. The older sister was normally so calm and collected, normally so smart and observant. Andy couldn't remember the last time he had felt so united with her sister.

Bella looked to the other girls hesitantly, she had no idea what to say. Andy motioned towards the stairs with her head.

"You should go take a shower before you get sick and die or something," Andy teased, a playful grin slipping onto her face.

All three of the homes occupants gravitated towards the upper level of the home, and after much reassurance that Alice was not going to disappear Bella left to take her shower.

Andy sat in her room, silently enjoying the vampire's company. Her hands played with Alice's phone as the vampire in question sped around collecting supplies so that she could bandage the girl up.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked her softly.

"I haven't been in front of everyone that could see everything since like this since the attack last year," Andy admit.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you can easy see all of the bite marks. You can make out the imprints of that monster's teeth on my skin with little to no effort. No one else is able to see them. It seems like it's been forever since I've had to worry about this." Andy's voice trailed off. Her eyes already narrowing on the crescent marks. Without the right lighting, you wouldn't be able to notice them but she knew they were there. She would always know.

"It's not a big deal. You're still beautiful regardless," Alice's grazed the tips of her fingers over one of the many bite marks. the cold touch was soothing to the phantom pain that lingered. "If you really find a problem with them, now would be a good time to call Jasper."

Sighing softly, she flipped the phone over on her hands and quickly located the contact. She let the phone ring, waiting for the other line to be picked up.

"Alice, are you coming home soon?" A small smile spread across her lips at the familiar voice. The southern drawl felt like sunshine. It warmed her insides, burned a fire through her veins leaving her feeling secure and safe despite the distance.

"I'm afraid that I do not plan to let her leave anytime soon." She was surprised at how bright her voice sounded.

"Andy?" His voice shook, disbelief was thick in her ears. "What? How? I thou- What?"

"You seem to be at a loss for words, cowboy."

He chuckled; his laugh shaky with the emotions that he was feeling. "Allie saw Bella jump off a cliff and you were running in after her, you never came out. What the el happened?!"

"Long story. Basically Bella jumped off the cliff - apparently for recreational purposes - and then she wasn't coming up, so I went in to get her. I almost had her out before Jacob came and helped me," Andy explained in a rush of words.

"Tell him all of it!" Alice chided lightly.

"What does she mean all of it? Explain everything right now young Lady," Jasper's fatherly tone cut through the phone.

Andy played with her hair for a moment and took a few deep breaths as an attempt to delay the inevitable.

"Well, I was attacked in the woods earlier by Victoria and then she was in the water when I was trying to save Bella."

There was a tense pause and Andy felt unsure of what his reaction was going to be she was well aware of how easy it was to anger the southern vampire when it came to people he cared about. She had heard all the stories of how frightening he could become when it came to his family.

"All of it Andy!" Alice snapped at her.

Groaning, she spoke quickly. "I jumped out of Bella's moving truck to get to Alice because bloody Jacob wouldn't let me out."

"I'm on my way."

***

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