"Lauren, I swear, I'll kill your roommate and Tyler if either one of them gave me the flu," Jessica warns Lauren at lunch, not bothering to acknowledge Bella, who is surprisingly sitting with them and not at the empty Cullen table.
Abel is at home with the flu right now.
"It's going around," Angela says. "My sister was so sick last week, she couldn't come on our hike this weekend... so she didn't see it."
"Ang," Eric says lowly, "maybe you should keep that to yourself - "
"We saw something, Eric," Angela interrupts him firmly.
"I believe you," Eric claims.
"No, he doesn't," Jessica chimes in. "He's just trying to get lucky."
"Is that an option?" Eric, suddenly hopeful, asks.
Angela, however, ignores him. "It was jet black and huge; on all fours, it was still taller than a person," she says. "A bear maybe."
"Or Big Foot," Jessica jokes.
"Or an alien," Mike says. "Lucky you didn't get probed."
"... We saw it," Angela whispers. She's serious and slightly scared.
"You're not the only one," Bella says and everyone but Lauren stares. "My dad's been getting reports at the sheriff's station. A couple of bikers went missing. People are scared."
Now everyone is chilled, even Lauren.
"I did hear some guys talking about it at the store," Mike says.
"A few hunter's wives mentioned something while Jocelyn was doing one's hair and I was doing the other's nails," Lauren claims.
"That's the last time you clowns doubt my girlfriend."
Lauren gets a text.
Emmett: Is Abel home?
Lauren got Emmett's number when he and Abel first got together, but he hasn't texted her since before he and his family left. He's even been using someone else's phone to contact Abel. She texts him back.
Lauren: Yes. Home w/ the flu. Why?
"Everything okay with Abel?" Bella asks.
"Uh, yeah," Lauren replies, pretending it's Abel that she's texting so that Bella doesn't fall into her depression again. "He's just sick." She checks her phone. "You know how dramatic he can be. He hates throwing up."
Bella snickers. "I know."
Emmett: I'm in Forks. I'm back. Which apartment number?
Lauren: 4C. No funny business 'til he's better!
Emmett: If he wants it, I won't day no.
Lauren rolls her eyes and puts her phone away. "Abel," she says when she sees everyone staring at her. "He is ranting about being sick. He wants to punch Tyler. He got it when they hung out the other day."
"He's always been that way about being sick," Bella says. "He was worse as a kid. But he was only allowed to be his dramatic self with me and my dad. Jason..." She sighs. "It was never a good idea for Abel to be around himself around his father."
Lauren nods. She knows the story. Abel opened up to her. Then rest of lunch is spent in silence.
*****
Abel moans dramatically as he rolls out of bed when someone knocks on the door after seeing that it's 12:17pm, he knows that Lauren is at lunch at school right now, at least for another three minutes. He opens the door and freezes when he sees Emmett.
"You look like crap, babe," Emmett says.
"Emmett..." Abel falls into his arms and Emmett holds him as tight as he can without hurting him.
"I'm here now," Emmett murmurs. "I'm here now and I'm not leaving you again until you force me to, and I don't even know if I will then."
"Never leave again," Abel murmurs.
"Never again," Emmett promises and his phone rings. It's Edward. He ignores the call and he puts his phone away. He holds him.
*****
Edward sighs as he looks at his phone. Rosalie told him that Emmett was returning to Forks to be with Abel. He was going to call and reprimand Emmett, but he's glad that the vampire ignored the call. Edward knows that there's a very distinct (major) difference between mates and blood singers, and he knows that he made a mistake distancing two mates.
"I'm sorry, Emmett," Edward murmurs. "I hope you'll be happier now."
He puts his phone down and looks out over the water in the place where he is.
