Empty Veins | Quil Ateara [4]

huit

Andy shivered where she sat tucked against the outside wall of the house, letting the rain shower over her endlessly. She planned to sit here all night, or at least until she could no longer tell the difference between her tears and the rain.

Her phone was soaked. Probably broken. She didn't care to check. She didn't even want to know.

Some part of her thought it was the least that she deserved as a terrible friend, girlfriend and imprint. So what if she was a little sad, a little decrepit — Quil had never done anything to deserve this and it wasn't right that he had to different because her life just continued to spiral out of control whether she could help it or not.

And she wished he had said something sooner, had pushed her to realize how utterly ridiculous of a person she was before she had destroyed everything. 

Warmth pressed to her side, radiating, and she sobbed miserably, hands tangling in her hair. 

"I shouldn't have accused you of not caring," Jake says, voice low, gravely. "I should have been more careful with how I told them." 

His emotions are a whirlwind, a confusing, jumbled mess of negative, and Andy could only nod to herself because yeah, that was ironically similar to how she felt right now. 

"It's not your fault. I should have told someone instead of running away," she admits, raspy and hoarse. 

"It's not your responsibility to take care of everyone no matter how much they think it is. Bella has always been the first to tell everyone that." 

Her laughter is empty, humourless. "It's kinda what I am." 

"You're a lot of things, but you can't worry about everyone. It's literally going to tear you apart," he says firmly, with fire and conviction. "Look at you, bawling in the rain because you wanted to keep from hurting everyone." 

"Yeah, well, I was right, wasn't I? There's some thing inside my sister and I agree with the rest of them about killing it, but they're just going to kill her to get to it." 

"It's not right, Andy." 

"I know. Look at what it's doing to her," She snaps, tugging at her hair. 

"The treaty is broken." 

"I know!" 

"They're going to try and kill her." 

She flinches. "I know." 

"That thing is going to try and kill her." 

Andy glances up, rain pelting her face. "Shut up, Jacob." 

"I'm pretty sure Quil broke up with you." 

"Fuck you." 

He snorts, throwing his arms behind his head and the warmth spreads, surrounding her shoulders as it chases away the cold. 

"So what are you going to do?" 

The world stills from its spinning, locking into place on his words. What was she going to do? Andy already knew what she wanted, what she had planned because it had always been her and Bella against the world and no matter how stupid either of them were being she wasn't going to just let her sister suffer if she could help. 

The fetus was family even if it was a monster and if that's what Bella wanted, could she really fault her? 

It seemed Jake knew the answer without saying because he hums his understanding. 

"What do you know?" 

"They're going to surround the house, keep them from leaving." 

"Starve them," she supplies.