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For a while, Jamie thought about going back to Denali. He missed the scenery and Tanya and her family. But in the end, he decided to follow the Cullens to New York. They had settled in Ithaca, in a comfortable property that suited their needs well.
It had taken Jamie over two weeks to adjust. They led him on ring runs around the woodland to test his limits, seeing how close he could get to town without the thirst taking control. Carlisle was helping him, teaching him how to reel himself in if he was ever caught out, guiding him through the tricks of overcoming bloodlust and knowing that with it, came power over his gift.
Since Phoenix, Jamie had been anxious about exercising his ability. Carlisle could only do so much, working at both the hospital and the university. He told Jamie to practice meditation, laying on his bed with his hands folded atop his stomach just like Eleazar had taught him. To him, his mind felt deep, not infinitely but enough to daunt him and he would only lose himself before he could get a grip on his thoughts.
Once Rosalie found him fully clothed in her bathtub, one of the only three in the house and it had taken him a few seconds to realise she was there, opening his eyes to see her in the doorway. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked when she had his attention.
"I was hoping that it would help," he answered truthfully. "And I didn't want to disturb Esme, she's redecorating her room."
"So you thought that you'd use mine instead?"
"Yes, Emmett said that it was okay." The other one was adjoined to Alice and Jasper's room and Jamie didn't want to disturb them either, feeling safer snatching Rosalie's bathroom with the hopes of being under Emmett's protection.
He had tried to recreate those times when he was human, when the coolness and shape of the bathtub calmed him and made him feel safe. Jamie stayed there for as long as he could until he was scared that Rosalie would open the taps to get rid of him, jumping up when she stalked forward.
He scampered quickly past her, feeling the burn of her glare and was met with Emmett's laughter when he slipped through their room. He was lounging on the bed and his bright eyes lessened the sting of Rosalie's own. "Better luck next time," he called out after Jamie. "I'll try and distract her better."
Jamie heard the loud smack of something hitting marble skin and Emmett's playful yowl, the noise following him down the hallway and somehow lifting his spirits. The mood had been dismal since their move. With Edward travelling alone, his absence was felt greatly amongst them and even Carlisle had been quietly glum.
Between his shifts, they had hunted together, talking amongst the trees and trying to ease the other's worries. It was during one of those times that Carlisle seeded an idea into Jamie's head, that to navigate his mind, he had to master the connections ribboning out from it.
