juliet swan could barely recall a day in her life where she wasn't connected to the hip of her best friend, leah clearwater. life was simple, repetitive, and quiet-just the way juliet liked it.
when her distant twin sister bella moves to forks at th...
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"What do you mean?" Juliet was stiff, sitting straight up on the couch, Sue's worried face was watching her. "She's gone? What does that mean?"
"The Volturi are coming, and she left." Jacob growled. "Some chick saw Nessie, ran off to tell them that she was an immortal child. Alice and Jasper left right as I got here last night, Carlisle says they're not coming back."
"Not coming back..." Juliet's voice was weak. "W-What do we do? Can we stop them?"
"Not you!" Leah's voice was now on the phone. "No, stay on the reservation, you're not coming here."
"Leah, my family is in danger!" Juliet argued. "I can't just-"
"Yes you can, and you will." Leah's voice was firm. "In case you forgot, you're still human. Coming here would only put you at risk, so stay put. Go to Emily's if you want out of the house but you're not leaving until I tell you it's safe."
"Leah-" Juliet tried.
"She's gone, blowing off some steam." Now it was Seth, his voice light. "She's right though, Jules. We can take a few vampires but you..." He sighed at the same time she did. "I'm sorry."
"No it's okay." Juliet slumped back against the couch. "Is there anything else?"
"Not yet, I don't think." Seth didn't sound too hopeful. "Rose and Em are going to find nomads, Carlisle and Esme are going to Ireland. Bella and Edward are staying here to explain Nessie to whoever the others send back. That's all I know so far. And I know that Sam and the others are helping too."
"Okay." Juliet nodded numbly. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Yeah, bye Seth." She snapped her phone shut and tossed it onto the table.
"What happened, what's going on?" Sue sat on the edge of her seat.
"The Volturi think they created an immortal child." Juliet didn't know if her words meant anything to Sue, but she honestly didn't care. "Everyone's splitting up to try and find witnesses...to stop a slaughter." She didn't think for a second more, standing up, shoving her phone in her pocket before heading towards the door. "I'll be at Emily's."
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"Really, that many?" Juliet breathed, shoving books back onto the shelf. Returning to work was hard after the news of the Volturi, but it was all she could do to distract herself. "Jeez."
"Tell me about it." Jake grumbled. "How's the pack though? I hope they're not mad at me for sending them back to Sam for the time being."
"No, no." Juliet shook her head. "Seth's the only one who's disappointed, but you know how he is with vampires." She chuckled lightly, so did Jake. "The other three are glad to be as far from that house as they can be. And Sue sure is glad they're home, too." Juliet sucked in a breath. "Any news about Alice?"
"No." Jake sounded glum. "Or Jasper. The others haven't heard from them at all." Juliet huffed, and then heard the bell at the front of the shop ring.
"Gotta go, customers." Jake sighed. Talking to Juliet was his only distraction during the day. "I'll call you later."
"Fine." She rolled her eyes, hanging up and dropping her phone into her sweatshirt pocket before moving back towards the counter. Leah was standing there, leaning against the desk as her eyes wandered.
"Hey you." Juliet smiled. Leah looked over, straightening up and opening her arms just in time for Juliet to hurry into them. "What's up, I thought Sam had you all tied up with patrols today."
"Nah, I forced them on Embry." Leah smiled, and Juliet snorted. "You are gonna close up early and we are going out for dinner."
"Why?" Juliet raised her eyebrows, looking up at Leah.
"Can I not take my girlfriend on a date?"
"No, you totally can." Leah laughed. "But you never do, so tell me why." Leah sighed, a hand moving up to take through Juliet's hair. "Leah..."
"If this batshit plan goes wrong..." Leah spoke in a quiet voice, her eyes now fixed on Juliet's shoulder. "And we all die-"
"Leah, stop." Juliet frowned.
"No, just listen for a second." Juliet sighed, but stayed silent. "If we all die in to those stupid bloodsuckers, I want you to at least have some good memories of just the two of us. And I know it's not fair because I've been so busy these past few months, but-"
"It's totally fair." Juliet stopped her. "And you're not gonna die. I won't let that happen." Leah chuckled, nodding her head lightly.
"Yeah, okay. Come on." Leah kissed her forehead before moving away. "Dinners on me tonight, so let's go."
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"Don't even think about not coming back." Juliet felt deja-vu to last summer, when the army of newborns had attacked. It almost felt too similar, but Juliet tried her best to push that thought away. "Please."
"I'll do whatever I can to get back to you." Leah mumbled into Juliet's shoulder. Juliet knew that Leah couldn't promise that she'd come back, that she'd survive.
"Lie to me." Juliet whispered. "Lie to me and tell me you'll be back."
"I'll be home in a few days." Leah said. A thick silence hung between them. After a minute, Leah raised her head and connected their lips. This kiss was unlike any other, though. It was desperate. It was desperate and sad and it was a promise. When they pulled away, Leah's hands rested on the sides of Juliet's face. "I love you."
"I love you, too." They kissed again. When Leah pulled away, Juliet's heart sank. It was time. It took Leah nearly a full minute to finally stand up, but they didn't speak again as Leah left. Ten minutes later, Emily had placed herself next to Juliet on the back porch. They didn't say anything, they just sat.
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"Where's Quil?" Claire pouted. She was probably struggling the most with the situation, only because she couldn't understand what was happening.
"He'll be back soon, Claire." Emily assured. Juliet pulled herself up from the table, not glancing back at Rachel and Kim as she stepped outside. She started walking, and eventually found herself down on the beach with a cigarette stuck in her mouth. It was freezing, but she didn't care. She paced for an hour, before eventually plopping down on a log. Her mind wandered to her family, out in that clearing. Had the Volturi arrived yet? It was nearly noon, surely they had. And she did her best not to let her mind wander any further.
