EARTH, rosalie hale [2]

21.

LUCKILY, when Elexia woke up on Monday morning, she wasn't met with the impending burden of school, as it was officially spring break at Forks High. She was beyond relieved. Life had been stressful enough lately, and dealing with school on top of that was sure to do her in.

She spent all of Sunday on the beach at La Push, while Austin hung out with Billy and Charlie at the Blacks' house. Jacob was busy, so it was just Elexia, Bella, and Gaia – which was, unfortunately, pretty awkward. Rosalie wasn't a fan of Elexia spending time on the reservation by any means, but with the threat of Victoria being so close, she wasn't willing to take any chances, and she understood that her girlfriend was safe out there – plus, Rosalie technically wasn't supposed to be in Forks. So, she sucked it up. Because she loved Elexia and Gaia Reedus more than anything.

Bella worked on Tuesday, so Elexia spent time in La Push with Jared and Embry– who took turns checking on her while taking watch shifts with the pack. The two boys asked her a lot of questions about what it was like to have a child so young and what she felt about how complicated everything was. She spent time getting to know them, and found that she really got along with the two, as immature as they could be. They almost reminded her of Emmett.

That night, after Bella got off of work, Sam and Emily met up with Elexia, Bella, and their dads at Billy's house for dessert. Emily baked an amazing cake that had Elexia praising her all night. Emily really loved Gaia, earning the baby yet another aunt to gush over her and love her.

After Sam and Emily left, Elexia, Bella, and Jacob headed to the Blacks' garage while their dads hung out and Gaia slept. They sat in Jacob's Rabbit.

Jacob rested his head on the headrest, his eyes closed tightly.

"You need some sleep, Jake." Bella said.

"I'll get around to it." he said before reaching to grab Bella's hand.

"Is that one of those wolf things?" Bella asked. "The heat, I mean."

Elexia raised a brow in confusion at what she meant and then she remembered when Jared had helped her into Bella's truck, how warm his hand was on hers. Out of curiosity, she reached forward and poked Jake's arm, too.

"Yeah. We run a little warmer than the normal people. About 108, 109. I never get cold anymore. I could stand like this"– he gestured to his body, which was without a shirt– "in a snowstorm and it wouldn't bother me. The flakes would turn to rain where I stood."

Elexia raised her brows. "Must be nice."

"And you all heal fast– that's a wolf thing, too?"

"Yeah, wanna see? It's pretty cool." He opened his eyes and grinned. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a pocketknife.

"Ew, Jake!" Elexia grimaced.

"No, we do not want to see!" Bella yelled. "Put that away!"

Jacob laughed quietly and put the pocketknife back. "Fine. It's a good thing we heal, though. You can't go see just any doctor when you're running a temperature that should mean you're dead."

"No, I guess not... And being so big – that's part of it? Is that why you're all worried about Quil?"

Elexia frowned at the mention of the poor boy.

"That and the fact that Quil's grandfather says the kid could fry an egg on his forehead." Jacob's expression was without hope. "It won't be long now. There's no exact age... it just builds and builds and then suddenly–" He stopped, getting choked up. "Sometimes, if you get really upset or something, that can trigger it early. But I wasn't upset about anything — I was happy." He laughed cruelly. "Because of you, Bella, mostly. That's why it didn't happen to me sooner. Instead it just kept on building up inside me – I was like a time bomb. You know what set me off? I got back from that movie and Billy said I looked weird. That was all, but I just snapped. And then I– I exploded. I almost ripped his face off– my own father!" Jake shook at the memory, his face paling.