The Banshee -Paul Lahote-

Chapter 53

DECEMBER

Mavis stood in the kitchen. Renesme was sitting on the counter beside her, a bag of red icing in her hand. Jacob sat on the barstool, watching them. They were decorating Christmas cookies. It was over a week into December, but that didn't matter. This was Renesmee's first Christmas and possibly her last. They were going to celebrate the entire month.

The older woman got icing on her hand. With a smug smile, she wiped it on Renesmee's nose. The young girl gasped, a vibrant smile on her face. "Hey!" She wiped it off.

Mavis chuckled as Renesmee took icing of her own and wiped it on her face. Renesmee giggled, glancing at Jacob. He had a smile on his face. Everything seemed perfect. There were no other problems in the world. "Hey," Bella walked into the kitchen. "What did I say about sweets before breakfast?"

"It's was Mavis's idea," Renesmee ratted her out.

Mavis gasped, "narc."

Bella grinned at the interaction. "What are you making?"

"We made Christmas cookies," Renesmee explained. "Now we're decorating them."

"You made a lot," the voice belonged to Edward.

Mavis had found a passion for baking, and once she started, she couldn't stop. It was slowly becoming a serious problem. "I'm taking some home to my dad," Jacob cut in. "He loves Mavis's baked goods."

"What can I say," she put a hand on her hip. "I'm just gifted in the kitchen."

"I remember," Bella recalled all the pies she made for her. Edward kissed Bella on the cheek before walking towards Renesmee.

"Look," she happily showed him the cookies she decorated. "It's a Christmas tree."

Edward grinned, "I see that."

Renesmee thought for a moment, "can we get a Christmas tree?"

Mavis's eyes sparkled at the suggestion. "Can we?"

There was a silence that followed. Edward rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sure we can arrange that," Carlisle stepped in. "A Christmas tree would be nice."

"I know a place," Jacob offered. "On the Rez. They have lots of trees every year. Always cheap."

"Maybe somewhere off the Rez," Bella said. "I would like to be there when we get our first Christmas tree."

Mavis dusted her hands off on her pants. "Well, don't decorate without me. I have to get to school." Walking around the countertop, she grabbed her school backpack.

"Bye," Renesmee called. "Have a good day."

She glanced at her, a loving smile on her face. "You too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mavis walked through the Fork's library. It's small, dark, and secluded, but she didn't mind. It was the end of her semester, and exams were starting. There were a few essays that needed to be wrapped up before winter break.

"Are you sure," Alice spoke on the phone.

Mavis chuckled as she pulled at her backpack strap. "Mom, it's the library. I'll be home once I finish my English essay." She didn't bother to mention the science paper. "And don't let them decorate the Christmas tree without me. You know how much I love doing that stuff."

Alice let out a breathy laugh, "I promise. I'll make sure they wait. We're going hunting, so it'll be later. Does that work?"

"Yeah," she hummed. "That works better. I can use the next few hours to finish my essays and enjoy my school vacation."

"Speaking of vacations," Alice switched topics. "Jasper and I were thinking of taking a family vacation. Just the three of us for a few days. How does that sound?"

Mavis thought about the offer for a moment. "Please, don't drag me to Canada again."

There was another laugh. "I won't. We are thinking something south. Maybe California."

"Sounds tempting," Mavis pulled a book off the shelf that she needed. "I heard the roads are beautiful this time of year."

"Is that a yes?"

Mavis nodded but realized Alice couldn't see her. "Sounds great." A few days away from Forks sounded like a good idea. "I think I could use a break from sitting in the house every day." Over the summer, Mavis was rarely home. She spent all of her time with Paul, but that was all gone now. It would be nice to take her mind off things. Keeping busy always helped with that. "We'll talk more tonight?"

"Be home before it's too late, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mavis promised. "Love you."

"I love you too." She hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket. Walking down a new aisle, she planned to grab a few different books before sitting down.

Mavis wasn't thinking much of her actions. She had been to the library hundreds of times. Reaching for a book, her fingers brushed against someone else's. Instantly, she pulled her hand back. "Sorry," the blond man smiled. "Mavis, right?"

She recognized him from her school. His name was Travis. "Yeah, it's Mavis."

Travis could tell by the look on her face that she was questioning how he knew her name. "We had biology last year. You sat in front of me."

"Oh."

He took the book off the shelf. "For pleasure?"

"For school," she corrected. "I'm not really into Medieval books. They're not my forte."

"What is then?"

Mavis felt her cheeks warm as she realized the man attempted to flirt with her. "Um," she wasn't sure what to say. "Uh."

He chuckled, "here." He handed her the book.

"Thanks," Mavis nervously took the book from him. "I'm going to go work on this now."

As she went to walk past him, he grabbed her arm. "Wait."

Mavis instantly froze, her eyes flickering down to his grip. It was tight, unnecessarily tight. "Yes?"

"The winter formal is the weekend," he began. "Want to be my date?"

His grip loosened, but he didn't let go. There was a bad feeling in her gut. Something inside of her was begging her to run. "Sorry, I'll be out of town." She hadn't even realized there was a formal this weekend.

His grin slipped for half a second. "Really, you can't make any exceptions?"

Mavis slipped out of his grasp. "Um, no. Not really my choice." It was a lie, a lie she felt the need to tell. Trusting her gut instinct seemed to work out for the best. Besides' it didn't matter. The only person she could ever care about in that way was Paul.

"You're not much of a dance person, are you?"

She shrugged, "not really."

"That's fine," Travis leaned against the shelf. "Are you a coffee drinker? You look like a coffee drinker." Mavis had a feeling she knew where this was going. "We should get coffee tomorrow."

It wasn't a question. Travis wasn't like Paul. He wasn't gentle or kind. He didn't ask her what she wanted. He told her. "Um, thanks for the offer, but I can't. I'm busy" That seemed to upset him. "Sorry. I really need to-"

"What about next week?" Mavis wanted to scream. "Mave-"

"It's Mavis," she corrected. The only person who called her that was Paul. "I have to work on this. I'll talk to you later." She moved away from him quickly, wanting to create as much distance as possible.

Once she was far enough away, she found a secluded seat between two bookshelves. Mavis sat down and set down her backpack. The first thing she did was pull out headphones. She almost always listened to music when doing any type of school work. It helped drown out everything going on around her. Pressing play on her music list, she pulled out her notebook and began starting her essay.