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THE FOLLOWING DAY WAS FILLED strange happenings. In the morning, Edward Cullen had practically appeared out of nowhere and began conversing with Bella. Bailey thought that they had such a strange relationship if one could even call it that. It was more like a sequence of hot and cold interaction wrapped tightly together with obvious tension. She made sure to scurry off when those two got together, Bailey was no desire in being a third-wheel.
In History class Mr. Vander (yes Bailey had finally learned his name) was going over the essay he had assigned on the Civil War. Ever since their introduction weeks back Jasper was friendlier in class, that is he didn't ignore Bailey as much; he actually acknowledge her presence. The only reason why he stayed in Bailey's good graces was that he was fairly good a History—not nearly as good as her, but relatively close.
Each student was given their essays back. Jasper had received his first and Bailey saw that he'd gotten an A+. When it was Bailey's turn to receive her work from Mr. Vander, he didn't even look at her when he slammed the pages on her desk.
Bailey picked up her paper and her jaw dropped... a B-, she had gotten a B-. Not an A, not even an A-, hell not even a B! Despite the fact that her writing, research, and analysis were perfect. Bailey was meticulous about writing papers, she had drafts upon drafts, perfecting every detail, every quotation, every argument.
She was fuming. She didn't understand what he had against her—these passive-aggressive underminings. Never choosing her when she rose her hand, ignoring her input in class discussions, and now he wasn't giving her the grades that she clearly deserved!
"What is this?" Bailey blurted out.
Mr. Vander stopped handing out the rest of the essays, he looked over at Bailey. "Do you have something to say, Miss Swan?"
"Yes. I want to know why I'm not getting the grades that I clearly deserve? What is this?" Bailey held up her essay before slamming it back onto her desk. "I don't understand what your vendetta is against me, but as a teacher—a professional, put aside whatever bias you have for me and do your job properly! If my work is flawless give me the flawless grade!"
"...Miss Swan, you are so confident that you should deserve a perfect grade—but have you considered that maybe your work isn't as 'flawless' as you claim? But of course, you, a mere student must be more knowledgeable than me. Is that what you're suggesting? Have you been certified by the state of Washington to teach? Have you gotten a bachelor's and masters in History? Two decades of education experience?"
Bailey's nostrils were flared but she said nothing.
"Hmm, yes, I thought not." He had this sickeningly spiteful grin stretched across his face. "Tell me, Miss Swan, do you think that perhaps your unbearable arrogance is compensation for the fact that you aren't as smart as you so deeply believe?"
The class had gone quiet.
No one knew what to say—no one knew which side they were on. It wasn't as if anyone knew Bailey that well, she kept to herself. Sure, she was smart but to blow up at a teacher like that? It did seem a bit arrogant. On the other hand, many thought that Mr. Vander had gone too far. Bailey was the youngest in the class and was now she was currently frozen in her seat staring at the man with a straight face—her eyes quickly filling with tears.
Bailey had no retort or response to what Mr. Vander has said. Compensating? He thought that she was compensating? He thought that she wasn't smart? It wasn't even about the paper anymore, it wasn't about the grade—it was about the subtext of what he'd said; he's basically called her an idiot. It was the first time in her life that Bailey had been called an idiot. She... she didn't know what to do. What was she supposed to do? What was the appropriate way to react in this sort of situation? How would anyone else handle it?
She sat there overwhelmed, her eyes stinging, tears threatening to fall. But then Bailey exhaled, her face fell, she stared ahead expressionless. Bailey got up from her seat, picked up her paper and began to stride out of the room.
"Miss Swan!" Mr. Vander called after her, but she disregarded him and left.
Bailey spent the rest of the morning hidden away in the library until lunch. She was in the far end of the room, sitting in an aisle that looked practically abandoned. Bailey wasn't even in the mood for reading, instead, she had her knees to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and she just stared at the ground.
"Bailey?" she heard his voice; it was Jasper.
Bailey didn't respond, she didn't move; she just stared.
He sat down in front of her. It was the first time that they had sat in the same aisle since meeting one another—the first time they were talking face to face without a bookcase in the way. Bailey was continuously unresponsive to Jasper's attempts to get her attention. She just sat there staring, motionless—tears uncontrollably streaming down her face. He didn't understand, why was she having such an extensive reaction, especially considering that when he sensed her emotions they weren't too agonizing; Bailey was merely dissatisfied, sad too.
Jasper reached out to touch her, a wrong move on his part. Bailey immediately flinched away from him. Her eyes became wide and Jasper was struck by her unexpectedly extreme levels of anxiety and distress. She wasn't limp anymore but instead hyperventilating, shaking, and looking around frantically as if she was looking for some sort of escape.
He tried to soothe her, tried to change her anxiety for relaxation and her distress to security. But it was almost inconsequential. Each time he thought that he had calmed her down, those same hostile feelings would come back with vengeance.
Jasper wasn't quite sure what do to.
⍣ ೋ
Jasper had stayed with Bailey in the library for the rest of the day. She hadn't moved at all, she had stopped crying a while ago, he assumed it was because she ran out of tears. Every few minutes he would calm her down, even if it didn't make a difference if he could relieve some of the stress for a moment he was sure she would appreciate it.
By now he had already called for someone to help, someone who he thought would be more qualified at understanding what was going on.
"Jasper?" Edward had walked into the library after receiving a call from his brother. He wasn't alone though with him he had Bella Swan, who Jasper had asked him to bring.
Edward barely had time to assess the situation when he winced at an exceptionally loud voice coming from someone's mind.
He looked down at Bailey, his eyes widened at the words she was telling herself. The dramatized replaying of what had happened in class. All this internal turmoil, insults she flung at herself, and yet on the outside, she was withdrawn completely. If it hadn't been before her puffy red eyes anyone could have thought she was just zoning out.
"She's been like this since our first period," Jasper told them.
Bella saw her sister and her demeanour completely changed.
Edward and Jasper just looked onward as Bella slowly and calmly approached Bailey and sat down across from her. To their surprise Bella didn't ask Bailey what was wrong, she didn't want to undercover the reason for this behaviour instead she said—"I fainted in Biology class today."
Edward watched at Bella, confused. It was becoming increasingly frustrating not knowing what she was thinking. Although at his moment, given how loud Bailey's mind was being, he couldn't be sure he would hear a word of Bella's thoughts had he been able to read her mind.
"Mr. Banner wanted us to figure out our blood types because the Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next week. But I hate the sight of blood, so when Mike pricked his finger I got queasy and fainted. Mike brought me to the nurse when I regained consciousness—I told him that you don't have relationships on your current priority list. I'm not sure if he got the message though, he might have just ignored me."
Edward noticed how the loud thoughts in Bailey's mind were steadily getting quieter.
"Then Edward found us, and carried me against my will to the nurse even when I insisted I was fine," Bella continued to talk calmly. "He offered to drive me to Seattle the weekend of the dance. Speaking of weekends, this weekend a bunch of us are going down to La Push, to First Beach. You should come, you love the beach."
The thoughts stopped momentarily. Edward and Jasper watched as Bailey gradually began to speak.
"No I don't," she corrected her. "The ocean is a vacuum filled with whale semen, fish feces, and human bones."
Bella smiled softly. "Right, that's my bad. But you should still come, it's supposed to be a nice day—sunny, like Pheonix."
She looked at Bailey's bag, which had been abandoned a few feet away from her. Bella took it, zipped it out and pulled out Bailey's book.
"Here, you can read on the way home. Edward's driving because apparently, I'm not 'well enough' to attend my last period." Bella watched Bailey stare at the book for a few moments before she reached out and grabbed it.
"Thank you," Bailey said.
Bella just nodded. "There's leftover quesadilla from dinner last night that you can eat once we get home." Bella rose to her feet, waiting patiently for Bailey to do the same. It didn't take long that Bailey followed suit, uncurling her body and standing up straight.
"They weren't spicy enough," Bailey remarked. Bella held her back and made moved out of the way so that Bailey could walk ahead. "I prefer my quesadillas spicy."
"I'll ask Charlie to pick up some peppers one his way back from work," Bella assured her.
Bailey nodded in response, opened her book and started reading while talking toward the exit.
Both Edward and Jasper simultaneously noticed that she had settled down mentally and emotionally. Jasper let out a long, drawn exhale—her explosive feelings had taken a lot out of him, and he was relieved that she had returned to some semblance of normalcy. As for Edward, he noted that Bailey's mind was now significantly quieter and enraptured with what she was reading.
The brothers each turned to Bella. They didn't have to say anything for her to pick up on their confusion and curiosity—they wanted to know what had just happened.
Bella sighed. "She has Asperger's Syndrome, it's a type of autism—on the milder side of the spectrum. She doesn't like people knowing, so please don't tell anyone," Bella sounded so vulnerable. "She's not crazy or whatever you're thinking—she just experiences things a bit differently, feels things in a different way... What I'm trying to understand is what the hell happened to trigger this? She hasn't had a meltdown this bad in years."
"It was our History teacher, Mr. Vander. He's been passive-aggressive towards her since her first day. But this morning Bailey got a B- on her paper, she got angry and said that he had a vendetta against her. He insulted her back, implied that she wasn't smart and then this happened..."
"What?" Bella looked at Jasper, anger boiling inside of her.
"Bella?" Bailey's voice halted their conversation. "If Edward is driving how is the truck getting back home?"
"I'll get my sister Alice to drop it off after school," Edward said.
Tinkerbell? Bailey thought to herself—she noticed Edward had cracked a smile, again she wondered what was so funny to him. She nodded in response to Edward's answer and went back to reading. They were talking about her, Bailey knew that. She also knew that Bella was having them hang back a bit to give her some space.
Bailey felt ashamed. Everything had just gone out the window and she allowed herself to get overwhelmed... she had been doing so well too, going years without one. She knew it wasn't her fault—it was the way her brain was wired. It was a response to sensory overload, and there was nothing she could do to change it. Still, it didn't change the fact that whenever she went into that state people looked at her differently. Like she was a different species or something, not one of them but an outsider.
Distract yourself, Bailey echoed the words of countless professionals. She looked down at her book again and began reading.
Bailey and Bella entered Edward's Volvo. He fiddled with the controls, turning the heater up and the music down. Bella had taken the front seat, while Bailey sat in the back, directly in the middle seat so that both Bella and Edward could have a clear view of her from the rearview mirror. As Edward pulled out of the parking lot, Bella recognized the music playing.
"Clair de Lune?" she asked, surprised.
"You know Debussy?" he sounded surprised, too.
"Not well," Bella admitted. "My mom plays a lot of classical music around the house—she played Clair de Lune nonstop when she was pregnant with Bailey up until she was about four. It's one of my favourites."
"It's one of my favourites," he stared out through the rain, lost in thought.
"I learned how the play it on the piano," Bailey inserted. "It's the only song I know."
"We can play together sometime," Edward suggested. Bella glanced in his direction—he had such a gentle tone now.
"You can play the piano?" Bailey asked him.
He looked at her through his rearview mirror. "I dabble," Edward smirked.
"Hmm," Bailey sounded. She did not agree nor disagree with his offer as she looked at her book, pretending to read as she in reality listened to Edward and Bella's conversation. If she was still and quiet enough she knew they would talk to each other as if she wasn't there.
The music was relaxing against the light gray leather seats. Bailey had rested her back against her seat, her body at ease while listening to the nostalgic and soothing melody.
The rain blurred everything outside the window into gray and green smudges. Bella began to realize how fast they were driving; the car moved so steadily, so even though she couldn't feel the speed. Still, Bella quickly looked at Bailey, who was distracted by her task. She looked at Edward silently signalling him to slow down, then motioning to Bailey. She hoped that he got the message, Bailey had been through enough stress for one day without having her car anxieties to add onto.
Thankfully Edward seemed to understand and slowed down.
"What is your mother like?" he asked suddenly.
Bella caught him studying her with curious eyes.
"She kind of looks like me but prettier—like Bailey, they have the same eyes," Bella said. Edward raised his eyebrows. "I have too much Charlie in me. Mom is more outgoing than I am and braver. She's irresponsible and slightly eccentric, and she's a very unpredictable cook. She's my best friend." Bella stopped. Talking about her mother made her feel disheartened.
"How old are you, Bella?" his voice sounded frustrated for some reason, Bella couldn't imagine why. He'd stopped the car and she realized they were at Charlie's house already. The rain was so heavy the house was barely visible. It was like the car was submerged under a river.
"I'm seventeen," she responded, a little confused.
"You don't seem seventeen."
His tone was reproachful; it made her laugh.
"What?" he asked, curious again.
"My mom always says I was born thirty-five years old and I get more middle-aged every year." she laughed and then sighed. "Well, someone has to be the adult." She paused for a second. "You don't seem like a junior in high school yourself," she noted.
He made a face and changed the subject.
"So why did your mother marry Phil?"
Bella was surprised he remembered the name; she'd only mentioned it once almost two months ago. It took her a moment to answer.
"My—our," Bella corrected when she caught glimpse of Bailey paying attention to the conversation instead of reading, "mother... she's very young for her age. I think Phil makes her feel even younger. At any rate, she's crazy about him." She shook her head. The attraction was a mystery to her.
"Do you approve?" he asked.
"Does it matter?" she countered. "I want her to be happy... and he is who she wants."
"That's very generous... I wonder," he mused.
"What?"
"Would she extend the same courtesy to you, do you think? No matter who your choice was?" He was suddenly intent, his eyes searching her.
"I-I think so," Bella stuttered. "But she's the parent, after all. It's a little bit different."
"No one too scary then?" he teased.
Bella grinned in response. "What do you mean by scary? Multiple facial piercings and extensive tattoos?"
"I want to get tattoos someday," came Bailey's voice.
Bella and Edward looked at her, but she had already gone back to pretending to read so they made no comment.
"That's one definition, I suppose."
"What's your definition?" Bella asked him.
He ignored her question and asked her another. "Do you think I could be scary?" He raised one eyebrow, and the faint trace of a smile lightened his face.
Bella thought for a moment, wondering whether the truth or a lie would go better. She decided to go with the truth. "Hmmm... I think you could be if you wanted to."
"Are you frightened of me now?" The smile vanished, and his heavenly face was suddenly serious.
"No." But she had answered too quickly. The smile returned. "So, are you now going to tell me about your family?" she asked to distract him. "It's got to be a much more interesting story than mine."
He was instantly cautious. "What do you want to know?"
"The Cullens adopted you?" she verified.
"Yes."
Bella hesitated for a moment. "What happened to your parents?"
"They died many years ago." His tone was matter-of-fact.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"I don't really remember them that clearly. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time now."
"And you love them." It wasn't a question. It was obvious in the way he spoke of them.
"Yes." He smiled. "I couldn't imagine two better people."
"You're very lucky."
"I know I am."
"And your brother and sister?"
Edward glanced at the clock on the dashboard.
"My brother and sister, and Jasper and Rosalie for that matter, are going to be quite upset if they have to stand in the rain waiting for me."
"Oh, sorry, I guess you have to go." Bella didn't want to get out of the car.
"And you probably want your truck back before Chief Swan gets home, so you don't have to tell him about the Biology incident." He grinned at her.
"I'm sure he's already heard. There are no secrets in Forks." she sighed.
Edward laughed, and there was an edge to his laughter.
"Have fun at the beach... good weather for sunbathing." He glanced out at the sheeting rain.
"Won't we see you tomorrow?"
"No. Emmett and I are starting the weekend early."
"What are you going to do?" A friend could ask a friend that, right? Bella hoped the disappointment wasn't too apparent in her voice.
"We're going to be hiking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, just south of Rainier."
Bella remembered Charlie had said the Cullens went camping frequently when she asked about them.
"Oh, well, have fun." Bella tried to sound enthusiastic. She didn't think he had fooled him, however. A smile was playing around the edges of his lips.
"Will you do something for me this weekend?" He turned to look at her straight in the face, utilizing the full power his burning gold eyes had on her.
Bella nodded helplessly.
"Don't get offended but you seem to be one of those people who just attract accidents like a magnet. So... try not to fall into the ocean or get run over or anything, all right?" He smiled crookedly.
The helplessness had faded as he spoke. Bella glared at him.
"I'll see what I can do," she snapped. "Come on, Bailey!"
She jumped out into the rain, slamming the door behind her with excessive force.
"I'll make sure she doesn't accidentally get herself killed," Bailey stated, as she opened the door and got out.
Edward howled with laughter as he drove away—Bella was grinding her teeth as the Volvo disappeared from view. She and Bailey hurried to get inside out of the rain.
"Bella?"
"Hm?"
"Did you tell him where we lived?" Bailey asked rather indifferently. When she received no response from Bella she concluded that she had not and that somehow—someway, Edward Cullen had already known.
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On Friday there had surprisingly been a substitute teacher replacing Mr. Vander in History class. The excuse was that he was feeling under the weather, but at lunch when Jasper and Bailey met up in the library he had explained both his foster father, Dr. Cullen and Bailey's father Charlie had called the school about what had happened yesterday. Bailey was still coming to terms with it, and so Jasper trod extremely carefully when he spoke of the incident.
"It's okay," Bailey told him for once he noted that her tone was unusually delicate. "You don't have to walk on eggshells around me."
He nodded but Bailey still noted the significant change in their dynamic and Bailey found herself longing for things to go back to the way they were.
Saturday was the day Bella was meant to go to La Push with her friends. Bailey woke up to the sun's beaming down through the window of the attic. She sat up, yawned, stretched for a few long-drawn-out moments and got out of bed to take a shower and brush her teeth. She was planning to spend the whole at home—she would have the house to herself with both Bella and Charlie away but unfortunately...
"Get ready, you're coming," Bella said when she saw that Bailey was still in her pyjamas.
"But—"
"You're coming." she walked away after that, not allowing Bailey the chance to protest.
Bailey thought it was ridiculously why did Bella want her to come anyway? She had never even met her friends. Bailey was going to be thrown in a gathering of people she didn't even know. Bailey considered riding on the situation from Thursday to guilt-trip Bella into letting her stay. Something like "it might be too much for me" and "I'd feel a lot more comfortable staying home" or "I wouldn't want to get overwhelmed".
Bella's response to Bailey's guilt-tripping was too perfect as if she'd already known Bailey was going to try and get out of it. She'd said, "You'll be riding with me and the beach is an open space, you can be by yourself. Besides, fresh air is good for you."
So Bailey was now on her way to the Newtons' Olympic Outfitters store just north of town; it was a supplies store. In the parking lot were Tyler's Sentra and Mike's Suburban. As Bella pulled up next to the vehicles, they could see the group standing around in front of the Suburban.
The only three Bailey recognized were Eric (standing along with two unknown boys), Tyler and Mike. There were a few others people there including a group of girls Bailey had perhaps seen in a class (maybe Gym) but didn't know their names. One of the girls gave Bella a dirty look as she got out of the truck, and whispered something to another; a blonde.
The blonde shook out her hair and eyed Bella scornfully.
"You came!" Mike called, delighted. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?"
"I told you I was coming," Bella reminded him.
"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha... unless you invited someone," Mike added.
"Yeah, I—" Bella looked to her side to find that Bailey hadn't followed her out. Instead, she was still in the truck, staying very still as if she was trying to become unnoticeable. "Bailey, get out of the truck," Bella said.
Mike's eyes lit up. "Bailey?"
Bailey rolled her eyes muttering curses under her breath and she got out and walked around the front of the truck. She stopped when she reached Bella and crossed her arms not looking at anyone, instead preferring the view of the ground.
"I didn't know you were coming," Mike said.
"You didn't invite me, Michael." Bailey scolded herself for using his full name again. It was already ingrained in her mind, so it just slipped out. She was hoping he didn't take it the wrong way—especially considering her icy tone.
"So are you guys riding in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."
Minivans hold more people, Bailey thought to herself and she was already in a relatively big group. Despite her disdain for Mike, she'd probably be more comfortable in his car over the minivan.
Bella seemed to come to the same conclusion. "Sure," she said.
He smiled blissfully. It was so easy to make Mike happy.
"You can have shotgun," he promised Bailey. She briefly looked at him, scrunched her nose and then looked away.
Bella could see Jessica scowling at them now so she was quick. "Bailey prefers the back."
"No, I—" Bella stepped in front of her, cutting Bailey off mid-sentence. She could handle Jessica better than Bailey could—well no, in all honesty, if Jessica tried to intimidate Bailey she likely wouldn't recover from whatever malicious thing Bailey would say with the straightest face.
It was fifteen miles to La Push from Forks, with dense green forests edging the road most of the way and the wide Quillayute River snaking beneath it twice. Bailey was wedged between two people. A rather nice and quiet girl named Angela and then the blonde girl who'd glared at Bella, Lauren. Another girl, Jessica, was sitting between Mike and Bella in the front seat of the Suburban.
Bailey was actively escaping her current situation by reading. For the time being, she had finished Harry Potter—until the next book came it, but that wasn't for another few months allegedly. So it was back to non-fiction, where Bailey was currently reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking a book on theoretical cosmology. It was meant to be for had no prior knowledge in physics, but Bailey was reading it anyway because she had packed it in her things.
While everyone was either hiking, sunbathing, burning driftwood or looking at tidepools Bailey was rather far from the group reading her book and enjoying the sun on her sunscreen-covered face. At first, Mike had spent some time with her, attempting to spark up a conversation but when Bailey told him to go away so she could read, he did as he was told.
Bella had been a bit everywhere during the day but Bailey would catch her looking over to check on her from time to time. Each time Bailey hadn't moved, the only difference as she'd gotten further into her book.
When it was time to eat Bailey was beckoned over by Mike shouting her name. She looked up from her book spotted the food and got to her feet. Strangely enough, Bailey noticed that the group she had arrived with had grown in the time that she was reading. She got closer and could see the shining, straight black hair and copper skin of the new additions—they were teenagers from the reservation who'd come to socialize and among them was Jacob Black.
"I thought you hated beaches," Jacob said when Bailey got her share of food and sat down.
"Your memory is quite sharp," Bailey replied biting into her sandwich.
"Well, you did give me this scar when we were kids because I was trying to get you in the water." Jacob showed off his arm and pointed to a small scar just below his inner elbow.
"I did that?"
"No." he laughed. "I'm messing with you. All you hurt those days were my ears with your excessive screaming."
"Excessive? You didn't think to stop immediately when I started screaming?" Bailey rose her eyebrow at him.
"I was like six years old," Jacob defended his past actions with a playful tone, "I just really wanted to play with you."
"Hmm," Bailey rolled her eyes, picking up her soda to drink. While her mouth was full Jacob took his chance to talk to Bella, who was sitting on Bailey's other side.
"So how's the truck been?"
"I love it. It runs great." Bella said.
"Yeah, but it's really slow," he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a 'perfectly good vehicle right there'."
"It's not that slow," Bella interjected.
"Have you tried to go over sixty?"
"No," she admitted.
"Good. Don't." he grinned.
Bella couldn't help grinning back. "It does great in a collision," she offered in her truck's defence.
"I don't think a tank could take out that old monster," he agreed with another laugh.
"Any new projects?" Bailey asked, noticing how joyful Jacob was talking about cars.
"When I have free time and parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" he added jokingly. He had a pleasant voice, it was husky.
"Sorry," Bella laughed. " I haven't seen any lately, but I'll keep my eyes open for you."
"Bella, you have no idea what that is," Bailey said blankly, then took another bite of food.
Bella rolled her eyes and winked at Jacob. He brilliantly smiled, looking at her appreciatively in a way she was learning to recognize. She wasn't the only one who noticed.
"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren asked from across the fire.
"We've sort of known each other since I was born. Bailey and I used to kind of be best friends," he laughed, smiling at each sister.
"How nice." She didn't sound like she thought it was nice at all, and her pale, fishy eyes narrowed. Bailey glanced in her direction with stuffed cheeks.
"Bella," Lauren called again, watching Bella's face carefully, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was unconvincing.
Bailey was already speaking before Bella could react. "If you wanted them to come so badly why didn't you invite them yourself?"
"I—"
Bailey interrupted her. "It's also a bit odd you'd assume they weren't invited. The Cullens could have merely refused the offer."
"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" the tall, older boy asked; he was a part of Jacob's group. He looked closer to a man than a boy and his voice was really deep.
"Yes, do you know them?" Lauren asked condescendingly, turning halfway toward him.
"The Cullens don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question.