In the following couple of days, something bad happened. Carlisle did a check-up on Bella. It wasn't good. He said that the baby wasn't compatible with her body. That it was hurting her body and she wasn't going to make it until birth.
Edward didn't take that lightly and they had a fight. After that Ashley and Rosalie helped Bella to take a shower. She was even thinner now, her bones could be seen. And her skin looked sick. She was dying a little bit every day. Even breathing was hard for her.
The whole family was around her all the time, monitoring her. Plus Jacob. Sometimes he went out of the house to be with Leah and Seth. Sometimes Ashley joined her. But she was mainly by Bella's side to assist her.
She had told her that she wasn't happy with her decision and that she didn't want to lose her friend even if she agreed to support whatever choice she made. And just because she was going to be by her side didn't mean she was happy with the choice. But Bella needed friends right now and Ashley was going to do just that.
The Cullens weren't feeding and Ashley could see how hard it was becoming for them. Their eyes darkened every day. She meant what she said, that her family wouldn't hurt her but it still hurt her to see them in pain.
They were staying away from her just to be sure. Ashley didn't mind it but she hoped to find a solution for it soon. She didn't know how long they could hold on like this.
She didn't go back to school. Her family insisted on it, for her to be safe, but Ashley refused. It was the first week anyway and if things got bad between the pack, she hoped to be the solution. She couldn't leave her family out to dry when things were like this.
Now, they were all in the living room. Emmett, Alice, and Jasper watching a football match, Bella lying on the sofa with Jacob by her side to keep her warm. Esme and Rosalie were on the couch next to them. Edward was on the other chair. Carlisle was standing up, his eyes on Bella.
Jacob and Bella were talking about something when Bella got up as if she was going to throw up. Edward immediately brought the bin closer to her.
"We need to find a way to get some food into her system," Esme said. Bella had the reflex to throw up but since she wasn't eating anything nothing was coming out.
Bella laid back on the couch. "If only I could see the fetus," Alice sighed.
"Baby," Rosalie corrected her.
"Maybe I could figure out what he wants," Alice continued.
Edward looked at Jacob who briefly had a smug face. "I think you might be right," he said then turned toward Carlise. "Jacob just had an idea,"
"It wasn't an idea. It was a snide comment," Jacob smirked.
"What were you thinking?" Carlisle asked all serious.
"That it's probably just looking for someone to sink its teeth into," Jacob said.
As soon as he said that the expressions of the others changed. They looked like they were in horrible pain. Especially Jasper and Emmett. Ashley felt so bad.
Bella looked up. "He's thirsty," she announced.
"I know the feeling," Emmett murmured.
Edward moved in his chair. "If its craving its not going to want animal blood,"
Carlisle let down his arms. "I have some 0 negative I laid aside for Bella," he said and got moving.
Jasper turned to him with a shocked and pained expression. "Walk with me," Alice said and grabbed his hand. They walked out of the room together. Emmett soon followed.
Jacob was against it and he moved further from Bella as Carlisle poured the blood from the bag to the cup. Bella drank it. Even after a few sips, the theory was proven right. Her heartbeat fastened and some color came back to her face.
Two days passed. Drinking blood really helped Bella. She seemed better. She had called her father to tell him that she was going to a facility in Switzerland. Carlisle was positive that Bella would give birth soon, as early as the next day. And they were running out of blood bags. Plus, the family needed to feed.
While Edward went to be by her side Ashley went outside. Jacob, Seth, and Leah were there. "How did Charlie take it?" Jacob asked.
Ashley shrugged. "Not good," she murmured.
"I'll go check on her," he said and motioned toward the house.
Leah gave Ashley a look. "When was the last time you talked to him?"
Ashley sighed. "Before all of this. He wasn't answering any calls or texts. It's been over a week,"
"Well, they've been monitoring this place, so I'm not surprised," Leah said. "Are you mad at him?"
Ashley crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "Yes. I know I shouldn't be, but I am. Did he even protest such an order? This is my family. It's not something I can forgive,"
"For the record, he did protest," Seth said. " He only wanted to get rid of Bella, which was the problem. But when it came to the rest of them, he was against it,"
Ashley smiled at him. "Thanks for telling me,"
Seth nodded. "He's a good guy, a bit annoying at times, but a good person. I didn't want it to come this. But I knew the second Sam said we had to attack that stuff would change,"
They stood in silence for a bit as Leah and Seth started eating the sandwiches. Meanwhile, Jacob walked out of the house. He seemed to be in a mood. "Can we talk?" he asked Ashley.
She was surprised at that but nodded. "Privately," he added, looking at Leah and Seth. Leah sighed and they walked away.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Look, I just talked to the Doctor. He says Bella could give birth tomorrow and they are down to the last bag of blood for her. Plus, they need to feed,"
Ashley nodded at the last part. "I know! But you said the pack is out there and they will attack,"
"Yes, which is why we need to create a distraction for them. Long enough for your family to... er, feed,"
"We?" she furrowed her brows.
Was Jacob actually asking for her help? She always got the vibe from him that he didn't like her.
He nodded. "Yes," he said. "I know Sam won't show up but he'll send Jared and Paul. And the others. We need to stall them. Now, I have a plan that could stall them for a few minutes but... I think having you there would help with Paul. And since he's the most hothead, if he's calm, I'm counting the others will be too,"
"Do you think it will work?"
"I don't know but I hope so. That's our only chance and only we can do it. Your family need to go out and.... so that they can help Bella and get that thing out of her,"
Ashley chewed on her lip. "I agree that they, especially grandpa, need to be at his best for the best outcome. Alright, I'm in. When will we do it?"
Jacob looked toward the horizon. "When the sun is down. So your family doesn't attract too much attention," The sun had already started to fade which meant that it was soon.
An irritating feeling covered Ashley's stomach. She was going to see Paul for the first time since he came to visit. And even though it hadn't been that long, so much had changed. She knew he and her family were enemies but to this extent... Paul was ready to go to war with her family.
It didn't exactly make them on the best terms when her boyfriend was on a mission to kill her entire family.
Jacob quickly went over the plan with Seth and Leah and by the time he was done the sky was almost dark. They went inside the forest, to where the wolves thought the rest of the pack was.
"By the way, I haven't exactly got the approval from your folks... about your help," Jacob murmured to Ashley.
She faintly smiled. "Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it,"
He nodded. "Stay back until the right time. You're our wild card and I don't want to tip them off. If you come out later, it will buy us more time,"
Ashley stood behind a giant tree as the wolves took a few steps forward. They scattered around to find the closest location to the pack.
"Jake! They're coming!" Seth announced as he and his sister rushed toward Jacob's side.
"I know," Jacob answered.
"We should phase Jacob. We can't protect ourselves like this," Leah offered.
Ashley gulped. Would the pack really attack them too? Members of their own tribe? Even if they left the pack, they were still connected, would they really be that ridden with a vengeance that they'd hurt them?
Jacob shook his head. "They'll see it as a threat,"
"I want to talk!" he yelled toward the forest. " It'd be easier if I could hear you too!"
Loud noises came above them. Heavy paw noises shifted into footsteps. Then, Paul emerged first. Jared joined him.
Paul looked pissed. He spat on the ground. "This isn't your territory anymore!"
"How's your new family work out now?" he asked.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "That's bold, coming from you," he answered.
Paul motioned to move forward but Jared held him off.
"You done?" Jacob asked.
Quil and Embry walked out next. "You coming home Jake?" Quil asked.
"Not until I finish this," Jake answered.
"What do you mean?" Paul asked.
"I want Sam to take back Leah and Seth," Jacob said.
That instantly got a reaction out of the Clearwater siblings. Ashley gasped in surprise. Was this Jacob's master plan for distraction? What the hell was he trying to do? He shushed them off.
"I want them safe. And I want this over," Jacob continued.
"How do we know we can trust you? You've already betrayed us once before! You left us for them!" Paul spat.
Jacob leaned his head to the side. "I left you for her! For her safety! She is still a human and the treaty must protect her. If you won't uphold it... then I will," he spat back. "Plus, I have proof that I'll keep my promise,"
"Yeah? What is that?" Embry asked.
Jacob turned toward Ashley and she got that it was her cue to come out. Her eyes were pointed to one person only as she walked toward Jacob.
Paul's hardened face immediately smoothed. "Ashley," he murmured.
She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look stern. "So, your new hobby is to hunt down my family while I am away?"
"Ashley..." Paul started but she cut him off.
"They haven't broken the Treaty. They're still upholding it. Bella is human, they didn't harm her,"
"Ashley," Jared tried to cut in but she glared at him to shut him up.
"This is my family and you are trying to kill them. Are you aware of what will it do to me? Taking my whole family away? How were you planning to look at me afterward? How do any of you? You told me I was a part of your pack, how do you think I will still be by your side if you kill my entire family?"
Paul looked speechless against her words.
"What was the next phase of your plan, huh? Your pack is divided into two, you're about to go to a goddamned war and about to kill a human girl who happens to be my friend! What will happen afterwards? How will any of you be able to live with the fact that you killed a girl?"
Her eyes were now teary but she stood her ground.
"I want Sam to wait until Bella's been separated from the problem," Jacob took over.
Paul had clenched his teeth. "You mean until she's dead!"
Embry looked at Paul. "Ease up Paul," he said.
He glared at him then turned to Ashley. " Bella's a human... for now. There are two options for her now, either death or becoming one of them. This is what they do Ashley. They are the reason it has come to this, not us,"
He sighed. "What, then?" he asked Jacob.
"Tell Sam that, when the moment comes... I'll be the one to destroy it," he said coldblooded. Ashley turned to him in shock. Was this his plan all along? Bella would never forgive him.
"Jake!" Seth protested from behind them while the others seemed kind of satisfied with what he said.
"I'm the only one who can," Jacob continued. "They trust me," he said with a side glance to Ashley.
Was that supposed to be a signal or was he actually going to go through with it? If that was the case, she should tell her family. Tell Bella. Was this why Jacob didn't tell her family his plan included Ashley? So that he could play her as a pawn in his own endgame?
Tears rushed to her eyes as she looked at Jacob in disbelief. "No... you can't. I..." she was having trouble making out words.
She looked back to Paul and then to Jacob then back to Paul. "You're all the same..." she murmured and took a few steps back.
Paul took a step forward to go after her but she started running. Running away from them. How could she be so naive? The pack wanted to kill her family and Jacob wanted to kill the baby. If they got what they wanted, all of her family would be gone.
She would have no one left. She would lose her family all over again be left an orphan all over again. And the pack, her second family, or she thought they were, were the ones who would do it.
She started crying on her way back to the house. She heard loud howling coming from the forest. "You played us!" she heard Paul roar.
She didn't turn back. She tried to make her way back to the house as fast as possible to warn them.
She didn't.
Somewhere on the way, she lost her way back to the house and she fell to the ground. Instead of trying to get up she crawled toward a tree, crouched down, and started crying. She knew she should get up and go back to the house to warn them. Warn Bella. But she couldn't.
It was all too much. How the hell did everything went so bad so freaking fast? Her head was pounding.
"Ashley, Ashley!" Paul called out.
What was he doing here? She tried to stop crying so that he wouldn't hear her but it was too late. He emerged between two big trees. "Ashley," his thick voice had softened.
He walked towards her. She tried to crawl back on the ground. "No, NO! Don't come close," she made out. "Stay away!"
Paul stopped and took a deep breath. "Okay, okay," he said softly. "I just want to help you,"
She looked up at him. It was ironic. "Yeah? BY KILLING MY FAMILY?"
He sighed. "I never wanted it to come to that. I tried to stop Sam. But... But he's the Alpha. I've got no say,"
The worst part was that Ashley knew that he was telling the truth. Seth had confirmed it. But him still being a part of it was... it was... unacceptable.
She wiped away her tears. "You could have at least warned them. Could have told me!" she argued.
He clenched his teeth. "Jacob did that. And. And, Jesus Christ Ashley! How could I have told you? Call you casually, ask about your school then say 'hey, by the way, the pack decided to kill the Cullens, no biggie, have fun at school'?"
"So, instead, you decided to ignore me?"
He shook his head. "No. From the moment Sam decided that... we've been on duty. I didn't get the chance to see your messages to ignore them,"
Ashley slowly got up. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "So... you're really going to do it?"
He looked down. "We've got no choice. Unless they kill that thing. If they try to protect it... we can't do anything,"
"Then, why aren't you with them right now? You realized our plan. Shouldn't you be hunting down my family with the rest of the pack?" Ashley spat the question.
"We did. and we were furious. But all of that, the pack, the Cullens, the plan, Jacob, the distraction... They are not the most important thing to me. They haven't been for a long time. I... I needed to talk to you,"
She bit the insides of her cheek. She knew that was true but it still didn't change what he had been up to the last few days. What was really fucked up about this situation was that she knew. She knew he didn't want to do it but he had no other choice. But it still pissed her off.
"Did you do it on purpose?" he asked. "Join Jacob, coming to talk. To be a distraction," he looked hurt.
She crossed her arms. "Yes," she said slowly. " My family needed the distraction. They were going to starve otherwise, I couldn't let that happen. You know how important family is to me,"
He nodded. "I thought we were your family too. That I was too,"
She grabbed her arms with her fingers even more before answering. "Family doesn't kill each other, Paul,"
They stood there for a few moments, not saying anything but just looking at each other. Ashley was angry and terrified. No matter what happened she would lose one part of her family, of herself. And she didn't want that. Wasn't ready for that.
"Goodbye," she finally murmured and turned around.
She started walking toward the house. "Ashley, wait!" he called out. " Your house is the other way," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Figures you'd know that after scouting the house for days,"
She didn't look at him and just started walking the other way.
"I still love you,"
That made her stop. She wanted to turn around. She wanted to run into his arms. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to be his. Against everything that was happening.
She wanted to go back to before. She wanted to ignore all of this. But she knew she couldn't. This was the reality and reality was a fucking bitch.
"I know," she said in a low tone, knowing he could hear.
Then she started walking. She needed to get home. Be with her family. Warn them.
By the time she came back, Jacob was outside on the ground crying. Seth and Leah were watching him. Leah softly shook her head and Ashley got the message. Bella didn't make it. She looked back to Jacob. He still didn't do what he said he would. She still had time.
She would mourn for her friend later, not it was time to do her last wish. To protect her child. She ran inside. She saw Edward over Bella's body, trying to revive her or change her. She didn't have the time, she needed to find the baby.
She started running inside the house to find the baby and whoever was with it. She didn't know whether the others made it back to the house safely. She would worry about that later too.
She found her mom with the baby in the living room. "Mom!" she exclaimed.
Rosalie turned to her. "Look, Ashley. It's a girl. Reneesme," she said softly.
"No, Mom, no! You should get away! Take her and go away!"
Rosalie furrowed her brows. "What do you mean? What's going on?"
"The woods. Jacob. He said he was going to kill it because you guys trust him now. He's outside, we need to protect her!"
"Okay. Okay. The others aren't back yet. I don't know where Alice or Jasper is. Edward's downstairs with Bella. It's just us," she quickly said and got up.
But it was too late. Jacob was inside the house. He was walking towards them.
Rosalie turned to him. " Stay back, mutt!" she hissed.
"Not gonna happen," he hissed back and got closer.
The baby seemed frightened and her eyes were going back and forth. Then, they stopped. Jacob had stopped too. He was looking directly at the baby but he no longer had that devastated face. He got down on his knees.
"Shit," Ashley murmured, guessing what had just happened now.
By the look on Rosalie's face, she got it too. Jacob slowly rose to his feet but before he could say something Edward, Alice and Jasper rushed into the room.
He looked at Rosalie and Ashley. "Stay with Bella," he said and they turned around.
But then Edward stopped as everyone got moving. He turned around and glared at Jacob. Jacob raised his hand to stop Edward as he moved toward him but Edward disarmed him and then threw him against the wall.
Ashley guessed he had heard that he imprinted on his daughter from his thoughts. Jacob fell to the ground holding his left arm as Edward turned around. "Protect her," he hissed and the three of them went downstairs. Rosalie and Ashley followed them.
The room Bella was in reeked of blood. If Ashley could even smell it she didn't know how her mother stood it. And Bella... well, she looked terrible. She had some bite marks on her. Multiple. But Ashley didn't have time to analyze all of it once she heard the noise.
She moved to the window and looked outside. Edward, Alice, and Jasper were fighting with the pack. They were clearly outnumbered.
Then, her grandparents and dad showed up. It seemed to go a bit better. Her heart was beating in her mouth, this was a scene she never wanted to see.
Two other wolves joined in the fight and she realized it was Seth and Leah. They were helping her family.
She then saw a grey wolf going after her dad. She knew who he was. The scene broke her. Emmett jumped back from the tree and got inside the action.
"Mom, give the baby to me. Go help them," she pleaded.
Rosalie looked at her daughter, the baby, Bella, and then the window. She took a deep breath and nodded.
"Alright. I love you, baby," she said and handed Reneesme to Ashley. She was gone in a flash.
Ashley moved back to the window and started watching. Rosalie joining helped them a bit and evened the number. Plus there was Leah and Seth. Their numbers were higher.
And even if her family lost and the wolves won... Ashley was holding the baby. The pack couldn't hurt Ashley, that's what Paul said. So, as long as she was holding the baby, it was safe.
Then, Jacob jumped out of the house. "Stop! It's over!"
Sam moved toward Jacob.
"If you kill her you kill me!" Sam moved Jacob out of the way but he phased on the air. He walked toward Sam while all of the wolves growled.
The wolves slowly started to take a step back and turn around. Ashley didn't miss the grey wolf lingering a second longer before emerging into the forest. Then Jacob turned around to look Edward in the eyes.
Rosalie walked into the room. "It's over," she said.
Ashley nodded and handed her the baby. Now that the adrenalin had passed, all the negative emotions had dawned on her. Her friend was dead. Her boyfriend just tried to kill his family. It was bad.
The pounding on her head was louder now. She could feel her heartbeat in her entire body. Her ears were ringing.
Ashley saw her dad, grandpa, and Jacob enter the room. Then she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. She felt herself fall down once again and then gave herself to the darkness.