five.
straight edge

Out in the hallway, Lauren left with Jessica in order to get the Jeep from the school. JT sat on a bench, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall.
"What was I supposed to do, let her die?" Edward's melodious voice touched her ears from around the corner.
"This isn't just about you. This is about all of us," Rosalie's snap came in reply. JT opened her eyes, moving off the wall and placing her elbows on her knees. Surely they weren't talking about her, right?
Who was she kidding? There was no one else they'd be talking about.
"I think we should discuss this in my office." Carlisle ushered Rosalie around the corner, causing JT to jolt.
"Rose!" Rosalie looked at her with rage in her eyes. JT faltered, but kept the smile in place. "I wanted to thank you for helping me yesterday."
"Let's not make it a habit," the girl all but snarled in response. JT flinched. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to speak with her after or during a family spat. Carlisle gave her a small smile before guiding his daughter away.
JT stood, rounding the corner with flushed cheeks and a desperate need for cold on her skin. To her luck, the hallway to her right had a window wall with an exit.
"Julian stopped the van with his hands," the voice of Bella Swan was easy to pick out in the otherwise silent hallway. JT placed her forehead on the cool glass of the window. She truly hadn't been meaning to walk into their conversation, but she wasn't regretting it. Bella hadn't mentioned Julian earlier, only Edward and herself. Why did she lie?
"No one's gonna believe you," Edward hissed, too involved in protecting his family to notice JT.
"I wasn't going to tell anybody. I just need to know the truth," Bella murmured. JT rolled her forehead across the glass, letting it cool her skin. The snow from the previous day had melted and refrozen into a dangerous sheen of ice — no doubt the cause of the accident today.
Edward sounded strained, irritated even, as he replied. "Can't you just thank me and get over it?"
"Thank you!" Bella stammered out.
Thank you.
Two little words that would mean so much more coming out of JT's mouth. He'd saved her life somehow. At this point, she didn't really care how.
Edward's shoulders tensed even further, casting a short glance over his right. JT was leaned against the window, eyes closed. He turned back to Bella.
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"No."
"Then I hope you enjoy disappointment," he snapped, walking away from her. JT could've laughed at his dramatic act, but she had a mission first. Opening her eyes, she could see him passing behind her in the glass.
"Edward." He paused directly to her right, nearly past her. She turned to face him. Upon doing so, they both realized that he was much closer than either of them calculated. He stepped back, but not too far. "I don't know how or why you did it, but thank you." His eyes had reverted back to their golden color, causing her to frown briefly. Weren't they just black when he saved her? She also wondered if he was angry with her like Rosalie had been. "And I won't bother you guys anymore," she added on for good measure. He didn't have time to process what she said before Lauren was outside, honking her horn. JT was out the door before he could open his mouth.
Him. A vampire.
Being too slow?
Yikes, he was in trouble.
She could feel his gaze on her back when she walked to the Jeep, but when she turned, he was gone.
The ride back to the house was silent. Anticipation crawled over her skin like centipedes, raising goosebumps.
"She can't be that drunk at 9:30, right?" JT wondered aloud. Lauren sighed, her skin turning white at the knuckles with how tightly she was gripping the steering wheel.
"She doesn't need to be drunk," she bit. JT felt horror in her bones, but not at their mother. She felt disgusted with herself. How could she have left her baby sister with this woman? Acid built in her throat and she fought the urge to vomit.
The house was quiet, the only sound being the air conditioning and the occasional drip from the kitchen sink. Lauren went to turn the faucet completely off.
And she didn't come back.
JT moved swiftly into the kitchen, finding her mother at the kitchen table. A bottle of whisky in one hand.
And a knife in the other.
The light glinting off the metal sent JT hiding behind Lauren. She'd gone in planning to protect her sister, but the sharp blade in her mother's hand made her spiral.
"You know, I was cutting up some steak for this evening. And then I got a phone call." Her fishy green eyes pinned themselves to JT with such drunken ferocity that the girl could barely move. One of her hands gripped Lauren's hip for both of their stabilization. "Why do you have to be such a stupid bitch, Josephine? Why can't you just stay out of the hospital forever?" The woman stood jerkily, leaving the whisky, keeping the knife.
Flashes of a school dance and a bloodied pink dress blinded her momentarily, allowing her mother time to shove Lauren out of the way. Her sister yelped, bringing her back to reality.
Which was her mother's hand on her throat and her back against the wall.
"Things have changed in this house, sweetheart. I suggest you adapt to it, or there are going to be consequences," Lorraine's voice was smooth, terrifying. She brought the knife up to JT's face, stroking the straight edge along her cheek. JT didn't flinch in fear of her mother actually cutting her.
The doorbell rang.
JT held her breath until Lorraine had exited the kitchen, heading upstairs with a stumble. Lauren opened the door, revealing Angela with her usual soothing smile.
JT sank against the wall and trembled. Lauren had been dealing with this while she was gallivanting at a fancy school in Maine?
"Hi Laur, I was just bring by homework for the both of you," she handed two folders to the blonde. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you, okay?"
JT couldn't move from her spot on the floor to thank her, but Lauren did with a soft smile. The youngest Mallory closed the door and threw the folders on the entry table. Her feet padded across the hardwood floor.
Lauren slid down the wall next to her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and pulling JT into her chest.
"Why didn't you tell me?" the murmur escaped her lips shakily, but she had never wanted to ask a question more.
Lauren sighed, running her fingers through JT's hair soothingly. "You had enough on your plate."
JT jerked up out of her grip, anger reaching her features. "You thought that I had enough going on that you neglected to tell me that mom was abusing you?" Lauren flinched at the words, but nodded all the same.
The oldest blew harshly out of clenched teeth. "And Dad does nothing." It wasn't a question.
"He's got some mistress in Seattle," Lauren muttered, closing her eyes. "He tells us that he's going on business, but Jess and I followed him once."
JT was boiling inside. Her body was hot and all she wanted to do was pummel each of her parents with the heftiest bag she could find. But instead she took a few deep breaths and listened to her resolve.
"I turn eighteen in three months, and then I'm fighting like hell to get us out of here. Okay?" She tucked back into Lauren's arms. Both blondes stayed on the ground, just holding each other. "Just three more months."