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   ACCELERATED HEALING WAS A godsend in Magnolia's opinion. It was a new power she had developed over her constant weeks of training and boy, did it come in handy. Just like Carlisle had said, she was back to normal on Monday. She felt better than normal, amazing, even.

It had rained the night prior, so the air was fresh and dewy, and it smelt like earth. Magnolia took a deep breath in when she stepped out of the house. The reservation was calm this early in the morning, their on-sight school didn't start until much later. Her eyes scanned the horizon, landing on a figure standing against a nearby tree, waiting. "Good morning, Paul!" She walked over to him with a pep in her step.

"Magnolia!" His eyes winded as he saw how fast she was walking. "Be careful, you're head-"

She waved him off. "I'm fine, Paul. Accelerated healing, remember?" She did a little spin just to solidify her point.

Paul sighed. He was still getting used to Magnolia being a sorceress. "Still," He pressed. "I just want you to be careful, okay? You hit your head pretty hard."

She couldn't be mad at Paul for being cautious, it was his fault she got hurt and it would be a while until he stopped fussing over her. "I'll be careful. See you after school?" She pushed his shoulder lightly.

Paul shook his head, smiling shyly. "See you later, Maggie."

  There was this sense of power driving to the school in a Mercedes. Students stared in awe as Magnolia past them in the lot. She parked next to her mothers car, where Elton was waiting for her. They hug as soon as they reached one another. "How was your weekend?" Elton asked as they embraced.

He didn't know about the accident. "Great. I was in bed pretty much the whole time," They linked arms and began to walk towards the school. "Heaven." She sighed happily.

"That's good," He smile down at her. "You deserved the break."

Rolling her eyes, Magnolia chuckled. "Speaking of breaks — do I need to save you from mom? You've been living with just her for a month. That must be torture," She sighed dramatically.

Elton laughed loudly, earning a few odd looks from passing students. "No, everything is great, actually. Calmer, without you," He pushed her playfully.

"Wow, I feel appreciated," Magnolia deadpanned. As they approached the steps to enter the school, her eyes caught the unmistakable frame of Edward Cullen. His posture was tense and his eyes dark. She followed his gaze to see Bella, getting on a mortar cycle with none other than Jacob Black. "What the..?" She removed her arm from Elton. "Give me a minute?"

Elton noticed her line of sight and nodded. "I'll just be up here," He pointed to the stairs.

"Thank you," Magnolia smiled. She made it over just as Bella and Jacob sped away. "She knows she has class, right?" She crossed her arms as she stopped next to Edward.

The vampire huffed. "What do you want, Magnolia?" He towered over the smaller girl.

She felt herself straighten under the heat of his gaze. "Bella's my friend. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Did she have a good time with her mom?" Edward nodded wordlessly. "Does she know about Victoria?"

Edward's face turned grim. "Yes," His voice tensed. He took large breath in, closing his eyes. "Is this all you wanted to talk about?" He knew she wanted to talk more, she didn't need to tell the mind-reading vampire that. "I don't have time for this." He shook his head.

"For what? To tell me why you abandoned Bella like that in the woods? How you forced her to come to your aid in Italy?" Magnolia was fuming. "Did it cross your mind even once, that what you did was wrong?"

Anger flashed in Edward's yellow irises. He took a step closer, leaning in so only would Magnolia would hear. "Do you really think so low of me?" His voice was deadly quiet. "Every day I regretted my actions. I see now my mistakes and Bella forgave me. Just because you cannot do the same for Jasper does not mean you have to belittle me."

The image of throwing the vampire across the parking lot and turning him to ash was very appealing to Magnolia. She made sure the image was at the forefront of her brain, allowing it to burn in Edward's mind. "Just know...you are very lucky to have a girl like Bella love you. And I will not hesitate to destroy you if you hurt her again."

She didn't allow a response, she wanted the last word. Turning and stalking back over to where Elton stood waiting, she could see Alice and Jasper standing not too far, both clearly shocked from the interaction. Magnolia didn't want to acknowledge them, she just kept walking. "Is everything okay? He look a little angry. You look angry." Elton asked as the rejoined, walking to the front door.

Magnolia took a deep breath, nodding slowly. "Just gave him a piece of my mind, is all."

  Like normal, Timothy waited to pick her up. "See you tomorrow," Magnolia said as she huffed Elton goodbye. "Love you."

"Love you too, Maggie," He returned the smile.

Groaning, Magnolia realized she'd have to pass the Cullens to reach her father. She tried her best to avoid the burning stare of Edward, one filled with hatred, and the longing stare of Jasper. It became exceedingly difficult when her eyes caught those of Alice, whose concerned features nearly made her stop. Alice was the only person Magnolia felt she could really talk to about everything going on — she was Jasper's best friend, she was in Italy with Bella — she knew everything that was going on in the sorceress's head. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to actually talk to Alice.

She took a large and shaky breath, turning her head away from the vampires. Her dad was leaning against Mercedes she had driven to school. "What, did you walk here?" She scoffed as she approached him.

"Yeah, I did," Timothy smiled slyly, an eyebrow raised. "Did you think I wouldn't come just because you drove here?"

Magnolia rolled her eyes and hit his arm lightly. "I'm still driving back," She slid past him to the drivers' side. "No arguing." She pointed a finger at him.

Timothy chuckled with a shake of his head. "Yes ma'am," He did as she said — no arguing. Magnolia took great joy in watching him out of the corner of her eye grip the edge of his seat as she drove away from the school, leaving the blond vampire boy who was hopelessly in love with her behind.

  "No, no!" Timothy groaned, throwing pizza at the tv screen as whatever sports team he was watching did terribly. Magnolia laughed from her spot at the small kitchenette table, lazily eating a pizza.

"They never win, dad," She reminded him, mouth full of cheese and tomato sauce. "Why don't you root for another team for once?"

"You don't get sports, my dear," He turned to look at her with a small grin. "Just like your mother." He shook his head.

Magnolia swallowed the piece of pizza she had been chewing. "She whoop your ass for saying that," She laughed. "You're lucky she isn't here," Timothy merely laughed and turned back to the tv. As she took another bite of pizza, the house phone rang. "I'll get it," She said with her mouth full, jumping to grab the phone off the wall. "Hello?"

"Magnolia?" It was Edward. He sounded nervous.

"Edward? What do you want?" Magnolia placed her slice of pizza down, giving her full attention to the phone. Her father's attention had been grabbed as he turned to watch her curiously.

Edward's breath was shaky. "How fast can you and Timothy make it here?"

Magnolia's breath caught in her chest. "Did something happen to Bella? Is she okay?" She was moving the grab the car keys.

"Physically, yes. But...there was a vampire in her home — a scent unfamiliar to all of us," He sounded angry, but what caused Magnolia to pause was how scared he sounded. Maybe she was a little harsh to him in the parking lot? "This concerns sorcerers now. Your mother was not answering. So, I will ask again, how fast you can get here?"

"See you in ten," She placed the phone back onto the wall. "We have to go to the Cullen's," She tossed the Mercedes keys to her father. "Get the car ready."

Timothy caught the keys as he stood. "What's the problem?" He hesitated at the door as he grabbed his jacket.

"I think it's a vampire nomad," She was frantic, grabbing her cellphone, jacket, wallet — everything she could get her hands on. "Edward said there was a scent in Bella's house, one they didn't recognize."

As she moved to the door, her father's sturdy hand stopped her. His grip on her shoulder was too strong to break from. "Magnolia, calm down," He kept hold of her gaze. "Is Bella okay?" Magnolia nodded. "So calm down. The pack and I can track this nomad and it will all be sorted out. Right now, all you need to do is be there for Bella and comfort her. Okay?"

Magnolia stared up at him with big blue eyes, trying her best to slow her shaking breath. "Okay..." She nodded slowly. "But you better drive fast. I told Edward we'd be there in ten."

AUTHORS NOTE
This chapter is a littleeee shorter than I wanted. Idk if y'all can tell but Eclipse is my favourite movie (not book) out of all five.