*
Sophie sat in Jake's garage the next day, watching as he worked on his newest car. Soft rock music flowed out from his radio, bathing the garage in its sound. It had been a week since Charlie told Bella he was sending her Jacksonville. She had - of course - refused.
Instead, she tried to convince Charlie and Sophie she was fine by going out with Jessica Stanley. Sophie just couldn't believe she was desperate enough to hang out with the girl, considering Bella had told her that they weren't that close.
The sound of metal hitting the floor knocked Sophie out of her trance and she looked up to her friend. He was rubbing his face with his sleeve, sighing deeply as he did.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He said, his voice frustrated as he picked up another tool. "There's so much to do with this car."
"You say that every time you start a new project." Sophie pointed out, causing Jake to glare at her.
"And I will continue to." Sophie only laughed at him, noting the smile that was also growing on his lips.
Despite their four year age difference, the two had been best friends for as long as she could remember. Charlie and Jacob's father, Billy, had been friends for ages so the two grew up together. When Sophie first started having trouble with her eating habits, she tried to push Jacob away in fear that he'd judge her.
Instead, the boy stuck by her side through it all, offering his shoulder whenever she needed it.
"How's your sister?" He asked, glancing at Sophie as he did.
Sophie shrugged. "The same. She went out to the mall or something with her friend a few days ago. I think she's trying to convince us that she's better but I don't believe her."
"So what are you guys doing to do then?" He sat up now, his full attention on her. "It's not like they're going to come back anytime soon, or at all, just because of her feelings."
She laughed at him. "That's what I think. I really feel bad for her, but I don't personally know what she saw in him."
The two laughed together now. Sophie was glad that Jake thought the same thing as she did. She knew that the teen had a small crush on her sister and thought it was endearing, even though she knew her sister didn't feel the same.
Bella and Jacob hadn't been around each other much before. Sure, they hung out when they were children and Bella visited for the summer, but the two never really kept in touch.
"Has Sam said anything to you?" Sophie changed the topic now, wanting to know if the man who found her sister had spoken to Jacob. Jacob seemed to think that the older man had it out for him, due to the ominous looks he often gave him.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "No, not recently. Just his usual looks."
Sophie shivered. "Ugh. Why don't you just ask him what his problem is?"
Jacob was about to answer when the two were interrupted by a truck rolling onto the gravel. The two shared a look before heading outside. Sophie stopped short by the door, shocked to see Bella's truck pulling into the driveway.
Jacob rushed over, clearly excited that Bella was there. Sophie examined the truck, narrowing her eyes at the objects covered by a tarp in the bed. She joined them after they greeted each other, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I brought you something." Bella told Jacob, motioning to the bed of the truck.
Sophie and Jacob shared another look as Bella moved to uncover it. Sophie's jaw dropped when she saw the two motorcycles and she looked to her sister with wide eyes. "Since when are you into motorcycles?"
"Since now." Bella told her before turning her attention back to Jacob. "I saved them from a junk yard. They're probably more trouble than they're worth, but..."
Jacob appeared to be in deep thought, his eyes examining the bikes thoroughly before he looked towards the girls. "I'm in. When do we start?"
Sophie shot her friend a look, causing the boy to raise his hands in a clear 'not my. Business' sort of way. She huffed in irritation as she turned to her sister. "Are you sure you'll be able to ride them?"
Her sister wasn't much of a daredevil and Sophie worried that her sister was looking for some kind of distraction.
Bella only shrugged as she looked back to Jake. "Let's see if they work first."
Jacob was already working to unload the bikes when Bella moved to stop him. "Jake, those are really heavy?" She paused when Jake settled the bike on the ground. Sophie only watched in slight amusement. "You're buff, Jacob. You're, like, sixteen how did that happen?"
Sophie and Jacob laughed at Bella, whose face was now turning red. "Age is just a number, baby. What are you, like forty now?"
Bella's smile slowly faded and she nodded. "It feels like that sometimes."
Jacob chuckled before looking back to Sophie, who was beginning to shiver from standing in the January weather. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around his friend's shoulders. "Let's get you inside, Soph. Are you wanting to help?"
"Sure." She nodded, her nose turning red and her hands wrapped around her small arms. "Tell me where you want me."
*
Bella hadn't woke up the house from nightmares since she started hanging out with Jacob. Sophie had called to tell him the first morning after they started, so happy she was near tears. She couldn't thank her friend enough for helping Bella find some comfort.
She had given the two their space for the past few days, wanting to stay out of the cold. Because of her low body weight, she was cold most of the time and winter weather did not help her in any way. Sophie didn't mind not hanging out with the two some days, knowing that Jacob was helping her sister either way.
By the time Sophie hung out with them again, Jacob had finished one of the bikes and was nearly finished with the last one. Sophie drove with them when the bikes were done, excited to see how they had turned out.
She sat in between Bella and Jacob as they drove through La Push. Jacob apparently had a place he wanted to drive the motorcycles to see if they would work and it was too far from his house to walk.
Sophie was staring out the window, tuning out Jacob and Bella's conversation as she did. Her mind wandered back as she studied the forests around her, thinking about different creatures in the trees and the colors she would use to draw them. She really wanted to go back to school, but with her weight and mental health fluctuating, it was too difficult to tell how well she'd do.
She wanted to be able to fully invest into her studies. Though, every time she went into recovery, she would slip and it would start again.
Tires squealing broke her out of her thoughts as her body jolted forward. Sophie shouted at Bella, scolding her for stopping the truck as carelessly as she did. "What're you doing?"
"Did you see that?" Bella said as she opened her door. She rushed over to the guard rail, peering over to the cliffs that sank into the ocean. Sophie and Jake followed behind her, laughing when they saw what she was freaking out about.
"They're not fighting, Bella." Jacob chuckled again, motioning to the men on the rocks. From what Sophie could see, it was Sam Uley and his pack of followers. "They're cliff jumping. Scary as hell but a total adrenaline rush."
"Most of us jump from lower down." Sophie continued. "But they're show-offs."
"Do you have some kind of beef with them?" Bella looked back to the two.
Jacob made a face. "Not really. They just think they run this place. Embry used to call them 'hall monitors on steroids.' Now look at him."
Sophie stared at the boy sadly, remembering how he had called her a few days ago to tell her Embry had changed. She liked Embry and Quil - another one of Jake's friends - and was sad to see that Embry had become a part of Sam's group.
"What happened to him?" Bella asked, her eyes still trained on the group.
"He missed some school." Jake started. "And suddenly, he was following Sam around like a little puppy. Same thing with Paul and Jared. Sam keeps giving me this look, like he's waiting for me or something. It's kinda starting to freak me out."
"Just avoid him." Bella said simply, causing Sophie and Jake to share a look.
"I'll try."
The rest of the way to the clearing was silent, everyone too lost in their thoughts to speak out loud. Jacob unloaded the bikes when they finally arrived and motioned Bella over.
She sat on the bike, and Sophie watched as Jacob explained to her what she needed to do. Sophie gasped when the bike jolted forward, gripping her sleeves tightly as she watched her sister.
"Be careful, please." She told her and Bella nodded.
"I will. I want to try again." She repositioned her hands on the brakes and did what Jacob told her to do correctly.
Sophie held her breath as she watched her sister ride the bike. At first, she seemed to be doing fine. But then Sophie realized her sister was glancing over her shoulder every few feet and she furrowed her brows in confusion.
She watched in slow motion as Bella looked over her shoulder. The bike lost control in that moment and Sophie watched in horror as her sister flipped over the handle bars.
"Oh my, God!" Sophie breathed, rushing over to her sister. The two ran over to her, crouching down to make sure she was okay. "Are you alright? Let me see your head."
Bella pulled away her hand from her forehead, revealing a small cut of blood. She looked at it for a moment before attempting to stand. "I wanna go again."
"Hell no." Sophie shook her head and pushed her back down. "No more bikes."
"I agree." Jake mumbled. Sophie looked to him just as he slipped his shirt over his head. She looked at him as if he were crazy - it was freezing out and now the boy had no shirt.
"Ow." Bella winced when Jacob began to blot at the blood. "Ouch. I'm sorry."
Jacob chuckled. "You're apologizing for bleeding?"
Her eyes were unfocused as she looked at Jacob, a small smile pulling at her lips. "What're you staring at?"
"You're kind of beautiful." Bella whispered, causing Sophie to giggle into her palm.
Jacob sat back, pulling his shirt away from her head. "How hard did you hit your head?"
Sophie's giggles stopped after a moment and she tapped Jacob on the shoulder. "Her bleeding isn't slowing down much. We should probably get those stitched up."
Jacob nodded, reaching down to scoop Bella into his arms. "Let's get your head fixed up, yeah?"
***
I'm jumping around a bit, so I hope it's not too confusing to follow!
pleuvoirx
edited 6.21.2021