*
A few days after visiting Jacob, Sophie found herself sitting across from her friend Jennifer at the diner in town. The girl had just been released from her inpatient stay and reached out to Sophie immediately. The two had both ordered meals, though Jennifer was eating more than Sophie did.
"You look good." Sophie told her with a genuine grin as she ate a bite of her food.
Jen flashed a tight smile. "I'm going to really try this time. I want to live an exciting life and I'm tired of staring at hospital walls. I want to see the world."
"I'm proud of you." Sophie told her. She wished it was as easy as Jennifer made it sound. Sophie had been admitted to inpatient stays twice before for recovery. The first time lasted longer than the second but Sophie always went into a downward spiral after a few months.
"You look better, too." Jen grinned. Sophie tried not to wince but she couldn't help putting her fork down for a moment. Since Bella had begun seeing Jacob, Sophie had been able to focus on herself again. She had gained nearly five pounds since the beginning of January, which felt like a lot in a little less than a month.
She had also been trying to stay away from the scale, knowing it didn't bring anything good for her. The last time she weighed herself was three days prior. She was making an effort - usually it was every morning.
"I hate seeing what this does to my family." She told her friend as she pushed around a piece of her food with her fork. She swallowed, pushing away thoughts of calories. "I want to be better for them... and myself. And I think I'm doing okay right now."
Jen smiled again, genuinely happy for the girl in front of her. She could see that something else was bothering her friend but she couldn't decide if she wanted to ask or not - Sophie sometimes disappeared into herself whenever she didn't want to answer a question or do something she was asked to do.
Jennifer decided to leave her alone.
The encounter with Jacob still tore at Sophie. She didn't understand what Sam Uley had done to her friend to cause him to push her away. Bella hadn't spoken to Sophie much since that day either, only passing a few words to her every now and then.
Sophie desperately wanted to get through to Jacob but, for the first time ever, she wasn't sure how to reach to her friend. She had practically begged him not to hurt her, not to leave her, and he had done it anyway.
Jennifer and Sophie shared their goodbyes, promising to meet up with each other again soon. Sophie watched her go, feeling her heart ache for a different reason. Jen seemed to be doing genuinely okay.
Sophie wanted to be genuinely okay.
When she got home, she immediately went to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed. It was silent for a few moments before her door slowly creaked open. Sophie looked over to Bella, who smiled softly at her sister. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah." Sophie pushed herself up, watching as Bella walked to her desk.
Her sister opened one of her sketchbooks, eyeing each of the drawings closely. Sophie pursed her lips, wondering what her sister was thinking. Bella paused on one of them, frowning for a second before she held it up.
"Do you remember how to get to this meadow?"
Sophie raised a brow, studying the unfinished drawing before looking back at Bella. "You've been there?"
"Yeah." She mumbled, not saying anything else. "Do you remember?"
Sophie sighed as she stood, joining her sister by the desk. "Not really. That's why I haven't finished this one."
"Will you help me find it?" Bella's question was urgent and Sophie got the feeling that this meadow was a special place for her.
"Sure." It would keep her mind off of the whole Jacob situation and she could use a little fresh air.
Bella and Sophie remembered that the meadow was close to Forks High School. The general direction was familiar, though the many trees in the forest made it difficult to remember exactly which way to take.
Sophie nearly felt sick by the time they finally broke through the trees. She sighed in relief, leaning against a nearby tree as she took it all in. It was just as beautiful as she remembered. Few trees popped up in the meadow, leaving it open and bright as the rare sunlight shone down. The field was littered in wildflowersof many bright colors that stood out against the tall green grass.
Purple and yellow plants spotted the grass, brushing against a pile of rocks in the distance. Sophie sat by the rocks before reaching into her bag and grabbing her sketchbook. She scanned the landscape once before starting, noting that her sister sat a little further away from her.
Her blue eyes studied the scenery, flickering between the plants and the paper. Her wrist glided along the sheet, effortlessly drawing lines and shading the shadows. Sophie had just began to sketch out another detail when she heard Bella speak.
She looked up, feeling her heart jump to her throat when she saw a man standing next to her sister. He had a dark complexion with long dreads. When his eyes darted past Bella towards Sophie, she noted the color of his eyes and her blood ran cold.
"I didn't expect to find you here." His voice was deep as he addressed Bella, though there was a hint of amusement shining through. His hands were pressed together in front of him as he walked, mimicking a predator surrounding prey. Her mind flashed back to the night of Bella's party and Sophie shivered. "I went to visit the Cullens', but the house is empty."
Sophie stood slowly, trying the ignore the man as his eyes jumped to her. She straightened her back, trying to appear as brave as she approached the two. He continued. "I'm surprised they left you behind. Aren't you a sort of pet of theirs?"
Sophie didn't like how he spoke down to her sister. But Bella stood her ground. "You could say that."
"Do they visit often?" His tone made it obvious that he knew the answer but he still looked at Bella expectantly.
"Yeah. Yeah, absolutely, all the time." Bella stammered and Sophie narrowed her eyes at her. "I'll tell them that you stopped by. Though, I probably shouldn't tell Edward. He's pretty protective."
Her voice faltered when she spoke of him and the vampire flashed a knowing grin. "But he's far away, isn't he?"
Bella paused for a momentbefore speaking again. "Why are you here?"
The man sighed now, almost looking regretful. "I'm here as a favor for Victoria."
Victoria? Who was Victoria? How did Bella know these people? Sophie's anger grew again as she wondered about what Edward had dragged her sister into.
"She wanted me to see if you were still under the protection of the Cullens." He said casually. "She believes it is only fair to kill Edward's mate given he killed hers. An eye for an eye."
Sophie's breathing stopped. Did this man say that Bella was Edward's mate? As in soulmate? And if that was true, Edward had killed Victoria's soulmate. Of course, she would want revenge, and Sophie was beginning to see what that meant for Bella.
"Edward would know who did it!" Bella was beginning to loseher control and Sophie knew it. "He would come after you!"
The man clicked his tongue. "I don't think he would. After all, how much could you mean to him given he left you here unprotected?"
Sophie glanced at Bella, noticing that she looked positively frightened. Sophie was too - her heart was beating out of her chest. This vampire was going to kill her sister and probably her as well. What was she supposed to do? She was skin and bones and there was no way in hell she could outrun this man.
Not that she would leave her sister behind anyway. No - they would go out together.
Sophie reached for Bella's hand and gripped it tightly. She tugged Bella behind her. "She hasn't done a thing to that woman. She can't help the fact that she's Edward's mate." The words felt strange on her tongue. "Keep her out of this."
"I didn't know the Cullens' had another human under their watch." The man said, shaking his head. "A peculiar coven they are."
"I'm not under their watch." Sophie spat out. Her anger at the family was showing and she wasn't going to rein it in. "Keep my sister out of their shit. Make them deal with Edward's consequences."
"This is their consequence." He answered her. "Let her go and you will stay unharmed."
"Over my dead body." Sophie snarled and Bella dug her nails into Sophie's hand, clearly trying to make her stop.
"That can be arranged." He stalked toward her, baring his teeth. Sophie stood straight, accepting that this was the end. Her eating disorder would not be the thing to kill her after all.
The man stopped mere inches from her face, his red eyes flickering behind her in disbelief. He stepped back, eyes wide. "I don't believe it."
The girls turned and a gasp left Sophie's lips as she watched a pack of wolves travel into the meadow. A black wolf, taller than any man she'd ever seen, led the way, snarling at the vampire in front of her.
Several more wolves followed behind him, eyes trained on the man. She watched them with wide eyes, nearly falling over when one - a large, russet colored one - stopped beside her and Bella. It stared at them for a moment before moving on.
The vampire began to run, causing the black wolf to pounce. He was pushed back by the man before he caught him but shook himself off and began to follow after his pack again.
Sophie acted quickly, shoving her sketchbook and pencils into her backpack before grabbing Bella and pushing her back to the trees. "Get the hell out of here! Now!"
*
The two girls slammed the door shut behind them when they got to the house. Charlie and Harry were sat at the table, talking over a cup of coffee when they came in. Bella gasped. "Dad, I saw them! They are not bears!"
"What?" Charlie frowned.
"Wolves." Sophie breathed out as she fell into a chair. "They're massive wolves!"
"Wolves?" Charlie was still confused as he looked at his daughters. "What are you talking about?"
"In the woods!" Bella exclaimed again, twisting her fingers in her hair. "They're not bears!"
"What the hell are you two doing in the woods?" Charlie rubbed a hand over his face, looking to Harry after. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes." The two nodded their heads, still looking shaken about the incident.
"Well, Harry. Feel like going hunting?"
The two men were off within minutes, leaving the two girls alone. Sophie glared at her sisterwhen they were gone. "What just happened? Who was that and who is Victoria?"
Bella sighed. "Laurent. Do you remember the day I went to play baseball with Edward?"
Sophie nodded, not entirely sure where Bella was heading with this. It was first time their dad had met Edward. Sophie could remember the night clearly - the couple had gotten into a fight, causing Bella to flee the state to go home to their mom.
She had never been so angry at her sister. The girl had said some terrible things to Charlie that night, leaving him heartbroken. They were both panicked to hear that Bella had landed herself in the hospital and drove to Phoenix as quickly as they could.
"There were three vampires who interrupted." Bella sighed, curling and uncurling her fingers against the table. "Laurent, Victoria and Victoria's mate, James. James smelt my blood and he wouldn't stop until he killed me."
She continued to tell the story about how James was tracking her, which was the entire reason she left Forks. Sophie clenched her jaw, annoyed that Edward had been the one to do this to her sister. He exposed her to the tracker and nearly killed her afterwards.
Edward eventually killed James and Victoria wanted revenge.
"So you're actually Edward's soulmate?" Sophie shook her head. "And he just left you here?"
Bella winced. "I guess."
Sophie's thoughts wandered to the rest of the family. Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, Esme and Carlisle. "Do all vampires have soulmates, then?"
"I think so." Bella said, frowning slightly. "Edward never really explained it too much."
Sophie rolled her eyes. She had no idea what Bella saw in him. Bella sat up straight, her brows furrowed, appearing to be deep in thought. Sophie waited for what she was about to say as Bella looked at her. "I have to go to Jacob's."
"What?" She exclaimed, following her sister as she headed out the door. "Why?"
"I-" Bella shook her head. "I remembered something he told me once. Did he ever tell you about the Quileute legends?"
Sophie stopped in her tracks. Jacob didn't talk about the legends around her much. She wasn't a part of the tribe and told Jacob that she had no business learning about their legends. He told her a few things anyway, appreciating that she respected their stories.
But one story always stood out to her. According to Jacob, the Quileute's were descended from shifters that could turn into wolves. Her and Jake used to laugh about it a lot when they were younger.
"He's mentioned them a few times." Sophie said as she closed the door. Bella pulled out of the driveway, speeding down the road to La Push. "What does that have to do with what just happened?"
"I'm not sure." Her sister muttered. "But I think I have an idea."
Billy answered the door when they arrived. His lips were drawn in a tight line and he shook his head. "He's not in."
Sophie always knew when Billy was lying. She had known him since she was a child, after all. Bella shoved past him, but Sophie stayed by the door, not wanting to intrude on their property more than they already were.
Bella stormed out a moment later, heading straight for the forest. Sophie rushed after her, her confusion melting into anger when she saw Sam Uley. Any appreciation she had for him from finding Bella was gone. He turned her best friend against her.
"What did you do to him?" Bella was yelling, just as furious as Sophie.
A man behind Sam, Paul Lahote as Sophie recalled, snarled at Bella and Sam shot him a glare. Embry was there too, looking almost apologetic as he looked at the sisters. "He didn't want any of this!"
"What'd he tell you?" Paul asked, his voice low.
"Nothing!" Bella shouted. "He tells me nothing because he's scared of you!"
Paul laughed, and Sophie nearly lunged forward when Bella beat her to it. Her fist slammed against Paul's face and Sophie smirked, happy to see the smug grin leave his face.
Her smirk was gone in a matter of seconds, when Paul began to growl. His body hunched, dark eyes on Bella, dangerously, looking ready to pounce. Sam shouted at them to stay back and Sophie listened, readying herself to run.
Fur replaced Paul's tan skin and he was suddenly on all fours, taking the shape of the same wolves they had just seen in the clearing. Sophie didn't run with Bella, she stood completely still, feeling her heart beat out of her chest as she watched Paul stalk towards her.
She would've laughed at herself if she wasn't so scared. She had stood up to a vampire earlier, ready to greet death, but now she was frozen at the sight of this wolf.
She could hear Jacob yelling behind her, but his voice didn't register in her mind. Sophie didn't flinch when he landed beside now, shifting into his own wolf form - the russet wolf from the clearing.
Jacob lunged for Paul just as Sophie fell.
***
The wolf is out of the bag now ;)
Pleuvoirx
edited 6.21.2021