Bella's Little Sister Re-write

Chapter 1

A/N: This is just like the original Bella's Little Sister, however, it will be told from Bella's perspective, rather than Jess'. I am going to attempt to write each chapter from Bella's POV, but it may prove to be a bit difficult, so please bear with me. Any comments, suggestions, or ideas would be greatly appreciated! I want to make this story as intriguing as possible. Thanks in advance!

I watched from a distance as my sister stood a few yards away, taking a minute to bask in the sunlight one last time before we had to leave. My gaze took in the way she was standing, her body nearly rigid with tension and the anxiety I knew she was feeling, despite not being able to see it on her face. 

Her face was turned up towards the sun, and she had closed her eyes. In her hands, she held a small potted cactus, having dug it up from the ground only moments before. I felt a small pang of regret wash over me as I continued to study her, knowing that where we were moving to was not something she would like much, if at all. 

Jess had never liked the cold, which is partly why she did not want to leave Arizona. But now that our mother had married again, this time to a minor-league baseball player named Phil, she wanted to spend time with him, which meant that my sister and I had decided to move up to Washington to stay with our father. 

Or rather, I had decided. Jess hadn't voiced her opinion on the matter, which was another matter in and of itself. Jess had stopped talking altogether about six years ago, leaving us all worried and wondering what could have possibly happened to bring about this kind of behavior. But even despite the constant questions from my mother and Phil, Jess still remained silent, never giving us the answer we very much wanted to hear. 

After another few minutes of enjoying the sunlight, Jess finally began to make her way over to where mom and I were standing, saying our goodbyes. Phil was loading up the last of our suitcases into the trunk of the car. 

"I'll miss you, baby." 

My mother's words shook me from my thoughts, and I turned my gaze to her face. "I'll miss you too, mom. We both will." 

As she embraced me for the last time, she whispered, "Take care of her. She needs you." 

I gave her a faint smile in return, understanding the meaning behind her words. "I will." 

Mom was right about the fact that Jess needed me. My sister's silence had brought her the issue of endless bullying from students at school. Over the years, I had come to learn many of Jess' silent signals- a clenched jaw often meant she was angry or frustrated, while a tight fist usually meant she was overly anxious about something. Not long after Jess stopped talking, she took to following me pretty much everywhere. It wasn't hard to understand that I was her main source of comfort and security not only at school, but also at home. Even though she never spoke a word anymore, we were still able to have full conversations just by looks alone. 

"Oh, sweetie," Mom cried as she wrapped her arms around my sister. "I'll miss you so much. Take care of yourself." 

Jess met my gaze, her hazel eyes blankly taking in the expression I cast her way. She then turned her attention to Phil, who called out for us to get in the car, saying that we had a flight to catch. 

I made conversation with Phil as he drove us to the airport; mom had opted to stay home, as the car was already pretty packed with the three of us and the luggage. After making it through security and onto the plane, I settled into my seat before turning my eyes to my sister again. She had placed her headphones in her ears, and I could faintly hear The Broken Ones by Dia Frampton playing over the bustle of the other passengers.