Bella's Little Sister Re-write

Chapter 8

Jessica and Angela had tried on countless dresses, asking for our opinions on each. Actually, Jessica was asking for just my opinion; it seemed she couldn't care less about what my sister had to say. Angela, on the other hand, had been very inclusive with Jess. I had taken a seat on a bench by the window of the shop overlooking the main road, reading a book to pass the time. Jess was perched on a seat across the room, though her eyes hardly strayed from the window. 

Eventually, Jess had stood to wander around, stopping once or twice to look at some dresses. Not long after, I found myself beside her, telling her which styles I liked, and what colors I felt would suit her best. When I questioned if she wanted to try on a dress, holding out a light pink dress with cap-sleeves and a full skirt, Jess simply pulled a face and shook her head. She all but shoved the dress away from her body as I grinned. 

I had known of course that pink was not really her color. She hardly ever wore it, opting for darker colors such as green or black. There was a dark green dress that had captured her attention, with silver sequins sewn into the neckline. I could tell she was highly considering purchasing it, though she just as quickly returned it to the racks after seeing the three-hundred dollar price tag. 

This had all been about an hour ago now. Currently, however, Angela was standing before the full-length mirror hung from the wall between two of the dressing rooms next to the bench I was still sitting on. The dress she had chosen was of a lilac color, sleeveless, and definitely slimming. Jessica emerged from the dressing room sporting a dark pink dress, that showed off ample cleavage and was also sleeveless. Jessica had also donned a pair of white, elbow-length gloves. 

Just then, four men strolled past the window, though one of them retraced his steps to get a look at both Jessica and Angela in their dresses. He tapped on the window, catcalling as he did so. Angela turned away as Jessica muttered something about that being rather uncomfortable. 

"That's disgusting," I stated quietly, shaking my head. 

"Jess," Angela called out, effectively gaining my sister's attention. "What do you think?" 

Jess took a moment to study Angela, before claiming that the color brought out her eyes more, and complimented her slim figure. I found it almost impossible to bite back the smile that threatened to appear when my sister dealt a compliment about Jessica's dress. Clearly, Jessica had not been expecting that. 

It must have been clear to Jessica that my sister was rather uncomfortable sitting in the shop for as long as she had, for she called her out on it. I informed Jessica that my sister really just wanted to visit the bookstore she had discovered online, before telling Jess to keep her phone on, and to meet us at the restaurant we had reservations for in an hour. 

Jess grabbed her belongings before practically running out the door. 

Where is she? I wondered, checking my phone for the tenth time in five minutes. She was supposed to be here half an hour ago. I glanced up, searching the streets for any sign of my sister, but finding none. 

"Do you think she's okay?" Angela questioned, concern lacing her voice. 

All I could do was frown and check my phone again. "I need to go look for her." 

Angela and Jessica followed me down the steps of the restaurant, though we all halted in our steps when a silver Volvo stopped at the curb and Jess stepped out of it. I nearly burst into tears at the relief I felt as I ran to embrace her. 

"Where were you?" I asked, gripping her arms firmly. "I called you and left you messages. I told you to keep your phone on!" 

"We waited for you," Jessica started to say. "But we were like, starving, so..." 

Her words were cut short as Edward Cullen approached us, an apologetic smile on his face. "I'm sorry I kept Jess from dinner." His gaze was fixed solely on me as he spoke. "We ran into each other and got to talking." 

Okay, that's clearly a lie. There's no way Jess wouldn't have said anything if that were the case. At the moment, the reasoning didn't matter. Jessica and Angela were looking between the three of us curiously, and I couldn't exactly demand answers from my sister with Edward around. That would have to wait until tonight when we were both at home in bed. 

Angela exchanged a look with Jessica, grinning widely as she said, "No, we totally understand. That happens, right?" 

I could no longer read Jess' emotions, thanks to her mask shielding them from me again. The silence that started to surround us was more or less awkward. When it became clear that neither of us were going to say anything further, Edward took the chance to speak. 

"I think I should make sure she gets something to eat," He turned his gaze from my face to my sister's. "If you'd like." 

Jess didn't respond to that. Her gaze was locked with Edward's, and I wondered what she was thinking about. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she nodded once, her eyes never leaving Edward's face. I felt unsure about leaving Jess alone with him, though Edward promised to drive her home afterward. My sister was looking at me silently, leaving me with no choice but to finally give in, especially after Jessica and Angela declared how thoughtful Edward's offer was. 

"Bella, come on. She'll be fine." Jessica called out to me, standing next to her car. 

Turning my gaze to Jess' face once again, I told her, "Text me when you're on the way home." My tone left no room for debate. With one last glance at Edward, who cast me a brief smile, I finally climbed into the back of Jessica's car and watched Edward lead Jess into the restaurant until they were out of sight. 

"I can't believe that just happened." Angela giggled again from the passenger seat, still smiling. 

I didn't pay much attention to their rambling about the situation that had just taken place, mulling over it in my head. What was Edward Cullen even doing in Port Angeles to begin with? I doubt he was casually browsing a bookstore; there has to be something more that I'm missing. 

By the time Jessica finally pulled to a stop in front of the house, I had confused myself into a dizzying circle of various scenarios that could have occurred to make Jess meet up with Edward Cullen at all. When Jess finally did shoot me a text stating she was on the way home, I was half-asleep. I didn't have the energy to wait up for her, so I decided I'd just to have to question her in the morning on the way to school.

There's no way she's getting out of this, was the last thought I had before falling asleep completely. 

A/N: I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous ones. But now that we're getting more into the action of the movie, Jess will be spending more time with Edward, which means she won't be around Bella as much. It's just been easier to write her perspective when she is around Jess, so please bear with me if the length of the chapters becomes shorter as this progresses. Please comment! Any and all suggestions or comments are appreciated!