Speak || A Twilight Fanfic

Chapter 18

The thing with lies is the longer they remain hidden, the more they change. They fester and they rot, tangling themselves through the gaps of truth and shifting reality as you know it. It starts off small and insignificant, but the more time you leave it, the bigger it becomes.

Lies feed on good intentions, on the white lies, and the lies by omission. They grew on the 'it's for their own good's and the 'I didn't want to hurt them's. Lies kill the one thing that is given freely but take everything to win back. It's almost impossible to gain back someone's trust once it is lost, even if all you want is to forgive and forget.

Gabriella didn't want the pain she was feeling. She wanted to reach into her chest and rip out her heart. Maybe then she could ease the ache in her chest. It was consuming and debilitating, taking over every part of her body hostage –a never-ending void that was dragging her into its pits.

Unlike Jacob's betrayal, having Paul break her heart was devastating. And she didn't understand why. The Lahote boy had only been a friend –at least, that's what she continued to tell herself. But the harrowing agony that had made a home inside her felt like it was much more than a friend breakup. It felt like her life had suddenly gotten off track, and the universe was punishing her for it.

She was slowly melding into her sister. The darkness that had taken over Bella's life had left her and traveled toward her sister, making her existence nothing short of miserable. The only difference? She didn't allow anyone to notice.

In front of Charlie, Gabi was perfectly content. Doing her chores and painting on a happy face. She accompanied the family every time they went over to the Black residence. She pretended that being around Jacob filled her with joy and that she wanted things between them to work. It was easy enough. Gabriella had enough experience playing the part.

After learning the truth about the supernatural world, the least of her problems was the fact that a vampire was hunting her sister, putting her and her family in danger, just thinking that made her want to burst out laughing like a lunatic. A creature that fed on human blood was at the bottom of her list of problems.

"Another spring break, another vampire hunting me," Bella sighed as she plopped onto her sister's bed after her afternoon shift at the Newton's store. "I can't believe this has happened twice now."

"Yeah," Gabi chuckled dryly as she brushed her hair absentmindedly, staring at a reflection she did not recognize. "I still can't believe vampires are real. Much less that they were living right in our backyard."

"Well, you're taking it better than I expected," her sister snickered. "For a second, I thought you would get dad to have me committed."

"If I hadn't seen the wolves, I just might have," she responded. "It just makes me think of what else could be out there. If vampires and shapeshifters are real, what other creatures aren't just imagination?"

"God, I wish I knew," the older girl said. "I'm still wrapping my mind around the fact that I was so involved with this world. Well... I guess I kind of still am."

"Yeah, and now so am I."

Bella couldn't help but notice the solemn look that crossed her sister's face, filling her with an urge to wrap her arms around her. There was a guilt that had made its home in her chest since she had told Gabi about the true world they lived in. Revealing the supernatural had sent her sister into a downward spiral she could not pull her out from. "I'm sorry," Bella whispered. "I never thought telling you the truth would mess things up so much."

"You don't have to apologize, Bells," the girl shrugged. "I understand why you didn't tell me about your ex. By the time I moved here, he and his family were already gone, so it was irrelevant. It was Paul who was becoming my closest friend and kept something this big from me –I still can't understand why!"