The Huntress [ Sam Uley ]

Chapter IV

February, 2006

Forks, Washington

Bella looked. . . different.

Her ivory skin was halfway between translucent and pale, as if she'd only recently begun gaining colour. Her slender figure was sharp where it used to be soft. Bella's long, dark hair was tangled and windswept. She looked sallow, unhealthy, but it didn't seem as bad as it could have been. Her time with Jake must have done her some good.

While not twins, Bella was my other half, my little sister. When Faylie had informed me of my indefinite lifespan, my only regret had been leaving her, Charlie and Vivienne. They were the only things that made my life worth living, and when I inevitably lost them, I'd think I'd lose myself.

Ollie once told me that my fatal flaw was that I loved too deeply. The thing about Ollie is that he doesn't shy from the truth like Faylie does. Everything he says is blunt and straight to the point. After giving me that tid-bit of information he'd gone on to explain how it would be my downfall, until it would be.

The thing about caring too much is that once everything you love is gone, you've lost everything. And I knew I'd try to find new people to cling to when Charlie and Bella were gone. But then I'd lose them too. And it would happen over, and over, and over again. And when this happens, you turn bitter and cruel. I didn't want to be bitter and cruel, I wanted to love, and be loved in return.

It was the reason I wanted to hate Edward Cullen. He'd left my sister in a death-like trance and taken any chance of making her immortal along with him. But I knew that he'd done it to protect her and Charlie both.

The one thought that I kept stumbling upon is: why did he leave? Why had he abandoned her in the woods to die if he loved her so much? What sort of toxic behavior was that?

In that moment I was acutely aware of Ollie's warning on out first meeting. 

My blood was boiling, but I kept the anger out of my eyes, not wanting to spook Bella. A smile had spread across the girl's face and she clumsily hurtled herself towards me. I wrapped my arms around her as Bella used her own to squeeze the breath out of me. I rested my chin on her head. I'd always been taller than her, not to mention the added height my shoes were giving me.

"Hey Bells." I whispered, a smile twitching on my lips.

"What are you doing here?" She asked once she pulled away, unshed tears glimmering in her eyes. She looked at Charlie who had the face of a happy father. "Did you do this?"

He nodded, "Your sister just graduated a little while ago and wanted to come live in Forks. Thought I'd help her out a bit." Bella was brightening by the second.

"So you're staying?" She asked, turning back to me.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Just a five minute walk away, but I'll be here whenever I'm not writing." She nodded, then hesitated. Before Bella could say anything I intercepted her thought, we'd always been good at silent communication.

I turned to Charlie, "Hey Dad, Is it okay if Bella and I go upstairs to catch up?" He quickly agreed and I ushered my sister up the stairs.

Bells had gotten the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. It had wooden floors, light blue walls, a peaked ceiling, and yellowed lace curtains around the window. Where there used to be a crib now hosted a bed and desk. The desk held a second hand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. The rocking chair from Bella's baby days was still in the corner.

We threw ourselves onto Bella's bed and got comfortable. I looked at my sister. She seemed resigned, as if expecting the future conversation. "I heard about what happened with Jake."

Bella sighed and sat herself with her back against the headboard, my head in her lap. There was a sense of vulnerability in the air, as if everything that happened in this room would never get out.

"I went over to Jake's house today and. . . and he's just so different. He cut all his hair off and he's got this tattoo now. His skin is hot to the touch as if he has a fever and he wouldn't meet my eyes, like Jake's guilty or something. I'm. . . I'm just worried about him."

Internally, I was panicking. Shapeshifters. There was a pack of shapeshifters in La Push. Why couldn't the Cullens have been the only supernatural things running around this place. Externally, I was smiling, a cheeky grin on my lips.

"Seems like you care about him a lot." Bella was quiet for a moment.

"When Edward left—" I started, shocked she'd spoken about him so soon. " —I felt empty and I'm sure Dad filled you in on how much of a child I was being. But now, I think I know that he shouldn't have left me there in the woods in the first place if he cared about my safety. I know that if he loved me he wouldn't have been so cruel when breaking up with me. I know that I was too dependent on him and that I was terrible to Charlie ever since I got here."

She gulped, and a weight seemed to slowly edge off her shoulders. "Jacob changed when Sam Uley got to him, but it made me realize how terrible I was being. He was always there for me and I was so hung up on Edward that I hurt him in the process. All it took was him leaving too, for me to understand that I didn't love Edward anymore."

Bella looked at me with those big, brown, doe eyes of hers. They glimmered with tears as if coming clean was the healthiest thing she'd ever done. "But I don't love Jake either. At least not in the way he wants me too."

"You don't love Edward anymore?" I asked, wanting every facet of her situation before making a decision on how to react. She mused over the idea.

"I think a part of me will always love him. Edward showed me the beauty of Forks and everything in it. He saved my life that day in Phoenix when I fell down the stairs. But I know that if he ever comes back, I don't think I'll be able to love him again." I smiled, because for the first time, my sister was calculating and figuring out her feelings before making brash decisions.

"Give Jake some time," I decided, keeping in mind that Jake was a wolf now. "If he's in any danger he'll be sure to tell you. If not then remember that he's your best friend, and he'll come to you one day, when he's ready." I lifted my head from her lap and grasped her hands to look her in the eyes. "Never feel guilty for not loving someone. You don't need a man to feel worthy of yourself, you do that perfectly fine on your own."

My sister gave a sound that was half way between a laugh and a sob. I wrapped my arms around her and let her soak my shoulder with her tears.

"Can you stay here tonight?" She asked quietly. I looked out the window. The sky had barely darkened.

"Let's get some food in you first and then we can get an early night, okay?" She nodded.

Dinner passed quickly and without much fuss. Charlie seemed relieved to see Bella eating additional food and gave a bright smile of his own when Bella outright laughed at one of my corny jokes. They were mostly reused dad jokes I'd collected from Charlie. When we were done I cleared up the plates and hand washed them. Bells made a face at me and commented about the perfectly good washing machine right next to me. I just laughed and said that hard work gave you more satisfaction than short cuts.

After I finished I kissed Charlie on the cheek and told him to go to bed; he had to wake up early in the morning. Bella and I rushed upstairs and changed into our sleep clothes. We curled up near each other in her small bed and she rested her head on my chest. I hold her tight, trying to keep all of her beautiful pieces together. We fall into a half sleep, side by side, both of us feeling a little lighter.