Speak || A Twilight Fanfic

Chapter 29

Gabi knew her sister was exhausted. After everything that had happened in such a short time, she was bound to be. But at the fourteen-hour mark, she had grown restless, and she wanted answers. A day had come and gone since Bella had arrived, and the questions had piled up—not just her own but her sister's friends from school had bombarded her as news of the Cullens' return spread. And the girl had nothing to share.

When she decided to enter her sister's room, she did it as quietly as possible. She didn't care about waking Bella, but the last thing she wanted was to wake up their worried father.

Charlie Swan had spent the last three toying with three states of being—angry, worried, and sleepy. Not knowing where his eldest daughter was kept his mind awake, reeling with horrible scenarios that concluded in him going to jail for the murder of what he thought to be a teenage boy. No one would say it, but worrying about Bella had aged the man easily five years.

Gabi closed the door behind her softly, only letting go when she heard it click shut. She felt a wave of déjà vu as she saw her sister sleeping. Only months before, she had been in that very position, exhausted and heartbroken. But the younger girl hoped that time there was still life left in her sister, that the brief time she spent saving the boy that had destroyed her had not undone the progress she had worked so hard for.

As much as she wanted to allow Bella to rest, Gabi could no longer wait to speak with her. She reached under the lamp on her sister's bedside table and illuminated the room with a warm glow. "Bells, wake up," she whispered as she gently shook Bella. "You need to wake up."

"The house better be burning for you to be waking me up, Gab," the older girl groaned, rubbing the sleep off her eyes. "Matter of fact, you better be on the verge of bleeding out."

"No, been there, done that," she chuckled as she sat on the empty side of Bella's bed. "We need to talk, Bells."

"Right now?" Bella questioned. "It's still dark out. Why aren't you in bed?"

"A whole day has passed, Bella," she stated. "You've been asleep for fourteen hours."

Realization dawned upon the older Swan girl as she sat up on her bed, her eyes focused on everything but Gabi. "Has it really been that long?" Her sister nodded in confirmation. "Guess I was more tired than I thought."

"Did you even sleep the whole time you were there?"

"Not really," she sighed. "Couldn't even sleep on the flight back here. It's just been a lot."

"I can see how saving your immortal vampire boyfriend from offing himself by an ancient coven of powerful vampires can take a toll on someone," Gabi teased. "But what really happened over there, Bells? I thought you'd be a bit happier that Edward was okay."

Bella sighed loudly as she ran her hands across her face, frustration laced with her every breath. "I know I should," she mumbled into her hands. "But I can't. I don't know how to anymore."

Gabi could see tears forming in her sister's eyes, but she had yet to say anything that warranted such a raw emotion. She got closer to Bella then, resting her hand softly on her arm to get her to look up at her. "What happened, Bella?" she asked. "What happened in Italy?"

It felt like someone had hit the play button on a tape recorder and let it run as Bella told her sister everything that had gone down in the last three days. She told Gabi about Volterra, about Edward's close brush with death due to his own selfishness, about facing her own mortality at the hands of the Volturi over the fact that she knew about the vampires; she told her about the ride home. Bella confessed to everything that had transpired, minute by minute. All but one thing. The one detail that would change her entire family forever. The older girl knew she had to tell her sister, but she feared what the repercussions would be to her unavoidable end.