Bella's Little Sister

Chapter 19

A/N: Instead of making one book following each movie, I am just going to condense it into 1 book. It will just be easier. This chapter will be the start of New Moon.

Emerging through a seemingly endless mass of ferns and trees, I found myself standing in a wide, open field. Various shades of purple and white flowers dotted the clearing, with rays of sunlight filtering down through the thick canopy of trees lining the outer edges, giving the area a rather warm and peaceful glow.

I was rather surprised to see my grandmother-or Gran, as Bella had called her-standing before me on the opposite side of the clearing. A flicker of movement off to my left caught my attention, and I turned to see what it was. Edward Cullen, dressed in a dark gray tux, was stepping through the foliage. "Edward, don't!" I called out in alarm. "She'll see you!"

Edward, however, did not seem to be at all worried in the slightest about exposing his secret. With the sunlight reflecting off his pale skin, he closed the distance between us. He wore a faint half-smile as he took my hand, his eyes meeting mine briefly before he turned his gaze to where Gran stood, waiting. Taking a deep breath, I walked with him to the center of the clearing. Gran, as well, was making her way into the center.

"Gran, I'd like you to meet..." I trailed off as I realized Gran was mirroring my posture, her arm wrapped seemingly around nothing more than air itself. It took me another minute to wrap my mind around the fact that I was not looking at my grandmother. Instead, I was staring into a large, gold-framed mirror. And within the glass was my very own reflection.

I was startled awake by an almost frantic knocking on the bedroom door. Bleary-eyed, I sat up in bed and ran a hand through the knots in my hair. I noticed my sister's bed was empty, and a copy of Romeo and Juliet was resting on her pillow. Sunlight was brightly streaming in through the window, allowing me to see the few dustmotes floating around in the rays. Through a yawn, I told whoever it was to come in.

"Happy birthday." My father entered the room, a wrapped present in his hands. Bella was grinning behind him, holding something in her hands, though from my angle I was unable to see what it was.

Sighing, I gave him a rather annoyed expression. I had always been weird about birthdays; I preferred not to have a big deal made out of them. My sister, however, very much enjoyed celebrating my birthday in any way she possibly could. "Hm," I frowned, rubbing at my eyes. "That's today, isn't it?"

"Oh, come on, Jess." My sister was openly smirking now. "Lighten up."

I gave her a dirty look in response. Turning my gaze to the present in dad's hands, I sighed again. "I told you I didn't want anything."

"Well," dad started. "The one from me isn't wrapped, so it doesn't count." Bella handed him what she had been holding; it was a small silver camera, with a green bow resting on top.

I looked down at him, running my fingers over the buttons. "Thanks," I muttered.

Dad then handed me the wrapped present. "It goes with this one from your mom and Bella. We coordinated."

"Actually, we coordinated dad." Bella corrected.

Slowly, I peeled the wrapping paper away. A photo album lay inside, the brown leather cover smooth and silky. Pursing my lips, I glanced up at Bella. "This is really nice of you both to do this, but you know I don't take pictures. And I definitely don't print them out to put in an album."

My sister only grinned in response. "Well, now you have to. Mom's expecting to see some photos."

Dad sighed as he shook his head. "I can't believe you're a senior already. How did you get so old so fast?"