PURSUIT // P. LAHOTE

[005]

"Skylar!" Charlie shouted, motioning for his daughter to come over.

She did so, cautiously. He was standing with Bella near her truck, looking down with a frown. As awful as it felt, Skylar couldn't help but think that Bella was a stranger to her now.

"What's up?" Skylar asked as she neared them.

Charlie nodded towards his other daughter. "Bella wants to go shopping with you and Jessica this weekend."

She tried to hide the shock but she was sure it showed on her face. "Oh. Okay." As she glanced towards Bella, she wasn't surprised to see her looking down to avoid their gazes.

"It will be good for you, Bells," Charlie said, as if he were trying to convince himself as well. "It will be good for you to get out with your sister."

All Bella did was nod.

The night following, Skylar and Jessica walked out of the theatre with Bella trailing behind them.

"I don't know why you want to sit through all those zombies eating people and no hot guys kissing anybody," Jessica complained.

Skylar grunted in agreement. "I'm proud of myself for staying awake this time, and believe it or not that was better than the other one that came around a few months ago."

Jessica raised her hands up, happy that Skylar saw it her way. "It's gross. Like... And why are there that many zombie movies anyway? "Cause if it's supposed to, like, draw a parallel about leprosy, my cousin had leprosy. It's not funny, you know..."

Honestly, Skylar had zoned out around a quarter of her speech in. She did consider Jessica a friend, but the girl could do some serious judging. And if she had a penny for every time she said 'like.' She quickly started to pay attention when she started to lay it on Bella.

"Knock it off, Jess," Skylar defended.

Jessica shrugged. "I'm just saying, you know?"

Skylar glanced over at her twin to make sure she was still okay. Bella seemed to be too focused on the bikers at the end of the street to care. As Skylar stared at them, her lip curled up in distain.

"You want a ride, girls?" One shouted, grinning when he had their attention. "I can show you around if you like."

Skylar grasped Bella's hand, tugging her back when she tried to rush forward. "Bella... What are you doing?"

Bella shrugged out of her grip and jumped back when she reached forward again. She had taken less than two steps when she jumped back, gasping. Skylar stared at Bella while she stared into midair.

"Um, Bella?" Skylar asked cautiously. "Bells, c'mon. Stop playing and let's go."

Eyes wide, Bella glanced back before taking a confident step to the bikers. For every step Skylar took, Bella took two.

Skylar was feet away from the group when she stopped trying to catch Bella. She could only stare as her sister walked to what seemed to be the main leader. "Bella, please."

"Why don't you join us, baby?" He spoke in a slow drawl, tracing his eyes slowly up her figure as Bella hopped on the back of his bike. Rolling his eyes as Skylar sneered at him, he smirked back at her. "Ready, girly?"

She stepped towards the bike as it sped past her, hurt when Bella didn't even give a back look. Skylar glared at the remaining men as they tried the same antics as she headed up back towards Jessica.

"What the hell?" The shorter girl sputtered out, looking between Skylar and the bikers. "Is she crazy? What is she thinking?"

Skylar threw her hands up. "She isn't, okay? She is not thinking, that's the point."

"What do we do? I mean, do we call the cops? She actually went willingly with that psychopath!"

"Would you please just zip it for one second!" Skylar exclaimed, trying to keep calm. Her hand were shaking with the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Although she wouldn't admit to Jessica, she wasn't exactly one hundred percent sure what to make of the situation either. Calling Charlie seemed like the fastest and most sensible option, but would they be in time? Call a taxi to follow them?

Just as she had reached in her pocket – calling Charlie was the first issue she was going to tackle – she had all but dialed the first number when Bella came pacing back, hands stuffed in her pockets and keeping her gaze firm on her shoes.

She had barely made it within ten feet of the two girls when Skylar started. "Are you fucking crazy, Bella? What the hell are you thinking? Oh wait, you're not! I understand that you're in pain, but to run off like that with someone like that is so dangerous. Do you even realize what would've happened if you hadn't come back?"

Bella just continued to stare down, making Skylar sigh.

Jessica was about to start yelling to but stopped when Skylar held up her hand. "Just get in the car. Both of you. Let's go home and forget about this."

Their friend was long gone, probably causing drama with another person, when Skylar and Bella pulled up to their house. Both sat in the car for a moment, reflecting on the past half hour.

"I saw him," Bella whispered, still not looking at Skylar. "I saw Edward. I was just going to walk towards the bike, but he appeared out of nowhere and told me not to. I just wanted to see him again, so I kept going but I never met to cause any of this. And I know it sounds crazy but I just miss him so much."

Skylar sighed, but laid a hand on her sisters own. "Bells, I know you do. I know that you two did have something special, but you might have to accept the fact that he won't come back. It's hard to hear but it's the truth and someone has to say something. You're worrying us all, Bella. We can't let you keep living like this... It's not living!"

Bella sniffed, sounding as if she was holding back tears. "I know this Sky, I know. Even after everything I've tried, I can't get him out of my mind. It's like a part of me is missing."

"Then let's start small," Skylar reasoned. "Come with me to Jake's tomorrow, okay? Let's all just hang out together, like old times. Find something to do with the two of us. Okay?"

Her sister nodded, pushing the hair out of her face. "Alright. I, um, found some old dirt bikes a couple houses down. They're pretty out of shape but I think that Jake might be able to fix them."

"Okay!" She encouraged, feeling her heart tighten as Bella cracked a small smile. "We'll take them to his place and get to work."

Finally looking up, Bella gave Skylar the best smile she could. "I know it's been rough these past couple months, especially with me acting like this, but I can't thank you enough for doing this with me. I appreciate it, Sky. More than you know."

Skylar placed both hands on her twin's shoulders, making sure she caught her eye. "I will always be there for you Bella. No matter what, okay? We're sisters and we're always going to be. I love you. Now go inside and get some sleep."

Rubbing under her eyes, Bella nodded. "Night, Skylar."

Skylar watched as she left the car and headed quietly in the door. A couple minutes later, the light in Bella's room flickered on. Resting for just a second or two more, she eventually opened the door and headed towards the house as well.

Quietly closing the front door behind her, Skylar gave Charlie a tired smile as he looked at her from the couch. "What happened?"

"Bella just... I don't know, Dad," Skylar muttered, shaking her head. Not wanting to go through everything that went down, she kept it short. "I, uh, convinced her to head with me to Jake's place. It'll be good for her to get out."

Charlie closed his eyes in relief. "Thank you, Sky, so much." Skylar simply leaned down over him and pecked his cheek. "Night, Dad."

Skylar couldn't help but peek in Bella's room, closing the door quietly when she saw her lying in bed. Tomorrow would be a new day, and hopefully bring a new Bella.