Masquerade of Life (Caius Volturi )

Chapter 3

Bella

Bella was not really feeling up to "sister time" as her sister called it, liquored eggnog or not. She couldn't tell Claire the reason why she was feeling like she did, and even if she could Claire wouldn't understand. Her little sister was a nice person, no question about that, but from what Bella knew she had never had a boyfriend, never loved for real.

Not that it mattered anyway – any boyfriend Claire would have in the future or past wouldn't be... him.

Just as she thought that, she thought she saw something by the window. Something that looked very much like... But as she blinked it was gone again.

"Now," her sister said as she opened the ice cream container and scooped some into her mouth, "tell me what's really going on here."

Bella sighed. Why did Claire have to ask that? Why did she just have to try and fix Bella? Bella did her best after all! For Charlie's sake and now Claire's too. Couldn't they just be content with that?

"I can't tell you," Bella said with a deep sigh. "And besides, you wouldn't believe me anyway."

Claire shook her head, making some of the black colored strands of her bob cut fall down her face. She stroke them away with a manicured hand, the ice blue color of her nail polish matching her eyes, so different from Bella's own.

"You don't know that!" Claire said, smiling a bit. "Come on, try me!"

Bella just scoffed under her breath, tears burning behind her eyelids. She couldn't. It wasn't allowed. Sighing loudly she took a sip from the eggnog her sister had brought, wincing a bit as it really was strong.

Suddenly she saw something out of the corner of her eye again, turning hear gaze toward the window. And there he was. Just as if he had just climbed in through her window like he did back then.

A gasp tore from her throat and she couldn't hear anything more of what Claire said, not feel her hand on top of her own. Edward...

Edward was scowling at her, as if she had done something to annoy him but... What could that be? He was the one who left!

When Claire turned toward the window and apparently didn't see anything. Bella shook her head a little and Edward was gone. He wasn't there... It was just a hallucination. Maybe because I actually thought about bringing him up... Does speaking about something make it more real? Bella wondered.

If she broke this long silence about the Cullen's, the supernatural world she had fallen into... Would she see more of Edward?

She missed him so much, it was like having a big hole inside her chest every minute of every day. Even a vision of Edward was better than that... It had to mean that it was real – what they had was real. He couldn't leave her even if he left her. They belonged together.

Bella smiled, a real smile for the first time in months. Then she took a deep breath, turning to Claire.

"Do you believe in the supernatural, Claire?"

Claire raised her eyebrows before answering. "You mean like, psychic abilities? Or as in Bigfoot, haunting and possession?"

Bella frowned. Claire watched way too many horror movies, but unfortunately she didn't believe in the ones that Bella would have needed her to believe in.

"No, not really those. I meant more ... I think it's best if I take this from the beginning. Just, please don't interrupt until I'm done, okay?"

Claire frowned and Bella noticed that she was fiddling with her cuticles – something Claire always did when she got nervous, just like Bella's nervous habit was biting her lip.