Howling at the Stars

2

Considering all that had happened in the last year—my mom getting married, my sister moving up here, being kidnapped by vampires, being on speaking terms with Cullens—my summer and school year, the time I'd been taking to heal up, had been pretty uneventful. Over the next days, I wondered if we'd simply filled a quota of trouble for the year and our 18th birthday had marked the beginning of the next round of problems. And always, it centered around my baby sister Bella.

I woke up early the next morning, dressing lazily in a pair of jeans and loose orange blouse that brought out the highlights in my amber brown eyes. After a few seconds of frowning down at the sleeves—they ended just under my elbows and left my bite-scar open for everyone to see—I snatched up a thin red scarf, quickly folded it into three loops for a braid, and wound it around my wrist. Walking over to the mirror, I studied myself.

Not too bad. There was a yellow scarf that would have worked better, but, as it had been a gift from my mother, it was plugging up a crack in the wood around my only window. As I thought of it, I turned to study it, annoyed again at the bright cheery color. Then I shrugged and grabbed my backpack, throwing open my bedroom door to sprint loudly down the stairs.

I found Bella moping at the table, holding one arm close to her as she slowly at her bowl of cereal. Finding myself for once more awake then her, I practically danced around the kitchen, snatching everything I wanted for breakfast and tossing it on the table before finally shoving some bagels in the toaster.

"You look like you need coffee." I told my sister, glancing at her once before I turned to stare down into the toaster, watching the wires turn a hypnotic orange.

"No." She said softly. "It's a headache."

"Then take something." I grumbled: she sounded worried and I wanted no more involvement in whatever new drama she's gotten into. The last had gotten me two broken legs and, even worse, a visit to Phoenix.

Isabella sighed dramatically. I screamed and jumped as the toaster finished and I almost got a toasted bagel to the eye.

"Gen?" Bella asked me a minute later, watching me swear at a knife covered with clumpy cream cheese and a large chunk of bagel.

"What." I snapped. I smacked the bagel with the lump of cream cheese and then dropped the knife to pout at my sister.

"Will you drive?" She asked.

"Why." I shoved half the bagel in my mouth and frowned at the clock. Almost time to go.

"My... my arms a little sore, that's all." She stared down at her breakfast and refused to say anymore.

I drove the two of us to school in my car, an ugly white Chevy Cavalier with boredom engrained in every inch of its dingy existence. I glared at it in disgust, but then gave it a pat to apologize for making it carry such a lame passenger as Isabella. It seemed to accept the apology because it gave me no trouble on our journey.

I kept an eye on Bella whenever I could: Edward seemed distracted and I was still trying to figure out what exactly had gone wrong with her arm. So it was basically one long day of chatting with my friends while watching Isabella frowning at her arm. It was as I saw her check for the fifth time to see if he'd noticed her look of pain that I began to suspect he was somehow responsible for her injury. As I thought this, I saw Edward glance over at me and, seeing the look on my face as I watched my sister, he started watching her a bit more carefully.

And sure enough, the dick looked guilty.

After school I drove Isabella to her job, interrogating her about her day with no luck. She looked more worried than ever and my hints that she could tell me anything and that I'd noticed her boyfriend acting weird were met with only more silence. My sister got out of the car at the Newton's store, grabbed her bag, gave me a small smile of thanks before walking into work.