Bones [Volturi Kings]

0.4

*

4 months later

Sophie rubbed her tired eyes, nearly crying when she heard Bella screaming once again. With a glance at her clock, she saw that it was just past two in the morning. It had been like this for months - Bella suffered from night terrors and in turn, would wake the whole house with horrendous screams.

Sophie blamed Edward. And with that, grew an unadulterated hate for the boy.

With a groan, Sophie pushed herself up from the bed, her tired muscles protesting from every move she took. Her sister's own troubles hadn't made Sophie's any better - the stress from the situation was making things worse for everyone.

It made her hate Edward even more - now Charlie had two daughters to worry over and he didn't deserve that.

When Sophie made it to the hall, she caught her father as he reached the top of the stairs. She shook her head at him, crossing her frail arms over her chest. "Go back to bed. I've got it."

Charlie could see the dark circles under her eyes even without light but he nodded his head anyway. Both of his daughters were stubborn but Sophie was ten times worse than his youngest. "Tomorrow night, I get her. You need to sleep."

"What do you think I do during the day?" She tried to joke, but the look Charlie gave her said he knew she didn't sleep. She did everything but sleep. "Fine. Now go to bed."

She disappeared into Bella's room, leaning against the doorway for a moment as she watched her sister. Sophie's heart broke as she watched Bella toss and turn, her hand resting over her chest as she let out another scream.

Sophie rushed over to her, gathering her into her arms as she rocked her. She kissed the top of her sister's head, smoothing her hair down with bony fingers as she shushed her. "It's okay, Bells. You're okay. I've got you."

*

When Sophie awoke, it was nearly one in the afternoon. She sat up, still in Bella's room and stretched as she looked around. She never really saw Bella's room in the day since she was only in there at night to comfort her and usually was back in her bed when she left for school.

She appreciated that they let her sleep in.

She stood from the bed, looking around her sister's room as she did. It was clean for the most part. Nothing was out of place aside from the messy bed, which Sophie fixed quickly. As she turned to leave, she noticed a piece of paper taped to her bedside table. When she looked closer, she realized it was a picture - a picture that was clearly a photo of Bella and Edward, though her sister had creased herself out of it.

Sophie nearly picked it up to fold it back into place but decided against it. She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, shaking her head at the photo as she walked out of Bella's room and made her way downstairs.

It had been a rough couple of months for everyone in the house. The first month after the Cullens' left, Bella hadn't spoken to anyone. She hardly ate the first week, which had Sophie tense and on edge. She practically begged her sister that entire week to eat, praying that this wouldn't send her into Sophie's reality. 

It was a relief to everyone when she finally started eating again.

Besides leaving the house for school, Bella locked herself in her room constantly. Sometimes the two would see her at meals but most of the time, Bella took her food upstairs. Sophie couldn't stand to be in the house a lot of the time that Bella was there, as terrible as that was. She was spending most of her time with Jacob. Her best friend from inpatient, Jennifer, was supposed to be out in a few weeks, so she hoped to make time to see her as well.

Sophie grabbed a banana when she was downstairs, eating it slowly as she sat at the kitchen table. She had a glass of water beside her, her dainty fingers gently gliding over the glass. She had told Jake that she'd drive down to La Push that day, but she was thinking about going back to sleep.

Charlie was right - she needed to sleep.

The little weight she had gained during inpatient had shed off and she was back to where she was before she was admitted. The stress of taking care of Bella wasn't helping her condition. She felt bad for failing on her promise to her family.

A part of her really wanted to get better, to be a normal girl and finish college and fall in love. But the sick part of her brain told her it wasn't worth it unless she was skinny. She hated that she believed it.

Suddenly upset with herself, Sophie set down her half-eaten banana and started back up the stairs. She collapsed onto her bed when she reached her room, curling under the blankets as she closed her eyes.

Charlie and Bella were both home when she woke up that evening. The smell of food wafted into her nose and she breathed it in, her mouth watering as she made her way down the stairs. The two were sitting in the kitchen, Charlie at the stove and Bella at the table. Neither of them said a word, leaving the room tense.

Sophie sat down beside her sister, shooting her sister a small smile. Bella didn't even look at her.

Charlie served dinner quickly and the three of them ate in silence. Sophie tried to ignore the calculator in her head as she stared at her plate of meat and vegetables. The food felt dry in her mouth but she continued to eat it.

Charlie cast looks to Bella every once in a while, obviously wanting to say something to her. Sophie helped with dishes that night, trying to ignore the growing tension between Bella and her father.

When Bella went to bed that night, Sophie stopped Charlie to speak with him. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What was with you tonight?"

"What?" He asked, his eyes barely straying from the game that was on tv.

She rolled her eyes. "You and Bella. What are you going to say to her?"

He looked at her now, raising his own brows. "How do you know I'm going to say anything to her?"

"Oh, please." Sophie smiled at her dad, bumping his shoulder with her own. "You're not very subtle."

Charlie sighed, turning the tv off now and Sophie paused. Charlie hardly ever turned off a game. He turned towards her and Sophie finally saw how stressed and tired he was. His brown eyes were tired, bags beginning to form under them. His shoulders sagged as he rubbed the crease lines on his forehead.

"I'm going to send Bella to Jacksonville, with your mom. I-." He sighed again, locking eyes with his oldest daughter. "I can't handle it anymore."

Sophie moved to wrap her arms around her dad, burying her face in his neck. She felt her heart break again, felt tears sting the back of her eyes. "I'm so sorry, dad. Really."

Charlie didn't say anything. He only wrapped his arms around his daughter in return.

***

So, this chapter is mainly a filler. I'm really trying to get the story rolling, but New Moon takes foreverrrrrrrr

pleuvoirx

edited 6.21.2021