Interminable E. Cullen

Chapter 22

Ophelia's body radiated with warmth. 

Despite her awful start to the day, her sister's happiness filled her body with so much love and appreciation. 

Jacob Black was an awkward teenager. But then again, so was Isabella Swan. So while Bella tried desperately to make her sister feel included in her and Jacob's friendship and inside jokes, Ophelia just really wanted to relax and bask in the thought of her sister feeling at ease. 

For the first hour or so at La Push, Bella refused to leave Ophelia's side, determined to make sure she felt comfortable and welcome. It took Ophelia what felt like forever to detach her sister from her hip and reassure her that the anxiety had subsided for the time being, instead deciding to sit on the patio while Bella and Jake talked mechanical things in his garage. 

Ophelia still felt tired. The kind of tired that came after a mental battle. The kind that sucked the emotion and energy from her entire being. As happy as she was hearing her sister's laughter, it didn't completely make up for the loss she felt in her heart. 

Wrapped up in a thick blanket she rocked back and forth in a chair, listening to the waves crash in the distance and the soft pelt of rain against the roof. Kingsley feel asleep at her feet, keeping his body weight on top of her freezing toes like he did at home. 

The silence that surrounded her little cocoon was welcoming, her eyes remaining closed as she tried her best to push away any thought that could enter her mind. 

Billy Black on the other hand was very intrigued by the small girl. Sure, there were many times when he came over to watch the baseball games, but usually she'd hide away when anyone came over. And after Charlie started sharing their special radio tradition of listening instead of watching, Billy no longer had a need to come over for that. 

"You know I got the heater cranked up real good in here if you're cold," he spoke from the other side of the screen door. He watched as Ophelia's face turned into a small smile, eyes still closed. 

"Yes, but the rain is out here." 

Billy agreed, coming outside and parking his wheel chair a few feet away from her. Kingsley's head moved up to look at him with sleepy eyes before moving back down with a grunt. He never did like being woken up. 

"I was going to go down to the beach earlier, but the water was too angry today," Ophelia said quietly, not wanting to interrupt her calm state of mind.  

The older man laughed at that, knowing exactly what she meant. "Ah, yes. Troubling times. Do you think she felt for you?" 

Ophelia shook her head. "She has her own battles just as I have mine. We just happened to be on the same page today." 

The water at the beach had indeed been very aggressive when they arrived. Smashing angrily at the sand and roaring back like a tight rubber band, ready to snap again. The clouds above had become dark and stormy, as if to argue with the frustrated water below. 

Billy and Ophelia sat in silence, enjoying the rain and sharing stories. Him telling her some of the legends and her sharing her thoughts back. She had such an open mind. Constantly absorbing the information and never responding right away, often times not saying anything for several minutes so that she could take it in and form a proper response. 

That night when Ophelia lay in bed cuddled up with Kingsley, Bella mentioned going to the movies with some friends. She told her that Jacob would be there and she wouldn't feel alone. Ophelia still declined, pushing aside her blankets for Bella to get in the bed with her. 

And just like every other night, whether she were staying in the room with Ophelia or not, Bella would walk over to the window. 

She'd glare angrily outside as if Edward himself were in the treeline watching before closing the window that Ophelia always left open, remembering to lock it angrily to ensure his sorry self couldn't come crawling back and hurt her sister more. 

Yet every night when Bella finally fell asleep, Ophelia would go over and unlock in just in case.