*
Sophie awoke a few hours later, lying across an unfamiliar sofa. Panic filled her as she stared up at the ceiling, realizing that she didn't know where she was. Sophie tried to think back on how she could have gotten here and nearly shot off the couch when she remembered.
Jacob was a werewolf. The Quileute legends were true.
"Sophie." Bella's voice called out to her and she looked over to the doorway where her sister stood. Bella approached her, arms crossed in front of her chest. "How are you feeling?"
"Where are we?" She asked instead, pushing herself into a sitting position. Her head swam for a moment, her stomach churning violently as it growled. She hadn't eaten much in the past two days and it was beginning to catch up to her.
"Sam Uley's house." Bella answered, holding a hand out to Sophie to help her stand. Sophie leaned against her sister for a moment, walking behind her as she moved to the kitchen. She sighed unhappily, not pleased about being around Sam.
All of Sam's boys sat at the kitchen table, including Paul and Jacob. A woman Sophie had never seen before stood next to Sam. Sophie tried to not stare at her, but the long scar running down her beautiful face made it difficult.
The woman's eyes landed on Sophie and her expression turned sympathetic. She left Sam's side to grab a plate and held it in front of her. "Here, eat something. I'm Emily."
Sophie eyed the muffins on the plate, hesitantly reaching out to grab one. Emily sat the plate back down. "Are you feeling okay? You were out for a while."
"I'm fine." She mumbled, nibbling on the muffin. It was a really good muffin and Sophie had to stop herself from taking a large bite. "Just a little shocked."
"Sophie." Jacob spoke to her next. He stood before nodding towards the door. "Walk with me."
She stood, taking another muffin with her as she went and followed Jacob out of the door. Silence stretched between them as they walked and Sophie continued to eat. They walked towards the beach, Sophie's eyes focused on the land around them instead of her friend.
"I'm really sorry, Soph." Jacob finally broke the silence as Sophie took her final bite. "I shouldn't have pushed you away like that."
"You shouldn't have." She agreed, still hurt that he did. "You know how much you mean to me, Jake."
"I know. I felt awful but now you know why I couldn't tell you what was going on." He grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "It wasn't my secret to tell."
She nodded, pursing her lips. "I understand. And it's okay, but if it happens again, I will literally kill you."
He wrapped her in a tight hug and Sophie felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had her best friend back and she felt as if everything was right in the world again.
Until it wasn't.
Fate was a cruel thing. The world was a cruel place. Sophie had finally been doing okay. She was gaining weight and in a good place mentally now. She was eating full, nutritious meals and enjoying her friends and her life.
Sophie was becoming friends with the wolf pack and Emily. Emily acted like a mother to her most of the time, making sure that she was content and eating something, but Sophie found that she really didn't mind. She enjoyed being taken care of, especially because it had been so long since she'd let anyone actually do it.
Unfortunately, Victoria was still after her sister. Jacob and the pack had been on the watch for her for a few days now, always guarding the forest throughout the day. The consequences showed themselves soon enough when Harry Clearwater died of a heart attack a few days later.
It had happened when he was in the woods with her father, hunting the same wolves that were hunting the murderous vampire.
Sophie was devastated. Harry was a very close family friend. Him and Charlie were hunting buddies, which meant he was over at their house a lot throughout the fall season. Fate was a cruel thing and it had cruel tricks.
To make it worse, Bella was nowhere to be found. Jacob had gone off to look for her, leaving Sophie alone with her thoughts. She was curled up on the couch in her home, too numb to feel anything besides the tear marks on her cheeks.
Her dad was at the Clearwater house, most likely trying to figure out what to do now. Sophie's heart clenched in her chest and she let out a choked sob, as she buried her face into her blanket.
She heard the front door open and sniffed quietly. She was glad someone was home now, though she wasn't sure if it was her dad or Bella. Sophie sat up, rubbing her eyes with her hands as she walked toward the door.
She frowned at the empty room, wondering where they went. Perhaps everyone was drained from the day's events and went to bed. Sophie sighed and turned, ready to get back to the couch.
Her heart nearly jumped out of her mouth when she saw Alice Cullen standing behind her. "Alice?!"
"Sophie!" She wrapped the girl in a tight hug and Sophie frowned as she returned it, wondering why she was there. "Where's Bella?"
"I don't know?" She said, giving Alice a look. The girl looked slightly panicked. "Why?"
"She - I saw..." She shook her head, stopping herself from speaking. "Have you heard from her?"
"Not since this afternoon." Sophie told her, still confused as to why Alice was there. "What'd you see?"
Alice sighed, guiding Sophie to the couch to sit down. "I have visions. It's my gift as a vampire. I saw Bella-" she looked cautiously at Sophie. "She jumped off a cliff."
"A cliff?!" Sophie's exclaimed, feeling her heart start to race in her chest. Nothing was making sense. Harry was dead, Alice could see the future, Bella jumped off a cliff. "Where? When?"
"Earlier today, somewhere close to La Push." Alice said, squeezing Sophie's hand.
No. There was no way Bella would try to kill herself. She'd been happier now, or at least Sophie thought she was. No - Sophie knew her sister. She wouldn't do it to kill herself.
"She was cliff jumping." Sophie whispered. "A lot of people do it, for fun."
Alice huffed, shaking her head. "Cliff jumping? You guys can't do something normal, like shopping?"
Sophie breathed out a laugh as she tried to calm her racing mind. Alice sighed again, noticing how Sophie looked healthier. She smiled to herself. The front door opened again and Bella rushed into the living room. "Alice?"
"Bella!" The two embraced tightly. "You jumped off a cliff! I have never met anymore more prone to life-threatening idiocy!"
Sophie sat back against the couch as the two friends reunited. Bella stared at Alice with wide eyes. "Did you... did you tell him?"
"No." Alice's expression turned soft. "He only calls every few months. He said he wants to be alone."
Sophie watched as Bella deflated once more. Maybe her sister wasn't as happy as she thought. Maybe she was still broken after Edward's departure.
"What is that God-awful wet dog smell?" Alice scrunched her nose and the two sisters shared a look.
"Is Jacob here?" Sophie asked, shooting Alice a look.
"He's outside." At Alice's curious stare, Sophie spoke again. "He's a werewolf."
"A werewolf? Really?" She looked absolutely disgusted. "Werewolves are not good company to keep."
As much as Sophie liked Alice, she felt herself growing irritated with the vampire. She didn't know Jacob and she had no reason to speak of her best friend like that. "He's great company to have."
"I am pretty great." She didn't even hear him come in, but now Jake was standing by the front door, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were on Sophie. "I wanted to make sure you two were safe."
Sophie smiled at him as Alice glared, looking slightly offended. "I'm not going to hurt them!"
"No." He scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "You're just a harmless Cullen. We're talking about the other bloodsucker who tried to kill her because of you."
"Victoria?" She asked in disbelief, turning back to Bella. "She's here? I didn't see her. I can't see past you and your pack of mutts."
"Back off!" Sophie shot off the couch and moved to Jake's, seeing that he was beginning to get angry. She shot Alice a pointed look. "Jacob hasn't done anything wrong. Leave him out of this."
She pursed her lips, studying Jacob closely before heading towards the door. "I'll give you a moment."
"You're coming back, right?" Bella stepped forward, looking worried.
Alice nodded. "As soon as you put the dog out."
Sophie curled her hand into a fist as Alice left, leaving the three in silence. Jacob squeezed Sophie's shoulder in an attempt to calm her while he looked to Bella. "Is he?"
"No." She shook her head. "It's just Alice. And she can stay as long as she'd like."
"Well are they coming back?" Jacob asked, obviously worried that Edward would be here soon. Sophie felt bad for him.
"Not that I know of." She raised a brow. "Is that all you wanted to know?"
Sophie watched as her friend clenched his jaw. "That's it."
"Well then you might as well run back to Sam." She shot at him and now it was Bella that Sophie was getting mad at. Jacob had done so much for the younger Swan after Edward left and Sophie was not going to let her begin to treat him like crap.
"Stop acting like a child, Bella." She crossed her arms as the phone rang. Bella rolled her eyes, allowing Jacob to pick up the phone.
"He's not here right now." Jacob's voice was low. "He's planning a funeral."
"Who was that?" Bella asked when he hung up the phone. "Who was that, Jake?"
"Always in the way." He growled. Sophie stepped up to him, grabbing him arm to attempt to calm him. His muscles tensed under her hand but she felt him relax minutely.
"What?" She cried. "Why didn't you let me talk to him!"
"He didn't ask for you!" He argued.
"Bella!" Alice was back in the house, looking frightened as she grabbed her shoulders. "It's Edward! He thinks you're dead. Rosalie told him why I was here."
Sophie watched the scene unfold in front of her. Bella was gripping the table, looking as if she might break down any second. Alice took a deep breath. "He's going to the Volturi. He wants to die too."
***
We're so close!!
Pleuvoirx
edited 6.21.2021