Chapter Text
Chapter One
“My darling.”
“My love.”
“Mio Caro.”
Their voices were distinct and familiar. They called to me urging me to find them but all I could see was darkness. The darkness frightened me but I followed the voices deeper, desperate to finally see who had been calling to me in my dreams every night since I had turned sixteen. MY heart beat erratically within me pulling me into the distance telling me the voices were much further away than I thought. It was like I’d never find them and that thought caused my heart to ache.
“Please! Where are you? I’m trying to find you!” I cried out, hands gripping the dark void around me.
There was no answer.
“Please.” I whispered brokenly.
A knock on the door to my attic bedroom shocked me awake, making me bolt upright in surprise. A quick glance at my bedroom window shows very little sunlight meaning Charlie has woken me up at the ass crack of dawn again which makes me let out a frustrated huff.
“Yeah?” I called out, untangling my limbs from the fifteen blankets piled high on my queen sized bed.
“I’m headed off to the station, kiddo. Another attack. I’ll be home late tonight so I wanted to let you know. Bells is still asleep.” Charlie yelled through the door, “I’ll see ya when I get home!”
I frown to myself, not liking the idea of him going out while these random attacks are still happening. They still hadn’t found whatever it was that was causing it and they were claiming it was some kind of animal. Something inside of me knew that it wasn't. MY instincts were screaming that whatever it was, was something far more sinister.
“Thanks for telling me. Have a good day and be safe!” I called back while climbing out of bed and heading for my dresser.
I had a feeling that something was going to happen today. Call it intuition or a gut feeling but I had them frequently and I had learned to trust it. I’ve been getting these feelings since I was ten years old and after the first few times it happened I learned to listen when it did. My body just had a way of knowing things.
“Please be safe.” I whispered a little quieter to myself so that he couldn't hear.
I grabbed a comfortable set of leggings and an overly large cream colored sweater to cover my curvier form and headed for the only bathroom in the tiny house that I shared with my uncle and my cousin. I tossed the clean clothes onto the vanity and avoided the mirror while I started the shower and undressed. I went about my morning routine as usual before drying myself off and throwing on my clean clothes. I left my white curly hair hanging damp and loose around my waist so that it could air dry and didn't bother with makeup. I rarely ever did.
I left the bathroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen that my uncle had recently let me redecorate. Now instead of the God awful colors his ex wife picked, the walls were a soft blue gray and the cabinets were an off white color. I had also chipped in to update the appliances using some of my inheritance I received form my parent estate when I turned eighteen last year. Charlie wanted to pay for everything himself but I reasoned that I used the kitchen more than he did and I was picking everything out so it was only fair that I help chip in. Even Bella loved the new kitchen which was surprising as she didn’t tend to like much where I’m concerned.
Bella was never directly mean to me but she always had this look on her face or a way of brushing me aside that made me feel horrible. We had been close as kids but it changed when my parents passed away when I was ten and I was sent to live with my uncle. Part of me wonders if she's jealous of the relationship I have with Charlie.
I may not call Charlie my dad but that’s what he is. He raised me, Taught me right from wrong, took me in when I had no one and nothing and loved me unconditionally. He even accepted me when I told him I’m pansexual. The man is a saint and his actual daughter treats him like a fucking leper. Their personalities are so similar that they clash and Bella had distanced herself from us, choosing instead to grow closer to her ex-boyfriend's family, the Cullens.
Doctor Cullen and his wife are kind souls but their children are a whole other story. I had never cared to meet Rosalie or Emmet. Jasper was polite but kept distance and had interacted with me maybe three times since they had moved to town. Alice was kind and bubbly but also creepy as hell with how she seemed to always know things just like me. I often thought about asking her about it but again, we were not close and almost never interacted. Edward was a complete douche and a controlling bastard and I hated his guts. I always got a bad feeling around him and had tried to warn my cousin only to be met with harsh resistance so I eventually gave up.
I was ecstatic to hear that he had left. My cousin deserted so much better than him. Bella may not be my favorite person but she’s family and I’d always protect family.
I shook off my thoughts and headed for the fridge to grab some eggs and the orange juice, mentally noting that I needed to go grocery shopping when I was done. I threw together a quick breakfast and ate then washed it down with my juice and put my dishes in the sink. I’d wash them later after Bella woke up and had her breakfast.
I decided to drop off some overdue library books and run some errands while I was out today before going to the store. I grabbed my keys and a raincoat from the hall closet and headed for the door after double checking for my phone and wallet. The books were already in my car because I was going to return them last week and kept forgetting. My fine had probably stacked up by now.
It didn't take me long to reach the small public library. I blushed scarlet red as the librarian scolded me for returning the books so late while she scanned my card to pay the forty dollar late fine. I wandered off to the back of the library to find the romance section. Romance happened to be my favorite genre and it helped satisfy my curious mind. I may be a nineteen year old virgin but I had a seriously dirty mind that most people didn’t know about. Only two people really knew my book tastes. One was the librarian and one was Charlie, who had choked on his beer and laughed awkwardly when he found out why I chose to read that particular genre.
I lifted an interesting looking book from the top shelf, struggling to reach it at my measly five foot five, and flipped it over to read the blurb.
Morally gray characters fall in love with an innocent but secretly dark girl who has a traumatic past. A reverse harem. Interesting.
I tucked the book into my arm and continued browning for another two hours, taking my time to pick out books I’d actually get around to reading before they were due. I ended up with five new books, all romance, and all of them a little more….steamy than what I normally go for. I was honestly shocked our little library even had them to be completely honest but I guess the tired old housewives of Forks, Washington have to get off somehow.
I left the library with my new selections, after a lecture about being on time and a nasty, judgmental glare for the crotchety old librarian, and headed to the second hand store to see if they had gotten any new clothing or trinkets I’d like. I didn’t often buy myself newer, nicer stuff, not really seeing the point. I didn’t have the right body type for today's beauty standards. I was on the shorter side and was heavier than most girls. My hips flared out, my thighs were large and I had a stomach. My best feature in my own opinion was my breasts. Even with my own low opinions about myself I found I liked that my boobs were bigger. It was the one feature about me that was almost never criticized by my peers.
I spent about two more hours scanning the racks and shelves of the shop, picking a few new items. I found an old book that looked interesting on myths and a couple of large dress shirts that didn't pull at the buttons around my chest when I tried them on.
After checking out and tossing my bags into the back seat of my little sedan I headed for the grocery store. When I parked I pulled my list from my pocket and did a quick scan of it then headed in and grabbed what was needed. By the time I was done and loading the food into the trunk it was afternoon. I was placing the last bag into the trunk when my gut twisted and I let out a small gasp.
Something’s wrong. Something happened. CHARLIE!
I ripped my phone from my pocket and scrolled my contacts frantically. I was about to hit the call button on Charlie’s contact when my phone started to ring and his name popped up on the screen.
I hit the answered button and put it to my ear frantically asking, “Uncle Charlie are you okay? What's wrong? What happened?”
There was a brief pause and I could hear shouting in the background before his shaky voice answered, “I’m alright sweetheart, but…”
“What’s wrong, Uncle Charlie? Who got hurt?” I asked, trying to sound calm. I knew something had happened. I knew someone was hurt and it had to be someone I knew if he was calling me.
“Harry Clearwater had a heart attack. We are on our way to the hospital but Soph, it’s not looking good.” He whispers and I can hear the fear and heartbreak in his voice.
Harry is one of his closest friends and the man had known him all of his life. Charlie would be devastated if he didn’t make it. He had already lost Waylon.
“I’ll be right there, just let me drop off the groceries and I’ll come to the hospital.” I answered as my heart beat harshly in my chest. I slammed the trunk closed and ran to the driver door of the car as he answered.
“No, sweetheart. I’d rather you stay home with Bella and keep an eye on her. I’ll be alright, Billy and Sue will be there. I want you girls to stay safe and stay together right now for my peace of mind, okay?” He said, his voice a little more demanding that it usually is when he speaks to me, letting me know he is being serious.
“Okay, I’ll have my phone on me if you need anything just call okay, uncle Charlie?” I say while putting my key into the ignition but waiting to start the car so I don’t get a lecture on driving while on the phone. Joys of having a police chief for an uncle.
“Love you kiddo, see you later. Stay safe.” He replied before hanging up.
I slipped my phone into my pocket and started the car before heading back home. When I get there I notice Bella’s truck isn’t in its usual spot, instead it's parked next to a sleek black Mercedes that looks familiar. I pull up and park in the driveway, quickly grabbing my bags and my groceries before heading into the house.
Before I’m even in the door I can hear shouts from three voices. I walk through to the kitchen and drop the bags on the floor then spin on my heel and head toward the voices. The shouting gets louder.
“I’ve never met anyone more prone to life threatening idiocy! Cliff diving Bella? In this weather?” The bell-like voice of Alice Cullen lectures as she stares down my sheepish looking cousin who is soaked head to toe and is shaking like a leaf.
“I wasn’t trying to kill my self Alice, I was doing it for fun. The boys at the rez do it all of the time.” Bella mumbled, shuffling from side to side on her feet as Jacob Black stood off to the side, glaring at the pixie who was glaring at Bella.
“Back off leech! You and your family left her. She is no longer your concern so why don't you just leave and go back to wherever it is you and your bloodsucking friends fled to!” Jacob growled, taking a threatening step toward Alice who turned her glare to him and hissed like a fucking cat.
I decided to speak up an asked, “Okay, what the actual fuck is going on and why are you in my house? Jacob shouldn't you be with Billy right now?” I asked, glancing at the young native boy who was still glaring at Alice and I turned my eyes to her and said, “Also, Cullen, why are you in our house? Your family did enough damage. You shouldn’t be here.”
Bella spun around and glared at me, “You don’t get to decide if she can be here or not, this isn’t your house! Butt out Sophia!”
I rose a brow at her and frowned, “Isabella I have watched you crumble into your self for months, shutting out you father and neglecting your own heath from a crippling depression caused by that family, by her idiotic brother. Also, I live here. I have lived here for nearly ten years and I have just as much say in who can come into this house as you do. After the pain they have caused you I don’t want them anywhere near you.”
Her glare narrowed and turned hardened as her pale cheeks flushed red, “You don’t get to decide that for me! I’m eighteen and I can decide for myself who I do and don’t spend time with and Alice is my friend, so again, butt the hell out!”
I threw my hands in the air and let out a bitter laugh before spinning back around and heading for the kitchen to put my groceries away, knowing if I stayed shit was going to go down and I’d say things I couldn’t take back.
I started putting the food away, trying to ignore the hurt and irritation I was feeling from Bella insinuating that this wasn't my home as much as it was hers. I’ve spent more of my life here than she did. Screw that! SCREW HER!
Jake came in a minute later and started helping me put the food away but took a break to answer the phone when it rang just as I was putting the last bag away.
“Hello?” Jake asked before his tone turned harsher, “What the hell do you want? No, Charlie isn’t here right now. He’s busy planning a funeral.”
Jake scoffed and glared at the phone before hanging it back onto the hook.
I grabbed my bags with my books and my new clothes from the floor and moved past Jake to head upstairs to my room to put them away. There was more shouting and as I reached the top of the attic stairs a cold grip wrapped around my wrist and spun me around.
I came face to face with a frantic looking Alice who was breathing rather harshly while rushing out, “Sophia I need you to pack a bag and grab your passport. Hurry please! Something happened and we need to go now! We need your help! Bella needs your help!”
My brows furrowed in confusion as a familiar feeling settles in my stomach and I huff, “Why? Why should I help you or Bella? She’s made it clear that this is none of my business.”
“We don’t have time! Edward is about to do something stupid and we are going to stop him! If you don’t come, something bad is going to happen! Please! I need your help, I promise you’ll get an explanation!” She pleaded, pushing me kind of harshly toward my bedroom door before spinning around to probably do the same thing to Bella.
I grunted but did as she asked, grabbing my passport from my document safe, a small bag of clothes and a couple of my books. I really didn’t want to get involved in Bella’s drama but I promised Charlie I’d stay with her and my instincts were telling me to listen and follow like something important was going to happen.
I pulled out my phone and sent Charlie a text while I made my way down stairs only to be met with the sight of Jake pleading with Bella to stay and Alice bouncing on her feet impatiently while glaring at him.
Alice met my gaze and let out a relieved sigh before grabbing both Bella and I and dragging us out to her car. Bella dove into the front passenger seat and I climbed into the back then buckled up.
“Bella, please! Stay for me! Stay for Charlie!” Jake pleased, looking like a kicked puppy who had its favorite bone taken away.
“I’m sorry, Jake. I love him. I have to do this.” She whispered before Alice tore out of the driveway and sped off in the direction of Seattle.