It's been a year since Tatum and her family moved to Forks and the only way to celebrate it is with a whole bunch of unneeded drama. But then again, who doesn't like a little bit of drama?
An unknown stalker, reunited best friend, a loving nephew...
Bella wasn't taking anything well. She had been staying away from school for a solid two weeks. Tatum had an inkling that Edward's conversation didn't go too well. It was getting really annoying about how badly this affected her. Edward told her the same thing, right?
Tatum was on her way to Bella's house after a late-night call from Mr. Swan after she had another night-terror. She had no clue how bad this was for her until Mr. Swan told her it was a daily thing. She parked her bronco and fixed her clothes.
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She knocks on the front door and waits for an answer. She peeks around the front door to the open window and sees Mr. Swan sprawled out on their living room couch. She knocks on the window and laughs as he bounces up. The Sheriff unlocks the door and lets her in.
"She's upstairs, knock before going in please," he says, pointing to the direction of Bella's room. Tatum nods and hurries up the stairs to Bella's bedroom. She knocks like she was advised before entering. There Bella was, lying on her bed, facing away from her.
She looked pathetic. It was horrible how badly she was reacting to the situation.
"Get your ass up," Tatum says, ripping the blanket off Bella'sbody. "We're going out."
●○●
There the two of them sat.
Not talking.
Not doing anything.
It had been a half-hour drive to La Push just to go to the River's Edge restaurant for dinner. The whole way there, Tatum had observed the way Bella reacted to certain music on the radio. She stayed cold-stone during pop music, teared up at sad music, flinched at rock music, and cringed at country music.
"So, let's get down to it," Tatum says, folding her arms onto the table after taking a sip of her coffee. "Why're you acting like this?"
"Like what?"
"Bella, I may be blonde but I'm not an idiot. I have a 4.0 GPA and I was in the 89th percentile for the SAT," Tatum says. "Also, I can smell bullshit from a mile away."
"Fine, what do you want to know?"
"Why are you taking their leaving so hard?" Tatum asks, looking at Bella.
"The better question is why you aren't as affected," Bella says, leaning back in her seat with a frown.
"Nope, you answer first," Tatum says, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Edward told me he didn't love me and then left. Everything was a lie."
Tatum's eyes widen and she quickly comes up with a lie.
"Jasper did the same."
"Then why aren't you sad?" Bella asks, sitting up straighter.
"Because I know my worth," Tatum says, leaning towards Bella. "You should realize yours too because it's way more than what you're making it out to be."
●○●
The drive home was filled with small talk about their 'past' relationship with the vampire boys. It made Bella realize that she didn't have to feel good and relaxed only around Edward. The way she felt near Tatum was the same. She felt supported.
"So, when did Jasper tell you they were leaving?" Bella suddenly brings up. Tatum sighs and looks back to the road.
"Same day Edward told you, but during lunch. He took me to the cemetery and said he didn't want me to follow him," Tatum lies. Of course, her phone rings and she looks at it quickly. Dad. She picks it up and puts it on speakerphone. "Hi, dad! Just a warning, I have company in the car."
"Hey, sweetie. Uhm, are you almost home?"
"Yeah, I'm about five minutes from Bella's then I'll-"
"Bella Swan? Charlie's daughter?" her dad asks.
"Yep, but then I'll be home."
"Okay, just be careful. Deer are really out tonight," Mr. Fernsby says.
"Will do, bye dad."
"Buh-bye," he says, hanging up soon after.
Silence overcomes the car as the last couple of minutes tick by. Bella speaks up when she finally sees her house come into view.
"Are you and your dad really close?"
"Uh, we were. The thing with Bailey kind of tore us apart but we're working on it. My mom and I...not so much," Tatum says, parking her car in Bella's driveway.
"I'm sorry," Bella says, opening the door and hopping out.
"It's alright, one day it'll become a new normal."
"But you're going through so much. Bailey, Avery, your parents, Jasper...I would've been crushed from all that pressure," Bella says, pulling her jacket tighter.
"Bella?"
"Yeah, I'll go now."
●○●
Tatum walks into her room and strips from her clothes. She grabs a pair of undies and shorts before slipping them on. She goes through her dresser before finding the sweatshirt. Jasper's only sweatshirt. He had given it to her at 4 a.m. the morning that they left. She puts it on before going to the family bathroom.
She grabs a makeup wipe and removes the makeup on her face. She looks at her bare face and notices a decent-sized pimple on the side of her face. She groans and puts some acne cream on it. She grabs a washcloth and runs it under cold water and scrubs her face with it. She looks at her face once more. She looked tired.
Heading back to her room, Tatum found a sleepy little toddler laying on her bed. She tucks him in and heads over to her body mirror and looks at herself. She grabs her phone and absentmindedly types in the number on her mind.
