𝐄𝐔𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

Sabrina gasped as she snapped back into the disoriented haze of reality.

"Bella," she rasped as Alice and Rosalie supported her collapsing frame with their stone cold bodies.

Edward was there in an instant, having caught a piece of her thoughts as she briefly left her mind exposed.

"Where?" Edward asked, his body tense, jaw clenched and his eyes darker than the midnight sky.

"Port Angeles. Ne-Near- Near some bookstore. Th-Thunderbird and Whale I think," Sabrina informed.

And then he was gone and the girl was left heaving for breath before a vision of Edward and Bella driving away from an awestruck group of perverted men flashed before her eyes and eased her mind.

Sabrina sunk into the smooth marble of Alice's arms, tears springing to her eyes. Feeling her distress, Jasper focused on calming her down as Alice rubbed her back, holding her close and whispering comforting words in her ears.

"Shhh. It's okay. It's over. Bella's safe."

Sabrina nodded, her heartbeat calming. The girl sighed in relief, pushing herself back up into a sitting position and looking at all the concerned faces before her.

"I swear, that girl is going to be the death of me."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Later that night, while Sabrina lay soundly asleep in her bed, Bella arrived home to see Charlie having dinner in the kitchen.

"Oh, hey, Dad," she greeted, deciding to hold off on digging into researching the book she got and deciding to seize the opportunity to ask Charlie about Sabrina.

"Hey, how was dress shopping?" Charlie asked.

"Uh, it was... cool," she replied awkwardly.

Charlie nodded.

"Where's Sabrina?" She inquired.

"Asleep. She was at the Cullens' place most of the night," He said.

Bella nodded.

"She seems like she's doing better."

"Yeah. S'ppose she is," Charlie replied shortly.

Bella smiled. Her dad grew up in Missouri with his sister and their parents and, even after all this time, he still had that slight southern accent — the same accent that Sabrina also tended to slip in and out of from time to time, having also grown up in Missouri with Charlie's parents.

A beat of awkward silence passed.

"Hey, can I ask you something... about Sabrina?"

"Sure," Charlie said, taking a bite of his food.

"What happened to Bianca? You know... her sister?" Bella tried to ask as casually as possible while moving to pour herself some water, "I thought she and Sabrina were living with Grandma and Grandpa in Missouri?"

Bella noticed the subtle way that Charlie's shoulders tensed, and the way he casually played it off by shifting in his seat.

Charlie paused, taking a swig of his beer.

"That's uh... that's a long story, Bella," he told her, curious as to why she suddenly wanted to know.

"I've got time," Bella told him, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Charlie sighed, dropping his knife and fork onto his plate.

"Well, uh, yeah, Sabrina and her brother, Benny, were living with your grandparents. That was the arrangement, anyway."