𝑨𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒎𝒂 ︳𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

𝐈: 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞

She didn't want to start off her gap year on a sour note, choosing to agree, albeit reluctantly. "Yeah, I suppose so."

They didn't have much more to speak about, the conversation shifting to her upcoming flight. In just three hours, she'd be home, back in the embrace of Forks eternal grayness.

←✥→

As the taxi pulled up to the familiar, yet somehow different, Swan residence, Juliette's heart thudded with a mix of excitement and nervousness. She stepped out, her eyes scanning the front porch where Bella stood, almost as if mirroring Juliette's apprehension.

For a moment, they simply looked at each other, each taking in how the years had changed the other. Bella had grown; no longer was she the little girl in Juliette's fragmented memories, but rather, she stood there as someone who had lived a whole segment of life that Juliette knew nothing about.

"Bella," Juliette finally broke the silence, her voice softer than she intended.

"Juliette," Bella replied, with a small, uncertain smile.

There was a brief, hesitant pause before Juliette took a step forward, her arms opening slightly-an invitation rather than a presumption. Bella moved at the same time, and they found themselves in an awkward yet sincere embrace, the kind that speaks volumes of the years lost and the hope of years to be reclaimed.

"It's been too long," Juliette whispered, surprised at the emotion welling up inside her.

"Yeah, too long," Bella agreed, her voice muffled against Juliette's shoulder.

As they stepped back, there was a shy awkwardness in the air. This was new territory for both, a opportunity to discover the sister each barely knew.

Bella looked, for lack of a better term, rough. She seemed withered away, more than just tired, but truly exhausted. Dark circles under her eyes, limp hair, and she felt frail in Juliette's arms. The guilt from Juliette's last conversation with her father stung behind her eyes.

Taking another look over her sister, she attempted to bridge the unease. "Your hair's shorter."

"Is it? I think it's grown out since the last time we saw each other." Bella halfheartedly tugged the ends of her hair as she spoke.

"Right," Juliette clicked her tongue, nodding. "So, um, done anything fun lately?"

She immediately cringed, remembering the reason behind Bella's haggard appearance.

Bella didn't seem to notice. "I was just telling dad that I'm going shopping tomorrow with a friend."

Juliette couldn't help but feel the gap growing between them. She didn't even know Bella enjoyed shopping now. During one of their last visits, the girl had seemed vehemently against any form of retail therapy. They had filled that day with a long lunch and a quick goodbye instead.

"I'd invite you, but it's with a friend from school."

Ouch. The implied rejection stung, though Juliette hoped her discomfort didn't show.

She forced out a laughed instead, "I get it. I'll probably be too busy unpacking anyway."

They both glanced down at the single carry-on duffel the elder sister had brought with her.

"And, uh, you know maybe shopping- actually not shopping, but reorganizing my stuff." She couldn't stop, hands moving haphazardly in front of her. "Because, you know, there's clothes in my room. That's why I packed light."

Bella nodded her head, avoiding Juliette's gaze. "Right, yeah, I get it."

They exchanged near identical half-smiles.

"Dad's not here, he's at work." Bella told her, nodding to the driveway that was missing the usual police cruiser.

Juliette pursed her lips, "I know, he told me he was doing the night shift. We talk daily."

The sharp unintended slight visibly affected Bella.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way." Juliette apologized, softening her tone. "Do you, um, have any dinner plans?"

It was a clumsy attempt to change the subject, exploiting Bella's inability to decline.

The two didn't linger outside after that, entering the house after a brief confrontation of "you first, no you first" standoff at the door.

As the Swan sisters experienced their first day together in years, Juliette couldn't shake the nagging sense of foreboding anxiety that this awkwardness might be the best it would ever be between them.

⁂  

Juliette after she talks to bella: