𝑨𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒎𝒂 ︳𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

𝐈𝐈: 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬

𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 

𝑰 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔

⁂

The once familiar homely atmosphere of the Swan home had evaporated, leaving a palpable sense of estrangement in its wake.

Juliette had heard that returning home after a long absence might feel awkward, that the spaces that were once hers would seem altered. She was unprepared, however, to feel like an intruder in her own home. She felt like a stranger, lurking in the hallway sometimes. Especially when she would linger near Bella's inhabited room. Hovering outside of the room, she was caught in a limbo of wanting to connect and being shut out.

She had braced herself for potential sibling rivalry upon her return, half-expecting Bella to mimic what some sort of alpha female posturing that Juliette had observed among her university peers. But Bella's approach- or rather, lack of response, was more disconcerting.

Their matching doe eyes, so similar to her own shape and color, would meet from across the hall. When their gazes met, hers would only fill with a dispassionate fog, devoid of warmth or curiosity, and that would be it.

"Where are you off to?" Charlie Swan's voice pierced into Juliette's thoughts.

They were sat together at the dining table- one that once sat two but now had a third mismatched chair pulled up. Juliette suppressed the childish impulse to reclaim 'her seat' from Bella.

Bella looked up from her plate, eyes wide. "Oh, I'm hanging out with Jacob again."

"Jacob Black?" Juliette interjected, remembering the face of a chubby cheeked pre-teen who would follow his dad to their house.

They both ignored her, Charlie looked far more excited than she would have expected.

He nodded to himself, seeming proud. "That's good, real good. You and Jacob."

Catching the stares of her father and sister Bella's cheeks tinted pink. "Don't make it weird, we're just hanging out."

"Right, I believed that when Jules here said the same thing about Sam." Charlie teased.

Feeling the heat rise in her face, Juliette protested "Dad, I was fifteen."

"Sam?" Bella asked, looking at her sister with the most interest she had shown ever. "Sam Uley?"

Juliette waved a hand through the air, as if to brush off Bella's curiosity. "Dodged a bullet with that one. He ended up with someone else after me, and let's just say it didn't end well."

"I've seen him around before," Bella told her, "he seems... intense. I can't really imagine the two of you together."

Telling Bella that she didn't know her sister at all stung at the end of Juliette's tongue, leaving a bitter taste.

Juliette rolled her eyes, smiling to lighten the gesture. "I was fifteen, remember? Anyway, let's not dwell on my ancient history."

Bella opened her mouth to speak, glancing behind Juliette's head for a moment. "It's nine already? I was supposed to be at Jake's by now."

"Jake," Juliette mouthed at her dad, raising her eyebrows.

The eldest Swan merely shrugged. They both watched as Bella fled the kitchen, leaving without another glance back.