Convergence

Chapter Twenty Two

I sit on my bed, staring numbly at the door. Ten minutes and counting. Nothing. No knock, no pleas from the other side, not even the tiniest bit of shuffling.

My chest feels hollow, like my heart has been carved out with a butcher knife. Or a dull butter knife. With rust.

No matter how many times I will myself to be indifferent and angry, the ache in my chest won't go away. It magnifies with every minute that I'm away from my boys. No. Not mine. Not anymore.

Despite longing for them to come bursting through the door, I can't bring myself to regret what I said. Though perhaps North's hurtful words were true, I was done letting it control me. I couldn't survive if I let the words of one more person rule my life.

That doesn't mean it didn't hurt like hell though. I curl up on the bed, drawing my knees into my chest. I could deal with people I despised tearing me down. I could deal with the abuse and the unjustness of it all. But people I cared for telling me what I already knew to be true was almost too much.

There's a knock on the door and I shoot up into a sitting position. My hands grip the blankets nervously, the place where my heart used to exist twitching in apprehensive excitement.

The door opens slowly and my breath catches, only to be released in a huff as Bella peeks her head through. The hole in my chest shrivels even more, and I rub absentmindedly at the aching spot.

"Do you need something?" I ask her, slamming an impassive mask over my features.

She shuts the door and takes a seat on the edge of my bed.

"Come on, Sang." She says quietly. Her gold eyes capture mine. "You don't have to do that with me."

I scowl in an attempt to hide the quiver of my lip. "Do what?"

"Hide." Bella crawls onto the bed next to me, hesitantly grabbing my hand. "What he said to you... What they insinuated, it wasn't right. In fact, it was horrible."

I frown and withdraw my hand. "How do you know what they said?"

She shrugs sheepishly. "Vampire hearing. We heard the whole thing."

"Great." I growl, turning away from her to lay on my side. "I'm sure the oh-so-perfect Cullens don't appreciate a whore living in their midst. Is that why you're here? To politely tell me to leave?"

I hear a sigh and some rustling as Bella lays down next to me. Her cold hand presses against mine, but I can't bring myself to care enough to move away.

"Look at me please." She begs quietly. Something in her tone makes me turn to face her. Her once familiar eyes are filled with sorrow.

"Sang, I'm your sister. Nothing you have done will change that. Nothing can change the fact that I love you and will try my best to protect you from any more pain. Lord knows you've had enough of that." She says quietly.

"You will be welcome in this house for as long as you want. No one in this family judges you for anything you've done to survive." She smiles slightly at me. "We're vampires, remember? We've all done things that we're not proud of. That doesn't mean that we deserve love any less."

A tear slips down my cheek as her words wash over me like a soothing balm. Bella raises a hand and gently wipes the tear away.

"Those boys had no right to criticize you like they did." She says firmly, a spark of anger glowing in her amber eyes.

"I can't stand the thought of them thinking of me like that." I whisper, my bottom lip trembling. "I- I love them too much. And they hate me."

A fresh wave of pain rolls over me and I can't stop the tears as they flood from my eyes. I bow my head, trying to contain myself, but Bella crushes me in a hug.