The Little Things

25. Tensions

The next day I refused to look at or talk to Bella. If she choose to reject us, then so be it. I wouldn't bother her. She barely said anything to me either and Dad soon started noticing that our interactions were frosty at best. And so he confronted me.

"Liana, come here a minute." He called one evening.

"Yeah Dad?" I asked, walking to the living room.

"What's going on? You and Bella look like you want to rip into each other." He crossed his arms.

I pressed my lips together. "We have differing views on her choices. Mainly the ones revolving around a certain individual that has caused emotional trauma."

"You know I don't like him right now either, but isn't your reaction a little strong?" Dad asked.

I sighed. "It's complicated Dad. You don't know the whole picture. Maybe I am being a little harsh, but she refused to listen to me."

Dad shrugged and looked confused. "Why is it complicated?"

"Because... it is. We're girls, Dad, and sisters too. There are certain things that should be recognized that haven't been." I quickly made up.

Dad looked even more confused. "So you aren't talking to her because she violated the Girl Code?"

I shrugged. "Sure." If that was how he understood it, I wasn't going to argue.

"Look, I'm not happy about the Cullen kid coming back either but this is a bit much."

"It's not just that Dad. She has made a bunch of choices in the last while that I can not agree with." I said again.

He frowned. "Can you two talk it out? I can feel the tension so bad in this house that I almost can't stand it. Whatever happened can't be that bad. Try and make up, okay?"

I nodded tersely. "Sure. No promises though."

"Fair enough. But please tone it down a bit."

And so I stopped the death glares and proceeded to ignore Bella. It wasn't all that hard to avoid her. The ignoration of each other that went on was completely mutual, though I heard from both Jacob and the kitchen that Bella tried calling him twice a day. She spent as much of her day with Edward as possible and when she was home she want up to her room. I suspected that Edward was up there but I never saw him.

Also, I spent as much time as possible with Jacob and the pack. They were both a blessing and a curse to my troubled thoughts. They livened my life and made me smile, but at the same time were a constant reminder of the supernatural world that had shaken my world.

March came to a close, and April began. Life settled down a bit and I managed to relax as I sat next to Embry on a piece of driftwood and we watched Jacob and Jared tussle by the edge of the forest. The late Friday evening was lit up with the flickering of the bonfire before us which the pack, the elders, and the imprints were gathered around.

The bonfire was an initiation rite of sorts for the two newest pack members. There had been one each for Embry and Jacob, both of which I had gone too. The elders had told the legends to the pack, and after knowing the truth of them, they seemed so much more real and alive. Now the elders had finished their tales and the food was brought out. The guests of honor were sitting next to their mother across the fire from me.

Leah looked stone faced into the fire and barely even acknowledged the others that were around her. Her once long, luscious black hair had been chopped short to just above her chin. I felt a surge of empathy for her. This must be one of the hardest things possible for her to go through. To be able to hear the thoughts of a group of teenage boys, one of which that had left her for her cousin, must be agony. To top it off, her father was recently dead.