𝑨𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒎𝒂 ︳𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

𝐈: 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞

𝑯𝒆𝒚 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 

𝑮𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑰'𝒎 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅

𝑪𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓

⁂

Forks was exactly as Juliette remembered: perpetually wet and unrelentingly gray.

Granted, she'd been away for only two years, chasing a degree in Anthropology in the sunny California. As beautiful and lively as California was, beautiful, it lacked the familiar, comforting gloom of Forks. And she needed a break. Just the year prior, her younger sister Bella had finally moved back into their dad's home, reigniting Juliette's longing to connect with her sister.

Their dad, Charlie Swan, wasn't just Juliette's father, he was her best friend, her hero. She was only two when Bella came into the world, completing their family. But shortly after Juliette turned four, their mother decided she'd had enough of being married and ripped their family apart. Renee left, taking Bella with her and leaving Juliette behind.

The betrayal by their mother was something she could never forgive. It created a chasm between the sisters, one that time and distance apart only widened. As an adult, she knew it wasn't either of their fault. They were just kids caught in the wake of adult decisions. But time had done little to soothe the sting of abandonment when she thought of the estranged other half of her family.

When her dad let her know Bella was finally moving in with him, it sounded too good to be true. Juliette's first instinct was to drop everything and fly back. That impulsiveness was unfortunately a trait she undoubtedly inherited from Renee. The rationality that came from her dad told her it was too good to last and Bella would be gone before she even landed.

To her surprise, a year had passed, and Bella was still in Forks.

"How's she doing?" Juliette asked, wedging her phone between her shoulder and ear as she packed.

Charlie hesitated, a silence filled only by the rustling of clothes. "She's, uh, she's good," he finally said, unconvincingly.

Juliette stopped packing, a frown forming. "She's good? Is she sleeping through the night?"

"Well- no."

"Then she's not good." She concluding, rolling her eyes in frustration. "I don't get it, they didn't even date that long, right?"

Forks was hardly a hotbed of excitement. Before leaving for university, the most noteworthy event was a hot doctor willingly moving to their little town. How Bella managed to not only find a boyfriend, but also go through an apparently catastrophic break up was beyond her.

"It was five months, right dad?" Juliette pressed, her voice laced with exasperation. "When Sam and I broke up after a year, I didn't break out in night terrors."

To be fair, they were both 14 and 15, maybe the dating game had changed intensities since then.

She knew she was being harsh. Four months post-breakup seemed ample time for Bella to begin healing.

Unfortunately for her, her dad was still trying to salvage the broken father-daughter bond between him and Bella. Ever the peacemaker.

"You know how Bella is, she's... delicate."

Juliette could only sigh. She wouldn't know how Bella is, they only saw each other during court mandated visitations. There wasn't much time for bonding during those.