𝐍𝐎𝐒𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐔━︎━︎ C. Cullen ✓︎

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

CHAPTER THREE:
THE PROMISE

EVERYONE WAS WORRIED ABOUT Bella. She hadn't left her house for days and she wouldn't let anyone in her room, not even Edward. With that being said, she forced herself to put a mental block to keep him or Alice from finding out what happened. Not even Charlie knew. To say Bella and Echo were close was an understatement.

The two siblings cared deeply for one another and were very protective over each other, Echo more than Bella. Echo protected Bella from the most simplest things like a thorn bush, or a bug flying into her room without her say. Echo was not a lover. Her family being the exception to the word. She hated the word, hated everything to do with it. Yes, she had boyfriends here and there, but it always ended badly for her, or for the boy, so she gave up on trying.

If anyone said the word love around her, she would have to keep herself from getting sick, or keep herself from punching the person that said the word in the face. She had a guard, but it had it's holes, or at least it did when Bella saw her last.

Bella didn't know that Echo had completely shut herself inside of her head. She was still snarky and sarcastic, but she was heavily guarded. She didn't trust people at all, so when you gained her trust, it would be in the correct mindset to honor and cherish that trust.

Bella laid on her bed, her hand delicately holding the last picture she and Echo had taken together. The two girls were laughing hysterically at something and their mother had taken the chance to take a photo. Bella's eyes were taken from the photo and over to her phone that was ringing. Bella picked up the phone, looking at the contact before putting it back down. It was Edward, again.

Bella picked the phone back up again and shut it off completely before throwing her attention back onto the picture. She let a single tear drop onto the photo before her eyes slowly started to close, allowing the younger Swan girl to fall into a deep sleep.

꧁꧂

Echo hadn't slept for a week. The already dark bags under her eyes only grew darker as she continued to stress. It was so much easier when Alaric was here, helping her with this kind of stuff. But she wasn't coming up with any other answers than the first one she had fallen upon. She wanted to scream in frustration.

But it was the only conclusion. And of course, this meant the creature could be anywhere in the world by now. Echo ran a hand through her messy hair before rubbing her eyes from the sleep deprivation. She tore her eyes away from the computer and fixed herself a cup of coffee. As she was taking a sip of the warm liquid, it hit her. Blood. Vampires drank blood. Maybe they were in a hospital? But that would expose them.

Echo didn't know how to solve this puzzle. She had never dealt with something like this. She had dealt with assassins, bad cops, hard-core serial killers. But she had never dealt with vampires until now. She didn't have a plan, and maybe that's why what she did next was reckless. She found some tree branches lying around, bringing them inside and making a steak out of of one of the twigs and making wood-shaped bullets out of the others.

"This better work or I'm going to get myself killed," Echo snarled to herself. At those words, a memory flashed through her brain.

"You can't go, E! You're gonna get hurt! or worse, killed!" A young thirteen-year-old Bella Swan pleaded. Echo was packing her stuff as tears were streaming down Bella's angry face. Ignoring her sister, Echo weaved around her and into the bathroom. Bella quickly followed behind of her. "Echo!"

Echo continued to ignore her. Her mind was too busy going over the things she would need while she was away from home. Bella stormed into the room with range. "Echo, stop! Just for a second, please. . . just stop." Echo froze and waited for Bella to speak.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you always have to pick the most dangerous paths?" Bella cried. Echo swallowed thickly before turning to face Bella, tears of her own clouding her vision. But she wouldn't cry. No, she had to stay strong for Bella. Echo walked over to her sister, quickly engulfing her into a hug. Bella held onto her tightly, never wanting to let go. Echo doing the same.

"You stay safe, alright? I will be back home before you know it. But I've went to collage for this. I've always dreamed of being a badass doctor and now, I can do that. I'm not doing this to hurt you, Isa. I would never do something to hurt you on purpose." Her own tears were strolling down her cheeks but she kept a smile on her face. She pulled away from her little sister, quickly wiping her eyes as she looked down at her. "I will love you forever and always. I will stay safe. I will call whenever I get the chance. I love you so much, Isabella. Never forget that, no matter what."

"Promise you'll come back?" Bella asked. Echo sent her sister a reassuring smile. She placed her hands on her sisters shoulders, searching her chocolate eyes before pulling her into one more hug. One of the last hugs the two would share for a long while.

"I promise."

Echo let out a shaky smile, tightly shutting her eyes at the memory. She felt awful for not calling Bella, she felt awful for not writing back. She was going to make it up to her. She was going to keep her promise she had made Bella five years ago. And she would be damned if anyone or anything tried to stop her from seeing her little sister again.

1,007 words
Authors note: Three in one day?? Haven't seen her in awhile. The first pet to this book is gonna be really short, probably six-ish chapters? Maybe a few more? Idk. We'll just see how it works out.

I hope you all enjoyed! Stay safe! Until next time, bye lovelies!♥️

@HAHA_LIFEISTOUGH