.・。.・゜✭・.

Drizzling rain spattered messily out of the window beside where Eva sat, eyes drawn to the pool of water dripping lazily through the small crack in her open window, allowing the fresh scent of rain and pine to flood her small second-floor bedroom. She took a deep breath, the fresh air sinking into her lungs. She felt lighter in Forks than she had in Phoenix. Despite her dislike of the attention she received here, it had been slowly dwindling until now no one even glanced at her in the halls unless she happened to be tumbling by in a hurry.

Quietly, the girl began to gather her things, slipping her books into her precious brown leather bag. It was the nicest thing she owned, real old-aged leather that carried the faint scent of tobacco and mint, straps worn and creased from years of use, and yet it was beautiful. Classic, her mother had said when Eva had opened it on her fourteenth birthday, elated by the gift so much so that she drew her mother into a tight hug.

Eva didn't really like touching anyone. She must have liked it once, as a baby maybe, young and helpless, craving the warmth of her mother's touch. But now the feeling of hands upon her skin felt cold, sending shudders down her spine. She had jumped back from so many friendly gestures of hugs and shoulder grabs that people tended to keep their distance. Eva liked it that way. She preferred no one get too close. Unless they were to feel the trembling of her limbs each time someone spoke to her, her thundering heart fluttering helplessly in her chest.

Maybe she was just destined to be alone. Renee said that both her daughters carried old souls, such a rarity when she lived life looking through a perpetual pair of rose-coloured glasses, living each day as though she had never truly seen the world before. Or maybe she had just drained the wonder from Eva while she was still nestled within her womb. Eva would never truly know. But now, as she slung her bag over her shoulder, wiggling the strap until it sat comfortably over her shoulder, she couldn't help but wish she was with Renee. Life at home had become... strange.

While the Swan sisters had never been particularly close, Bella's newfound attitude was troubling, to say the least. It was like a switch had flipped; Edward was gone, and suddenly, Bella had become a shell. She wasn't sad, she was... empty. As though the Cullens had drained every drop of life from her and left behind a ghost of a girl. The only hint that she felt anything anymore was the screaming. Harrowing wails of despair echoed through the Swan household at all hours of the night. Eva and Charlie had begun to take it in turns soothing the girl back to sleep after her episodes, but nothing they did ever seemed to help.

A shout of frustration caught Eva's attention as she headed onto the landing. It was Charlie's voice, but it was rare to hear him raise it at anything but the TV. Swiftly, Eva hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she found Charlie and Bella.

"What's going on?" The youngest Swan questioned, glancing between her father and sister. Charlie's chest was heaving unevenly, while Bella was simply staring blankly at the floor.

"I'm sending Bella to Jacksonville to be with your mother," Charlie explained, smiling sadly at his youngest daughter.

"Do I have to go?" Eva questioned, the crawling feeling of anxiety rippling up her spine. Bile rose in her throat as she thought of having to start at a new school again, all those unfamiliar faces and eyes leeching at her skin.

"No, baby," Charlie said gently, his words dragging Bella back from her mind.

"So Eva doesn't have to leave?" Bella asked, her tone carrying a heat that had been unheard from the girl for months. "But she is the same as me, she never leaves, and she doesn't even do well in school," She snapped, her words washed over Eva like a tidal wave of acid. Bella could be cruel when she wanted to be.

"Don't take this out on your sister, Bella," Charlie warned. "She isn't like you; you walk around this house like a ghost. I just want you to do... something,"

"You want me to get into trouble?" Bella questioned with furrowed brows.

"Trouble would be better than this... this moping around all the time!"

"I'm not moping around," Bella said indignantly.

"Wrong word," Charlie huffed. "Moping would be better - that would be doing something. You're just... lifeless, Bella. I think that's the word I want."

"I'm sorry, dad," The older girl said, but her voice sounded flat.

Eva turned away from the pair, instead focusing on fixing up her breakfast, tuning out the sound of their conversation. She knew that Charlie would never actually send Bella away; he loved having his daughters here. Eva could only imagine how lonely it was for him after Renee left all those years ago, leaving him behind in the home they were supposed to nurture their family in. Eva never wanted to come to Forks, but she loved being around Charlie. He was calm, a stability in her life she had never known she longed for.

He never pushed her, never asked too much, and he would let her sit with him in silence, no questions asked. Gently taking her hands in his own when he would see Eva's hands scrapping over her legs repetitively, her lips twisted in a frustrated frown. Charlie was warm, his hands didn't freeze the blood in her veins. He was the calm in a storm that sometimes raged around the girl.

Eva was so caught up in her thoughts that the slam of the front door caught her off guard. Spinning around, Eva saw Charlie still sitting at the table, a heartbroken expression on his face. Bella was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll drop you off at school," Charlie told his youngest, watching out the window as Bella pulled out of the driveway in her truck. Leaving Eva behind.

"Dad," Eva said quietly, dropping her half-eaten toast onto the plate behind her and stepping forward. She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but her body felt numb.

"I just wish I knew how to help her," Charlie confessed, running his hands across his face and exhaling deeply.

"Me too," Eva murmured sadly, fingers tittering at her sides.

"I'm going to finish getting ready." Charlie told her, "Be ready to leave in ten." Eva nodded at her father, allowing him to kiss her forehead before he headed up the stairs.

.・。.・゜✭・.

School was the usual monotonous drone that lulled Eva into an odd state between boredom and jittering anxiety that had her leaning tiredly against Bella's truck, waiting for her elder sister, who was taking much longer than usual to come outside.

"I'm going to the movies with Jessica later. Do you want to come?" Bella asked, slipping into the front seat of her truck. Eva followed suit, surprised at hearing her sister's voice. Since Edward had left, Bella would spend every ride home from school in utter silence, and now she was going to the movies with Jessica. 

"Um..." Eva managed to get out before Bella cut her off.

"Please, I don't wanna go to Jacksonville, Eva. Just help me prove to Charlie that I'm okay," She pleaded. Brown eyes wide and desperate, Eva frowned, heat rising in her chest. She didn't want to go, she hated Port Angeles. It was run down and dark and filled with personality-less shops. But Bella, she wanted to help Bella. Charlie needed her to help Bella.

"Okay," The youngest Swan said finally, "But you owe me." She murmured, and Bella cracked a small half-smile.

"Okay," She agreed. The rest of the ride was silent, but for once, it didn't feel so awkward.

At home, the sisters separated into their rooms. Eva quickly flicks on her old scratchy record player that Charlie had dug out from the attic when his youngest daughter had come home from a rather successful shopping spree down on the reservation, bashfully confessing she had bought a collection of records, forgetting her own had been broken on the move from Phoenix to Forks.

But Eva loved this one far more than her own, or, her old one, it was a deep chestnut brown, grooves carved into the wood from years of use. Along the bottom faded violets and snowdrops were painted, something Eva's grandmother had done in her youth. Eva liked things that had character, a story, something she could think about when the sun began to fall, leaving her alone bathed in darkness.

Quietly the rhythmic hum of Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams' crackled through the air. Eva didn't have much time, trading her soft brown patterned jumper for a simple white T-shirt and a heavy green cardigan that hung off of her frame. What it lacked in the conventional fashion department was made up by the soft cotton that warmed Eva to the bone. She then slipped off her worn trainers and instead put on a pair of sturdy faux leather boots, grasping her bag and slinging it over her shoulder just as a horn sounded outside.

Bella and Eva met in the hallway on their way out, nodding at each other before heading down the steps and out of the house, Eva stopping briefly to leave a note on the table for Charlie and grabbing her heavy black coat.

"Oh, Eva I didn't know you were coming," Jess said, tossing her dark brown curls over her shoulder as she faced the younger Swan.

"Bella invited me," Eva replied, hands tittering across her lap.

"The more the merrier right," Bella said from the front seat, a smile twisted on her lips. But the falsity in her voice was tangible, melting into the air and thickening the already stifling tension between the two girls. "Thanks for coming with me tonight,"

"Sure," Jess replied, though she sounded suspicious, "So, what brought this on?" She asked as she pulled out of the driveway, heading down the street with the ease of someone who had lived in Forks their whole life.

"Brought what on?" Bella said.

"Why did you suddenly decide to... go out?"

"Just needed a change," Bella shrugged, reaching for the dial on the radio, "Do you mind?" She asked the suspicious girl.

"No, go ahead," Jess prompted, so Bella flicked through a few stations before finally settling on some sort of modern station, the car was filled with a low bass that made Eva's seat jolt with every beat. It was the kind of music both the Swan girls had previously agreed they hated, too much shouting and fast-paced rap that drew Eva's heart into a thundering beat. The younger girl curled into herself slightly, fingers pinching at her thighs to keep herself steady.

"Since when do you listen to rap?" Jess questioned, eyes narrowed.

"I don't know," Bella said simply, "A while." She was lying of course, since Edward had left Bella hadn't listened to music, she couldn't. In the first few weeks, even the soft echo of music from Eva's room had sent the girl into a fit of hysterics, crying and screaming, though Eva still didn't know what it was that had broken her so detrimentally.

"You like this?" Jess continued, still doubtful.

"Sure,"

"Okay..." Jessica trailed off, settling the car into a strange limbo of silence that only seemed to elevate the sound of the music Bella had chosen. Eva sunk back into her seat, ignoring whatever the two girls began discussing after a few moments, instead, she let her eyes run over the blurs of green and brown. She didn't quite know when they had become the colour of home.

Port Angles was only about an hour's drive from Forks so the girls had arrived early, dusk only just beginning to settle staining the streets in orange light. Jessica had decided it would be best to hit the twilight showing of the film and grab food after something Eva had simply nodded along with, curling deeper into her coat as they walked up to the stand and purchased their tickets.

The movie was terrible, a mess of blood and guts and screaming. Eva had never enjoyed gore, Bella knew this. Bella knew a lot about Eva that she had seemingly forgotten since Edward had left. The movie left the younger girl feeling queasy, uneasily fiddling with her bag straps and taking deep breaths as she and Jess headed out of the screening room in search of Bella who had disappeared just at the end.

They found Bella seated on a bench near the entrance of the theater, her skin was sunken and paler than usual, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on the hollow of her throat.

"Was the movie too scary for you?" Jess questioned, annoyance lacing her tone.

"Yeah," The older girl replied, "I guess I'm a coward,"

"That's funny," Jess commented as the three started to head out of the cinema and into the now-darkened streets. Flickering amber street lights lined overhead basking everything in artificial sunlight, the shops had all closed while they were inside giving everything an abandoned feel. "I didn't think you were scared. I was screaming all the time, but I didn't hear you scream once. So I didn't know why you left," She was still annoyed, "But then again, Eva didn't scream either but she practically buried herself in her coat by the end," At this, Jess rested a hand on Eva's shoulder, the girl wincing and Jess quickly withdrew her hand.

"Sorry," Jess said, having the decency to look guilty, and so did Bella.

"I forgot you hated scary movies," Bella said to her sister but Eva shrugged.

"It's okay, it wasn't so bad," She replied, but her voice was shaking slightly.

"That was probably the scariest movie I've ever seen. I'll bet we are gonna have nightmares tonight," Jess said and Eva couldn't help but frown.

"No doubts about that," Bella said, the look on her face telling more than her words ever could.

"Where do you want to eat?" Jess asked.

"I don't care," Was all Bella said while Eva shrugged.

"Okay,"

The group continued walking, Jess was chattering about the male lead in the movie, he had been cute, of course, that was before he had been torn to shreds by zombies while his girlfriend could only watch in horror. But slowly she fell silent as they drew close to an unlit part of the street, all of the shops around them locked up for the night, only a glowing sign of vibrant green-lit the small pathway. One-Eyed Pete's, was a run-down bar that Charlie had mentioned off-hand a couple of times after hearing of brawls taking place there over his radio. And they just happened to be stood across from it where four men stood, veiled in sickly green light. Eve quickened her pace as did Jess, it was only Bella who continued her same pace before suddenly coming to a stop. Eyes fixed on the men.

"Bella?" Jess whispered, "What are you doing?"

"I think I know them..." Bella muttered with a thoughtful shake of her head.

"Bella, come on!" Jessica hissed, but Bella seemed as though she were in some sort of a trance as she stepped closer to the three lounging men. Eva's breath caught in her throat horrified at her elder sister's actions. Bella could be reckless at times, thoughtless of the consequences of her actions. But this?"

"Bella, come back," Eva squeaked, but her words fell on deaf ears, so instead Jess launched herself at the girl, grabbing her arm harshly.

"Bella! You can't go into a bar!" Jess cried.

"I'm not going in," Bella argued, shaking off her friend's hand, "I just want to see something..." Her voice was absent, so far away.

"Are you crazy?" Jess pressed, "Are you suicidal?" This caught Bella's attention.

"No, I'm not," The elder Swan said defensively, something in Jess's accusation had triggered something in Bella. But why? "Just go eat," Bella said, "I'll catch up in a minute,"

Then she just stood there, almost as though she had seen a ghost. Jess had stepped back, she was scared, and so was Eva. She was so unbelievably scared as Bella took another step closer to the bar and a man beckoned her over with an easy grin.

"Hi," He called, simpering charm in his deep voice, "Can I help you with something, sweetheart? You look lost." The man could have been handsome, he was fair-skinned with a mop of unruly blonde hair falling over his eyes, and he looked older. Much older than any of the girls.

"No. I'm not lost," Bella said, voice brazen for a lamb stepping into a lion's den.

"What is she doing?" Jess hissed, now standing next to Eva as the two girls watched Bella.

"I don't know," Eva whispered, "I don't understand..." Her chest ached, she wanted to go home.

"Can I buy you a drink?" The shortest of the group asked after meeting Bella's stare.

"I'm too young," Bella replied and even the men seemed baffled by the girl's strange behavior. "From across the street, you looked like someone I knew. Sorry, my mistake," Eva almost kneeled over, her heart thundering so intensely she could hear it in her ears. She didn't know what to do. Should she call Charlie and tell him Bella was having some sort of psychotic break? Should she grab Jess's arm and march over there, grab Bella before it was too late? Bile was rising in her throat. She just wanted to go home.

"That's okay," The blonde said smoothly, "You can stay and hang out with us,"

"Thanks, but I can't," Bella said, beginning to step from the sidewalk and back onto the road where Eva and Jess were waiting for her.

"Oh, just a few minutes," The man pleaded but Bella was walking away and back to the two girls who were staring at her, twin stares of horror and betrayal painted across their faces.

"Let's go eat," Bella said, as though nothing had just happened.

"What were you thinking?" Jess snapped harshly, "You don't know them! They could have been psychopaths!"

"I thought I knew that one guy," Bella shrugged.

"You are so odd, Bella Swan. I feel like I don't know who you are."

"Sorry," Though the elder Swan's apology was hardly a mutter that did not soothe the anger in either of the girls. The rest of the night was awkward, Bella tried to relieve the tension at first but Jessica was quickly dismissive and Eva couldn't even face her sister.

She couldn't understand how her sister could be so thoughtlessly reckless. She had been lucky that the men outside were only curious, maybe a little flirtatious but cautious of the odd girl who had accosted them suddenly. But then to act as though nothing had happened, and to seem confused by the pair's anger directed at her after she had potentially put them all in danger by walking up to those men.

The car ride home was filled with loud pop music that Jess had switched on to tune out the eldest Swan sister, it did little to soothe the anxiety that had rooted in Eva's stomach, curling around her gut and slithering up her throat. She chewed on her lip until the taste of metal spilled across her tongue, and then went back to pinching her thighs, everything felt too loud. She didn't even hear what Bella said to Jessica as they exited the car, making a beeline for the door and bursting in, finding Charlie standing there. His arms folded across his chest. He looked angry though his eyes softened when he caught sight of his frazzled youngest daughter.

"Hey, dad," Bella said absentmindedly as she came in after Eva.

"Where have you been?" He demanded.

"We went to the movies with Jess. Like I told you this morning." Bella said causing their father to huff loudly.

"I left a note," Eva whispered.

"Is that okay?" Bella pressed, she hadn't said anything to Eva about keeping what had happened from Charlie, but now she was looking at her sister, pleading with her dark brown eyes. The knot in Eva's throat tightened.

"Yeah, that's fine," Charlie said finally, "Did you have fun?" He questioned.

"Sure," Bella said, "We watched zombies eat people. It was great," Charlie's eyes narrowed as Bella murmured a quick goodnight before heading up the stairs, her door closing with a thud.

"I don't know what to do with that girl," Charlie muttered to himself seemingly ready to head into the living room and finally relax now that his daughters were home and safe only for a withered sob to escape Eva's lips. The fear and panic of the night finally catching up to her and sending the girl stumbling forward and into her fathers arms.

Charlie caught her instantly, his arms looping around her and holding his youngest daughter to his chest as she began to cry. Harsh, ragged gasps for air as she clung to Charlie's shirt desperate for anything to ground her as the world began to swallow her whole.

"Hey, hey, Eva what's going on?" Charlie asked, his voice low and soothing, but the girl couldn't respond. Only shaking her head and holding onto him until she had let everything out. So Charlie held her, gently rocking her back and forth like he had when she was a baby, pressing gentle kisses to her hairline and murmuring words of reassurance. Bella always said that Charlie wasn't good with emotions, but she had never truly given him a chance to show her. There was always a wall there between the Cheif and his eldest daughter, one that had vanished instantly the moment Eva realised that with Charlie she was safe.

He was never going to dissapear for three days and return with a tan and a new partener hanging off his arm. He was never going to forget to buy groceries, or to leave money for gas. He was there. He was stable. He was her home, far more that the quiant two story house that stood around them.

"What happened, baby?" Her father asked after Eva's sobs settled, instead she just breathily gasped against his chest, trying to catch her bearings now the storm had passed. "Did Bella say something to you again? You know I am so proud of you. You work so hard every day, Eva. I know that things are harder for you sometimes but you do so well every day," He cooed, and finally Eva pulled back and smiled gently at him.

"I know, dad," She said, her voice hardly above a whisper, "It just all got a bit much,"

"Yeah, a zombie movie, huh? Bella knows you hate those sorts of a thing," He said thoughtfully, brushing Eva's hair from her face, her soft brown bangs now wet and sticky from the tear tracks that still mared her face.

"I don't think Bella knows anything anymore," Eva confessed quietly, "It's like I don't know who she is anymore," Charlie nodded sadly down at his daughter.

"I know, baby," He said, "I think Bella just needs to figure that out on her own now, we've done our best. It's her choice if she wants to be better." Charlie sounded defeated, Eva felt that way too. She knows she should tell Charlie about what happened tonight. How reckless Bella had acted. But then, nothing had happened. Everything had turned out okay, and she didn't want to upset her dad more than he already was. He had enough on his plate with the pair of them.

"Now come on, why don't you go sit down and put something on the TV. I'll grab you a water," Charlie said, smiling down at Eva.

"Anything I want?" Eva questioned with a cheeky grin that had her dad's smile widening.

"Yes, anything you want," He agreed and the girl preened happily, stepping out of her father embrace and heading into the living room ready to put on the new episode of Gilmore Girls. Charlie pretended he hated it, maybe he really did, but he would sit with Eva whenever it was on and suffer through it because it made her happy at least.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur, tucked up against her father's side Eva didn't feel that nagging sensation of anxiety pinching at her gut. Instead she felt calm. That was all she could ever ask for.

.・。.・゜✭・.

🪐 idk how i made this so long what magic possessed me pls??

🪐 also eva my sweet girl, i love her so so much i can't

🪐 also thank you so much for reading and i hope you enjoyed ! see you all soon ! mwah ! <3