Disclaimer

Twilight and all affiliated characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any of the aforementioned characters except Beth and the plot of this story (that is, should it stray from the original Twilight). This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story line. I am not in any way, shape, or form benefiting financially from the publishing of this story on this site and am very grateful for Mrs. Meyer's creation. Besides, if I did own Twilight, I'd have married Robert Pattinson and been a millionaire!

"But why?" Beth fumed. She glared, unrelenting in her anger as Renee continued to clumsily fold out clothes, ignoring her child.

"Mom!"

"What, Beth?" Renee was getting tired of this. This had been a recurring question for the past two and a half years once Charlie had stopped coming to visit them in Phoenix. She could understand why that was, he was recently promoted to Chief of Police in Forks. He had bigger responsibilities with his work life and personal life taking a new turn. Not to mention, his parents weren't getting any younger. So it was definitely easier if the girls went to visit him instead. The only problem was that they could only go on their holidays which was maybe 5 months out of the 12 they had in a year and even then- didn't always get to visit him. Afterall, plane tickets from Arizona to Seattle were beginning to get pretty pricey.

Still, Renee sighed, the girls loved their father and missed him desperately, it was easy to see. Especially in Beth's case, who hung on to her father like a leech to a leg whenever they saw him. Times like these were when Renee regretted her decision of moving away from Forks. Sometimes, the thought of moving back had run through her mind, if only to make her girls happy when it was plain as day to see that they weren't.

And after this particular visit it was even worse. A tearful goodbye from Beth had left both Charlie and Renee worse for wear. That child definitely knew that she made them feel insane guilt- even if it was mainly resting on her shoulders.

"You know what!" Beth's fists clenched. She had the urge to stomp her foot like a child, but knowing that would not get her point across any better, she refrained. "Why won't you just let me go and stay with dad? It's not like it'll hurt anyone!"

That was it! Renee threw down a shirt with a frown, spinning on her heel to address her youngest with what she hoped was a stern voice, "I don't have to explain myself to you. If I say no, I mean it. End of story!"

"But why?!" Beth yelled out, her normally pale complexion sprouting blotches of red over her face as she got worked up. She could not understand her mother's motives for keeping her locked up in Phoenix like they were in some twisted fairy tale. Why couldn't she move to Washington with her dad? She could be responsible and help take care of her grandpa and grandma! Or even do more chores around the house to help Charlie with the load he was bearing. Heck, she was even doing 90% of that already with Renee who- despite being an adult- was acting like some headstrong teenager half the time she was paying attention to them. "That still doesn't tell me why!"

Renee's hands came to a stop on her hips as she took one step closer," That is enough, Elizabeth!"

Frustrated tears built up in the thirteen year old's eyes as she glared harshly up at her mother. A lump formed in her throat but she wouldn't cry! Not in front of her mother or Bella- who she knew was watching everything from the top of the stairs.

"Whatever," Beth finally spat, sniffing as she spun on her heel, "You're just bitter because Greg broke up with you yesterday! You can't be happy so you want to bring everyone else down too!"

At that Renee faltered, hands slowly falling to her sides as her daughter's words wrang in her ears. She flinched, hearing their front door slam as Beth walked out of the house in a flurry, unknowingly opening up fresh wounds that her mother had tried so desperately to hide. Renee sobbed, arms coming to wrap around her frame as she sank to the floor. Had she failed? Had she failed them as a mother? She couldn't have! But why? Why did she feel like such a failure? Why did it feel so painful every time she had to pick her girls up from the airport? Why else would her daughter's words hurt her so badly if it weren't so painfully true? Why did it feel like she was being punished? Her chest ached, thinking back to her own harsh words that she'd said to her mother after Beth and her had a bad argument, leading Renee to cut off all ties- only to hear that her mother had died some days later. It hurt, thinking of all the things she'd never said or asked before it was too late. So she cried, sobbing loudly, uncaring of their neighbours and completely forgetting about her other child, Bella, who had watched and listened to everything with a pained gaze- unable to do anything more than that.

She understood that Beth was upset about not being able to stay with Charlie, she really did. But why did she have to say those things to their mother? What was she hoping to achieve by hurting her? It was so painful to watch her usually optimistic and bubbly mother deteriorate before her very eyes, breaking down to a fragile shell that exposed all of her true feelings- her tears washing away the facade that she painted by hand for years and years. Deciding it was better to leave her mother alone, Bella picked herself up from the wooden stairs, tiptoeing her way out of the house. Of course, Renee was too preoccupied with herself to notice that her other daughter had snuck out as well.

The cool air bit at her skin just as much as the gravel pricked at her bare feet. Bella winced, arms wrapping around herself as she looked every which way for her twin, definitely regretting not having taken a light jacket or shoes when she left. Granted, she hadn't been thinking clearly, her mind focused on finding her twin to go and help her cheer their mother up. Bella knew it wouldn't be that easy of course, her twin was insanely stubborn- even more so than her and Renee combined and that was saying something! So she'd have to go in with a plan, bring out the big guns and pull a card she didn't normally use. Pity.

She just hoped her twin wouldn't pick up on her sneaky act and decided to stay with her and Renee anyways.

Her thoughts were interrupted however, as she tripped over something in true Bella style. A yelp lept from her throat as she tumbled to the ground, bucking her toe, scraping her hands and hitting her head all at once.

"What the f- Bella?!" A groan caught her attention, leaning up from her position on the floor. Her twin -evidently the thing she tripped on was lying on her side, legs entangled with her own. "How in the world do you manage to do this?"

"Sorry!" Bella apologized, carefully untangling their feet before standing up. Beth huffed as she took her sister's helping hand, brushing off both her and Bella's now dusty clothes. It was then that she spied her sibling's lack of footwear.

"And where are your shoes?"

Bella tossed her sister a sheepish smile," I left them inside."

Eliza sighed with exasperation apparent on her face, before reaching down and plucking one of her slippers off of her feet. She handed it to her sister and upon seeing her confused face, explained, "One shoe is better than none." She shrugged before gesturing to the bench that they had built -quite crappily- some summers before. It was a spur of the moment build, after not having any money to buy patio chairs for their (rather cliche) lemonade stand in the barren desert. It had been a stupid idea but in that moment, it couldn't have been better. They had been so excited at the prospect of earning money for some cool game that everyone their age had been buying at the time, that they hadn't given much thought to the location of their house and the fact that they only had one other neighbour within a mile. Still, that didn't stop the twins from sitting outside in the scalding Arizona sun yelling out ' 30 cents for lemonade' every five minutes. Beth shook her head, it was so dumb. But at least they recycled the old wood they had found in their attic and built the tiny bench, despite the fact that everytime they sat in it, Bella or Beth had always managed to score a splinter in their palms from holding onto the sides to keep from falling off.

"I know that you want to say something, Bells." Liza spoke then, gazing up at the waning crescent moon that cast an almost eerie glow onto the sands of the desert. All around them, the sounds of crickets and wildlife alike, chirped and howled.

Isabella sighed, "I know that you want to go stay in Forks, Beth, I'm not stupid." Her fingers began fiddling with a loose string, "And I know that it's because you miss dad alot- I do too, you know?"

Eliza glanced over at her sister, acknowledging her. "Really? You don't show it."

Bella rolled her eyes, " Yes, really. He's my dad too."

"But have you ever thought that the reason mom doesn't want you to go is because he's too busy? Or that she'll miss you too much?"

"Of course I have!" Eliza snapped, then calmed. Her sister was not arguing with her. They were just having a simple conversation. No yelling or shouting was necessary. "Sorry. I just- I miss him alot. Don't you find it unfair that mom just took us away from him without a say from anybody else? It feels like she's running from something and because we're her kids she stole us away from being a happy family. I just want to know what it feels like to have a family that isn't dysfunctional. I want to be able to see dad everyday. I want him to take me fishing with him and do all sorts of stuff together. Is that too much to ask?"

Bella watched her twin sadly, "I want that too, just minus the fishing stuff." They laughed shortly, both imagining Bella in one of Charlie's fishing boats. Already, there had been an incident involving a broken wrist and a fishing rod so nobody in the family desired to see Bella ever get into another boat again. Sobering Bella continued, "And me too Beth. Have you thought about me?"

Eliza sighed, already knowing where this was going.

"I don't have anyone else except you and mom. Everyone always makes fun of me when you're not around- just imagine the kind of torture I'd be subjected to if you moved all the way to Forks!"

Elizabeth nodded, knowing that her twin was right. She had been bullied, made a social pariah by some pretty mean people for no good reason. Eliza heard when they called Bella a freak, and despite telling teachers, her mother and even dealing with it herself (read getting suspended for breaking someone's nose) Isabella had still been bullied and brought down. Beth wasn't blind, she could see that the mean remarks were getting to her sister but why did it seem almost impossible for her to grow a backbone and defend herself? Why did she sit and take it all like a punching bag? "But why do you let them get to you, Bella? Why don't you fight back?"

Bella was quiet then, pandering on her thoughts. "Has it ever occurred to you that I just don't know how?" She admitted, shoulders drooping at her confession. "I mean, why should I? I don't want to be like them. I don't want to bully anybody. Why can't everybody else just be nicer?"

Eliza shook her head sadly, "You misunderstand Bella. I'm not telling you to bully anyone. I'm telling you that you need to stop being a pushover and finally take charge of the situation. Otherwise, people will always view you as a doormat and you'll always be walked on."

"The point still stands, Beth, I don't know how!"

"Then let me teach you." Elizabeth burst out, jumping from her spot on the bench. "We'll make a deal, I won't leave Phoenix if you agree to let me teach you!"

Bella looked at her sister warily, unsure if this was the right way to go about getting her to stay. But then finally, she agreed, "Okay."

She stood as well, "Can you please apologize to mom, though? She was crying pretty hard when I left and I think you really hurt her feelings."

Elizabeth winced, rocking back on her heels, "Yea, I was pretty hard on her, wasn't I?"

Isabella snorted, "You think?"