CHAPTER TWO: BELLA

ELISE LOVED THE RAIN.

Growing up in Forks where the sun shone give or take ten days out of the year, she'd grown acclimated to a damp, chilly environment.

Seattle was much the same during her time in school, but it was more crowded and polluted and a little more dry.

Elise liked driving in the rain. Elise liked sitting on the porch as the rain fell around her. Elise liked sitting in her room, curled up on her bay window and reading as the rain downpoured outside.

Her sister, on the other hand, despised the rain. Bella Swan, despite never actually gaining a tan, preferred the sun and warmth to the chilly winter of Forks, Washington.

Elise could tell by the look on Bella's face as she and her father met Bella outside baggage claim that her opinions hadn't changed.

And she'd gotten no less awkward either. Poor Bella. She tried.

Charlie gave her a one-armed hug, patting her back gently.

"It's good to see you, Bells," he nodded, pulling back. "You haven't changed much, how's Renee?"

Elise couldn't care at all how Renee was doing. Elise didn't like Renee. Renee left Charlie and Elise alone for sixteen years and stopped them from seeing Bella, hurting her father indefinitely. Elise hoped Renee ate cold soup and had a warm pillow to sleep on.

"Mom's fine," Bella smiled, shifting her bag on her shoulder. Charlie's eyes widened and he took it from her. "It's good to see you too, Dad."

Elise peeked out from behind her dad's shoulder and Bella's face lit up.

"Elise!" Bella grinned, closing the distance between the two and pulling her into a tight hug.

Elise hugged back just as tightly. "I missed you, belly bear," she mumbled into her sister's ear.

Bella pressed a kiss to Elise's temple and pulled back. "How're you feeling? Have you eaten today?"

"You're mothering me again, Bells," Elise teased. "And yes, Dad and I had food earlier. We can pick something up for you if you're hungry though?"

Bella shook her head. "I'm okay, thanks." She gave another awkward smile to Charlie before interlocking her fingers with Elise's.

Elise squeezed her hand, the trio walking out of the airport to the police car awaiting them.

The perks of being the sherif entailed an ability to park practically anywhere for a short amount of time. Charlie didn't use this often, but in situations like these, he didn't particularly want to drag his daughters across a parking lot.

Instead, he parked in front near the entrance to Bella's gate.

Unlocking the car, Charlie busied himself with placing Bella's luggage in the trunk, handing her the small cactus she'd brought with her.

Elise eyed it with a small smile, sliding into the backseat of the car next to her sister.

"What'cha got there, Bells?"

Bella gave her a sidelong look. "It's my cactus. Mom gave it to me. Figured I can't really kill a cactus."

"I had a cactus," Elise recalled. "You brought it once when you were eleven." At Bella's nod, Elise shrugged. "I forgot to water it. It's very much dead. Rest in cactus heaven, Fred, you'll be missed."

She signed a cross over her chest and Bella shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. Charlie glanced back at the pair as he settled into the driver's seat, starting the car.

"El, that plant's been dead half a decade. You can let it go."

Elise shook her head, staring out the window solemnly. She placed her hand on the glass dramatically and gave her sister a morose look.

"I'll never forget Fred," she said, tears gathering in her eyes. "My first friendship. My first responsibility. My first failure." She brought her hand to her chest and faked crying dramatically.

Bella face-palmed and leaned against her window. "You're ridiculous, El."

"You missed me," Elise perked up again, grinning at her sister.

"For like five minutes. You know how they say distance makes the heart grow fonder? It's significantly less fond now."

"Ouch," Elise placed a hand over her chest. "I'm deeply wounded. Thou hath offended me in such a manner from which I shall not recover."

Charlie chuckled in the driver's side as Bella watched her sister in exasperation.

"How are we related?" Bella asked with wide eyes.

"I ask myself that everyday." Her eyes snapped to Bella's. "Speaking of, why didn't you tell me you like cornflake cereal. How old are you, a hundred and nine?"

"Ha, ha," Bella mocked. "They're better for you than that sugary stuff you eat."

Elise shrugged. "That sugary stuff keeps my energy up, Bells. I'd rather not my last year on this earth eating cornflakes and kale."

"I don't like kale," Bella argued. "It's bland."

"Finally, something we can agree on."

—

Bella shook Elise's shoulder lightly as Charlie pulled into the driveway. She'd fallen asleep nearly half an hour into the drive.

She'd been napping more lately. Despite putting on a brave face and pretending she was fine, both Charlie and Bella knew Elise was suffering. Physically, emotionally, mentally. Her body was drained, and they'd passed small talk until the ride went silent, only Elise's occasional incoherent mumble filling the quiet air.

"What's for monkeys?" Elise shot awake, eyes blinking in disorientation, adjusting to the darkness.

Bella smiled at her sister. "Monkeys?"

"Weird dream," Elise shook her head. "I hope I don't reincarnate as a monkey."

"I don't think monkeys are that bad," Bella argued as she opened her car door, Elise doing the same. "Primates are cute. And they climb trees and have opposable thumbs."

"True," Elise yawned, closing the car door as Charlie led them inside. "But I don't think I could eat that many bananas. I'd probably be the first monkey to die of potassium overload."

"You love bananas," Charlie commented as he fiddled with the front door lock. "You made banana bread last night."

"Banana bread is not the same as bananas, Dad," Elise countered. "Gosh."

Charlie chuckled quietly but said nothing else, the door swinging open as he pulled Bella's luggage in.

"I hope you like purple," Charlie addressed Bella as the pair made their way upstairs. "Elise said it was one of your favorites so, I..."

Elise couldn't make out the remainder of the conversation as she opened her bedroom door, walking in and shutting it behind her. She changed quickly, her body slow as exhaustion tugged at her mind.

She fell into bed without any pants on, her head slumped against the pillow.

—

Elise had her dad drop her off at the bookstore before work, where she'd gotten a job to pass the time.

She and Bella had only been in town for a week and Elise was bored.

Not that she worked hard. She didn't really have a need for money anymore, but it was better than watching reruns of Dateline TV on cable all day.

The owner, Jack, opened the store when he and his family moved to Forks from Alaska three years prior. Just after Elise started school.

He didn't have any kids of his own, but he and his wife and brother-in-law adopted a group of teenagers that Elise had yet to meet.

Jack was nice enough. He had a deep British voice and always tried to make her laugh. They talked about literature for hours and he let her sketch or read in the office until the occasional customer came in.

They averaged about three customers a day.

Elise didn't really know how the bookstore was still open, but she figured it had something to do with his family. Apparently, his brother-in-law was the town doctor.

Charlie liked him well enough, too. They'd worked together a few times here and there and, according to her dad, he was "a real stand-up guy, good people. Old-fashioned."

Elise looked up from her thoughts, hand sketching lazily across her pad of paper, eyes catching Jack's from across the shop.

He walked over with a smile, his golden eyes a stark contrast to his otherwise dark physique.

"Did you hear they're making a Les Misérables movie?" Jack asked her, leaning over the counter.

Elise frowned, halting on her sketch. "Interesting. It's already a musical, but it'll be weird to see it in theaters. When does it come out?"

"Couple years," Jack shrugged. "Just have a few friends in the industry, thought you'd like to know."

"I'll be dead, but watch it twice so I can get the experience vicariously through you, okay?" Elise grinned up at him.

His eyes softened. "Wish you wouldn't talk like that, love. There's always hope."

Elise rolled her eyes, smile falling. "I appreciate the sentiment, Jack, but I've been told by numerous doctors my metastatic cancer is too advanced to treat properly. Had I presented sooner, maybe I could've taken treatment and had a different outcome but," she shrugged, looking away. Her eyes glazed over at the thought of dying. Les Miserables, another thing she'd never get to enjoy. "Death is natural, happens to everyone. Some sooner than others."

Jack sighed, looking over Elise's face. "Have you got a boyfriend, Elise?"

Elise smirked. "I thought you were married, Jack. I appreciate the offer but I'm not one to steal from another woman."

Jack laughed. "Funny, as usual. No, I'm just curious if you've been in love before. Really in love."

Elise pulled a face, looking back down at her sketchbook. "Today's a deep conversation kind of day, is it?"

"'S'pose so," Jack pulled away, walking behind the counter next to Elise and sitting down at the stool next to her. He leaned his head on his hand, observing her. "I just know that if I were dying, I'd put up more of a fight. Because I've got something to lose."

His words pierced through Elise's heart like a dagger. Her grip on her pencil tightened and she sketched a bit darker than before.

"Well, only fair. I'm twenty and you're a middle-aged man. Of course you'd have something to lose."

Jack half-shrugged. "Maybe add that to your bucket list." At her wide-eyed glance, he laughed. "I've seen it. You're not very conspicuous with your journals, love. When're you going to start crossing things off it?"

Elise stopped her hand moving, a thoughtful look overtaking her expression. "I don't know. It's weird," she swallowed, glancing to Jack, who watched her with kind, patient eyes. "I know logically that I'm dying soon. That I'll be dead, bam, splat, kablamo like froggy in a a few months here, but I haven't really...it's weird to wrap my head around, I guess."

"Because you can picture a life after death," Jack supplied. "You still see yourself living and enjoying life, even with that knowledge."

Elise nodded. "Yeah, exactly. And it's like," she turned towards him, placing the pencil on the paper. "Of course I have a bucket list of things I want to do before I die, but a part of me is scared to start doing them. Once I start, I'll get closer and closer to crossing everything off and then I'll...die."

"The list doesn't dictate your expiration date," Jack pointed out in mild amusement.

"No, but it certainly feels like a doomsday clock," Elise shrank a bit in her seat. "If I don't do anything, I'm scared of dying and having not done anything. But if I do everything, I'm scared of being ready to die. Does that — that's stupid, right? Contradictory?"

Jack's lips quirked upwards. "Not necessarily. Everyone's scared of the unknown. But in the words of Albus Dumbledore: death is but the next great adventure."

The tone in which Jack said the phrase startled Elise. It was amused and almost mocking. As though he knew something she didn't.

"Are you secretly Death?" Elise asked with a smirk. "Should I be writing a book of our conversations and create a memoir unto my passing?"

"Probably in your best interest," Jack winked with a laugh. "Seriously though," he said after a moment. "The doctors may say one thing, but you can tell your body another."

"That sounds entirely too spiritual for me to properly implement it into my life," Elise smiled at him. "But thank you."

Jack simply shook his head, ruffled her hair and moved back into the office, leaving her alone with her thoughts and her sketchbook.

—

"Is that weird kid back yet?" Elise asked Bella as they curled up on the sofa, an episode of Friends playing softly to fill up the silence. "The one who tried to switch classes?"

She took another handful of chips and stuffed them into her mouth, frowning when a few crumbs scattered across the blanket. Bella watched her for a moment with a crinkled brow, as if Elise had grown a second head.

"El," Bella scolded, dusting the crumbs from the blanket. "You eat like a Neanderthal."

"You ea' li' a nean'thal," Elise countered through her mouthful, then her head tilted a fraction and she swallowed. "Okay, I see what you mean."

Bella shook her head, taking a sip of her coke from the fridge. "Yeah, he was back today." She paused, thinking. "He was oddly...nice? He said he was sick last week, so it makes sense, I guess."

"Weird," Elise shook her head. "Is he cute? I've heard the Cullens are cute but I haven't seen any of them." She then added, "except Jack, but he's technically a Collins." Saying it aloud, her eyebrows furrowed. "That's weird."

"What?" Bella asked.

"Cullen. Collins. C-u-ll-en. C-o-ll-ins. Very similar. What are the odds of that?"

"I don't know," Bella shrugged. "You've always been better at math."

"Only because I had to be," Elise countered. "Math is tedious. I'd take an art lesson any day."

Bella leaned her head on Elise's shoulder and the pair sat for a long moment, eating chips, watching Friends.

Then Bella spoke up softly. "I really love you, El. I hope you know that."

Elise blinked back tears, pursing her lips to stop herself from crying. She knew these confessions would come. Charlie did them every so often. A random burst of affection in case the other person never heard it again.

Which, in Elise's case, could happen anytime.

"I know, Bells," she said just as soft, moving her head from where it rested on Bella's and placing a kiss to the top of it. "You're my favorite human on the planet, you know that, right?"

Bella nodded, reaching her hand to Elise's lightly coated-in-lays-chips one and wrapped her hand tightly in it.

"I keep trying to be okay with this," Bella started. "You dying. But I'm not. You've been there my whole life. You're my best friend."

"You're mine too," Elise replied with a watery smile. Neither of them looked at the other. Both knew if they did, they'd break into tears. "I'll totally haunt your ass."

Bella laughed, though it sounded more like a sob. "Are you thinking Christmas Carol or Casper?"

"Mix of both," Elise grinned. "Depends on my mood really. Maybe I'll even go all Samara Morgan and stand at the foot of your bed until you wake up. You'll scream, I'll laugh. It'll be like I never left."

Bella chuckled but then it turned into more of a whimper and she dug her face into Elise's shoulder. "I love you so much," she said tearfully. "More than anyone."

"Me too," Elise closed her eyes tightly, fighting her own tears. "I'm so grateful to be your big sister."

"I'm so grateful to be your little sister."

—

i'm basing Bella and Elise's relationship off of me and my sister and I just love her so much I love this Bella sm
next chapter we get doctor daddy hehehe