Nora's gray eyes stared forward unblinkingly, her mouth twisting into an unsure frown before she began to chew on her bottom lip. She looked apprehensively at the white wooden house that stood before her, the house that contained so many happy memories. She wished she could find some of that happiness right now.

She'd been sitting in her car for about 20 minutes, trying to convince herself to get out and knock on the door. She knew it was ridiculous but she was filled with so much anxiety about seeing her father and Bella again. She scoffed at herself as she sat there, shadowed under the tall evergreen trees that surrounded the small home; rain belting relentlessly against the windshield. The sound was nostalgic to her and she relaxed slightly as she lent back in her seat and closed her eyes.

It was at least good to be back in Forks with its drizzly cold weather that seemed to be never ending. Honestly, the small amount of joy she felt when she had finally arrived after the painstaking drive was all worth it. She loved everything about the quaint coastal town; the close community where everyone knew everyone, those extremely rare days when the sun would finally shine and lastly its quietness. It was so different from the busyness of Seattle and her mind felt calmer already.

Taking in a deep breath, she tried to will her anxiety away but it sat in her chest like a heavy weight that couldn't be moved. With a groan she brought her hands up to grip at her dark chestnut brown hair, leaning forward and banging her forehead against the steering wheel softly.

'Ugh, why am I so pathetic? This is your family, they're not going to judge you!'

She thought to herself unconvincingly, remembering when she had been so wrapped up in her own selfish issues that she hadn't even bothered to pick up the phone. What she had gone through was horrific, there was no doubt about that. Still, the guilt gnawed at her mind every day. All she could think about, day in and day out, was the worry her family must have felt each time she never picked up the phone. Each time she willingly ignored them...she wished she could turn back time, so she could have handled things differently—no. She wished instead that she could go back, and tell herself never to go to that god forsaken party.

Breathing in one more deep, shuddering breath, she opened the door and climbed out quickly so she didn't give herself the opportunity to change her mind. Pulling the hood of her dark green coat over her head she began a slow walk up the drive; all too soon she had made it up the steps and now was faced with the difficult task of actually knocking. She slouched insecurely, ready to hightail it back to the safety of her car, before she shook her head at herself in exasperation.

'This is your home, the only place where you felt like you truly belonged and were wanted, just knock.' Mind made up she steeled her back and raised her shaky hand, her knuckles meeting the glass as she knocked three times. It took a short while before she saw movement through the drawn cream curtains and the door was yanked open. Tears welled in her eyes as they met with familiar chocolate brown ones, her lip trembling as she struggled to smile.

"Nora." Her father breathed. She could see a flash of worry pass through his eyes, brows furrowing as he took her in with concern. She knew why. After the incident, she had found it extremely difficult to eat, sleep and even bathe. Food no longer appealed to her and what she could manage to eat she would just throw up later, no matter how hard she tried to keep it down.

She tried to avoid sleeping when she could; everytime she closed her eyes she'd end up back in that dark room, unable to move or speak, forced to feel those unwanted harsh touches as they destroyed who she had once been. As a result she was now a weak shell of the girl he remembered. Her eyes were rimmed with dark purple bags, face hollow and skin pasty, a harsh contrast to her normally tanned skin from the Arizona sun. She was wearing a simple black hoodie and blue jeans under her coat but he could still see how thin she'd become, they swallowed her and hung off her body.

Tears gathered in his own eyes and he surged forward, engulfing her in his arms and squeezing her tightly. She stilled for a moment in shock, her arms hovering in the air with hesitancy. They'd hugged before, obviously, but her dad was never one to show his emotions so openly. Squeezing her eyes shut to will away the tears she returned the hug, her hands gripping the back of his red flannel shirt as she sank into him, content as she finally felt the anxiety leave her at the familiar hug.

She felt him sniffle and a shudder racked his body as she held her. Sadly it was because he could now feel how sick she had become-it must have felt like hugging a sack of bones. He seemed to squeeze her impossibly tighter to the point it was almost painful but, she didn't care and just let him hug her for as long as he needed.

Time passed glacially, but eventually he stepped back and brought a calloused hand to wipe under his eyes sheepishly, pulling a face at the tears wetting his fingertips. While he was distracted with gathering himself, she took the time to look him over and noticed how drained, how utterly exhausted he looked. The tables had turned, and this time it was her who wore a concerned frown.

He looked down at her with his awkward little half-smile he always did when he was uncomfortable or unsure and she decided to make the first move.

"It's good to see you, Dad." She said softly, a genuine smile on her hollow face. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her and felt her body untense as she entered her childhood home for the first time in months.

"It's good to see you too, Nora." He passed his eyes over her quickly her, a once over that left her feeling embarrassed, before nodding to the stairs. He bounced on his heels and stuffed his hands in his pockets to distract himself from his concern for his eldest daughter. She never liked being fussed over, even as a little girl.

"Bells is up in her room if you want to go and say hi. I'll get your stuff for you." He offered and stretched out his hand.

She placed the keys to her car in his palm with a gracious nod of her head. "That would be great, thanks dad."

She made to walk towards the stairs before she felt him place his hand on her shoulder when she passed him. Turning her head to face him, she waited for him to speak as he shuffled uncomfortably. "It really is great to see you, kiddo. We'll talk later when you've settled in a bit, okay?" He squeezed her shoulder when she froze, understanding the underlying meaning of his words.

The small action was appreciated since it woke her from the troubled thoughts that began to swarm her mind. Saying nothing she just swallowed and nodded her head, but he seemed fine with that and headed towards the door like nothing had happened.

Shaking her head at him fondly she carried on up the wooden stairs, and when she reached Bella's door she stopped, wringing her cold hands together as she contemplated what to say to her baby sister. Out of the two of them her 'neglect' would have hit Bella the hardest: that painful thought made her heart ache.

She opened the door slowly and carefully, looking around the silent and unchanged room. It was dark, despite the open curtains and she wondered if Bella was even there. The room was cold and empty, barely lived in at all.

Finally, her eyes fell on the figure that sat in front of the window like a statue and didn't even react to her presence. Her sister seemed deep in thought-face twisted into an expression that had become all too familiar with Nora these past months.

"Bella?" She announced herself unsurely, flinching when her sister jumped in response to her quiet voice. Bella turned her head in her direction as she stood up from her chair, and the silence of the room seemed to grow heavier as their shocked eyes connected.

They said nothing; both becoming more and more concerned as they examined each other. Nora's heart felt like it was physically breaking as she saw the state her sister was in. She too had lost weight, not as much as Nora but enough that she looked extremely unhealthy. Her already pale skin seemed even more so. She looked sickly, ill... like she had some awful disease draining the life from her.

Her sunken eyes were rimmed with dark circles, it wouldn't be too wrong of a thought to think someone has given her two black eyes. Bella was not getting enough sleep or food and Nora swore vengeance upon whatever had caused her sister to be this neglectful of herself. No wonder charlie looked worse for wear.

Lost in thought she was broken from it when Bella suddenly rushed toward her. For a split second Nora was sure Bella was going to hit her, not that she didn't deserve it. She was pleasantly surprised when Bella's body crashed into hers, nearly knocking them both to the ground.

Agony consumed her completely when her sister began to sob loudly into her chest. Clutching her tightly, Nora held her like this would be their last hug, both sisters thankful to be reunited.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Nora whispered brokenly into her sister's hair as she stroked it, tears leaking from her eyes like water from a broken tap. Bella sniffed and snuggled even deeper into her embrace. Nora found solace in the action, hopeful that maybe her sister didn't hate her after all.

They hugged for a long time, both reluctant to let eachother go, afraid the other might disappear. Bella sighed before she pulled away slowly, though Nora still kept a firm hold on her sister's shaking hand. At last, Bella raised her head and looked into Nora's anxious eyes.

"I missed you so much." She croaked, gripping her hand in a vice-like hold. Dropping her eyes to the ground Nora couldn't bring herself to look at Bella, the shame her selfish actions had caused wouldn't allow her too.

"I'm so sorry Bella, really. I never meant to completely abandon you, or Dad. I just couldn't-it was all too much and I-" Her explanation was interrupted by a loud sob bursting from her throat. She cried as she thought of how much of an awful sister she was.

"No, shh, it's okay. You don't need to explain. You suffered something horrific, you're not just going to be magically okay and you shouldn't feel like you have to be. People handle things in their own way and I don't blame you for how you handled it, neither does Charlie." Bella soothed her, squeezing her hand before she led her toward her bed, helping her sit down before she sat facing her. "Besides, I'd kind of be a hypocrite if I was mad at you, considering I did the exact same thing." She mumbled emotionlessly and sighed as her sister looked at her with confusion. She smiled tearfully before she scooted closer to Nora, their knees touching.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Bella said nothing and seemed to be contemplating what to say, not wanting to take the attention off her sister and talk about herself when Nora was clearly in pain. Suddenly a lightbulb went off in Nora's head and she gasped. "It was that boy, Edwin wasn't it?!"

Bella blinked in shock, wondering how her sister had figured it out without her even saying anything. As if hearing her thoughts, Nora scoffed.

"Come on Bella, I wasn't born yesterday. You've never acted like this before. It makes sense that it has something to do with that boy. What did he do?" She demanded angrily. It was obvious Bella was stressed and didn't want to talk about herslef, but they had all the time in the world to talk about her situation; they would do so later with her dad. Honeslty? She also just wanted the attention off of her for a moment. Her concerns were centred on her baby sister right now.

"Okay, well it's Edward not Edwin," Nora rolled her eyes at this and Bella smiled, happy to see her sister acting a bit more like herself, "and yes it has to do with him. It's kind of a long story." Bella shrugged dejectedly, face falling into that emotionless mask she'd been wearing when Nora had first seen her as she thought of him, how he'd abandoned her like she was trash, like she meant nothing to him.

"Alright, what did Edward do? We've got all day so spill." Bella hesitated for a moment before she began. Nora listened intently, moving to hug her sister when she began to cry softly halfway through her story, her anger spiking at Bella's pain caused by some stupid naive boy. As she listened to her sister explain this boys blatant abuse and neglect, Nora knew one thing.

Edward Cullen better hope and pray that he never meets her.

(Edited 07/12/21)