Sophie was alone when she woke up the next morning due to her sister being at school for the day and Charlie at work. She spent most of her morning cleaning around the house, doing extra laundry for her family and putting away the dishes. She stayed moving for as long as she could, trying to make up for the big meal she had ate that morning. When she finally ran out of things to do downstairs, she returned to her room and laid on the floor.
Her back ached with each sit-up she did but Sophie had learned to ignore her pain a long time ago.
After a few minutes, Sophie finally stopped, her head was pounding and her throat dry from not having any water. Hipbones stuck out from under her shirt, plainly obvious as Sophie lied still. She grunted when she pushed herself up, ignoring the pulling feeling in her stomach as she chugged from her water bottle.
"Okay." Sophie whispered to herself as she looked around her room. It looked just like it had when she left it - her sage green walls were decorated with photos of random things. Her bed was pushed up against the wall, sitting next to her desk which was cluttered with biology notes and sketchbooks. Sophie walked over to the desk, trailing her fingers over the sketchbooks. She opened the one closest to her, noting that it was the newest one she had. There were only a few drawings in the book and one that was barely started.
Sophie's love of drawing began in middle school when she began doodling on the corner of pages. Her dad had bought her first sketchbook as a Christmas present, and Sophie filled it soon after.
She pulled out the chair to her desk and picked up one of her pencils. At first, her tired eyes only observed the drawing. It was a landscape picture, but Sophie couldn't remember where the scenery was inspired from. While Sophie had been in school for biology, she was also taking a minor in art. Her dream career was to be a biological illustrator, specifically for coastal environments and animals. Forks was a great place to see beautiful scenery and La Push beach wasn't too far from where she lived.
It helped that her best friend, Jacob Black, lived in La Push, so she was able to get to the beach often to draw.
Her focus shifted slightly when she turned sixteen. Instead of drawing landscapes, she drew her inspiration from shows such as "Say Yes to the Dress" and "America's Next Top Model". At first, her drawings were normal - girls in flowing dresses or dressed in bold patterns. However, the more she drew, the skinnier the girls became. The skinnier the drawings became, the skinnier Sophie became.
Sophie loved beautiful things - she wished she didn't see broken bodies as beautiful. She wished she didn't wish to be beautiful.
Sophie sighed and sat down her pencil once more. There was no point in continuing the drawing if she couldn't remember what the rest of the landscape looked like. She'd have to remember how to get to the meadow in the drawing before she could continue it.
Bored of doing nothing and tired of ignoring the rumbling in her stomach, Sophie went back downstairs to find something to eat. She dug through the kitchen, putting together a bowl of cereal and grabbing a water before walking out.
The clock showed her that Bella would be home soon, so Sophie decided to move outside to wait for her. They didn't have much of a front porch, so she popped down on the first step and began to eat. It didn't take long for her sister's beat-up truck to pull into their driveway. Bella hopped out, smiling widely at her sister as she swung her bag around her shoulders.
"Hey." Bella sat down next to her sister
"Hey." Sophie greeted her back with a small smile. "How was school?"
The two sat in silence for a moment, Sophie chewing on her cereal as she thought of something to talk about. "Your birthday is coming up."
Bella wrinkled her nose and Sophie raised her eyebrows. "What was that face for?"
"I don't know." Bella mumbled. "I guess I don't like that I'm getting older."
A loud laugh escaped Sophie's lips before she could stop it. She nudged Bella's shoulder with her own, a teasing smirk now on her face. "You're turning eighteen and you sound like someone who just turned forty. You're still a baby."
"Right." Bella answered, picking at a loose string on her jeans. Sophie could tell there was more to her answer and she narrowed her eyes at her sister briefly. When Bella wouldn't meet her gaze, Sophie sighed. The two fell into silence once more.
Bella looked over at her sister, taking in her small, pale frame. Her blue eyes stared straight ahead, focused on nothing. Her dull brown hair was tied in a bun, showing off her cheekbones perfectly. Sophie really was the perfect mix of Renee and Charlie while Bella mainly resembled her father.
"Have you told mom that you're home yet?"
Sophie made a face. "I meant to call her today."
Sophie and Renee's relationship was simple. They got along easily, but they weren't as close as Renee and Bella were. Sophie tried to talk to her mom whenever she could, but sometimes it was hard to sit through conversations with her. Renee didn't have much of a filter, after all.
Bella hummed. "I'm going to Edward's later if you want to come. He said you were welcome."
Sophie and Edward had met briefly on a few occasions. The last time they had talked to each other was the night of Bella's prom. It was a short conversation and Sophie couldn't even remember what they spoke about. "Won't it be weird?"
Bella shook her head. "No, it'll be nice. Alice wants to meet you anyway."
Sophie snorted. Bella had told her all about Alice. While the girl seemed sweet, she figured Alice could be a bit too loud for her taste. Bella and Sophie liked the silence, though usually Bella was quieter than her sister.
"Fine." Sophie gave her sister a look after realizing that she wasn't doing anything else. "When are we going?"
Sophie couldn't remember ever feeling so awkward. Edward had met both her and Bella outside of his house. Bella went to him immediately and Sophie felt the need to look away from Bella and her boyfriend.
"Sophie." Edward greeted her next with a nod. "It's good to see you again."
"Likewise." She mumbled, looking around. Their house was literally in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a massive forest. The Cullens must have liked their privacy. The house was huge as well and equally as beautiful.
"Anyway." Edward broke her from her thoughts. "Come in."
She followed behind the couple, her dark blue eyes taking in their house as they walked through it. Edward seemed to guide them to the living room, where a short pixie-haired girl sat on one sofa, looking at them with a smile. In fact, as Sophie looked around, she noticed the rest of the Cullen family accompanied the sofas in the room. She glared at Bella, annoyed that she hadn't told her the whole family would be here.
Carlisle Cullen was the first to greet her when they arrived in the living room. He looked the same as he always did when Sophie saw him - soft eyes and a warm smile directed at her. She couldn't help but smile back at the doctor as they exchanged hellos. Sophie didn't notice the rest of the family's expressions as they looked over her - baggy clothes and bone tight skin, dark purple bags stood out under her eyes.
She looked scary.
"How have you been?" He asked, guiding her over to the sofa. "I hear you were just discharged from inpatient."
"Yeah." She mumbled, glancing around at the rest of the family. The blonde boy known as Jasper stood stiffly against the wall, his arm wrapped tightly around Alice who was now standing beside him. As she locked eyes with him, she felt her nerves melt away completely. It was a weird sensation, to feel so calm so quickly.
Her blue eyes wandered to the biggest man in the room - Emmett as Bella had told her. He seemed friendly as he flashed her a smile. He stood next to Rosalie Hale, the only blonde woman in the family. Sophie thought she was the prettiest woman she had ever seen as she continued to observe the family. Finally, Esme Cullen had sat next to Carlisle, resting a hand on his arm. "It's great to meet you, Sophie. Bella has told us so much about you."
"Likewise." She smiled back at the woman. She felt a little awkward being the center of attention in the room. Usually, people gave her her space once they saw how she looked, and she liked it that way.
"I'm Alice." The pixie-haired girl who had been standing by Jasper was in front of her suddenly, sticking a hand out in her direction. Sophie jumped back, feeling her heart speed up slightly from the girl's sudden appearance.
Sophie hesitantly shook the girl's hand, startling slightly when she felt how cold her skin was. "I'm Sophie."
Alice sat next to her on the couch, an excited grin eating away at her face. Sophie hadn't even realized Bella and Edward were gone from the room at that point. "Bella told me you were in school for biology and art. What were you wanting to do?"
"Oh." Sophie sighed as she thought of her time at college. "I've always wanted to be a biological illustrator, which basically just means that I can draw things from my research in order to learn more. I wasn't there for long."
"I'll have to see some of your work sometime!" Alice still seemed happy to look at Sophie's drawings, even if she didn't finish college.
"Yeah, I'll have to show you." Sophie answered back, slowly beginning to feel more at ease.
The two sat and talked for what felt like ages. It was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't a part of her family or a support group. And Alice didn't hesitate to talk about anything. They bonded over art and their shared love of fashion, and Alice offered to take her shopping in Seattle one day.
Sophie had accepted, though she wasn't sure if she really wanted to go. Clothes didn't fit her as well as they once had. Most of the time, she was seen wearing sweatpants and baggy shirts. Before her eating disorder, she wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of sweats.
Bella had reappeared after a short time, telling her sister that it was time to go home. Sophie nodded and turned to tell Alice goodbye when she stopped herself. She frowned, reaching her hand out to shake the girl's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Alice was staring straight ahead, her eyes wide and mouth ajar as she stared at something that wasn't there. Bella and Edward moved instantly, both recognizing that Alice was having a vision. Edward looked at Sophie with wide eyes when he moved in front of her, causing the girl to frown back at him. Alice gasped suddenly, blinking quickly as she regained her focus. Her wide amber eyes moved from Edward to Sophie. "I'm sorry. I just zoned out, I guess. It happens a lot."
"Right." Sophie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her new friend but turned to her sister when she shook her shoulder.
"Let's go Soph." Bella told her, guiding her out of the house now. Sophie turned to say her goodbyes as they left.
"Wait!" Alice called after them before they were completely gone. She appeared behind them, looking excited now, as if she didn't just have some weird episode. "We're having a party for Bella tomorrow night. You should come, too."
Sophie only nodded, agreeing to come to her sister's birthday party. This time, when they turned to leave, no one stopped them. The feeling developing in her stomach was different than what she normally felt. She wasn't feeling a hunger pain anymore, but something more dreadful now.
She had a sinking feeling that the Cullens were hiding a big secret. Sophie wasn't sure if she wanted to know just how big it was.