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 gone to the doctor for the sudden severe dizzy spell I just had.

It only took Bella one more day to break her extended silence. Truthfully, Beth should have anticipated that it would have happened soon. And so, when school had let out and Bella had been driving down the lonely road they normally took to get home, she'd not been surprised when her sister pulled off onto the gravel and shut off the monstrous engine of the truck. Beth kept quiet though, patiently waiting for Bella to begin speaking. The scent of evergreen trees that lined the road, wafted through the open windows.

Bella's knuckles were almost as pale as her complexion, her eyes focused on the road but clouded with an unspoken turmoil. After a while, Bella's grip on the wheel tightened even more, her brows knitting together in a visible display of inner conflict. Bella's chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, her hands trembling as she stared ahead, unblinking. Her face was a maelstrom of emotions – anger, hurt, and something else Beth couldn't quite place.

For a moment, the silence between them was thick, charged with unspoken tension. Beth waited, her own emotions simmering beneath the surface, as she watched Bella struggle with her thoughts.

Finally, Bella's voice emerged, tense and shaky. "Why didn't you tell me, Beth?"

Beth's heart sank as the weight of the question settled heavily in the air. She had known this moment would come, had dreaded it since the day she had chosen to keep the truth hidden. But it hadn't been her secret to tell and she'd wrongly made the decision to keep her twin, her confidante out of the loop on purpose. Edward had affirmed that decision the night he'd told her about the Volturi, but what a fat load of good that had done when his brother had tried attacking Bella because of a fucking paper cut.

Bella's gaze snapped to hers, her eyes filled with a mixture of accusation and pain. "Why did you make me doubt myself? Why did you make me feel like I was going crazy?"

Beth took a deep breath, her fingers curling into her lap. She knew the answers she had to give wouldn't be enough to ease the hurt she had caused. "Bella, I... I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" Bella's voice wavered between disbelief and skepticism . "By making me feel like I was losing my mind? I had nightmares for months! You-" she stuttered, face flushing with her anger, "You were there! You saw how bad it was! And you said nothing!" Bella yelled, tears welling in her eyes from the betrayal.

Bella shook her head then, her expression shifting from anger to vulnerability. "Do you even feel any remorse, Beth? Do you regret keeping me in the dark?"

Beth swallowed thickly, pushing back her own tears. Her head dropped to her chest as her fingers clenched and unclenched from the sheer amount of restraint she used to suppress how she felt. It wasn't the right time. She had no right to cry. Bella had every right to yell at her. Biting her lip, Beth turned to look out at the expansive treeline.

Bella's hands clenched into fists, her anger evident in the way her knuckles turned white. "And what about how it made me feel? Like my own sister didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth?"

Tears pricked at the corners of Beth's eyes, but she blinked them away, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I never meant to hurt you. I thought I was protecting you."

Bella let out a bitter laugh, her gaze fixed on the trees outside. "Well, congratulations. You succeeded in keeping me in the dark and making me feel like I was crazy."

Beth's heart ached at the pain in Bella's voice. She wanted to reach out, to tell her sister that she never meant for any of this to happen. But she knew that words alone wouldn't mend the deep rift between them. Bella's frustration seemed to reach its boiling point as she leaned forward, her voice sharp and accusing. "You don't get to decide what's right for me, Beth. You're not my mother. You are not Renee."

Beth winced at the words, her heart clenching painfully. She had never intended for any of this to happen, for Bella to feel this way. She had only wanted to protect her sister, to shield her from the dangers that lurked in the shadows.

Bella's fixed on the road, her grip on the steering wheel still tight. She took a deep breath, her voice laced with a newfound uncertainty. "Did you ever think about yourself, Beth? About the danger you were in?"

Beth's gaze was distant, her thoughts swirling in a tumultuous storm. She turned her head to look at Bella, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. "It doesn't matter what I think anymore, Bella. The Cullens are gone."

Bella's brow furrowed, her frustration rekindled. "That's not the point, Beth. You were willing to risk everything for them. Did you ever stop to think about how dangerous that was?They could have killed you, for fucks sake!"

Beth's bitterness escalated into frustration. "What's done is done, Bella. There's no use dwelling on it now."

Bella's voice rose, her frustration bubbling over. "You're infuriating, you know that? You act like it's all in the past and we can just move on."

Beth turned to her, her eyes locking with Bella's. "What do you want from me, Bella? To wallow in guilt? To keep rehashing every decision I made?"

Bella's anger was palpable, her chest heaving with each breath. "I want you to acknowledge the danger, Beth. I want you to realize how reckless you were."

Beth's lips curled into a tired smile. "Is that what this is about? You're angry because I didn't prioritize my own safety?"

Bella's rant faltered, her frustration giving way to a hesitant concern as Beth's countenance finally became apparent through the haze of her own hurt and anger. "...Are you okay, Beth?"

But Elizabeth was having none of it now, eyes flashing with a mixture of exhaustion and irritation. "Are you finished, Bella?"

Bella's anger surged again, her voice sharp. "You're impossible!"

Beth sighed heavily, her patience wearing thin. "I'm tired, Bella. If you don't start the truck, I'll just get out and walk."

Bella's eyes widened, fully aware that her sister was not making an empty threat. She hesitated for a moment, then begrudgingly turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, and Bella angrily sputtered the truck into motion. The silence in the cabin was heavy once again, the tension between them almost tangible. Beth's gaze was fixed on the passing landscape, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. She knew she had crossed a line with Bella, but her actions had been driven by a desperate need to protect. As the truck rumbled along the road, Beth's exhaustion weighed on her. She wished she could undo the choices she had made, find a way to mend the fractured bond between them. But for now, all she could do was weather the storm and hope that time would heal the wounds that had been inflicted upon their relationship.