Twilight and Dawn

Chapter Three

Rhea could see Bella smiling.

She wasn’t surprised, since they had sat out of that Gym class, the next one Bella would not be as lucky and Rhea was glad that she was always going to sit out. In fact, the teacher told Rhea to not attend class and just go to the library instead.

At least she didn’t have to worry about putting too much strength behind her movements.

Rhea could see Bella glancing at her as they walked towards her car.

“You can just ask,” Rhea said putting her bag in the back, and waiting for Bella to do the same before covering up the trunk, and getting into the passenger side.

“Are you okay?” Bella asked closing the driver seat door behind her.

Rhea raised an eyebrow closing her door as well.

“You looked ready to kill Edward in biology,” she explained.

“Didn’t like the way he was looking at you,” Rhea said.

She could see him talking to one of his siblings.

“It reminded me of something I saw when I was younger,” she finished.

“Oh.”

“I lived.”

“Dad’s got a Doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” Bella said after she pulled out of the parking lot.

Rhea made sure to glare at Edward as they passed him.

She had no shame, she was also highly petty.

“That’s quick,” Rhea said.

“Well, Phil did ring him ahead of time,” Bella said, “he wanted everything prepared for when we arrived. I got the text after gym class. You’re being seen by a Dr Cullen.”

“Alice Cullen’s doctor father.”

“Most likely.”

“Lovely.”

“You were little more than bone when I first meet you.”

“Was not, I had muscle.”

Bella giggled before finding a spot to park in the supermarket’s parking lot.

“I will tip your truck over, just wait,” Rhea warned leaving the truck.

“Aw, Rhea I love you too,” Bella said walking next to her.

“Decent supermarket for a small town.”

Bella nodded.

“Rhea, Bella,” Alice said pulling Bella into a hug.

Rhea stared at her.

Jasper nodded standing behind Alice once she let Bella go.

There were another two people behind them, a man and a woman.

There hadn’t been at the school.

She could only guess that they were Alice and Jasper’s parents.

“Alice? You’re going shopping as well?” Rhea asked.

Alice nodded pulling her into a hug.

“Good afternoon, I’m Esme,” Esme said, “and this is my husband, Carlisle.”

“You must be Doctor Cullen,” Bella said.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dr Cullen,” Rhea said.

Alice was still hugging her.

Bella narrowed her eyes at Doctor Cullen.

“Bella?” Rhea asked.

“It’s alright, your condition is unique,” Carlisle said.

“She’s just worried,” Jasper added.

“Right, your health condition,” Alice said stepping back and taking Jasper’s hand, “your body burns through more calories.”

“It does, just means I have to watch what I eat, will snack on something on the way home,” Rhea said.

“Jessica?” Bella asked.

Rhea put her hand on her shoulder, she was used to being the weird one, even at Camp Half-blood.

“Bella, it doesn’t matter,” Rhea said, “just know that Nemesis is the one who holds the scales and she’s terrified when she’s mad.”

“Greek mythology,” Jasper said.

“I’m Pagan,” Rhea replied.

“You don’t mind if Jasper and I join you?” Alice asked taking Rhea’s hand into her own, “we could help you find what you’re looking for.”

“We are new to the area,” Bella said.

“That would be lovely,” Rhea said, “we should get going before Charlie gets home and sends the entire police force to find us. Might be the most interesting thing in the situation for the day.”

“Therefore you need a mobile phone,” Bella said.

“Over my dead body,” Rhea replied.

“She doesn’t have a phone?” Alice asked, smiling.

Bella and Rhea stared at her.

Racheal’s smile. She knew something that they didn’t know.

“Or an email,” Bella added walking towards the store.

Jasper pulled out a cart before anyone else could, Carlisle following suit.

Alice took Rhea’s hand.

“Email?” Alice asked.

“Rhea has a strange thing about technology, keeps calling it evil,” Bella said.

“That’s cause it is,” Rhea said.

Annabeth had a phone, had one for a few years and Rhea had seen the price of using it. A battle or two, less than before the Giant War, but it wasn’t worth putting Bella’s life at risk.

Bella was her sister.

Bella was human.

She wasn’t a demigod and thus she couldn’t defend herself from what Rhea would summon if she used a blasted phone.

Even if it meant being made fun of.

“I’m sure she has a good reason,” Alice said.

“Rhea always has a good reason,” Bella said.

--

“That was random,” Rhea said putting things away, “almost like she knew we were going to the store.”

Bella looked at her.

“You think she might be able to see the future?” Bella asked.

“It sounds silly, doesn’t it?”

“She reminds you of someone?”

“Rachael, they share the same smile.” Rhea smiled continuing to put things away, “I’m just glad, she’s nicer than her brother. I was ready to stab someone.”

“Edward looked ready to kill someone,” Bella said staring at her, “then he looked like someone threatened to kill him.”

“He had it coming, he only had himself to blame!”

“Should never have shown the Chicago musical.”

“But you did!”

“Why can I see you doing this in court?”

“Because I’m stupid like that.”

“Hello girls,” Charlie said, putting his gun on the side table, taking the bullets out and putting them in his pocket.

“Afternoon, Charlie,” Rhea said.

“You two went shopping?” Charlie asked.

“It’s cheaper this way,” Rhea said.

“And Rhea needs to eat a lot,” Bella added.

“And people won’t stare at me as they did at the diner,” Rhea said.

“Yes, one of my men told me,” Charlie said.

“It would seem that Jasper and Alice added a few bags to the trunk when we weren’t looking,” Rhea said, spotting a bag or two that had things she didn’t recognise, why she didn’t realise there were more bags when they brought them in.

She didn’t know.

“That was nice of them,” Charlie said.

“Anyway, it’s easier to cook,” Rhea said, “ than buy whatever the high school buy their food from, more trustworthy.”

“The Cullen’s, they don’t seem to be accepted by the school,” Bella said.

Rhea turned on the kettle.

“I’m cooking dinner,” she said.

“I was going to make tea,” Rhea said.

“People always judge, three adopted children and two foster children,” Charlie said.

“Sounds like a small-town thing,” Rhea huffed.

“They’re good kids, not that I could say the same for some children whose families have been here for a generation, we’re lucky to have a surgeon of Dr Cullen’s skill,” Charlie said.

“Wait,” Rhea said looking at Charlie, “then why do I have an appointment with him? I don’t need surgery.”

“I talked to some of the doctors from the hospital and clinics, Dr Cullen was the only one willing to do any research into your condition,” Charlie said, “Forks is a small town, not much happens here.”

“It’s not always a bad thing. Might be peaceful,” Rhea said smiling at Bella.

Both knew that it meant less gang activity.

“I don’t know about any gangs in Forks,” Bella said.

“If there is, I’ll find them,” Rhea said.

“Gangs?”

“Bells, I think Renee would have sent you an email by now... or a few,” Rhea said.

Bella looked at her, “I’ll have to email her before she does something.”

Rhea shrugged before following Bella to their bedroom.

“How are Renee and Phil?” Rhea asked.

“She’s worried, do you have anything you’d like to tell her?” Bella asked, “already told her about Dr Cullen, what I thought about him and what Dad told us. How he was willing to put time into researching your condition.”

“Not really, you know I don’t do well with people,” Rhea said, “come on tell how they’re doing with their travels.”

Bella smiled before telling her what Renee emailed them.

“Mum’s going to worry,” Bella said.

Rhea blinked, she looked at Bella before grinning.

Bella narrowed her eyes.

“Renee’s still your Mum, might not be the best Mum in the world and she might have her head in the clouds,” Rhea said, “she still loves you and parents always worry about their children, even if they enjoy embarrassing them, like when she showed me that video of you almost falling off a cliff.”

“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Bella asked.

“Gods, no,” Rhea said, “if my Mum was still around, she would have a few stories that would be just as embarrassing.”

“Doubt it,” Bella said.

“Doubt it if you like,” Rhea said shrugging, climbing to her bunk and opening her copy of Jane Eyre, “I went to a few Elementary and Primary Schools in New York. I was quite the character as a child, a few teachers have told me that.”