Their Little Wolf ~ Quileute Wolves

Chapter Five: The Disappearnace

            It had been a rocky road for the Swan sisters ever since Bella had returned from Arizona. When the older sister had returned, her only sign of remorse had been the muttered 'Sorry' she gave Eleanor under their father's watchful gaze. It didn't feel that sincere to Eleanor or Charlie, who had been the one to require his eldest daughter apologized. Eleanor didn't hold resentment towards her older sister, but she was firm in her decision to wait to accept any apology until she saw Bella actually change her ways. She had realized when Bella had shouted those hurtful words that she had never really felt loved from her sister.

Eleanor had always tried so hard to be kind and understanding towards Bella, but she wasn't going to give that same courtesy anymore if it was so unappreciated and unwanted. It didn't mean things weren't civil in the house. Eleanor would never be rude to someone deliberately, even if she didn't like that person. She was still friendly towards Bella; she just didn't trust her anymore or go out of her way to interact with her.

Things were slowly getting better between the two sisters, however. With Bella being grounded she had been required to spend more time at home, so the sisters had been interacting with each other more than usual. Bella had started to offer small smiles to Eleanor in the morning, the friendliest she had ever been towards her younger sister. It was an exciting change for Eleanor, but for Bella it was just her attempting to shorten her grounding. She hoped that if Charlie saw her attempts at being kinder that he might end her punishment sooner. It worked and when the school year ended, so did Bella's grounding.

Both Swan sisters were preoccupied during the summer, so their relationship had plateaued into a friendly one, neither one really interacting with the other. Bella spent most of her days with Edward or at the Cullen's and Eleanor practically lived at Billy's house now. She spent her time with Jacob, Embry, and Quil. Each day was a new adventure, whether it was cliff diving, going on a hike, working on Jake's Volkswagen – which Eleanor had nick named Bunny, much to Jake's displeasure – or spending time at the beach, and Eleanor had never had so much fun. She loved her best friends and didn't know what she would do without the three.

Quil and Embry had quickly grown attached to Eleanor in a fashion very similar to Jake. They never even thought to be upset that she had invaded their friend group because both were so happy to see her every day. She fit with the group, she had brought the boys closer together, which they hadn't thought possible, and she brightened the room every time she visited. The four had grown incredibly close and now that school was starting back up, they were worried to spend so much time apart. Jacob, Embry, and Quil would see each other every day at school, but unless Eleanor could convince Bella to give her the truck to drive down to the reservation, they would only see the Swan girl they were so fond of on the weekends.

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On the morning of Bella's birthday, Eleanor woke up excited. She was determined for this to be a great day. She wanted a fresh start with her sister. The two had never been on better terms and Eleanor felt like it was time to fully forgive Bella. She had the perfect birthday present picked out and was so enthused that as soon as she heard the alarm go off in her sister's room she burst through the door.

"Happy Birthday, Bella!" her cheerful voice rang out. It was met with a much less excited groan.

"Don't remind me," Bella cried out. She was really not in the mood for her sister's positive attitude this morning.

"Here, I got you this." Eleanor thrust the present forward toward her sister, no longer able to wait to see her reaction. She had gotten Bella a cactus, the very same type they had from their yard back home in Arizona, and the pot was hand painted by the girl, the design one reminiscent of sunny days. Eleanor loved plants and combined with Bella's love for Arizona, she thought it was the perfect gift. And it really was – the gift clearly displayed the love that Eleanor still held for her older sister. It was just impossible for Bella to notice the care and thought put into the present she received.