— banner below belongs to -novxscomet ! —

▃▃▃▃▃▃
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

     𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃 SOPHIE ST. JAMES WAS BROKEN, more broken than she'd ever been. She refused to eat, to sleep, to exercise, to go to school, to interact with anybody but her father and she refused to read that journal. Anything to do with the supernatural or her witch powers, she denied it all, it was like she switched a lever off in her mind, pushing it away forever.

She was sat in the corner of her bed, surrounded by blankets. It was at least 4PM, she had no plans, her only plan of the day was to just sit there like Bella had done for months and stare at the wall. Her eyes were sore, red and puffy, and she had tear marks streaking down her lightly freckled cheeks — she'd run out of tears a few days ago.

And, while it had only been a week since her mother's death, it still felt like yesterday and she knew there'd be no getting over it.

Henry was on leave for a few weeks, though he was emotionless, he didn't know how to process it all. The love of his life, the one person who gave his life meaning, was gone forever and he didn't believe in the afterlife, but after seeing his wife lifeless on a medical table, he only hoped there was a heaven, someplace he could be with her again.

If it wasn't for Sophie, he would've ended his own life in a heartbeat, but he had to stay strong for his daughter and that was why he was still standing.

Knock. Knock. She knew that was her dad, but she didn't answer, her eyes locked on the wall opposite her bed.

"Soph? There's someone here for you." Henry opened the door just a crack, poking his head through the gap and when she looked over at him, she could see the evident, dark bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping either, and it broke her non—existent heart all the more to see him as broken as she was.

He opened the door even wider and stood aside, revealing a blonde girl holding a bouquet of flowers and a brunet boy with nothing but a sympathetic smile on his face. Sophie looked away, her eyes back on the wall as they walked inside the room and Henry left, heading into his own bedroom.

"Soph? You look like a mess." Embry spoke softly, taking a seat at the edge of her bed and he reached over, placing his hand on her knee over the blanket but when she flinched, he quickly moved his hand away.

"I brought you some tulips, I know they're your favourite." Layla took the rotted flowers out of a vase on the desk, placing them on the tabletop before she placed the tulips inside and Sophie grimaced ever so slightly, tulips weren't her favourite anymore...

Layla looked over at Jericho and bent down in front of his tank, watching him swim around happily before she turned around, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Are you gonna talk to us?" Embry asked, a sincere look in his eyes but Sophie just avoided his gaze, refusing to communicate with them. They were her best—friends, she loved them so deeply, she never imagined there'd be a day in her life that she would refuse to speak to them, to even look at them.

But, this pain was too strong and her heart was too swollen.

Layla looked over at Embry just as he looked at her, the two exchanging glances and Embry nodded lightly, almost like a signal. And, suddenly, Layla stormed over to her cousin, grabbing her face gently and forcing her to look into her eyes.

"Wake up! Come on!" She shook her, the blonde's eyes watering as she stared into Sophie's eyes, almost as if she could feel all of the pain inside of her just with a singular glance.

"Get off of me!" Sophie snapped, pushing her hands off of her face and scooting away, causing Embry to grin from beside them, shuffling towards them slightly.

"No, I won't. Not until you snap out of this, she wouldn't want you to rot in your bedroom like this!" Layla was practically crying her whole heart out to her, grabbing ahold of Sophie's shoulders to keep her in place.

"I don't care! It's all my fault. I didn't even get to say goodbye..." Sophie sobbed dryly, no tears forming but it was clear she was in need of a tight embrace, so both of them rushed forwards and wrapped their arms around her as she cried silently.

"It isn't your fault, Soph. Don't blame yourself." Embry shushed her, rubbing her lower back comfortingly, but the reassurance wasn't enough. She shook her head, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"No, you weren't— We had a fight..." Sophie admitted, squeezing her eyes shut as the entirety of that day came as flashbacks in the back of her mind. Layla ran her fingers through the brunette's matted hair, letting out a miserable sigh when she noticed the girl hadn't taken a shower all week, or at least ran a brush through her hair.

"Oh, baby. You'll get through this. We're gonna help you, okay?" Layla pulled away, sending Sophie a small smile and the aforementioned girl nodded hesitantly. As much as she didn't want to get up, or move, or speak, she knew she had to, she was glad she still had some control over her brain.

"Come on, beautiful. Let's run you a bath." Embry shuffled off of the bed and wrapped his arm around her waist, helping her up with ease. He lifted her off of the bed, placing her back on the ground carefully and she let out a small wince, feeling a wave of nausea flow over her.

"I'm so hungry." She whispered, mostly to herself but both of her friends heard her as they exited her bedroom. Henry opened his bedroom door, running a hand down his face as he caught sight of Embry helping Sophie into the bathroom whilst Layla was already in there, preparing everything for the bath.

"Dr. and Mrs. Cullen brought a pie over, I can prepare you all some, if you want?" Henry offered, his expression mostly emotionless but at the sight of his daughter trying, only made him want to try to. He was being guided by her, just like how he was always guided by Corrine...

"That'd be great, thank you, Mr. St. James." Embry grinned appreciatively and Henry nodded, making his way past them and down the stairway. Layla reached over the bathtub and turned the faucet on whilst Embry sat Sophie down on the closed toilet seat.

The sound of the strong warm water hitting the bottom of the tub caused Sophie's pain to settle just a tad as she leaned back, fiddling with her fingernails. Layla walked across the bathroom as Embry took a seat on the edge of the bathtub just beside Sophie and she bent down to look through the cabinet by the sink.

A few mere seconds later, Layla pulled out a hairbrush from one of the drawers and she made her way back over to her cousin, lifting the brush to run it through the brunette's hair, "Stay still for me, okay?" She smiled softly towards Sophie, who nodded, wincing when Layla struggled to brush her bird's nest.

"You don't have to—"

"Shh!" Layla shushed her, brushing from the ends slowly to the roots, successfully managing to remove the knots one by one. It took a while, but by the time the tub had filled up, her hair was completely brushed through.

They both reluctantly left her in the bathroom on her own and Sophie stood in front of the mirror as she undressed, feeling an unprovoked tear roll down her cheek as she stared at her reflection. She looked disgusting, she smelled disgusting, she felt disgusting.

So, once she was completely free of clothing, she climbed into the bathtub of warmth, shivering as soon as she felt the water hit her thighs. She was always the type of person to shower everyday, that was a healthy lifestyle her mother had eased her into through her childhood, but as she sat in the soapy water, she felt gross — and even more than before.

She knew it was her body, her mind and her depression screaming at her to stay in her bed and never leave, to just rot until she dies so she could be with her mother again, so she could apologise.

Sophie sat back, lowering her head into the water and slowly, she lowered herself, burying her entire body under the water, the only sound being the popping of the bubbles and the pipes below the tub. And, as she closed her eyes, she felt a sense of peace wave over her, it felt like a tight embrace she'd been yearning for.

It was her.

▃▃▃▃▃▃

IT WAS THE DAY OF THE FUNERAL, probably the second worst day of her entire life, the first being the day her mother died. Her father felt the exact same way as he stood in the doorway of her bedroom, his hands in his trouser pockets, his eyes on her short frame.

She was clad in a black dress which reached down just above her knees and had no sleeves, the collar close to her neck. It was the exact dress Corrine had worn to her own mother's wedding years ago, it was beautiful and only sent more unwanted tears to Henry's eyes.

He was wearing an all black suit, his hair combed to the side, looking more presentable than he'd looked in a while.

Sophie smoothed down the dress in front of her mirror before placing her hand on her stomach self—consciously, giving herself a one over. Her hair was in a low bun, she hadn't put much effort into her appearance, but she tried her best.

"Are you ready to go, flower?" Henry asked, his voice quiet and filled with pain, and she looked over at him, their eyes locking momentarily before she nodded.

"Are you?" She asked, her hand still hovering over her stomach and one of his hands reached up to his face, rubbing his sleep—filled eyes.

"No, but what can you do?" He chuckled dryly and held his arm out for her, to which she strolled over, placing her hand on his inner—elbow, allowing him to guide her out of the room and down the stairs.

As they made their way down the stairs, Sophie paused just as they hit the bottom step and Henry looked over at her, one of his brows quirked.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice gentle and concerned, noticing her eyes glued in a certain direction. He followed her trail of sight, his eyes locking onto the painting sat on the wall in the hallway.

The picture was of the family. Corrine was stood in the middle, her head just below the sun which hung high in the sky behind them. She had one arm around her husband's shoulders on her left, her fingers brushing against his jaw whilst her other arm was around her daughter's waist, pulling her close though it was clear the young teenager felt uncomfortable in front of the camera.

A singular tear fell down Sophie's cheek as she stared and Henry comfortingly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, sniffing quietly, "Will we ever be happy again?" She whispered, burying her face in his chest and he rubbed her back soothingly, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Your mother was the light of this family, flower, and without her, all we are is darkness. But, we'll come back from it. After all, we still have each other." Henry comforted, pulling away just enough to look into her beautiful green eyes he and the love of his life created.

She nodded, sniffling in attempt to stop the tears, "I don't want to argue with anybody ever again." Sophie cried, her bottom lip pouting out just a tad and Henry brushed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away her drying tears.

"I promise you'll never have to." He muttered with sincerity in his tone, and she nodded, hooking her arm with his again. And with that, the two broken St. James' strolled out of their house, preparing themselves for the mournful day.

▃▃▃▃▃▃

THE FUNERAL WAS FILLED WITH TEARS, LOSS AND GRIEF, the entire hour was spent with Sophie tucked under her father's arm, even as he read his speech in front of the crowd, sobbing uncontrollably, they cried together.

Henry's side of the family travelled from Australia for the funeral, though he nor Sophie was close to them and they didn't know Corrine whatsoever. And, a few others attended. Dr. Cullen and his wife attended, along with their family they'd dragged along with them — Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward.

They'd left town a few months back, but it seemed as if they'd returned and Edward and Bella were back to normal, acting as if nothing had ever happened. Along with Bella, came Chief Swan stood by Billy Black and Harry Clearwater with their families.

Jacob, Embry and Quil were all stood side by side. While Quil was crying about the loss, Jacob and Embry were crying at the sight of how broken Sophie was by the entirety of the death of her mother. Layla stood on the other side of the crowd, a tissue in her hand as she watched her distraught cousin, tucked under her mother's arm whilst Mike stood beside his father.

Henry was the brother of Karen Newton, but they were hardly close either...

At the reception, which took place at the St. James household, Sophie was sat at the small table in the kitchen. Everybody else was in the rather large living room and the dining room, enjoying food as they remembered Corrine St. James.

She had a cup of coffee held between her palms, but she hadn't even taken a sip, her mind elsewhere. On the forest outside the house, where her mother had supposedly died and she had to hold back tears. Just as her eyes began to water, the floorboards creaked in the doorway, causing her eyes to snap over.

Her green orbs locked with the golden eyes of Edward Cullen, causing her brows to knit together with confusion, "Hi." He greeted in the most awkward way possible, it was clear he wanted to talk to her, but had no idea how to approach and in that moment, Sophie knew Bella was made for Edward.

"Hi." Sophie responded, her voice much less awkward but more hurt, more uncomfortable. He didn't seem to get the hint, that his presence was making her uncomfortable, as he strolled further into the room, taking the seat opposite her and that was when she smelled it.

Her eyes snapped up from the table and to the pocket of his suit blazer... there it was, a singular lavender. Just there, as if it was the most coincidental thing ever and she looked up to his eyes, which were filled with what looked to be warmth despite the fact he was basically dead — but he didn't know that she knew that.

"Bella told me everything." He spoke up, his hands in his lap as he spoke and she nodded, looking back down at the table as the coffee swirled in the mug, "Sophie—" His hands snapped across the table to hers and her eyes snapped back up to meet his once again, "You won't be miserable for long, you will find happiness, you will find yourself again."

It was weird. To say the least. But, as Sophie stared into his golden immortal eyes, she couldn't help but trust them, she couldn't help but trust Edward Cullen out of all people. She nodded, opening her mouth to respond but before she could form even a singular syllable, a familiar voice spoke over her from the doorway.

"Get away from her." Jacob snapped, taking a few steps into the kitchen with a stern look and Edward pulled his hand away, standing up from the chair just as Jacob got close enough that their chests were practically touching.

"I was just talking to her." Edward squinted his eyes, slightly taller than Jacob but not by much and Sophie just watched the interaction, too tired to intervene.

"You were just talking to her, huh? Why were you touching her then?" Jacob retorted, his hands clenching into fists and Sophie noticed, worry filling her eyes as she watched.

But, before things could escalate further, Carlisle Cullen rushed into the kitchen, placing his hand on his son's chest, "This is over." He spoke sternly towards Jacob before he pulled Edward out of the room, supposedly out of the house entirely before the younger vampire lost complete control.

Once they were out of sight, Jacob slowly looked towards Sophie, noticing the way she teared up, staring out of the window. He knew he shouldn't have started a commotion directly in front of her, but something inside of him almost forced him to, as if he had to protect her from everything. But, he couldn't protect her from everything, that was impossible.

"Soph?" He whispered, a pained expression on his features as she ignored him, her eyes fixed on the window, "I'm sorry." He continued, but his words only caused her tears to multiply and a tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly reached up and wiped it away, finally looking towards him.

"I don't want to fight anymore." She expressed, her tongue darting across her dry bottom lip and he nodded, completely understanding where she was coming from. He didn't know what happened the night before Corrine tragically died, but it seemed to cause more pain on Sophie and he could assume they'd fought.

"We won't fight anymore, I promise." He took a few steps towards her, his own eyes watered and he placed his hand over hers, his thumb absentmindedly caressing the back of her hand. Then, as casually as ever, he intertwined their pinky fingers as if to pinky promise and she let out a smile, another tear spilling down her cheek.

It'd been the first smile she'd expressed all week, and just seeing her smile again was all Jacob needed for his heart to race, for his cheeks to heat up and for his eyes to sparkle with what looked to be love towards the broken girl he'd promised himself he'd fix.

If anybody deserved to be healed, if anybody deserved to be happy, it was Sophie.

@amxliewrites — 2025