Control [Carlisle Cullen]

Sixteen

Eleanor was relieved when Bella showed up to school the next day. She didn't say anything to the group, of course, and instead walked straight into the school building. She looked like a zombie.

"Is she okay?" Angela asked, worried.

Eleanor nodded, "she'll be okay. Just give her time."

Jess wrapped an arm around El's waist, causing Eleanor to slightly smile. Her chest still ached, and the lump remained in her throat, exactly like the past two days, "is she really like that because of Cullen?"

"Yes Mike," Eleanor rolled her eyes, "not everyone has the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Angela and Jessica snickered, while Mike's face turned red. The bell rang signalling the beginning of the school day. Eleanor swung her bag over her shoulder. She looked back to the Cullens' parking spots, and sighed. She missed them a lot.

"Come on, El," Jess nudged her side.

Eleanor nodded, and turned back to the school.

Classes passed slowly. The classes she would've had with them were hard to sit through. Every time she tried to focus, she would look over to where one of them sat, then her mind would wander to Carlisle. 'I'll be back, El.'

She hoped he wasn't lying. She hoped he would come back because she missed him. She missed him, and Esme, and Alice, and everyone.

Eleanor's lunch hour passed the same as the day before. She pushed her food around with her fork. She didn't have an appetite. In fact, she hadn't ate since the night he left her.

"Hey Bella!" Mike yelled suddenly, and Eleanor looked up.

She glanced behind her shoulder. Bella glanced over at the table, and met eyes with Eleanor. She raised the corner of her mouth at Bella, who just sighed and moved over to the Cullen table. Eleanor frowned down at her plate.

"You should go sit with her," her twin whispered beside her, "maybe she'll talk to you."

"Yeah," Eleanor agreed, and stood up, "see you guys later."

Eleanor walked over to Bella, who was busy staring into space. She noticed her friend didn't even bother to go through the line. She pulled a chair out, and entwined her fingers together. Bella didn't look up.

"Bella? I'm glad you came today," Bella raised an eyebrow, "you don't have to talk now. But when you're ready to, I'll be here to listen. They didn't just leave you, you know? They left me too."

---

"Hey, we should have a girls night tonight."

Eleanor smiled, and nodded, excitedly, "can we please?"

It had been three months since Carlisle and his family left Forks. Eleanor wasn't any better, but it's not like she let anyone know. She hid behind a mask in public, acting as if nothing was wrong. Her friends didn't know she was close with the Cullens' - beside Jess and Angela.

She hadn't spoken to Bella in a month. The girl had closed herself off from people. The only social interaction Bella Swan got was showing up to Forks High School. Other than that she closed herself off from the world.

Jess cheered, "yes! We haven't done that in so long."

"Okay, I'll meet you guys at your house then," Angela said, "should we just stay there?"

"Um hell yes, I'm broke," Eleanor giggled.

The final bell of the day rang, and Eleanor and Jess rushed out to the parking lot. Eleanor was excited to be spending time with Angela and Jess. It was the first time she had looked forward to something in what felt like a lifetime.

"Do you think Ang would want to order in pizza?" Jess asked, distracting Eleanor from her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'll ask her," Eleanor sent a quick picture to her friend, before sighing and turning to look out the window again.

"You're better right?"

Eleanor chuckled, and turned to her sister, "do I look like I'm better?"

"Yeah, but... if you're still hurting you can tell me."

El nodded, and stuck her bottom lip in between her teeth. Could Jess really see right through her?

The girl ran straight up to her room when they got home. She decided she wanted a little time to herself before the night started. Eleanor threw herself down on her bed. Unknowingly, Jess had caused Eleanor's chest to ache more.

Now her head was consumed with thoughts about the vampires, and the promise Carlisle had made before he left. Missing Carlisle came in waves, and now she was drowning.

Eleanor closed her eyes, and sighed. She missed Bella as well. El knew the brunette was having a hard time, and no matter how much she tried to reach out to her, Bella wouldn't respond. It was killing Eleanor to know she didn't really have anyone to talk to about them.

She opened her eyes and looked over to her mirror. It was shattered- she had freaked out one night thinking about Carlisle and smashed it with her powers. Eleanor hadn't used them since then. Now that the Cullens were gone, she had no sense of control over them.

Carlisle was her anchor. And when he left, slowly but surely, she lost control.

Eleanor blinked away tears, and grabbed her phone off her bedside table. Her fingers typed out a message to Bella. She knew Bella wouldn't respond, but she just wanted the girl to know that she missed her.

"Hey El!" Jess pounded on her door, "Ang is here, come on!"

Eleanor looked at herself in her phone camera, quickly making herself decent, and walked out of her room. She could hear giggling coming from Jessica's room, and smiled. It would be good to spend a night with good friends.

---

A sigh escaped Eleanor's mouth as she glared up at the house in front of her. For some reason, the girl thought it would be a good idea to visit their home today. Now that she stood in front of it, she couldn't remember why.

Shrubs and vines had grown up around it, making the once beautiful house now look kind of ugly. She had invited Bella to come with her, but as usual, was met with no response.

Eleanor took a deep breath, and began to walk up the front steps. She was somewhat surprised to see the door was unlocked, but let herself inside.

It was just as they had left it. The house was clean, with nothing out of its usual place. Her lips quirked up it's cleanliness - maybe if they left it like this, they did plan on coming back.

After looking around a bit, Eleanor turned and headed straight for Carlisle's office. She felt that if she spent time in there, it would be like he never left.

She opened the office door, and slowly walked inside. The smell of Carlisle lingered inside, and she took a deep breath in. Eleanor walked over to his leather chair, and pulled it out enough to slid into it.

His desk was tidy. No paper was in sight, except for a small photograph in the middle. Eleanor frowned down at it, wondering what the picture was. She reached out for it, and picked it up.

Tears stung at the back of her eyes, and she laughed quietly. It was the picture from Bella's birthday party. In the photo, Eleanor smiled straight at Alice, her arm wrapped around Carlisle's waist. Carlisle stared down at Eleanor. He had an arm around her waist, and a grin graced his lips.

Eleanor ran her thumb over Carlisle's picture. He had an emotion on his face, but Eleanor couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

She hummed, and slipped the photo in her jacket pocket. Eleanor leaned back in the chair, and kicked her feet up on the desk. The girl reached into her bag and pulled out a book. She wanted to spend as much time as she could in his office.

And she was right- spending time in his office did make her feel a little better.