Charlie groaned as he went for the phone again.
"Yeah," he said as he picked up the receiver.
"Chief Swan, thank goodness you're home" said Mrs. Stanley. "I tried to call you before, but your line was busy. Charlie, I can see...oh it must be a dozen little fires from my window."
Charlie straightened up. "Where?" he asked.
"Right near the Quileute land. I can see them right now out my upstairs window."
That was puzzling. "You're sure they're outside the reservation?"
"Maybe outside...but it almost looks like it could be on the reservation from here. Some up on the cliff-tops."
Charlie cocked and eyebrow. "But what could be burning out there?" he asked.
"I have no idea, but something is for certain."
"Look, I'll call down there and check it out." Charlie hung up the receiver and sighed as he dialed Billy's number. "Hey, Billy, it's Charlie—sorry I'm calling so early..."
"Hey Charlie, that's no problem. The boys said you found Bella. Is she hurt?"
"No, she's fine. She's sleeping..."
"That's good. I was pretty worried about her over here..."
"Thanks, but that's not why I called. I just got a call from Mrs. Stanley, and she says that from her second-story window she can see fires out on the cliffs, but I didn't really..."
"Yea, the boys are celebrating."
Anger flared through Charlie. "Oh" he said. "And why are they doing that?"
"The Cullens' departure has been a popular event over here."
Chief Swan seethed. "Uh huh. Really?" No wonder they left he thought. He had hoped that he and Billy had been past that, but apparently the wound was still open.
"Charlie, I know you like the family, and you're entitled to. But the boys here..."
"Well don't apologize to me."
Billy's voice sounded annoyed. "You're the one that matters to me" he said.
"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure the flames don't spread..."
"Fat chance of that."
"I know, I know, I'm surprised they got them lit at all in this weather." Charlie hesitated, but decided he had to solidify their friendship again, or Billy might end up bringing Jacob over to watch ball again, and only after a few weeks had passed. "Thanks for sending Sam and the boys up" he said. "You were right, they do know the forest better than we do. It was Sam who found her, so I owe you one..."
"My pleasure, Charlie. Now if you wouldn't mind, it's getting toward my bed-time."
"Yeah, I'll talk to you later." He hung up the receiver and sighed again. It was beyond him how the Quileutes could bear such resentment for the good doctor. "If that thing rings again, I should unplug it afterward" he grumbled, heading back to bed.
"What's wrong?" asked Bella, who was still on the couch. He had thought she was asleep.
Hooligans making trouble, he thought as he hurried to her side. "I'm sorry I woke you, honey."
"Is something burning?"
"It's nothing. Just some bonfires out on the cliffs."
"Bonfires?" He barely heard the question in her voice.
"Some of the kids on the reservation being rowdy" he explained.
"Why?" The way she made it sound like a statement unsettled Charlie.
I don't think she's always done that, he thought. The last thing she needs to hear right now is that... "They're celebrating the news."
She stared at the ceiling. "Because the Cullens left. They don't like the Cullens in La Push—I'd forgotten that."
"It's ridiculous," Charlie spluttered. Crazy is more like it. He sat in the chair where he had intended to sleep. The sun was rising...somewhere. "Bella?" he asked.
She met his eyes uneasily.
"He left you alone in the woods?"
She looked at the ceiling again. "How did you know where to find me?" she deflected.
Charlie's eyes narrowed. "Your note" he said, reaching into his pocket to find it. He unfolded it and showed it to her. "When you didn't come back, I called the Cullens, and no one answered." He remembered the panic of that moment, and he kept his voice low. "Then I called the hospital, and Dr. Gerandy told me that Carlisle was gone."
"Where did they go?"
Charlie stared at her, shock quickly taking over his scope. "Didn't Edward tell you?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Carlisle took a job with a big hospital in Los Angeles. I guess they threw a lot of money at him."
She shook her head again. "Money doesn't matter to Carlisle" she said. "He must think he can do more good there. That's how he is."
"Oh, uh, I guess you're right. That does sound like him." A moment passed in awkward silence. Finally, Charlie forced himself to ask again, "I want to know if Edward left you alone out there in the middle of the woods."
Again, she shook her head, with greater force. "No, we were right by the house, but...well, I kind of tried to follow him. I was shocked."
He opened his mouth to speak again, but she covered her ears.
"I can't talk about this anymore, Dad. I want to go to my room." Then she was gone, lurching up the stairs.
Charlie stayed in his chair, unable to sleep, but too tired to do anything. The pain in his daughter's eyes had been palpable, and contagious. Misery flooded in on him.
At some point, he must have slept, because he awoke with a start when she screamed. He flailed around, looking for the baseball bat he always kept by his bed-side, but it was there and he wasn't.
"Edward!" Bella screamed upstairs.
Charlie bolted up the stairs as though chased by wolves. He ran into Bella's door when it refused to open. The word locked flashed through his mind, followed by suicide. "Bella" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Bella, honey, are you alright in there?" he wrapped his fist hard against the door. As nothing continued happening, he applied his shoulder, and the old wood yielded.
Bella rolled over then, apparently awakened by the noise, but she had not stopped screaming.
Charlie rushed over to her and caught her in his arms. "Bella, Bella it's alright, you're safe" he said. "I'm right here." Never mind that I'm not who you want. You want that bastard who left you out there. And you need your mother.
"Dad?" Bella asked.
"I'm here for you."
"Oh dad" she said, wrapping her arms around him. In the process she dislodged the album Renee had sent her, which had been resting on her stomach.
"It's ok, it's ok. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Only then, as he looked up, did Charlie realize that the sun had risen. "Bella, it's morning" he said. He heard the tears in his voice before he felt them burning in his eyes. "Its a bright new day."