Chapter 3
Life in the Slow Lane
Bella:
I didn't end up driving my truck today, since Damien was dropping me off and picking me up from school. As he got there, gave me a thumbs up. He was wearing a leather jacket over a semi formal shirt, leather tie, and jeans. I snuggled up against him as I got in.
"Hey, babe. Hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"Kinda, but whatever. You're here now, right?"
"Right. As much as I would love to have you on my arm, you better belt in. I did promise Charlie to keep you safe."
"Does he know about us, you think?"
"I think he suspects. I will tell him in time."
"I really hate to keep him in the dark."
"Well, let's just get this rolling along, shall we?"
It had been a week since Damien and I had gone to our usual spot on the road, just overlooking the ocean. I felt like he was actually serious with me when he told me I could help him look for a place. Secretly, I was helping him look for more than just a bachelor pad. He looked over at me now as we checked out yet another place. After all, I had already said no to three of them. Those had one problem or another; bad plumbing, because the water took forever to warm up; bad wiring, which he said he could fix easily by rewiring the whole place himself, and I vehemently told him definitely not; and finally, one that was not in such a great part of Forks, in fact, they didn't really like cops and it would get worse at night.
He said, we finally found a potential place at the end of town, like at least a mile away from mine, which was fine. He talked to the real-estate agent, but they started to argue a bit. He came back to the car, and he was annoyed. That's something else about Damien, I hadn't seen him really mad, yet. He handled most things with a calm I hadn't seen in other people my age. He looked over at me, and gave me a brief smile, which told me he was not happy.
"Looks like this one's a bust, too. He wanted to haggle about the price, but I told him I had a set price I had in mind. He didn't want to hear it."
I shrugged, and leaned on his shoulder, "It's ok, baby. I'm pretty sure we'll find something."
"Well, like I said, I'm not too sure your dad will be happy when he finds out I'm trying to find a place for us."
"So, what do you want to do?"
"I think I should move out first. Once, I get settled in, we can tell your dad about all this. I can't actually do anything about it, until I'm eighteen, though. So, we have a lot of time.
I looked at him, "Ok, I get that. What you're telling me, though, is to stay around while you get the place up?"
"Well, I mean, we'd have to wait until you're 18, right?"
"We can still move in, together, though. I think. I mean, we're only like months apart. Two months, that's nothing."
"Your dad might still have something to say about you moving in with me, even if you do turn eighteen."
"Are you saying you're looking for a place just for you, then?"
"No...but it has to appear like I am. That is, until we get Charlie used to this whole idea. Bella, I just think we should wait on the whole thing, anyway."
"I know why you want to tell me to wait."
"What would that be?"
"You don't want to be seen living up the couple life with a high school girl, am I right?"
"Bella, it's not-"
"Of course, it is. I know you think I'm still too young for all this."
"That argument would make so much more sense if I was like 27 or something like that. I'm just saying-"
"You're wondering what people would think. That's what it is."
"I'm thinking Charlie would fire me if he found out I'm dating his daughter. I need this job, Bella."
"Oh, of course, you just need the job, right?"
He wrapped his arm around me, his hand on my shoulder, and soothed me as he gently brushed his hand down my arm.
"I need you, too, of course. Bella, he might just think we're moving too fast, or that I'm a bad influence on you."
"He knows you're looking for a place."
"Yes, but, he doesn't know that you're helping me find a place that will end up being for us. It's kinda not fair to throw him a curve ball, after all he's given me, and that includes you."
I looked up into his eyes, as he glanced over at me briefly. I found I couldn't stay angry at him, his reasoning was solid, and well, he always took the logical route. It was something I also prided myself on, that whole being practical bit.
I sighed, "It never fails. I hate it when you're right."
"You don't hate me, though."
I kissed him on the cheek, since he was driving, but he knew we'd have time for more later. We got to my house, and noticed Edward Cullen was actually driving past us, and when he saw Damien, he kind of glared at him. Damien, himself was too focused on the road, and was completely oblivious to it, or so I thought.
"Someone you know?"
I guess I didn't sound all that enthused when I told him, "That's Edward Cullen. I haven't seen him in days. He hasn't shown up at school for the week."
Damien shrugged, and just parked the car, I leaned in close, and we kissed for a long time. It was one of those times when we found ourselves alone, finally alone. We separated on reflex when we heard another car pull up, and I almost groaned when we did. It wasn't fair, but I knew why he did it. He felt indebted to Charlie, I got that. I just wish his sense of honor wasn't so deep, that he felt terrible about just dating me. It's fair to say that I just fell for him from day one, but he was slow to catch that I wanted just him.
Charlie pulled up, and went to his trunk for groceries. Damien got out, dutifully, to help with the groceries, and I followed. After we put all the groceries away, Charlie patted Damien on the shoulder, asking him, "Would you mind putting in more hours at the station? I might need more people for the night shift."
He looked over at me, and shrugged helplessly, "Of course, I can."
Charlie must've noticed the gesture, and waved his hand dismissively as he added, "You know what? Nevermind, I think I can get Davis to work that."
I spoke up, "Dad, we're going to be in my room. We just want to talk a bit, about school and stuff."
Charlie shrugged, "Sure, that's fine."
When we got to my room, we kissed as I pulled him towards the bed with me, but he was actually just standing firmly and holding me to him. When I pulled back to look at him, I asked, "What's wrong now?"
"Bella, you know what's wrong."
"Oh my god, really? This is my room, and he's not going to just barge in." I softened my tone, then. I started kissing his neck, "I want you, now. You know that, right?"
"I want you, too, babe. I just think we might have to wait a bit, until we can tell your father the situation. It's only fair."
Again, I had to concede to his reasoning, and we sat on my bed, as we talked about the apartment he couldn't get today.
"So, what happened again?"
"He wanted me to go higher, and I told him I couldn't do it. I might just have to settle for that place with the bad wiring. It's closer-"
I shook my head, "No. I do not want my boyfriend getting fried because he was trying to do it all himself."
"I'm actually really good at wiring, among other things."
"I get that, but I'm still kind of nervous about letting you do the wiring."
He pulled close to me, and held me by the waist, "Hmmm, so you're letting me do things now?"
I giggled, "Stop it, you know what I mean."
Just then, Charlie walked in on us, and smiled, "Why didn't you tell me you two were getting along that well?"
I almost stuttered, "Dad, I-"
Damien gently released me, and stood up, "Sir."
My dad almost winced, and waved his hand at him, "Call me Charlie, damn it. I'm not going to be mad. So, you two are that close?"
"Yes. I would like to ask your permission to date your daughter." Damien almost bowed, but Charlie caught him by the shoulders, "Look, yes. Of course, you can. On one condition."
Damien nodded, "Name it."
"Please, please do not be so damn formal with me. Got it?"
"Yes, Charlie. I mean, yea, Charlie. got it." He sat back on the bed next to me, as I rubbed his neck and shoulders.
"That's better. I have to go check something out in the next town. There was an animal attack."
"Want me to come with you?"
"It's ok. It was in a steel mill, or something. Maybe a bear got to wandering in or something."
I could already tell the wheels were turning in my boyfriend's head, because he looked very pensive as he sat on the bed. I tried to soothe him, but it seemed like he was really thinking on it. Finally, I sighed with some exasperation, but I knew he wouldn't let this go.
I told him, "Go on, baby."
He looked to me, his eyes very apologetic, "Really? I will try to be quick about it. I do need to get samples, though."
"Do whatever you need to do, baby. Just be careful, ok?"
"Sure, I will. It's post crime, anyway. I doubt we'll have to do much."
"Dad, be careful."
Charlie inclined his head, "Always am."
I looked aside a bit, and then our eyes met, "Also, take care of him."
Charlie chuckled at that, "Will do. Well, get in uniform. If you like, you can drive your car up, and come back on your own time."
"Right." Damien went down to his room to get dressed.
My dad watched him leave, and sat down with me, "Is this really what you want, Bells? I mean, he's a great kid, but he's also a cop first. I can tell. He's got that look, you know? Duty, first."
"I know it seems that way, dad. He really is great, though. I had my doubts those first couple of-"
"Hours? Don't tell me it's days, Bells. I could tell you were pretty well smitten with him from day one."
I felt my cheeks burn, "Ok, yea. First day. I know he needs me, though. I don't know how I know that, but I just got the feeling that he really does."
"Can't say I understand, but he reminds me a little bit of me."
"Ahem. Don't say that, please. I mean, I don't think it's that."
"Naw, I get you. I'll keep him out of trouble."
As they were getting ready to leave, Damien got ready to get into his car, and I walked up to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"You be careful out there, ok?"
"I know, babe. I got this. It'll be fine."
"Just remember who you're coming back to."
We kissed, and held each other a long time, until Charlie came out, and got into his own cruiser.
He let me go, and I kept my hand on his shoulder as he got in, then pulled my hand back as he closed the door. I touched the glass, and he did the same. He smiled at me, and winked as he turned to put the key in. Charlie pulled out first, then him. I clasped my hands, and held them to my chest as they left.
Damien:
I held my hand against the glass as I reached up to touch hers, and then I pulled my hand back to start the car. Charlie and I got to the next town at least 2 hours later. The trip was uneventful, but Charlie had us get a late dinner at a local diner that he knew in the area. He said that he knew the local authorities were still going over the crime site, so we had some time. As we waited for our dinner, he looked me squarely in the eye.
"So, you're with my daughter, huh?"
I almost stuttered, and it took all my strength not to, "Yes, about that-"
He wasn't demanding, but he was stern, "How long?"
I admitted, "We kissed around the first few days I was here."
He leaned back on his seat, "Why don't you just say first day?"
Actually, this only made me tense up a little, "Well, alright. That's what I meant, and I did mean to tell you, soon."
He waved his hand downward, in a calming gesture, "Bells is really taken with you. So, I'm not going to tell you to stop seeing her. I just want you to be good to her. Also, I heard you two might want to move in together."
I quickly responded, "Nothing's set in stone. We're still ironing out the details, and I told her we'd have to wait a while to do that."
"Listen. I just want you to understand that she's a very young girl. That said, she's got a lot of romantic dreams, and I don't want you to fill her head with all these big dreams if you can't deliver. Get me?"
I looked down a moment, "I understand, completely. I just want to make Bella happy. So, I am trying to give her what she wants, and I am also trying to be practical at the same time."
Charlie nodded, "I know that can't be easy. I've been there before, with Bella's mother. I couldn't be there, all the time, though. With this job, it's hard to be there all the time, and still do this job. It gets to the point where you wish you can split yourself in two. Bella looks like she wishes you could always be around, but she knows you can't. Once she finishes high school, though, she'll expect you to be around a lot more. Believe me, and well, when that time comes, I'll give you the time you need to be with her. Just keep all this in mind, now that you're dating her. I also have to keep an eye on you as well as myself."
I spoke up at that moment, "I can handle myself pretty well, Charlie. That's not a problem."
"I'm only telling you this because I had a rough time with Bella's mother. I don't want to see her lose you, or the other way around because you have to give yourself to the job, or to other things."
"Charlie, I have some idea of what your daughter would want. I want to give her all that she asks for, but I do know my limits. "
"That's another thing, Damien. What limits? My god, you're 17, and you talk like you've been through the ringer."
"I can't say I have. I do know that I don't want Bella to have to worry about me so much."
"She's going to worry about you, anyway. Whether you want her to, or not. I just want you to remember to be there for her. Don't make her worry for you so much. I know it would hurt her to see anything happen to you. If this lead turns out to be something big, I want you to let me handle it."
"Bella would worry about you handling something big by yourself...especially if I can help. I think she wants us both to be home in time for dinner, figuratively speaking."
"How would you feel about just a desk job, Damien? I mean, it would let you make your own hours, and you'd be able to get to her as soon as she's done with school."
"It's tempting, but I set up your department to handle big cases. Look, you need me on big cases. If it gets too hairy, we'll call in the big guns, I promise."
Charlie sighed, and gave me a resigned look, "You watch yourself on this job, you get me?" Then, sternly, and with an almost angry tone, he said, "I am not going to hand my daughter a folded flag for you, do you get me?"
I could only nod, and we just ate our dinner without much more talk.
Moments later, we found ourselves at the crime site. The victim was approximately 40 years of age, or so. He had already been taken to the morgue, so I asked to see the body. I also checked the bite marks, and collected blood samples, as well as a viscous, silvery liquid around each of the wounds. I knew I couldn't do a full autopsy, myself, but I did ask to have the full medical report faxed to the office in Forks. The other officers seemed to give me an odd look as I asked the M.A question after question. I finally asked if there had been similar attacks in the local area. He had told me there had been a few, and I asked for those medical reports as well. Maybe, I might be able to determine if we were looking at the same kind of animal. Truth be told, the depth of the bites seemed too flat to be any bear I would've ever heard about. Also, I figured I'd run some tests on the blood samples when I got back to Forks. Charlie told me to go on home after he talked with the local authorities.
"You better hurry on home, since Bella is waiting."
I motioned to all the reports I was holding in my arm, "Well, I might have a few other things..."
Charlie inclined his head,"Damien, what does the deputy do?"
I replied, my voice sounding resigned, "Whatever the sheriff tells him to."
"I'll go ahead and stay the night, since I still have to look at a few other things. I'll stay around and get you the reports you asked for."
"Right. Thanks very much, Charlie."
I got home around midnight, and found the porch light still on. I dug in my pocket, going through my key ring. The door opened to Bella in one of my shirts, and she pulled me in.
"Where's my dad?"
"He said he needed to get some things sorted out. I have a few samples in the car, in an ice box."
"Do I even want to know what that means?"
"Probably not. Hey, you're wearing my shirt, babe."
"Oooh, are you going to take it from me, baby?"
"Hmm, now let me think about it." I said, as she took my hand to lead me up the stairs. I could tell she had been waiting for me, and probably already figured her dad would be away for the night.
"Bella, are you sure about this?"
She pulled me into her room, helping me get my jacket off, as well as the rest of my uniform, and breathlessly, "Very sure. Besides, we have the whole place to ourselves."
I laid down with her, and touched her face, "I love you, Bella."
She reached up, touching mine, and whispered, "I love you, too, baby." Then she pulled my face to hers. It didn't take long for either of us to get the rest of our clothes off. What followed was nothing less than a moment of passion, or several moments. Time passed quickly, but as long as it was just me and Bella, it was all I needed.
Bella:
When I woke up, Damien was sleeping peacefully, as I rested my head on his chest. He stirred a little, and when he woke up, I smiled up at him, resting my chin on his chest. He smiled a bit, and looked over at the clock instinctively. I could tell he was wondering about work. I had school, too, in about an hour.
I whispered, my voice was a little strained to manage much more than that at the moment, "Morning, baby"
He stroked his hand through my hair, "Morning, yourself, beautiful. Did you sleep alright?"
I nodded, and sat up, only to find my sheets falling to my lap, exposing my bare breasts. He sat up with me, and wrapped his arms around my waist. He brought the blanket up to cover them up again. I turned to face him, and stuck my tongue out at him, "What? You don't like?"
He kissed my neck, and sucked on my ear for a moment, and then, "I do. That's not the point, babe. We have to get ready for school or work, so we'll have to hurry since we only have the one bathroom."
I smiled as i reached up one hand to his face, "Well, we could save water, you know?"
"Meaning?"
I played with his ear, and whispered into it, "We could just shower together. I'll wash your back, you wash mine."
He laughed softly, "I get the feeling we'll do more than shower."
"Your point being?"
He sighed, and let me go for a moment as he gathered his clothes, which were on the floor, "Let's make it quick, shall we?"
"Now what fun would that be?"
After a little love, we got out of the shower, and got dressed. He watched me as I brushed my hair, and put on a rain coat.
"Need a ride to school?"
"I'm just going to take my truck. Will you be at work long?"
"I have those samples from last night, so that'll take me a while."
I looked over at him, and he had that pensive look on his face, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I got this feeling that there's something wrong. I won't be able to shake it off until I look through all the samples."
I strained to keep from frowning, "How long will that take?"
He gave me a quick, analytical look, "I can't be sure. Maybe the whole day. I have to look through the reports, too."
I grabbed my keys, and kissed him as we walked out. Charlie was actually driving up in my truck, and it took me by surprise so much that I almost slipped, until Damien caught me, and righted me.
I looked between my father and him, smiling sheepishly, "Ice doesn't really help the clumsy."
Charlie nodded, "That's why I put chains on the tires."
I had to know, I needed to know if he saw us this morning, "What time did you come back?"
"Around 5 am. I would've asked Damien to take care of it, but I didn't want to wake you two."
Now I really did feel myself go red, "So, you saw that?"
"Damien and I already had a talk about the whole couple thing."
I smiled, and thanked Charlie for the tires, and started the truck. I leaned out the window, "Baby, call me and tell me when you'll be done, alright?"
He nodded over at me as he pulled a box out of Charlie's cruiser, and I knew it would be a long day for him. I let out an exasperated breath, and went to school.
Damien:
I went through all the reports, 7 victims in all, within the local area. However, according to the medical reports, they were all classified as animal attacks. When I checked the blood samples, though, I found that there was no trace of animal-borne bacteria, and no sign of the Rabies virus affecting any of the blood proteins of the last victim. The reports concurred that there was no sign of such in the other victims, either. I ran the blood samples through toxicology, as well as a full spectrum analysis.
I found myself looking through the reports at least four or five times. I found myself trying to figure out why it was classified as an animal attack. Then, I found an article about a serial killer that bit his victims, and I looked up the file in the database. I looked at the bites for the victims, and ran a comparative analysis, side by side. It was then that I realized that the victims were bitten by homo sapien...human. By the time I looked at my phone, I saw it too late. I had three missed calls from Bella.
Bella:
Maybe I jumped to conclusions too quickly. I found myself wondering what last night meant to him. He did say he loved me, and I guess I wanted to hear him say it, again. The thing is, he wasn't answering my calls. It was really starting to piss me off after the third time. I mean, it wasn't like I expected him to be there at my beck and call. I know he had to work, and I got that. I was just hoping we'd be able to talk about it. He wasn't the type to just leave his phone like that. I don't think he was avoiding me, so I had to trust he was doing something really important. I left it at that for an hour or two.
It was raining, so it was annoying going from building to building with everything dripping, myself included.
As I got to Biology class, I was approached by Eric, asking me if I was interested in going with him to some dance or other. Mike Newton came up behind me, and asked how I liked the rain. The two started to bicker, and I decide to just walk away. I would've taken my phone out to call again as I sat in class. That was when the prodigal student turned to me, and then he started talking.
"I'm Edward Cullen...and you're Bella, right?"
Continued...
Well, There it is, folks. I know this took me a while to get this done. I did want to make sure that I got all the outline down, so I wasn't just meandering through the story. Also, I wanted to make sure that I got in some things about the relationship. I know it seems like Bella and Damien are moving pretty fast. I do mean to space it out, but at the same time, I did want to get this chapter out. Sooo..Comments, Critiques and feedback please. ^_^
