Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed! I really appreciate the feedback.
I was really conflicted about a couple of things in this chapter, so I want to thank everyone that helped me sort through the decisions.
Thanks to Kim for beta-ing and giving me some really great suggestions. Thanks to Alice, Crayons, Gabi, Rei, Sheeeri and all the EBs for your help and support.
I am very excited that Sheeeri has been working on some really cool manips to go along with this fic. When I figure out how, I will be posting them here. Thanks again, Sheeeri!!
I hope to post Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 in about a week. This is a long chapter, I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 3: The Cullen Backlash
I made a choice a long time ago. I chose to stand by Charlie, right or wrong.
Now I live with that choice, even though he's lied to me.
I'd been sitting in my truck for almost fifteen minutes.
I was stalling, dreading the inevitable. After Seth Clearwater's third call, I stopped playing the messages. I knew what he wanted to know. I didn't like the idea of lying to Seth, but I couldn't tell him the truth. Not yet.
I would find out what was going on with Esme Cullen and Charlie. I had to. And once I got to the bottom of things, I could fill in Seth. But for now, it's better for everyone if I keep this information to myself. I think.
I waited as late as possible before leaving the safety of my truck and making a run for class. I hoped that Seth would have given up on waiting around for me by then. I had almost made it across the nearly empty quad when –
"Hello, Bella," said a smooth, velvety voice.
That was not Seth Clearwater.
Between thinking about Charlie and Esme, and avoiding Seth, I had temporarily forgotten about the new Cullens.
I turned around to see Edward Cullen leaning, one knee kicked back with his foot against the brick wall of the school. He had a cigarette in one hand and his jacket rolled up in the other. He was wearing dark jeans, a light grey t-shirt. Jesus. I think he was trying to look like James Dean.
"Hey," I replied. I had nothing to say to him.
But, why was he talking to me? I was so not in the mood to put up with some Cullen bullshit.
He took a drag off his cigarette as he looked me up and down. I started to turn to continue on to my locker.
"So I figure if we're gonna be lab partners, we ought to get together sometime. You can bring me up to speed on what I've missed," he suggested.
You have got to be kidding me. I'd sooner gouge my eyes out with a spoon than spend time with the spawn of Carlisle freaking Cullen.
"I'll photocopy my notes for you," I answered, coldly.
I knew how his kind worked. It was all about manipulation and power play. He had to know who I was by now, and he was obviously trying to fuck with me. Sorry, Mr. Cullen. I'm not some naive daughter of a Head Mistress. I will not be the catnip in your fucked up game to piss off Daddy.
I started towards the door again before he had a chance to respond.
"See ya in bio!" he shouted.
I reached my locker and was almost finished switching over my books when I saw Seth at the other end of the hallway. He saw me too.
I couldn't tell him the truth. Not yet. I had to find out what it all meant. I had to wait until I knew how it all fit together. But I couldn't keep avoiding him forever.
No time like the present.
"Bella," he called out as he approached. "I've been calling you. Did you find out anything?" he asked anxiously.
I opened my mouth to speak, but found myself unable to outright lie to him. So I opted instead for a lie of omission.
"Nothing definitive yet, I'll keep on it and let you know if anything comes of it," I said.
"Did you find out what she was doing there? Who was she meeting?" he asked, as I backed away from him, fleeing towards my class.
"Gotta run, Seth. I'll don't really know anything yet, but I'll let you know when I find out something," I said.
Disappointment washed over his face.
I couldn't blame him. I was disappointed too. I wanted to tell him the truth, but that would have to wait until I was sure what that was.
I rushed away from him, hoping that would be enough to satiate him for a little while, and made it to Mr. Berty's class just as the bell was ringing.
The rest of the morning played out like any other generically routine day in high school.
By the time lunch rolled around, I'd made up my mind about Charlie. I planned to confront him and demand the truth. It was just the two of us now, and we had to be honest with each other. Maybe it would work. Maybe not. But I had to try.
I didn't eat lunch on the quad. I suppose I still wasn't ready for more questioning from Seth. So I sat on a bench outside of the gym and ate my sandwich.
It was supposed to be my quiet place, my alone time.
But things never seem to work out the way I plan.
"Hiding out?" Jasper asked, as he sat down next to me.
"Trying to," I answered with a laugh.
He stared at me silently with his kind eyes and subtle smile. He had a way of looking at me that made me forget we'd ever broken up. It made me want to fall into his arms and let him catch me, like he always did.
But I'm no longer that girl.
"How are you, Jasper?" I asked, trying to restart the conversation. I had to keep talking to keep my mind from wandering. When it wandered, it took me back to too many sweet memories that were now laced with pain.
"Same as always. How about you? How are you holding up?" he asked.
"Same as always," I repeated.
"How's Charlie?" he asked.
I tried not to react at the thought of my lying, potentially adulterous father, but I knew Jasper could see right through me. He always did.
"He's fine," I answered.
Jasper could always pick up on it when I was tense or anxious, and I could tell that he knew something was bothering me. But he didn't pry. It wasn't in his nature.
"I'm always here, Bella," he said, as he reached out and covered my hand with his. "For you, I'm always here."
"Thank you." I nodded in appreciation, feeling embarrassed at how emotional I suddenly felt. My cheeks burned with my blush and I turned my gaze to the ground to avoid eye contact.
"If you ever want to talk, you know how to find me," he said as he stood up, releasing my hand. He looked down at me and let out a soft laugh. "I know you won't, cause I know you. But the offer stands," he said with a shrug. He threw me a light wave as he walked away.
And that was Jasper. Classic Jasper. Always a gentleman. Always there.
He had been my friend for as long as I could remember. It was always just easy to be around him.
I can't say that I didn't see it coming when he broke up with me last year.
Things had changed. I was moody and distrustful and I got a little more indignant every day. The murder of my best friend, Tanya Grayle, tore apart the town and my family. Charlie became public enemy number one when people blamed him for messing up the investigation and for trying to pin it on the most beloved man in town, Carlisle Cullen. Then after everything else, Renee ditched us. It was too much.
Everything changed.
I changed.
I was defensive and confrontational.
One day when Jessica Stanley, gossipy bitch that she is, made some crack about Renee leaving, I'd had enough.
I slapped her across the face.
I'll admit it. It was a bitch move.
But it was my first fight, and I didn't know anything about fighting. I've improved my technique since then. But still, the look on her face was priceless.
But that memory was bittersweet. As satisfying as it was to smack the piss out of Stanley, it cost me Jasper. He said he'd had enough, that he didn't know who I was becoming. He said I was so angry and cynical and not the person he'd fallen in love with.
Then he said the worst part.
He said it hurt him to be around me.
My loving boyfriend, the one that it was so easy to be around told me that it hurt him to be around me. That was painful.
But I understood what he meant about me changing. I was not the same Bella Swan. I would never be the same Bella Swan. I couldn't change that. So I didn't argue with him.
We stopped seeing each other, but he never stopped being so incredibly nice to me. I missed him, more than I would ever admit to him or to Charlie or to anyone that would ask.
Sometimes, I hated it when he was nice to me. It just made me feel like the bitter asshole that I was.
When Jasper was out of sight, I threw away my trash and headed for gym, a class clearly created by a sadist.
After class, I was finishing up in the shower when I heard Rosalie Hale and her minions giggling. I wasn't concerned with whatever juicy bit of gossip they were gushing over at the moment, so I didn't pay much attention. I turned off the water and reached for my towel. As I stepped out of the shower, I noticed the giggles stopped, and the stares began.
Wonder what the latest rumor about me is now?
I paid them little attention as I went to get dressed.
Then I realized what the joke was.
"Where are my clothes?" I demanded. This could not be happening.
Hushed laughter and whispers spread through the locker room.
No one answered.
"Where the hell, are my clothes?" I repeated. It probably would have seemed more demanding had I not been wrapped in a towel and dripping wet. Some ignored me, others smirked as they stared.
Rosalie looked me over and laughed as she sauntered away. Lauren Mallory finally broke the silence.
"Oh, you mean, these?" she asked, as she pointed towards one of the toilets.
I walked over to find my clothes shoved into a toilet bowl, soaking wet.
Rose's hyenas exploded into laughter behind me.
I was furious, and revenge would be mine. But first I had to find something to put on. I would not walk across campus to my truck wearing only my towel.
Thoughts of grabbing Rosalie or Lauren or any of them by the hair and smashing their face into the wall flashed through my mind. But the bell rang, interrupting my thoughts, and ushering in the next class, bringing in brand new company to laugh at my predicament.
I stood in front of the clothing filled toilet weighing out my options as the laughs continued behind me.
"Ugh. The people of this town can be so awful," a high voice chirped from behind me.
I turned to see a tiny girl with dark hair standing at my side.
"You have no idea," I replied.
"I'm Alice," she said, extending her hand.
"Hi, I'm Bella. You must be new-" And then I realized there was only one new girl at Forks' High. She must be the other Cullen. Perfect. I expected the other shoe to drop, for her to fire off some snarky comment…but she didn't.
"Yes, I am!" she answered cheerfully. "My brother and I just transferred in." She was all smiles, incredibly friendly.
Surprisingly, she seemed for real. She didn't possess the type of vile attitude I expected.
"Welcome to Forks," I said dryly.
"Thanks!" she replied earnestly. "Hey, do you need something to wear?" she asked.
I hesitated for a moment. Generally speaking I tried to avoid asking for favors, and I certainly did not want to be indebted to a Cullen. But I didn't have a lot of other options, and she seemed alright.
She grabbed me by the wrist and twirled me over to her locker.
"Usually I like to keep a backup outfit or two on hand, but I haven't had a chance to do that yet," she said as she dug through her locker. "Here you go, it's all I have for now. Sorry."
She handed me her gym clothes.
"Don't you need these for class?" I asked.
"I'll sit this one out. No biggie," she said with a smile and a shrug.
I thanked her for the clothes and got dressed.
When did I enter Bizarro World? A nice Cullen, that even seemed cool? There had to be a glitch in the matrix.
I waited till the bell rang again to start the next class before I left the locker room so that there would be fewer people in the halls. I appreciated Alice's gesture, but her tiny shorts were hardly flattering on me. Between the outfit and everything else on my mind, there was no way I was going to Biology that afternoon.
After I cut out of school, I did a quick drive by Charlie's office to make sure he was there before heading back to the apartment. I changed out of Alice's tiny clothes and put them in the wash so I could take them back to her tomorrow.
Edward POV
My second day at Forks' High was just as dull as the first.
I needed to find something to do, and fast. Boredom is intolerable.
Carlisle still had me on lockdown. No car, no credit cards, no freedom.
He'd tire of that soon. He didn't care enough to enforce his rules for too long. After all, this is the man that shipped us away to boarding school as soon as we were out of diapers. He needed all of his energy and attention to focus on himself.
I'd just have to ride out the next few days of lockdown, and then he'd be distracted.
He had one of his drivers taking me and Alice to and from school for now, and that shit just made me feel like a tool. I'm all for prestige and privilege, but a limo to and from high school was a total douche move.
That was actually one thing Alice and I agreed on here. She'd been working her pixie magic and begging for a car, so hopefully there would be a reprieve soon.
I was becoming reacquainted with Emmett McCarty. His family used to visit Vail around the same time as us, and we partied together a few times. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he did know how to throw a good party. He seemed pretty well cemented into place as part of the social elite here in Forks, so he was a good connection to have.
I sat with him at lunch met a few of his friends. There were a limited number of seats at that table, so I wondered who got kicked out to make room for me. Didn't really matter, but it's good to know I've already got status around here.
After school, we had to stand around and wait for our driver, which pissed me off.
"He'll be here soon. I don't see what the big deal is." Alice tried to assuage me.
"He gets paid to be at a certain place at a certain time," I said. "Tardiness is unacceptable."
Our driver being late was really just the icing on my bored and annoyed cake.
A few minutes later, our driver finally showed, and we headed home. When we pulled up to the house, Carlisle and Esme were standing out front.
"You need to talk to the help about being prompt," I said to Carlisle as I slammed the door behind me.
"Alice, I have a surprise for you," Carlisle said with a smile, ignoring me.
"We have a surprise for you," Esme corrected.
Alice literally started bouncing. She loves surprises. She started doing that thing again where she talks so fast I can't understand her. She wrapped her arms around Esme, and Carlisle led us to the front of the garage.
Unfreakingbelievable.
Parked in the garage with a big red bow on top was a bright yellow Porsche 911 Turbo. I temporarily lost hearing due to Alice's incoherent high-pitched squeals.
"Alice, since you did nothing wrong, but have still had to suffer the consequences of your brother's actions, we thought you deserved a treat," Esme said with a smile.
"This is bullshit," I said. "What? Am I supposed to ride bitch in that thing and be chauffeured around by Alice now?"
"Oh come on, Edward, you know you love it! How could you not?" she asked, as she ran her hand over the top of the car.
"No, you'll still be taken to and from school by one of the drivers," Carlisle said curtly.
"Well, for now…Obviously, you'll need your own car soon," Esme countered.
Carlisle shot her a nasty look, but God love her, she held her ground.
They seemed locked in some sort of argument, and Alice was still bubbling over about her new prize, so I cut out.
"I'll be in my room, I have a lot of studying to get caught up on," I lied.
When I got inside the house, I flipped open my phone and called Emmett.
"You still want to party tonight?" I asked. He responded with a few "Hell yeahs" and took off running with a plan. We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and have a party down at one of the local beaches. I put him in charge of the guest list, reminding him not to invite any undesirables.
I pulled the door to my bedroom shut and locked it and then left through the patio door into the back yard. Emmett picked me up a few houses down.
I thought about calling Alice and telling her about it, but I figured she was still in Porsche heaven, so I left her alone.
By the time the sun set, about thirty of Forks' hottest had gathered for our bonfire party. I was a few drinks deep and enjoying the company of an especially vacuous blonde from my Econ class, when we were rudely interrupted.
Some losers in leather jackets were crashing our party. They were from that bike gang, or whatever the fuck it was.
"Are we in time for s'mores?" asked the shorter one.
"Hey Paul, look, they got the good stuff," the other said, lifting up a beer.
"Ah, good call, Jake. Yum," Paul responded.
The bigger guy, who seemed to think he was their leader or some shit, walked up to me.
"Is this imported?" he asked taking a drink of our beer. He was a beast of a guy, big, and taller than Emmett.
"This is a private party, man." I said.
"Oh, oh, is it? I-I'm sorry. I must have been confused. Hey, let me ask you something. Have you ever come home to find us throwing a kegger in your backyard? No? Then why the hell do you think you can throw a party on our beach?" he sneered.
Emmett was at my side. "Shut the hell up. Are we supposed to apologize because we didn't ask permission? Are you "the leader"? Whatever. Yeah, Jacob, we're all shakin' in our boots here," he said, letting out a big chuckle.
"The Cullens aren't welcome here," he snarled, staring me in the eye.
I didn't know what the fuck this guy's problem was, and frankly, I didn't give a shit. He was crashing my party, and killing my buzz. A few more of Emmett's buddies gathered around behind us.
"Listen, why don't you take your little girlfriend here," I said motioning to Paul, "and scurry along."
His jaw was locked and he was grinding his teeth. His hands were tightened into fists.
"Don't let him talk to you like that, Jacob. I got your back," Paul heckled.
Our dialogue was interrupted by the siren of a police car.
Nearly everyone scattered, but Emmett stayed at my side. I gotta give him props for that; he's loyal. His bitchy girlfriend was nagging him to leave, but he held his ground. Jacob and his little friend stayed, too.
I didn't know what his deal was, but as long as he held his ground, I'll be damned if I was backing down first.
Finally Paul slapped him on the shoulder and motioned for them to go.
"I mean it. Stay off my res. Next time it won't be 14 on two," he snarled.
"I will remember that," I said evenly.
And then they took off.
"Some party, bro," Emmett said laughing.
His girlfriend, Rosalie looked livid.
"I hate Jacob Black," she hissed.
"Aw, come on babe, don't be mad. We'll make up for it this weekend," he said, rubbing her arms. "Party at my place this Friday? No way those dogs mess with us there. Edward, what do you say?"
"Sounds like a plan," I agreed.
Bella POV
I decided I would cook a nice dinner for Charlie, and then confront him about Esme during it. That might sound underhanded, but I know him, and he lets his guard down when he's around food. I'd need any advantage I could muster if I was going to get the truth out of him.
By the time Charlie arrived, the lasagna I'd baked was being kept warm in the oven and I was chopping the cucumber for our salad.
"Wow. Smells good in here," Charlie said with a big grin as walked in the front door. "This is a nice surprise. Thanks, Bells. You didn't have to go through all this trouble."
Sure I did. How else am I going to soften you up before I pull out the hard questions?
"It's no trouble," I said instead. "How was your trip?"
I removed the lasagna from the oven and carried it to the table.
"Eh, nothing too exciting. Turns out the jumper had skipped out before I got there, so it was a bust," he said.
Yeah, sure he skipped out. It just turned out the bail jumper you were looking for wasn't hiding under the bed in Esme Cullen's motel room. Big surprise.
He sat down in his usual seat and prepared his plate of food. At first he seemed a little confused by my hospitality, but as expected, he brushed it aside and began to eat. I made myself a plate and took a few bites, but I wasn't really hungry. I was pondering how to phrase my question.
"How's school going?" he asked with a full mouth.
"Great," I said. Perfect segue, Charlie. Thanks. "I got a new lab partner this week."
"Oh yeah? That's great," he responded, uninterested.
"Yeah. It's Edward Cullen." I studied his reaction. His mouth full of food, his chewing slowed down as he stared back at me. I watched as he choked down his bite of food and reached for a drink of water before speaking.
"Is that right?" he asked. "Well, I've heard some bad things, so I want you to be careful. But, those kids are new in town, so try to be nice. Make them feel welcome," he said.
Make them feel welcome? Come on, Charlie.
"Is that what you were doing last night?" I asked. He looked confused. "Making Esme Cullen feel welcome, down at the Camelot?"
How's that for going all in?
I thought Charlie was going to have a coronary. His face went from surprise, to embarrassment to anger in a split second, his cheeks flushed.
He slammed his hands down on the table and shoved his chair back. I couldn't help but jump at the sudden jarring. He started pacing around the table.
"Damn it, Bella!" he shouted. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you following me around now?"
"Should I be following you around?" I asked, defiantly. "What are you doing meeting her? Her! Of all the people-"
"You don't know what you're talking about," he said. He actually waved his finger in my face. Disgusted, I shoved my chair back from the table and stood up, too.
"Then please, enlighten me. Tell me what you were doing – in that place, with Esme Cullen of all the freaking people!" I couldn't help but shout at him.
My emotions were swelling and everything felt exposed, right there on the surface.
He lied to me.
About Esme Cullen.
Had he lied to Renee, too?
"I'm the adult here, Bella, and what I say goes. You stay out of this. Do you hear me?" he asked, his voice still raised.
I'd backed up against the kitchen wall. I bit my lip, trying to fight off my emotions, but they were already boiling over. I felt the familiar sting as my eyes filled with tears. I tried to blink them away. My throat felt closed off.
"Are you having an affair? With her?" I asked through my tear filled eyes.
Charlie clenched his jaw and ran his hand over his face, exhaling a deep breath.
He said nothing.
Betrayal met with outrage and cut through me.
"You are," I said, the realization sinking in. "You're cheating on mom, with that nasty b-"
"Watch your mouth, Bella," he interrupted. I started to respond but he held his hand up to stop me. "It's not what you think, okay."
"Okay?!" I repeated, incredulously.
"It's not," he said.
"Well then, what is it?" I demanded.
He let out a sigh and slumped his shoulders. He looked deflated, like something was gnawing at him.
He closed his eyes and put his hand to his temple before finally continuing.
"It's about a case. It's for an investigation," he finally said.
"What case? Is this about Tanya? What does Esme know? Why didn't you tell me? Does she know why Carlisle –"
"Bella-" he started.
"What did she tell you? Why did-"
"Bella! Enough," he said, sternly.
But there was one more question I had to ask before I could hear anything else he had to say.
"Why did you lie to me?" I asked meekly, feeling the burn of my tears returning to my eyes.
"I'm sorry," he finally said.
I was furious with myself that I'd allowed my emotions to betray me. I blinked away my remaining tears and cleared my throat. Charlie looked helpless as he stood in front of me, unsure what to say or do. If I hadn't been so disgusted with him, I might have felt sorry for him.
"I need to know," I said softly. "I need to know that I can trust you."
After everything else, I needed to know I still had this one person that I could count on.
"Of course you can trust me," he said. "But you don't need to know everything. There are some things that you're better off not being a part of."
"It's just me and you now, dad," I said. "You can't-- don't lie to me, please."
We stared at each other for an extended moment. I watched his face as he decided what he was going to tell me. I held my ground to show him that I wasn't going to let this one go.
When he finally spoke his voice was contrite, cautious.
"A few weeks ago I got a call from Esme. She told me she had some information about a case. Because of the sensitive nature of her information, and given the history between our families, she insisted on meeting at the Camelot. She didn't want to risk being seen, so much for that. That's it. That's all it is Bella," he said.
"What kind of information? Is it about Tanya? You should have just told me," I said.
"Bella, I mean it," he said, drawing his hand to his brow again. "I want you to stay away from this. I want you to promise me you're going to stay away from this, okay?"
I scoffed.
"Now your turn. What were you doing at the Camelot?" he asked.
"Working on a case," I responded.
"Damn it, Bella-" he snapped.
"Okay, I'm sorry. Seth Clearwater gave me a tip about Esme going there. I was just following up to see if it was legit," I answered.
He just shook his head.
"I'm not going to ask you again. I want you to stay away from this. Do you understand me?" he asked.
I nodded my head, but couldn't bring myself to speak.
I believed him that it was about a case, but it bothered me that he was holding out on me. I decided not to push, for now. I'd check the safe later and see if I could find anything out from his notes in the file.
I don't know what's true anymore.
But a long time ago, I made a choice. I chose to stand by Charlie.
It's a decision I live with every day.