Author's Note: I've had a lot happen to me in the last four months. I'm sorry for the delay. Now that my life has settled down, I'll be able to focus more on my writing. Hope you enjoy the next couple chapters I've prepared. Sorry they are kind of short. Fair warning, this is where I take the story and make it my own. Toward the end of Twilight I really felt that Charlie's character would have acted a lot differently, and since it is a Jacob and Bella pairing Jacob actually changes the course of the book. Hope you like it. Love you guys.


I awoke this morning to hear the front door slamming and my father telling a hysterical Charlie to calm down.

"She told me that she didn't want to end up like her mom! What am I doing wrong, Billy? She's off god-knows-where and I have no way to get a hold of her!" Charlie exclaimed.

He was talking about Bella. I was wide awake now, digging through a pile of clothes on my floor, looking for a shirt. Once I found one, I threw it on quickly and ran out to the living room.

"What happened to Bella?" I worriedly looked into Charlie's bloodshot eyes, half shouting.

My father was on me in a second. "Calm down, son. Bella ran away and went back home to Phoenix. Please don't get all worked up."

I listened intently, and tried to keep a composed face while my heart pounded sporadically in my rib cage.

"What should I do? Renee is in Jacksonville. How do I know if she's alright if she doesn't even have a cell phone!" Charlie sat on the couch while his head fell limp in his hands. His voice shook violently with worry. "She's all alone, driving down to Phoenix. What if something happens?"

"All we can do now is trust her, Charlie. She'll get in touch when she's ready. We should trust her to make the right decision," my father's conviction was calm and collected.

This wasn't like her at all. Why would Bella do such a drastic thing that would worry her father like this? From what I saw, she loved her father and took care of him. What if she got in a wreck or fell down a flight of stairs while staying in a motel? Didn't she know it would devastate him? Devastate me…

"This is all that Edward kid's fault. I just know it," Charlie interrupted my thoughts with clenched fists.

It was then that I saw my father's jaw tighten.

"I just got her back too!" The tears were brimming over Charlie's eyelids, threatening to fall at the thought of his daughter.

It was then that I realized my fists were in tight balls as well and I couldn't help but yell from frustration, "Why in the hell would she do something like this?"

"Charlie," my father wheeled his chair over to his friend, "tell me what happened—from the beginning. Why do you think that the Cullen has anything to do with this?"

I listened intently, waiting for an opportunity to properly hate his guts.

"Well she was acting normal before he came over yesterday," he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "She said she was going to play baseball with him and his family," he raised his head so that he could think, starring off into the distance. "He came over to pick her up and she looked happy, but he acted suspicious. He acted as if he wasn't nervous or anything, like he rehearsed what he was going to say to suck up to me. It's not my place to judge him or his family, especially after the doctor fixed up my little girl from that car accident," he paused and my father narrowed his gaze. "But he promised that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. What else was I supposed to do? She's allowed to have friends and boyfriends. I can't keep my eyes on her forever. But when a young man promises to her father that she'll come home safe, he should keep his word; not bring her back trying to uproot herself from me. Especially since the last three years I was only allowed to see her for two weeks at a time!" Charlie rambled back into his downward spiral, trying to make as much sense as possible along the way. He sighed, long and heavy, "Maybe I'm just being too judgmental…"

Not judgmental enough, I'd say. Whatever this Cullen did or said to her, I wished I could make him pay. In my mind this was his fault.

"Well whatever set her off it sounds like she's not telling you the whole story," my father intervened through clenched teeth.

There was silence in the house for a while, both fathers trying to figure out what the next move was. I had a bad feeling about all of this, but didn't know what to say.

It was too late before I realized my mouth was open and I was saying what I had been thinking since Charlie walked through the door, "We should go after her."

Five simple words and all eyes were on me.

"You're her father! You should be there just in case something happens," I tried to explain a rational thought process… one that didn't belong to me. "E-especially if Renee is in Jacksonville," I felt myself stutter a little and my cheeks begin to flush.

My father just smiled. The smile he reserved for special occasions when I was being a complete idiot. He and I both knew I shouldn't involve myself in other people's family matters, but I just couldn't help it. She wasn't just the girl I had feelings for—she was one of my friends. I couldn't just turn my back on a friend—right?

Charlie just contemplated my words and nodded as he rose from the couch, suddenly serious.

"Billy, would you mind staying at my house if she calls? I'll give you the motel number I'm staying at when I get there," Charlie pleaded with my dad.

"Of course," he gave Charlie that same smile and shook his head. "But do me a favor and take my dumbass son with you. Maybe he'll be able to talk some sense in Bella. He'd be a pain in my ass if I had to watch him pace back and forth anticipating a call."

The red coating my cheeks began to burn as I glared at my father.

"Alright," Charlie let out a relieved breath. "It'll be useful to have a mechanic in the car when we drive there. Rental cars in Phoenix are expensive."

I smiled a little at the fact that he didn't take it the wrong way.

"Pack a bag right now and meet me in the car," Charlie's policeman voice was apparent as he walked out the door. "You better not give me any trouble boy," his tight and anxious laugh was escaping; probably happy to know that he could actually do something about his one and only daughter.

I grinned. I knew that I was the kind of person who acted first and asked questions later. I was just glad that it actually proving to be useful in such a rough situation.

Yet, it was just then that something hit me. I looked to my father, slightly worried about him—evidently, it shown brightly in my eyes. Was he going to be alright without me around?

"I'll be fine!" he waved me off like I was in idiot for even thinking it. "As you probably haven't noticed, I've been getting myself into this damn chair. I've got it down to a ritual—so get your bags packed!" he looked to Charlie and began the process of ignoring me.

As I walked down the hall, I could hear my father asking the Chief of Police if he could help him get into his cruiser. I shook my head with a smile. It was funny how the things that used to embarrass him were now stoically simple.