I don't own these characters. They are the sole property of Stephanie Meyers. I only borrow them. No humans are permanently harmed through my actions, though I do confess to harassing, annoying, torturing, and exasperating them – just because it's fun. I make no money from my little stories, sad day. I only play in the sandbox, I didn't build it.
Chapter 9: This Changes Everything
Edward's POV
Following after Chief Swan was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done. It was certainly the scariest. I felt like I should get a fucking medal or something. He was standing on the porch, staring out into the woods.
Wondering where to bury my body maybe? He'd know spots all over the state. They'd never find me if Charlie Swan didn't want me found. And I was betting he'd be pretty damned good at covering up evidence too.
"Sir," I said quietly and came to stand near him, though just out of arms' reach. I might be feeling reckless and brave, but I wasn't that stupid – all evidence to the contrary aside.
Charlie gave me a sidelong look and grunted. I don't usually speak caveman, no matter what Bella said, so I couldn't decide if that grunt meant, "There's a nice spot by the river where the soil is soft enough to dig up without too much effort," or "Lord give me patience and keep me from killing this stupid idiot boy."
It could have gone either way.
Then Chief Swan said the last thing I expected. Okay, maybe not the last thing – that would have been something along the lines of "Damn thrilled to hear about the baby, son!" No, what he said was mostly confusing. "You got a smoke?" he asked, his eyebrows quirked expectantly.
I shook my head. "No," I replied, wishing more than almost anything at that moment that I did have a smoke. I'd give it to him. Hell I'd literally run to the store to get him a carton of the fucking things. Anything to keep this guy from murdering me. "I don't smoke." That was a good thing, right? I had already been having sex with his daughter; surely he'd be happy that I hadn't added smoking to my list. Of course, he'd probably much rather I smoked than… Never mind. I looked at him, my confusion probably clear as fucking glass on my face. "You don't either." I paused. "Do you sir?" Once again, I pondered the hidden habits of parents. They were apparently sneakier than I'd thought. Look at my mom, the super spy. Maybe at night she danced the tango with my dad and planned assassinations and shit, like in True Lies. Maybe she gave Jamie Lynn Curtis a run for her money on the sly. Scary thought.
Charlie grunted again. Once more I was left to my dubious skills of interpretation. I didn't move any closer and got ready to run if need be. "No," he finally snarled. 'But this would be a damned good time to start, don't you think?"
I wanted to laugh. Really, I did. But I restrained myself even though I think I came close to swallowing my own fucking tongue. "Yeah, if here was ever a time to start, I think this qualifies."
I felt his eyes on my face again, and this time his glance was sharp and measuring. "You planning on running out on my Bells? Leaving her alone to handle all of this alone?"
"No sir," I answered with confidence. This was one question that I didn't have to think about. Leaving Bella was the last thing I planned to do. "I promise you that I'm in this for good. We're going to see this through…together. You have my word on that." My word probably meant shit to him right about now, but it was the best I could do.
His eyes narrowed. "We'll see," he replied. Obviously, I hadn't convinced him. Okay, I could understand that. Who could blame him if he wasn't my biggest fan right now? I had impregnated his teenage daughter. Surely that entitled him to some skepticism about my qualities as a man to be trusted.
"I love her, sir," I added.
"Too bad you didn't love her enough to keep your damned hands off of her," Charlie said dryly. He looked down at my crotch and I wondered if I should try to protect the big guy and his friends. "And your pants zipped," he added.
"Yes sir," I agreed, only because it was the fucking truth. I was a horny motherfucker who had screwed up big time – and I'd taken Bella along for the ride. "And for that I'm really sorry." I shoved my hands in my pockets, just in case I needed to cup and run. "More than you can know."
Charlie looked away from me, probably to try and keep from wrapping his hands around my throat and squeezing – really hard. I had a feeling that he'd really enjoy watching my eyes bug out of my head. Of course, I couldn't really blame him. "Well," he mumbled. "You're not the first young couple this has happened to, you know." He shoved his hands in his pockets and I wondered if he kept a weapon there. I took a step back, just in case. "And you sure as hell won't be the last." He didn't sound angry, he just sounded...sad. And that was worse, somehow.
"No sir," I said. "Still, I wanted you to know that… Well, that I'm sorry sir, for all the trouble I've caused."
He turned toward me again, his mouth twisted dryly. "I don't think you made that baby all by yourself son," he told me.
I could feel the smile threatening but I was sure that would ruin the surprisingly peaceful mood that Chief Swan was in, so I remained impassive. I pretended I was a Sphinx. Or Keanu Reeves. Whatever.
Chief Swan laughed softly, shaking his head. "Well, I won't run in interference with Renee, just so you know. You two are on your own with her." He shook his head, indicating what a shit storm that was bound to be. I swallowed hard and gave a nod. "But we're a family, and that includes you now since it seems you're going to be the father of my…" He took a deep breath. "My grandchild. So we're a family, and families stick together – especially in the tough times." He took a step forward and I repressed the impulse to yelp like a little bitch and run inside to my mommy. "It won't be easy, Edward. You two have messed up. But I guess you already know that. I won't make it harder by telling you a bunch of stuff you already know."
"Thank you sir," I said in a strangled voice, really glad I hadn't been a pussy and run to hide behind my mother.
"You're going to have to make some new plans now, Edward, do things a bit differently. But I guess you'll survive," Charlie added with another twist of his mouth. "You've both made your lives infinitely harder, but…" He shrugged. "What's done is done and there's no use worrying about coulda, shoulda, woulda…"
"I know it'll be difficult, sir," I said, feeling the weight of what we'd done start to finally settle in on me. It weighed a fucking ton. My heart started beating fast and felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. My palms were sweaty and I wondered briefly how much Charlie Swan would hate me if I actually fainted like a pussy. For some reason, I had a fit of honesty. "I'm scared, sir," I said in a whisper.
"You'd be a damn fool if you weren't," Charlie said with more than a hint of exasperation. "I'm only going to say this once, Edward, so listen up. Am I pissed at you? Hell yes. I'm pissed at Bella too. But mostly I'm disappointed…and worried. No, scratch that. Mostly I'm scared shitless …scared for both of you." He shook his head. "This changes everything."
"Yes, sir."
"One last thing Edward…"
I looked at him and waited for the punch in the face. I had it coming. I knew that. I sort of braced myself. I would take it like the man I needed to be. "You take care of my baby girl, Edward Cullen. You hear me? You'd better take good care of her and that baby, because if you mess that up, nothing else you do in your life will mean shit. Do you understand me?"
I did. I nodded.
Bella's POV
"I'm too young to be a grandma!" Renee wailed.
Esme smirked slightly. "Obviously not," she quipped. I looked at Esme and I knew my eyes were bugging out of my head.
For a moment, there was stunned silence, and then a miracle occurred. Renee began to laugh. The laughter turned into tears before too long and my mom sank to the couch, where Carlisle took her hand. He glared at me like I had done something horrible. Okay, I had. We had. I ducked my head, no longer able to face the accusation in his usually compassionate gaze.
I jumped a little when I felt two arms wrap around me. Edward… I leaned back against him and closed my eyes, just taking the comfort his embrace offered. I forgot about my sobbing mother, his angry father, the ever-patient Esme, my father – Shit. Edward had been alone outside with my father.
Opening my eyes, I whirled around and started inspecting Edward's face for any telltale signs of damage. Nothing. Huh. I wondered if he had any internal bleeding. Charlie was a cop; he'd know how to do damage without leaving any evidence. Before I could get myself really worked up, Edward leaned in and whispered, "We just talked."
Whew. So maybe we could avoid a homicide – tonight at least.
My dad walked in a few minutes after Edward. He looked at me for a long moment and I felt my eyes filling with tears. I hated that I had disappointed him so deeply. I hoped that one day he could forgive me…forgive us. Then he was walking toward me and I felt Edward's arms fall away from me, but it was okay because then my dad was hugging me and telling me that he loved me.
He still loved me. No matter how badly I had screwed up. My father loved me. I knew that he always would, because that's what fathers do. No matter what, no matter how screwed up I was, or how much trouble I was in, my dad would always love me.
And suddenly, for the first time, I believed that it might be all right - one day.
