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Standstill

She's not Bella. She's Isa.

•••

then

Charlie sat down heavily. He was so exhausted these days. Edward handed him a glass of whiskey.

"I really shouldn't," he said.

"I'll pay for a cab," Edward offered. "You need it, trust me." He sat down at the kitchen table beside Charlie, with his own drink in hand.

Charlie sighed. "Thanks," he said. "Bella's moving out."

"You're kidding," Edward said.

Charlie shook his head. "I wish I was. But it's what she wants. She's been talking about it since the day she was released from the hospital. Bella needs her space." He laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry. Isa. Isa needs her space."

"I'm sorry," Edward said.

"Me, too," Charlie said. "She's going to live in her old apartment building."

"Maybe it'll trigger some memories for her."

"Maybe," Charlie said. But he kind of doubted it, and looking at the kid that was once his son-in-law — and should have stayed his son-in-law, as far as Charlie was concerned — he knew that Edward kind of doubted it, too. "But maybe it'll just be a reason for her to pull further from me and from Jake and from who she once was."

"One day at a time," Edward said. "Isn't that our motto?"

Charlie smiled. "It's been mine for a long time, son." It's quiet. "Where's Sienna?"

"Put her to sleep an hour ago," Edward said. "But if you want to say hi, you can wake her up."

"No, no," Charlie said, shaking his head. "Let her sleep. I'll be able to come by a lot more once Bella's moved out." He paused. "How is she?"

"Not great," Edward admits. "She still doesn't get it. I told her that Mommy was sick, and she asked why she can't bring Mommy soup and juice and read to her and make her feel better like Mommy does for her when she's sick." There was bitterness thick in his words. "What am I supposed to say? There isn't a handbook for this. How am I supposed to explain it? Sorry, baby, but Mommy doesn't know who you are?"

"I don't know," Charlie said, sighing again. "I just don't know. We could try…we could try telling Bella about her."

"Wouldn't she freak out? And how would she treat Sienna? Would it do more harm than good?" It was obvious Edward had thought about it. So had Charlie. And neither had any answers. A part of Charlie thought it was the best thing to do. Bella needed to know she had a daughter, and Sienna deserved an explanation. It just wasn't that easy.

It went quiet again. They were one pathetic duo, the two of them, both grown men, sitting in a kitchen at nine at night, drinking whiskey and lamenting how hard their lives were. But what were they supposed to do?

"She works at the library, right?" Edward asked.

"Got a job there last month," Charlie confirmed. He looked at Edward to see the boy staring down at his empty glass.

"I think I'm going to go see her. Introduce myself, you know — do what we talked about. If she gets comfortable with me, comes to trust me, maybe we can explain the truth and…and Sienna will get her mom back."

Charlie nodded. "Sienna needs a Mom," he said.

"She needs Bella," Edward said.

We do, too, Charlie thought. But Edward already knew that.

•••

A/N: Thanks for reading!