Transcendence

A/N: I just want to profusely thank my amazing beta Lemon-of-the-tent for all her work with my story. It wouldn't be the same without her.

Chapter 9

Charlie and Esme were waiting for us when we broke through the trees; both looked terribly nervous but, as we came closer to the house, relief seemed to wash over them.

"You okay?" Charlie asked.

That question was becoming ridiculously irritating. "Yes, I'm fine. We're fine." I added, preempting his next question.

"Bella…" Esme stepped forward and tentatively wrapped me in her arms. "I'm so happy to see you again. I missed you so much." She squeezed a bit tighter and whispered near my ear, "We should have come sooner."

I'd forgotten that, by the time the Cullens had left, Esme had already wholeheartedly and almost excitedly accepted Alice's visions of me. She had seemingly resolved that I would be one of her daughters regardless of her son's reluctance. "I missed you too," was the only response I could muster.

"So… how long are you going to be in town?" Charlie said, awkwardly. My father was becoming uncomfortable with all the emotional females now surrounding him.

"I'm not sure." Alice answered, "We were going to visit family in Alaska but we forgot how much we missed it here."

"Are the others coming up too?" Of course the unspoken but understood question was actually 'is your bastard son coming back to break my irrationally fragile daughter's heart again?'

"Carlisle and Jasper will likely join us. I don't know about the others..." Esme answered, finally pulling away from me.

"Oh!" Alice burst out, "Bella should come and stay with us for a while - we can catch up." She seemed to begin to bounce excitedly. Alice always had seemed to contain so much energy when she was struck with, what she deemed, a brilliant idea that she gave the impression of vibrating with excitement though she hardly moved at all. "We could even head up to Seattle for a spa day tomorrow. It would be so perfect, relaxing." She acted as if the idea had just miraculously popped into her head but I knew chances were she'd seen it the moment she had entered the city limits.

Charlie had always been weak when it came to Alice; even now, he couldn't resist her enigmatic charm. "That might be just what you need right now, kid."

I looked at them smiling, hoping it didn't seem too forced. "Yeah, I just need to talk over a few things with Dad and then I'll come over."

"Wonderful." Esme beamed. "I've been meaning to try some new recipes. We'll stop by the store for a few things so don't hurry yourself."

"You don't need to do that." I just shook my head. Esme loved to cook. Well, she had remembered, once I began spending time with the family, that when she was human she had loved to cook. My visit would be the perfect excuse for her to actually practice again.

"Nonsense. It will be nice to have another opinion. Alice eats like a bird and you know how the boys are."

Yeah, the boys who like to go hunt angry, wild, grumpy grizzlies with their bare hands.

"You remember the way out to the house?" Alice called as they made their way back to the car.

As if I could forget.

"I'm pretty sure I remember." I called covering the tiny surge of sadness.

They waved one last time as they pulled out. Somehow I seriously doubted they would be going to the grocery store. Alice probably had Esme stop on the way over. Of course it didn't matter when I left for the house – I could have pulled out the moment after them and they still would have beaten me by miles even with a stop. Granted, Esme was, from what I saw before, the slowest driver in the family. Although that only meant she went 40 over the speed limit rather than 60.

"Are you really okay, Bells?" Charlie asked, knocking me out of my reverie. He was giving me an awkward look. The car had gone far beyond my sight, the low purr of the engine long devoured by the towering trees. I really needed to stop doing this staring blankly into space thing.

"Yes," I paused and took a deep breath. "I am actually okay."

"When you came in you just looked like…" he led the way back into the house.

"Yeah…" I sighed as I followed him into the kitchen. "It was just such a shock to see them again."

"You're telling me."He leaned again the fridge as we simply stood in the room.

The inevitable awkward silence hung heavily in the room. "I brought you lunch." My mind jumped to the bag I had earlier slammed against the Formica. I quickly began fussing with the package.

"You're really going to go over there." He interrupted my semi-desperate movements.

I froze. "Yeah, why?" The question annoyed me for some reason. I may be staying with him for now but I was still an adult. I would not deal with this. I left the food on the counter and headed for my room.

"Are you sure that's wise?" he followed after me. "I mean, you haven't heard anything from either of them in five years. I know you were close to Alice and her mom but Bella… nothing?"

"It was complicated, Dad."I pulled out the bag from my closet and began tossing clothes in it in a vaguely organized way. He simply leaned against the door frame watching me with that 'you'll have to answer me eventually' look. I finally turned and looked at him. "Would you have known what to say if I had done that to Edward? Even if you'd been close?" I hefted the bag over my shoulder. "It wasn't Alice or Esme's fault, Dad. Edward was the one who hurt me. Not them."

"And what if he shows up?"

"Do you mean after I smack the shit out of him?" Charlie followed me down the stairs. "If he shows up…" I sighed, "then whatever. I hate him. He's the one that left me. He's the one that hurt me."

He grunted vaguely, "As long as you're able to remember that, Bells."

Charlie turned and went into the living room. I slipped out of the house quietly and went on to whatever was before me.

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