A/N
I should have had this out sooner but 5k into the first draft I realized that I didn't like the direction I was headed so I scratched it and started over. So this was all on me and I apologize but I do like where it's going now so no worries!
I won't keep you waiting, just gotta give a quick thanks to the beta THEsnapcrakklepop.
The words under that line are mine, but thats about it.
CPOV
Things were better. It had been almost a month since Bella started talking to me again and our relationship was mending. We had breakfast together mostly every morning and at night we'd catch up a bit before bed, if we weren't too tired or busy. It was nice. It wasn't perfect and we still had a ways to go, but things were better.
Turns out Bella didn't like being cooped up in the house and was always either on her way out or on her way in. She stuck to her curfew though so I had no cause to complain, especially considering her grades were stellar. I had no idea how she did it, but I was thoroughly impressed.
And she was happy; I could see it in her eyes. After meeting Alice I was sure that little pixie had something to do with the changes I saw taking place in Bella. Those two were inseparable. Alice came over a few times a week and if they weren't together in person they were always talking on the phone or texting. Bella spent a lot of time at the Brandon's when I was at work, too. I was thankful she had somewhere to be when I wasn't home; somewhere I knew she would be safe.
It was Friday and it was the first night in a month that I was headed to Billy's to throw back a few with Marcus. It was also the first night I had extended Bella's curfew to midnight, mostly because I needed a night out and I probably wouldn't be home until then anyway. She was with Alice again, something about organizing Valentine's Day shit for some school dance thing. Whatever, Valentine's Day was the devil.
Maybe that's why I'm still single…
Again. Whatever.
I played a few games of pool and owned Marcus at darts before we finally settled down at the bar. We saw each other at work but we made it a point to check our personal shit at the door before we started our shifts. Personal problems were never a good thing to bring to the job when you had to be on full alert at all times. Our focus had to be on the task at hand, one little slip up and someone could get hurt or worse. So we reserved nights like tonight to vent our shit to each other.
"Well I'm glad you guys are making progress, I know you thought it was a lost cause," Marcus said as he peeled the label off of his Miller Lite bottle.
"I'm glad too. I hated being all tense all the time. It was stifling."
"I bet. What's she getting into tonight?"
"She's with Alice. Something about Valentine's Day preparations. I wasn't really listening."
"Alice Brandon…" He mused before suddenly chuckling to himself.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing, it's just that I pulled her over the other day."
I didn't know about that. "Yeah?"
"Well, I pulled her boyfriend over – that Whitlock kid. He was speeding. Let him go with a warning. I'm surprised you're so cool with Bella hanging out with him."
I looked at him, confused. "What?"
"That kid – Jasper or whatever, he's a little pothead."
"No, I know that. I didn't know she had a boyfriend. Bella's never mentioned anything about him and she's with Alice all the time…" I trailed off, thinking.
Marcus looked at me while I contemplated. "What, you think she didn't tell you on purpose?"
I shook my head, trying to make sense of it. "I don't know." Of course, Bella was a teenager and they aren't exactly known for being completely truthful but still, something about it seemed off. My spidey-sense was tingling.
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe she thinks you won't let her go if you know he's gonna be there."
"Maybe. But why? Why would I care if he's Alice's boyfriend? Why would she want to keep that from me?"
And then… something clicked. I remembered something. The Cullen kid… the Whitlock kid… they were thick as thieves, those two, always together. Much like Bella and Alice.
Fuck.
Me.
They were hanging out together, I was fucking sure of it. They had to be. Or was I just being paranoid? I felt used. And angry.
"What's wrong, chief?" he asked, reading the expression on my face.
I shook my head. "Nothing." I didn't want to talk about it with Marcus, he would just tell me to forget about it or not to worry and I really didn't want to hear that shit. I wanted to be angry and I wanted to find out what the fuck was going on and what the fuck Bella was trying to hide. "I'm goin' home," I said as I paid my tab and put my jacket on.
I left the bar before he could stop me and I sped home to wait for Bella.
The thought of Edward Cullen being in close proximity to my daughter was infuriating. I knew that kid, he was no good. I knew he drank and used drugs and I'd caught him more than once with his pants down – literally. I wanted to make sure Bella knew all these things in case she was getting interested in him. I'll admit he was an attractive kid and he had that Cullen charm that both his father and his older brother possessed but I'd be damned if I was going to let him woo my daughter.
I hated to think about it in such a way, but Bella was a beautiful girl. And whether I liked it or not, I knew guys found her attractive. Edward Cullen was probably no exception. But I was not going to stand back and watch this… fuckery occur. Not on my fucking watch.
EPOV
I was soooooo fucking high.
It was Friday night and we were all chilling in Jasper's garage, watching a Back to the Future marathon since none of the girls had seen any of them. Seriously, what the hell? They had a lot to learn.
It was rare that all six of us got together since we all copiously enjoyed being alone with our respective significant others, but tonight we were having what Alice referred to as "family time". Rosalie and Emmett's big ass were taking up the whole couch, Jasper and Alice were curled up on the love seat and Bella and I were spooning on the floor by the coffee table. Hey, I threw some blankets down; I'm not a complete ass.
I couldn't tell you how much we smoked but even Jasper was done, take that how you will. Bella even took a few hits. I was a little sad when I noticed that after those first couple of days she hadn't been partaking for whatever reason and only occasionally smoked with us. I loved it when she did though, she would get really touchy and her hands were always on me in some capacity, holding my hand, rubbing my thighs or my back, slipping her hand under the sleeve of my shirt… it was fucking nice.
The past month had been fucking awesome, we spent every moment we could together and I had stuck to my plan of making her happy at all costs. I had turned into the biggest pussy in the history of pussy because of it but it was fucking worth it to see her face light up whenever she saw me. I was sure I had the same reaction to her. I snuck into her room every now and then but always when she was certain the chief was asleep and even then I never stayed long. The only reason I did it was because she would call me or text me late at night, telling me how she missed me and wanted to see me and I, like the major pussy I had become, would drop everything and go see her, consequences be damned. I mean, really? Who was I to deny her what she wanted, plus it was more than a little flattering to know she desired me in such a way. It was always worth it too because on those nights Bella would let me go a little further than she usually did. I had recently worked my way down to third base, something I was very, very pleased with. I was pretty sure Bella was pretty pleased with it too.
At that thought, I scooted close to Bella under the covers, nestling against her back and pulling her completely against my chest. She responded in kind, pulling my arms tighter around her body as we tried to get comfortable in our new positions.
After the first movie the girls got bored with the trilogy and wanted to do something else.
"Let's get some beer or somethin'." Rosalie suggested. I smiled, recalling how Rose never ceased to amaze me, for all the girly girl that she was she still enjoyed her indulgences as much as the next person. I had to admit, I could have gone for some fucking beer; it would have been easy enough to get since my gargantuan brother could easily pass for twenty-one and if we all pitched in we could probably get a case. Plus I was pretty sure that getting drunk and high simultaneously was the best fucking feeling in the world… well expect maybe fucking Bella, but I wouldn't know anything about that now would I?
"Fuck yeah!" Emmett agreed enthusiastically. "We can play waterfall again!"
Yeah. Fuck that shit, the last time we played I had woken up in my backyard wrapped in a thin bed sheet and nothing else. I never found out whose sheet it was and I had no idea how I ended up there or what I did that night. "Fuck that shit, man. No fucking way," I said as I pushed myself into a sitting position and pulled Bella between my legs.
There was a collective groan from my friends as they simultaneously rolled their eyes at me.
Jasper was the first to try to change my mind; I think they all knew he had the best chance. "Come on, E," he pleaded as he lightly smacked me on my arm. "Just a couple of games…"
"Yeah! Come on, Edward!" Alice practically whined.
With a heavy sigh I looked down at Bella who was looking up at me with this really amused look on her face. "You feel like drinking tonight, babe?" I asked.
She made a face and answered, "I feel like it but I can't show up drunk again, Charlie will flip."
As much as I hated it she was right. "Well, what do you wanna do then?" I asked as we zoned out on each other. We got a lot of shit for doing that but I really didn't give a shit, when I was focused on my girl nothing else mattered and it's not like I could help that shit – it just fucking happened.
I should have expected what came next, as Bella was the most indecisive person I had ever met and whenever I asked her anything it was always "whatever you want" or "it doesn't matter to me". I fucking hated that shit. Why the fuck couldn't she just take control and make a decision for us? "I dunno," she said as she played with the hair on my forearms, watching as she pushed the fine hairs against the grain and watched them settle back into place. I always found it fucking sexy when she did shit like that, her touch spreading warmth throughout my body. "If you wanna drink that's fine, I'll just watch you guys play."
She was sitting with her back to my chest so I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "We can do something else if you want – just the two of us." Because as much as I loved hanging out with everyone I would never fucking ever pass up an opportunity to be alone with my girl. I took her earlobe in my mouth, sucking on it gently as my hands began to wander down her sides and around her waist, pulling her closer to me.
She whimpered as I continued to roam her neck with my mouth. "We're supposed to be having family time," she reminded me.
I pfft'ed. "So?" She gave a look that seemed to suggest she enjoyed family time and was a little put off that I had scoffed at the idea. I rolled my eyes, all the apology she was going to get. "You really wanna sit around and watch us all get shit-faced?"
Bella smiled. "As long as one of you is sober enough to drive me home."
"Well seeing as how I can't drive you home I guess I can get as drunk as I want." I winked at her.
"Uh, hello!" Emmett called out, completely destroying our moment. I hadn't even noticed Emmett and Jasper had stood and put their jackets on, ready to head out on the beer run. "You coming or what, little brother?"
"Not yet." I joked and, yes, I did chuckle at myself. I felt Bella giggle in my arms and I leaned down to kiss her before I stood up and pulled my hoodie on. I still hadn't gotten my hat back from Bella so I'd gone out and bought a beanie cap instead since I hated going out in the cold without coverage. You know something like ninety percent of our body heat escapes through our heads. Oddly enough though, Bella didn't seem to mind my new hat but I had my suspicions that she was secretly plotting out how to get her hands on it.
The girls stayed behind as Jasper, Emmett and I drove to the edge of town toward one of the many gas stations along the freeway. We had to drive far enough that no one from town would recognize us, or Emmett rather, and we actually got turned down twice before he succeeded.
On the ride back I couldn't help but smile at the thought that the girls were back in Jaspers garage, no doubt gossiping about the three of us, and there we sat, beer in hand, talking about the new Madden videogame. Before I got with Bella I had no idea the extent to which women gossiped. I mean I thought I knew, that's just what girls did, right? But I was surprised at the shit they talked about, apparently girls were fuckin no holds barred with that shit; they talked about any and everything.
I was even more surprised to find that as Bella's boyfriend I was privy to all sorts of interesting tidbits of information regardless of whether or not I wanted to hear about them. Bella would tell me all kinds of crazy shit, not even caring to ask me if I wanted to know; I'd simply ask her to fill me in on her day and she'd repeat to me everything she'd learned from spending time with the girls. Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes being in on things is all good and well but sometimes there were just certain things I didn't want to know.
Like, the previous week, Bella and I had been hanging out in my room before my parents got home. It was one of those rare moments where we didn't need to be anywhere and we had a couple of hours in between where we could just be together. She was lying sideways on my bed, playing with Jake as I leaned back against the headboard smoking weed from my pipe.
"So Alice was telling me…" she started saying - out of nowhere. "The other night she and Jasper were, you know, doing it, but they were in this new position but…" She paused as she tried to stop an impending giggle fit. I was too high to really see where she was going but if I had been paying attention I would have stopped her before she finished the rest of her story. "Well, apparently it was just too much for Jasper. She said he only last about minute." She snorted, finally unable to hold off the laughter any longer. "She was so pissed."
I stilled with the pipe in my mouth, the lighter lit just a few inches away from the bowl. What the fuck?! I didn't want to hear that shit about Jazz… it just wasn't right. What he did - or didn't do in that particular case - in the bedroom with Alice was his fucking business. Plus I really didn't want to picture my best friend having sex - period. I shivered at the thought. Eck.
Another thing Bella had told me that I really didn't care to hear was something about Emmett and Rosalie breaking her bed frame during a rather… ambitious… evening for fornication. I had laughed at that though; I kept telling that fucker he was a fatass, so maybe after that debacle he would listen and quit acting like he didn't weigh nearly three hundred pounds. He said he was all muscle but… yeah… last I heard you don't get muscle from sitting on your ass eating Flaming Hot Cheetos all night.
But it was nice in a way. I liked that Bella shared some of that information with me, because it meant that she trusted me enough with what she had been entrusted with and that meant a lot to me. I never told the guys about what I knew and I probably never would since I was pretty sure they knew things about me that I didn't know they knew. Not that there was a lot to know since Bella and I hadn't gotten very far yet but, still, I was sure she wasn't just hearing the gossip; I knew she had to be giving it out too and I wasn't sure how to felt about that.
We made it back to Jazz's to find the girl watching some Lifetime movie. Emmett did us all a favor and quickly turned the T.V. off.
It was getting late by the time we were on our third game of Waterfall and I was sufficiently buzzed. I knew Bella would need to be leaving soon, luckily Alice hadn't drank as much as the rest of us and offered to take Bella home. I walked them out to Alice's car and in my drunken state I had a hard time letting Bella go. I hated that our time together was always limited and I longed for the day when we could spend as much time together as we wanted, uninterrupted.
I kissed her good night and warned Alice that she better get her home safely before I went back inside— where I proceeded to get completely shit-faced.
BPOV
Watching everyone around me get drunk was highly entertaining and I wished I could have joined in but I was high enough as it was and I really didn't want to mix the feeling with alcohol; I knew my limits. Edward, however, did not, but he was so cute when he was drunk I didn't really mind. Part of me wanted to worry about leaving him in such a state but I knew he was in good hands with Emmett and Alice there.
Before long Alice and I were pulling into my driveway.
"Here," she said as she handed me a tiny bottle of body spray, "You probably smell like a Cypress Hill concert."
I laughed and sprayed myself a couple of times before handing the bottle back to her.
"Thanks," I said as I gathered my stuff. "See you tomorrow?" We all had plans to go out together. The guys wanted to see a movie and Rose and Alice wanted to go shopping so we had planned on heading to Port Angeles for the day. I sighed as I thought about spending an entire day with Edward, the fact that we wouldn't be alone wasn't even that big of a deal all things considered.
"Yup," she said with a pop on the p. "I'll be here bright and early so don't over sleep."
I rolled my eyes at my friend. "I'll set my alarm."
As I was getting out of the car I caught sight of Charlie in the doorway, glaring at us. I felt my stomach drop a little and a bitter taste in my mouth as I bid Alice goodbye and made my way up the walk toward the front door.
"Goodnight, Chief Swan!" I heard Alice call as she pulled out of the driveway with a flamboyant wave to my father. He waved politely in return, the scowl on his face remained however. Before she pulled away completely I saw her shoot me a look that clearly said "call me with details a.s.a.p." I guess she noticed the look too.
I squared my shoulders and put my game face on as I made my way up the stairs.
"Hey," I greeted my dad as he moved to the side so I could enter the house. We both knew something was up but he didn't say anything to me as we made our way into the house; he just kind of hovered behind me as if he was waiting for me to crack. As a cop, Charlie knew how to make people nervous enough to give themselves away but his games didn't work on me, I was too bull headed like him. He knew it too so after a moment, once he realized his effort were futile he gave up and finally spoke as I began ascending the stairs to my room.
"Bella," he said sternly, his tone stopping me in my tracks.
I turned on the bottom step and looked at him as he leaned against the wall by the kitchen.
"Yes?"
He looked like he was choosing his words carefully and I couldn't help but think that that was a bad sign. After a moment of concentration he finally opened his mouth to speak only to snap it shut right away. He looked away from me and took a deep breath before he tried again, this time finding the words he appeared to struggle so hard to find.
"Have you been hanging around Edward Cullen?" he asked bluntly, no warm up questions or anything. I was so taken aback by his question that I was pretty sure my expression gave me away; I tried to recover as quickly as I could.
"What?" I asked. Nothing else was coming to me and after I said it I mentally slapped myself in the face – deny, deny, you're always supposed to deny.
He missed nothing. "You heard me, Bella. Have you… been hanging around… with Edward Cullen?" he repeated slowly, breaking the sentence down to make sure I got it that time.
"Why do you want to know?" Goddamnit, why didn't I just fucking lie to him and get this shit over with? Oh that's right, it was because I was fucking stupid.
"It doesn't matter why I want to know. Answer the question and don't you dare lie to me," he warned.
Blame it on being a hormonally unstable teenager but his threat just pissed me off and I felt the bitch brow come out of its own accord. I felt like I was having an out of body experience; the real Bella was up in the air right now, watching stupid Bella fuck everything up, powerless to stop her.
I crossed my arms over my chest, cocking my head to the side as I responded to him in a voice I didn't quite recognize. "Do you have something against him or what?" I guess I enjoyed digging my own grave.
"That doesn't fucking matter. And I'll take your non answer as an affirmative. You're grounded again. Indefinitely." He started to walk away but I wasn't just going to take that shit again.
"What the fuck for?!" I nearly screamed at him. He stopped on a dime and I saw his shoulders tense as he took in the fact that not only had I yelled at him but I'd cursed at him as well. Hell I couldn't really believe it myself. Was I still that I high that I didn't give a shit?
He turned around slowly as he tried to reign in his anger but his face was beet red and I knew he was struggling to keep himself in check. He took another deep breath as he took a step towards me. "You lied to me."
I scoffed. "About what?"
"You never mentioned that Alice was dating Jasper Whitlock who just so happens to be 'besties' with Edward Cullen so don't even try to lie to me about not hanging around with him." And yes, he did the air quotes and everything.
"I never lied to you about that, I just never told you. There is a difference, you know?"
"Same fucking difference, Bells!" he yelled as he threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. "Do you even know this guy? Has no one told you about him or do all the kids think he's cool because he has a rap sheet?"
"What are you talking about?" Edward had never told me the extent of his issues with my dad and I hadn't asked, figuring it was just beef. A part of my brain was telling me that I needed to know, even though my heart was telling me it didn't matter… but should it.
"So he hasn't told you," Charlie deduced. "Christ, Bells, you're not… involved with him are you? Please tell me haven't fallen for that idiot." His anger appeared to have subsided and in its place was nothing but compassion and worry. Charlie was trying to look out for me.
I was suddenly reminded of all the progress we had made and I knew in that moment that Charlie wasn't lying to me, he was trying to protect me. But from Edward? Edward had never done anything to warrant me worrying about his motives or anything like that. I was suddenly too confused.
"Bella," he continued as I tried to make sense of all of the thoughts that were suddenly shooting around in my head. "That kid is no good; he's a pain in the ass, spoiled brat who is used to having things his way. Where ever he goes he leaves trouble in his wake and he doesn't learn, he's like one of those dumb dogs that keeps trying to get over the electric fence." Charlie looked away, seeming to decide on his next words. "He uses girls Bella, treats them like shit. I've seen it. Please tell me he hasn't gotten to you too."
I was sure the look on my face gave me away and I was even more positive when Charlie came to stand in front of me, leaning down and placing his hands on my shoulders so we were eye level before he continued his little speech. "Bells, you can do so much better than him. I know he's a looker and he comes from money and he has that car but, baby, he's not worth it. I don't want to see you broken because of him. So please… just… not him. Ok?"
I took in everything he said; I took it all to heart. But I needed to think. Everything he had said about Edward was so conflicting with the person I knew. The Edward I knew was sweet and kind and gentle. He was honest if not a little blunt but that was just him. I trusted him – completely, I didn't believe that he would ever hurt me – that he would ever use me. Hell, I couldn't even think such a thing it was so unlike him. But I trusted Charlie too. My father knew a different person, maybe that's just how he was before I came into the picture. But could Edward really have changed so quickly and so drastically? Was that even possible?
I nodded slowly and that seemed to be enough for Charlie as he released me with a soft kiss on the top of my head before heading for the kitchen. Neither of us said another word as I made my way to my room.
As I crawled into bed that night everything Charlie said was still on my mind. It was like a game of tug-a-war in my heart and in my head. My logic and my emotions were facing off against each other but neither side was winning.
It was too much all at once and I prayed that sleep would take me quickly so I wouldn't have to worry about anything for at least a few hours. Unfortunately that didn't happen and I stayed awake all night. I cried but I couldn't even cry myself to sleep. I was left with nothing but my thoughts as I tried to decide what the hell I was going to do.
A/N
Ah, what to do, what to do?
Well, we all knew it was coming...
It's gonna get rocky for a bit, folks, but I assure you things will be ok again; It's gotta get worse before it gets better and all that. Also, I've been asked if the title is indicative of the outcome and the answer to that is still mostly up in the air. But I will say this, I'm a sucker for happy endings.
See you guys soon.
