Chapter 11

I'm standing outside your house,

And I'm wondering, baby.

Do you hear the phone when I call?

Do you feel the void when I fall?

~Lonely Town- Brandon Flowers

Charlie comforted his daughter for a long time. He cursed the name of his son-in-law numerous times and managed to improve Bella's mood minutely. After a while, Charlie left to put Renesmee to bed and returned to Bella to inform her that he would be staying the night and sleeping on the couch. He also brought her a poorly made sandwich and told her to eat as she needed sustenance.

After Charlie had gone, Bella poked the sandwich, almost wondering if something were going to crawl out of it. Charlie had never been very good at making food, it was one of the reasons Bella had been a great daughter. She kept him from starving as she provided meals from him. Even now, when she visited, she would make a few meals in advance that would keep in the freezer for weeks. Whenever Charlie would run low on food, he would tell her and she would whip up a new batch. If she neglected to do this, Charlie would eat take out every night.

Bella pushed aside the plate and headed to the bathroom. She was starting to feel numb which was a relief from the crushing heartache. Having no feeling, in her mind, was better than the sorrow. After Bella had relieved her bladder, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her brown hair was disheveled and going every which way. Her face was gaunt and dark circles were etched under eyes. She looked like a recovering drug addict and it displeased her. It didn't help that she was wearing an old T-shirt and some holey pajama bottoms. Right as she made the decision to clean up, her phone began to ring. She didn't even bother to look at the caller ID. Bella brought it to her ear and answered brokenly. "Hello?"

"Bella! I need your help!" Alice's frantic voice screamed into her ear.

Hearing someone else distressed wiped her memory clear of her own problems. "Alice what's wrong?"

"Get away from me!" Alice screamed in the background. Suddenly the click clack of heels running against pavement could be heard. "Bella! Please help me!"

"Where are you?" Bella asked, going into red alert.

Shuffling noises emitted through the phone then Alice's voice became a whisper. "Victoria's Tavern. Please come soon Bella."

"I will be there in ten minutes." Bella told her friend, then hung up the phone and rushed into the living room. "Charlie, I have to go. My friend is in trouble."

Charlie had been slouched on the couch watching the sports channel. "Do you need my gun?" he asked, reaching in the holster to take it out.

Bella shook her head, and he removed his hand. "Please keep an eye on Renesmee." She knew Charlie would and didn't wait for a response. Bella slipped into her rainboots and grabbed a jacket. With her keys in hand, she raced to Jacob's car parked idly in the backyard. It didn't take Bella long to be on the road and she put the pedal to the medal.

It was late. Not many drivers were on the road, which was good because Bella broke several laws on her way to Victoria's Tavern. She rarely stopped at the stop signs and didn't yield for the yellow lights turning red. Instead she sped up and her speedometer showed that she was doing well over the speed limit. But she kept her word to Alice and arrived in ten minutes.

Bella parked in the front of the crowded tavern. It being a Saturday night, she wasn't surprised that it was packed. She exited the car cautiously and scoured the outside of the building for her friend. When she couldn't find her, she pulled out her phone and called Alice. The phone rang and rang but Alice did not pick up. Bella did end up hearing the sound of a ringing phone and followed the noise until she found the source. Bella put away her phone and shuffled through the dense forested area on the side of tavern. She eventually found Alice leaning against a tree, unconscious. "Alice." Bella whispered, sinking to her knees and patting the side of her face gently. "Alice, wake up." When Alice didn't stir, Bella knew she was going to have to carry her to the car.

Unlike Jacob, Bella wasn't ripped with muscles or extreme height. Luckily Alice was shaped like a pixie with her short height and lithe body. Bella leaned down and scooped up her friend. Even though Alice was small, she was still too heavy for Bella to carry her bridal style. So instead she semi dragged Alice back to the parking lot. When Jacob's car was finally in her sight, she noticed a figure walking towards her. It turned out to be a man who looked around Charlie's age. He had long dark hair and a lanky build. When he came across Bella he looked concerned. "Alice?" The man called out cautiously.

Alice was unconscious so there would be no response from her so Bella acted as her mouth. "Who are you?"

"I'm Aro." He pointed at the girl Bella was holding. "I'm her boyfriend."

Bella was taken aback by the man's words. He obviously didn't know that Bella was a friend of Alice and knew that he was lying. "Well, she's not feeling well. So I'm going to take her home." Bella tried to walk around the man, but he stood obnoxiously in the way.

"No, give me my girlfriend. I'm taking her back to my place." Aro reached out as though he were going to snatch Alice from her hands.

Bella turned to the side so that Alice was out of reach. "I don't think so." She narrowed her eyes at the man and felt the tendrils of fear sliding their way up her body. "I'll have her call you in the morning."

Aro made an advancement at Bella and grabbed one of Alice's arms. "Release her." he growled. "I'm taking her home."

"No!" Bella screamed, holding Alice tightly. "I don't know what you did to her, but she is not going home with you!"

Aro's eyes flashed with anger and he released Alice only to strike Bella across her face. The shock from being slapped caused her to drop Alice who crumpled to the ground. Aro looked ready to repeat his actions but a few people exited Victoria's Tavern and began walking towards them.

Bella took that opportunity to draw attention to them. "We don't want to go home with you! Leave us alone!" she shrieked. The group of people had been chatting amicably, upon hearing Bella's words, began to yell obscenities at Aro and run towards them.

"You got lucky this time." Aro snapped before taking off through the parking lot to escape the oncoming crowd.

When the small group reached Bella, they helped her to her feet and transported Alice into the car. "Thank you so much." Bella had tears in her eyes from gratitude. "I don't know what he would've done to us if you hadn't been here to help."

One of the women stepped forward and gave Bella a quick hug. "Some people can be creeps. Get home safe dear." The group wished her well, then Bella took off out of the parking lot.

Bella glanced over at her unconscious friend when they were stopped by a red light and sighed. "You need to be careful who you date." She happened to notice a small brown car behind her and wondered where the person was going. As Bella drove down the street and made various turns, she noticed that the car remained behind her. "Are you following me?" She muttered under her breath, deciding to take a random left. The car made the same left. Bella wanted to chalk it up to coincidence and made another left. Then another until she had made a complete circle around the block only to find that the car was still behind her. As she took a closer look behind her, she realized she recognized the driver as Aro, the man who had assaulted her and potentially drugged Alice. Bella cursed under her breath and began to pick up speed. She didn't want to lead the man to their home so she continued to drive in circles trying to get rid of him. But Aro was relentless and would not be deterred.

Jacob's car continued down the street and Bella switched gears as she sped up when they reached an endless street with no breaks. She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw his little car a few yards behind them. Bella grabbed the clutch and switched into a faster gear, putting the pedal to the medal. She was going to escape the psycho if it was the last thing she did.

The car sped down the street and Bella really pushed it, going faster and faster. She made a sharp turn when she finally reached the end of the street and made various twists and turns, trying her best to lose Aro. When she was a block from their home, she pulled into a random driveway and turned off the car. Sinking low into her seat, she peered out of the back window, breathing shallowly. As she suspected, Aro's car came flying down the street a few seconds later. After his car had gone, she sighed in relief and felt her heart racing. "Well that was enough fun for one night." She muttered to herself.

Bella didn't want to chance Aro finding them, so she decided to wait before going back on the road. After a half hour of sitting in a random person's driveway, she finally gathered enough courage to restart the car and head home. Bella pulled out of the driveway carefully and drove the rest of the way home cautiously. She was thankful that Aro seemed to be long gone and when she pulled into the apartment's driveway, she claimed her usual spot in the back.

Alice remained unconscious throughout the duration of the ride and Bella sighed. She'd heard of date-rape drugs and how they could render someone unconscious and depending on the drug, the person wouldn't even remember anything the next day. Bella removed the seat belt from Alice's body, then searched her pockets for the keys to her apartment. She found them quickly and saw that they were attached to her car key. She made a mental note to take Alice to retrieve her car that had been abandoned at the tavern.

It didn't take long for Bella to transport Alice from the car to her apartment. Bella moved as quickly as she could as she didn't want even the slightest chance of Aro appearing while they were outside their home. Once the women were in Alice's apartment, Bella laid her friend in bed and removed her shoes. She placed Alice's keys on her crowded nightstand then exited the apartment, making sure to lock the door on her way out.

When Bella returned to her own apartment, she found Charlie passed out on the couch with the TV on. She turned it off then grabbed a spare blanket from her room and covered her father. She couldn't begin to express to him how grateful she was for his presence and went to her room feeling just a bit better.

The next day, to thank her father, Bella went shopping for some food that she would cook for Charlie that would keep for a while. It had been a few weeks since she last cooked for him and she was sure that by now he had run out of leftovers and was eating take out everyday. Bella spent the whole day cooking and it relaxed her immensely. While she cooked, Charlie and Renesmee watched old Disney movies and Midnight occasionally barked happily.

Bella smiled at the last dish she had cooked, then wrapped the tuna noodle casserole in aluminum foil, and set it on the island alongside the four other dishes she had made for Charlie including a soup, casserole, pot pie and lasagna. "Don't forget to eat the pot pie first as the others keep longer." She told him before giving Charlie a hug. "Thank you so much for being here for me. I really needed you."

Charlie embraced his daughter tightly then kissed her forehead. "I'll always be here for you Bells. Are you going to be ok?"

"I think so." She responded honestly. "For now I'm just going to focus on the present and work out my feelings when my husband returns."

"Sounds like a plan." Charlie stacked the dishes on top of each other, then grabbed them. "I'm going to be eating good tonight!" He grinned at his daughter before exiting the apartment.

After Charlie had gone, Bella locked the door, but not five minutes later she heard a knock. Figuring Charlie forgot something, she opened the door with a smile on her face. "Did you forget something?" The smile was wiped from Bella's face when she found Jacob dripping wet standing in the hallway with a big cheeky grin on his face. His luggage lay at his feet and he took a step forward to capture Bella's lips with his own.

"Oh how I've missed you." He murmured against her mouth. Shock resonated across Jacob's face as he felt a hard slap across his cheek. He was rendered speechless at the act, and looked at his wife with bewilderment.

"How could you cheat on me?!" Bella screamed.