A New Dawn

Disclaimer: All that is Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.

The rest is mine. Thank you for the continuing support.

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Thanks again and enjoy.


Chapter Twelve

"Edward, your son, is going to Dartmouth?" I demanded again. How the hell did he get into Dartmouth? I mean, I had to tutor him in English. I guess your parents' money can buy you anything. Figures, I thought bitterly.

Mrs. Cullen looked confused now. "Yes," she clarified. "I thought he would have told you."

This time it was my turn to be confused. "Why?" I asked curiously.

"We thought since you were tutoring Edward and saw him every day that you two talked," Dr. Cullen said slowly.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Charlie's head whip in my direction.

Oh, shit.

"Okay, now wait just a minute here. What do you mean 'tutoring Edward'?" Charlie turned on me. "You were tutoring Edward? Edward Cullen?"

He was furious. Double shit.

Suddenly, the grass and my shoes became very interesting as I avoided Charlie's stare. I knew the expression on his face couldn't be anything less than shocked.

"Bella?" Charlie demanded, stepping closer to me.

I chewed on my lower lip, ready to bite clean through it. I looked up nervously. "Yeah, Ch—Dad, I was gonna tell you, but I figured it was better not to?" I visibly winced and waited for the attack to begin, but it never came. I looked up again and Charlie was turning ten shades of red dangerously fast.

"We thought you knew, Charlie," Mrs. Cullen said apologetically.

Charlie turns to her, clearly irritated. "No, I wasn't told," he grumbled, giving me a pointed look.

"I had to. It was my punishment for beat—for hitting McCarthy," I said sheepishly.

"Oh really? You're punishment was to tutor Edward Cullen?" he asked skeptically.

At this point, Edward's parents looked like they were ready to make a break for it.

"Uh, no, not exactly. I had to be a student tutor, and Edward was a student who needed tutoring," I defended. "I, uh, guess I felt bad for him?"

Charlie turned one shade darker, and I started to worry steam would start to blow out of his ears.

"You felt bad for him?" he demanded sarcastically, his voice rising and drawing the attention of a few by-standers. He narrowed his eyes slightly, lowering his voice. "Did he threaten you if you didn't tutor him?"

Mrs. Cullen's eyes widened as big as saucers and Dr. Cullen looked slightly annoyed ad very uncomfortable at the accusation, but it did sound like Edward. Or at least the Edward I'd known when I'd left Forks. Given his track record, Charlie's accusation wasn't all that hard to believe, but it wasn't true.

"What? No of course not. If he had, I would have told you," I assured him quickly.

"Edward isn't the same person he was back then, Charlie," Dr. Cullen said firmly, defensively.

Oh no. I needed to get Charlie out of here and fast before the rel shit hit the fan.

Charlie scoffed. "Forgive me if I don't think all that therapy and community service did anything to change him or to help Bella." No one missed that he sneered the word 'therapy'.

I did think that was kind of odd though, Edward going through therapy. What did he need therapy for? I was the victim in the situation back then, so why did he need therapy? It made me wonder if there was more to Edward than the cruel things he'd done. Was there more to the story I hadn't considered or hadn't been told?

"Edward paid for what he did," Dr. Cullen said grimly, taking a step forward.

Mrs. Cullen looked horrified at the confrontation unfolding in front of us. I was frozen in place, not able to form words or swallow the lump in my throat.

"Oh really? That's how you define paying for it? Therapy and a slap on the wrist? What about Bella, all the things he did to her?" Charlie demanded, motioning to me with an angry wave of his hand.

"Dad," I tried, but Dr. Cullen was aready talking over me.

He looked at me. "Edward did terrible things that he's ashamed of, but he isn't the same person," Dr. Cullen said seriously, his eyes burning into mine, pleading.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Charlie beat me to it.

"Your son is a selfish little-"

"Dad!" I cut him off before he could finish his sentence and things got violent. "Please stop arguing," I begged, looking between the two of them.

Charlie and Dr. Cullen were locked in a glaring contest.

Mrs. Cullen touched her husband arm in an effort tocalm him. "Come on, Carlisle. We have to go," she said softly. "It was really nice seeing you, Bella."

I nodded, giving her a small smile but said nothing.

When they were finally out of earshot, I turned to Charlie.

"Let's go. We can talk about this later...when there are less people around," I said pointedly.

"Yeah, fine, but this conversation isn't over. Not by a long shot," he grumbled.

We walked to the car in silence, Charlie walking ten steps ahead of me. He was pissed. Great, all I needed was to be grounded for the duration of my time in his house before I left for Dartmouth.

Charlie drove in silence, both hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. I wished he'd say something, but then as soon as he started talking, I regretted it.

"Who does Carlisle think he is? He has no idea what you went though, what his son put you through. I remember you coming home crying all the time, covering in bruises, too scared to tell anyone what really happened," he ranted.

I winced. "Dad, I know. I lived it, okay?"

He glanced at me. "Yeah, I know you did." He sighed. "I don't think anything will ever make up what happened to you. Edward never even apologized to you."

"He tried," I said quietly.

He looked at me almost in disbelief. "What?"

"I mean, kind of. He kind of apologized."

"'Kind of'? When?" he demanded.

I thought for a minute. Edward had never actually just said the words 'I'm sorry'. He'd just gone on about how awful he was and how terrible he'd treated me. I wondered if just hearing those words would make all the difference, but deep down I knew they probably wouldn't.

"I don't know. When I was tutoring him, I guess," I said.

"And this whole Edward thing, is that why you and Jacob aren't talking anymore?" he asked.

I sigh and shrink into my seat.

"Does it?" he demanded.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

Finally, we pulled up to the house, but neither of us got out of the car.

Charlie sighed, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face. "Is there any fixing it?"

"No. I don't think so," I said after a moment, thinking of the things Jacob had said to me. Some felt unforgivable.

"You know, sometimes, Bella, you gotta learn to love what's good for you," Charlie said slowly. "I bet whatever it is that Jacob did concerning Edward he did it with good intentions."

I shrugged. "Maybe," I mumbled.

"Why don't you give Jacob a call, invite him to go out with you and Angela tonight to celebrate graduation?" he suggested.

I sighed. "Dad, I don't think that's a good idea."

Charlie sighed. "Alright. Okay, Bells. Just think about patching things up, okay? I don't want you to leave for college with any regrets."

"I won't," I promised.

*0*o*0*o*0*o*0*

"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm going to miss this place," Angela said sadly, glancing around The Lodge, the old diner we'd chosen to have our dinner at.

I shook my head. "It's not crazy. I'll miss it, too," I said. "But there's always the holidays, right?"

She smiled. "Right," she said, holding up her glass in a toast.

I held mine up, and we clinked them together.

"We did it, graduated high school," she said proudly.

"Yep, and now we're moving on to college," I said.

"Yeah, and not just any college but Dartmouth," she nearly squealed. "Can you believe it? My parents were even more excited than I was about getting in."

We shared a laugh, and I realized I really would miss Forks. At least Angela was coming to Dartmouth with me. We'd even planned to make the trip up there together.

Angela sat forward. "So I'm thinking we should try to get a dorm room together. I don't know if—"

"Bella?"

Angela and I both glanced up, and I wanted to kill Charlie. I knew he must have had something to do with this. Jacob stood beside out table, dressed casually in a white t-shirt and jeans. He jammed his hands into his pockets and shifted awkwardly.

"Jacob? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"You tell me. Charlie called and said you wanted me to meet you here," he said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't know what Charlie told you, but I didn't want you here."

Hurt touched his eyes and he let out a long exhale as if he'd been holding his breath.

Don't feel bad, Bella. Don't do it. Don't.

I played with the straw in my glass, glancing at an uncomfortable-looking Angela.

"Can we just talk, Bella? Outside?" Jacob asked, not looking at Angela.

"Why?" I demanded, not really trusting Jacob at this point.

"Please," he begged.

I looked at him, scanning his face for any sign of deceit but only found sincerity.

I looked at Angela who shrugged.

"I'll be right back," I told her, getting out of the small booth.

"Thank you," Jacob said as I followed him out of the restaurant to the sidewalk.

We sat down at a nearby bench.

It was a warm night in Forks. Stars sparkled brightly in the sky, and the glowing streetlights gave the town a homey, warm look. Dim light from the restaurant poured over us. Strangers laughed in the windows. Couples walked by, hand in hand.

"I know my apology was all wrong. Hell, it wasn't even an apology," Jacob began.

I scoffed. "You can say that again."

He laughed once, regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry about that, about everything. What I said...I was wrong. I never meant to hurt you or make you think I thought you were, uh, as you put it 'a dumb, naive slut' which you could never be. I'm so sorry, Bella. I acted like an idiot."

I looked into his eyes, expecting his eyes to tell me it was only a half-hearted apology, but I was surprised to find the sincerity lingering there.'

"I forgive you, but I still don't understand why you said what you said. Why would think there was something going on between me and Edward?" I demanded.

He sighed, leaning back. "I guess the best way to describe it is I was jealous," he murmured.

"Jealous?" I asked, confused.

"Edward. I didn't like you hanging out with him," he replied.

"Why?" I asked stupidly. Anyone could put two and two together. I didn't know what to say. My friend, Jacob, was jealous because I was hanging out with another guy? I hadn't really thought of Jacob in that way since I'd gotten to know him. I mean, he was nice-looking and funny, but it just didn't feel right. There didn't seem to be a spark. He was like a brother to me.

He laughed. "Isn't it obvious?"

I tried not to let my mouth drop or show him how unappealing the idea of loving a brother-figure that way would be.

"I've missed you, Bella," he said softly, leaning in a little closer.

Closer...

Uh, oh. No, this couldn't happen. I wasn't ready for this...but I was out of time.

Closer. Until his lips pressed softly against mine. His lips were warm and firm, needy. It wasn't totally unpleasant, and for a moment I tried. I really did. For a just moment I pretended. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend he wasn't Jacob but someone else, someone I felt a real spark with. I tried, but it was too real. Jacob was my best friend, and whether we were fighting or not I still wanted him to be happy, but this just couldn't work. I couldn't pretend; it wasn't right or fair to him.

I pulled away, pushing gently on his chest to tell him to move back, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," I whispered. "But we're just friends, best friends."

He chuckled regretfully, letting his warm breath wash over my wash as he let out a sigh. "It was worth a shot though, right?" His smile was wounded, and I could see the sting of rejection in his eyes.

I stood up. "Come on. Let's go back inside."

He sighed and stood, too.

We walked back inside together.

EPOV:

She had kissed him. Bella had kissed Jacob Black. Or rather he'd kissed her, at least that's what it had looked like, but she let him.

But she pulled away.

I must have imagined her doing that, but I couldn't be sure. All I could focus on was seeing him so close to her where I wished I could be, her lips on his undeserving ones. It pissed me the fuck off even though it had no right to.

So maybe I was all wrong for Bella, too, just as wrong for her as Jacob was. Maybe I didn't deserve her. Maybe I had no right to be this jealous. Okay, strike all those maybes. There were no maybes about it. But I sure as hell knew Jacob didn't deserve any part of Bella either. He wasn't good enough; neither of us were.

"What are you staring at, Cullen?" Collin asked, coming up behind me and tracing my murderous glare to Jacob Black.

Paul laughed from behind me. "Well, well, well. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Cullen here's got his panties in a twist over the Swan girl," the little bastard laughed.

Collin and Alec joined in on the laughter.

"Shut the fuck up, Collin. At least I don't have the hots for Jennifer Malloy," I sneered like a child.

Paul laughed, holding his hands up in mock defense. "Hey, man, no one's blaming you. That Swan's a real nice-looking piece of ass."

I saw red.

I was in his face in less than a second and he was against a brick wall, my hands gripping the collar of his shirt.

"Don't ever talk about her like that again," I said through gritted teeth.

"Hey, calm down, man," Alec said from somewhere behind me. Alec, always the level-headed one trying to make peace between everyone. "He's not worth it, and you know it."

I smirked when I saw that Paul looked scared shitless. What a pussy.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Does that make you feel better, Cullen?" he sneered. "Geez, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were whipped by that bitch."

That's when my hand, on its own accord, formed into a fist and collided with his jaw. He landed on the ground with a thud, cupping his jaw.

"You son of a bitch," he spat, getting back to his feet and preparing to swing.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

I knew that voice. I turned to see Chief Swan coming up behind us, fully decked out in his uniform. His hand instinctively went to his gun.

"Nothing, sir," Alec said quickly, gulping nervously.

"Then why was he just on the ground?" Chief Swan demanded. He turned to me. "Cullen?"

"Just a misunderstanding," I said, scowling at Paul. If he knew what Paul had been saying about his daughter, I'm sure he would have shot him, and Paul knew it, so he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut about it.

"Is that right?" Chief Swan questioned, looking at Paul who was still cupping his jaw.

Paul glared at me but nodded. "Yeah, just a misunderstanding."

Chief Swan looked at me again. He wasn't stupid, and he wasn't convinced. "Why don't we have a little chat?"

Fuck. This wasn't good.

"Come here," he ordered, motioning for me to follow.

I did, and he led me just a few feet away from the others.

"Am I gonna have trouble outta you right before you leave for college?" he demanded.

How did he know I was going to college?

"It won't happen again," I said instead of questioning him about how he got his information.

"Hmph, well, be sure that it doesn't," he grumbled. "By the way, your parents talked to me at graduation. I know you're going to Dartmouth, same school as Bella."

Wait, what?

"Bella's going to Dartmouth?" I asked, dumbfounded. "And you talked to my parents?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Yes, and if I hear anything about you bothering her . . ." he trailed off, letting the threat hang in the air. "Stay out of trouble, and stay away from my daughter," he warned.

With that, he left me standing there, giving Collin, Alec, and Paul a stern warning glare.

Bella was going to Dartmouth.

I wasn't sure yet if this was good or bad news.

My heart picked up pace slightly. And something else did, too... Hope?


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