(Bella's POV)
The howl of the wind cut off the minute we walked into the church and a somber silence fell over us.
It was a sea of black as far as I could see; everyone in Forks seemed to have showed up. Many of the adults were crying, so were some of the teenagers.
A girl I recognized as Angela from school walked up and gave me a hug. "I'm so sorry, Bella."
I was too sad to be shocked and just hugged her back. "Thanks."
Jasper had disappeared to grab his guitar but breezed through the door once Angela let go of me. Rosalie wasn't far behind with a much smaller version of Jasper's guitar case in one hand.
Everyone took a seat and once silence had fallen over the crowd, Angela's father, who happened to be a minister, made his way up in front of the closed mahogany casket and spoke. "We are gathered here today to mourn the tragic losses of Charlie and Renee Swan…"
I drowned him out as he went on about what drives people to commit suicide, I just couldn't listen to it.
I snapped out of it once I heard, "Isabella? Would you like to say a few words?"
Jasper gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before I stood up shakily and made my way up to the casket.
"H-Hey everyone," I said nervously. I cleared my throat and repeated it a little louder.
"I- Well, to be honest, I didn't know Charlie very well. He never talked, I never talked… That was just how it was with us. I mean, I only ever called him dad to his face."
I took another shaky breath. "But the one thing I do know is that he loved Renee more than anyone else in the world. She was his life.
"Now, Renee, on the other hand, was more than just my mother. She was my best friend. I remember going to concerts with her all the time and all the guys would whistle and say, 'Who's that hot chick?' and I could laugh and say, 'My mom'." I let out a choked laugh. "The one thing my mom loved was music. She loved all her old stuff like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones but she was also listening to my music all the time and to be honest, she was the one dragging me to all the shows. Charlie, on the other hand, was more closed minded. He loved one band, which was The Beatles." I paused to swallow back my tears before I said, "So now, a few of The Cullens are going to play a few songs for Charlie and Renee."
I was openly crying now as Jasper and Edward made their way up to the stage. Jasper pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. "That was amazing, Bells," he said.
Alice walked up to the stage to lead me back to my seat while Jasper and Edward set up.
Someone had gotten Jasper a stool to sit on in front of the mic and Edward took his seat next to the church's grand piano.
Jasper sat down, tuned up and then turned to Edward to give him a little nod.
Jazzy started singing a split second before Edward came in with piano.
Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Jasper came in with guitar next.
Hey Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better
And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
They went back to the first verse. I don't think there was a dry eye by now. I knew I was crying at least.
So let it out and let it in
Hey Jude, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder
They finished the rest of the song and then went to the long outro.
Na na na nananana, nananana, hey Jude...
They did this several times before someone in the back started singing with them.
Na na na nananana, nananana, hey Jude...
One by one, voices from all around the church joined in and I soon found myself among them.
Instead of fading, Jasper and Edward slowed down and gave everyone a signal to cut out once they hit the last note.
They were met with a deafening reaction from the crowd. Once everyone had calmed down, Jasper said into the mic, "Okay, well, we got one more Beatles song for you. Alice, Rose, would you like to join me?"
They joined him up on stage to play "All You Need Is Love". They started out A Capella, but soon Jasper joined in with guitar.
The crowd responded the same as they had with the last time and this time I had no doubt in my mind that everyone was crying.
Finally, I joined Jasper back up on stage and said into the mic, "Those," I choked up a little and had to start over. "Those first two songs were for both Charlie and Renee. But this last one is for Renee. It's by a band called Flogging Molly, and she took me to their concert at my demand. But, after that, she wouldn't stop telling me how amazing they were." I couldn't go on because of the new onslaught of tears but I managed a small smile anyway before going back to my seat.
Edward and Alice left the stage while Rosalie got her violin out and tuned it up very quickly. Another stool had been brought out for her to sit down and once she was seated, Jasper told the crowd, "This, as Bella said, is a song by Flogging Molly, and it's called, 'If I Ever Leave This World Alive'."
He started out on a steady D chord and then Rosalie came in with violin.
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll thank for all the things you did in my life
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll come back down and sit beside your feet tonight
As Jasper sang, all I could think about was Charlie singing this for Renee. I could just picture it.
Wherever I am you'll always be
More than just a memory
If I ever leave this world alive
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll take on all the sadness
That I left behind
If I ever leave this world alive
The madness that you feel will soon subside
So in a word don't shed a tear
I'll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive
So when in doubt just call my name
Just before you go insane
If I ever leave this world
Hey I may never leave this world
But if I ever leave this world alive
I found myself singing along with him on the last verse after the breakdown.
She says I'm okay; I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right
They ended on a solid simple chord and stood up to take a bow while everyone clapped respectfully. It really wasn't anyone else's kind of music but I was glad they'd played it.
Once they went back to their seats, Mr. Weber stepped up to the mic to finish up the funeral. Once again, I tuned him out until it was time to carry the casket out. Renee was still buried in Phoenix but I made a mental note to have her moved to this cemetery.
Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward carried the casket with the help of two policemen Charlie had worked with.
The lush green grass was soft and saturated with excess rainwater that splashed into my shoes as I walked to the recently dug grave.
I didn't cry this time, there weren't any tears left to shed.
Alice grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
As the casket was lowered down, the clouds opened up and showered everyone in the cemetery. It was as if the sky were crying along with us.
While umbrellas went up around me, I just stood there, letting the rain soak me.
"Come on, Bella," Alice urged, trying to get me under the shelter of her large black umbrella.
I just shook my head. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the casket as it disappeared from my line of view and hit the sodden earth below with a gentle thud.
My eyes roamed to the polished, flat, square, marble grave marker. It simply read:
Charlie Swan
Beloved father and husband
1951-2008
I closed my eyes and shed one last tear. "I love you, daddy," I whispered.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and whirled around, expecting it to be Jasper or Alice. But instead, it was a really tall Native American looking kid with long black hair tied back in a ponytail.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was Billy Black's son, Jacob.
"Hi," I said sadly.
"Hi, Bella. You probably don't remember me. The last time I saw you my dad said I was six… I'm-"
"Jacob. I know. Charlie liked to talk about you," I said monotonously. It was true too. Back when Charlie talked, anyway. Before Renee died.
"Yeah, well, anyway, I just wanted to see how you're doing. You can come over anytime. You know where the La Push reservation is, right?"
I nodded.
He sighed and added, "This probably isn't the best time to tell you this, but my dad told me to tell you to watch out."
I turned to look at him like, "Is your dad on crack?"
He rolled his eyes. "He's really superstitious and believes in these old stories about the 'Cold Ones'. Anyways, just said to be careful of the Cullens."
I gasped but quickly tried to cover it up. "I'll, uh, I'll keep that in mind."
Jacob just nodded. "Okay then, well, hope I see you around sometime, Bells."
"Don't call me that," I immediately demanded.
"Why not? I've always called you that. Everyone does."
"Just don't." I had to get away. "It was nice meeting you, Jacob, but I gotta go."
And then I raced off to find Jasper. Well, as much as I could 'race off' with the slick grass and my klutziness anyway.
He found me and pulled me into his arms. I asked, "Why does Billy Black want me to be careful of you guys?"
He sighed. "You're probably gonna learn about it soon enough anyways. I'll tell you the whole story later, but all I can say is that there's a… treaty, I guess you can say, between us and the Quilliutes. We don't step on the reservation and they don't expose us. It's only because they were Charlie's friends that they even agreed to come here. And it's because we're helping you that they won't kill us. But there's… tension between us."
"But why?" I asked.
"Later," he promised. "I can't tell you here. All I can say that soon enough, Jacob'll be in on it too and he'll start believing those old legends about us- The Cold Ones."
My head was swimming with questions and Jasper said, "Why don't we get you home. You'll get sick standing out here in the rain."
I was already shivering, so I didn't argue when he picked me up and carried me to the car.
The car was already toasty warm when I placed me in and wrapped a blanket around me and I assumed that Alice had been the one to start the car.
Alice and Rosalie joined us soon after and before I knew it we were pulling out of the cemetery and going back to the Cullen's place.
"Hey Jazz?" I asked. I was trying to ask more questions.
"Shh, Bells. Later. I'll tell you later."
"Okay." The warmth of the car was making it hard for me to stay awake and within minutes I was out cold.
A/N: Okay, new chapter. =] What'd you guys think? Yeah, I finally added Jacob into one of my fics, mostly for good plot twists and stuff, so Bella and him are not gonna end up being best friends or anything. Um… the songs were as promised, "Hey Jude" by The almighty Beatles! And the Flogging Molly song was as mentioned, "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" and it's amazing! Everyone should go and listen to it. I don't care if you buy if off iTunes or download it illegally, GO LISTEN TO IT!!!!!! And a dedication is also in need here: MoreThenLikelyCrazy for being the only person to even guess even though I lied and accidentally told her it was right even though it wasn't (and I'm sorry about that. I read it wrong, it was really late)! So, congrats MoreThenLikelyCrazy for taking a guess at the Flogging Molly song. =]
Disclaimer: I own nothing! BlessedBeACullen own's the idea, I'm just writing for her.
