Animals in a Cage
Annaleise Marie
Chapter Ten: Reckoning
AN: Hey, did you know I had a Twitter? I totally do, and you could totally follow me and I could totally follow you back and we could totally become best friends. Or, if that's not something that interests you, you can just lurk. I occasionally post bits of new chapters, lose my shit over canon aspects that bother me, and post libelous things about almondgirl3 and Hans153. So there's that. My username is AnnaNocturnal. See you there!
Speaking of almondgirl3, though, have I mentioned that between her and Faith212 I have the best set of betas? Are you jealous? You should totally be jealous.
The word of the day is "totally". And now, here we go.
X
EPOV
"Alright, if you don't live here or fuck someone who does, it's time to get out!"
I started awake, trying to sit up for a second before realizing that I was pinned in place by something warm and solid. I craned my neck around to see Newton standing in the kitchen doorway, wearing only a tee shirt and a pair of plaid boxers, his hair sleep-tousled.
"Jeez, Newton, put on some pants," I groaned as the thing on my chest shifted. I looked down to see the Bella's head turn to looked up at me. She squinted her eyes, seeming confused by her surroundings.
"Your girlfriend never returned my pants," Newton said. "Besides, don't pretend this doesn't turn you on." He struck a ridiculous pose, boxers and all.
I didn't bother to point out that he had way more than one pair of pants. Besides, in all fairness, he probably hadn't expected us to still be here this morning. I hadn't even really planned on that. Bella and I had stayed up until the early hours of the morning, talking about literally anything and everything, and we had just fallen asleep here.
"Oh no," Bella groaned, sitting up with a jolt and grabbing her phone off of the table, squinting at the display. "Oh shit."
"What time is it?" I remembered that she had told her dad she'd be home in the morning, but it couldn't be after noon yet, could it?
"Just past one," Mike answered as Bella held up her phone for me to see for myself. Five missed calls from her dad.
She stood up, straightening her skirt and grabbing her jacket from the arm of the couch. "I've gotta get home," she said, sounding panicked. "Charlie's going to be freaking out."
I shrugged, hoping that if I acted calm, she'd calm down too. "I don't know; if he was cool with you staying at Mike's in the first place, I don't think he's going to be too upset about you being a few hours late..." I trailed off at the guilty expression on her face. "What...?"
She bit her lip, worried brown eyes staring up at me. "Charlie... thinks I stayed at Jessica Stanley's."
I took a second to consider that. "What? Why did you tell him that? You said Jessica hates you. I mean, if you were gonna lie, at least make it believable." I frowned. 'Why didn't you just say you were gonna stay at Alice's or something? Even Rose would've covered for you." She shot me a strange, pleading sort of look. "What?"
"Well...he doesn't really want me hanging out with you. Any of you," she said quietly.
Mike cleared his throat nervously. "I'm just gonna... I'll go. You guys talk." He ducked back down the basement stairs.
"You've been lying to your dad this whole time?" I asked; she nodded. "That's not even the biggest issue here," I said as soon as it occurred to me. "You do know who your dad is, right? I mean, you're lying to your dad, so really, you're lying to the police, Bella! I mean, fuck—What do you think happens if he finds out?" There was no way this was gonna stay a secret in a town like ours.
I wasn't angry. If anything, I was completely astonished. I knew Bella probably didn't get the gravity of our history with the police around here, but that didn't make it any less of a big deal.
Bella shrugged. "I—I mean, I don't think there's anything he can really do to you guys. I mean, he can ground me, but it's not like you kidnapped me."
"There are about twenty separate charges between the five of us that he could bring up at any time." I raked my hands through my hair, staring at her incredulously. How could she not know this? Hadn't her dad told her anything? I had just sort of assumed he would've talked about it, especially if he'd told her to stay away from us. That was why none of us had really brought it up: it wasn't something we were exactly proud of; and really, how could she not have known? "He's looked the other way because no one involved wanted them pursued, but the point is, he could."
"He wouldn't do that just because I lied to him," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's not like that."
I closed my eyes and breathed out through my nose, trying to calm down. "And when he finds out you've been running around with us and you keep coming home with bruises and cuts and shit? What about then, huh?" I waited, eyes wide; she didn't speak, just drew her lip back under her teeth. "What do you think a police officer wouldn't do to protect his kid?" I ran my hands through my hair again, needing to do something with them but not knowing what. "Bella, look; at the very least he could put Rose in juvie. Maybe Emmett, too. Jail. You get it? You need to go home and tell him what's going on right now."
She nodded, no longer meeting my eyes. Her arms were still crossed, but now it looked more like she was hugging herself than the show of defiance it had been. I hated that I had to hurt her, especially after the night before, but... Fuck, this was really serious. This could get really ugly, really fast.
She stood there for another moment, her eyes fixed blankly on my chest. Then, without even looking up or saying another word, she turned and walked away from me. I didn't move as I heard the front door open and close.
X
BPOV
I felt sick the whole way home. The night before had been so nice. Edward and I finally seemed to click. He told me about big things, like how much his parents had always fought, how his eating habits had been an issue since he was little, how that had impacted his family. And he told me small things, too, like the fact that he had been playing piano since he was six and that he couldn't whistle.
I had gaped at him. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"But it's...it's just so easy." I was fighting back a laugh. "You just purse your lips and blow." I demonstrated.
He shook his head but tried anyway. No sound came out other than rushing air.
I told him about my mom: how flighty and irresponsible she could be; what it had been like living in Phoenix, other than what I had already told all of them. I told him about how much I liked drawing - even if I wasn't especially good at it - and how I couldn't cook. He pestered me about that, naming a few "simple" dishes before I admitted just how bad it was.
"I can't even make toast." He frowned, not believing me. "Really. I can make buttered bread or I can make buttered ash. You'd have to pick one or the other."
"The first one isn't even making anything; you just butter it." He laughed. "But what about your lunches? Don't you cook that stuff?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, but you should have seen me try to get the hang of those few recipes. It was a disaster. I think they were about to tent our apartment building and storm in wearing hazmat suits."
And then in the morning, when Mike called me Edward's girlfriend, he hadn't corrected him. I mean, that probably didn't actually mean anything; Edward had probably just been distracted by Mike's ridiculous underwear pose. But still, he hadn't seemed horrified to have me called his girlfriend.
And now...now apparently I had as good as gotten half of them arrested, as well as made him mad at me.
Pretty impressive for one morning. I hadn't even had breakfast yet.
But what had they done? For Edward to react like that, it must've been big. And what did Charlie know that he could use against them? It could be the Leah thing, I guess. But that didn't explain why Emmett could be arrested, too. And it certainly didn't explain "twenty separate charges between the five of them."
I pulled into the driveway and just sat there for a minute, steeling myself to go in. I probably should have called Charlie when I left Mike's, so he wouldn't still be panicking when I went inside. Hindsight's a bitch.
Well, too late now, anyway.
I got out of the truck and made my way to the front door, hesitating with my hand on the doorknob for a moment before finally stepping inside.
Charlie was in the front hall, the receiver of the ancient landline pressed to his ear. His expression hardened from worry to anger when he saw me, and he held up a finger and spoke into the phone: "She just walked in. Sorry to bother you," he said. He returned the receiver to its cradle and crossed his arms, his feet shoulder-width apart: the "bad cop" pose. I'd only seen it a few times in my life.
"Something you want to tell me, Bella?" Not Bells. Bella.
"I'm sorry I'm late," I said lamely. "I overslept—"
"Where were you?"
I fought the lump forming in my throat. It wasn't fear; it was pure guilt and shame trying to choke me. "Mike Newton's." Even to me, my voice sounded very small.
His eyes bulged. "You were out all night at a boy's house?"
"It's not like that!" I said quickly. "A bunch of kids were hanging out there and a few of us just sort of crashed. I slept on the couch." That much was true, but not telling him about Edward didn't help with the lump in my throat.
Charlie's nostrils flared: another bad sign. I felt my face screw up in anticipation; this was going to be pretty bad. "You were supposed to be at Jessica Stanley's! Isn't that what you told me when you called last night? Well, when you didn't come home—I called their house. And guess what I found out?" He didn't wait for me to guess. "That not only were you not there, but Jessica's never even seen you outside of school!" I didn't know what to say to that; I avoided his eyes. After a few seconds of silence he continued, his voice a little softer this time. "What have you been doing? And don't lie to me again, Bella; I am not in the mood."
"I've been hanging out with Alice Brandon and her friends," I said quietly. "I didn't tell you because I know you don't want me hanging out with them, but Dad—they're not bad people." The words were coming out in a rush now, needing to get out there before they could be swallowed back down. "They're really nice... Well, most of them. But they're not at all like people think."
"Bella, those people have good reasons for what they think!" I flinched; he looked like he was going to say more but closed his mouth. He breathed in and out through his nose. "No more—You hear me? No more of this lying and sneaking around."
"Dad—"
"End of discussion." I clamped my mouth shut, not wanting to make it any worse. After a moment, he sighed. "I need to be able to trust you." His voice was much softer now, and he looked wary. "I'm not saying that you can't have friends or that you can't go out with them, but I'm your father. I need to know where you are. I need to know who you're with." He let out a breath. "I need to know that you're safe."
I frowned. "So...as long as I make sure to tell you, I can hang out with them?"
Charlie studied me for a second, not relaxing his posture; I was careful not to blink, trying to look determined. After a beat, he sighed. "You're not going to be out with them all night—and no leaving Forks with them. You're not to be in a vehicle with any of them, Bella. And you are never allowed to set foot on the reservation with them. Are we clear?"
I nodded; it shook the hair I'd been trying to hide behind from my face. Big mistake. I saw Charlie's eyes immediately zero in on the bruise.
He stepped forward and reached out a hand; I leaned away from it. "What the hell happened to your face?"
"Dad." I held my hands up in what I hoped was a calming gesture. "It's fine. I grabbed the steering wheel in the truck to climb in and I just kinda lost my grip. My hand kind of flew back, since I was pulling." I tried to mime how it happened—Well, how it would've happened. My excuse sounded good at the time, but now, standing in front of Charlie and watching his eyes harden while he watched me lie - right after he told me not to - I felt the lump in my throat come back two-fold.
"Did that McCarty kid hit you?" His anger was evident in his voice. He took a few steps forward; I wasn't quick enough this time. He grasped my jaw and tilted my head to look at the bruise.
I paused, surprised. Emmett? "What?! No. Dad, if Emmett hit me, I wouldn't have a bruise—I'd be stuck halfway through a wall." Why did his mind fly to Emmett?
I guess my shock was obviously sincere because he didn't push it. His grip relaxed a little and then he let go of my jaw. "You need to be more careful," he said gruffly. "I worry about you, you know."
"I know," I said, swallowing against the lump. "But I'm fine. Really."
X
APOV
It was two o'clock and Jasper and I still hadn't moved from bed. "I really have to go," I said for what had to be the hundredth time since we had woken up, tossing his sheets aside and trying to climb out of bed.
He wrapped his arms around me tightly and pulled me back. "It's Saturday. What could you possibly have to do that's more important than this?"
As if to answer his question, my phone rang. Before I could move, he reached over me and grabbed it off of the bedside table, staring at the display. I took advantage of his distraction to get out of bed, searching around the room for my clothes.
The ringing stopped. "What?" Jasper said into the phone; I let out a short laugh. Well, that ruled out my mom. "What? No, she's busy." I stopped searching for my underwear and raised an eyebrow at him; he smirked at me and pulled his hand out from under the covers, my panties dangling off of one finger. "Or she will be."
"Who is it?" He shrugged and I crossed my arms, shooting him a disapproving look. "Jasper."
"It's Edward." I held my hand out for the phone and he shook his head, holding the phone away from his face but not covering the receiver. "You're not talking to another guy naked—even if it is just Edward," he said in a teasing voice. I heard Edward saying something indistinct from the phone.
"Then give me my panties!" He pouted but handed them over, along with the phone. "The pout's not a good look," I muttered before placing the phone between my shoulder and jaw as I pulled my panties on and then started searching for my bra. "What's up?" I asked Edward.
"Am I interrupting?"
I rolled my eyes. "No, I was actually getting ready to head home. Jasper's just fucking around."
"So...Bella's been lying to her dad about where she is every time she hangs out with us."
"Okay...and that's a problem because...?" I found my bra halfway under the bed. Next were my pants, which were bunched up by the door.
"Well, she's not doing a very good job of it." He said that as though it should actually explain something.
"I'm not surprised, I never thought she seemed like much of a liar. Hold on—" I sat the phone down for a second to pull my shirt over my head. "So I still don't really get why this is like, a thing you're telling me." Jasper shot me a questioning look and I mouthed Bella before sitting on the edge of the bed to put on my socks.
"Because I think you should run some damage control," Edward said, sighing heavily. "You're the most likable of us. I think you could calm her dad down a bit about her hanging out with us."
"Wait..." I said, running my fingers through my hair, trying to make some sense of the sex-hair, as well as what Edward was saying. "Okay. So Bella's dad doesn't want her hanging out with us."
"Correct."
"So she's been lying to him about where she is."
"Also correct." He sounded frustrated that I hadn't gotten his point yet.
"Which is...a problem for us?" I guessed.
He exhaled heavily again. "If he finds out she's been lying, he could take it out on us—especially Rose and Emmett."
Finally it clicked. "Ah, gotcha. But I don't see how I could change his mind. He's the officer who brought Jasper and me in, you know." I thought he was probably over-reaching with that theory, but I decided to go on the possibility that he might be correct.
"Yeah, but your charge is the smallest—and non-violent." I had to admit that he was right, that I was probably the best option, but I still didn't think it was likely to work out. "And if we can't smooth things over, Bella might not be able to hang out with us anymore."
I nodded and then remembered that he couldn't see me. "Got it," I said instead. "I'm on it, Edward. Don't worry." I hung up the phone and stood up, turning to look at Jasper. "Well, now I've really gotta go."
"What are you up to?"
I leaned over and kissed him softly. "Going to flirt with another man," I joked. "Don't worry, it's for the good of the group."
He rolled over, trapping me beneath him. "That doesn't make me want to let you go, you know."
I laughed as he kissed my neck, his light stubble scratching the sensitive skin.
I guess the whole Bella thing could wait another hour or two.
X
It was six o'clock before I finally made it to Bella's. The plan was simple: Smile a lot; be charming. Leave no doubt in Chief Swan's mind that I was not just the girl that he once picked up for shoplifting or the girlfriend of a truant pothead. Right.
I rang the bell and took a step back; I made sure to paste a bright smile on my face. After a moment I hear muffled footsteps and then the door opened and Chief Swan appeared; he looked quite surprised to see me there.
"Heya, Chief Swan!" I gave him a small wave. "How are you this evening?"
He frowned a little. "Alice, right?"
As if he didn't know. But okay, if he wanted to act like he hadn't met me before that was cool; It might even make all of this easier.
"Is Bella around?" I couldn't very well tell him I was mostly here to see him, could I?
He looked at me for a second like he was considering whether or not he should try to get rid of me. I kept my smile in place, determined not to back down; Edward needed me to do this.
He sighed and seemed to relax a bit. "Yeah, she's upstairs." He stepped aside to let me in and shut the door behind me.
I looked around at the modest decor and decided against complimenting the house. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with it, but it was so simple and...well, male, that it would just sound insincere.
Chief Swan nodded towards the stairs. "First door at the top." It was pretty clear he didn't want to spend any more time with me, so I decided against forcing it just yet and nodded my thanks before heading for the stairs. But I had barely gotten three steps before he cleared his throat; I turned around and looked down at him. "Bella's had a hard couple of years, you know. And I know some of the stuff you and your friends get up to," he said, his voice a slightly different - harder - than it was just before. Harder, but not angry. "And for what it's worth, I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring Bella into any of it."
I was surprised at the request, and frankly, taken aback by his courteous tone; it wasn't at all what I was used to from him. That was when I realized—really realized—that he wasn't just Chief Swan anymore; he was also a dad worried about his daughter. I nodded again and took a step back down the stairs. "Bella's a sweet girl. None of us would ever hurt her."
He was quiet for a moment as he seemed to consider this. "Unfortunate..." he paused as though considering the word and then nodded shortly. "Unfortunate things happen around you guys, whether you mean them to or not."
I didn't say anything; I just waited, my hand on the banister, as he shoved his hands deep in his pockets and exhaled. This conversation seemed to be taking a lot of effort on his part.
"You seem to have the most sense of your friends," he said grudgingly. I smiled a little at that; only our group could possibly make that such a difficult compliment—or really a compliment at all. "Look out for her, okay?"
"I will," I said quietly. "I won't let anything happen to her."
He nodded once more and then turned away, heading for the living room where the television was turned on to a baseball game. I started up the stairs again, glancing at the pictures on the wall on the way up. All of Bella's school portraits were there, along with snapshots of her and her father somewhere far too sunny and warm-looking to be Washington. If I had to guess, I'd say they were taken in Arizona. Chief Swan must have visited her there often. And if he went to see her instead of her coming here, it would explain why none of us had ever really met her before.
I knocked on her door and was answered by a loud thump and then the sound of feet padding across the hardwood floor. Bella opened the door, looking surprised to see me there.
"Edward called," I said by way of explanation.
Bella stood aside to let me in, looking worried. "I'm sorry, Alice; I didn't know I could be causing problems for you guys," she said in a rush.
I waved her words off. "Edward likes to overreact. I just came over to try to make a better impression on your dad, but everything seems okay."
"I told him the truth about everything," she said, looking a little guilty. "He seems to be okay with it, he just wants me to let him know where I actually am."
I smirked and gestured to the bruise along her jaw. "You told him the truth about that?"
"Okay...maybe not everything," she admitted before sitting down on her bed; she crossed her legs and motioned for me to take a seat in the chair at her desk. "So, I know I'm not supposed to ask too many questions or whatever—"
"You can ask questions." I rolled my eyes. "It's not that you can't know anything about us. It's just that it's a gradual thing."
"Yeah. Well, Rosalie said something after the fight and I can't quite work it out."
That surprised me. Rose was usually pretty straightforward. "Okay..." I said.
"She said 'we're good' after I tapped out."
"So?"
Bella furrowed her brow and bit her lip. "So she's good with me because now she's kicked my ass?"
I shook my head. "I haven't talked to her today, but knowing her it's not...quite like that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure she's super-happy she won. But it's more like...'okay, now you've earned my respect'. I really doubt it's about her winning; it's more about you not backing down or running away." I shrugged, leaning back in the chair.
She seemed to be thinking about that and I let my eyes drift around her room. It looked like it belonged to a kid instead of a high school senior. My guess was that it hadn't been redecorated since she was little. It didn't really fit her, either. The only thing there that I would guess belonged to her was the patchwork quilt on her bed—I tilted my head—which seemed to be made out of tee shirts boasting the logos of different tourist attractions.
"Seems like she could've found a less violent way of deciding if she likes me or not," Bella mumbled after a minute.
I laughed. "I know, right?" I shrugged. "But that's Rose for you." I shrugged.
"What about Emmett?" My eyes flicked to her, widening in worry before I could hide my reaction. What had her father told her? "Sorry," she added; her teeth gnawing on her lip. "I just...well, when I came home with this—" She gestured to her jaw "—Charlie kind of assumed Emmett had done it."
I relaxed a little. So that was it. I gave her a small smile. "People think Emmett's rough because he's big," I said with a shrug.
Really, that much was true. What happened last year...well, that mess really wasn't a fair account of Emmett's character. It had been a mistake, and if it had involved anyone other than a lying bitch, the aftermath wouldn't have gotten as ugly as it had.
"How's Jasper?" Bella asked, perhaps wanting an easier topic.
I smiled, memories of the day so far coming back to me. "He's doing pretty well," I said. "He has his next doctor's appointment Monday and I'm going along this time. We're going to meet his donor."
"I didn't know it worked like that," Bella said. "Sounds exciting, though."
I nodded. "It's pretty rare. Both people have to agree to their information being released and it's this whole big complicated thing," I said, spinning the chair slowly from side to side. "But both procedures are being done in the same hospital, so it just sort of worked out this way, since the donor agreed."
"That's good news, though, right?" Bella sounded a bit unsure.
I nodded again. I didn't know what I would say to the person who might save Jasper's life when I met them, but I was really excited nonetheless. "I don't know what I'll say," I said, deciding to give voice to my thoughts.
Bella smiled. "Just say thank you."
Thank you would never be enough.
X
JPOV
I woke up on Sunday morning - or was it Saturday night? - with a start, sitting straight up in my bed as though I'd been shocked. Alice stood beside me, her long, black hair flowing down to her waist, her warm - very warm, I noted - hand on my shoulder.
But that wasn't right, was it? Alice hadn't stayed here last night. And her hair... she had worn it short since our sophomore year.
I tried to get a good look at her face. I was tired. So tired. I couldn't see clearly. And she seemed to be...glowing? I couldn't bring myself to look directly at her.
Her hand drifted from its spot on my shoulder down to my hand, grasping it gently and pulling. I swung my legs out of bed and stood, my movements feeling oddly mechanical. I shouldn't go with this girl, this stranger that I couldn't even bring myself to look at directly. But no matter how much my rational mind resisted, my body followed her automatically.
She led me down the stairs and out the front door, her warm hand never releasing mine, and stopped on the porch. She looked at me for a moment and then slowly, gracefully brought her hand up to point at the night sky.
I looked up, and as she pointed, the heavens opened up and it was like I could see through this universe to the next; stars were born and died before my eyes, and I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.
The girl reached up then, guiding my face down to look at her, and it was only then that I saw her. She was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen, but I couldn't pinpoint why. Her skin was pale, smooth as porcelain, her lips full and rosy, and her eyes were a startling clear blue. But that wasn't what made her so beautiful. That, I couldn't place.
"You will go," she said, her voice soft and melodic. It was like her words were both being echoed from very far away, and whispered in my ear, all at once. "But you will not go in pain."
I woke up again in my bed, my chest heaving, stomach churning.
X
AN: So this was a bit shorter than some of the other chapters, but I mainly just wanted to get the resolution of most of Bella's part, and start turning to Alice and Jasper and set up the next arch. From here on out, although we will still see a good bit of the other characters, we're going to focus mainly on Alice and Jasper. Are you excited? I'm quite excited. :D
Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter - and seriously, guys, thanks for your support on the whole Bella arch. It means the world to me!
Special thanks to everyone who reviewed since the last update: TowerOfRavens, Hans153, gottabefree, deltagirl74, Twilighted, and shaunihunter. You guys completely made my day!
Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from everyone. :D