That night, I couldn't sleep. My brain wouldn't stop thinking about Isabella; how her relationship was so much more complicated than I ever dreamed. It was naive of me to downplay the importance of her relationship with Jake. Knowing my daughter was in love scared the hell out of me.
I always did my best as a dad. Tried to prepare Isabella for all of the ups, downs, and curveballs life throws at you. I'd talked to her about how growing up without a mom would sometimes make her feel different. That when all the other kids in her class were making Mother's Day cards, she shouldn't think twice about making one for her Gramma instead. When Isabella bought her first bra, I once again explained her changing body wasn't anything to be ashamed of, nor was it something to flaunt. We'd even suffered through that horrible rendition of the birds and the bees talk. But in the end, I felt I had failed my daughter because I'd never talked to her about how much it hurts when someone takes liberties with your heart. Something I knew firsthand.
The lack of sleep made my five am opening shift at the cafe all the more painful. Usually I was two cups of coffee in by the time Emmett arrived at ten. That morning my first cup went untouched, the cream forming a layer of curdled scum on top. Scum like Jacob Black.
Emmett's arm draped across my shoulders as I stood dazed behind the counter. I hadn't even heard him approach.
"You okay?"
"Huh?" I shook my cloudy head.
He gestured to my cold drink. "Something's up."
"Yeah, something's definitely up. Isabella and Jake...they're affirmative."
Emmett quirked an eyebrow and I rolled my eyes.
"They took advantage of the empty house this weekend."
"Oh." Em frowned, mirroring my facial expression. "Seth, can you handle this? Edward and I need to have a quick meeting."
Seth waved us off. "No problem, Boss. I've got this."
"You had to expect this, Bro. They're young. They've been seeing each other for a while. I'm guessing there's something else going on here - with you, I mean." Emmett said once we were alone in the back room. After years as friends, he knew me well.
"It wasn't just sex, Em. They're in love. I could see it in his eyes; the way she moves around him. Sex, the physical act, I could deal with. But this is, fuck." My dragged my fingers through my hair as I sat down. "This is so much more than that. Her heart and emotions are all tangled up with him now. I don't like it."
"And you're worried Isabella's going to get hurt." He scratched his chin and I nodded.
"Yeah. It's called 'fall in love.' Emmett, I don't want her to fall."
"Jake's not Ally and Isabella's not you."
"But she is. She's an integral part of me. When she was seven and broke her arm falling off her bike, I felt her pain. The feeling resonates within me. She and I, we're connected. She's my everything, Emmett. I don't know what I'll do if he fucking breaks her heart."
"We'll break his face." His fist punched into his palm then his face softened. "And together we'll help Isabella pick up the pieces. She'll carry on and she'll be okay. You know she will. There's also a possibility she doesn't get hurt."
"Yeah right. She's young. I doubt she's found her happily ever after already."
"You never know. And maybe she breaks up with him one day." See, now Emmett was talking. "But we don't know. This isn't in our hands."
I groaned. "That's the worst part for me. Since Ally left I've been in control of every aspect of her life. Letting go and risk her getting hurt..." I shook my head. "I don't know if I can."
"You can, and you will. Life's about making mistakes and getting hurt along the way. When she was learning to walk you didn't stick her in bubble wrap, did you? Of course not. You let her stumble and fall. And through the bumps and bruises she learned to run."
"But if I see her running with scissors, shouldn't I do something to stop her?" My eyes met Emmett's and he looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I think." He paused, his index finger tapping his lips. "If you protect children from making mistakes or always rescue them from consequences, you're just delaying them from learning the lessons they need to learn.'"
His words sunk in and I knew he was right. Isabella had her own life to live; I needed to let her do so. I'd done my best to give my daughter the tools she needed to live her life and a big part of that was learning to love, and be loved. Letting go, just a little, wasn't severing ties. If ever she were drowning I'd be there to breath life back into her. But if Jacob Black, or any man for that matter, hurt my daughter there would be hell to pay.
"Thanks. Where the hell did you read that anyway?" I asked as we headed back out front to the counter. "It's pretty deep, man."
"Tumblr." Emmett grinned his hand smacking me on the back. "Isabella is a part of you, Edward. The best part. She's resilient and strong. She'll be okay, whatever happens with Jake."
I hoped he was right.
"And don't be an ass to the guy, okay?"
"I, uh,...I kind of told him I'd kill him if he hurt her."
Em shook his head in disapproval, succeeding in making me feel guilty. "Dude."
"Sorry. I'm new at this my-daughter-has-a-boyfriend thing, okay?"
"Just try not to be a dick all the time. He's just a kid."
I told him I'd do my best to be semi-nice, but no promises.
...
A few weeks later Isabella came home from school, slamming the front door so hard the pictures rattled on the wall.
"Isabella? You okay?" I stopped shucking corn.
"Aaarrrrggg!" She growled as she stormed into the living room, shredding her jacket and ditching her backpack. "Jake's a jerk."
I wanted to agree, I did, but I had learned not to give my opinion to a woman unless it is specifically requested of me.
"Okay, what's going on?" I hung up her coat and bag then followed her.
Too angry to sit down, Isabella stomped around the room. She tugged out her hair elastic and scratched her fingers through her hair leaving it looking as crazed as she did.
"He's a jealous, obnoxious idiot."
Bite your tongue, Edward.
"So, there's this new guy at school - Mike Newton. He's super sweet and..."
I'm a guy; I already knew where this was going but I let her prattle on. And on. And on. I sat down as the story unfolded, much the same as I knew it would.
"Then a couple days ago Mike offered to carry my backpack home and Jake got all huffy over it. I mean, he's never offered to carry it home but as soon as someone else does…" She paused to growl and roll her eyes. "Jake grabbed my backpack away from Mike and then grumbled all the way home. What the heck? I didn't ask him to carry it."
Isabella sat down and continued her rant. "Anyway, today Jake found out Mike sort of kissed me—"
"What? Wait a sec, how do you 'sort of' kiss someone? Did he or didn't he?"
"He did but—"
"Sweetheart, there is no but."
Isabella waved me off. "It was a misunderstanding."
I disagreed with a shake of my head. Guys put a lot of thought before we kiss someone. We're over-thinkers; it's in our chromosomes. Does my breath smell okay? How much tongue should I use? How hard or how soft? Eyes: open or closed? Where should my hands be? When should I stop? There's a never ending list of questions we go through, from when we first lean in to when we pull away.
Misunderstanding, my ass.
"What did Jake do?"
"He decked him." Isabella clenched her jaw and I could see the rage building again. I scratched my head.
"I don't get it - why are you angry? Jake defends your honor and you're mad at him? Shouldn't you be pissed at that Newton kid? He's the one who kissed you - without your permission, I might add. I'm not exactly Jake's biggest fan but kudos to him, honey."
"Gah! You, too? Can't you see Jake was the bigger ass here?"
"Mike kissed you!" I stared at her incredulously as she continued to protest.
"It wasn't a big deal."
"Ah, but it is. It's a far bigger deal than I think you understand."
"Enlighten me, please." An exacerbated Isabella flopped down on the couch.
My index finger tapped against my lips as I tried to find the right words. "It's like this, you're Jake's girl - exclusively his. If another guy even flirts with you, he's going to be pissed. So for this guy to kiss you? Hell no. Guys get jealous and possessive about stuff like that."
Arms folded across her chest, Isabella lashed out. "I'm not his property! He doesn't own me."
"No, he doesn't. And I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say he did. I was only trying to explain his rationale. Mike crossed the line and Jake was letting him know, in no uncertain terms, that what he did was unacceptable."
"Mike crossed the line? Mike? Jake punched him!"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry, I'm with Jake on this one."
"Whatever. Jake's an idiot. He's been suspended for it, too. Still on his side? I'm dating a felon, how 'bout that? The principal said he'd only suspend him for 2 days if he apologized but he's refusing so he's out for the whole week. Idiot." Isabella stormed off to her room and cranked up the tunes.
If nothing else, Jake had integrity and even though I didn't especially like the guy, I had to admire that about him.
Jake knocked on our front door an hour later looking very morose.
"Hey, Mr. Cullen. Is Isabella here?"
"She is. She told me what happened."
Jake dropped his head down and mumbled something about being hot-headed.
"If I were in your position I would've done the same."
I stuck out my hand. He looked at in shock, then took it, shaking firmly. It was a truce between us, albeit temporary.
"She's in her room. Good luck." I gestured down the hall. "Keep the door open," I warned.
They hashed it out for a couple hours. I could hear Isabella's high pitched, angry voice, and Jake's low rumble in reply. Eventually things quieted down at which time I took myself out to the local watering hole for a beer because I was pretty sure they were making up. YUCK. I left the television on so they'd think I was still home - no need in having them get too comfortable.
Thank you all for your continued love and support. I appreciate all your reviews.
Alanna: you're a sweetheart. Love you.