Quirk of Fate

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thanks for the kind reviews, Nikki

Part Thirteen-The Muffin Maker

Bella was exhausted, her feet were aching and her mouth felt sore from the constant smiling. She had just completed her first shift at the diner and it had proved taxing. Being polite to customers, especially when they were rude and obnoxious was hard. She had bitten her tongue on a number of occasions. Thankfully the rude ones were more than outweighed by the kind customers. She had managed to get quite a few tips which she placed in a jar behind the counter with her name on.

"Well done." Gary said in amusement as he rattled the jar filled with coins and notes. "I don't think I've ever seen so much collected on a first night."

Bella smiled tiredly. "It must be my dazzling good looks and awesome serving skills that won them over," She joked lamely as she took the pencil from behind her ear and wound it in her hair instead so she could pull it back into a ponytail.

"You're not wrong there." Gary said meaningfully, shooting her an intense look.

Bella sighed internally. Damn, she hadn't wanted this. She had sensed his attraction to her on the first night they had met, he was a sweet guy, but she just wasn't interested. She just shrugged and turned away from him, pretending she hadn't caught his obvious hint. "Well I better get back to my daughter." She pulled on her jacket, hoping that the reminder that she had a child would put him off. Not many guys wanted to date a girl with a kid in tow.

"Bring her over one day, I'll shout you both a free meal." Gary was still smiling at her as he wiped down the counter.

So he wasn't put off. Bella knew she was going to have to be blunt with him and tell him there was no chance, but tonight she was too worn out. She just wanted to crash. "See you tomorrow night." She waved at him and escaped into the dark night.

As soon as the cold air hit her fevered skin Bella finally felt herself relaxing. She took in a few deep breaths and walked slowly toward home. She wondered if Shannon was still awake, she hoped not. By the dark circles under her daughter's eyes it had been obvious that Shannon had not been sleeping well, although she denied it vociferously when Bella asked her. But the tell-tale sign of Charlie's old hunting shirt wrapped around Shannon every morning showed she had been up in the night. It saddened Bella that her little girl wasn't opening up to her; she was too young to live a life filled with anxiety. Perhaps it was because she had finally understood Bella's not too subtle hints that they would no longer be seeing Jake and his family anymore. Thinking about Jake just brought Bella down and she tried to push him from her mind. She was done trying to work out what she was supposed to have done. He still hadn't been in contact and she knew she was going to have to accept he was gone from her life.

"You look shattered." Charlie stated the obvious as she flopped on the sofa in the living room.

"I am. Is Shannon asleep?" Bella asked looking around for her daughter.

"Yeah she crashed a while ago." Charlie leaned forward in his recliner, a concerned expression crossing his face. "I'm worried about her. She fell asleep twice today, and both times she was definitely having a nightmare, but when I asked her about it she just shut down."

"I know." Bella replied wearily. "She won't open up to me either. Do you think she's starting to remember what happened that day?" She bit down on her lower lip, hoping that it wasn't the case. Shannon was too young and innocent to have those sorts of horrific memories ingrained in her head. Bella knew the consequences herself, she had suffered and still did suffer horrible nightmares about her time in Volterra, but she was an adult, Shannon was a four year old child. "I don't know what to do."

"We'll work it out." Charlie reached out and patted her hand. "I was thinking about taking her out for the day tomorrow. I can push some of my work back until the weekend. Perhaps a visit to the beach will make her a relax enough to open up."

Bella felt tears prick at her eyes. A rush of affection for her father surged through Bella and she squeezed his hand gratefully. He was such a kind man and a great father. Why hadn't she seen this before? She had always been a blind fool. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Charlie patted her hand again before getting up. Too much emotion only embarrassed them both. "I'll make you a warm drink." He offered as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Charlie and Shannon left fairly early for the beach, giving Bella a chance to lie in. She snuggled under the warm covers, only the top of her head poking out. A knock at the front door disturbed her rest, jolting her awake. She groaned and opened her eyes a crack. The bright sunlight hurt her eyes and she closed them again. Rolling over she pulled the covers over her head and ignored the visitor. But it seemed they were not going to go away. The knocking continued, driving her crazy. "Assholes." Bella raged as she finally forced her tired limbs to move and get up. She stumbled down the stairs, one hand running through her tangled hair and yawning widely. "I'm coming." She called out irritably when the knocking continued unabated.

Bella opened the door to find Deanna standing on her doorstep. Embry's other half was her usual bright and breezy self. She laughed when she took in the state of Bella in her tank top and sweat pants. "Jeez, you really were still in bed then." Deanna stepped inside not the least bothered that Bella hadn't actually invited her in. "Go and have a shower girl, I'll make you a strong coffee and some brekkie while you're getting ready."

"Huh?" Bella's head felt fuzzy, she closed the front door and followed after Deanna. The other girl was dressed in a pair of denim cut off shorts, showing off her perfect legs. Her long silky hair was pulled up into a messy bun, a few strands left to frame her face. Deanna actually swayed when she walked. The whole effect was intoxicating. Bella could quite see why Embry was captivated by this curvy beauty. Bella felt like a skinny, pale beanpole in comparison. She had no curves at all. "What are you doing here? Did we have plans?" She scratched at her messy bed hair, trying to get her tired brain to function.

"No, but I thought it would be good to catch up. Haven't seen you with Jake the past week or so." Deanna said meaningfully.

Bella winced at the mention of Jake's name. She had been doing her best not to think of him. She certainly didn't want to discuss their current coldness with this girl, however much she liked her. "I've been busy." She mumbled instead. "I've got a job."

"You have?" Deanna asked with interest as she boiled the kettle.

"Yeah, working in the diner." Bella waved her hand vaguely.

"Diner? Cool." Deanna turned away to make some coffee. "You should get in the shower. Breakfast will be waiting when you come down." She ordered.

Bella gave in and just did as the other girl wanted. She was too out of it to question why Deanna would bother with someone like her. She wondered whether Dee even knew about the situation with her and Jake. Perhaps not, maybe Embry never talked about that side of things with his girlfriend. Bella wasn't about to interrogate Deanna about what she knew or didn't know. "Okay, thanks." She padded out of the room and climbed the stairs, leaving the other girl to it.

Shannon ran across the beach, her little feet leaving footprints in the wet sand. It was a rare sunny day and Charlie had brought along an old bucket and spade that once belonged to Bella. There were a few other families on the beach too. Some of the young ones were paddling in the surf. So far all Shannon wanted to do was collect shells. Charlie had asked if she wanted to play with the other children, there were some her age building sand castles and playing tag. But Shannon shied away from them, instead either running ahead of him in her quest for shells or clinging onto his hand whenever anyone came close.

Charlie finally sat down, he deliberately chose a spot close to a family he knew from the reservation. They had two children, one a teenager, who was sitting a little apart from his family, earbuds pressed firmly in his ears as he drowned out the noises around him with his terrible heavy metal music. Charlie shuddered, how could these teenagers listen to crap like that? The other child was a year older than Shannon. Charlie waved at the family and they returned his greeting. He deliberately asked if it was alright for Shannon to join in building the sandcastle that their son was building. They nodded, gesturing for both Charlie and Shannon to join them.

"Come on, Shan." Charlie stood up, brushing the sand from his jeans. "It will be fun." He could see the worry etched all over her pretty face as she looked over at the boy.

"He won't like me." She whispered sadly.

"He will." Charlie assured her. "I know him, he's a great kid. His name's Joey. Hey Jo." He called the boy over to them. Joey popped his head up and looked over at them with interest. "You don't mind if Shan makes castles with you, do you?"

Joey wrinkled up his nose and squinted as the sun was shining in his eyes. His black hair shone in the sunlight. He reminded Shannon a little of Jake and Paul when he smiled, shrugging as if Charlie's request was no big deal. She kept hold of Charlie's hand as he led her over to the boy and then he left them alone as he went to talk to Joey's parents, discreetly watching Shannon from the corner of his eyes all the while.

Shannon stood awkwardly looking at Joey, unsure of what to do. Finally he glanced her way again. "You dig there." He pointed at a groove he had made in the sand.

"There." Shannon echoed him as she edged closer and sank down onto her knees beside him.

"Yes, there." Joey pointed at the same spot and began to dig in the sand again.

Shannon took up her own spade and began to dig too. So far Joey hadn't called her weird or looked at her oddly. Slowly she began to relax around him and the bad dreams that had been haunting her for days receded into the background as she found something else to concentrate her mind on. Charlie smiled in relief when he saw her playing next to the boy. He settled down on the sand and continued to talk to Joey's parents.

Deanna rolled her eyes when she saw what Bella was wearing. "Jeez, girl, go back and put some shorts on or something. For once it's hot out there. Perhaps we can get some colour on that pale skin of yours?"

Bella glanced at her jeans. "I'm fine wearing these."

"No way." Deanna waved her hand in front of Bella's face. "Go change or do I have to drag you upstairs?" She put her hands on her shapely hips as she glared at Bella.

"Alright. I suppose I have some shorts somewhere." Bella said testily as she stomped up the stairs. Deanna was so feisty. More and more she reminded Bella of Leah before she phased. Turning into a wolf had turned Leah's feistiness into bitchiness. Not her fault of course, she had been through so much crap, losing Sam and her father all in a matter of a few short months. Bella hurriedly changed and came back to show Deanna. "Better?"

"Much." Deanna replied shooting her an approving smile as she linked arms with her. "About time you showed some skin. Off we go."

"Where?" Bella questioned as she tried to keep up with the other girl's long strides.

"It's a secret." Deanna had her car parked outside. It was an open top convertible, much the same as Rosalie Cullen used to drive. It was even the same cherry red. Bella flinched as memories assaulted her. No, she wasn't going to think about the blonde beauty, the last time she had seen Rosalie was on the night they had helped her escape Italy with Shannon in tow. She still didn't know Rosalie's fate or any of the others come to that, but presumed they were dead by now. Aro had ordered them put to death when he learned of Carlisle's betrayal. "Are you getting in or just standing there?" Deanna's voice pulled her out of her reverie. Bella nodded and hurriedly climbed inside the car.

Deanna pulled up outside her house. She parked haphazardly and climbed gracefully out of the car. Bella sighed heavily. The last place she wanted to be was La Push, but thankfully there was no sign of Jake. She guessed he would be pissed if he found her here on the reservation. He would think she was stalking him. Bella clambered out of the car and followed after Dee who had already opened the door to the large house and headed inside. When Bella entered she found Dee already pouring them both some drinks.

"Not for me. I still haven't recovered from the last time." Bella confessed.

"You're gonna need it, believe me." Deanna shoved the cold glass in her hand. As she did so two tall figures emerged from the kitchen, Bella gasped as she saw Jake. He was standing next to Embry wearing an inscrutable expression. "Right Em and I are heading out for a while. You two damn well talk." Deanna ordered in her usual abrupt way. "Now you know why you need the drink." She whispered to Bella as she took Embry's hand and pulled him after her out of the house.

Bella's hand shook as she took a sip of her drink. Jake had moved a little closer, his dark eyes burned into hers, setting her skin on fire. She took another drink when he came right up in front of her, she could feel the heat from his body radiating to hers. Why didn't he say something? "I didn't know she was bringing me here." She finally broke the tense silence herself, the drink having given her a little courage.

"I asked her to bring you here. We need to talk." Jake replied huskily. His eyes were roaming her body as if he was trying to drink her in. When he reached out to push a lock of her hair behind her ear, she nearly imploded on the spot. "I've missed you."

Bella shivered as she drank the rest of her drink in one quick gulp. "You never answered my calls so I assumed you didn't want to see me." A lick of anger curled in her gut as she spoke. How dare he say he missed her when he had effectively pushed her away?

"I had things to think about." Jake murmured. His fingers had left her hair and were trailing across her cheek, leaving heat trails across her face. "I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead." Bella stood perfectly still, not trusting her limbs to co-operate if she tried to move. She knew she would pitch straight into his warm arms if she made the slightest attempt.

Jake dropped his hand back to his side and stared down into her eyes as if assessing if she was going to tell him the truth. "When you first went on the run with Shannon." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Why didn't you call me for help? I would have come."

Bella felt like he had slapped her. She tore her eyes from his and stared at the empty glass in her hands. "Call you? Are you kidding me?" She muttered angrily.

"Kidding you?" Jake retorted. "I am not fucking joking Bella. Why didn't you call me? I know you haven't been alone the whole time you were on the run."

Bella's head shot up. "What do you mean by that?" She snapped.

"I know about the other man or men." Jake's hands curled into fists. "If you needed comfort why not call me instead of seeking it from some random? Why wasn't I good enough?"

Bella couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he for real? She pushed past him and strode over to the drink's cabinet so she could pour herself another drink. Dee was right she did need it. She drank it quickly, the liquid burning her throat. She kept her back to him as she spoke. "You bastard." She almost growled. "Seeking comfort? You have no idea. I did call asshole. I didn't phone your house directly because I knew how Billy felt about me and I didn't want to disturb him. So I called the only other person on the reservation that I trusted so she could pass a message to you, but you never called me back so I assumed that you didn't want to know."

Jake froze. She had called him? When? He had never received any messages. "Who are you talking about? I never knew anything about it. Who did you speak to Bella?" He demanded.

Bella poured another drink and chugged it down quickly. "Emily." She hissed. "I called Emily."

A/N-thanks for reading!