Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns her characters of her Twilight series, I'm just playing with them.

Chapter 21: MODEL CITIZEN

Edward Cullen

I gave Charlie's cell number to Jacob because I wasn't going to be the guy to let him know his kid was in danger. That information was deadly enough, and for it to be delivered by the vampire that wasn't allowed near his property would give the man a stroke. So while Jacob delivered the bomb, I stayed with Bella. Sure, I was worried about Charlie catching me near her, but I was more worried about what would happen if I disappeared.

A nomad vampire was one thing…a nomad vampire in a chief of police's home …that was a whole other level.

While I waited impatiently for Charlie to hear the news and rush home, I sat with Bella in the kitchen and listened to her hands drum nervously on the sides of her stool. So far she was holding up pretty well over the news that a criminal—ridiculous spur of the moment idea thanks to her Jacob friend—had pretended to be hired by Charlie. In fact, after the shock of the actual jip rock truck arriving, and then the security guy following ten minutes later, she had turned off any fear and left the world with her blank stare and deadened eyes.

Of course, if she knew what had really gone on I'm sure she'd show a little more concern on her blank face. She'd never know though—that was the goal, anyway.

"Bella?" Jacob asked behind us.

She looked up quickly when she heard the kid's voice. I didn't look over my shoulder at him, and instead, watched the reaction he brought out of her. Bella's eyebrows rose and then her mouth played into a hard line.

I smiled, satisfied with the response.

"I called Charlie—he's on his way here."

"Lovely." Her voice was sarcastic. She got off her stool and walked lazily towards the kitchen table. Her shoulders were hunched, and her neck hung her head towards her left shoulder as she picked up what looked like the remains of a meal. After balancing a few items on her arms and palms of her hands, she moved back to the island and chucked it all into the sink.

I actually flinched.

She looked up at me for only a second, and when she did, her eyes flashed red for a second, the dark circles caving in her face. Her appearance wasn't human. It was a defence mode for vampires—strong and unemotional. Or maybe I was mistaken; Bella was a human who saw past the bullshit and had been exposed to darkness at an early age. How else was a beaten foster kid supposed to look at life? Either way, I still had concern for her.

"You okay?" I asked her.

Her stupid friend jumped in. "She's alive isn't she."

She smirked. "For now." There was something sinister about her voice. I couldn't put a finger on it. I could only watch her move across the room and stand in front of the glass doors, where she stared into the dull day with equally dull eyes. Something in me stirred when she placed her forehead on the glass and closed her eyes. I recognized the sense of hopelessness in her body posture. I knew what she was going through, and instead of bringing her out of her moment, I turned on the elephant in the room.

I looked over my shoulder at the wolf boy. He was leaning in the threshold of the kitchen and hallway. I cleared my throat to grab his attention. "Why are you here—Jacob is it?" I knew his name. I was just being that guy.

His eyes swiped over me and then away, where he planted them on Bella. I wanted to step in front of her and block his view but I didn't. He had a stupid look on his face. Then I saw it in his mind before he said it, making me look away.

"Charlie invited me over to keep her company." I looked up at him to see that his cocky voice matched his cocky face. Why Charlie trusted a werewolf over a vampire was beyond me. He was one ill-informed son-of-a-bitch.

I wanted to spit on the floor near Jacob Black's feet or shut a door in his face—anything to make him know the loathing I felt for him. But he continued to stare at Bella, and while he did, I listened to his thoughts.

She's going to lose it…don't let her leave…Charlie will be mad—

"So why did he invite you over?"

I snapped my gaze over in Bella's direction when her voice rang through my bones. She now had her back pressed against the glass, her head back, and her gaze cut across the room in my direction.

I looked at Jacob. He looked defensive. "If you want me to leave I will."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by his bluntness. Bella had the same reaction.

"Calm down guy, I'm just wondering why you're in my house." Her tone was different—hard and indifferent. She reached behind her shoulder and with one swift movement, she had the doors sliding and she fell through it. She closed the door behind her.

"Nice going." I stood up off the stool, intending to follow after her. The werewolf's sudden movement caught me off guard—he headed for the sliding doors.

I stepped in front of him. "Where do you think you're going?"

He glared at me. "Charlie asked me to keep an eye on here. The better question is why you're here." He pointed at me with a finger, and I waited for him to touch me. He didn't. Lucky bugger.

"Bella called me. She needed me." His face looked dejected. I smiled at that.

"She called you? How did she know he was—"

"Instinct," I told him. Like Charlie, Jacob didn't know what he was dealing with when it came to hybrids, and more specifically, this hybrid. "And her instinct told her to call me. Not you, not Charlie—"

"She didn't know Charlie's number."

"Well she knows 911." I moved away from him. He stayed in his place. "Look I'm just saying. Charlie may think you're capable of handling things, but in reality, you're just making things worse."

He chuckled, not believing me. "You're just jealous that she likes me."

I crossed my arms and faked a smile, pretending to be humoured. In all honesty, I wanted to strangle him. Jealous. As if. I decided to give him the cold hard facts.

"She doesn't like you, Jacob Black. She likes what you give her."

He rolled his eyes but his mind began to rethink his stance and second guess his outlook on the way she looked at him. It felt good to see him nervous now.

"What do you know about hybrids?" I asked, already knowing his answer.

"They're transitioning vampires. A little bit of human, a little bit of vampire." He gave his answer with confidence. He didn't see that it was lacking.

"Sure, that's the just of it. But what makes hybrids uniquely dangerous to themselves and others is that no one can ever know how much is human and how much is vampire."

Jacob shrugged. "Sure. That is an issue, but it's an obvious one."

"Obvious enough for you to forget, and then that's when Bella will do something drastic." I took a few steps back. "Hybrids are like wild children. They thrive on adventure. They're losing their adrenaline, and in order to maintain it, they become thrill seekers, thus keeping it on extremely high levels. The highest level of adrenaline hybrids will have is right before their transition—and if they act on it, and are pushed over the edge…they become what I am."

Jacob had sincerely listened, but that didn't mean he understood what he heard. He was pig headed and childish, and only interested in making Charlie proud of him and getting a girl to look his way, even if she happened to be a hybrid. So stupid.

"Maybe that's true—"

"It is true," I said, correcting him. "Look at her. She likes dirt-bikes and motocross for Christ sake—what girl have you ever met that likes those things! Her need for fast pace races isn't just a hobby—it's in her blood to act that way. It happened to me and it will happen to any other transitioning vampire."

"Well I don't see how I have anything to do with this. If she's seeking these adrenaline pumping activities, she'll find them regardless if I'm around or not. I just happen to have the same interests as her, where as you…yeah...not so much"

I rolled my eyes. The guy was a pompous a-hole. "You're not getting it."

"Oh I think I am."

"You're not." I glared at him. "What's a vampire's biggest enemy?"

He glared at me.

"Exactly. And once she becomes more in tune with her vampire side—which can be any day now—she'll become more aware of what's around…and more specifically…who's around her. Do you really think being what you are, and being what she is, that trying to make friends is plausible?"

He shrugged. "I'm acting under the same beliefs that Charlie is—which is that she can be saved."

"This isn't a Catholic system—"

"You know what I mean," he hissed. "She doesn't have to live a doomed life." I ignored the jab. It didn't hurt. "And after hearing what you just said, my understanding is that she could possibly be functioning with little vampire in her blood at this moment. It could be her human side that is acting out—because hell, she is only human, and humans are capable of just as much fuck ups as your kind."

"She isn't only human, you moron—" Sirens in the distance, coming down the road, stopped me. It took only a few seconds before they were in the driveway, and Charlie's voice was giving instructions to the crew that followed him.

"Charlie's here."

"You think?" I asked, mocking the kid.

"Yeah I don't know why Charlie doesn't want you around her," he said, the sarcasm putting a mocking smile on his face.

I wanted to grab him by the throat and toss him outside, but workers were in the next room, and Charlie was—

"Bella!" Charlie's voice boomed through the house. I moved past Jacob, brushing my shoulder against his with a little force. Charlie stood in the entrance of the house, two men behind him, their guns at their hips, Charlie's in his right hand. The worker fixing the drywall stared with wide eyes, nervous. Charlie's eyes immediately found mine. They had so much rage. "Cullen? Where is she—"

"She's out on the deck," Jacob said. He walked cautiously around me and leaned on the banister. "I came here just like you said and not even five minutes later, he showed up." Jacob's eyes lazily glared over at me.

I shook my head. "That doesn't matter—"

"And where's the guy?" Charlie's voice was getting more frustrated as the seconds ticked on. He obviously felt what I felt—that Bella's safety was seemingly out of our control.

"He fled." Jacob pointed out the door. "That's his truck out there."

Charlie turned to the men behind them, and after telling them to set a perimeter and call in some dogs, he shoved through and headed into the kitchen. I followed behind him, the dog on my tail.

Charlie opened the sliding door and walked out onto the deck. I would have followed him if he hadn't stopped and then turned to glare at me.

The look on his face told me something was wrong. "What? Is she—"

"Gone?" he hissed. "Yeah. Imagine that." He slammed the door shut behind him and left the kitchen, calling more cops over his walkie. His thoughts were all over the place, but like me, he hoped that Bella was just being Bella, and that something else hadn't happened.

Jacob chuckled. "Good going."

I didn't stay to listen. I exited the house the same way Bella did and jumped off the deck, landing on the balls of my feet before chasing her sent down into the backyard. Her scent became stronger quicker than I could have thought as I traced it along the paths, and finally to the last place anyone would expect someone who couldn't swim to be.

"Bella are you okay?"

She was sitting on the top railing on the balcony deck that hung over the water. Her feet dangled while her arms held her back straight, keeping her in place. When she looked over her shoulder, her body swayed, causing me to skip a few stairs before I was only five feet from her. I didn't get any closer. I wasn't stupid.

"They find him?" she asked, looking away and out into the dark water. In the distance, fog was slowly rolling in, taking the afternoon away.

"I don't know—I doubt it. Charlie just got here."

She brought her right leg around the railing, allowing her to sit like she was riding a saddle. "Thanks for coming over. That was nice of you." I tried to say something—anything—but my voice was caught in my throat. She looked at me with confusion. "What?" she asked.

I exhaled. "You're making me nervous—aren't you nervous doing that?" I moved a bit closer to her until we were in arms reach. I didn't touch her though, even though I wanted to grab her and pull her away from the fall.

"I'm not afraid of heights anymore. I used to be, but I realized recently that it doesn't really bother me. I'm just testing out my limits—not even a watery grave below me can shake my knees."

I shook my head. "That's why I don't understand you. You're putting yourself in harms way on purpose." I knew why though. She couldn't help it. It was in her genes to do it. Her body knew the danger, and in return, it threw her into it.

She shook her head. She then went to bring her other foot around the railing, but I touched her arm before she could move.

"Here." I held out my hand to her. I relaxed when she took it. I helped her down, taking most of her weight. I didn't realize my hands were around her waist until she pulled away from me. I cleared my throat. "Charlie's looking for you. He thinks you ran off again."

She chuckled. "Or worse…maybe I'm in someone's trunk right now, duck taped and ready to be—"

"Maybe you should let him know you're okay," I cut in. I had to cut in. She was making my hands curl into fists—the thought of anything happening to her did that to me now. I didn't want to imagine anyone hurting her. It killed me knowing how much danger she had actually been in today. She on the other hand really had no idea except for the lie we had told her.

"Maybe he can see for himself."

"What?" I turned around when I saw her eyes looking at something over my shoulder. When I did, Charlie was walking down the stairs, his gun back in his hip, another cop behind him in full uniform.

"What's going on, Charlie?" she asked nonchalantly. But as much as she was trying to fake a sense of relaxation, I saw through it. Her hands were shoved into her pockets and her bare feet wouldn't keep still.

"Thanks for staying in the house Bella," Charlie said, his tone threatening. "It makes it so must easier on an investigation when we have to go looking for the victims."

"I don't see any victims here—Kenneth was a nice guy."

I put my hands in my leather jacket, copying her stance. I didn't know what to do when I read Charlie's thoughts. He was either going to lock her in the house and never let her out again or send her away and never look back.

"Just kidding." She held up her hands. "Tough crowd," she mumbled.

Charlie pointed up at the house. "Can we just go inside and figure things out. We need a statement from you."

I cocked my head to the side. "A statement?" I said, laughing after. I couldn't help it. It was ridiculous. This wasn't a real investigation—it didn't need to be. We knew what was going on. Sort of.

"We'll need one from you too," the cop behind Charlie said before giving me the eye. "Just to make sure all the stories add up." In front of him, Charlie gave me a look, and then his mind was telling me to just go with it for Bella's sake.

I sighed. "Fine."

Bella chuckled. "So our stories add up? What do you think we have to hide? 'Yeah he was a photographer and this house was just his muse'. Give me a break."

"Would you just shut your mouth and get up to the house. This is a serious matter. A criminal broke into my house—and you were inside. Do you have any idea what could have happened today. Any idea?" His voice was loud and threatening, but had a tone of frustration that shook me more than Bella. "I just want you to be safe. You don't understand the people I put away that want to get back at me. They're sadistic creeps that would love someone like you to—"

"I think she gets it Charlie." I touched Bella's arm. "Just go."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She followed the cop up the stairs, but Charlie stayed behind. She looked over her shoulder at me, but I shook my head at her, telling her not to worry. After she left, Charlie turned and looked at me.

"Look she called me and I didn't know what else to do," I began. "And then when I got here it was obvious that he—"

"Edward it's fine."

I stared at him, shocked.

He continued. "It's fine," he said again. "I believe you." His face was serious. "And Jacob told me everything."

I rolled my eyes. I should have seen that one coming. "Oh the werewolf already filled you in. There you have it." I went to move past him, but he touched my shoulder.

"Just hold on a second," he said, taking his hand away.

I stopped and watched him walk towards the balcony that Bella had dangled herself from. He leaned on the rail and looked at me. "Tonight woke me up from my denial…" he hesitated. "Maybe I can't protect her from herself…but I want to be able to protect her from who she is…her lineage…the Crossbones…"

"We've known that all along—well I have. I told you."

"I know. I just assumed…" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. Today is proof that they're watching her, waiting for her to change. They'll want her."

Something inside me snapped. "Want her? Like take her? You can't know that. You're her foster parent—legally they couldn't."

He chuckled. "I think that's just a formality. People don't go by the books. You know that." He moved away from the rail. "I don't know. I've been researching the family name, trying to dig. There's not much I know. Carlisle would be a better person to talk to. Maybe we could have a meeting together some time, talk things through, and decide what we're going to do."

I nodded. "I'll tell him that."

"Good." His face looked relieved. Maybe even thankful.

"Bella will be fine." I don't know who I was trying to convince. Myself or him. Either way, I didn't believe it, and he didn't either.

He played along though. "I hope so." He was about to say something, but hesitated. "I think…" he stopped himself. "Maybe if…she had a friend in this looking out for her…"

"I can keep an eye on her Charlie. I swear I won't let anything happen to her."

He held up his hands. "Now take it down a level," he said. "She just needs someone on her side."

"No I understand. I think a friend would be great for her." Friend. The word killed me. But I'd take anything over nothing. I still couldn't believe he was allowing me near his kid.

"Now I don't want to be seeing you around her all the time. I still don't think you're exactly what she needs—"

"Give me a break Charlie. I'm exactly what she needs."

His glare cut into my skin.

I back pedaled. "But I see what you're saying. I understand. I'll try and back off, but if she wants me around I can't really do anything—"

"Cullen you're pushing it."

"Okay. I get it."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just don't want anything like today ever happening again."

"Neither do I. But we don't exactly know what to expect in the future. There could be more check ups on her. This is just the beginning. It might get worse."

Charlie nodded. "Well the security guy is installing the system. Maybe that can give me a piece of mind."

"Doesn't give me any."

"It's something." He turned his back to me. Before he left, he looked over his shoulder at me. "No funny stuff, Cullen. The moment I find out you're getting too deep into this, and your presence becomes detrimental to Bella, I'm cutting the cord."

"It won't go there." I played the visions that Alice had seen of Bella and I in my head, knowing exactly what he meant by too deep.

-x-

Bella Crossbones

"Where'd you go?"

Jacob was still in the kitchen. A couple cops stood on the outside of the room. Some were plain closed like Charlie, some weren't. I ignored them as they watched me cross the room and take a seat next to him on the island.

"I needed some air," I told him. "Down by the lake."

"How'd you get down there?

"I climbed down the trellis."

His eyes looked shocked. "Really?"

"Really." I drummed my hands on the countertop. "Who can I give my statement to?" I asked, glaring at the men.

One of them, plain clothed, came forward and sat across from me. He had a buzz cut and was quite large. He took out a notepad and pencil and then stared up at me. "What exactly happened today?" he asked. "From the beginning if you can."

I told him what I knew, and Jacob added in the things I forgot—like how Kenneth was wearing a dark cap and had left behind a camera—and then I stood up to leave.

"I suggest you stay put Miss Swan," one of the cops said.

I laughed and looked at Jacob. "Did you hear that? Miss Swan. Doesn't roll off the tongue too nicely does it?" I walked out of the room and headed for the staircase. A man was still fixing the wall. He looked foreign and probably didn't know English. I said hi to him. He nodded and went back to looking at his work.

The front door opened before I had a foot on the stairs.

"Ahh Bella," Charlie said. "Did you give your statement?" Edward walked in behind him. I was shocked he was still alive. Charlie didn't kill him. My stomach felt light.

"Yup." I stared at Edward. He stared at me. Charlie left us and entered the kitchen. I leaned on the banister. "You're still here."

He smiled. "Charlie and I had a talk. He's giving me a chance."

I smiled. "A chance at what?"

He shrugged. "Who knows."

It sounded out of character for Charlie. I had only lived with him for a few days, but I knew that he never changed his rules and didn't take down his fences. Something was off.

"That's weird—he must be freaked out about this guy sneaking around."

"I guess he has bigger things to worry about."

Isn't that the truth. "Sure."

"Are you okay?"

I looked at the floor. Kenneth's camera was there. "I wish you would stop asking me that. Nothing happened." I leaned down and picked up the camera. I flipped it around and looked at the screen.

"I just don't want you to think you're in this alone—

"JESUS—" I dropped the camera as soon as I saw the image. It slammed down onto the hardwood, the sound making me flinch.

"What is it?" Edward asked quickly, his tone panicked like mine. He stared at me with heat behind his eyes.

"There's pictures of…" I couldn't finish.

He picked up the camera and began to look at the screen. I watched his reaction. His face was hard and unreadable at first.

Charlie moved out of the kitchen. "What's going on?" he yelled, having heard the crash. He came into the entrance way and looked at us with confusion. "What is it?" he asked again with more force.

I looked up at him with panicked eyes and then at Edward, whose hands were white knuckling the camera. He looked up at me after flipping through several of the pictures, his face now angry. He was scared—for me, of course.

Charlie clued in and grabbed the camera from Edward. While Charlie flipped through the pictures, Edward's eyes stayed on me. I stared at the floor, my mind traveling in circles, rethinking previous nights. Where I had been. What I had been doing. Who could have been watching…

"Hank," Charlie called out to the officer. The big guy entered the room. "We've got problems."

I chuckled nervously. It was all I knew how to do. It scared me. "Yeah," I said. "If you call stalker pictures a problem, then sure."

Charlie looked at me with unimpressed eyes. "Bella it's going to be okay."

I laughed. I didn't find anything funny though. "Oh yeah? Well that's easy for you to say. You're not the model in those pictures. I am."

Before Edward, Charlie, or even Hank for that matter could say anything further, I backed away from them and moved up the stairs like a zombie, one arm holding onto the wall in case my legs decided to lose my knees.

I shut my door before anyone could enter, and unlike the movies, I collapsed into my computer chair instead of my bed, immediately leaning back and staring up at the white ceiling.

It would be a great picture—oh wait, it probably already was.

-x-