Chapter Twenty Five

For a few moments, pretty boy just stared at me like I had lost my mind. Hell, maybe I had. After all, I was pushing away a perfectly nice guy who was also amazingly good looking. He seemed to genuinely care about my well-being, and he was going out of his way to ensure my safety. Damn, I could be stupid sometimes. Yet, I found I was unable to lose the bitch-brow I had going on or relax my posture.

"It feels like you're always one step from running away from me as fast as you can," he stated with a sigh.

"I am," I admitted and immediately wished I could take back my words.

"Why?" His question was barely more than a whisper, but we were standing so close to each other that there was no way I could pretend like I hadn't heard him.

"Because I'm scared, okay? I could barely stand James, but his actions still hurt. How am I supposed to deal with something like that if I truly like the guy?" Apparently, my mouth was no longer asking my brain for permission before speaking.

"Life is about taking chances. It's taken me a long time to figure out that hiding just ends up making life even more unbearable." For some reason I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that pretty boy knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Kids?" Charlie's voice called out, startling both of us. I couldn't believe neither pretty boy nor I had heard my dad drive up and come inside.

"In here, Dad," I called, not taking my eyes off pretty boy.

"Change of plans, I'm afraid. Bella, until further notice, you're on lockdown. Even school isn't an option."

"What?" I interrupted, white hot anger causing me to temporarily lose my senses.

"You are not allowed to leave this house until I tell you otherwise," he stated as if he hadn't just blown my world apart.

"Why? I don't understand." I wondered if I was being punished for something, but I knew I hadn't done anything wrong, especially not so much so that it warranted being placed on house arrest.

"Because I said so," my dad practically yelled.

Seeing there was no changing his mind, and realizing he didn't have any intention of explaining further, I turned and walked into the living room as quickly as I could without falling on my ass in the process. I really was trying not to have a typical teenage reaction, but it was difficult. I wanted to scream and stomp my foot in frustration. Dad was being unreasonable. He could at least have told me the reason for his outlandish demand.

"You okay?" pretty boy asked from somewhere behind me.

I just rolled my eyes and ignored his stupid question. Did he really expect an answer to that? A loud knock on the front door kept me from having to continue that internal debate. I heard Dad's heavy footsteps as he headed to answer it.

Most of the conversation was too muffled for me to make out what was being said. I sank into the couch, trying to figure out how I was going to handle being confined to the small house I shared with my dad. I didn't get too far into worrying about occupying my time before the voices in the foyer grew louder.

"I said not one is to stop until we know exactly where the bastard is staying. Why are you bothering me with this nonsense when he's out there somewhere?" My dad's voice thundered, causing realization to slap me in the face.

I saw pretty boy's worried gaze flash to mine before he covered the distance between us and wrapped me in his arms. Apparently, he came to the same conclusion I did.

Disclaimer: Would you even believe me if I claimed to be Mrs. Meyer? No? I didn't think so...

A/N: Tune in next week for confirmation of what exactly that conclusion is... :-) As if you haven't guessed already.

Many Thanks,

~SP