Chapter 25

Bella

Edward took the news about my father's upcoming visit surprisingly well. I wouldn't have blamed him for being a bit skeptical after the way things had turned out with Renee, but he just responded with a somewhat absent 'sure, love', when I told him Charlie was coming to stay for the weekend and that I wanted the two of them to meet.

My guess was, either he figured meeting Charlie couldn't possibly be any worse than meeting Renee, which was pretty ironic considering the fact that my dad just happened to be chief of police while my mom worked at a beauty shop, or - which I found to be more likely - he had other, more troubling things on his mind.

Like for example, his sister.

Unlike what I had been hoping, Alice had shown no signs whatsoever of coming around. Or as Edward himself had put it - 'pulling her head out of her ass and stop being a bitch'. A few days ago, he had thrown her an olive branch by sending her a text, saying that if she was finally capable of sitting down and have a civilized conversation without irrational accusations or insults, then she could give him a call.

So far, there had only been silence.

While Edward firmly insisted he didn't care, I knew it was hurting him deeply. He was furious at Alice for her childish behavior, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that he also missed her. Or to be more accurate, he missed the person she used to be. My heart ached for him, and it pained me that I couldn't do more to help.

In a way, our situations were similar, but they were also different. Renee had always been close minded and selfish, never really putting anyone else's needs before her own, even though she would make a great show of pretending. But Alice - at least according to Edward and Rosalie - used to be kind and supportive, not hesitating to defend the people she loved and cared for.

So what happened to her? What made her turn into a bitter shadow of her former self? Sure, being betrayed by your best friend had to be both traumatic and painful, but was that really the only reason?

I couldn't help but feel like I was missing an important piece of the puzzle. After all, Edward had also been hurt by Vicky's cruel actions - even more so than Alice - and while the humiliating incident had obviously done a number on his self-esteem, it didn't leave him coldhearted and hateful.

Deep down, I knew trying to figure Alice out would only give me a headache and was probably just a waste of time. But still, sometimes I couldn't help but wonder.

"So, I guess this means we'll be sleeping separately for the next couple of nights," Edward stated suddenly as he was helping me unpack a large bag of groceries, causing me to frown.

"What? Why?" I was just about to put a carton of milk in the fridge and stopped in my tracks, staring at him in confusion. He just raised a brow in response. "Edward, I told you, my dad will be staying at a hotel. It was his idea. There's no reason we can't spend the night together as usual."

"Oh." He looked like he was about to say something more, but clearly decided against it and turned his attention back to the groceries.

"Don't worry," I teased. "He already promised not to bring his gun. You'll be perfectly safe."

He looked up and rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

"I thought so." I smiled at him. "Seriously, we're both adults. Charlie will understand." My smile faltered a little when I saw the uncertain look on his face. "Unless... You don't want to stay with me?"

"Of course I do." His face softened and he gently stroked my cheek in a reassuring gesture. "I don't ever want to be apart from you if I can help it."

And just like that, my smile was back, threatening to split my face in two. "Me neither. I guess it's settled, then. We should probably stay at my place, though. It seems more practical since my dad will be here expecting to spend time with us. Then we won't have to go back and forth."

"Yeah, that would just be inconvenient." Edward was quiet for a moment, although I could tell he had something more on his mind. When I just looked at him expectantly, he finally spoke again, quietly, "Bella, do you ever think about..." he hesitated, running a hand through his hair, "I mean, um, have you ever considered..."

My heart started beating faster as I got the feeling whatever he was trying to ask me would be of major importance. "What?" I whispered breathlessly.

Edward swallowed visibly. "It's just that we practically live together as it is. I'm not saying that's a bad thing - I love falling asleep with you in my arms and then waking up together in the morning, and if it was up to me, I'd never have it any other way. Hell, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself - I know we haven't even been together that long, but it just feels..."

"...right," I finished with a nod, because all of a sudden Edward's nervous ramblings made absolutely sense to me. It both scared me a little and filled me with excitement. "Edward, are you suggesting what I think? That we should just... move in together for real?"

He quickly lowered his eyes, as if he was suddenly afraid to look at me. "Well, not today, obviously," he mumbled, clearly uncomfortable. "I just thought... maybe someday..."

"Yes!" I blurted out before he could finish, watching how his entire body seemed to freeze for a second before his eyes flew to mine, his face a mixture of doubt and hope. Maybe it was a little soon for us to be discussing this - like Edward said, we hadn't been together very long - but to be honest, I didn't really care. I knew what I wanted. And besides, it wasn't like he was asking me to marry him or anything.

Sure, moving in together was a big step. But I was fully convinced it would happen sooner or later, anyway. Because Edward and I were meant to be. This wasn't just some fling. He was The One.

My soul mate.

He stared at me with wide, skeptical eyes, like he wasn't sure whether or not I was serious. "Bella..." he started huskily, and his voice cracked a little. "Are you...?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" I was practically bouncing up and down now. "I'll move in with you. Or you can move in with me. Or we'll find a new place... it doesn't matter. My point is, yes." I swallowed. "I want us to live together. For real."

The biggest, most beautiful smile appeared on his face, his eyes sparkling as he reached out a trembling hand to cup my cheek. "Really?" I could only nod. "God, Bella, there's nothing I'd want more. Just... You don't think it's too soon?" The tone of his voice told me he was looking for my reassurance.

"Not if we're both a hundred percent sure this is what we want." I briefly closed my eyes and leaned into his touch, reveling in the feeling of his warm hand against my skin. "Then it can't be too soon. I love you, Edward. And I want this. More than anything."

"When?" he asked softly. I opened my mouth but he hurried to add, "There's no rush or anything. I was just wondering. And..." he looked deeply into my eyes and held my gaze, "I love you, too." I beamed at him.

"I guess we should sit down and really think this through," I told him after giving it a moment's thought. "I mean, we don't want to make any rash decisions. First we need to decide which apartment to keep, if any of them. And then we have to come to an agreement on how to split the costs. And-"

Edward interrupted me with a small chuckle. "Yeah, I hear you, love. There certainly are a lot of things to consider. How about we'll just lay low for the weekend and then continue this discussion next week, after your father's gone back to Forks? Then we can talk about how we're going to do this."

I nodded, although I couldn't help but tease him a little, "You're just worried about my dad's reaction to us moving in together, aren't you?"

"No," he responded quickly - a little too quickly. "I just don't want to overwhelm him. After all, he just found out about my existence less than a week ago. And..." he shrugged and mumbled something I couldn't make out.

"What?" I asked gently.

He sighed. "We still don't know if he'll accept me. I mean, you said he talked to Renee, and I'm willing to bet she didn't have a single positive thing to say about me. Besides, he hasn't seen me yet. For all we know, he could-"

"Edward, stop," I cut him off, giving him a warning look. "Please. Don't do this." He got a somewhat guilty look on his face, but remained silent. I let out a sigh. "Sweetie, I promise you..." I stopped as he shook his head.

"Don't do that. Don't make any promises you might not be able to keep." He reached for my hand. "Bella, it's okay. I want your father to approve of me, but even if he doesn't, I can handle it. Don't worry about me."

I chewed down on my bottom lip, fighting back the urge to argue with him. It wasn't that I didn't believe he meant it. But it was just so frustrating to hear him talk like that. I wished he would seriously consider seeing a therapist, because it was painfully obvious that nothing I said would really make him see things differently. So maybe he was trying. But just not hard enough.

And I hated it. It wasn't Edward's fault, though - I knew that. He was not to blame for the way other people had caused him to doubt himself over the years, making him think he was less of a person than them, when in reality, he was so much better. I could dwell on the unfairness of it all until it ate me up inside. But it would be pointless. I knew that as well.

I decided to change the subject. "So, I told Charlie I'd pick him up at the airport tomorrow. Do you want to come?"

He smiled apologetically and shook his head. "I'm sure your dad would like to spend some quality time alone with you before he'll meet me. The two of you should take the opportunity to catch up. I'll come by later."

"Okay." I figured that was probably a good idea. "But just so you know?" I winked at him. "You won't be able to avoid him forever."

Edward let out a snort. "I'll be there. Don't worry." He paused. "Besides, I thought I'd stop by my mom's before I head over to your place. She called me the other day complaining about how she hasn't seen me in almost a week."

"Oh, well, you don't want to get on Esme's bad side." I smiled. "Tell her I said 'hi'." That's when I remembered something. "And if it's not too awkward for you, make sure to ask her how her date went the other night. I think she'd appreciate it."

"Yeah, I could do that." He grimaced. "Or I could just pretend it never happened." Seeing the look on my face, he waved his hand in dismissal. "I'm kidding. It sounded like she's really into this guy. If that's so, then I'm happy for her."

"You should tell her that. I'm sure she'd be glad to hear you feel that way." I threw a careful look at him before I continued, "Speaking of, have you met him yet?" Edward shook his head in the negative. "But you know his name?"

"Sure. It's Carl, something." He frowned. "You know, I don't think she actually told me his last name. If she did, I can't remember."

I nodded in understanding. "Maybe it slipped her mind. She did seem to be pretty smitten." When he didn't respond right away, I nudged him gently. "Is it too weird for you? Not sure how I'd react if Charlie told me he has a girlfriend." My eyes widened at the strange thought. "Oh, God! Maybe he is seeing someone and he didn't want to tell me over the phone? I wouldn't know."

Edward patted my hand in a calming gesture. "Relax. Either way, it'll be okay." He paused. "What about Renee? I just assumed she was single. You never said anything about that."

I shrugged. "When I was seventeen, she got married to a guy named Phil. He was a professional baseball player at the time. Renee was crazy about him, or at least it seemed that way in the beginning. He was almost ten years younger than her, but he was pretty cool. I liked him. But they hadn't even been married for a year when Renee told me they were getting a divorce. He was gone the next day."

"Huh." Edward nodded slowly. "Did she tell you why?"

"Not really," I told him truthfully. "She just said it didn't work out, but I always suspected it might've had something to do with the fact that he got injured and wouldn't be able to play anymore. Sounds awful, I know, but..." I shrugged again, "I don't know. It is Renee we're talking about. I wouldn't put anything past her."

We were both quiet for a few seconds. Then I went on, "After that, she's gone out with a couple of different men, but nothing serious. Not that I know of, anyway."

"Sounds a bit odd, if you ask me." I gave Edward a confused look and he hurried on, "Don't take this the wrong way, it's just that she seemed so obsessed with finding you a successful partner. Shouldn't she be more concerned about finding someone for herself?"

I hadn't really thought about it like that before, but I could totally see what he meant. Once again I got the feeling Renee had been trying to relive her life through me all along, which annoyed me to no end.

Well, I'd like to see her do that now. She was on her own.

"No point in trying to solve the mystery that is Renee's mind," I sighed in response to Edward's question. "Who knows what her motives are? Until she starts acting like a real mother, I want nothing to do with her. And even then, I don't think I could really forgive her."

"I hear you and I don't blame you." Edward was silent for a moment before adding sarcastically, "Guess it's safe to say you and I both could've done better at the family lottery. Neither of us hit the jackpot, that's for sure." A somewhat bitter chuckle escaped him and there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

I offered him a small smile. "At least you have Esme. She's wonderful." His face softened and he nodded in agreement. I thought about Charlie, wondering - and not for the first time - what my life would have been like if Renee had just walked out on my father all those years ago and left me in his care. Maybe then my body wouldn't be so damaged today.

But I also wouldn't have met Edward. When I thought of it that way, I decided it had all been worth it. Because without him, I wouldn't be... I searched my mind for the right word but came up blank. I just wouldn't be, period. Without Edward, I would be nothing. Just lonely and miserable. And the worst part was, I probably wouldn't even know it.

The way you could fool yourself was downright frightening.

"Hey, where did you go?"

Edward's worried voice snapped me out of the reverie and I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "I'm still here," I assured him, leaning in to give him a soft peck on the lips. He smiled and slid his arms around my back, as if to prevent me from moving away. Like I even wanted to! I was more than happy to melt into his embrace, and our lips met again.

I wouldn't mind staying in his arms forever.

"You seem nervous," Charlie stated as I was maneuvering the car through the rush hour traffic the next day. "Renee been bothering you?" I shook my head. "Huh. You didn't tell her I was coming, I hope?"

"We're still not on speaking terms," I admitted, glancing briefly in his direction. "So the answer would be no. I haven't talked to her in two weeks. Not since..." I stopped myself, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth as I tried to decide if this was really the time to tell him about Renee's ruthless scheming.

Of course, Charlie picked up on my hesitation right away. "Since when? What exactly did she do, Bells? I'd like to hear your side of the story."

My mind made up, I put on a strained smile. "How about I'll tell you about it when we get home? I'd rather not discuss Renee while I'm driving."

He grunted in acceptance. "Yeah, that's probably a wise decision. The woman tend to get on your nerves, even when she's not around. You should never drive while you're agitated."

"Don't I know it?" I muttered to myself, shuddering as I recalled the night of Edward's accident. Weeks had passed and I still felt sick to my stomach whenever I thought about it. To think that I had come so close to losing him was almost more than I could handle. It was amazing how quickly he had recovered, though. He had been extremely lucky, no question about it.

Ten minutes later, I unlocked the door to my apartment and let my father inside. It was the first time he saw it, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't even a little nervous about what he would think. "So, this is my place," I told him lamely, as if that wasn't obvious. "Um, I guess I should give you the tour? Or... you must be tired after the flight. Would you like something to drink? I make a mean cup of coffee."

"Relax, Bells." Charlie looked amused. "Just show me around. Then we'll sit down and talk, and I won't say no to that coffee. Okay?" I nodded with a weak smile.

Giving Charlie 'the tour' didn't take very long, and before I knew it, we were sitting in my small living room, each with a large cup of steaming coffee in front of us. I had hurried home from work to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies just for this occasion, and now I offered one to my dad before picking up one for myself, taking a small nibble.

He hummed in approval. "These are great. I take it you still love to bake? You used to make your own brownies and cinnamon rolls before you were ten, and then sell them to the neighbors when we couldn't eat anymore. Do you remember?"

I had actually forgotten about that, but now it was coming back to me. "I guess I was destined to end up at Starbucks all along, huh?"

He huffed. "Destined? I don't believe in that nonsense. You should do what makes you happy, and if that means working behind a counter serving coffee and pastries, then I'm all for it. If not, there's nothing stopping you from looking for something else. Who knows, you might open your own bakery one day. Or you could go back to school, study to become a doctor. My point is, you always have a choice."

I allowed his words to sink in. He was right, of course. "You should tell that to Renee."

"I might just do that." He frowned. "But then I'd actually have to speak to that crazy harpy again. Maybe I could just send her a letter. Think she would read it?"

I let out a snort and shrugged. "You know, it feels kind of weird hearing you talk about her that way. Not saying you're out of line, but you've never said a bad word about her before."

"Well, you should've heard the things I called her in my head." Charlie shook his head with a dark chuckle. "Or then again, maybe not." When I just watched him silently, he sighed. "Bella, all jokes aside, I truly believed you'd be better off living with your mother when she decided to leave me all those years ago, but that doesn't mean I liked it. I only wanted the best for you, but it killed me to lose you to her."

"Dad..." I felt a lump in my throat. "You never lost me. Not really."

"I practically missed you growing up." He was dead serious now. "Only seeing you a few times a year wasn't nearly enough for me, but I didn't want to make things harder for you by asking for more. Renee said..." he stopped, suddenly looking angry. "Anyway, I'm starting to see I've been a fool."

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly, thinking this was it - everything was finally about to come out in the open. I just hoped we would both be able to handle it.

"You tell me." He watched me closely. "I need you to be honest, Bella. Tell me how Renee's been treating you all these years." There was an almost pleading note in his voice, like he deep down already knew the truth, but was desperately hanging on to the hope that he - against all odds - would be wrong.

I could sense his rising panic, lingering just below the surface, and instantly took pity on him. "Honestly? It could've been a lot worse." Seeing he was about to say something, I hurried on explaining, "She was never mean or anything. I mean, it wasn't like she would ever hurt me. She just... In her own way, she was just taking care of me, I guess."

Charlie's eyes narrowed skeptically. "Are you actually defending her behavior?"

"What? No!" I frowned. Was I? I certainly didn't mean to make it come out that way. "I'm just saying there are people out there who've been through worse, that's all. For one thing, I've never felt neglected or unsafe in my own home. Before I had a job, Renee would always buy me stuff, and-"

He cut me off, "There are some things in life all the money in the world can't buy, Bella."

"I know that!" Now I just felt stupid. "I'm just trying to ease your worries, but it's all coming out wrong."

"Well, don't do that. I asked for the truth. That phone call from your mom was like a wake-up call from hell, and now I need to understand..." he hesitated, searching for the right words, I assumed. "Bella, the things she said... This goes beyond a mother's disapproval of her daughter's boyfriend, am I right?"

I sighed in defeat. "You really want to know how she's been treating me? Fine. I'll give you an example. She wanted me to break up with the man I love because he works in a grocery store and happens to weigh a little more than the average person, so she invited both of us over for dinner, only so she could set me up with someone else right in front of him."

Ignoring the look of horror on Charlie's face, I went on, my voice trembling with anger, "And that's basically what it's been like my whole life. Renee doesn't care about what I want. Never has. She's been trying to turn me into this shallow mini version of herself for as long as I can remember, and according to her, everyone who doesn't fit what she considers to be the norm are just a big waste of space."

Charlie looked absolutely stunned for a moment. Then he spoke up, carefully, "Well, she left that part of the story out, which I have to say doesn't surprise me." He shook his head in disbelief. "Jesus, Bella, this is even worse than I imagined."

I wrung my hands in my lap, thinking he hadn't even hear the worst part yet - the fact that Renee had most likely been lying to both of us for the last ten years. No more beating around the bush. It was time to tell him, and risk all hell breaking loose.

"Dad..." I started, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Having been so absorbed in my conversation with Charlie, it took a few seconds before I remembered that Edward was supposed to come over tonight. And by the look of things, he had just arrived.

My boyfriend was here, just outside the door, waiting to be introduced to my father. It looked like the rest of our awkward heart-to-heart would just have to wait. I jumped up, both eager and nervous at the same time, and gave my dad a pleading look. "Just... Please, be nice." I swallowed. "He's important."

I watched as understanding flashed across Charlie's face. "So, I guess this means I'm finally about to meet the man who's stolen your heart." He responded to my warning look with an eye-roll and held up both hands in an exaggerated gesture, "See? No gun, just like I promised. No reason to glare at me like that. I'll be good."

Praying that he meant it, I managed a small smile and went to open the door.