Chapter Twenty Six
"Thanks Jake for coming over. I wasn't sure who else to call and I know Rosalie will love you. Forewarning, she's a miniature Alice!" Bella joked with her brother. Jacob had volunteered to watch Rose for the day while Carlisle and Bella did some investigative work on Victoria and try to find out just who Royce was.
"No problem. I've meet Rose before, she was little but still. We'll have a fun day. Scouts honor," Jacob told his sister. Instead of holding up the fingers for the Boy Scout pledge Jacob made the rock and roll sign.
"You do remember you were never a boy scout, right?" Bella told him.
Jacob acted as if he was hurt. "I'm crushed by the words that left your mouth Isabella Marie Swan. Are you doubting me?" He paused dramatically before laughing all the way back to reality. "Of course I remember I was never a boy scout."
Bella shook her head as Carlisle and Rose joined the brother and sister in the front living room.
"Daddy, why can't I go with you and Belly?" Rose whined to Carlisle.
"Wait a minute, hold up. Belly?" Jacob asked as he looked at Bella. Then he looked at Rose. "You call her Belly?"
"Yep, she's my Belly." Rose said proudly as she crossed her arms.
Jacob acted like he was prim and proper. "Well excuse me little princess, I think she was my Belly first. I am her little brother after all and like you, I am the baby of my family." Jacob paused and then whispered into the child's ear. "Isn't it fun being the baby in the family?"
Rose's eyes lit up and she smiled. "I like being the baby! Are you going to play with me today?" She waited for Jacob to nod before she continued. "What are we going to do?"
"I can't tell you. I have to wait for the grownups to leave, but it'll be fun, trust me!" Jacob said with excitement.
Carlisle gave him the keys to his car in case they wanted to go to the park or out for lunch. He figured her booster seat was in his car so it was just easier for Jacob to use his car. He went over the emergency numbers and who to call in case of an emergency.
"Hon, I think Jake has it. He's good, really," Bella told her boyfriend who was acting like a first time father leaving his child alone with a sixteen year old high schooler. "Really, you don't have to give him the number for nine-one-one. He's smart enough to figure it out. Plus, if he happens and he forgets he can just press the button on the security system."
"You're right. I'm sorry. Am I forgetting anything?"
"No!" Both Bella and Rose shouted at the same time.
Everyone laughed as Carlisle spoke up. "Jacob, thank you again. I have no idea what time we will return. Thank you for giving up your day to watch Rose."
"It's no problem. I wanted to have some fun today anyway. I wanted to go to the park and maybe go down the big slide and the go on the tire swing." He smiled at Rose.
"Me too! Me too! Bye Daddy! Bye Belly!" She cried with excitement as she pushed them out the door.
Carlisle placed his arm around Bella. "There is nothing like being kicked out of your own house by a four year old."
She gave him the keys as they both got into her car. "At least she's going to have some fun. Jacob's in college, which is equivalent to an oversize six year old anyway. Plus, he spent a lot of time with Edward last fall."
Carlisle pretended to be shocked. "Say no more, 'Rose honey I'm coming to get you!' Really, I'm sure she's in perfectly capable hands."
Bella nodded with a smile as the car pulled out of the driveway and onto the road. "Jacob is pretty okay, most of the time."
As Carlisle drove, he and Bella had discussed a strategy. Early that morning, Carlisle tried to contact Victoria via her cell phone, which, as Felix had stated, had been disconnected. He called the Verizon himself to see why. The operator very nicely told him it was shut off due to nonpayment and they had no farther information on her.
Just for the heck of it, he tried calling her home phone number. It too had been disconnected. Verizon also had said the phone was disconnected due to nonpayment. He also tried to call her at the hotel she was staying at in California. Not only was she not staying there, but her company wasn't staying there either.
The two decided to go to Victoria's work. She was a lab technician in a research center. When they arrived, both Carlisle and Bella introduced themselves and asked to speak to Victoria. The receptionist went to retrieve Victoria's boss. He had introduced himself as Alec Brandon.
"How can I help you folks today?" he asked.
"I was looking for Victoria Hale. It is rather urgent." Carlisle explained.
"I'm sorry sir, but she no longer works here. She hasn't been with our company for almost three months."
"What?" Both Carlisle and Bella asked in shock.
"She had a bad attendance record. When she did show up for work she'd do a half ass job. She blamed a lot of her callouts and being late on her daughter, who is a beautiful girl, but it wasn't because of the kid."
"Why was she calling out?" Bella asked.
Alec looked at both of the people standing in front of him. "Out of curiosity how do you two know Ms. Hale?"
"I'm the father of her daughter and she is my girlfriend." Alec looked confused as Carlisle shook his head and continued. "Something bad happened to our daughter and I am trying to find Victoria so I can get some answers. Please, if you know anything about here, you have to let us know."
Alec nodded his head. "I honestly think she was into drugs and drinking in a big way. I actually caught her snorting something at her desk and told her to leave. After calling out a few more days, she had returned to work, drunk. I fired her and had her escorted out of the building. I packed up her desk myself and shipped them off to her home."
"Thank you. You didn't have very many answers but-"
Bella had an idea and interrupted Carlisle. "Royce. Do you know of anyone named Royce?"
"Royce King? Royce Hunter? Royce Rourke? There are a few of Royces here. It's weird it's not really a common name. You need to be more specific."
"We don't know anything else other than he was a friend of Victoria's who watched my daughter," Carlisle explained. "It is very important that we find him too. Do you know of anyone she socialized with outside of work?"
"King was fired right before she was. He was stealing medication we were testing. I don't have a forwarding number for him. However Hunter is still here and I can page him to come down and speak with if you'd like." Alec offered.
"Yes please, that would be very helpful," Bella told him.
About fifteen minutes later a man in his fifties appeared. "I'm Royce Hunter, may I help you?"
Bella explained who she and Carlisle were and how they needed to speak to Victoria. He shook his head and understood as he answered.
"I'm sorry I can't help you. I was one of the people who got Victoria fired. We were doing a project together. I was staying here until midnight or after working on it when she wouldn't show up to work for days. I was really sick of missing my son's soccer games. He's a senior in high school so the games I get to see him play in are limited. I wish I could help you."
"Do you know if she had contact with Royce King?" Bella questioned.
"Yes, I know they did for a fact. They often left together. I know that he met her here several times to pick up her kid. She was cute; too bad her mother is so messed up. King wasn't the kindest person. He is young and does anything for money. I never trusted him."
"Can you give us a description of what the guy looks like?" Carlisle asked.
"I can do one better, let me retrieve pictures from the Christmas party last year," Alec told him. Within moments, Alec returned with several shots. "Take these. Like I said, they were from Christmas which makes them about four months old."
"Thank you both so much for your help. We really, really appreciate it," Bella said as she extended her hand to shake.
Once in back in the car, Carlisle spoke of his next move. "She has to be home, right? Where else would she be?"
They drove down the older section of town. Carlisle was never thrilled with his daughter living n the area, but he had always thought she was safe. As they pulled up to the house, they noticed a for sale sign in the yard. They parked the car and got out. There was another woman there. The woman with beautiful long, dark brown hair greeted them with a smile.
"Hi, I'm Claire, the realtor. Are you the Carmens?" She asked bubbly.
"No, we were actually on our way to visit the woman who, well used to live here apparently. Can you tell us how long the house has been on the market?" Bella asked as Carlisle peeked inside. The rooms were bare.
"It was foreclosed on last week. Apparently the women hadn't paid her mortgage for almost eight months. The house was bought immediately from the bank. My company bought it and fixed it up. It has only been on the market for a few days."
"What can you tell me about the stuff that was left here?" He asked hoping to get some of Rose's favorite toys back. Carlisle couldn't believe it. He had lots of questions. He wondered what the child support and extra money he had given Victoria had gone to. The knots in his stomach answered for him.
"I'm sorry, but everything was thrown out. Was there anything of any value?"
Seeing how upset Carlisle looked, Bella spoke up. "It's just all of his daughter's belongings, clothes and toys are gone. We don't know how to explain that to a four year old."
"I am so sorry for your loss. I wish there was something I could do."
"You have done more than enough thank you for your time Claire," Bella told her as she shook Claire's hand.
Once back in the car Carlisle hit the staring wheel. "God damn Victoria! Where the hell is she? What is going through her fucking mind?"
"Hey, why don't you let me drive for awhile? I'll drive over to Uncle Felix's office and we can see what he has to say."
Without saying a word, Carlisle got out of the car, slammed the door and switched seats with Bella. They drove silently to the office. Once there, Felix took them into his office right away.
"I was just about to call you Bella. Mike finally agreed to the testing. His samples have been taken and you should be hearing soon about that whole ordeal."
"That's really great news, thank you. We actually came to talk about new information we found out about Victoria." Bella continued to tell her uncle about their morning and the people they had met and the information that followed. There wasn't much to go on; however, it was more information than they had the previous day.
"Carlisle, you know how you wanted to file papers on becoming sole guardian? Your wish will most likely be granted tomorrow afternoon. She left you no forwarding numbers or address. That is child abandonment. She never told you what was going on. Now, with everything that has come to light about little Rose, any judge would be crazy not to give you full guardianship. I'll be filling those papers. By tomorrow everything should be set."
"Thank you Uncle Felix, you don't know how much that means to us," Bella said.
"I'm going to have my secretary scan these pictures into the computer. I need for you two to go to Rose and ask her to identify Royce. Then go to the police with his name and Rose. Then tell them that Victoria abandoned Rose and left you with no information to contact her." Felix saw how stressed Carlisle was and felt for him,
Bella leaned over to give Felix a hug while Carlisle shook Felix's hand. Carlisle thanked Felix and followed Bella out of the office. As they walked toward the car, Bella spoke up. "Why don't we grab something for lunch? We can go to that little restaurant that just opened. We can just sit with each other before we go talk to Rose."
"Fine." Carlisle simply said unfeeling.
After ordering for the both of them, Bella placed her hand on top of Carlisle's bouncing knee. He was tense and stressed, which Bella could feel. Carlisle was unsure what to do in this situation. He didn't want to bring up Royce again with Rose, but he had to. He excused himself from the table to use the restroom. On his way back he stopped and looked at the bar. He walked looked around to make sure Bella wasn't looking in that direction. He then walked over and sat on the barstool.
After a few minutes Bella looked around. Finally, she saw him. Bella watched Carlisle sit at the bar. He spoke to the bar tender and it appeared as if he ordered a drink. Without thinking she marched over.
"Excuse me, bartender, hey, you yes, hi."
"What would you like sweetie?" He asked with a smile.
"Oh, what? Oh, nothing for me. That man sitting right on the other side of the bar, the one with the blonde hair, did he order anything to drink?"
"Just a scotch I was about to deliver. Why? Are you going to buy his drink?"
"Yes and then I'm going to pay you not to deliver it to him. Don't go back to talk to him, ignore him. I'll talk to him."
"Lady I don't mean to pry but if the man wants to drink scotch, why won't you let him?"
Bella shook her head. Carlisle still hadn't notice her talking to the bartender. "Because I'm his girlfriend and he is a recovering alcoholic." She paused as she reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. She took out enough to cover the drink and then an extra bill. "Here is the easiest fifty bucks you'll ever earn. Don't bring him that drink." With that being said, she plopped the money onto the bar and hopped off the bar stool and walked over to Carlisle.
"And what do you think you are doing? Did you get lost? Just to remind you we were sitting at a booth on the other side of the restaurant, not at the bar." Bella told him as she pointed over to their table. She sat next to Carlisle.
"Bella, don't do this right now. Just leave me alone." Carlisle said almost growling.
"You want to be left alone, all right. Then let's go home, screw lunch. Let's just leave this bar. We shouldn't be here."
Carlisle shook his head and acted like he was ignoring her at first. In very much the same tone and fashion that he spoke to her when they broke up, he looked up at her. "You have no idea what this feels like."
Bella raised her eye brows. "Excuse me? Really? Are you truly having this conversation with me? I might not what it's like to be a parent, but I've kind of been where Rose." She paused and pointed to her stomach. "Hi, remember this little mystery?"
Again Carlisle shook his head. Bella continued to talk in a soft voice filled with anger. "What will that drink do for you? Really?" She placed her hand on top of his and continued. "You're better than this crap. It won't change anything or make the situation better. It'll actually make a shitty situation a hell of a lot worse. If you want a drink call Tanya. That's why she's there. If you take one sip of that shit you won't be helping you or Rose."
Without saying anything, Carlisle hopped off the stool bitterly and walked over to the original booth that he and Bella were sitting in. Bella sighed a breath of relief and slowly walked back to the table where their food was waiting for them. Neither one of them felt like eating. Both were angry with the other and neither one wanted to talk about it.
After finishing their meal in silence, Carlisle placed his fork on the table. He took a deep breath and sip of his water. Carlisle picked up Bella's hand and laced his fingers through hers. Realizing Bella was still irritated, he began to speak first while not looking at her in her eyes.
"Thank you for bringing me back and leveling with me," he softly told her.
Bella shifted in her seat and looked at him. She looked at him and commented flatly, "It almost didn't matter, did it?"
Looking at her in the eye, Carlisle began to speak. "Isabella, it did matter. I needed a swift kick in the ass. If you weren't a strong woman, I probably would have ignored you and had the drink. Truthfully, I wanted to ignore you but you are so damn persistent. Words can't express how grateful I am that you are in my life and for whatever reason unknown to man, you really do love me. I really don't know what I would do without you."
Shaking her head, Bella began to talk. "I don't ever want to find out what you would do without me." Carlisle looked up and smiled as she continued. "You know I feel the same way about you, right? I feel so much gratitude towards you. You have been nothing short of a good friend to me since I moved back home, which, coincidently enough has lead to you being my greatest love. I don't know why you love me but I make sure to thank god every night before I go to bed. I know I can be difficult." She stroked his cheek and smiled. "Simply stated, I love you."
A sincere smile appeared in Carlisle's lips as he leaned in and kissed Bella. "I love you too. Thank you for sticking by me and for coming back to me. Most of all, thank you for being there for Rose."
"I love her."
"I know you do, as she does you." He paused and shifted in his seat. Ever since last night he thought of having this conversation with Bella and he couldn't believe that he was actually going through with it. "I actually wanted to ask you something. This is just an idea and you don't have to decide today or tomorrow or even next week, it's just something I would like you to consider. This is an always thing. Even if, for some unknown reason to us we were to break up, again, I still would like you to consider this."
"Okay Carlisle, stop being wordy and overly dramatic and just ask me all ready."
Smiling, Carlisle started again. "With everything that has erupted in the last day, I have been thinking about things long and hard. I would like you to consider being Rose's legal guardian."
"What?"
"I know it is sudden, believe me. I also know it's a lot to ask. I honestly believe that you and I are stuck together for the rest of our lives. I'm not planning on letting you leave me again, and I know you don't want to go anywhere. Rose is going to live with me now, with us. If, for whatever reason there are decisions that need to be made about her and her well being and I'm not around, I would like you to be the one responsible for her and make decisions. I know that you love and care about her to make the right choices for her.
"Isabella, honey, I know this is a lot to take in as well as a lot to ask and think about, but I wanted to throw this out there." He paused to look at her. He couldn't read her mind. "You need to let me into your head. What are you thinking? Do you need time to think about it?"
Without missing a beat, Bella spoke confidently. "No."
Taken back, Carlisle looked up at her. "Well, that was quick. You don't even want to time to think about it?"
"No, I don't."
"All right, would you care to elaborate?"
"Yes."
Pausing, Bella just looked at Carlisle for a moment. She smiled but remained silent. Carlisle looked at her and began to speak. "I can't read minds. Are you going to elaborate or do you want more time to think?"
Bella took a breath. "No-yes-wait, let's start this again." She inhaled slowly and began to talk nervously. "No, I don't have to think about what you are asking and I do care to elaborate." Bella paused as she moved closer to Carlisle in the booth. She never let go of his hand as she began to explain things. Her eyes never left his. "I would absolutely love to be her guardian, but we have to make sure Edward and Alice agree to this. If they aren't okay with it, it won't happen. Plus, there is Victoria, whenever she might reappear again."
Carlisle squeezed her hand. He swept the hair hanging by her eyes behind her ear and kissed her cheek bone softly. "If something happened to me, I realize it would be more of a collaborative effort when raising Rose. I know both of them would always be there and do whatever they could, but they also have their own lives.
"I'm sharing my life with you. You have shown your love to my daughter and I. I would like to share her with you too. I would like for you to help her grow up and become a strong, independent woman like you have become. As I said, even if we don't work out for some unknown reason, I always want you in her life.
"And as for Victoria, don't worry about her. She obviously doesn't seem to give a damn about being a mother. She won't be a problem for us. I obviously didn't talk to Rose about this yet either, she's going through so much right now." He looked at Bella as she showed no emotion and said nothing. She just looked down at the glass of water in front of her. "Bella, you have to give me something to go on here. What are you thinking?"
Bella looked at Carlisle. Her heart leaped. She did love him more than she had loved any other man in her life. She couldn't explain how she just felt connected to him. A grin formed on her lips. "I would love to, but as long as Edward and Alice goes along with it."
Carlisle's lips found Bella's. He kissed her softly. He lightly sucked on her bottom lip before releasing it from his lips. "I love you so much, you know that right?"
She smiled as the waiter brought their check over. Before Carlisle had the chance to take the bill, Bella pulled out her credit card and handed it to the waiter. "This was my treat. By the way mister, I love you too."
After the bill was settled, Bella and Carlisle left the restaurant hand in hand. She kissed his cheek before snuggling into him. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he walked her to the passenger side door. He opened it, gave her a quick kiss and closed it. He hurried to his side. After closing the door, he started the car and reached for her hand and kissed its' back. "I'm hoping that Jake took Rose out and we will have a few moments to ourselves."
At the next red light, Bella gave Carlisle a kiss before she squeezed his hand. "I like that thought."
Once the light turned green, Carlisle floored the gas pedal and made his way to his house in record time. He smiled as he noticed Jacob's car wasn't sitting in the driveway. He pressed the button to the remote and opened Bella's bay of the garage. After he parked the car, they both exited from their perspective sides and walked towards each other.
Bella's mouth quickly found his as she pushed herself into him. He rested his arms around her waist and pulled her into him. He quickly unlocked the door as they entered the house. As they walked into the kitchen, not letting go of each other, the telephone rang.
Ignoring the sound, Carlisle lifted Bella up to the island and continued to kiss her. One of his hands traveled from her thigh to her hips and then back in between her thighs. His other hand slowly massaged her breasts through her clothes. Carlisle's lips found her neck as he gave her soft sweet kisses. Bella ran her fingers through his hair.
When the machine finally picked up with the outgoing message, Bella wrapped her legs around Carlisle's waist, "we should really update to voice mail."
Carlisle continued to kiss her passionately. "Whatever you want."
"I want you," she answered as the caller was leaving a message.
"Hi, this call is for Isabella Swan. Dr. Swan, this is Dr. Tanner. I was calling with the results of your paternity test. Please call me when you have a moment."