Chapter 29 – Broken Curfew
Carlisle:
Leah was getting ready for her date with Dave and the rest of us were downstairs. Emmett was anxiously pacing back and forth looking forward to Popsicle…er…Dave's arrival. He was acting like he was the one going on the date. Rosalie did not like this at all.
"Babe, sit down will you! He's coming for Leah, not you," Rosalie said sarcastically.
"Hey, I like the dude!" Emmett answered.
"Yeah, you like teasing him about his name! We have you all figured out," Jake said. "Let Lulu's date alone. Don't scare him off or we'll never get rid of her."
"I heard that Jacob," Leah said coming down the stairs. She looked very nice.
"Wow, if I didn't know you and your personality, I might be interested," Jake said giving her the once over.
"Jacob, mind your manners!" I said to him.
"What manners?" Rosalie asked. "He doesn't even know how to spell the word!"
"B-I-M-B-O! There! Satisfied!" Jake said grinning getting up into Rosalie's face.
"You're nothing more than a child, whisker muzzle!" Rosalie snapped at him. Jacob snorted, growled and snapped his teeth at her as if he was in wolf form. "Hmmppfff! All bark and no bite!" Rose said to him as she pushed him to the side and walked away from him.
At that Jake turned toward her and ran up to her and put his mouth on her arm as if biting her.
"JACOB!" I shouted at him not sure what he was doing. Rose just grabbed him by the chin and pushed him back and he fell onto the floor. I walked over and helped him get up. I grabbed Rosalie and brought those two together.
"Enough with your antics! Both of you! Act like you have some sense when Leah's date gets here," I scolded them.
"Haaaa, you forgot his name didn't you daddy vamp? See I told you…ancient geezer!" Jake said teasing.
"I did not forget David Poppendicker's name, young man! But you better not forget what I just said to the two of you!" I warned him.
"Sorry daddy…I'll stop if muttly here does," Rosalie said. Jake seizing the moment and not to be one-upped by Rosalie, stepped forward and belched right in her face. He stepped back laughing.
"Oh gross! Daddy…I'm supposed to just take that?" Rosalie asked looking at me with rage.
"Rosalie! I will handle this," I said to her as Jake stood there laughing proudly at himself. I turned and looked at Jacob in the eye. He stopped laughing when he saw the way I was glaring at him. Grabbing him and pulling him toward the couch, I informed him of what my intentions were.
"Since you cannot act your age and conduct yourself with proper behavior, I will just have to treat you like the young, unruly child you are acting like." I said to him sitting down on the couch.
"No wait…I-I'm sorry daddy vamp…I-I'll apologize to 'Thorny'…don't wallop me in front of everyone," Jake pleaded.
"I'm not going to spank you," I said as I pulled him closer, "You are going to sit on my lap like the naughty little boy you are acting like until after David and Lulu…I mean Leah…sorry sweetheart…leave on their date!" I informed him as I pulled him down and sat him on my lap like a youngster. He looked horrified. Of course, Edward, Jasper, Emmett and Seth, plus all the others were laughing and enjoying this moment. Esme also got into the act. She went to the drawer in the kitchen and took something out and came over and sat down by Jake and I.
"This is perfect, Jakey! Now Mommy can cut and trim your fingernails!" Esme said grabbing his hand and pulling out a nail clipper.
"Aw, come on dad! Momma! No, come on…" Jake whined as Esme began trimming his nails.
"Hold your hand out and keep still for your mother, Jakey," I said sternly to him. The others were enjoying this scene better than a movie! They were all laughing and teasing Jake as he sullenly sat on my lap and had no choice but to allow his mother to trim his nails for him.
"I'd rather get spanked than this humiliation," Jake said with utter disgust.
"Serves you right, you wolfhound! That should teach you!" Rosalie said happily.
"Hey, shut up! Popsicle's here!" Emmett said triumphantly. He ran to the door. Leah watched in horror and then turned to me.
"Dad, make Emmett leave Dave alone," she asked me.
"Emmett, get away from the door and let Lulu…" Leah flashed me a look…"Sorry sweetheart, let Le-Lu…I mean, Leah…answer the door…" I said shaking my head.
"Ha ha ha ha ah…man daddy vamp, that was worth sitting on your lap…nope, you're not old…ha ha ha!" Jake laughed. He laughed until I smacked his rear! "Owww! I knew that was coming…" Jake whined.
The doorbell rang and Lulu…Leah answered the door and ushered Dave in. Emmett was right there to shake his hand and guide him in by the shoulder. He walked him into the living room like he was the owner.
"Dude! Welcome back to Cullen Manor! How's the name been treating you?" Emmett said laughing.
"What a ham!" Jake said to his mother and me.
Hello, Emmett! The name is still the same!" Dave said politely.
"Dave, don't pay any attention to him. Um, you r-remember my parents and brother," Leah said with embarrassment. Dave looked over toward us and then did a double take. Jake waved at him with his free hand.
"Please excuse my inability to shake your hand, my manicurist is running a little behind!" Jake said grinning.
That kid! He can make himself look good in any situation. He did get a dirty look from his mother and she shook her head and looked back at Dave.
"Jake got himself in a little bit of trouble and this is part of his punishment," Esme offered to Dave.
"Oh, I see. What did he do to get himself a manicure and uh…looking toward Leah he then looked back at us…why is he sitting in Dr. Cullen's lap?" He asked Leah.
"Jacob was acting like an unruly child so I treated him like one and he is sitting on my lap because he does not know how to behave when company comes or to mind his manners. Isn't that right, Jacob?" I asked sternly to him.
"If you say so, father! You know I would never disagree with you or mother dear!" Jake stated politely. "I'm such a saintly young man!"
"Yeah, saints have been burned at the stake, too!" Jasper said causing the others to erupt in laughter.
"Quiet, Colonel Sanders!" Jake spat at Jasper. "Ouch! Mom that was my finger!"
"Does she cut his hair too?" Dave asked Emmett. Emmett then doubled over laughing and slapped Dave on the back sending him sailing into the living room landing on the couch opposite Esme, Jake and I. He quickly got himself up with the help of Edward and Jasper. I gave Emmett a glaring look so he would curb his mouth and strength. Leah just looked mortified.
"Dave, are you alright?" I asked him. "Emmett forgets his strength," I tried explaining.
"Yes sir, I'm fine. No harm done." Dave said fixing his clothes. He then turned to Esme and me. "What time should I have Leah home?"
"11:00 p.m. will do just fine. Where are you planning on going?" I asked him.
"Just into town for a bite to eat and maybe a drive or a walk. No definite plans, just what Leah would like to do," Dave offered.
"Dad, couldn't I stay out until midnight?" Leah asked.
"11:00 p.m. gives you over 5 hours. It's a little before 6 now. Understood?" I asked looking serious at her.
"Yes dad," Leah said.
"I'll have her home by then Dr. Cullen. Have a pleasant evening all of you. Oh, Dr. Cullen, why don't you give Jake a bouncy ride while he is sitting on your lap! My dad used to do that to us, of course we were kids then," Dave suggested laughing.
"Hey, mind your own business, Popsicle!" Jake yelled to him.
"Why what a wonderful idea," I said as I started bouncing Jake up and down on my lap. Emmett fell on the floor laughing along with Jasper, Edward and Seth.
"Da-ad! Stop it! Come on dad…mom…make dad stop…I hope your date stinks!" Jake called to them as they walked out laughing.
"Okay they're gone now, let me up," Jake said trying to get off my lap.
"No, this is fun, we never had little children to entertain before," I said as I continued to bounce him up and down on my lap.
"Dad, teach him to play patty-cake!" Edward laughed. We all laughed to Jake's embarrassment!
Ahhh…the joys of parenthood!
Later that night:
Jake and Seth had just come in from doing a perimeter run. They walked in and went into the kitchen to get a drink and a snack. They can eat anytime of the day or night. Coming in with a sandwich in one hand and a drink in the other, they both sat down across from their mother and me.
"Hey, where's Lulu? It's almost 11:30…I thought she had to be home before she turned into a wolf…ha ha…I kill me!" Jake said scarfing down his sandwich.
I knew it was past her curfew, but I thought maybe they were running a little behind. "Have you called her?" Jake asked me.
"Not yet, I was going to give her until 11:30 if I hadn't heard from her, so I guess I will call now," I said a little concerned. I took my phone out and dialed her number. It went to voice mail. That was strange. She is supposed to be reachable at all times. I dialed her number again, but the same thing, right to voicemail. "Well, I'll give her until 11:45 before I call again," I said a little irritated. I hate when I cannot reach my children and they know better than this.
"Uh oh, looks like Lulu will get the bouncy ride when she finally slinks home," Jake teased.
"Jacob, I would think you would have learned your lesson by now to stop your teasing," I admonished him.
"He never learns, dad," Seth said punching Jake on the arm.
Overhearing the conversation, the others came down the stairs also. They were also wondering where Lulu was. This was unlike Leah to be late on her curfew. She is usually right on time give a minute or two. Emmett went to the door and looked out and began pacing.
"That Popsicle guy better not have done anything to my sister," Emmett said cracking his knuckles.
"Good thing you can't get arthritis the way you keep cracking your joints like that," Edward said to him.
"Hey, I'm built like an ox," Emmett said.
"Yeah, you smell like one too," Jake said laughing.
"Watch it wolfie bro!" Emmett warned.
It was now midnight and still Leah had not come home or called. I tried her several more times on her cell phone and still no success. It still went straight to voicemail. I was growing concerned now. This was definitely not like Leah.
"Carlisle, do you think you should maybe go and look for them?" Esme asked concerned.
"Hey Pops, we can go and look for her, we will keep in the background and run on the outskirts," Emmett offered.
"Dad, I want to go this time, Leah's my sister," Seth said concerned also.
"No one is going anywhere just yet. Bella, can you call Charlie and see if there is any type of accident reported?" I suggested to Bella.
"Oh Carlisle! Do you think she is hurt?" Esme asked concerned.
"I'm not sure, but I can't imagine why she has not at least called," I said to her.
Bella got out her cell phone and called Charlie's house. There was no answer. She tried several times again on his cell phone. Still nothing. "Dad, I can't get Charlie. He isn't picking up at home or his cell," Bella said with concern in her voice.
"Pops, let us go look, we'll be careful," Emmett said again.
"No, let me try to call her again," I said as I dialed her number once again. Still went straight to voicemail. I checked my phone to see if I had received any calls from her, but I had not. I then addressed my children. "If any of you ever turn your phones off so I can't get in touch with you, you will be very sorry when I get a hold of you. You are to have your phones on at all times when you are away from the house. You also better check in with your mother and I if something comes up that you are going to be late. Let this be your one and only warning on this matter!" I said angrily to all of them. I was met with 8 shaking heads and worried looks.
It was now 1 a.m. and still no word. I looked at Esme and the others and stood up to go to my car. "I am going to look for them, I will call when I find them," I said to them. Just as I got to the kitchen door that leads to the garage, we heard a car outside. We went to the front door and Emmett opened it and stepped out. "Hey, it's Lulu and Popsicle. Let me at him Pops!" Emmett said cracking his knuckles again.
"Get back, Emmett and let them come in," I said pulling him back. We were all standing in the living room waiting for them to enter. They came in quietly. At least Dave came in with Leah. As they walked in, Emmett let loose on them.
"Hey, where the hell have you two been?" Emmett yelled at them.
"Dad, we can explain," Leah said looking at Esme and myself.
"You better explain, Pops was just going to go looking for you guys and you're in for it, Lulu!" Emmett warned.
"Dr. Cullen, there was an accident," Dave tried to say.
"An accident! Are you two hurt?" Esme said running up to them.
"What happened?" I asked them. "Were you two involved?"
"No sir, we witnessed the accident. We called for the emergency vehicles and we had to wait for the police to take our statements and had to talk to the emergency people." Dave said.
"Leah, was Charlie there?" Bella asked worried.
"Yes, the accident happened on the line between Forks and Port Angeles jurisdiction and there was arguing as to who would process it and where to send the victims. They just got the people out of the cars a little while ago and they were sending them to the hospital in Forks." Dave said.
"Why were you in that area? I thought you were staying on Forks?" I asked growing a little more agitated.
"Um, well…we decided to go into Port Angeles to a restaurant there and walk around the city and we were on our way back," Leah said shakily, realizing she did not inform me or her mother.
"Come in and sit down, I believe you two have some explaining to do," I said ushering them to the living room.
"Yeah, you better come clean too," Emmett said eyeing Dave.
"Da-ad, please, we're fine," Leah said trying to placate me. I was not having it. They were going to explain.
"Start from the beginning," I said to them.
"Okay, like I said, we decided to go into Port Angeles and eat at a restaurant there and maybe take in the city," Leah offered.
"My family and I like this particular Italian restaurant in Port Angeles and I wanted to take Leah there," Dave added.
"I would have appreciated a call letting me know where you were since you did not state you were going into Port Angeles. Leah, you know better than that," I chided her.
"I didn't think you would mind," Leah said to me looking a little more nervous.
"Boy, if I did that, I'd get it good," Jake said rubbing it into Leah. He was slightly annoyed with her too. It's an alpha thing with the wolves. Plus he was still mad about having to sit on my lap. I need to keep that punishment in mind.
"Leah, you know you should have called and asked permission since Port Angeles was not mentioned before," I added giving her a stern look.
"Anyway, on the way back, we were on the highway back to Forks and there was a car in front of us and it was swerving like they may have been drunk. Then another car came toward us and the one in front of us swerved right into the path of the oncoming car. We saw the accident and we went to help and called 911." Leah explained.
"When the police and ambulance got there, the people were trapped in the car. They had to cut them out and it took a while for them to do it. We had to give our account of the accident and we offered to help. No one was killed, but the people in the oncoming car were badly hurt. They finally agreed to take them to Forks hospital. We thought maybe you would be paged and then you would realize what happened," Dave stated.
"Well, I wasn't paged since I am off tonight and I cannot understand why you could not take one or two minutes to call home and let me know you were okay but that you were witness to an accident. That would have been the responsible thing to do," I said sharply to both of them but mainly to Leah.
"Listen, Poppie! Don't ever take my sister somewhere we don't know about or I'll be waiting for you there!" Emmett warned him getting into his face.
"I'm glad you're on top of it, Emmett!" Jake said sarcastically rolling his eyes. "You sure you weren't in the accident?"
"Dude! No way! I've been right here all the time, you seen me," Emmett said to Jake. "Did you see me leave?"
"At some point, something left," Jake said shaking his head at him.
"All right, upstairs! All of you!" I said to the others pointing up the stairs. "This is for your mother and I to handle." Everyone got up and made their way up to their rooms. Jake went over and put his hand on Emmett's shoulder.
"Come on, Emmett! I'll make sure you find your room," Jake teased him. "You don't want to use too much of your brain in one week!"
"Hey, thanks bro! I told you he wasn't all that bad," Emmett said to Rosalie. She just rolled her eyes and went up the stairs.
Turning back to my traveling daughter and her boyfriend, I decided to lay it on the line and give them a talking to about going out of town without informing her mother or me.
"I commend you two for being responsible enough to offer help and call 911 for the accident. Also for giving your version of what happened. I'm sure your eyewitness account will help clear matters up for the authorities. However, I am very disappointed in both of you for deciding to change your plans and drive out of town to the big city without informing us. That is very irresponsible. I would not have minded you driving into Port Angeles, but I would like to have been informed of this. This will not happen again. Is that understood?" I asked sternly looking at both of them.
"Yes sir, Dr. Cullen, I apologize," Dave said to Esme and me. "Sorry Mrs. Cullen."
"Sorry, mom and dad," Leah said to us.
"Also, you will inform us of your plans or change of plans and you will find a minute to call us on the phone and to take my calls. Let me see your phone, young lady," I said to her holding my hand out. As she gave it to me, I went into the "missed calls" section and pulled up my 12 calls to her and showed her. "You mean you could not answer one of these calls?" I said glaring at her.
"N-no sir, I-I didn't hear it ring with all the excitement," Leah answered.
"That's not good enough. We were all worried and upset over this. You are 2 hours late on your curfew and you had to realize that. Therefore, to help you remember to let us know your whereabouts at all times, you are grounded for the next 2 weeks, young lady. No dates, no phone calls, no texting and no emails or any other means of communication with David or anyone else except for school." I said with authority.
"Dad! That's not fair. It wasn't Dave's fault. Besides, we have plans for Tuesday evening," Leah said pleadingly.
"You mean you did have plans. Not any more! Grounded! 2 weeks! No contact with David. Not on your end either, David," I said to him.
"Yes Dr. Cullen! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get Leah in trouble," Dave said to me.
"She got herself in trouble, she knows better," I said to him.
"This is so unfair! I can't believe you are treating me like a child," Leah yelled to me standing up angrily.
"Leah, sit down," Esme said to her.
"Bouncy, bouncy!" Jake called from upstairs followed by a chorus of laughter.
"JACOB! Keep out of this!" I called up to him.
"You, young lady better check that attitude if you don't want another 2 weeks added to your grounding," I warned Leah.
"David, I think it would be best if you leave at this time," Esme said to him.
"Sure, Mrs. Cullen. I'm sorry about all of this. It's my fault too. I'll be sure to follow your punishment for Leah," David said to me. He stood up and shook my hand and Leah and Esme walked him to the door. He hugged and kissed Leah on the cheek. I was still fuming at my daughter who was sounding a bit like Bella! After he left, Leah turned to look over at me with a glaring look.
"We're not finished, missy! Get back over here," I said to her. She wanted to say something but she looked angrily at me and then at the stairs. "Don't try it, young lady!" I warned her. She eventually stomped over and sat back down on the couch with a huff. "What did I say about losing the attitude?" She didn't answer me but sat with a pouty look on her face.
"Leah, you are pushing it, young lady!" I said to her.
"Well, what do you think I'm going to be? Happy? You're ruining my life!" Leah sculled at me.
"One more smart remark and it will be another 2 weeks!" I warned her. "You will not call him nor any of your friends and I will check your phone every evening to make sure you have not been using your phone. You will only use your phone to call us here at home. No one else. You will drive to school and back. Nowhere else. Do you understand me?" I asked her.
"Why don't you check my mileage too?" Leah said smugly.
"That's a great idea, I will! Now do you understand your grounding?" I asked again.
"Yes dad. No phone, no email, no texting, no talking, no driving except to school and back, and no life whatsoever," Leah said pouting.
"That's right! No life for 2 weeks! Unless you keep up this smart attitude then I will add to your misery by adding 2 more weeks. So I suggest you grin and bear it or I will, young lady! Got it?" I asked.
"Got it! Can I go to my cell now?" Leah asked.
"Yes, Prisoner Lulu! Be my guest!" I said back to her.
"Ugh! Parents!" Leah said as she grumbled toward the stairs.
"Children!" I called after her grumbling back at her.
Esme looked at me and grinned, "Oh darling, the children make us young!" Esme said laughing.
"I can ground you too, you know!" I said grabbing her in my arms and spinning her around. She giggled and we kissed.
"GROSS!" We heard from upstairs.
"Can it, will you guys!" Edward said.
"You're hurting Emmett's brain and he doesn't have much, you know!" Jake yelled down.
"Hey, leave my brain out of this, Wolf bro," Emmett yelled to Jake.
"First he has to have a brain to leave out," Jasper said laughing.
"Leave my Emmy alone," Rosalie added.
"Who wouldn't?" Jake said and the others all laughed with him.
"Enough! Or do I have to come up there?" I called up the stairs.
"No dad-dy!" They all sing-songed.
"Now, back to your grounding," I said loudly to Esme.
"AW, Pops…!"
To Be Continued…
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