Chapter Twenty Eight: Bad Timing

I spent the night and the next day in La Push doing anything I could to help Sue, Charlie, Billy or Emily. Running to the dry cleaners, helping cook, making phones, anything that would take a little of the weight off their shoulders while the pack was doing their best to help Seth and Leah. By the time I made it home to Uncle Charlie's it was late and the cruiser was already parked in the driveway.

I was surprised to see Bella's coat missing when I hung mine on the peg next to the door, but didn't think much of it since she might have gotten a ride to La Push with Jake or gone out with Angela and Jess.

"Uncle Charlie!" I called out as I looked around the corner and didn't see him in the living room.

"In here." Uncle Charlie said from the kitchen.

"She's gone." Was the first thing he said when I came around the corner. He was sitting in the kitchen chair, his head in hands with a piece of paper in front of him on the table.

"Who's gone?" I asked stepping closer.

"Bella. Alice showed up yesterday and apparently she got a call today that Edward's in some sort of trouble and the two took off to help him." The weariness in Charlie's voice spoke to how tired he was physically and emotionally.

"Did she say where she was going? When she would be back?" I asked and Charlie shook his head. Instead of saying anything else he just picled up the paper from the table and handed it to me.

Dad,

I'm with Alice. Edward's in trouble.

You can ground me when I get back.

I know it's bad timing, I'm so sorry.

Love you.

Bella

The anger I had felt when Paul had told about her cliff diving incident was nothing compared to what I felt now. How could she do this? Run off with Alice to save the very person that had shattered her just months ago while her father who had stuck with her through thick and thin and defended her when she didn't deserve to be defended was going through the loss of his close friend. The one time he needed her to be here, she ran off at the first possible moment and didn't even bother to say goodbye, just leaving a half ass note to explain her absence in the most vague way possible. Edward being in trouble could mean that he was broke down on the side of the road or had gotten himself in trouble with other vampires. No matter what situation I came up with in my mind there was nothing that would in remotely require Bella running to save him.

The only thing I could do for Uncle Charlie was hug him, hug him like he had done for me so many times when things had turned dark and there was nothing we could do but cling to each other. As he returned the hug I hoped that it helped as much for him as it had for me in the past and that I could do more. In that moment I wished that I could replace Bella with someone more deserving of Uncle Charlie's love. The man had stepped up more times than I could count not only for me, but for Bella, and for Jake and for Jake's sisters.

There were numerous nights after Sarah died that Charlie had been over to Billy's to help, whether it was bringing a meal, taking Jake and the girls to the park so Billy could rest, even just being there so Billy knew someone else was there.

For me he stepped up to be the male role model I needed, someone to teach me to ride my bike, to throw a punch, to shoot a gun, to run to when I just needed someone to hold me and not say anything. Uncle Charlie came to every soccer game, every father/daughter event, every award ceremony and happily displayed my accomplishment as if they were his own. And most importantly he was always just a phone call away anytime we needed him and I knew if we called, he would come running.

Bella didn't even realize it, but Charlie was always there for her even when he wasn't physically there. There had been more times than anyone could count when Renee couldn't pay her bills and he had paid for their electric or the rent, had sent extra money for food or clothes. He'd flown down for every big recital, every broken bone, and every school award, proudly displaying pictures of his little girl and all her accomplishments. Whether Bella realized it or not Charlie had been her rock her whole life and she paid him back by bailing every time things got hard.

The next couple days were spent helping Seth and Leah as much as possible when Charlie and Billy were helping Sue with the arrangements for Harry's funeral. Leah and Seth were taking Harry's death hard and though Seth seemed to be adapting to phasing well, Leah was a hard time. Sam had found it impossible to get through to her and mostly left helping Leah to Quil and Embry since they were the calmest and she seemed to snap less at them.

The morning after Bella's disappearing act Embry met me in Emily's driveway. Taking advantage of one of the few moments we got alone to pulled me into a deep kiss once we pulled me around the side of the house. I fell into it willingly, letting myself get caught up in it for a moment as it made me forget everything else that was going on for a split second. I sighed when we finally broke apart and laid my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. We stood like that for a long moment before Embry spoke.

"I'm gonna assume Charlie found the note last night." Embry said softly and I looked up to him surprised.

"How did you know about the note?" I asked.

"Jake went to see Bella yesterday. Was there when the pixie leech left with Bella. Jake said she came after she had a vision of Bella jumping off the cliff, guess she thought Bella had killed herself. Jake said she was mighty surprised when Bella walked through the door. He said while he was there yesterday that the leech got another vision, this time of Edward going to something called the Volturi and being in big danger because their 'sister' had told him about the vision of Bella jumping and he thinks she's dead. The pixie seemed to think the only way to prove that Bella wasn't dead was to show Edward in person so they took off." Embry explained.

"I just can't believe she's doing this to Charlie again. He took it so hard the first time and now with so much else going on..." Embry pulled me in closer.

"I just can't see why she would go running after him. If someone hurt me the way he hurt her, I'm pretty sure I would be totally fine with them having the favor returned. It took so much to get her back to a functioning human being, I think Uncle Charlie can go through it again." I said softly.

"Maybe this is what she needs to move on once and for all." Embry suggested and I sighed again.

"I can hope, but I'm not gonna hold my breath on it." I said and quickly thought of a new topic, my mind needing something else to think about.

"The funeral's tomorrow." I said sadly.

"I know, it's gonna be a tough day." Embry said and a thought struck me that had me looking up to Embry worriedly.

"Does Leah take over his spot on the council of elders?" I whispered. Leah was far from okay and I highly doubted that she would be able to handle that responsibility till she could at least control her phasing.

"No. Remember, you have to be at least thirty five to join the council. Sue's gonna take his place till Leah or Seth are old enough to take over." I let out a breath in relief.

"I don't think she'd be able to handle it right now." I confided and Embry hummed.

"I know, I don't think I could handle it if I was in her shoes." Embry admitted.

"Do you guys think you're any closer to getting the red head?" I asked and Embry shook his head.

"Sam's starting to think that she's got one of those 'gifts' that Bella told Jake about, she always seems to know what we're doing and exactly how to avoid it. Though she hasn't been around since the cliff diving incident. Maybe she knows Bella left." Embry pondered and I had to admit that the thought had merit.

That night Billy and Charlie hit the Vitamin R a little harder than usual, both more than happy to drown their feelings in booze for the coming day. Embry had to help me get Charlie home, part leading, part carrying Charlie to the cruiser and driving my car home behind us. Once at the house he did the same to get Charlie up the front steps before I thanked him with a kiss and disappearing into the trees to run back to La Push. Charlie started for the kitchen to get another beer, but I cut him off and settled him on the couch for the night knowing I couldn't get him up the stairs without his help and not wanting to risk a tumble down the stairs.

Charlie was still asleep and snoring like a chainsaw when I got up in the morning. I tried to be as quiet as possible as I got his suit out of the closet and quickly ironed his dress shirt and tie. I tried to let him sleep as long as possible knowing he was going to be hung over and that the longer he slept the less time he spent aware of all the crap going on. I took a shower and picked out my clothes for later before going downstairs to make breakfast. I set a glass of water and some aspirin on the coffee table in front of the couch before making a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon to hopefully help his hang over.

Once the food was ready I gently woke him, wincing at his groan as he quickly covered his eyes. After a moment he slowed pulled his hand away from his face enough to squint at me. I handed him the water and aspirin which he quickly took, chugging the whole glass before trying to move.

"What time is it?" He croaked.

"Ten." I said softly hoping it wouldn't hurt his head." He groaned again.

"I gotta get suit out." He started to get up but I pushed him back down.

"I already got it out and ironed it. Give yourself another minute and come out to the kitchen, breakfast is ready." I said and Charlie started to nodded, but stopped with a wince. I kissed his cheek and walked back to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table to start on my breakfast. Charlie joined me a couple minutes later.

"You definitely need a shower." I said once he'd finished his plate. I could smell the booze wafting off him, hopefully the warm water would help with the head ache and make him look like he'd actually gotten some sleep last night. Charlie grunted and stood from his chair, slowly making his way upstairs. Once the shower water started I went upstairs and changed into my black dress. I hate this black dress, it had seen far too many funerals in the last couple years.

Charlie looked better after his shower and once he was in his suit the solemn mood has set in, making his looking more serious than ever. No one was going to be looking at him anyway, people were going to be focus on Sue, Leah and Seth, no one was going to care if Billy and Charlie were a little hung over.

The drive to La Push was silent, neither of us saying a word even as we took our seats for the funeral. Embry took the seat next to me with Jake on the other side with his dad. He didn't say anything either, just kissed my cheek and took my hand. The eulogies were beautiful, everyone speaking of great memories they had of Harry, many of them including Harry as he maned the fryer or grill like he did for every cookout. There were some tears during the eulogies but mostly everyone kept it together till the burial. As the casket was lowered into the ground Leah lost it, everything looked to have hit her like a ton of bricks as she about collapsed, Seth holding her up as the well constructed dam crumbled and she cried. Tears fell down Sue's face as she rubbed Leah's back comfortingly.

Watching as one of my best friends and her family fell apart I couldn't help he errant thought t hat went through my head. Why is the would fun in funeral? There was never anything fun about it.