CHAPTER FOURTEEN
(BPOV)
The hours of the day passed steadily by and when lunchtime came, Charlie took Billy into the station with him so they could finish pawing over all of the information they had gathered regarding Rachel. Charlie offered a ride to Brenner, and even sweetened the deal by adding that he'd give him an official policeman tour of the station once they arrived, but Brenner simply shook his head and huddled in close to me, his arms now wrapping around my legs while he peered up at me.
"I wanna stay here with you. Can I? Please?"
"Of course you can. That's fine with me." I sighed, smiling down at him and ruffling his dark hair some as Billy patted him on the shoulder.
"We won't be gone too long. Be good for Bella while we're out? There's plenty of cookies in the cupboard if you get hungry for a snack before dinner. Help yourself, son. See you both in a while."
"Thanks, Grandpa." Brenner mused to him with a wave, as they left the house and headed for Charlie's cruiser.
"Alright, Brenner, what do you say I draw you a nice warm bubble bath? I promise to fill the tub with loads of bubbles just for you."
He smiled brightly at this and took hold of my hand, as I ventured into Jake's old room and rummaged through his abandon drawers for another clean sweatshirt Brenner could use. He seemed to be rather fond of them.
"I have more clothes in my bag, but I like wearing uncle Jake's sweatshirts. Even if they are way to big for me. Maybe someday I'll be big enough to fit into them better."
I chuckled and handed him the grey one I found with an encouraging smile in place.
"I'm sure you will. Faster than you think, too. Trust me... time doesn't stop for anyone."
Brenner nodded then and I noticed the way his face fell some when I fetched him a towel and started to fill the tub with three different kinds of bubble bath for him. He looked around Billy's small bathroom and sighed heavily before speaking what was on his mind.
"Time stops for the bad man."
I dropped the bottle of shampoo in my hands, his words causing it to slip from my grasp when he timidly said this. I hurriedly fished the bottle out of the water and placed it back on the side of the tub, before turning and motioning for him to sit with me there.
"How does time stop for the bad man, Brenner?" I softly implored, wrapping my arms around him while he sheepishly met my curious gaze.
"It just does." He soon shrugged. "I don't know why or how to explain it. Sometimes I think my mom knows, but she won't tell me."
"Why not?"
"-because she's afraid."
"...-of the bad man? What does he look like, Brenner?" I asked, as he looked away from me.
"He likes the dark. I can't see him very well. He's taller than my mama, but not bigger than uncle Jake."
My stomach knotted painfully then as I reached over and turned off the water.
"Think that's enough bubbles?" I questioned, as I handed him his towel and helped him remove Jake's sweatshirt.
"Yeah! Thanks, aunt Bella!"
The sentiment made me pause there by the door as he splashed excitedly in the overflowing tub, and began playing with the few toys left in there from Clarissa's nightly bath.
"Wash up, little man. I'll be right out here. Just yell if you need me, okay?"
"Okay." He agreed, still splashing away.
I closed the bathroom door and tightly clutched Jake's sweatshirt in my hands, as I glanced toward the sofa where Clarissa was comfortably napping. The color drained from my face while I drew in a steadying breath and tried to ignore the pit now lodged in my stomach from Brenners comment.
"You're being irrational. Stop it." I soon whispered to myself, while I headed for the kitchen and retrieved my cell there on the counter. I paced back and forth, gathering my long locks into my hands, as I listened to the sweet sound of Brenners infectious giggle coming from the bathroom.
'Time stops for the bad man'...
A shiver graced my skin then as I got to work with fixing Brenner a small snack to enjoy when he was done with his bath, and while my hands were busy, my thoughts continued to scream at me. They were relentless and when I couldn't ignore them any longer, or the nauseating gut feeling I had, I reached for my cell again and dialed Emily. She answered in only a few short rings.
"Hello?"
"Emily- I'm so glad you picked up." I breathed to her in relief.
"Bella? What's the matter? Are you alright? You sound upset or-"
"Is Sam there?" I blurted out to her with a clear urgency in my tone.
"Yeah, yes he's right here. I'll hand you over to him."
"Thanks, Emily."
I tried not to feel stupid for placing a call that I wasn't even fully convinced I needed to place, but there was something in the way Brenner spoke about the bad man minutes ago that felt off and somehow oddly familiar to me.
"Hey Bella? What's going on? Have you heard from Jacob or Gentry?" He worriedly questioned.
"No- No it's not that. They haven't checked in with me yet. Listen Sam, I'm sure this will sound absurd -..."
"What's this about, Bella?"
"Brenner... and Rachel." I quietly told him, my gaze cautiously peering out toward the bathroom door as I tried to keep my voice down. "I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't important."
"I'm listening. What's on your mind?"
"Brenner's been talking about some of the things that's happened with his mother and he keeps coming back to the same key points. I can't help but think that maybe this bad man he's referring to, isn't like the rest of us. If you know what I mean? Call it a hunch or lack of sleep, I don't know but-"
"Tell me what he said about this? Did he describe him at all?"
"No- not in so many words, but I think he's afraid to be completely open about him."
"From what Jake told me, he's been through a lot. Poor kid."
"Yeah, he has." I agreed. "Sam...-I think Rachel is seeing a cold one. A Vampire."
My tone was low and I whispered when I spoke this, but I knew he heard me just by the resounding silence that filled the line afterwards. I waited as Sam drew his own conclusion from my admission.
"She sent him here to keep him safe with Jake. Cause she knows he's the only one that can." Sam soon countered and I sighed at this, feeling as if he had read my mind in this moment.
"She told Brenner that Jake was a protector. I think she knows about all of you. I think she has for a while."
"I hate to cut this short with you, Bella but I gotta go and alert the others. If that's truly the case, we need to be on high alert until Jacob and Gentry get back. Stay close to the phone and I'll send Paul and Seth over to keep guard outside Billy's. Just in case. Thank you for telling me this. I needed to know."
"You're welcome, Sam. For what it's worth. I hope I'm wrong."
"I hope so, too."
He ended the call with this and I heard Brenner yell to me from down the hall.
"Can I please have more bubbles? It's so much fun!"
He stayed in the water till he looked like a prune and when he was dressed and warm again, he pointed to the impressive movie collection Billy had and eagerly jumped in his grandpa's recliner.
"Movie it is." I smiled his way. "What one did you wanna watch?"
"Can we watch a Christmas movie, aunt Bella? I love Christmas movies!" He exclaimed and though the season was still far off, I didn't have the heart to refuse him.
"Sure we can. I happen to like them, too. What are some of your favorites?"
"Rudolph and Frosty the snowman!" He happily stated while clapping his hands together.
"Those are my favorite ones, too. Great minds think alike."
Brenner curled up in the comfy chair and pulled the blanket down onto him with a sleepy grin.
"You're so lucky."
"Oh, really? Why is that?" I mused to him in return.
"-because you're not afraid of the dark like I am. I wish I wasn't."
I looked back over my shoulder and quickly pressed play on Rudolph, before sitting down next to him.
"You wanna know a secret?"
"Sure!"
"I used to be afraid of the dark and my nightmares, too."
Brenner sat up in the recliner at this, his dark eyes wide with curiosity when they held my own.
"Did the bad man come for you, too? Are you afraid of him, aunt Bella?" He nervously asked, tucking the blanket in around himself with a timid glance toward Billy's front door.
I swallowed hard and fought the sudden emotion that made my vision blur and my eyes sting as he patiently waited there for my answer.
"A long time ago, a bad man came for me."
"What happened? Did he hurt you?"
"Yep...-" I sighed, gingerly rolling up the sleeve of my light cotton sweater, as I showed him the crescent shaped scar that would forever line my inner wrist with the dreadful reminder of that time. "See...-"
Brenner's eyes went wide then and he slowly reached his tiny hand out to cover my scar, his fingertips barely tracing it as a genuine sadness filled his innocent face.
"I'm sorry that he hurt you."
"It's okay, buddy. I was lucky that it wasn't worse."
"Did uncle Jake protect you? Did he make it better?"
His simple question had new tears forming in my eyes as I covered the scar and met his stare.
"Yeah, he sure did. He still does." I tearfully told him.
Brenner reached out then and hugged me tight with his reply.
"It's okay to cry sometimes, aunt Bella. When I think about the bad man, I cry too."
"The bad man isn't gonna hurt you, Brenner. I promise." I sighed, wiping away the lone tear that slid down my cheek as I held him.
"I'm scared for uncle Jake and Gentry."
"Why?"
"The bad man is strong. Don't you remember how strong he is?"
I struggled to speak then, my mind flashing back to a time when I was surrounded with mirrors, the memory of it so vivid that I held Brenner tighter to me in response.
"I do remember, but don't be scared for them. Your uncle Jake is one of the strongest people I know. He and Gentry, they make a good team and they'll be okay." I softly assured him.
"You're right." He eventually sighed, as he released me and settled back into the chair with his blanket. He placed a kiss to my cheek and pointed excitedly to the movie now playing on Billy's flat screen TV. "Rudolph!"
"Hey- I think I know what could make this movie even better!?" I hedged.
"You do!?"
"Yep - popcorn and hot cocoa with marshmallows! Would you like me to make us some?"
"Yeah!" He beamed up at me and I chuckled at his enthusiasm.
I turned on the tea kettle and was waiting for the water to heat as my cell phone rang. The number was out of state and I was quick to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Bells-... it's me, honey."
I let out a sigh of relief and sunk down in the empty kitchen chair next to me as his warm voice cut through the line.
"Jake...- Where are you guys?"
"We just got to California. So far - nothing on Rachel. We're headed over to the address that Scott guy gave us last night. With any luck, we'll find her. Should know something more in a few hours."
"I hope you do."
"How's Brenner and Clarissa?"
"They're good. Brenner had a bath and we're getting ready to watch Rudolph. Turns out - he loves Christmas movies. Clarissa should be waking up from her nap anytime-"
"Good. Where's dad and Charlie?" He hedged.
"They went into the station a little while ago. They'll be back soon. Jake- listen- there's something you-"
Brenner's terrified scream filled the house then and I dropped the cell as I ran for him.
A/N: Cliffhanger! No worries... new chapter coming tonight. I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has reviewed for this new story! You're wonderful! I also just got notified that 'Christmas in the Harbour,' is being nominated for the TwiFanfictionRecs top 10 fics completed in September! Voting goes till October 30th! I would love your vote :-) It's an honor just to be nominated! Thank you... till later on!