HLAG Chapter 13

EPOV

I let out a breath as I sit at the desk. I have already gone through most of the paperwork that Bella will need to keep track of her hours doing her service. The door opens and Bella steps in.

"I didn't hear you knock," I grit out at her as she takes a seat slowly.

"What? Mike…"

I hold up my hand cutting her off. "Get out, knock on my door and wait till I say you can enter." Bella just looks at me as she closes her eyes and gets up. As she turns sharply, I hear her let out a small sound as her hand goes around her middle. She starts to limp to the door, reminding me of her injuries.

"Just sit down," I say felling a little guilty, but Bella carries on walking. By the time I have jumped up and moved to where she is, she's out the door. She knocks and as I open the door, her eyes fall on me. I gasp seeing a fresh hardness to them; one that I have only seen when I told her Alice hadn't made it home.

"Come in," I sigh out. "Why do you have to be so stubborn and stupid?" I ask as I walk away from her.

Bella doesn't reply to me, but she does sit back down. "Are you going to tell me how that happened?" I ask.

Yet again I am met with silence. "Bella, you have to talk to me." Bella grins, but shakes her head at me.

"No, I don't. These meetings are to make sure I have worked my time, and not done anything else wrong. That doesn't mean I need to talk to you," Bella signs. It's clear from the way her hands move she is pissed off.

I harden my own face. "So let me get this straight, you steal in front of my daughter, the same daughter who's not communicating at all." Bella looks at me with her eyebrows pulled together. "And you think you have the right to be mad at me?"

Bella shakes her head. "Lets just get this hour and half done with, I want you out of my sight."

I walk out of the room and head down the hall. When I get to the door, I open it. Standing there like a fool, staring straight ahead, I look to see Bella's only half way down the hall. I lean against the wall and wait for her to catch up. But yet again I am hit with a wave of guilt because it's clear she is in pain, a lot of pain. Whatever fight she got in to in jail, she didn't win.

When she gets to my side, I open the door again and she walks through. "Have you been looked over?" I ask softly and she bobs her head at me.

I open the car door and she slides in. Walking around, I get in the driver's seat.

"About the office, I am sorry. I shouldn't have let my personal feelings for you show." Bella snorts and I look at her.

"You're back to not liking me? I think you..." she stops talking and changes the direction of the conversation. "That doesn't matter. Nothing about me matters to you. You will never understand why I did what I did, so lets just get going. I have stuff that I would rather be doing." The whole time she talks, all I could hear was the pain behind her words.

"Bella, for this to work we have to have some sort of relationship."

"One where I can't talk to Alice who's my best friend or Jenny who needs me!" Bella yells out at me.

This time, I snort. "Jenny needs you? Why would she need you?" I hiss out at her. My feelings are truly hurt with Jenny needing anyone other than me. With Jenny missing Bella more than I think she should, I can't help but worry that her withdraw is because of not seeing Bella.

Bella and I fall into an uncomfortable silence. I keep opening my mouth to talk, but nothing seems to come out. I drive us to the diner getting two coffees and going back to the car to see Bella staring at the back exterior wall.

"That graffiti on the wall is pretty cool, don't you think?" I say trying to make conversation, as I sit on the hood of the car.

Bella looks to me and shrugs. I look back to the wall when she says nothing; it is clear someone spent a lot of time on the art. The art work on the wall makes it look like you have a view into the diner. It's really quite accurate as far as my memory goes.

"I wonder who did it?" I ask a loud. "He must have got someone from the city to come down here," I carry on as I think aloud. "I should ask for his number and see if they would do Jenny's room. I think she would like something like that."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Bella mutters and I just look at it. "You will not ask them to do Jenny's room, anyway."

"You're wrong, Bella. This is amazing, so yeah, I would. Unless they killed puppies or something, I will not be persuaded not to ask them."

"It's mine," Bella grits out and my head turn sharply to her.

"You did this?" I ask. When she glares at me, and I know my voice holds more disbelief than what I was intending.

"Yes, why the hell do you think Aro's making my hours all about art?" I shake my head and look back to the wall. I snort shaking my head. This wall is too amazing and I doubt someone Bella's age would be able to come up with this sort of art.

"You almost had me, Bella. You almost made me believe you did this."

Bella rolls her eyes. "I will get you next time," she signs out as I smile that she's talking to me.

"Come on, Petal, time to get back out there," I say taking my empty cup and putting it in the trash.

Bella slams the car door closed and I give her a curious look "What now?" I ask.

"You need to stop calling me Petal," she says through her teeth.

I turn and give her a toothy grin. "Why? Does is upset you, Petal."

"I am not a fucking flower, you asshole."

"Stop swearing, Petal, you are a lady so act like it," I tell her, but keep my tone light.

"Oh poor naïve, Edward." My eyes move to a smirking Bella who slides her top body closer, so her mouth hovers over my ear. "I'm no lady. The fact that I don't wear panties should tell you that." She sits back in her seat moving her legs apart.

I shake my head and grip the steering wheel. "You know we could pass some time fucking." My head snaps around to her. "Hey, eyes on the road," she says pointing, but keeps her eyes on me. "But that would take what, three minutes for you to bust your load? Hardly worth pulling over for, so why don't I just blow you?"

"Sure, go for it," I say waving my hand to my cock, calling her bluff. "But I like a girl to take all of my ten inches and balls in, but since you have such a big mouth I don't think that will be a problem for you." Bella's face pales a little, proving my thoughts about her just spouting shit to wind me up is true.

"I don't care who's car you are in, or how well you think you know them, NEVER offer someone that because you may just find yourself in deep shit. You may come out unscratched, or dead," I reprimand her.

Bella rolls her eyes, but doesn't say anything. After a few minutes have passed, I can feel her eyes on the side of my face. "How is Jenny?" Even with the new softness to her voice, I have to bite my lip to stop myself from yelling that it is none of her business.

"She's still up sitting at night. She is refusing to sign, even her eating has decreased." I hear Bella gulp loudly.

"Can I talk to her?" My head, yet again, turns to her sharply and Bella closes her eyes and looks away from me.

"A simple no would have done," her voice is still soft, but is so low that I can barely hear what she said.

"No" I grit out and I turn back to the road, trying to calm myself, we have weeks of this to go, and despite my wanting to kill her I can't and she's not worth it.

"How can I prove that you can trust me?" Bella asks, I raise my eyebrow at her.

"I did. I was in your corner, but you let me down badly, and I am not ready to forgive you yet."

Bella snorts and I move my eyes to her again. "Just remember that, and know the turnabout is fair."

"What?" I ask feeling a little confused.

"If you ever learn why I did what I did, I have the right to say to you what you just said to me, that's all." The tone of her voice tells me she believes, really believes, that at some point I will ask her for forgiveness.

"Why don't you stop wasting my time with riddles, and just tell me why."

"Because I had no choice, and as for you trusting me, ha what a joke. The whole way you handled that day shows me you never trusted me, not fully. So don't expect me to trust you, after all I am the one that can-could lose everything!"

I frown as I look at her and then shake my head "I hate to break it to you, but the only one that lost something was Jenny."

Bella moves her eyes away from me and just looks out the window. "Can't you play some tunes?" She blurts out.

"No, I am working and need to hear the dispatcher in case I'm needed."

Bella opens her mouth and I know she is about to start singing, and that's not something I want to hear again. "Don't!" I yell and Bella jumps looking at me. "In the glove compartment, is my iPod put that on"

Bella chuckles, but thankfully does what I ask. Where she still sings a little, it's not as loud or annoying as she was the first time. Even with that, I am glad when I drop her off at her home. Her serving her time with me this week is done and I couldn't be happier. I head back to the station and write up my report before going back out on the streets to do a few more hours.

I arrive home just after six, to find Emmett and Rose kissing. "Hey guys, keep the PDA to a minimal. You are watching Jenny," I chime in.

After everything that went down with Bella, Jenny no longer wants to be near Alice. Since she's still refusing to stay with my mom, it left me looking for a new babysitter. Then Rose said she would watch her since she is only going to college part time.

"Chill, bro, she is outside playing," Emmett says with a grin and wink. I shake my head and walk out the back door to find it empty. As my heartbeat picks up, I pull at my hair ready to go into full panic mode. I hear a small giggle, a giggle I haven't heard in a long time.

I slowly walk up to the back of the garden. "Okay, D will be home soon, we need to have that talk," I hear Bella say and the anger fills my body; I told her to stay away.

"No, but, Jenny," Bella says as if Jenny had talked to her.

"I was wrong and he did the right thing." I look around the shed, but keep my mouth closed as I watch Jenny start to sign.

"You got hurt, he let you get hurt." Bella shakes her head at Jenny and then takes her hand into her own.

"I knew what could happen, honey." She stops talking and lets out a sigh. "He loves you, and you breaking down hurt him in here." Bella points to her heart. "Just because he's an adult, doesn't mean he doesn't make mistakes, but this time he didn't, it was me." Jenny shakes her head, but Bella keeps a hold of her hands.

"Yes Jenny, he needs you as much as you need him. Don't cut him out because you are mad at me."

She again shakes her head and pulls her hands away. "No he said he fixed it, and he didn't, he lied to me." Bella scratches her head, and seems unsure of what to say. I am about to walk around when Bella starts to talk again.

"He didn't mean in the way you took it. He meant it as in getting me away from you, he thought you were crying because I hurt you."

"You never hurt me!" Jenny signs angry.

"You're right, I won't give him time."

"I miss you. I like playing with you," Jenny says as her head drops making my heart drop too.

"I miss you too, but so does he. Why don't you talk to him, and then just maybe we could meet when he's at work or something?" Bella says hesitantly.

"You don't want to?" Jenny signs clearly hearing what I hear.

"I do, but I don't want you to lie to your dad," Bella tells her sadly.

"Just talk to him, let him in and maybe God will throw us both a bone?"

"You don't believe in God," Jenny signs, but adds in a scoff sound.

"No, I don't, but I believe in magic."

"I don't," Jenny huffs as she signs.

"If I can prove somehow that magic is real, would you speak out loud to your dad?"

I hold my breath and Jenny seems to think it over and nods. "Leave it to me," Bella says like she's deep in thought.

I take a few steps back feeling unsure of how to take that talk.

"Jenny!" I yell as if I just came into the garden.

It takes a few minutes for her to run to me. She stops and bites her lip and then lifts her hand. "Hi, I missed you," she signs to me making my heart break. I pull her in for a hug.

"I've missed you to, princess. You have no idea how much." I open my eyes and look over Jenny's shoulder to see Bella walking back into her house. I am left feeling very confused about her.

Here is another chapter! I am off this week so you will be getting more soon!