* All original twilight characters belong to S. Meyer. Any original characters are my own.

* Rated M for mature content – abuse, graphic descriptions, possible smut later on.

Charlie.

There isn't much that I want to say about him. He is the kind of person who doesn't deserve a description, doesn't deserve the time of day to even think about. Unfortunately that's no longer an option for me.

Two weeks ago – January 1st – I lost both my mother and my step-father. My step-father played minor league baseball and on the way home from Florida where he had been meeting to discuss the possibility of being signed, their plane went down. Both my mother and step-father were killed instantly, crushing my heart and leaving me alone.

Now two weeks later I was on my way to a small town in Washington that almost never saw sun, living in a constant cover of rain, I was going to live with Charlie. I was six months old when my mother left Charlie in Forks and moved south to Arizona. She tried to keep contact but Charlie turned bitter, never calling, never sending birthday cards, never caring. Now I was being forced to live with him at seventeen years old.

The plane landed all too soon and I saw the uniform before the man, glancing only quickly up at his face before following him out to the conspicuous police cruiser that was waiting. We didn't really say anything the entire way to Charlie's house and I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't exactly too happy to see me. I asked a few questions, learning that Charlie was the chief of police, he had given me the spare bedroom in his house, and I started school at Forks High the following Monday.

When we pulled up to the small white house that was surrounded in lush greenery I grabbed my few bags from the trunk and followed him into the house. He passed me a key-chain with a single bronze key on it and walked up the stairs, showing me the bathroom and the guest – now my – bedroom.

It was a barren room, a full sized bed in the middle with a small nightstand, a small dresser and a small work desk with a lamp on it. The bedding was a basic beige color and the curtains matched but seemed old and faded from where the sun had hit them. Charlie left me alone in the room and marched back downstairs, the television flicking on, and I could feel the loneliness beginning to creep up on me.

My bags were now all scattered on the floor just inside the door and I was beginning to feel the weight of everything and collapsed onto the bed, burying my face in my hands and letting the tears fall freely. When I had cried everything I had out I stood up and slowly began unpacking my things, putting my clothes away in the drawers and closets, my school bag and supplies hung on the back of the desk chair, and my laptop on the top of the desk. I booted it up and began searching for a wireless connection. Thankfully one of the neighbors had an open connection and I logged into my email to see a message waiting from my one and only friend in Phoenix.

January 15, 2005

Bella,

Let me know when you get to your new home, Spoons? Knives? Oh yeah, Forks. Miss you!

Brinley

I shot her back a quick message letting her know that I had made it in safely and then made my way downstairs and into the small kitchen. As I walked passed the living room I noted that Charlie was tuned into some sports game on his flat-screen so I decided that I would start something for dinner for us.

Soon the smell of oranges was flooding the small house as my Orange Chicken baked in the oven. I started some rice and began to steam some veggies to go with it and pulled some plates out of the cupboard to serve us on.

"Charlie?" I asked standing in the doorway a while later noting that Charlie's attention was completely focused on the game in front of him.

"Hm?" he answered, not breaking his gaze.

"I made some supper, it's on the table in the kitchen whenever you're ready." I tried not to sound nervous as I waited for him to answer or move or anything.

"Isabella. Let's get a couple of things straight here." Charlie turned to face me finally but the face I saw didn't make me feel any less nervous. Instead my fear spiked and I suddenly felt as though I should run.

"You are a guest in my house Isabella and I am your father. You will address me with respect, either by calling me Father or Sir. I also expect that you will not interrupt me when I am watching my sports. You can continue to do the cooking and if I am watching sports then you can serve me in here." he paused and I waited for him to continue.

"As I am the chief of police I expect you to behave properly. You will not get into any trouble or even draw attention to yourself. When you are at home you are to keep the house tidy, including your bedroom. You will keep quiet and stay out of the way. You do not question my decisions and you will show me respect." he spoke quietly and somehow it was more menacing then if he had yelled.

"Do you understand Isabella?" he asked looking at me pointedly.

"Yes sir." I answered lowering my head, not wanting to cause any problems.

"I will bring your dinner in now." I almost whispered, turning quickly to bring him his food and setting it down on a tray beside his recliner.

Charlie also informed me that he usually had a beer with dinner but to always bring two in so that he wouldn't have to get up to get his second one. I ate by myself in the kitchen, cleaning up after we had finished and made my way up to my bedroom where I grabbed my pajamas and hygiene bag and took a quick shower before climbing into bed and crying myself to sleep.