Ricochet
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Chapter Six
Charlie walked into the living room to find Rosalie standing in front of the window as still as a statue. She held her cell phone loosely in one hand as if she had just ended a call.
"Everything okay?" Charlie asked cautiously as he joined her at the window.
Rosalie turned to look up at him, her breathtaking face unsure. "I've just spoken to Emmet."
"I take it the conversation didn't go well." Charlie guessed. "I'm sorry." He sighed and gazed out of the window. Through the glass was the ever-changing art of the sky, the clouds that brought infinite images of beauty. Dawn would be breaking soon. Bella had been gone for hours. Across the road, he could see Edward Cullen sitting inside his non-descript hire car waiting for Bella's return. He looked like a shop mannequin; he was so still. Charlie scowled and left the window to go and sit on the sofa.
"It was as much as I could do to stop him from following Bella to La Push." Rosalie apologised when she noted the annoyed expression on Charlie's face. She followed him over to the sofa, he slid to one side, making room for her. "He has a stubborn streak."
"That's a polite way of putting it. I'd arrest the little prick, but there's nothing in the rule book to say you can't sit in your own car in the middle of the night." Charlie deadpanned.
Rosalie laughed lightly, and it sounded like a chorus of bells. "I love your dry wit, Charlie Swan."
"You're the only one." Charlie mused, a glimmer of a smile lightening his face.
They made brief eye-contact for a moment, before just as quickly looking away again. Rosalie rested her hands in her lap and concentrated her gaze on them. "Edward used to rarely leave Bella alone, but then when CJ was born that all changed. For the first time in Bella's life there was someone more important than him, and Edward has struggled to deal with that ever since."
"He's a textbook controlling asshole." Charlie lamented. "I should have done more to try and get Bella to see that. But she was so wilfully blind to his faults. I held back, I was worried she'd take off, and in the end, she married him and did that anyway."
"She wouldn't have listened. I talked to her myself. I tried to tell her why I thought she should stay human-why I would have given anything to be human again myself."
"Oh." Charlie stared at her lovely profile, listening intently.
Rosalie flashed him another one of her breathtaking smiles, but there was a sadness behind it. "I told her that she had everything. That she had a whole life ahead of her-everything I wanted. And she was just going to throw it away. I always imagined myself as a mother, one day a grandmother, sitting on a porch with my grey-haired husband surrounded by my grandchildren. I was never going to have that. It was only when Bella learned she was pregnant and gave birth to CJ, that she finally understood what she had so nearly given up. CJ saved her from making the biggest mistake of her life. I never had that chance."
"Thank god for CJ." Charlie murmured, glancing toward the staircase which led to the bedroom where his grandson was peacefully sleeping.
"Yes." Rosalie agreed, her golden-brown eyes overbright. "Thank god for him! He blessed all our lives. I am grateful to Bella for letting me be a part of it, considering we didn't start out on the best of terms."
"But you've proved yourself a good friend." Charlie said kindly. "A good friend always tells the truth no matter how difficult it is for the other person to hear. You brought CJ here at great personal cost to yourself. I will always be grateful."
"You are a good man, Charlie Swan." Rosalie gave him another one of her dazzling smiles. "I really don't understand why you are still single."
The tips of Charlie's ears turned red and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Nobody wants an old bachelor set in his ways." He mumbled.
Rosalie's smile faded. "I think you're wrong."
Charlie shrugged and looked away, feeling flustered under Rosalie's scrutiny. They sat in silence for a moment, neither inclined to go on. Suddenly the uncomfortable silence was broken by the sound of raised voices coming from outside the house.
Charlie took the lead as he ran into the hallway and yanked open the front door. The first thing he noticed was Jacob's Jeep parked across the driveway, blocking in the cruiser. The next was the sight of Jacob and Edward confronting each other in the middle of the road, with Bella standing in-between them. He felt Rosalie come up beside him, and gave her a quick glance.
"Go check on CJ." He whispered to her.
Rosalie nodded and abruptly disappeared up the stairs. Charlie blinked in surprise. It was eerie how he could so easily forget that she wasn't human, when with Edward it was so obvious. Shaking his head, he stepped outside and hurried down the porch steps.
"Now, now. I don't want any fighting. Do you understand?" Charlie looked only at Edward when he spoke. "You shouldn't even be here. This is family business. And you aren't family."
"I'm Bella's husband." Edward said in a restrained tone.
"Jailor more like." Jacob growled.
Charlie gave Jacob a warning look. "He's not worth your time. You've got more important things to focus on, son."
"Well keep him out of my face." Jacob scowled; his arms folded across his chest.
"Get inside." Charlie ordered. "And you, too, Bella." He continued testily when he saw her hesitate.
"Edward, just go." Bella pleaded. "You are making a difficult situation much worse by being here."
"I'm not leaving you alone with him, Bella." Edward insisted. "I'll wait out here if I must, but I need to be nearby in case anything happens."
"You're unhinged and clearly desperate." Jacob drawled, arrogant.
"Get the hell out of here, Cullen. Or I will have you arrested for loitering with intent." Charlie said sternly.
Edward grimaced, knowing when he was beaten. He sidestepped Charlie and hissed in a low voice so only Jacob could hear. "She is mine. Remember that."
Jacob composed his face into an indifferent expression, before striding away as fast as possible toward the house. Bella quickly ran after him, completely ignoring Edward when he called her name.
"That is your cue to leave." Charlie said bitingly. "And I meant what I said, I will have you arrested if you continue to interfere."
"I am not here to cause trouble, Chief Swan. I am just protecting my wife, that's all." Edward insisted.
"We both know that this has nothing to do with protecting Bella. This is all about control. And your control is slipping. That frightens you, doesn't it?" Charlie saw Edward's eyes darken, satisfied that his words had hit home. Without saying anything further, he walked back toward the house, leaving Edward staring bleakly after him.
Bella couldn't stop Jacob. He was already at the top of the stairs before she had even stepped into the hallway. She saw Rosalie blocking the doorway to her old room, stopping Jacob from going inside.
"Move out of the way, Blondie." Jacob warned her in a low voice.
"CJ Is still sleeping." Rosalie explained. "Now is not the right time. And you know it. If you go charging in there, you'll frighten him. You don't really want that to be his first impression of you, do you?"
Jacob sucked in a deep breath at her pointed remark, his expression shifting from blazing intensity to hopelessness in a second. "No." He whispered.
Bella had caught up with him now. She had heard Rosalie's warning and his forlorn response. It broke her heart as she watched his shoulders sag as he leaned against the wall for support.
"I'll leave you two alone." Rosalie murmured. In a blink of an eye, she disappeared down the stairs and out of sight.
"What am I doing, Bella?" Jacob pleaded thickly; the fight completely gone out of him. "I was about to barge in there without thinking. Blondie's right, I would have completely freaked CJ out."
"Its not your fault, Jake." Bella whispered brokenly. "Its mine. I've done this all wrong."
Jacob shook his head wearily. "I don't know the best thing to do."
"I don't know, either." Bella admitted honestly.
Jacob looked at her with knowing eyes. "Why is everything so hard for us?"
"I don't know." Bella shrugged helplessly.
They made eye-contact, staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, until Charlie's heavy tread on the bottom stair startled them.
"Everything okay up there?"
"We're fine, Dad." Bella said tiredly.
Charlie's eyes tightened with worry. "Are you sure?" He checked.
"We're good, Charlie." It was an effort for Jacob to talk. He slumped against the wall, his black sliding down it, until he ended up in a sitting position. "We're just talking, that's all."
"Okay." Charlie still looked concerned. "I'm just down here if either of you need me."
"Thanks, Dad." Bella gave him a weak smile.
Charlie nodded and left them alone. Bella waited until she was sure he was gone, before settling down next to Jacob. He gazed at her helplessly, seeming to fight for the right words. "I need to ask you something."
"You can ask me anything." Bella assured him.
"Did you keep CJ away from me because you were afraid?"
"Afraid?" Bella felt bewildered by his question.
"Of me." Jacob mumbled, hanging his head to hide the expression on his face. "Were you scared to let CJ be around me, because I might lose control or something? Like Sam did with Emily that one time…."
Bella gasped, feeling the knife twist further into her open wound. This was her fault; she had done this to him. Brought him so low that he would even entertain such a thought. She drew herself up onto her knees, took his face in her hands and held it just a few inches from hers. She stared into his eyes as she whispered. "No, Jacob. Never. I already told you my reasons, as bad as they were. This is all on me. You believe me, don't you? Please, say you do?"
Jacob was nodding, anxious for reassurance. "Okay." He mumbled. "I believe you."
"Good." Bella let go of his face and pushed herself back onto her feet. She held out her hand to him. "CJ may be asleep, but you can still look in on him. Come with me and see our son, Jake."
Even in the dark, Bella could see the hesitancy on Jacob's face. He still didn't trust her. For a moment, she wondered if he might refuse to take her hand. Slowly, Jacob reached out, his warm fingers closing around hers in a loose grip.
Bella felt relief flow through her as she gave a slight tug and he stood up. "Ready?" She asked.
Jacob was lost for words and could only nod. Bella turned around and gently pushed open the door to her old room, stepping inside, pulling Jacob with her.
A/N-thanks for reading!