When Bella left the bath, she was determined to get help from them, but first, she needed to find the right time to tell them about her.
Alice came back exactly an hour later while Bella was just finishing up her dinner. She was not in the mood to relearn cooking and decided to find something to heat up and fill her stomach and to leave for Charlie as well.
Alice was sitting down in the sofa, making herself comfortable with her eyes now the color of liquid butterscotch and she patted the pillow beside her where Bella slid down and leaned on her shoulder, making herself comfortable.
"Are you feeling better now?" Alice asked worriedly and Bella hummed.
"I'm not sure yet but I'm getting there" Should she tell Alice first? Maybe she could help her in contacting the rest of the family which made Bella wonder where they were. There was also Jasper in this world that she was curious to know. Did he know that Alice was here with her? Did the others know? If she asked for him, would it be too obvious that she was much more interested in knowing the whereabouts of Jasper than Edward?
"Alice, where are the others? Do they know you're here? "She shook her head which Bella already anticipated.
"They don't approve of me interfering. I'm not even supposed to be here. Edward made me promise not to look into your future but that's easier said than done. I've been used to checking on you that some visions just naturally appear without me doing anything"
Bella raised her eyebrow. "How'd you get away with coming here without him knowing? I'm sure Edward would have seen you're vision of me in your mind. "Alice was looking at me curiously but I just shrugged it off. That was a valid question.
"He's... not with us Bella. When he left you... he left the family to go off on his own" she said softly. She looked like she was hesitant to share this detail with her.
"Huh" was only Bella's reaction. She realized that Alice was worried about her reaction at the mention of Edward. She was supposed to be heartbroken but she could not bring herself to feel that way because she wasn't the one who experienced it. All she was feeling was growing confusion and annoyance at Edward about his actions.
"Are you sure Charlie won't mind me here?" Alice suddenly asked in a worried tone.
"I'm sure he won't, you're his favorite Cullen" Alice was indeed favored by Charlie in her reality and she was sure that in any version of it, Alice would be able to win Charlie just as easily.
"Let's find out then" Alice stood up just as Bella heard the sound of her father's cruiser came up on the driveway.
Bella was suddenly anxious. She was going to see her father again, after a long time, after he had died. She couldn't help it and went out to meet him in the walkway. Charlie was walking with his head down, shoulders slumped and looking worn out. Bella ran straight to her father in a fierce embrace. Charlie was surprised but then he hugged her back just as fiercely.
"I'm so sorry Dad... "Bella was trying hard to keep her emotions at bay. She was just so relieved to be able to see her father alive.
Charlie huffed out a sigh. "I'm really going to miss him" he barely whispered. Bella wasn't talking about Harry but she didn't correct him. She was just glad that she had this opportunity. She let go of Charlie and looked at him sadly.
"How's everyone doing?"
"Sue's still... I don't think she's grasped it yet... Sam is with her... Their kids... they're still young... "his voice faded in and out and he shook his head.
Charlie held Bella in his arms as they walked together towards the door and as soon as they entered, Bella remembered Alice.
"Oh, by the way... Dad... we have a visitor" At her words, Charlie's brows furrowed and his head turned towards the driveway and finally realized that Carlisle's car was there.
Alice chose that moment to show herself.
"Hey Charlie... I'm sorry I came at such a bad time"
Charlie blinked twice and squinted his eyes, trying to make sure that he was seeing the small girl in front of him correctly.
"Alice?" his words were doubtful.
"It's me... I was in the neighborhood."
"Oh... is Carlisle...?"
"It's just me" Alice and Bella knew that it wasn't Carlisle he was talking about.
"Is it okay if I invited Alice to stay here? I couldn't let her stay in her house all alone." Bella asked but she was pretty sure Charlie would have no problem with Alice staying.
"Yes of course. I'm going to be busy with helping as much as I can with the funeral... it would good for you to have company" Charlie agreed. He finally excused himself and left the girls in the room while he went to the kitchen where Bella left him dinner.
Alice smiled at her tentatively and she went back to sit beside her. Bella wanted to talk to Alice, get to know more about them in this past. Did they have the same personality as the Cullens that she has grown up with? She already knew that Edwards's actions were totally different from how she knew him and she wondered if it was because that was what made this Bella Swan's story different.
Before she could even work on striking a conversation, she felt herself going into a dreamless sleep.
Bella woke up stiff from her position in the couch and she heard voices from the kitchen.
"Would you tell me what happened Charlie... after we left?" Bella heard Alice asking softly.
Bella tensed and she waited to hear what Charlie was going to say. She had a pretty good idea that they were talking about this Bella and just like what Alice asked, she was dying to know what exactly happened.
Charlie sighed. "I've never felt so hopeless "he started slowly." The first few days... She was catatonic. She wouldn't drink, she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't even move... I was ready to hospitalize her... send her back to Florida... anything... I didn't know how to handle it. I... I wanted her to be better, I thought that staying with her mom would allow her to... I don't know... Heal."
Bella felt the ache in Charlie's voice and she was suddenly devastated at what Charlie had to endure. "When we started packing her things, that's when we got a reaction from her all right. She threw a fit and Bella was never one to do that. She didn't want to leave. She screamed, she broke things, she cried, she shouted, and she cried some more... We were scared, but we thought that maybe she needed that release... so, we just stayed with her until she calmed down.
After that period, we thought she was starting to get better..." Charlie paused. Bella could hear it in his voice that it was hard for him talking about her. Alice was silent, probably allowing Charlie time to continue.
"She started going back to school and back at Newton's again. She was eating and sleeping and doing her homework but everything she did... it was all done in autopilot. She was a living, walking empty shell.
She doesn't initiate conversations and will only answer questions when being asked. I couldn't force her to talk about it because I was afraid that she was going to go back to being catatonic again. I was walking on eggshells around her.
She was alive but she was barely living. I never saw her read anymore or listen to music or watch TV. It's like, she's trying to avoid things that would remind her of him... and every night... God... the screaming... you understand how hard it is for me to hear my daughter screaming and not being able to do anything about it?!"
I wanted to go to Charlie. To comfort him and tell him that I'm okay and I'm sorry even if I wasn't exactly the one who made him feel helpless but since this was still a version of me, I felt responsible.
"I'm sorry Charlie" Alice said in a glum voice.
"It's not your fault" there was a slight edge in his voice and Bella could only think that there was one person who he was definitely blaming for what happened to this Bella.
"She seems better now though" Alice said tentatively.
Bella could almost imagine Charlie nodding in agreement. "Ever since she started hanging out with Jacob Black, I finally saw some light back in her eyes. She's actually happy and for that I'm grateful. Jacob is younger but he's been taking care of his father and he's a responsible kid. I know that she only treats him as a friend but lately... maybe there's something more going on. Jacob is good for Bella... "
If Bella didn't know any better, it sounded like Charlie was all for her having a relationship with Jacob Black which Bella found to be a bad idea. She remembered Jacob's reaction yesterday. Was that why he was acting that way?
The Jacob from her own past, Bella thought, he was infatuated with her. He had always made it known but ever since he found out that she had a vampire as a boyfriend and some of his pack members started imprinting, Jacob backed off. He realized that if he didn't imprint on her when he started phasing then he would never imprint on her at all.
Jacob wanted to spare both of them the hurt if he does imprint because he knew that his imprint will be everything to him and no matter what he felt for Bella, it will never be enough. They've seen what it did to Leah and Sam. Bella and Jacob remained good friends, except for the tension that their supernatural nature brought and when Jacob did find his imprint not too long ago, Jacob had told her that it was all worth the wait and he did not regret his decision.
Bella decided that if she ever gets a chance to talk to the Jacob in this past, she wants to make things clear about where their relationship should stand. She knew she should be careful in not disrupting the flow of this timeline but how messed up would be this Bella's timeline if not only did she get left by her mate but also getting heartbroken by a wolf? Bella wasn't going to let that happen as long as she was in this body. No matter if it was Jasper in her timeline or Edward in this Bella's story, Bella had a mate and Jacob will imprint, she was certain of that. She might as well spare everyone the pain in the long run.
She did not want to pretend that she understood why this Bella allowed her relationship with Jacob to start evolving into more than friends, if that was really what was happening now. She couldn't as well judge her actions because she wasn't the one who experienced being left behind. Jasper never did, he'd made that clear in the beginning when he told her about his feelings. Even if Bella decided to not let the bond grow and not accept Jasper's love, he was going to be there for her whether he was actively going to be part of her life or looking out for her in the background while she lived her life.
"It's good that she has him then" Alice finally replied and Bella wasn't sure if Alice meant it or not, it was always hard to distinguish when it comes to Alice and the rest of the Cullens.
Charlie sighed then "I know... even with Jacob, there was still something there... I'm not really sure if I could grasp the pain that she's in. It's scary Alice. It's not like, a normal teenagers first heartbreak. Not like, someone left, it's like someone had died"
Was that really how it felt? If so, she was thankful that she didn't have to feel that and she feared what it would do to her if Jasper left or more, if he died. She shuddered at the mere thought. Would she end up like this Bella? A walking empty shell, forced to live her existence without a mate or would she be like Caleb who sought for his own death in her hands, for the relief of the heartbreak that he had to endure from losing his mate?
"Alice, I have to ask you something..." Charlie suddenly asked awkwardly. "He's not coming back to visit, is he?" There was anger in his tone that he was trying to suppress.
"No, he doesn't even know I'm here. The last time we talked, he was in South America" Alice reassured.
When Alice told her that Edward left them, she didn't realize she actually meant leaving the continent.
Charlie didn't speak any further and it looked like they weren't going to discuss anything about me anymore.
Bella stayed in the couch, pretending to sleep until Charlie left for the day. She needed time to think.
Bella couldn't help but wonder if Caleb didn't just send her to an alternate past. Could it be that he somehow inserted his own story into Bella's life, letting her experience his own story? If so, there were things that did not make sense though. Like, why Edward? If she was just to experience his heartache, why not Jasper when he was her mate in the first place? And if this was indeed a reflection of Caleb's story, with Edward making the same decision as Caleb and Bella as Helena who was left behind, does that mean that she was going to die in the process? Because that was what happened to Helena. She did not make it, she died because the heartache was too much for her. But then again, Helena didn't have Jacob. When Caleb was relaying his story, there was no friend who was there for her just like how Jacob was with Bella...
Bella groaned in frustration. There were more questions rather than answers. She sat up straight with a plan slowly forming her mind and a new resolve.
It was no longer just about getting back to her future now. Yes, it was still going to be her priority but before she leaves, she was going to give this Bella her happy ending and that means, finding Edward and making him realize his mistake and hopefully getting them back together. She was no longer worried about disrupting this timeline. As long as she was in this Bella Swan's body, she was going to protect it and make sure that she doesn't end up dead, like Helena.
Author's notes: I was writing this chapter and realized that it was too long and I wasn't really used to it so I had it split into two. The second part is almost done so hopefully I can post it real soon afterwards. Thank you all for your likes, feedback and bookmarks!