May- 6 Months Pregnant

"Now this- this is a bad idea," Edward insisted, once again arguing that it was a bad idea to meet Charlie. I couldn't really say I blamed him, I wouldn't want to meet the person that arrested me for assault either. On the other hand, when I met Carlisle I confessed to being sexually abused and pregnant, so I'd say it was a fair trade. "The first time I met your father he was arresting me."

"And the first time I met your father, he told me I was pregnant- I cried in front of him when I met him, E," I pointed out, slightly scrunching my nose at the memory. I gently patted him on the shoulder, "Fair is fair, Edward. You'll be fine."

Edward opened and closed his mouth before he decided against continuing this little argument.

"Smart man," I chuckled, taking his hand and leading him through the door.

"I was beginning to think he wasn't coming in," Charlie sarcastically remarked from where he was pretending to clean his gun at the table. He hadn't even turned his head to acknowledge Edward. Before Edward got here, I begged him to put the gun away but Charlie wouldn't hear it. It didn't take a genius to see that this was Charlie's not-so-subtle warning to Edward. "He seemed really comfortable the last time I saw him in my house."

I could see Edward's face go pale as he probably recalled when Charlie caught us kissing on the couch the other day. Ignoring the warmth on my face, I walked over to my father and whispered in his ear, "I told you to be nice, Dad."

Charlie finally stood up and wiped his hands. "I am being nice."

I rolled my eyes and walked back over to Edward to introduce him to my ill-mannered father. "Dad, this is Edward, my boyfriend. He wanted to meet you- officially."

Edward politely stuck out his hand to Charlie, "It's nice to see you again, Chief."

Charlie shook Edward hand with his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked Edward up and down. "Staying out of trouble, Edwin?"

Without correcting him, Edward nodded nervously. "Y-yes, sir. No trouble."

I sighed at the exchange, poor Edward looked so nervous I was worried that he might pass out and I knew my father was doing it on purpose. "You know it's Edward, Dad."

Charlie turned to me smiling. "I know, I'm just teasing."

Edward stood there smiling awkwardly, waiting for someone to say something. I cleared my throat to break the tension and nudged my head in the direction of the kitchen, "Come on, let's eat."

Edward and Charlie sat down across from each other while I set the plates and served them some of the lasagna I made for tonight. By the time we started eating, you could cut through the tension with a knife.

"So, Edward," Charlie put his fork down and crossed his arms. I imagined that this would be very intimidating for anyone who didn't actually know my father. "What are your intentions with my Bella?"

"Dad," I hissed. Forget me sending Edward running, Charlie was going to take care of that for me. Charlie shook off my warning and looked pointedly at Edward.

"Well, um...Chief...I really like Bella. And I like spending time with her. She means a lot to me."

"And you're aware Bella's pregnant?"

My eyes widened and I almost choked on the piece of lasagna I had in my mouth. "Dad," I warned sharply, shaking my head and covering my face in embarrassment.

Charlie shrugged. "It's a fair question."

"I do know that, sir. And I want to be here for Bella no matter what she decides to do after the baby's born."

Charlie took a second to silently mull over Edward's words, while finishing off his lasagna. I knew without Charlie's approval he could potentially make Edward's life a living hell. After what felt like forever, Charlie nodded, "Alright, Edward. You can call me Charlie."

"Thank you, Charlie," Edward nodded politely.

"Now, do you watch sports?"

I sighed in relief as they both made their way over to the flat screen to presumably watch sports. Once I was done cleaning up the dishes, I made my way over to sit next to Edward. We kept a respectable amount of distance between us just to make sure that Edward left my dad with a good impression. And why wouldn't he? Except for the one fight Edward had been in, which I considered more honorable and brave than criminal, Edward was an incredibly good person. Even through all of my shit, he stood by my side and even fought for me. I couldn't think of another seventeen year old boy that would do any of that. I just had to make sure Charlie saw that too.

Charlie stopped flipping through the different games and sport channels and settled on baseball. I internally cringed, hoping that they didn't show him. I started shifting uncomfortably as they played baseball reels for the start of spring training. I hadn't seen his face in months and didn't plan on seeing it any time soon. "Can we change it?" I asked so quietly that I wasn't even sure he had heard me.

"Look, there's Renee's fancy new husband," Charlie pointed out when he came on the screen. I didn't even see his face but his jersey number taunted me, knowing that it was him on the TV made my blood cold and I just had to leave the room.

From beside me, Edward practically spat out his water. I guess I hadn't included that information. "That's Bella's stepfather?"

Edward's voice sounded distant as my heart pounded in my ears. My hands shook and my breathing was uneven as I stood myself up. Without a word to Charlie or Edward, I went to the kitchen and pretended to rifle through the cupboards.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked from behind me.

"Fine," I muttered. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breathe as Edward hugged me from behind.

For 1 second.

For 2 seconds.

Until I didn't feel like crying anymore.

BPOV

Since we were still on spring break and there was nothing else for me to do, Edward invited me to come play baseball with his family. Then he laughed when I reminded him I was now officially 6 months pregnant and baseball was not high up on my list of preferable activities. Those activities included napping, watching movies, and reading. And if I wanted to make the activity more enjoyable, I'd add Edward's company. But even with Edward, baseball was definitely not one of those activities. A big part of me felt bad that we couldn't really do anything fun anymore, so I hastily agreed.

Esme and I were seated on the benches, safely behind the tall chainlink fence. I enjoyed Esme's company as much as I enjoyed watching Edward bicker with his siblings about alleged cheating, which un-ironically I enjoyed quite a bit.

"Did Edward tell you that I'd been married before?" Esme's voice broke through the silence.

I took my eyes off of Edward and shook my head. "No."

"Yes, his name was Charles." I nodded hesitantly, unsure of why she was telling me this. "We married young, only months after I turned 18 in fact. He was charming, charismatic. I didn't know him very well, but I thought I loved him. And I thought he loved me too." I stayed silent, starting to understand why she was telling me this. "We hadn't been married more than a year when things took a turn for the worst. It started with him controlling every thing I did, the clothes I wore, down to the work I took. Then, he wanted me in contact with him at all hours. I kept ignoring that gut feeling that I needed to get away. And one day, my phone died in the middle of the day. I was terrified of going home that night. But I walked in, and he was there. Waiting. It was the first time he ever put his hands on me."

"Esme, you don't have to tell me this," I implored.

She sighed and looked at her family all still playing on the field. Even despite the awful things she just said she looked...happy. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to be happy or if I was just destined to be a cautionary tale. These last few weeks, I allowed myself to believe that it could happen. That I would eventually just...be happy. "I didn't have the courage to leave for another year. It was only after I met Carlisle, only after I saw the future I could have that I asked him to help me call the police and get help. And while I healed from all of the trauma of my past, he supported me until I was ready."

"Why are you telling me this? Not that I'm not happy that you got out of a bad situation, but it's not really the same..." I frowned, hoping I didn't come off like a jerk.

She sighed and thought for a moment. "I'm telling you this because-," her mouth pursed as she tried to find the right words to impart. "I think sometimes it can be hard to look at the big picture. For a long time, I believed that I would always be a victim. Nothing more than that. I know it sounds cliche, but I do believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how dark it got or how far away- it's there."

I remained quiet, while Esme continued, "I know I'm not your mother, but if you ever need anything," she lightly squeezed my hand. "You are always welcome. Okay?"

I chewed on my lip while nodding, trying to appear well like a not emotional wreck. "Thank you."

Esme merely smiled. It was always the way I dreamt my mother would smile as she told me everything would be okay. It warmed my heart. Made me feel welcome, wanted. The way Renee never made me feel.

BPOV

We were on our second week of spring break when Charlie invited Billy and Jacob over for dinner. I wasn't sure if they knew that I was pregnant, and honestly I was too nervous to ask. I imagined Billy would be a person that Charlie would tell about this, if only because he needed someone to talk to about his pregnant teenage daughter. It wasn't like I could hide it anyway, so I tried to pretend like it didn't matter anyway. Because like everyone else, they'd find out eventually.

I dressed simply today- maternity jeans and a t-shirt. I could really only hope that they weren't as judgmental as some of the other people in this town were. I didn't really think I could take much more judgement or criticism especially from someone so close to Charlie. It was strange to think that just a few months ago I had literally partied with Jake and his friends, it had been the last day I remained in blissful denial of my pregnancy. That night already felt like a lifetime ago.

I took one last deep breath as I heard their truck pulling up the driveway. Charlie greeted them outside to help with the food and Billy's chair. I remained in the kitchen nervously chipping away at the nail polish on my thumb nail as I heard their voice approaching. I was always very cognizant of how I pulled myself together- almost like a checklist of things to make sure that I appeared unfazed and proud. Chin up, shoulders back, arms confidently at my side, but not directly pressing against my torso. And the last things was a smile, not too big, but not too small. The trick was smiling with your eyes. When I finally made it through my checklist I stepped forward to greet them.

I could see the confusion on Jake's face even though he tried to hide it, but Billy didn't miss a beat. "It's good to see you, Bella. You're looking well," he smiled.

"Thanks, Billy."

I nodded at Jacob in greeting as Billy and Charlie started talking about their next fishing trip. I didn't like the awkwardness so I nudged my head toward the door. Jake nodded in understanding.

"Aren't you going to tell them we're leaving?" Jake asked.

"Oh, right," I nodded. Sometimes I forgot that there was someone who cared about when I came and went. "Hey, Dad, Jake and I are gonna go on a walk," I called from the front door.

"Alright, be careful," he responded.

As we walked on the side of the road, my eyes remained focused on the woods. So green. The sky was gray and everything was wet from the rain last night. The only sound that could we heard was the sound of the wet gravel underneath our shoes.

When I looked at Jake I saw a mirror opposite of myself. His past and damage weren't the same- they couldn't have been any more different. But still, like myself, Jake had gone through hell, albeit a different a type of hell. Both of us with our traumatic childhoods, him losing his mom and his father's illness and myself with my endless amount of problems, yet we couldn't have been more different. It was like we had been placed at the beginning of a fork in the road, each of us given a choice on what kind of person we wanted to be. And like a fork in the road, Jake had chosen to see the light, saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and all of those other bullshit affirmations. And I- well, I had gone down the polar opposite path. Numbness and pain, that was what I chose. I often wondered what I would be like if I'd done what Jake had done. What kind of person I would be if I'd gone down the other path.

If I had tried to be happy.

Fought harder.

If I hadn't given up on myself.

"So are we going to talk about the elephant in the room or...?" Jake asked. I pulled my eyes away from the woods and looked at Jake who was waiting for my answer.

"Are you calling me an elephant?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No! No, that's not what I meant," Jake rushed out.

I started laughing, "Relax I'm just messing with you." Then I shrugged, "If you have a question, ask."

"Not so much a question, it's just..." he trailed off.

"Weird?" I supplied.

"A little," he laughed.

"Yeah, for me too," I confessed.

"It's not Paul's, is it?"

I vaguely remembered Paul from the night of the bonfire, I looked over at Jake's cheeky face and decided not even to dignify the stupid joke with a sarcastic remark. Instead I rolled my eyes and bumped his shoulder, "Shut up."

"How, uh, how far along are you?"

"6 months," I nodded awkwardly.

"So you were, er...pregnant at the bonfire?"

"Yeah."

His eyes widened, looking surprised at that information. "And you got on the back of my bike? That's so stupid, Bella!"

"To be fair, I didn't know until after that," I pointed out, feeling slightly guilty about that night. Even thought I didn't know, I had an inkling- I suspected and I still took unnecessary risks. I tried to focus on the fact that my baby was okay, that despite the stupid things I'd done my baby was healthy so guilt for that night was useless. Still it was easier said than done.

"Charlie must be thrilled," he said wryly after a few moments.

"Oh, absolutely," I added sarcastically. "He's never been more ecstatic about his daughter being a teen mom."

"At least you have a sense of humor about it," he laughed again.

The truth was that it depended on the day, some days I hated myself and my situation. Sometimes looking down when I looked down at my swollen belly all I could think about was how my baby had been conceived- I hadn't had one of those days in a while, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't still there. Some days I felt bitter, some days I was all rage. And sometimes I had a sense of humor.

Jake wasn't like that- he was simply a perpetually happy person, and he carried this happiness with him like an aura, sharing it with whoever was near him. Like an earthbound sun, whenever someone was within his gravitational pull, Jacob warmed them. It was natural, a part of who he was. I found myself wishing that I could be more like that.

"Most of the time," I sighed, only half paying attention to what Jake was saying.

"And your boyfriend? Edward, right? How's he doing?"

"He's...supportive," I replied vaguely. I didn't want people assuming anything about the father of my baby. Despite Edward's assurances and promises, I knew it wasn't right to perpetuate the rumor that Edward was the father. Nor was I ready to have anyone knowing how this child had been conceived. It was cowardly, it was selfish to say nothing, but I wasn't ready to talk about it nor have that story spread around the town.

"Weird way of saying that, but alright," he chuckled.

I nudged my head back to the house, not wanting to say anything more on the subject. "We should probably head back."

He nodded and we started making our way back to the house. By the time we made it back, Charlie and Billy were waiting for us to eat.

"Wash up, you two! We're gonna starve waiting for you two," Charlie called when we walked through the door.

It didn't take all of us very long to dig into the fish-fry that Billy brought. The conversation was pretty standard until Billy asked, "How far along are you now, Bella?"

"Six months," I replied neutrally and my eyes on my plate like the fish-fry had attained some new interesting quality.

"I'm not gonna judge you, Bella," Billy assured, after picking up on my uncertainty. "It's not my place to do anything except support you. And we do, both Jake and I."

My mouth pulled into a tight smile, "Thanks, Billy."

He nodded once and then turned to Charlie. "I still can't believe it, my Goddaughter about to have her own kid," Billy added. "Time really flies, doesn't it Charlie?"

"Sure does."

I smiled at Billy and Charlie's support. At a time when support was sparse and almost impossible to find, it meant the world to me. Especially when I didn't have the person I perhaps needed most: my mother. Right now, with all of my surrogate family members I was almost sure that I could do this alone- now, if that feeling would last I wasn't sure, but right now it was everything I ever needed.

Hello, friends!

Hope you guys enjoyed. Please, please, please review and let me know what your thoughts are!