Charlie's POV
Driving Bella down this unfamiliar road, I brace myself for the unknown.
She is quiet and so am I. I'm lost in my thoughts, and I suppose she is too. After all, tonight is a big milestone for her.
Her first date.
At the mere thought of my baby girl going on a date with a boy — though that's exactly what's going to happen — my stomach tenses up. I feel very nervous but I'm trying not to show it.
Yesterday the boy, Edward, had dinner with us and I was able to get to know him a bit. He seems like a good kid, very respectful. I can only hope he's the same way when it's just him and Bella.
Taking a deep breath as we get closer to our destination, I try to pay no mind to the things that cause me fear. My daughter is dating a hormonal teenage boy and going to be alone with him. There's so much that could go wrong there.
Turning a corner, I glance at Bella before looking at the road again. She's looking out the window, watching the scenery pass us by. She hasn't said anything in the last ten minutes. Which I find a bit different since she was sort of chatty before we left the house.
"Deep in thought, Bells?" I ask, wanting to break this silence.
"Yeah." She simply answers.
I wait for her to add more but she doesn't.
Not knowing what else to say that might get more than a one-word response, I continue on driving. I choose not to say anything else since she doesn't seem to want to talk.
A building with colorful dinosaur statues holding tiny golf clubs, comes into my view. I turn into the parking lot and my stomach feels like it's in knots. While my chest becomes tight, and I feel sick.
There once was a time I thought I knew what love was, when I met a girl who I fell in love with. I thought that was true love and would last forever. Then I became a father and everything I once knew changed. The love I feel for my baby girl is ten times stronger than anything I have experienced before. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my little girl.
While I circle the lot, trying to find a spot, Bella begins bouncing around in her seat. Spotting an empty spot between a black Jeep and a silver Kiea, I get ready to pull into it. All while I Bella from the corner of my eye. Her head is swiveling around while she moves about in her seat. She oddly resembles a nervous pigeon.
I smoothly park in the empty space. Quickly, I roll down the windows and cut the engine.
"Edward's not here yet." Bella blurts out, twirling a stand of hair around her finger. "I don't see his mom's blue van anywhere."
"First date jitters?" I ask in a gentle tone.
For the first time in a while Bella looks at me. She seems confused as her eyes go from my face to the steering wheel and back again. She seems startled that we are sitting in a parked car instead of driving like we were. Did she really not notice that I parked the car, and we weren't moving?
I don't know. I don't ask her.
Not hiding her nervousness, Bella bits her bottom lip and nods her head. Her silent yes tells me what she doesn't. She's very nervous and it's the only response she seems to be able to manage right now.
"Feeling nervous is understandable," I begin to reassure her. "No first date is ever perfect —"
"But I just remembered!" She interrupts my pep talk. "I don't know the first thing about playing golf."
Her words are overly dramatic, as teenage girls often are. However, now I have a better understanding of her dilemma.
She's not nervous about the actual date or spending time alone with the boy. No. It turns out her being apprehensive is from having to play a sport.
I chuckle. She glares at me.
"Dad, this is my love life we are talking about. It's not a laughing matter!" Her words are fast, loud, and dramatic.
"Love life?" I repeat her words in a trance-like tone.
Those words make me feel sick. My baby girl is fifteen, that's way too young for a love life. At least it is in my book.
"Dad, I'm so sorry," Bella quickly apologizes. "I know I'm being very dramatic; I'm panicking and don't mean to be. I don't mean to be snappy with you."
"It's okay." I say, accepting her apology.
Bella doesn't say anything more. Though I do see tears welled up in her eyes as she bits her bottom lip.
Without a word I shift in my seat, reaching my arms out to her. She doesn't protest as I pull her in, wrapping my arms around her. Instantly she returns my hug, resting her head against my chest.
"Honey, no first date is ever perfect so don't expect it to be. Just have fun." I rub her back. "And if it goes really bad," I joke. "Maybe you should wait to date until after you are thirty."
"Thirty? Dad, really?" Bella wonders in a horrific tone, pulling back from our hug.
"Yes." I say with a smile.
She rolls her eyes. "That's such an old age. You know that right?"
I shake my head no. "Actually, thirty seems like a very reasonable dating age. I really think you should wait until then." I tease.
"Haha!" She laughs sarcastically. "I'm sure that's every father's dream."
"Hey, a dad can dream." I grin.
"Sure," She smiles and rolls her eyes. "I'll wait till I'm over the hill to date. Yeah. Okay."
"Good choice." I suppress a laugh. "I'm glad that's settled. Then we can go home?"
My words are in the form of a question and sound close to being serious. But she knows I'm only joking, playing a silly game to help calm her nerves away. When she was younger, we used to do this sort of thing often. Where I would offer a solution to the thing that brought her fear. By saying the opposite of what she needed to do.
Just a fun little game to take her nerves away. In fact, this was how I was able to keep her from crying on her first day of fourth grade, back when she came to live with me.
Back then she was a little girl that was slipping away from childhood way too soon, gowning up way too fast. She was stumbling into the role of an adult who – unbeknownst to me for the longest time – was caring for her mother the way Renee should have cared for her. There was nothing funny about the way my little girl spent her days with her mother. She wasn't safe and I didn't know. I was in the dark about how they were living. About who was raising whom.
Bella has overcome so much since those years she spent with her mother. When she moved in with me it took her a while to relax, enjoy life, and be a child. I remember the first time she really seemed like a child instead of a miniature adult who tried to manage my paycheck, even though I told her it was my job and not hers.
It was the summer before she turned ten when it seemed to finally register to her that I was the parent, and she was the child. I would protect her and make sure her needs were met; she didn't have to worry about anything more than being a kid.
She and I took a road trip to Las Vegas. We were taking our time driving through the states and sightseeing. Until we took a wrong turn and ended up at a cow farm instead of our destination. The unexpected stop, due to me misreading the map, had Bella laughing like a kid on a carnival ride. It also brought many jokes to the rest of our trip. That was the first time I saw her cut loose and actually be a kid.
Looking at her now, those memories seem like a lifetime ago. But in my mind, it feels like yesterday when she was a little.
"Not a chance." Bella says.
My mouth curves into a mock frown. The slight change in the set of my mouth makes her giggle.
"It's been a while since we played like that." I smile.
"Yeah, you haven't used reverse psychology on me in a very long time." She says with a wobbling smile.
With a small smile, I shake my head. Of course, she knew I was using reverse psychology on her, I should have guessed that. After all, she's a smart one.
"You're really growing up, kiddo." I say and she nods. "You'll have fun tonight. I know you will."
"Mini golf is fun, right?" Bella asks, sounding very unsure.
"Yes." I nod my head.
"But what if I hurt myself?" She nervously bits her bottom lip.
"It's a safe game young children can play. You'll do fine." I give her another hug.
"Do you realize you said those exact words about T-Ball?" She reminds me. "I was four, swung the bat for the first time and ended up with a sprained wrist. While the ball nearly knocked you out, ricocheted off of your head, bounced off a tree trunk, and I broke our kitchen window! It was not safe for me."
"I did say that then." I admit with a sigh. "But you're older now. You have better hand-eye coordination. Nothing bad will happen."
Bella's eyes grow wide. She doesn't say a word and doesn't need to. I know her well enough to understand that my words didn't convince her. I decided to drop the subject just as a blue van with tinted windows parks in the space in front of us. The windows are much too dark to see who's in the car, which makes me wonder why anyone would need such dark windows in the first place.
The silhouette of the person in the driver's seat waves to me. The window rolls down and Mrs. Cullen pokes her head with a dashing smile. I wave back, still wondering why the Cullen's need such dark windows for their cars.
Immediately the boy gets out of the passenger's seat. Before he shuts the door his eyes dart to Bella, she giggles, and he smiles.
"He's here!" She squeals in excitement.
Both of them wave at each other as she reaches for the door handle. At the same time, he turns back around and says something to his mother.
"I see." I say, and quickly add. "You have the cell phone I gave you?"
"Yes." She taps the pocket of her skirt.
"If you need me for any reason," I begin in a gentle yet serious tone. "Don't hesitate to call me. Okay? That's what your cell phone is for."
"Got it, Dad." She says in one breath, anxious to get out.
"And remember, his hands should not touch your legs above the knees." I warn.
"Oh no." Bella stares at me in disbelief. Horror is clear in her eyes while her hand is clutching the door handle. "Please don't do this now. Don't have this kind of talk with me. Please. Not now."
"That's all I'm going to say," I speak honestly. "Just remember that."
"Fine." Bella shudders a bit.
With a quick hug and an 'I'll see you later' she hops out of the car. Before the boy is done talking to his mother Bella is at his side.
Putting my car in reverse, I glance at them. She greets the boy with a hug as he kisses her forehead. Their relationship seems to be an innocent romance, if there's such a thing.
Then again, I know how teenage boys think, I used to be one. Which is why the mere thought of them being alone scares the hell out of me. I can only hope this is a nonsexual date.
Inching my way out of the parking spot and straightening out my vehicle, I see the two of them walking hand in hand up the steps to the entrance. Hoping she'll have a good time I put my car in drive and exit the parking lot.
Leaving my little girl behind, though I'll be back to see her in a couple hours. My stomach knots up in a strange way and my chest becomes tight. I'm overtaken by the feeling that a new chapter is approaching in Bella's life. One that I may not be in.
That doesn't make sense. Neither does the feeling that wraps around me now, that she's going to disappear from my life.
Strange.
Very strange.
My tires touch the pavement as my feelings cling to me, filling me with fear. Quickly, I take a deep breath and try to shake the horrible thoughts out of my head. She's not going to disappear or run off with the boy. It's only a first date. Nothing bad will happen. I'm just being silly.
"Everything is fine." I tell myself while I drive through town.
My words are a contradiction from how I feel. Of what the feeling in my gut is telling me. But I'm trying to convince myself that all is good. After all, it is.
I probably just need a vacation. Yeah. That's it. I have too much on my mind from my line of work and subconsciously, I must be thinking about cases I worked on in the past. Cases where young girls went out and were never seen again.
But that won't happen to Bella. She's safe.
Even so, I quickly decide to pull into a coffee shop, two blocks south from the building where she and the boy are playing putt putt. I'll just wait around until Bella calls me to pick her up.
I would rather be close by if she needs me. My gut feeling says she'll need me. I can't ignore that.
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