I have no excuse, but rest assured, I'm still around. Enjoy.


Chapter 2: Mother, I'm Coming Home


It felt impossible for Bella to leave Phils arms to board the plane. The two of them had become closer than ever in the days since her mothers passing and Bella let her tears fall openly, not even pretending to feel guilty when they started soaking her step-dads shirt, not that he seemed to mind.

"I love you, Bella-Bug." He cleared his throat and swallowed the growing lump.

"I love you too" She stuttered slightly as she pulled away from him.

Phil gripped her shoulders gently and lowered himself slightly so he was eye level, "I promise to check in as often as I can, and if you ever need anything, I'm a phone call away."

Bella felt the tears burn behind her eyes, the waterworks threatening to start up again. She threw her arms around him one more time before rushing after the other passengers to the boarding dock. Phil watched her go, a soft smile adorning his face. He was sad that she would be living so far away from him, after all, he'd practically raised her from a toddler. Forks was the best place for her, but he was going to miss his daughter dearly.

Bella settled in to her window seat after wrestling fruitlessly against the overhead bins. Fortunately her seatmate was the size of mount everest and took over for her, saving her from the ongoing scrutiny of the other passengers she'd held up for a good 10 minutes. Can't even put my own luggage up. She though, her nose scrunched in disdain.

With legs securely huddled against her small frame and earbuds jammed in her ears, Bella leaned her head against the window and watched the workers hustle around the outside of the plane. At the height they were at, they all looked small. She imagined them as ants in orange vests, all scrabbling around to get the plane ready for take off. The mental image made her snort and gave a brief reprieve from her intense fear of heights. Something about going out in a flaming ball of metal hurtling violently toward the ground didn't sound appealing, but Phil insisted that flying was a far better option than driving.

Bella thoroughly disagreed.


It felt like suffocating, she was desperately trying to keep her breaths calm and even, but the weight of panic on her chest and the lump in her throat made it difficult, if not impossible. Her eyes were squeezed shut, hands pressed against her ears to muffle the sounds thundering all around her, rebounding off the walls like an echo chamber. Snarling, tearing, hissing, howling; two creatures were battling it out somewhere in the darkness, their bodies creating deafening cracks as they clashed over and over. Her breaths became more difficult to control, quickly devolving in to panicked gulps of air.

"Isabella." A soft voice drifted around, barely noticeable underneath the commotion.

"Isabella." Louder the second time. Loud enough to get her attention.

A woman's voice, airy, gentle, welcoming. The fighting gradually faded in to the background as Bella focused hard on this new addition to the nightmare. A soothing, almost ghostly touch brushed lightly against the backs of her hands, still firmly pressed to the sides of her head. The touch was warm, comforting, and Bella felther body finally beginning to relax, all previous whisps of her nightmare vanishing.

"Hush now, you'll be alright."

Then, nothing.


Bella was jolted from her slumber by the sharp jab of a particularly bony elbow. Bella fixed her seat mate with a seething glare, only to be met with very genuine alarm. Ah. An accident. The tension dropped from her shoulders almost immediately and she waved a hand at him as if to say "no worries". Besides, it wasn't his fault that he was a lanky, long-armed giant, though now that she thought about it maybe she was just short.

"Sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to elbow you."

Bella flashed him a look of disgust, "Ugh, don't say ma'am, that makes me feel old. My name is Bella, and no worries, shit happens."

He studied her for a moment, one eyebrow raised quizzically. He liked this one. "Well, sorry Miss Bella."

She rolled her eyes at his emphasis on her name; adding miss was just as bad. The boy opened his mouth as if to say more, but the pilots voice ringing out over the intercom cut him off. The pilot briefly thanked everyone and offered brief instructions on the exiting safety and procedure. Once given the all clear, passengers began to messily dig around in the overhead bins and slowly shuffle their way off the plane. The tall guy was kind enough to hand down her own luggage and use his large build to help part the crowd enough for them both to get through, endlessly making idle conversation the whole way.

"You got someone pickin' you up? I'd hate to leave a lady waiting alone." He followed her lead toward the airport exits, one of his bags and two of hers thrown over a shoulder, and another suitcase rolling behind him.

"I'm sorry, do I look like a damsel to you?" Bella feigned offense, the slightest twitch of her lips giving her away.

"Bella, something tells me you're the scariest person I've ever met." He deadpanned, nearly breaking her resolve not to laugh at his stupidity.

They carried another half hour of conversation before Charlie's cruiser appeared around the corner. If it could even be called conversation, that is. The kid (who she learned is named Em) talked for ninety percent of it and Bella occasionally offered a polite nod or half-hearted "uh-huh" in a weak attempt to seem engaged. That's not to say she didn't listen, but she wasn't exactly a conversationalist. Words were not always her friends.

It was days like this where Bella was glad her dad was as awkward as her. He made an effort at small talk for five minutes before they both settled in to a comfortable silence with the classic rock station as their background music. It was a huge relief. She'd spent the first half of the flight going over what to say to Charlie when she first saw him, such as, would it be weird if she called him Charlie? Probably. She hadn't seen him much over the years, beyond the rare summer visit when she was a kid. It wasn't entirely his fault. Charlie lived several states away, frequent visits during the school year were hard to organize, and for holidays he would usually just drive down to them.

Her parents held a healthy respect for each other. They may not have worked out as a couple, but they were still best friends; best friends with a baby that was dependent on their cooperation. So, Charlie didn't complain, he was content with their arrangement because he knew it was best for their daughter.


An hour later they pulled in to the drive of an older, white, Victorian style home. The very same two-bedroom, two-story house that she came to know and love from her childhood. It was considered the family home, passed down to Charlie from his parents and so on. Seeing it gave her a calming sense of familiarity and stability, despite her lack of presence over the years.

"Yer blocking the entrance Bells." Charlie grunted as he shuffled past her to the staircase, two bags in one hand, one in the other. Bella took one more glance around and hurried after him, excited to see her old room.

It was nearly untouched by time, giving her a strong sense of nostalgia. Seriously, her sheets were still pink and covered in flowers. She was definitely going to have to change that. The rest, however, wasn't all too bad. The walls were still a bright blue, and the window curtains were the same cream colored silk she remembered. There was glass top desk and computer in the corner, and on the opposite wall sat a dark, oak dresser with a full sized mirror attached, both were clearly new additions.

"I kept most of it the same, I thought it might be good for you, you know. . ." He trailed off and cleared his throat, unsure of how to finish that thought.

Bella smiled, the amount of effort he put in was endearing, he was always so keen to please her and she vaguely wondered if that's what she looked like to others sometimes.

"Thanks, Dad." She uncharacteristically threw her arms around his torso. He froze, caught off guard, but recovered swiftly and returned the hug.

"Always, Bells, and you know…" Charlie trailed off, "I know we don't. . .connect, as well as you and your mother, but if you ever need to talk….I'm here, okay?"

"Love you too, Dad, and I'll keep that in mind." She was lying through her teeth. It would take far more willpower than she could muster up to revisit the events of that night again. To anyone.

"Then, uh, I'll leave you to it kiddo." He started to leave but popped his head back in at the last minute, "I almost forgot! Billy Black and his son are coming over tonight for pizza, Billy says that Jacob has been practically bouncing off the walls waiting for you to come to Forks again. You remember Jake, right?"

Without waiting for a response, he was gone again. Bella sat on the bed and flopped on to her back, crossing her arms over her eyes and trying not to think about anything at all. She remembered Jake alright, they used to make mud pies together when they were kids, long before her parents' separation. He always followed her around like a lost puppy, even after the time they fought and she tried to make him eat afore-mentioned mud pies. Despite their turbulant friendship, she loved him dearly, like the brother she never had.

It took Bella less than a couple of hours to get all of her clothes hung or folded in to drawers, knick-knacks placed strategically, and her sheets changed to a set of standard deep blue. Tilting one ear toward the bedroom door, the sound of rauceous laughter and voices drifted up the stairs.

Billy was standing near the doorway in a wheelchair with four pizza boxes and a case of beer for him and Charlie. Bella made her way down the stairs and barely had time to react before she was picked up by a rapid beast of a man and spun around.

"BELLA!" Jake cried, wrapping her up in a bone-crushing hug.

"Jake!" She gasped in a mixture of excitement and terror. Bella hated being picked up.

The oaf set her back upright and her jaw dropped when she finally stepped back to take him in. The small, scrawny, fun-loving kid from the Res had transformed in to in to a dark-skinned Adonis. Seriously, if she thought Phil was a big guy, there was no way she was prepared for the drastic difference in her best friend. Jake towered over all of them at a whopping six-foot-five, and he looked as though he could bench press several of her.

"My God, Jake, what happened? Have you been injecting steroids? Where did your long flowing locks go?!" Her face morphed in to a look of over-dramatic, mock horror.

"It was a hell of a growth spurt, Bells." Billy laughed, rolling his wheelchair to the living room to set everything out.

"I've been trying to talk him in to sports, but he won't go for it." Charlie grumbled.

"Oh come on, I have way too much of an advantage, sports are only fun if you're actually being challenged." Jake huffed, before whirling back to Bella, "I almost forgot! We have a gift for you. She's not finished yet, but I'll be over while you're at school for the next few days to make the last repairs."

Bella narrowed her eyes suspiciously at how he phrased that. She was never one for surprises, and when he stepped behind her and covered her eyes with his massive hands she bit her lip nervously, barely allowing him to lead her toward the doorway.

"Should I really trust you to lead me blind out the door? Because I'm a klutz, you're a klutz, and I know there's a set of steps outside."

"Don't worry Bella," Billy's voice came from her left, "Imagine the faith I have to put in Charlie with my wheel chair."

"Be glad I don't roll you in to the street, you old badger." Charlie grumbled, pushing him outside with the teenagers on their tail.

"Alright, step, step," Jake slowly led her down, keeping a solid hold on one arm, "Ready?"

"Is that rhetorical?"

He snorted and removed his hand, turning her toward a large, old, step-side Chevy pick-up parked next to Charlie's cruiser. Bella's jaw dropped in awe. It wasn't much of a looker, the paint was old and chipped in quite a few places, it was bulky and definitely looked like it had seen better days, but it was beautiful and Bella could totally see herself in it.

"No way." She gawked, walking over to run her fingers along the drivers' side door.

"Of course, I just bought it off Billy here, and Jake has been working on all the repairs and upgrades." Charlie smiled, thrilled that she seemed to like it.

"Yup, gave him a great deal too!" Billy snorted, "Can't very well use it in my condition anyway, at least it's going to a good home."

Jake walked over and patted the hood, "She's not the prettiest, don't get me wrong, but when I'm done she's going to purr like a well-oiled machine. Literally."

"Thank you Dad, you didn't have to do that, but I love it." Bella could barely contain her excitement.

"Anything for you, Bells, I figured it would be a lot easier on you if you had your own ride, I also didn't think you'd want your old police chief dad dropping you off in the cruiser. I wouldn't want to cramp your style." Charlie laughed at his obviously bad joke, making Bella cringe.

" I'm going to ignore you're phrasing on that. Wait, but how will I get to school until it's done? If you're goal is to not embarrass me in my first week."

"That's where I come in," Jake smacked a heavy hand down on her shoulder, nearly toppling her, "Since I'll be here during the day working on it, I'll drop you off and pick you up until it's done. I promise my ride is a thousand times cooler than your dads."

"Alright you three, the day isn't getting any younger, and we've got four different types of pizza and a lot of catching up to do. Move it, you sack of bones!" Billy waved Charlie toward the door.

"You might watch that tongue, I still haven't decided against rolling you in to traffic!" Charlie bit back light-heartedly, grabbing the wheelchair handles and dragging him backward up the porch steps.

Bella stood outside for a minute longer, fondly watching her father and Billy go back and forth like teenage boys before grabbing Jakes' outstretched hand and following them inside. Not having her mother around was proving to be one of the hardest things she's ever experienced, but she thought if her days continued like this, with the other side of her family surrounding her, she might be okay.


I don't remember how much I changed in each chapter, I'm kind of just rolling with the punches now