Angela ends up buying us donuts for breakfast and drives us to the playground near the local hiking trail. The whole place is deserted and I'm eternally grateful for the privacy. We're sitting on the swings while I tell her about my mother's theory of Grandma Swan's genes passed down to me.

I'm picking off the sprinkles and throwing them to the ground when she says, "Damn, Bella. Maybe you're a Jedi."

"I don't know what that is," I respond, giving her a side glance.

She nearly chokes on her boston cream. "What do you mean, you don't know what a Jedi is?!"

"What, is it a show or something?"

Facepalming quite dramatically, she groans. "Bella! Star Wars! Seriously?"

Giggling to myself, I remind her, "Charlie never really let me watch TV. Even on the days he was feeling generous, it was mostly baseball and Nickelodeon."

"Okay, well, we need to fix that ASAP." Angela gives me a questioning look. "You don't like sprinkles?"

"These ones taste like plastic," I explain as I inspect my donut further for any more of them. When I don't find any, I take a bite.

"So, are you thinking about going with your mom?"

I push myself haphazardly and let myself swing slowly. "I don't know. I miss her. A lot. But it'd just be the same way it is here, only I'll be missing Charlie instead. And you."

"Aw, Bella. You're smitten."

I throw a wood chip at her and she laughs. "Shut up!" When she sobers up, I ask, "What do you think I should do?"

Angela seems to take a minute to really think about it. "I think you should do what your heart tells you."

I roll my eyes. "That is such a cop out and you know it."

"I'm being serious! Look," she pauses to finish off her donut. "I think your mom kind of had a point when she said that your life here is based on a lie. You're letting people believe you're epileptic."

"Well, do you have any other suggestions?"

"B, I'm not judging," she corrects me. "At all. I'm just saying that I know it takes its toll on you. Charlie's always monitoring you, telling you what you can and can't do. So do all of our teachers at school. I mean, when have you ever been able to do anything for the simple fact that it makes you happy?"

"I get to hang out with you," I say. "You make me happy."

She blinks and then says, "Okay, but for real? Did you hit your head or something yesterday? The Bella that I know would never be caught dead saying anything so sappy."

"Whatever, fine. I hate you. Is that better?" I laugh when she gives me a thumbs up. "Maybe, you're right, Ang. I don't really know what I like to do. I guess I like reading, but that's because I was never allowed to spend much time outside."

"What about sports? Is there something you'd like to try?"

Pursing my lips, I give her a warning glare.

Angela recoils slightly. "What?"

"If I tell you I almost enjoyed running this morning, are you going to get a big head?"

An ear-splitting grin spreads across her face and I look up at the sky in exasperation. "I knew it! You bitched the whole time, but you just didn't want to admit that I was right!"

"I did not bitch! I mean, maybe a little, but only because you made me get up at the crack of ass in the morning."

She's still laughing to herself when I take note of the darkening clouds. The sky is perpetually gray in Forks, but it's beginning to look especially stormy out. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm done, promise."

"Yeah, yeah." I brush her off. "I'll believe it when I see it."

After a moment of quiet, she asks, "So, do you remember what you did to Tyler's car yesterday? When it was coming at me?"

"How can I forget?"

Angela lifts a brow."Do you think you can do it again?"

Matching her expression, I reply, "Are you crazy? No."

"No, you can't, or no, you won't try?"

"Both!" Clenching my teeth, I run a hand through my tangled hair. "Why would you even ask?"

Angela, immune to my outburst continues, "I thought you'd like to practice. So you have more control over it."

"I don't want to have to use it ever again," I say as thunder rumbles behind us. "I don't even know what it is."

I can tell she doesn't like my answer, but she doesn't push me. Instead, she starts swaying back and forth on her own swing. When the thunder sounds again, I say, "Maybe we should go someplace else."

"You afraid of a little rain?" she teases.

"You know, I gotta say. After five years of this crap, I'm pretty unfazed by it."

"Good," she calls, gaining more height now. "Because we still have a birthday to celebrate. Now swing, bitch!"

Unable to help myself, I push with my feet and hurry to match her pace. The wind is cool as it blows past my face, but I don't mind. Angela is whooping, playfully next to me and I laugh as I do the same.

"It's like we're flying!" I shout.

"I'm flying, Jack!" Now, this is a reference I understand. If we were on the ground I'd probably throw another wood chip at her but instead I just smile and keep swinging.

It starts to rain soon after, but Angela insists we stay. I don't mind, until I see the lightning and I remember that this entire swingset is surrounded by metal. I drag my feet on the ground, to slow down and the rain begins to pick up. When I'm able to stand, the rain is coming down full force. I have to use my hand to cover my eyes as I look up at Angela who's still swinging.

"Come down!" I call out to her. "Before you get struck by lightning."

"I'm gonna jump," she says through a fit of giggles.

"Don't be stupid," I say. "You'll hurt yourself."

"I think you can catch me."

Stomping my foot like a child, I snap. "Ang, you're not funny!"

She says something else, but it's hard to hear her through the rain. Before I can ask her to repeat what she'd said, she's flinging herself off the seat and headed for the ground.

Without thinking, my hand shoots out and I feel a familiar tugging sensation in my abdomen. I feel the wind pick up behind me and it whooshes past me toward Angela as she free falls. I'm expecting her to fall when she hits the ground, but instead she lands on her feet, the impact sending wood chips flying around her.

"Holy shit, Bella!" There is a clean, perfect circle of dirt under her feet where the wood chips used to be. I know it was from me, but how? What even happened? "You did it!"

"That was not cute, Angela."

She's still laughing as she steps closer to me. "No, that was awesome! I barely even felt that. How did you do that?"

With a shrug, I say, "I just knew I had to break your fall somehow."

She grabs my pinky and leads me toward her car. "Well, whatever you did, it worked."

Angela ends up spending most of the weekend with me. She spent the night with me Friday and even drove with Charlie and me to take Renee back to the airport. I don't give her an answer to her offer, but she tells me it's an open invitation and I'm welcome to come home whenever I'm ready.

Sunday afternoon, Angela goes home with a sore throat. Probably from getting caught in the rain. I'm dreading being alone with Charlie, but I'm not about to guilt her into staying when she's not feeling well.

I'm cowering in my room, rereading my copy of Wuthering Heights when I hear Charlie passing by my room and down the hall.

Biting down my anxiety, I call out to him. "Dad?"

He stops moving and I can hear him weighing options in his head just outside my door. Eventually, he pops his head in and I can see his turmoil written all over his face. "Yes?"

After worrying down on a section of my lip, I say, "I wanted to apologize for what happened Friday. You didn't deserve the things I said to you. I'm sorry."

Charlie steps inside the room and sits in the old rocking chair next to my dresser. "I'm sorry too, honey. When the school called about the accident, I damn near lost my mind with worry. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you."

He's thinking about the night he crashed the Chevy and I grip the comforter in a desperate attempt to push the images out of my mind. "I know, Dad."

"No, no, Bella, let me finish."

I nod and let him find his words.

"I've been so focused on not letting anything happen to you that I...never let anything happen. Am I making sense?"

A small laugh escapes me. "I know what you mean."

"I want you to live your life, Bella. I want you to be happy. So, if you think you can do this then I'll support you."

"Really?"

Scratching the back of his head, he stands and starts digging around the small trash bin next to my night stand. He pulls out the Driver's Guide and tosses it gently into my lap.

"You threw it out?" I asked with amusement clear in my tone.

"I was angry at first," he explains. "But I've changed my mind."

I flip through the pages. They're wrinkled slightly from being in the trash, but it's otherwise in good shape. "Thank you."

Charlie's about to leave the room when he turns around at the last minute. "Do you want Chinese tonight?"

An hour later, we're sitting at the table with cartons of food everywhere and I'm reading through the driver's guide, with Charlie chiming in where he seems fit. Seeing him so involved in my studying makes me feel so thankful for his change of heart. I can't help but wonder what Renee said to him while Angela and I were gone. And how long I'll last before he finds the truth.