Into the Woods
By: Everleigh Allen
Chapter 19
Bella gasped and looked at Edward who was smirking at the gruff human in front of him
"What do you want to know?" Edward's voice says steadily, though Bella suspected he knew what Charlie is thinking based on the look on his face.
"You were there that day." Charlie said, staring Edward down, daring him to deny it.
"I was." Edward said simply. There was no need to lie. It would only make everything, including Bella, to hurt more.
"Why?" Charlie asked but was moving to sit in his chair, his body shaking. He wanted to feel grounded to something when everything was horribly, suddenly too real.
For so many years his mind twisted the day's events so they made more sense, more livable, but with the man in front of him, everything was much clearer. There weren't any of the foggy memories of a traumatic event with the man who seemed more like a phantom sitting in front of him.
Charlie put his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead to try to alleviate the tension headache that was forming, trying to get the memories to stop replaying.
Edward sat down on the couch, followed by Bella, looking at Charlie.
"Do you want the simple answer or the complex answer?" Edward was listening to everything playing out in Charlie's mind. How he could be the same man that pulled Renee from the water? How he could have held the teenage girl up off the ground with one hand around her throat?
Charlie lifted his head, looking straight at Edward, almost defiantly. "Just give it to me straight."
"I am a vampire." Edward said simply.
"The cold ones," Charlie murmured and Edward nodded.
"In theory, yes. We like to think we are not the like other, more animalistic vampires. We're more civilized and assimilate to society instead of taking human life. We have a treaty with the Quileute's to not harm humans since we hunt animals rather than those that choose to hunt humans."
"So… the man at the mill that was killed?"
Bella gasped. This was obviously something that happened before she had got there.
"Yes. He was killed by vampires. Not us, but nomadic ones that were passing through."
Charlie scoffed bitterly, his face turning red with anger.
"The missing local boy, Riley Biers?"
"We suspect that was the same group of nomadic vampires." Edward said softly, before adding, "I'm not going to say that we're all the same. There are those out there that don't value human life as our family does. They don't understand our behavior as they feel by eating animals we are going against our very nature. Most vampires know we are here and thus avoid the area. But these nomads didn't know until it was too late."
"So those crimes will never be solved."
"No, but at least you will know."
"As if that's any consolation?" Charlie suddenly roared lifting a bit out of his seat before settling back down.
"It's not, but it is what it is."
Edward wasn't about to tell Charlie that Riley was actually a vampire and now part of a coven that was currently residing in Alaska with their cousins. He thought it would be too much, for now.
He's not really dead… he's happy, actually with his mate, Tanya… which is good 'cause now that succubus is finally off my ass. No, Edward didn't think that would go over well.
"I guess so," Charlie said, answering Edward's comment. He suddenly looked up at his daughter and then at Edward. "And what is this?" He gestured between Bella and Edward .
Bella sat up straighter.
"This is what it looks like." She grabbed Edward's hand in hers and put it on her lap. Her eyebrow cocked and mouth pierced in challenge.
Charlie was unfazed. "And next you're going to tell me the reason you were at the river, I suppose, was because of Bella."
Charlie was too smart.
"Vampires have life partners which we refer to as mates-"
"Oh, not this crap again," Charlie groaned. Getting up and walking into his kitchen. Bella and Edward sat there and listened as the fridge opened and the pop of one of his beers was opened.
At least it wasn't a gun, though it would do little to harm Edward.
Maybe Charlie knew that.
"I already went through all of this with Jake!"
"It's different."
"It's not different. You both want my daughter! You both think that you have a claim on her."
"Well, that's not different." Bella laughed.
Edward shrugged since he couldn't dispute the truth. He also stayed quiet as to not further agitate Charlie. His blood pressure was already going up so he decided to go back to the main question that was not asked.
Charlie just didn't have the words or he was worried about the answers.
"I was at the river out that day because I had got word by my sister Alice-"
"She's psychic," Bella interjected helpfully. Charlie's face was turning from red to purple as he glared at Bella.
It was quite impressive.
"What? I am trying to ease the blows, here." Bella sulked. "And Jake has no claim. That's just gross. I would be arrested or something."
Edward ignored Bella, as did Charlie.
"My sister said that my mate was potentially in danger that day at the river and I went there to try to help, but my temper got away with me. I was terrified she was trying to harm the baby... I saw her under the water and for some reason she wasn't coming up for air. I did grab her which shocked her. I gave Renee a warning to behave and not to ever harm herself or the baby," He looked at Bella and swallowed unnecessarily. "Bella, or else she would have to deal with me."
Bella reached over and grabbed Edward's hand and squeezed it in support.
The movement was not lost on Charlie. But neither was the story.
"So you pulled my wife from under the water, unharmed, by her neck and then you threatened her-"
"Yes. I was not my finest moment and I was upset. I thought she was trying to kill herself and Bella… I couldn't fathom anything happening to my mate."
"But Renee was my wife and Bella was my baby! My wife left me that day with my baby and now you come in and say my baby, that I just got back- is yours?"
Well, when you put it that way…
"Yes. That's how I saw it at the time." Edward shifted in his seat and ran his hand through his hair. Both were unnecessary gestures but done purposely to humanize himself to Charlie. "I guess I can only ask for you to try to see it my way. I was born in 1901."
Charlie gasped.
"I lived as a human until I was seventeen years old. When I was seventeen the Spanish influenza ran rampant and my parents and I succumbed to the illness in 1918. After my father died, my mother knew she was close behind him but didn't want to leave me there alone. Her last wish to her doctor was that I would somehow survive. She made him promise her that he'd take care of me. She died soon after and I was left an orphan. I was also sick. She knew it, too. When I was close to death, Carlisle decided the only way to keep his promise was to change me into a vampire, like him. Ever since that day, for the last ninety years I have been alone."
Tears fell from Bella's eyes as she excused herself for a moment to get a tissue. When she returned, Edward continued.
"You see, it took a while to get used to my gift and the change and even though I had Carlisle, I didn't really. We were more like friends and when we had a disagreement, I went off on my own for a while, alone. Carlisle wasn't alone for long, he found his mate in Esme and she was changed in 1921, their love is beautiful, thoughtful, and sensual…"
Charlie cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow.
"Anyway, I watched Rosalie be changed 1933, and in 1935 Emmett, her mate, was changed, their love is intense" he laughed, "Enthusiastic…"
"Move along." Charlie huffed.
"Alice with her mate, Jasper, finally joined our family in 1950, and although they are seemingly quiet, they are more perceptional yet passionate… all of them are especially hard to be around being by myself- the only unmated vampire in the home. "
"That would suck." Bella huffed and Charlie agreed.
"All of them have been so in love, so in need of each other- almost desperately. That is how I feel about your daughter. She isn't just a random person to me, she's everything. So, in 1986 my endless, monotonous darkness ended with a flash of light." Edward laughed to himself, "it was actually Halley's Comet, but that was when I found out about the existence of Bella Swan."
Bella smiled.
Who knew Edward was so romantic?
Being compared to a large chunk of ice that's reflecting off of the sun and floating through space, brightening his endless night of darkness- is very sweet, right?
"So you're saying that you are a vampire and my daughter is your intended mate because another vampire told you so." Charlie said with a frown. "And that you've waited for her for over ninety years and her presence in the world ends the boredom of immortality for you. You're desperate for her and want to be entertained by my daughter and I'm supposed to be so impressed that I just hand her right over. "
Bella frowned.
Rationality didn't sound as romantic.
Edward frowned. "I don't plan on just sweeping in and taking over her life, Chief Swan. We do have school to complete, first."
Charlie ran his hand over his face. "I am going to pretend that you didn't just say that. Okay?"
"That's not what I meant. I meant changing any aspect of her life. That's up to her." Edward narrowed his eyes and sighed. This didn't go as well as he thought. He was hoping that Charlie would be more understanding of the situation at hand. In hindsight, it may have been a bad thing to come right off and say he's a vampire. Or that he was mated to his daughter, or that he was bored with his immortality and living with highly sexualized coven members.
Should have he just said that he was immortal and let him guess?
Perhaps he should have kept it simple and just asked to date his daughter… but that wouldn't work. That whole pulling Renee up by her throat was on replay in Charlie's head. Except now, where Renee's face was, Bella appeared.
Charlie's mind was screaming profanities at him, yet Edward had to sit there unaffected. He wasn't about to tell him he could read his mind and get the third degree mentally, as well.
Excellent.
"Yes, sir, I should be going," Edward finally supplied reluctantly. Charlie was getting agitated with him just being in the room so Edward stood up and made his way out, kissing Bella on her cheek, much to Charlie's dismay.
It was going to take a while and a miracle to win Charlie over.