The Painful Truth
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!
Part Two
Bella felt like the breath had been stolen from her body. She stared after Jacob's retreating figure in shock. She couldn't believe what he had just said to her. He was done. She knew he meant it, she knew him well enough to know that much. Bella felt the hole that had been sealed up with Edward's return burst open. She put a hand over her chest as she gasped for breath. She didn't know what to do, or where to go. Bella stood in the Black's front yard for several minutes just staring around and trying to hold herself together. She felt so lost and alone. Her dad was inside the house with Billy. Bella didn't feel up to another confrontation with her father. She couldn't make use of her sanctuary; the Taj was off limits with Jacob inside, fuming. She had no means of transport to get off the res. Her only recourse was to walk. Blindly Bella stumbled forward as she acted on instinct and began to head down the dirt track toward the main road into La Push.
Her cell rang before she had taken ten steps. She had forgotten all about her cell. Charlie hadn't thought to take it off her when he bundled her into the cruiser. Bella dropped her bag and began to rifle through it. It was Edward, it had to be. He would be frantic. Bella finally found her phone and with shaking fingers answered the call. "Edward."
"Oh, Bella." Edward sounded relieved at the sound of her voice. "I've been so worried. I managed to get out of class so I could track you down, only to find that you had gone. I smelt Charlie. But what was Jacob Black doing with him."
Bella dropped to her knees on the muddy ground as she held the phone tightly to her ear. Just hearing Edward's beloved voice was comforting. It soothed her frazzled nerves and gave her an opportunity to think. "Edward, my dad knows. Jake told him everything."
"I don't believe it." Edward was stunned. He was silent for a second as he tried to work through his thoughts. "Alice didn't see this coming. The infernal dog must have known that because of what he is it would block her visions. This is all down to his petty jealousy."
Despite how angry that she was with Jacob, she didn't like Edward referring to him as a dog. "Please don't call him names." She whispered.
"I'm sorry, my love. I just lost control for a second. I'm just so worried about you. I can hear how upset you are and it pains me that I can't be with you to comfort you. I know you are not at home. I am right outside your house. Where are you?" Edward questioned.
Bella paused for a moment as she wondered whether she should tell Edward that her father had taken her to La Push. Would it cause more trouble? She was hoping that Charlie would calm down enough to talk rationally with her, and she could persuade him that Edward and his family were not a threat like he perceived them to be.
"Bella, where are you?" Edward asked again.
"Um…I'm in La Push." Bella finally caved in and told him her location.
"I'm coming to get you." Edward said at once. "Is there a way you can get to the treaty line? It is immensely frustrating that I am forced to abide by such a thing, but I don't want to inflame the situation."
"I can try and walk there." Bella said uncertainly.
"No, I don't want you to do that. It's not safe. I can't believe the do…Jacob Black would place you in danger like this." Edward fumed. "I am surprised he is letting you speak to me."
"Jake is…he's…." Bella gulped as a fresh wave of misery washed over her at Jacob's abandonment.
"It's alright, love." Edward crooned. "We will sort this out. Perhaps the best course of action would be for you to persuade Charlie to meet with me. If he sees us together and listens to what we have to say, then he will be more understanding. At the moment he has heard only Jacob Black's biased view. Your father is a noble man. I am certain he will come around once he sees what we mean to each other."
Bella highly doubted that. Charlie had never made a secret of the fact that he loathed Edward, even more so when he came crashing back into her life for a second time. But she couldn't think of another way to get off the reservation without literally running off and getting Edward to pick her up at the treaty line. As he had already said, her actions could inflame an already tense situation. "I'll talk to him." Bella tried to sound confident, even though she felt like sobbing her heart out. Without Edward as her crutch she felt weak and fragile.
"Okay. Call me again as soon as you can. I miss you, Bella." Edward sounded so sad and melancholy that it hurt Bella's heart.
"I miss you too."
"I love you."
"Goodbye, Edward." Bella ended the call. Her hands were still shaking and she was having a hard time controlling her turbulent emotions. She needed to be strong when she faced Charlie. She had to show him that she was in control and could make her own decisions. He was treating her like a child that didn't know its own mind. Technically he couldn't keep her in La Push, she was legally an adult. With this resolve in mind Bella struggled back onto her feet, and with wobbly steps she headed toward the Black house.
When she let herself inside she heard Charlie and Billy arguing. Her father was letting off a stream of curses as he raged at his friend for keeping the Cullen's true nature a secret. She had to give Billy credit though. He knew how to handle Charlie. He let him rant until he ran out of steam, then in a calm tone he began to defend himself. Bella didn't want to interrupt the two men, but she was getting increasingly desperate. She stepped into the front room and cleared her throat to gain their attention. Charlie and Billy felt silent at once as they both turned around to look at her. Bella felt her skin heating up under their stern gazes and it took all of her limited willpower not to run.
"We're talking, Bella." Charlie said harshly. "Wait outside with Jake."
"Jake has gone off." Bella clasped her hands in front of her to stop them shaking. She was still feeling very raw about Jacob turning his back on her after all the chaos he had caused. "We had a disagreement."
"He's probably gone for a walk to clear his head." Billy replied tiredly.
"I think he's in the Ta…the garage." Bella stumbled over her words nervously. She knew she had to do better than this. She approached Charlie cautiously. He frowned as he watched her draw nearer. "Dad, can we talk, please." She said as politely as she could.
Charlie thrust his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels as he scrutinised his daughter carefully. He was still reeling from all that he had found out. The girl in front of him wore his daughter's face, but the girl he thought he knew would never, ever consider ending her life to join the undead. It was unthinkable. He peered into her brown eyes, which were a mirror of his own. He expected her pupils to be enlarged or something as if she was on drugs. The vamps must have some type of supernatural hold on her or something to make her act like this. He remembered how she had been when Cullen had abandoned her that day in the woods, and then afterwards when she had become like a zombie. It was as if she had been going through some kind of withdrawal then, and it was only when she had begun to spend time in La Push with Jacob, that she slowly came back to life.
"What has he been doing to you?" Charlie suddenly demanded. His loud voice startled Bella and she jumped like a frightened rabbit.
"He hasn't been doing anything to me." Bella faltered. "Edward loves me."
"The abusers always claim to love their victims." Charlie drawled sarcastically.
Bella was shocked at this inference. "Edward is not an abuser."
Charlie's jaw flexed as he strode toward his daughter until he was right in her face. He was having a hard time containing his anger. Billy watched his friend warily. "Cool it, Chief." He warned him.
"Don't interfere, Billy." Charlie ground out as he kept his fierce glare trained on his daughter. Bella was staring up at him with wide eyes. She had never seen him like this before. "Listen to me, Bella, and don't interrupt. That thing that you proclaim to love has all the classic signs of a controlling, abusive personality. He has got you right where he wants you. He never lets you out of his sight. Yes I know about his night time visits now." Charlie roared before Bella could deny anything. "He has been creeping in my house night after night without my permission and watches you sleep. It's sick, Bella. Jake told me that you didn't know about it at first, that Cullen would slip into your room and just stare at you like some kind of freak. Who does that?"
"He wanted to…to…"
"I said be quiet." Charlie snapped. He began to pace back and forth. "He has put you in danger over and over again. All the lies, all the injuries you've had over the last few months, he has been the cause of them all."
"It's not as black and white as that." Bella interrupted him. She glanced pleadingly at Billy. He gazed back at her with a stony face. "Tell him that there were extenuating circumstances. You know this. Edward was protecting me. They all were. Things just happened."
"No, I won't help you defend them." Billy replied coldly. "They are what they are. I did my best to warn you but you refused to listen. Listen to your father now, girl."
"I am legally an adult. You can't keep me here against my will." Bella cried out desperately. She knew there was no point in trying to reason with her father now. His mind was set. He couldn't see past the injuries she had gained and the months of unhappiness she had endured when Edward and his family had left. There would be no persuading him like Edward wanted.
"You may be deemed an adult in years, Bella, but you are not acting like one. You are crazy if you think I'm just gonna let you walk away from here and go end your life so you can become one of them blood sucking demons. The Bella I know wouldn't even consider such a thing. No, those Cullen's have gotten inside your head somehow and warped your thinking. You went cold turkey once before and recovered. You can do it again. I will get my daughter back." Charlie vowed.
"You make me sound like a drug addict." Bella said in disbelief.
"That is exactly what you are." Charlie stated firmly.
A rush of blood to her head made Bella feel dizzy. She wobbled on her legs as she suddenly felt faint. This couldn't be happening. Anger, like she hadn't experienced in a long time consumed her, as her desperation and despair forced her to lash out. "You know nothing about me." She yelled.
"I know the girl standing in front of me right now is not the girl I sired." Charlie retorted. "But I am damn sure going to get her back."
"I'm not your daughter. Where were you all my life? You never raised me. You don't know me at all. One or two visits once a year when you could be bothered to tear yourself away from your damn job doesn't make you a parent." Bella screamed at him.
Charlie stepped back as if she had slapped him. His face turned red as he stared her down. "I did my best to see you as often as I was allowed. You came here for vacations."
"Yeah, and what did we do then. You brought me here and left me with the Black's. It was Sarah and Jake who made my stays here worth remembering. All you did was go off with your friends and fish or sit on the porch and drink a beer. You never took me anywhere just you and me." Bella raged at him as she unleashed all her past hurt.
"That's not how it was." Charlie ran a hand through his hair. Her words hit him like an arrow straight to the heart. "You begged to come to La Push and see Jake when you came to stay. I let you spend time here because it made you happy. I was trying to please you."
"But I wanted my dad too." Bella sobbed. "I came back to live with you when mom married Phil. I thought we could get to know each other again. I thought that's what you wanted too. But nothing changed. You made no effort to spend quality time with me. You're always working, going fishing or off hunting. One meal in the diner once a week does not make up for it. Is it any wonder Edward and his family became my whole damn world? I was lonely. Don't you get it? Do you understand now?"
"You never said…." Charlie choked out.
"I didn't want to cause trouble. I felt guilty enough forcing you to put up with me. I know what a strain it was on your bachelor lifestyle to suddenly have me under your roof full time again." Bella couldn't stop her tears from falling now. She certainly had her father's attention now. She saw Billy sitting quietly in his chair, his expression grave.
"I wanted you to come and live with me. I was happy that you came home. You know that." Charlie said sadly.
"You don't know me, dad." Bella wiped her hands over her face to get rid of the useless tears. "You don't know what I think or feel. You don't know how desperate I got when Edward left me. Only Jake really knows that. You're right on one thing; Jacob did help me get better. He did what you didn't. He spent time with me. He let me talk. He stuck by me. He went against his own pack to keep me in his life, even though Sam warned him to keep his distance. I know that I hurt Jake by running off to Italy. But what was I supposed to do. Let Edward end his existence. I couldn't do that. I still cared about him, even though he hurt me terribly by leaving. If it was Jake I would have done the same. I don't think he knows that. He won't let me speak and explain myself. It's funny that's what all of you have in common. None of you listen to what I want. You tell me to listen, but why don't you try doing the same."
"What do you want, Bella?" Jacob's voice startled everyone in the room. No one had heard him come in.
Bella turned to face him. Her eyes were sore from crying and her hair was a tangled mess around her head. She wiped her face with her hands and tried to regain some of her lost dignity. She hadn't expected him to return, but was glad that he had. "I want to tell you I'm sorry. It tore me up inside leaving you like that. I hated myself for it. You have to believe that."
Before Jacob could respond Charlie touched his daughter's shoulder. Bella spun around only to be engulfed in a tight hug. Bella didn't know what to think. This wasn't like her father. Charlie was so reserved, he rarely initiated affection. She floundered for a moment, unsure of what to do. It was only when her eyes caught Billy's and saw him motion for her to hug Charlie back that she realised what she needed to do. Cautiously she wrapped her thin arms around her father's broad back.
"I love you, kiddo." Charlie said as he pressed his cheek to the top of her head. "Whatever else you doubt. Please, don't doubt that."
Bella closed her eyes and began to cry.
A/N-thanks for reading!
