The Painful Truth
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews!
Part Five
Charlie arrived at work later than usual. He had delayed going in so he could be at the Black's when the tutor arrived. He was worried about Bella. She seemed very subdued. In fact Jacob was too. He noticed that his daughter's eyes followed his friend's son as he wandered restlessly around the house waiting for the tutor to arrive. The tension was rife between them, and it saddened Charlie to see them like this. It was only when the other pack members arrived for the tutoring session that Jacob seemed to relax. But Bella hadn't. She sat away from the others like some kind of lost soul. When the tutor arrived Charlie was shocked at how young he was. He introduced himself as Riley. He had to be fresh out of teaching college. Charlie had exchanged a dubious glance with Billy before he left for work. Somehow he didn't think Riley was going to last long. As soon as he laid eyes on his pupils he looked scared. Jacob and the others appeared very intimidating despite their ages. To a casual observer they could all pass for twenty five, even young Seth. In retrospect Bella looked like a little lamb among a pack of wolves as they all settled down for their first lesson.
"Chief, you've got visitors." His deputy Mac told him as soon as he set foot in the station.
Charlie groaned. He had hoped to have his usual morning cup of black coffee before having to dive right in to work. "Who is it?" He barked at Mac testily.
"Doctor Cullen and his son." Mac replied tersely, irked by Charlie's tone.
Charlie froze. The bastards had ambushed him. A cold rage began to well in his gut as he ignored the rest of Mac's questions and marched off to his office. He slowed down when he saw them sitting near his secretary. Carlisle Cullen was on a charm offensive as he dazzled the stupid woman at the desk. Seeing this made Charlie even more irate. He noticed Edward Cullen, who to his eyes, looked as sneaky as ever; glance over in his direction with a frown on his pasty face. Of course, he could read minds. Charlie had nearly forgotten about Cullen's special talent. It angered him even more thinking back on all those times that Edward had picked through his brains like a vulture feeding on carrion.
"Chief Swan." Edward rose gracefully to meet him, his hand outstretched as if to shake Charlie's hand. As if that was ever going to happen! Charlie scowled as he glared at Edward and Carlisle, who had also now turned to face him. Edward's hand dropped slowly back to his side.
"We apologise for disturbing you at work, Chief Swan." Carlisle interjected smoothly as he took over the conversation.
"Then don't." Charlie snapped.
His secretary looked aghast at his rudeness and gave him a look of disapproval. "You have no appointments for the next thirty minutes." She reminded him. "I am sure you can fit them in." Her expression softened as she gazed at Carlisle in admiration. "He's always like this when he hasn't had his morning coffee." She confided in Carlisle.
"I'm the same." Carlisle gave her such a dazzling smile that the secretary nearly swooned.
"That's a joke." Charlie spat sarcastically. "Daphne haven't you got paperwork to be getting on with." He snapped at his secretary.
Daphne's mouth closed like a steel trap as she glared at Charlie and began to shuffle a mound of papers around her desk. "I don't get paid enough for this." She muttered under her breath.
Charlie ignored the irritating woman and stormed into his office. Carlisle and Edward followed behind him before he could stop them. As soon as they were inside Edward closed the door and Carlisle took a seat opposite Charlie, who was practically fuming by now. He couldn't believe their audacity. "Get out." He demanded.
"Please, Chief Swan." Carlisle held his hands out in a placatory manner. "We just need to talk. I think you may have the wrong impression of us."
"How's Bella?" Edward asked before Charlie could respond. "I have been so worried about her. She gets so anxious when we're apart for too long. Despite what you think or feel about me, Chief Swan, I know you have Bella's best interests at heart. You wouldn't want to see her suffer needlessly. I know she must be feeling very desperate right now. Let me see her, please."
Charlie's eyes narrowed as he stared at Edward with an intense dislike. "You can read my mind so you already know my answer." He growled.
Edward stared back at him with a slight frown marring his forehead. "I love your daughter, Chief Swan. My only goal in life is to keep her safe from harm."
"Oh, Edward." Carlisle sighed heavily as he watched Charlie's face turn red with fury. That was the wrong thing to say. In Charlie's mind Edward was the reason why his daughter had come to serious harm on several occasions.
The whole station heard Charlie's roar as he ordered Carlisle and Edward to leave. They had no choice but to comply with so many eyes and ears around. They would have to try another way to get in contact with Bella; this route was now closed to them.
"This is bullshit." Paul yelled as he waved his assignment in Riley's face. "I worked hard on this and you're telling me it's not good enough. Well fuck you." He tore the assignment up and threw the ripped pieces over Riley's head.
The others all rolled their eyes at Lahote's antics. They were surprised it had taken this long for Paul to blow up.
"Sit down you tool." Jacob grabbed the back of Paul's shirt and yanked him back into his seat. Lahote glared at him and folded his arms defiantly across his broad chest as he shot daggers in a terrified Riley's direction.
Billy, who was in the kitchen reading while the lesson was taking place, sighed irritably. "Behave Paul." He called out.
"Well get someone who can actually teach then instead of this dumbass." Paul retorted.
"Go for a run or something." Jacob shoved Paul out of his seat. "And don't talk to my dad like that."
"Anything to get out of having to do this crap." Paul sneered as he began to leave. "Have fun, suckers." He threw over his shoulder as he strode off, having achieved what he had wanted to do all morning and escape. He didn't give a shit if Sam kicked his ass. That was his first and last tutoring session. As far as he was concerned he'd already had all the education he needed.
"I didn't mean to off…offend him." Riley stammered as he picked up the torn pieces of paper.
"Doesn't take much with Paul." Jacob assured him as he tried to calm Riley's nerves. "Don't stress, the rest of us actually want to be here." He looked meaningfully at his brothers.
Jared just shrugged, while Quil and Embry looked bored out of their minds. Seth was perched next to Bella; she had been coaching the young wolf all morning as he tried to work on his maths. Jacob's eyes lingered on her. She had ignored Paul's outburst, having gotten used to them over the intervening months she had spent with the pack, and had continued to talk to Seth in quiet tones as she tried to boost his confidence. He wished he could see her face, but it was hidden behind her long shiny, brown hair as her head was bent over her books. Seth had stars in his eyes as he gazed at Bella with a captivated expression. Jacob tried not to laugh at the young wolf's reaction to having so much attention from a pretty, older girl.
"This is my first teaching job." Riley confided to Jacob, who wasn't even listening. He was still staring at Bella. Embry smirked as he punched Jacob hard in the shoulder to get him to focus.
"Fuck, Em." Jacob complained as he rubbed his shoulder with the palm of his hand. "What's your deal?"
"Our so called teacher just admitted that this is first teaching job and he copped us lot." Embry snickered as he exchanged a high five with Quil.
Riley's fair skin turned red as he sunk lower in his seat. Jacob gave him a sympathetic smile. He was surprised that Riley hadn't already left and run for the hills. If he was in his shoes he knew he would have. Jacob couldn't understand what Charlie was thinking hiring such a young dude. "Ignore them." He said to Riley again. "You'll get used to us."
Riley returned Jacob's smile weakly as he stared at the huge young men he was coaching. He didn't think he would ever get used to this. But he really needed the money. His college loans had to be repaid and Charlie was paying him a decent wage to tutor these kids who looked more like grown men. He wondered where the pretty young girl figured into this lot. She obviously didn't come from the res, and he was surprised that she didn't seem to be intimidated by the hulking males she was surrounded by. If he wasn't supposed to be her teacher he would have asked her out on a date. His pale blue eyes darted back to Jacob, who thus far, had been the friendliest out of the eclectic bunch. But now his expression had turned hard. Riley guessed it had something to do with the pretty girl he had just been staring at. He slid lower in his seat and focused on marking. He really didn't feel like getting his ass kicked by Jacob Black. He would make sure to keep his eyes averted in any future interactions with Ms. Swan.
Bella was glad when the tutoring session was over and she could escape outside to get some fresh air. It was obvious the pack felt the same. Embry and Quil shoved each other as they fought to be the first one out of the house. They became wedged in the doorway and Jacob was forced to use his brute strength to shove them the rest of the way through. Bella tried to not laugh at Riley's stunned expression. His face was a mixture of both terror and awe as he stared at Jacob and the others. She wished she had Edward's gift in that moment just so she could see what he was thinking.
"Thanks for all your help today." Bella decided to thank Riley as none of the others had bothered.
Riley found himself smiling at her kindness as he finished packing up his books. It was soon wiped off his face again as he saw Jacob glaring at him from the doorway. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze as he hurriedly finished packing up his things and bid Bella goodbye. She frowned, wondering why he was acting so oddly. She glanced over at Jacob, who was still standing near the door. As soon as he caught her looking in his direction he seemed to jolt to life and rush out of the house.
Bella felt a wave of melancholy wash over her. He was still keeping his distance from her. She had so hoped that things were beginning to thaw between them, but it appeared she had got that wrong again. He must be finding it intolerable having her constantly in his way. But it was his own fault. If he hadn't blabbed to Charlie then she wouldn't be under his feet. She wandered out of the house and sat down on the porch steps. A light breeze was blowing and it lifted her hair away from her hot neck and cooled her skin. Riley had already driven off. In the distance she could see Jacob and his brothers roughhousing as they engaged in mock fights. It had been hard for them to be cooped up for so many hours, so now they were letting off steam.
"You did a good job today with young Seth." Billy's voice startled Bella. She hadn't heard him come out. He had wheeled his chair to the edge of the porch and was gazing at his son and the others just like she was.
"Thank you. I enjoyed teaching Seth. He's so eager and willing to learn." Bella had to concede that it had been fun tutoring Seth. It had taken her mind off of her problems and the situation with Jacob and Edward. She had worried that she would have spent the day pining for Edward, but that had not been the case with Seth there to focus on. It was a surprise to her that Edward had not crossed her mind once, not even when the tutoring session was over. Instead she had been forlorn over her fractured friendship with Jake. Realising this made her feel guilty and she emitted a soft sigh.
"It will get easier, Bella." Billy continued quietly.
"What will?" Bella said in confusion.
Billy didn't answer. Instead he just smiled at her meaningfully before heading back inside the house.
A/N-thanks for reading!
