The Painful Truth

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you very much for the kind reviews!

Part Eighteen

Bella was grateful that Billy was holding her hand. She tried to calm her nerves; she was seconds away from seeing Edward again after weeks spent apart. Guilt set in as she thought about how she had essentially cheated on him with Jacob while in Florida. Why did he have to come to the airport? Why couldn't he have given her time to gather her thoughts as she summoned the courage to face him? She hadn't wanted their first meeting to be like this, in a crowded airport lounge, with loads of watchful eyes upon them. It was made worse because he had brought his whole family with him. It wasn't just Edward she had to face, but Alice as well. Bella barely heard the harsh exchange of words between Jacob, Charlie and the Cullen's. She was too caught up in her own head. It was only when Jacob emitted a low growl that she forced herself to focus. His pent up fury was getting the better of him. He couldn't wolf out here, not in front of a sea of on lookers. Instinctively she reached out and touched his back lightly. His body was coiled with tension. Her touch made him relax slightly. She was still on his side of the line.

"You need to leave." Jacob seethed. He tried to keep his voice low so as not to attract too much attention. Already the crowds were looking their way with curiosity.

"Please, we are not here to cause trouble." Carlisle held his hands up in a placatory gesture. Edward snorted with derision and his mentor glared at him, indicating he needed him to behave. "We are here to talk."

"You do nothing but cause trouble." Charlie interjected angrily. "If that was truly your intent just to talk then you wouldn't have picked a crowded airport to do it."

"We had no choice." Carlisle replied. "We have been trying to arrange a face to face meeting for some time. We all face a common foe. We need to work together. When I heard that you had taken Bella out of state I have to say I was surprised and rather alarmed."

"She was perfectly safe." Jacob scowled.

"Safe?" Edward couldn't contain himself anymore. "You are unbelievable, Black. If you truly cared about Bella's welfare you wouldn't have risked her life like this."

Charlie put a hand on Jacob's arm before the younger man could respond. He could see that he was slowly losing it. "This is not the time or place to have this conversation. If anything you have placed my daughter in danger by rocking up here uninvited."

"You gave us no choice." Edward snapped. "Countless times I have tried to make contact…."

"Yeah, by sending my daughter a cell phone behind my back." Charlie said fiercely. "Don't think I didn't know about that you sneaky little shit."

"Please, we need to remain civil." Carlisle pleaded.

"This is getting ridiculous." Alice spoke for the first time. "We are all here for one reason only. We love Bella and want to keep her safe. How can you question that, Chief Swan? Bella is like a sister to me."

"Really?" Charlie sneered. "Some sister you are, dragging her into the lion's den to save his pasty ass." He motioned toward Edward as he shot him a look of disgust.

"That wasn't how it happened." Alice said defensively. She felt Jasper put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He was doing his best to diffuse the tense situation and keep everyone calm, but somehow his powers were having no effect on Jacob and the others. They seemed immune and he couldn't work out why. He glanced at Edward. He could see a frustrated light in Edward's eyes. Jasper began to wonder if he was having as much difficulty reading their minds.

"We don't give a shit about your hurt feelings." Jacob said impatiently. He was getting tired of the back and forth. "Get out of our way so we can return home."

"I'm afraid we cannot do that." Carlisle's voice was full of regret. "Bella's life is in jeopardy and I can't in good conscience abandon her into your care. She needs proper, organised protection."

"Are you for fucking real?" Jacob ground out in disbelief. Charlie had to hush him as his voice was getting loud. He noticed the same curious onlookers hovering nearby as they listened in.

"There is no way I am going to allow Bella to go with you." Charlie stated coldly. "You are deluded if you think otherwise."

"We don't need your permission." Edward replied haughtily. "Bella is an adult. She will come of her own accord."

Bella had been listening to the argument silently. Hearing Edward's smooth velvety tones raised in anger and contempt were a shock to her system. She hadn't ever heard that lilt in his voice before. He really did regard the wolves as inferior to his own kind. There was nothing gracious about the way he spoke to her father and Jacob. Bella found it odd in the extreme that Carlisle, the supposed leader of the Cullen clan, was acting subordinate to Edward's wishes. But then again it hadn't been the first time. Wasn't it on Edward's say so that they had abandoned her before? Even Alice, who purported to think of her like a sister, had left her without a word. Edward's last statement touched a raw nerve inside her. He sounded so pompous when he stated that she would come of her own accord, as if he knew that she would run to him with one flick of his finger.

Before Billy could stop her leaving his side, Bella circled around Jacob and Charlie until she was in full view of the Cullen's. She felt Jacob reach out to try and yank her behind him again, but she glared at him so fiercely that his hand dropped back to his side. Bella could already see his mind turning over. He was already making judgements, as was Charlie. Well she couldn't think about them now. Her focus was solely on Edward. She saw his face light up at the sight of her. His haughty expression disappeared to be replaced with one of triumph. She noticed the quick glance he shot Jacob's way. Alice's hands were pressed together in delight. She was practically vibrating with joy. Like Jacob and Charlie she was making presumptions which weren't hers to make. Esme smiled at Bella as she clung onto Carlisle's arm. She was nervous being surrounded by so many humans. As for Carlisle, he appeared relieved upon seeing her draw closer. Jasper was gazing at her curiously. Bella couldn't work out what he was thinking. Emmet stood protectively by his mate. He grinned as he winked at Bella playfully. Rosalie shook her head in disgust. It was blatantly obvious that she had been forced to accompany her family.

"My love, it is so good to see you." Edward sped over to her, ignoring Jacob's moan of pain, as he cupped Bella's face in his cold hands and tilted her face toward him. "I have missed you so much."

Bella refrained from speaking. Her brown eyes roamed his face, memorising every line and curve of his Adonis like features. Her eyes finally met his after she had her fill of drinking him in. There was a soft light in his golden eyes. She felt him caress her cheek with the back of his hand, emitting a soft sigh as he did so. "When we get you home you'll be able to wash his scent away. Then you'll smell like my sweet Bella again." He crooned.

"Your Bella." Bella echoed him faintly. She could feel his sweet breath washing over her. It dulled her senses for a moment, until she forced herself to blink and she became aware of their audience again. Behind her she could hear Charlie ranting; Jacob was bitterly telling him it was too late. It hurt her like a knife to the heart to hear those words spilling from his lips, but she had to ignore them for now. "I wish you could read my mind." She whispered solely to Edward. "Then I wouldn't have to explain how I'm feeling right now."

"One day it will happen, my love. I'm certain." Edward said gently as he continued to caress her face with his cold fingers.

"He can't read anyone's mind at the moment, at least not on the other side of the line." Jasper suddenly said, making all eyes turn his way. He ignored the looks and gazed at Bella with a meaningful expression. Alice was frowning, as was Edward.

Rosalie suddenly burst into laughter. She threw her head back, her blonde shiny hair swinging around her shoulders as she clapped her hands in delight. Edward scowled as he dropped his hands from Bella's face. "We need to go."

"Goodbye then." Bella stepped back from him.

"Bella, what are you doing?" Edward failed to understand. He reached for her hand but she just retreated further from him.

"Like I said it would be so much easier if you could read my mind." Bella sighed softly as she glanced behind at her family. Jacob stared back at her, his guilty expression showed that he finally understood her intentions. He mouthed 'sorry' at her, but Bella just ignored his apology and returned her attention to Edward. "There is no time for me to say what I need to say right now. My dad was right; this is not the right place or time. You really shouldn't have come here."

"Bella, please." Edward captured her hands in his and gazed at her pleadingly.

"I want to go home, Edward." Bella continued wearily. "Let me do that."

"But your home is with me." Edward said in confusion.

"You and I both know that's not been true for a long time." Without saying anymore Bella left Edward and the Cullen's and returned to her family. She felt Charlie put his hand on her shoulder in understanding. He looked extremely proud of her. She gave Billy a half smile when he took her hands and squeezed them. Finally her eyes met Jacob's.

"Bells, I…."

"Not now." Bella shook her head. "I'll kick your ass for not having faith in me when we get home." She warned him.

"Right." Jacob gave her a weak smile but Bella didn't return it. He sighed as he watched her join Charlie as the older man began to lead the way past the Cullen's. He grabbed hold of the handles of Billy's wheelchair and began to push his dad after them. "How long will it take do you think before she forgives me?" He asked Billy.

"It will take as long as it takes." Billy shrugged. "She passed a big test today, Jake. Now you have to give her the time she needs to finish what she started."

A/N-thanks for reading! Yes, Billy has to have the last word, LOL ;)