Bella's POV

I was standing in the kitchen getting dinner prepared for myself, Charlie, and Jared. That of course meant I had to make a lot of whatever I decided to cook. I'd settled on Lasagna, garlic bread, and a salad. The Lasagna and garlic bread were currently both in the oven and I was getting the salad together.

Jared was currently upstairs sleeping in my bed. He'd passed out the second we got home. I felt really bad for him. He needed to get his own place soon, which meant he needed to call his dad soon. Hopefully, he would do so on his own, but if not I would nag him until he did. He couldn't keep going on like this.

Soon, I heard the door, and a second later, Charlie's voice. "Hey, Bells."

"Hey, Dad," I greeted, turning to him.

"Oh, that smells amazing," Charlie said.

I chuckled. "It'll be ready soon."

"Okay, I'm just gonna go change," Charlie said before starting to leave the room.

"Okay," I said, having already turned my attention back to dinner and not really hearing what he was saying. I pulled the garlic bread out and checked on the Lasagna. It wasn't quite ready. It would probably be another five or ten minutes.

Soon, I heard footsteps again. Charlie was back. "Ten seconds."

I turned back to my father confused. "What?"

"You have ten seconds to explain to me what Jared Cameron is doing in your bed, and the only reason I'm giving you those ten seconds is because I like him. Be that may, in ten seconds, I'm gonna kill him," Charlie said looking really unhappy.

I could've kicked myself, but knowing me, I'd fall and break something if I tried. I couldn't believe I'd gotten so distracted that I forgot to tell my father that Jared was sleeping in my bed. "Oh, Dad, it's not what you think."

"Okay, you what, let me just make this clear. I realize I can't stop you from having sex…"

"Dad!" I exclaimed. My cheeks must have been bright red at this point by that one half a sentence. I couldn't believe my father had just so bluntly spoke of me possibly having sex.

Charlie went on as though I never interrupted. "But it will not happen under my roof! That is where I draw the line!"

"Oh my God! It didn't escape your attention that I'm not in the bed with him, did it? He's just sleeping," I promised, trying very hard and failing to get over the sheer embarrassment.

Charlie gave me a skeptical look. He obviously didn't believe me. To be fair, it was a common lie to cover up sex.

"Look, Jared is having a hard time with his mom right now. They don't get along at all, so Jared has been going to Sam's and sleeping on his couch. Unfortunately, it doesn't make sleep easy for him. He looked like he was about to pass out all day, so I invited him over for dinner and to get a couple of hours sleep in the meantime," I explained.

Charlie must have decided he believed me because his face softened some after a minute, though he still looked unhappy. "Alright, but this doesn't happen again. I don't want to come home and see Jared or any other boy in your bed."

I had to stop myself from snorting. I just kept thinking about all the times Edward was in my bed. I imagined Charlie would completely lose it if he knew that. "Okay."

"Can't Jared get his own place if he's having trouble with his mom? He's eighteen, right?" Charlie asked.

I nodded. "That was my suggestion. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the money, so he has to ask his dad for help. He hates that. His thoughts are that he's eighteen and he shouldn't mooch off his father."

"That's ridiculous. Eighteen or not, fathers look after their kids when they need help," Charlie said.

"Yes, and I have no doubt that his dad will drill that into his head. He's a good guy and he won't tolerate Jared thinking that kind of thing. I did finally convince him to call, and if he tries to get out of it, I'll do so again," I said before turning back to the oven and taking out the Lasagna.

"Damn, Bells, did you make enough?" Charlie asked as he looked at the size of the pan.

I chuckled. "Trust me, Jared can put it away. It will get eaten."

"Alright, well, now I'm going to go change," Charlie said.

Just then, Jared made his way into the kitchen.

"Hey. Somehow I knew I wouldn't have to wake you. The food would do that for me," I joked.

"You do know me. Hi, Charlie," Jared said.

"Hey, Jared. Listen, I like you, kid, but if I ever find you in my daughter's bed again, I'm going to shoot you," Charlie said in a calm manner.

Jared winced. "Got it. Sorry."

Charlie then headed upstairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later, I was leading Jared outside to my truck. He had come home with me, so he didn't have his car. That wasn't really a problem for Jared, but it would seem suspicous to my dad if he wasn't given a ride. "Are you going to be late for patrol if I drive you?"

"No. I have about an hour, and I'd rather you not have to lie to your dad for me anymore than necessary," Jared said.

I nodded and we both got in. I started the truck and we drove away. "When are you calling your dad?"

Jared sighed, letting me know that he might try to get out of it.

"Jared, you're calling your dad. You can't go on like this. And you know for a fact that your father would kick your ass if he knew you were thinking this way," I told him.

"Yeah, I know. I'll call him tomorrow. Thanks for feeding me and letting me sleep. Your dad wasn't mad at you, was he?" Jared asked.

"Not really, but I don't think we could've have a more embarrassing conversation if we tried. It was my fault. I should've warned him before he went upstairs, but I got distracted. You're lucky he likes you. If you were anyone else, he would've shot you on the spot. Hey, would it have killed you if he had," I wondered.

"I don't think so, but I'd rather not find out," Jared said with a shudder. "Hey, so was it more embarrassing than when your mom found us making out in the living room the first time."

Without taking my eyes off the road, I playfully slapped him on the arm. "Why would you remind me of that? That was such an awkward conversation. Renee wouldn't let me leave the kitchen for an hour as she tried to give me 'the talk'." Well, actually, it had been a post 'talk, as we'd already had the official talk, but it was still really embarrassing.

Jared chuckled a little.

"But at least tonight was less awkward, even if it was more embarrassing. He was so freaking blunt about it, probably because he'd just seen you in my bed. He really just told me that we weren't to do anything under his roof," I told him.

Jared couldn't seem to help but laugh hard.

I hit him again. "Stop it! Where are we going? Your house or Sam's?"

"Sam's. Don't wanna be around my mother right now, or ever," Jared said.

I nodded as I turned onto the reservation and headed for Sam and Emily's. "So let me know when you're ready to start looking for apartments. I'll help you."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Jared said.

A few minutes later, I was pulling into Sam and Emily's driveway. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

Jared hesitated and stayed in his seat. "Bella, I don't want to pressure you. You said you weren't ready to be anything but friends, and if that's still the case, I'll respect it, but I feel like I have to try. Will you go out with me this weekend, this time just us? Go on a date with me?"

Now it was my turn to hesitate. I wasn't sure I was ready. Everything that went wrong both with Jared and Edward was in my head. I was afraid to give Jared my heart again. But I also thought about what Angela said to me this morning. I shouldn't be letting the past ruin what Jared and I could have. I wanted to be with him. I loved him so much. I was just scared, and allowing that fear to hold us back wasn't fair. I was punishing us both because I'd been hurt and it wasn't fair. I'd already said I'd forgiven Jared. It was time to prove that and start giving him my trust. "Okay."

"Really?" Jared asked with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Yeah, but I want us to go slow. We treat this like it really is our first date," I told him.

Jared smiled widely. "I can do that. This is great! I've got to go, but we can talk during the rest of the week about what we should do."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow," I said again.

"Yeah. Bye, Bella," he said before getting out of the car and heading for the house.