A/N: Oh, I forgot to say that Billy can walk in this. And no one in Forks knows him like in the books. And sadly, he's a drunk in the beginning. But later on in the story, I promise that you'll love him as much as you do now.
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Chapter Three
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Bella awoke to the smell of peppermint and a wet feeling against her forehead.
"See, sweetheart. After many years of acting and feinting spells, I've learned many different cures for things." The peppermint was the Cara's perfume.
"Bells? Are you okay?" Bella opened her eyes to see a worried Charlie. Sadly, she remembered that face very well.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just light headed." That was an understatement. She felt disconnected from her body.
"Luckily, your father caught you. You almost hit your suitcase. And that would've been just awful!" Fake. She is so fake!
If there was one thing that Bella couldn't stand, it was fake people. But right now, she couldn't hate anything. Her head forbid it.
"Do you need anything," Charlie asked, obviously having his main concern on Bella.
"No, I'm fine. I just need an aspirin as large as my head." She gave up on fighting the headache. It wasn't going to leave her alone.
Cara smiled and said, "Sweetheart, go get the Aleve on the fridge." Charlie nodded and left immediately.
Bella looked into the woman's eyes and somehow felt a sort of discomfort well up into her heart. But she shrugged it off and just listened to her talk.
"Your father speaks so highly of you. When we met at the party that was only for the police force and relatives, I thought that I had seen an angel. And he is. He most certainly is."
When Charlie came back, Bella sighed and told herself that this woman was going to be here for a long time and she needed to play "perfect daughter" until she left with Edward.
"Thanks, Cara."
"Call me, C.C. honey." Yay, more nicknames.
"Isn't she amazing, Bells? She helped me out of my little episode of missing you so much. She's a retired actress, too."
That explains the money.
"Wow. That's nice," Bella said with a forced smile. But she could feel the pain seep through.
"Dear, why don't you take her upstairs so she can sleep? We can do all of this tomorrow, alright?" Bella liked that idea very much.
Charlie nodded and walked up to the couch and picked up Bella's limp body. There was no other pain that occurred but the one that happened to burst forth when her head bobbed.
"Ow…" she complained quietly as Charlie carried her upstairs and into the first room to the right. The room was a lot like her old one, except a lot cleaner and… well, girly.
Her rocking chair wasn't there, though. And she had wanted to take pictures of Edward in it.
She felt her bed beneath her and felt at ease as Charlie let her go and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Bells? Are you sure that you're alright?"
"You couldn't have mentioned all of this in the letters, I guess?" Bella didn't even think over her words. She just spat them out.
Charlie's smile seemed to wipe away any irritation she had. The only time she remembered seeing him smile like that was when him and Renee were still together.
And now…
"I wanted it to be a surprise." Oh, it was definitely surprising.
When Bella didn't remark, he patted her hand lightly and rose. "I hope you two can get along."
She nodded as she felt some sort of drowsiness take over. And she felt bad when her door closed, and she couldn't open her eyes when something cold enveloped her shoulders.
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Downstairs
"Sweetheart? I'm going out for a little while. I have to check on a few things," Cara said as Charlie walked downstairs.
His eyes grew wide at his wife's unexpected statement. "Um, okay. What time do you think you'll be home?" He saw her clutching her cell phone.
"Soon, hopefully." She smiled and walked out. "Love you! Kisses."
And then she was gone.
Charlie sat on the couch and thought over Bella's reaction to his new wife. He hadn't expected her to faint, but then again he didn't expect a lot of things that she did.
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Somewhere in La Push About An Hour Later
"Look, woman! Look at your kids!" SMACK!
Cara felt her body go back a little as her ex-husband slapped her. "You abandoned your kids for wealth and fame and now you come back because I'm not feeding them right."
Billy Black spat at his ex-wife. Even though he was a drunk, he couldn't see how a woman could dump her own kids.
"No! I abandoned them because they turned into what that Sam Uley kid did. You think I could risk that?"
"I'm pretty sure that you've risked worse, Cara! Take them! They need a mother!"
Cara glared at Billy and then looked back to see her daughter, Ivy Black, and her son, Jacob Black, watching them.
She turned back to Billy and replied, "They aren't my responsibility. I have a new life, a new house, a new husband, and a new daughter."
That set Billy off as he stalked toward her. "So you think you can leave your past behind you? Do you?" He raised his fist, but both of them knew that he couldn't hit her.
"Your past is your life. No matter where you go, it will follow."
Cara moved away and grabbed her purse. She threw the green pieces of paper that she had wadded in her fist by now. "There! Raise your kids!"
She turned and walked out of the door, but stopped when she felt weak hands grasp her wrist.
"Momma! Momma! Please, don't leave me here with them," Ivy begged, tear stains streaking her dark complexion. Her black hair was dirty from the woods and her brown eyes matched the color of her other form.
Cara snatched her arm away and walked to her car.
She caught a glimpse of Jacob in her rearview mirror. He just seemed to be watching her with a smug look on his face. It was as if he knew that this was going to happen.
The woman slammed on the gas, leaving that house and group of people behind. And she now had her daughter's phone. No more interruptions.
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Next Day
Bella awoke around five to feel ice-cold stone wrapped around her. His eyes were closed, but she knew better. He wasn't asleep.
"Edward?"
His eyes opened and she saw the black jump at her. His hunger. He had to go hiking soon. Had to.
"Yes?"
She smiled and kissed his nose. He chuckled and loosened his grip on her.
"No, don't go away." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.
His breath caught as she felt his face get close to her throat.
"Bella. You seem to forget how little control I have." His voice was deep and she knew that it wasn't just hunger.
"I think you have more than you give credit for," she said as she placed her head on his chest. She needed to be close to him. Everything about him made her whole. And if she ever lost him…
He pulled away easily and rose from the bed, which left Bella pouting.
"I'm doing this for you, Bella." She rolled her eyes and merely replied, "Stop worrying about me for three hours and come back to bed."
Edward lifted an eyebrow at her statement. "Three hours? What makes you think it'll be that short?"
Her heart stopped beating. And he smiled his little crooked grin.
"Liking your new mother," he asked while steering clear of the window. The sun was beginning to rise.
Bella almost forgot about her. "Well…"
If she complained to Edward, he would be all "heroic" and try to fix it. Or she might disappoint him.
I…you can handle anything./I She had to prove that.
"She's not what I expected," she stated while trying to get to him. But he was good at avoiding her.
"Yes, I know what you mean." A sigh escaped him as he folded his arms.
Bella knew something was up. "What's wrong?"
He looked at her and then at the door. Another sigh and he moved to the opposite side of the room. "You were talking in your sleep again."
She froze and waited for him to go on. She wondered what she said now that made him get on edge.
"You didn't want me to read what your new family was thinking." Bella's eyes grew wide.
Edward sighed and walked closer to her. "I haven't kept many promises, but I will on this one. I promise that I won't listen to their thoughts."
His tone had turned to serious so quickly that Bella had a hard time keeping up.
But when she saw his eyes, she knew. Even if they were black, she could see that he wouldn't lie about this one. It was so serious. It was almost scary.
She didn't want to ruin this. So, she nodded and replied, "Thank you." But she still couldn't help her thoughts.
Why had she said that in her sleep?
And then she noticed the uncomfortable look on Edward's face.
"Go. You need to eat." What an odd way to put it.
Edward turned to her and looked her over. A smirk appeared again and she could tell he was about to say something playful.
"I'd rather stay here and eat you." He came toward her and she had to tell herself to keep from laughing.
"No, go on ahead! I'm serious. Charlie should be getting up soon for work."
He smiled and nodded. "Alright. But I'll be back."
Bella smiled back, feeling her heart swell with happiness. "You better."
And then, he was gone. Again.
She sighed and lied back in bed. She didn't know what she was going to do today. Maybe she could go see how much had changed through the months.
Maybe she and Alice could go shopping finally.
Or she could start her useless homework.
Suddenly, a really hard knock echoed through the house and Bella jumped to an upright position.
"Who is knocking so early," she heard Charlie ask groggily.
She rose and walked to her door. She opened it, just in time to see Cara walking after her father. Bella followed slowly and stopped when Charlie opened the door.
A young, Native American girl with dirty, black hair and soot-covered clothes ran inside and embraced Cara.
"Mommy! Please don't leave us again!"
Bella watched with a questionable look on her face as a very tall man –or boy- walked in. His black, shaggy hair framed his face in a sort of boyish emphasis kind of way. His eyes reminded her of freedom and the forest.
His copper skin only made his muscles stick out more. She wondered who he was.
But she stopped thinking that when he looked up at her and she felt frozen; like a deer caught in headlights.
Her heart sped up as his glare softened in a way, but kept a slightly hard edge to it. She wanted to look away from him, but found herself unable to. He held a sort of aura that she wanted to get to know.
"I-Ivy! Jacob!" Cara looked outside and a look of shock crossed her face. There, standing at the door was her ex-husband, Billy.
"Take care of them, Cara," he said as he turned to leave. But he stopped.
Bella watched as she saw him pull out a hundred dollar bill and handed it to the boy named Jacob. "In case of emergencies," he said with a forced grin. And then he turned to leave again.
Our confused heroine walked downstairs and froze when Jacob ran after his dad and thrust the money in his father's hand. "You know you need this more that I do, Dad."
Bella watched as the old Native American looked back at his sun and then walked off with a sort of sad look on his face.
"Cara?" The brunette jumped at Charlie's voice and saw Cara and the children turn to him. "Care to explain?"
Cara nodded and looked at Bella before replying, "This is my daughter Ivy and my son Jacob. They've been living with my ex husband for a few years now."
And then the girl ran to Charlie and smiled. "Hello, Chief Swan. I've heard a lot about you. My name is Ivy. I don't mean to intrude, sir."
Bella's father only smiled and replied, "No, that's fine. We have plenty of room for you in the house, family, and in our hearts."
Ivy smiled and nodded. She looked at the other Swan, and Bella was positive she saw a dirty look covered by a smile.
Charlie looked at Jacob and held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jacob. Won't it be nice to have another guy in this house full of women?"
Jacob looked at his hand but didn't take it. Obviously, he didn't like this situation at all.
And frankly, Bella wasn't feeling it herself. It was a little alien to her.
"You must forgive Jacob. He's not exactly the easiest to gain trust from lately," Cara said immediately, but glaring at her son. Jacob didn't seem to care though.
Lately? Why not lately? Bella was wondering why she worded her sentence like that.
"That's understandable. I was like that when I was young." Charlie smiled and looked up at Bella finally.
"Sweetheart, you and Ivy will be sharing a room, okay?" Bella nodded, hoping to seem hospitable. She had to at least try to get along with these people.
"Good. Could you show Jacob the guest room across from yours then," he asked. Jacob was already up the stairs and in the room.
"Never mind," Chief Swan said with a nervous laugh. Cara looked beyond frustrated.
But Ivy looked ecstatic. "Thank you so much, Chief Swan." She then looked at Bella. "I guess I call you 'Big Sister', right?"
This brightened Cara immediately. "That's so sweet! You two should start bonding. I need to talk with Charlie."
And then, Ivy sped up to where Bella was, who was still dumbfounded by the situation.
"Where's our room, big sister," she asked with such a fake smile that it made Bella sick.
She turned and began to lead and when they made it there, Ivy was shocked by the way the room was. Kind of like how Bella was.
"Wow, this is so beautiful." Ivy ran to the closet and said, "These are your clothes?! Can I borrow some? They're beautiful!"
Bella sighed and reminded herself that she wouldn't be here very long. Just a little longer.
"Of course. We're sisters now. My clothes are your clothes. And you don't have to call me 'Big Sister' if you don't want to."
And that was when Ivy scoffed. "I was only doing that for the parents. I would never call you that."
Bella looked at her disbelievingly, but just ignored it. It was her first night. She was just unaccustomed to this kind of lifestyle.
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Bella walked out of the shower and peeked out of the door. No one. She immediately wrapped the towel around her tighter and opened the door.
There, stood Jacob Black.
Bella gulped and clutched the towel tighter and closed the door again.
His eyes stayed in her mind though. They were lonely, angry, and depressed.
She sighed and just decided to change in there instead of in the privacy of her room. This was going to be a crazy adjustment.
And she couldn't see Edward at night anymore.
Great.
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To Be Continued
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