Charlie placed a steaming mug in front of his daughter and retreated to the sofa, though he didn't switch the television on like he usually did. Still in his work uniform, it was clear that the Forks Chief of Police had something to say, and that he didn't particularly know how to go about it.
'This is about Carlisle, isn't it?' Charlie grimaced slightly at his daughter's intuition; she had never been slow on the uptake. He nodded and the awkward atmosphere in the room because almost unbearable as Bella waited nervously to hear what her dad had to say.
'So you and Doctor Cullen,' he started slowly. Bella couldn't supress a smile at her father's use of Carlisle's formal title, knowing this was his attempt to have a serious conversation about their relationship.
'Carlisle and I,' Bella confirmed softly, she didn't want to upset him. Charlie cleared his throat and took a large gulp from his mug.
'I know what he is.' Bella almost choked on her own mouthful as her father confessed his knowledge of the supernatural. His relationship with the werewolves had been enough of a shock. She was about to bombard him with questions when he raised one hand in the air. 'I don't want to talk about it, Bells.' He was eerily calm, Chief Swan didn't seem angry at all, more resigned than anything about the choices his only child had made. 'I just want you to know that I know, that's all.'
Bella wrapped her cool hands around the warm tea and dropped her gaze, she knew without asking what her father's underlying question was.
'He's not going to hurt me,' she started convincingly, but she knew that wasn't what he wanted to hear.
'I know that,' Charlie replied honestly, 'you forget that I have known Carlisle for a long time. I trust him.'
'Do you trust me, dad?' Bella's voice cracked at the direction their conversation had taken, and her father pulled her into a tight hug, which was entirely out of character. He patted her on the back awkwardly and Bella was warmed by his attempts to console her.
'Of course I do, Bells. It's just that you're so young, and I don't even want to talk about the age difference between the two of you.' Bella giggled and her father smiled at her obvious happiness. 'I just don't want you to get so caught up in his world that you forget who you are. I couldn't lose you, Bella. I won't.'
At his final comment Bella unfolded herself from the chair and curled around her father.
'Dad I promise that no matter what happens, you will never lose me.'
Charlie wiped a silent tear from his cheek without his daughter noticing. Knowing that the only important question, the one relating to her humanity, remained unspoken, he coughed again and concluded.
'Well then, that's going to have to be enough.'
Bella couldn't help worrying about how Carlisle was feeling as Jasper pulled her into the Cullen household, making the most of the brief physical contact so he could better project feelings of reassurance to comfort her. Alice's text had been brief, but clear.
I am so stupid! She chastised herself furiously. Jacob had been so angry, too blinded by his own wants to stop and consider the repercussions of his actions. And now Carlisle was gone. And it's all my fault Bella sobbed broken-heartedly, sliding down the doorframe until she curled into a small ball on the thick cream carpet, unable to care about what they thought of her behaviour as heavy tears spilled over sad eyes.
'Hey,' Alice hushed as she slid down next to her friend, wrapping her narrow arms around her in a gesture of support, 'everything will be okay, I promise.'
She knew the pixie was trying to help, but she couldn't help her bitter retort.
'You don't know that,' she cried angrily, 'I've tried looking, but I just can't see.' She was referring to their shared ability to see the future, but apparently when it came to the werewolves their normal advantage was of no use.
'I wonder what it is about those overgrown mongrels that means you can't see them?' Edward speculated, deliberately changing the subject as he pulled both girls to their feet. Bella ignored their musings, jumping in when she could finally stand it no longer.
'I'm going down there,' she stated boldly, trying not to let the crippling fear that had started to pool in her stomach overcome her need to do what was right.
To her surprise, none of them tried to stop her.
'Let us come with you?' Alice whispered questioningly and she reached out for Bella's limp hand. The small squeeze she gave was all it took to break Bella's already waning resolve.
'Fine,' she muttered, 'but you'll stay out of this.' Alice, Edward and Emmett all nodded agreeably, though Bella knew that if they felt she was in danger they would break the agreement without a moment's notice. Their loyalty warmed her from the inside, but she fought to stop it dousing the fire that spread through her taut limbs. She was livid, and it was time to turn those feelings into action.
The reservation looked just as it always had, but it no longer felt like home as it used to. Instead, the normal excitement of seeing her oldest friend was replaced with silent fury and Bella couldn't help projecting her emotions as her feet pounded against the woodland. Jasper winced as he caught on to what she was feeling though she was unable to spare him the pain this time. She wanted to be blinded by anger, unaware of how they would respond to Carlisle, Bella knew that she could not hesitate in protecting him, even if it meant losing Jacob in order to do so. It terrified her to know that in that instant, she would kill him if she had to.
Overhanging branches tugged at her clothing as she stomped through the bracken. The forest was unusually silent as though the wildlife understood what was about to happen and Bella revelled in the knowledge that the creatures she was about to face should fear her. Jacob underestimated her, he underestimated all of them. She remembered his threats toward Carlisle and felt the pure, unfiltered rage course through her system, overcoming any remnants of fear and giving her the courage to push through into the clearing, the three vampires flanking her in a picture of terrifying beauty.
'Jacob!' Bella screamed as she absorbed what she was seeing. The werewolf turned to face her, its soft russet fur shimmering in the light that danced through the trees. He looked exactly as he always had, except his eyes, which were black pools of nothingness, as though the boy she had once known was gone.
Bella walked deliberately towards where Carlisle was standing. He appeared unhurt, but the fact that Jacob had phased wasn't welcome news. Sam Uley was with him, still in human form though his face was taught with an unrecognisable emotion. The leader of the pack reached his hands out protectively in front of Jacob and the werewolf responded by remaining where he was.
Bella refused to look at Carlisle as she moved defensively in front of him, knowing one word would be all it took for her to completely fall apart. Instead she turned to face Sam, ignoring the fact that he was clothed in only a pair of tan shorts, and called out to him.
'What will it be, then? You know what I've done, will you punish Carlisle?' Sam's jaw dropped as he listened to Bella speak, her tone masking the fear that had only become noticeable since she stood alongside the only person that had the power to destroy her.
'What are you talking about?' The werewolf enquired, his voice rough.
'I'm talking about the treaty,' Bella almost growled, disregarding everyone's obvious surprise that she knew what this was all about. 'The treaty that means you want to kill Carlisle because he drank from me. He didn't kill me, Sam, he didn't even hurt me. In fact, I asked him to do it! So what will it be? Are you going to enforce this and wage full on war with the vampires, or are you going to let us be? Because as far as I can see, those are the only options you have.'
Bella could feel Alice's smirk as she challenged her old friends with a boldness she hadn't known she was capable of. She shoved her hands in her denim pockets in a gesture of deliberate boredom as the pack leader thought carefully about his response. They were delicately balanced on the edge of a precipice and no matter his answer; it would push them all over the edge.
'I can't ignore this, Bells,' he whispered sadly, The use of Charlie's nickname for her almost broke her heart as she remembered the promise she had made to him that very afternoon and she held back a sob as the weight of his words sank in, the regret audible in his voice. 'I've got a responsibility to enforce any breach of the treaty, but I do not want to hurt you, you have always been important to all of us, especially Jacob. Have you thought this through? We care about you too you know.'
Bella's decision had been made from the moment Carlisle had left to talk this through. She drew herself up to her full height and sucked in a deep breath before saying the words that would change everything.
'Fine, kill him,' she muttered offhandedly. She pretended she couldn't hear the gasps of shock from the Cullen vampires and the sigh of relief from Jacob as she continued determinedly, 'because I've drank from him, so you'll have to kill me too.'