Phone calls

There was a note waiting for me when I arrived at Charlie's, sitting on the kitchen counter. It read:

Bella,

You will call me at work the second that you get this.

Dad

I groaned. Well, here goes some of my explaining. I had already predetermined that I was going to be as honest as I was capable of; just leaving out a few details. Even if they were significant, mind-shattering, earth-moving details. I dialed his number at the police station.

"Forks Police Department," I heard a cheery voice say. Deputy Steve.

"May I speak with Chief Swan, please?" I requested.

A minute later Charlie got on the line. "Bella, I have half a mind to ground you until you leave for Dartmouth...." he started to threaten.

I thought about living with Charlie, my previous offenses. Leaving for Phoenix. Leaving for Italy to try to save Edward. One night out seemed small in comparison. However, for both of those infractions I had given him fair warning, either said I was leaving or left a note. Other than that day the time that Sam found me in the forest, I had never just not come home.

"But lucky for you, Bella, Billy Black called me last night and told me that you were with Jacob, so I didn't have to worry about you lying dead in a ditch somewhere." I couldn't get past the 'with Jacob' part of Charlie's sentence. Those words now had an entirely new connotation. "Now, can you give me a reasonable explanation as to why you would spend the night at Jacob's after leaving the house with Edward?"

Uh, I've been trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for that myself, Charlie. "Uh, Edward and I had a big fight last night, Dad," I said. "I was really upset. I just needed to talk to a friend. And it was late, and I just…uh… fell asleep. I'm so sorry."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. Charlie appeared to be considering. "So Bella, how was he?" He asked quietly.

What?! Why would he ask me this? I immediately blushed; my mind was racing as I tried to figure out what to say to him. Certainly not what I was thinking. Unbelievable. Hot. Passionate. Sweet. Attentive. Sexy. Stalling, instead I just blurted out, "What?"

"Jacob. How was he doing? How did he handle you and Edward getting married? Was he okay with it?"

Oh. Realization swept over me. "Yeah, I think Jake is okay, Dad." I wouldn't let myself say anything more.

"Well, since you are only going to be here for another week or so, and I really don't want our last week to be one where you are grounded and bitter, how about I just ask you to please just call me if you ever foresee this happening again? I just don't want to worry about you, and would rather hear it straight from you next time."

"Of course, Dad," I said. "Thanks." I couldn't believe he was letting me off the hook so easily. He had a preference for Jacob, clearly. But why wasn't he concerned about me spending the night with him? Then it hit me. I'm married to Edward. He would never suspect me of doing anything illicit with Jacob. Somehow, his lack of punishment now only made me feel worse.

This weekend was going to be agony. The afternoon came and went without a phone call from Edward; I could safely assume that he had left to go hunting with his family. Edward had told me that they were going to Canada and maybe Alaska, they were also going to catch up and conduct some business with the Denali clan- I know Carlisle had wanted to discuss some things with them regarding my transformation. I knew Edward wouldn't try to contact me until they got back, which probably wouldn't be until Sunday night. Now that we had our fight, I figured that he was giving me the time and space to figure out what I wanted. Great.

By the time that Charlie got home from work that evening, I had straightened up the house, prepared a huge pan of enchiladas for dinner, and had called Newton's, begging to pick up a few shifts for the weekend. "Back so early, Bella? I'm sorry, but we already have everyone scheduled, and business has been slow. We can schedule you the week after next if you want." Helpful.

After Charlie and I ate dinner, he retired to the living room to watch TV. Before picking up the remote, he mentioned fishing with some buddies the next two mornings, and something about preseason football Sunday evening. Our interaction, including dinner, lasted all of twenty minutes, and he was already ditching me for most of the weekend. The weekend is looking better and better, I thought sarcastically.

I went up to my room and sat on the bed. I had to talk to someone. I weighed my options- Renee and Angela were at the top of my list of people to call. Yes, I would need to do some explaining. But at least I could vent. But who to call first? I picked up the phone and dialed Angela's number. She wouldn't pry as much as Renee would. I waited a moment until someone picked up.

"Hello, Weber residence," said a cheerful feminine voice. Not Angela. Her mother.

"Hi, Mrs. Weber. This is Bella Swan. May I speak with Angela, please?"

"Oh, hi honey. I'm afraid Angela's not here. She went out with Ben tonight for his birthday. I think they went to dinner and are going to see a late movie. Should I have her call you when she gets back? It probably won't be until fairly late. I gave her a curfew of 1:00 a.m."

"Uh, no, thanks, Mrs. Weber," I responded, trying not to let my disappointment show. No point in calling her cell phone. "I'll just speak with her tomorrow. Have a good night."

"Bye, Bella."

I placed the phone back on its cradle and sighed, somewhat defeated. I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to face a conversation with my mother. I was relieved that Charlie hadn't told her that I was back and that thus far I had been able to avoid her inevitable questioning. Did I want to open this can of worms right now? I debated.

I was still holding my hand to the phone when it rang again. It startled me so much I jumped a foot and a half in the air; flailing my arms and accidentally knocking over the glass of water sitting on the bookshelf next to my bed. My heart was racing wildly as I gripped the receiver and brought it to my ear. "Hello?" I managed to get out.

"Hi, Bells." Jacob. My cute, light, nickname was in stark contrast to the deep, husky tone to his voice. It immediately brought forth a slew of lustful memories of the previous night to mind. Accompanied, of course, by equal feelings of guilt and remorse.

"Hi, Jacob," I said. I had no idea what else to say; figured that was good enough for now.

"I was just, uh, calling to see how you were doing," Jacob began.

Completely confused. "Um, I'm okay. How are you?"

"Pretty anxious, honey," he replied. "But then I just think about you and me last night, and it brings a smile to my face all over again." He paused, trying to keep it light, but I could hear the tension in his voice. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing much," I said distractedly after a moment, twisting the old-school phone cord around my fingertips. I had to smile. This phone had been in my room since before I was born. Classic Charlie. "I made Charlie some Mexican food. I just tried calling Angela, but she wasn't home. I was thinking about calling my mom," I rambled, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence. "And I….."

"Can I see you?" Jacob whispered, interrupting me. "Can I see you tonight, Bella? I can't stop thinking about you." The entire pretense of the phone call was gone.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, Jake," I replied, my voice dropping to a barely audible whisper.

"Why not, Bella? Is it because you don't want to? Or because you're afraid to?" Jacob's voice sounded desperate.

I closed my eyes, trying to compose myself. I refused to give anything away with my tone. "Jacob, I'm going to go now," I said quickly. "I'll talk to you later." I hung up the phone before I could think or say any more. I thought better of it and "accidentally" left the phone receiver misaligned with the base. I'd had enough phone calls for one day.