Chapter Nine: The True Meaning of Family

I don't know how long we sat there, me sobbing on Edward's shoulder-ruining his shirt in the process-until we heard a quiet knock on the door.

Edward looked at me, as if confirming it was ok for someone else to enter, and when I didn't object, he disconnected himself from me and said "Come in."

It was Esme and Alice, both looking very concerned. I stood up as they entered the room

Alice, looking at me with saddened eyes, quickly ran over to me and nearly knocked me over with a very forceful hug.

"Bella are you ok? I've been worried about you since I heard you came here upset about something, and I wanted to come up here right away, but my mom thought it would be better for you if Edward came up first, and I would have tried to get up here if Emmett hadn't put me in a headlock, demanding that I give you two space, but I was so worried!"

Alice's eyes were wide and sincere, making me realize how much I loved this family.

"I'm fine, Alice. There was just a big problem at home and I didn't know anywhere else to go, so I just came here." My cell phone started vibrating in my pocket, so I pulled it out as I continued to speak. "I hope you don't mind Esme, but I was wondering if…I…could…" I trailed off as I looked at the caller ID on my phone. It was Charlie.

"Edward? Can you explain what happened to them while I take this? It's uh…Charlie."

His eyes narrowed as he nodded, and then I exited the room as he began my tale.

I stood in the hall way on the opposite side of where his room was, awkwardly answering my phone.

"What?" I asked with venom in my voice.

"Bella? Where are you?" He demanded.

"It's none of your business, Charlie. I'm not coming home."

"It is my business, Bella. I'm your father whether you like it or not." His voice was subdued.

"Stop it! I have more of a family where I'm at now than I've ever had with you! I'll come home when I'm ready, but I need time. And you need to figure out what's more important, me or a bottle. So until you figure that out, leave me alone." I hung up quickly then and turned my phone off. I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers and cursed under by breath. Then I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder and I turned around, startled, to see Carlisle.

There was no pity in his eyes, only compassion. He had heard what happened during my phone conversation. He knew.

"Come, Bella. Let's have a talk in my office." He said with a reassuring smile on his face.

I nodded, letting him lead me into the door by which I was talking. His office was very homey looking. There were books everywhere, making it look more like a library than an office. The desk had papers strewn on top of it in what looked like an organized mess. In front of the desk, there were two leather chairs. He led me to one of them and, after I sat down, he walked around to the other side of his desk and sat down.

"I'm not going to lie and say I didn't hear what you just said on the phone to your father." He said without buildup. "Is your father an alcoholic, Bella?"

I nodded. "That's what I consider him."

"What does everyone else say? Like your family and friends?"

I shrugged. "The only family I have is my dad. My mom left when I was younger. Didn't Edward tell you?"

Carlisle shook his head slowly. "He mentioned that you had a rough time in your past, but he never told us any details. He wouldn't betray your trust like that." He said simply.

"Oh." I said as I tried to figure out what I had done in life that let me deserve a friend like Edward. "Well, she did. And I haven't talked to her since, so she obviously doesn't know. And Charlie doesn't drink in Forks unless he's at our house. Whenever he goes to Billy Black's house, he's sober so he can fish and not get caught by Billy. So no one knows, unless you count the people in Port Angeles he gets drunk with as friends."

Carlisle thought about it for a moment. "How long have you been keeping this a secret?" He asked seriously.

I sighed, tearing up again. "Since that day I came home from school in 5th grade."

Carlisle's eye's narrowed. "He's been drinking like this since 5th grade? With a daughter to take care of?"

I swallowed. "Yes. I took care of myself." I said quietly.

Carlisle stood. "Not anymore. You're just a young girl. You're still in high school for goodness sake!" He walked around to where I was standing. "Don't worry, Bella. I'm going to do what I can for you and your father. Stay here for a moment." He walked out the door quickly, shutting it behind him.

A minute later, he walked back in with Esme at his side. She sat down in the leather chair next to me while Carlisle stood behind her.

"Bella, dear, Edward explained the situation to me. And Carlisle and I just talked and we want to know if you would stay with us?" Esme asked.

I was speechless, completely dumfounded by their generosity.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes." Carlisle answered. "We have a lot of extra space. You wouldn't have to worry about a thing. Please. Let us do this for you. It's time you had someone take care of you."

I sighed. "I would love to stay here. Thank you so much."

Esme smiled lovingly at me. "You don't have to thank us, dear. It's our pleasure to help you. Whatever you need, just ask." She reached forward and gave my hand a pat. "Now, I'm going to go get dinner finished up. You can go freshen up in the bathroom if you'd like." She leaned forward, gave me a kiss on the forehead, and then walked out of the room.

Once she was gone, Carlisle cleared his throat, turning my attention back to him.

"I know that you may not want to talk about this right now, but I just would like to know what you are going to do about Charlie." He asked as he took the seat Esme had been sitting in.

I thought about it for a moment, deciding. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I should do anything. Charlie is a stubborn man. He won't do anything he doesn't want to do." I kept speaking quietly, getting my thoughts out there. "I would love to get him into rehab so maybe, one day my real dad will come back to me. The one that loves me. But he has to do it for himself, because he wants to. Because he realizes it's right for him. I know that I should try to do something for him…but I don't know what."

Carlisle sighed. "Honestly, Bella, what you did today may be all you could do. You gave him the wakeup call that he needed."

"But I walked out on him. What if that just makes him worse? The reason he drinks so much is because someone walked out on him. I mean, what if he starts drinking more? If he dies…" My voice cracked on the word. "It will be my entire fault."

Carlisle shook his head. "No, it will not be. All you did tonight was give him the initiative to get better. And you're right. It's up to him now. He won't get better unless he wants to. So we just have to wait now."

I put my head into my hands and sighed.

"You can stay with us as long as you need to, Bella. Don't worry about anything but yourself for a while. You deserve it." Carlisle said in a caring voice. "I'm going to go help Esme. Why don't you go find Alice and Edward? I'm sure Alice has been waiting outside since you came in." He said with a chuckle. He patted my head and then walked out the door. I listened to his footsteps as he descended the stairs.

There was so much that I needed to do. I had never been good at worrying about myself. Since I didn't really have parents, I had to take care of them and myself. I was the parent. Charlie was the child. And a parent should always put their children first, so that's what I did. That was my mind set. My own needs and wants never mattered to me. I kept myself fed and bathed, but I was always cleaning up Charlie's messes. I didn't have time to make my own.

I need to get clothing. I needed to talk to Joan and ask her if I could get a few days off so I could get my head on straight and figure everything out. I needed to find a way to keep tabs on Charlie without having to actually be in contact with him.

I stood up slowly and walked out of the room, my mind anywhere but here. But as soon as I was in the hallway, I was again hug attacked by Alice.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. What Charlie has done is…horrible. But it will get better now." She said with a reassuring smile.

I bit my lip. "I hope so." I said.

"It will." She said with conviction. "Anyways, mom said you're going to be staying with us for a while. I'm going to get the guest room all set up for you after dinner. I have a lot of extra sheets that I'm sure you'll like. And I've got plenty of cloths that you can borrow. I'm pretty sure we're about the same size, so it shouldn't be a big deal."

I sighed. "You don't have to worry about that stuff, Alice. I'm sure any sheets you have will be fine, and I'm going to find a way to get some clothes soon, hopefully."

She smiled at me sweetly. "Well, until then, my closet is open." She gave me another hug and then skipped down the stairs.

I sighed as I watched her. She was as optimistic as ever, not letting anything trouble her. I knew I could never reach that level of optimism. I was too much of a realist.

I started walking towards the bathroom at the other end of the hall, near Edward's bedroom, when his door opened.

He smiled at me sadly while he walked toward me. His eyes were so intense and they were studying my face, trying to figure out how I was feeling.

"I'm alright, I promise. I won't ruin anymore of your shirts." I tried to smile at him to lighten the mood.

"I couldn't care less about my shirts, Bella. You can ruin all of them for all I care. My shoulder and my shirts are always open to you." He said seriously.

"Thank you, Edward. For everything. You have been so…understanding. No matter what I've told you, you haven't judged me or treated me any differently."

He smiled at me and reached out to brush the hair out of my face. "Don't thank me. I'm glad that you gave me the chance to be there for you." He smiled a genuine smile at me, and my heart melted a little bit. "Come on." He said, grabbing my hand. "Let's go eat dinner."

Hey everyone! I hope your enjoying it so far. I know this chapter wasn't the best, but there ya go. I'll have another chapter up by tonight or tomorrow sometime! Review! 3