Chapter 18

"Yeah, she was telling your Dad that she wants you to go and live in the hotel with her, and to not bother with school. I have no idea what made her change her mind." There was something about the way Yvonne said that that made me really suspicious. She just flashed me a winning smile, as if she couldn't believe I was accusing her of anything.

"Maybe I should phone her," I said slowly. Yvonne just continued to watch me as I got my phone out my bag and rang the number. I was just about to hang up when my mom picked up.

"Hello? This is Renee speaking."

I know, Mom," I said sighing. "I understand you were at the house earlier."

"He told you? I told him he wasn't to speak to you until I sorted things out. That son of a bitch is just wanting to mess up my plans." She was speaking in harsh tones, as if she was really angry.

I looked at Yvonne. She should have told me that I wasn't supposed to know she was here. "Sorry," She mouthed at me, but she wasn't. The impish smile and the twinkle in her eye told me exactly what she was thinking.

"No, mom. He didn't tell me." I decided to try and save him, even though he was being an ass. "I guessed. He looked in a foul mood and I realised that could only happen from one of your confrontations." Which was true. The last time they met up to talk, I was scared out of my mind. They were screaming at each other. Mom throwing things. Dad swearing. I was only five at the time and Charlie had come to our house to demand to see me in the holidays. Mom disagreed and ergo the whole fiasco. I remember standing watching them with my teddy in my arms and tears in my eyes, but neither of them noticed. They were too busy caught up in the argument.

I was brought back to reality when Mom started talking again.

"Well I may as well tell you now. I was thinking of buying a house in Seattle, as it is just so gorgeous here. It's far enough away from Forks for me to be happy, but close enough for you to see your Dad." I grimaced. The way things were going I didn't know if I wanted to see him. "And I have seen this beautiful villa. Bella, you would absolutely love it. It is gorgeous. And moderately cheap too. Perfect for us!"

"Mom, that's great!" I decided to support her. It's not often she included my feelings in her plans. "When can you get it?"

"Very soon. I've already put the offer in. I passed it coming to the hotel and I loved it straight away. I want you to come and see it!"

"Sure! I'll come at the weekend to see it."

"Actually I wanted you to come tomorrow. Then we could spend the day together!"

I was quite wary. What was going on?

"Mom, tomorrow is a school day. I can't."

"Sure you can! I was just teasing about the whole you have to go into school all the time. It's not necessary, you're great!"

"Thanks, but I actually kind of like it. I like the people. I want to go," I explained.

"Bella, you're coming whether you like it or not. You have a tutor and you can't get too tied down to the school anyway. You will be leaving before you know it."

"Fine, I'll come tomorrow, but I get to go to school on Friday," I bargained.

"Sure, sure." She dismissed the subject. "We will pick you up at eight o'clock sharp."

"Ok, see you then!"

"Ta, ta!" And then she hung up. I could imagine her snapping her phone shut. I clicked the button and sighed. She was trying to be good which was an improvement.

"So you're not going to be around tomorrow? How unfortunate." Yvonne sighed.

"Why, what's up?" I asked.

"Well, it's just that Edward will miss you, and I don't want a whiny brother." She shrugged as if that was the real reason, but I knew it wasn't. I decided to let it go, I didn't want another argument.

"Oh by the way, you should probably look in the mirror," She told me.

Confused, I got up and walked over to my mirror.

My hair was a complete mess. What had been stylish this morning was now huge. The carefully placed curls were sticking out all over the place. It was not completely frizzy and just awful. It must have been Edward running through the forest, I thought. That's what he was laughing at!

I gaped at my reflection in horror and tried to tame the mess of hair. I ran my brush through it and winced at how much it hurt. I would never be able to get this straightened out.

"Here, let me do it." Yvonne walked over, comb and a bottle in hand. "Alice saw this coming and was horrified at the result so she sent me over here with a bottle of de-tangler. This will work."

She started spraying my hair then pulling the comb through. Due to her vampire speed my hair looked normal in minutes, whereas it would have taken me hours.

"Thanks!" I looked at my thankfully knot free hair in the mirror. It was straight and looked a little bit greasy due to the spray. "Ugh, I need to wash my hair now."

"Well, you go and do that, and I'll leave. I just wanted to pop by and see you. Due to Edward's rage when he came home to eat, I can conclude that all the boys thought you were smoking' hot in that outfit today." She winked at me. "I might dress you up more often if it means my work is appreciated. Have fun in Seattle tomorrow."

She jumped out the window.

I quickly went to the bathroom and hopped in for a shower. I got back in my room and quickly changed into pyjamas. Edward wasn't there so I decided to go downstairs and get some dinner. I needed to face Charlie sooner or later.

I silently walked down the stairs, wincing as the steps creaked under my feet. There was only the light coming from the living room, as I navigated myself down the dark hallway. I peeked into the room. Charlie was facing the TV, the bright lights glaring. He was watching baseball, so I decided to leave him be. Sports usually calmed him down a bit. I turned and walked into the kitchen. I wasn't really that hungry, I just wanted something to tide me over for the night. I decided to have a slice of toast with chocolate spread.

"Mmmmmmm," I hummed as I bit into the toast. It had been a while since I had had this. As I was appreciating my toast, Charlie walked into the kitchen and headed for the fridge. I was sitting on the counter on the other side of the kitchen and so he didn't see me. I decided to let my presence be known, so I coughed.

The can of beer that he had gotten out of the fridge clattered to the floor as he jumped.

"Don't scare me like that," he mumbled, "You could give me a heart attack at my age."

"Sorry," I apologized. "I just wanted to let you know I called Mom."

He picked up his beer and twiddled it around, contemplating what I said.

"And why would you do that?" he said to me.

"I, eh, wanted to tell her about my days," I tried to say convincingly.

"Were you telling on me?" He sounded so juvenile, I started to laugh. He got angry again, which I thought was really unfair.

"Running back to Mommy because you don't like something? How original. Your mother done that as well," he said spitefully. I was beginning to see another side to Charlie that I didn't like. "As soon as our relationship hit a rough patch she was out the door, away to her Mom's place, taking you with her. I never got to say goodbye, all she left was a note."

Now I knew what was happening. He was upset at seeing her, and no wonder, she left him with absolutely no notice. It was then that I decided that I felt sorry for him. Mom could be so… strange. She could be so sweet and caring one minute, like she was on the phone, and then a cold heartless bitch the next. It made the woman very hard to love in some cases.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I never new how hard it was on you," I began.

He interrupted me, before I could continue.

"Hard on me? HARD ON ME!" he yelled. "IT WASN'T BLOODY HARD ON ME! IT WAS EXCRUCIATING!"

I was scared. He was throwing his hands in the air, letting out all his frustration on me. After years of not living with anyone, not letting out his rage in small bursts, it all came out in one huge burst of anger.

"SHE TOOK MY DAUGHTER AWAY FROM ME! She took my daughter away from me…" he said in a smaller voice. He became so vulnerable and small then, but I couldn't comfort him. I was still in shock. I sat there clutching my toast, quivering in fear. I soon came out of my shock and decided to go over and comfort him.

"It's ok, I'm back now," I whispered to him, putting my arms around him. "Shhhh."

I had no idea how to comfort a grown man crying in my arms. He wasn't even crying a little bit, it was full on sobbing. I patted his head and rubbed his back, uttering soothing words. After a while it turned into pathetic snivels so I decided it was time for me to do something else.

"Would you like anything to eat? A sandwich?" I pulled some of the sandwiches out of my bag from earlier. He nodded his head and I passed him one. He thanked me and then started nibbling on the bread. It was like looking after a little boy, and for some reason it made me feel quite maternal. Soon, I moved into him into the living room. I didn't know if now was the best time to bring up my conversation with Renee, but it was the only time.

"Dad," I hesitated. "On the phone to Mom, she asked me if I would go to Seattle tomorrow to see her. Is it ok if I go?"

"Isn't it a bit late after school to go to Seattle?"

"Um, she wants me to miss school tomorrow to go. She wants to buy a house there, to be near you." That last line might have just won me the privilege of going.

"She wants to move near? As in the same state?" His chocolate brown eyes sparkled with delight. I was happy to see him excited for something, I just prayed the whole thing didn't fall through.

"Yeah, so is it ok if I go?"

"Ok, just for the one day then."

"Thank you!" I ran over and hugged him. He chuckled, seemingly back in his usual good mood. I started to leave to go upstairs when Charlie called me back.

"Bella, I think I was a bit harsh earlier. I was just so annoyed with everything. Um, your not really grounded, it was just a threat," he blushed.

"Oh ok." I didn't really know what to say. "Thanks, I guess."

Tonight was getting better. Learning more about my dad and being ungrounded was great. I opened my bedroom door to see Edward standing by the window.

"Is everything ok?" he said softly.

I nodded and smiled at him. This night was going to be great.

A/N - Please read and review!