Angry Charlie

Today's song is Angry Charlie by the Generationals.

The next morning, Bella Swan awoke with a feeling of hope that had been missing for quite some time. As she lay in bed looking for familiar shapes on the ceiling, she tried to make sense of the unfamiliar feeling.

After awhile, she decided the feeling could be attributed to her reasoning that it would be nearly impossible for Edward to find her. She had decided to believe in the absolutely unlikelihood that Edward would suddenly show up on her doorstep. It was already too coincidental that he had found Rosalie, there was no way fate would be so unkind as to let him happen upon her sanctuary in the desert. It wasn't like the pueblo was just off the highway, Edward would have to drive through a few small communities before driving almost fifteen miles through the desert just to get to the base of the mesa and knowing Edward, there was no way he would have the patience to follow a road for that long.

With a sigh, Bella nudged Sammy of the foot of her bed before swinging her legs over the side."Mornin' bud," she yawned, scratching the disgruntled dog behind the ears as a peace offering for disturbing his slumber.

Bella did feel a small twinge of guilt knowing how much Edward would miss his dog but she ignored the feeling immediately, she didn't want to feel anything for Edward Cullen any longer. Besides, she reasoned, Sammy had once been just as much her dog as his now it was her turn to enjoy his presence.

A familiar pathetic whine and a loudly thumping tail brought Bella out of her musings. "Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist, I'll feed you."

With a small groan, she rose to her feet before walking the few steps to her bedroom floor and following the eager canine down the stairs. As she stumbled around the small kitchen, she was surprised not to find any of her family members hanging around the house seeing as none of them were really morning people but shrugged it off figuring it must be later in the day that she had originally thought.

After hooking both herself and her companion up with breakfast, Bella went about her morning routine until Sammy's whines alerted her to his need for a walk.

"Okay, okay," she grumbled as she slipped her feet into a pair of well loved Chuck's and began to tighten the laces. "Happy now? We're going."

"Knock, knock," a booming voice called from outside earning a round of warning barks from Sammy as he dashed to protect Bella from the unseen threat.

"Hey Jake, come on in!" Bella called from the couch as she finished tying her shoes.

"Hidey ho there neighbor!" Jacob boomed as he threw open the door. Sammy immediately took up a more defensive position in front of Bella and gave the large man a warning growl. "Oh cool, I heard there was a dog around here somewhere!" Jake exclaimed excitedly.

"Sammy," Bella scolded the growling dog, "be nice." She pushed the protective dog aside and stepped forward to hug Jake, earning another low growl from Sammy. "Oh hush," she chastised again giving the dog a disapproving frown.

"Ah Bells, don't be so hard on the guy," Jake said, "he's just protecting his pretty lady from the big scary incredibly good looking man. You should be flattered."

Bella just rolled her eyes as she tried to suppress the blush that was threatening to stain her cheeks and decided to change the subject.

"Have you seen Charlie or Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber anywhere?" She asked as she sank down to the floor in order to scratch Sammy's back.

"Charlie yeah," Jake replied as she put his fingers out for Sammy to sniff before scratching the large dog behind the ears. "He went out with Sam early this morning to check our water reserves. Haven't seen your brother or sister since yesterday though, maybe they're hanging out with the new arrivals? I heard the kid is quite the charmer."

Bella let out a soft laugh. "Oh yeah, he's a charmer alright. He'll charm you out of every sugary substance you have if you're not careful."

"Good to know," Jake chuckled, "I'll be sure to hide my Sour Patch Kids."

"Good idea. Anyway, I was just about to take Sammy here for a walk if you want to come with. Then we can get back to work on inventorying the supplies."

"Sounds like a plan," Jacob agreed while looking around the small room. "Uh, does he need a leash or something?"

Bella shook her head as she opened the door. "Nah, he's trained to stay close besides, where would he go? We are on a mesa."

"I guess you're right," Jacob conceded as he watched Sammy dart eagerly out the door before gesturing for Bella to go first and pulling the door closed after them.

The pair strolled silently out of the village behind the excited dog, content for the time to enjoy the stillness of the morning. They had been walking for a over ten minutes before Jacob finally decided to break the silence.

"So, are you going to tell me how you know the newcomers and why you're so familiar with a dog that obviously doesn't belong to any of them or am I going to have to guess?"

Bella flopped down on an outcropping of rock while Sammy continued to run in circles, sticking his nose in every nook and cranny he could find. "Oh geeze Jake, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I wasn't trying to keep anything from you on purpose. What do you want to know?"

Jacob shrugged as he settled himself next to the petite woman. "I guess I would just start with who they are and go from there."

"Eh okay," Bella agreed.

She bit her lip as she searched for the words necessary to explain and eventually settled for a substandard explanation. There was no way she could adequately convey who Rosalie was to her using only the English language.

"Um well, Rosalie Hale has been one of my best friends for years. We met during our Junior year of college. We were trapped in a series of extra long classes and would have gone insane from chronic boredom if we had never met. She has less fear than anyone else I've ever met and has no issues with speaking her mind. She's a few years older than I am and had a couple of rough years after high school. When we met she was putting herself through college and supporting not only herself but her son Jack as well. She's an amazing mother and an even more unbelievable friend. If it hadn't been for the two of you I would definitely have been lost."

"Bells," Jacob interrupted, "sorry. Where's Jack's father? I get the feeling the guy who came with them isn't his Dad. Did they have to leave him behind when they left the city?"

Bella shook her head. "No, they didn't leave him behind but as for who Jack's father is, that's not really my story to tell. Let's just put that under the category of 'shit that happened before I met Rose' and leave it at that."

"Oh alright," Jacob shifted uncomfortably, "so uh, how old is Jack?"

Bella furrowed her brow, she had never been good with ages and had to thing about his question for a moment. "Um, well when I met him he had just turned three so that would make him eight now."

"Cool," Jake nodded as he rose to his feet and extended his hand to help his friend to her feet. "We should probably walk and talk before the dog ditches us," he explained. "So what do you know about this other guy?"

She shrugged. "Nothing really. Rosalie said they met Jasper in the city while they were hiding out inside of a Costco. I really didn't get a chance to talk to him much but anyone who goes through so much to save a woman and her child can't be all bad."

By now the group had reentered the small village and were greeted by a smattering of survivors going about their daily chores effectively ending their conversation for the time being saving Bella from having to explain how she knew Sammy.

"You're stalling," Jake whispered as they left Kim's house causing Bella to look up at him with an unreadable expression. "How do you know the dog?" he asked. "He's obviously not Jasper's since you've never met the guy and if he belonged to Jack I'm sure he wouldn't have left the boy's side which leads me to believe he belongs to someone else so spill."

Bella's entire form seemed to curl up upon itself before she lifted her head and squared her shoulders. She refused to let her past effect her in such a negative way any longer. The time for her to be sad and broken Bella was over, heartbreak was a luxury she could no longer afford.

"He's my ex-boyfriend Edward's dog," she admitted earning a horrified look from Jacob.

Jake knew a lot about what had gone on between his best friend and her ex-boyfriend but not everything. What he did know was how broken Bella had looked when they had first met. Some of the zeds he had encountered looked more alive than she had. It had taken months to see her really come out of her shell and he'd be damned if he was going to allow that bastard to reenter her life again.

"What do you mean he's Edward's dog?" He growled angrily.

"I mean just that," she shrugged like it was no big deal. "Rose said he and Sammy were with Jasper when they found her and Jack hiding in Costco and eventually they helped them escape with the store was overrun."

"Well isn't that a nice little tidbit you happened to leave out earlier," he spat causing Bella to flinch slightly. "So, where is the bastard now?" he demanded looking around like he expected Edward to jump out and attack them at any moment.

"Fruck, relax Jake," Bell soothed as she placed her small hand on his arm. "I'm sorry I didn't mention it before, I just really didn't want to talk about it. He's not here, Rosalie and Jasper lost him on the way. Apparently he decided to play around and since neither told him where they were going, they lost him. There's no way in hell he's going to find us so far out here."

"I don't know Bells," Jacob replied uncertainly, "your friend sure found us with no problems and so did Esme if you remember."

Bella sighed and shook her head. "It wasn't a coincidence Jake. I told Rosalie about this place years ago and she was the neighbor Esme told us about. Rosalie remembered what I had said and told Esme where to go, not really a mystery about how she got here. Yes, Edward finding Rose was weirdly coincidental but that's where the coincidences end. Besides, even I can't be that unlucky."

Jacob fixed her with a disbelieving gaze. "I don't know Bells, sometimes I think we should change your name to Murphy but if you're sure…" he trailed off before his head snapped up."What the-"

"Sammy, Sammy!" Bella called in vain as the large dog took off barking toward the sounds drifting toward them from a house a few streets over.

"Don't worry," Jake called over his shoulder as he began jogging toward the disturbance. "I'll get him and get this all sorted. Why don't you get started on the inventory and I'll meet up with you soon."

Bella scowled at the large man's retreating back. She hated that her stupid injuries kept getting in the way. She was sick of being an invalid and decided to follow the noises, she really couldn't come up with a good reason not to.

The scene Jacob came upon was certainly not something he had suspected. Outside the house that had been assigned to Jasper, Bella's father was shouting until he was nearly purple in the face while Emmett had another man pinned against the adobe wall. All the while, Sammy growled menacingly as Rosalie screamed at the three men.

"Hey, hey!" Jake shouted, finally gaining the attention of the angry crowd. "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded.

"This- this," Charlie sputtered angrily, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Sensing that Charlie wasn't going to be any help, Jake turned his attention toward Emmett. "Could you explain to me what's going on? Why in god's name do you have this guy pinned against the wall?"

"I knew I recognized him yesterday, I just couldn't place the face with all," Emmett explained as he gestured to the man's dirty and beaten appearance with his one free hand, "this in the way."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jacob demanded still not understanding. "Who is this?"

"This," Rosalie answered gesturing toward the restrained man, "would be the infamous Edward Cullen."

"Mother fucker," Jake growled as he advanced toward the object of his ire. He had never wanted to cause someone pain so badly. He was just about to take a swing when he heard Bella's voice calling out to him from around the corner.

Emmett squeezed his eyes shut but didn't let up on his hold of Edward. "Shit man, this is not good. You've got to get her out of here."

"I'll uh- I'll take care of this," Jacob stammered nervously as he turned on his heel, "someone take care of that dog."

While he had no desire to keep things from Bella, Jacob was worried about her reaction to Edward's presence and hoped he could convince her to leave well enough alone until he could figure out how to break it to her, preferably after he beat the shit out of the guy and possibly threw him from the mesa.

As Bella rounded the corner Jacob jogged forward to meet her with Rosalie hot on his heels "So hey, found your brother," Jacob chuckled uncomfortably as he and Rosalie tried to shield Edward from Bella's view.

"What the frock Jake?" Bella demanded angrily as she tried to peer around the human blockade. "What's going on? What did Emmett do now?"

"Hey," Emmett protested indignantly.

"Oh um, it's just a little disagreement," Jake replied. "Nothing too serious. No need to worry I've got this under control so why don't you just-," she never heard his suggestion as she chose that moment to dart around her friends to find out what was going on for herself since it was obvious they were all trying to keep something from her and her family was in on it.

Bella took one look at the scene in front of her glancing from her father's sheepish face to Emmett's defensive stance before her eyes settled on the face that had haunted her every dream for the past five years. Now as he stood just feet away she couldn't make sense of the billions of thoughts that were running amuck in her mind.

"Bella," Edward cried out from where he was still pinned against the wall by her brother. "Bells please, say something," Edward begged before Emmett pushed him harder into the wall cutting off his ability to speak.

As she stared blankly at the beautiful man who had once held the key to her heart before he decimated her spirit, there was only one word that came shining through the mess of Bella's thoughts in response to his plea.

"Fuck."

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I'm sorry it took so long I know I'm terrible but its been one hell of a week. Anyway I hope you liked it, did you guys catch the final word? I've been waiting for Bella to drop the F-bomb for FOREVER! Let me know how I did and I'll catch you on the flip side my lovelies!

XOXO,

Bellarella