3
Carlisle watched as she stumbled through the door. Her bag was almost as heavy as she was and he saw her knock into the door frame as she went, shrugging the bag higher onto her shoulder. He frowned at the memory of her scuffed shoes and too large sweater. It was obvious that money was extremely tight for the girl. He took out his cell phone and dialled his daughter.
"I saw EVERYTHING! She is so CUTE!" Alice's voice pierced through the small speaker, if he wasn't a vampire, he figured that it was totally possible that that last word could have only been heard by dogs.
"Will it work, do you think?" he still wasn't certain about the course they were on.
"Of course it will!" Alice said, upset that he was questioning her. "It isn't often I am wrong." Her voice was subdued as she said this and Carlisle silently shook his head, knowing she had probably seen him do it even though she was 3 miles away. Alice blamed herself for Edward, and until things were back the way she thought they should be she would continue to blame herself. "You know I can't usually see more than a few days ahead, this is why this is so important."
Carlisle looked into the corridor as if he could pierce the walls and find Bella, she was younger than he had thought when Alice had started this. She was just under 8 ½ years old. There was no way that Alice's plan could be completed before the girl was 17 at the earliest. Though 9 years meant little to an immortal of his age, his wife fretted every day over their 'eldest son's' absence. There was little to be done though, humans grew at a set rate. He ran a hand over his face and into his hair, a sad smile on his face as he recognized the gesture as one he had picked up from said son.
"It will work Carlisle," she assured him again, "but not if we don't help… if things continue the way they are Bella will end up in foster care soon, bad things will happen to her and she will never get to meet Edward! If we interfere too much she will never go live with her father, we HAVE to get the balance right!" He nodded again at the empty classroom and said a quick farewell, he could hear his next class in the corridor, he got to his feet and let them in.
Bella struggled to lift the brown paper bag with the food in, while balancing the schoolbag at the same time. It wasn't really very heavy, just bulky. She had 87c left in her pocket, there was just no way she could make the food last until her mother was paid. The bank was empty, and she still had to find the money for the electric company! The final demand for the gas bill was due in the next two weeks and the phone the week after. She headed on a slight tangent across the car park, heading for Mrs. Vaughn's house, worries pressed down on her and filled her head so much that she was surprised when someone spoke her name. She wasn't usually so out of it that she didn't know what was happening around her.
"Mr. Carlisle!" The person who had spoken to her was the new substitute teacher. He reached out and lifted the bag of groceries from her arms.
"Let me help with that!" he said, giving her no chance to refuse. She looked at him puzzled as he set off in the direction of her house. He reached over and took her school bag too, slinging it easily over his shoulder.
"Erm…" she was about to object to his actions…after all she didn't know the man! She stopped and bit her lip, trying to work out what she could say if he asked why a girl her age was shopping, but he never asked, however she jumped when a loud shout echoed around the street.
"DAD!" a girl not much bigger than she was, though obviously older by some way, ran across the street and jumped into Mr. Carlisle's arm. He balanced both the girl and bags skilfully.
"Alice! I'd like you to meet one of my pupils!" he smiled widely as he turned and introduced Bella.
"I'm so happy to meet you!" the girl was almost bubbling with excitement. She must have been 17 or 18 but she was only about 4 1/2 feet tall, she had dark hair that was short and spiky all over, in fact the only thing father and daughter had in common was their very unusual eye colour. Both had gold coloured eyes. Bella had a strange feeling looking at the pair. Though it was obvious from their interaction that they were close, she just could not truly believe that they were father and daughter. There was no way a man of his age could have a child that old! He didn't even look as old as her mother. She shook her head to herself and watched the pair closely.
"Hi," Bella said at last. The girl, Alice, bounced around her, as if she had so much energy she couldn't contain it. Mr. Carlisle was watching her fondly as she scampered about.
The girl was as beautiful as her 'father' and to tell the truth a little overwhelming to the reserved Bella. She spoke almost none stop until Bella realized she was at the top of her street. She thanked her teacher and took back the bags. After a quick good-bye she left the pair and made her way home. She entered the house, automatically flipping the light switch and sighing as it still did not work. The fridge would be no use in another day, the freezer, which she had made sure not to open as soon as she realized the problem would keep things cold a few days longer, not that there was much in there apart from a casserole and a small lasagne she had made for herself and frozen last month and a lot of empty boxes just to fill the space and make it cheaper to run.
She packed the few groceries away and picked up the phone. She dialled the direct number she had been given after the last few times, and spoke to the lady she had dealt with before on her private extension. Though sympathetic she couldn't help. The power would stay off until a token payment was made. Bella agreed to see if she could get her mother to forward something and put the phone down. Where they would get money TO forward she had no idea.
She waited until 7 before making her own dinner once more. It was obvious that Renée had a new boyfriend, she was late again. She entertained herself reading the physics book and chuckling to herself often at the jokes and rhymes that made remembering things fun. It wasn't until she went to bed at 9 (with still no sign of her mother) that she realized that she hadn't visited Mrs. Vaughn.
She would do it after school the next day.
"There's no electric?" Esme was dismayed as Alice told her the conditions that her future daughter was living under.
"Renée forgets to pay the bills, she is so wrapped up in herself, her schemes and projects that the normal every day things just do not get seen to. Bella is the one who does the things necessary to keep the house running." Alice sighed, trying idea after idea to get money to Bella that would not involve her mother so she could pay the bills and do some shopping. Each scheme she thought up was useless as Renée invariably got hold of the money and wasted it. She growled and pointed. The Cullen's watched horrified, they had got an apartment in a block overlooking the small house Bella lived in, and through the uncovered window of the house they could see the supposed parent eat almost all the food that Bella had bought home and then throw what was left of the good loaf of bread out for the wildlife while her daughter slept oblivious in her bed. Alice knew she would have to do something, otherwise Bella would be without food as well as electric the next day.
"Does Bella's father pay child support or alimony?" Esme asked, her voice tight with unnatural anger. Esme was the calmest soul Alice had ever known, it was rare for her to get angry. Alice looked forward and nodded her head, sighing in frustration as she saw the money deposited by Charlie being withdrawn before the bills were settled to buy materials for the leatherworking scheme that was doomed to failure.
"We could buy her goods, no… we could give her a winning lottery ticket…" Alice shuddered at the outcome if Renée ever got her hands on that much money, "We could employ Renée as a tutor… no we haven't got any children young enough, she isn't qualified to teach high school… we could try dropping a wallet full of money in Bella's path, but she just hands it in to the police."
"How does he pay?" Esme asked. Alice frowned, why was Esme stuck on this money, Alice had already seen what would happen to it?
"He pays it direct into her bank." Alice supplied. Esme looked smug and suddenly the vision arrived. It would work!
The next day was almost a repeat of the last. Maths class was slightly better but still a trial but science was a joy. Mr. Carlisle kept his eye on David Barnes and that young man was sulking mightily, having been given detention by his own father which signalled to the other teachers that his antics were not to be tolerated any more.
(A quiet word from the supply teacher with words like harassment, witness, lawyer and court had given the vice principle a new view on what should be seen as acceptable behaviour from his son. Another word with Mr. Blain, a man who had once caught an STD from Renée, had ensured that the child was not punished for her mother's mistakes in the future either.)
Bella skipped through the chapter in the book on radioactivity as she just could not grasp the material, she decided to ask Mr. Carlisle to explain some of it at the extra class after school.
Lunch time she sat at the far side of the school on a bench at the back of the boiler house, alone as usual. She vainly tried to cover up the scuffmarks on the toes of her shoes with her pen. It didn't work so she turned to her lunch, it wasn't much of a lunch, she had to make do with the last of the cheese and no bread. The loaf she had bought on her way home the day before had been broken up and scattered on the back yard for the birds by her mother. She could have cried, but was by now used to being last on the list of priorities, so she didn't bother. She had been sad for so long now it was normal and she didn't even realize that she seldom smiled any more.
Suddenly someone bounced onto the bench at the side of her making her jump. It was Alice!
"Hi Bella!" she said.
"Hello… What are you doing here? You are too old to come to this school aren't you?" she asked puzzled, wondering how the girl had found her and how she was going to eat her lunch without her noticing how little she had to eat.
"Oh, we only just moved into the area and my mother is home schooling me for now, but she had to go and sign us up for doctors and dentists and things," Alice spoke rapidly and waved her arms about as she spoke, Bella liked her. She was not usually one to make friends easily, friends tended to want to visit your home and do things together, and Bella just didn't have the time, and she didn't want anyone to know just how much of the day she spent without 'adult' supervision, so she kept to herself. Alice was so friendly though, and with her being so much older she wouldn't want to hang around with someone her age anyway!
Alice reached into a rather scrunched up brown paper bag, "Here, I've had enough, want some?" Alice was holding out half of a thick sandwich, the bread struggling to hold the large amount of salad and cheese inside.
"I've had my lunch," Bella told her friend, hiding the paper bag with the lump of cheese in her school bag.
"What a waste!" Alice made to put the food into the bag she had scrunched up, she held it out once more, and Bella's mouth started watering just thinking of the crunchy salad. "Are you sure? I'm only going to throw it away, my mother always makes more than I can possibly eat."
Bella caved, the lure of fresh, plentiful, tasty food that she didn't have to make herself winning over her natural reluctance to accept charity. Besides it was almost criminal to waste good food!
Alice spoke almost none stop to Bella all through lunch on a variety of topics. She never once acted as if it was a chore to be with someone so much younger than herself. After Bella finished the sandwich, Alice shared a small pack of California raisins with her new friend, though Bella could swear that Alice didn't actually eat any of them.
As the bell went for afternoon registration Mr. Carlisle came out and Alice went to join him. Bella felt happier than she had in quite some time. Even though Alice was double her age she felt comfortable with her and knew she had found a friend she would like to keep.
During Bella's extra lesson Alice sat at the back of the classroom quietly, and when the lesson was over the Carlisle's walked Bella home again. This time she didn't stop for groceries, there just wasn't enough money left for that. She was lucky Alice had shared her lunch with her so she wasn't too hungry.
Renée wasn't home when Bella arrived, though she was not expecting her to be. She picked up the mail from inside the front door, dreading the possibility that there may be even more bills lurking in the pile. However one of the letters stood out, it was hand addressed and if she wasn't mistaken it was her father's writing.
She tore open the envelope quickly and pulled out the very thick letter, it was only when she dropped a couple of bills that she realized that it wasn't a thick letter after all, it was a single sheet and cash! Dollars! She counted them rapidly, $400! The covering letter was addressed to her mother, of course, and it stated that there was a problem with Charlie's bank account, something had happened and the bank was unable to send this month's money through so he was sending it cash! Bella frowned, she was sure she had seen her father's money go into the bank last month, and if it did not go in next there would be major problems with the bank. She shrugged, the end of the letter said that if by some chance the money arrived in the bank she (Renée) was to use the $400 to buy Bella something nice. Electricity would be nice! So would food! Bella tucked the money into the pocket of her school bag and quickly burnt the letter in the fire. Renée must not find out about this! A moment of guilt swept through her, it was technically theft, but she was tired of trying to make Renée see reason. If Charlie's money didn't go into the bank then she would sort that out when the time came.
How was she to pay the bill? It was easy to get shopping, they took cash, but the electric company wanted a bank transfer or card details, and Bella just daren't pay the money into her mother's account. First thing that morning the mail had arrived and the bank had sent a letter stating that Renée had overdrawn on her account without permission. If Bella paid the money from Charlie into the bank it would be swallowed up with what her mother owed as well as the overdraft fees.
How typical. She had the money for the bills at last, but no way of paying them! She racked her brain but the only thing she could think of was calling her father and asking him to pay. That would lead to even more arguments between her parents, and she caused enough as it was. Renée had several times hinted rather broadly that SHE was the reason her parents were no longer together, Bella could well believe it because her father had changed nothing in the house at all since the day Renée had walked out, as if he still hoped she would return.
Bella nervously checked the cash was safe in her bag as she left the house early, for school. She was walking past the store, just about to turn to Mrs. Vaughn's house, when Mr. Carlisle and Alice came out of the shop, Alice bounced over to her as Bella watched her teacher head to the cash machine and put his card into the slot.
An idea formed at the back of her mind, could she trust him though? Really the teachers were the biggest danger to her home life, they were the ones who may possibly work it out and call child services.
But… Electric.
"Hi!" Alice smiled hugely.
"Hello Alice." Bella smiled back slightly distracted, she chewed her bottom lip as she warred within herself, her need for independence battling with her need for electric.
"I was going to call for you on the way to school, mother is having to see to some more things today so I'm coming in again." Bella's eyes widened in panic. NO! Alice couldn't come around without electric in the house. What would she say? "Bella?" Alice looked at her concerned, her mother always said her face was an open book and she couldn't hide anything.
"Can I trust your dad?" Bella asked quietly. At least Mr. Carlisle was only a supply teacher, there was less chance of him reporting her than her full time teachers, wasn't there?
"Of course!" Alice said, her voice sounding hurt at the thought someone wouldn't trust her father.
At that second the man in question finished his business at the ATM and joined the two girls.
Before she knew it, Bella had spilled the situation at home to him. Not everything, not the fact that she hardly ever saw her mother, or that she was often without food, but enough so that before she knew what was happening he was on the phone to the electric company and reading out his card details.
Bella pressed the cash into his hand after he finished. She wasn't used to being able to rely on other people, it felt nice having someone who acted on her behalf. She burst into tears in relief.
Alice looked at her father in consternation but he pulled a hanky from his pocket and she dried her tears, laughing at how silly she was, crying because things were ok again! Mr. Carlisle put a friendly hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, his hands were frozen! She could feel the cold even through her rather lightweight coat, and school sweater. However when he asked if she was OK she nodded and decided not to say anything.
"Come on girls, we will be late for school," he said steering them on the right path, "And though Bella would get a late mark and Alice nothing at all… I don't think it looks good when the TEACHER is late." He smiled and Bella and Alice laughed.