Chapter 18: Charlie
No POV
After high tailing it out of there and making a pit stop at Charlie's house to drop off riley and the diner to get the gossip and a really late lunch, or really early dinner depends on what you eat at 3.30pm, Bella and Tyler made their way back to the hospital.
"I need to make a phone call, 'k?"
"Sure, I'll go relieve Lexi"
The couple separated after a slow kiss that turned heads and Tyler headed to the pay phones while Bella turned to the ICU, the compelled nurse simply greeted her and found Lexi fast asleep curled on the chair next to the bed. Charlie looked a tiny bit better and it gave her hope. Taking one of the extra greasy burgers Bella crouched in front of her and moved it in front of the sleeping vampire's nose until Lexi murmured something and woke up.
"thought you might be hungry"
"mmm, thanks. how did it go?"
"it's over now"
"seriously? how?"
"yeah. Miss fang kind of ambushed us at la push with two friends. Turns you were right, doggie blood is fatal to them. Took her and one of the friends and I may have offered to take the other in"
Bella told Lexi the highlights of what happened in code as she wasn't so sure whether Charlie could hear them. She could feel nothing coming from him and it was a little frightening
"first of all wow I thought it was a myth and two are you nuts?"
"No I am not nuts. At least I don't think so. If it turns out badly I'll deal with it then for now I just have a feeling it will work out"
"I hope it will. Where's Tyler?"
"outside, by the phone. Wanted to make some phone calls back home. To Virginia I mean"
Lexi chuckled understandingly
"I know what you mean. After a while you kind of forget where home is. To change the subject you gonna miss the pageant then?"
"if I'm lucky! It's this weekend and it's a Tuesday already"
the two girls sat for a while like this, catching up with Tyler who soon joined them scarfing down their meals for a few hours until the sun went down. Feeling rather drowsy after the events of that day and having no intention on going way for the night they settled for a good nights sleep.
It was just a little after the crack of dawn when charlie's eyelids fluttered and slowly blinked open. The man was confused and more than a little dizzy. He lifted one hand and tore the oxygen tube from his nostrils. He looked around and saw a blond girl curled up in one of the plastic chairs sleeping. In the other chair a couple was snuggled. The boy was sitting on the chair holding gently a girl with long brown hair. The boy's eyes opened as soon as he felt the older man's eyes on him
"what are you doing with my daughter?"
Charlie asked in a low rasping voice. Tyler blinked and decided against waking up Bella. Instead he answered in a low voice as well
"Bella got a phone call from the hospital that you were hurt. I came with her"
"so she cares then?"
"more than you know sir"
Tyler knew how to speak to an authority figure after all these years of being forced to address his own father as 'sir'. Charlie nodded and leaned back thinking to the strange woman. she had appeared near the station after work
"do you know a Bella swan?"
"yes, she's my daughter"
"well then daddy, give her a message from me"
"what message?"
"I'm back and I'm coming for her"
then she hit him and even though he fired shots at her the bullets somehow ricocheted off of her and she laughed. Then everything was a blur she fell on him biting and scratching. His last thought before he succumbed to unconsciousness was Bella's face both the night she left for phoenix and the day he put her on a place to Renée following Billy's advice that a girl needs her mother. he was pulled out of his musings to find that the room was brighter and two people were arguing. he cracked open one eye to see Bella and Billy seething at each other
"how dare you come to his room and accuse me Billy? Who do you think you are?"
"the person that was here for Charlie all his life, where were you?"
"you know very well where I was Billy, do you scan all of my father's mail and keep what interests you or only mine?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about"
"yeah, right. I saw my letters at your house Billy. let me guess you also persuade Charlie to send me to Renée?"
"he's better off without you"
"good luck telling that straight to his face"
Bella ended the conversation and they both turned to Charlie.
"how did you know and you did what Billy?"
Charlie was seething while Billy had the decency to look sheepish.
"get out"
"what?"
"you heard me, get. the fuck. out"
Billy didn't say another word and rolled his wheelchair out leaving him alone with his daughter for the first time since June. Bella looked different, more mature.
"hi dad"
"baby"
tears welled up her eyes and with no other word she jumped on the bed hugging him hard erasing all doubts, hard feelings and misconceptions immediately in a way that brought them both to when Bella was his little girl.
"I'm so sorry for sending you away"
"don't be, it was the best thing you could have done to me"
"how?"
"well I met Lexi on the plane, it made an emergency landing and she invited me to stay with her for a while. i was kind on angry at you and mom and agreed. I sent my first letter then telling you and mom that i decided to stay alone. we went to her house in Georgia and spent the summer together working at her friend's bar. in September we went to Virginia to surprise a friend of hers and i liked it there so I moved in. I'm at school, have a job and a steady boyfriend. I sent my second letter when I calmed down enough, a couple weeks ago"
"is that a tattoo on your wrist?"
belle's enhanced hearing along with the heart monitor registered his elevated heartbeat
"Yes. A star to always remember to look at them, a heart to remember to always ask my heart before following my head and a flower to remind me to stop and smell the flowers. Isn't that the advice you always gave me?"
Charlie chuckled
"so tell me about this boyfriend of yours"
