Chapter 2: Okay… What the Hell happened?

When my tears stopped and my cheeks dried I realized that I had fallen asleep my crying gig on Charlie's shoulder. For the second day in a row the sun shone brightly. I blinked and seeing the dried blood on me I headed upstairs to the shower, my moves sluggish and tired.

while shampooing my brain finally decided to start working again and one really big question hit me like a train. Well.. two really big questions.

One: why don't I sparkle? I mean I cried, I slept and, unless my eyes are playing a trick on me, my reflex ion on the foggy mirror above the sink had deep brown eyes. I raised my hand on my throat and found my pulse. I have a pulse!

Two: Shouldn't I be saddened by the deaths of the Cullens? Not to mention the death of my baby girl? I feel... empathy and shock but that's it! I felt more when my mother and brother died.

I wrapped a towel around me and sat on my bed thinking. Through my broken, hazy memories I could only make so much sense. I remember being on the medical bed in Carlisle's study and they went hunting. I remember the pain as my little nudger was taken out of me. I remember her being tiny and fragile. Then all I could feel was absolute fire. When I woke up I was so absorved in the piles of ashes that I had little time for anything else.

Including the burning sensation in the back of my throat. According to everything Edward had beaten into my head I should be famished, crazed and unable to do anything on my own because of the supernatural strength... I feel normal, sluggish, my throat doesn't burn and I have no supernatural strength. ok my thoat does feel a bit scratchy, like I'm coming down with a cold but that's all.

Noticing my reflexion at the mirror again i noticed my dirt brown simple hair was now a mixture of deep red, dark brown and fire red strands, it was longer than before reaching just above my ass in loose curls. My skin was still pale but not sparkly so. Can't say I wish it was...

"I look like an irish setter!"

I exclaimed and shaking the vain thoughts out of my head I got dressed in my casual jeans and a simple top and grabbed a pair of shoes only realizing they were heels when I didn't trip and fall on the stairs. Charlie was wide awake sipping coffee looking serious. feeling famished I took a slice of cold pizza and started munching still amazed I hadn't thrown it up.

"I'm so proud of you bells"

"proud? proud for what? getting married on my eighteenth birthday, getting pregnant on my honeymoon, almost dying during childbirth or becoming a vampire Dad?"

I shouted. If I expected Charlie to be angry or frightened or confused I'd be sorely mistaken. He surprised me by letting loose a full belly laugh.

"All those too but mostly on being alive, kid. One minute later and you'd be in a pile of ash yourself"

I blinked...

... and then blinked some more.

"How do you know about the ashes? Do you know what happened because I don't"

"yes, I do bells"

"are you gonna tell me?"

I growled

"Did Jacob tell you about the pack being split in two? one agreeing to protect you, your baby and the Cullens and the other hell bent on killing you all?"

I nodded my head wondering how the heck Charlie knows all that

"it was a ploy. The pack did break in two but it wasn't to help out anyone but themselves. Jake got in, convinced most of the Cullens to go hunting where Sam's pack caught them and as soon as you gave birth his pack dealt with the remaining Cullens"

"why am I still alive?"

"your heart had stopped. they believed you were dead"

"how do you know all that dad?"

he chuckled taking a sip of his coffee and looked me in the eyes

"because I'm not an idiot, Bells. Besides Billy told me"

he smiled. i exhaled and played with my bracelet a bit.

"what happens now? What do i tell people and why did Mrs. Newton waved sadly yesterday when i was driving here?"

"when Billy told me what the pack did, I filed a police report. Burglars got inside he house and killed everyone. You were hit and unconscious. Everyone believed it"

"everyone believed it..."

i repeated testing the not-exactly-a-lie lie in my mouth.

"I find a lawyer to finalize everything then?"

"actually you're not married. Legally. The marriage is null if its not confirmed within a month by the courthouse Bells, not to mention that the minister is long dead. Anyway all we need to do is bring everything to your name, already done. An old friend owed me a favor"

Charlie chuckled playing with his ring... i may have joined in for a few breaths.

"dad? why do I have a heartbeat?"

I asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm not sure Bells. I sure am happy as hell you have one but I don't know why"

I nodded mulling the thoughts. It was incredible, the space in my head was incredible, I felt like a brand new computer. After breakfast I got dizzy and would have fainted if dad hadn't grabbed me so Charlie loaded me into the car and straight to the Cullen house to check Carlisle's records. He found a big fat load of nothing and I decided to take some mementos. A few photos, the family crests, my favorite pair of sneakers that alike hadn't thrown out (yet) and last but not least a few large colorful manila folders jasper had kept with the family property, companies, buildings, bank accounts, even people across the globe. I heard Charlie's stomach growl loudly downstairs. I went downstairs holding two large card boxes and found him eating the cold Chinese from the fridge while talking to his cell phone

"are you sure sis?"

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"I'll leave tonight then"

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"no bella is coming with me, she's back"

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"I need your opinion about something actually but I'll tell you in person"

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"no, we'll drive there. might take longer but far better than flying, you know I hate that shit"

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"yeah yeah love you too, bye Lizzie"

he hang up and turned to me

"Liz has a problem bells. I need to go back home. wanna join?"

"anything beats being here and get the sad look dad. when do we leave?"

"i told her tonight. enough time to change the locks here and home too"

"about that... I assume you know about the treaty, right? is it still valid? Technically I wasn't bitten"

"you weren't?"

"i was injected. Carlisle said I'd be"

"ok then... I call Billy"

I really didn't want to hear that conversation so I walked outside. at the back of the house was Esme's gardening stuff so I quickly took a small shovel and decided to bury the cullens. so in the ground went the eight coffee jars filled with the ashes. Can you even give a funeral to a vampire?

Then i walked up to the garage. all the Cullen cars were there and frankly I didn't feel up to driving any of those. I remember Carlisle had locked all the doors in the house and some shutters during the back window with an alarm somewhere in here two years ago,

"ahha!"

i exclaimed having found it and (ironically enough) the password was written on a post-it right behind the device (Gotta love Emmett) so I changed it and locked the house down.

Charlie was waiting for me on the vast white porch looking grim but with a wicked smirk on his lips

"what?"

"you're alive which means you're a Cullen, as far as the tribe is concerned, and that since your heart is beating the cullens didn't turn you. i told him that if he didn't want you pressing charges for homicide they'd better keep an eye on the place"

I burst laughing to that

"werewolves keeping an eye on the house belonging to the vampires! Epic Charlie!"

then we got in my truck which was annoyingly hidden in the garage and Charlie drove us out of town with one quick stop at the police station to note down that he'd take a leave of absence.

I stayed in my truck. The soft ache in the back of my throat was harder to ignore.