Chapter 7 - Ghosts
The miles crept slowly by, each foot bringing them closer to home. Sheets of rain washed over the windshield while thunder shook the blackened sky. Lights flashed ahead in the distance, warning of an accident that slowed traffic to an agonizing crawl. Bella stared dully out the window as they passed the scene.
Showers of sparks fell onto the highway from emergency flares on the side of the road. Two twisted pieces of metal, one destroyed beyond recognition. A family huddled by the side of the road, shielded from the rain under a wide umbrella. State troopers, wearing wide brimmed hats, were meticulously discerned fact from fiction while they took statements from the survivors. A white sheet, wet and stained with blood obscured all that was left of the person underneath.
A little girl, maybe age eight, with long brown locks and a brightly flowered dress stared vacantly. A lone teddy bear dangled from her little hand. A life shattered by what had happened that day.
Bella's heart yearned to comfort her; her arms longed to mother her.
Without thinking, she rolled down the window amid Leah's angry protests. A hand reached out towards the little girl, beckoning her to come forward. Suddenly, Bella's eyes noted a crimson stain on the wet pavement. Blood dripped from the foot of the bear. Warm and red, flowing freely from an angry gash on the child's wrist.
Bella recoiled in horror, the wounds of her own flesh tingling as if to burst open once more.
Leah was shouting at her now, but the words were muffled; indistinct, as if hearing underwater. Quite suddenly it all disappeared from sight. The clog of traffic freed from obstruction.
Reluctantly, she rolled the window back up. The pelting rain had stung like a thousand needles. Bella blamed it for the wetness on her cheeks.
The storm did not let up the rest of the way home. Home... it seemed so small a word for a place that held so many memories. Closing her eyes, Bella welcomed the reprieve sleep could bring, if only for a few short hours.
It seemed as though it were years ago that she had walked into work plotting against Matt, intent on getting her way. Now, such things were trivial. In her heart, she understood that Charlie would be okay. The phone call from the dispatcher at the station had assured her of that. But, she needed to see with her own eyes. A physical confirmation of fact.
There was so much she wanted to tell him. Many things in life that she longed to share. The selfishness of a child who thought herself quite grown up had robbed Charlie of many things. While he understood that Bella needed the past several years to heal, she knew it was with a reluctant heart that he allowed her to go her own way. Charlie Swan had never had the chance to be a real father. Bella longed to give him that. To be the little girl he adored, to see him smile when the word daddy slipped from her lips.
The other inescapable fact, the one that loomed large over her consciousness was Jacob and the inevitable distance that had grown between them over the years. It pained her heart that their friendship had suffered the aftershocks of all Edward left behind. Bella knew it wasn't her fault. A fact Jacob tried to tell her many times, but she could not help feeling that had she been stronger, less weak minded, that perhaps she could have stayed and found happiness in her childhood home.
Maybe that was why the sleep she longed for right now was riddled with broken dreams.
Images of glass shattering before her eyes; the shards cutting her hands and face until blood trickled from every inch of her emaciated body. Jacob stood helplessly by while silver venom crept out of her pores, enveloping her skin until crimson stain obliterated her once brown eyes. His body quivered, the sign of a wolf ready to unleash on the enemy.
Suddenly, Edward appeared. The look on his face menacing and cold. Long fingers twisted around her neck, then razor sharp teeth sank into her flesh to change her body into a marble tomb. Bella screamed in agony.
Jacob dropped before her to his knees, tears sliding down his cheeks, grasping her hands and begging... Bella... stay. Please, Bells, don't leave me!
"Bella... Bella!"
Please, Bella, stay with me...
"Bella!"
It was Leah's frightened shout that woke her. When Bella opened her eyes, the fingers of her best friend were squeezing her shoulders, roughly shaking her back to reality.
"Thank God! Are you alright?" Leah's voice was frantic with worry. "You were screaming loud enough to wake the dead."
Bella rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. Bad dream." Stifling a yawn, she took in their surroundings. Semi's sat idle in the busy truck stop parking lot. "Where are we?"
"Just outside of P.A. You were freaking out in your sleep so I pulled over." Leah looked her over appraisingly. "I gotta stretch my legs and get something to drink. Will you be alright?"
"Sure. Go ahead. I'm still so tired. Must be the rain."
Bella watched her friend dash toward the gas station, dodging raindrops along the way. She felt disoriented and confused. Why would I dream about Edward? Why now? she wondered. It had been years since he had entered her dreams. Most days he never even entered her thoughts.
The ball of nerves that had been building in her stomach tightened. Bella felt feverish and high-strung. She wondered what was taking Leah so long then cursed herself for being so jumpy. Resting her head against the passenger window, she desperately hoped to see Leah's figure cutting through the pouring rain. The cool glass sent goosebumps crawling over her skin.
Suddenly the door flew open and Bella screamed with fright. Dripping wet, Leah looked at her with alarm. "Bella, are you sure you're alright? Did something happen?"
Bella breathed deeply, rubbing her hands over her face. "No, I'm fine. You startled me, that's all," she assured her.
Leah only closed her eyes and nodded in comprehension. "They're not there anymore. It's going to be okay."
"I know," she whispered. Then why does it feel like a ghost walked over my grave?
Soon enough the dim lights of Forks came into view. Leah navigated her way to the hospital, dropping Bella off at the door. "I'll stop by Charlie's on the way out to my Mom's and leave your bag," she promised. "Are you sure you're going to be okay here for the night?"
Bella shouldered the overnight bag she'd packed in preparation for spending the night at the hospital. "It'll be fine. I don't want to leave until Dad comes to and I speak to the doctors. Don't worry about picking me up in the morning. I'm sure that I can find a way home or call a cab. Besides, I don't know what time I'll be done here."
Leah leaned over the console and gave Bella a tight hug. "I'll have my cell on if you need me. Just remember to breathe."
Bella tried to do just that as she watched the taillights fade into the gloom of the night. Then drawing all of her courage, walked through the sliding doors and into the cheery waiting room of Forks General Hospital.
The fluorescent lights of the hallways amplified the unending sterile walls and glinted over silver carts. The air smelled of copper and rust, mingled with the stringent odor of antiseptic. Acutely aware of her surroundings, Bella passed by the emergency room and walked down corridors she knew by heart. Breathing deeply again, she tried to stave off the panic that threatened to overwhelm her when she stood in front of her father's door.
The ugly patterned privacy curtain was drawn, obscuring Charlie from view. The faint beep of machines echoed in the stillness. Soft, even breathing came from within. Bella's feet felt like lead as she crossed the threshold to find not one, but two men sleeping peacefully side by side. Charlie's prostrate form lay quietly in the bed surrounded by plastic tubing. Beside him was the one man that in fifty years was never far away. A man that Bella loved as father and friend, respected and admired.
Billy's aged hand rested on his friend's arm. In the past six years, silver-gray threads had woven themselves amidst his long, raven hair. The lines that surrounded his twinkling black eyes had etched deeper into his skin. The wheelchair he sat in was pushed close to the bed, as if Billy were waiting. Waiting for his old friend to awaken.
Bella crept ever closer, tiptoeing quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping pair. The squeak of her leather boots betrayed her though, rousing Billy from his light slumber.
A smile spread widely on his face. The same one that had haunted her dreams for so long. Passed from father to son. The hallmark of the Black family.
Jacob's smile.
"As I live and breathe!" he exclaimed. "Come on over here and give an old man a hug."
Bella bent down, wrapping her arms around Billy in happiness. "How is he?" she asked.
"Doped. They gave him something to knock him out a bit ago. Old fool was carrying on about going home already, even though he could hardly move from the pain." Billy patted her hand gently, urging her to sit next to him.
Bella drew up a chair, leaning over her father's face first and kissing him lightly before seating herself next to Billy. He patted her hand gently. "Now don't you worry. Sue made sure he was placed under her care. She just went home for the night. The doctors say the bullet got lodged in his shoulder, but nothing was damaged. Well, nothing important anyway. He'll heal, it's just gonna take some time." He arched an eyebrow at her. "This mean you're sticking around for awhile?"
"At least until he can care for himself. Then I'll be moving to Port Angeles. Leah and I are opening a new gallery for our boss."
"Sue mentioned that. Didn't say you were part of it though."
"I am. It's time for me to come home."
"You know, even though you lived in other places growing up, this was always your home. It's where you were born, where your family came from, the place you laughed and played as a child. This is where the people who love you live. It's where your roots are, Bella." Billy raised a hand, placing it over her heart. "It's in here."
Bella covered his wrinkled hand with her own, smiling and leaned over to hug him once more. "How's Jake?"
Before he could reply, a timer beeped. Billy pulled a phone out of his pocket and quieted the alarm. "It's my reminder to eat so my sugars don't drop." There was a gleam in his eye when he smiled at her mischievously, asking "Wanna help me break hospital policy and pop a few wheelies down to the cafeteria?"
Bella looked swiftly over at her sleeping father, unsure if she should leave him or not. "You said he's pretty heavily sedated?"
"Bella, sweetheart, he isn't going to wake up until next week with what they gave him. Morphine and valium. He's down for the count."
"Well, in that case, lead the way."
Bella had to admit that the idea of food was pretty heavenly when they sat down at the small table in the brightly lit hospital lunchroom. Eating wasn't exactly a priority for her today, it seemed like a week ago she'd been nibbling on fresh cinnamon rolls and drinking coffee with Matt, instead of just this morning.
"So, what can you tell me about the case? How the heck did he get shot?" she asked before digging into her tray.
Billy looked around the empty room, making sure nobody was in earshot before speaking in a low voice. "There was a scent. The boys were following it," he stated, giving her a knowing look. The one that spoke of tribal secrets and supernatural bullshit. "I don't get involved too much with pack affairs, but since it was Charlie, I flexed a little authority. The boys have kept up regular patrols around the house since you left."
Bella gasped in surprise, her eyes wide with a million questions. Was there still something out to get her after all this time? Before she could interject, Billy raised a hand to stop her. "It was just a precaution, really. No threats to him or you."
"Thank God," she whispered.
"Anyway, they were following a trail. It ran past your house and down the road to the old service station. It closed up a few years back. Since it's in the middle of nowhere with woods all around it, the place has been a magnet for unsavory characters. Charlie's been actively petitioning the city council to have the place razed to the ground."
Billy took a few huge sips of orange juice, staving off the shakes that would inevitably come if he didn't get something in his system soon. "Like I was saying, they boys were sniffing around and they heard the sirens come up, so they watched. The guy was higher than a kite, but he didn't have anything on him. Started screaming about his civil rights and all that B.S. Got pretty combative. Charlie warned the guy. Hell, he had a hand on the holster but hadn't even drawn yet. You know for all his talk about shooting someone, he's never actually had to do it. Well, this guy, he had on a big overcoat. Expensive. Kinda out of place for a drug addict, but whatever. Next thing anybody knows, the punk whips out his own gun and just starts firing into the air. Charlie tried to beat feet back to the squad car to call for backup, but the guy musta thought he was gonna charge him. Next thing the guys know, Charlie's shot in the shoulder, with blood pouring out of him faster than a damn kitchen sink."
"Jesus!" she exclaimed, horrified at what could have happened.
"Well, that wasn't the end of it. Don't know if it was adrenaline or what, but your pop managed to get off a couple of shots. Fella's cuffed to a bed in the county hospital thanks to him."
Bella couldn't help but smile a bit at that information. One less lunatic on the streets thanks to my Dad. Pride welled up within her just as fast as the tears forming in her eyes.
"Like I said, the old fool was bleeding all over that shitty parking lot. One of the boys changed and hopped in the squad to call it in. Rode with him to the hospital and made sure everyone was notified. Good thing too. He coulda been out there for hours before anyone found him. Damn deputies spend too much time in the diner around here."
It was on the tip of Bella's tongue to ask who it was that took care of her father when her own phone started ringing. Without realizing it, she smiled at the picture of the handsome man who lit up her screen. "Matt." Bella also didn't see the look on Billy's face when he saw it too.
"Billy, I need to take this call. Can I meet you back upstairs?"
"Actually, I'm going to head home. I'll catch up with you tomorrow."
Bella leaned in, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "Sure. I'll call you if there's any change."
Billy Black watched Bella Swan walk across the cafeteria with a bright smile on her face and his heart sank. He wasn't sure who was on the other end of that phone, but one thing was certain. Whoever she was talking to, the girl lit up like a Christmas tree. A bit of guilt weighed heavily on his thoughts. There were things the small woman did not know or understand. Magic that drew her to this place. He hated lying to her, but if it brought peace to his son, so be it.
Driving home that night, for the first time in his life, Billy thanked the spirits that the wolf gene passed him over. Hiding his thoughts from Jacob would be hard enough as it was. Instead of going home that night, he ended up at Sue's place, buying some time before he had to face the inevitable.
Bella Swan had come home and Jacob would claim her.
So... I know I've been rather vague answering reviews, but what do you think this chapter means? What does Billy think he knows and what is going on with Jacob? Yes, you're all getting antsy to see him again and for their reunion. So, what do you think will happen when they are reunited?
Reviews are always appreciated. The readers on this story are incredible!