A/N: This one is for Kimber and Christa, for allowing me to talk this out and figure out what I was going to do with the chapter. And for the four of you who have actually taken an interest in the story and told me so.
I woke up feeling as if I had fallen hundreds of feet only to land abruptly on my mattress. I turned to the clock and groaned, 6:30 pm; Charlie would want his dinner soon. I climbed out of bed and looked out my window. The sky had darkened and rain fell from the dark gray clouds. Somewhere in the distance a dog was barking and a football game was blaring from a living room television set. I took one look at myself in the mirror, grimaced, and then realized it was just Charlie so the tangled mess around my face wasn't a big deal. I walked towards the door but paused at my desk, my computer was flashing one new email. I looked at who it was from and nearly fainted. It was the bastard Phil, my drunken ex-step-father. What could that jerk-off possibly want from me? I hit the delete key and headed for the kitchen. As I approached I heard voices, two old and one younger. I couldn't place the other two but still they felt familiar to me. I turned the corner and was greeted by my father, a man in a wheelchair, and a scrawny looking russet colored kid. The first two were holding beers and the third, a coke. They all turned as I entered the kitchen.
I looked at the scene, three men in my kitchen and I had the hair of a banshee. I abruptly turned on my heels and headed for my room by was stalled by a strong hand tugging on the back of my shirt.
"Bella, say hello to our guests."
"Hi." I said shortly and again attempted to seek refuge in my bedroom. I was halfway through the doorway when the same hand grabbed the same spot on my shirt.
"Bella, you remember Billy Black and his son Jacob."
I smiled to both of the men, which may have been mistaken for a grimace and turned on my heels. This time I actually made it out into the hall. However, I was stopped short by the furious whisper of Charlie.
"Isabella Swan! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I'm not in a good mood Charlie."
"I don't care. And you will call me dad. Now go back in there and make polite conversation with our guest."
"They're not our guests Dad, they're yours!"
"Isabella!"
I didn't stick around long enough for him to berate me anymore. I made my way out the door and onto the street in seconds, only to remember that I didn't have a car anymore. I was halfway down the driveway when I noticed the truck sitting at the sidewalk. I walked over and inspected the tires, two brand-new, not slashed tires. I gave them a few kicks, not really to test them, but to get out the frustration of my life. I can't believe Charlie would just invite people over to our house and not tell me. But what's worse, I can't believe Phil would email me. What more could he want from me? He took my mother, and my old life, now what did he want, me as well? Forgiveness? Like hell he was getting that. The drunken bastard stole my mother from me because he was too hammered to give her the keys and allow her to drive, and now I was stuck here playing hostess to my dad and his friends.
A stray tear streaked down my face and I kicked the tire again. I hate crying, and it had already happened twice today, what was next, another guest appearance by Edward?
"Your dad and I put new tires on it while you were taking a nap." It was the russet colored kid that spoke. Apparently he had followed me out of the house. He wasn't so bad looking, just scrawny.
"Sweet, wanna cookie?" I said with my back turned to him. I took my sleeve to my face to make sure I didn't have any tear stains there.
"No. I was just saying. You could say thank you, you know. We didn't have to come out here and help you."
"Like I said, great, wanna cookie?"
"You're dad was right, you really have changed." He said as he turned to make his way back to the house.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, it's just, last time I saw you, you were fun and wanted to make mud pies. Now you see the school psychologist. It's just surprising is all."
So now Charlie was telling people I was seeing The Shrink. What was next? "So what? You want to make something of it?"
"You don't want to fight me Bella."
"Maybe I do. Maybe I want to kick the crap out of you." He actually laughed at this. After that I lost control and propelled myself at him. I caught him off guard and got off a good slap before he grabbed my hand. I stood there struggling against his grasp when I heard the door slam open.
"Bella, what the hell are you doing?"
Jacob let me go then and I fell to the ground. He reached down to help me up and I slapped his hands away.
"I'm out of here."
I jumped in truck and took off. I didn't know where I was going but I wasn't going to stay here any longer. I started driving slowly but gradually I began to push the truck. I could hear it groaning under the pressure that I was placing on it but I didn't care. If the car dying was the price I had to pay for getting away then so be it. I didn't realize I had started to cry until suddenly my vision became incredibly blurred and I almost slammed into the Semi that was coming straight at me. I pulled off to the side of the road and tried to get myself together. The tears were falling harder than I knew possible and I just let them go. I hadn't cried since mom's funeral. Since I watched my whole life fall apart. My mother was gone and I was being sent off to live with Charlie, the father that had never really gotten to know. The few times I had visited him in forks I had hated it. And Phil, Phil went into rehab rather than going to jail. Apparently the judge was a fan of his work in minor league baseball so he gave Phil the option of rehab. Now Phil was out and sending me emails, no doubt trying to apologize for ruining my life. Well too bad asshole, you can go drive into another tree for all I care.
I didn't see the headlights pull up behind me so the rap on my window scared the crap out of me. I rolled down the window and was greeted by the face of The Kid.
"Are you okay."
"What the hell do you want?"
"After you left I felt bad and wanted to come and try and find you and apologize."
"Great."
"So, I'm sorry Bella. For everything. I'm sorry."
"Yeah okay." I turned the key in the ignition and tried to start the car. It wouldn't turn over. I just sat there turning and turning and hearing the high pitched grind of the engine.
"Pop the hood. I'll check it out."
"Maybe we should have a professional look at it."
"Bella, I rebuilt this engine myself." So I popped the hood and allowed the kid to look under the hood. He tinkered around in there for about ten minutes before he slammed it down and shook his head. "It's too dark under there; I can't see anything right now. Lock it up and it get in my car and I'll come back and check on it later."
"Are you even old enough to drive?"
"On the Rez I am."
"Earth to Jacob, you're not on the Rez."
"Yeah but my dad is best friends with the guy who pretty much runs the city."
"Good point." I got out and climbed into the passenger side of Jacob's car. He turned the key and the engine started right up. We turned around and headed back into town.
"So Bella,"
"You hungry? Because I'm starving. Charlie and your dad are probably starving too. Wanna stop at the store and grab something for dinner?"
"Sure." We drove in silence from then on until we reached the market.
"This is the store?" It was a little brown building that had a green painted sign that said 'Market'. I looked in the windows and realized it was about the same size as a gas station. "I guess it'll have to do."
I was walking in the door when I collided with an all too familiar chest.
"Maybe you might want to learn to walk with your head up." It was Edward, and he was carrying four grocery bags. The sleeves on his t-shirt were sliding up showing finely chiseled arms. The muscles were strained ever so slightly under the weight of the groceries.
"I could say the same for you!"
"My head was up."
"Then why didn't you move?" He didn't respond and just smirked. He reminded me so much of The Shrink in that one moment that I nearly faltered.
"Bella, what's the holdup why aren't we—oh, hello Edward." The disdain that rolled off of The Kid's tongue was enough to cause me to turn and l couldn't help but smile.
"Jacob. Well Bella, it was lovely to see you, but I must be going. Good bye Bella." He pushed past both of us and made his way to his car. I could see it was a silver thing; it looked like it could really move.
The Kid didn't say another word while I shopped, grabbing all the fixings for a nice spaghetti dinner. The ride back to Charlie's was equally as quiet. The car was quiet, but the anger rolling off The Kid was louder than the roar of a diesel engine.
"What was that all about?"
"What?"
"You and Edward."
"The guy just bothers me okay?" The Kid gave me a look that said 'Drop it.' But of course I wasn't one to take a hint.
"Why?"
"Because he just does Bella, God, do you need to know everything?"
"No I—"
"Maybe you could just mind your own business."
"Fine!"
We pulled up outside the house and I carried the groceries into the kitchen. Billy and Charlie were still sitting there, but they had moved on to their fourth beers. The scene in the kitchen suddenly reminded me of one night with my mom and Phil. Phil had had a little too much to drink and was yelling at my mom for one thing or another. I came downstairs to see what was going on just in time to see Phil slap my mom and her go down on the floor. I gasped and he saw me and told me to get the hell out of his house. I started to go back upstairs and he charged after me. I was just about to shut my door when he barreled through, knocking me on the ground.
"Get up."
I whimpered as he reached down and grabbed me by my hair.
"I said, get up." I scrambled to my feet while he held my hair in his hand. "I told you to get the hell out of my house."
"This isn't your house. It's my mothers." I didn't expect him to slap me, so when he did I couldn't even cry I just stood there staring at him. I looked in the eyes of this man who had been so nice when he was first dating my mother. I wondered how such a nice man could be such a jerk. That's when I smelt his breathe; he had to have been drinking for hours.
"And I'm married to your mother, so you will get the hell out of my house!" He threw me by my hair this time. I went crashing into my closet doors, breaking the glass as I collided with it.
Later my mother would take me to the hospital and tell the doctors that I had gotten dizzy and fallen down against the closet door. The doctors exchanged looks of doubt, but said nothing. I couldn't understand how my mother could protect him. He slapped her and threw me through a door, but still she lied for him. On the way home she would say it wasn't his fault. His team was losing and he had drunk a few too many beers. She would make excuses for him to me. But I saw him for who he really was. Every time he got out of control I begged my mother to leave him, but she wouldn't have it. She loved him. He beat her, and she loved him. I never understood it.
"Bella?" Everyone in the kitchen was looking at me and I felt as if someone had asked a question.
"Huh?"
"I said, where did you go?" It was Charlie.
"I went for a drive, but the car broke down, and Jacob found me stranded on the side of the road. We locked up the truck and drove back into town. I got some stuff for dinner. Maybe a little spaghetti?" Charlie just nodded and I got to work filling the pasta pot with water and setting the jar of spaghetti sauce to simmering on the stove. Two hours later we were all full of spaghetti and Billy and The Kid were making their way out the door. I didn't stay around to see them off; I just climbed into stairs and got ready for bed. I was just climbing into bed when there was soft rap on the door.
"Bella?" Charlie called delicately through the door.
"Come in." I pulled the covers up to my shoulders and looked to the door.
"When you were out, some man called for you. He didn't leave a name, just said he would call back. Just thought you might like to know."
"Thanks Charlie."
After he left I laid there and thought about who the man could have been. Was it Carlisle, calling to remind me that I had another meeting with him tomorrow? Was it Edward? Why would Edward call me? To apologize for the accident between him and The Kid? No; then why? What if it wasn't either of them? What if it was Phil? What if he had tracked me down to Charlie's? What if he was still pissed? What if he was drunk again? What would he want with me? Why couldn't he just leave me alone? He already took my mom from me, what more could he want?
My paranoia drove me insane and I crossed from my bed to the window to make sure it was locked. Sure I was on the second floor, but it wasn't that hard to get up here. I peered out the window and gasped, there was a man down there. He was standing at a streetlamp and I could swear he was staring up into my window. Then he did the one thing that caused me to scream, he raised his hand and waved. The next thing I knew Charlie was charging through my door and shouting more questions than I could answer.
"Bella, what's wrong? What happened? Are you alright? What's going on?"
I just stood there shaking as I looked out my window. Charlie pushed past me and looked out and saw the man standing there. He hustled out of the room and I heard him hit the stairs. I ran after him and caught up with him in just enough time to see him grab his gun off the hook in the front hall. He threw the door open and then yelled behind him for me to shut and lock the door. I did so and then sat looking through the peep hole of the door. Charlie was over at the streetlamp now; he was looking around with gun drawn. His back was turned to me and then an eye looked in through the peephole.
The eye was blue and bloodshot. The voice behind the door was quietly calling my name. I didn't know what to do; I couldn't run because he was outside. But what if the man got Charlie? I ran to the kitchen and dialed 9-1-1 and told the operator that we were at Chief Swan's house, that there was a suspicious man outside the house, and that Charlie needed help.
I ran back to the door and screamed through it, "I called the cops! So you better get out of here!"
The man on the other side of the door just laughed manically but after a few seconds I could see through the peephole again. Charlie was still over by the streetlamp, but the man was going towards him, sticking towards the shadows. I tried screaming Charlie's name through the door, but he couldn't hear me. I threw open the door and screamed his name just as red and blue lights started streaming down the street. The man took off into the forest and disappeared.
The cops searched the forest and everything but couldn't find anything. The only thing they did find was a piece of green cloth. The cops asked Charlie if it looked familiar, but he said no. They asked me and I started shaking. Charlie tried to get me to calm down but I couldn't stop the tremors running through my body.
Finally I pulled it together. The cops asked again if I recognized it, and so I told them.
"It's a piece of fabric from my bedspread from back in Phoenix."
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