All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer; I just like to play with her characters.
No copyright infringement is intended.
HUGE thanks to Darcysmom and twimom817 for beta'ing this mess. EdwardsmyObsession1971 is my fabulous pre-reader – I seriously don't know what I'd do without them.
Never Let Go
Chapter Three
The ride back to Las Vegas didn't seem to take as long as the ride to Phoenix did. Maybe it's because I was anxious to get home and call Edward as soon as possible.
My mom was excited at the prospect of moving to Phoenix and talked about it non-stop on the way home.
"Bella … honey, this could be so good for us. The schools in Phoenix are so much better than the ones in Las Vegas. I have better job opportunities, and I just have this feeling that this will be a great chance for us."
"Mom … I'm tired of moving around. I feel like I'm just getting settled at school. I have a few friends that I really like and I love Mr. C., he's helped me so much. I don't want to leave that now."
"Bella, you're going to be starting high school in the fall anyway. What does it matter if we leave after the school year is over? Not all your little friends will be going to the same high school in Las Vegas with all the re-districting they're doing over the summer."
"Why did you even bother asking me if I wanted to move if you've clearly already made up your mind?"
My mom just gaped at me from her spot in the driver's seat. Neither of us said another word the rest of the way home.
Monday after school, I booked it home as quickly as I could, dropping Edward's letters in the mail as I went. By three forty-five I couldn't wait any longer and I picked up the phone and dialed. Esme answered and I could barely stutter out Edward's name.
"Bella … sweetheart, what's wrong?" Esme asked in a panic.
My tears came in a torrential downpour as I attempted to tell Esme the events of the weekend. I was so angry, I couldn't stop my tears from falling. I don't know what it was about Esme, but she was so much easier to talk to than my own mother. Hearing her voice was enough to soothe me a little bit. When I finished telling her every little detail she asked me to calm down and to hang up; she'd call me back so I didn't use up all my phone card minutes. I did as she asked and my phone rang thirty seconds later.
"Bella? Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry we're not closer to you. Edward just walked in the door, I'm sure he'll be worried when he hears it's you on the phone. Talk to him, honey. When you're done if you still want to talk to me, I'm here, okay?"
"Okay."
I heard Esme murmur a few words and then I heard my favorite voice in the world come on the line.
"Bella? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"I'm not hurt … at least physically anyway," I sobbed before launching into my story all over again, not sugarcoating anything – even for Edward's sake.
"Jesus, Bella," Edward murmured.
I could picture him running his hands through his hair and tugging at it in frustration.
"Have you talked to Charlie?" He asked.
"No. We got home late last night and I went straight to bed and then I got up and went to school early this morning. I didn't want to deal with Renee. I haven't talked to her since we were stuck in the car together coming home yesterday."
"You can't avoid her forever, Bella. Tell her how you feel. Tell her everything you told me. Be brutally honest with her. She can't fault you for having those feelings. If she won't listen to you and she's still insistent on moving to Phoenix, you can always come back to Forks and live with Charlie. You know he'd love to have you and I couldn't even begin to tell you how happy that would make me."
"As much as I'd love to come back to you and Charlie, I don't know that I could leave my mom. She'd be all by herself. What if things didn't work out for her with Phil? Then she'd be really alone and the thought of that breaks my heart."
"What about Charlie? He's alone and he's doing just fine. He's been alone for the last three years, Bella. I told you what he was like when you and Renee first left; he was lost without you but eventually he found himself again. He obviously still misses you, but he still lives his life. Renee could learn to do the same."
"Edward …."
"Please, Bella. You've been miserable since you left Forks. Do something for yourself for a change."
I had never felt so torn in all my life. I wanted nothing more than to be comfortable and happy, but Charlie had always been stronger than my mother and I knew that he'd be okay without me but Renee on the other hand – she needed me. Then there was Edward.
"Please tell me you'll think about it, Bella."
"I will, Edward. I promise. Thank you for listening and being such a good friend to me, Edward."
"Any time, Boo. You know that. If you need to talk it out some more just call, okay?"
"Okay."
I hadn't realized that I'd spent the better part of two hours talking to Edward. Here I was, dumping all of my mama drama on him, and he was nothing but patient and gracious about it. He listened to me with a somewhat impartial ear.
I knew Renee would be home from work soon, so I wrapped up my conversation with Edward promising that I would call again if I needed him or Esme. He promised to call later in the week to check in on me. It was the little things like him calling to check on me that I appreciated the most. I missed him so much my heart ached, and it would be a long three weeks before I'd see him again.
Renee came home about thirty minutes later and I was in the middle of studying Eighteenth Century England when she tapped on my door. I still wasn't ready to talk to her, but I did have to live with her and that meant living by her rules.
"Bella? I brought your favorite home for dinner, sweetie."
Honestly, I didn't care if Renee had brought home my favorite meal or a new puppy. She was trying to get me to forgive her for the fight we'd had the day before. I wasn't ready to forgive her and Edward's words encouraging me to tell her how I felt were swirling in my head.
"Bella?" Renee asked she peek in my door.
I continued to ignore her; she'd get the hint eventually. She'd go to her own room with a glass of wine and watch TV until she fell asleep. Then I could go to the kitchen and make myself some dinner.
"You're still mad?"
"Yes! I'm still mad. Happy? I don't want to pack up and move again. I don't want to go to Phoenix. I'm happy here. If you want to go to Phoenix so bad then go. I want to go back to Forks and live with Dad. I never wanted to move away from Forks in the first place."
"Bella, honey …."
"I have homework to do, Mom, and I'm tired of talking about this – especially since you don't care about my opinion anyway."
She backed out of my room and I closed the door in her face; locking it before I returned to my desk. I went back to my homework and no sooner had I closed my book the phone rang.
"Bella?" Renee said through my door. "It's your Dad."
I picked up the portable phone on my desk and nearly cried when I heard his voice.
"Hi, baby girl. Esme was waiting for me on my front porch when I got home. We had a long chat about you. How are you doing? Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, Daddy," I sniffled, wiping the few tears that fell down my face.
I told my Dad everything that I'd told Esme and Edward and then I told him about my mom trying to butter me up with my favorite dinner and me basically ranting at her that I didn't want to go to Phoenix. He stayed quiet the entire time while I went over the events of the past day.
"Baby girl, it's only a few more weeks until school gets out and then you'll be coming to Forks. If you want, you can just come home to stay and I'll change your ticket. If you don't want to go to Phoenix, I'm certainly not going to force you. You can start high school here in the fall with all the kids you've known all your life; including Edward.
"He's been really worried about you, kiddo. Esme said he was really worked up after talking to you on the phone earlier. That boy really cares about you, Bells and I think that's what you need most right now is people who care about you and love you. Now I'm not saying your mom doesn't love you, because she does – more than anything, but right now I'm not sure she's keeping your best interests in mind."
I talked to him for a while longer, telling him how school was and that I had heard they were holding some type of ceremony for completing 8th grade. All I cared about was getting on the plane and going to Forks.
The last few weeks of school went by in a blur. They were filled with studying and finals and the 8th grade class went to a waterpark for "fun day". I spent the entire time laying on a lounger sipping on Kool-Aid lathered up in sunscreen reading.
"Two more days," I said softly to Edward on the phone.
"I know, Bella. I can't wait. How are things going with your mom?"
I sighed.
"Still not good. She still keeps trying to drop hints to me about Phoenix. I don't know, Edward. Am I being too stubborn about this?"
"No, Bella you're not. For once you're standing up for yourself and fighting for what you want. I'm proud of you."
As it turned out, our 'completion ceremony' was like a graduation without the pomp and circumstance and those silly robes and hats they force you to wear. Our parents were invited to attend and I felt a pang of sadness that my dad wasn't there. Had I known they were going to make such a big deal out of it, I probably would have asked him to come. But knowing that I would see him a few hours after the ceremony was the only thing that kept me from bawling my eyes out.
Once I was on the plane, I sat back and got comfortable in my seat; closing my eyes and day dreaming about home. The images that spilled into my head made the flight go by much faster.
The first thing I saw when I stepped off the jet way was a riot of messy reddish brown hair, sparkling emerald eyes and a gleaming smile.
"Bella!" Edward waved furiously.
Like I didn't see him or my father standing behind him with a smirk on his face.
"Sorry, Bells … this kid was about to jump out of his skin if I didn't bring him with me," My dad apologized as Edward hugged me tightly.
"It's okay, Daddy. I probably would have been disappointed if you hadn't brought him."
"Probably?" Edward asked, looking hurt.
I smirked.
"Okay, I definitely would have been disappointed if you hadn't come."
My dad grabbed my suitcases and Edward took my backpack from me and slung it over his shoulder and we headed toward the truck.
"So … what are you two planning on doing this summer?" My dad asked as we drove along the interstate.
"Jasper and I are playing in the summer baseball league. We both want to be ready for the junior varsity tryouts next spring."
I looked over to see Edward smiling. He was probably more excited that I'd be there to watch him than he was to actually be playing.
"What about you Bells?"
"Well, I suppose I could see if they need help with the summer reading program at the library."
"Hmm. What if I told you that Sue Clearwater is in charge of the summer camp this year? She asked if me if you'd like to be a counselor."
"Really? What kind of counselor?"
It sounded like it could be a fun thing to spend a few weeks during my summer being a camp counselor. I could be home with my dad in the evenings and spend my spare time with Edward. It could be the perfect balance that I so desperately needed.
"I'm not sure, kiddo. You can give Sue a call in the morning and talk to her about it."
Edward reached over and squeezed my hand. It was his quiet reassurance that his thoughts were running along the same lines as mine.
We dropped Edward off before going home. He promised that he'd call me in the morning because he was sure his mom would want to see me first thing. I couldn't wait to see Esme - or Carlisle for that matter.
The next morning, I was up bright and early. Charlie had to go in early and apologized the night before saying that he'd probably have to work late. He didn't want me to worry about making dinner. Esme said she'd take care of it.
I stumbled out of my bed and into the bathroom. We'd gotten in so late I didn't feel like showering before bed, so I showered – praying the entire time that Edward didn't call while I was in the bathroom. As I was getting dressed, I heard knocking on the door and wondered who in the world it could be.
Edward.
"Hey, Boo. I tried calling but you didn't answer. I knew that Charlie wasn't home so I just decided to come by. I hope that's okay …" he rambled.
"It's fine, Edward." I laughed. "I was in the shower when you called. I hoped I wouldn't miss your call. Hey, how did you get here anyway?"
"My mom dropped me off. She had to run to the store and said she'd be back in a few minutes. I called to see if you wanted to come over for breakfast."
"Uhh, sure. I just have to call my dad and let him know. I need to grab Sue's number too. I want to call her about that camp counselor thing."
When I called Sue later that morning, she was thrilled to hear that I wanted to know more about it. She told me that I'd basically be teaching arts and crafts during the day and helping out with activities. I'd be responsible for six girls for two weeks. I'd get paid eight dollars an hour and I'd 'counsel' from eight to four - five days a week.
"We also have a group interested in doing a literature discussion in the afternoons. We already have someone to head it up, but I thought you might be interested in helping out."
"Oh wow, Sue. That would be great. The whole thing sounds like a lot of fun."
"That's why I thought you might be interested, Bella. Charlie said he was sure that you'd be interested. We're starting in a couple weeks, but I'm doing an orientation for the counselors starting next week. Think you have a couple days to spare?"
"Absolutely."
I couldn't have asked for a better way to start off my summer. I was back in the town that I loved with my dad and my best friend and I had a little job to keep my occupied for a couple weeks. It gave me something to think about other than my troubles with my mom and moving to Phoenix.
I'd been in Forks for a week before Renee decided that she needed to call and check on me. I was more than fine. I was safer than I'd been since we left.
"I just want to make sure you're happy, sweetie."
"I am happy, mom."
"I just don't want you to get lonesome. Your dad is at work all the time and it's so isolated there, baby. Don't you miss being close to everything here? I mean you could walk to the movie theater. There you have to wait for your dad to take you."
"Mom … I promise you that I am not lonesome here. Yeah, Dad is at work all day. That's life … he can't spend all day entertaining me. I've got Edward. We've been hanging out. I can walk to the baseball field where they practice every morning or Esme doesn't mind driving us places. We just went to the movies yesterday."
"Bella, honey, I don't want you to get all wrapped up in Edward. He's a nice boy and he's been a good friend to you but what if that's all he'll ever be? Can you live with that?"
"What are you talking about Mom? Of course Edward's my friend. He's been here for me nearly my whole life."
"I know that, Bella. All I'm saying is what happens when Edward finds a girlfriend or you find a boyfriend for that matter? Don't you think that will have an effect on your friendship?"
"No, Mom, I don't. Edward wants me to be happy and I want the same for him. Mom, you've never had the kind of relationship that I have with Edward so it's impossible for you to understand no matter how old you are or how much life you've lived. Please don't insult mine and Edward's friendship like that again."
I was so angry that she'd even suggest that I couldn't live with Edward only being my friend. Did I love him? Yes, so very much. He'd been my friend when the other kids were mean to me, he picked me up when I fell down. When I couldn't reach something, he was always there to get it for me. Edward didn't see me as the freckle faced girl with mousy brown hair and puppy dog eyes that couldn't walk three steps without falling over her own feet. He didn't see the bookworm that would rather sit in the classroom and read than argue over the swings or foursquare ball at recess. He saw past all that and not a day went by that he didn't prove it.
I knew that Edward would always be my friend – no matter what.
A/N: Everyone is pretty much of the opinion that Bella needs to stay with Charlie and Edward – I hear ya. Bella is so worried about her flighty mom that she forgets about herself and in turn, disappoints Charlie and Edward repeatedly. Now Renee insults her friendship with Edward … do you think Bella is just throwing a temper tantrum or is Renee once again trying to manipulate her? Thoughts?