Chapter Five: Only Other Choice

Bella's POV

"Daddy!" Ava screeched as she saw the yellow cab pulling into our driveway. Even though we never went to court and I had full custody, Jake came to Seattle as much as he could. As much as I hated to admit it, he was an amazing father. He called everyday and when he had the chance, he FaceTimed her. She missed him when he wasn't here, but we made it work.

"Hold on, Ava." I called as she ran to the front door. I didn't like her opening it without an adult, even though we all knew it was Jake. I turned the knob and Jake stood there in his leather jacket like always when he came up north. "Hi," I smiled.

"Hey," He nodded before looking down at Ava who was giggling uncontrollably now. "Bella, where's Ava?" He asked. "This girl is too big to be my little Ava."

"Daddy! It's me!" She laughed as she jumped into his arms. Jake kissed her over and over again as they walked into the house. Dad made sure he had an extra long shift at the station today to avoid seeing him and Mom decided she had to go shopping three minutes before he got there.

They still didn't like Jake.

But, I sucked it up for my daughter. Ava was everything to me and if that meant I had to see Jake more than I wanted to, so be it. Ava pulled Jake through the backyard and to our garage. When I graduated from high school, my dad surprised me when he converted the garage into a little apartment for Ava and I. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give them their space.

I promised them we'd move out eventually, but I wasn't getting much at my retail job and feeding the two of us took up most of my paycheck. My mom told me it wasn't a problem and we would stay as long as we needed to, but I was desperately trying to pick up extra shifts. It was nice having my parents around so much to watch Ava, but as twenty five year old, I really needed my own place.

"Pappy gave me a new room for my birthday!" She screeched, even though we'd sent him pictures when it was done. Since I was there only daughter and Ava was their only granddaughter, she was spoiled rotten by my dad. I didn't mind though. He was able to give he what I couldn't. He was picking up my slack as a mom for lack of a better term.

"It's beautiful, baby." Jake smiled. "Did you pick the colors?"

"Yep! Pappy took me to the big paint store!" She giggled. "Can we go get ice creme?" She asked. She was a big ball of energy and she didn't talk about the same thing for more than thirty seconds. Dinner was always interesting.

"You need to do your reading worksheet first, kiddo." I told her as Jake was about to say yes. "But, the sooner you finish, the sooner we can go get a treat."

"Deal!" She laughed as she pulled her Hello Kitty folder from her bag. She settled as the small desk Dad built her and got to work.

"Sorry, but it won't get done if we go out now." I shrugged. "and school comes before treats here."

"I wasn't arguing with you, Bella." Jake snarled. "Would you just relax?"

"Don't start, Jake." I sneered. Even though Jake was an amazing father, we still didn't get along. When Ava wasn't around, we were usually fighting about something and most times I was with him, I questioned why I let him back into my life.

But, then I saw the way he looked at our daughter and I knew I did the right thing. Ava idolized him and we didn't see him much. I didn't have to put up with him a lot and I dealt with him while he was here usually.

"Done!" Ava said as she ran to give me the worksheet. I checked it over and gave her a high five. Everything was correct and it was time for dinner and ice creme.

Once Ava was sound asleep, Jake called a cab to head over to the small hotel near our house. He wasn't welcome to stay in the guest room and there wasn't any room for him in the garage. Once he was gone, I settled down on the couch with a glass of wine to start another Friends marathon before bed.

The next day, Jake showed up to the house bright and early since Ava begged him to come with us to drop her off at school. When he walked into the kitchen, Ava ran right up to him, Dad left the room, and Mom focused on the paper. I hated that we couldn't just be a family, but he ruined things for us.

"Mr. Cullen!" Ava called out happily as we walked into her classroom. Edward turned and smiled at me and when he noticed Jake, he raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Cullen! This is my daddy! He's visiting us!"

"Hi," Edward smiled as he shook Jake's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too man." Jake nodded as he looked around. I rolled my eyes at how dumb he was sometimes, but got a grip when I saw Edward smirking at me. Ava hugged both of us before running over to one of her friends and we left when we saw she was okay.

I drove Jake back to his hotel before going home to get ready for work. Thankfully, the store owner was Rosalie's mother so she was very willing to work with Ava's schedule so I never really missed anything. There was only two days a week I couldn't pick her up from school, but my mom and dad always subbed for me.

"Hey, Bella!" Rosalie called from the back of the store. She didn't work here full time, but her and her mom were close. She was here a lot and was a big help during the holiday season.

"Hi," I smiled as I set my bag under the counter. "So, Jake got here last night."

"Yeah?" She asked. She hated Jake more than my parents did and sometimes she scared me with how angry she got with him. "How long is her until?"

"Saturday night." I shrugged.

"I just wanna kick him right in the crotch." She shook her head. "Have I told you that?"

"Multiple times." I laughed. "But, sometimes I can't really hate him. He could have left me alone with her and she could be fatherless."

"Yeah, but it just sucks that he's her father."

"Maybe, but even though he's a dick to everyone else, he is good to Ava and you can't deny that." I sighed. "Even I can't deny that."

"At least he's good to someone." She laughed as the front door bell dinged.

Tuesday's were my short day so I was able to get out of there in time to go home before getting Ava at school. When I pulled into the driveway, Jake was sitting on the front steps and I tried not to roll my eyes when I saw him.

"What, Jake?" I sighed as I unlocked the front door. "I have to go get Ava in a few minutes and I wanted to get something done before I left."

"I need to talk to you about something." He sighed.

"Yeah?" I asked. I just hated dealing with him.

"I want Ava to come spend the summer with me and my parents." He told me and I had to say, he had guts for even asking me that.

"No," I said flatly. "No way in hell is she spending all summer with you."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't know how to be a parent." I sighed. "You see her for a week when you're here and most of the time, you just play with her."

"I'm a good dad, Bella." He argued.

"Yeah, but you don't know the first thing about being a parent, Jake. It's more than buying ice creme and playing Barbies."

"I know that."

"No you don't!" I fought. "So, no she isn't coming to Florida for three months." I told him before turning to walk away.

"I'm her father, Bella!" He yelled as he grabbed my arm. "If you don't let me do this I'm going to fucking court!"

"Fine and they'll agree with me." I said. "Let me go."

"No!" He yelled. I tried fighting him, but he was a lot stronger than me and I was stuck. "Let me have my fucking daughter!"

"Fuck off, Jake!" I yelled and then, he pushed me up against the wall, pinning me there. "Jake! Jake stop!"

"She's my kid too!" He yelled.

"If you think I'm going to let her stay with you now you're fucking crazy!" I yelled and then he slapped me. It stung like hell and I could tell there would be a mark. But, he didn't stop there. He banged my head against the wall a few times, and my head was really starting to her.

"Jake!" I cried as tears began spilling out of my eyes. "Jake, stop!" I cried, but he didn't stop. He continued to hit me and bang me against the wall. Finally, he brought his fist up and hit me right in the nose and I screamed in pain.

"You son of a bitch!" I heard dad yell as he tackled Jake to the ground. I brought my hand up to my nose and I could feel blood trickling down to my mouth. I tried moving to get myself a cloth, but I was stuck where I was. I saw Dad putting hand cuffs around Jakes wrists before he came over to me.

"I need an ambulance at 387 Wood St." He said into his microphone. "Come on, Bells."

"Ava." I whispered. "I need to go get Ava."

"Shhh, I'll call your mother."

"Hi, Mommy!" Ava giggled as she climbed up onto the hospital bed with me. Luckily dad got there when he did and the only serious damage Jake did was break my nose. "Nana said you had an accident."

"Yeah, baby." I smiled. "I'm okay, though. My nose just hurts a little bit."

"What's this?" She asked, touching the white strip on my nose. I tried not to flinch at her touch, but it was really tender at this point.

"It's going to help Mommy's nose heal, sweetie." Mom said as she walked into the room.

"Thanks for picking her up." I smiled as Ava laid down on my stomach.

"Of course." She sighed. "The doctor said you could go home now."

"Well, what about J.A.K.E?" I asked.

"Your father is taking care of him." She told me. "Don't worry about it." She said, but I couldn't help it. I knew Jake wasn't a great guy, but I never thought he'd resort to violence. He was never going near Ava again and if he tried, I'd have him arrested for endangering a child.

After signing all the paper work, Mom helped me into the clothes she'd brought for me and I took Ava's hand in mine. I drove us home and Mom told me she'd take care of Ava while I got cleaned up. I got up to my room in the garage and just let the tears flow.

Even through everything we'd been through, I never in a million years thought he'd hit me. I thought I was the limit for him since I was Ava's mother. I was never more wrong. I hated myself for letting my guard and letting him into Ava's life. He didn't deserve what I did for him and I gave him the chance anyway.

After pacing my room for a while, I grabbed my car keys and told my mom I needed to get out. I drove around town before I turned into the stores parking lot. I walked in and saw Rosalie was still there.

"What the hell happened to you?" She asked as she came out from behind the counter. "Bella, what happened?" She asked again after I didn't answer her.

"Jake wanted to have Ava stay with him all summer and I told him no." I told her. "And he got really...really pissed off."

"He hit you?" She seethed. "I'm literally going to kill him now."

"My dad's taking care of him." I told her. "I just...needed some space. Ava's asking all these questions and I can't tell her the truth but I don't wanna lie to her either."

"He was really that dumb and asked if a seven year old could stay with him for three months?"

"Yep."

"What a turd." She laughed and I couldn't help but smile. Rosalie texted Alice and she sped over right away. She babied me for about twenty minutes before insisting we come over to her apartment for a little girl time. I called Mom and asked how Ava was doing and she told me to go have fun.

When we got to Alice's, she poured the wine as Rosalie called for pizza. It had been a long time since I hung out with just them without Dora in the background or Ava hogging them all night. She loved Rosalie and Alice more than me sometimes, but I was okay with that. They were like their own little daughter and I was so lucky to have friends like them.

Just as I was taking my third slice of pizza, my phone rang. I excused myself and went outside and sat down on the front porch.

"What's up?" I asked.

"He's going back to Florida tonight." Dad sighed. "He got someone to bail him out."

"Oh," I sighed. I knew it wasn't going to take much to get him out, but I thought it'd take longer than a few hours.

"I told him he wasn't going near you or Ava again and if he tried I'd arrest him." He explained. "I'll get a restraining order."

"We need to make a court date." I sighed. "I don't want him to think he can just apologized and be able to see her again."

"Okay, honey." He said. "How're you feeling?"

"My head hurts, but I'm fine." I told him. "Mom's with Ava. I went to Alice's with Rosalie for a little time alone."

"Have fun, baby." He said and hung up the phone. I was putting my phone back in my pocket when I heard a familiar voice say my name.

"Bella?" He asked and I looked up and saw Edward standing there.

"Hi," I smiled as he helped me stand up. "What are you doing here?"

"I live in the building." He laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"My best friend lives here." I told him. "What floor?"

"Five." He told me.

"She lives on two." I told him.

"I missed you today...you didn't pick Ava up." He said gently. "Are you okay?" He asked as his eyes bugged out of his head. I was confused for a minute before remembering I had a white cast on my nose.

"I'm a bit of a klutz and I broke my nose." I lied. "It's no big deal though." I smiled sheepishly. "Have you always lived here?"

"For the last few months, yes." He smiled.

"I got the beer, man!" A guy with curly brown hair laughed as he walked over to Edward. He stopped when he saw me and gave me an awkward smile. "Sorry, didn't know you were talking."

"It's fine." Edward said. "Jasper, this is Bella. She's the mother to one of my students."

"You have a kid in the first grade?" Jasper asked before Edward elbowed him in the gut. "Sorry,"

"Bells, you okay?" Alice asked as she emerged from the building. "Hi," She waved when she saw the two guys standing there.

"Alice, this is Edward. He's Ava's teacher." I introduced. "And this is..."

"Jasper." The other guy said as his cheek turned pink. "And you are?"

"Alice." She giggled. "Come on, Bridesmaids is just starting." She said and bolted back inside.

"I should go, we're having a girls night." I told them as I turned to go back up the stairs. "I'll see you later, Edward."

"Bye," He called as I went inside. I walked back up the stairs and tried taking deep breaths. I had sworn off men and Ava's teacher was not the guy to get back in the swing of things with. But, I knew the second I got inside, Alice would start hounding me so I braced myself.

"He was really cute." Alice gushed before I'd even shut the door. "And his friend...even cuter."

"You can have both." I sighed as I sat down next to Rosalie. "Can I have another Sprite?"

"Bella, do not change the subject!" Alice squealed. "He is really cute."

"I heard you the first time," I rolled my eyes. "And he's Ava's teacher. Nothing is going to happen...even if I hadn't sworn off of men nothing would happen."

"You've got to get over this sworn off men thing," Alice wined, crossing her arms. "I know what Jake did, but that isn't a reason to punish yourself for the rest of your life."

"I have Ava, she's all I need."

"And she's precious." Rosalie butted in. "But, it's going to get lonely, Bella. And you've always wanted a big family."

"Things change, guys." I sighed. "Can we just drop the subject? This day has been bad enough."

"Fine." Alice sighed. "But, I didn't see a ring on that cute teachers finger."