[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks and hugs to those of you who keep supporting my little fanfic-soap with your reviews.

This chapter is dedicated to Villemo79 and Silva86. Hope you'll enjoy

**Chapter 73**

An unpleasant feeling spread through my body when we drove past the city sign of Forks. I hadn't been here in years and the last time had been for Charlie's funeral.

Ali took my hand in hers and put it to her mouth to blow a gentle kiss over the back of my hand.

"You don't like being here." she stated, stroking up and down my bare forearm with her fingertips.

"I don't like the memories that come with being here." I whispered so low that my voice was barely audible.

She parked the rental car in front of the house and turned off the engine. I still had trouble calling the house my house although it technically belonged to me now, at least on paper. The house was Charlie's and without him it was just some random place. Just walls and a roof but it wasn't a home anymore and it could never be.

I swallowed hard and kneeled down to grab the spare key that was still hidden underneath a flower pot that now contained some dried earth and twigs.

My hands were trembling slightly when I turned it around in the lock and walked into the house. Ali lifted Lilly up and carried her into the kitchen where our dog whined slightly and tried to hide underneath the old oak table. The flight didn't seem to have had a good effect on him. He was nervous. Well if it was possible for a dog to be nervous. Lilly pulled something out of her pocket and tried to pull him in. It didn't work.

"Leave him alone, honey. He'll get around."

"Mommy, can I sleep in your old room?"

I nodded my head and when she rushed up the stairs I thought sadly about how much Charlie would have liked to meet her. And now he would never…

"Bella?" Ali asked me worriedly while she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her. The spikey curls of her dark hair tickled my neck when she planted a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Are you okay with staying here tonight? Because if you don't we could get a hotel room."

I turned my head and kissed the tip of her nose before I shook my head.

"No, it's okay."

"Are you going to tell me why you don't like being here?"

I sighed deeply and sat down on one of the three un-matching chairs. Fido rested his huge head against my thigh and started purring lowly when I stroked his fur with my fingertips.

"I don't know."

She kneeled down in front of me and took my hand in hers to squeeze it gently.

"Why? You know that you can tell me everything, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. This house reminds me too much of Charlie and I feel kind of guilty being here now that he's gone."

"I don't think, I understand."

"Look, after my parents got divorced I moved to California with my mother and her new…well, boyfriend. They broke up five years later and she sent me back to Forks to stay with my father."

"Hmm, I see."

"I kept complaining to him over and over again how much I hated Forks and that was probably hard for him because for some reason that I never managed to understand he loved this town as if it was the most beautiful place in the whole world."

"And then?"

"Well, Renee got a job as kindergarten teacher and found a new boyfriend. I moved back to California until that Mr. Right turned into Mr. Not-So-Right and she shoved me off to Charlie again."

"Why didn't you stay with your father?"

"Because Renee had full custody for me and then there was the fact that I didn't like being in Forks. I was shy as a child, even more than I am today. Forks is small and I was the poor child of the Police chief's crazy ex-wife. I think I managed to make it through the entire fifth grade without talking more than two words to anyone."

"Wasn't Ela in your class back then?"

"Hmm, yes she was but she was shy too. The morons in our class nick-named her the-four-eyed-girl because of the ugly glasses she had to wear."

"Kids are mean."

I nodded my head and wiped away the thick layer of dust on the table. When I turned my head to the ancient fridge I realized that it was still covered with several pictures of me. Ali noticed it too and took one of the Polaroid pictures in her hands to take a closer look.

"You were a pretty child." she stated cheerfully.

"You mean I was pretty heavy."

"Bella, it doesn't make you less pretty that you weren't thin back then."

"But if I had been prettier, Renee wouldn't have sent me away that often."

"That's not true."

"Of course, it's true. Look, can we just drop that topic now? It makes me feel awkward."

"Kay, but I want you to know that I'm here for you."

I cupped her face between my hands and planted a tender kiss on her full lips. When she gasped for air I used the opportunity to slip my tongue into the sweet warmth of her mouth.

For a split second I thought that it was somehow weird to kiss Ali in Charlie's tiny kitchen but then I relaxed and pulled her closer, twisting my hands into her hair while I sucked her upper lip between my teeth to nibble on it.

The front door squeaked slightly and I wondered if I had accidentally left it open. Then I heard a shrill, nasal voice behind me and my heart stopped beating.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the grey-haired women snarled at me, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I croaked out, standing up from the chair so quickly that it dropped to the ground.

Fido growled at the intruder and the woman took two steps backwards when he bared his teeth.

"Keep that mutt away." she instructed, pulling out a cell.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her again while I grabbed Fido around his metal collar.

"What I'm doing in my own house is none of your concern. You've decided to break into the wrong house. There is nothing here that's worth stealing."

"Your house? Are you crazy? This is my house. So, I suggest you leave it this very moment before I let the dog free or call the police."

"Not necessary, I'll gladly do that. You probably think that I'm stupid and senile just because I'm old."

XXXX

I remembered that the ride from the police station to Charlie's house took exactly twenty minutes. So when I heard the familiar sound of the police siren I checked the time on my watch and realized that only twelve minutes had passed since the unfriendly old woman had called them. Well, the sooner they were here the better…

When the two officers entered the kitchen – she had refused to let us wait in her living room – my mouth fell open.

"Mike? Is that really you?"

"Bella!"

He wrapped his arms around me and swirled me around, planting a kiss on my cheek before he put me down again.

"Chief Newton this is completely inappropriate. I called you to arrest these barefaced burglars and not to flirt with them."

"Mrs. Mallory. These are no burglars and this is not your house. Deputy Call will drive you back to your granddaughter's house."

The dark haired officer smirked and put an arm around her shoulder while she protested halfheartedly. As soon as they were out of sight Mike burst out into laughter.

"It's not funny."

"Maybe not for you, Bella, but it's definitely funny for us. That's the fifth time she has walked into some stranger's house and insisted that it was hers."

"I still don't think it's funny."

"Seattle didn't seem to have had a positive effect on your sense of humor, Bella."

Ali wrapped one arm around my middle and pulled me against her pixie-body.

"Hi, I'm Ali."

He shook her hand and when his lips twitched into a smile I realized that his face had lost every rest of baby fat in it. The dark blue color of the uniform made his eyes look blue like the sea.

"I'm Mike, Mike Newton, one of Bella's oldest friends."

"Nice to meet you, Mike,"

Lilly walked down the stairs and cringed slightly when she saw Mike standing in the middle of the kitchen. I knew that it hadn't really to do with him more with the fact that he wore a police uniform and the last times she had come in contact with someone wearing one hadn't been too pleasant for her.

"Come here to me, Lilly. I want you to say hi to Mike."

He kneeled down in front of her and waved his hand at her.

"Why is the police here? I don't want to talk to them again."

"Talk to the police? What is she talking about?"

I sighed deeply and twisted my hair into a sloppy ponytail.

"That's complicated." I croaked out after a few awkward moments of silence.

"Kay," he mumbled and I was glad that he didn't ask more about that.

"That's a pretty dog you have with you." he told Lilly who had rested her head against the fluffy fur of his russet colored neck.

"His name is Fido and he's my best friend."

Mike reached out his hand and stroked the huge head, making the dog purr like a little kitten.

"Good boy,"

"He seems to like you." I stated, sitting down on the chair again. Ali started playing with my hair and when she put a wisp of it behind my ear Mike gave her a confused look.

"I'm good with animals."

"Yeah, I know, you always have been. What happened to your plans of becoming a vet?"

"Plans change. I wanted to stay here in Fork. Don't say anything now; I know that you can't understand that. You couldn't wait to get out of here, could you?"

"I'm not really a small-town girl."

"Yeah, I know, you never have been. Do you think it's weird that I like living here so much?"

"No, it's not. Charlie loved that too."

"Hmm, I guess he did. Did you know that we're still working on his case?"

"Really? And have you found out anything useful yet?"

"You know that I'm not supposed to tell you something about the current investigations."

"But Mike, he was my father."

"And he was the former chief of police who got shot during being on duty. I promise to tell you when we find the damn bitch."

"Her? How do you know that it was a woman who killed him?"

"Forget it. I shouldn't have told you that. Jeez, I'm not really good at the whole keeping my mouth shut thing."

"Don't worry. I won't report you."

"Thanks, I really need to keep this job because Jessica won't allow me to see our son when I get behind with the support payment."

"The two of you are divorced? I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't have to be; she and I that was never meant to be."

"Hmm,"

"What about you. Are you still married to that red-haired lawyer from Anchorage?"

"Edward and I got divorced a few months ago." I told him, desperately trying to keep my voice calm.

"So, we're both divorced. Maybe we should go out for dinner later this week, just for the good old memories."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Mike." I mumbled, pulling Ali on my lap. A bell-like chuckle left her throat when I grazed the shell of her ear with my teeth.

"I don't think I understand, Bella." he croaked out, rubbing his chin thoughtlessly.

"You will." I assured him; before I leaned down to press my lips against hers in a tender kiss.