Chapter 6

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open.
And I don't feel like I am strong enough.
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome,
And I don't feel right when you're gone away.

~Broken- Seether

An airplane took off from the airport, and Bella watched it rise higher and higher into the sky. The past couple of days had been rough for her. After finding out that Edward was to be released from prison in a few days, she'd become quiet and withdrawn. Memories of the abuse she suffered while dating him resurfaced, and Bella found herself having numerous panic attacks when the memories became too much. Her husband supported her immensely. Jacob understood completely that this was going to be hard for his wife. Whenever she had a panic attack, he would collect her in his arms, take her to their room and sit her on their bed. Once they were there, Jacob would merely hold her, whispering sweet words to her until the attack had subsided. Bella couldn't be more grateful of her patient husband and after two days of unsteady emotions, she had accepted what was happening.

Bella held Renesmee's hand while Jacob removed his suitcase from the trunk of his car. "I'm going to miss you." Bella told him once he had all of things out of the car and had closed the trunk. "I hope you have a safe flight."

Jacob smiled at his wife and set his things on the ground. "I'll be fine." he took a step towards her and placed his hands on either side of her face. "It's you I'm worried about. Should I even be leaving you at a time like this?" his eyes clouded over in confliction.

"Hey, I'll be fine." Bella produced a weary smile. "Just come back to me soon okay?"

Jacob didn't need to respond, he merely leaned down and kissed his wife's lips tenderly. When he pulled away, he picked up his daughter and kissed her cheek quickly. "Are you going to behave for mommy?"

Renesmee giggled and nodded fiercely. "Of course, daddy. But how come I can't go with you?"

Jacob chuckled softly. "It's a grown-up thing."

Renesmee pouted. "But how come mommy can't go with you?"

"Mommy has to work. And if she came with me, who would take care of you?" Jacob's answer seemed to appease the young child and he hugged her once more before placing her back on the ground. "Goodbye my loves." Jacob caressed the side of Bella's face, then grabbed his belongings and headed inside of the terminal.

Bella watched Jacob depart, then looked down at her daughter. "How would you like to get some ice cream?"

The four year old looked up at her mother with wide and hopeful eyes. "Yes!"

Bella opened the back door and placed Renesmee in the booster seat. After seat belting the child, she took the driver's seat and exited the parking lot. Since Bella's car was still in the shop, she had to drive her husband's car. The reason Bella wasn't a fan of driving Jacob's car was because it was a stick shift and she hated the feeling of it changing gears.

It took them fifteen minutes, but soon Bella was pulling the car in the parking lot of Dairy Queen, and heading inside with Renesmee to order them some dessert. Once they entered, Bella walked up to the glass counter that gave them a peek at the flavors. No one was behind the counter at the moment so it was just mother and daughter. "Alright honey, do you see a flavor that looks good?"

Renesmee peered through glass and pointed at the blue and pink ice cream. "Oh mommy! I want that one! It looks pretty!"

Bella's eyes locked on the flavor and found it to be cotton candy. She wrinkled her nose in distaste but forced a smile for her daughter. "Do you want sprinkles on top?"

"Yes, yes! Mommy can I get a cone?" Renesmee clasped her little hands together and sent pleading eyes to Bella.

Bella patted her head fondly just as their server exited the back room. "Sure honey."

"Hey, sorry it took me so long. I was taking some ice cream out of the freezer."

"It's alright." Bella turned her attention from her daughter to the server and froze. The man before her was lanky with bronze, untidy hair. Vibrant green eyes stared into her brown ones, and she felt fear creeping up her spine. "Edward?" she croaked, grabbing her daughter and taking a step back.

The man sent her a bewildered expression. "Uh, no. I'm Austin." he pointed to his nametag as further proof.

The brunette licked her lips nervously. The boy looked almost exactly like Edward and it was dredging up all of her buried anxiety. "I changed my mind." she practically whispered. "We don't want ice cream." Bella grabbed her daughter's hand and rushed them out of the ice cream parlor, leaving behind a very perplexed Austin.

"Mommy what's wrong?" Renesmee asked, confusion coloring her tone. "How come we can't get ice cream?"

Bella strapped Renesmee in her booster seat before jumping behind the wheel and pedaling out of the parking lot. "I don't feel like ice cream from there anymore."

"Aww!" Renesmee crossed her arms and frowned. "So we're not getting ice cream? But you said!"

Bella tried to steady her breathing. After encountering the Edward-look-alike, she nearly fell into another panic attack. The only thing that kept her grounded was her daughter in the back seat. Jacob wasn't here to help her through it and she didn't want to frighten her child so she took numerous slow and steady breaths until she had calmed. It took her a few minutes and by the time she had gathered herself, Renesmee was crying in the backseat. "What's wrong honey?"

Renesmee wiped her eyes as more tears spilled from them. "You said ice cream!" she wailed. "I want ice cream! You said!"

"I know, I know." Bella pulled into the parking lot of the local convenience store. "I'm going to run inside and get some ice cream. You wait here okay?"

Her daughter smiled through her tears and picked up one of her dolls that had made it's way into Jacob's car. "Okay mommy."

Bella hurried into the store, not wanting to leave her daughter in the car unattended for very long. She rushed to the freezer section and grabbed a couple pints of ice cream. Making her way to the register, she paid for the ice cream and was out of the store in less than two minutes.

Renesmee hadn't moved from her spot and for that, Bella was grateful. The duo went home and for the rest of their evening, everything seemed normal. The only thing that bothered Bella was that Jacob never called.

The next day, Bella passed out an assignment to her class. "Don't forget, if you didn't like the grades on your essays, you may correct it and turn it in by Friday for a re-grade." Most of the students in her class groaned at the thought and she smiled inwardly. Bella wasn't so old that she didn't remember being behind the desk of a student. "This assignment I'm passing out now should be completed after you read the next two chapters of Speak. We will discuss it in class tomorrow so come prepared." the bell rang and she dismissed her class.

After everyone had departed, Bella made her back to her desk and sat behind it. She collapsed her body over it and sighed heavily. The woman was grateful it was her lunch break. She just wanted to rest her mind as she thought about what had happened the previous day. Seeing the Edward-look-alike had really taken it's toll on her and made her anxious throughout the day.

"Knock knock."

Bella lifted her head from the desk and turned her attention to the woman standing in the doorway. "Hey Alice."

Alice strutted into the room wearing a blue sundress and white cardigan. She dropped a large brown bag on top of Bella's desk and grinned. "I bought lunch. Join me in the lounge."

Bella regained her composure and eyed the food then Alice's attire. She stood from her chair and peered inside the bag. "What is it?"

"Red Lobster."

Bella scratched her head in speculation. "Can you even afford this right now?"

Alice waved away away Bella's question, then grabbed the bag and motioned to Bella to follow her.

Bella oblied the pixie haired lady and looked at her outfit questioningly. "Why are you dressed like this?"

"Well I want to impress Demetri so I have to always look date ready just in case." Alice winked at Bella, then opened the door to the lounge. There were only a few teachers inside, but one of them happened to be Demetri Pire. Once Alice spotted the chiseled man, she took a seat at the table he had occupied. "Hey Demetri, how is your first day going?"

Demetri flashed Alice his pearly whites. "As well as to be expected. The students here are magnificent."

"That's good." Alice pulled out two plastic containers from the large brown bag and slid one to Bella.

Bella opened the container and found a medley of shrimp and crap on a bed rice. While she was always grateful for free food, she found that she didn't have much of an appetite. Not wanting to be rude, she picked at her food, eating small bits at a time.

During their lunch, Demetri and Alice chatted about mundane things. Bella listened politely, but didn't actively join in their conversation. Sometimes Demetri would direct questions at Bella in efforts to get her to participate in their conversation, but after answering whatever question he asked, Bella would lapse into silence. She didn't mean to come off as anti-social, but a lot was weighing down on her mind.

After their lunch break had ended, Bella headed back to her classroom to prepare for her next class. As she was opening the door, she felt a tap on her shoulder and nearly shrieked from fright. Being on edge was not good when you worked in a school. She turned around to face the person who had startled her and came face to face with Demetri.

The man could tell he had surprised her and looked sheepish. "My apologies Bella. I didn't mean to scare you."

Bella placed a hand over fast beating heart and sighed in relief. "It's alright. It's just one of those days." she sent him a small half smile to show that she wasn't upset.

"I understand that." Demetri gave a short laugh then looked at Bella peculiarly. "You seem out of sorts. Are you okay?"

Bella was taken aback by Demetri's question. She was surprised that he seemed so concerned, since he barely knew her. "I've had better days." Students began to enter Bella's classroom and she looked at Demetri apologetically. "Well it's that time again." she said awkwardly.

Demetri took a gander inside of her slowly filling classroom and nodded in agreement. "It is. I need to head to my own classroom." He placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and sent her an inquisitive look. "Whatever is bothering you, I hope it resolves itself." Demetri left to head to his own classroom and Bella was left with a feeling of bewilderment.

The school day passed without incident and soon Bella was making her way to the pre-school Renesmee went to during the day. From 8:30am until noon, Renesmee learned material from her teachers in pre-school. Luckily for Bella and Jacob, the pre-school doubled as a daycare and they didn't have to worry about leaving work early to pick up their daughter.

When Bella arrived at the school, she found her daughter playing with some other children, outside on the playground. Bella rarely picked up Renesmee from school as Jacob usually got off work first. She paused, watching Renesmee interact with the other children with such unadulterated fun. There weren't that many kids in the neighborhood so she rarely saw her playing with others.

Renesmee spotted her mother and paused in her ministrations. "Mommy!" There was a fence separating them so Bella merely waved at her child, then headed inside so she could take her home. After showing her ID that proved she was Renesmee's mother, Renesmee was released into Bella's care and the pair headed home.

Bella parked in the back of the apartment and exited the car quickly. A rustle in the bush had her pausing in unstrapping Renesmee from her booster seat. A small black retriever trotted out and wagged it's tail happily at Bella. "Well aren't you a cute fella." Bella removed Renesmee from the car, then walked over to the dog that was only a few months old, and more of a puppy than an actual full grown dog. "You're so cute." she leaned down and pet the large pup gently.

"Mommy can we keep him?" Renesmee squatted down near the dog and it lapped at her face. She giggled and pushed it away playfully. The dog barked happily, playing a game of tag with Renesmee who began to run around the backyard.

The apartment they lived in didn't allow pets. Bella knew this and yet she watched the dog playing with her daughter and made a decision to keep him. Their landlord rarely visited the apartment except on rent day, so hiding the dog wouldn't be the problem. But her nosy and callous neighbor might find out and cause them grief. It would be hard to keep the pup a secret from Caius, but Bella was up for the challenge if it would make her daughter happy. After all, she reasoned, there weren't many children in the area for Renesmee to play with so the dog would easily keep her entertained while she was at home, and become her friend.

"Sure. But we have to keep him a secret." Bella winked at her daughter, then picked up the puppy and headed inside of their apartment.

Luckily for Bella, the puppy didn't make much noise and they entered their apartment without incident from their detested neighbor. Before Bella felt comfortable letting the dog roam loose in her house, she gave him a bath. Since she had taken in the dog, she knew she'd have to go shopping for dog food and proper soap and toys in order to care for the animal correctly. For the time being, she fed the dog some leftover boneless chicken she had cooked the other day.

While the dog ate the food, Renesmee petted his clean fur happily. She was very excited about the new addition to the family and Bella was pleased that the dog seemed mild mannered. "We're going to have to give him a name. Why don't you come up with one." Bella suggested.

While Renesmee pondered on that, the phone house phone began to ring. Bella made her way into the living room and answered on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"...out…" there was so much static on the other line that Bella could not decipher much of what the person was saying. "...will...be...wait…"

Bella sighed into the phone. "Please stop calling. I don't know what you're saying. Is this a prank?" she hung up the phone in annoyance and sat back on the couch. Suddenly the phone began to ring again and Bella plucked it from the holster after one ring and answered angrily. "I thought I told you to stop calling?!"

"Bella? Honey what's wrong?"

A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she heard Jacob's voice on the other end of the phone. "Sorry Jake. I thought you were someone else. We've been getting prank calls." Bella paused then her voice turned sharp. "Why haven't you called? I've been worried."

"I'm so sorry Bella." Jacob sounded extremely apologetic and it melted Bella's anger. "My flight ended up getting delayed a few hours and service in the terminal was awful. By the time I made it to South Carolina, it was nearly midnight. Did you know they're three hours ahead? East coast time is weird." Jacob laughed into the phone and Bella couldn't help but smile. She'd always loved the sound of his laughter.

"Well I'm glad you made it there safely. How was work?"

"Me too. Today wasn't too bad at work. They mainly had me organizing goods." Jacob made a noise to indicate his boredom. "How was work for you?"

Bella told Jacob about her day and the couple talked for just over an hour. Jacob made sure to talk to Renesmee too, as he wanted to hear from her as well. Once the call had ended, Bella sat in silence. She had not told Jacob about the Edward-look-alike as she didn't want to worry him and make him feel like he'd made the wrong decision to leave. She had also refrained from telling him about their new pet as she wanted to surprise him when returned home. It was unclear how long they would need Jacob in South Carolina, but Bella hoped that her husband would return to her soon.

As she sat back against the couch, the phone rang again and she picked it up quickly. "Did you forget to tell me something?" she asked sweetly.

"...don't...all…" Whoever insisted upon calling had the worst reception Bella had ever encountered. Something about the calls disturbed her and she quickly ended it by slamming the phone down on the receiver. Goosebumps erupted across her arms and she rubbed them absentmindedly. She didn't know who was calling but wished they would stop.

A/N: Updates are moving to Saturday.