Chapter Twenty-Five

Bella

It hadn't taken long for the entire school to take note of the ring on my finger, but considering we only had two days left of school I was relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with the whispers and stared for that much longer.

When I had reluctantly gone home when it had gotten late, Edward putting me in his car even with my protests that I wanted to stay the night. We had just gotten engaged, the last thing I wanted was to be separated from him so soon.

It turned out that when Edward had asked Charlie for his permission to ask me to marry him, something he had apparently begrudgingly accepted, on the condition that he had me home the same night so that we could have a 'talk.'

I was shitting myself.

"What does he want to talk about?" I demanded as Edward sat their looking amused at my nerves.

I couldn't help it, Charlie wasn't one to show emotions so I was completely out of my element. I had barely lived with him a year and yet already his only child was getting married. I was surprised I hadn't given him a heart attack.

"My lips are sealed," he grinned.

I fought back an annoyed growl. "Edward, tell me!"

"No."

God, how was it possible that only a half hour ago I barely wanted to separate our lips but right at that moment I wanted to do nothing more than successfully kick him in the shin?

I pouted. "Why not?"

"Because I enjoy watching you get so flustered," he grinned.

I'd better remember this moment when I turned, just so when I had the strength on my side I could kick his perfectly sculptured arse.

That reminded me…

"I haven't seen you naked yet," I blurted out, red cheeked but still demanding.

If he wasn't a vampire I swear he would have been blushing, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel as he squirmed slightly under my observation. it was amusing seeing him so fidgety, considering as a vampire he didn't tend to even breath if he didn't have any humans to fool.

I scowled when he didn't verbally reply when I knew full well that he had clearly heard every word.

Huffing, I turned to look out of the window. It took only two minutes before I heard him sign out in defeat causing me to have to fight back a snigger of victory.

"My control only stretches so far, my Love" he confessed. "Seeing you…seeing you naked told me as much."

I still pouted. "Is that a no?"

He looked my way, smirking slightly. "That keen to see what I have to offer?"

I nodded eagerly, duh!

"I am sure you can be patient enough to wait for our wedding night, Bella."

I grinned widely, pleased that he was finally openly taking about having sex with me when I was human.

"I can't wait," I blushed happily.

HHHHHHHHHH

I fought back a cringe when I caught sight of Charlie sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me to get home. I knew this was going to be more than a little awkward for the both of us.

"Have fun," Edward murmured against my temple with a smile.

I scowled as I watched him pull up the collar of his thick coat further up his neck before shooting me a crooked smile. I silently cursed the fact one look at that smile made it impossible for me to stay angry at him, and he knew it.

"He just wants to make sure I'm not rushing you, Love" he whispered.

Kissing my cheek he politely said his goodbyes to Charlie who grunted in return before gently brushing his lips against mine, murmuring another 'I love you' before heading back outside.

I sighed, missing him already.

Turning towards Charlie I was at least relieved he didn't make a show of cleaning his gun like the first time he had met Edward. "Hey."

"Bella," he nodded. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Knowing it wasn't really a question I silently obeyed, taking a seta opposite him as I nervously played with my hands in my lap. Now that Edward had left my side I didn't seem to feel so confident anymore.

It was silent until he broke it a few minutes later.

"So, you clearly said yes then," he gestured to the ring which now decorated my finger.

I nodded. "Did you expect anything else?"

He shrugged. "Your nearly eighteen, Bella. Too me it still seems like your my little girl, the fact this…boy, is wanting to take that responsibility…"

"You know Edward will look after me, dad" I tried to sooth his worries. I hadn't realised this was what had been on his mind.

Charlie grunted. "He has the means to financially support you at least."

I frowned, not liking the fact he seemed to want to talk about money. I knew the Cullen's were loaded, mainly thanks to Alice's luck with the stock market, but that didn't mean I was the type of girl who actually found that a reason to continue to date him.

I would feel the same even if he didn't have a penny to his name. That was I sure of.

"He's a good man, Charlie. You know that."

Charlie reluctantly nodded, leaning back on his chair as he sipped his beer. He must be serious if it meant he was missing his football game in order to have this talk with me.

"I know," his moustache twitched. "The boy wouldn't have sex with you until you took your vows. Like I said, I knew the boy was serious and unfortunately I have to respect that."

I grinned.

"And he did ask for my hand in marriage. A little old fashioned for my tastes, but how many fathers can say the same?"

Again, I grinned.

"So…" I asked slowly. "You're ok with this?"

Charlie nodded, releasing a heavy sigh. "As long as he treats you right, and you're happy, then I have no complaints. Have you told your mother?"

My cringe must have given him the answer he expected as he exhaled loudly, looking at me with slight disappointment and frustration.

"She needs to know, Bella."

I sighed, knowing he was right. "I know, it's just…"

Charlie looked at me. "When was the last thing you spoke to her?"

I shrugged. "Uh…" I thought back to the conversation we had on the phone. It wasn't until I matched up the dates that I realised I hadn't spoken or contacted her in months. It wasn't as if she had made the effort either. "She called me the first week I settled in."

Charlie's brows raised. "That's it? That's the last time she called you?"

"Urm…it was actually the last time I heard anything from her. She's busy with her new lover and all…so…"

"That is no excuse!" He snapped. "She is your mother, she should have more of an interest in your life!"

I shrugged. It was more than likely that Renee had just lost track of time, since it wouldn't surprise me if she had. She wasn't the most motherly of mothers and I had come to terms with that years ago, so the fact she didn't seem to be taking much of an interest in my life didn't really bother me as much as it probably should have done.

"Call her, Bella" Charlie moved to grab the phone before holding it out to me.

I stared at it blankly.

"Bella," he warned. "I may have accepted this, but she needs to know. Did you really plan to have your wedding without her?"

I shrugged. "Esme will be there," was all I could think of to say.

He shot me a disapproving look. "Is that really enough?"

Sighing, I took the phone before dialling Renee's number. She picked up on the second to last ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Bella."

"Bella!" she shouted down the phone, her voice thick with excitement. "You will never guess what Phil did for our anniversary, Bella. He was such a charmer…"

I let her continue rambling on about her life for a few minutes, rolling my eyes in Charlie's direction who didn't look impressed in the slightest. It was clear that while he still cared for her somewhat, he did not agree with the way she treated me like one of her girlfriends rather than her daughter.

"So, what's going on with you, baby?" she finally seemed to realise I had been the one to phone.

"Uh…Do you remember that boy I was telling you about-"

"Oh yes! Did you finally lose your V-card. I know your still young, but you were missing out on so much-"

I flushed. "Yes, I'm still a virgin."

Charlie looked furious, guessing what she must have asked me.

"Then why are you calling?"

I bit my lip, suddenly nervous. "Urm…I'm getting married."

Silence.

"What!"

Again, I didn't comment further. If her shriek of outrage was anything to go by then I figured she wasn't exactly signing my praises for wanting to go further with Edward. Charlie may be apprehensive, but at least he respected that this was what I wanted.

"What the fuck are you thinking, Bella? Tell me your joking!" she demanded.

I chewed my bottom lip, eying Charlie nervously as he sat watching me carefully. "I'm not."

"You stupid little girl, do you have any idea what a foolish decision that is? I got married young and look how that ended up-"

"You ended up with me," I frowned, cutting her off.

I saw Charlie sit up straighter, but then again it wasn't hard to guess what she must have said to make me reply with such a comment. "I knew that Renee held some kind of resentment towards me, but the fact she was going as far as to call me stupid as well as implying I was a mistake…well, that was a surprise even to me.

"Yes, I did. But if I could go back and do things differently I would."

Ok…so she wasn't just implying it, but admitting it.

I honestly didn't know what to say to a comment like that. Should I cry? Yell at her, telling her that it wasn't as if she treated me like a mother should a child? I knew she resented me, but even I hadn't really allowed myself to believe it until that moment.

Mothers were not meant to treat their children like that.

"Bella?"

I was drawn out of my mental haze only to realise Charlie was standing in front of me, concerned as he continued to raise a brow.

I didn't know what to say.

"You ok, Bells? I know your mother probably isn't reacting well-"

"She pretty much told me she didn't want me to make the same mistake as she did."

I had never seen him look so furious. His face going bright red as she clenched his jaw tightly, holding his hand out for the phone while Renee continued to yell at me how stupid I was, that I was naïve to accept such a proposal and the boy was only doing it to get one thing.

I bit back the urge to comment that not all guys were like the ones she had hooked up with.

When I was younger it was hard to forget the parade of men who came in and out of the apartment, each obviously having gotten what they came for before sneaking out as soon as my mother had crashed for the night.

Clearly none of them had ever intended of staying around.

It was one reason why it hadn't surprised me when she had gotten together with Phil, a man who was years younger than her. All of her one night stands had been toy boys, so why would it be a surprise if she ended up settling down with one?

"Give me the phone, Bells."

I didn't refuse him, rather handing it over before making my way outside to get some fresh air. I needed to think.

As I made myself somewhat comfortable on the front porch I really thought about how Renee's words were affecting me.

Was I disappointed?

Clearly, it wasn't everyday your mother told you what a complete fuck up she thought you were.

Was I surprised at all by her behaviour?

I was sad enough to admit that there had been a tiny part of me that had hoped she would be happy for me, that she would realise that I had found my soul mate in Edward and that there wasn't a hope in hell that she would ever say anything to make me doubt what he felt for me and me for him.

He was my everything.

I knew that when I was changed a story would have to be made on how to explain it to Charlie that I suddenly wasn't who I used to me. That was if he didn't believe I was dead, something I wished to avoid if I could help it. I had already spoken to Carlisle about it, telling him about my concerns.

The best either of us had come up with was me telling him that I was going away to College, and then putting back my visits until I was fully about to control myself for him to simply see that I was alright. The worry he would feel made me feel guilty enough, but nowhere near as much if he thought I was dead when I was fully much alive.

As long as he never found out about the supernatural world, there wasn't an issue.

Renee I knew I would never have to worry about. She had been relieved to get rid of me, as while she hadn't admitted it she hadn't exactly hid her disappointment or annoyance when she had been prevented from doing something because of me.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that she hadn't done anything for me. She hadn't washed my clothes, put food on the table or made sure the bills were up-to-date. I had done that. I had worked since I was thirteen when my teenage-self had fully realised just how bad things were at him.

What right did she have to demand that I refer to her as my mother?

Charlie had at least tried. He showed he cared, looked after me and the fridge or bills were never left until the last minute. For a single bloke living alone who had no idea of how to raise a teenager, he had been doing a bloody good job.

In a year he had done more parenting then Renee had since I had been here.

Now, how sad was that?

It was almost pathetic when I remembered how other children had been telling stories of how their mother did this with them, and took them places, told them they loved them while hugging and playing with them. I had always found it silly, that it meant they were being babied, but now I looked back I realised Renee had completely stolen my childhood from me.

It made my gut clench painfully at the realisation.

I heard Charlie come and sit next to me on the porch before I saw him.

"You ok, Bells?"

I shrugged. "I guess."

He shook his head, expression still angered. "I can't believe she said that to you. She is a spiteful woman, I hadn't realised just how bad of a mother she was until that moment. I should have fought harder to keep you."

I shrugged, because truthfully, I wished he had to.

I turned to face him. "What did she say?"

Charlie scowled. "Just that I was being naïve giving that boy my blessing, that she had every right to come over and take you back with her-"

"I don't want that," I snapped my head up to meet his gaze. "I like it here. I like living with you."

He nodded his agreement, and my heart felt warm when I saw his expression soften. He wasn't good with feelings, I knew that, so it meant a lot when all of a sudden I was swept into his arms in an awkward hug.

"I know you do, Bells," he soothed. "I know."

Sorry for the wait :)