38

The Charlie look-alike smiled, though he immediately frowned. Of course, it might have been the fact that Emmett wrapped his arm around Bella, pulling her behind him, while Carlisle grabbed the front door in an effort to shut it, only to stop when the man said, "Wait, I'm not him!"

He put his hands up in front of him, shifting so that he was looking past Carlisle right at Bella. "I was told I could find you here, Bella. I'm . . . Well, I'm your uncle. Name is James Swan."

"You're James?" Bella whimpered, and she felt Emmett tighten his arm around her.

James nodded, smiling weakly as he gestured toward his face. "Sorry, I can't really do anything about looking like that asshole."

"You're James," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Can I come in?"

Carlisle looked back at Bella, who bit the inside of her lip as she nodded. James bypassed Carlisle, giving him a nod as he walked into the house. He shoved his hands into the back pocket of his jeans, and looked around. It was then that Bella could see the differences between James and Charlie. Her father was older, more worn, one might say. His hair had started to thin and grey, yet James' hair was thick and the same color as hers. His eyes were a little darker, and the stubble on his face and jaw were better kept neat and orderly. He was a little taller than Charlie, thinner, in better shape, and when he looked at Bella and smiled, she didn't feel hate and malice. That alone set him apart from the way her father had looked at her.

"I'm, um, sorry. I would have called, but I don't have your number," James said, grabbing the back of his neck. "I've wanted to meet you for a long time, Bella. A really long time."

"So why didn't you?" she asked, pulling herself out of Emmett's arms.

James frowned. "Because then they'd find me, and I didn't want to be found."

"And by they you mean . . ."

"My father and brother," he confirmed. "I've spent much of the last twenty years running from them."

She nodded, shifting her eyes to Carlisle, who stood next to the front door, then to Emmett and Marcus, who seemed to have lost focus on his phone call, to the doorway of the kitchen where she saw Alice standing between Edward and Jasper, with Rose and Esme behind them.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't, um, I don't know what to say."

"Can we sit?" he asked, gesturing toward the couch.

"Yeah, sure." Bella walked over to the couch, watching as James passed Carlisle and Emmett, settling on the couch across from her. He leaned forward, pressing his hands together. "Why are you here again?"

James frowned. "I saw the news about their murders. Guess I needed to see for myself that they were really dead. Ran into an old friend, and he told me where I could find you. Glad to hear it wasn't county lock-up. I'm not really welcome there anymore."

"Who?" she asked. "Who was the old friend?"

James smiled. "Eleazar Santiago. We went to school together."

"Oh."

"Bella, I'm . . ." James trailed off and shook his head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I wanted to, but . . ."

"Why'd you leave?" she asked. "You were sixteen, right? When you ran away? I'm sixteen, so. . ."

James cleared his throat, his eyes shifting to the people gathered in the doorway of the kitchen.

"They're my family," she said, causing him to look at her. "They're my family, and they've been here for me, so . . ."

He nodded. "I've always known I'm gay, Bella. Always. Never a doubt in my head, but I hid it for a long time, because in the Swan house, being gay is not acceptable."

"No shit," she murmured, leaning back on the couch and folding her arms in front of her.

"I fell in love when I was fifteen with the most gorgeous boy I'd ever seen. He was tall, dark, and handsome." James laughed. "Laurent had the sweetest soul. He loved music and art and me." He frowned. "My father caught us together on the night of my sixteenth birthday. He was livid and he . . . he beat him to death."

Bella inhaled a sharp breath.

"The police didn't believe me. Of course, it didn't help that my father staged a car accident with both of us in it. They ruled his death as accident, claimed that he had been impaired and drove. I ended up with two broken legs, several ribs, and a father and brother who . . . who thought they could cure me of my sinful ways," he added, shifting his eyes to her. "They tried their damnedest to beat the gay out of me."

"They beat you?"

James nodded. "Eventually my legs healed, my ribs healed, and I took off as soon as I could. Made it to New York. Lived on the street for a while before I managed to get a job, find a dump of an apartment, and never looked back."

"And now you're back," she said, biting the inside of her lip. "I didn't even know you existed."

"I know," he replied, sadly. "You were almost a year old when I heard that your mother had left Charlie, that she'd taken you to Arizona. I reached out to her, thought maybe I could be a part of your life. Maybe finally have some family, but, um, she refused, saying there was no way she was going to let a faggot near her daughter. What if I rubbed the gay on you?"

"Too late," Bella quipped.

James laughed.

"So what happens now?" she asked. "I mean, between you and me."

"That's up to you, I guess. I'd like at least be friends. Maybe share texts or emails. I have a stockpile of the most ridiculous memes. Seriously, it's kind of an obsession of mine," he added with a cheeky grin. "It's been a long time, Bella, since I've had a real family, and I'd just like the chance to get to know you."

Inhaling a sharp breath, she looked over her shoulder, where she still found Alice in the doorway, while everyone else had settled in the kitchen. Alice winked before she turned and left the two of them alone.

"Yeah, I guess we could text each other, or whatever." She looked back at James. "Can't have too much family, right?"

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