Bella's POV

In the end it took all of two days to get Charlie on board with the idea, in the end it was Eris that made him realize that this was for the best, with the promise of finishing school online, with extra courses to help raise my grades before summer break and the start of Senior year. As well as weekly calls or email, after he got off the phone we had a long talk that was painful and awkward but it was probably the first time we actually talked and came to an understanding.

It was a Thursday by the time we made all the arrangements and I had a plane ticket for saturday. Charlie decided to take this week off to get everything arranged and spend more time with me. We ordered pizza and as I watched the relieved expression cross his face as I reached for a 4th slice, I realized my action affected him more than I originally thought.

Starting with finding me missing and finding me in the woods after the incident, the nightmare he always woke me up from and stayed with me, my lack of response to anything after and basically starving myself. He never yelled or got angry or tried to push me to talk about why I was doing this, he was just there. He might not know how to say it but I know he loved me without a shadow of a doubt and would go to hell and back for me even if he couldn't actually say it.

That Friday was spent talking and attempting to teach Charlie how to cook easy meals so he actually ate something besides fried fish or take out. It was fun but we had to use the fire extinguisher a couple of times. We watched old action movies and went through some old photos. We ended up falling asleep on the couch together. The trip to the airport was just as silent as the day I came but it lacked the awkwardness and was more comfortable.

A short flight later I was landing in New Orleans Louisiana, Eris was currently living 2 hours outside of the city growing a rare type of plant and studying the marshes' plant life. Eris was a botanist and had discovered a few plants that helped in withdrawal symptoms of the heavier abused medications and drugs.

She was 5'9 with long dark brown hair with naturally honey highlights from all the sun she got, her skin had darkened to a tan color from the last time I saw her, she also had more tattoos. Only her neck and face were ink free from what I could see from the tanktop and shorts she wore. She had on a pair of sunglasses covering her bright blue almost white eyes, a genetic defect on her fathers side had given Eris the unique eyes that drew attention wherever she went.

"Hey Aunt Eris. it's been too long."

I got an eyebrow raised at me before a big hug, her hugs were one of my favorite things, always warm and almost had me melting in a relaxed pile of goo as the stress and tension slipped away.

"OHH im Aunt Eris now? No more Aunty Eri from my favorite dizzy Izzy?"

Blushing slightly at the nickname and flashbacks of sinning all summer long to prove I couldn't get dizzy when I was little with Eri laughing and joining in.

"You'll always be Eri, thanks for letting me come and convincing Charlie I really need this."

Eris POV

The email from Izzy was not completely unexpected, i kept intouch as much as i could as i was traveling for work and thought nothing of her going to stay with Charlie. If anything I thought it might do her some good to actually be a teen instead of an adult. Renee was a good person but was not parent material, she was all about her and going with the newest things, bills and child care never seemed to make a permanent spot on that list.

I noticed there was a change a bit after she went to live with Charlie. At first I thought it was just her getting adjusted to a new place, but as time passed the emails I received from my Izzy were brief and the calls even more so and they never sounded right. Like an actress reading lines from a script, but she sounded happy and charlie never said otherwise till a few months ago.

As I hugged her and got a good look at her I wished I had followed up on the sinking feeling I got at the beginning when the email changed. She was skinny like she hadn't had a decent meal in months and her skin tone and hair looked washed out and almost lifeless. The worst part though was the shadow in her eyes that spoke of pain and even worse self hate.

This was not caused by a simple break up with a boy, there was more to it and I would get to the bottom of this. I had seen hard core drug addicts look better than my Izzy did. As we got in the cab and I reached for Izzy's hand to hold when I saw it. A crescent scar that shined everytime light touched it on the inside of her wrist, the oily shine each raised bump gave off was almost like a beacon. Shock and anger raced up my spine and I was thankful for my sunglasses because scars like that were not natural made. It meant my goddaughter was mixed in with things that were better off being believed as myth and fiction.

It also meant we would not be getting a happy celebration when we reached my home in the marsh. I needed answers because Izzy's life was in more danger and several major laws had been broken along with an accord that was centuries old.