Chapter 12

"Message in a bottle" (edited/extended version 2023)

Bella's POV

When I finally woke up it was almost noon. I was a bit perplexed by the fact that Charlie hadn't woken me up, but I supposed that Charlie didn't really know how to handle sleepy teens any more than he knew how to handle study sessions and possible dates. I had lain awake for a good couple of hours after being dropped off at home by Edward and his siblings, pondering my existence, both here and in Phoenix. And Dan. Of course, always Dan. It wasn't entirely true what I'd told Renee the other day, about not having heard from Dan. He'd written to me a couple of days after I'd arrived in Forks. I hadn't made a big fuss about me leaving town, not really having any friends to say goodbye to but I suppose these things always got out eventually and that he'd found out somehow.

I'd promised myself that I'd never punish myself by dwelling on the past I'd had with Dan, stashing away all the stuff we'd shared together and not bringing any of it with me to Forks. But I hadn't thrown it away, secretly suspecting that these memories wouldn't always make me cringe. Or make me wanna cry. Instead I'd handed the boxes (yes, boxes. Dan and I had a relationship filled with memorabilia), over to Renee who'd done nothing but giving me a big hug and never mentioned them again. I didn't quite know where she'd put them and I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to know either. Not yet.

But this was different. It wasn't the past, it wasn't the letters, the concert tickets or all the other stuff I'd put away. It was Dan. My Dan. Or at least he used to be. He'd started the email off by apologizing for his silence, which didn't make much sense to me since he'd been pretty clear about that he didn't want any more contact the last time we'd spoken. I scrolled past that part quite quickly, it just stirred up too many bad memories. Then there was a rant about how amazing college was and "boy, will you be amazed when it's your turn". That part only made me mad, seeing as college had been the thing that initially drove us apart. At least in my book. And then he launched a rant about how he was disappointed that I hadn't let him know that I'd be moving to Forks and that he'd had to find out through Jess Landon instead. And that's when I deleted the email without finishing it.

He had a lot of nerve pretending like it affected him in the slightest way if I was a couple of miles away or hundred miles away. I hadn't heard from him in months, not even at christmas.. That sucked majorly, seeing as Christmas had always been our thing and a holiday that we both cherished.. Renee had gone out of her way to compensate for the lack of Dan, giving me a MacBook that I knew she couldn't really afford(but Phil probably could though). But there was no way of making up for the loss of Dan and her painful efforts to do so had rather marked the fact that he was missing than soothed my wounds.

After having deleted the email I'd paced back and forth in my room for a good fifteen minutes, trying to figure out how one should respond to such an email. What can you say to someone who's completely crushed you, really? I then proceeded to block his email address to avoid further messages that would damage my mental health. I was going to be rid of Dan Whitaker once and for all.

A couple of weeks had passed since and I'd sort of expected for him to text me or call me at some point. But there had been no contact whatsoever. Not a word. It was probably for the best since he'd completely and utterly broken my heart. But still, I couldn't help but wonder what he was up to these days. Was he still excelling at ASU? Was he still living in the same dorm? Had he met someone?

I shuddered at the thought and forced myself to not ponder the matter any further. I couldn't allow myself to have these thoughts. I knew it wasn't good for me and I also knew that I needed to be distracted.

I picked up my phone and texted Edward.

Hey! Thanks for last night. I had a lot of fun! I was wondering if you've got plans today? If not, would you like to hang out?

I knew that I was probably being ambiguous right now, seeing as I'd told Edward off last night. But I really didn't want to be spending my Saturday alone, brooding over things that were beyond my control. His reply was instantaneous.

I had a lot of fun too! I'm out for a short hike in the woods with my family, but I'll be back in two hours or so if you want to hang out then? I haven't got any plans for the rest of the day.

I smiled to myself as I read his reply. Two hours would be plenty of time for me to take a shower and have some breakfast before heading out.

Sounds great! What do you feel like doing?

I eagerly awaited his reply.

Well, there isn't very much to do around Forks, if you hadn't already noticed. I could come over and we could hang out? I could bring some snacks and some board games? My parents are still renovating our house so we can't hang out here :( Or I could pick you up and we could do an early dinner at the Lodge? I'm up for anything really!

I contemplated the alternatives. Going out for dinner just the two of us, even if it was only the local diner, felt so formal and too close to a date. However, hanging out here meant having Charlie around, which was pretty much the same thing as having a chaperone. Also, I wasn't a very big fan of board games to be honest. None of the alternatives really appealed to me. Nonetheless, at last I decided that hanging out at my house probably was the better alternative since I didn't know how I'd be able to convince Charlie that Edward and I having dinner two nights in a row wasn't a date.

You could come over here if you want? My dad's home, but if you don't mind having the town sheriff lurking around in the background you're welcome to come over :)

I hoped he wouldn't be intimidated by the fact that Charlie would be home. Seeing as I hadn't really grown up with Charlie I'd never had to consider friends possibly being daunted by the fact that my dad was a cop. But I supposed that was intimidating to some.

Sounds good! I'll swing by once I've had the time to go home and change and gather up some board games. And I like your dad. He's way too nice to frighten me :) See you soon!

I smirked at the thought of him thinking that Charlie was too nice to frighten anyone. He wouldn't say that if he'd ever seen Charlie angry. I then tucked my phone into the chest pocket of my pajamas. For some reason that I couldn't quite understand, I kind of looked forward to spending my Saturday afternoon with Edward Cullen, and not only because it would help me to keep my mind off Dan.