Chapter 9
But since there is not...
Beautiful and majestic, Rosalie stood in the kitchen doorway, looking both pinched and embarrassed. She inhaled sharply, then said:
"I'm sorry to interrupt your…meal, but I had to see you to apologize for judging you too quickly." I didn't know the weight of your secret and even though I don't like you, I think that…for now, we can trust you to keep our secret. »
Well ! What a turnaround! I swallowed my mouth and replied:
"Thank you Rosalie, it means a lot to me. »
She nods and steps back. I look at Edward, whose eyes have gone caramel again.
"Well for a surprise! I blow "
"Quest completed... A reward has been granted..."
Well then ! All I needed was the Ice Queen's approval… After dinner, Esme and Alice accompanied me shopping for dinner tonight. Charlie had called an hour ago and wanted to cancel dinner with Billy and Jacob, but I insisted on doing something normal that took my mind off things. Needless to say, Edward was more than reluctant, but he didn't tell me why either. Fortunately, I was perfectly aware of the origin of his bad mood. That said, when I asked him why he behaved like that, he preferred not to answer rather than lie to me. We are therefore in progress compared to the book. After shopping, Esme and Alice helped me cook.
I had decided to make it simple but effective. A good Provençal tian that will make everyone agree, with the result of Charlie's fishing in foil. All accompanied by white rice and a white wine… Unfortunately the latter only for adults… Seriously… I missed my Friday night glass of wine. Is it serious doctor ? I huff as I put my dishes in the oven.
"You know a thing or two about Mediterranean cooking," Bella says Esme smiling.
It's a kitchen that I appreciate a lot, I explain, slightly tense. »
How could I explain that I don't know anything about American cuisine!? Luckily, I've stuck to the basics since I arrived, so Charlie didn't notice a thing… Anyway, he didn't look more surprised than that. I suspect he knows so little about it that he hasn't even realized that I've been cooking French since I arrived. As long as it's good, I have the impression that he won't ask me questions.
Charlie arrives shortly after six o'clock and Alice and Esme take their leave after greeting Charlie, not without Alice warning me that Edward will be picking me up twenty minutes before class starts. I noticed Charlie's raised eyebrow at Edward's name. Once the door is closed behind the two women, he goes to get a beer and asks me to join him in the living room. Crap ! The interrogation is about to begin. He takes a sip from the glass bottle before staring at me:
"Edward huh?!
Alice's brother, a classmate, I might add.
He's not too old for you? »
That's an understatement, I think.
"If 17 is too old, then I better aim for the sandbox," I tell him.
So it's serious between you?
There is no "one of us" dad, I reply. He is kind, caring, well-educated…"
Charlie raises an eyebrow.
"And, yes, downright hot…I'm finishing, to please him. But for now, we're just having a good time together. We're not as close as you think and I really wish you wouldn't interfere. »
During my last sentence I stare at him intensely, so that the innuendo will imprint itself well in his head. He sighs.
"I just want to watch over you, Bella.
I know, I interrupt him. And thank you. But I'm big enough to choose whether or not to push my relationship with a man. »
He winced at the word "man." Thin ! I should have said "boy", it would have seemed less threatening to him.
"Bella, just promise me you'll be careful and protect yourself."
I promise you, I reassure him. I have absolutely no desire to get pregnant or get a sexually transmitted disease. »
This last sentence makes me think that I do not take oral contraception. I don't know how my relationship with Edward will evolve, but one of the things I would like to change from the book is his damn barrier of being a virgin. I decide to talk to Charlie about it. In my previous life, I spoke bluntly to my mother and my father, there is no reason to keep me here.
"Speaking of protection dad, I start.
You want a pepper bomb? he asks me.
No !
A taser is not legal honey!
But I don't want it, dad!
Oh ! he said, a little disappointed. »
Wait... Why disappointed? I shake my head to put this question aside and unpack it without a filter:
"Dad, I would like to take the pill. »
He spits his beer.
" Pardon ?! he replies, taken aback.
I have to be protected in case I decide to take action, I tell him, shrugging my shoulders.
I thought you weren't close with Edward!
We're not, but I'm 17, healthy and sexually mature and…
Stop! Pity ! Don't pronounce "sexual maturity" and "I" in the same sentence, he begs me. »
I roll my eyes and stare at him seriously.
"Dad…I could have snuck it out and saved you a headache, but I don't want to be on my own." If I tell you about it, it is precisely because I am responsible, that I want to do things well and that I trust you to help me stay on this path. I need your help. You do not mind ? »
He almost had tears in his eyes at my statement. He puts down his beer, pulls me into a hug and whispers:
"You have grown so much Bella. I am proud of you ! »
I feel a little guilty, because I'm pretty sure Bella would never have broached the subject with him, but it's been so long since my real father behaved like this, that I let myself melt. in his embrace. She's warm, she's full of love and she does me a f**k of good! I wish my dad had told me that. Without realizing it, I feel my eyes mist up and tears flood my cheeks.
Decidedly, I would have poured some today! You will have to drink a lot to compensate for the water loss. I giggle at my silly thinking. My father releases me, wipes my tears and I feel the tenderness and love he has for his daughter. He deserves better than the treatment Bella gave him. I swear I'll take care of him no matter what. He has suffered enough from the selfishness of the women around him. I smile at him as a new blue window appears:
"Secondary quest: Convince Billy not to tell Charlie about the Cullens… Reward: A date in the forest… Penalty: Charlie's sadness… Duration: the evening".
And here is the return of the wacky quests! I'm not sure a date in the forest is a reward, but either way, I don't want to upset Charlie. A car pulls up in front of the house and there's a knock on the door. I go to open and I smile with all my teeth at what I guess are Billy and Jacob.
" Hello to both of you ! Enter, please ! »
I move away from the threshold and close the door once they have entered. Jacob is really cute. Not as much as Edward, but he has an undeniable charm. I understand that Bella almost saw her little heart fail. I lead them to the living room while the tian finishes cooking. Jacob helps me set the table while our fathers clink glasses in front of the sport with their bottle of beer. I sigh with envy and Jacob asks me what's happening to me.
"I just can't wait to be old enough to enjoy a beer after a hard day.
It almost sounds like you've been through it and you're sorry you can't do it anymore, Jacob remarked, amused. »
I laugh, embarrassed, asking him to pick up our parents for dinner. This one starts well. The tian is well received and Charlie asks me to redo the wrappers soon. He suggests that I also offer some to Esme to thank her for her kindness. As the Cullens are brought up, I see Billy tense up and I answer Charlie casually.
"I prefer to thank her by giving her a handmade gift, dad. A dream catcher for example.
I doubt she likes it, Bella, Billy grumbled.
For what ? asks dad.
It is a traditional object of our culture.
Beyond the meaning, it is also an object of decoration, I retort. »
I see his eyes narrow. The rest of the meal is spent in silence. I had planned a tiramisu for dessert and it was swallowed whole… To think that I had planned to keep some for tomorrow evening… My disappointment is compensated by the smile of satisfaction from Charlie and Jacob. Billy keeps watching me. When the opportunity arises, I discreetly ask him to chat in the kitchen while Jacob and Charlie watch a best of sports game on television. He attacks directly:
"Watch out for the Cullens, Bella!" They are dangerous!
I know...I retort, catching him off guard.
So you will avoid them...
No !
But…
Billy, I KNOW what it means to hang out with them and I'm taking my precautions. Just as I KNOW what precautions to take recently in the reserve, if I carry the scent of the Cullens. »
Billy goes through all the colors before spitting:
"They broke the pact!
No, I know lots of secrets through my own means.
What do you mean ?
I see the future Billy…I know your own son will be part of the pack soon. I also know imprinting has been causing a bit of a stir on the reserve lately. I also know it wasn't a bear that hurt Emily.
Emily? Billy cuts me off, taken aback. But Emily wasn't hurt by a bear, or even by any animal...
So you should warn Sam not to discuss Leah around Emily until he gets his transformation under control. Otherwise, he will hurt her by phasing out of anger. »
Billy squints and is about to answer me, when Jacob walks into the kitchen asking if they could come inside. Billy nods, thanks Bella curtly for her advice and they both leave. A few days later, Alice texted me to let me know that the Quileutes wanted to see them in the forest, on the edge of their territory. At that moment, a window announced the success of my quest.