Chapter 21 - Bella

By the time that Jared and I finished talking to Charlie, I couldn't help but notice that Jared hadn't told him about the Cullen's and I wondered if there was a reason for that. Jared and I had spent the afternoon packing up my bedroom. Since I wouldn't be moving into the apartment, I didn't need any furniture. Once we were done, we headed back to the Rez and I had Jared stop by Uncle Quil's so that I could let him know what was going on. When I told him what was going on, he seemed pleased that I'd decided to move in with my imprint. He decided to give me a few days off so that I could get comfortable in the house and around the Rez. I mentioned the situation with Kim to him and he said that he'd look into it.

When Jared and I got to the house, Paul was sitting on the porch steps waiting for us. "Hey. You okay?" I asked him.

"Heard you had a run-in with Kim at Joy's this morning?" He said.

I nodded. "Yeah. That girl is crazy." I told him. Jared shook his head while Paul started laughing. "Can ya'll just get the boxes out of the truck?" I asked them.

That evening, I was fixing dinner for Jared, Charlie and I. Charlie was coming down to check out the house and then he was gonna crash at Billy's cause they were going fishing the next morning. I was standing there fixing a salad when Jared walked in. "Why didn't you tell him about the Cullen's?" I asked.

Jared shrugged. "Their gone. I didn't think that it would make a difference. Besides, if he knew the truth about them, he might have looked at you differently. Maybe even be disappointed." Jared said. I frowned and nodded. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He whispered in my ear.

"I know. It's just…your right. If he knew what they are, he would be disappointed in the fact that I'd been around them." I said.

"Babe, you can't help that you loved him. It's part of your past. We all have one." Jared said.

I nodded. I sat the kitchen knife down and turned in his arms. "Do I need to worry about yours?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No." He said, leaning down and kissing the top of my head.

"Good." I said.

"Charlie just pulled in." He told me.

I nodded. "You go let him in and show him around while I finish up." I said. When Jared walked out of the kitchen to go greet Charlie, I let out a breath that I hadn't realized that I was holding.

I was putting the last of the food on the table when Jared and Charlie walked in. "Hey Bells, this is some place you guys have." Charlie said.

I smiled at him. "Thanks Dad. Jared's parents gave it to him when they moved to Seattle." I told him as they sat at the table.

"Seattle? What do they do there?" Charlie asked Jared.

"They're both professors at the University of Washington." Jared to him. Charlie nodded as I sat down between him and Jared. "They decided to move there to be closer to their jobs."

Charlie nodded. "Well, it was nice that they gave you the house." Charlie said.

"Yeah. Mom spent a lot of time fixing it up over the years. Most everything has been updated." Jared told him.

Charlie nodded. "So after you guys left, I got to thinking." Charlie said and I shot Jared a look. "If you guys are the wolves that have been in the woods, are you the ones killing the hikers?" Charlie asked.

Jared shook his head. "No. We're the one trying to protect the hikers. Sometimes we don't make it in time." Jared said, trying to keep the explanation simple.

"So who is?" Charlie asked.

"The only thing we do kill. Vampires." Jared said.

"Uh huh." Charlie grumbled.

"Dad, they're not like in books or movies. They don't sleep in coffins, burn in the sunlight. They have a reflection and they do drink blood. However, there's two types of vampires. The one's that drink human blood and the one's that drink animal blood…vegetarians so to speak." I said.

Charlie shot his head over to look at me. "How do you know this?" He asked me.

Jared reached his hand over to grab mine, knowing that this was going to be hard for me. "Um, because I know a few vampires." I told him. He glared at me. "Dad, the Cullen's are vegetarian vampires." I said.

Charlie leaned back in his chair. "Are you telling me that you dated a vampire?" He asked me. I nodded, nothing I said right now would make a difference. "Dr. Cullen, who was around blood every day is a vampire?" Once again I nodded. Charlie ran a hand over his face. "Why Bells?" He asked me. I looked down at the table.

"Charlie, in her defense…everything about vampires is designed to draw humans in. Their voice, smell, beauty… that and the fact that they can dazzle you. When Bella met Edward, I can almost guarantee you that Edward gave off this vibe, so to speak and it drew Bella in. She became curious. As time went on, that curiosity looked like love. Once he knew that he had her, he began dazzling her. Drugging her, if you will. Sam and I think that's why she was almost catatonic when they left." Jared told him.

Charlie nodded. "That would make sense. Kind of like when drug addicts go through withdrawal." Charlie added.

Jared nodded. "Exactly. Sam's been talking to the Elders. We think that's why I didn't imprint on Bella when I first met her. See, normally, I would've imprinted on Bella the first time I met her, because it was after I'd phased for the first time. But, it was only a few months after Sam and I had found her in the woods. I think that had she been over everything that had happened with him, I would've been able to imprint then." Jared said.

"That or the spirits just didn't think I was ready for it." I added.

Jared smiled at me. "That too." He said.

The rest of dinner was spent in silence. Jared and Charlie talked some more in the living room while I cleaned up the kitchen. When I joined them in the living room, Charlie said his goodbyes and said that he was headed to Billy's. Over all it hadn't been that bad of a night.

I was upstairs in the bathroom brushing my teeth when Jared came in. I looked in the mirror and saw him leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "You okay?" He asked me. I shrugged. "You know that he loves you."

I rinsed my mouth out and put my toothbrush up. I turned to face Jared. "I know he does, but I could see the disappointment on his face, even if he didn't vocalize it." I said.

Jared held his hand out for me and I took it, allowing him to pull me to him. He wrapped his arms around me and I laid my forehead against his chest. "I love you so much." He said.

I lifted my head up and gently kissed him. "I love you too. I don't know what I'd do without you." I said.

"You won't ever have to find out." Jared said.

I nodded. "Let's go to bed."