BPOV

Charlie had picked me up from the airport yesterday and was in a surprisingly chipper mood. He had behaved himself the rest of his time in New York and was cordial to Edward before he left.

I was even more surprised with the air mattress in my old room, it was surrounded by Sue's Peloton and yoga gear but I assume there was some kind of compromise reached.

It still rang clear that this was Sue's house now and that she wanted me to know it.

I stare up at the ceiling contemplating if I should get up.

I heard Charlie moving around at the ass crack of dawn, obviously getting ready for work. Sue taught yoga in Port Angeles, but I wasn't sure when she'd be leaving so I holed myself up in my room.

My heart screamed at me that this was no longer my home. New York had very quickly become the place where I belonged.

A place where Edward and Hadley were.

I missed Hadley most, hoping that she was brave seeing Rose for the first time.

I wanted to be there for her, but didn't want to set Rose off, whether she remembered me or not.

Edward was a different story. He was holding all this bitterness inside and I wasn't sure where it was coming from. It was snide jokes like wishing he could forget Rose too and snapping at Carlisle when he asked for his help.

Carlisle had a lot of faults but he shouldn't have to carry all of this on his shoulders. I saw why Esme stuck by his side but to have his 'son' turn his back on him seemed to hit him harder. I could see it written all over his face when I saw him at work or at Edward's place.

I knew Edward had a lot to deal with because of Rose and her actions, but now with her being on the mend, I felt he should maybe cut her some slack even though she's been a beast to me.

I sigh as I sit up, noticing I had no texts. The last one from Edward came late, so I sent him a pic of my current living situation.

He didn't seem happy with it but I shrugged off my annoyance saying it was only for a week.

Once I set my phone down I notice my old closet is open and boxes are stacked within it. By the looks of it, it's all my old shit.

Twenty-three years of my life is jammed-packed into my closet.

I get up deciding maybe I should rifle through some of it. I may want to take some things back with me. I stand on my tip-toes reaching for an unmarked box on the top shelf, hoping I don't fall, because if Sue were to hear me and rush in, she'd get an eyeful of me in my tank top without a bra on and my boy shorts.

Our relationship is strained enough that we don't need anything awkward being added to it.

I teeter it out with my fingers until I'm finally able to take hold of the box and sit it down on the floor.

I crouch down to lift the lid.

Inside are envelopes addressed to… me.

I tilt my head pulling a few out.

Renee Dwyer, 245 Maple Creek Lane, Jacksonville, Florida is the return address.

I quickly rifle through a few more seeing Renee Higginbottom, 567 Kennedy Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona as the return address on those.

A few of these look older and some newer.

I frown.

She's been writing to me this whole time?

I get up and lock my door just in case Sue decides to burst in, needing something. I take a seat on the floor seeing that it isn't just letters but birthday cards and small souvenirs from her travels for me.

My thoughts go straight to my father.

How could he hide all of this from me?

I pull out a stack of envelopes from the box and notice all are opened.

The first was the most recent.

I open it and read.

Bella,

I wanted to congratulate you on your graduation from the University of Washington! I saw it announced on The Forks Chronicle's website and did a little further digging to see that you were Summa Cum Laude. Very impressive… I assume Charlie is still screening my letters and you haven't seen any of them. I've thought about reaching out to you on Facebook but I didn't want to disrupt your life. I can only imagine what you think of me or what your father has told you. Your profile pictures are beautiful. You're beautiful.

Phil and I were in Seattle recently. I wanted to look you up but the thought of you rejecting my invitation… I couldn't do it. Charlie has made it clear that I'm not welcome in your life. I feel like a broken record saying this to you again but it was never your fault—

I stop reading and shuffle to the older-looking envelopes.

The one I chose is at the very bottom of the pile.

Her last name is still Swan on the return address.

The address is familiar because it was for off-campus housing at UDub.

She left me for school.

I open it realizing it was dated a few days after she left.

Bella,

Your father said that if I left that I wasn't allowed to contact you. I accepted entrance to the Education Department at the University of Washington for the fall semester. When I told Charlie I was taking it, well he was furious. Accusing me of abandoning you, but I wanted to take you with me. They have off-campus housing for families and I want you here with me.

Charlie, I know you're reading this, so please just be reasonable about this. She's my daughter too and I want to give her a good life. We got married way too young, we were kids. I need to do this for me and Bella. We can work out custody, just, please.

Renee

I blink as my tears hit the paper.

I wipe my face and stand.

I go over to my bag for my laptop.

I boot it up and start my search for Renee Dwyer on Facebook.

Her page is public or she has photos that I can see. Also, her 'About Me' is visible. She's a kindergarten teacher in Jacksonville, she's married to Phil Dwyer, and has a son, who looks to be around Hadley's age if not older.

I have a brother.

I blink.

In each picture, she looks happy but there is something that's dimming in her eyes. Her smiles weren't reaching her eyes.

I place my laptop beside me and fall back on my air mattress.

She wanted me.

She didn't want to leave me.

My dad has always been strict, thinking he always knew best, and now I wonder if that is what he did to Renee.

Did he not support her wanting to get her degree?

Could she not take how much of a hoverer that he was? Because Charlie is one-hundred percent a hoverer.

I hear the doorbell downstairs but remain glued to the air mattress.

Sue's muffled words downstairs filter up through the old floorboards. I hear a man talking to her, curious I get up and move to the window.

There is a fancy-looking SUV parked in the driveway.

"Bella," I hear from the other side of the door and a knock.

That voice sounded a lot like Edward.

I grab my sweatpants that are hanging off Sue's Peloton and slip them on before opening the door to find Edward and Hadley.

It could be all the emotions from my discovery but I lunge at him.

"Good surprise?" he mumbles against my neck.

I don't answer, only squeeze him tighter.

He pulls back to look at me and must see I'm crying because his face is concerned.

"Is my step-monster still here?" I ask him.

"I believe she was heading out. She seems like a real gem by the way," he adds sarcastically.

I sigh and pull Hadley into a hug. Like her dad, she gives me a tight squeeze.

Edward takes my hand in his, his eyes imploring.

I shake my head.

"Let's go downstairs," I tell them both.

Hadley takes hold of my hand and I lead us downstairs to the living room. I turn on the TV before sitting on the couch.

Hadley sits beside me while Edward takes a seat in Charlie's La-Z-Boy. If Charlie was here he wouldn't be too happy about that but right now I don't care if he's happy or not.

"Are you hungry?" I ask because they traveled this far.

They're quiet like they don't want to impose.

"I was going to make breakfast after Sue left. Eggs, bacon, and toast sound good?" I offer.

"I love your scrambled eggs," Hadley admits.

I smile, brushing my fingers through her curls. "You got it."

"Papi, you want to assist?" I ask Edward.

He nods with a smile before following me into the kitchen.

"So, you're here in Forks," I say while I scrounge up what I need to make breakfast.

"We missed you," he says and I turn to see the honesty on his face.

"I missed you both too," I tell him quietly.

He comes around the small island in Charlie's tiny kitchen and wraps his arms around me.

"Why were you crying?" he asks in a murmur.

I close my eyes and take a breath before letting it out.

"I found a box in the closet," I started out carefully before looking up at him. "My mom's been writing to me since she left."

My tears start all over again, the only difference is Edward is wiping them away for me while he tries to comfort me.

"So, your dad has known this whole time where she is?"

"All the letters and birthday cards were opened," I answer. "She knew he was screening them too. She called him out for it. I mean I was six so duh, of course, he was reading them. He just acted like she left us instead of only him."

"Did she try to fight for you in court?"

"I didn't get that far. I only read one of the oldest ones and the most recent one. In the oldest one, she talks about them both coming to a custody agreement. Obviously, she didn't try hard enough—"

"You don't know that," Edward says while stopping me mid-sentence. "There are a lot of factors that go into custody agreements. It is most likely that the mother gets primary custody, but look at my situation. I ended up getting primary custody because of Rose's addiction problem."

He's right, maybe Charlie got awarded sole custody for a reason.

"Speaking of mothers, how is Rose?" I ask.

"She will be going to Phoenix for rehab once she's discharged. Ninety days," he informs me.

"How do you feel about that?"

"I think it's great that she's willing to put in the work to get healthy but I'm still worried about the whole after part once she is able to have visitation with Hadley."

I nod.

Rose's situation was delicate for sure but I also feared that she'd revert to past behavior once she gets released. I don't think Edward understands the pressure I felt during this whole ordeal.

Hadley was beyond amazing.

She was articulate, observant, and insanely funny. Like she could give Em a good burn, which made me love her even more.

Ragging on a twenty-five-year-old man-child took skill, though I sensed a small crush on her end. But my point is she could hang with the best of us.

The thing that scared me most was how much she depended on me. Edward depended a lot on me too. I started to question if his love for me was because I let him vent to me or if it was me he was actually in love with.

I knew I loved him because he was a good man, not just because he was a good father. He was passionate about his work and helping people through his research. He'd nerd out before bed while he'd work on his laptop with his glasses on.

He was patient with me. I knew he could tell something was up but he never pushed. He'd let me figure things out on my own.

The whole baby mama drama was overwhelming especially now that she was suffering. I wished her no ill will but hoped for the life of me that this stint at rehab will take for everyone's sake.

I might also be slightly bitter that I got 'I love you'd' in the chaos. But he was here, in Forks of all places for one of the biggest holidays.

"What's the plan?" I ask him about his grand gesture.

"I knew you said you don't really have a room here—"

"Since his visit, my old room now has an air mattress," I say dryly.

"Right, I think maybe if you'd like you can stay with us in Port Angeles," he offers.

"Yorkie's?" I ask knowing that's the only Bed and Breakfast between here and Seattle.

"Only one I could find," he says with a smile.

I lean forward and kiss his kissable face.

"Let me confront Charlie after he gets home from work and then we can make our escape," I tell him.

And that's what we do.

I prepare breakfast for us, while Edward packs my stuff, the Renee box included, in the back of the SUV he rented.

I was planning on hearing my dad out because he was a good father even though he was slightly overbearing and always put me first, but if he kept my mother from me then we might be irrevocably broken.

Our plan was for Edward to wait out in the car once Charlie arrived. Hadley didn't need another thing to worry about but I also didn't want to taint her view on her own father just because mine made a huge mistake.

Edward would take a bullet for that kid and he even knew it was important to have her mother in her life no matter how much of a fuck up she might be from time to time. She had an illness and was seeking the help she needed.

It's five o'clock when the cruiser pulls into the driveway, I watch Charlie eye Edward's SUV before a defeated look passes on his face.

"It's showtime," I say against Edward's chest.

"I can stay," he offers.

"I don't want Hadley to witness this," I say as I pull back to look up at him.

He nods his understanding while he pulls away to get Hadley.

Charlie stands quietly in the doorway as they shuffle past him out the door.

He frowns seeing that I look like I'm heading out myself.

"He come to sweep you away from your family?" Charlie asks bitterly.

"Funny you should say that, because I believe you kept me from Renee all these years," I say easily.

He blinks before scanning my face.

What happens next I wasn't expecting.

He takes the stairs two at a time causing me to follow him, he doesn't go to my room but his. He starts tearing through his closet before he turns to me.

"Where is it?" he grits.

"The Renee box was in the closet in my old room," I inform him.

He quickly brushed past me and burst into my room.

"I have it now," I tell him before he can make a mess.

"That's not for you."

"Every single letter, card, and gift was addressed to me," I yell pointing to myself. "You kept her from me."

"Bella, you don't know—"

"I don't know because you never talked about her. You never said she left for school. Christ Dad, you both were so young when you had me. Why would you ever try to keep her away from having a life—"

"She didn't want us," he roars.

I blink feeling really fucking sad. This man was once my hero but now he had done something so… cruel.

"She didn't want you," I say flatly. "She wanted me."

I watch him run a hand over his face.

"Why wasn't there split custody?" I ask.

"The court found her to be unsuitable. She didn't have a stable income and at that point got kicked out of school," he says almost robotically.

"She got kicked out?"

"She was having an affair with a professor."

"She's a teacher now."

"She must have gotten into a program somewhere else. How did you know she teaches?"

"Facebook," I reply.

"You've reached out," he accuses.

I shake my head.

"Not yet, I wanted to hear your side first," I say honestly.

"She tried a few times through the courts to get you, but I was able to prove her unfit."

"Unfit how?"

"Your mother couldn't stay in one place for long, I proved I could provide a stable home for you," he admits.

"I have a brother."

"A half-brother," he corrects.

I lose my cool.

"You act like that isn't a big deal. Mom wanted to be in my life—"

"You were better off, Bella."

"Was I?"

"You have Sue who detests me. She never wanted children and she's stuck with a step-child. This isn't my home anymore."

"I am your father," he argues.

"She is my mother," I counter.

We get into a glare-off until I've had enough.

"I'm going back to Port Angeles with Edward," I tell him.

"You're not staying for Christmas," he states.

"I don't know what I'm doing but I am going to be with two people who love me," I say before leaving his room, hurrying down the stairs and out the door to Edward's SUV.

I needed time to process everything and I just wanted Edward close.