Chapter 17 - Charlie
A/N: Okay I feel like it's time we check in on Charlie on how he's feeling about things. Probably gonna be a short one.
I was proud of Bella. It was no secret that I hadn't exactly been thrilled with her relationship Edward. Don't get me wrong. I personally have nothing against the kid. I even like his family. But there was something about him dating Bella that rubbed me the wrong way. Every time I saw them together, it…seemed wrong. I could tell that he had some kind of power over her but of course she wouldn't listen to me. When she'd come back from her three day disappearance with Edward's sister Alice, he'd shown up with them. That had really pissed me off. I guess part of it was that fact that I was stilled pissed from when he'd broken up with Bella last fall and left her in the woods. She could have died out there if it hadn't been for Sam Uley and two of his friends. I'd thanked Sam but I'd wanted to thank his friends too. I just never got the chance.
It wasn't until I threatened to send Bella to Jacksonville with Renee that she started to come out of everything. She'd started hanging out with Jacob Black and that seemed to make everything better. He'd even gone with her to the movies with some of her school friends. I was really beginning to think that they'd end up together, but then he ended up with mono and quit talking to Bella for a while. When he got better, they started hanging out again but something seemed different with Bella. Then Harry died from a heart attack. And while I was helping Sue arrange his funeral, Bella took off for three days. When she came back, I grounded her from everything except school. She'd lost her job at Newton's Outfitters when she'd gone through the breakup. I banned Edward from the house, because I didn't want to see him. I mean, clearly I couldn't stop her from seeing him, but I wasn't gonna make it easy for him.
It wasn't until Edward suggested that Bella use the airline tickets that his parents had gotten Bella for her birthday that I really began to worry. Bella said that she'd only go if Edward used the companion ticket and go with her. This worried me. Renee wasn't exactly reliable or responsible and here was my daughter about to fly across the country with her boyfriend who I didn't trust. Once Bella and Edward had gotten on the plane, I'd called Renee and tried to convince her to talk to Bella while they were there. Maybe she could get Bella to see how intense and insane this relationship was. That proved to be a waste of time. When they'd gotten on the plane at the end of the weekend, Renee had called and said that she'd tried but she didn't think that it did any good. This made me worry more. I was afraid that Bella was on the verge of being in an abusive relationship. I'd seen it before but cases that would come across my desk.
I was so afraid that Bella was gonna end up married to the guy. And I wasn't gonna let that happen if I could help it. Then the unexpected happened. The day after their return, Bella had been hanging out with Jacob. When he brought her home, Edward had pulled in behind them. When I looked out the window, I saw that the two guys were in each other's faces. So, I go out there. When I found out what had happened, I tried so hard not to laugh. Jacob had kissed Bella and then she punched him and sprained her hand. Good job Bells. I mean I was happy that she hurt herself but I was happy that Jacob was trying to fight for her.
It wasn't until Bella came back from her sleepover with Alice that I really noticed everything. Bella seemed different. Then she tells me that she broke up with Edward. I tried to hide my smile. This was the best news that I'd heard in a long time. Part of me wondered if she'd realized her true feelings for Jacob and that was why she broke up with him. If so then Jacob and I would need to talk soon. If not, then I wondered if there was someone else. Since she broke up with Edward, she's been spending a lot of time in La Push. I knew that she'd started working for my Uncle Quil and that he'd helped her get an apartment down there but I wasn't sure how I felt about her moving out so soon after she'd graduated. I guess I'd need to drive down and talk to Uncle Quil and check out this apartment. Plus, Bella's gonna need some furniture. I wonder if I have anything in the shed that she could use?
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the phone ringing. I picked it up. "Swan residence." I said.
"Hey Dad." Bella said.
"Hey Bells. You coming home tonight?" I asked.
"Not tonight Dad. Too tired to drive back. Staying at Emily's. But I was gonna tell you that I'm bringing a friend with me in the morning to start packing up my stuff." She said.
"That's fine Bella. There might be some stuff in the shed that you could use. We'll have to look." I told her.
"Sounds good, Dad. I'll see you in the morning." She said.
"See you then." I said before hanging up.
Yep! There was definitely something different about Bella.