This story is an eventual Leah/Bella HFN.
Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight except this plot. #compensationforthetribe . Please donate if you can.
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"Come on, Bells. Time to go."
Charlie's gruff voice traveled up the stairs from the kitchen, jarring Bella from her careful position before the bathroom mirror. She sighed and ran the mascara wand across her eyelashes a few more times, closed the container, turned out the light, grabbed her backpack from her bedroom, and went downstairs to meet her father.
He narrowed his eyes at her dark eye makeup and asked, "Since when do you wear that junk?"
"Thanks, Dad. Glad you noticed," she grumbled. Bella began wearing makeup weeks ago to disguise the dark circles under her eyes and sunken cheeks. Once again, Charlie Swan proved how oblivious he could be.
He huffed. "Are we going to keep doing this?" The father-daughter duo had argued for days, practically barking at one another like rabid dogs if Charlie dared open his mouth.
"I don't know, Charlie. Still trying to get rid of me? Am I making it easier for you?"
With his hands on his hips, Charlie's eyes rolled upward in aggravation. "You know that's not what I want, Bella." He began absently adjusting the sleeves of his flannel shirt to seem less hostile, but she was well-used to his mannerisms.
"Sure seems like it," she hissed. "Let's just go, Dad. I promised to help Jake with his algebra and Embry with his science presentation."
Gesturing toward her outfit, he said, "Yeah. Friday night tutoring. Is that why you're so dressed up?"
She scoffed. Her favorite red blouse, jeans, and Converse were far from 'dressed up.' It isn't like I can wear a skirt without leggings around the boys. I might as well just wear my damn jeans if I need leggings. It wouldn't do her any favors to be thrown over Jacob's shoulder with her derriere displayed for anyone to see.
Charlie grumbled, "Are you going to eat while we're there?"
"Don't start," she snapped and yanked open the front door.
Billy's spicy spaghetti was probably unwise when Bella practically lived on granola bars and juice lately. Unless she was the one feeding her boys, she rarely cared about food anymore. She ate at Jacob's behest most often.
"The Clearwaters will be there," Charlie said as he locked the door and followed Bella toward the truck. "You haven't seen Leah since you were kids. Could be nice for you two to catch up."
Bella ignored the comment, unsure she had the spoons to worry about making more friends. Since Edward dumped her and moved away, depression, anxiety, and nightmares often stole her already minimal energy. She devoted her extra time and energy to the Three Musketeers - Jacob, Embry, and Quil.
For months after The Cullens left, Bella suffered through her devastation alone at the hands of her so-called school friends. Only Lauren bothered to intentionally interact with her these days. It was usually to make a snide comment about Bella's mental breakdown. Mike and Tyler preferred to act like eight-year-olds, frequently laughing at her expense as they included her in childish pranks. Only Angela ever showed honest concern, but even she had gone silent.
Bella wasn't particularly sorry to lose her old crowd. She went through hell and back right under their noses. No one but Billy Black paid the slightest attention to how far Bella had fallen or uttered a single word of concern as Edward controlled and observed every spare second of her life. Bella's so-called school friends remained distant throughout their relationship, disregarding the subtle changes to her makeup, wardrobe, behavior, habits, and the excuses she made for every flinch or injury. Some of them became bitter - as if their dislike of the Cullens had carried over to her.
If they were her friends, if they ever truly cared, shouldn't they have noticed how bizarre her relationship was? Bella couldn't help but wonder if they'd ever been genuine or considered her a friend when they were so easily fooled. As far as everyone knew, Bella and Edward were perfectly and madly in love. And they were - or Bella had convinced herself that they were, at least. Stupid fucking lamb.
Edward made his true feelings for her clear when he left. She was nothing but a toy to him, one he grew bored with after becoming desensitized to her scent. After tasting her blood mixed with James's venom, Edward stopped craving her blood entirely. Traces of James's scent remained with her even now, and Edward said she would never smell the same. Free of his addiction, Edward realized the silence of her mind was not as mysterious or desired as he once thought. Without the appeal of her scent, he decided to quit trying to mold her into his perfect match. Bella wasn't his mate. She was never supposed to be.
The Cullen family's abandonment was one of the most painful experiences of Bella's brief life, even compared to the torture James put her through. Losing her relationship had hurt, sure. Losing six other people, who she came to love like family, in one fell swoop was devastating. Having no genuine friends to lean on for support left her feeling twice abandoned as she sunk further into the recesses of her troubled mind.
Until Jacob reentered her life, every day was treated like the next. Bella was a silent automaton, functioning in all the ways she could but not how she should. Her grades plummeted, they fired her from Newton's for calling off too often, and, for a few weeks, she could barely get out of bed.
Charlie seemed oblivious as he worked long hours and barely paid attention to her unless she was screaming in her sleep. Bella once enjoyed that her father didn't hover, but lately, she felt ignored. Unlike his traumatized daughter, he was relieved her short-lived pseudo-family had disappeared. Now that she had a few trustworthy friends and began functioning semi-normally, Charlie suddenly realized his daughter was in crisis. Threatening to send her back to her mother was his tardy response.
The thought of separating from Jacob when he helped slowly bring her back to life sparked a fire in Bella that Charlie had not seen in months. Jacob provided Bella with not just one but three friends who would gladly support and comfort her the way friends should. The craziest part, in Bella's opinion, was how each behaved like they needed her rather than the opposite. Many nights in the Taj Mahal, doing homework together in Jacob's bedroom, or roughhousing on the beach with her boys were the current highlights of Bella's existence. She needed them. She refused to move to Florida and start over again.
If my senior year is supposed to be shit, I might as well stay here.
Returning to life, finally healing from her heartbreak, Bella felt as confused about herself as everything else. She lost herself in Edward, in his flawlessness and somehow endearing moroseness. Moving again wouldn't help her figure out who she was. It wouldn't restore her to her former self; that naive little girl was gone. No, starting over made no sense at all.
And to think, the Cullens do this crap repeatedly. Why the hell did I ever want that future?
Bella shuddered as she pulled the driver's door shut. No boring repeats of high school for Isabella Swan. No decades' worth of time wasted hovering over exams she could pass in her sleep. I guess staying human has its perks, after all.
She couldn't wait to get to Jacob's and distract herself by helping with their overloaded assignments and reveling in their playful camaraderie. Bella hung out with Jacob randomly, but every Friday night, Bella saw all her boys. Fridays were the best… and Charlie's attitude was about to ruin it. Exasperated, she sighed.
"Can we please call a fucking truce, Bells?" Charlie pulled the passenger door shut as Bella turned the ignition. "I don't want you to leave, okay? I enjoy having you here. We had a pretty good setup before you started moping around like a zombie."
Bella put the truck in reverse and backed out of the driveway. "You had nothing to say about my zombie behavior until you talked to Lauren's stupid mother at the bank."
"Well, yeah, Bella. It's hard to ignore what's right under your nose when people in town point out your daughter's odd behavior."
"Why? You ignored it well enough before then." Bella ground the gears as she shifted, and Charlie cringed.
"Geez, Bells. Don't take it out on the truck."
She snorted. "You sound like Jake!"
Bella glanced over to find a teasing smile on Charlie's face. Despite her rising temper, her father looked content. Cheerful, even. Suddenly, it hit her; Charlie set her up! Without thought, she yelled, "Are you fucking with me? Are you seriously trying to fire me up on purpose?"
She growled as he bit back a laugh and tapped his hand on the passenger window ledge. "Maybe, just a little. It's nice to see some fire in ya again, kid."
Bella's jaw dropped as a chuckle slipped from Charlie, his chest rising, rumbling as he looked out the windshield. "Y-you," she sputtered as her face filled with heat. "Dad, you're an asshole!"
Charlie's laughter boomed through the truck cab as she growled and shifted gears, turning onto the highway that led to La Push.
His tone softened with affection as he said, "Just making sure there's still some life in ya, Bells. Seemed like Edwin sucked it all out of ya when he left. Mrs. Mallory's gossip worried me a little, but if you think I haven't seen you barely functioning for months, then you really are nuts."
Bella scoffed. "Thanks, Dad." What complete and utter bullshit. He'd been goading her for days. "What were you trying to do? Jumpstart the anger part of the grieving process?"
He side-eyed his daughter and smirked. "Is it working?"
"Dick," she muttered, and Charlie howled.
He was long used to his daughter's abrasive language and oddly found it hilarious. It wasn't as if he could complain when he spoke the same way at home. If she were to be entirely honest, Charlie behaved much more like an older brother than a father. He let her get away with far too much sass. He accepted his daughter for precisely who she was. It only made him more endearing.
Through laughter, he said, "If you have any other insults to throw my way, better do it quick. Gotta watch your mouth in front of the tribal council."
Bella couldn't help but chuckle as her anger faded. "Next time, just tell me to knock off my shit or something, Dad. You made me a frazzled mess for three days!"
He harrumphed. "Three days is a helluva lot better than three months, Bells. How do you feel now? Awake? Clear-headed? Aware?"
She glared out the windshield, thinking about the tingle in her cheeks as the redness faded and the rush of adrenaline that still flowed through her limbs. Bella pursed her lips, wanting nothing more than to tell Charlie he was wrong. She couldn't, however. She felt more clear-headed than she had in months. Jacob had kept her head afloat, but fighting with Charlie woke her up.
"You don't have to answer." Charlie patted her shoulder. "Sometimes it's good to get pissed off. It's a natural thing, like sneezing. Makes your whole body come alive."
Bella shook her head and pressed the accelerator, ready to let Billy and Harry deal with Charlie's orneriness and save the rest of her sanity.
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