Chapter 12:

Disclaimer: Prologue

I took in a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm while Audrey began to use my port to draw blood. I was glaring daggers across the room at Charlie as he talked with Frank. It seemed he was ranting, and Frank didn't really seem to like what he was saying.

I couldn't believe he said that to Kate. I couldn't believe he had treated me like a child, like I couldn't take care of myself. I couldn't believe that he called me "incapable" of making my own decisions. Being sick made no difference.

I tightened my grip on the chair and Audrey looked at me. "You seem tense," she murmured.

"Do I?" I asked through gritted teeth, my voice short and snippy.

She glanced at me and then my hands on the chair. She leaned back. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "Or are you going to squeeze the chair until you break the arms off?"

I took in a deep breath and forced my grip to loosen. "I'm fine."

"Is that why you keep glaring at your father?"

I didn't answer, looking away from him for once towards the woman next to me. Audrey raised her brow in question, waiting for me to say something back to her.

When I didn't, she sighed. "Look, Bella, something is clearly bothering you and I have a feeling that you don't feel like you can let it out. So, will you please tell me what's up? It's good to get that kind of thing off your chest."

I took in a breath. "It's nothing."

"You're still glaring."

I snorted, shaking my head. I took in a deep breath, glaring back at Charlie as I grumbled, "He said I couldn't decide for myself. That I was 'incapable' of making the choice of being around my friends. He practically forbade me from seeing them."

Her brows rose, before they lowered and she hummed. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did he forbid it?"

I snorted. "Because he wanted to."

She frowned, leaning forward. "I'm sure it has much more than just that to do with it," she said. She went back to my port. "Is there some reason he forbade it? Maybe he doesn't trust them enough to be around you?"

I shook my head. "No, he just…he's misplacing his hate. They're the cousins of a family that we used to know. I became involved with them and they broke my heart. He thinks that if I get close to them again they are going to just break my heart."

"That sounds like what fathers just do, Bella," she said. "You can't stop them from doing that."

"He's being ridiculous. He practically told one of the sisters of the family to fuck off in public today. She was just trying to see what was going on with me and he went off on her," I said, glaring at him again. "He's treating me like a kid when I took care of him and mom."

She sighed, setting her hand on my shoulder. "Bella, maybe you should talk to him about it."

I snorted. "Any time I do I'm yelled at and he shuts down what I say."

"Then maybe you should talk to someone else who could convince him? Maybe Frank could help you?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Frank doesn't really want to be in the middle of it. He's only helping Charlie keep them away from me because he wants to figure out a way to get around it."

She sighed. "Well then-"

"How are we doing over here?" Charlie asked, walking over to the station I was currently seated in. His brow was raised in question towards Audrey, and I again scowled. It was like I wasn't even there.

She glanced at me one more time and then smiled at him. "Everything is fine, Charlie. I was just finishing up and she'll be good to go in twenty minutes."

"Good."

She pulled away from me and whispered, "Just try to focus on getting better. After your side effects are over, talk to him."

I didn't say anything.

I walked into the house with a yawn. I felt exhausted after today and I was ready to shower, get the hospital smell off of me along with the food smell and go to bed before I started to have my side effects. If I was lucky, maybe I wouldn't have any tonight.

I began walking up the stairs towards my room when Charlie came up behind me to help like he usually did. Just when he had his hand on my lower back I snapped, "I have it."

He stopped, and I could feel his frown following me up the stairs. "I'm only trying to help, Bella. There's no reason to snap at me."

"I don't need your help. I'm fine on my own." I practically stumbled up the rest of the stairs with how fast I ran and into my room, not letting him argue. I tore my jacket off of me and threw it onto my chair angrily. I was tired of how Charlie was treating me. I was tired of it all.

I let out a small growl as I walked around my room, slamming drawers and doors while I collected my nightwear. My face was set in a permanent scowl, never to leave as long as Charlie kept treating me like a little girl who hadn't gone through anything in life.

When I had the last piece of clothing I needed, I stalked out of my room to the bathroom. I could hear Charlie downstairs getting a beer from the fridge as I walked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind me. I didn't care if Charlie scolded me for slamming doors.

I was fucking tired of taking orders from him.

I walked to the shower and turned the nob, setting it for the highest setting before I began to strip. I practically tore the clothes on me off and chucked them onto the ground before I went to the shower and got in, the water already being warm from being set at such a high-temperature.

I turned the water back to warm and just stood under the water. I closed my eyes as I imagined the water droplets running down my skin washing everything away. I imagined that it cleaned me of everything that had happened two years ago. I felt as if that water had cleansed me, taken away my cancer and troubles I had gotten ever since.

It was wonderful.

But, of course, it was just imaginary.

I took in a deep breath before I let out a sigh and began to wash my hair. I took my time, not wanting to rush the shower and moment of peace I had in the bathroom. As I cleaned myself, I let my thoughts wander to anywhere else than what happened today.

The first thought that came to mind was Tanya, and, for the first time, I didn't stop it as I thought of her. I pictured her perfectly in my mind. The blonde hair rolled down to her shoulders, framed her angular face and accented her cheek bones. Her golden eyes, they lit up every time I saw her and the wonderful smile she had that could leave me weak in the knees.

Everything was…perfect.

I could paint a portrait of her with my eyes closed. Every detail of her was just right, filled with everything that just said Tanya.

I smiled at myself and, just for a moment, indulged in the thought of the beautiful vampire. If what everyone said about Tanya wanting me was true, did it really mean I had a chance with her? Could I even have another love interest in my life like that again? Did I want that from her?

The last thought made me pause for a moment. I opened my eyes, my hands stilled in my hair from their rinsing. Did I want something like that from her? The interest that everyone said she had for me? Was that really something I wanted in my life again from her?

From them?

Yes.

The instant answer shocked me. I wanted Tanya to love me. I wanted what I had with Edward again, but better. This time, I wanted someone who wouldn't, well, leave me in the woods after they broke my heart. I wanted someone who would be there for me, who would do anything and be anything I needed.

I…I wanted what the wolves had.

I lowered my hands from my head as I thought things over. I thought of every moment I had ever shared with the blonde woman. I thought of the sparks that shot through my body every time we touched. I thought of how she could make my heart flutter. I thought of her scent, god her scent made me weak in the knees.

I took in a breath.

I could smell it now: vanilla almonds.

I knew I had been falling for Tanya from the start. No matter how much I denied it, something in me was trying to claw out of my chest to get to Tanya, and it was fighting hard. It was fighting harder now that I was finally thinking about it, about the possibility.

I smiled, only to jump when soap almost fell in my eye. Quickly, I went back to rinsing the remaining blobs of soap from my hair. Maybe having something with Tanya wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she could make me happy and give me what I wanted in life.

Maybe, just maybe…

I walked out of the bathroom about forty minutes after I first got into the shower. I could hear Charlie scolding me from downstairs about using so much water, but I just ignored him. Right now, the last thing I needed to deal with was him giving me some kind of speech about something else.

I was done with him for today.

I closed myself in my room and pressed my forehead against the door. I took in a deep breath as I closed my eyes. I held my air for a moment, just letting myself relax before I let it out and then opened my eyes.

I needed to sleep on some of the things that had happened today; of what I had thought of today. Maybe when I woke up I could have a clear head and maybe I'll decide some things for myself for once.

For now, all I needed to do was sleep.

I slept until ten in the morning without any interruption throughout the night, and Charlie let me sleep. I knew he did because when I woke up I could hear him downstairs watching a football game.

I groaned and rolled myself up into a sitting position on the side of the bed. I let out a yawn as I stretched my arms, letting the muscles move themselves as I rubbed my eyes and stretched my legs. I always liked how it felt when muscles stretched, especially tired ones.

I stood up, and everything immediately came crashing in. My heart began to race and my face paled. My stomach turned and I was flying out of my bedroom door to the bathroom.

Like many times before, I threw the toilet lid up and hunched over it, feeling it rise to my throat. I took in a breath just as I heard the knock on the door downstairs. I barely had time to groan before I was retching.

I grabbed onto the bathroom counter with my left hand as the contents-or at least what was left of it-came rushing up my throat to my mouth and into the bowl. I coughed as the vomit seemed to explode from my mouth into the water. The same disgusting color followed soon after with the gag worthy smell that made me want to puke more.

As I threw up, I could hear the shouting begin downstairs. I could tell one angry voice was Charlie, but I couldn't hear the others well enough. I knew it was two people, though, just based on the volume level I could hear.

"Just leave! I need to take care of my daughter," Charlie shouted at whoever was in our house uninvited.

"Maybe you should do that for once instead of order her around!" another shouted back. It took me a moment-with a nice pause between two rounds of vomit-to realize I knew that voice: Kate.

I threw up again.

"Why you-Hey!" Charlie suddenly called.

Before I could wonder what it was, a hand was scooping back my hair and another was rubbing my back in soothing patterns. I continued to grip the counter's edge before I finally slowed down and allowed myself to just spit out what was left.

Then, after a moment of catching my breath and no vomit, I closed my eyes and leaned away from the bowl. The foul stench filled the air with the voices that continued to argue downstairs as I heard a small coo in my ear.

I kept my eyes closed and swallowed as I heard the water faucet turn on. I took in a breath through my nose before I suddenly felt a cold cloth wipe the extra vomit from my chin. I snapped my eyes open when a hand cupped the back of my neck.

Irina was crouched in front of me, wiping away the vomit as she gave me a sympathetic smile. "Hey, Bella," she said, "we've come to kidnap you."

I gave a weak smile. "Took you long enough…"

She smiled and took away the cloth when she finished cleaning my mouth. She looked at the toothbrushes on the counter and grabbed the purple one. She held it up to me with a raised brow and I nodded, blinking slowly as I took in a breath. The bile and tangy smell of the vomit immediately assaulted my nose.

I grimaced at the smell as Irina wet my toothbrush, put toothpaste on it and then handed it to me. I gladly took it into my hand when a little strength came back into my limbs and started to brush at my teeth. As I got to work on them, I started to stand up-slowly of course.

Irina came to my aid by wrapping an arm around my shoulder and grabbed my free upper arm. She helped bring me into a standing position and supported me as I stood at the sink. When I was ready to spit, she held my hair back and turned on the water for me to rinse my mouth out with.

I put the toothbrush away and dried my mouth with a towel. Irina reached around me and shut the toilet before she flushed. I grabbed my hairbrush and quickly undid the tangles in my hair. I knew it was probably stupid, but it helped me feel better.

I listened to the shouting downstairs now that I could partly focus on it. "She is my daughter! You have no say in what she can or cannot do!" Charlie screamed at Kate.

"She's my friend and I am trying to help her. I just want to make sure she's okay and you screamed at me because I was worried about her! You're treating her like she's-"

"That's enough!" he cut her off. "I won't be talked to that way in my own house. Get your sister down here and leave! I told you people to stay away from Bella and you didn't listen. Get out of here before I get you in trouble with the law."

"You can't-"

I sighed and leaned against Irina as she helped me out of the bathroom. I took in a deep breath, testing my own control of myself before I let off of her a bit. It wasn't a lot, but I was able to walk mostly by myself to my room to grab some sweats.

I slipped on a pair of flip flops over that and Irina came to my side. "Come on," she urged as she guided me out of my room. She held onto me tightly-but still gently-as we began to walk down the stairs, making sure I didn't push myself or fall.

While we came down, I finally saw Kate. The door was wide open, my guess from the two sisters barging into the house without Charlie's permission. Her body was rigid with her hands clutched into fists at her sides. Her eyes were a dark shade of brown and glistened with a look I couldn't even describe in my state of mind.

She took a threatening step forward and her lip curled back. "Listen here, Charlie," she growled, prodding his chest. "You may be a volunteer cop around here, but you can't get me in trouble for simply caring about someone. I'm watching out for Bella, and I do not like what I see. This agreement or whatever it is you have forced her into for the past two weeks is wrong, and I will not stand for it."

He snorted. "That's none of your business in the first place. We told you to stay away and you didn't. I'm not going to just let you barge into my house and-"

"That's enough," I said, my voice hoarse from the vomiting.

Both angered pair of eyes turned towards me. Kate gave Irina a small nod for helping me get ready as Charlie glared at Irina. "Get your hands off of her. You aren't taking my daughter anywhere."

He reached for me when I pulled away. "I want to go with them, Dad. I'm twenty and I'm a year away from drinking legally. If I want to go with them, I'm going to go with them. I'm tired of you treating me like a little girl."

"I'm trying to help you, Bella," he growled.

"No you aren't," I snapped. "You're making my decisions for me because you think I can't. I'm tired of it. I'm sick, Dad. I'm not dead yet, and you can make my decisions when I'm in the ground. But for now, I'm leaving with the Denalis and that's it."

I put my arm around Irina as she guided me out of the house. "We're gonna go up to our place," she told me quietly. "It's quiet and you shouldn't be bothered by anyone there but us."

I nodded when Charlie opened his mouth to argue. Kate, finally losing her cool completely, let out a low growl that made him stop in his tracks. The growl she let loose from her chest was threatening, and it made Charlie's instincts snap into place in an instant.

He wasn't dumb enough to ignore his instincts because he was pissed around a pissed off vampire.

When Irina had us out of the door, Kate followed with one last glare at Charlie before she slammed the door shut behind her. She gave a small huff, almost sounding glad to be done with the argument before she saw us getting close to the car. She quickly sprinted towards us and grabbed the door handle to the backseat. She pulled it open and held it for me as Irina helped me inside of the car.

I gave them both a nod of thanks as I got settled and Irina slipped in after me. The door shut and in the blink of an eye, Kate went to the wheel, putting the car that had been sitting here running into drive before she shot off from my house.

I leaned against Irina, the puking episode from earlier making me too tired to really sit up straight. I felt Irina wrap her arm around my shoulders and pull me against her. "You okay?" she asked.

I nodded as I took in a deep breath. I was glad I didn't taste any vomit left over in my mouth. "Just…gathering up my strength again," I said.

She nodded and Kate hit the car into another gear, making it jump as it went faster than earlier. I closed my eyes, not even bothered by the speed as I felt Irina's finger begin to gently circle my port.