Chapter 3:

Bella forced herself to focus on her homework, but her mind kept wandering back to Edward. Handsome, golden-eyed, velvet-voiced, annoying, Edward. It wasn't enough that he acted so strange on her first day of school and then on the second to flip a complete 180 on her. He apologized. He had tried to get in her good graces by giving her the answers in class. He affected her without even trying.

She avoided him for the rest of the week. He hadn't tried speaking to her again thankfully, but she could feel him watching her throughout their shared class. Jessica mentioned over lunch one day that Edward kept looking at their table, but Bella never caught him in the act. If he didn't talk to her then Bella could pretend that nothing happened between them, that her secret was safe and hidden.

It was undeniable how attracted Bella was to him. As much as she tried to force thoughts of him out of her mind they just kept coming back to her. It was painful how hard it was to keep him at arms length even when Bella knew it was what was best for him. No matter how often Bella told herself that it was dangerous for her to think about him it was always the same, Edward's beautiful face would pop up in her brain and she'd get butterflies all over again.

Twice now Bella had used her gift on him and although both times it had been an accident it didn't change the fact that it happened. It was enough for him to think that there was something odd about her and start prying into her life. Even knowing that there was definitely something different about him and his family was dangerous because that curiosity would lead her back to him and she needed the distance.

Math. Bella, we're working on a math problem not the curious case of Edward Cullen.

The ringing from the kitchen startled Bella. With a groan she pulled herself off the couch and grabbed the phone from the wall.

"Hello?"

"Hi Bella, it's Jessica! I was just getting a head count of everyone going to the beach tomorrow. Are you coming with us?"

"Hey Jess, I don't think so…" Bella wracked her brain for an excuse to get out of the trip.

"Oh, Mike said that he was driving you and I just wanted to double check." Jessica's voice had a layer of envy when she spoke about Mike and Bella held back a sigh.

"No, he offered, but I told him I was probably going to spend time with my Dad. He…wanted to take me to see some old friends of his."

"Oh alrighty then." There was a pause over the line. "So…" Bella waited for Jessica to continue. It was very unlike the girl to be hesitant when speaking.

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Mike like a thing now? Because Eric told Lauren who told me that Mike was taking you out to the beach as a date and I just thought that you would have told me if that was the case. I didn't think you liked Mike and I'm not jealous or anything. I was just curious because you helped Tyler with his homework the other day and Mike was annoyed about it." Jessica had spoken too quickly in the way only she could and Bella was sure that her suspicions were correct.

Bella made a face and switched the phone to her other ear. "No, Mike and I are not a thing. We are just friends. In fact I'm just friends with Tyler and Eric too. I'm not interested in dating anyone at this time."

"Ohhh." The relief in Jessica's voice was apparent. The crush Jessica had on Mike was clear as day to everyone except for maybe Mike himself.

"So, since Mike and I aren't a thing, are you going to talk to him tomorrow?"Bella inquired, hoping to turn the conversation back onto Jessica.

"Do you think I should? I mean do you think he will even like me like that? What the hell ya know? I'm a catch! What should I wear?"

Bella continued to goad Jessica into telling Mike about her feelings and helped her pick out an outfit over the phone. Jessica seemed more excited about the beach trip the next day now knowing that Mike was available. They spoke for another ten minutes before Jessica had to leave to call the others and Bella was relieved to finish the conversation. Jessica was nice enough, but talking to her always left Bella drained.

The urge to complete her homework was gone and Bella collected her things to bring them upstairs before the phone rang again. It was probably Jessica second-guessing her outfit and needing reassurance.

"Hello?" Bella answered.

The line was silent for a few moments and then it went dead. An uncomfortable feeling sank into Bella's stomach and chills trickled down her spine. She hung up the phone and stared at it while she took some deep breaths. The sound of the front door closing jolted Bella from her trance.

"Hey Bells!" Charlie called from the foyer. Bella peeked around the doorway to see him hanging up his gun belt and jacket.

"H-Hey Dad!" Bella said, her voice cracking for a split second.

"What's wrong?" Charlie said walking into the kitchen.

"Oh, nothing really. Just a weird phone call." Bella said, turning to the fridge to pull out things for dinner. She needed something to occupy her shaking hands.

"Damn kids. They've been calling all week. Not saying a damn thing and just hanging up. The numbers are blocked so I can't track 'em." Charlie reached past Bella and pulled a beer from the fridge. "They'll get bored soon enough, just don't say anything back to them."

When Charlie left the kitchen to take a seat in the living room he didn't notice how still Bella had become. As much as Bella would have loved to believe that the calls were kids trying to prank the chief of police something didn't seem right.

Bella pulled the phone back off the hook and dialed her mother's number. The line rang until it reached the voicemail and Bella left a message telling her mother that she was missing her and just wanted to hear her voice. Hoping that her mother would call back soon Bella turned to prepare dinner, wishing that the uncomfortable pit in her stomach would disappear.

"So Bella, got any plans for the weekend?" Her father called from the living room.

"Uh, not really, why?"

Charlie cleared his throat awkwardly. "Harry asked me to go out fishing. I can stay home if you want company."

"Oh, no, don't worry about me. I'm going to go grocery shopping and catch up on my homework. I'm a bit behind since I started late." Bella lied. She had never been good at lying, but she guessed that it was just like any other skill that improved with practice.

Charlie went on to explain where Harry was taking him and their friend Billy out. Reminding Bella about Billy's kids that she used to spend time with every summer. It was a pleasant conversation and they fell into a comfortable silence for dinner. It wasn't hard living with Charlie and Bella was growing to enjoy it. He was definitely different from Renee, who filled their house chatter and music.

When it was time for bed Bella was restless. The blankets were too warm and then too cold. The room was stuffy and too quiet, but the music Bella played was too distracting. Bella would almost drift off, but then she would hear a creak of the house settling that would jerk her awake.

With a sigh Bella turned on the light and grabbed a book from her shelf. It was a collection of Jane Austen's works. Bella opened to the story Sense and Sensibility only to remember the hero, Edward. In a huff she immediately flipped to the next, Mansfield Park, with the character Edmund. It was close enough to Edward to be irritating.

Bella tossed the book on her table in frustration. Is there anything at all that can keep Edward off her mind? It was annoying how hard it was to avoid thinking about him. When he was trying to speak to her all she wanted was for him to stop, but since he hadn't tried at all for the last few days Bella was irritated with him.

It's not like it's his fault. It was good that Bella was pushing him away. This is exactly what she wanted to happen, for Edward to leave her alone. So why did Bella feel so dejected?

"Just admit it Bella." She threw her arm over her eyes as she spoke to herself. "You've got a crush on him."

A crush on Edward.

Almost as if it was the declaration keeping her awake Bella drifted off.

Saturday was sunny and much warmer than last week. It was a nice change from the usual chilly and overcast weather Bella had attributed to Forks. For a split second Bella regretted not going to the beach with her friends, but that quickly passed. Bella spent most of the morning doing laundry and going through the cabinets in the kitchen to prepare a shopping list.

The phone cut through her thoughts sharply and the uneasiness from the night before turned her stomach. Bella let it ring for a few more moments before she got enough courage to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Bella honey! What's wrong? I didn't get your message until late last night and I didn't want to wake you or Charlie. I would have texted you, but my cell died and I can't for the life of me remember where I put my charger." Renee's light voice carried through the phone and Bella let out a breath of relief.

"Hi Mom." Bella smiled to herself. Her mom sounded perfectly fine if maybe a bit frazzled, but that was part of Renee's personality. "Did you check the drawer by the sink? Phil always puts the charger in there."

There was the sound of rummaging on Renee's end and she was talking to herself under her breath. "Aha! Oh Bella, what would I ever do without you? Are you sure I can't convince you to come back? Phil and I miss you so much."

"I know Mom, I miss you guys too, but I'm honestly glad to be here. I don't know how Charlie survived for so long on pizza and fish fry." Bella laughed, "There are no vegetables in this whole house."

"I'm glad he has you. I know having you for just the summers was hard on him." Renee paused "Phil and I are finally taking our honeymoon. He's taking me to Florida in a few weeks."

"That's great Mom! Is your physical therapy finally over?" Bella asked anxiously. Phil and Renee got married late last year after a car accident left Renee with a concussion and a broken leg. Phil decided he didn't want to wait any longer and as soon as they were able they went to the courthouse and tied the knot with Bella as the only witness. They had decided to postpone their honeymoon until Renee was fully recovered from her injury.

"Last week was the last one." Bella could hear the happiness in her mother's voice. "They just requested that I don't do anything too strenuous for a while."

"I'm so happy for you Mom. You and Phil deserve this time off."

"Well, Phil is going to try out for a couple of the teams while we're there so we are just going to take a few extra days down there. I'm going to spend all my time at the beach." Bella heard the catch in her mom's voice. "I wish you were coming with us."

"You and Phil need to enjoy your well-deserved vacation." Bella toyed with the edge of her shirt, folding the fabric between her fingers.

"Are you sure you're happy there? I just worry about you sweetie."

"I am. Charlie is easy to live with and I made some friends already." And I have a crush on possibly the weirdest boy I've ever met.

"I'm so happy to hear that. I was worried that you would be lonely without me." There was a pause which was unusual for Renee. "Have you talked to Bree recently? I know after everything that happened that you guys drifted apart."

"I haven't reached out to her." Bella said quietly. The phone call from last night came to her mind. Maybe that was Bree trying to contact her, but losing the courage to speak. "How is she doing?"

"I haven't seen her around lately, but that's not surprising." Renee sighed over the phone. "I tried to talk to her after you left, but she said she was busy and ran off. I heard from her dad that she isn't doing too well. Maybe you could check in on her? You guys were close once."

"I'll try Mom, I don't know if she'll talk to me, but I'll try."

"Okay. Honey I gotta go, I just wanted to check in on you. Emails just aren't enough for me I guess."

"I promise to call more often. I love you Mom."

"I love you too Bella. Don't be a stranger!" Renee said cheerfully before disconnecting the line.

Bella sat quietly looking down at her hands. Although she hadn't actively thought about Bree recently she wasn't far from Bella's thoughts. Their last conversation turned fight still ached in Bella's chest. Some words couldn't be taken back no matter how long someone could try to forget them and it seemed that the more Bella tried to forget the more concrete the memories became. Bella decided that she could call Bree and try to check in on her, but not today, not when there were so many other things jumbled up in her brain.

Charlie returned late on Saturday with several fish from his trip and Bella decided to read up on recipes she could make with them. Jessica called to describe everything that occurred at the beach trip and to dissect Mike's conversations. Bella let her talk for over an hour before she begged off to make dinner for Charlie.

Sunday was mostly sunny and warm and Bella took full advantage by relaxing out in the yard for most of the day. Charlie took her to the market where Bella made him pick out healthy items she could cook with. He didn't seem all that interested in the green items in the cart, but trusted Bella's cooking skills to make them edible.

The only awkward point was when Charlie brought up the homecoming dance for the following weekend.

"There's not really too much to do around Forks. The school dances are one of the only things kids your age like around here." Charlie said from behind his newspaper.

"Dad, I got my dancing skills from you." Bella looked at her dad pointedly. With two left feet and horrible balance Bella was most certainly not going to subject herself to the humiliation of a school dance. "Even if I wanted to go, which I don't, I don't like crowds and dressing up."

"Is it because no one has asked you yet? I think lots of kids these days go with just their friends."

"It's not that." Bella took a deep breath before she continued. "The last party I went to was the one where mom…" She trailed off her words, unable to finish the thought. Charlie let the words hang in the air for a few moments as he set down his paper.

"I won't force you to do anything you didn't want to Bells. I just don't want you to close yourself off." He cleared his throat. "Renee told me how hard her recovery was for you and I just want you to enjoy your last few years of school."

Bella conjured up a smile for her father. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm going to be helping to make the posters and decorations for the dance this week so I'll be spending some time with my friends."

"Let me know if you change your mind. I just want you to be happy Bella."

"Thanks Dad." Bella hugged her father around his shoulders and could see his ears pinking from the attention. Charlie wasn't one for emotional displays of affection.

Bella left her father in the kitchen and she went up to her room. Each step seemed to take a little bit more effort than the last until she was standing behind her closed door. She didn't get undressed before laying on her bed, staring out at the darkness in her room. Bella didn't have the heart to tell her father that the anniversary of her mother's accident landed on the friday before the dance.

The anniversary of the day Bella watched her mother die.

And the day Bella brought her back to life.