Bella had to hand it to Charlie: he had at least listened quietly the whole time she went over the past three days. He had nodded at the right times, made all the right facial expressions, and even asked a question or two for further clarification.
But it still ended on a sour note after she was done with her explanation.
"Bella," Charlie said her name as if she were an easily startled animal and he was trying to soothe her. "I don't know what you ate last night, but maybe you should stay off the midnight munchies if you want to avoid those crazy dreams."
"Dad, I wasn't dreaming-"
Charlie raised a hand and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder in a decidedly parental gesture.
Bella frowned at the action. Right now the soothing attempt was as abrasive as sandpaper to her frayed mental state.
"Listen, kiddo. I know dreams seem real when you're in them, but there's no logical way any of that can happen. I mean… repeating the same day is just science fiction. Fiction."
"How would you know?" Bella asked defiantly as she shrugged off his hand.
Balling her hands into fists at her side, she resisted the urge to stomp her foot and yell like a child. She was 18 now, she couldn't throw a fit and be listened to, and this was the wrong parent to do that with anyway. Renee would have pulled out some paper and tried to help Bella solve this complex puzzle after a snit just to make her stop.
Charlie, however, was logical.
They could talk until she was blue in the face, but unless she pulled up some cold, hard facts, he would just call it a dream.
She didn't like being dismissed like this, but she would begrudgingly admit this whole thing was hard to prove. If everything repeated, then how did one tell others without sounding completely insane?
Was she actually losing her mind? Were her fears of Edward and the Cullen's leaving so ingrained at this point that it was causing these vivid nightmares?
She didn't know anymore.
"If it's happening to someone else but not you, how do you know it's real or not?" she asked in a small voice. "I still think it's real."
This was scary. She had no control at this point in time. All she knew for definite was that Edward was going to break up with her today at some point, and that left an awful pit in her stomach.
She was just thankful the sharp pricks of tears forming didn't occur. Had she finally cried herself out? Or maybe she was just accepting of the fact Edward didn't want her anymore after he so unceremoniously dumped her in the school parking lot yesterday.
Bella's scowl only worsened as she thought about it.
Her heart fluttered piteously in her chest, desperate to not think about the 'what if' of Edward truly not wanting her. No way. After having the night to think about it, Bella was sure it was some of the self-righteous protective thing he had going on.
Charlie furrowed his brows but allowed his hand to fall back to his side when Bella shook him off. He looked a little hurt from the action, but Bella wanted him to take her seriously at this moment instead of trying to sweep her concerns and fears under the rug.
The light from the television flashed across his face, making him appear much older than he was. The lines of age were etched into his skin like rivers. The stress of such a heavy job, and the loss he endured with her leaving and coming back, all of it caused Bella to deflate a little in her assurance that she was the one in the right.
What could her dad really do in this situation if it was true and she was somehow recycling the day again and again?
Unlike when she was a child and some unseen thing was haunting her, she couldn't run to him and have him shoo the feelings away with a hug and firm affirmations that nothing was there.
If they didn't crack the code as to why this was happening by midnight, would it just repeat again tomorrow? At what time did the repeat start? Could she just stay awake for days, only to fall asleep by her human body's need for rest and be transported back to today?
"Alright, Bells," Charlie conceded after a few moments of silent deliberation. "I- I can't say I believe this, but you do. What do you want to do? Should we go see a doctor…?"
"No."
"Okay. Should I stay with you today?"
Bella sighed and shook her head in the negative.
"No. I don't- I don't know what to do."
Bringing her hands up, Bella raked her fingers through messy brunette strands before dropping her hands irritably by her sides and flexing until her hands formed fists.
Her shoulders sagged in defeat.
The police chief of Forks pressed his lips together in a firm line as he thought.
"D'you want to stay home today?" he asked in a hesitant voice.
Bella stood in the living room in complete silence for a few moments as she thought about it.
If she didn't go to school-didn't see Edward and avoided the ensuing breakup- then maybe it would stop. Maybe this was some weird chance by the universe to allow her to stay with the love of her life.
She just had to make it through the day without Edward breaking up with her and then things would go back to normal.
It was worth a shot. The 'no sleep' plan would be saved for the next time.
Bella nodded her head firmly.
"Yeah, I want to stay home today. Maybe I'm just… tired."
"We can't make this a thing," Charlie said as he reached for his cold cup of coffee. He took a swig and promptly grimaced. "But just once you can play hookey. Consider it a treat for being a senior now."
"Am I doing it right if you know about it?" Bella asked, a smile started to form on her face.
"No. Pretend to be sick. Fake a cough or something for me, Bells."
Bella coughed into the crook of her arm. It was a pathetic, saccharine cough that had her dad grinning at her and suddenly he didn't seem so old to her anymore.
"Alright, guess you're sick, bud," Charlie said as he ruffled Bella's bedhead in an attempt at only making it worse. "I'll be home tonight. Get some rest."
Bella hummed low in her throat as she watched her dad leave the room to put away his cup and finish getting ready for work.
"Oh, and no cooking tonight," he said loudly from the kitchen as Bella flopped onto the couch. "I'll pick something up from town and give you the night off. Y'know. Being sick and all that."
Bella felt a warmth spread in her chest.
Charlie didn't understand; he didn't exactly believe her, unfortunately, but he was trying his best to remain supportive.
He was a good dad overall. She could stand to make it a little easier on him.
Grabbing the old blanket off the back of the couch, Bella wrapped herself up in it and flipped the channel to MTV to mindlessly watch the music videos that played early in the mornings. They were just something to watch as she tried to quell the growing anxiety.
Her eyes flicked to the corner of the screen that read the time.
6:41 am
Yesterday she arrived at school just before 7:30.
Would Edward call when she didn't show up for school? Show up on her doorstep?
Bella gnawed on her lower lip as she thought about the myriad of possibilities of the day. There were endless choices, and like many other times, she wished Alice were here to help sort and pick which future was the right one.
"See ya later, kiddo," Charlie called out to her as he walked out the front door and headed to work.
Bella grunted in acknowledgement from her spot on the couch and only bundled up tighter in the light blanket to stave off the morning chill as she tried to mute her mind.
Her eyes started growing heavy again.
7:24 am
Bella was three-quarters of the way asleep on the couch; warm and snug in the blanket as her unfocused eyes blinked slowly as bright colors moved on the television.
Her phone rang and she was startled at the sound of her ringtone. Fumbling on the couch where she had placed it earlier after going upstairs to get it, she hesitated as the name Edward flashed on the screen.
She bit her lip nervously, any sign of tiredness she might have had gone and was replaced with a sense of foreboding as she hovered over the answer button.
She rarely ignored Edward's calls. She loved to listen to his silky smooth voice talk to her, and when they couldn't spend the night together in her room, he would talk to her until she was able to fall asleep.
Just like the lullaby he wrote for her when they first got together, Edward was a soothing, calming presence in general to her. To cause so much anxiety and depression was alien to her, and made her kinda nauseated if she thought about it too much.
The phone stopped ringing a millisecond before she hit the answer button.
A dial tone.
Silence.
"Fuck," Bella mumbled as she tossed the phone back onto the couch cushion.
Inhaling deeply through her nose, she held her breath for a moment before releasing it in a huge rush as she chewed her lower lip. She could feel the thin skin around her mouth drawing the more she chewed, and distantly she thought about where her chapstick might be.
Since learning who and what the Cullen's were, she rarely if ever skipped a day of school. She only missed a day if she absolutely had to, and even then Edward would have fair warning that she was out.
She had never purposely ignored him before now.
But she had to keep him at bay until tomorrow. If she lasted that long without breaking up, then maybe this whole time shenanigan thing would end.
Maybe Edward would forgo his plans to just abandon her.
And that's when it hit her.
Yesterday(?) when she was at the Cullen's house, she spoke to her father before driving back home. Some were still in town, packing and getting things sorted for the move.
There were still Cullen's in the area.
If she went there and explained to Carlisle or Esme why she had to stay with them, then maybe she could fix this.
Maybe Edward would still love her if she just made some sort of grand gesture instead of being a wallflower all the time.
If she could prove she was strong enough to run with vampires, smart enough, then maybe hers would still want her.
Throwing off the blanket (and getting minorly tangled for a moment), Bella stumbled up the stairs to her room to quickly pull on some clean clothes so she could head over to the Cullen's' house.
She could hear her phone ringing again downstairs as she tied her shoes.
Her heart thrummed behind her ribs. Excitement, anxiety, and determination all wrestled in her gut for the forefront of emotional control. Sucking in a breath, Bella quickly ran a brush through her hair as she tried to steady herself.
She had been to the Cullen home dozens of times by now. Slept there. Ate there. But it felt almost as if it were the first time again as she hopped down the stairs two at a time.
Snagging her now silent phone off the couch, she was unsurprised to see that Edward had called again.
Her lip was already growing sore from how often she had been gnawing on it this morning. She shoved the phone into the back pocket of her jeans and left the house.
The ride to the Cullen's was surprisingly long.
Longer than it should have been.
She tried to come up with a game plan as she drove, only paying minor attention to the road and her surroundings, but kept failing miserably the longer the drive went on. But if anyone could try and make sense of what was going on, it would be vampires. Their combined centuries of experience would be the best way to go about breaking this time bullshit.
But what did she say to start it off with?
Hi, Carlisle/Esme. I know Edward was planning on breaking up with me today and making you all leave so I can live a boring human life, but don't touch that dial just yet! I've got something reaaaaaal weird going on that you're going to just find fascinating.
You see, I've been stuck in a time loop for three days. But it's technically been one? But also it might have just been weirdly vivid nightmares. Whatever, the point is I love you guys, and I hate being human, and I just want to stay with you.
Hm. No, that sounded pathetic.
Like a puppy that was kicked begging for attention afterwards.
Bella grimaced as she pulled into the gravel path that made up the driveway. Killing the engine to her truck, Bella no longer felt any embarrassment as the ancient vehicle sputtered and shuddered before shutting off.
An unmanned moving van sat in the front of the house. Several large boxes were already in the back of the truck, and more sat around on the ground outside it.
Bella's heart sank.
Being immortal, things weren't entirely precious to the Cullen's. Things could be rebought, but items with emotional value were invaluable to them. The fact they were actually taking things with them meant they were going to be leaving for a long time.
Probably longer than her human lifespan would last.
Yanking the keys out of the ignition, Bella opened her door and hopped out onto the ground.
"Oh! Bella, hello."
Climbing out the back of the moving vehicle, Alice made her way over to Bella.
Unlike any other time the two girls met, Alice was reserved and seemed emotionally distant to Bella. Usually, the shortest of the Cullen's was clinging to her arm, begging her to go somewhere where they could chat and do makeup and other girly things that Alice always wanted to do with her.
This Alice was quiet and fidgety as she moved from one foot to the other even though both of them knew Alice could stand still for days and not feel an ounce of tiredness or strain.
Alice frowned. "I didn't see you coming."
"Yeah, I just decided to on a whim," Bella admitted, knowing it would likely throw a wrench in the future seeing vampire's visions. She hadn't wanted Alice to alert anyone and make the rest of the Cullen's scatter in an attempt to avoid her.
"Alice, we're still friends, right?" Bella asked in a small voice as she pressed her thumb into the teeth of the keys still gripped tightly in her hand.
Shock, plain and clear, flitted across the smaller woman's features.
Pain then quickly overturned and marred her face.
"Bella…"
Carlisle was there in a blink and Bella felt the first tendrils of relief as he smiled so fatherly at her like usual.
It was almost as if he wasn't leaving her behind like an abandoned and declawed cat.
"Bella," he greeted her. "What a surprise to see you so early on a school day."
"Hey, Carlisle," Bella said with a timid little wave.
Already she could feel blood blooming in her cheeks, and she could practically hear her own heartbeat thundering in her chest, and knew on a subconscious level that Carlisle (and any other vampire around) could hear it easily.
Swallowing the nervousness that was bubbling up in her throat, Bella took a steadying breath.
"Yeah, sorry for the sudden appearance, but I've got something I need to talk with you about."
Carlisle's smile faltered, turning into a thin-lipped grimace.
"Bella-"
"I know Edward is making you leave," she interrupted. "He's breaking up with me today, right? The plan was to get through the school day so you guys could finish getting your stuff gone before dumping me and leaving my life forever. Am I right?"
Carlisle looked perplexed at her words.
Alice was clearly upset by the accusation.
"Bella, you don't understand-" Alice started.
A ruffle of wind behind her.
"Bella."
Bella startled at the voice that called out her name, whirling around and almost falling over at the action before strong hands caught her and pulled her to a cold, marble chest. Even through the fabric, she could feel the ice that made up the low temperature of his vampiric body.
"What are you doing here?" Edward asked as he held her close. "You didn't answer my calls."
Bella instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him close and rubbing her cheek affectionately against his chest. She shuddered as his long fingers splayed down her back to hold her hips.
She didn't want him to let her go.
Her fingers turned to claws as she crooked them, digging them firmly in his jacket as she clutched tightly to him; no longer for comfort but as a lifeline.
"Edward." Her tongue flicked out to wet dry lips, and she felt the bitter sting of the wind against her bitten raw lower lip. "I want to stay with you. I belong with you. You're my world, and I think the universe brought us together for a reason."
Edward stiffened at that, his soothing touches stopping as he went dead still.
"Did you tell her?"
Edward's question was obviously directed to his family.
Silence.
Bella knew Edward was reading both Alice and Carlisle's minds instead of actively replying.
"I need you to listen to me, Edward." She paused. "Alice. Carlisle. You, too."
Bella didn't release Edward fully, but she did pull back just a bit to look at him better.
"I need you all to take what I'm about to say seriously."
"Of course," Carlisle agreed easily.
"Anything, Bella," Alice said.
Edward only nodded as his grip started to surreptitiously loosen.
Bella held him tighter.
She was afraid that if he left her grip he would slip through her hands like sand and she'd never get him back.
"Edward, I know you're breaking up with me today," Bella started.
"Then why are you here?" he asked.
"Because you're an idiot and I love you. I'm not going to let you go without fighting for you. I'll do whatever you want if you just let me stay-"
"Bella, that's not a good idea," Edward interrupted as he pried her hands off him in an attempt to distance them. "You have such a beautiful gift: humanity. I'm not going to let you ruin that by staying with a group of monsters."
"Edward," Carlisle cautioned him.
Bella knew both Carlisle and Edward held the firm belief that they were damned, cursed creatures who only waited for Hell to snap them up once they finally met their end. Edward might have believed that, but Bella only saw them as angels.
Sure, there were awful vampires like the trio that wreaked so much havoc only months prior, but the Cullen's weren't like that. She wouldn't be like that.
Edward had always seemed so vehemently against her turning into a vampire, but it wasn't only his decision.
Bella shook her head. "I'm not leaving, Edward."
"And what will you do next time when one of us actually kills you?!" he shouted.
"It won't happen."
Edward grabbed Bella's injured arm and slid her jacket up until the beige bandage was visible.
"Bella, when you got this it was just as bad for me as when James bit you and I had to suck the venom out."
His pianist fingers brushed tenderly over the fabric and Bella sucked in a breath at the tiny spark of pain that burst forth at the light pressure.
"You have no idea how badly your blood sings to me, and I'll do everything I can to keep each drop in your veins. Even if that means doing something drastic."
"Then turn me."
Edward barked out a caustic laugh. "What part of 'in your veins' did you not understand?"
"The part where you stop being stupid and realize I can make decisions on my own."
"Clearly you can't, because you're talking about ending your own life," Edward admonished her.
"I'm talking about starting my future," Bella challenged, raising her head higher in defiance. "A future where we're together and happy."
"I'm not happy doing this, Bella."
The brunette winced at that, a pang of pain flashing through her soul and nearly knocking the wind out of her.
Edward took her hesitation to continue.
"I'm more concerned for your well-being than my own and I can't do this anymore, Bella. I don't want to hover over you constantly because you're so fragile and the slightest thing can hurt you, and we're the most dangerous things of all around you. If you remove the wolf from the sheep pen you won't have any dead sheep. This is for your own good, and one day you'll thank me for me."
"I won't," Bella promised him as she angrily bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep the tears at bay.
You'd think after several days of being broken up with, she would no longer cry. However, her traitorous mortal body just seemed to somehow always be able to produce more tears.
Bella sniffled. Bella hiccuped. Bella sobbed.
"Eddie, you made her cry," Alice hissed at her sibling once Bella started crying in earnest. She left and returned in the span of one breath and handed Bella a handful of tissues. "Breakups suck, but you shouldn't make the girl cry in your driveway."
"Edward, take Bella home. We'll finish up here," Carlisle suggested before blurring away to finish packing.
"I'm not going," Bella stated stubbornly with a stubborn voice. "I still have something important to tell you all."
"What is it?" Alice asked, head canting to the side as she rubbed her cold hand up and down Bella's arm in a soothing manner.
"Aren't you curious as to how I knew Edward was going to break up with me?" Bella asked after blowing her nose and regaining some semblance of her normal voice. "Don't you want to know how I knew to avoid Edward at school and how I had to come here first?"
Edward furrowed his brow.
"How?" he asked.
"I've lived the same day three times now."
"That's impossible, Bella," Alice said softly. "I can see the future, but everything's always changing. There's no set-in-stone timeline. There's no way to repeat a day."
A strangled noise of frustration left the brunette's throat.
"I don't know how it works!" she said in exasperation, hands thrown up in the air for effect before she deflated. "All I know is for three days I've woken up from sleeping, and it's always the sixteenth. Edward breaks up with me. It restarts."
"Bella…" Edward pronounced her name slowly, just as her dad had done this morning. "You've never shown any inclination to be able to control time before. Why now? You're just scared of the inevitable."
Bella instinctively prickled at the tone.
"This is why I don't want you around us. We're not good for you. You're having nightmares that are affecting your rationality."
"Don't go there, Edward," Bella warned.
Alice's eyes were hard and unblinking as she watched her brother but she refrained from speaking.
"Bella, when you wake up tomorrow, this will all have just been a bad dream." Edward's hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushed against the swell of her cheekbone and Bella instinctively leaned into the touch. "You'll wake up, you'll cry, and you'll move on. I love you. But I can't be with you for your own good."
"I love you," Bella whispered as she clutched Edward's forearm.
What she really meant was 'don't leave me'.
Tears started to flow down her cheeks again.
Edward smiled that charming, boyish smile of his and leaned forward to brush his lips against her forehead.
"Be careful with yourself. You're something special, Bella."
Bella blinked the painfully salty tears from her eyes and with a rush of cold air Edward and Alice were gone.
"Edward?" she called out, slowly turning in a circle as she looked around. "Alice?"
The boxes were gone.
The van was gone.
The Cullen's, once again, were gone.
Pain and loss wracked through her body, but she wouldn't allow herself to wallow in the ground. Instead, Bella screamed and screamed in front of that big, empty house until her throat was too sore to scream anymore.
