Author's Note: This thief-Bella is inspired by Taylor Swift's song, "Look What You Made Me Do." I heard it in the car one day, and the premise for this fic just popped into my head. Song lyrics appear in italicized excerpts and are all Taylor's, not mine. Last but not least: I take creative liberties with a few elements in this story. First, Bella's personality is a bit different because I've adapted her backstory as you will see. Second, it's been a minute since I've read the books, so please be forgiving of any detail slip-ups. Last, I depart from the Twilight vampire mythology in a few places, taking influence from Vampire Diaries vampirism (because I like it and it suits the plot I want to pursue here). I had fun with this one so I hope you will too!
Prologue.
The world moves on, another day another drama, drama
But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma
And then the world moves on, but one thing's for sure
Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours
"What's with the plant?"
After more than fifteen minutes of awkward silence on the drive from Seattle to Forks, this question is how Charlie Swann attempts to breaks the ice with his recently returned home daughter, Bella.
She might be from Phoenix, Arizona—a place about as foreign to him as Mars—but Bella looks like she will fit right into the small, grey and green town of Forks. She is ghostly pale with fair features like his ex-wife Renée but with his hair—and his introverted demeanor. Bella doesn't maintain small talk well, seems to prefer staring at the blur of trees as they drive by, and inexplicably has a death grip on that plant cradled in her lap.
Bella looks down at the small plant in her lap as if seeing it for the first time, then shrugs her shoulders slowly, and replies somewhat wistfully, "A reminder of home."
It bugs Charlie that Bella refers to somewhere else than Forks as "home." Sure, Bella hasn't lived in Forks in many years, but the town is where she was born and where he was confident she really belonged. He had to believe the move to Forks would be good for Bella.
Because, truthfully, his beloved daughter wasn't without her problems. Renée has voiced concerns over the years—going on about Bella was a "child of divorce," a "troubled teen" from a "broken home" and was acting out as a result. Charlie is pretty sure she got these terms from Dr. Phil whose show she watches regularly. He felt that surely Bella was a well-rounded kid who was just going through a natural rough patch.
And that rough patch happened to involve a lot of shop lifting and what, in recent months, had become plain old theft and burglary to the point where she was kicked out of her school. Leading her here, now, with what Charlie suspects is a plant she stole at some point between Arizona and Washington.
The irony of a police chief having a daughter with kleptomaniac legal issues isn't lost on him. He can't help but wonder what he did wrong to end up with a daughter so nonchalant about rules and laws. It's weird—she is otherwise quiet and well-mannered, like him—it's just this sticky fingers issue that sets them apart as opposites of the same coin.
How to begin laying down the law with his own daughter? He has to admit that is is rusty, and that the so-called parenting he'd done on the short visits Bella made to Forks over the years didn't exactly prepare him for this full-time job of authority figure who dishes out order and potentially discipline.
But Renée had been insistent that she had tried everything she could with Bella, that it had been drama after drama, problem after problem, and she was sick with worry about what else could be done, so far that she went to her last resort—parting with Bella and sending her to live with him in Forks.
"So, Bella… err…" Frog in his throat, Charlie trails off, not off to the strongest of starts. Bella looks over in his direction expectedly with her brow furrowed, guarded, eyes questioning.
When Charlie manages to speak his mind, it comes out more formal and brusquer then he intended. "Before we get home, I wanted to discuss laying some ground rules with you."
Bella continues her succinct, short responses. "Like what?" She asks, with an edge in her voice. She crosses her arms defensively over the top of the plant.
"Well, I expect you to go to school every day—no playing hooky. And a curfew of 10pm—"
"What is there to do in Forks after 10pm anyways?" Bella interrupts him with a roll of her eyes. "Forks after dark? Yeah, I'll pass on that."
She's developed a sense of sarcasm since the last time he saw her. In her teen years, she'd protested coming to Forks at all, so it's been a minute for the both of them, and this unfamiliarity is reflected in their tense dynamic now.
On the plus side, this is the most Bella has spoken and been open about how she feels about the situation the whole car ride. Too bad it's about her disdain for the place she's about to reside in for the next couple years. Not foreboding at all.
He tries again. "Your mom and I are taking this seriously. According to your school counselor, you were nearly about to go to juvie, Bells." Her nickname slips out, a shadow of sweet father/daughter moments past.
"And I'm ending up permanently grounded in Forks instead. Hurray." Bella replies bitterly. Bella had never been exactly a sunshiney, exuberant child, but this negative side of hers is new and worrisome to him.
"You're not grounded grounded." Charlie insists, trying to gain some favor with her. "You're welcome to make friends and socialize before and after school. The kids in town are great. You're going to like them."
"Doubt that." Bella mutters, by this point staring out her window.
Might as well get this over with, Charlie thinks, preparing himself for taking the final stand. "Well, the final and most important rule is… no stealing. If you steal again, there will be consequences, okay? This is a new start for you, Bella, and I think you're going to like it here in Forks. You could be surprised. Your mom and I really want this move to be good for you."
"You're not a convincing bad cop, Dad. And your good cop isn't much better." But Bella's body language shifts a little, becomes less tense, and she looks over to him again with a sliver of a smile.
She adds, "I get the message. I'm grateful you're taking me in. I'll try to get along well in Forks."
By the time they get home, Charlie shows Bella the old truck he got her, and they get her moved and unpacked, Charlie is feeling cautiously optimistic. Her demeanor genuinely brightened when she saw the truck, and she seems at ease in her room with old room. He gives her some space, knowing that she is like him and needs that kind of thing. On his way out, he notices that the plant resides front and center on her desk, a reminder of the challenge that lies ahead for them both.
Postscript: The Prologue is the only part of the fic from Charlie's POV, but I really liked getting in his head/voice and giving readers an outsider's perspective of Bella at the start of the story, before you really get access to know her more in Part 1.