If you've been reading my other story, Voyagers, please note that I am putting a temporary hold on that story. It's really hard to write, but I'm not abandoning it! Hope this doesn't make you too mad.

Please enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter Forty-Seven

I hadn't been to Billy's house in a while. The last time I was here was probably when I was about seventeen. It was still just as small and cozy as I remembered. I had called him before we left the hotel. He was waiting for us on the porch.

"Bella," He smiled as I walked up. "It's so good to see you kid."

I leaned down and hugged him. "Yeah. I wish it was better circumstances."

"Absolutely," Billy said before looking at Edward. "You must be the boyfriend I was told about."

"Yes, how are you sir?" Edward asked as he reached out his hand for a handshake.

"I've been better." Billy shook his hand. "Let's go in. I have coffee and donuts."

We followed him into the house where my childhood companion, Jake, was seated at the table wolfing down donuts.

"Did you save any donuts for anyone else?" Billy asked as he moved closer to the table.

"Yeah," Jake said through a mouthful of donuts. He stood and pulled me into a tight hug. "Glad you came back. I missed seeing your face around here."

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you too," I said before sitting down. I left Jake and Edward to introduce themselves.

Billy took a sip of his coffee. "Can I get you any?"

"No," I said. "What happened?"

Billy let out a small sigh. "I'm not quite sure. I had seen him the day prior, and he seemed completely fine. Everything was normal."

I nodded. "Has the coroner called yet?"

"No." He said. "They grabbed him last night and said they'd call once they were finished but I haven't heard anything yet."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "How did you find him? I mean… I know… but how? Was he asleep? Did he fall?"

"Jake and I went over there last night to watch the game and when we got there, it looked like he was just asleep on the couch. But we couldn't wake him."

"Jesus." I said softly. "Did you give the coroner my number?"

"Yeah, they know to call you once they were finished." He said. "I went ahead, and I contacted the funeral home as well. Once they finish the autopsy we can proceed with the funeral arrangements."

I looked down as I bit the inside of my cheek. There was nothing in could do now except wait. Damn it. I want to do more.

"Have you called your mother?" Jake asked.

"No." I said.

"Perhaps you should," Billy said. "I know you have your differences with your mother, and it was not always so peachy between your parents. But she should still know. At one point, they did love one another dearly."

I sighed. "Fine. I'll call her now."

I left the three of them in the kitchen as I stepped outside. A light rain had begun to fall, which wasn't unusual in Forks. It constantly rained. I was just glad I had the foresight to wear my hoodie instead of my sweatshirt.

The phone rang several times before going straight to voicemail. I hissed before punching her number in again without leaving a message. Again, she didn't answer.

"Mom. It's Bella. I don't know if you're ignoring my calls or whatever, but dad died. Not sure how. Call me. Or not it's up to you. His funeral will probably be in two days if I can get things arranged. Bye."

I hung up and shoved the phone into my pocket. I wasn't sure what she was doing but I knew she wouldn't answer. After we fought, it usually took several months for us to start talking again.

"How did she take it?" Billy asked as I walked back into the house.

"Not sure. She didn't answer." I thumped back down into the chair. "What do I do now? Just wait for the coroner's office to call?"

"I've only ever planned one funeral." Billy said with a grimace. "There is a lot of planning to do. I think you need to go to the funeral home and make arrangements, even though the coroner's office hasn't called."

"That's not a bad idea," Edward murmured. "But we probably need to find out if your dad had made his own arrangements first."

I nodded. "I know where his files are. We have to go to my house to find them."

"You sure you can do that Bella?" Jake asked.

"I don't really have much of a choice." I sighed softly as I stood. "Thank you Billy for everything. I'll take care of things now."

Billy nodded. "Alright. Just let me know if I can help in any way."

"Will do," I said. "Come on Edward, let's go to my dad's house and get his stuff."

Edward followed me out of the door. He was silent until we got into the car.

"Are you sure we should go to your dad's house?"

"I need to find his funeral arrangements don't I?" I asked him.

"Yes, but it might be hard." He said as he drove. "If you tell me where his files are, then I can go into the house and get them. That way you don't have to."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine. I can't just do nothing. I need to take care of my dad."

Edward let out a sigh. "Alright."

The drive to my dad's house felt like a long one. My knee bounced the entire time as I willed myself to have a blank mind. I knew if I thought about anything, even for a second, I'd tear up. And my goal today was not to be a mess.

I had hoped when we got to my dad's house, I wouldn't feel so overwhelmingly sad. However, as soon as we pulled into the house, the floodgates opened.

"Damn it," I snapped at myself. "Stop crying! I need to get my shit together so I can get this crap done!"

"Bella," Edward said firmly. "Your dad just died. No one is expecting you to have it together. It's fucking sad. Just cry. Be upset. Be sad. No one is judging you. And if they do, I'll fucking knock their teeth out."

I rolled my eyes. "I can cry later. I just need to get stuff done now."

He sighed. "You're so stubborn."

I didn't respond and got out of the car. Tears were still streaming down my face, but I didn't care. I stormed up the porch and retrieved the hidden key in the rocks. I paused when I realized something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked as he walked up behind me.

"The hide-a-key rock… it's not in the right spot." I frowned, my eyes furrowing. "My dad never moves it. It's always beside the red rock."

"Perhaps the wind moved it?" Edward suggested.

"No. The wind never moves this rock. It's always in the same spot." I said.

Edward didn't comment. He just walked into the house behind me. If seeing the house opened the floodgates then walking into the house broke them. All of the memories of mine and my father's life crashed down upon me. Every inch of this house was covered in a memory that until this very moment, I never cherished as I should have.

I placed my hand over my mouth as I tried to suppress a sob. I felt Edward's hands on my shoulders.

"It's okay Bella." He said softly. "Please just tell me where the files are. I will get them then we can go back to the hotel."

"I-in the living room. In the desk. I-I don't know exactly—,"

"I'll find them. Just go back out to the car." He kissed the top of my head before gently pushing me towards the door. I gave up at that point. I didn't have the fight inside of me as I walked to the car.

Edward walked out of the house after about twenty minutes. I was leaning against the window as he got back into the car.

"I found everything," Edward said as he placed the box of files in the backseat. "Everything's in there. You don't need to worry about anything."

I nodded. "Take me back to the hotel please."

"Of course." He said as he pulled out of the driveway. "My parents just got to the hotel. And so did the Alice and Jasper. Rosalie is too far along to travel, so she and Emmett stayed behind. I told them you're probably not up for visitors right now. Maybe later, for dinner."

I wiped my tears, "That's fine."

My phone started ringing obnoxiously. I looked at the caller ID and sighed heavily. I knew this call was coming and I had a horrible feeling that it was going to be bad.

"What happened!?" My mother demanded without saying hello.

"Dad died." I answered dryly.

"Oh my god. I know he fucking died but how!?"

"I don't know mom. I'm waiting for the coroner to call."

"I knew this was going to happen!" She practically screamed. "I begged you not to fraternize with the Volturi! I begged you to stay away from the Cullens! But no! You didn't want to listen to me! And now Charlie is dead." She finished her tirade in a sob that matched my own.

"Renee, this is not the appropriate time to discuss this," Edward snapped as he snatched the phone out of my hand. He could hear my mother screaming at me and I guess he lost it. "Bella's father, the only active parent in her entire life, just passed away. And you want to call her and scream at her? How dare you! And just for the record, my family had nothing to do with this! You're the traitor who ran, if anything, Charlie's death is your fault."

My mother screamed something else at him.

"The funeral will be in a few days," Edward said calmly. "I will text you when and where it is. But you will not be welcomed if you're just coming to make Bella feel more awful than she already does because I promise you, I will choke you the fuck out if that happens."

With that, he hung up the phone. It immediately started ringing again.

"Do not answer it," Edward said when my hand moved towards it. "She's just going to scream and accuse you of horrible things. I will take care of your mother. You need to focus on other things."

I wiped my tear-sodden face. "I-is it true? I-is it m-my fault?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Edward said. "We have no idea what happened to your father. So you cannot blame yourself for anything. Nothing is your fault Bella. I mean that. Don't you dare think that for one second."

"I should've been here for him," I cried into my hands. "I should've been there, and I wasn't. I'm the worst daughter ever."

"No you're not sweetheart." Edward said as he pulled into the hotel.

"I am." I sobbed. "I should've been here."

Edward helped me out of the car, keeping his arm around me as we walked into the hotel. On the way to our room, we ran into his family. Alice and Jasper didn't say anything, they just patted me on the back before heading in the opposite direction down the hall.

"Oh, sweetie," Esme said as she pulled me into a tight hug. "I am so sorry."

"Did you figure out what happened?" Carlisle asked Edward as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Not yet. We're waiting on the coroner to call."

Carlisle nodded. "We're going to grab lunch. Can we get you two anything?"

"No we're good." Edward said. "I think we're just going to go back to the room and take a nap until dinner. Maybe we'll meet you guys for dinner."

"Sounds good, bud," Carlisle said. "We'll be around. Just give us a call if you need anything."

"Thanks dad." Edward said as he ushered me into our room.

I collapsed onto the bed, curling up in a tight ball. As I did, an unfamiliar number rang my phone.

"I don't want to talk to anyone!" I sobbed.

"I got it baby." He said as he sat on the bed beside me and stroked my back. He answered the phone and from the way the conversation went, I could safely assume it was the coroner.

"Thank you," Edward said as the call came to an end. He crawled back into the bed beside me and pulled me into his arms. "That was the coroner."

"W-what did they s-say?"

He stroked my hair back behind my head. He was quiet for a moment before he said, "Natural cause."

I looked up at him with a quizzical look. "You're l-lying."

He closed his eyes. "You're already in so much pain baby. Let's leave it at natural causes for now. Please."

"Tell me. I need to know what happened to my dad."

He opened his eyes again and placed his hand on my cheek. "He overdosed."

My eyes widened. "W-what?"

"They found a high amount of alcohol in his system along with a combination of narcotics."

I slowly shook my head. "O-overdose? No… no that's not right."

"I'm so sorry that's what they said."

A sob passed my lips. "My dad has one beer a night! He doesn't take drugs! That's a lie."

"It's what they said sweetheart," He said.

I fell back against his chest and just sobbed pitifully. There was nothing else I could do.