"We need to talk."
Bella dug her nails into the palm of her hand. Haven't they been talking? Did he have more questions? Or maybe, hopefully he was going to tell her what he and Jake were talking about. As long as it wasn't another lecture on how irresponsible and selfish she is. If that were the case she was going to let it go in one ear and out the other. Tired of trying to explain to Charlie something he would never understand, she took a deep breath and asked, "About what now?"
Charlie gestured to the couch. "Sit down," leaning forward in his chair he rested his elbows on his knees. Pressing his lips together he took him a long moment to form his words. "What do you want to do with your life?"
Bella blinked at him; she didn't know what she expected him to say, but it wasnt that. She sat up taller with complete confidence in her answer. "That's easy, I want to be with Edward."
"That's not exactly a life goal."
"But that's all I want."
"There has to be something more. What did you want to do before… HIM?"
"HIM, really dad? I thought you were over that. I mean you even shook his hand before he left. Did that mean nothing to you?"
"I shook his hand with respect, because he told me he would bring our boy back home!"
"Our boy! So Jake says a few sweet words to you and all of a sudden all the lies he has told you have been forgiven, While Edward only omits certain aspects of himself to keep everyone safe. Yet he is still the bad guy in your mind. Tell me Charlie, what are the magic words that Edward has to say for you to forgive him?"
"I will never forgive him!" Charlie took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair trying to calm down. "He is a 105 year old man that stalked, gaslight and took advantage of a seventeen year old girl that happens to be my daughter."
"He's 17!" Bella protested.
"No Bella, he only looks 17. In reality he has been on this earth since 1901." Taking another deep breath he continued. "And as for Jacob, he didn't say a few sweet words. We talked about some hard facts and the reality is the wolves are not unbreakable. The fact is those boys who have barely even started their lives are out there right now fighting and possibly dying for you."
"I didn't ask them to."
"No , you and your vampires were perfectly happy to allow those things to continue to kill innocent people."
"I didn't know about that! I didn't ask for any of this." Bella cried.
Charlie sat heavily back into his chair. "I know you didn't." He blew out a breath. "You never answered me."
"About what?"
"What did you want to do with your life? Before all this? Before," waving his hand around he said, "them?"
Bella shook her head.
"Okay, let's try the question a different way. What would you be doing if they never came into your life? If you never met them?"
"I'd probably be dead."
Charlie pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes on her.
She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I don't know, I never really thought about it."
"Well you should."
"It doesn't matter, I did meet them and he is all I want."
"You mean to tell me, you have no hobbies, no interests, no goals outside of being with and becoming like your boyfriend?"
"Not any that matter."
Charlie sighed. "I'm going to say something you're not going to like but please hold your arguments until I finish saying what I have to say. I want you to listen and really think about what I am telling you."
"It doesn't sound like I have much of a choice."
"You don't."
"Fine. Whatever. Say what you want to say."
"Seeing where you're at right now; your lack of interest in… well…everything. The fact is Bella, you don't know yourself very well."
"I…"
"I'm not done."
Bella pushed her lips together.
"I think you've lost yourself. Now, I understand first love, especially when you're a teen. It can be all encompassing. Everything is new and shiny, your hormones are bouncing off the walls and all you want is more of that bliss filled feeling you get with that one person. I'm sure the supernatural element makes all that tenfold. But unless you know yourself completely outside that relationship your future won't be sustainable. Do you really want to find yourself down the line questioning if you made the right decision?"
"That won't happen!" she argued.
"It could."
Bella shook her head.
"Look, all I'm asking is that you find out who you are as an individual before you make a lifetime…" Charlie let out a disbelieving laugh, "No, make that a longer than lifetime commitment."
"Great, no problem, I'll do some research to 'find out who I am.' Is that all?"
"How exactly do you plan to research who you are?"
"I don't know. Pick up a few books, look up a few hobbies, I'll even trace our family trees on the computer."
"That's a start, but it's going to take more than some research, Bella."
"Fine," she crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you suggest?"
"When this battle is over, and you are safe."
Bella scoffed, "That's never going to happen. Not until I'm turned anyway."
Charlie frowned. "Why do you say that?"
"Umm, I don't know, maybe because the Volturi decreed it."
"The Volturi?"
"Oh come on Charlie. My whole secret life has been spilled out to you. I'm sure you didn't miss the part about the coven that rule over all vampire kind. They sort of insisted that I become one of them, or die. So none of this matters anyway, because I will become one of them."
Charlie paled then turned a weird shade of green. "What the hell are you talking about!"
"Ohh," Bella swallowed thickly. "So you don't know about the Volturi?"
Bella proceeded to tell him about the Italian group, their vampire laws and the promise that was made.
"So you went off to Italy and faced off with these.. Leaders?"
"Right."
"Why?"
Not wanting Charlie to hate Edward even more she chose her words carefully. "There was a misunderstanding that put Edwards life in danger."
"So to save him you put your life at high risk? When did this happen?"
"When Alice came for a visit."
"So, what you're telling me is, Alice came here and played happy reunion to steal you away to Italy… so you could give your life for her brothers?"
"No! No, we didn't know that would happen. Not until she was already here. It was all very sudden."
"Sudden… Like in the amount of time it takes to book a flight and travel through an airport and to Italy, sudden?"
"You can drop the sarcasm. The event leading up to Alice's vision of Edward's life being in danger happened suddenly."
"Oh, okay. And you couldn't just call him? Or maybe she could have gone by herself instead of sacrificing you?"
"His phone broke, and I was the only one that could save him."
"I have a hard time believing that. Tell me what was this event that put his life in danger where you were the only one on earth that could save him."
"Well you didn't believe vampires and werewolves were real until a couple of days ago either, and the rest doesn't matter. What has happened happened and there is nothing we can do about it now."
"I don't accept that! I'm going to figure out a way to give you back your choice."
"How? They are all powerful. We are mere humans. If we don't do what they say, we die. And if they find out about you. Dad, you're as good as dead too."
"You don't worry about me. How much time do we have to fulfill this promise?"
Bella shrugged. "I don't know, Edward seems to think we have a while, but we planned it for after graduation."
"Graduation. Okay, we still have a few weeks. After we get through this battle we can worry about the next one." Charlie gave a nod of his head. "When this is all over, you will be safe."
"If you say so."
"I want you to take some time away from all this, from them. You need distance to find yourself. After a few years…"
"A few years?"
"Yes Bella, a few years. I want you to take the time to get to know yourself, who you truly are. Have some goals that are about you and not some boy. If you still want to do this: to become like them. I won't try to stop you, but you have to be the one who explains to your mother she will never see you again. Or you could tell her the truth."
"Ha, like she would believe the truth."
"Your mother? She would believe it. If I called her right now and said a UFO just crashed in my yard she would ask if the aliens were okay."
"No she wouldn't."
Charlie lifted an eyebrow.
"Fine, you're probably right." Bella conceded. "But, you want the Cullen's out of my life for a few years? Even if by some miracle you find a way to get me out of this deal with the Volturi. That's not going to happen. They left me once and promised they wouldn't again. Besides, it wouldn't change my mind. I want what I want."
"Bella, when I said 'them', I meant Edward and Jacob. You can hang out with that Rose all you want. I like her."
Bella scoffed. "I'm sure you do. Do you really expect me to believe you want Jake out of my life; for a few years, after you became buddy, buddy with him again? You would probably wait until Edward disappeared then change your mind saying 'oh Jake's not that bad. You two should hang out more'."
"When they left you the first time, Jake did us all a favor by getting you back on your feet. Don't get me wrong, having a support system is a good thing, but you need to be able to stand alone too. So, yes, I want you to spend some time away from Jake. This way when someone needs you to be strong for them you can be."
"You know dad, I'm eighteen. A legal adult. I see your master plan. You think putting 'space' between me and Edward will make me not want to be with him, but it won't. The fact is you can't stop me from being with Edward."
"I'm not trying to stop you, I'm just trying to give you time." Shaking his head, Charlie said. "If you won't listen to me, maybe you will listen to your mother. Of course I will have to fill her in on everything."
"You wouldn't do that. You would be putting moms life in danger."
"I will do whatever I feel is necessary, and your mother has a right to know!"
"You all might want to phase to human until you are in the cabin, otherwise you won't fit in the back door." Edward suggested.
"If you do that we won't be able to see what's going on." Sam complained.
"Paul can stay phased until we are at the back door. This way it will only be a few seconds that you lose contact." Jake suggested.
"Fine." Sam growled.
Phasing back to human Jake put on his shorts and joined the Cullen's closer to the cabin to form a plan of attack.
Snow fell from the roof. The acrid smell of burning vampire seeped through the walls.
"They are really lighting each other up in there!" Jake said, stunned by their stupidity. "Maybe we should stand out here and just pick off the survivors."
"Unfortunately, right now, they are safe from burning the place down. They played a game of kick the burning body parts into the fireplace and won." Edward glared at the house. "Besides, blocking the exits will give them less of a chance to get away. But you do have a good point. The first floor is open plan. We can throw the blood bags into the center of the room. Let them take each other out. That way we will only have to deal with the stragglers."
"Sounds like a plan." Rosalie came up beside them. "The less children we have to destroy the better. But surrounding the exits didn't stop Victoria from getting away from us."
"She had the gift of evasion. The children aren't as clever as she was." Edward sighed, "The only thing we can do is Be vigilant and expect surprises."
"Sure, sure. Just to let you know, calling them children is not helping." Jacob sighed and shook his head. Look, I was thinking."
"I know." Edward smirked, "and it's a good Idea."
"Great, maybe the rest of us could be let in on it now." Rosalie snarked.
Jacob's lips twitched at her annoyance. "Instead of throwing the blood onto the ground, maybe we should spray it on the ones that are already upstairs."