The following day was both perfect and surreal. They showered and ate breakfast before hitting the road. Though nothing about their dynamic had changed, at the same time, everything had.
When she held Leah's hand inside the gas station, the meaning behind the action was entirely different. When Leah teased her and cracked innuendos, nothing out of the ordinary, it felt different. When Leah asked for something specific and thanked Bella with a resounding, smacking kiss on her cheek, it felt different, too. Leah's hand sneaking its way into the back pocket of Bella's jeans, casually cupping her ass as they walked back to the car from the restaurant where they stopped for dinner felt… incredible yet strange. It was new territory. They couldn't stop touching, and each was perfectly fine with that.
Instead of wasting the money on yet another hotel, the girls said 'fuck it' and took turns driving through the night. They were eager to get home and hoped to take advantage of Bella's very comfortable bed for a few hours after reporting the theft and handing over the lock box to Charlie.
By the time they rolled into Forks, each was tired and quiet, eager to get it over with. Charlie's cruiser wasn't at the house, so they drove to the station to see if he was there. When Bella spotted his cruiser in the lot, she sighed in relief. She didn't want to have to search for him at Sue's and drag him back to the station to deal with her bullshit.
Bella barely had time to step out of the SUV before steady hands tugged her into warm arms, and Bella eagerly hugged her father.
Chuckling as he held her, Charlie said, "Saw you pull up in the lot. Wasn't expecting you two back for a few more days, kid."
"Well…" Bella hesitated. "We had to come back early. I need your help."
The smile fell from Charlie's face as worry hardened his features and his mustache twitched. Bella could practically see Charlie's Cop Dad persona take hold. "What the hell happened?"
Bella and Leah explained the situation carefully and showed him the untouched open cash box in the cooler. Charlie wasn't happy they'd been foolish enough to let two strange men in their hotel room overnight (Even if Kai had saved Bella from being trampled at the concert) and was relieved when Leah reassured him there was no 'hanky panky' with the thieves - just fun and a false sense of camaraderie that disappeared the moment they realized they'd been robbed.
Bella thought smoke might pour from Charlie's ears when he learned how much cash Bella had taken with her. Her plan would have worked just fine had Kai or Declan not witnessed her moving the dumb cash box in the first place. The girls filled out statements in Charlie's office. He sent the lock box and keys off to be analyzed for prints or evidence and put out an APB. Between their physical descriptions and the specific coloring of Declan's truck, he said it was only a matter of time.
After a few hours of talking, paperwork, and listening to Charlie bark orders (the station was unusually active that day), the girls were finally about to leave. They had just crossed the parking lot toward the SUV when one of the deputies ran outside to stop them. He told them to come back inside, there was something they needed to see.
As they stepped back into Charlie's office, he was slumped forward, knees on his elbows with his head in his hands. His head shot up and he glanced between them worriedly before looking toward their clasped hands, swallowing hard. Bella could see the questions behind her father's eyes, but he ignored them for now. Bella wondered what he could have possibly learned already to look so upset.
"Bells, honey, I gotta call your mom and thank her for the advice she gave you. The fingerprints were so clear on the keys, lid, and bottom of the box that we got a match in the system almost immediately. I've never seen two rap sheets load so quickly."
Slack-jawed, Bella dropped into one of the chairs. Leah stood beside her, still holding her hand as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth.
"Which one did it?"
"Well…" Charlie took a deep breath as he sat upright and turned to his laptop. "It was both of them. It looks like one held the box while the other used the key and scooped out the contents."
More to herself than anyone else, Leah muttered, "How stupid can you get?" Bella shook her head in agreement.
"I don't want to tell you who it was," Charlie grumbled. "Or make the fucking phone calls I have to make now…"
"Why?" Bella leaned forward, laying her open hand across Charlie's desk, silently asking him to take it. He placed his much larger hand over hers and squeezed it gently. "Dad, do you know these guys? Are they like… most wanted lists or something?"
Charlie harrumphed. "More like most unwanted… Kiddo," he sighed again. "You won't recognize the name, but I know Leah will. Did this Kai person ever tell you his full name? Where he's from? What tribe? Anything at all?"
Leah frowned. "He was more forthcoming about Declan than himself. We knew he was a little older than us. We guessed he was like… thirty-ish. It was hard to tell. I didn't recognize him, but he looked way familiar, though. He and Bells kept staring at each other like they couldn't figure out where they knew each other from. It was weird."
Bella nodded, tugging at Leah's hand. She gestured for Leah to sit beside her. "You're fidgeting and it's making me nervous." She laughed but it sounded forced.
As Leah sat, Bella asked, "Dad, who is it? Just say it, please."
Looking directly at Leah, Charlie said, "Joshua M Uley."
An odd squeak spilled from Leah's lips as her chin practically hit her chest. She paled as she collapsed in her seat. She looked completely mortified as she squeezed her eyes shut in disbelief.
"Uley?" Bella asked, "Like Sam? Are they related? Kai is Quileute?"
Nodding, Charlie said, "He's Sam's father, Bells. I don't know when he started going by his middle name, Malachai, but he's been MIA since Sam was three. Just disappeared one day, never came back."
Bella's stomach rolled. Her gas station breakfast burrito suddenly felt like a thousand pounds in her belly. When her mouth watered, a sign she would be sick, she dove for the trash can in the corner of Charlie's office. Bella dry heaved over the can long after her stomach was emptied. Thoughts of Kai, of Sam, of Jacob and their similarities, or being in Kai's lap, kissing him in nothing but her underwear with the realization of who he was bombarded her thoughts in rapid succession, pulling a new heaving sensation with each one. Leah squatted on the ground beside her, gently rubbing Bella's back as she tried to soothe and distract her.
When the heaving finally stopped, Bella remained hovering over the can while she tried to catch her breath. She sounded pitiful as she wailed, "Oh my god, Leah…" She finally risked raising her head to meet Leah's worried stare. "Boy, if Sam didn't hate me before, he will now."
"This isn't your fault," Leah said, shaking her head. "Don't worry about Sam. I'll kick his ass. Besides, he doesn't have to know jack shit. It's none of his business."
Bella laughed and then groaned. Her throat felt raw. That was the last time she'd put hot sauce on a breakfast burrito. Her nose burned, too. It made her eyes water. "Seriously, Leah, why me? Why us? Of all the people?"
Leah laughed, shaking her head. "I don't know, Bells. Shitty luck, I guess."
They'd almost forgotten Charlie standing behind them until he cleared his throat. "Care to explain what you're talking about? Is Sam still harassing you, Bella?" He handed Bella a box of tissues to clean herself up as he eyed the trash can suspiciously. "Do I even want to know?"
Leah helped Bella from the floor and gestured for her to sit as she tied off the trash bag.
"No. Sam's been… almost pleasant lately. It's weird," Bella said. She didn't want to tell Charlie she'd made out with his former acquaintance half-naked. Kai - Joshua - whatever his damn name was - was Charlie's age! Bella groaned, wondering if Leah'd tied the bag off too soon.
"Did something else happen I need to know about? Y-you guys said there was no, uh…"
Bella was positive her face was just as red as her father's. Charlie was damned near purple. "There wasn't. It didn't… It didn't go that far. Not even close to that far. I was kinda drunk, Dad. I'm sorry…" She hung her head, unable to look at him. Things couldn't possibly get any more embarrassing. Bella wanted to crawl out of her skin, hide under a rock, and stay there.
Charlie dropped back into his chair and sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in aggravation. In a menacing tone she'd never heard from her father before, Charlie asked, "So you're telling me that sonofabitch attempted to prey on my fucking eighteen-year-old daughter?"
Hoping to calm him somewhat, Bella said, "I didn't realize he was that much older than us…"
"But he did! " Charlie slammed his fist on his desk, making both girls jump. "He knew you were too damn young for his ass." Bella met his furious glare as Charlie shook his finger at her. "You just wait 'til I get him in this goddamned station alone, Isabella! When he's apprehended - and he will be! They'll bring him here for court." Charlie rubbed his hands together like he couldn't wait.
Quietly, Bella warned, "Daddy, don't do anything crazy…"
"Uh-uh," Charlie shook his head, looking so furious he just might cry. "That sonofabitch has kids across the country, Bells. He's a liar, a thief, a dead-beat father, he's been arrested and has warrants for domestic battery, sexual assault, robbery, burglary… he's a fucking menace! I'm so glad he didn't…" Charlie choked on his words as he looked away.
"You'd never know in his presence," Leah said sadly. "He seemed so… kind ."
Charlie scoffed. "He's exactly the kind of guy I don't want anywhere near you girls. I'd rather walk your ass down the aisle to Paul Lahote!"
Now that was saying something.
Bella got up and walked behind Charlie's desk to hug him. He yanked her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her like he used to when she was little, and Bella leaned her head on his shoulder, letting him hold her tight. "I'm sorry, Dad."
"For what? Being a kind person? Trusting the wrong person? We all do that, Bells. You didn't do anything wrong… Was it naive? Absolutely. But you guys spent days with these two, right? It was just a mistake on your part, that's all. But Josh? He knew exactly what he was doing. He took advantage of your generosity, kindness, and inexperience, and by God, I will make him pay for it!"
Bella sat upright and carefully climbed off her father's lap. "Since he's technically a missing person, does that mean you will tell Sam?"
Charlie clasped his hands as he leaned on his elbows again. "Yep. I can't give him specifics of the case, but I do have to tell him Josh has been positively identified and is alive."
Bella begged, "Can you please, please, leave us out of that phone call? I don't need more reasons to fight with Sam."
"No you don't," Charlie agreed. "Go on, you two. Get out of here. You both look like you could use a nap."
"Like you wouldn't believe," Leah said, yawning as if on cue. Charlie chuckled. She asked, "Will you let Mom know we're back in town? I'll probably stay with Bells most of the day and sleep."
"How's about I just pretend I haven't seen you two yet and you can have the house to yourselves until tomorrow morning? I'm supposed to go to your mom's after work anyway. I'll swing by Sam's to talk to him on the way."
Leah grinned and walked over to hug Charlie goodbye. "Awesome. I'm not ready to go back to the circus yet."
He laughed. "I'm sorry you kids had to cut your trip short."
Bella said, "I think we're gonna see if Quil and Embry can go camping with us for a night or two to make up for it."
"That's not a bad idea, Bells. At least I know you two would be safer with those idiots. Especially since they only seem to have eyes for each other…"
Leah chuckled as Bella gasped. "You know about that, huh?"
He shot an incredulous smirk her way and shook his head. "It's me Bells. I hear about everything, remember?"
"Oh yeah," she grumbled, teasing him as she reached for Leah's hand, and pulled her toward the door.
"I'm calling your mom…" Charlie called after her. "Let her know you girls are home safe."
"Thanks, Dad. Love you."
"Love you too, Bells. You too, Lee. Go get some sleep."
Thoughts?