CHAPTER FOUR
Saturday passed without any further incidents. Charlie attended the homecoming game with his daughter and got to know Bella's little friend group and their families. He was glad he was staying with Bella in Renee's house because he was able to monitor the situation with her mother. He discovered this morning that his daughter had not heard from her mother, except for the text message on Friday night stating she would be gone for the weekend. Call him traditional, but he was not comfortable knowing his daughter stayed home alone overnight most weekends. Sure, there was no law against leaving a kid home alone overnight as long as they were mature enough, but the fact that this was occurring weekly didn't sit well with him. It left his daughter in a position of vulnerability. Bella should have a dependable parent to come home to. And where was Renee getting all the money to go on these overnight trips?
The answer came to him when he noticed the stack of mail sitting on the end table. There was a shut-off notice for the electricity and a whole load of mail from collection companies. Charlie was debating whether or not he should open the light bill when Bella came into the living room holding a mug of coffee for him.
Bella immediately noticed the light bill. "Oh, no. Did Mom forget to pay the electric company again?" His daughter sighed. "Give it to me. I'll pay it before the lights get shut off again."
Charlie stared up at his daughter with a look of incredulity. He didn't like that she thought it was her responsibility to pay for the lights. And he disliked the fact that Renee was apparently comfortable with her daughter paying a very basic bill.
"Bella, how often do you pay the electricity bill for your mother?"
She shuffled uncomfortably on her feet.
"Bella?"
Bella knew she shouldn't be paying the electric bill, but after it got shut off while she was home alone a few months ago and got scared out of her whits, she did not want to repeat the harrowing experience again. It had been summer, over a hundred degrees out, and she thought she'd overheat. To make matters worse, Bella's cell phone, which was connected to Renee's account, was also shut off for non-payment on the same day.
"Bella, these are things I need to know. You are my daughter and, therefore, my responsibility. The family court orders that I send twenty percent of my income to your mother for child support—that's about $1600 per month. On top of that, I send her an extra $300 per month to cover anything else you need, like school activity fees or if you need a little extra for new shoes, clothes, whatever."
Bella's eyes widened, then she drew her lower lip between her teeth. She also balled her hands into fists.
"Baby girl, what's wrong?" Charlie asked. He stood up and brought her to sit on the sofa next to him, and then he held her until she spoke in anger.
"Ugh!" Bella cried. "I had to pay the light bill and the cell phone bill while she was off watching Phil play ball out-of-state this summer. It took almost two months of paychecks and tips to cover those bills, and she never paid me back. And as far as school activity fees are concerned, I have to pay for them myself because, according to her, it builds character." She stomped her foot on the floor and declared, "Dad, I don't want to live with her anymore! I love her, but it doesn't mean I like her. She can be very kind—like on Friday when she helped Emma and me get ready for homecoming- but she's so flighty and irresponsible."
And then Bella broke down and cried.
"Shh… Shh… I've got ya," Charlie cooed as he rubbed her back while holding her. "I've got ya."
Charlie was angry—extremely angry. His ex-wife was taking advantage of their daughter's generous heart and of his. His seventeen-year-old should not have to use her hard-earned cash to pay for utilities or even for school activity fees. He had specified to Renee that the additional cash was so that she didn't have to worry about all those extras for their daughter. Now, he was hearing different from Bella. And that story about having to pay the light and cell phone bill while her mother was off supporting her boyfriend enraged him.
"Tell me why you felt you had to pay the light and cell phone bill, Bells? Couldn't you wait until your mother got home?" Charlie asked.
"I couldn't wait." Bella sobbed. "It was over a hundred degrees out, and they turned off the electricity. All the food went bad, and I couldn't run the AC. And then it became pitch dark at night. I was so scared. Then, to make matters worse, when I wanted to find out how to pay the arrears the next morning, the cell phone was disconnected due to non-payment."
"And how many days later did your mother come home?"
"About a week and a half later. She was out-of-state with Phil."
"Do you have the receipts for those bills?"
"I do. I have receipts for everything. I even have the stubs from the money orders I had to get to pay for those things because I don't have a checking account yet. I only have a savings account. Fortunately, it's not a custodial account because if it were, Mom would use all the money in it."
Charlie's eyes blazed with anger, both at Renee and himself. He had known his ex-wife was irresponsible but thought she had improved. Clearly, he should have taken custody of Bella long ago. This would not continue."
"Bring the records to me. I'll keep them safe. Do you know where your birth certificate and social security card are?"
Bella chuckled. "Of course I do. Part of the advantage of having an irresponsible mother is knowing where all the important documents are. I even know where her stuff is."
"Good. Now, were you serious about wanting to move in with me? Aren't you going to miss your friends?"
"Dad, I love my friends, but they would want what's best for me—especially Emma. In any case, they'll always be my friends, and maybe… maybe they can come and visit me in Forks, or I can go and visit them."
"That's true, and you're welcome to have your friends visit you in Forks. They're good kids, and I'm glad you have them. Bella, you need to be one hundred percent sure you want to move in with me because I'm going to file for emergency custody."
"Dad, I want to live with you."
And that was all Charlie needed to hear. He was going to talk to Chief Quigley to see about filing for emergency custody of Bella. The fact that her mother left her alone in the house for over a week with the utilities unpaid when she had enough in support constituted neglect, in his opinion. He'd dig deeper into her situation later. One thing was for sure: his daughter would be coming home with him later this week.
"We'll make it happen then."
XOXO
Bella shuffled off to her room and took a deep breath. The discussion she'd had with her father regarding her mother and her lackadaisical bill paying was one she had not thought she'd have with him. Why? It was for the simple fact that when she was in Forks, she more or less had lived in a stable household. Sure, she and Charlie hadn't spent much time together, but it was partially her fault for becoming so obsessed with Edward Cullen. Now, she was forewarned and knew how to handle herself. She had several questions, though. Did she still have to date Edward when she went back to Forks? And how would diverging from all the events affect everything? Maybe it was time for a conversation with the man in the mirror.
Bella switched on her makeup mirror and waited for Taha Aki to appear.
And waited.
And waited some more.
"Where are you, Mr Aki? I have questions," Bella said to the mirror.
There was no answer.
"Mirror, Mirror on my desk. Please find Mr Aki, I have questions."
Taha Aki popped up in the mirror. This time, he was wearing a camouflage hunting cap and a black t-shirt.
"How are you, Mr. Aki?" Bella asked. "I didn't know you could change your clothes."
Taha Aki glared back at her, nonplussed. "Of course, I can change clothes. Just because we enter the spirit world doesn't mean we stop living. Sheesh! I thought you knew better."
After considering his words, she asked, "Do you mean there's a whole world up there? Can I visit you?"
"No, you cannot visit me, and yes, there's a whole world up here."
"Do they have an In-N-Out Burger in the spirit world?"
"Why? Are they good?"
"Oh, yeah. They have great burgers."
"That good, eh?" Taha Aki asked and then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, he was biting into a cheeseburger bundled partially in an In-N-Out Burger wrapper. "Yeah, you're right. This is good."
Bella was awestruck that Taha Aki was able to instantly summon a cheeseburger. She wondered what else he could procure and suggested, "The burgers go well with fries and a chocolate shake."
With another snap of his fingers, Taha Aki had the other two items.
"Wow!" She cheered enthusiastically. "You're awesome."
"Thank you," he said between bites and sips. "So, now, what was so important that you needed me.
"Oh, yeah. Let me give you an update on what happened today." Bella told Taha Aki all about her conversation with her father about her mother's fiscal irresponsibility. He informed her that he saw what happened. "Anyway, then you know that I asked if I can live with him, right?"
"Of course."
"But that would put me in Forks three months earlier than the last time. Isn't that going to screw up the space-time continuum?"
"Well, we don't know what the outcome will be, Bella. This is your do-over. You wanted to fix your mistakes, and that's why you were sent back to this specific period of time. How things will pan out is an unknown factor."
"But Mr. Aki, what about Edward. Do I still need to date him?"
"He was a mistake, right?"
"Yes, absolutely."
"Well, you wanted to fix your mistakes, so if you dated him again, it would be a repeated mistake," Taha Aki explained.
"I understand," Bella replied.
"And it would make you an idiot," he added.
"Absolutely."
"Okay, I'm going back to my burger and fries. Tell me what else I should try."
"The cheese curds and frozen custard at Culver's are yummy," Bella suggested.
Taha Aki snapped his fingers, and both items appeared to be out of thin air. "Have a good day, sweetheart." And then he disappeared.