CHAPTER FIVE

The previous day had been long and emotionally draining. Between her chat with her father, then Taha Aki, followed by the paintball party, Bella had been both emotionally and physically exhausted by the time she was ready for bed. She had fallen asleep immediately, and now it was Monday, Columbus Day. Fortunately, there was no school, but they were busy today. It began with Charlie urging Bella to gather together whatever she was bringing to Forks. "I don't know what time your mother is coming home, but I imagine it will become uncomfortable once she does."

Bella thought her father had the right idea, but they weren't heading to Forks before she had a chance to say goodbye to her friends, were they? "Dad, are we going back to Forks tonight?"

"No, no, of course not. You're going to finish this week off before we head back. I've called in a favor to Police Chief Quigley. He's going to speak to the same judge on the family court circuit that let that spoiled kid Greg go with a slap on his wrist about getting an emergency custody order put through for me. I won't give the judge any trouble about what he did for Greg Ronstein as long as he grants me full custody of you."

Bella smiled. "I like that idea."

"Good. Now, how much stuff are you bringing? I want to get those plastic storage bins to pack your stuff. That way, they'll stay protected in case we get rain on the way home."

"Sounds like a plan."

They headed to Bella's room. She actually didn't have much stuff to bring. She planned on leaving all the furniture behind. She'd get new bedding for the room in Forks, which she planned on selecting herself. She was thinking Marvel-themed.

As for her clothes, there were many items she wanted to replace either because they were old or they simply weren't her style anymore. She had money in her bank account she could use, especially now that she wouldn't have to pay any unexpected bills her mother forgot to pay. She recalled that during the first time in this time period, her mother had used all her money traveling with Phil and had come to Bella to 'borrow' money. Well, Bella no longer had anything to give to her mother. She was done. She didn't feel guilty either because Phil could buy fewer games for his Xbox and begin contributing to the household.

"Hey, Kiddo. What's wrong?" Charlie asked when he saw the grimace on his daughter's face.

"Oh, I kind of feel guilty about springing this on Mom. She's not the most responsible and…

"Stop." Her father raised his hand, then tilted her chin up so her eyes met his with the other. "You need to stop feeling guilty about your mother. She is a grown adult and your parent. Her lack of responsibility is not something you need to concern yourself with. You need to just be a kid, Bella. I'm beginning to think you didn't have the opportunity to just be a teenager. And as your other parent, I am heartily sorry for not being present in your life more."

Bella couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes, so she leaned into her father for a hug. "I love you, Daddy."

"And I love you, Kiddo. Always have, always will."

XOXO

Father and daughter did quick work gathering Bella's belongings. They placed everything she was bringing to Forks on her bed and then headed to the store to pick up plastic bins to pack them in. He had Bella pack the clothes she'd be wearing for the week into a suitcase because it was more than likely they'd be moving to a hotel for the rest of the week. In total, she only had one large plastic bin, a small suitcase, plus a duffel bag with her softball gear. It wasn't much. Bella explained that she wanted to replace the majority of her clothes because she hadn't done much clothes shopping since her freshman year of high school.

"We'll have to replace some of your furniture when we get back to Forks. You have my old room, and I think the mattress has seen better days. When you were little, it was okay, but I think it's time for everything to go."

This definitely did not happen the last time. She had still been in her father's old room except with new sheets. She definitely did not want those sheets again, and the prospect of new furniture made her eyes light up.

"Really, Dad? I get new furniture."

"Hell, yeah, you do. You should be able to create your own space."

"Cool!" She flung herself into her father's arms for a hug. "I've never had new furniture before!"

As he held his child, Charlie realized how much of a disservice he had done to Bella simply by not having her closer to him. Things would be different when they returned to Forks. He would do his best to be the best father he could to his daughter.

XOXO

At ten past eight, the front door opened, and Renee walked into the house, calling out from the foyer, "Bella, I'm home, and guess what? You have a new stepfather. Phil and I were married in Vegas this weekend."

It was exactly how Renee had entered the house the last time around—that hadn't changed. Only this time, Charlie was here.

Renee entered the living room and put her suitcase down. "Bella, come and give me a hug. Oh, I missed…" She noticed her ex-husband sitting on the sofa. "Charlie, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in Washington?"

"Congratulations, Renee," Charlie greeted.

Phil entered the living room carrying a large moving box. He set it down in front of the television. He turned to Renee and then noticed Charlie.

"Is this guy threatening you?"

"No, of course not," Renee replied. "This is Charlie—my ex-husband and Bella's father."

"Oh, nice to meet you." Phil politely extended his hand, which Charlie shook.

"Charlie was just telling me what he's doing here," Renee informed him with a grimace. "Why don't you go downstairs and get the rest of your stuff. Bella, maybe you can help him."

"No, I don't think so," Bella said and sat back down on the sofa. Her father did the same.

"Bella, I need to speak to your father in private. You might as well go down and help Phil. He has a lot of boxes to move in."

"Stay where you are, Bells," Charlie ordered. There was a stare-down for a few seconds before Renee finally relented. She huffed before she sat down on the loveseat across from the sofa.

Phil, apparently, decided to stay because he also sat next to Renee.

"Why are you here, Charlie?"

"Hmm… I'm here because our daughter and her friend were kidnapped by a crazy, unlicensed student driver and then taken on a wild, erratic ride around Phoenix before the police caught up to them. Afterward, Bella was targeted by a crazy cop who not only verbally assaulted her but pulled a gun on her. That's why I'm here."

"I don't see why you decided to care now."

"Well, that might be because there were no major incidents until now, at least that I was informed of. I'm glad I came because the school and the police department were concerned you didn't bother picking Bella up immediately after the incident. Instead, you asked the Nez's to go in your stead."

"They usually help me with errands when I'm busy."

"And what were you doing that was so important that you couldn't see to the welfare of your daughter?"

"I believe what I do during my free time is none of your business, Charlie," Renee replied.

"So you admit you were free during that time?"

"I didn't say that!" Renee spat.

"Yes, you did," Bella reminded her. "You said that your free time is none of Dad's business."

"Hush!" Renee shot out to Bella.

"Well, I was only pointing out the truth."

"Your mother told you to shut your mouth. When she tells you to do something, you do it!" Phil suddenly decided to flex his bravado.

Bella was nonplussed. Phil had never spoken to her in that manner. Heck, he'd rarely spoken more than ten words to her ever. She got to her feet and was about to say something when her father stepped in.

"Hey! What gives you the right to raise your voice to my daughter?"

"I'm her stepfather. I just married her mother."

"Boy, you might have married her mother, but that doesn't make you her stepfather. From what I can tell, you don't qualify as one. If you did, my daughter wouldn't have had to spend the night in a house without power or communication during a scorching heat wave because neither her mother nor you bothered to pay the light bill or the cell phone bill. You clearly had the money, judging by all the video games you just dropped in front of the TV."

"I didn't even live here then. It wasn't my responsibility!"

"No, I suppose it wasn't, but someone vying for the position of stepfather would have stepped in and made sure the minor daughter of the woman he's dating was safe and not frightened! He would have made sure that he contributed to the household so power and communication outages didn't happen. But you're right. It wasn't your responsibility." Charlie stared Phil down before turning his glare onto Renee.

"How dare you, Charlie? How dare you insult my husband and me? You have no idea what it's like to be a single parent! You try and live a day in my shoes!" Renee shot back.

Charlie, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, replied, "Alrighty, I'll take custody of her immediately."

"I don't mean now!" Renee argued.

"Yeah, but I do. Bella, let's go." Charlie urged Bella to the front door.

"You can't just take her! She's my daughter, and I have full custody of her!"

Charlie laughed. "Well, now, that's where you screwed up, Renee. In our custody agreement, the judge put in an order that the former spouse must be informed of any major life changes at least seven days prior to their occurrence. Any court will deem marriage to be a major life change. It also decrees that as Bella's father, if I feel as if she is in an unsafe situation, I have the right to remove her from the situation and sue for custody."

"Phil and I are in love! We had no idea we'd be getting married until we arrived in Las Vegas. It was on a whim."

"It's still a major life change, Renee, and as an adult, you should have been able to control your urges. Besides, didn't Bella have a right to know in advance that you were marrying Phil?"

"I don't see why not? It's not like your kid and I were getting married," Phil replied. "It's not any of her business."

Charlie narrowed his eyes and replied with a scathing, "Except now that you and her mother are married, she is forced into living with you."

"Yeah, but Bella and I stay out of each other's way for the most part," Phil returned. "Either way, Renee and I won't be home much once baseball season starts."

"Which is no way to live. Bella, especially, should be comfortable in her own home, and after the way you raised your voice with her earlier, I'm sure this is not the best situation for her."

"All parents raise their voices sometimes," Phil said.

"This is true, but you are definitely not my parent and, therefore, have no right to raise your voice to me," Bella informed him. "Let's go, Daddy."

With that, father and daughter left the house. Bella was glad her father had suggested putting her belongings into the truck before her mother got home, stating it would be awkward for them to do it afterward. Well, they'd see what tomorrow brought about.