Fathers

Charlie

Part Thirteen

By Simon

At first I was angry about all of this happening. Mad, PO’d and all of that. I couldn’t look at Cullen without clenching my teeth and was glad when he left to go home every night. I disliked that Bella spent so much time with him and never seemed to want to spend time with me if she had Edward as an option. I’ve never had a real problem with Carlisle or the rest of the family but Edward, well—he just rubbed me the wrong way from the start and that never changed.

I just didn’t like him. I still don’t. ‘Probably never will.

I’m past that; I don’t care about Cullen anymore. Now I’m…what? I’m upset, worried, scared; terrified about what’s happening and I don’t have any idea what to do about it. I don’t.

I spoke to Billy and he blames it all on the Cullens—or as he always refers to them, ‘the damn Cullen’s’. I’m starting to go along with him on that score.

They decided to throw a birthday party for Bella a couple of weeks ago. I was invited but I couldn’t go even if I’d wanted to because I had a shift and I wondered if they knew that somehow. Well, whatever, it doesn’t matter; though if I’d been there, maybe none of this would be happening.

Something happened at that party beyond Bella falling and hurting her arm. She came home earlier than I expected all bandaged up and upset. Cullen made a fast exit, looking guilty, and said something to her about seeing her the next day but she shrugged at him, didn’t even kiss his goodnight and then went up to her room.

I went up and got the barebones; she’s slipped and fallen into a table, knocked that over and landed on some glass plates that cut her arm. Carlisle dressed the wound, they cleaned her up and Edward brought her home with some painkillers and antibiotics and doctor’s orders to take it easy then have it checked in a few days.

All right, upsetting but not that big a deal.

The next day Edward was there when I got home. I ordered pizza so Bella wouldn’t have to cook and, like usual, he opted out, watching the news while we ate. Afterwards he sat and watched a ball game with me and that was odd. The kid clearly isn’t a big sports fan, or so I thought, but he seems to know baseball and gave every impression of enjoying the thing.

Bella was trying to get his attention but he kept putting her off and, finally, left early which upset her more.

Okay, so the kids had a fight, happens all the time and I was hoping that this might get rid of him but they just keep coming back to each other, no matter how big the blowup. I figured it was just a matter of time before they smoothed it over again.

Then it all hit the fan the next day.

I get home and Bella’s MIA.

It was dark, it was cold and it was raining and she wasn’t anywhere. I called her friends, checked the school, the diner and call Cullen’s where I got a canned message that the number had been disconnected.

Great.

I called the hospital, got ahold of the head and was told he’d…

 

* * *
 

That all happened four and a half months ago.

It’s not getting any better. It’s worse and I’m damned if I know what to do. I want to help her, I want Bella to be happy, to stop this depression she’s wallowing in and get back to normal. I’m worried, I’m scared as hell and I don’t have any idea how to fix this.

I talked to Billy about this again last month and he said he’d see what he could do about getting Jake to come over, try to shake her out of her funk, maybe invite her over to the Res for a change of scene.

I don’t know, maybe that will do something, maybe not.

Cullen.

This is his fault—he’s the one who left her, dumped her so cruelly that Bella was almost catatonic for weeks on end. He was the one who decided to play with her, reel her in and let her run then reel her in again and again, like he was playing a fish on a line…and maybe he was.

The thing I don’t get is why his parents let it happen. They had to see what was going on and if there was a chance that they’d be leaving—and they did leave—then they should have had the common sense to say something.

I’d guess I expected better from Carlisle. You work with a man; you think you know something about him and then something like this happens. No, we were never best friends and I always thought there was something a little odd about him but he was always there when you needed him and there’s more than a few people in town who owe him the life of family member.

So Bella’s been hanging around Jacob the last few weeks and it may be helping—he may be helping. I like the kid, ’have known him since he was a whelp and I like him. He’s a good kid and I like the way he looks after his father. I like that a lot.

And he doesn’t have that slick air about him Cullen had, that veneer of arrogance, of being better than her, like he was doing her a favor by letting her be with him.

She’s looking better, taking some pride in her appearance again combing her hair, paying some attention to what she’s wearing and that kind of thing. It makes me feel a little better about this mess.

 

* * *
 

“Renee?”

“Charlie, is she worse? Should I come?”

“No, it’s okay—she seems a lot better than she was. This kid—you know Jacob, right? He’s been good for her. She’s coming around.”

“As a friend or a boyfriend?”

“Jake? ‘Not sure, but she’s smiling again, I know that.”

“Thank God. You’ll let me know if anything happens, right?”

“…Like what?”

“Yeah, sure, Charlie—you just keep me informed.”

 

* * *
 

Like I said, I think this is going to be for the best, this thing about Cullen leaving her high and dry. I’m not happy about the crap he put her through but I think it’s good she knows to be careful now, to not believe every line some good looking kid hands her.

 

* * *
 

But then you think that it’s all going to work out and then you get throw the damn curve ball. I got home last night, Bella was over at the Res and I see a message left on the bottom of the grocery list. Jake was here house sitting while I was at the funeral, he took the call.
Cullen—Dr. Cullen called and was looking for me.

The message? He wanted me to know they’d received a message from someone, some friend or whatever and it seems poor old Edward was almost as upset as Bella about the break up.

They got word he’s committed suicide in Italy.

And I’ll be damned if I know how to tell Bella. If even if I should.

 

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