Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

A/N:

Hello everyone! Xavier here. I know I've been gone for FOREVER and well, there's a lot that has been going on with me. First, I would like to thank everyone who kept on reading and reviewing despite my "hiatus" of 6 long months. We've reached 900 follows and almost 600 favs and I became immensely happy, so THANK YOU. Now, for a little *backstory* on my absence, all I can say is that I had a close relative become sick in the midst of the pandemic (not of COVID) and that was a stressful time. Quarantine hasn't been treating me as nicely either, but it's not all bad news. After a major writer's block that lasted MONTHS and the hectic and scary time that is to have someone sick at home, I managed to finish this chapter! I am almost done with Chapter 27, so hope to hear from me soon. I hope y'all are keeping safe, wearing masks, social distancing, and washing your hands constantly. I also hope this chapter will give you a well-deserved break from all this craziness.

Much love, xx.

Xavier.

Chapter 26.- Past Life.

"See you guys," Bella said from the porch steps.

Jared and Jacob quietly said goodbye and jumped into Billy's truck. The man had come out to pick them up since they didn't want to make Charlie suspicious by leaving on foot. Her father and Billy shook hands while Jared and Jake made themselves comfortable. They talked for a little bit; settling on a time to go fishing the following day since Charlie was off work for the next couple of days. Bella remained back, silent until the soft rumbling of Billy's truck disappeared from the air. Charlie walked towards the house after making sure Billy turned left and disappeared at the end of the street. He exhaled heavily and put a hand on Bella's shoulder, taking her out of her trance.

"What a night, huh?" he said.

"Yeah, an interesting night," Bella mumbled back.

After the guys had fixed Bella's truck, they stuck around to wait for Charlie. The three of them chitchatted until Charlie invited them to stay for dinner. The guys devoured the pasta Bella made for dinner, making her father chuckle at their lack of manners. She imagined that they provided her father with a sense of normalcy that he hadn't had since the Cullens left, and vice versa. No wolves, no vampires, no depressed Bella. Just a nice dinner with her friends and her father.

Bella walked inside quietly. Her eyebrows started to come together, and her bottom lip had swollen from the number of times she had bitten it with more strength than she needed. Charlie was picking up his stuff from the living room when he noticed his daughter was still stuck in a pensive mood. She had caught her coming in and out of it, at dinner, and while hanging around the young Quileutes.

"Bella, I think we need to talk. Care to join me?" he said, frowning and inviting his daughter into the living room.

Normally, he wouldn't bother Bella, but things had to start changing at some point. Besides, normal hadn't worked for him or his daughter in the last few months. He felt brave enough to ask, despite knowing that his daughter would be reluctant to talk to him. After all, she took after him.

"Dad..."

"No, Bella, I'm not walking on eggshells around you anymore," he said sternly.

"Dad, I'm serious, there's nothing to talk about, I'm fine."

"Bella, this is not an option, I think there is something to talk about. I mean, I got a call from dispatch saying that my daughter's truck was abandoned somewhere, and I couldn't reach her," Charlie exhaled. "I want to be more lenient, but as a parent, there are things I cannot just ignore."

"Do I really have to?"

"You don't but think that this is not for my own wellbeing but yours."

There was a moment of silence while Bella hesitated, but after a few seconds, she went into the living room. Charlie followed closely behind and sat down next to his daughter.

"Why did you go see him?" Charlie asked, serious.

"Dad…"

"Bella. Why did you go?"

The brunette looked down at her lap, playing with her fingers awkwardly.

"It's stupid," Bella replied.

"Cannot be that stupid, since you ended up at the Cullen's," Charlie said. "Kiddo?"

"He sent a dress," Bella admitted, red from a combination of embarrassment and anger. "He sent it over while you were gone and that was it. A stupid dress was where I drew the line. It just felt so… condescending. Enough to forget Jared was coming over. I had to return it and give Edward a piece of my mind and tell him to back off.," she explained.

There was a moment of silence when Charlie seemed immersed in his thoughts.

"Well, Bells," Charlie frowned, "I don't want to say this like this, but maybe it's time you stop giving the Cullens so much consideration. I know they are probably not that bad, and I don't even think that Edward is completely… bad or something… but you got to set boundaries and respect them as well."

"I know I'm not supposed to go around them, okay? It's just that when my blood boils like that… I just need to do something about it. I even fought with Paul about it," Bella said, slipping a little more information than she wanted.

Charlie was frozen in his place for a second and an awkward chuckle escaped his lips. He rubbed his face, trying to clear up his thoughts. Bella was rarely this upfront, so it took him by surprise. He was aware that something was going on between her and some Quileute teen – although he had suspected more of Jacob than the one guy who had appeared in front of his house a couple of weeks back.

"Maybe you should be a little more lenient with him, no? I get that you have a reason for acting that way, but it keeps us all on our toes"

"Maybe," she whispered. "I just… I just wish he would understand."

"Well, Bells," Charlie frowned, "I don't want to say that either of you is the one in the right, but have you tried explaining it to him? It's kind of difficult to read you, as much as you think it's the opposite."

"What I am supposed to say?" Bella questioned. "'I threw a tantrum because Edward was looking down on me'? I'm okay and nothing happened, so why can't we settle with that? It's so embarrassing to say that this all happened because of something so dumb." Bella buried her face in her hands, embarrassed.

"To us is not dumb, Bella," Charlie said in a grim tome. "You've been putting yourself down for months because of him, so of course we would understand that you want to draw your own limits, but then again, it's okay if you rely on us for the things you consider small or dumb."

Bella grunted, still hidden between her hands. Charlie let out a gentle laugh, realizing that despite the adult cover his daughter often wore, she was still a kid.

"You remind me a lot of your mom, you know?" he said.

"Because I leave places without looking back?" Bella said bitterly. Charlie sighed, saddened that Bella would see her mother in such light.

"Bella, that's not how I see your mother, and you should now that... We're past that now."

"But you were angry," Bella said, lifting her face and showing her father that she was crying. "Because she just got up and did whatever."

Charlie flinched and wrapped his daughter into a comfortable hug. He patted her hair and felt the hot tears wet his chest. Bella was reluctant to hug him back, but it wasn't long before she did.

"Bells, your mother had a reason for leaving," Charlie explained in a soft voice. "How valid it was, it's up to her to decide. At the time… I understood that. Ugh… this is so hard to say now but, I didn't want your mom to force herself to be happy. It would've been better if she spoke out about her problems instead of doing everything on her own, hoping for me to catch up… but, there's no way all this is on her shoulders. Relationships take two people, and I gave up being the second one in our relationship very early on after your mother left."

Bella wiped a few tears, feeling calmer. "So, you weren't angry?"

"No… even now, I'm not," he admitted, now pulling away from the hug and looking into Bella's eyes. "More than being angry, I was scared. I feared losing her and you, both at the same time, I was afraid of something happening and me not being there to support you. I acted out and hoped your mother would come back for me, but she didn't. We were both correct and in the wrong at the same time, and we refused to admit that. Had any of us been brave enough to give the first step, I think it would've turned out different, although I don't know how much."

Bella nodded, a few stray tears running down her cheeks. "I understand."

"Bells… can you tell me what is going on?" her father inquired once more.

"I…" Bella took in a deep breath. "Dad… what if this time things don't work out again? What if even if I move on, I won't be able to shake the Cullens off? What if I end up driving my friends away and having to go back to the Cullens? I don't want to start all over again."

"Oh, Bells, that's normal," Charlie consoled her. "You are going to be alright, and I you are ever not, I'll be right there with you," he hugged her again, now tighter. "I promise this will feel like it all happened in a past life soon."

Edward had absolutely no time to respond to the avalanche that had been Lauren Mallory's thoughts. He found it subtly annoying that they were all directed at him as if he didn't have enough with her casual mental digs at him and those of all her other friends at lunch. She had appeared out of nowhere, when he was slipping out of his Chemistry class, ready to look for his sister. It was hard to discern from her normal voice from her inner voice for a fraction of a second until he realized she had called him out. Angela Weber followed close behind, full of apologetic thoughts. Edward raised an eyebrow at the blonde, trying to understand what he had done now. He was certainly not in the mood to listen to Lauren's stream of consciousness.

"What did you do?" Lauren sneered.

It was the first time she had broken that thin balance that kept her and her friends away from him and Alice for the past couple of weeks. She had been throwing mental stabs at him during the time she didn't spend thinking stuff that Edward didn't find interesting. He would often drown in Alice's thought to avoid whatever Bella's friends were thinking about him, but Lauren Mallory's seemed annoyingly unavoidable.

"I didn't do anything," Edward replied in his most soothing voice, but this only seemed to fuel Lauren's anger even more. Her head was a mess, so it was hard to tell where she was coming from.

"I'm not joking, Edward."

A few insults and profanities were raised in her head, but at least she had decided to keep her public conversation civil. "Do I look like I am joking, Lauren?" he questioned.

Some students had peeked and gathered to look at them. Edward couldn't feel anything like that anymore, but he was certain had he been human still, his head would hurt.

"Don't fuck around, asshole," Lauren had decided to let the profanities out her mouth. "She meets with you one day and then she misses school next? I wasn't going to say anything because she asked me to, but I swear if anything funny happened between you two…"

Edward was shocked to realize that Lauren was speaking of Bella. Bella wasn't at school and she had a conversation with the Cullens. He couldn't discern where his encounter with Bella had been leaked to Lauren and that upset him. Lauren rambled on and on about something in her head while remaining quiet. Angela also seemed to be worried, and then it hit Edward. They were worried he had done something to her. His face distorted, feeling the phantom pain that Lauren's thought caused him. He only got glimpses of whatever she had theorized with her friends, but Edward knew the perfect word to describe it: abuse. He flinched at the thought of it and immediately felt like fleeing the scene.

"Hey!" Lauren said while Edward walked past her. "I swear to god, Edwa-"

"I have no clue why she didn't come to school," he said coldly, for everyone to hear. "She came by yesterday to ask me not to get near her, okay? Can you fucking leave me be now?"

Lauren went quiet, even in her thoughts. Edward felt anxious and desperate for air – much too desperate for someone who couldn't breathe. He walked the opposite way to the cafeteria went out of the school and sneakily ran as fast as he could into the forest. It didn't take long for someone to come after him. Edward tried to run faster, but his brother managed to catch up to him and pin him against a rock on the way. Emmett's eyes looked concerned as Edward tried to free himself, but Edward wasn't giving in.

"You have to calm down, Edward," Emmett said.

"They think I hurt her, Emmett," Edward said. "They think I abused her and that's why they're so worried she might hurt herself after seeing me."

"Edward…"

"I have to go look for her," Edward said. "Make sure she's okay."

"Edward, listen to me," Emmett pulled him against a tree and made his brother come back to reality. "Charlie Swan called the school this morning. Bella is fine, she's with him."

"I still need to make sure," the other protested.

"I had Jasper make a quick visit," Emmett explained. "He followed them all the way to the treaty line at La Push. You can't go there. If you do, it's game over for all of us. They won't let you out alive."

"That's better than not knowing if Bella is okay," Edward said. "You hear me? I know she doesn't want me right now, and even if she never does again, she's still the only one I can care about."

"Edward," Emmett said, sternly. "Bella is okay and getting yourself killed by her friends wouldn't help her stay that way."

Edward looked into his brother's eyes with desperation. "Emmett, she's all I have."

"No, Edward, you have us," the taller one frowned and felt an overwhelming amount of pity. Something he rarely felt for his brother. "Your family got you."

Edward then fell, powerless, into Emmett's arms. He was frozen, the way vampires would when they were deep in thought. Emmett pulled him along and ran with him all the way back into their home.

Alice was pacing the living room, anxious to see Emmett come downstairs. He had brought a catatonic Edward back home and both he and Rosalie had been discussing upstairs. Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme were out hunting, so it was only them for the rest of the day. Light steps made her realize her siblings were coming down the stairs.

"He needs to leave," Rosalie said before Alice could ask if he was okay.

"Rose," Emmett grunted.

"No, no more 'Rose' and rolling your eyes," Rosalie said. "I'm sick and tired of all this. Of trying to pretend that what we are doing is okay. That girl hates us, and we are just pushing her friends' buttons by staying so close by."

"We are helping, Rose," Alice spat.

"Yeah? Alice?" Rosalie laughed. "Do you have to take trig with her to help her? Why can't we do it from a distance? You heard Carlisle; all the wolves want is for us to get out of their ways."

"They can't protect her inside the school," Alice argued.

"They patrol everywhere she is, constantly, all day and all night," Rose counterargued. "Another vampire would struggle to get through them into the school."

"Yesterday…" Alice began saying but was quickly cut off by Rosalie.

"Yesterday was something stupid you shouldn't have done," Rosalie looked upset.

"It was ten minutes, Rose," Alice frowned, angry. "In ten minutes, I was able to go around them, then so could Victoria."

"That is something you shouldn't have done, still. Or did you like it? The way Bella screamed at you and Edward to leave her alone," Rosalie mocked her. "Because, genuinely, I did. What did she say? Oh, yes, 'I wish you had stayed wherever you were'".

"What Bella thinks or wishes has nothing to do with her actual safety, Rose. May I remind you; it was only ten minutes and Bella slipped all the way here."

"Girls…" Emmett was uncomfortable, trying to hold himself as a quiet mediator between his wife and sister, but their argument was getting heated.

"You think those kids don't learn from your bullshit, Alice?" Rosalie started to corner the tiny pixie. "They are what? Sixteen? Eighteen, tops? They have now a hold of how quick you move, how strong you are, and have become extremely organized for one little human girl. I think that they are very much capable of working out the little details and get a grip on their weaknesses. The one favor they've done to us is not coming in to look for you or Edward."

"You think they can take down several vampires at a time?" Alice said. "All of us could…"

"None of us will, Alice," Rosalie said. "How many of us can there be against all them? Even if we all agreed, they are pretty much the same in numbers. There's no way to tip the balance. And for what? For you to have a human girl to toy with?"

Alice was about to argue back but was cut off by Emmett walking between her and Rosalie.

"Wait, Rose, that's it," Emmett said. "You've got it! We've got to call Sam Uley, now."

"Emmett?" Rosalie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"When we met with Sam, they spoke about the conditions for us to stay, and they told us about the Victoria thing, how she was driving them crazy and they asked Carlisle to keep an eye out for other stray vampires that might be attracted to Bella's blood or Victoria's scent, right?."

"Yeah? And?"

"Well, it hit me when you guys said several vampires against the wolves," Emmett walked around to face both women. "What if they are all connected? The strange way Victoria behaves… guiding them in circles, trying to attack Bella at the reserve or having the wolves chase her out… while Bella's room has been tampered with? How many stray vampires can really pick up her scent and stalk her but do nothing?"

"Victoria is not going after Bella," Rosalie realized. "She's being a decoy."

"She's also got more than a few vampires on her side," Emmett said. "So many different scents, just from stray vampires is odd. She has to have more than a couple of allies."

"And how would she manage that? Nomads are not the sociably adept types; I don't think she could just magically get a bunch of others to follow her around." Alice mentioned.

"I don't know, Alice, but it's better if we tell Sam about it as soon as possible," Emmett said while walking to the front door and flinging the door open. "You guys should stay here; I don't want them to get all worked up when I show up to the treaty line. Watch Edward."

Emmett's figure was soon gone, and Alice and Rosalie were left in the living room all alone. Tension still palpable in the air.

"I think you need to freshen up that little head of yours, Alice," Rosalie commented, annoyed. "You and Edward have not been thinking right lately."

"And you have?" Alice huffed.

"Excuse me?" Rosalie walked towards her once more.

"I know you called the Volturi," Alice admitted.

"What?"

"You want to get us killed? If they find out about Bella, we are all done," Alice said. "Do you want them to find out about all this? What was that about?"

"Let me tell you that I was trying to save your ass, Alice," Rosalie said angrily. "You think I have the power to talk all the way up and rat you out? And even if I had it, I am not stupid enough to call them over when we can solve things on our own. I was getting the contact to a few friends."

"You don't have friends, Rosalie," Alice rolled her eyes.

"These are not those types of friends, Alice," Rose sighed. She went towards the front door and took a set of keys off a bowl. "You will understand later, for now, go upstairs and try and talk to your brother."

"Have fun burning your tires," Alice said sarcastically.

"I will," Rose said, before closing the door behind herself.