The police car was home? That's strange. Charlie never leaves the station early.
"I'm home!" I called in mock enthusiasm when I entered the house. The TV was on but it wasn't the usual ESPN sound that I was hearing… was that some a sitcom? Strange. Charlie never watches sitcoms.
"Hey Bells," Charlie called from the kitchen. "I'll just be a minute."
"Why are you home so early?"
"Actually, I thought you were going over at Jacob's again this afternoon so I'm just starting to prepare some dinner," he continued, busying himself in the kitchen. He apparently forgot about the 'minute' he earlier proposed. I began to fidget at the zipper of my tote. This is getting really strange. Charlie never cooks dinner for us. It was probably turning out to be an interesting afternoon, after all.
Much as I wanted to go down to Jake and learn more about the werewolf stuff, my instinct kicked wildly this afternoon and made me turn around and come home. It suddenly didn't feel right to have the house abandoned… until I saw the police car nicely parked in the driveway. Needless to say, I was curious, no, suspicious, at his early arrival.
"Ok, what's the catch dad?" I asked, dropping my schoolbag on the dining table as I trudged towards the kitchen. Something was up.
Charlie silently continued to wash the vegetable but his blush gave him away. I sighed slightly louder than usual in my attempt to distract him. His silence only made the faint sound of the sitcom louder.
"Bella," he began, but not looking up at me first. "Not to jinx anything, but I'm really glad that you've done some improvement these past weeks." He was right. Ever since I rekindled my friendship with Jacob, I have found some small consolation to get up from bed each morning. His discovery of his werewolf lineage had abruptly interrupted our friendship but after we got a good talk about it, I knew we were meant to be friends for life.
I think it has something to do with being my dad's daughter as I distinctly knew that this was not the sole reason for Charlie's attempt at dinner.
"Dad…. I think you need something else?" I asked, shifting my weight as I leaned by the kitchen counter.
He froze for awhile, and then slowly began, "your mother and I talked today and she wants to take you on a little vacation."
I frowned, "I'm not moving out of Forks…"
"I never said you have to," he cut in. "But this will be good for you."
"If I should repeat what you said earlier, I'm already doing quite well with Jake's help"
"Quite well isn't well."
I froze. Surely he wasn't hearing the screams again?
He put the washed vegetables in the counter and grabbed a towel, "Bella, Jake has been some sort of a miracle to give some life back to you, but it won't be enough. You need to get out of here for a while to clear your head."
I glared at him, "no."
I expected him to follow me as he did the past 5 months. Surely, the scale of my tantrums was enough for him to do just this. He didn't move but his eyes had a different look in them. Like fire.
"Isabella, I will tell you when he comes back."
Wait. I wasn't expecting this. "What did you say?"
Charlie shrugged and put the towel down to hold both my hands in his. It was a touching gesture considering neither of us showed much affection to each other. "Bella, I know that you don't want to move out is because you're still hoping he will come back. I want you to be happy and I don't want you to be hurt again, but clearly, that's two different things at this point," he smiled at the irony. "Bella," he began again. "Much as I don't want you to be hurting again, I will tell you when he comes back here even as so much as to visit you… and I will bound him here, so help me God, until you come back. He will not stand a chance against me."
Chuckling at Charlie's statement would've made more sense to me but I was simply stunned. I looked away and shook my head, realization dawning on me. My dad cared for me too much and I've been much too selfish these past months. This is not like me.
Then again, I wasn't the same without him. Edward. NO! He doesn't love me anymore. He left me; however, I never admitted it until this moment that I was too stubborn to go anywhere in hopes that he will come back. I love him… too much.
I looked at Charlie's eyes and couldn't help but tear up. My dad was glass-eyed, trying to hold his own. He was always there for me, and I've been too selfish to see how much I've been hurting him these past months. He loved me… too much.
"Think about it," he squeezed my hand a little bit before letting go and turning around to go back to his cooking.
"Where am I going?"
"Brazil," Wait. Wha-? "And Renee is taking you there."