Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Catharsis

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 06:

A couple of weeks later, it was Thanksgiving. Sam was in California with his mother visiting family. His aunt, his mother’s older sister Shelly, had gone to college there and never looked back. She was married to a man named Brian Fawcett, and they had two kids. He was in upper management at one of the technology firms in Silicon Valley and she was a software engineer. They lived in a sprawling mansion, located in a luxury neighborhood, teeming with money. Their two kids, his cousins Brianna and Sheldon were college students. Truth be told, they were spoiled brats and he couldn’t stand them. He never got along with them, and when they were forced together, they barely said two words to each other. Thank the spirits, he only had to see them once a year at Thanksgiving.

“So, Sam, I heard you’re back in school,” his aunt commented.

“I am.”

“You may not agree with me, but it’s much better that you complete your high school education,” she stated, as if it were her idea that he returned to school. He only spoke to her once a year during their Thanksgiving visit for spirit’s sake.

“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

“Will you be going to college?” Before he could even reply, she decidedly stated, “Probably not, right?”

“Why wouldn’t I go to college? I’m in the process of figuring out where I want to apply to now.”

“Really? I’m surprised. You dropped out of high school. Usually, once students drop out of school they don’t return. I was surprised to hear that you’ve gone back even.”

“Shelly, my son dropped out because he had some personal issues to work on. He’s in a much better place now.”

His aunt shook her head. “Personally, I would have never let my kids drop out of school. I would have never let him have issues in the first place. Quite frankly, I was very embarrassed to find out that my nephew had dropped out of high school. You really should have moved here instead of staying in La Push, Alison. Sam would have had a much better upbringing than in that place.”

“Now, now, Shelly,” his uncle interrupted. “We have to be supportive of Sammy. I’ll tell you what, if you decide to go to college, I’ll pay the tuition. How about that for incentive?”

“Brian, I thank you for your offer, but I can handle Sammy’s tuition. We’re not destitute, you know.”

“How much do you make, Ali? Thirty-maybe forty-thousand dollars? How the hell are you intending on paying for his college tuition? This is a bona fide offer. His tuition would be a drop in the bucket for us.”

Actually, his mother was a licensed, clinical mental health counselor and she made a decent salary-much more than the thirty or forty-thousand that his uncle was purporting her salary to be. Sure, she didn’t make an insane amount, but she made enough to provide well for them and even go on a couple of family vacations per year. Sam was about to say something, but his mother gave him a warning glare to stay silent. It was like this every year. His aunt and uncle had no idea they were being rude, it was just their way. His aunt was embarrassed about being Quileute, and having grown up on a reservation. She did everything she could to hide the fact that she was Native American, including bleaching her hair blonde, and caking on her makeup so her skin looked lighter. Sam couldn’t understand why she would be embarrassed about her heritage.

Sam wondered what Bella was doing? He missed her like crazy. She still had no idea that she was his imprint. It was something he’d have to rectify soon because the pull was killing him. She was all the way in Florida with her father on vacation. They were going to have Thanksgiving dinner with her mother and do some sightseeing. That’s all he knew. Hopefully she’d text him soon.

---

Bella sat at the dining table glaring at her mother and Phil, both of whom couldn’t keep their hands off of each other.

“Do you see why I went to live with you, Daddy?” she asked her father, who was sitting next to her with a horrified expression on his face.

“Oh, Bella, stop being so uptight! Phil and I are in love.”

“Yeah, I know you are, but control whatever sexual urges you have for now because you are in front of your ex-husband and your daughter. I swear to God, Mom! You act like you’re thirteen, not thirty-seven.”

“Oh, alright. We’re very sorry.” Her mother sighed, not sounding apologetic at all.

“Aren’t you two going to have more Tofurkey? Charlie, have more mash and stuffing.”

“Hey, Renee, I don’t know how to tell you this, but these mashed potatoes are undercooked.”

“They’re not undercooked, Charlie, they’re mashed cauliflower.”

“Ah, I see. And is there a reason why the stuffing is so gritty?”

“It’s just a different texture, Charlie. This stuffing is made of Quinoa and Couscous.”

“Good Lord!” her father gasped. “You eat like this everyday.”

“Oh, yeah, Renee and I are all about clean eating. Speaking of which, Bella, you’re looking pretty healthy, considering that you live with your father. Are you keeping up with your Tabata training?” Phil asked.

“Uh, no. I joined the boxing club at school, and I’m back at yoga again.”

“Well, good, good. Boxing is excellent for cardio. As long as you stay active, I’m happy. Health is everything.” He turned to her father. “Charlie, you’re getting a bit of a gut there. You really need to get in better shape before you have a heart attack. I’ll tell you what. I’ll email a diet and workout plan to you.”

“My Phillip just earned his certificate in personal training, and he’s working on his nutrition certificate,” Renee declared proudly.

“Oh, minor league baseball not paying enough?” Charlie asked.

“Well, I kind of got cut so I’m looking for a new team. It doesn’t matter, though, I got this great new job at the gym.”

“That’s right. He might even make supervisor sometime next year if he keeps getting new clients.”

“Right.” Charlie replied with skepticism.

It wasn’t too long after dinner that Bella and Charlie left the Dwyer residence to return to their hotel, which was two hours away in Orlando.

“Bella, you’re still hungry, right?”

“Of course I am. That Tofurkey was vile.”

“We’ll eat as soon as we get back to the hotel. Man almighty, that was the worst Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever had. At least when your mom and I were still together, she still ate meat. Never, in a million years, did I imagine that I’d eat turkey flavored tofu on Thanksgiving.”

“Yeah, mom is a bit of a nut.”

“A nut? Bella, she was openly making out in front of us with that kid she’s married to. He can’t be much older than you.”

“He’s twenty-nine, I think. He’s eight years younger than Mom and eleven years older than I am.”

“That’s messed up, Bella.”

“I know, Daddy.”

“What did I ever see in your mother? You know, I was still hung up on her until I saw her today. I realize now that she’s just too different from me.”

“Daddy, Mom has a tendency to be immature at times, but she has a good heart.”

“She sure does.”

“Are you upset we came to Florida for Thanksgiving?”

“Hell, no. Other than tonight’s dinner, it’s been a great trip so far.”

They arrived in Florida on Friday night. They decided on the trip after Bella realized that she had two first-class, round-trip airline tickets to anywhere in the United States among her birthday presents from the Cullens. When she brought the issue up to him, he decided that a vacation to Florida would be just the thing because he’d always wanted to go to Disneyworld. Who better to go there with than his daughter? He called the airlines, finalized the tickets, and then booked a ten-night vacation at Walt Disneyworld with all meals paid for. He wasn’t about to skimp on his first real vacation since Bella was born.

“And besides, you needed to see Renee. She may be a nutjob, but she’s still your mother. She loves you.”

“This is very true.” Bella paused and grinned. “So, fishing tomorrow?”

“That’s right. It’s all booked and paid for, baby girl. Tomorrow, we wake up, meet up with the guide, and go fishing. After that, we’ll go on more roller coasters. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good, Daddy.”

Bella smiled at her father. She sat back in the passenger seat of the car and relaxed while he drove down the highway. She had seen a different, more playful side of him while on vacation. They were having the time of their lives, and some much needed father and daughter bonding time.

The only thing missing was Sam. She missed him and wished he were here with her. She hoped he was having a good time visiting his relatives in California. She decided to send him a quick text message: Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you’re having fun. I miss you.

She hoped she wasn’t too forward with the ‘I miss you’ part at the end of the message. She really liked him, but she didn’t want to mess up a good thing. Oh, no! What if he became uncomfortable with her because she was being too aggressive?

Her phone beeped with a reply from Sam: I miss you, too. I can’t wait to see you.

She stared at the message for a while and smiled. He missed her, too. Awesome!

---

Sam waited on the front steps of Forks High School for Bella to be dropped off by Chief Swan in the morning. She waved goodbye to her father and then walked up the steps to greet her friend. “How was California?”

“It sucked, per usual. I think my cousins become bigger snobs every year.” He reached into his backpack. “I bought you a souvenir.”

“Really? I did, too.” She handed him a plastic bag. “Let’s open it at the same time, on the count of three. One… two… three.”

They opened their bags and reached inside.

“Oh, cool!” Sam exclaimed. “A Mickey Mouse t-shirt. I love Mickey! And you got me a personalized mouse ear hat. Thanks, Bella!” He abruptly hugged her.

“Hey, hey! What’s this? When did you two become a thing?” Mike Newton asked.

“Oh, come on, Mike. They were going to eventually become a couple,” Katie Marshall said. “The sexual tension between the two of them was killing all of us. Thank God, you two finally got together.”

Before Sam and Bella could say anything, the couple walked into the school.

Bella pulled a t-shirt out of her bag that read ‘Property of Alcatraz Penitentiary.’ She started laughing. “Did you tour Alcatraz or something?”

“Yep, it was kind of a creepy place. I think I would have preferred Disneyworld. Mom and I always tour some sites whenever we’re visiting my aunt.”

“Well, I love this t-shirt. I’m going to wear it tomorrow. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Bella.” He held his hand out to her and she took it. They walked hand in hand into the school, happy and relieved to be together again.

---

On the second Friday after their return from their Thanksgiving trips, Sam and Bella hit a party at Tyler Crowley’s house. His older brother Tyson was also at the party, and so were many of Sam’s former classmates.

“Wow! Is that you, Sammy? Tyler told me you were back in school now. What happened? Why did you disappear a couple of years ago?” Tyson asked.

Sam gripped Bella’s hand for support. She gave him a reassuring squeeze. He smiled at Tyson, and replied. “I was just under too much stress. I burnt out. I needed the break, but now I’m back.”

“Hey, that’s great. I wish you luck. Are you looking at colleges?”

“Yeah, I am. I’m not sure where yet, but I’m going to apply regular decision. I’ve been looking at a few colleges here and there.”

“Hey, that’s great. Maybe you’ll come to UDub. We can hang out together. I’ll show you around.”

“Yeah, maybe. It’s on my list.”

“Great. Hey, I see Riley, man. Come on!” Tyson motioned with his head. “Let’s go and say ‘hi’ to him.”

Sam reluctantly left Bella with the rest of their friends, and went along with his buddy to say ‘hello’ to Riley Biers, who handed him a bottle of beer from the case he was holding.

“Dude! How’ve you been?” Riley greeted as soon as he saw Sam. “What’s been up with you?”

“Not much. I’m just back at school, trying to graduate.” Sam returned the beer to him. “Thanks, but I don’t drink.”

“Hey, it’s probably better that you don’t. I just flunked out of UDub. I partied too much, and forgot to go to my classes. My dad said that I have to go to Peninsula part-time, and get a J-O-B. I’m so not looking forward to that, but I screwed up.”

“Aw, man! That’s harsh! You’re not coming back to school?” Tyson asked Riley.

“Nope! My dad came to campus, loaded my stuff up in his truck, and told me that he was done paying for my tuition. All I did was get four D’s and an F.”

“Man, that sucks. You still passed four of your classes!”

As Tyson and Riley were talking, Sam realized how little in common he had with those two. He gave some lame excuse and went looking for Bella who was sitting with their lunch table buddies, in the family room, watching the movie ‘Elf’ on TV, and eating ice cream. He settled down next to her and took her hand in his.

“Hey, guys. After this movie, we should go to Sully’s and get some burgers,” Tyler suggested. “I hate when my brother comes home. All of our parties turn into beer festivals.”

“We could party at my house,” Mike suggested.

“Good idea. You don’t have an older brother competing for space.”

“Are we seriously this nerdy?” Lauren Mallory asked.

“Yeah, we are, but nerdy is the new cool,” Bella assured her. “I am hungry, though. Let’s hit Sully’s.”

With that, the group of kids left the party to go and eat. It was a good thing they left when they did, too, because less than an hour later, the Forks Police, led by their chief Charlie Swan, busted the kids at the party for underage drinking.