Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Catharsis

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 13:

A week later, Bella and Sam were sitting at the table with their parents, trying to decide which colleges they liked out of the ones they’d seen so far.

“I liked Seattle University and UDub,” Sam stated.

“Bella?”

“I didn’t like any of them.”

“Well, now, this is going to be an issue because you need to pick one,” Charlie informed her.

“Seriously? I hate Seattle. It’s so grimy.”

“Which college did you like out of the ones we saw this weekend.”

“Fine, but you’re not going to like it, Sam.”

“Okay.”

“Arizona State.”

“But we didn’t even look at that one!”

“I’ve seen it plenty of times. My mom went there. I like Arizona State.”

“Bella, we can’t live far away from each other, the pull would kill us.”

“Whoa, whoa, hold on there. What pull?”

“It’s the bonding pull from our imprinting,” Sam explained. “If we don’t live near each other, we get major chest pains. We used to feel it every night when she was here and I was in La Push. Now we only feel it when we’re apart. For example, when she went to Olympia with mom, we both felt the pull immensely.”

Charlie eyed both kids with an exasperated expression. “And how come I wasn’t told about this before?”

“Yes, how come this issue wasn’t brought up to us?” Alison asked.

“It just never came up,” Bella reasoned. “Besides, we’ve been dealing with it.”

“You’ve been dealing with it? That’s how you’re going to justify that you kept something this serious, and yes Bella, it’s serious, from your father and me?”

“Well, what did you want us to say? If we don’t sleep together, we can’t fall asleep?”

“Oh, hang on there. Have you been sleeping together?” her father questioned.

“Fine, you want honesty, you’ll get honesty. Ever since Sam and I had sex, we can’t fall asleep without each other. We believe it has something to do with the bite mark he gave me here.” She pointed to the area where her neck and collarbone came together. “And before you blow your top, this mark is a common anomaly amongst imprinted couples. It was instinctual for Sam to leave his mark behind on me so don’t freak out on him. Anyway, since then, when we try to fall asleep in separate beds, we can’t because our chest pain intensifies to a degree that is unbearable. So, what Sam is saying is true. We can’t live apart; otherwise, the pull would kill us. One of us has to compromise on where we’re attending college. It’ll probably be me because I’m the one with the low GPA. Sam deserves to attend college where he wants to go.”

She burst into tears at the end of her speech. Sam rushed to his imprint’s side and so did his parents.

“We still have a little over a week before a decision has to be made. Why don’t we plan on looking at more colleges before you kids decide what you want to do?” Charlie sagely suggested. “And Bella, just because Sam has the higher GPA doesn’t mean that your 3.2 GPA isn’t respectable.”

“Your father is correct. You should not demean yourself because your GPA isn’t as high as Sam’s is. A 3.2 is still above average. You should be proud.”

“I’m going to take a walk to clear my mind,” Bella said. “I won’t go far.”

She left the house, leaving everyone completely stunned. Sam tried to follow her, but Charlie and his mother stopped him.

“She needs to think alone. Give her some space,” his mother told him sternly.

“Am I stifling her? She has never told me that she’s unhappy.”

“I think I detect a bit of homesickness in her. It’s probably the reason she mentioned her mother and Arizona. I don’t think she really wants to go there,” Charlie said. “This past weekend was miserable as far as the weather was concerned. It was a fine Washington weekend with the rain and the fog for us natives, but my daughter has lived in sunny Arizona for almost her entire life, with the exception of the first couple of years when she lived in Southern California. She only spent two to three weeks out of the year here with me before moving here.”

“So you’re blaming it on the weather?”

“Partially, yes, but mostly, I blame it on homesickness. She probably wants to visit Arizona and she probably even misses her nutjob mother a little. You have to understand, Renee may be a little kooky, but she loves Bella fiercely. It’s why she went out and got a degree after our divorce so she could support her. It’s also why she has always communicated with me regarding our daughter so we could jointly raise her despite the distance. And it’s also why she gave her a choice to live with me or with her when she married Phil. So, Bella is feeling a little blue right now, but you’re not the cause, Sam. It’s the stress of having to make such a life-altering decision that’s making her feel so down.” Charlie gave him a pat on the back. “So, Bella and you are having sex, huh? Are you being careful?”

“That’s an excellent question, Charlie. Have the two of you discussed birth control?”

“Yes.” Sam nodded his head, recalling the conversation at the lunch table. “Yes, we have. She is on the Pill.”

“I know she’s on the Pill. I’m the one who picks it up for her every month at Chinook’s. I’m asking you if you’ve discussed birth control with her.”

“Absolutely. We’re not that irresponsible.”

Sam kept his fingers crossed behind his back, and put it at the top of his list to discuss birth control with his imprint tonight.

Charlie blew out a breath. “Listen, I know I can’t stop you kids from growing up, and I know this imprinting thing puts your relationship on a whole new level that your mother and I can’t even pretend to understand, so I’m going to just say this: When you have an issue like that whole chest pain thing, bring it to our attention because no matter how deeply the two of you are involved, we are still your parents.”

“Thanks, Charlie.” He smiled. “Mom.”

“Now, let’s go outside and see what we can do to repair that concrete step. Let’s let mom get back to whatever the heck she was cooking in the kitchen.” “

Sounds good.”

Charlie turned to give Alison a wink and a smile. She blew him a kiss and mouthed, “Thank you,” to her husband.

---

“Bella, what’s wrong?” Renee asked her daughter.

“Nothing. I just missed you.”

“You missed me? Oh, honey, I want to believe that, but I doubt it. I’m too weird for you.”

Bella giggled. “Mom, I’m the weird one.”

“No, you’re not. You’re my beautiful child. Now, out with it. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know where to go to college. I can’t decide, and I didn’t like the three colleges we looked at in Seattle.”

“Okay, what didn’t you like about them?”

“I don’t know. Seattle is so grimy and it’s so bleak and rainy there.”

“Ah, so you didn’t like the weather on the day you went.”

“No, it’s not that, it’s… I think I’m going to go to Arizona State like you did.”

“And why is that?”

“I like it there.”

“Hmm… I see. What do you like about it? Because I didn’t like it there. I went there because I didn’t have a choice, Bella. I was a single mother, and it happened to be the closest university with an affordable tuition. I wouldn’t recommend the school for you. You were accepted to several excellent universities. Go to one of them. Do not sell yourself short. You have a choice.”

“It’s just that I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, honey, but I haven’t been in Arizona in over a year. I’m in Florida right now. Besides, Phil was just picked up by the Tacoma Rainiers and it looks like he’s a major prospect for the Mariners. After the school year is done, I’m moving to Washington. I should be there on June 1st.”

“Washington? But Mom, I’m in Washington.”

“I know, honey.”

“But you hover!”

“I thought you missed me?”

“I do, but I don’t want you hovering over me.”

“I will always hover over you. You are my child, and I love you unconditionally. Besides, I want to meet this new boyfriend of yours.”

“You’ll like him. He’s very nice.”

“Are you having sex with him?”

“Yes.”

“And are you being careful?”

“Of course I am. I’m your daughter! You’ve preached about safe sex since I was twelve years old.”

“Good. This Sam fellow seems like a nicer guy than that abusive prick you dated last time. I swear, Bella, if I ever get my hands on him, I’m going to take one of Phil’s baseball bats and use his head for batting practice!”

“I love when you go all Mama Bear on me.”

“I am your Mama Bear. Now, stop crying. Put your thinking cap on, and think seriously about college without letting your emotions cloud your judgment. We live in the 21st century. If you need me, I can be by your side in a jiffy. I love you, Bella.”

“I love you, Mommy.”

“We’ll talk after you make a decision, okay?”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye, Bella.”

Renee ended the call and immediately dialed her ex-husband.

“Hello?” a woman answered.

“Oh, hello, you must be Alison. My name is Renee Dwyer. I’m Bella’s mother, I’m looking for Charlie.”

“I am Alison. It’s very nice to finally speak to you, Renee. Charlie is outside doing some home repairs now. If you can hold the line, I can get him for you.”

“You have him repairing the house? No, don’t get him. I know how hard it is to get him to leave his safe area in front of the TV. “

Alison started laughing.

Renee continued, “Would you just ask him to call me, please? I need to touch base with him regarding Bella. She was a bit confused when she called me just now. I think she’s a little homesick and needs a bit of TLC.”

“I agree with you there. I was there when we had our talk about college. She claims she wants to attend Arizona State University.”

“I have nothing against Arizona State, Alison, but it really isn’t the school for Bella. She has a 3.2 GPA. She was accepted to some excellent schools, and she needs to jump at the opportunities that have been presented to her and attend one of those schools. I told her she needs to make a decision about college without letting emotions cloud her judgment. Now, let’s see if she can follow through with that.”

Alison chuckled. “I’ll see if I can help on my end. I want her to make an informed decision, too. I’ll also have Charlie call you when he gets in the house.”

“That would be great.” Renee paused for a second. “Oh! Before I forget, can you tell me the date of Bella’s graduation? I want to be there for her, of course.”

“Of course, it’s on June 9th.”

“I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to meeting the woman who has captured Charlie’s heart.”

“Likewise,” Alison told her before ending the call.

---

“Edward, no!” Alice shrieked as the vision hit her. “Oh God! No!”

“What is it?” Jasper asked.

“It’s Edward. He’s getting worse.”

“How?”

“He and his mate are about to massacre a group of women who are staying in a hotel in Paris for a shopping trip. Oh, God! They’re torturing the women.”

“How could he do such a thing? I’ve taught him better.”

“Carlisle, you need to get it through your head that, while you may have changed him, he’s not actually your son,” Jasper stated. “None of us are your children.” He paused before saying his next words; “I’m going to lay it down straight for you. If you don’t do something about Edward, and by do something, I mean cull him, the Volturi will come straight for the rest of us next.”

“Why would they do that?” Rosalie asked. “We don’t have anything to do with Edward’s villainous actions.”

“Because Edward was sired by Carlisle, and we have knowledge through Alice’s visions about his current activities.”

“Oh God!” Alice screamed. Jasper put his arms around his mate. “They killed them. They killed all four women, and they enjoyed it.” Alice put her fingers on her temples. “Oh, no, no! He’s thinking about going back for Bella because he thinks it’s his right to have her since she’s his singer.” She put her hand up. “Hold on! His mate is having a jealous fit. He just hit her. Oh, God! He hit her again. Now she’s apologizing for being jealous, and he’s being sweet and tender to her, and apologizing for losing control. He’s acting as if nothing happened!” She rubbed her temples and concentrated. “Victoria is buying into his load of crap. They’re going on a shopping spree in Paris instead. No, no-they won’t go after Bella. Phew! She’s safe for now.”

“Let us know if he decides to go after her, Alice,” Esme resolutely stated, glaring at Carlisle. “I don’t care if I die in the process. I will not leave her unprotected, especially after exposing her to our world.”

“But we promised Edward not to have any contact with her.”

“Do you think that I give a flying fuck what Edward wants at this point? He is abusive and manipulative towards humans, especially human women. He hurts them, and he enjoys it! I think he’s always been that way when I think about it. Even worse, he’s a murderer. I wash my hands of him, and you had best do the same, Carlisle!”