Catharsis
By Mama4Dukes
Chapter 15:
Josh Uley was treated for a bullet wound in his leg, and then booked and arraigned from his hospital room. He entered a plea of ‘not guilty,’ insisting he was only there to see his son before a deranged girl shot him without any provocation whatsoever.
His probation was immediately revoked, and he was sent back to prison with additional charges pending.
Charlie thought the likelihood of Josh ever being outside prison walls were slim, especially with all the charges he planned on having the prosecutor throw at him.
Alison and Bella spent two nights in the hospital. Sam tried to get out of going to school so he could remain by their side, but his stepfather told him that if he had to go to work, then he had to go to school. So, Sam attended school dutifully and collected Bella’s classwork and homework for her. Bella told him that she truly didn’t appreciate the fact that he was so conscientious that he brought her work while she was in the hospital.
During visiting hours, every single one of her friends and each member of the pack descended upon Bella. The first to come and see her was Paul Lahote, who was now itching to take a swipe at Josh Uley for hurting his buddy. He also spent every evening completing his homework with Bella’s help. He had a promise to keep to Rachel, after all. Emily Young also visited with Jacob, and had a melt down in the hospital after seeing her friend, while Lauren fumed at the injuries her friend had sustained.
Ellen and Levi Uley were also amongst the first to visit Alison and Bella in the hospital. They were informed about the incident by the elders, and set out immediately from Port Angeles to visit. They were seriously distressed by the circumstances and blamed themselves for the situation.
After Alison and Bella were released from the hospital, Ellen Uley took it upon herself to care for the girls while Charlie and Sam were at work and school. She cooked, cleaned, did the laundry and made sure that Bella completed her homework. The Swans had temporarily relocated to La Push since the living room at their home in Forks was uninhabitable.
Meanwhile, after receiving permission from Charlie, Levi Uley closed his shop up, and went about the business of supervising the repairs to the destroyed living room of the Swan home. He told Charlie that there was absolutely no need for the family to revisit the crime scene. It would only bring back painful memories so he would make sure that the repairs were done correctly.
Levi also met with the elders to see what could be done to prevent this sort of abuse from ever occurring again. He suggested that the tribe work jointly with Alison at the Women’s Center to find solutions for this very grave issue.
Alison noted that this was exactly the kind of support she had needed the first time Josh had been sent to jail. She appreciated the efforts both Ellen and Levi were making on their behalf.
“Do you think it’s too little, too late?” Bella asked.
“I do not. I think it’s never too late for change, honey,” Alison told her.
Ellen walked into the room, then. “Bella, what are you doing out of bed?”
“I was bored. I’m visiting Mom.”
“I see. Well, Dr. Gerandy is here to check up on you both. May I show him upstairs?”
“Of course. Bella, hop into bed next to me. He can check on us together.” Ellen nodded her head, and made to leave. “Ellen?”
“Yes, Alison?”
“I want to thank you for taking care of Bella and me. Neither of us have ever been pampered so thoroughly.”
“It’s been my pleasure. Besides, I plan on spoiling you both rotten after you get better. It’s a grandmother’s prerogative.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve gone shopping with anyone other than Levi? He becomes a bear when he’s shopping!”
“I thought he was a wolf,” Bella quipped.
They had a bit of a chuckle before Dr. Gerandy was brought upstairs. He checked them both out and declared them to be recovering just fine, then went about the business of removing stitches from Bella’s head.
“I think by Monday, the two of you will be ready to resume normal activities. Your bruises are healing just fine, too.”
“Thank you for coming to see us, Dr. Gerandy. It’s so nice that you still make house calls.”
“I enjoy making house calls. It adds a new perspective to see patients in their own environment rather than in a sterile office.” He gave Bella a pat on the arm. “You can continue taking ibuprofen as needed, and I’ll see you both in a week’s time in my office.”
By the following week, things were almost back to normal with the exception of the fact that the Swans were still living in La Push because the home repairs were taking a bit longer than the initial estimate, according to Levi Uley. Charlie had driven by his house and noticed workmen there, so he figured there must have been an unexpected issue of some sort with the repairs. It was an old house, after all, and many things were not up to code.
The prosecutor got back to Charlie and informed him that Josh Uley would be charged with one count of first degree attempted murder, one count of second degree attempted murder, car theft, and possession of illicit drugs. He estimated that Josh would be sentenced twenty to forty years in prison, served concurrently, depending on the judge.
Charlie knew every single judge on the circuit. Josh Uley didn’t have a chance. Charlie knew it and the prosecutor knew it.
A week later, on Friday, Charlie received a visitor at the police station, who requested a private conference. Levi Uley stepped into the office and sat down. “I brought you some lunch, boy.”
Charlie found it funny how Levi referred to him as ‘boy,’ considering they looked like they were about the same age.
“Thanks. What are we having?”
“Steak and lobster from the Kaloloch Lodge. I won’t tell Alison, if you don’t tell Ellen. You know how they yammer on and on about cholesterol.”
Charlie smiled. “I really like how you think.” He tilted his head and eyed Levi with a curious expression. “What did you want to discuss?”
“Nothing really. I just want to thank you for the chance you’ve given Ellen and me. I also want to thank you for your friendship.” He grimaced. “I screwed up in the biggest way by abandoning my family when they needed me most. Josh is proof of how far a family can fall without guidance and support. From my understanding, his father ignored his children because he spent all of his time searching for his mother and me.”
“I wouldn’t place the entirety of the blame on your shoulders. Josh was a year older than I was. He was a good kid when he was younger. He just got mixed up with the wrong crowd-most in the group were drug users. I checked out his rap sheet the other day while I was looking into his case. I’m sorry to say that the majority of his crimes went unreported. The old elders, with the notable exception of Quil the Third, swept his transgressions under the rug because he came from such a powerful family. Peter Clearwater, Billy Black Senior, and Charles Uley all hid Josh Uley’s crimes and tried to reform him by having him make restitution to the tribe, never to Alison or Sam. What he needed was drug rehabilitation. It was only after Josh nearly beat Alison to death, and Old Quil called the Forks Police instead of the tribal police, that he was sent to jail. The new elders, Harry Clearwater and Billy Black Junior, along with Old Quil, do a much better job at reporting crimes when necessary.”
“Would you happen to know what happened to the Uley seat on the tribal council?”
“It was dissolved due to Josh’s crimes; hence the reason for the animosity between the Uley family and Alison. They blame her for the dissolution of the Uley seat.”
“That’s outrageous! She nearly died because of him!”
“That’s not how the Uleys see it. Fortunately, the current tribal elders are a bit more sensible about things. Harry Clearwater is married to Sue Uley, who is your brother Caleb’s granddaughter. She has been trying to get the seat restored for her daughter Leah or son Seth. Harry refuses to even consider it because it wouldn’t be fair to have siblings on the tribal seat.”
“That’s an unreasonable request. Even I can see that.”
“Which is why the current set of elders won’t consider the request. It’s funny, before I married Alison, I used to think that my buddy Harry was a lucky guy to have a wife like Sue Uley Clearwater. I see her in a different light now. She barely acknowledges Alison, and to this day, holds a grudge because of the elder seat dissolution issue.”
“Alison doesn’t need someone so petty in her life, and neither do you.”
“I agree with you. Sue is nice to me, but after her treatment of my wife, I refuse to go to their house to socialize. Harry comes to my house now-alone. Besides, between you and me, I know for a fact that the current elders are seriously considering restoring the Uley seat when Sam comes of age.”
“If anyone deserves it, it’s him. He’s a good boy.”
“He certainly is, and they’ll be able to use a fresh perspective from a young, educated man like Sam.”
“Well, let’s get down to business. Ellen sent me here on an errand. She discussed it with Alison, Bella, and Sam already, but they wanted me to bring it up with you. We’d like to invite the four of you on our annual trip to Hawaii this summer, all expenses paid. What do you say? I know you were just there, but…”
“Hawaii? You don’t even have to ask me twice.”
“Excellent. It’ll be a pleasure to host you. We have a place overlooking Diamond Head.”
“Wow! Steak and lobster, a nice chat, and a trip to Hawaii. Do you have anymore surprises for me today?”
“Not really. The repairs on your home are complete. I’m sorry it took so long, but the contractor said it was a bit more complicated than he first thought due to issues with current code requirements.”
“I figured that was the case. It’s an old house. It belonged to my grandparents.”
“I’m aware of that. Ellen and I used to have many delicious meals prepared by your Grandmother Marie at that house. Your Grandpa Charlie-you were named after him-used to go fishing with me each Sunday, much like you do with Billy and Harry.”
“I didn’t know you were friends with my grandparents.”
“I was. They were good people. Isabella takes after your grandmother.”
“Does she? I never knew her when she was young.”
“Your grandmother was considered to be the most beautiful woman ever to grace the Olympic Peninsula in my time. We never understood how your grandfather won such a prize! And then we met her, and she was as brash and bold as Bella is, and the rest of us men thought ourselves lucky to have dodged a bullet.”
Charlie started laughing. “Bella certainly is brash and bold. When I saw her with my rifle pointed at Josh, my heart just about dropped out of my body. She was observant, though, and she took the shot knowing that I couldn’t. I would have hit Alison, but my daughter had the clear shot.”
“It’s a good thing you taught her how to properly fire a weapon. You should do the same with Samuel. I found out he has never gone hunting or fishing.”
“Well, hell. I think you and I will have to show him the ropes. I suppose with Alison raising him, he didn’t have a male role model.”
“No, he did not, but now he has you, Charlie.”
“He has you, too.”
“That he does.” Levi smiled warmly at him. “Here are your keys.” He put them on the table in front of him. “Some of the dry wall, flooring, and furniture had to be replaced because of the blood stains.”
“Thanks. I’m assuming they’ll be billing me?”
“No, this one is on me.” When Charlie tried to protest, he put his hand up to stop him. “It was my grandson who caused this problem. Let me at least offer restitution in this tiny way. You have two college tuitions to pay. Let me handle this.”
“I won’t be saying no to you. Thank you.” Charlie smiled “By the way, we only have one tuition to pay. Sam just got notice that he’ll most likely receive a full ride due to his grades. We need to bring him to Seattle for an interview in a couple of weeks.”
“They’re smart kids-both of them are.”
“I know they are. I can’t wait to see what they make of themselves.”
“You and me both, son. You and me both.”
Charlie stopped by at the house after work to check out how the repairs went. He opened the door, glanced inside, and shut the door. He walked back a few paces to check the house number. He was correct. It was definitely his house.
He opened the front door, which he noticed had been replaced with a new, more solid one. He went inside the living room, and took a look around. Was it his imagination or was the living room bigger? He sat down on the sofa and his eyes widened. Was that a new curved TV and a huge one at that?
He walked a little further into the living room, right where the kitchen and dining table used to be. Wait a second? Where the hell was the kitchen? He spotted a pair of double doors and walked through it.
“Holy cow!” he exclaimed when he took a look at the brand new expanded kitchen. There was an island in the center with an indoor grill and a sink. He opened the little refrigerators located underneath the island. “Beer!” he cried and cracked open an ice, cold one. The kitchen led out to the back.
Charlie ran outside and took a look. Hmm… so Levi expanded the house for him. He rushed back inside and decided to give Ali a call.
“Honey, you have to come to the house in Forks.”
“Why is that?”
“Because… because. You just do. I have a surprise for you.”
“Charlie, I told you we can bring the ‘Little Chief’ out to play later.”
“What? No!”
“Okay, the ‘Big Chief.’ We can play with the ‘Big Chief’ as soon as I get home.”
“No, Ali. I mean… I have a surprise-a real one.”
“Fine, I’m done for the day anyway. I’ll be right there. Are the kids home?”
“No, Sam texted to say they were going to Port Angeles with their friends to see a movie.”
“Okay, so it’s just you and me for dinner?”
“Yep, and you’re going to want to cook. Trust me. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Charlie paced the living room, tapped his toes, and kept sighing impatiently as he waited for his wife to arrive home. Seventeen minutes after he hung up the phone, she walked into the house and her jaw dropped.
“What on earth?”
“I know! That was my reaction, too.”
“Is this our house?”
“Yep.”
“Charles Geoffrey Swan! I hope you didn’t take out some insane home loan in order to renovate the house! We have college tuitions to pay!”
“I didn’t. I swear. It wasn’t me. It was Levi. He said he wanted to do this for us. He didn’t say anything about a whole renovation. He said it was just repairs. I was wondering why it took so long.”
“This is beautiful!” Alison exclaimed as she plopped down on the sofa. “Look at the flooring. I think… well, I don’t know my hardwood flooring, but it looks expensive. How are we going to pay him back?”
“We’re not going to. He wanted to do this for us.” He smiled at his wife. “Honey, you have to take a look at the kitchen.”
Alison followed him inside. “Oh my God! This looks like a kitchen out of a magazine!”
“I know!” “Did he expand the house or something?”
“It looks like he expanded out towards the woods. Look up.”
“Charlie, the upstairs never extended out this far before, and neither did the ground floor. Have you looked upstairs yet?”
“No, and I haven’t been downstairs yet either. I was afraid of what I’d find.”
“So you called me?”
“Well, yeah, I needed you to hold my hand.”
They went down to the basement. Their bedroom and bathroom looked exactly the same, which was good because they had put a lot of work into renovating it together.
“Oh, Charlie, he finished the hallway for us. It doesn’t look so bleak anymore.”
“Phew! I’m kind of glad he didn’t touch the rest of the space. This was our first project together. It brings back fond memories.”
“I agree.” Alison peered at the wall. “Oh, look. He put a framed photo of Ellen and himself on the wall to remind us of them.”
“The devil.” Charlie chuckled.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Now let’s go upstairs and see what he did with the kids’ space because we know for sure he expanded it.”
When they walked upstairs, their eyes bulged at the sight in front of them.
“Uh, Ali?”
“Yes, Charlie?”
“Why do the kids get a Jacuzzi?”
“I wish I had answer for you, but I don’t. Anyway, you don’t like baths, Charlie. They make the skin on your toes shrivel up.”
“This is true.” They went from room to room and stared at their surroundings, stunned.
“Ali, he just turned the entire upstairs into the kids’ own personal apartment.”
“I noticed.”
“And it’s a really nice apartment.”
“It is.”
“But their TV isn’t as nice as ours is. They have our old one. I like how he recycled it.”
“So true, Charlie.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right.” She smiled at her husband. “The kids are gone. I say we go down to our bedroom and take advantage of our time alone.”
“I’ll race you there.”
Bella and Sam were completely oblivious to the fact that they now had luxury digs in the house in Forks. They were just happy to have the house in La Push to themselves. They had received a text message from their parents stating that they were staying overnight in Forks, and they should just stay put in La Push.
After that message, they decided not to go to Port Angeles to see the movie, and instead invited their friends over to hang out. It was past midnight and their friends had left. It was just the two of them alone in the house, cuddling on the bed.
Sam leaned into Bella and kissed her on the lips. He traced his fingers on the now, mostly faded bruises on her face and body, which Josh Uley had inflicted on her. He kissed each and every one of them.
“I hate what he did to you, Bella.”
“I only came out just slightly worse for the wear. I was fine.”
“I hate that I wasn’t there. You’re my imprint, and it was my job to protect you. Instead, you got hurt because of me.”
“Sam.” She wrapped her arms around him. “We’ve gone over this already. It was better that you weren’t there because you would have killed him. I don’t want murder on your conscience.”
“He deserves to die.”
“Even if he deserves to die, you don’t want his death on your hands, Sam. All I did was maim him. He’ll be walking with a limp for the rest of his life, and that’ll serve as a reminder of his abominable actions that day. It’ll also be a reminder of the day he permanently lost his freedom.”
Sam had tears streaming down his face. Oddly enough, he was the one who had the most post-traumatic stress about the situation. Bella had spent many nights just like this, patiently comforting him, and simply loving him.
“I love you, Bella. You’re the only one who understands me.”
“Hmm…” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Is it possible that the spirits made me your imprint because of that?”
“I bet you that’s it.” He grinned, and then turned to her with a serious expression on his face. “Is it weird for you?”
“Is what weird?”
“This whole imprinting business. There’s so much that you’ve had to sacrifice for me.”
“And what sacrifices are you talking about? Because I can’t think of any, Sam.”
“Well, I can think of plenty of sacrifices you’ve made for me.”
“Like what?”
“Well, your dating choices are limited.”
“As if I want to be with anyone else. Besides, at this point, Paul might as well be my second boyfriend because whenever you’re not around, he is.”
“This is very true. It’s odd because Paul and I were never good friends. Actually, I shouldn’t say that. We didn’t know each other well until recently.”
Paul had been visiting them daily. Sometimes he asked for help completing his homework, and other times, he simply came over to hang out. Both Bella and Sam had gotten to know him, and they liked him.
“So, we’ve covered the fact that my dating choices aren’t limited because when you’re not around I have Paul. What else?”
“You put yourself in danger for me.”
“And I have no doubt you’ll do the same for me one day so we’re even.” Bella smiled. “Now are we making love or going to sleep? I think I’m a bit talked out for tonight.” When Sam didn’t react, she decided, “Okay, we’re going to sleep. Good night, Sam. I love you.” She got up out of bed and stood up.
“Hey, get over here. I’m not done with you yet.”
“You’re not? What else is there?”
“I have to make mad, crazy love to you because we have this whole house to ourselves.”
“Well, then, you should get started before the sun comes up,” she suggested, lightening the mood and leaving Sam feeling overwhelmingly loved.
At the same time, Edward Cullen was feeding from a pretty girl whose blood didn’t quite satisfy him. Angrily, he dropped the girl onto the carpet and slapped his mate Victoria. She flinched, afraid of what his reaction entailed. Edward had a habit of beating her when things didn’t go his way, much like James did.
“She doesn’t taste as good as Bella,” he griped. “There’s something wrong with her blood.”
Victoria lifted the girl to her and sunk her teeth into her wrist to drain the rest of her blood from her.
“She’s ill. She’s taking some sort of medication that makes her blood taste off.”
“I want the Swan girl, Victoria. I want her. I want to take her virginity, then take her blood.”
“Why am I not enough for you?” She cried in desperation.
Edward backhanded her and picked her up by the neck. He looked into her terror-filled eyes and sneered. “You are my mate! It’s not your place to question my desires! I want her because her taste is exquisite. Her blood warms my veins like a fine wine. Her virginity makes her blood a delicacy. You… you gave yourself to that James before me! What kind of a mate are you? I should end your existence now!”
“I couldn’t help it! He took my virginity from me! I didn’t have a choice! Please, Edward!”
“Please what?”
“Please let me live.”
“Well, since you beg so nicely I will consider it. How are you going to persuade me to stay?”
Victoria crawled on her knees until she was by his feet. After kissing them, she got on her knees and begged. Edward became aroused at the sight of her pleading for her life in fear. He dragged her to the bed and took her over and over again, satiating his depraved needs temporarily.
He wanted the Swan girl’s blood. He would not be denied.
The following morning, Bella and Sam received a call from their parents, telling them that now that the repairs were done, they had chores to complete. So after one more love-making session, they reluctantly got out of bed and made their way to the house in Forks.
The couple arrived at the house and entered the house without knocking. “We’re home!” Sam called.
“Oh my God!” Bella gasped next to him.
“What is it?”
She yanked on his arm. “Look!”
Sam glanced around the living room. He took his imprint’s hand and walked outside to make sure they were at the correct house before returning inside.
“Bella, our parents went on some sort of crazy, spending spree. Maybe we should get them some help? I mean look at this! They probably used all of our college fund to do this.”
“I’m just going to put it out there, but I can get used to living like this.” Bella nodded her head. “Anyway, legally, they can’t use our college fund for home repairs or they’d be hit with tax penalties up the yazoo!”
“If you want to live like this, you’d better make a lot of money, little girl,” Charlie stated, walking out into the living room with Alison, who had her phone on video aimed at them. “Did you get that?”
“I sure did. We can watch it over and over again, and laugh.” She greeted the kids with kisses. “What do you think?”
“How?” Sam asked his mother simply.
“Ah, well, we were just as surprised as you. Your great-grandfather did this for us. I spoke to him this morning to thank him. According to him, he did this because he felt we deserved it, and he didn’t want us to have any reminders of that terrible morning. He also admitted that he did this because he felt responsible for his grandson’s actions, and it was a small way for him to pay restitution.” She paused. “Before you say anything Sam, I did tell him that it was unnecessary, and that our friendship does not need to be bought. He understands that and so does Ellen, but doing this for us eased their conscience slightly so I simply thanked him. Bella and you will do the same when you see them next.”
“We will,” Sam said. “Can we see the rest of the house now?”
“Go for it.” Alison smiled at her son as he rushed up the stairs with Bella. “Those two are going to be in for a sweet surprise.”
“You’re telling me,” Charlie agreed as he hugged his wife lovingly.
Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction 
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