Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Holiday Road

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 04:

Meanwhile…

“Bella, I really wish you would have let me pay for a flight for you to Lake Tahoe. I don’t like the idea of you driving over eight hundred miles by yourself.”

“ I told you, I’m not alone. Lauren and Emily are with me.”

“That’s another thing, Leah and Taylor aren’t comfortable with the idea of Emily coming to the wedding.”

“ Dad, she isn’t coming to the wedding and neither is Lauren. They’re just with me so we can go on a bit of a vacay in Lake Tahoe.”

“Honey, this is meant to be a family thing.”

“ Um, Dad, I would feel like I’m intruding around three couples. No, thank you.”

“I suppose you’re right to feel that way. I just wish you’d take the time to get to know Sue and her kids. They’re really great people.”

“ I’m sure they are, and I’ll have a chance to get to know them in Lake Tahoe. We can have dinner together-maybe.”

“Drive safely, baby girl. Be sure to call me when you get there tomorrow.”

“ I will, Dad.”

“Goodnight, Bella. You girls make sure that you lock all of the doors and keep your pepper spray on you.”

“ We will, goodnight.”

Charlie Swan hung up the phone and grimaced. He hated the fact that his little girl was independent and all grown up. She had left for Seattle as soon as she graduated from high school and never looked back. On the rare occasion that she came home to visit, she almost always stayed in a motel with her friends or on the Makah Reservation at her friend Emily’s house, and only stopped in for dinner once or twice. She never asked him for help; never asked him for money; and it bothered Sue and him immensely that she was taking on so much on her own.

“Is Bella okay?” Sue asked.

“Yeah, she’s checked into a motel in Klamath Falls for the night. She’ll be fine.”

“She has a good head on her shoulders, Charlie.”

“I just hate how she tries to do everything on her own.”

“I know you do. At least she’s coming to our wedding.”

“Her roommates are with her. You know how they make Leah and Taylor uncomfortable.”

“Oh, Charlie-stop worrying about Leah and Taylor. They’re imprinted and they’re happy, that’s all that matters. I’m glad that Bella is coming with her friend and my niece. It can’t possibly be comfortable for her to be around couples all the time.” Sue sighed as she took in the forlorn expression on her fiancé’s face. “I really do hope she meets a nice boy at some point. She’s only twenty-three. She has time.”

“Susie, I really appreciate how you care about my daughter. I wish she’d take the time to get to know you instead of holding you at a distance all the time.”

“Charlie, it’s different for Bella than for my kids. Her mother is still alive and a big part of her life. You can’t expect her to look at me as her mother when she has a very involved mother already. On top of that, there’s the whole issue of my being from La Push and Jacob having told her that she wasn’t welcome on the reservation. I’m sure it factors into her apprehension of getting to know me.” Sue wrapped her arms around her fiancé. “Just give her time.”

“I will.”

“This will be nice though. We finally get to escape with just family.”

“Yeah, but Bella’s friends aren’t family.”

“To her, they are. Let her have her moral support. I’m just saying it’ll be nice to go on vacation without everyone from La Push crowding us.”

“You’re not kidding there. They can be a bit pushy and overbearing.”

“I just want a week of peace away from the pack.”

“Same here.”

Little did they know, at the very same moment, the entire motley crew was headed to Lake Tahoe.