Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Obsession

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 10:

On Sunday, Charlie drove Bella to La Push with a packed suitcase. She would stay with the Clearwaters for the week. It was spring break, and school was not in session. Usually, he’d let his daughter stay on her own at home, but with an obsessive vampire after her blood, it was not a possibility.

Charlie’s house, in the meantime, had become headquarters for Jasper’s coven of vampires. So far, three vampires resided at the Swan’s house while they figured out a game plan for eliminating Edward. As long as they didn’t eat him, Charlie didn’t care. Besides, he found the vampires to be fascinating conversationalists. They spoke of history, baseball, the Civil War, hunting, and many other things. They also discussed how different life as a vampire was, having to drink blood for survival, and how much they missed food.

While Charlie was asleep, the vampires protected his house for him. He was sure they also cleaned it for him and maybe did a little work on it because the house had never looked so good in his entire life. Considering he had grown up in the house, that was saying something.

“Did you paint the walls?” Charlie asked on Tuesday morning.

“We get bored.” Peter shrugged his shoulders. “Being awake 24/7 can get tiresome.”

“I see,” Charlie said.

“Do you have anything else you need done? Maybe a car that needs to be maintained? I see an old Dodge Ram parked in your garage.”

“Sure. Go for it. It used to belong to my dad. It’s over twenty years old. He bought it a few years before he died. I rarely drive it because I have the cruiser. I might as well put miles on the vehicle the job gives me rather than my personal vehicle.”

“I see. Well, I’ll give it a tune-up for you.”

“Knock yourself out,” Charlie told him.

Work had been hectic. Through cell phone videos submitted to the police, Charlie’s detectives traced the Aston Martin to Anthony Masen of Chicago, Illinois. Of course, the only problem was that the only Anthony Masen they found in the Chicago area was a two-week-old infant.

When Charlie brought this up to Jasper, he explained that Edward’s human birth name was Edward Anthony Masen. Sadly, they couldn’t form a connection between Edward Cullen, who had no middle initial, whose last known residence was Denali, Alaska, and Edward Anthony Masen of Chicago, Illinois.

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Paul was having the time of his life. He was on Spring Break, and while he didn’t have a vehicle to drive, it didn’t matter. His girlfriend was staying down the road and around the corner from him. He had been restricted to the reservation, whether in wolf or human form. His job was to keep his imprint safe, which suited him fine.

Bella and Paul discovered making out on the sofa was way better than doing the same in the car. Of course, they didn’t have too much time alone. The Clearwaters ran a tight ship, and so did Chief Black, who somehow found many errands to run around the reservation. Paul was pretty sure they had people to paint the walls of the tribal lodge, but that’s what the pair found themselves doing.

“It occurred to me, Bella,” Paul paused while he rolled the excess paint off the paint roller in the tray, “you’ve never explained why you moved to Forks in the middle of the school year.”

Bella stopped painting, unsure of how to proceed. It wasn’t something she usually talked about, but she knew she should tell Paul the whole story. Unconsciously, she dragged her lower lip between her teeth while figuring out what to say. She finally settled on pulling up one of the articles about the incident on her phone. She asked Paul to read the story, which he did. After he was done, she told her story while continuing to paint the wall. “I inadvertently witnessed the whole thing. Those girls kept beating her after she lost consciousness. She died right there on the school grounds. I saw her eyes wide open, her body unmoving, and I felt so bad for her. I also felt a combination of fear for my safety, guilt for not being able to help her, and… and so many other feelings, but that’s not where it ended.”

Paul shifted closer to Bella, wondering what more there could be.

“Seeing the dead body freaked me out, but it’s not what affected me the most. It was my mother. When I told her I was afraid of going to school because of what happened, she became all frazzled and made it about her. She didn’t address my issues; she dismissed them and called attention to herself to garner care and sympathy from Phil, her boyfriend.

“After witnessing the murder, I no longer felt safe at school, but being unable to turn to my mother, I had to deal with everything alone. So, I was like a zombie. I went through the motions of life for a while there-I attended school, went to my part-time job, did my homework, and then did it all over again the next day. I felt so alone and helpless, but everything changed on Thanksgiving weekend.”

“What happened then?” Paul asked, putting his paint roller down.

“Well, my mother married Phil-only she didn’t tell me. She and Phil flew to Reno and got hitched. They left me alone for the entirety of Thanksgiving weekend and surprised me on Sunday with the news of their marriage.” Bella shook her head at the memory, letting out a heavy sigh. “It dawned upon me that my mother was selfish and would always do whatever she wanted without sparing a thought for anyone else, especially me. So, I made a decision. What I wanted and needed most was an attentive parent who cared about my well-being. I knew I had one, but he was up north in Washington.

“When I came home from school on the Monday after Thanksgiving, my mother said she wanted to be able to travel with Phil and support him more at his away games. So, I told her I was completely on board with her decision, then called my father and asked if I could move in with him. Three weeks later, Dad flew into Phoenix. When I got home from school on the last day before Christmas break, we packed up my Camry and drove to Washington together. And then I began attending Forks High School, and your mom helped me work through my issues.”

“Thanks for sharing your story with me, Bella. I know it wasn’t easy.” Paul tilted her chin so their eyes met. He traced her lips with his index finger before meeting her lips with his for a deep, lingering kiss. He vowed right then and there to be her support-her rock, to be there for her. And like Kismet, the song on his playlist shuffled to ‘I’ll Be There For You’ by the Backstreet Boys. So, he decided to take advantage of the situation, pull her into his arms, and dance with her.

---

On Wednesday, during dinner, there was a surprise in La Push when Leah Clearwater suddenly transformed into a wolf, followed by Seth. They’d been expecting Seth’s change; Leah’s-not at all.

“I am not playing catch with you, Bella,” Leah griped.

“That is so hypocritical of you. I think it’s so cool you’re a wolf. And now Jenny Cameron won’t be alone.”

“True. True, but this was so unexpected. I’m not sure how to process the change,” Leah admitted.

“You’ll figure it out, and I’m here for you. You know that, right, Leah?”

“I do. You’re like the best kid sister.”

“Yeah, she is,” Seth chimed in. “She’s like the coolest big sister. She should have been a Clearwater.”

After Leah and Seth phased, Paul was tasked with training them to stay in control. Billy took Bella to the tribal offices, where they worked on the tribal newsletter together. This took the better part of the morning. Afterward, they organized the tribal archives together. They talked about Rachel and Rebecca. Rachel was returning from college in a few weeks while Rebecca stayed in Hawaii.

“Well, do you blame her, Uncle Billy?”

“She’s not staying in Hawaii because it’s paradise, Bells. Rebecca is staying because she met a boy-a surfer.”

“Is that all he does? I mean, does he have some sort of a future?”

Billy shrugged. “According to Rebecca, Solomon is a professional surfer who tours the world for competitions.”

“And you’re just going to let her?” Bella asked curiously.

“Ah, Bella. It’s not a matter of giving her permission. Rebecca will make her own choices. If she made an error in committing to Solomon, it would be her own mistake. She can always come home, but while I try to influence her choices, the final choice will always be up to her.”

“That’s what Dad says-except for softball camp. He’s looking for one in Washington this year but doesn’t want it to be in Seattle or Spokane.”

“I know a few good ones, and I agree with him that you should go. I have high hopes that you’ll earn a softball scholarship. In fact, we’re just about done here, so why don’t we grab Jake and have a practice session?”

“Awesome! Can we play baseball instead, though? Jake can use the practice.”

“Of course.” Billy removed the ball cap from Bella’s head, then ruffled her hair with a chuckle.

It was after practice that there was an emergency. Charlie called to say two dead bodies were found in odd circumstances in Port Angeles. The bodies were completely drained of blood. The reason why he had been called was because the deceased were residents of Forks: Lauren Mallory and her mother Linda had been the victims.

Bella was saddened, but her immediate concern went to her friend Tyler Crowley, Lauren’s longtime steady. Although she didn’t know Lauren well, their few interactions had been pleasant, and she had been looking forward to getting to know her.

Jasper informed Billy and Charlie that the deaths were caused by the same trio of vampires who killed Waylon Forge. He had a team of vampires searching for them with a kill-on-sight order for each of them and asked that the wolves watch out for them, too.

With the deaths of Lauren and her mother, there was heightened security everywhere in Forks and La Push. Bella would stay in La Push for her safety for now. She continued to stay with the Clearwaters. Julia would drive her to school with Paul since neither kids had vehicles.