Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Obsession

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 04:

“Dad, I look awful,” Bella whined, looking into the mirror on Monday morning. Her eye was now a strange mottled purple, and her body hurt all over.

“That’s what you get for jumping into the equivalent of a mosh pit. Wear your bruises like a badge of honor. I’m glad you were able to use your karate blocks. It saved you from major injury.” While Charlie understood Bella’s need to hop in and defend Paul, he still didn’t like it. He hated to see his daughter hurt.

The Port Angeles police chief touched base with him yesterday afternoon. All the assailants involved in the incident had been arrested and were awaiting arraignment. He was glad the case was being taken seriously despite one of the boys having a relative in law enforcement.

“Do I have to go to school?” Bella whined, drawing Charlie’s attention away from his thoughts.

“Hell, yes, you do. You’re injured, but it’s not life-threatening. And I’m afraid the bruising will worsen before it gets better.”

“Fine,” she grumbled and drove to school after hugging her dad goodbye.

When she got to school and parked, her friends were all waiting for her at the entrance. “Make way for the prizefighter!” Mike Newton yelled. The rest of the students applauded. She noticed that at least one of her friends stuck by her side the entire time, which was a good thing because Creepy Cullen shot daggers at her as he trailed her.

At lunch, one of Edward’s sisters, the short one who dated the hot blonde, approached her. “Hi, I’m Alice,” she squeaked.

Bella arched an eyebrow at her.

“So, anyway, my brother is sorry he couldn’t get to you on time the other night. One of the roads was down to a single lane due to an unexpected sinkhole, and I didn’t see that. You understand, don’t you?”

“Understand what?” Katie asked.

“Oh, well, my brother feels super bad that he wasn’t there to protect Bella.”

“Oh, but he doesn’t care about the rest of my friends? What a gentleman?” Sarcasm dripped from Bella’s voice.

“Uh, Alice, trust me when I say Bella doesn’t want your creepy-ass brother’s protection,” Angela informed her.

“Yes, she does. They’re mat… meant for each other.”

Bella shook her head. “Listen. Your brother is a freak. I want nothing to do with him. Is that understood? So, I’m asking you nicely to tell him to stay away from me and my friends, and the same request applies to you, too.”

“Alice, you should eat your lunch before it gets cold.” The weird girl’s blond boyfriend, the hot one named Jasper, gently took her arm and guided her to the lunch table. “I’m sorry about her. I’ll make sure she stays away from you.” He nodded to Bella, meeting her eyes and winking.

“How the fuck does the strange Cullen girl get a hot boyfriend with a velvety voice, a sexy accent, and manners while you and I are still single?” Katie questioned.

“Who knows? Maybe we’re meant for bigger and better.”

“Yeah. Not in this town.”

“Hey, we’re sitting here, you know!” Mike looked mock offended.

“You guys totally don’t count. You’re our friends, and we’re not crazy enough to date you. Plus, none of us are hot enough for Mr. Quarterback Crowley. He’s so on fire; only the homecoming queen will do for him.”

Bella and Katie made kissing noises at him. Tyler had been dating Lauren Mallory since his freshman year in high school. She was the head cheerleader, part of a different friend group. However, he was a good guy and didn’t abandon his friends for the popular set.

When school ended, Bella headed to the police station. With Edward Cullen skulking around, her father refused to let her be at home alone, so she had to hang out at the station until he finished work. She didn’t mind. It was only for a couple of weeks until softball practice started. Speaking of which, she had tryouts next week. She knew she’d make the team. She had been on the varsity team at her high school in Arizona since her freshman year, so she saw no reason for that to change.

Bella had been twiddling her thumbs for a few minutes when her father asked, “Bells, don’t you have homework?”

“Nope. I finished everything in study hall.”

“So you have nothing to do.”

“Nothing at all,” Bella replied.

“Good. Then, you can go to the staff lounge room, wipe everything down, and organize the refrigerator and cabinets. You also need to take all the trash out to the big dumpster. Tomorrow, you can wipe down the exterior of all the file cabinets and mop the floors in the entire station.”

Bella’s jaw dropped. “Why am I being punished for being stalked?”

“Katie will be here to help in a few minutes. I hear there are prom dresses in it for the two of you. Lieutenant Marshall and I will drive you girls to Olympia on Saturday.”

Bella’s frown instantly transformed into a radiant smile. “You mean we don’t have to pay for our dresses?” She had seen the prices at the dress shop in Port Angeles and was floored by how astronomical everything was. Katie had told her there would be more choices in Olympia, and the prices would be more reasonable.

“Call it sweat equity.” Charlie grinned and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “Make sure you do a good job.”

Katie arrived a few minutes later with her father. “We are so lucky! We have the best dads in the world!”

“Yeah, we do,” Bella agreed, smiling. She considered her mother. She possibly would have paid for half of the prom dress but most likely would have made Bella pay for the whole thing herself. Renee would not have allowed her to work off the dress with sweat equity. No, Bella had worked part-time for her spending money since she was fourteen. The only thing Renee paid for that was considered ‘extra’ was softball and anything to do it.

The girls got to work immediately. Cleaning the staff lounge room took work. The cops were absolute slobs! They spent the first hour working on the refrigerator. There was food in there from two years ago. Bella’s father told them to toss anything over three days old, 90 percent of the contents. They threw out decrepit-looking lunches, old condiments, and spaghetti so moldy that it had seen better days-five years ago. In the end, an unopened container of French Vanilla coffee creamer remained a brand-new bottle of ketchup, and bottled water. The only reason the bottled water was in there was because the girls loaded up the refrigerator with an unopened case they spotted. It took them until after five pm, but they finally got to the lounge room spotless.

Hopefully, tomorrow’s cleaning will be easier. In any case, working a few hours for their fathers to pay for their prom dresses was a win-win for them.

---

Billy sat wide-eyed while listening to his girlfriend. Julia Lahote was beautiful, intelligent, and the bravest woman he knew. He never thought he’d date again after Sarah passed away seven years ago, but here he was, falling in love again. But today, Julia was discussing more serious topics.

She explained what had transpired between her son Paul and Bella Swan on Friday night.

Now, Billy had a soft spot in his heart for Bella. She was his best friend’s daughter; he had known her since he first met her as a newborn at the hospital. He considered her family. Never in his life did he imagine that Paul would imprint on Bella. She was now officially under Quileute protection; however, how would he broach the topic of supernaturals and soulmates with her? And should he tell Charlie or not?

“You need to tell Charlie first,” Julia suggested as if reading his mind. She was so wise. “He needs to know because he just got Bella back, and if you put a gag order on her, it would only put distance between them.”

“I’ll consider it,” Billy said.

“You also need to speak to Carlisle Cullen. According to Paul, Edward Cullen attempted to force Bella into his Volvo on Friday night. And on Monday, Alice Cullen approached her in the cafeteria. Bella said that she spouted strange nonsense about Edward being sorry about not being able to get to her on time on Friday, which leads me to believe they somehow knew about what happened to the girls in the parking lot. Bella repeatedly informs Edward Cullen that she is uninterested in him, but he keeps approaching and watching her. And you can’t say anything about this to Charlie because I just broke the patient and therapist confidentiality agreement. Damn it, Billy. I’m so worried about her.”

Billy reached under the table and clasped Julia’s hand in his. “I’ll keep her safe. I promise. How does Paul feel about everything?”

“He told me that after he tells her about the imprinting, he’s asking her to his prom.”

Billy chuckled. “That’s a teenager for you. At least you have the advantage of knowing Bella is a good, steady girl. Of course, I may be biased.”

“You are, but so am I. She’s my favorite patient, you know? Charlie and Ken devised the idea for the girls to clean the police station in exchange for prom dresses. They’re taking Bella and Katie to Olympia on Saturday. Can you imagine them shopping for dresses?”

“God, no. I remember having to take Rachel and Rebecca. I’d better tell them not to get the dresses altered in Olympia. The seamstress at the dry cleaners in Forks is cheaper and quicker. She could use the business, too.”

“Always trying to do good for the community, my love.”

Billy loved Julia, too. She was so different from Sarah, who had been a homemaker and wholly vested in her children but dependent on him financially and to make decisions. She also loved to paint. She had been a talented artist; some of her paintings were hanging in the tribal lodge. And Billy had one he prized above all. She had painted a family portrait, using a photo of them with the children. Sarah had passed away shortly after completing the painting.

On the other hand, there was Julia. She was a brilliant, independent woman-reliant on no man. She loved her son with ferocity and raised him to have a backbone of steel. She enjoyed her job as the staff psychologist at the police station because she helped people overcome their issues. And she loved Quileute culture. In that, she was similar to Sarah.

Billy looked into Julia’s eyes and smiled. A spur-of-the-moment decision made him say, “I love you, Julia. You’ve made me look forward to living each day to the fullest, and I find I cannot wait until our sons graduate from high school. Let’s get married. Please?” And when his girlfriend stared back at him in shock, he continued, “Pretty, please?”

She clutched her stomach and rolled with laughter, “I will marry you, Billy Black, but only because you added the pretty, please.”