Chapter 22: Charlie and miscommunication

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Anna's POV:

"Charlie will be here in three minutes." Alice announced while she, Esme and I were in the living room playing cards or at least we pretended to, to create the impression of having a normal evening in to which Charlie could burst into.

Luckily I had had at least some time to somehow pull myself together after the meeting with the wolves and the argument with Jacob – which still upset me - to put on a good show for the poor father who had no idea what was going on.

"How angry is he?"

"Let's just say: I'm getting a lot of visions where he is shooting Edward." She answered with a smile and I couldn't keep the amused grin off my face.

"What happens after Charlie pulls the trigger?"

Alice giggled.

"It always ends with Charlie looking as white as a ghost and about to pass out before the vision disappears."

"Edward might want to hide in his room then."

The Vampire in question snorted at me from across the room.

"But why exactly does he think that this is Edward's fault?"

Duh! Hello! Rene jumped the gun! My subconscious rolled her eyes at me.

"First of all he doesn't like my dear brother as it is and then there is the fact that Rene had fed him with her speculations about why you and Bella are having a fall out." Alice shrugged.

"Oh my," I sighed and heard a car door being shut quite forcefully.

I winced slightly at the loud sound. Not that I was scared of Charlie, in any way but I was not exactly looking forward to yet another fight.

Suddenly I felt a cool sensation on my cheek and when I opened my eyes I saw Edward kneeled down in front of me, gazing intensely into my eyes.

"I'll be just upstairs. Just call me if you need me," he whispered while his thumb stroked over the underside of my bottom lip.

Cute isn't he? A knight in shining armour. My subconscious sighed dreamingly at the sight of him before she cheekily stuck her tongue out at me.

I barely suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.

"I'm no damsel in distress," I scolded at him.

"I know," he offered me a tortured smile before he was gone and I could hear Charlie furiously knocking the front door down.

Carlisle went to answer the traumatized door as Esme reached for my hand and squeezed it while she smiled reassuringly at me.

I just shrugged my shoulders, sending a silent prayer to heaven and waited for the angry daddy bear while I heard his furious, hushed voice from the hallway.

His loud and urgent footfall alerted me to his nearing presence before I saw him appear in the entrance of the living room. His face was covered in an angry red colour and I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

"Young lady pack your stuff. We are going home." He growled after he positioned himself in front of me, crossed his arms over his chest and glared furiously at me.

"Good evening, Charlie," Esme greeted him warmly. The Chief of police acknowledged her with a grunt and a nod before turning his attention back to me.

"I'm sorry but I can not do that." I answered calmly.

"And why if I may ask?" His voice was dark and cold as he asked.

"I…" that was all I could get out before Charlie went all Gabrielle Solis on me.

"After everything he had done to your sister. You know how much he hurt her. How can you even consider doing this? That boy is rotten. He is no good. You have to stay away from him. I won't let him use my other daughter as well for his evil scheming. He is not good. I thought you had more sense than Bella. I should have never let you stay here…."

I felt the heated glare that Esme shot Charlie and the nearly not audible growl that escaped her throat because of the way he was talking of her baby boy.

"What does Edward have to do with any it?" I asked interrupting him putting on my innocent act including titling my head to the side and looking clueless at him.

My question shut him up and he looked confused at me for a few seconds.

"Renee told me….."

"Yeah, I know, she wouldn't listen. The reason why I don't want to go back is not Edward. It's Bella," I spat her name with disgust.

"I don't understand?" He asked calmer than before and some of the red in his face had paled.

"What happened between you two?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my head away in a stubborn gesture.

"Ask her that. She is the one who started it that's all I've got to say to this."

"This is ridiculous. Come on we go home and then you and Bella can sort out whatever problem you two have."

I cranked my head around then to look at his annoyed face.

"No, I'm sorry but I will not live with her under one roof. What she had broken can't be fixed."

"I don't even start to pretend to understand teenage girls but I'm sure…." He argued.

"No," I stated firmly.

Charlie's face became redder again.

"So what you think that I will let you stay her in his house." He yelled at me.

"You don't have to let me. I'm eighteen and I can go where ever I want to." I answered calmly again for some reason no matter how angry Charlie got I was not sacred of him. It was somehow unnerving how calm I could stay in his presence.

His face turned nearly purple while he was sucking air in like a fish out of water as his body shook with anger and lack of understanding over the situation.

Whoa, too mad to get a word out. My subconscious smirked amused.

"As to Edward not that I'm trying to stand up for him but the Cullens had to move so he asked her if she though it was better if they broke up because a long distance relationship would be too hard on the both of them. Instead of telling him that she wanted that long distance relationship she agreed to the break up and then played the heart broken victim. So tell me how is any of this his fault?" I knew that that I was lying big time in the aspect of what happened back then but if I really though about it I had not even been that much off the mark.

Charlie looked livid.

"He should…..that…," After those contextless words somehow fell from his lips, he opened and closed his mouth a few time but no sound escaped him for quite some time.

Charlie seemed to calm a little while I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he watched Esme and me closely. Carlisle used the moment to step from behind Charlie and made his way over to stand behind Esme and me.

Charlie and Carlisle had a little stare down before Charlie's tense muscles seemed to relax a little.

"A misunderstanding?" He grumped under his breath, shaking his head in disbelieve and annoyance.

"But if it was only that then…" Charlie still looked not too convinced with the lie I had told to get Edward into a better light in Charlie opinion.

"You've got to take Bella's inferiority complex and her helpless and clueless nature and the fact that Edward can't read her mind," on the inside I giggled at that one, "into consideration and there you have it: teenage drama deluxe."

Charlie stumbled back and let himself fall onto the couch behind him. His entire body jerk with surprise as he for the first time, it seemed, noticed that Alice was in the room, sitting right next to him.

"Hi, Charlie," she greeted him with a careful smile

He grunted in greeting and turned away from her while he was mulling everything I told him over. He seemed to still be angry but as the time passed by he also seemed to grand Edward the benefit of the doubt that was clearly visible on his face, even when he was rather reluctant in believing that there had been a misunderstanding.

No wonder, there was no misunderstanding. My subconscious giggled gleefully.

With narrowed eyes Charlie looked into my own, staring me down to see if I lied but I kept my emotionless face in place. He sighed heavily in defeat at some point.

He had his elbows braced against his knees while his head hung in shame before he cautiously looked up to meet Esme's eyes.

"I'm sorry for what I said about your boy, it was way out of line," he apologised to Esme as well as to Carlisle.

"Please Charlie don't worry yourself about it." Both Esme and Carlisle assured him, exchanging guilty looks with one another which Charlie luckily didn't notice.

Charlie looked grateful at them before he gazed sternly at me.

"Whatever happened between you and Bella I'm sure we can find a way…"

"No, there is no way and there never will be a way." I interrupted him.

Charlie shook his head angrily.

"You can't just expect me to be satisfied with that do you? You won't come back home and you won't even tell me what happened between you and your sister…"

"She is no sister of mine." I was on my feet and in his face, yelling at him before I knew what I was doing.

Silently, I chastised myself for losing my temper like this.

Charlie looked startled at me while my breath was coming out of my mouth in hard gasps whereas blood was rushing through my ears blocking all sounds for a few seconds.

"What in the world happened between you two?" He whispered cautiously while he looked with great concern that was shinning in his eyes at me.

I shut my eyes and tried to calm myself before I opened them and gazed down at Charlie.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you but what she had done I will never forgive. Not even over my dead body."

I took a deep breath before the next words left my mouth. I liked Charlie and I felt bad lying to him but that was my life now, having to tell lies to nearly everyone around me.

Great life isn't, it. My subconscious mused in a thoughtful and sad voice.

"Dad, I love you and our relationship does not have to change but if you should start talking about her I will just walk away. I'm sorry dad but this is my condition." I said as my throat tightened up when I saw the pain and confusion in his shocked, angry but underneath that friendly eyes.

He was such a good man and he had been the only one who stood by my side after I claimed to be myself and not Bella. It pained me to see him hurting but I couldn't pretend. I couldn't try to endure her not even for his sake.

I stepped closer to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me then. His eyes were pleading for an answer, for an explanation but I couldn't deliver any of it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered and gave him a tight hug before I left the room.

When I reached the landing of the floor where my room was located Edward was leaning against a wall obviously waiting for me.

He pushed himself off the wall while I had my arms crossed over my chest and my lips were pressed together into a thin line.

"You did well," he whispered while he encircled me in his embrace and pressed a kiss against my temple.

I sighed and melted into his body. At first I was hesitant but then I sneaked my arms around his back and hugged him back. I could feel his cool lips placing a kiss on the top of my head every now and then while we just stood there as he was holding me.

"How is the status with Charlie?" I mumbled after a while and pulled away to be able to look into his face.

"They convinced him that it would be better if you stayed with us at least until you calmed down."

"Not even when hell would freeze over." I grumped and buried my face him his shoulder.

Alice's POV:

"Do you want me to take some of her sadness away?" Jasper asked me while we were on the way to Bella's house.

"I don't think that will help much," I smiled sadly at him.

"Alice," my husband breathed my name in a gently voice laced with concern.

I stopped and looked up at him.

"I like Bella. She is my best friend." I vowed before I looked away from his warm and understanding eyes and gazed at the stars in the dark blue sky.

"But if I have to decide between her and Edward….."

"It'll always be Edward," Jasper finished the sentence for me.

"Family comes first no matter what. Even when I don't like it to be faced with the possibility of losing Bella Edward deserves to experience and have what all of us are blessed with….." I said and smile up at him.

A gentle smile curved his lips and he leaned down to place a sweet kiss on my mouth.

"Will you be OK?" He asked while he pulled away from me.

"Anna is different from Bella but under all that anger and grief there is a very nice girl. At least Edward believes that. We will just have to wait and see." I shrugged and sighed.

"I know it is hard for you not to just pull some scheme and get your way…." I laughed humourlessly at his comment.

"I have been scheming but he is still too undecided. The chips could fall either way. I wish they would fall in Bella's favour but if they don't and Anna gets hurt along the way, after everything that happened, she would never forgive Edward no matter what." I sighed.

Jasper nodded before I hugged him and looked up to see Bella's house.

The window was partly open and I quickly sneaked into her room, crashing into the hideous reek of wet dog. I wrinkled my nose as the fetidness made me want to gag and I left the window wide open hoping against hope that the stench would go away soon.

Note to myself: buy a truck load of Febreze.

That was when I saw her; Bella was curled together on her bed, her bedcover was tightly wound around her shoulders while she quietly wept.

"Oh Bella," I breathed and her head snapped up at the sound of my voice.

"Alice!" She exclaimed and brushed her hands hurriedly over her tear stricken face.

I didn't say anything instead I walked over to her bed, ignoring the dog malodour as best as I could, and sat down on the mattress patting her leg in a comforting manner.

"I'm sorry. I just…..." She was stammering.

"I know. I know Bella." I sighed.

It hurt to see her like this and it upset me greatly that there was nothing I could do to make her feel better. This situation was, unfortunately, completely out of my hands.

I wanted Bella to be together with Edward and become part of our family but even more I wanted Edward to be happy for eternity and to my chagrin I had no idea which one of the both girls could make that possible.

Bella pulled herself together as best as she could and gazed sadly at me.

I managed a tortured smile before I spoke.

"I'm here because I wanted to warn you that Anna had given Charlie an explanation to what happened when we left," Bella winced at the mentioning of that horrible mistake.

I still blamed myself for it. If I just would have stopped Edward from this nonsense, if I would have been successful in stopping him from leaving Forks then he and Bella would be still happily together and Anna would be still in her world but instead…..

"She made it look as if there had been a miscommunication between you two…." I explained the cover story to her since she herself had not provided anything at all yet.

Bella nodded her head.

"What about why…."

"She doesn't want to live here anymore?" I ended the question for her.

Bella nodded again.

"We decided to keep quiet about it. When Charlie or anyone else should ask don't say anything."

She nodded once more before she sighed heavily and looked utterly defeated and sad. Tears brimmed at her eyes again and she brushed them away as the silence stretched between us.

"I feel sorry for what I have done. I really do," she suddenly cried as tears were falling down her cheeks freely and she sniffed.

"The guilt of what I have done to her is eating at me every minute of every day and I feel miserable because of it. If I could I would go back into the past and fix the mess I have created. I would do it in a heartbeat. You have to believe me." She begged me with a broken and weak voice.

"I do Bella," I assured her as I reached for her hands giving them a squeeze.

"I really, really regret what I have done." She sobbed for a long while casting her eyes at the wrinkled bedcovers underneath her before she looked up at me with an expression on her face that I couldn't quite place.

"Isn't there any way to send her back to her world?" The desperation in her voice was defeating.

I sighed loudly.

"Like Edward already explained to you it is highly unlikely that we will find another portal let alone the right one. Carlisle is trying but as far he's got nothing." I shrugged helplessly.

Her face fell, her head bowed down and she leaned forward until her forehead was touching our intertwined hands.

"It was just one mistake," she mumbled and suddenly her body shot into sitting position again.

"It was just one stupid mistake. Just this once I was selfish in my life. Just this once," she cried.

"That's not fair. Others are aloud to make mistakes and they get away with it then why am I the only one who has to pay such high price?" More tears rolled down her red and swollen cheeks.

"Bella?" I frowned at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she stammered running her hands through her wildly tangled mane.

"It's just when I read the books," she stopped suddenly opening her mouth again without saying anything while her hands were slowly gesticulating in front of her chest as she was trying to find the right words.

"Everything I ever wanted had just been a few hours away, Alice," her huge round eyes implored me to understand.

"I don't know what had gotten into me if I stayed in La Push and came back to meet you here I would be now together with Edward and we would be discussion our future. I love him so much." She said in a desperate voice.

"Bella you can't live in the past or possible future or books in your case that's all irrelevant. What matters is the here and now and the decisions you make to create and to participate in your own future."

"I love him so much, Alice. So much," she chocked before more tears ran down her cheek.

I sighed not knowing what to tell her.

"It hurts. It is driving me crazy that he has feelings for Anna. I know what they had been through was intense…"

"It's more than that Bella." I interjected.

"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows were kneaded together while she looked worried and anxious at me.

"Anna had an aneurysm that erupted. We think that the swap from one universe to the other, the stress and the two intercontinental flights, with the constant pressure changes caused it." I told her about everything that Edward had reported to us about the other time line.

As I did so I couldn't help but wondered how I would have faired if something like that would have happened to me.

But the second I was faced with the fact that that would mean losing Jasper and my family I couldn't continue the though it was too painful to imagine even in theory.

My heart broke for Anna.

"She was operated and when she was waking up from the anaesthesia she denied to be you. She kept that up and told Carlisle what happened hoping he would help her," I hung my head in shame and cast my eyes on the violet bed covers.

We didn't do this in this time line but still I couldn't help but to feel guilty and ashamed because I knew that Carlisle would have asked for my input before going through with his decision.

"Of course he didn't believe her and she got locked up into the mental institution," Bella gasped at that and looked eye wide at me while she covered her mouth with her hand.

"She was there for nearly a month and despite the fact that she could have rat us out she didn't."

"No one would have believed her." Bella threw in. "Except Renee." She added as an after though.

"She warned us about Victoria and no matter how angry she was at Edward or Carlisle or any of us she used her knowledge of the books to protect us," Edward admired her for that.

If Anna had wanted to she could have sought help from the mutts in regards of Victoria while she damned us to hell but she didn't.

"Edward feels responsibility towards her," Bella mumbled mostly to herself and looked out of the window wearing a thoughtful expression on her face.

He was in love with Anna and falling more and more in love with her but I was not going to be the one to break the news to Bella.

"Edward hasn't talked to me since…" Her voice broke then and she took a deep breath before continuing.

"Why won't he come and talk to me? He isn't even going to school." She was shaking her head while she tried to swallow around the lump she had in her throat.

"He has a lot to think about. You know that Edward needs time to figure things out and he does that alone. A lot happened, things that were very hard on him and he is still trying to process that." I tried to give her an honest explanation without having to open the giant box of worms.

Who Anna really was to Edward that was something he had to explain to Bella himself.

"I miss him so much. It hurts." Bella was clutching her chest as if she experienced physical pain.

"He visits you at night when you sleep," I blurted out even though I wasn't sure that was the right thing to do but it was just too heart breaking seeing her this miserable and broken.

Edward was coming about every second night into her room for a few hours to acclimate himself to her scent again and to think. He watched over her as she slept just as he watched over Anna.

Her eyes shot to mine and I could see a hopeful light filling them after my words sank in.

Immediately I felt unsure if I had done the right thing. The more hope she had the more it would hurt in case…

"Really?" She asked carefully.

"He is sitting in the rocking chair and watches you sleep." I nodded reluctantly.

A smile graced her lips and her eyes softened before a frown covered her face.

"But why doesn't he wake me up?"

"Because then you would want answers he does not yet have, Bella."

She looked instantly worried.

"Do you…" she began and then swallowed hard. "Do you still see the wedding?"

I sighed.

Yes, I did still saw a wedding in my visions but I had no idea who was the bride: Bella or Anna.

"Yes, I do," I said and she immediately let out a lung of air in relief.

"But Bella the wedding will not take place directly after graduation." I had to lie down the cold facts. At least some of them.

"But," she frowned once more.

"The Volturi are not breathing down our necks. There is no pressure. Edward won't rush into anything and there are still many things to figure out regarding Anna. We can't just leave her fending for herself."

"She is a strong person but everyone has a breaking point," I saw in a vision what would happen to her if we just left her after graduation.

She would struggle to survive, she obviously was a fighter, but eventually she would lose if left alone in this world that she was not yet able accept. At some point she would have used up all of her strength and since she would not be able to seek help or guidance from anyone….

"But I'm getting older!" She interjected fiercely.

I gave her a pointed look and she shrank back, bowing her head in defeat.

"The other thing I wanted to inform you about is that Edward will go to school tomorrow."

"Really?" Her face broke out into a joyful smile and her eyes danced in happiness.

"But!" I held my hand up and her face fell a little.

"I have to ask you to stay away from her. Anna would not react well if you came anywhere near her." The understatement of the centenary. I added in my head.

"Ok, I will do my best to stay out of her way but what if we have classes together?"

"You won't that's already been taken care of." I answered her before I moved on to the tricky part.

"Edward will be at her side for now. We are not entirely sure how she will react when she sees you again and she will need monitoring to be able to adjust into the role of Anna Swan which means that you will not be able to approach neither Edward nor me when we are with her." She was biting her bottom lip while her eyes blazed angrily at me. She obviously didn't like this one bit.

"Bella she might snap…."

"I know," she huffed before she groaned in defeat.

"I know. At least I will see Edward again."