Chapter Text
Tanya was amused the rest of the night, and would periodically start laughing about it, but when the sun came up the next morning, she sat me down and admonished me for giving Bella my number. I was unrepentant, though. If my Mate needed my help, I wanted to be able to give it, no strings attached.
Her father, while not intentionally neglectful, didn’t seem to know what to do with a teenager. Add to that what I’d overheard at school, and it added up to a teen who didn’t know how to ask for things from either parent. So, I would fill in the gaps.
When she needed something, if he didn’t get it for her, I would. If she needed a ride, or any other form of help, I’d do it. The world could be a scary place, and even though Forks was a small town, bad things still happened.
That weekend was a turning point for how I considered Bella, too. It was obvious to me now that she was attracted to me, as well, and I’m not sure why but I wasn’t expecting the bond to already be growing on her end. I’d done my best to keep my distance, after all.
Spring Break for Forks High was quickly approaching, only three weeks away, and the idea of not being able to see her for over a week was… excruciating. So, I had to start planning something. It took longer than I’d like to admit for me to realize that Irina was the perfect excuse. She’s young enough it wouldn’t be totally out of place for her to befriend Bella, and since she’s not a teacher, there’s nothing holding her back like there is for me.
After I’ve explained my plan to my sisters, Tanya is shaking her head and giving me a pitying look, but Irina looks like she might be considering it.
“How will you convince Bella not to mention that you were at the condo, too?” Irina asks me, and I take a deep breath.
“I’m not sure of that, yet. I’ll just have to reason with her. We won’t be able to see each other outside of school if she’s not willing to be quiet about it, but I can’t go without seeing her for over a week, either.” I pause, considering my next words, then say in a whisper “I think she’s starting to feel the bond, too… If she is, it’ll hurt her, too, to be away from me like that. I don’t want her to get desperate and end up hurting herself, trying to find where we live.”
My sisters both seem more understanding after I say that, and Irina makes plans to befriend Bella through her clothing store. Despite being a teenage girl, Bella doesn’t seem to enjoy clothes the way most teenage girls do, but that doesn’t bother me.
Each night, Irina reports any progress made, and unfortunately for both of us, it takes her three days to spot Bella at a nearby store and entice her inside. I intentionally stay away from my sister’s shop after school and on weekends, not wanting anyone to think I’m following one of my students, but Tanya will occasionally go to help Irina.
At the end of the second week is when Irina floats the idea of Bella going to Seattle with her for a few days of her Spring Break, and luckily, the brunette seems excited about it. It takes a couple of days before Chief Swan comes into Irina’s shop to ask questions about everything, and Tanya is there when he does.
A text from Tanya has me hurrying to the back room of the shop, glad it’s Sunday now. One more week of school, then Spring Break will be here, and I’d started getting antsy that this plan wouldn’t work.
“So, it’ll be the two of you in Seattle, and you wanted to invite Bella to come explore with you?” He asks, and I can hear the suspicion in his voice. It’s nothing we didn’t expect, though. He’s a dad, as well as a Police Chief, it’s only natural he’d be suspicious about two adults wanting to be around a teenager like this.
“Yes. There are several bookstores near our condo, and Bella has mentioned before that she wants to explore Seattle. This way, she has adult supervision, and a safe place to go back to at the end of the evening. We have a guest room she can use. We were already going to go, anyway, and Irina thought it would be a nice idea to invite her. They’ve become friends, you see.” Tanya tells him.
Her voice is a bit softer when she speaks next “Irina had just graduated before we moved here, and she’s had a hard time making friends. She’s only recently turned twenty, and besides this shop, she doesn’t get to interact with people very much. It means a lot to her, your daughter befriending her.”
I grin, thinking the wording is perfect to get him to go along with this, but he doesn’t say anything, just makes a quiet, considering sound. It makes me wish I could see his face, and maybe even be a part of the conversation, but Tanya’s stipulation was that I stay out of this part of things.
After a moment of quiet, she adds “My other sister, Kate, is one of Bella’s teachers. I promise you, we only have the best of intentions with this. She’s seen how hard of a time Bella has making friends at school, I think this could be a good thing for both of them. Bella will call you daily, if you’d like? You can even drive her up yourself, check out our condo.”
Irina adds gently “Kate is going down to Portland during Spring Break, so she won’t be here in town, and she won’t be going with us to the City.”
That part is only somewhat true. I do have plans to drive to Portland, but I’d hoped to take Bella with me. There’s a huge bookstore there I think she’ll like, so she will go home with a lot of books, they just won’t all have been bought in Seattle.
I won’t be driving with them, though, that much is true. I’m taking my own car, and leaving right after school gets out on that Friday. I’ll be preparing the condo for their arrival, then I’ll make myself and my car scarce when they show up, especially if Chief Swan is going to be there to take a look around.
Charlie Swan seems to buy it, even with his built-in lie detector. To be fair, though, we’ve been around for so long, anything we say could come across as the truth as long as we use the right inflections when speaking.
Relief flows through me, knowing I won’t need to spend an extended period of time away from my Mate. I still can’t tell her everything yet, but getting to spend time with her and not having to hold back so much… It’s a gift I didn’t know I needed. Though, going back to how things are now will be more difficult after being free around her, maybe I won’t need to be so… distant… with her outside of school.
I still won’t be able to interact with her in front of other humans the way I want to, no matter where we are, but just getting to talk to her like an equal, and maybe hold her hand… That’s all I’m hoping for while we’re in Seattle together.
If more than that happens, well… depending on what it is, I may or may not try to stop it. There are still boundaries I won’t cross until she’s legally an adult. If the worst happens and we need to leave with her, it’ll be a lot easier to do if she’s legally an adult.
As wonderful as Tanya, Irina, Carmen and El all are, having them around doesn’t compete with the Mate bond I feel with Bella. The loneliness of having no Mate can be soul crushing, something I’m far too familiar with. No amount of bed warmers can ever fill that gap, though I’d foolishly let myself believe they could, if I just tried hard enough.
I know now that if I lost everyone else, yes, I would grieve for them, and I would probably try to avenge them… But, if I lost Bella? There’s no comparison. I know both Carmen and El would say the same, were I to ask them. So would any other Mated couple.
So, when the day comes that my sisters are taking Bella with them to Seattle, I’ve already made myself scarce and driven down to Portland. They’re going to call me tomorrow, once Bella has settled in a little bit, and fake a reason for me to come join them. Likely a plumbing issue, or something else that won’t damage the condo too badly, but something I know how to fix.
The distance makes my chest hurt, but I can handle it for one night. While I’m in Portland, I scope out a few places I can take Bella to eat, listening to how people react to the food. I’ll have to pretend to eat too, since none of us plan to tell Bella the truth about us being Vampires this early on in things, but that’s okay. For her, I’ll do it with a smile on my face.
I have a list written down on a pad of paper and tucked in my glove box by the time the call comes from my sisters. There’s a bright grin on my face as I start the engine and start driving North to Seattle. Bella has already spoken to her father about settling in well, and Tanya told me she was very excited to be spending the week in the condo. The plan is to take her home on Saturday, leaving after lunch time and getting her home in time for her to have dinner with Charlie. That way, she has Sunday to do her laundry and be ready for school on Monday.
Bella’s POV:
When you spend your whole childhood knowing you can’t quite trust the adults around you to do what needs doing, like paying the bills and keeping food in the fridge, it does something to your ability to trust anyone else. So, when I agreed to move in with Charlie, I wasn’t expecting much. I knew he was more reliable than Renee, but he’d been living like a bachelor for so long, I didn’t expect a whole lot.
He’d been handling the bills just fine, and I was sure he would be willing to pay for groceries if I cooked, but that was about it. Maybe a ride home from school sometimes, or to school if it was snowing.
The last thing I’d expected when I arrived was for him to have gotten me a vehicle. When Billy and Jacob showed up with my truck, I was so excited. That mood followed me to my first day at my new school, unexpectedly.
Most of the day was what I’d expected. I was the new girl, and that made me exciting, to all the boys around me. It also made some of the girls jealous of the attention I was getting. What no one knew, though, was that I’d never been interested in teenage boys. Or males in general, really. I’d seen far too many break Renee’s heart, or the hearts of other women, and had long ago come to the realization that the person I’d end up with wouldn’t be male.
Charlie is great, don’t get me wrong, but he’s the exception, not the rule.
Walking into my second class after lunch, I don’t notice the teacher at first, due to tripping right before I walk through the doorway. Mechanically, I walk to her desk once I do see her, handing over the slip I’m supposed to have all of my teachers sign. It takes everything I have to not stare at her, so much so that I don’t notice in the moment that she’s staring at me.
Automatically, I take notes once the lesson truly starts, and I know in just a few minutes that Ms. Denali truly has a passion for the subject. It makes me wonder what she’s doing here in this small town, when she could be teaching somewhere else, and making a lot more money doing it. I’m aware not all teachers are in it for the money, but she’s so unbelievably gorgeous, she could be anywhere, doing anything, and she’s here of all places? It doesn’t add up.
The woman is unfailingly kind, though, I’ll give her that. Snacks and drinks for her students, whenever she notices they’re struggling with an assignment, tutoring for any subject they might need help with, and she stays in her classroom during lunch as well as after school to help them. Not many teachers would be willing to do all of that, I know.
So, when gifts start showing up on my porch, my mind immediately goes to her, but there are things included that she couldn’t possibly know about. Like, my favorite candy, or bands I like. Having a stalker crosses my mind, but after asking Charlie a few questions, I put the idea aside.
It’s far more likely that I have an admirer, and one with deeper pockets than I have. Nothing is overly expensive, but the volume of things left for me, most of the time, tells me they have enough money they don’t have to worry about doing this.
As the weeks pass, I slowly tick people off of my list of possibilities. It’s not Jessica, she doesn’t have a job, and she’s a bit too self absorbed to do nice things like this for an extended period of time. Mike, while he does work, is too interested in his own hobbies to be doing this, and his car is too loud for him to drive onto my street at the crack of dawn and not be noticed.
Angela is still on my list, even though she doesn’t have a job either. Unlike Jessica, though, I can see her doing something like this, it would just have to be within her means. For all I know, she has a rich grandparent or something, that gives her money whenever she sees them.
Tyler is also still on my list, but that’s because he can be a little… obsessive… at times. I still catch him watching me, and he’ll just give me what I’m sure he thinks is a dreamy smile when he sees me looking back. I’m not out here, yet, but I am 100% a Lesbian, and that’s never going to change, no matter how many smiles, winks, or date offers I get from boys.
Some people just really don’t get that someone can be nice to you and still not like like you, even if you’re nice back. It’s been a problem since hormones started kicking in, and will probably continue being one for a long ass time.
When I first meet Irina, something about her strikes me as… odd… in a way that no one else has. Eventually, I decide she’s a good friend, but she goes on the list, too. The day I learn she’s related to Ms. Denali is the day I bump her up to the top of the list.
Irina may not go to our school, but if she’s the one leaving me these gifts, she certainly knows things about me that only someone at school could know. It’s not like I’m spending a lot of time with friends outside of school, after all. I mean, yes, there are some outings on weekends, but I don’t go to their houses to study, or just hang out.
So, when the offer for spending Spring Break in Seattle comes, I temporarily forget all about my list. It’s only in my head, because the idea of writing it down and explaining it to Charlie if he somehow saw it was… Well, unless I get concrete evidence that I’m being stalked, I don’t want to open that can of worms. It all seems harmless, after all. There aren’t any notes asking me to meet the person anywhere, they just leave gifts on my porch when only I will see them.
I can’t make up my mind on what all to take, and when I call Irina to ask about plans for the week to give myself a better idea, she offers to take me shopping with her oldest sister, Tanya, if I want. I’m uncertain, and I say so, but she just tells me to think about it and let them know when they pick me up.
At dinner that night, I ask Charlie about it, and he gives me a contemplative look, but doesn’t really say much. I feel a bit let down by it, but at the same time, I’m used to not being able to get new things when I need them, much less want them. So, what happens the next morning after breakfast is even more surprising.
“I’m not going to be able to take you to Seattle myself, kiddo. The station called earlier, but I… well, here. Enjoy your time in Seattle, alright?” He tells me, then passes over an envelope of cash. When I open it, my eyes go wide, and I look up at him, slack jawed.
Chuckling, he squeezes my shoulder before heading to the sink to rinse his dishes. “Leave yours in the sink, I’ll handle ‘em all tonight.” He mutters over his shoulder as he walks out, then I hear more chuckling from him as he goes upstairs to get his gun. There’s a safe up there for it, and he never has it on while we’re eating, no matter what. He doesn’t want to risk it going off with me right there, even if it’s an accident.
The envelope holds several hundred dollars in it, but I don’t count it until after I call Irina to ask if she and Tanya can pick me up. I don’t go into details, since I don’t have them myself, but I do tell her that Charlie got called into the station and won’t be able to take me to Seattle.
She answers quickly that they’ll be happy to pick me up, and once the call ends, I only have enough time to rinse my dishes before I need to go upstairs to grab my bag. The envelope comes with me, and I put a few bills in my wallet once I’m in my room, then the rest gets tucked into the bottom of my duffle for safe keeping.
I know neither is likely to steal the money from me, but there’s still a voice in the back of my mind that reminds me I won’t see this kind of money again for a very long time. So, I need to protect it as much as possible.
Knocking on the front door comes just as I’m stepping off the last step on my way back down, and I double check that I have everything quickly. “Be right there!” I call out as I mentally go through everything. Wallet, house keys, cell phone, clothes, toiletries, and I pause to grab my school bag. I don’t have much homework to do, but I do still have some, and unless I want to cram it all in on Sunday, I need to get it done while I’m in Seattle.
Irina grins at me when I open the door, then she holds out a hand. “Want me to take one of your bags?” She offers, and I hold out my school bag, then slide my hand up and down the strap of my duffle nervously. Irina gives me a gentler smile. “It’s alright Bella, I won’t bite, and neither will Tanya.” She promises.
The rest of Saturday goes smoothly, and when I wake up on Sunday morning, I call Charlie to let him know I’ve settled in alright. It’s only after that call happens that things go sideways, a bit. Irina looks contrite when I come out to make myself breakfast, and Tanya looks frustrated.
“The half-bathroom is currently flooded, and unfortunately, neither of us is very good with plumbing.” Tanya tells me. “Our building doesn’t currently have a repair person, so I had to call Kate, er, Ms. Denali to you. I hope that’s alright? She’s not going to be here for a couple more hours, so if you want to go home, I’ll understand.”
Irina protests immediately, and I mentally add a star to her name on my list.
“No, it’s okay. She’s never been anything but kind to me, and this is her home too, as much as it’s yours. Will she be staying just today, or?” I ask.
They share a look that I can’t interpret, but I’m not sure if it’s because I’m an only child, or if it’s just… them. Either way, they must decide something between themselves, because Irina steps closer to me and takes my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze while smiling softly at me.
“It’s likely that she’ll be staying for the rest of the week, I’m awful with plumbing. She has to fix things a lot. I know she’s your teacher, but if you’re uncomfortable spending a lot of time with her, you and I can go out a lot. There’s a lot of stores we can explore, and other places, too.” Irina tells me, and I nod.
“I’m alright with that.” I answer, but don’t specify which part, in case I need to change my mind later on. What my dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him, after all.