Fathers

Charlie

Part Three

By Simon

Well something’s up with the girl, not that she’d ever tell me what it is, what with me just being her father. She’s just different and it started maybe a week or so ago. Come to think of it, I think it was about the time that she took that shopping trip up to Port Angeles and came back late. She’d been a little on the moody side before that (like ever since she arrived) but suddenly she’s almost smiling and, damn, that’s a nice change.

It’s a boy. I’m sure if it, not that she’ll tell me anything. One of the kids at the school caught her eye and I’m willing to bet that she caught his as well.

Mike Newton, I bet that’s the one. I know the family, know him, too and she could do a lot worse than that kid. He works, gets decent grades as far as his mother seems to say and he’s never been in any trouble bad enough that I need to know about it. Well, good for her. I’m all for her getting her feet wet with a boyfriend, just so long as that’s all that’s she’s doing. I mean, I don’t mean to come across like Attila the Hun or anything like that, but she is my daughter. Door opened and at least two feet on the floor at all times, that what my grandmother used to insist on and while it may be old-fashioned it went a long way to let kids know that they were being watched.

So I was thinking that if she changed her mind and decided to go to that dance with Mike I’d have no problem with. That’s one of the rites of high school, right? I bet if Renee was here she’d practically force the issue and then buy fabric and make the dress herself and raid someone’s garden for flowers then cook them a nice dinner beforehand, as well. Me? I’m just happy that she seems to have moved past that teenaged angst stage she seemed stuck in.

 

* * *
 

Well, I’ll be damned. I mean talk about blind sided and she even gave me some warnings and clues that I was too stupid and blind to see.

Cullen. She likes the Cullen boy and let me tell you, at first I was pretty annoyed about the whole thing. Now, mind you, it’s not the Cullens themselves. Like I’ve said before I like Carlisle and am grateful for what he’s done for this town. I like his wife, too and I haven’t had a lick of trouble with any of those kids they’ve taken in but it never occurred to me that the youngest one was the boy Bella’d set her sights on…let alone that he might see what he’s looking for in Bella.

Don’t take this wrong, but he seems to me like he’s a little out of her—our—league and I’m wondering if his interest in her starts and stops with how tight she wears her jeans sometimes.

To tell you the truth, I thought that she liked Jacob—in fact I know for a fact that she does and I know she spent some time over at La Push with a bunch of her friends not long ago. I heard that some of the reservation kids were there, as well. In fact, I heard that she and Jake went for a long walk, just the two of them and they were gone a while.

Now I have less problem with her spending time with Jake than I do with her seeing just about anybody. Hell’s belles, Billy is about as good a man as I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and his boy is as close to his Dad as you could hope to find.

After Jake I was all right with Mike, but Edward Cullen? There’s something that doesn’t seem right about this thing to me. It just doesn’t feel right. I have a feeling that she’s going to get hurt and then I’ll be left with a mess and she’ll be left hurt.

They’re too different.

From what I hear the Cullens have money to burn and I barely have a pot, if you know what I mean. A cop doesn’t get rich.

Bella’s smart, smart as a whip but this Cullen boy is straight A, just like the rest of his family and I know he’s going to end up in some fancy school I couldn’t begin to be able to afford. ‘Come to think of it, that might not be a bad thing—they’d be broken up if that happened and then the problem would be solved.

Something happened when she was up in Port Angeles. I know it did; I’ve heard things, that he was the one who brought her home and Joseph told me that he saw the two of them eating dinner in some place up there that night. I’ve known Joe since before Bella was born, he’s the sheriff up there and he described Edward Cullen to a T. It was him, all right. She was supposed to be there with a couple of girlfriends shopping for prom dresses or something.

Fine, she’d better have some damn good answers when she gets home and that’s all I have to say about that. I don’t like his sneaking around and I’m damn curious to have a nice sit down with Mr. Edward Cullen. I want this kid to know that this is my daughter he’s playing with and that he’d damn well better toe the line.

 

* * *
 

“So, you want to tell me what happened up in Port Angeles?”

“I went shopping with my friends, you know that.”

“And you ended up with Cullen and then he drove you home, right? Is there something I need to know about this?”

Bella rolled her eyes and shrugged. “He just happened to be there, that’s all, and we were hungry so we had something to eat. No big deal.”

“So why did he drive you home?”

“Because the others were ready to leave and we were eating. God, it’s not like we eloped or had sex or anything, Charlie. Lighten up, okay?” She turned and stomped up to her room, slamming the door behind her. Christ—teenaged girls—I knew this wouldn’t be as easy as I’d hoped.

 

* * *
 

So a few days later I wasn’t surprised to walk in after work and see Cullen sitting in the kitchen while Bella cooked dinner. He had the manners to stand up when he saw me, nodded and actually held out his hand to shake. I think he may have been putting me on and I didn’t like the idea that I seemed to be interrupting something.

“Dad, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, my dad.” That was pretty much the end of the pleasantries because that was when Bella turned back to the stove to stir something.

“Edward, so have you and Bella been seeing much of one another?”

“Well, we’re in school together so it’s pretty inevitable.” He was just too damn smooth, like I was the kid and he was the parent.

“What were you doing up in Port Angeles last week? Bella said you ended up giving her a ride home. ‘You’re not a stalker, are you? You weren’t following the girls, right?”

He laughed, but I caught an edge to it that sounded off. “I was doing some errands for my sister Alice and ran into Bella and her friends, that’s all. We were hungry and they’d finished their meal so Bella and I decided to have something together then come home, that’s all.”

“’Talk in the car, I guess?” He nodded but didn’t give me any details. “You come over here much, Edward?”

“…Not so much.” He hesitated and I didn’t like that one bit—he was hiding something and I saw Bella’s back go stiff. Yeah, he’s been hanging around too much. I didn’t even have to hear his answer.

“Your parents know you’re here?” He nodded and almost, but not quite, hid a smirk—snotty kid. “’They expect you home for dinner, or are you eating with us tonight?”

“Actually Bella and I were going to work on some homework this evening, if that’s all right with you, Chief Swan. My parents won’t mind, assuming that you don’t, either.” Too smooth, too damn smooth. Too polite; he was playing with me.

“So you two are a couple.” I’d stated a fact, it wasn’t a question. The two kids exchanged a look. They were.

Something about this just didn’t sit right with me. Cullen was too confident, too assured and too much like he seemed to see this as a done deal. I didn’t like that Bella just hung back and seemed like she was happy to let him handle whatever needed handling and take the back seat to whatever it was he wanted.

I don't like where this is going even if it seems like it's just getting started. I have a gut feeling that this isn't healthy and I'm going to have a talk with Carlisle about this. I know teen-aged romances burn out fast but this feels different, like something's already been decided.

He seems pretty laid back but I just hope he's aware of what think may be going on between his son and my daughter. Like I said, I have a bad feeling about this and I think Bella may end up getting hurt. Okay, teenage heart-break is part of growing up but I'd rather to ease her way if I can.

 

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