Another story...
Title: Bells
Author:
deadlyxchagrin
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Charlie, Edward/Bella, Canon couples
Table/Prompt: Gamma #4 meaning
Word Count: 3,056
Summary: Charlie found that all the imporant things in his life seem to center around bells.
Author's Notes: First time writing something out of Edward/Bella/Jacob angst. >_> Also, I had some ussues with first person and third person...
SO I'M SORRY!
And hey, this one fits in one post =] Enjoy
Oh, and Eclipse spoilers
The meaning of Bella was beautiful, or so he'd been told. However, for Charlie Swan-while he knew his Bella was certainly beautiful-Bella took things into a whole new meaning. As he looked back on his life and concluded that his top five most memorable occasions all seemed to circle around bells, or some other form of the word. He gazed into the mirror, adjusting his tie, as he remembered the first one. The event had took place so long ago, but he remembered as clearly as if it were yesterday. In fact, the day had started out much similar to this one, including him waking up early, getting dressed, and then spending hours upon hours perfecting his attire until fifteen minutes before the actual event.
Charlie was next to hyperventilating as he struggled to make himself look completely perfect. He ran a hand through his hair, combed it forward, and then to the side, desperately trying to find the perfect position. His mind was traveling so many places he couldn't really keep track of his thoughts. Next his hands frantically tried to unwrinkled is tux, which didn't really have any wrinkles in the first place, but either way it didn't look like it did in the movies. Everything should be perfect for today, right? It didn't matter that this was reality, and in reality things were never perfect, but this was his wedding day for heaven's sake! Was there really a need to make this difficult?
"Charlie, it's almost time," Harry called, walking into the small room. Charlie shook his head, trying to shake off all fuzz and confusion. He wanted to think as clearly as possible today; he wanted to remember every detail.
"I can't believe I'm getting married," he groaned, turning away from the mirror.
"I can't believe you just spent five million hours getting dressed," Harry teased, patting his friend on the back.
"I can't believe you're joking around about this on my wedding day!" he cried, frantically trying to gather himself for the wedding would start.
"You really love her, don't you?" Harry whispered, staring at his best friend in wonder. Charlie nodded.
"More than I ever thought possible."
"Well I bid you good luck! Hope she doesn't get sick of you until after the first week!" Harry laughed. Charlie's eyes widened, worry painted over his face. No more words were said, though, for at that moment loud bells began ringing. Charlie smiled, his nerves settling slightly. Renee, his soon to be wife, loved bells. Not one detail of the wedding was as important as the bells that would tell the town the wedding was about to start. Charlie had never really understood her dire need for the bells; he actually found their ringing obnoxious, but she loved them. He loved her, so they would be there, ringing at exactly two o'clock.
"Guess I better get out there," Charlie muttered, starting for the door. Harry smiled, giving him a little push.
"You go get 'em!"
Charlie laughed as he walked out towards his place, for it wasn't just that he was getting married. It was the meaning behind it: a lifetime with Renee.
The day Charlie had married Renee was possibly one of the most spectacular days in his life. He remembered exactly the way she'd look walking down the isle, so beautiful in her white gown. What luck he'd had! He remembered wondering how he'd come to marry such an extravagant women. Yet, here in his old age, it was bittersweet to remember to day, a kind reminder of what he used to have, and would never have again. Charlie shook his head, examining himself in his suit. This day was not about him. It was about his daughter, the beautiful Bella. She'd grown up so fast; it was shocking she was already an adult! He remembered, just as clearly as his wedding day, the day she was born. He smiled at the thought.
"Chief, you've got a call," a co-worker told him. Charlie looked up, nodding as his picked up the phone.
"Charlie!" a loud voice shrieked in his ear. He winced, but quickly replied.
"Renee, what's wrong?"
"The baby, Charlie, the baby!" she huffed, and he could tell she was struggling to breath correctly.
"What? Is she okay? Are you okay? What's going on?" he asked, terrified at the thought of something going wrong. Renee screamed.
"She's being born!"
Charlie didn't even answer, but instead threw down the phone, dashed for his car, and drove a dangerously fast amount over the speed limit to the hospital. The actual birth of his daughter was a bit fuzzy; the fluids and screaming made him queasy However, he did recall after the baby was born, Renee holding her, and him peering down into her beautiful deep, brown eyes.
"She's beautiful," Charlie whispered.
"What shall we name her?" Renee asked. Charlie smiled; while Renee may have avoided this decision, he had not.
"What about Isabella?"
"Why?" Renee asked, laughing happily.
"So we can call her Bella for short. Just like your bells," Charlie said, kissing his wife on the cheek. She smiled, sighing.
"Isn't that a little," she trailed off, waving her hand.
"No," Charlie objected. "Bella, because you love bells, and besides, Bella means beautiful. It's got meaning no matter how you look at it, love."
"Isabella it is."
Charlie closed his eyes, for a moment wishing it was twenty years ago, and he was young and handsome. He figured, if the story was to go as planned, that Harry would walk in right about now, here to tell him to get his butt out and get married. However, he was not getting married, Harry was gone, and he still had plenty of time. When the door opened, though, he jumped, afraid he'd take his daydreaming to far. As he opened his eyes and turned away from the mirror, though, he was a little shocked to see Renee.
"Renee, what's wrong?" he asked, concern written all over his face. She sniffled, a tear running down her cheek.
"She's grown up so fast!" she blubbered, falling into his ready arms. "It seemed like just yesterday she hadn't even seen a boy, and now," Renee cut off, beginning to cry again.
"It's alright, Renee. She's a big girl now."
"I know. I know. I just," she sniffled. "I'm so happy. And so sad at the same time!" she exclaimed. Charlie laughed.
"Where's Phil?"
"Oh," Renee muttered. "He's off talking to one of the brothers about baseball or something," she muttered, waving the question off.
"Don't you think we should learn their names? They are going to be family after all!"
"It was the big beefy one," Renee informed, squinting her eyes.
"That would be Emmett, I believe," Charlie mused, glad that, at least, Bella had chosen the one that didn't look like he could knock him out.
"Ha," Renee commented. "You know, I didn't know they were all that beautiful. I thought maybe it was just a genetic thing, but they aren't related at all, are they?" Renee asked.
"No. They're all crazy beautiful. Bella fits right in!" Charlie joked. Renee laughed along with him, thought Charlie was sure she was still crying as well.
"Come on out. I think the parents-"
"-Carlisle and Esme-"
"Yes, them! Well, they would like to talk to us," Renee proclaimed, dragging Charlie out the door. He sighed, wondering how things ended this way. How had he lost her?
Charlie came home from work on a Wednesday, anxious to see his wife and daughter. He opened the door, a little surprised to hear banging going on upstairs.
"Renee?" he called, walking slowly inside.
"I'm going home!" she shouted, her voice breaking.
"Wha-Renee!" he pleaded, confuse and afraid. In one hand she was carrying a duffle, in the other Bella, who was crying helplessly.
"Be quiet. You're making her cry," she hissed, bouncing my daughter a little. She laughed after a moment, clinging to her mother.
"Why, Renee? What's the problem?" Charlie asked, befuddled.
"I can't do this anymore. I can't put down any more roots here. I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like you! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake whatever crazy people lived here before me did. I hate it. I can't stay here another minute! I'm taking Bella with me and leaving!" Renee cried, walking out the door and slamming it behind her. Charlie stood there dumbstruck, coat dropping to floor. He couldn't believe what had just happened. What had just happened? Was she gone? Was he really just…alone?
From that day on Charlie made sure Fork's bells never rang again, and he always called Bella by her real name, Isabella. It hurt too much to have it any other way. The two most treasured things in their relationship, and everything they meant, had just been shattered with her departure, and it was all Charlie could do but erase it.
"Carlisle, Esme!" Renee exclaimed, happily bounding over to the Cullen parents. They smiled happily, greeting her back.
"Hello, Renee, it's a beautiful day isn't it?" Esme asked, gazing up at the cloudy day. To Renee, of course, it was a horrible day. This was exactly the kind of weather she hated, but Bella had insisted it be on the cloudiest day of the year.
"Today was meant to be beautiful. It is a wedding, of course," she said, calmly following Esme's gaze. I smiled politely at Carlisle, who's arm was placed around his wife.
"Yes, it is incidentally a beautiful day for a wedding," he commented nonchalantly.
"I suppose," Charlie muttered, still unsure about the whole idea. After leaving my Bella, Charlie still wasn't on the greatest terms with Edward, and it was a bit of a struggle to be perfectly civil to his parents.
"You've done such a wonderful job raising your daughter, Renee and Charlie. She's just a joy to have around the house," Esme complimented, making Renee blush.
"She's certainly around there a lot," Charlie muttered, too low for them to here.
"Why thank you, Esme. Edward is certainly a fine boy too. Very polite," Renee said. Charlie disagreed with her. Edward Cullen had never been polite to me. Nobody who could hurt Bella could ever be polite.
"I am so glad my Edward has found somebody like Bella," Esme sighed. Renee turned to Charlie, raising an eyebrow, but he simply shrugged.
"Yes," she said slowly, waiting for Esme to continue. She laughed, the tinkling noise music to anybody's ears ears.
"Edward has always been a bit anti-social, always moping around the house. I thought it was just a simple teenager thing, but it never went away," she paused, frowning. "I was worried his life was leading down a path that would only get him pain. He just needed to open up to somebody, and not be so negative," she explained. Renee mouthed an "oh," the conversation taking a path she had not expected, nor was prepared for. Charlie was intrigued, though. Did the Edward have more emotional problems then he thought?
"And then he met Bella," Esme continued, sighing in happiness. "And suddenly his world brightened up. I had never seen him any more happier than the day he met her, and then, especially the day they got engaged. Since that day, I don't believe the smile has ever left his face!" Esme proclaimed. Charlie sighed, nodding. He knew the feeling.
Charlie sat in the airport, fiddling his thumbs. A month ago Bella had called him, asking him if she could stay at his house for a while. he had no idea what had brought on this sudden change of heart; he knew for a fact she hated Forks just as much as her mother had. He was ecstatic to see her again, and could not complain. It seemed to take hours before the brown haired beauty finally arrived. It was awkward at first, she had obviously inherited all of his awkward clumsy traits, and when placed in the same room together they were definitely a hazard. Of course, it had been a little less than a year since I'd seen her, but she still looked at beautiful as ever. The ride to the house was quiet, except for the few miner small conversations about weather. As we got home I told her about the car, which she seemed genuinely exited to receive. Bella always liked her car, and it pleased me that I had given it to her. It was a life changing event when Bella came, filled with lots of new troubles and concerns he hadn't thought about before, but most of all there was happiness. It was one he hadn't felt in quite a while too. It was like with the return of his daughter Charlie had been brought new meaning.
"Charlie, it's time!" Renee squealed, running off to find Phil. Quickly everyone was taking their places, so, a little flustered I went to go find Bella. It was, after all, my job to walk her down the isle.
"Dad!" she exclaimed, and I was shocked to see how wonderful she looked. Her dress was extravagant, but I was sure it couldn't have looked better on anybody else.
"Ready, Bells?" he asked, smiling. She nodded, blushing.
"Yes."
"Make sure you don't trip," he warned, and a new shade of shock and worry appeared on his daughter's face.
"Dad!" she hissed.
"You'll be fine," he assured, and before they knew it they were walking down to isle. Charlie couldn't believe such a grown up young lady was standing beside him, ready to go declare herself to a man. he gazed up at the alter, glancing over the Cullen's and Renee, and then finally to Edward. Then he remembered then exactly what he had done to her, exactly why he hated him.
There was nothing he could do with Bella. She spent what felt like years in her room, in a zombie like state. She was the living dead, walking around only trying to exist, to survive, but not really living. She was looking everywhere, eyes dancing widely, but never really seeing. All Charlie could think was "he did this to her."
Charlie was always uncertain when he learned his daughter was dating a Cullen boy, but he accepted it. He hadn't done anything disruptive yet. Then, suddenly, he'd broken up with Bella. Charlie didn't know what he'd told her, what had made her so dead, but he knew it must have been bad. Every time he looked at her he was reminded of himself, when Renee left him, except her pain never ended. Her pain continued into the night, when she screamed so loud he feared her lungs would burst. It was a black time for the Swan house, one that Charlie would never forget, so much, in fact, that it made his top five list of things he remembered.
Edward Cullen could not and would not ever understand what he did to Charlie's daughter. It wasn't just that he left; it was that he didn't know what he meant to Bella, and how leaving would affect her. He didn't think of what it would do to those around him. He just did. And Bella was now left with no meaning, and if Bella had no meaning, then what did that mean for me?
Charlie looked at Edward, his almost son in law, and saw him smile wider than he had ever seen anybody smile in his life. Edward's features were a mixture of amazement, happiness, and love. Charlie was reminded of my wedding day, and he supposed that his face probably matched Edward's today. Charlie then glanced at his daughter, who was mirroring Edward's expression, showing a look Charlie had never seen before. There was so much love in her eyes, it made Charlie's heart ache. Then, he realized something dreadfully obvious, but terribly painful: While he could mirror Edward Cullen's expression completely, Renee could never mirror Bella's. She could never love him as much as Bella loved Edward.
And that was when Charlie realized why he disliked Edward so much, why he was so against the whole ordeal.
It was because Edward and Bella would have something that Charlie never would have. At this point in his life, Bella was the only thing he had left, and she was growing older, giving herself to somebody. In a few minutes she was no longer be Isabella Swan, Charlie Swan's daughter, but Isabella Cullen, Edward Cullen's wife.
And nobody but Charlie would ever know what that meant.
The wedding and reception went on as planned, a perfect day for his perfect daughter. The smile's on the Cullen's faces never left, and it felt that Charlie was the only one on the face of the planet that was not completely happy. He felt a bit selfish, but after all, he was only human. He sat through civilly, at least pretending to enjoy himself as Renee proceeded to inform Edward of everything he could possibly need to know about marrying and living with Bella, especially this young.
"Now she's very clumsy, you know. Make sure she doesn't fall down any stairs, or trip over any rocks, or shoelaces. Keep the house very clean!"
"Mom!"
"And no pregnancy. Condoms, condoms, condoms!"
"Mom, stop!" Bella wailed, burying her red face in her hands. Edward handled the whole situation fairly well, though, but I couldn't be sure. I wasn't very included in the conversation until near the end up the reception when Edward and Bella confronted me alone.
"Chief Swan," Edward starting, looking sincere, "I would like to thank you for allowing me the amazing honor of marrying your daughter," he thanked, shaking my hand. I smiled a bit, feeling happy at least somebody appreciated what I was giving up. Then Bella spoke, eyes lighting up.
"Thanks dad. I know you weren't very exiting about this, but…it was so much better with you here," she murmured, throwing her arms around me. A little shocked, I wrapped my arms around her as well, sighing.
"I love you, dad," she whispered into my coat. "I know it may not mean much now but-" I smiled, not hearing the rest of her sentence.
It meant the world to me.
Author:
deadlyxchagrin
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Charlie, Edward/Bella, Canon couples
Table/Prompt: Gamma #4 meaning
Word Count: 3,056
Summary: Charlie found that all the imporant things in his life seem to center around bells.
Author's Notes: First time writing something out of Edward/Bella/Jacob angst. >_> Also, I had some ussues with first person and third person...
SO I'M SORRY!
And hey, this one fits in one post =] Enjoy
Oh, and Eclipse spoilers
The meaning of Bella was beautiful, or so he'd been told. However, for Charlie Swan-while he knew his Bella was certainly beautiful-Bella took things into a whole new meaning. As he looked back on his life and concluded that his top five most memorable occasions all seemed to circle around bells, or some other form of the word. He gazed into the mirror, adjusting his tie, as he remembered the first one. The event had took place so long ago, but he remembered as clearly as if it were yesterday. In fact, the day had started out much similar to this one, including him waking up early, getting dressed, and then spending hours upon hours perfecting his attire until fifteen minutes before the actual event.
Charlie was next to hyperventilating as he struggled to make himself look completely perfect. He ran a hand through his hair, combed it forward, and then to the side, desperately trying to find the perfect position. His mind was traveling so many places he couldn't really keep track of his thoughts. Next his hands frantically tried to unwrinkled is tux, which didn't really have any wrinkles in the first place, but either way it didn't look like it did in the movies. Everything should be perfect for today, right? It didn't matter that this was reality, and in reality things were never perfect, but this was his wedding day for heaven's sake! Was there really a need to make this difficult?
"Charlie, it's almost time," Harry called, walking into the small room. Charlie shook his head, trying to shake off all fuzz and confusion. He wanted to think as clearly as possible today; he wanted to remember every detail.
"I can't believe I'm getting married," he groaned, turning away from the mirror.
"I can't believe you just spent five million hours getting dressed," Harry teased, patting his friend on the back.
"I can't believe you're joking around about this on my wedding day!" he cried, frantically trying to gather himself for the wedding would start.
"You really love her, don't you?" Harry whispered, staring at his best friend in wonder. Charlie nodded.
"More than I ever thought possible."
"Well I bid you good luck! Hope she doesn't get sick of you until after the first week!" Harry laughed. Charlie's eyes widened, worry painted over his face. No more words were said, though, for at that moment loud bells began ringing. Charlie smiled, his nerves settling slightly. Renee, his soon to be wife, loved bells. Not one detail of the wedding was as important as the bells that would tell the town the wedding was about to start. Charlie had never really understood her dire need for the bells; he actually found their ringing obnoxious, but she loved them. He loved her, so they would be there, ringing at exactly two o'clock.
"Guess I better get out there," Charlie muttered, starting for the door. Harry smiled, giving him a little push.
"You go get 'em!"
Charlie laughed as he walked out towards his place, for it wasn't just that he was getting married. It was the meaning behind it: a lifetime with Renee.
The day Charlie had married Renee was possibly one of the most spectacular days in his life. He remembered exactly the way she'd look walking down the isle, so beautiful in her white gown. What luck he'd had! He remembered wondering how he'd come to marry such an extravagant women. Yet, here in his old age, it was bittersweet to remember to day, a kind reminder of what he used to have, and would never have again. Charlie shook his head, examining himself in his suit. This day was not about him. It was about his daughter, the beautiful Bella. She'd grown up so fast; it was shocking she was already an adult! He remembered, just as clearly as his wedding day, the day she was born. He smiled at the thought.
"Chief, you've got a call," a co-worker told him. Charlie looked up, nodding as his picked up the phone.
"Charlie!" a loud voice shrieked in his ear. He winced, but quickly replied.
"Renee, what's wrong?"
"The baby, Charlie, the baby!" she huffed, and he could tell she was struggling to breath correctly.
"What? Is she okay? Are you okay? What's going on?" he asked, terrified at the thought of something going wrong. Renee screamed.
"She's being born!"
Charlie didn't even answer, but instead threw down the phone, dashed for his car, and drove a dangerously fast amount over the speed limit to the hospital. The actual birth of his daughter was a bit fuzzy; the fluids and screaming made him queasy However, he did recall after the baby was born, Renee holding her, and him peering down into her beautiful deep, brown eyes.
"She's beautiful," Charlie whispered.
"What shall we name her?" Renee asked. Charlie smiled; while Renee may have avoided this decision, he had not.
"What about Isabella?"
"Why?" Renee asked, laughing happily.
"So we can call her Bella for short. Just like your bells," Charlie said, kissing his wife on the cheek. She smiled, sighing.
"Isn't that a little," she trailed off, waving her hand.
"No," Charlie objected. "Bella, because you love bells, and besides, Bella means beautiful. It's got meaning no matter how you look at it, love."
"Isabella it is."
Charlie closed his eyes, for a moment wishing it was twenty years ago, and he was young and handsome. He figured, if the story was to go as planned, that Harry would walk in right about now, here to tell him to get his butt out and get married. However, he was not getting married, Harry was gone, and he still had plenty of time. When the door opened, though, he jumped, afraid he'd take his daydreaming to far. As he opened his eyes and turned away from the mirror, though, he was a little shocked to see Renee.
"Renee, what's wrong?" he asked, concern written all over his face. She sniffled, a tear running down her cheek.
"She's grown up so fast!" she blubbered, falling into his ready arms. "It seemed like just yesterday she hadn't even seen a boy, and now," Renee cut off, beginning to cry again.
"It's alright, Renee. She's a big girl now."
"I know. I know. I just," she sniffled. "I'm so happy. And so sad at the same time!" she exclaimed. Charlie laughed.
"Where's Phil?"
"Oh," Renee muttered. "He's off talking to one of the brothers about baseball or something," she muttered, waving the question off.
"Don't you think we should learn their names? They are going to be family after all!"
"It was the big beefy one," Renee informed, squinting her eyes.
"That would be Emmett, I believe," Charlie mused, glad that, at least, Bella had chosen the one that didn't look like he could knock him out.
"Ha," Renee commented. "You know, I didn't know they were all that beautiful. I thought maybe it was just a genetic thing, but they aren't related at all, are they?" Renee asked.
"No. They're all crazy beautiful. Bella fits right in!" Charlie joked. Renee laughed along with him, thought Charlie was sure she was still crying as well.
"Come on out. I think the parents-"
"-Carlisle and Esme-"
"Yes, them! Well, they would like to talk to us," Renee proclaimed, dragging Charlie out the door. He sighed, wondering how things ended this way. How had he lost her?
Charlie came home from work on a Wednesday, anxious to see his wife and daughter. He opened the door, a little surprised to hear banging going on upstairs.
"Renee?" he called, walking slowly inside.
"I'm going home!" she shouted, her voice breaking.
"Wha-Renee!" he pleaded, confuse and afraid. In one hand she was carrying a duffle, in the other Bella, who was crying helplessly.
"Be quiet. You're making her cry," she hissed, bouncing my daughter a little. She laughed after a moment, clinging to her mother.
"Why, Renee? What's the problem?" Charlie asked, befuddled.
"I can't do this anymore. I can't put down any more roots here. I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like you! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake whatever crazy people lived here before me did. I hate it. I can't stay here another minute! I'm taking Bella with me and leaving!" Renee cried, walking out the door and slamming it behind her. Charlie stood there dumbstruck, coat dropping to floor. He couldn't believe what had just happened. What had just happened? Was she gone? Was he really just…alone?
From that day on Charlie made sure Fork's bells never rang again, and he always called Bella by her real name, Isabella. It hurt too much to have it any other way. The two most treasured things in their relationship, and everything they meant, had just been shattered with her departure, and it was all Charlie could do but erase it.
"Carlisle, Esme!" Renee exclaimed, happily bounding over to the Cullen parents. They smiled happily, greeting her back.
"Hello, Renee, it's a beautiful day isn't it?" Esme asked, gazing up at the cloudy day. To Renee, of course, it was a horrible day. This was exactly the kind of weather she hated, but Bella had insisted it be on the cloudiest day of the year.
"Today was meant to be beautiful. It is a wedding, of course," she said, calmly following Esme's gaze. I smiled politely at Carlisle, who's arm was placed around his wife.
"Yes, it is incidentally a beautiful day for a wedding," he commented nonchalantly.
"I suppose," Charlie muttered, still unsure about the whole idea. After leaving my Bella, Charlie still wasn't on the greatest terms with Edward, and it was a bit of a struggle to be perfectly civil to his parents.
"You've done such a wonderful job raising your daughter, Renee and Charlie. She's just a joy to have around the house," Esme complimented, making Renee blush.
"She's certainly around there a lot," Charlie muttered, too low for them to here.
"Why thank you, Esme. Edward is certainly a fine boy too. Very polite," Renee said. Charlie disagreed with her. Edward Cullen had never been polite to me. Nobody who could hurt Bella could ever be polite.
"I am so glad my Edward has found somebody like Bella," Esme sighed. Renee turned to Charlie, raising an eyebrow, but he simply shrugged.
"Yes," she said slowly, waiting for Esme to continue. She laughed, the tinkling noise music to anybody's ears ears.
"Edward has always been a bit anti-social, always moping around the house. I thought it was just a simple teenager thing, but it never went away," she paused, frowning. "I was worried his life was leading down a path that would only get him pain. He just needed to open up to somebody, and not be so negative," she explained. Renee mouthed an "oh," the conversation taking a path she had not expected, nor was prepared for. Charlie was intrigued, though. Did the Edward have more emotional problems then he thought?
"And then he met Bella," Esme continued, sighing in happiness. "And suddenly his world brightened up. I had never seen him any more happier than the day he met her, and then, especially the day they got engaged. Since that day, I don't believe the smile has ever left his face!" Esme proclaimed. Charlie sighed, nodding. He knew the feeling.
Charlie sat in the airport, fiddling his thumbs. A month ago Bella had called him, asking him if she could stay at his house for a while. he had no idea what had brought on this sudden change of heart; he knew for a fact she hated Forks just as much as her mother had. He was ecstatic to see her again, and could not complain. It seemed to take hours before the brown haired beauty finally arrived. It was awkward at first, she had obviously inherited all of his awkward clumsy traits, and when placed in the same room together they were definitely a hazard. Of course, it had been a little less than a year since I'd seen her, but she still looked at beautiful as ever. The ride to the house was quiet, except for the few miner small conversations about weather. As we got home I told her about the car, which she seemed genuinely exited to receive. Bella always liked her car, and it pleased me that I had given it to her. It was a life changing event when Bella came, filled with lots of new troubles and concerns he hadn't thought about before, but most of all there was happiness. It was one he hadn't felt in quite a while too. It was like with the return of his daughter Charlie had been brought new meaning.
"Charlie, it's time!" Renee squealed, running off to find Phil. Quickly everyone was taking their places, so, a little flustered I went to go find Bella. It was, after all, my job to walk her down the isle.
"Dad!" she exclaimed, and I was shocked to see how wonderful she looked. Her dress was extravagant, but I was sure it couldn't have looked better on anybody else.
"Ready, Bells?" he asked, smiling. She nodded, blushing.
"Yes."
"Make sure you don't trip," he warned, and a new shade of shock and worry appeared on his daughter's face.
"Dad!" she hissed.
"You'll be fine," he assured, and before they knew it they were walking down to isle. Charlie couldn't believe such a grown up young lady was standing beside him, ready to go declare herself to a man. he gazed up at the alter, glancing over the Cullen's and Renee, and then finally to Edward. Then he remembered then exactly what he had done to her, exactly why he hated him.
There was nothing he could do with Bella. She spent what felt like years in her room, in a zombie like state. She was the living dead, walking around only trying to exist, to survive, but not really living. She was looking everywhere, eyes dancing widely, but never really seeing. All Charlie could think was "he did this to her."
Charlie was always uncertain when he learned his daughter was dating a Cullen boy, but he accepted it. He hadn't done anything disruptive yet. Then, suddenly, he'd broken up with Bella. Charlie didn't know what he'd told her, what had made her so dead, but he knew it must have been bad. Every time he looked at her he was reminded of himself, when Renee left him, except her pain never ended. Her pain continued into the night, when she screamed so loud he feared her lungs would burst. It was a black time for the Swan house, one that Charlie would never forget, so much, in fact, that it made his top five list of things he remembered.
Edward Cullen could not and would not ever understand what he did to Charlie's daughter. It wasn't just that he left; it was that he didn't know what he meant to Bella, and how leaving would affect her. He didn't think of what it would do to those around him. He just did. And Bella was now left with no meaning, and if Bella had no meaning, then what did that mean for me?
Charlie looked at Edward, his almost son in law, and saw him smile wider than he had ever seen anybody smile in his life. Edward's features were a mixture of amazement, happiness, and love. Charlie was reminded of my wedding day, and he supposed that his face probably matched Edward's today. Charlie then glanced at his daughter, who was mirroring Edward's expression, showing a look Charlie had never seen before. There was so much love in her eyes, it made Charlie's heart ache. Then, he realized something dreadfully obvious, but terribly painful: While he could mirror Edward Cullen's expression completely, Renee could never mirror Bella's. She could never love him as much as Bella loved Edward.
And that was when Charlie realized why he disliked Edward so much, why he was so against the whole ordeal.
It was because Edward and Bella would have something that Charlie never would have. At this point in his life, Bella was the only thing he had left, and she was growing older, giving herself to somebody. In a few minutes she was no longer be Isabella Swan, Charlie Swan's daughter, but Isabella Cullen, Edward Cullen's wife.
And nobody but Charlie would ever know what that meant.
The wedding and reception went on as planned, a perfect day for his perfect daughter. The smile's on the Cullen's faces never left, and it felt that Charlie was the only one on the face of the planet that was not completely happy. He felt a bit selfish, but after all, he was only human. He sat through civilly, at least pretending to enjoy himself as Renee proceeded to inform Edward of everything he could possibly need to know about marrying and living with Bella, especially this young.
"Now she's very clumsy, you know. Make sure she doesn't fall down any stairs, or trip over any rocks, or shoelaces. Keep the house very clean!"
"Mom!"
"And no pregnancy. Condoms, condoms, condoms!"
"Mom, stop!" Bella wailed, burying her red face in her hands. Edward handled the whole situation fairly well, though, but I couldn't be sure. I wasn't very included in the conversation until near the end up the reception when Edward and Bella confronted me alone.
"Chief Swan," Edward starting, looking sincere, "I would like to thank you for allowing me the amazing honor of marrying your daughter," he thanked, shaking my hand. I smiled a bit, feeling happy at least somebody appreciated what I was giving up. Then Bella spoke, eyes lighting up.
"Thanks dad. I know you weren't very exiting about this, but…it was so much better with you here," she murmured, throwing her arms around me. A little shocked, I wrapped my arms around her as well, sighing.
"I love you, dad," she whispered into my coat. "I know it may not mean much now but-" I smiled, not hearing the rest of her sentence.
It meant the world to me.