The Intruders - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Charlie POV

I headed out of the station after another uneventful day in Forks. Im hungry and I know Bella won’t be home because it is Thursday night and she always works on Thursdays. I guess I’ll grab something at the diner instead of sitting in front of the TV with another Hungry Man meal.

I grabbed a seat at the bar next to an unfamiliar face.

“Hey, Chief! How are ya?” Cora, the waitress, poured me a cup of coffee.

“Doing good, Cora. How are you?”

“Just fine. What can I get you tonight?”

“Let me do the fried chicken salad. It is sort of healthy. Bella’s been on my case about eating better.”

Cora laughed. “She should be!”

Cora disappeared into the kitchen and I focused my attention to the naturally beautiful woman beside me. I admired her for a moment before speaking. I’d never seen such an attractive woman before in Forks. She had golden bronzed skin and wavy blonde hair that hid her face. I waited momentarily to see if she was with anyone. Nobody accompanied her. I noticed she wasn’t wearing a ring on her left hand. I chuckled to myself, wondering when the last time I had checked out a woman’s ring finger was.

“Hi there. Are you new in town?” I asked her, catching her off guard.

The wavy blonde hair slowly turned to the side, revealing a beautiful face that glanced in my direction. She had piercing blue eyes. She hesitated for a moment. “Um, yes. I am new to the area.”

“Well, I’m Charlie Swan, Chief of Police here in Forks. It’s nice to meet you...” I reached out to shake her hand.

She quickly obliged. “I’m Emma.” She removed her small hand quickly from mine and went back to her dinner.

“What brought you out here?” I asked, wondering if this was the mother of Bella’s strange peer at school.

“Well, my mom lives just outside the city and her health is deteriorating. I came out here to take care of her until she passes.”

“Oh, I am sorry to hear that, Emma.”

She shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s not so bad out here. I chose to live in Forks because I liked the schools here better.”

“You have children?”

“Uh, yes, two boys, only one is with me though. The other stayed behind with his father; he didn’t want to come here.” She laughed. “It’s not quite like the hustle and bustle of California.”

“California, huh?” That’s where you came from?”

“Yes. I miss the sunshine already. However, this is kind of a nice change. Forks is much smaller and cozier than where we’re from.”

“Well you’ll certainly loose that beautiful tan in no time at all.”

Emma smiled momentarily before looking down at her plate again. She left some cash on the bar and stood. “I better get going. It was nice to meet you Charlie.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Emma.” She started to walk towards the door and I stopped her. “Hey, listen, if you ever need anything, here’s my card. My cell number is on the back.”

She smiled, took the card, and left the diner. I sat there for moment staring after her. I think it was the first time I’d ever thought another woman was attractive since Bella’s mom. I had to find out more about her. I had to see her again. I’m pretty confident there is no relation between this woman and the new kid at Bella’s school.





Bella POV

A few weeks had passed. Not a lot had changed. Edward still didn’t like Anthony; although, I think Anthony was getting more and more accustomed to Edward’s presence. Alice still saw nothing of importance in Anthony’s future and she was bored with searching, but Edward insisted. I made a little leeway with Anthony, but not much. We were cordial to each other, but I hadn’t come close to breaking down his barrier. Charlie hadn’t found out anything about the Anderson family, but he was getting home later and later, and I wasn’t sure why.

It was sunny today, so Edward and the other Cullens weren’t in class. I normally hated school without them, but today I would use it to my advantage. I didn’t get a chance to sit near Anthony today in calculus, but the luck Gods were gracing me in chemistry. Anthony’s lab partner was out, and so was Edward. Mr. Henderson insisted we pair up today because we had a group lab activity. I immediately jumped up to join Anthony at his lab table so he would feel more comfortable. I thought sitting in Edward’s empty seat may cause him to close up. Mr. Henderson explained the assignment and the room filled with voices as everyone began their work.

At first, we worked diligently on the task at hand, mixing different chemicals, and keeping the conversation strictly on the assignment. As soon as I was starting to feel like he was letting his guard down, I tried to turn the conversation in a different direction.

“So, how are you and your mom liking Forks so far?” I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. “We don’t really like it.”

“Oh, does your mom want to go back to Texas?”

“Yea, but we can’t,” he said, looking down.

“Why not?” I asked. I caught a glimpse of panic on his face, as if he didn’t mean to say what he said.

“I mean, you know, we’ve already bought a house here and everything. We’re kind of stuck.”

“Oh, I see. Well, maybe it will grow on you. You should try to make friends and not be such a loner.”

He didn’t respond. “I’m sorry,” I finally said, thinking my comment was inappropriate.

He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I know I keep to myself. I just don’t know how long we’ll be here. It’s kind of complicated. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” I had pushed enough for one day.

***

I got home later than usual that night from work. I was surprised not to see my dad’s patrol car in the driveway when I pulled in. I still yelled his name when I went through the front door. “Dad? Are you here?”

“He’s not here, Bella.” I looked up the stairs to see Edward standing there. “You’re late tonight.”

I looked at my watch. It was almost 9:00. “I know, we got out late, and I had to stop for gas. Has Charlie been here at all since you got here?” I asked as I ascended the stairs.

“No, not at all.”

I sighed. “That’s odd. He’s been getting home later and later, but he’s usually not this late.”

Edward took my bag from me as we walked into my bedroom. I immediately went to my dresser. I grabbed some pajamas and began putting them on quickly, with my back turned to Edward.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that in front of me,” he said sternly.

His comment caught me by surprise. I turned around to look at him, just as I was pulling my tee shirt on. I stared at him blankly with my mouth hanging open, unsure of what to say. I knew why he said it, but it still sort of hurt.

“Bella, don’t look at me like that. You know I enjoy the view, but when you’re throwing clothes around the room and your hair is all tousled from pulling your shirts on and off, your scent flies around this room like an air freshener. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”

I sighed out of frustration and crawled into my bed with him. “Okay, I’m sorry.” At that moment, I silently wished my boyfriend was human. I hated hearing Jessica gush about all the intimate things she and Mike did together. She often asked me about how Edward was in bed; I always lied to her. I wish I knew.

Edward noted my foul mood. “Bella, don’t be upset with me. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to risk hurting you.”

I sat up and turned to look at him. “You’re not going to hurt me, Edward!!” I screamed out of frustration and it alarmed him when tears started forming in my eyes. I sighed and rolled over, facing away from him.

“Bella, what’s wrong? Tell me.”

“No,” I cried silently, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

“Do you want me to leave?”

I turned to face him. “No, stay.”

“Bella, I don’t know what you’re so upset about. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“Ugh! Edward don’t you get it? You know what I want and you refuse to give it to me!”

He looked down. “Oh, this is about that.”

“Yea, it is. You don’t know how hard it is for me to be asked by my girlfriends how Edward Cullen is in bed! I just have to lie to them and pretend like I know! I can’t tell them my own boyfriend is afraid of touching me! I want to be changed; I want to be like you.” My hand reached for his shirt, pulling down on the soft cotton momentarily before slipping my hand underneath it and feeling the coldness of his skin. “I want to be able to really be with you, without worrying about you stopping me.”

He removed my hand from under his shirt and more tears fell down my cheeks. I laid back down and rolled over again, not facing him.

I felt his cold hand on my arm. “Bella, please, let’s not argue about this right now. I’m only doing this to protect you. I love you. I love your body. I love your touch. I want nothing more than to be with you that way, but it’s not worth you being turned into a soulless monster.”

“It’s worth it to me, Edward!” I sat up again. “If you’re never willing to change me, if I’m always going to have to leave my own room to change clothes, if we can never really be together, then maybe we shouldn’t be together at all.” I regretted the words almost immediately, fearing he would agree with me.

“You don’t mean that,” he said softly.

I fell into his embrace and squeezed him tightly. “I know.”

He sighed. “Bella, I’m sorry. I’m sorry this isn’t how normal human relationships are. I want to give you everything you want, but not that, not now. Maybe we can compromise.”

I pulled back to look at him. “Compromise? How?”

“Well, maybe we can practice being a little more intimate if you promise to drop the subject of being changed.”

I sighed, weighing my options. “I promise to drop it for now. But not forever.”

“At least until Senior year is over?” He asked.

I shook my head. “Deal.” I smiled, instantly wanting to start “practicing.”

Edward laughed. “That doesn’t mean we start right now! We have to move slowly; I really don’t know if I can control myself. I don’t want to hurt you, Bella.”

My eager face deflated into a pout. “Please?”

Edward sighed. “Only if we keep our clothes on.”

I smiled. “Okay!” I kissed him quickly, the way I had been dying to kiss him since I met him. Our tongues found each other’s instantly and my hands were tangled in his hair. I could feel his passion with his lips and the hold he had on me, but I desired his hands to move from the spot they were frozen in on my lower back. I pulled out of our steamy kiss, looking into his dark golden eyes. “Edward, loosen up. You’re not going to hurt me. I want to feel your hands on my body, explore me.” I begged, as I kissed him again. He kissed me back with more force than I had anticipated and I was instantly on my back on the bed, his cold hands searching my body. I cringed momentarily as I felt his cold lips reach my neck and linger there momentarily before returning to my own. His body pressed into mine and I could feel his desire building on top of me. I wanted him now more than I had wanted anything in my entire life. Of course, he suddenly pulled away from me then.

“I can’t, Bella. I have to stop. It’s too much, too soon You are entirely too enticing.”

I smiled at him and ran my hand gently across his cheek. “You did fine; you weren’t going to hurt me.”

Edward shook his head. “You don’t know what kind of thoughts entered my mind.”

“But you didn’t act on them. That’s exactly what I wanted, what I needed. I needed to know that you desire me as much as I desire you.”

My last comment seemed to startle him. “Bella, don’t ever think that I don’t desire you. I fight an internal battle every day to keep my hands and lips from ravishing you. It’s not easy.”

I smiled. “Thank you for trying tonight. I love you, Edward Cullen.” I kissed him and he kissed me back with more passion than usual.

He pulled away from me, a large grin spread widely across his face. “I love you.”

I fell asleep in his cold arms. I awoke a few hours later when I heard the front door close. My dad was home. I looked at the clock on my nightstand. It was nearly midnight. I looked at Edward.

“I’ll be back,” he whispered, kissing my forehead and disappearing out the window. I would normally pretend to be asleep when Charlie came in to check on me, but tonight I wanted to talk to him. My door creaked open slightly as Charlie poked his head in.

“Hey, dad, where have you been? It’s late.”

“Yea, sorry, Bells. I got caught up with some stuff at work. I left you a note on the fridge.”

“Oh, I guess I missed it. I came straight to bed.”

“Sorry. I’ll try to call next time.”

“Don’t worry about it dad, goodnight.” I said as I rolled over.

“Night, Bella.”

He was lying. Why was my dad lying to me? He didn’t open the door all the way because he was wearing regular clothes, not his police uniform. I saw the sleeve of his plaid shirt just beyond his hand on the door knob.

Edward came back through the window quickly and snuggled up next to me, noticing my pained expression. “What’s wrong, Bella?”

“What is going on with Charlie? He’s lying to me about where he has been, but I don’t know why.”

Edward sighed. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”

I sat up quickly. “About what? What’s going on?”

“Well, Bella, Alice had a vision about your dad.”

“What about him?” I asked.

“He’s seeing someone.”

I inhaled sharply. “What? Like a woman? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t he tell me?”

“I’ve only known a few days. I wasn’t sure how you would react. It’s Charlie’s business, not mine. He doesn’t want to tell you until he’s certain of how things will work out with her. He’s not sure what you would think either.”

“Well, I want him to be happy. He could use a woman in his life instead of still pouting over my mom.”

Edward laughed. “She’s really beautiful.”

“You’ve seen her?”

“Yes, Alice showed me. He seems very happy Bella; he’s enamored with her.”

I laid back down, curling into Edward. “Hmm. I wonder when he’ll tell me.”



***Author’s Note: I hope you liked it! Things are slowly starting to come along! Reviews are appreciated! This story is also on Twilighted.net and fanfiction.net if you prefer to check it out there!

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