Chapter 4
In the afternoon they drove out of Forks. The sad rock music dancing into the air and Charlie's humming brought back memories in Bella that she didn't know she had kept. It was raining, once again.
"You're not kidnapping me, right?"
Like in the morning, Charlie gave her a serious glance.
"Nope. Wouldn't look good on my record." He drove focused on the road, his eyes scanning the surroundings like at any moment a danger could appear out of the trees.
"That's the only reason?" Bella grinned.
"I am not as bad as your mother told you I was." Charlie swallowed; he grabbed the wheel tighter.
"Mom didn't tell me you're bad." Bella looked at her dad. Wondering what he was thinking had happened. Did he really think Bella stopped seeing him because of her mom?
"In fact she didn't talk about you at all."
Charlie glanced at Bella but she stared out of the window again. The trees rushed by, the raindrops raced down the window. He wanted to say something else but couldn't think of anything that didn't sound embarrassing. He didn't want to be pitied by his teenage daughter. The daughter of the only girl he had only ever truly loved. He would never tell Bella or anyone but he still was aching, longing for Renée's company. And she didn't even talk about him anymore. Not that he talked about her, but he thought of her every day. Every spot in Forks was annotated with memories of his love for Renée.
When they drove into the pathway leading to a lonely house, Bella wasn’t so sure anymore whether she should believe Charlie about the kidnapping or not. The house looked like it just needed a blow of wind to be carried away in all its little pieces. In fact parts of the porch were already looking rotten.
Charlie noticed Bellas confusion.
“I promise, I am not kidnapping you.” He chuckled. “This is just Billy’s house. They’ve been doing him dirty.”
Was Bella supposed to know who Billy was? She couldn’t remember anything. Why couldn’t she remember anything? She must have been here before, otherwise it wouldn’t make any sense at all that Charlie seemed to imply that Bella knew what was going on with Billy.
The ground around the house was very muddy and old car or motorbike pieces were scattered around everywhere. Charlie went up to the door to ring but Bella decided to inspect the pieces of old metal. She didn’t know much about cars so she couldn’t identify anything but she did prefer that over ringing at some apparently not stranger’s door.
“Bella?”
A man around the same age as Charlie had gotten out on the porch in his wheelchair. He had long dark hair and multiple scars in his face. When Bella turned around he took his hat off to greet her. Bella waved, still not sure what to do. But standing frozen next to the car was probably not the thing to do so she joined Charlie and Billy.
“You want a beer?” Billy asked Charlie, a playful grin on his face. Charlie nodded. Billy already wanted to turn to the door again, but then he remembered. “I’m going to tell Jake to come out - if I can find him.”
Charlie nodded again. His mouth was straight, maybe it was just his mustache that made it appear like that.
Billy returned with two cans of beer. “Sorry Bella, couldn’t find him.”
Bella was about to say that it was alright - she didn’t know who Jake was anyway? - when a boy ran towards the house. Just like Billy he had dark long hair, his though was a bit shorter than Billy’s.
He pulled Bella into a hug immediately, but when he realized how uncomfortable she was with that he took a step back.
“Where the hell have you been loca?” He grinned, his eyes shining even though there were only clouds in the sky.
“I am so sorry” Bella tried not to laugh but she really didn’t know what to do or say.
“Come on, I’m Jake - Jacob? - we made mud cakes and stuff like that together.”
“Oh yeah - now I remember.”
“No you don’t.” Jacob laughs. “But it’s alright. If I were from a big city like Phoenix I probably wouldn’t remember the kid I used to play with during summer either.”
Thankfully Bella smiled.
“Hey kid.” Charlie gave Jacob a fist bump - he had learnt from Billy that this is what the boys do these days. “You’re ready to show Bella the big surprise?”
“Of course, of course.” Jacob smiled again.
“I’ll wait here” Billy claims and holds up another beer. “But you got to tell me everything about her reaction.”
“Obviously.” Another laugh from Jacob. It was like he was the sunny boy of the little boy/man trio Bella suddenly found herself in. They all had planned the surprise together - apparently really was a big deal.
They went around the house to a smaller house that looked more like a cabin or shed.
“Close your eyes, Bella.” Jacob took Bella’s hand. Careful not to stumble she reached out with her other hand too which made Jacob and Charlie laugh. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. Really.”
To Bella it felt like they were walking miles with her eyes closed.
“Okay. Now. In three you can open your eyes.”
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
Bella opened her eyes.
Right in front of her was a red Chevy pick-up truck. An old red Chevy pick-up truck. This was Bella’s dream car ever since she had gotten her license - no, ever since she had been able to differentiate cars. Her jaw dropped.
“Wow, uhm.” She looked at Jacob then at Charlie. “This is amazing, like really? Is this the surprise?”
Jacob laughed. “No, we’re just showing you the car I’ve been working on for the last month because you’re so interested in cars.”
Bella rolled her eyes. Then she gasped again. “Wait, you made this car?”
“No, not really. I just fixed it.”
“Wow, that’s crazy. Isn’t that super hard?”
Jacob shrugged. “It’s actually pretty relaxing. It’s cool to do something with your hands. And cars and stuff are things to get a lot out of, you know.”
“How much do I owe you for this?”
“It’s from me.” Charlie rejoined the conversation - for a second Bella had forgotten he was even with them. But there he was - his hands in the pockets again.
“Thank you so much, dad.” Bella had an urge to hug Charlie but everything in his body language screamed that he wouldn’t know how to handle that at all. “And thank you so much, Jacob.” She turned back to Jacob who grinned from cheek to cheek.
“You’re so welcome, Bella.”
They spent the evening with Billy and Jacob. When it was already dark outside they drove back to Forks, this time tough with each their separate cars. In that pick up truck Bella felt badass, like the whole world was now open to her (even though she had moved from Phoenix to Forks literally a day ago?). The radio was a bit old and the sound was bad but it didn’t matter to her. It was cool enough to have your own car. She never dreamed of actually having her own pick-up truck. And also not the classic red one. She felt like maybe Forks really was where she was supposed to be. Even if she still felt like a stranger, that feeling probably would not stay forever.