Midday Clouds - The Charlie Swan Story

Chapter 7 (Twilight 7/11)

It's kind of like Billy's meditation trick -- likely something he picked up after being unable to fish like he used to. The mind goes blank, with nothing but the sound of the lines swooshing through the air, the gentle plop of the lure into the calm, slow-moving waters. Usually fishing in Forks means a raincoat and the deafening sound of raindrops pelting the river, but today was blissfully dry. The skies were cloudy, and every now and then the sun would shine through a hole, illuminating the water in a dazzling display. The river almost seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, like thousands of tiny diamonds.

After a few hours on the river yielded a cooler-full of fish, we headed in for an early dinner at the local diner.

"So how's fatherhood been treatin' ya, Charlie?" Denise asked over platefuls of fries. I laughed. She and her husband had three kids, all under the age of 10.

"Well, I gotta say, teenagers are a little tough." That didn't even begin to touch the confusing ways Bella had been acting over the past two weeks back at home.

"Oh, I believe it," she said, smiling. "I'm dreading the day the kids start thinking past hunger, toilet, and TV."

"Not that any of those go away," I noted. "But yeah, it's hard to really get a grasp of what she wants from me, you know, as her dad. We used to go fishing together, go to the movies, all that, now it's like she doesn't want anything to do with me..."

"Well damn, Charlie. Don't feel too bad about that," Jim said, eyeing my fries after having already finished his own burger. "I left home when I was 15 -- couldn't stand the old man. The fact that she's still around is a win in my books, I'd reckon."

"Yeah, well, let's just hope she doesn't go get the same idea you had back in the day," I smiled at Jim and Denise, though the very real fear of Bella leaving sat in the pit of my stomach, just as it had ever since I'd picked her up at that airport on that rainy Sunday.

I dropped the two of them off in my cruiser at their respective houses -- each with a third of the day's spoils -- and headed home for the evening. Bells' truck was still out front when I got home, though when I walked by it I pressed an ungloved hand to the hood. It was warm, meaning that she must've been out and about somewhere while I was gone. No matter, she could have just been at the store, or the library, or any number of places she said she might be when we talked about it last night. Don't go getting your knickers in a knot, Charlie. She's home now, and safe, and that's all that ever matters.

"Bella?" I called, still unused to coming home to someone else in the house.

"In here," she said from the kitchen. I could smell some leftover lasagna.

"Can you get me some of that? I'm bushed." I wanted to give her something to do so that we could chat, to stop her from heading up to her room so soon.

"Thanks," I said as she placed my plate down on the table.

She seemed either hungry or eager to leave the table, or both, because she ate fast. She also wouldn't meet my eyes, and when she lifted up her glass of milk, her hand was trembling.

"How was your day?" she asked, her words rushed.

"Good. The fish were biting... how about you? Did you get everything done that you wanted to?" I figured she was hiding something -- had likely spent the day with the Cullen kid -- and wanted to give her the opportunity to come clean. I obviously wouldn't be mad; I just hated to see her trying (and failing) to keep a secret that didn't need to be kept.

"Not really - it was too nice out to stay indoors."

"It was a nice day," I agreed.

Bella started chugging her glass of milk, seemingly eager to be away from the obviously awkward conversation. She never was any good at keeping secrets.

"In a hurry?" I asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm tired. I'm going to bed early."

"You look kinda keyed up," I said.

"Do I?"

"It's Saturday." And it was only 6 pm. Even if she wasn't going to the dance tonight, I doubted that she had no plans at all. "No plans tonight?"

"No, Dad, I just want to get some sleep."

I guess I'd really need to steer the conversation to her new boyfriend.

"None of the boys in town your type, eh?" I asked.

"No, none of the boys have caught my eye yet."

"I thought maybe that Mike Newton... you said he was friendly." I figured I'd throw her something of a curveball, maybe make her bring up Edward to make me well and truly drop the idea of Mike Newton, but she didn't bite.

"He's Just a friend, Dad."

"Well, you're too good for them all, anyway. Wait till you get to college to start looking," I said. It was clear she didn't want to talk about Edward, and I wasn't about to force her to.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," she said, heading up the stairs.

"'Night, honey."

"See you in the morning, Dad," she said, before closing her bedroom door tight. Not two minutes later and she was in the washroom, showering, and evidently readying herself for bed. She came downstairs in her pajamas to say goodnight. It was only 7 pm. Either she really was tired, or she had some plans to sneak out later. The excited look on her face made me assume the latter. Well, sneaking out is typical teenage behaviour, from what I'd read. I'd just have to make sure to be awake when she got home, so we could have a little chat about open and honest communication.

Even though I stayed up later than usual that night, I didn't hear Bella trying to sneak out her window, or creep down the steps. I made sure to disconnect the battery cables on her truck, just in case. Exhausted after a long day on the river, I finally conceded around midnight, figuring that if she was willing to wait five hours to successfully sneak out, she deserved it. I peeked into her room before going to my own bed, though, and saw that she was legitimately passed out. I felt that same, cool breeze as I opened the door, so I made sure to close her window tight before calling it a night. 

I was pleasantly surprised that Bells hadn't tried to sneak out to see her new boyfriend. Maybe I should put a little more trust in her, after all. 

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