AS THE FOLLOWING WEEKS developed the now household of four had managed to settle into their new routine. The times of adaption were slowly starting to ebb away as the routine stuck and few new things continued to be added to the equation. And as the initial period of mass adjustment began to slow, the stress levels in the house only continued to rise. Charlie loved having his grandson around, truly finding joy getting to spend time with the small boy. And Veronica did not mind spending time with her nephew knowing that sometimes mothers just needed space. Yet this was not exactly the case they were being presented with. Bella was just not able to be a mother for her child. There was no exact reason, nothing they could really pinpoint that they could help with to make it easier for her, to make it so she could step up and into that role. There just seemed to be a level of disconnection between Bella having given birth to Matthew and then stepping into the role. And until they could find a way for Bella to be able to connect to her role and then help her through the adjustment, the rest of the family would just step up to support until they were no longer needed.
Charlie did not mind stepping up, his daughter needed him to give more support in this time and he would not let her down. Her would not let his grandson down by failing to provide the support which would lead to Matthew being well cared for. He did not mind waking up during the night to aid to the young boy, it had been something he had done many times before when both of his girls had been younger. The lack of sleep was worth it when he looked in those bright happy eyes and the gummy smile and he just knew that it was all worth it. Ensuring that Matthew had the best childhood he possibly could made everything worth it. Coming home from a long stressful day at work, to a household full of joy and happiness made the job worthwhile. When he got to spend an evening watching cartoons, playing games, telling stories and helping his grandson reach those milestones that made the bad days fade away to the back of his subconscious. His co-workers had commented a few times recently that he seemed to have a little more pep in his step.
Veronica also did not mind helping out to help her older sister out. She held the belief that if she gave everything just a little more time, that it would begin to settle and things would be clearer. Bella would either make the steps she needed or she wouldn't. And it was not like having Matthew around or doing things for him was difficult, it did not come easy like the television would lead you to believe. But with enough time and patience Veronica was able to do things and she was able to work out what she needed. And if she ever had any questions she was lucky enough that her dad was there to help her out. Things she was aware many people did not have.
Veronica and Charlie worked together to provide care for the baby. The nickname Matty had stuck over the previous weeks and it would usually be Veronica who woke Matty up in the morning and dressed him before heading down to breakfast. Charlie would be responsible for organising breakfast for all four of them whilst Veronica was dressing Matty, and at just over nine months old the small boy was usually allowed to attempt to feed himself though often did need a lot of assistance. Charlie would drop him off at the nursery in the morning, and Veronica would pick him up dependent on what activity she had after school to what time. She would be the primary carer until 5pm when her father would take over after arriving home from work and Veronica would be allowed to have a couple of hours to get any school work or socialising done. They then took it in turns each night to bathe him and then put him down to bed before they sat together in an evening and watched tv together.
Bella had not adjusted to the exact same routine as the other three in the house had. She had decided to focus more on trying to adjust to her new life in the teenaged world of Forks, something Veronica could understand as the social life in Forks did often feel like a political campaign. Bella did not want to be known as the awkward new girl for long, she wanted to either fade into the background or take a prominent role in the social scene. And considering the people she had befriended on her first day, it was the latter path she had taken. Joining the most popular clique at the school also came with a lot of attachments, as Veronica had witnessed as she watched Bella get deeper and deeper involved in the group. There was some sort of unwritten requirement that they had to constantly be spending time together outside of school, as Bella would be out for three nights of the week and at least one day of the weekend with her friends. Sometimes it would be small town things like heading to the beach or the diner. But a weekend would usually include heading to the parties of which were not a secret to the adults of the area. The second unwritten rule that was part of belonging to the popular kids of the school was the rule that they could not be single for long. A rule which had lead Bella down the spiralling path of trying to find someone to date after only being in the town for a month or two at most. And the poor girl only had a few options to being with, considering it was a town where many people starting dating at fourteen or fifteen and would rarely split ever. And not many of the choices Bella had were people that Veronica could even see as semi-worthwhile attempting to date.
Therefore, she could not fault her sister turning her attention to the allusive Cullen family. They had one son, the youngest, who was currently single. And Veronica knew about as much as everyone else around them did, absolutely nothing but his first name. And it would be the mystery that surrounded the teenaged boy which initially drew Bella in. Bella had turned to her younger sister to see if she knew anything more, but Veronica had been no help. She knew the names of the Cullen children, but that was all. She had heard the rumours, seen the evidence of their interfamily dating and the cult rumours running around. But that was all that she knew, the rumours, and she liked to believe she was not one to listen to the old chatter that was unfounded in the small town. No matter how well it fit with what she had witnessed herself. Her words did little to help and Bella had very soon become infatuated with the bronze haired boy and was desperate to get to know him, and work out the mystery that clouded the boy like a heavy smoke. And there was little Veronica could do otherwise, Bella was her older sister and she was able to make decisions for herself.
Decisions like the ones which had lead to Charlie and Veronica having to make difficult choices of their own in terms of organising Matthew's care. Bella was not a possible option to have, at the present time, as the main person making important choices in Matthew's life. Important choices such as medical decisions, if she could not be trusted to pick him up from Nursery, which she had unfortunately failed to do three times before it was stopped all together, it was just not practical to have her listed as the person who had the authority to make decisions for the boy which could be life altering. And therefore, the legal process was made to allow for someone else to have the power of attorney over Matthew, and Charlie being the only adult was the only person who could be put down. And Veronica was happy it was her father, because even if she was eligible she was unsure she was comfortable enough to make those decisions.
Decisions like the ones which had left Veronica now realising her own weekend plans would have to be cancelled. Bella had promised their father that this weekend she would stay in for a change, spend some quality time with him once he had finished work and perhaps try to bond a little with Matthew. But alas as it came to Friday evening, just as she was getting ready to head out with her friends again Bella decided to inform the rest of the household that she had changed her mind and would not be staying in tomorrow. As Jessica had invited her to see a film they had both wanted to see, and the tickets were already paid for. Meaning that the plans Veronica had, the ones she had been looking forward to for the last fortnight would most likely have to be cancelled considering Charlie was working later into the evening than expected and there was nobody else to take care of the little boy.
Which deeply sucked, Veronica was angry that once again she had to cancel her own plans in order to look after her sister's baby. This was not the first time that on a short notice that Veronica would have to cancel plans of her own as there was nobody else at home that could look after Matthew. She had found herself cancelling plans she had mainly for her friends at school because she was unable to leave Matthew alone. Things that for now her friends, and teammates, were being nice about but she knew it would only be so long of her cancelling last minute or not being able to attend when they just stopped asking her to go. And she knew it wasn't too far in the future. And it made her angry to watch Bella going out again, watching her father let Bella go out again, and agreeing to Bella spending time with her friends when Veronica had to cancel her plans. It felt unfair and unjust. And it felt as though her dad had a clear favourite. And it was no longer Veronica.
Veronica would have loved to have brought this up, brought this to attention but she did not like being the cause of conflict. She loved to continue an argument once it had been started, but she was not a fan of starting one. And therefore, she sat herself onto the couch in the living room with an over the top loud sigh to show her displeasure and waited for it to be brought to attention. And as the front door closed with a loud click to indicate Bella was gone did the subject be brought to attention by her father. Like it should have been.
"I'm sorry Ronnie, I know you had plans tomorrow." Charlie started and Veronica only let out a grunt in response.
"I know I'm being too light on your sister, letting her get away with too much. Giving her too much freedom." Charlie started and Veronica rolled her eyes as she listened not impressed with the way this was being approached by her dad. They both knew what he was doing wrong, they both knew how he could fix it the only issue is whether he would or not.
"So why are you letting her dad? I just want to go out with my friends for once. But ever since her and Matty came I haven't been able to see them after school because I'm on baby duty. How long is it until my friends stop wanting to spend time with me because I have no time for them?" Veronica offered to the room wondering just how her dad was going to respond to her.
"I don't know how to parent your sister. You two are very different and I'll have to think about it so its more fair to you." Charlie offered before taking a pause and thinking about his next words. "I'll try to be more stricter with her stop her from using you as a free baby sitting service."
"Only if you think that's actually going to help." Veronica's words held none of her normal confidence or tone it was obviously deflected, as she clearly felt that though her dad had heard her words that the likelihood that any enactment was going to occur yet alone work was so tiny that it did nothing to boost her mood.
"You were planning to go to the bonfire on the reservation tomorrow right? Billy's one?" Her dad questioned and Veronica stopped for a moment to think what he could be getting at. Yes Billy Black was hosting the bonfire she was supposed to attend tomorrow, it was no official bonfire but one held between family and friends and the man had been nice enough to extend that invitation to the Swan family. Veronica had been the only one to take the offer up.
"Surely if you give Billy a call and explain I don't think he would have a problem with you bringing Matthew along. I know it's not ideal but it could be a way for you to go and Billy probably won't mind watching Matty for a little while so you can spend a little time with your friends." Charlie offered and Veronica could see a little benefit of the idea, sure it wasn't exactly what she wanted but it was a compromise irregardless and it was something that could possibly work.
"I'll give him a call in the morning." Veronica agreed as she pulled out her small cellphone with the intent to text some of her friends about the potential change in plan, get their opinion before asking the man.
"Ridiculous you know he's up watching some football game on the TV give him a call on the landline now." Veronica chose not to argue with her dad on this point and therefore sent the message and headed towards the landline to chose the contact.
"Evening" Called the rough voice of Billy as he picked up on the second ring
"Hey Billy, it's Veronica." She started trying to piece together what she was going to say.
"Hey Ronnie, what's up?" The ever kind voice of Billy Black came through the phone, he had always been the second father figure in Veronica's life ever since she had been a little girl and she knew due to this it was unlikely he wouldn't bend to her request but it still caused a little anxiety before she asked it.
"We've had a bit of an issue arise here, and there's no longer someone free to look after Matthew tomorrow for the bonfire. I was wondering it would be okay if he also came? I know because he's so young it could be a hazard." Veronica asked only the first part of her overall question but there was no point asking the second part if Billy said no to the first part.
"Of course it's okay, there is more than enough of us to keep an eyes out if he decides he wants to get too close to the fire." Billy agreed and Veronica felt a little bit of tension lift from her shoulders. He was right, she knew he was right and it made her feel a little better knowing that there were people available for the night to keep an eye on Matthew.
"Thank you Billy, really. I'm just thankful that I can come and spend some time with friends." Veronica knew she was probably oversharing a little but she also knew it was Billy so it did not matter really.
"Don't be silly, it's really no hassle. Hang on a second. I think Jacob potentially wants to talk to you." There was a little shuffling around as the phone was passed from person to person and Veronica waited to hear what was going to be spoken next.
"Vero, I got your text. A couple of us were thinking about heading down to the beach an hour or so before the bonfire for a little bit. Have some food, relax a little." Jake proposed and Veronica smiled at the idea. It sounded really nice and she was excited by the prospect.
"Sounds great, they all happy with Matty tagging along."
"Yeah they're going to love him. I'll come past and pick you both up at like 3ish." And with that the line went dead as Jacob hung up on the girl and Veronica rolled her eyes used to this behaviour from her best friend unsure when the last time he ever said a farewell statement to her.
When Saturday morning came along Veronica was up early with her father as he got ready for work. He was originally only set to work 8am-5pm but there had been some unusual animal attacks in the surrounding area and Charlie had to stay later to organise a meeting with some of the other small town police officers to set up a joint operation to look into it. And unfortunately the only day they all had spare time was the Saturday. The weather outside didn't promise a warm day but rather a cold and breezy one and Veronica started questioning herself whether it was good enough weather to take the baby out in.
"Don't have that look Ronnie, don't forget he's got a nice all in one puffy thing you can put him in and we've got plenty of little blankets for him. Pack an extra one or two in his baby bag before you leave so he remains warm. You can't spend your whole life locked in this house with him, you both deserve to see the outside world." Charlie reprimanded his youngest watching her sheepish smile in response but all he could do was pat the top of her head before heading off for work.
Following her dad's advice Veronica changed Matthew into warmer clothes including his large jacket, and packed a spare change of just as warm clothing knowing just how mucky the young boy could become. She was just finishing the final touches on the bag of supplies for him when she heard the front door open. Charlie had locked it on his way out and it meant that one of the few people with spare keys must have been able to open it. And Veronica was sure that Jacob had borrowed his dad's spare key just for this occasion.
"Vero?" Jacob's voice could be heard but with her back to him Veronica could not see him.
"Round the corner." She called back and waited until he moved into the space where she could see him. The two best friends shared a warm smile before Jacob drew his attention to the 9 month old. Matthew had started to stand and would be able to take the odd step with help though at present the baby was currently sat on the floor playing with a toy duck he had recently become obsessed with.
"There's a pram by the front door, gathering we're bringing that with us?" Jake questioned and Veronica nodded.
"Yeah I've got the baby seat out of the back of my car I'll load it into yours?" She offered.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll put the pram in the back whilst you check you have everything." Jacob would return just a few minutes later and Veronica did one last final sweep of the surrounding area to ensure nothing was missing. Seeing nothing she thought she would need, she declared them ready to leave.
"I'll carry Matty?" Jake offered and Veronica allowed him to pick the baby up. "Up we go buddy." Jake spoke as he picked Matthew up and Veronica stopped to collect the dropped duck knowing how unhappy Matthew would become if he did not have it. Once the car seat was secured, Veronica helped Jacob strap Matthew in and they were off in the direction of the beach.
The first hour or so they had been on the beach had actually gone pretty well. Veronica had met up with some of Jacob's friends, which were in part her own, and was enjoying her time. She had also been introduced to a few of the older boys from the reservation she had yet to properly meet and their respective partners. In particular she had been introduced to Emily Young who had only recently moved from her own tribe to be with her boyfriend Sam, and the two had hit it off very fast. Having been left alone by the boys who had headed off to play a game of soccer on the sand.
The serene and rather peaceful atmosphere, even with the cheering and arguing of the boys from over on the makeshift pitch, was fully interrupted by a loud group of teenagers just a few feet away on the beach. Veronica looked over, knowing that with the way the small town worked she would most likely recognise who the group were. It was almost instantaneously the second she picked out a rather skinny looking brunette in a familiar coat that she knew that this group was Bella and her friends who had obviously come to spend time on the beach after watching their film earlier in the morning. She chose to ignore them for the time being as Matthew who had decided to go for a little nap on her lap, remained asleep and she did not want to disturb the state he was currently in. She chose not to do anything nor say anything in regards to the group until they disturbed the sleeping baby and only then would she most likely turn to her new friend and complain. She caught not much of what was being said by the group considering they were a significant distance away, but the group seemed to be moving closer to her own and with the closer they got the more clear their conversation became. And the second Veronica heard her own name she felt she had no choice but to properly try to listen into their conversation.
"Oh my god Jessica." Lauren loudly shouted over to the blonde girl. "Veronica Swan has a kid."
"Holy Shit Lauren she does. Bella, that's your sister you'd know. Is that her kid?" Jessica responded and Veronica tuned in to see what her sister's response would be.
"Yeah it is. Had him over the summer at some point. Apparently one of the kids on the reservation is its father." Veronica rolled her eyes at her sister's response as there was no way Bella would ever tell the truth. And she knew that this new 'fact' would run rings around her at school and the truth would be buried out there somewhere. But all she had to do was ignore the rumours as the only people who mattered knew the truth.
Or at least that was what she was going to tell herself. And as she looked down at the sleeping baby on her lap once again, she pondered what on earth she was going to do next. She wasn't ready to be a mom, but it looked like she was soon enough not going to have that choice. Bella would always be Matthew's birth mother, that was something that would never change. But perhaps the mother figure in his life would change. And Veronica wasn't sure what she thought about that.