Bella's cooking again.
A few seconds passed before the sound played quietly.
Shouldn't you be glad you don't have to do anything?
Sure, I guess
I just wanted Asian food tonight
We're having steak, I guess
My dad brought those over, I'm pretty sure
They're good
Oh
Well, still :/
I wish you'd just come the fuck over
No
I don't want to interrupt your family time
I hate you
Sure :p
I'll see you tomorrow dork
>:( I'm mad at you
See you in the morning
Leaning back, Juliet peered at her clock on the wall-it read 5:42 PM. Charlie would be getting home from work any time now, which meant she'd have to go downstairs. In the week since she'd arrived, Bella had fallen into her own routine-one that Juliet had to form fit her own around. It wasn't really that big of a deal, just dinner time on weekdays mostly, and the occasional breakfast before school together, the twins didn't really see each other.
By the time Juliet had pushed herself away from her computer and gone downstairs, Charlie had come home. His gun belt hung up and boots left by the door, he was already sitting at the table with a beer. Juliet realized they'd obviously been talking about something, but she didn't bother asking as she fished an iced tea from the back of the fridge. Charlie seemed to forget his and Bella conversation as Juliet sat down at the table.
"So, Jules." Charlie started, his fingers tapping against the dark glass. "How was school?" She knew what he'd really meant-how was Jake? Charlie'd never say it, neither would Billy, but it was easy to see that the two of them were desperate for something to happen between their kids.
"Fine." She shrugged. "You know how it is." Charlie waited, but she didn't continue. So, he cleared his throat and shifted in his chair.
"Nothing exciting go on?" He pushed. If Bella wasn't there, Juliet probably would've been laughing.
"It never does, dad." She sighed, giving him a look. He backed off, choosing to sip at his beer and watch the rainfall instead.
—
On Monday, there was a distinct layer of snow covering Forks, though as she drove further towards the water, the layer thinned. In the parking lot of the school, whatever snow had been was nothing more than a tiny bit of dirty slush on the pavement by the time Juliet pulled in. She'd just shut her door, and had begun crossing the small parking lot when Jake came rushing out the front door. Juliet could see him from where she was, so she stopped-realizing he was running straight for her.
"Hey, Jake." Worry laced Juliet's voice as Jake reached her, his breath heavy from running. "What's going on?"
"My dad called." Jake waved his hand. "Said your dad called him. Something happened, to Bella."
—
Charlie's leg bounced impatiently, and Juliet leaned back in the uncomfortable chair. Apparently, some kids car slid on ice and nearly hit Bella. Luckily, a boy named Edward Cullen was standing with her, and was able to pull her out of the way before she was seriously injured, or worse, killed. Obviously, Juliet worried for her sister, but she'd be lying she said Charlie's behavior didn't worry her more. He was rarely nervous, Charlie Swan. Maybe that came from having been police chief for nearly ten years, or from just being tough, but nerves didn't come easy to him.
Though, Juliet knew Bella was in good hands-the hands of Dr. Cullen, specifically. Dr. Cullen-and his family of adopted children-had been around for a a few years. People on the reservation didn't trust them, and people in town seemed captivated, if not imitated by them. Juliet distinctly remembered her only only real encounter with any of the Cullen's, a few years prior. They'd only been in town a year by this time, and Juliet got extremely sick. A cold here and there wasn't uncommon, they did live in the cold, rainy weather 90% of the time, but real sickness was rare in the Swan household.
It ended up being pneumonia, and it lasted nearly two weeks. Charlie'd never really dealt with a sick child, and definitely not one this sick. A high spiking fever, horrible cough, and lack of appetite made Charlie worried enough to take Juliet to the hospital. Sue Clearwater, a nurse at the hospital, would've told Charlie what to do if he'd called-but Charlie'd panicked when he woke up to Juliet's loud coughing. Dr. Cullen saw them not ten minutes after they arrived, and was able to calm Charlie's nerves almost right away. He was level headed, spoke lightly, and had this natural charm to his words that made him seem almost otherworldly.
After a week, Dr. Cullen let Juliet go home-Charlie thanked him profusely and Sue drove her home, where Leah was already waiting. Juliet always remembered how it felt like Dr. Cullen was always there, and how he checked on her a lot. It was comforting, in a way. This time, when Dr. Cullen came out, he spoke quickly and quietly to Charlie.
"She's fine." Charlie relayed to Juliet. "I'm gonna take her home when she comes out. He said she was speaking to the boy who saved her, his son Edward."
"Okay." Juliet nodded.
"I'm thinking take out tonight." The pair both stood up, slowly drifting towards the glass front doors. "Something easy."
"Sounds good, dad." Juliet nodded. Then, Bella came out. The small group of Forks High School students that had come in concern for Bella all perked up at once, and Charlie realized this.
"Come on, Bells." Charlie put an arm over Bella's shoulders. "Let's get home." Bella nodded, shooting a glance and a wave at the group of students. Juliet peered at them, too, unfamiliar with all of them-except Mike Newton. Charlie was friendly with the Newton's, always had been. They owned and ran an outdoors shop in town, so Juliet and Mike had known each other in passing most of their lives. The three Swans ducked out of the hospital, towards Charlie's police cruiser and Juliet's yellow Bronco-parked next to each other near the entrance.
"I'm gonna head back to La Push, dad." Juliet said lightly, after Bella got into the cruiser. "Tell Billy and everyone that Bella's okay."
"Yeah, sounds good." Charlie nodded, watching Bella warily through the tinted glass. "Try not to stay too late, call me if you'll be late for dinner. Or have Billy do it."
"Okay." Juliet followed Charlie around, leaning against the hood of her truck. "I'll see you in a few hours, dad."