𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐧

1

A/N: pretty please could you vote? it would make me happy and give me the motivation to write more for you!

-K

"Hey, Charlie, how do you think Bella will respond this time around to me living with you two?" I inquired to my best friend (and long-time crush).

"I think she'd be glad to have you here; it'd make things less awkward because you know how we both are."

"Socially incompetent?" I questioned although it was more of a statement.

"Socially incompetent," Charlie confirmed, his lip tugging at a smile and a small nod of his head.

We were off towards the Seattle airport in his police cruiser to pick up Charlie's daughter, Isabella Swan - however, she preferred to be called Bella.

I haven't seen the girl for so long, Bella moved in with her mother when her parents got divorced and only visited for two weeks a year; eventually, those two weeks turned into one week, then into none. This made Charlie lonely so he asked his lifelong friend and Bella's old babysitter(aka myself) to move in with him, which I happily agreed to.

Charlie was dressed in his police uniform, which made him even more attractive than usual. The Chief had gorgeous chocolate brown eyes which held a certain warmth in contrast to the harsh coldness that lingered in the surroundings, seemingly perfect rosy lips which were adorned with a moustache just above that Charlie was very proud of and deep brown hair with nothing more than a hint of curl just at the ends. Simply told, the man was stunning.

We sat in comfortable silence for the next few minutes before he pulled over at the airport and found a parking spot before shutting the ignition off, he got out of the cruiser and made his way towards the passenger side and opened the door for me.

"We have arrived at your destination M 'Lady," Charlie said, putting on an overly posh accent while bowing and then holding his hand out to help me out of the car.

I looked at his hand and smiled before taking it, his hands were so much bigger than mine and they were warm. He carefully assisted me out of the car, then his hand rested on the small of my back when he turned to close the door. The slightest touch was enough to make my face heat up.

"What a gentleman," I laughed lightly, as we made our way towards where Bella should be.

We waited for about five minutes when Charlie finally spotted his daughter, he moved one hand over my ear to protect it before he shouted "Bella!" and gave a wave towards her.

When Bella stood before us, I saw Charlie grin happily towards her overjoyed that his only child was finally living with him. He's so handsome when he smiles. However, Bella merely gave him what was more of a grimace than a smile toward her dad which made his smile falter a little before sighing.

"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling still as he automatically caught and steadied her. "You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." she said monotonously, then looked towards me, she gave me an awkward little wave with a small smile "Hey Fleur". Charlie took that as a sign to get to the car, he grabbed Bella's luggage and tossed me the keys to his cruiser so I could unlock the boot.

I sat in the back of the car so that Bella wouldn't feel too awkward and so she could hopefully attempt to talk to her dad, god knows she needs to.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when he saw we were strapped in.

"What kind of car?" Bella asked almost suspiciously

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."

"Where did you find it?"

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast where one of our best friends lived.

"No."

"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted although Bella sat there completely clueless. "He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when she didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."

"Trust me Bells, it is very good for this type of weather, especially around wintertime," I told her in an attempt to save Charlie from this awkwardness.

"Are you sure? Ch- Dad, I don't know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic..." she blurted out.

"Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore." Charlie spoke persuasively

"How cheap is cheap?" she queried

"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at his daughter with a hopeful expression on his handsome face.

"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."

"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud, he was like that around me for the first few years but now when we're alone he will tell me if something is bothering him.

"That's nice, Dad. Thanks. I appreciate it." She thanked him awkwardly.

"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by her thanks which I internally laughed about.

Rain tumbled to the earth from the dismal grey sky and trickled down the fogged windows of the Chief's police cruiser. The fragrance of pine and dew lingered in the crisp morning air, the type where if you were to go on a jog it would make your lungs burn and the taste of metal was in your mouth. Leaves danced through the wind and glided along gracefully. The car silently cruised along the narrow lane, headlights illuminating the isolated road. We all exchanged small talk about the weather, starting school and Charlie's job until we pulled up to our house as a soft, yet graceful, melody flowed quietly from the radio as background noise.

He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage; A marriage I was always upset by as I felt jealous of Renée. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was Bella's new — well, new to her —truck. It was a faded red colour, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. "Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" She exclaimed gratefully.

I smiled at Charlie and gave his shoulder a light squeeze, "Don't worry Charlie, You're doing great so far."

"In which way? Less awkwardness or being a dad?"

"Both."

"I couldn't have done it without you there though, Fleur." He admitted, "Thank you, I appreciate you just being here for me."

"I will always be here with you Charlie, no matter what."

"Really?" he asked, taking my hand into his once again.

"Really," I said, interlocking our fingers together.