TUS - Chapter Eight: Meet The Parent

I wanted to touch him, to run my fingers through his hair and mollify his agony. But the way he peeked up at me as his head lay in my lap, eyes pleading for me to give him the reprieve he so desperately needed, all while his body contorted into the fetal position, battered my heart, making me wish I could siphon out the demons that haunted him. I wanted to be able to promise him 'no more' and mean it. And if I were being completely honest with myself, I wanted to find who hurt him and make them pay for it.
"It'll be alright, Edward. It'll be alright." My hands fisted tightly against my thighs to keep from touching him – which is exactly what I wanted to do.
His body continued to shake against me, but he moved even closer, like he was trying to wrap himself around me.
"C-can I…" His voice trailed off to nothing, then he exhaled a shaky breath, speaking just above a whisper. "Can I….just rest now, Bella?" He buried his face against my stomach – another surprising action on his part - so close that I could actually feel his warm breaths through the fabric of my shirt.
I clenched my hands a bit tighter, digging my nails into my palms as I debated my next move. I knew what I wanted to do, but would he allow me to? I hoped so, considering he willingly laid his head in my lap. There was only one way to find out.
I finally relaxed my grip and slowly lifted my right hand toward Edward's head. When my fingertips brushed lightly over the hair near his temple, I bit my lip and continued moving my fingers gently through the soft tendrils, whispering as reassuringly as possible, "You can rest, Edward. You're safe with me."
After some time – with my hand still moving torpidly through the soft, yet disarray of hair upon his head - the tremor in his body ceased and his breathing became shallow. He'd fallen asleep.
My legs had become stiff sitting in the same position for such a long time, not to mention numb by the added weight of his head in my lap, but I made no effort to move, even to ease the now uncomfortable prickle of numbness that had started at my toes, working its way up my legs. I'd gladly succumb to the discomfort if it meant even a fleeting amount of peace on Edward's part.
He stirred a few times, making incoherent noises that almost sounded like whimpers. So I pressed my fingertips harder against his scalp, not only to soothe him, but to let him know that he wasn't alone; he was safe.
My touch seemed to calm whatever darkness tormented his dreams, so his body once again relaxed against mine. I found myself, too, relaxing enough that my eyelids became heavy. I, of course, fought the urge to sleep, but even sitting on the hard floor with the pins and needle sensation coursing through my lower half, my body oddly hummed in contentment.
It wasn't until I felt Edward's sudden movement that I was startled awake, not realizing that I'd actually fallen asleep to begin with, and it took me a moment to register exactly where I was. He was backing himself against the wall almost frantically, his breaths coming out harsh and erratic, and his eyes were staring past me, wide with panic. I instinctively faced the direction he was looking toward, glancing around to see what had him so frightened, but saw nothing; we were alone. He was seeing something I wasn't, like he was still locked in sleep.
I wasn't sure if I should approach him, if my coming near him would terrify him more, but even with the partial illumination in the room I could see his eyes were glazed over, see that he wasn't completely alert. I slowly eased myself away from the wall and inched toward him, moving as passive as I could. I had no intention of completely nearing him, but just enough that hopefully my closeness would soothe him rather than make him more afraid. I mean, it seemed to work some while he was asleep.
"Edward," I whispered. "Edward, it's okay. There's nothing there." I stopped a few feet in front of him, holding my hands up in front of me in submission. "It's okay, it's just me. I'm not going to hurt you. There's no one here but you and me."
His head finally snapped in my direction, as if he was just now noticing my presence, but his eyes shifted between me and the far wall. He squint them as he looked past me, like he was trying to focus what he was seeing more clearly. "He…he-"
At this point, his hands were fisted on either side of him and pressed against the cold cement of the wall. But as he became more alert, the tension in his body minutely eased; his breathing leveled out, his jaw was no longer clenched to the point his teeth may crack against the pressure and he dropped his hands then reached for Lancelot, pulling him against his chest.
"See," I said softly, pointing toward the far wall. "There's nothing there that can hurt you, okay? You're safe."
He bowed his head forward, pressing his face against the bear's head. If I hadn't been sure before now about the significance of Lancelot, I would have been at this very moment. Some people had security blankets, where as Edward had a security bear.
He was still such an enigma to me and sometimes even a contradiction. One minute, his actions would seem childish and the next I would see something aged behind his eyes. There were so many layers to him - that I was sure of - and I wanted to learn them all if he'd only let me.
I sat very still, watching the tremor in his body subdue, and waited until he calmed enough - so as not to startle him - before I began scooting back toward the wall where I'd originated from.
I'd just leaned my back against the grooved cement when I heard him murmur against Lancelot, "I'm…sorry."
I had no idea what he could possibly be sorry for, or if that apology was even meant for me because he certainly had no reason to apologize.
"Hey, it's alright. You have nothing to apologize for."
His head slowly lifted away from the bear, his eyes meeting mine. He stared at me for a long while before finally speaking in a crushed whisper, "Thank you."
I smiled. "You don't have to thank me, but you're welcome."
And now that things were borderline calm, well, as calm as they could be where Edward was concerned, I suddenly remembered I'd fallen asleep and had no idea what time it was. I glanced down to my watch; it was just after five. That meant I'd only been asleep for about an hour.
I peered back up at Edward, sighing. "I'm gonna have to go soon. Charlie's expecting me home for dinner."
His body visibly stiffened when I mentioned leaving, but he didn't say a word. He didn't take his eyes off me either. He did, however, reach for the bottle of water I had given him during lunch and took a small sip. His half eaten plate of spaghetti was still sitting on the floor next to where the bottle had been; the noodles now hardened and dry and the sauce was probably ice cold. So because he hadn't eaten much and it was later in the evening, I considered he might be hungry now, and I didn't really wanna leave him without knowing he had dinner; especially since I knew Marcus would be tagging along with me.
I stood up, taking a small step in the direction of the door, and he instantly inhaled sharply, exhaling a ragged, whoosh sounding breath. "Where-"
I never had the intention of leaving the room without telling him where I was going, but by his reaction he must have assumed that's exactly what I was doing. "I'm just going to get you something to eat. I'm not leaving yet, I promise."
I waited long enough to make sure he understood I was returning, and he did by nodding, then I made my way out to the boiler room to ask Marcus for something to feed Edward for dinner. Of course, I should have known he'd have something ready, that he'd know I'd want to make sure Edward was completely taken care of before we both left him. He had, after all, been caring for him for the last seven years.
He handed me a warm bowl of soup and a package of crackers he had waiting on the workbench. "I was wondering when you'd be out here for this."
As soon as I gripped the bowl in my hands, feeling the warmth against my palm, my eyes drifted down to the heated item in my hand, and I asked confoundedly, "How did you-"
"Uh…microwave," he said, grinning. He reached under the bench and pulled an old microwave off one of the lower shelves.
I shook my head, chuckling. "I should have known. Thanks, Marcus."
I took the soup and crackers and headed back to Edward. I suppose I could have just handed the food directly to him, but I didn't want to overstep the boundaries I knew were still in place. I was smart enough to realize that just because his head had been in my lap minutes earlier, didn't mean I could just openly approach him and he'd be okay with that.
"Marcus had some soup and crackers ready for you," I told him as I approached my wall (I called it that because it technically was) and sat down. "I'm just going to set it here beside me and-"
His movement effectively silenced me as he started slowly crawling toward me just as he had during lunch. I smiled as he grabbed the crackers in one hand and gripped his fingers around the bowl, pulling it with him as he scooted back toward his wall. More progress, I thought to myself; Please let me all the way in, Edward.
I kept my eyes off him as he ate, because the last thing I wanted was for him to be self-conscious around me in any way, but I talked to him, telling him all about the idea Marcus and I came up with so I'd be able to stick around longer. I made sure to include, "Only if you want me to." at the end of the sentence - which he seemed to. At least, that's how I interpreted the grunt in response. Sometimes I wondered if he ever tired of me talking so much, but then again, I had to make up conversation for two people. In the end, I guess maybe he didn't because he'd yet to ask me to stay away. I honestly hoped that day would never come.
Being that Edward presumably was a belated eater, or maybe it was simply because he still wasn't used to being around someone while eating, even though he'd been doing it for the past week now, he'd just finished when six o'clock rolled around. I glanced up at him when I saw through my peripherals that he was laying his bowl beside him.
"It's time for me to go, but I'll be back in the morning." I grabbed my tote bag, slinging it over my shoulder and stood up, stretching my limbs a little before I walked toward the only exit/entrance in the room.
"I wish-" he paused, as if hesitant to continue what he wanted to say. "I wish…you could stay."
I stood inches from the door now, unmoving. "I do too." I bit back the tears that stung the corner of my eyes. "But I'll be back tomorrow."
I moved through the doorway, knowing if I stood in that spot any longer or even chanced a look at him, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to leave, and that was not a possibility right now; I had to leave. I'd barely cleared three steps between me and the doorway when I heard him say, "You…you make it…not hurt so much."
The tears fell relentless now.
I pushed through the entryway leading into the boiler room, feeling my heart wrench painfully in my chest when I stepped over the threshold. Marcus looked up from what he was doing, wearing a warm smile, but the smile disappeared the moment he noticed the tears. "Are you okay?"
"I'm alright," I said, wiping the tears that trickled down my cheeks. "I just hate leaving him."
He nodded in understanding. "I know you do, but you know you can't stay." He put whatever he was working on into a large metal canister, placing the plastic lid over the top then faced me. "I guess we should probably go, yeah? Your dad wants to meet me, and if he's going to trust this old man at all with his daughter, I spose' I better not be late to that meeting."
"Yeah," I agreed. I glanced briefly over my shoulder, reluctant to leave.
I didn't hear Marcus come up behind me, but I felt him as his hand gripped my shoulder, squeezing lightly. "I'll come back after I leave your place. He won't be alone." I swallowed back the sobs lodged in my throat as I nodded. He pushed against my shoulder, ushering me to keep moving. "C'mon now, we got somewhere to be."
Marcus had followed behind me in his van, parking in the yard. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of ruining a perfectly good lawn, not that we really had much of a lawn, but we didn't really have much of a driveway either, and he couldn't very well park in the middle of the road. I assured him it was fine, that our measly yard could handle an hour or two of his vehicle, and we approached the house.
I stopped just outside the front door, the knob gripped tightly within my hand, and turned to Marcus. "My dad…he's the Chief of Police so he tends to ask a lot of questions when meeting new people. It's not often people get past him in a small town, but it happens occasionally. It's nothing personal, but I just didn't want you to be offended if he asks something personal."
He laughed. "It's alright. I'd expect nothing less. You are his daughter, and I am a stranger to him."
"But you're not a stranger to me." He blinked a few times, swallowing thickly. He was seemingly caught off guard by my response, so I gave him a small smile to ease the moment, then circled back around and opened the door. "Dad, I'm home," I called out as soon as I stepped inside.
He came walking through the kitchen toward me, eyes immediately averting from me to Marcus. The warm expression morphed to curiosity, and he shifted from father to police officer in a matter of three point two seconds. "You got here just in time. The pizza was just delivered."
"Oh, dad, this is Marcus. Marcus, this is my dad, Charlie Swan." I gestured between the two as I introduced them.
"Uh…nice to meet you." Charlie regarded him tentatively, but gripped his hand, shaking it. I saw the way his fingers tightened around Marcus's, like he was reinforcing a silent warning within that handshake. "Come on into the kitchen, you two, before the pizza gets cold."
I mouthed an, "I'm sorry." as Marcus passed me, walking directly behind Charlie toward the kitchen. He just winked, mouthing back, "It's alright."
I heard a snicker to the right of me, and I turned abruptly, seeing Emmett standing just inside the living room, arms crossed at his chest and a smirk upon his face. He'd watched the whole exchange. I kindly stuck my tongue out at him and marched toward the kitchen. Marcus was already seated at the table, and Charlie was serving the pizza. "I'll get us something to drink," I told them as I went straight to the fridge.
Emmett came walking in, planting his oversized body in one of the chairs, smirk still in place. "I'll take some tea, Bells."
I gazed over my shoulder, glaring at him as I mouthed, "Get your own." I, of course, poured three glasses of tea and brought them to the table, placing one in front of Marcus, Charlie, and then myself. Emmett went slack-jawed, so I smiled serenely at him and took a nice long gulp of my tea, exhaling a big 'ahhh' after swallowing.
He stood from his chair, huffing something under his breath as he made his way toward the fridge. Charlie eyed me, then Emmett, shaking his head. We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a bit, eating our pizza, before Charlie began conversation with Marcus. "So, Mr.-"
"Oh, sorry, the last name is Jacobs. But please call me Marcus."
"So, Marcus," Charlie began, authoritative tone in place. "How long you owned that old hospital?"
"Ten years now."
"Ten years, heh?" Marcus nodded as he took the last bite of his pizza. "How come I don't see you around town?"
"Well, I pretty much keep to myself," Marcus explained. "It's just me at home, no wife or family, so I don't need for much, and any shopping I do, I do it up in Port Angeles. Nothing against Forks, of course, but I live closer to Port Angeles, anyway. I do occasionally grab a coffee at the diner, or pick up something I may need at Newton Hardware, but not too often."
"Hmm…well, why'd you buy that old place anyway?"
"Dad!" I choked on my tea. At this point, I was completely mortified. "What does that have to do with me working there?"
"No, it's okay," Marcus took a sip of his tea, then cleared his throat. "To be honest, I still to this day don't know why I bought it. I guess part of it was because I just saw a lonely place that needed some fixing up, and I took the chance on it. Lord knows I needed something to do in my spare time since I have lots of it, and I like to fix things up or at least try. And I guess the other part was the history sparked an interest. I've always been interested in old places like that. They all have stories to tell just like people do.
"Folks around home say I should reconstruct it, make it into a department store or something, but I'm not looking to own no department store. That place has history, not all pretty, but it does, and I'm not about to go tearing it down or make drastic changes to it. I guess if I was into doing something drastic, I'd fix it up so it could be used as a hospital again."
"And what are your plans with it?"
"Fix it up as best I can."
"And this is what Bella would be helping you with?"
"Yes, but she wouldn't be doing anything strenuous. And I don't generally work past eight."
"What then? I mean, after you fix it up?"
"I haven't really thought much past that. It's become a hobby of sorts."
"You consider that a hobby?"
Marcus laughed. "Well, in my opinion, it's no different than someone having a hobby of whittling wood. We all have our hobbies, Mr. Swan, and mine's fixing up that old hospital."
"Fair enough." Charlie shuffled in his seat, then clasped his hands together over the table. "I'm just going to cut right to the chase here, Mr. Jacobs."
"Please do," Marcus told him.
"Bella says she wants to work for you." Charlie glanced in my direction, then back at Marcus. "I'll be honest, I'm not too keen on the idea, but she says this is what she needs. My first issue, and the reason Bella ended up stuck at your place for twenty-four hours to begin with, is she has a bit of a problem with her…umm…equilibrium being off. I-"
"Dad," I interrupted. "I'm a klutz. You can say it." Emmett started laughing, so I kicked him under the table.
Charlie frowned at me, then continued speaking. "As I said, I'm not keen about her being up at that place, but she is of age, so there's not a lot I can do in the way of stopping her. She says she needs this for personal reasons, not to mention the money she makes from you helps go towards what she needs for college. I just need to know that what happened won't happen again. You asked her to work for you, so I need your guarantee that she'll be safe."
"You have my word," Marcus promised. "I won't let anything happen to her, and she won't be there when I'm not present."
"I'll be working right with Marcus, Dad."
Charlie nodded. "Second, I'm not sure if Bella's made you aware of this, but when the semester starts, she's off to college as I just mentioned, which means she won't be working for you. Yeah, she'll still be here in Washington, but I'd rather she focus all her attention on school."
"I understand completely."
"So, if you agree to my stipulations, then I'll agree to Bella working for you."
"Agreed," Marcus told him. We smiled at each other, and I noticed Charlie watching us, but he said nothing about it. "Well, I suppose I should get going. I have a few things to do before I head home." He stood up and jutted his hand out for Charlie to shake. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Swan, and I appreciate you inviting me to dinner."
Charlie shook his hand. "Thanks for coming."
"I'll walk Marcus to the door." I immediately stood up as I scooted my chair from the table, and followed Marcus to the front door.
I stepped outside on the porch, Marcus in tow. "See, that wasn't so bad," Marcus laughed as soon as I closed the door behind us.
"You're right, it could have been worse." It was a bit too easy for my liking.
"Nah, you're dad's just looking out for you and rightfully so. I'd be just the same with my own daughter, if I'd had one." He started down the stairs, turning to face me when he reached the bottom. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Bella."
"You're…you're still gonna check on him, right?"
"Of course," he affirmed. "Now get back inside and get some sleep. You need your rest because there's a young man who needs you, and he'll be expecting you bright and early."
"Okay. Goodnight, Marcus."
"Goodnight, Bella."
I stood on the porch, watching him until his car was no longer discernable from where I stood, then I went back inside, cleaned up what was left of dinner, showered and went to bed, curling up under the softness of my comforter with nothing more than the thought of seeing Edward again within my mind.