Chapter 6

Charlie POV

He always knew that he wasn't the best father out there ,but he always made sure to try to be there for his kids. When Renee walked out with his children it was like his heart was ripped in two ,he couldn't chase after her because his parents were sick and needed him.

Geoffrey and Helen Swan had him when they were in their sixties, he was their miracle baby , born after many years and many miscarriages so he was raised with that extra bit of love and care ,he wasn't spoilt by any means but his parents never raised their voice at him ,he never had any spanking as a child nor any groundings or even other punishment's that a lot of other kids had . He too was loving and caring towards his parents and opted to be a police officer in his small town to be closer to his parents and did not leave forks like many of classmates and other people his age. He wasn't even very rebellious as a teenager as a result of the love and care he got and when he was grown up he  wanted to have a similar relationship with his children. One built on love and trust and not fear and hate  .By the time he finished college and got married to Renee they were pushing ninety and they needed help especially after his parents started suffering from dementia and could not remember much besides himself ,so he was asked to chose between his parents who raised him and his wife and children ,his wife who started to feel caged in their small town ,He always knew even before they got married that Renee was a free bird who loved her independence and he would eventually have to move away from his hometown to be with her but when it came down to it he chose his parents who had always been there for him and raised him to the best of their abilities despite their growing age ,He chose to be a dutiful son and the personal anguish that he faced when he had to let his babies go with Renee it nearly tore him half and just seven months after Renee walked out of his life with their kids his parents passed away in their sleep together with smiles on their faces. After his parents passed he was in a daze and threw himself into work and kept contact with his children he never had a date after that despite what people said he wasn't still hung up on Renee ,he just had other priorities and having a casual dating relationship with someone was not in the books during that time of his life, In fact the only other person that understood this was his son and even his friends down the reservation who claim to know him best didn't pick up on the fact, it surprised him a lot.

He tried to keep in touch with the children as they were growing up but Bella never tried to make any connection with him ,despite that he loved her and Hadrian always called him every week even when he was a child who couldn't speak clearly ,he memorized both the home number and the stations number and called him every week without fail and started rambling for nearly two hours about what happened to him that week and always visited during summer even when Bella stopped visiting after becoming a teenager his son who he expected to start being distant as he grew older kept on visiting him even if it was for just three weeks in a year, the only thing with him was that he hated and I mean really hated the people down on the reservation and could only stand the clearwater kids even when he forced them to interact with them ,once he heard Rian muttering under his breath about dogs and he decided he didn't want to know .

Lost in his thoughts about the past he at first didn't realize that he was already pulling into his drive way ,he could see two wheel barrows full of junk in the garage and as he was trying to open the door with his copy of the keys he could hear his son rushing towards the door and the first thing he saw when he opened the door was his son looking smug with a camera in his hands.

What are you doing with the camera kid ?

OH, nothing much just some pictures for future use

instantly I was suspicious, even though his son might look like the perfect example of an angel he was a prankster who was more like the devil.

Warily I asked him what did you do?

I finished the renovation of the house and he pulled me inside.

I could feel my eyes popping out and I heard the shuttering of the camera in the background but I was too shocked to do anything about it .I knew for a fact if Rian hadn't pulled me inside I would think I entered the wrong house it was completely different ,everything was so beautiful and classy but at the same time had a rustic and cozy feel to it ,it was the best thing that has happened to this house It didn't look like one of those TV houses but it had its own charm

How much did this cost Rian?

All the cost of renovating the house came close to seven thousand dollars and an additional three thousand for Bella's truck, just to spruce it up a bit so it doesn't stand out too much at school. So you have Five thousand dollars left dad which I've kept in the side table of your bedroom he said looking as smug as the cat who swallowed the canary.

I tried protesting but he would hear a word of what I said and started pulling me to the kitchen where I got another shock It looked brand knew with new shelves countertops and even a nice sized dining table with matching chairs and even the pots and pans from  what I could see were new and matching.

Everything looks good son, but I am concerned Rian on whether you got any sleep and food for the past few days 

he wouldn't look me in the eyes and mumbled something I couldn't hear before I could say something he started to push me out the kitchen and u the stairs which I saw were redone and buffed and polished like new and started pushing me toward the bathroom I was surprised since he didn't say anything about redoing the bathroom when I opened it it looked brand new and it looked lie it was meant for two people with a new bathtub and even a shower cubicle it looked bigger too, when I shot him a questioning gaze 

he shrugged and said I knocked down the wall to the old closet no one uses and expanded the bathroom since both you and Bella would have to share and I didn't want both of you to feel awkward and cramped in a small bathroom and thought that it was high time for a change and the cost was also in the Seven thousand I mentioned earlier and don't worry about the storage dad I incorporated plenty of storage inside the bathroom for spare towels and other toiletries including Bella's monthly stuff .

I was Shocked I didn't even think about it, to me Bella was still a small child the fact that she might feel awkward sharing a small bathroom with me didn't even cross my mind I knew that I should be thankful to have him as my son he thought of everything even Bella's truck so that she might fit in better in school.

Rian the five thousand dollars which is left over I want You to keep it and I want you to use some of it in Bella's bedroom and see if it is set up the way your sister might be comfortable in 

I could see it in his face that he was surprised and he agreed to it but he said he would do it after he was finished tuning the truck and upgrading it.

  I was okay with that and the rest of the day we spend together watching baseball matches and talking and we got started on the truck together and we took out the old engine and suspension and Rian was tinkering with it and  fixing up the parts and we were fixing up the suspension  and changing out the gear shaft for a better one which was smoother and he also stared to fix up the electricals in it and changed out a lot of old parts which were in danger of catching a fire if too much pressure was applied and after changing the oil and and fixing up the dents and stuff by the time it was around eight at night we finished most of the work on the truck he said that it only had a few minor repairs left like the paint and the seats and all and that he could do it himself tomorrow and we trudged back inside covered in sweat but happy and grinning ear to ear as It had been a while since we both worked together on some project as a little father son bonding time. I was surprised at the amount of work which was left to be done on the truck to make it safe for use and was re thinking many things especially about Jacob Black ,he goes around the reservation claiming to be the best mechanic and he had believed him and that was why he brought the truck from Billy since he knew that Jake had worked on it but now after seeing how much more work Rian had put into it to keep Bella safe he was having second thoughts especially since now the truck could go up to a hundred miles in speed when earlier if touched sixty it would break down and the fire hazards nearly had him panicking he could have lost his daughter to the deathtrap that the car was before he and Hadrian had repaired it.

This was another example of how he should stop listening to Billy when it came to his kids and he was actually thankful to Rian for his hatred of all things Quileute that made him recheck and repair the truck more thoroughly instead of the first just cosmetic repairs he was going for. He shuddered thinking about his Bella driving that truck the way it was bought without any repairs and decided that he would take his sons advice for things like this as he grew up with her and despite his best efforts when compared to Rian Bella was still distant with him.

As  he was going to bed later that night I knew I was lucky to have him as my son.