(Matt Pov)
After an hour's drive from the airport we arrived at the house we grew up in. It was a white house with two stories and one of the nicer houses compared to the others in town. Walking inside not much has changed since we were last here.
"Well, welcome back home. I did not touch your rooms after you moved to Phoenix, did not know what you both were into, so uh feel fear to change it to your liking," Charlie says to us after we went to our old rooms and rubbed the back of his head in unsurety. Our rooms were across the hall from one another and Charlie's was further down from Bella's room.
"Yeah, I can see that," Bella says with some annoyance in her voice at him.
"It's fine Uncle Charlie. It brings back all the great memories we had growing up here," I say to him trying to cheer him up and it seems to work as he gives me a smile. However, Bella rolled her eyes at me.
"I'll let you both unpack and when you are done maybe we can get something to eat?" Charlie says to us while still unsure how to talk with us as Bella has been giving him the cold shoulder.
"Yeah definitely, I am dying for something to eat!" I say with some enthusiasm and before Bella can reject him which she gave me the stink eye for.
"Great! Then I'll be downstairs watching some TV. Come and get me when you'll are ready," Charlies says while heading back down to the living room. I smile and nod to him while Bella sighs and starts to unpack in her room.
Walking into my room I see a picture frame of my parents holding me as a toddler on my nightstand. This brings back some painful memories from both lives, trying to push the sadness away I sigh to myself. After unpacking my things, it did not take me long, plus I wanted to talk with Bella before we went to eat with Charlie. Knocking on her door, just to be safe and since it is common courtesy.
'Sigh' "What do you want now Charlie?" Bella says with heavy annoyance in her voice.
"It's me Bella can I come in?" I say through the door.
"Oh, Matt. Yeah come in," she says with a lot less annoyance in her voice. She may love me like a brother but her default attitude is annoyed at everyone, especially on her special days of the month, then she is an angry monster. Walking in I see she is almost finished unpacking but is looking at all her old toys and photos in the room.
"Yeah, it was nice of him to leave things as we left them. Brings back some memories, some sad ones too. I forgot I left my only picture of my parents here," I say to her while taking a seat on her bed and a sad smile on my face.
"Matt…..I am sorry…."Bella says to me trying to think of what to say to me and taking a seat next to me giving me an awkward side hug.
"No its' fine, I wanted to talk to you about how you have been treating Uncle Charlie," I say to her and push the depressing thoughts out of my head. I can see what I said to her made her tense up.
"Matt, I just….Charlie hasn't been in our lives for the longest time and I mean he could have come down to visit any time and he didn't. Plus you remember how he and mom used to fight all the time," Bella says to me while anger is in her voice talking about the past.
"I get it, yeah he could have taken some time off to visit us. However, what if Aunt Renée told him not to come since they did not have the best divorce? All I am saying is you should cut him a break and try to fix your relationship with him. You still have both your parents and both love you and treat you well so do not regret one day you never made amends with him. I wish I could have one more day with both of mine one last time," I say to her as both sets of memories come to my mind and how in both lives I am an orphan and some tears involuntary leave my eyes. It seems I have some bottled-up emotions from both lives.
"Matt....I...you are not wrong. I will try to be nicer," Bella says to me and I can see what I said made her think more about how she treats him and give me another hug.
'Clearing throat' "Well uh finish up and then come down and get us when you are ready to go out. I am hungry as hell so don't take too long," I say to her trying to clear the depressing atmosphere I created by clearing my throat and changing the subject.
"Sure be a few more minutes," Bella says as I leave her room.
Walking downstairs I see Charlie is watching some TV that looks like a hockey game currently. Hearing my footsteps he turns around.
"Hey, Matt want to watch the game with me while we wait for Bella?" Charlie asks me while motioning me to take a seat on the couch with him.
"Sure, she said it should only be a few more minutes," I say while taking a seat next to him. Sure enough about another ten minutes or so Bella comes downstairs to tell us she is ready to go out.
Charlie drove us to the old dinner we used to eat at when we were kids. After entering the dinner and getting our seats, Bella goes to use the bathroom. While in the bathroom the waitress comes to take our orders. I tell her my order and Charlie tells her his but is having trouble remembering what Bella used to love here, but told her what he believed it was. After Bella returned Charlie tried his best to have small talk with her, to which she actually tried to return to him after giving me a side glance. After both ran out of small talk I chuckled to myself internally before taking over the conversation and giving them both topics to talk about.
Returning to the house we see a red pickup truck, kinda rusty and beaten up in the driveway. Then another pickup truck that was white parked outside the house with two men inside it waiting for us it seems for they stepped out when Charlie parked his cruiser. I recognize them, the teenager is Jacob Black who is helping his father Billy Black out of the truck and into his wheelchair. Seeing them Charlie waves at them as we get out of the cruiser and since I recognize them I too wave now. Billy waves back at us and holds up a six-pack of beer showing it off to Charlie.
"Billy, I'm glad you could make it. Thanks again for helping me out with finding a ride," Charlie says to them as Jacob wheels his dad towards us.
"It's no problem Charlie. Well hello you two, it's been too long since we saw you both. You remember us?" Billy says to us why smiling warmly at us.
"Ummmmm," Bella says while trying to remember who they are.
"Yeah of course I remember you both. Nice to see you again Billy and Jacob," I say to them shaking both their hands in greeting. My memories in this body are that Jacob and I used to be best friends and did everything together before.
"Yeah you should've kept in touch Matt," Jacob says to me while giving me a brotherly hug instead of a handshake.
"Anyway Bella I bought the truck off Billy here and Jacob helped fix it up. This is yours now, just be safe is all I'm asking of you," Charlie says to Bella after handing the keys Billy gave him to the truck to her.
"No way! You really got this for me?!" Bella says in actual excitement.
"Yeah, I figured since you're seventeen now and I can easily get your license transferred to this state then you should have something to drive. Also, I did not forget you either Matt. These keys are to the car your dad left for you when you were old enough, the car is parked at my station. Tomorrow after school we can pick it up," Charlie says to her and then hands me a set of keys. Bella in a fit of happiness gives Charlie a hug but then quickly breaks it out of embarrassment. I have no memory of what car my dad owned that he passed down to me, hopefully it is a cool one.
"Bella I'm glad you're here too, probably don't remember me as much as Matt here. We did play together as kids also, made mud pies when we were real little," Jacob says to her while smiling and trying to jog her memory of him. From my other life memories, I know that Jacob here has a major crush on Bella so it is kinda funny how she reacts to him.
"Uh yeah, I remember you guys, nice to see both again," Bella says but I can tell she doesn't really remember them.
"Don't let him downplay it Bella, he really missed you, after your dad told us you were coming back to live with him that is all he talked about," Billy says while chuckling and making Jacob's face turn red in embarrassment.
"Let's get this man inside to watch the game," Charlie says seeing the awkward atmosphere Billy created and wheeling him inside while he was holding the six-pack of beer and laughing at his son's embarrassment.
"Ignore my senile old man, he doesn't know what he is talking about. But I did work on this truck and brought it back to functionality, although it could use some touch-up work," Jacob says trying to brush off what Billy said and then he starts to show the truck to her.
The rest of the day goes by fairly quickly as Charlie, Billy and I watch the baseball game, especially since both are drinking. Meanwhile, Jacob is pretending to watch it too but is trying his best to flirt and talk with Bella who is just being her usual socially awkward self and eventually gets bored and leaves to her room to do whatever. After the game ends Jacob takes a buzzed Billy home saying goodbye to us. Excited and worried trying to fall asleep I start to think about what tomorrow is going to bring with the first meeting of the Cullens.