Chapter 7: Chapter 7

"Go away, Edward!" Bella's voice, quickly followed by the door slamming, echoed up the stairs, making Juliet shoot awake. She could hear Charlie's voice, but it was muffled. "Leave me alone!" Loud footsteps followed by Bella's bedroom slamming and locking made Juliet get out of bed. By the time she had opened her door, Charlie was upstairs, banging on her door.

"Bella, are you okay?" His voice was full of concern. "What's going on?"

"I'm going home!" Bella shouted back.

"Did he hurt you?!" Charlie questioned.

"No!" Juliet had now moved into the hallway, looking back and forth between Charlie and the still-locked door.

"Did he break up with you?" Juliet could hear the confusion in Charlie's voice.

"No!" She yelled back.

"What happened, Bella?" Only a few seconds after Charlie asked this, Bella's door unlocked. She pulled it open, shoving harshly past Charlie and starting down the stairs.

"I broke up with him!" Bella said, Charlie and Juliet were close behind her.

"What happened?" Charlie caught her elbow by the time they were in the kitchen. "I thought you liked him." Juliet could see that tears were streaming down Bella's face as she glared up at Charlie.

"I do like him-that's the problem. I can't to this anymore! I can't put down any more roots here! I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like mom! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake she did. I hate it! I can't stay here another minute!"

"Bella!" Juliet's voice was harsher than even she'd expected it to be. Her dad wasn't exactly talkative about what happened before her mom left with Bella, but she knew enough to see what Bella was doing, to see what she was trying to do to Charlie. Bella looked between them as Charlie dropped her arm before spinning around and starting for the door again.

"Bells, you can't leave now." Charlie's voice was quiet, hurt. "It's nighttime."

"I'll sleep in the truck if I get tired." She answered without turning around.

"Just wait another week." He pled. "Reneé will be back by then."

"What?" Only her head turned, but she now stood frozen in front of the door.

"She called while you were out." Charlie's voice was hurried, almost eager. "Things aren't going so well in Florida, and if Phil doesn't get signed by the end of the week, they're going back to Arizona. The assistant coach of the Sidewinders said they might have an opening for a shortstop."

"I have a key." Bella shook her head, reaching for the door. Charlie reached for her arm, one last silent plea. "Just let me go, Charlie. It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks." Charlie's arm fell to his side at Bella's harsh words, and Juliet's blood boiled. The last words her mom had said before leaving. Charlie stood frozen in the doorway, watching Bella run to her truck. Juliet moved over, eventually managing to pull Charlie off the door and shut it, keeping the old air and rain out.

"Are you okay, dad?" Her voice was light as she led him to the couch. He looked almost mechanical as he sat down, his face still frozen.

"Yeah." He said eventually. "Go back to bed, Jules. I'm fine." She frowned, sitting next to him on the couch. He didn't argue, just stared forward. Juliet didn't know how long she'd sat there by the time her eyes started to droop, and she could tell Charlie wasn't going anywhere.

"Get some sleep, dad." She said as she stood up. "I love you." Charlie finally moved, looking up at her. He studied her face, as if he was trying to see Bella in her own features.

"I love you too, Jules." The creaking of the stairs felt as loud as gunshots, and she couldn't bare to look at the still open door to Bella's bedroom. Juliet laid down, pulling her thrown blankets back over her, but she was wide awake. Her mind was too busy to even think about sleep for a second, however tired she really was.

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By the time Juliet pulled herself out of bed, Charlie was gone. She hadn't slept, instead just lied on her back, staring at the ceiling for hours on end. She'd watched the sunrise through her curtains, and listened to Charlie get ready before leaving for work. It didn't even register in her mind that it was Monday, and that she'd already missed two hours of school. Stepping out into the hallway, she stared down the dark doorway of Bella's room. Before she could even register what she was doing, her legs carried her inside.

Barely anything was out of place. One drawer was open, so was her closet door, and one of her windows. Juliet sighed, not knowing why she'd come in, before turning around and walking back to the hall. She shut the door harshly behind her, not wanting to have to look at Bella's room every time she left her own. She then returned to her bedroom, and had just sat on the edge of her bed when the phone began to ring downstairs.

The living room, kitchen, and entryway felt different, as if the previous night's events had changed them in some way.

"Hello?" Juliet's voice was automatic, and she felt as if she was running on autopilot.

"Juliet! Where the hell are you?" Leah's voice cut through the phone. "Are you sick or something?"

"Or something." Juliet finally looked at the clock on the wall, it was nearly noon meaning Leah was at lunch.

"Are you okay?" Leah's voice was softer now, though a hint of annoyance still came through.

"I...don't know." And she wasn't lying. All night, and all morning, Juliet had been thinking about everyone but herself. Most of her thoughts early on were about Charlie, if was alright, what'd do if he wasn't. Then, they turned to Bella, and anger. Even if Bella had a fight with Edward and wanted to leave, there was no need to hurt Charlie like that. He still hadn't fully gotten over when Renee had had said that to him nearly 20 years prior. She wasn't sure if he'd ever get over this. There wasn't a second thought she'd spared about herself, about how she'd felt about what happened.

"Well you don't sound okay." Juliet could hear the frown in Leah's voice. Leah sighed after a few seconds. "I'm coming over, okay?"

"But you'll miss school." The sound of Leah's laugh almost made her smile.

"You think I care?" Leah scoffed. "Besides, you're already missing an entire day. I'll be there in about half an hour."

"Okay." Juliet didn't want Leah to miss school, especially not on her account, but she knew there was no reason to argue as Leah wouldn't have listened anyway. "I'll leave the front door unlocked."

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"And then she just...drove off." Juliet's hand fell back into her lap. Leah sat on her bed next to her, a deep frown set on her face, though Juliet was too busy picking at her blanket to see. "I just...I don't understand." She looked up at Leah, a mixture of sadness, confusion, and anger fighting to come through her expression. "Why she had to leave so suddenly, why it had to be last night...why she said that to my dad, I..." The sad tone of her voice took on a more sharp, angry tone. "I could see it, in her eyes. She knew what she was doing. It was like...it was like she was trying to hurt him."

"Maybe she was." Leah suggested. "Maybe she didn't want him coming after her right away so she said what she knew would hurt him the most."

"But why." Juliet stressed, her voice taking on an almost frantic tone. "I-I mean she seemed perfectly fucking happy yesterday morning when she left to go meet his fucking parents. And then she went to go play baseball with them and she comes back and suddenly the world is fucking ending and she leaves!" Juliet huffed, her face red from anger. Leah put her hand on Juliet's leg, and Juliet took a few breaths before speaking again. "I don't ever want her back here again."

"Really?" Leah raised her eyebrows. "I thought you were starting to like her."

"I was." Juliet asserted. "Until she broke my dad's heart." The anger quickly slipped back into sadness, and a deep frown set in on her face. "You should've seen him. I...I can't help but feel that's what he was like, after mom left. He just...sat there. It was like he was a statue. Or like time stopped the second she walked out the door. And I..." Her voice stopped as she started getting choked up. "I could hear him, crying. He thought I was asleep but I couldn't sleep and I just-" Juliet broke into tears, her hands covering her face. Leah moved quickly, wrapping her arms around Juliet and pulling her closer. Juliet's body shook with every sob, and with every passing second, Leah grew to hate the other Swan more and more.