Charlie Swan never saw himself not being lonely after Bella and Renee left, but his salvation came in the form of a Police K-9. Perhaps his sidekick would be the key to saving his daughter as well.
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It was strange to Bella. After returning home with only a small gash on her arm and the whole newborn army had been dealt with, everything seemed to go on as normal. Tango and Charlie were in the living room, Charlie having taught the dog a new trick out of boredom. She could now play dead after being pointed at with finger guns.
They were her family and they could never know about her life now. With Edward it would be so different, there wasn't apart of her that doubted he was who she wanted to spend her life with. But when she got home, before she entered, Bella watched through the window to see Tango and Charlie having a cuddle on the sofa watching a baseball game. That darn carrot making the squeaky noise which irritated her to no end, it brought Charlie great amounts of amusement.
Bella wrapped the towel tighter around herself as she left the bathroom to enter her bedroom. A dog which had wormed herself into Bella's heart sat by the window, watching the stars. Tango barely glanced at Bella as she waited for her to be ready.
It took the Swan girl two minutes to change, and a further minute to be buried under the covers. Edward had already told her he wouldn't see her tonight, victory hunting party with his family. Bella didn't mind, if anything it gave her time to think about all this.
Turning into a vampire. It was a big decision, and after today, seeing the burning bodies or the need for blood, it was scary. Though she couldn't bring herself to mention to Edward about her feelings. One word of second thoughts and she'd never be changed, which she did want. But it was daunting to think about. There were things she would miss, her friends, her warmth, her family. Was it bad that she thought she was trading one family for another?
Tapping her bed feeling cold, she invited Tango up. The dog jumped up and curled up next to Bella's chest.
"I'm gonna miss you." Tango let out a whine and pushed herself closer to Bella, big brown eyes staring up at the girl like she knew what she was saying. "I might not have always been the most attentive owner at times," the dog let out a huff of agreement, especially remembering when Bella kicked her side to get to Edward and Jacob, "but I do love you. You're the most amazing dog a girl could ask for."
Tango licked Bella's nose in appreciation as a small, salty tear left her eyes. She loved Edward with all her heart, and wanted to spend forever with him. It was just hard, if she had fallen for a regular boy then get her heart broken it wouldn't have been a big deal. Life moves forward and carries on.
But there was no moving forward from Edward.
Never was.
Her new life would be full of travelling, adventures, experiencing new cultures. She would have all the time in the world to do anything she wanted, a small rush went through her at the thought. Yet there was a simplicity to life here that she would miss, she would never grow old (thank god) but she would leave behind her family.
Consumed by her thoughts something caught her eye on Tango's snout. One singular grey hair amongst the brown on her muzzle. Ageing, it was inevitable, but not for Edward or his family.
Not for her.
But for her family, they would leave this world behind.
Shuffling out of bed and turning on her lights, Bella grabbed the polaroid camera on her desk. Sitting at the end of her bed she tapped the spot next to her for Tango to sit. Holding her arm up she turned the camera around so it would be a selfie print out, wrapping the other arm around Tango who tilted her head at the camera. Click. With a flash the picture was taken.
Bella fanned the plastic in the air for a minute watching for the photo to appear. Sure enough, there was a human Bella and happy Tango inn the middle of the polaroid. Bella had a small smile on her face, brown eyes shining with life whilst Tango looked like her regular adorable self.
"Now that's a keeper." A small kiss on the head was Tango's reward for sitting so still.
"What's a keeper?" Charlie asked as he entered his teenage daughters room.
Bella showed him the polaroid which he grinned at. "You should date it, so in the future when you look back you know exactly when this happened." Charlie glanced at the camera, "How much film you got left?"
"A bit, why?"
Her dad didn't answer simply sat between his two girls and gestured for Bella to take another. A small amused smile came to her face yet she did as he insisted and raised the picture for another selfie.
It came out great, Tango's eyes shined from the flash yet other than that it was perfect. Her small family in this big, dangerous world would be fine, that's what she had to tell herself. "It's great, dad." A genuine smile was on Bella's face as she held the two pictures.
"Yeah, I am pretty good-lookin'." Charlie teased.
Bella scoffed and jokingly shoved him away. The Chief of Police stood up and walked to the door, Tango hopping off to follow him. "Love you, Bells. Sleep well." The door shut on their way out, and Bella even though she had Edward, had never felt more isolated.
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author's note - these chapters would have come faster but majority of people asked for bulk updates instead of one at a time so here ya go!
kinda short since we're moving on to breaking dawn. these past chapters have been pure waffling I can't even lie.
