Caught in the Flames

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two

As always, none of this is mine. I'm just the perv who want to make our beloved Twilight characters swear, drink, and go at it like horny rabbits. This story will be a combination of love, suspense, some violence and steamy, sweaty sex.

Chapter 132

BPOV

Once I had my bags, I walked to a rental car counter. With some finagling, I rented a car and set the GPS for my destination. I clenched my hands on the steering wheel, feeling tears sting my eyes. Each passing mile, I grew more and more tense. By the time I pulled up to my destination, my neck is stiff and my back is in agony. Stumbling slightly, I knocked on the door. It opened and I fell into the arms of my father. "Daddy ..." I sobbed. "I can't ... Help me!"

My father enfolded me into his embrace as I collapsed to my knees. He awkwardly rubbing my back. "Bella, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked. He tried to move us out of the doorway of his tiny bungalow house. We eventually walk into the dark living room, complete with a couch from the seventies and yellow shag carpeting. I was sobbing against my father's shoulder, wishing that the nightmare I called my life would be over.

"Dad, why won't they leave me alone? My friends, my family, they're all in danger because of me!" I cried, gripping his polyester uniformed shirt.

"Take a deep breath, baby girl," Charlie whispered. "You're on the verge of a panic attack." Too late. "Now, start from the beginning, Bella. What are you talking about?"

"The fires," I hissed, standing up angrily and pacing the length of my father's tiny house. "The bodies. James and Renee's involvement. EVERYTHING!!!" I stopped, leaning against a wall and letting my tears fall, unabated. I started pacing angrily again, twisting my engagement ring nervously.

"Bella, yelling at me won't help you," Charlie chided gently, stopping my frenetic pacing. He held me by my shoulders, looking at me with sympathy and concern. "What happened to cause you to get upset today?"

"It was two days ago," I muttered, sitting down on the steps. "My friend and colleague, Peter, lost everything in a house fire; a fire that James caused. Now, Peter has no home, is covered with burns and ... and ... it's all my fault."

"No, Bella. It's not," Charlie soothed.

"Yes, it is. James targeted Peter because he's my friend. He works for me," I spat. "Victoria, the first victim, sold me my office. The guy in Leah and Seth's bar was my contractor. Edward's condo was destroyed and now ..." I pinched my nose, leaning forward and trying to keep my churning stomach from exploding onto the laminate flooring. Blowing out a breath, I looked up at my father. "It's all connected to me. All of it."

"Be that as it may, it'snot your fault that James is starting all of this trouble," Charlie said quietly, crouching in front of me "It's not your fault that your mother is in league with him. They are making those decisions all on their own."

"But those decisions are affecting people that I love," I sniffled, looking at my father. I was so lost. I wanted Edward, but I didn't want him to get hurt. Staying away was the best option. If I stayed away long enough, then the pain that James and Renee were imparting on them would stop.

In theory, inside my head. You're not really thinking rationally, Swan.

"Bella, I know that you are upset. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest? You look like you haven't slept in days," Charlie said, helping me to my feet. "Once you've gotten some sleep, things won't seem as daunting." Guiding me up the stairs, he led me to a sweet, but obviously outdated girl's bedroom. My guess it was my room from when I was a girl, but I didn't remember seeing this room because Renee said that Charlie didn't want to have anything to do with me. "Sorry about the floral décor. It was what was in style the last time I went shopping for this room. I didn't have the heart to change it since I hoped you'd come to visit me, but your mother always said no."

"I'm sorry, Dad," I whispered. When I had visited him in the fall, I stayed at the lodge since I didn't want to inconvenience him. Charlie didn't push it. We were still getting to know each other. Spending a few days together on his home turf was scary for me and unsettling for my father. Now, seeing this pink, frilly bedroom, I feel safe. Knowing that my father kept this almost-shrine to me solidifies that he never gave up on me and loved me.

"Don't apologize, Bella. It was not your fault," Charlie said, guiding me to the bed. He slipped off my heels and tucked me into the slightly musty pink comforter. "Try and get some rest." I nodded and before Charlie turned off the light, I'm sucked under into the land of dreams.

Too bad the dreams quickly morphed into horrific, terrifying nightmares.

God. Damn. It.

A/N: Picture of Bella's bedroom in her father's house is on my blog. I had the same bedroom except mine was green, not pink. It was a floral nightmare. Leave me some.