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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Tango was having a very nice relaxed evening. Since Bella was out, Charlie had an extra long shower using a lot of the houses hot water, the pair went on a brief walk before dinner. Charlie sat in his pyjamas sipping a beer with Tango laying across his lap.
The door opened abruptly and Tango went on edge barking rapidly at the door. She ran, sliding a little because of her nails which needed to be cut soon only not seeing anyone dangerous, just Bella and Edward. But dogs are super sensitive to their owner's emotions, for example a happy owner equals a happy dog or an angry owner equals a an angry dog. And right now, Bella was not being a calm owner, therefore, Tango was not a calm dog.
"Edward, I said leave me alone." Bella's voice was raised at Edward who stood outside, she would put on the perfect show, for the tracker.
"Bella, don't do this, please." Edward fake pleaded, glancing at the barking dog besides Bella, he knew earning back the dog's trust would take a while after this shit show.
"It's over! Get out!" Bella slammed the door in his face, hard.
"Quiet!" Charlie whistled and pointed to Tango who immediately stopped barking before following his fuming daughter up the stairs, "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Bella? What's going on?"
"I just gotta get out of here. I'm leaving now." For the second time that night she slammed the door in someone's face. Tango paced angrily behind Charlie, he glanced at his dog who was looking as concerned as he was.
Charlie knocked four times on the door, standing outside. "Bella? Bella, what's going on?" After a minute the girl came out not being gentle with the door again, but this time with a bag in hand as she went into the bathroom to grab her stuff. "Did he hurt you?"
"No." She shook her head grabbing random toiletries, what do you even take when going on the run from a sadist vampire who planned to drain her for every drop of blood in her body. Charlie leant against the wall, with Tango sat by his feet since he didn't like the pacing.
Charlie was not well versed in teenage drama, "Break up with you or something?"
"No, I broke up with him," Bella walked past her dad and dog back into her room, shutting the door before they had the chance to follow her.
"I thought you liked him." Charlie said resting a hand on Tango's head.
"Yeah, that's why I have to leave. I don't want this. I have to go home." Bella continued to switch between bathroom and bedroom as she grabbed items. What did she really need though in the grand scheme of things? Clothes on her back and a toothbrush sounded good logically and now was not the time to be extra and worry about what conditioner to take.
"Home?" This was home, at least to Tango and Charlie, he had hoped that Bella had began to see it that way too, but then it clicked. "Your... Your mom's not even in Phoenix."
"She'll come home, I'll call her from the road," Bella insisted.
"You're not gonna drive home right now. You can sleep on it," his voice became sterner, also known as the dad voice as he followed his daughter who seemed busier than a bee, "If you still feel like going in the morning, I'll take you to the airport." It was a generous offer and Bella knew now what she had to say to get him to back off. Tango walked behind the two, watching her humans from her place on the stairs.
"No, I want to drive. It'll give me more time to think. I mean, if I get really tired, I'll pull into a motel, I promise." Bella grabbed some food from the kitchen and stuffed it in her bag.
Charlie shook his head adamantly, "Look, Bella, I know I'm not that much fun to be around, but I can change that. We can do more stuff together." He was really trying here, Bella could see that which was why what she said next would be even more heartbreaking.
"Like what?" Bella was panting for breath as she said her next words, Charlie's face falling. "Like watch baseball on the flat-screen? Go on boring walks with Tango? Eat at the diner every night? Steak and cobbler? Dad, that's you. That's not me."
They stood by the front door now, Tango hadn't made a sound from her place on the stairs, "Bella, come on, I just... I just got you back."
Bella kept her hand on the doorknob, taking a deep breath, "Yeah, and, you know, if I don't get out now, then I'm just gonna be stuck here like Mom."
She was gone. Charlie stood still staring out the door until the truck was gone. The man staggered backwards and sat on the sofa, quickly Tango rushed to her human who smelt of such anger and sadness, he had his head in his hands and although his eyes were teary he never let the tears fall.
Tango hopped up on the couch without an invitation and rested her head on his. She knew being here was enough for Charlie, after all he'd been alone for a long time before her, almost ten years. The dog herself was only around four years old. Charlie sniffed and rubbed his eyes, hoping to get rid of any moisture that was left over. Tango whined in worry for her human.
"Bed time don't you think?" Charlie combed his fingers through the German Shepherd fur and found himself calming down. Perhaps it was false hope to have Bella want to stay here, since the only woman he didn't seem to drive away was his dog, Charlie was pretty sure that made him a huge loser but couldn't bring himself to feel bad about it.
His daughter just broke his heart and after hearing the sentences that left her mouth he did feel guilty, perhaps he wasn't as nice as he thought he was. But it was getting late so he turned off the lights and headed upstairs, closed Bella's door as he passed and went to bed. Tango didn't waste a moment jumping up and resting her head on his chest, the steady beat kept her awake until it slowed and she knew he was asleep.
