Phases of the Sea

Chapter 12

Perci POV

I sighed in mild exasperation as I waited outside the station for Bella to arrive so she, Charlie, and I could go for the 'family dinner' that he had requested of us tonight. Bella had, as usual, caught a ride with Edward, making me question why she even had the truck anymore since she hardly used it now. The fact that the speed demon that was her vampire boy-toy was taking forever to get here spoke volumes, and I wondered exactly what Alice had seen at lunch that was causing such a delay. Finally, I spotted Edward's stupid Volvo pulling into the parking lot ten minutes late. It seemed Edward had perfect timing though, as just as they got out of the car, Charlie came out, following a clearly distraught couple. Catching sight of the unwanted addition, Charlie turned to me, seeming to check to make sure I hadn't brought Paul with me, before nodding in apparent approval that I had showed up sans-boyfriend.

"It is still just the three of us, right?" He asked, shooting a small glare at Edward, who smiled somewhat condescendingly.

"I'm just dropping her off." He said, apparently trying to placate him, before turning to head back to his car. After a few steps though, he paused and turned back to look at Bella.

"Oh, Bella? My parents wanted to remind you about that ticket you got for your birthday." He told her, making my eyes narrow in suspicion at the so called 'casual reminder'. The timing of it was too perfect with the vision Alice had at lunch today.

"What ticket?" Charlie asked in curiosity while I waited for Bella to figure out that the timing of this was off. Unfortunately, Bella seemed to be more naïve than I had been when I first arrived at camp.

"A round trip ticket to see mom in Florida." She answered, looking at her boy-toy in curiosity, though, not suspicion.

"It expires soon, so you may want to use it this weekend. It might be your last chance to see her before you graduate." He said, adding the last part over her protests that she couldn't just drop everything to leave. It seemed to do the trick for him as she stopped arguing and nodded, while I intensified my suspicious glare. Why was he in such a big rush to get rid of Bella this weekend?

"Only if you use the companion ticket." She compromised, after Charlie gave his approval, hoping to get some distance between the couple, shooting his hopes down. Edward on the other hand, looked mildly upset at the thought.

"Wait, there's two tickets? Super, that makes me real happy. Why can't Perci go with you, take her to a warm beach for a change?" Charlie asked, making a somewhat smug look appear on his face. I knew instantly with that look that he wanted to stay here this weekend, meaning Alice had seen something going down. Quickly coming up with a story, I felt only mildly bad about dashing Charlie's hopes just to wipe the smug look off Edward's face.

"I can't, I promised Emily I'd help her do some wedding planning this weekend in between study sessions. I think Edward should go, it would give Renee a chance to get to know him properly, after all. You did tell me that the last time they met was when Bella was in the hospital down in Phoenix, why not give him the chance to get to know her since he seems so keen in following Bella to sunny places." I said, openly smirking at the subtle glare Edward gave me. The fact that he would have to stay inside the entire time made this all the better, since he wouldn't want to expose his disco-ball like skin. I'd have to ask Apollo to avoid going behind clouds when he went over Florida for the weekend. Sighing in disappointment, Charlie agreed to let Bella have tomorrow off of school for a three day weekend to go to Florida with Edward, before we all went to the diner for dinner.

I easily ignored the confused glances Bella sent my way the entire time. I understood it, since I had made no secret of my dislike of Edward, and here I was suddenly suggesting they take a vacation together. I knew Charlie was confused as well, but was far more understanding on why I pushed for Edward to take the ticket. As far as he knew, I could postpone plans with Emily, but my near-phobia of planes made it to where I wasn't letting go of my 'plans' for anything. When we got home later, Charlie suggested to Bella to call Renee to let her know about the surprise visit and then go pack. While she did that, I excused myself down to my room, and quickly dialed Paul.