Interminable E. Cullen

Chapter 51

Charlie Swan was a reasonable man. He was reliable, he was caring, and he was loving towards those special to him.

And boy did he love his daughters.

Bella and Ophelia were the blessings he didn't know he needed. And while things hadn't always been easy, his love for them outshined everything else.

Whether it be the way Ophelia had waited up for him every night, drew little sticky notes for his lunches, or sent him off to work every morning with a tight hug and a "be safe".

Or the way Bella was so alike him. They shared the awkwardness and the expressiveness. The way they showed they cared differently than Ophelia. Bella cooked meals for him the moment she realized he never got home cooked food.

And he will never forget the look on her face when he told her he had put new tires on the truck for her. A look that nearly shattered his heart because he realized it wouldn't have meant so much to her if he could've been there to do it her whole life.

So it is safe to say that Charlie Swan would do anything for his girls.

And that's just what he would do tonight. With a proud, puffed up chest, he read over the letter once more and began sending unspoken prayers to his daughters in case something went wrong.

He waited on the couch, radio he had gotten many years prior for his baseball games with his dear Opie playing in the background.

He was not surprised when he heard the creek of a loose floorboard upstairs.

He did not shiver when he felt the quick breeze that brushed past him, perking up the hairs on the back of his neck.

And he did not flinch when a set of piercing red eyes gazed at him from across the dark living room.