WITCHCRAFT

CHAPTER 26

A search party had been sent out for Bella in the early morning hours. Word had travelled around town that the Cullens had left and Sam's pack wasn't happy about the state they must have left Bella in. A sense of relief had washed over Lucy when she had found out.

Still not having read the letter by the time Bella had been found passed out in the woods, where Edward had led and left her, Lucy was having her morning coffee, glaring at the letter she had placed down on the kitchen table.

"Morning", Angela entered the kitchen with a yawn, ready for school. She spotted Lucy at the kitchen table, "You okay?"

"Bella slept in the woods. Edward left her there when he broke up with her. The Cullens are gone."

Something snapped in her and she snorted a laugh, a smiled brightening up her face. Angela furrowed her brows in a mix of worry and confusion, "Why are you smiling?"

"I don't know", she shrugged with another small laugh, "I guess I'm- happy?- yeah, that's a good word. I wasn't happy with Carlisle. Edward was terrible to me and Bella and I forgave him, for family's sake. But I'm so happy they're gone, Angela, I can't word it."

Of course she could. She could word her speculations that her life was safe now, that the vampire government would be off her back now. But she couldn't word it in front of Angela.

"Right. I'll go get dressed. Have some breakfast, we're leaving in ten", Lucy pushed up out of her chair and got changed into a simple but professional outfit and did her hair and face up in a way you would never think she had just been left via a letter she hadn't read yet.

Bella was not in school. The mood was strange because talk around town was fast. The Cullens weren't just on a camping trip, it wasn't even sunny. They had left town for good.

Bella wasn't in school for the rest of the week and in every conversation with Charlie the topic 'Bella' was carefully avoided. However on Saturday after her run she didn't wait for Charlie to open the door, she used her own key to unlock it, dropped off breakfast and went upstairs straight to Bella's room.

She didn't reply on the knock. She knocked twice more but still didn't receive a reply. So she shrugged and went inside. Bella was sitting on her bed, back leaning against the headboard staring straight ahead like she was catatonic. Lucy went inside, twisted the desk chair to face Bella and sat down in her line of sight.

Bella's eyes didn't focus on her, like a normal human being's would when something moves in their view. Lucy raised a brow and pursed her lips in disappointment.

"I get that you're hurt. And you're allowed to be", she started with a sigh, "But if you're not coming to school you won't get the credits you need to graduate."

Bella looked at her but her expression didn't change, showing absolute indifference through the tired bags under her eyes and the damp eyelashes, tears were still rolling but she wasn't consciously crying.

"I don't know why the Cullens left or where they went. In fact, Carlisle never even said anything to me. He just up and left", she pulled on her ponytail to tighten it, "I understand that your love for Edward probably ran deeper than what I felt for Carlisle but anything that comes in the future can only be better. So please go to school on Monday."

Bella didn't react but a new bout of tears ran down her cheeks.

Lucy sighed and got up to sit on Bella's bed, putting a hand on hers, "You'll be fine. I don't know what happened but you'll be fine."

"It was a paper cut", Bella croaked out when she noticed the hopeless look in Lucy's expression.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion.

"They left because I had a paper cut."

With those words Bella turned on her side, away from Lucy, and hid in her bed again. Lucy frowned and left her room. She leaned against the closed door when she was out in the hallway. Charlie was at the top of the stairs and looked at her.

"Well?"

"Nothing", she lied. At least she had the full story now. Somebody in that house had freaked about a drop of Bella's drop. And it only made her more relieved that they were gone. A flash of a thought passed through her mind. Had Bella done this deliberately to provoke a vampire into biting her?

Lucy shook her head and followed Charlie downstairs where the two left for breakfast with Angela at Lucy's place.

Bella was back to school on Monday. She didn't interact with anyone. She didn't participate in class but her work was good enough. She would come in just in time and leave as soon as possible.

This continued into the new year.

Charlie was growing frustrated. She had shown zero interest in participating for Christmas or New Year's. She was still screaming the household awake at night with nightmares and still spent all day catatonically sitting in her bed. Even Renee had called several times in worry, and she wasn't normally that interested in looking past Bella's 'uh-huh's.

So she had finally agreed to go to Port Angeles with Angela and Jessica to watch a movie. Lucy and Charlie spent that evening together, drinking wine and complaining about the technically-grown-ups they were responsible for. When Lucy was about to clean up the door opened and Angela walked in, seething.

"She's so stupid", she called out, "Some guys were going to kidnap her and she just went with it! Like, why would she put us all on that position?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa", Charlie put his hands up in his 'Chief of Police who's also a concerned father' posture, "What happened?"

"Some guys wolf-whistled after us and Bella reacted to them and started talking to them. She went on a motorcycle with one of them", Angela explained, "I mean, he let her go when she panicked but, still, it could have ended in a ditch."

"I'll take care of it", Charlie promised, bidding them farewell and getting on his way, "Sorry, honey, love you."

"Love you too, Dad", Lucy smiled before turning to Angela, "Come on, you should probably relax a little, everything's okay."