It was nearly 2:15 that afternoon when Wendy drove her 2006 black Accord into the parking lot at Teller-Morrow Automotive, Addison in the passenger seat beside her.

During the drive to the auto shop, Addison had sent a text via a group chat that she was part of with the Cullen siblings back in Forks, letting them all know that she had made it to Charming safely and that she would try and keep them updated on what she found out regarding the topic of her biological father.

Rosalie was the first of the siblings to respond to Addison's message.

Rose:
So glad that you made it there in one piece, Addy girl. Miss you bunches, girlie. Hope to hear from you again soon.❤️❤️

Jasper had been the next one to send a reply.

Jas:
I'm glad that you made it to Charming safely too, little bit. We all miss you like crazy here. And don't worry, we'll keep an eye on Charlie for you as much as we possibly can.

Addison couldn't help but smile a little at Jasper's assurance to her regarding Charlie. The man may not be her actual father like she'd been led to believe her entire life but that didn't mean that she didn't still care for and worry about him.

Addy:
Thanks for doing that for me, Jas. I really appreciate it.

After responding to Jasper's message, she continued checking over her messages.

As she did so, the 14 year old saw that she had received multiple texts as well as a bunch of missed calls from none other than Bella.

After reading the first few texts, she saw that they mostly contained threats from the older girl about how she would regret not being home when she was supposed to, etc etc.

Addison just decided to completely block Bella's name and number in her phone just as Wendy parked her car in an empty space in the lot. She turned to the teen and smiled at her.

"So, this is the mechanic shop that is run by Gemma and her husband Clay. Their daughter Sarah sometimes helps Gemma out in the office whenever she's not busy with school. "

Addison nodded her head as a silent response.

Wendy also explained to the younger girl that some of the guys there might seem a bit intimidating but that they're actually good guys deep down.

Addison didn't speak and simply nodded her head again. Now that she was actually this much closer to getting the answers to her questions, she couldn't help but feel a little fearful.

What if her father wasn't interested in a relationship with her? Worse, what if he had actually known about her this entire time and had chosen to just ignore her existence altogether?

Addison really hoped that neither of those were the case. She really didn't want to go back to Forks and she pretty much had no where else to go at this point.

Wendy could tell that the younger girl was feeling pretty nervous. She reached out and placed her hand on the teen's shoulder gently in an effort to try and comfort her a little, her brows furrowing in confusion slightly when Addison flinched slightly at her gesture.

Seeing this made Wendy wonder if Addison might have been mistreated by someone prior to coming to Charming. The older blonde couldn't explain why or how but she felt a pull of some kind towards Addison.

She also felt this intense urge to protect the teenager for some unknown reason. It was obvious to the older blonde that the young girl had been through some hard times and seeing as she herself had also been through some hard times as well, it made her want to do everything that she could to protect Addison.

Pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind for the time being, Wendy grabbed her purse and motioned to Addison to follow her.

Climbing out of the car, the pair began to walk across the lot towards where the office seemed to be, only pausing when a guy with blond hair that reached his shoulders who Addison thought to possibly be around the same age as Wendy came over to them.

"Hey, Wendy. If you're looking for Chibs, he's out with Clay and Tig taking care of something."

Wendy smiled politely and explained to the guy who was apparently named Jax that she'd actually stopped by the shop to see Gemma about something.

Jax nodded before finally taking notice of Addison who was standing next to Wendy. The intensity of his eyes on her made Addison shift a bit closer to Wendy which didn't go unnoticed by either of the two adults.

"Who's this?"

Wendy introduced Addison to Jax and then explained to him that she had come to Charming and that she had been looking for Gemma to see if she could answer a few questions that she had.

Jax nodded his head before responding.

"Well, Sarah's in the office covering for Ma since she had to go run a couple of errands. She should be back any minute though. You and uh Addison here can wait for her in the office with Sarah if you want."

"Thanks, Jax." Turning to Addison, Wendy signaled for her to follow her to the office. "Come on, sweetie."

Making their way to the office, Wendy and Addison are greeted warmly by a blonde girl who Addison thought to be a couple of years older than herself.

"Hey, Wendy. Didn't realize that you were stopping by here today. Chibs isn't actually here though."

Wendy chuckled before assuring the girl that Jax had already informed her that her old man was out with Clay and Tig.

"I actually came by to see your mom. This is Addison and she wanted to talk with Gemma about some questions she has. I offered to drive her here from the diner so that she wouldn't have to try and find the place all on her own seeing as she's new to town."

The girl finally turned to smile at Addison and introduced herself as Sarah Teller-Morrow. Apparently, she was Gemma's daughter with her husband Clay and she was also Jax's younger sister.

Wendy and Addison end up making small talk with Sarah until out of nowhere, the younger girl's phone began to ring with the ringtone that she had programmed in the device to let her know whenever Charlie was trying to reach her.

(Phone call in bold italics)

Charlie: Addy, thank god. Where the heck are you, young lady?! The school called me this morning saying you never showed up not to mention that Jacob and Billy said that they hadn't seen or heard from you in days. What's going on, kiddo?

Addison's stomach was doing flips at the frantic tone in Charlie's voice. She had known even before leaving Forks that he would be upset when he realized that she had left but she'd never expected him to be this upset.

Meanwhile, both Wendy and Sarah had stepped outside of the office. Both females had figured that Addison could benefit from a little privacy while talking to the person that they assumed was likely her father.

That didn't stop either of them from listening in on the conversation though.

Addison:
I'm actually not even in Forks or La Push right now, Charlie. I'm-I'm actually in Charming, California.

On the other end of the phone, Charlie Swan felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had known for years that Addison would eventually learn the truth that he wasn't actually her real father and that she would want to search for the man who actually was involved in her conception. He had just hoped that it wouldn't be happening this soon.

Addison:
(emotional voice) You knew the whole time, didn't you Charlie? You knew that I wasn't really your daughter, didn't you?

Charlie:
I-I did, Addy girl. I started wondering about it when you were still in kindergarten so I had a DNA test done on both of us. I never stopped seeing you as my daughter even after I found out the truth though. I never will either.

Addison could feel herself smile a little at Charlie's declaration.

Addison:
Thanks, Charlie. I actually need to go now but can I call you soon? Maybe in a couple of days once I get settled?

Charlie:
Of course you can, kiddo. I hope that you find your father there and remember no matter what happens, you'll always have a home here, okay?

Addison:
(smiles at Charlie's heartfelt words) Thanks, Charlie. I need to go but I'll talk to you soon, promise.

Charlie:
Sounds good, kiddo. Take care of yourself and stay safe down there in Charming, okay?

Addison:
I will. Be careful out there and make sure that you take care of yourself too.

Addison smiled as Charlie promised her that he would do his best to be careful when he was working and that he would also take care of himself.

Hanging up with him, Addison reached up and brushed away a few tears that had escaped her hazel green eyes towards the end of her phone call.

"Addison, are you okay honey?"

The 14 year old didn't speak but instead simply nodded her head in response to Wendy's question.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I just didn't think that Charlie, the man I originally thought was ny dad, would actually be as okay with me coming here to try and find my real dad as he actually is"

"Oh, okay. Well, I just wanted to let you know that Gemma's back now and she's okay with talking to you and answering all your questions if she can."

A/N:
I know that this may seem like a weird place to end this chapter but it was getting kind of long and I wanted to find an okay place to end it so that I could get it uploaded for you guys.

Please feel free to vote and comment below to let me know what you guys think!

I hope that you all have a great day/afternoon/night depending on where you may be, stay safe and remember that you are all amazing, beautiful and wonderful just the way you are!

Stay safe out there, everybody!
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