WHAT A FUCKING BITCH.

MARCH

"Babe, just come over," Emmett whined over the phone. "I'll pick you up.

"First off, of course, you'd pick me up. I don't have a car," Frankie said, rolling her eyes playfully. "A running one, at least. But you know I've gotta go meet Bella."

In a surprising turn of events, Charlie's daughter Isabella decided to come live with him in Forks while his ex-wife traveled with her newest husband. It's all Charlie had been talking about for two months. So, as a welcoming present, Jacob and Frankie spent their time fixing up Billy's old red truck, having to completely rebuild the engine. Then Charlie bought it from him, hoping Bella would like it.

Bella Swan wasn't a stranger to her. It'd been a long time since they'd seen each other, but Charlie and Raylan arranged play dates when Bella visited during the summer months. So, while Raylan was at work, Charlie asked that Frankie come when the truck was delivered so that she'd be another familiar face to Bella.

But Emmett would rather his girlfriend be spending her free time with him on the Sunday. He was acting as if it was still soccer season and Frankie didn't have any time in her schedule for him, but they rode to school together every day, and on nights when her father was working a closing shift, she'd come to the Cullen house to eat dinner. Emmett sat in on band rehearsals and gigs, and would eat lunch with her every other day — she liked to alternate between his family and her other friends.

"I don't care for this new girl. She's already stealing you away from me," Emmett grumbled childishly, not really meaning it. If anything, he was excited. Alice had seen Edward's mate coming two months ago when she made the decision to move there. Now, they'd just need to find Rosalie's.

There was a honk, letting her know that they were outside. "You'll see me tomorrow, Cullen," she told him while slipping her shoes on.

"Bright and early."

Frankie groaned, hating the thought of school. "Stupid you with your stupid senior year," she complained. "Wish I was almost done."

"I think you'll survive one more year."

"We don't know that," she joked while going outside, thankful that it wasn't raining. "I've gotta go."

"Bye, babe."

A parting 'I love you' was on the tip of both their tongues. Of course, Emmett had been in love for a long time but didn't feel he deserved to say it to Frankie while he was still hiding the biggest secret in the world from her.

How Frankie hadn't figured out that they were vampires was beyond them. Though the Cullens just finally realized how unobservant the girl was. With how often she thought about food, you'd think she'd notice never seeing them eat any.

Unknowing to Emmett, the three little words were on Frankie's tongue too. She didn't say it because, well, she was scared. She'd never been in love before but here she was, as wrapped around Emmett's finger as he was hers. And Frankie was terrified that if she admitted she loved him out loud, she'd get hurt in the long run.

Which was ridiculous, because she knew Emmett would never hurt her. Even still, she just couldn't say it. Not yet at least.

So, Frankie tried to forget about the guilt she was feeling for not saying it as she climbed into the bed of the red pickup truck. The small back window was open, so she stuck her head in, greeting Billy and Jacob with a smile.

"Howdy, there," she greeted. "Let's get rid of this hunk of junk."

"Hey, she's gonna love it," Billy insisted as Jacob pulled away from the trailer.

"You could've at least let me repaint it," she muttered.

"Wouldn't have been done in time and you know it," Jacob said, shaking his head. They'd only just got it running two nights ago. "Nice to know you're capable of making something so old run."

"If that was a dig at the Jeep, need I remind you of the piece of junk rotting in your own garage?" she shot back, talking a little loud over the wind. She was unbothered by the cold air nipping at her skin.

"Surprised that rich boyfriend hasn't offered to buy all the parts for it," Jacob said.

Frankie ignored how Billy tensed up. Like her, Jacob didn't take the legend quite as seriously, thinking they were just scary stories from their childhood.

"He knows I'd dump his ass if he tried that," Frankie said. Emmett knew she wanted to get the car running on her own, even if that meant working on it for nearly a year now. "So, when you gonna get a girlfriend, Jakey?"

"Ooh, don't you know?" Billy asked with what looked more like a smirk than a smile. "We're driving to go see her."

Frankie immediately began laughing while Jacob huffed in annoyance, glad that Frankie didn't live too far from Bella, so it wouldn't be too long of a drive. He was always the butt of the joke when she and Billy were together.

Jacob had a huge crush on Bella when they were growing up, so sue him? Frankie had a crush on Sam and then funnily enough got over him when he started dating Leah, who she liked more. But Frankie wasn't easily embarrassed like Jake was, so he couldn't make jokes about it.

And the jokes continued to be on him as they made their way to the Swan residence — Charlie would give them all a ride back home to give Bella some alone time as she unpacked and settled in. He didn't like to hover, and from what Frankie remembered, Bella wouldn't want him to. They both liked to be alone.

Jacob honked the horn to let them know they'd arrived, and Charlie was rushing out of the house with a giddy smile on his face in seconds.

"Hey, Chief," Frankie greeted while climbing out of the back of the truck. He helped her get Billy's wheelchair out as well.

"Morning, Frank," he said. "Truck looks great."

"You don't gotta lie to me," she said, shaking her head. "Bella isn't out here yet."

"At least she runs," Jacob said, proud of their work.

Finally, the woman of the hour joined them. Bella looked just like she did the last time she visited when she was twelve, though a little taller, and her hair was more brown than red now. She had a polite but still uncomfortable smile on her face.

"Bella, you remember Billy Black," Charlie said in case she needed a reminder.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're looking good," she said, grinning down at him.

"Well, I'm still dancing," he said, smirking. "Glad you're finally here. Charlie here hasn't shut up about it since you told him you were coming."

The tips of Charlie's ears turned red, embarrassed by how excited he'd been. "All right. Keep exaggerating, I'll wheel you into the mud."

"Right after I ram you in the ankles," he threatened, taking several rolls at Charlie, who dodged them.

"My money's on your dad," Frankie told Jacob before they both came a little closer to Bella.

"Hi, I'm Jacob," he introduced shyly. "We made mud pies together when we were little kids."

"Right," Bella nodded. "No, I remember. And you're... Francis?"

"I just go by Frankie now," she said. "Francis is my Isabella. Hate it."

"Got it," Bella said with a small smile. She hated being called her full name as well. "You were the one that made Jacob eat the mud pies."

"And she still torments me to this day," Jacob chuckled.

Then Bella looked at their fathers, who were still messing around. "Are they always like this?"

"It's getting worse with old age," he joked. "You should see yours with Frankie's dad. They're attached at the hip."

After escaping Billy's wrath, Charlie came back over and pat the hood of the truck, looking at his daughter. "So what do you think?"

"What?"

"Of your homecoming present?"

Bella's eyes went a little wide as she looked from him to the truck and back again. "No way. The truck is for me?" she asked, actually excited about it since it wasn't some brand new, shiny, and attention-getting vehicle.

"Just bought it off Billy, here."

"Frank and I totally rebuilt the engine," Jacob told her shyly.

"Oh, come on! This is perfect!" she beamed, the first genuine smile on her face since she'd gotten to Forks. "You're joking."

Bella eagerly climbed behind the wheel, and Jacob went to meet her on the other side while Frankie just leaned through the window. "Okay, so you gotta double pump the clutch when you shift, but besides that, you should be good."

"That's this one?"

"Yeah, right there."

"She runs great," Frankie promised while handing over the keys.

She took a moment to familiarize herself with the dashboard, taking Jacob's advice as she fiddled with the gearshift. Then she turned to smile at him. "Maybe I can give you guys a ride to school or something," she offered.

"I go to school on the reservation," Jacob told her.

Bella's smile immediately dimmed. "Oh, right. Right. That's too bad. Would've been nice to know at least one person."

"You'll know me," Frankie told her. "I transferred to Forks when I was twelve."

"Oh, that's good," she said, happy she wouldn't be totally alone.

"I'll pass on the ride though. My boyfriend usually picks me up," she explained. "Also, a fair warning, my friends are a lot. I'll try to keep them from overwhelming you."

"I'd really appreciate that," Bella muttered. She was dreading being the new girl, and from what she remembered about Frankie, she was a well-liked and social girl. Bella didn't know if she could survive an extraverted life like hers.

"So, you wanna take her for a spin around the street?" Frankie asked, patting the side of the truck.

Bella nodded, excited to give it a try. Besides, she'd need to get used to driving on wet and icy roads. "Come on in."

☽︎

Though Bella wasn't driving Frankie to school, the girls agreed to meet up at the end of the day and go to Carver Cafe together. Charlie would be waiting for her for dinner and he invited Frankie to join them since her dad was working a shift. Frankie was going to be Bella's unofficial tour guide for the day.

At least, she was supposed to.

But the morning bell was set to ring in five minutes, and Frankie was still in Emmett's Jeep. His seat was leaned all the way back as she kissed him leisurely.

"Babe, I'm supposed to find Bella," she murmured against his mouth.

Emmett just hummed in acknowledgment while cupping her jaw and deepening the kiss. She sighed happily and made no move to stop despite knowing she should've gone. But Bella had already been at the school for fifteen minutes, so she was sure someone found her and started showing her around.

Everyone knew they were getting a new student.

So, Frankie didn't end up seeing Bella until their gym class. Initially, Frankie and Emmett didn't have any shared classes in the spring semester, but Emmett swapped things around so that they'd at least have gym together, as well as the same lunch period.

Much to the couple's annoyance, Coach Clapp had the boys playing basketball and the girls playing volleyball, so they couldn't team up and dominate together. But Frankie was happy to hover around Bella, who she was learning wasn't very coordinated. Bella was appreciative when Frankie would intentionally run and get a ball before it could come near her.

Though Frankie wasn't quite fast enough, and one sailed right for Bella — the other team was learning to hit toward her. Bella awkwardly brought her hands together and hit it, the ball sailing to the other side of the gym and hitting Mike in the back of the head.

"Ow!" he winced, rubbing the back of his head while Frankie snickered and Bella rushed to apologize.

"I'm sorry! I told them not to let me play" she said quickly.

Mike quickly got over his headache and blinked at Bella, taking in her pretty features. "No, no, no, it's — don't—d," he said, grinning. She gave him a relieved smile seeing that he wasn't mad. "You're Isabella, right?"

"Just Bella," she corrected.

"Yeah, hey, I'm Mike Newton," he introduced, staring a little too long at her while shaking her hand.

"Mike's the worst friend a girl could have," Frankie said, raising her elbow to lean on his shoulder. He rolled his eyes and playfully shoved her off.

And then Jessica, sensing that Mike was paying attention to someone who wasn't her, appeared next to them all. She had a beautiful smile on her face, but Frankie knew her enough to see the possessiveness in her eyes.

"She's got a great spike, doesn't she?" she joked while nudging Mike. Then she looked at Bella. "I'm Jessica, by the way. Hey, you're from Arizona, right?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't people from Arizona supposed to be, like, really tan?"

"Uh, yeah. Maybe that's why they kicked me out," Bella said, making Mike laugh. And because Mike laughed, so did Jessica, the attention just making Bella feel uncomfortable.

"You couldn't catch me moving there. It's way too hot," Frankie said, shaking her head. "I gotta have the rain and the cold."

Bella looked at her like she was insane, disagreeing with every fiber of her being. She hated the wet and cold, though Frankie thrived in it. They supposed it was just a difference in growing up in separate climates.

"Anyway, back to the game," Frankie said, nodding toward the net. "If we lose, Lauren gets bragging rights, and I can't fucking stand her."

"No one but Tyler can," Jessica mumbled, following her to the court. Then she smiled back at Bella. "Maybe you stay in the middle so someone is always near you to intercept it."

Bella nodded, glad that Frankie wouldn't be the only one guarding her. "Yes, please."

☽︎

By the time lunch rolled around, several people had introduced themselves to Bella, not that she remembered all their names. Frankie and Bella left their math class and met up with Jessica and Mike, who all went through the lunch line and then found an empty table. Bella had been silent the whole time, so overwhelmed and the day was only half over.

Eric met them at their table, grinning at Mike, who pulled out a chair for Bella. "Hey, Mikey, you met my home girl, Bella."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Your home girl?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

Suddenly, Tyler appeared. "My girl," he said before kissing Bella's cheek and running away while also pulling Mike's chair out from under him. Mike ran after him to berate him. "Sorry, I had to mess up your game, Mike!"

"Fuck off, Ty!" Frankie shouted at him, knowing how uncomfortable it made Bella.

"Like you're one to talk, Frank!" he yelled back, knowing just how well kissing someone in the lunchroom ended for her.

Jessica let out a nervous chuckle, feeling jealous already of the attention Bella was getting. "Oh, my God. It's first grade all over again, and you're the shiny new toy."

Bella just smiled awkwardly before a flash suddenly blinded her. "Smile." Angela had come up and unexpectedly taken a picture of her. "Sorry," she immediately apologized, "needed a candid for the feature—"

Eric cut her off. "Feature's dead, Angela. Don't bring it up again," he said while getting up.

"It's okay. I just—"

Eric cut Bella off curtly before patting her shoulder. "I got your back, baby."

Then Eric went to get in line to grab his food, leaving the four girls alone. Angela was clearly disappointed that the new student profile for the newspaper was canceled. There was never anything exciting to write about around here.

"Guess we'll just run another editorial on teen drinking," Angela muttered, disinterested in it.

"You know, you could always go for eating disorders," Bella offered, trying to be helpful, "Speedo padding on the swim team."

"Actually, that's a good one," Angela said, grinning brightly.

"Right," Jessica agreed. "Kirk? There's no way."

Angela and Frankie giggled. "We're talking Olympic-sized."

"Speaking of," Jessica said, looking pointedly at Frankie. "When are you gonna find out how Olymipic-sized a certain someone is?"

Frankie rolled her eyes playfully at the prying question. She and Emmett hadn't had sex yet — not for lack of trying but more for lack of a good time and place. Sometimes they would be close but then Emmett would have to fight off the urge to bite her and calm himself down. There was no telling how his venom would react to her since she wasn't human, and he didn't want to risk that.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm so gonna give you an apt description when it happens," Frankie joked.

"You better," Jess smirked. "I have to live vicariously through you—"

"Who are they?" Bella suddenly asked, interrupting their not-so-appropriate talk.

All three girls looked out the window where Bella's eyes were fixed, seeing a familiar family on their way to the cafeteria. Frankie just smiled, excited to see Emmett again.

"The Cullens," Angela said, keeping her voice down.

Jessica instantly entered gossip mode, leaning in with a sly smile. "They're, um, Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska, like, a few years ago."

"Most of them keep to themselves," Angela added.

"Because two of them are together. Like, together together," she said. Rosalie was the first to walk in, so she told Bella about her. "The blonde girl, that's Rosalie. Prettiest girl in school but also the biggest bitch."

"Don't call her that," Frankie said, as Rose had grown on her over the last few months. "Besides, that's an insult to Lauren. She worked hard for that title."

Angela and Jessica laughed before Jessica continued. "The little dark-haired girl is Alice and she's really weird when she's with them but pretty cool on her own. She's with Jasper, the blonde who looks like he's in pain. I'm not even sure that's legal."

"Jess, they're not actually related," Angela reminded her.

"But they live together," she insisted, looking to Frankie for backup.

Frankie did still think it was odd that Jasper and Alice were dating, mainly because the rest of them did really see each other as siblings. But they were also good for each other, and the only time she saw Jasper happy was when he was with Alice, so she tried to not think about it.

"Just let them be, Jess," Frankie finally said, shaking her head.

"Well, I guess it makes Dr. Cullen, like, this foster dad slash matchmaker."

"Maybe he'll adopt me," Angela said with a dreamy smile, thinking of the handsome doctor.

Bella began to laugh but it died in her throat when the next of the family came through. "Who's he?" she asked breathlessly.

Frankie giggled, knowing that was how she felt when she looked at Emmett, she just kept it hidden well.

"That's Edward Cullen," Jessica whispered, not wanting him to hear as he passed. "He's totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently, nobody here's good enough for him. Like I care."

Frankie just rubbed Jessica's shoulder comfortingly, knowing she was still embarrassed by the asking him out incident from the year before. It didn't help that Edward never made a point to talk to any of Frankie's friends — none of them but Alice did, and it was rare she interacted with them.

"Seriously," Jess went on, trying to hide how hurt she was. "Don't waste your time."

"I wasn't planning on it," Bella muttered while glancing at Edward as he sat down next to Alice. But when she saw him already looking, she quickly turned away, her cheeks burning at being caught.

"Where's the last one?" Frankie grumbled while watching the door, waiting for her boyfriend.

"Last one?" Bella questioned.

"Emmett Cullen," Jessica answered. "He's keeping it out of the family and dating Frankie."

Frankie smirked at Jessica while still talking to Bella. "I'll have to tell you how we got together. It's a horrible story."

"It's a great story," Jess snickered. Then she spotted him coming through the door. "He's arrived. You can leave now."

Jessica wasn't really hurt by Frankie leaving them at lunch every other day. True to her word, Frankie never let Emmett get in the way of the band or soccer. He was just always around now, mostly getting along with Tyler and Mike. He tried with Eric, but they didn't have quite as much in common.

When he reached their table, Emmett swooped down to kiss Frankie's cheek before grabbing her lunch tray to carry for her. Bella looked at the boy with wide eyes, thinking he looked more like a professional linebacker than a high schooler. Then again, Frankie had always been a jock, so she supposed it made sense.

"Babe, meet Bella," Frankie said while standing up. "She's really cool."

"Hey, I'm Emmett," he introduced with his dazzling smile. Looking at him with his free arm around Frankie's waist, Bella thought they looked perfect together. "Welcome to Forks."

"T - Thanks," she stuttered, unable to believe how beautiful the Cullen family was.

"I'll see you in Biology class," Frankie told Bella. "Jess, Ang, take care of her."

"We'll keep her in perfect shape," Angela promised with a sweet smile before Frankie walked off.

Emmett took a seat at his family's table, pulling Frankie to sit on his lap. "Hey, guys," she greeted while picking at the tater tots on her plate — and Emmett's. "How's it going?"

"Same old," Alice told her. Then she glanced at Edward, who was eying Bella. Just before Frankie came over, he mentioned not being able to read her mind, which confused them. "Em said you know the new girl?"

"Yeah, Bella," she told them with a grin. "She used to visit her dad a lot, and we'd hang out. It's been a few years though. Like, we hadn't even moved into the Forks' school district yet."

"That's nice of you to make sure she's settling in," Jasper said, able to feel Bella's nerves from across the room. And they'd skyrocketed when Frankie left her alone with Jessica and Angela.

Frankie then noticed that Edward was still staring intently at Bella. "Eddie," she said in a teasing tone, getting his attention. "Do you see something you like?"

Edward rolled his eyes from the childish thoughts running through her head. "No, Frankie. I'm just curious."

"Yeah, well, Mike, Ty, and Eric are curious too, so don't fall behind," she warned. "You're already so broody — I can't imagine what you'd be like if a girl you liked was dating someone else."

"You're reading too much into things," he said, shaking his head. Edward knew she was just teasing him, but she'd have been just like Alice, full of excitement if she knew what Bella really was to him. "Eat your tater tots."

"Only if I can have yours too."

☽︎

Biology was the last class many of them had for the day, so Mike and Frankie were the ones to walk Bella to it. Since Mike and Frankie were lab partners and Edward was the only one without one, she knew Bella would be paired with him and at the table right in front of them.

"This is Mr. Molina," Frankie introduced, walking Bella to the front of the class while Mike took his seat.

Bella looked around the room before handing him her class slip to sign, seeing Edward at his table in front of Mike. Then she passed in front of the small fan that Mr. Molina had running, her hair blowing all around. Edward tensed up suddenly and covered his nose while stiffening. Then he grabbed the edge of the table like he wanted to break it or something.

Frankie didn't notice Edward's odd reaction, too concerned with grabbing an extra textbook to give to Bella while Mr. Molina directed her to her seat.

"Welcome, Ms. Swan. Follow along as best you can till you get caught up," he said while gesturing to the empty seat next to Edward. Frankie just smiled at her before joining Mike, ready to pay attention.

It wasn't until halfway through the lesson that Frankie realized something was wrong. Edward was still covering his nose and leaning away from Bella, nearly falling off his chair. And he was glaring at her like she smelled like dog shit, which made no sense because Frankie could smell the apple-scented product in her hair all day.

When Mr. Molina wasn't looking, Frankie ripped a page out of her composition book and crumpled it up, throwing it at Edward's head. His glare just moved from her, and she was taken aback by how dark and angry his eyes were.

Frankie just mouthed the word, 'Bitch,' before he turned back around, ignoring her and going back to seemingly hating Bella's entire existence.

When the class finally ended, Edward fled the room before the bell could even finish ringing. Seeing that Bella was visibly upset by his behavior, Frankie slowly slid off her chair and joined the girl.

"I can walk you back to the office," Frankie offered.

"Is, um, is that Edward always like that?" Bella asked as they filed into the hallway.

Frankie wanted to say yes, to let Bella think she wasn't the cause of Edward's odd behavior, but she so clearly was. It made Frankie a little mad at him, as it'd clearly ruined an already hard day for Bella.

"Well, no, but I'll talk to him and see what's wrong," she offered. "He might be getting sick or something and it put him in a bad mood. Plus, he really likes not having a lab partner."

Bella nodded in understanding, letting Frankie lead her to the office since she didn't completely remember the way. Though she nearly turned and left when she saw Edward already in the office and talking to Mrs. Cope, the office administrator.

"There must be something open. Physics? Biochem?"

"No, every class is full. Just a minute, Dear. I'm afraid you'll have to stay in biology. I'm so sorry."

He was trying to change his schedule — in the middle of the semester. Even Frankie knew something fucked up was going on.

Edward then shifted suddenly and slowly turned to glare at Bella with hate-filled eyes, realizing she was the one Mrs. Cope was addressing. Bella backed into the wall, wrapping her arms around herself. Then Frankie was stepping in front of her, and Bella welcomed the body heat coming from her as she returned Edward's glare.

"Fine," Edward said without looking at Mrs. Cope. "I'll just have to endure it."

Frankie watched him go, unable to believe he was acting this way. He wasn't like the fun Edward that liked to make fun of Emmett with her. This was the Edward that humiliated Jess when he turned her down by laughing at her. Frankie hated this Edward.

Bella, clearly upset, slammed her signed class slip on the desk and then fled the office, just wanting to go. Frankie easily kept up with her with her longer legs, not trying to calm her down — because honestly, what the fuck could she say?

They passed Edward, who was standing next to Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett saw Frankie and waved at her with a big grin, expecting her to come over before leaving for dinner with the Swans, but Frankie just caught Edward's eye and flicked him off before getting into the truck with Bella.

Bella's eyes welled with tears but she fought it off, getting more mad than sad the longer she thought about it. "Jerk," she muttered.

"What a fucking bitch."

☽︎

When the girls arrived at the cafe, Frankie told Bella to go on inside, as she had a call to make. She ended up calling Emmett, who picked up right away as always.

"Hey, babe," he greeted. "Thought you were gonna say goodbye."

Frankie could hear the frown in his tone but would make it up to him later. "Put your brother on the phone."

"Which one?"

"Don't be cute."

"You think I'm cute?" he cooed.

She rolled her eyes. "Emmett."

"Fine," he sighed before finding Edward and handing him the phone. "Frankie wants to talk to you."

It was silent for a second and then sounded like Emmett was forcing Edward to take the phone. "Hello?" he asked in a tense tone.

"Bitch!" she accused before hanging up and heading inside.

Charlie and Bella were sitting at a corner booth, and Frankie slid in next to Bella, smiling at them both. "Did you guys order?"

"Yeah, Char — Dad got you a burger and fries," Bella said, still getting used to not using Charlie's first name. "Is that okay?"

"I'll eat anything, Bella," she assured her.

For the next few minutes, Frankie helped Bella tell Charlie about her first day, there to remind her of a name when she forgot it. Of course, Charlie recognized almost everyone mentioned given how small the town was. He was pleased Bella seemed to get along with Frankie's friends, knowing they were a safe group to hang around with — they didn't do much other than band rehearsals and sporting events for each other.

"Wait, you're in a band?" Bella asked Frankie, surprised when her father mentioned it.

"Yup," she said, sipping on her Coke. "Me, Jess, and Tyler. We're still kinda small but it gives us something to do."

"Yeah, 'cause you had so much free time before," Charlie joked.

"I just can't picture it," Bella said, mainly thinking about Jessica and Tyler. Frankie at least had the laid-back, cool girl attitude that reminded her of indie rockstars.

"Well, we've got rehearsal tomorrow. You're welcome to stop by," she offered, knowing it'd give Bella something to do where she wouldn't be the center of attention.

"I'll think about it," she mumbled as Cora brought their plates over.

Raylan was a step behind her with a burger and salad for himself, deciding to take his break. "Scoot on over," he told Charlie, taking a seat next to him in the booth.

"I just can't get over how grown up you are. And so gorgeous," Cora told Bella, who smiled shyly.

"Yeah, those are her Mama's genes," Raylan joked.

Charlie rolled his eyes and elbowed him. "Hey, I'm hot and you know it."

"Dad," Bella muttered, embarrassed by him so easily.

Frankie just shook her head and covered her fries in ketchup. "They're always like that. It's horrible."

Then Waylon Forge wandered over, grinning at Bella, who clearly had no idea who he was. He was a good friend of both their fathers though, so Frankie grinned at the logger. "Hey, Bella. Do you 'member me? I played Santa one year," he reminded her.

"Yeah, Waylon, she hasn't had a Christmas here since she was four," Charlie said in a flat tone, rolling his eyes.

"Bet I made an impression, though," he chuckled. "Didn't I?"

"You always do," Raylan told him. You could always count on Waylon to be a drunk Santa at any event.

"Buttcrack Santa," Cora teased.

"Hey, kids love those little bottles, though."

"Let the girl eat her garden burger, Waylon," Cora told him, pushing him back a little. Then she smiled at Bella. "As soon as you're done, I'll bring your favorite — berry cobbler. Remember? Your dad still has it."

"Every Thursday," Raylan added, winking at Charlie. "Surprised you're not too out of shape with how horribly you eat. Just as bad as Frank."

"Hey, we are both in perfect shape," Frankie defended herself and Charlie, who nodded in agreement. "Healthy as horses."

"You're putting your fries on your burger," Bella pointed out in amusement.

"And it's fucking delicious."

Bella put her hands up in defense before digging into her dinner. She glanced between Charlie and Raylan, who was clearly the cook. "So, you guys eat here every night?"

"Not all the time. Dad gets sick of it," Frankie told her.

"Your daddy, though—"

"Hey," Charlie cut off Raylan before he could make fun of his cooking abilities. "It's easier than washing dishes."

"I can cook," Bella offered, earning a confused look from Charlie. Maybe it was because Frankie was the only teenage girl he knew well and she was a shit cook, but he was surprised. "I do the cooking at home in Phoenix. Mom's not great in the kitchen."

"I remember," he chuckled.

"Keep going on about school, Bella," Raylan said, wanting to get to know her better now that she was older. "Meet anyone outside of Frankie's lot?"

"A few people," she murmured, glancing at Frankie for a second before eyeing her father. "Do you know the Cullen family?"

Frankie slid down in her seat a little bit as her father tensed up while Charlie just looked at Bella sharply. "Are people talking about them again?"

"No..." Then Bella thought about how ready Jessica and Angela were to gossip about them. "Well, a little."

"Just 'cause they're newcomers," Charlie scoffed. "We're lucky to have a surgeon like Dr. Cullen at our podunk hospital. Lucky his wife wanted to live in a small town. Lucky his kids aren't like a lot of the hell-raisers around here."

Bella was surprised by how much he defended them but didn't know it was partially him defending them to Raylan. Charlie had no fucking clue why so many of his friends from the reservation hated the Cullens and didn't care for it one bit.

"Okay," Bella mumbled.

"I just don't like narrow-mindedness," he huffed, glancing at Raylan, who stayed silent and glared at his plate. Charlie then lightened up. "And hey, Frankie is dating that big one. I was worried at first, but he hasn't caused any issues. Been a perfect gentlemen, right?"

"Perfect," Frankie agreed. "Though he hasn't asked me to Prom yet, and it's getting on my nerves."