“Nothing is ever done beautifully, which is done in rivalry: or nobly, which is done in pride.”
– John Ruskin

To my great disappointment and annoyance, Charlie appeared more suspicious than usual whenever he glanced up at me from his dinner. Why, exactly, I had no clue. But he was making it difficult for me to concentrate on my reading.
“Two can play at that game.” I thought. So I set Wuthering Heights down and fixed him with a stare just as suspicious.
“What, Dad?” I demanded.
His dark eyebrows lifted in mock surprise- or perhaps the shock was real, I don’t know. He might have been surprised that I’d noticed his façade.
“Nothing.” He replied and immediately dropped his gaze to the plate in front of him.
I didn’t back down.
Now my hovering gaze was making him uncomfortable and unable to finish his dinner. I bit back a laugh.
At last, the thin layer of ice broke.
“Bells,” Charlie declared with a sigh. “I have an offer to make you.”
“An offer?” I said each word with caution.
“Well, a compromise actually.” Charlie amended. “It’s about your grounding.”
I stared back, confused. “What’s there to compromise, Dad? I deserve my punishment.”
And I fervently believed that. Why else would I tolerate Charlie’s limitations on Edward’s visiting hours? The motorcycles, cliff-diving and my disappearance for three days were all actions that I could not really explain, let alone, excuse myself of.
Charlie gave one stiff nod.
“I can see that you have accepted this without complaint, which is quite impressive for a teenager, I might add. However, I want to amend a few things.”
“What things?”
Charlie leaned back in his chair. His gaze abruptly hardened into a glare. “When was the last time you spoke to Angela Weber?”
“Friday at lunch.” I answered immediately, despite the downright confusion for his question.
“What about Jake?” Charlie prompted.
My stomach fell, my dinner swirling.
But my tone was defiant, despite the nausea of the guilt that his question provoked. “Oh. So this isn’t about Angela, after all.”
“Now, Bella.” His tone was surprised again. And a little fearful. “Don’t strike up a fight just because I tend to worry about you two from time to time.”
“What’s worrying you, Dad?” I inquired through my teeth.
Charlie sighed and threw a glance towards the window.
“Billy confined in me the other day….that Jacob is depressed.”
I bit my lip to hide a wince.
Charlie  turned back to look at me.
“Bella.” His tone was more serious than before. “You can’t hurt his feelings like this. He misses you terribly.”
I sighed, exasperated. “Jacob is the one who doesn’t want to be my friend. Ever since Alice came back, he’s distanced himself.”
“No.” Charlie disagreed. “ You are the one who has pulled away from Jake when the Cullens returned.”
I rolled my eyes to disguise the rage. “I haven’t.” I murmured, trying to control my distorted voice.
“Anyway,” Charlie sounded slightly embarrassed when he proceeded. Good. He should be. “That’s why I’m amending your punishment.”
I glanced up, involuntarily intrigued. “So this isn’t just a useless nagging about my relationships?”
Charlie frowned. “Actually, it is.” He replied, indignantly. “If I were to let you off the hook, will you see your other friends, not just your boyfriend?”
“I see Alice all the time.”
“True.” Charlie said hesitantly. Alice was free to come and go as she pleased without visiting hours. “But I’m talking about your friends at school and especially Jacob.”
I nodded, pretending that I hadn’t heard the last reference. “If I’m not grounded anymore…”
“You will spend time with Angela and your other friends. Keep your life balanced.”
I sighed. That seemed easy enough to Charlie but if he knew the whole truth behind my motives for keeping a safe distance from the people that I would soon leave, then I was positive that he wouldn’t think it so effortless.
“Fine.”
“Especially Jacob.”
Ugh.
“With Jacob there’s a conflict.” I explained in the most subtle, normal manner possible.
A sarcastic grin tugged at the corners of Charlie’s mouth.
“Isn’t Edward up for a little competition?”
The hell with explanations! That certainly did not help my resolve.
“There is no competition.” I said through clenched teeth.
I predicted that Charlie would back away once he saw the ferocity in my glare but he merely glared back, just as stubborn. Maybe that’s where I got that characteristic from.
“He wants to be your friend.”
“You don’t need to emphasize the word, I get it. He’s feeling betrayed now. Even though, he was the one who betrayed me.”
“He was being responsible.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, but he wasn’t thinking about responsibility when he was teaching me to ride that bike.”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed.
With a sigh, I pushed my chair back, picking up my book.
“You know what, Dad? I don’t need freedom from my grounding, okay? It’s no secret to anyone that you prefer Jacob to Edward but that’s not going to change anything.” I paused on the way out of the kitchen, anxious as I was to run up the stairs. “But if it makes you happy, I’ll do something with Angela next week.”
“Bella, wait one second.” He was about to stand.
“No, Dad. It’s fine. I’m going to bed.” I headed out before he could hoist himself away from the table.