Sometimes life's a bitch. I learned that the hard way. I'm Bella Swan, and this is my story.
It all started on the night before my wedding. My fiancé, Edward Cullen, was going out tonight for his bachelor party, with his brother, Emmett, and his best friend, Jasper Whitlock. I'd already had my bachelorette party with his twin sister, Alice, and Emmett's wife, Rosalie, earlier in the week. Edward and I had been dating since our junior year of high school, when I'd literally fallen head over heels over him in the lunch room, and he saved me from falling on my face. He proposed to me at Emmett and Rosalie's wedding last summer. Rosalie was getting ready to throw the bouquet, when she turned around and walked over to me, placing it in my hands. I wasn't sure what was going on, but when she took my shoulders and turned me around, showing Edward on one knee behind me, I gasped, dropping the bouquet. I, of course, said yes, and all seemed perfect.
"The guys and I are just going to the eighteen and up club downtown," Edward told me over the phone. I was in my room at my father's house, working on my computer, finishing up a paper for school before we left on our honeymoon the day after the wedding.
"Well, that should be fun," I said, distracted. I was balancing the phone on my shoulder, while typing up a sentence. "Don't get too drunk," I teased.
"I won't, Bella," he chuckled. "I love you. See you tomorrow?"
"I love you too, Edward. I'll be the one in the white dress."
"I'm looking forward to it," he said softly. "Bye."
"Bye." I hung up and put my phone down on the desk, finishing up the last few parts of my paper. By the time it was done, it was a quarter to eleven. I saved it and emailed it to my professor, then logged onto Facebook.
The first thing that popped up in my News Feed was a tagged photo: Jacob Black was tagged in Paul Lahote's photo. I looked at the photo, and my eyes zeroed in on my best friend, Jacob Black. He was half grinning, beer in hand, surrounded by his friends from the reservation, Sam, Emily, Paul, Jared, Kim, Embry, Quil, Seth, Leah, and his sister Rachel, who was dating Paul. Apparently they were celebrating Paul's birthday. I smiled fondly at the picture, and touched the part of the screen where Jacob's face was delicately. I missed him a lot. Ever since I started dating Edward, things had been tense between me and him, which was weird, considering we'd known each other since we were in diapers. And then, when I told him I was marrying Edward, he'd stopped speaking to me all together.
I snapped out of my flash back when my phone rang. I looked down at the caller ID, and felt my eyebrows jump into my hairline: Jacob Black. Why was he calling me?
One of his friends probably drunk dialing me I thought as I rolled my eyes and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Bella, it's me, Jake," I heard his voice and felt my heart jump into my throat. One thing I'd always remembered about Jacob was that I thought he was beautiful, from his looks down to his deep, husky voice. I had started liking him when I got my license, and we spent a lot more time together. But then, when Edward asked me out, he kinda disappeared from my mind. I was infatuated with the doctor's son, with his bronzey colored hair, green eyes, and tall stature. But, I digress.
"Hi, Jacob," I said, surprised it was him in fact. "Um, what's up?"
"Do you think I could come over? Like just for a little bit? I need to talk to you," he said quickly.
"Jake, if you're going to try to convince me to not marry Edward…" I started.
"No, it's not like that," he promised. "Please, Bells?" Wow, he pulled out the old nickname. This must be important.
"Alright. Charlie's working the night shift tonight anyway," I said.
"Alright, thanks. I'll see you in a bit. Bye."
"Bye." I hung up, and looked down at the laptop, back at the picture where Jake was standing, grinning at the camera. I felt butterflies in my stomach, and quickly shook my head, closing the laptop.
You're being silly, Bella, I told myself as I closed my laptop and tidied up my desk. You're marrying Edward tomorrow. You shouldn't be this excited to see an old crush. I changed into my pjs, a cotton tank top and shorts, and padded downstairs. I was just getting a glass of water from the kitchen when there was a knock on the door.
I answered, and there was Jacob. Over six feet of russet skin, dark brown eyes, and that smile that made me weak at the knees…
Snap out of it, Bella! I scolded myself. I shook my head and opened the door wider.
"Hey, Jake," I smiled. "Come on in."
"Thanks," he said, grinning softly. He stepped inside, wiping his boots on the mat, and I shut the door behind him. He followed me into the kitchen, where he sat down at the table.
"Would you like a drink?" I offered.
"Water would be good," he replied. I nodded and filled a glass from the sink, before placing it in front of him. He nodded his thanks and took a small sip.
"So, what's so important that you called me out of nowhere and had to come straight over?" I asked teasingly, sitting down across from him.
"Well," he started slowly. "I don't want to beat around the bush, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase," he said. I nodded, and he took a deep breath. "Edward is cheating on you." I blinked, but then I laughed.
"What makes you so sure?" I asked.
"I get it Bella," he said, shaking his head and looking down at the floor. "I know you wouldn't believe me unless I had proof."
"Well, if you don't…"
"I do, though." I blinked again, surprised that he did. As I sat there, he pulled out his phone, clicking a few things before placing the phone on the table, sliding it across. I picked it up and gasped.
On the screen was a picture of Edward and Jessica Stanley, intertwined on the dance floor rather provocatively, lips locked.
"How did you..? What did you…? I mean…" I stuttered. Jacob took back the phone, sighing.
"As I was going back to my friends, explaining why I had to leave, the bartender overheard me. He said they come there a lot. He said when Jessica's drunk, she tells him all about their 'escapades.'" He made air quotes with his fingers. "He said he had no idea Edward was in a relationship with someone else, much less engaged. He said Edward and Jessica have been coming there since Edward's twenty-first birthday, but that Jessica said they've been together since they were eighteen."
"You mean," I said slowly, gripping my water glass. "That he's been cheating on me for four years?"
"It would seem so," Jacob said softly. I stood up, walking towards the sink. "Bella, I'm…" But he didn't get to finish, as I turned around, screaming, and threw my water glass at the wall. Luckily, he ducked, and it shattered. I collapsed on the floor, sobbing.
"Bella!" he cried, running over to me and crouching down onto the floor with me, holding me close. I sobbed into his shirt, clinging to his shoulders.
"I-I'm s-so s-s-stupid," I cried.
"No you're not, Bells," he said softly, rubbing my back.
"He's been cheating on me for four years, Jake!" I cried, pulling back and looking up at him, tears streaming down my face. "How did I not know?!"
"He's just really good at being an asshole," Jake chuckled lightly. I smiled and wiped my eyes.
"Well, I'm definitely calling off the wedding," I croaked, standing up slowly. Jake nodded, pulling me up with him by the hand. He held my hand and ran his thumb across the knuckles. "Can I see your phone?" I asked.
"Sure." He took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. I texted the picture of Edward and Jessica to myself, then once I received it, went on Facebook and posted it with a caption.
"What did you do?" Jake grinned, laughing to himself as he took his phone back.
"Go on Facebook," I told him, smirking as I went to clean up the shattered glass.
"'I'm glad I always have friends looking out for me. I had a dear friend come over tonight, showing me this picture of Edward at his bachelor party. In case you're blind or the picture isn't loading, he's dancing like a stripper and kissing a girl from our high school, who, according to the bartender, he's been cheating on me with since they were eighteen. The bartender also said that when this girl is really drunk, she tells him all about the sex she and Edward have. So, when Edward wakes up from his drunken haze, I want him to see that THE WEDDING IS OFF! I'm taking your ring to a pawn shop tomorrow morning, I'm calling all the vendors ASAP and cancelling their services, explaining what happened, and I'm returning my dress. I can't believe you would throw our relationship away like this. I hope you and Jessica are happy. Never contact me again, and that goes for your family too.'" He looked up at me, laughing. "Damn Bells, I didn't know you had it in you."
"Never piss me off, Jake," I said, sweeping up the glass.
"Duly noted," he laughed, saluting me. "Do you want me to come with you tomorrow?"
"That would be great," I nodded. "Actually," I started, suddenly nervous. "Would you mind staying the night? I kinda don't wanna be alone right now, and I know Charlie won't care."
"Of course, Bella," he said, coming over and hugging me, kissing the top of my head. I felt a spark radiate from my head down to my toes, but kept the glee inside as he pulled back and smiled at me. As I threw the glass away, we decided to watch a movie in the living room. I pulled out the bed in the couch, grabbed a few extra blanket and pillows, and set them up while Jacob picked a movie from the selection by the DVD player. We ended up watching Happy Gilmore, which I was grateful for, because I needed a good laugh. We must've fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I heard the front door unlocking, and the TV had been turned off.
"Bella?" Charlie called.
"In here, Dad," I yawned, sitting up and stretching. I then realized Jake's arm was around my waist as it dropped, and he stirred with a start. "Charlie's here," I whispered. He nodded sleepily, slowly sitting up.
"Hey Charlie," he waved as my dad appeared in the doorway of the living room.
"Oh, hey, Jake," Charlie said, sounding surprised. "I should've known that was your car outside."
"Yeah, I came over to see Bella," Jake replied.
"I saw your Facebook post," Charlie said, directing his attention at me. "I'm guessing Jake was that friend you mentioned?" I nodded, and he sighed. "I'm sorry, Bella. I know you loved him a lot. But if it makes you feel any better, I never really liked him," he laughed. Jake and I laughed too.
"Don't worry, I don't like him anymore either," I laughed.
"So, what were you all doing? Watching a movie?"
"Yeah, we pulled out the bed so we'd both fit on the couch," I explained. "We must've fallen asleep."
"No problem," Charlie said, holding up a hand. "I'm gonna head up to bed. Jake, did you let Billy know you were staying the night?"
"Yeah, I texted him during the movie," Jake said, nodding.
"Alright, well you guys have fun with your movies," he yawned. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Night, Charlie," we said in unison. As he went up the stairs, I turned to Jake, smiling.
"Well, that went well," I stated. Jake nodded, grinning.
"Yeah, I think he likes me way better than Dick-ward," he laughed. I laughed too, pushing him lightly.
"You wanna watch another movie?" I asked. He nodded, and I got up to pick one. I chose Talladega Nights, and handed the case to Jake. "Here, will you set it up? I'm gonna go grab you some sweatpants to sleep in."
"I'm fine, Bells," he protested, but I shook my head.
"You can't be comfy sleeping in jeans," I told him. He laughed and shook his head.
"Alright, go get them." I scurried up the stairs and grabbed a pair of pants out of my dresser that were Charlie's old sweatpants from the Police Academy. As I came back down the stairs, I saw Jake sitting on the bed, shirtless.
"When did you take your shirt off?" I laughed.
"While you were upstairs," he chuckled. I handed him the sweatpants, and he went to take off his belts.
"Jake!" I squealed, covering my eyes and turning around.
"What?" he laughed.
"Don't strip in front of me," I said.
"It's only my boxers," I could hear the smile in his voice. "You've seen me in them before." Yeah, that was when I was with Edward and would come over to your house in the morning for our beach trips. I didn't care then. But now that I'm single, and you're single, well….
"Just change, Jake," I said quietly, feeling the blush creep up my neck. I heard him shuffling, and when the bed creaked, I turned around and peeked. Thankfully, he was in the sweatpants, laying down.
"Come on, Bells," he said, patting the spot next to him. "I don't bite…much." He winked at me, and I felt the blush come back full force. He laughed and shook his head. "I'm kidding, just come sit down." I nodded and slipped under the covers, and his arm went around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. He picked up the remote and pressed 'play,' and soon, we were cuddling and watching the movie. Soon enough, I drifted into a comfortable sleep, dreaming of Jacob.