I hopped in my old red Chevy as soon as I got off the phone with Jacob.
"Bella. My dad. Hurry." Jacob tried to say more but he couldn't really talk. He was out of breath. I sped down the highway to La Push. I barely turned off the truck before I flew out of it and Jacob met me halfway. He grabbed me and pulled me into his arms.
"Bella," was all he said. He sounded so relieved. I immediately hugged him as hard as I could.
"Jacob, are you okay? Where's Billy?"
"He's inside. I found him on the couch and he wasn't breathing… I thought… I thought he was dead." He choked up. I almost started crying. Billy was like a second dad to me.
Jacob started to pull me inside and I immediately followed him. When I walked into the little house, it was like I had entered a land of sadness. Oh, no. Jake had said he was okay right? He said he thought he was dead. That means he's alive right?
We walked into the little living room and I grabbed Jake's hand with out thinking. Billy was lying on the couch. And my god, he looked really pale. Billy's Quileute. He just isn't pale. That couldn't mean anything good.
"Billy?" I asked. I sounded just like a little girl who was scared of the dark.
"Bella." He breathed hard. "I'm glad you're here." He gave me a weak smile. I tried to smile back. But it ended up in more of a grimace. I think he noticed that I tried to smile though.
I walked over and sat by his head. "Are you okay? I mean, you're not going to die right?" I had started crying by then.
He laughed a big laugh until it turned into a coughing fit. "No way, Bella. It's going to take a lot more than a stroke to kill me over." He had a stroke? I looked back at Jacob with panic in my eyes.
He just nodded to me. "Maybe you should go to the doctor Billy." I said, cautiously. He looked at Jake sharply. I looked back at Jake again. This time confused. He shook his head at me this time. What is he doing?
"Now, you kids go have fun. Charlie's on his way and I don't want him to see you guys all worried when he gets here." Billy told us. I looked back at Jacob who nodded again. I guess that meant we were leaving?
I leaned down and kissed Billy's forehead and said "Bye Billy. Get better and don't leave me or Jacob here alright?" He nodded and I started crying again. I stood up and Jake pulled me along outside.
"Jake, is he going to be okay?" I asked.
"I don't know Bells. I really don't know."
I pulled him to a stop and buried my face in his chest as my face threatened to turn snotty and wet and red. I was honestly bawling into his chest.
"Bells, relax. He's going to be fine. He told you, it's going to take more than this to kill him. It's going to be fine. Don't worry." He said. I think he was trying to convince himself more than me though. "Come on, lets go to the beach." He said.
We walked to the beach together, hand in hand. It only took about 5 minutes to get there, considering he lived practically around the corner from it. We sat on a rock near the water. I loved this rock. I always sat on this rock every time I came here. Jake opened his arms for me and I folded myself into his embrace. I knew that someone who was walking by would think that we were dating. But the truth is, Jake is my best friend.
I don't know how long we stayed there. Long enough for the sky to get dark though. I didn't really care if it was 2 in the afternoon or 1 in the morning. I would rather stay there with Jacob than go back to my empty house.
"Jake, I don't want to go home." I said softly.
"Why not?" he asked, seemingly curious.
"Because the house will be empty and dark and quiet. And I don't want that right now." I said as quiet as I could.
"Well Charlie will be there." He said.
"I think Charlie will be staying with your dad tonight."
"I can come with you if you want." I smiled to myself. I love Jacob. He does so much to help me and I don't think he even knows how much it means to me.
I nodded my head but didn't get up. I wasn't ready to leave yet. I stayed curled up in his arms waiting for him to say I weighed too much. I don't think he would ever say it though.
"You ready?" I asked about 5 minutes later. He nodded and we stood up and walked back to his house and my truck. He went inside to get his things and to tell his dad where he would be. I waited in the truck patiently.
When he finally came back out of the house, he climbed in the truck and I drove us home.
