A/N: So I was watching Adele on the MTV VMA's tonight and I almost cried when she sang this song. It has pretty much been on a loop since then. Hopefully you like this it. The Link for the song will be in my profile. Also... I'm on twitter these days :) The link for that is on my profile as well.
I do not, in any way, profit from this story; all creative rights to the characters belong to SM.
Someone Like You
Bella was watching him from the front seat of her car. It wasn't a fancy car like the one that she would have if she had married Edward Cullen; it was one that she had worked for on her own. The blood, sweat and tears she put into writing that first book had paid for this car in full.
It had been years since she had been back in Forks. The last time she had come back for her father's wedding and at the time it was hard to think of her father with Sue Clearwater on simple fact that her new step-sister would be Leah. She was so very happy for him. It was also hard for her to come back knowing that Jacob was going to be there. It was awkward and no words were spoken between the two, but things remained calm during her two-day stay.
Now, as she looked out at the man playing in the park with two russet-skinned children, her eyes welled with tears. He deserved so much more than what she had allowed herself to give him back then and it looked like he had that now.
After the newborn battle, Bella had chosen Jake. The Cullens had stayed in Forks long enough to tie up loose ends and then they were gone. She hadn't heard from them in seven years. Bella often wondered if Alice was watching out for her, or if Edward had ever found someone. It was one of the things that she realized now that she had done wrong when it came to Jake.
Not long after the battle, after the confession of their feelings, the two had started dating, and they continued to do so for two years. Bella was in love with Jake, and she thought at the time that she was giving him everything that he had deserved, everything that she had, but now, looking back on it, she had done wrong by him.
There were days when she would think of the Cullens aloud, the general missing of them was the hardest for her to get over; the fact that she had felt that she had a true family in them. What she didn't realize then, was that she also had a true family in the pack. They all loved her, even Paul, who often during the course of her and Jake's relationship would still rib her about dating a vampire. She never saw the pack as her family though, she always thought of them as Jake's family; a family that only tolerated her because she was Jake's girlfriend.
The day that Jake turned eighteen he asked her to move in with him, into the little shed that he had remodeled on his own throughout their two year relationship. She had told him yes, but later that night it all came to a head. She made a comment, one that she thought was harmless, but Jake felt differently about it and they got into a huge fight. The days that followed broke both of their hearts, and after a realization from Jake he ended it.
At the time she was broken hearted. The hole that was there with Edward was three times as worse with Jacob, and as the pain would try to consume her she would remember his last words to her and it would bring her out of her self-loathing. As the years went on, Bella would replay those words in her mind and she would often sit and think about them. Even as they were fighting Jake had told her that she was strong, stronger than any one he had ever known. She was stunned into silence because no one had ever said that to her, but then there was no hesitation or attempt to argue his statement, she knew he would never lie to her.
Although he often told Bella that she was his whole world, that she had made him happier than he had ever been, she could see it in his eyes. The smiles got smaller and the hugs got a little looser. He loved her, she knew that, she didn't want to face the fact that the longer they stayed together the more strained their relationship had become. She also didn't want to face the fact that it was her that was doing wrong. At the time she felt that it was Jake feeding off the pack. She was constantly paranoid that they were planting seeds of doubt in his head about her and her love for him and them. In reality though, looking back, it was Bella, she knew that she didn't give her love to the pack or even the imprints as openly as they had her, and the sole reason was that she felt as though she was betraying the Cullens. She hated to admit it now, that she had pined for them, but she had. It wasn't Edward though, it was all of them. Why she couldn't just give them up, she didn't know. It was like they had a power over her even in their absence.
Jake was swirling a little girl around in the air when he stopped suddenly and squinted his eyes. Bella felt her back press into the cushioned seat of the car. She wanted to shrink back and totally disappear from him, but she couldn't do that to him, not again. She couldn't close herself off from him this time.
Taking a deep breath, Bella gathered her courage and pulled on the handle.
The cool summer air took her by surprise. Curling her coat around her midsection, she smiled timidly as she closed the door and slowly started toward him. He was holding the little girl on his hip now, still watching her as she made her way toward him. The movement beside him caught her eye and she saw a little boy running toward Jake. Just as her foot hit the grass of the playground the little boy wrapped himself around Jake's leg and he looked down at his son with a smile on his face that Bella hadn't seen since the very early stages of their relationship.
He was happy, it was plain as day, there was no faking that smile. Bella couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth at the sight. It faltered slightly when she saw a woman much taller than her, but still smaller than Jake, come up beside him, taking the little girl from his arms. her gaze followed Jake's and their eyes met.
The girl was stunning, her skin matched Jake's and her hair was jet black, flowing in the wind. This was the girl that Jake deserved to be with all along. She was meant for him. It was then that Bella wondered if he had imprinted on this girl.
She stopped a few feet from the family and gave a shy wave. She wanted to speak, but the sight of Jake all grown up and with a family of his own had a knot forming in her throat. Tears pricked at her eyes when she saw the worry flash across his face. He shouldn't worry about her. She was happy now, happier than she had ever been, and it seemed that he was too.
"Jake," was all she managed to choke out before shaking her head and smiling like a loon.
"Bella." was his quick but pleasant response.
Bella knelt down in front of the little boy that was still clinging to Jake's leg and ruffled his hair, "And who would you be, handsome?"
The little boy looked up at Jake with a question in his eyes, the response made Bella's heart swell; although young, he knew that he shouldn't talk to strangers, something that was never taught to her. Jake merely nodded his head at the little boy.
"I'm William Ephraim Black." Bella smiled as her eyes worked over the little boy, he looked just like Jake did in one of the many pictures she still had of the two making mud pies.
She heard soft laughter, and her eyes met those of the woman that stood beside Jake, "He's on this kick, he thinks that everyone should know his full name."
Bella stood and wiped her palm across the thigh of her jeans before holding it out to the woman, "I'm Bella Swan it's nice to meet you." Bella's heart was pounding in her throat for the few seconds that it took for the woman's hand to meet her own. She knew this woman was Jake's wife as the ring on her finger matched the one on Jake's, and the kids were an obvious mix of the two. She also knew that Jake would have told her about Bella, he wasn't the kind to with hold any information from someone that he loved. For all Bella knew, this woman could deny her or throw a punch at her for what she had put Jake through. When the woman's warm hand met Bella's she felt a sigh of relief escape and once again she was smiling at this woman; another reason why she was perfect for Jake.
"I'm Kia and this little one here," the woman said while bouncing the beaming little girl on her hip, "is Sarah Marie."
The little girl tugged on her mom's shoulder and crooked a little purple polished nail at her mother. When Kia lowered her head so that Sarah could whisper in her ear another soft chuckle escaped her mouth.
"Sorry, Sarah Marie Black."
Bella smiled again at the cuteness of the kids, something deep inside her stirred in that moment and she wondered if she would ever have this, a happy family with a man that she was deeply in love with. She hoped that she would.
The little boy was kicking at the dirt and then tugged at his mother's shirt twice before she looked at Jake and then motioned her head toward the park, "I'm taking them back to play," her hand stuck out to take Bella's again, "It was nice meeting you, Bella."
As the woman and the kids walked away, Bella watched them. Her stomach fluttered at the sight; they were so happy. The kids were running out in front of their mother and she was chasing after them with fake claws bared. Bella could hear her growling as she ran them around the playground.
Jake stepped into her line of sight, catching her attention, "It is nice to see you again Bella."
"It's been a while since I've been back, it's weird you know. I chose Berkley because it reminded me so much of Forks, but it's so much warmer there." Bella shuddered as the wind blew her hair back.
Jake's face turned serious before he looked back over his shoulder, "she knows about everything and so do the kids. I'm Alpha now."
She could see Jake puff up in pride as he told her of his title, the one that he didn't want all those years ago, "It's not my place to ask, but you seem so happy-"
"She's not my imprint, but she is my soul mate. I know that right here." Jake's hand slipped over his heart before pressing into his shirt.
"I'm happy for you Jake, I really am. You deserve all the happiness that you have right here and right now. I just- I want you to know that I know now what I did back then was wrong. That everything that happened between us was on me, but I don't think it could have ended better. It took me so long to realize it Jake, and you deserved so much better than that, so much more than to have to wait for me to realize it."
"It wasn't just you Bella. I know that too, you can't take all the blame, I could have fought a little harder to get you to realize how much you meant to the pack, how much they considered you family. I know now that's what you were looking for in them."
"I was longing for the feeling of family, it's true, but it took me not having one to realize that it was there all along. Does that make sense?" Bella laughed as she ran her hand across her forehead, she hoped that it made sense to him.
"Yeah Bells, it does."
She couldn't help it when her head snapped up at the sound of the nickname he had given her all those years ago, she hadn't heard it for so long. The memories swirled in her mind then, all of the happy times they had together before and after Jake had phased. Him calling her that proved to her that Jake remembered those times too, and it helped her, knowing that those moments were still with him.
Bella stepped forward, tears pricking at her eyes, placing her hand on his forearm. She sighed at the heat that radiated off his body, she had missed that so much. Her lipsquivered as she tilted her head back to look into his eyes, "I am so happy for you Jake, you don't even know. Bg here, seeing it with my own eyes, I know more than anything that I wasn't what was best for you. You always deserved a life like this, a family like you have, I'm so glad that you found it, Jake."
Jake bent down and hugged Bella, the kind of hug that warmed her entire body because he was wrapped completely around her small frame; the kind of hug that took her by surprise when he lifted her off her feet as he stood to his full height. He swung her back and forth before setting her back down.
Taking two steps back, she tilted her head back to look at Jake once more, "I hope one day to find some one like you Jake." She smiled once more at him, before turning on her heel and walking back toward her car.
When her feet hit the black top she felt a hot hand softly land on her shoulder, turning her body slightly toward him, "Bells, you will and you deserve it."
Throwing her keys on the table, Bella walked across her kitchen and grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine. Swinging open the French doors, Bella tilted her head back as the sun warmed her face and the ocean breeze blew across her skin. Seeing Jake today had lifted a weight off of Bella's shoulders that she hadn't knew existed all these years. She felt like a new person. The love she had for Jake had changed just by seeing him today, it wasn't the longing, wondering love that it had been, now it was the love of someone who truly cared about the happiness of a best friend. The love she had for herself had changed today. When she started out today she still wondered if she really would ever deserve the kind of love that Jake could give. After seeing him and hearing his parting words to her, she actually believed it. After what she had done to him, for him to say that to her it must really be true.
Bella deserved a love like that too.