My night was silent, filled with no promise that I would find my way back into the harm of a guilty mind. To my surprise, the sun breaking through dark clouds at dawn awakened me in a slightly odd way. It was the crisp sound of a new morning that brought across an unfamiliar smile to my face. Cheeks heavy by muscles that hadn't been exercised in a broad gap of time were sending a spark of new light into my weary eyes. I could feel my heart beating faster, more excitedly today than any other, and as I placed my feet firmly on the floor, I realized something inside me felt strangely different.
Giving way to a yawn, I stretched out in all directions, restricted by the low ceiling that didn't much accompany my difference in height than an average man. Rolling my eyes, I crossed the room, cornering a dirty pile of yesterday's laundry and sifted through it.
Throwing on a scant amount of clothes, I walked through the hallway and into the kitchen where I was greeted by my father. He looked at me with a somber expression etched into the wrinkles of his worn face as I approached the opposite end of the table where he sat in his wheelchair.
"Jake," my dad spoke to me, pushing a white envelope in front of where I stood.
"The mail came already?" I questioned, looking down. My face fell as shaky hands were hesitant to reach for what smelled lightly of the only family I had ever hated in seventeen years of my short life.
My eyes slowly traced over the envelope as inadequate thoughts invaded my head, ripping away any good feeling I'd had about today.
This was a setup for disaster and I could feel it. The Cullens wouldn't just send me something for the hell of it. It was a conspiracy to end me. I just knew it.
Reaching for the letter, I prepared for what news it held. Picking it up and sliding a finger underneath the pocket between the flap and its attached backing, I ripped through all the way across. A strong feminine odor expelled from within, and I had to hold the damn thing far back away from my face in order to stop my nose from burning so fervently.
"I'm convinced that family is trying to kill me," I snarled, attacking the jagged open pocket with two fingers and pulling out a single piece of cardstock printed with a intricate golden border. A Post-it was attached to the top.
Smirking in a sadistic way, I quickly read what Edward had written to me in his unpleasant to read manuscript.
Jacob,
She didn't exactly want me to send this to you,
but I thought you deserved to know.
Edward
My entire body canvased with infuriation. Peeling back the sticky note, it reveal a wedding invitation. At first, I was angry far beyond the description of words, but as I stared more deeply at the details of Bella's new life-changing event, tears began to take over. The torture was perpetual, but evident to facts I couldn't knew weren't fixable.
My father cleared his throat trying to grab at my attention, but I decidedly wasn't having it. My hands became tighter around the paper, and instead of throwing punches at the nearest wall, I ran through the living room, ripping open the front door and turning to the numbing cold outside to heal the newly broken pieces of my heart.
"Don't do this, Jacob," my father's voice echoed behind me. I leapt from the porch in a single bound, letting the crumpled piece of paper fall into the dirt just as a loud crackle of thunder rang out in the nearby distance.
I stopped just before reaching the treeline, looking back at him and everything I was about to leave behind.
"I'm not coming back," I yelled. "You can tell Bella that I hope she'll be happy as a corpse."
Snarling, I turned away from everything I knew, transforming into my less human, but better self. If I was going to live without her, I'd be happy the hard way and no one would ever change me.
