What If?
SM Owns Twilight
Bella runs through the crowds of Volterra; there couldn't have been a worse time to have a stupid parade. Alice gave her five minutes to get to Edward.
Five minutes.
Bella's biggest fear at the moment, besides losing Edward, had been getting lost or tripping over her own feet.
Unfortunately, she did get lost. By the time she spotted the clock tower, she shoved her way through the crowd, only to be shoved back towards a wall, and ended up falling down. She got back up and then tripped over her own feet, landing on the floor again.
She cursed herself as she wasted precious time. It was time to shove the world back, so she did, earning several reprimands from the annoyed crowd.
Finally, she emerged through the crowd and ended up at the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. The clock struck twelve as Edward stepped out from the shadows, unbuttoning his shirt.
Instead of running through the fountain-out of fear she would waste more time falling down again, she opts to run around the fountain.
Her eyes on Edward, she's just taken a few steps when she sees Edward get dragged back into the alley by two cloaked figures. The crowd is passing, so no one sees what she sees. The figures have their backs turned to her, and just when she's about to scream his name, a cold hand clamps down over her mouth.
She turns, frantically trying to escape when she sees Alice holding onto her, while dragging her away from the scene.
Edward's eyes open as he gets a whiff of a familiar, beloved scent.
For a second, he assumes that death has finally come for him, and he's in heaven.
Then, his gaze narrows at the sight in front of him. Alice yelling in her mind as she carries Bella away from the clock tower. It's then, he realizes the truth.
Bella is alive.
She's here, in Volterra, in the midst of the vampires.
He's quick to make a crucial decision.
Felix and Demetri must kill him before Aro can touch his hand and learn that Bella is alive in Volterra.
For one second, he revels in the happiness he feels at knowing she's alive and she came to save him, but at the same time, he's in pain as he realizes he will never see her again.
He's struggling against them when a surge of pain forces him to fall flat on his face.
Jane's feet stop right in front of Edward's face.
"You know the law. Felix, Demetri, Aro wants this to be done and over with.
Edward smiles.
XXX
Bella's screaming and hitting Alice, who has been forced to exit Volterra by running through alleys. Clearly, Bella's behavior would catch the unwanted attention by humans.
When they're close enough to the Porsche, Alice drops Bella and gently slaps her across the face...unfortunately, the force of it rendered Bella unconscious.
Alice is horrified at her behavior; she simply meant to snap the girl out of her hysterical behavior, but should have realized, any force-even minimal force, by a vampire would be too much for a human.
However, an unconscious Bella is much easier to handle, so Alice quickly runs to the Porsche and deposits Bella down in the passenger seat, securing her seat belt.
They're driving out of Volterra seconds later.
XXX
The Cullens stand around the family room of the Denali house in complete silence. Jasper is having a difficult time controlling his family's emotions when his own despair is threatening to engulf him.
They have not heard from Alice, and Eleazar and Carlisle are on the phone, trying to get through to Volterra; unfortunately, the human receptionist has put them on hold.
Jasper's cell phone buzzes.
A text message from Alice.
Go to Forks.
They do as they're told. Jasper is elated that Alice is still alive, and on her way home.
Rosalie walks past him, looking relieved. This angers him. Her pettiness almost cost him his wife, and he feels the need to punish her.
Emmett is already outside, getting the car out of the garage. Jasper seizes the moment.
He runs at her from behind and throws her out the window.
"That's a warning. If you ever do anything to jeopardize Alice's life again, I will kill you."
It takes all of the Denalis and the rest of the Cullens to prevent Emmett and Jasper from fighting.
XXX
Bella's disoriented when she wakes up. Alice pulls the car over and helps her out of the car.
It takes Bella all of two seconds to realize where she is, what happened before she blacked out, and she's ready to start begging Alice to take her back to Volterra.
The only thing that stops her from doing so is the heartbroken expression on Alice's face.
She knows it, but doesn't want to admit it out loud. To say it out loud would mean it was all real, and that reality wasn't an option for her.
"Alice?" she pleads.
"I'm sorry, Bella. It was too late."
Alice sees Edward's ashes placed into an urn to be sent back to the Cullens.
Bella falls to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself.
She wants to die.
It's different from before. The pain. At least she knew he was alive, somewhere.
He's nowhere now.
Alice has a vision of Bella trying to slit her wrists, with Alice losing control and feeding on her.
They drive the rest of the way with Bella's hands tied together.
XXX
The Cullens are in Forks, waiting for any news. Aro would not take Carlisle's phone call.
When they hear a car approaching, the run outside to greet their long lost son, and their daughters.
Alice steps out of the car, and looks at her family, shaking her head slowly.
Rosalie gasps, as Emmett stares at Alice with a horrified expression. Esme collapses to the ground, and Jasper runs for his wife, happy that at least she's alive. His mood changes quickly as their collective grief touches him.
He blames himself for Edward's death. If he wasn't so weak...
Carlisle remains still.
His eyes flicker to Bella's still form in the car and he realizes that he must do what he can for the girl who meant everything to his son.
He approaches Bella.
"Bella?" he asks, touching her arm.
Bella reacts to the cold touch and jumps out of the car, throwing her arms around his waist.
"I'm so sorry, Carlisle. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I...I.." she struggles to say anything more as she expects Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens to blame her fro Edward's death. After all, she's the one who jumped off the cliff, which forced Alice to assume she was dead and Rosalie to call him and tell him she was dead.
It was all her fault.
Carlisle hugs Bella back, and gently pats her head.
"No, don't say that Bella. Edward would never have wanted you to blame yourself. He loved you very much, Bella."
Loved.Past tense. Hearing the word was enough for Bella to succumb to the grief and collapse into darkness.
XXX
Carlisle and Alice drive Bella home; she's still unconscious, and they know Charlie will have his hands full.
As Alice steps out of the car, Carlisle carries Bella up the stairs.
Charlie comes running to the door, and his face is livid as he sees his daughter's unconscious form in Carlisle's hand.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" Charlie yells.
"Edward committed suicide," Alice whispers as she steps into the house.
All of Charlie's anger fades away at the moment; he's unsure of what to do now. He had been ready to tear into Edward, and the rest of the Cullens. After all, this is the second time Bella's disappeared in tow years, and the Cullens had something to do with it each time. He can't let go of the anger, but pushes it away in his mind when he sees the expression on Carlisle's face.
Charlie hated Edward Cullen, but would never wish for any parent to suffer the loss of a child.
He silently follows Alice and Carlisle up to Bella's room.
Carlisle sets Bella down in her bed as Charlie covers her with blankets. He bends down and gently kisses his daughter's forehead, thankful that she didn't do anything to harm herself.
He shuts the door behind him as he goes downstairs to give his condolences to Carlisle.
"Dr. Cullen, I'm..I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Charlie," Carlisle replies, "I'm sorry for what Bella's been through these past few months. I'm sorry for what she will go through now," he said compassionately, "I would like to help her in any way I can. I didn't get to save my son, but I will do anything in my power to save Bella."
"Doc, your family is going through a lot right now, I can't ask you to do that."
"Charlie, Bella is alike a daughter to me. If we could have taken her to Los Angeles with us, we would have. I need to do this for my son."
Charlie nods, and then turns to Alice.
"What happened?"
Alice answers him with part of the truth.
"Edward thought Bella was dead."
"Why would he think she was dead?" Charlie asked, his tone belligerent. The thought of Bella dead...his body shook at the image of his daughter in a casket.
"Bella jumped off of a cliff in La Push."
"SHE DID WHAT?" Charlie asked, the forehead in his vain pulsing.
"The day Harry Clearwater died, Bella jumped off of a cliff in La Push. I heard about it from some people...and came to Forks because I thought she was dead; there's no way she could have survived such a jump without getting swept out to sea in the tide..." Charlie sat down on the recliner, burying his head in his hands. "Rosalie called Edward and told him that Bella was dead. When we didn't hear from Edward again, I assumed the worst, so I took Bella with me so he could see she was still alive. We were too late."
Charlie was at a loss for words. He had no idea Bella had jumped off of a cliff, and couldn't believe that Edward would kill himself over her death...this was right out of Romeo and Juliet.
"I didn't know she was suicidal...I knew she was depressed, but she seemed to be getting better...Dr. Cullen, do I need to hospitalize her?" he choked out, horrified at the image of Bella in a straight jacket.
"I think you should call her mother. We need to wait and see what she's like when she wakes up."
"Dr. Cullen, my daughter was practically catatonic when your son left her and moved away; it's only going to be worse now, since Edward's...dead."
"Then we will have to fight to save her life. All of us."
XXX
Three days later
There are gruesome murders occurring in Seattle, and the humans believe there's a few serial killers on the loose. The Cullens are aware of the situation and are on alert for any stragglers. Then, there's also the question of Victoria. Alice's been watching nonstop, waiting for Victoria to make her move.
Renee is staying in Charlie's room and Charlie's taken to the couch. Bella is still catatonic, and after the first day, Carlisle had to set up an I.V. to feed her. Bella sits in the rocking chair and stares out the window, her mind blank.
Alice stays in Bella's room; she's the one who gets her to the bathroom, helps her shower and dress everyday. Bella is immobile for the most part.
Jasper visits in the night, and tries to comfort Alice as her best friend deteriorates in front of her eyes.
Alice spends the days searching the future, and listening to Charlie and Renee argue in the kitchen about what to do with Bella.
The only future she sees for Bella is one in a mental hospital.
XXX
Three days later
Jacob is furiously carving a wooden wolf figures when the phone rings. Billy rolls into the kitchen and picks up the phone.
It's Charlie, and it sounds like he's sobbing into the phone.
Jacob's head jerks up.
He knows it's about Bella. He hasn't heard anything in days. Sam ordered the pack to stay clear of Forks once they caught the scent of the Cullens in the woods. The treaty forbade them to go into Forks in their wolf form, so Jacob was forced to stay in La Push and wait for word.
When the first three days went by with no word, he feared the worst. Billy told him Charlie would have called by now, so he should just wait until they hear something definitive.
"Charlie, what is it?"
"It's Bella." Jacob stands up so fast his chair falls over, his firsts already clenched, his body shaking with tremors.
"What happened, Charlie?" Billy asks, concerned and fearful of his best friend's answer.
"Edward Cullen is dead."
"What?" Billy asks, surprised. He glances at Jacob, whose expression has gone blank.
"Edward committed suicide."
"Where's Bella, Charlie?" Billy asks, afraid to hear the rest of the story.
"She's here," Jacob snaps back to life when he hears these words, "but she's in bad shape, Billy. She's catatonic. It's worse, much worse than last time. Dr. Cullen has to feed her through an I.V. Renee's here, and we...we...we're going to have to have her committed."
Jacob is out the door before Billy can get off the phone with Charlie.
XXX
Jacob breaks down Charlie's door and runs up the stairs, ignoring Charlie and Renee in the living room. He throws open the door to Bella's room and his senses are assaulted with Alice's stench.
Alice stays on the bed and stares at the intruder, wrinkling her nose as hi stench assaults him. Jacob ignored her and drops to his knees in front of Bella's rocking chair.
She doesn't even see him.
He wants the leech to rip his heart out so he doesn't have to feel the pain of seeing Bella like this.
If it wasn't for the heartbeat, he could have sworn she was already dead.
He leans forward and cups her cheeks with his warm hands.
With that one, simple touch, Bella comes back to life.
Her eyes flicker to his.
She looks into his dark, concerned eyes.
"Jake?" she whispers, her voice hoarse.
"Yeah, it's me, honey," he says as he moves his thumbs back and forth across her cheek.
"Jake?"
"I'm here, Bells. I'm here," he whispers as she throws herself into his arms and cries.
XXX
Charlie and Renee watch as Jacob picks up Bella and carries her to bed. He leans back against the headboard, and Bella curls into him, her body shaking as the sobs take over.
Alice sits in the rocking chair and watches the scene unfold.
As she watches Jacob rub Bella's back and hold her in his arms, she realizes there's hope after all.
XXX
News of the Cullens return and Edward's death have spread over Forks.
The story is simple: Edward killed himself while on spring break in South America; it's simple enough that people won't investigate. Bella isn't speaking to anyone; they don't know that she watched it happen.
Renee has gone back; she left the day after Bella's breakthrough with Jacob. Charlie was furious with her excuse of being away from Phil too long, and now that Bella was better, she should be heading back. As she walked out the door, Charlie told her she was the worst mother in the history of the world.
Charlie got slapped in the face that day.
He told himself it was worth it, to see the look of humiliation on Renee's face.
The man couldn't understand how Renee left when their daughter was still so fragile.
The Cullens didn't understand her departure either.
Esme vowed to take over the motherly duties, and she did.
XXX
It's Bella's first day back at school. She's fragile, but she's capable of showering and eating by herself. She speaks when spoken to, and the school has been advised of her condition. Alice accompanies her, and shields her from prying eyes.
XXX
Weeks later
The pack has expanded their search efforts to chase down the red head. They catch her scent around Seattle, and know it's only a matter of time before she's back.
Bella comes home everyday and goes straight to her room and sits in the rocking chair. Alice finishes her homework for her, and brings up her dinner.
Jacob comes over everyday, even if it's for five minutes.
It's the only time Bella's alert.
Much of the time is spent with Jacob talking about frivolous things, but he knows she's listening.
He'll see her through this.
XXX
One night, Jasper and Emmett are on their way to visit Bella, and talk with Alice when they catch an unfamiliar vampire scent leading towards the Swan house.
They run through the woods and launch themselves on the culprit just as he steps onto the Swan lawn.
Alice hears the ruckus and opens the window, shocked to find Emmett holding the vampire down as Jasper readies himself to tear the leech apart.
"Wait," Alice pleads, "we need information."
XXX
The vampire, Riley, is destroyed once he gives the Cullens the information he needs: the location of the newborns, their numbers, and Victoria's location.
Alice takes pity on him and tells him the truth about Victoria. He pleads for his life, and promises to help them, but Jasper senses his emotions and knows he doesn't believe the truth about Victoria, so he decapitates him as Emmett tears the rest of him apart.
XXX
Alice can see the newborns, now that Riley has given her all of the information she needs.
The newborns are staying at a large mansion on an island, but have not ventured out during the day. Victoria is staying at her and Riley's 'love shack'; she only ventures out to feed now that she's finished creating an army.
XXX
Early the next morning, Brady and Collin stay in La Push to guard the perimeter, and Seth stays outside Bella's house as the remaining pack members and the Cullens head for Victoria.
Victoria's shocked to see that she's been surrounded, and her gift of escaping is completely useless to her now.
Jacob lunges at her first, with the rest of the pack and the Cullens following suit.
She's doesn't even have the chance to defend herself.
XXX
The pack's disappointed with how boring the fight was, and are excited to face the newborns. Alice looks out for the Volturi; she knows Aro has sent them out to take care of the situation in Seattle, and sees them feeding on children out in the woods of a neighboring town.
This is the perfect time to destroy the newborns.
Wen the door breaks down, the newborn vampires' first reaction is to shield themselves from the sunlight, giving the Cullens and the wolves a head start.
Once the newborns realize that sunlight won't hurt them, they try to defend themselves.
The great vampire-werewolf battle lasts less than ten minutes.
They were never trained to fight and were helpless against the assault.
Jacob is happy that the red head is dead, while the rest of the pack make their way back to La Push in a sour mood. They were really looking for an awesome fight.
The Cullens don't return to Forks immediately; Alice has a vision of the Volturi investigating the disappearance of the newborns, so they stay in place, hoping to keep the Volturi away from Forks, and away from Bella.
The Volturi guard are surprised to learn that six vampires have taken on an army of twenty-two. Carlisle knows they will be in trouble if the Volturi investigate the matter further, and discover the existence of the wolves, so informs them that the vampires were easy to pick off one by one because they were afraid of sunlight. Jane eyes him suspiciously when he mentions Victoria as the creator, and that she too has been destroyed.
"Why did she create an army?"
"Victoria's mate, James, went after Bella last year and we destroyed him. She's been hunting Bella ever since then, but she never found out that Bella already died from a cliff diving accident. She wanted to make Edward suffer through the death of his mate, but..."
"But we already killed him," Jane said gleefully.
Jane leaves with the rest of the guard, and the Cullens breathe a sigh of relief.
Bella is safe.
XXX
When Jacob tells Bella that Victoria's been destroyed, she simply whispers,
"I wish she would have killed me when she had the chance."
Jacob's angry; so angry that he has to leave.
He can't.
Bella grabbed his arms when he got off the bed, stopping him from leaving.
It's the first time she's done anything like this, and he can't leave. Not now.
He gets back on the bed and holds her face in his hands.
"What if I said that to you, Bella? What if I wanted to die? Would you let me?"
She shakes her head.
"Then stop talking about dying. I'll never let it happen."
XXX
Charlie's not sure what to do. Alice has reassured him that Bella's getting better, but he doesn't see it. She still only talks when she's spoken to.
His daughter looks like she's died a thousand deaths.
The only time he sees a spark of life in her is when Jacob comes around.
He knows Bella doesn't talk to Jacob, but there's a life force in her when he's around.
So, he'll keep quiet for now.
XXX
It's graduation day and Bella still hasn't spoken to anyone willingly.
"Bells, you're killing me, honey. I don't know how to help you," Charlie says as he parks the car in the high school parking lot. "It's been months, and you're not getting any better."
"I'm trying, Dad," she whispers.
Their conversation is interrupted when Jacob opens the door and helps Bella out of the car.
Charlie watches as Bella holds Jacob's hand as he leads her to the high school.
"Give her time, Charlie," Billy says, rolling up in his wheelchair. "It's hard to lose someone you love."
"I understand that, but she doesn't talk to anyone."
Billy nods in understanding.
"Jake's there."
Charlie looks at his best friend.
"I know, that's the only reason why..." Charlie stops talking when he sees the Cullen family pull into the parking lot. He hasn't seen any of them, except for Alice and Carlisle, and decides to speak with them. After all, this had to have been a hard day for them; Edward was supposed to be here too.
"I'll be back."
XXX
Bella sees her classmates congregating outside, but doesn't feel like talking to anyone. She slips away and finds herself going to the building where she had Biology.
Her feet carry her to her old desk and she sits down in the chair, touching the chair next to her.
Edward sat here before. He existed in this room.
"He lied to you, you know?" Alice's voice interrupts Bella's wandering mind.
"What?"
"Whatever he told you in the woods before he left was a lie. He loved you so much. He only lied to you because he believed you should live a human life. That's why he made us leave. So you could live the life you were supposed to live."
Bella has a hard time breathing as the words sink in.
Edward loved her and only left her for her own good.
"Bella, I know you're grieving over Edward's loss...we all are, but you can't go on like this. Don't you care what Edward wanted? If you can't live for yourself now, then live for him. This is just one chapter of your life. You have to live. You have to live."
Bella doesn't know how to live for herself, so, for the moment, she promises to live for Edward.
XXX
It's hard to live, but Bella manages to put one foot in front of the other.
When she hugs Charlie and apologizes to him for all that she's put him through, the man breaks down in tears and holds his daughter close to him.
The two realize they've shared more than enough emotions for now, and for the first time in months, Charlie drinks a beer as Bella cooks dinner.
XXX
One day in the late summer, Bella makes her way to La Push, for the first time in months. She tries not to remember the last time she was here.
Jacob's been busy with summer school, patrol, and odd jobs around the rez, but no matter what, he comes over everyday to spend a few minutes with Bella.
He remembers the first time she spoke directly to him, not long after graduation.
"Your hair's getting longer," she commented.
Jacob choked back on the tears as he stepped forward and picked her up in a bear hug.
She even complained about not being able to breathe.
XXX
Bella's birthday is around the corner, and Alice suggest to Jacob that he keep her busy that day. Bella's been busy job hunting; she doesn't want to go to school right now, and Charlie has no intention of letting her out of his sight.
Jacob and Bella ride their motorcycles all day long. They finish the day in the garage, and Jacob presents her with warm soda out of a paper bag. She sits on the floor and watches Jacob change on of the tires on the Rabbit.
She's not even aware of what she's doing, but she reaches out and places her palm on his cheek, wiping a smudge of grease away.
His eyes meet her, and his heart races as he sees the soft expression in her eyes.
"Thank you...for everything," she whispers.
Jacob turns his head toward her palm and kisses it.
Her palm still tingles at the end of the day.
XXX
There's been a vast improvement in Bella by the time Christmas rolls around. She's not back to the way she had been when she first arrived in Forks; nobody believes she will ever be like that again, but she's working now, and she talks freely. No one has to spoon feed her, no one has to tell her to get up and move on.
She just does.
XXX
Jacob give her a bracelet with a wolf charm.
She feels terrible about not getting him anything. She didn't get anything to anyone.
He says it's okay.
"I got what I wanted," he says quietly.
"What's that?" she asks.
"You're..you're getting better. That's all I've ever wanted," he whispers.
Bella's hear beats rapidly when she sees the tears in his eyes.
XXX
Bella starts working at the Forks library.
She's reorganized everything, and people are starting to come in.
Jacob still worships the ground she walks on, ignoring all other females, much to the pack's chagrin.
"Bella will come around, one day," he tells them.
No one says anything, but they all have their doubts. As far as they're concerned, Jacob's delusional and Bella will probably be a spinster for the rest of her life, holed up in dirty house with hundreds of cats.
XXX
Bella starts to show up at Emily's mid-march. They cook for the wolves, and Bella finds herself getting used to Sam and Emily's lovey-dovey routine.
She used to turn her head away at the love between them, but one time, she accidentally watched Sam as he looked at Emily. She recognizes the way Sam looks at Emily.
It's the way Jacob looks at her.
XXX
On the anniversary of Edward's death, Alice comes to Bella's window and tells her to hop on.
They run to the meadow.
"Do you know what today is, Bella?"
Bella looks at Alice, confused. She hasn't kept track of the days in a long time.
"It's the anniversary of Edward's death."
Bella inhales sharply.
"This was your place with him...this meadow. I have his ashes in this bag, and the family thought it would be appropriate for you to spread them, here, in his favorite place."
Bella walks to the exact spot where she and Edward first laid together on the grass and spreads his ashes over the place.
XXX
At the end of May, Alice gives Bella some news, hoping it won't set her back.
"We're leaving Forks, Bella."
Bella sits at Edward's piano and works though the words. She's angry, sad, disappointed, but understand that she can't go with them.
Her life is here, now.
Jacob's here.
XXX
Every room in the house has been packed, save for one.
It's the first time Bella' been in the room.
Everything remained the same, just as Edward always remained the same.
Saying goodbye to the Cullens meant saying goodbye to Edward.
She's done that many times now.
Bella sits on the couch and closes her eyes.
Rosalie walks into the room, startling Bella.
"I'm sorry for taking him away from you. It's my fault. I want you to know that he loved you very much, and he wanted you to be human. You need to stop living for him, stop living in the memory of him, and live for yourself. You only have one life to live."
XXX
Bella has hugged each member of the Cullen family goodbye, even Jasper, who apologized to her, claiming it was all his fault.
She forgives him.
Alice is the last Cullen to say goodbye. She wonders if this the last time she'll see any of them again.
"Check under one of the loose floorboards in your bedroom. There's something in there that you can remember him by, and here is a picture of all of us. You can remember us too."
Bella hugs Alice as she cries.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, and I'll deny it if anyone ever asks, but I approve of Jacob," she says, giving Bella look. "It's okay, you know."
"What is?"
"It's okay that you're in love with him. You deserve to be happy."
Bella waves goodbye to them.
She stays behind for five minutes, staring up at the house.
"Goodbye, Edward."
XXX
Bella goes home and looks for the loose floorboard..
She's stunned to see the pictures and the CD.
Bella looks at the pictures for a while and finally puts them in her photo album. She puts the cd in her cd player and listens to her lullaby.
She doesn't cry anymore.
XXX
There's a new teacher starting at Forks High School in the fall. He's twenty-three and good looking. He visits the library everyday, and sometimes he talks with Bella about classic literature.
One day, Quil is patrolling by the library and notices Bella walking out of the library with this good looking guy.
The next day, Jacob is in the library, glaring at the guy as he talks with Bella.
Bella knows why Jacob's here, and there's a little smile tugging at the corner of her heart.
XXX
Bella realizes she's stupid.
At the end of the summer, she agrees to have coffee with this guy at the diner.
She doesn't even like coffee.
What would Jacob think about this?
She nods a lot during the coffee date.
He's nice about it. Turns out he's fighting heartbreak as well. His ex-fiance died from cancer.
They bond over their loss, and part as friends.
XXX
She arrives home to find Charlie apologizing to Billy on the phone.
"I'm sorry about Jacob, Billy."
"WHAT? What happened to Jacob?" Bella yells. If something happened to him while she was out being an idiot...she wanted to run at the door and smack herself in the head until she dropped dead.
"Billy, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."
"Dad! What happened to Jake?"
Charlie sees a familiar, panic induced expression on his daughter's face and immediately starts talking.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, Bella. Take it easy. Nothing bad's happened to Jake. Except that I had to arrest him."
"What? Why is he in jail?"
"Public nudity."
Her mouth drops open in shock.
"What?"
"He was outside the diner and Deputy Mark found him, nude in the bushes. I get that the kid is built and all, and is probably proud of his biceps and triceps and pectorals and abdomen and quadriceps and all...but really, can't he admire himself in the privacy of his own home?"
Something unfamiliar is happening to Bella. She's fighting it because it seems so strange to her.
Before she knows it, she's fallen to the ground.
Charlie is stunned, and worried until he hears something he thought he'd never hear again.
Bella is laughing uncontrollably.
She's laughing so hard that she's having a hard time breathing.
Charlie turns away so she doesn't see him wipe away his tears of joy.
XXX
It's late in the evening, and Jacob's surprised to learn that his bail has been posted.
When he asks for the identity of the person, he's shocked to see Bella walking up to his cell with a huge smile on her face.
She's smiling...and
Laughing.
As soon as Charlie unlocks the cell, Jacob rushes to Bella and picks her up and holds her like he's afraid it's all a dream.
It isn't.
"Can't breathe, Jake."
XXX
Bella spends the next day with Jacob. They hang out in the garage, they go to a bonfire at the beach, and Jacob can't stop watching her.
They still haven't talked about why he was naked in the bushes outside the diner.
She's smiling now. She's laughing at Embry's tales of dating several girls at once. She listens to tribal legends.
He starts senior year in a week, and Bella starts community college in Port Angeles, but she'll stay with Charlie.
Bella realizes the hole in her chest remains, but has lessened over time. She glances over at Jacob, and realizes he's put himself in that hole, stitching her up along the way.
Somehow, he's made a place for himself in her heart.
She'd have to tell him that she'll always be broken, but then again, he already knew that, and he stuck around anyway.
He must really love her.
XXX
Bella's silent on the drive home. Jacob keeps glancing at her; she's different tonight. He wonders what it is.
He follows her up the stairs to the front door when Bella abruptly stops.
She turns to face him.
He watches her bite her lip as she studies his face.
Slowly, she raises her hands to cups his cheek.
She runs her thumb over his lips.
Bella looks into his eyes and is overwhelmed at the love she sees in them.
Jacob stands absolutely still as Bella leans down towards his face.
"What are you guys doing out there? I heard you pull up minutes ago?" Charlie yells as he opens the door.
"Just talking, dad," Bella replies, giggling. Charlie's so happy she's giggling that he doesn't ask any more questions and goes back inside, leaving them outside.
"I should go," Jacob says, disappointed.
"No," she says, holding his face in her hands again.
She presses her mouth to his and kisses him softly.
It's better than anything he could have imagined.
She's smiling as she pulls away.
"Next time, just ask me to coffee yourself, and make sure you wear some pants," she teased, opening the door.
Jacob laughs, realizing she never said anything about a shirt.
Bella lays down in bed and stares at her wolf bracelet.
She's okay now.