At What Cost?
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, or content from Twilight.
Bella curled up in a ball on her bed, listless and a little miserable. This was nothing unusual in the last three months, since Edward had left her life for good, with the heart breaking promise that she would never see him again. It had taken Charlie, her father, threatening to send her to live with her mother in Florida, to wake Bella partially from her self induced stupor, and force her to make a change. This had happened last week, and had been a very fortunate occurrence, because Bella's life, while still broken, began to take a turn for the better.
After months of going through life sleep walking, Bella finally began to 'live' a little again. She actually started listening to her friends conversations, paying attention to Charlie, and looking at what she wore to school, instead of throwing on the first thing that came her way. Mike became annoyingly persistent again, and Bella was close to falling under the tide of depression again when Charlie hit upon an inspired idea.
Bella, under the advice of Charlie, visited Jacob, an old family friend, and asked him to help fix two old motorbikes Bella had recently acquired (Charlie was oblivious to this part) and soon their friendship blossomed, and the hole in Bella's life, while not filled, began to get smaller. Of course, what Jacob didn't know was that Bella's new found love of extreme sports was only due to the fact she could hear Edward's voice berating her when she was in danger, and it was a last remnant of him, that she clung to.
It was only today that Jacob had finished working on the bikes, and he had proposed a practise drive for tomorrow. Bella stared unseeingly at the rocking chair beside her bed, remembering when Edward had filled it, all those months ago, before he had left her. She felt a stab of excitement as she wondered whether she would hear his voice, and felt a little guilty that she was using Jacob. However, she genuinely liked his company, and it seemed the feeling was mutual. His influence had made her life more purposeful, and she had aptly nicknamed him her 'sun', as he had without a doubt brightened her life since Edward had turned out the light.
The next morning dawned wet and miserable, but that was hardly unusual for Forks, and definitely no cause for postponing any outside events, so Bella put on jeans and a plain green sweater and headed downstairs for breakfast. She smiled at Charlie as she went down, and he remarked inwardly at the change since Bella had started spending time with Jacob, congratulating himself on the brilliant idea.
Bella saw Jacob's outline, and as she said goodbye to Charlie and opened the dark green door, he greeted her with a wide smile, and Bella found herself thinking about the stark contrast between his perfect white teeth and his dark skin. She hit herself mentally, telling herself that she didn't like Jacob in that way, and how important his friendship was to her, knowing that she couldn't jeopardize the only thing keeping her together, by the complication that any romance would bring. She reciprocated the smile, seeing his rigid posture and sparkling eyes, tell-tale signs that he was just as excited about the upcoming ride as she was.
They headed down to La Push, and as soon as Bella had mounted her bike, she heard Edward's outraged voice, proclaiming her stupidity. Accelerating, Bella zoomed towards a still stationary Jacob, smiling to herself, as she drank in Edward's voice, comforting even if it was a hallucination. Jacob smiled back, buoyed with the excitement of the ride, until he saw the sudden look of horror on Bella's face. She didn't know how to brake properly! Hurtling towards Jacob at full speed, he stood frozen as she rammed into him, throwing them both up into the air and down onto the asphalt with a crash. Bella was only aware of blackness, as she found a warm hand to cling to. She thought she heard her angel's voice before she blacked out completely…
Little did she know that Edward was there, at Alice's frantic request to hurry down because Bella was in a life threatening situation. Edward could tell that it would most probably too late to save their lives by the time he got them to hospital, and in spite of himself felt a surge of jealousy as he saw their clasped hands. He and was now faced with a life changing decision: did he change both Bella and Jacob, or leave them to die? He was so eager for Bella to avoid becoming a monster, but at what cost? And what could be the consequences of also turning what looked like her new boyfriend? Edward stood; undecided, and frozen, knowing that time was running out. "Bella, what have you done?" he muttered. He knew this decision would affect him for eternity.