Running Home

Bella finds herself leaving her life behind to escape her troubles. Landing on a doorstep in the dreary town of Forks she hopes that after years of being disconnected Jake will help her find solace in the mess that had become her life. With a ghost from his past appearing under the glow of the flickering porch light Jake's life becomes slightly more complicated than he ever anticipated it would be again. Will he be able to help Bella get her life back on track and will she help him forgive himself for things that he never thought he would?

Chapter 1

Bella ran her fingers through her hair and sighed as she pumped what she hoped would be the last of the gas she needed to get to her destination. She stared down at the map on her phone after almost an entire day of driving she only had a little bit longer to go and she longed for the sleep she anticipated she would soon have.

Rolling her eyes at the sound of empty cans rolling around as she sat back in her car, she started up then engine and took a deep breath before getting back on the road. Although her phone told her how long the trip would be she never anticipated it would feel this long. Between energy drinks, coffee, loud music, and slapping herself in the face when need be she managed to stay awake.

One more hour, two tops. She told herself staring out at the road.

She briefly wondered what the aftermath of her arrival would bring, it had been looming at the back of her head for the entire trip as she knew her arrival was not anticipated nor, more than likely, welcome. Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts away and pushed harder on the gas, as there was no turning back now.

It wasn't even an hour later when she pulled up to the address that her phone was guiding her to. She was so tired at that point however it could be that she was just imagining that the address was correct although after locking the car and walking closer to the house she confirmed it was the place she was meant to be.

The house didn't look like she expected it to. Although her expectations were probably jaded as she hadn't seen or spoken to him in many years, she still expected something different. The house was surrounded by big burly trees and was supposed to be white but somehow was covered in a dust of grey. She should have expected it, she was now on the north west coast where it was nothing but rain and gloom.

Even after twenty-four hours of mentally preparing herself while driving the miserable roads, as she walked towards the front door of the house she felt her pulse increase. She was nervous if that was even the word to describe the immensity of fear she was feeling.

She stood at the top of the steps for a good minute before giving two strong knocks on the withered front door under the bug ridden front porch light. She stood trying not to shake from nerves as she heard voices inside lessen and footsteps move towards the front door.

The door swung open and before her stood a tan skinned, long haired, strongly built man. There were a good few moments of silence, neither of them willing to speak and instead just stare at each other.

After what felt like a months' time he broke the silence, "Bella". She hadn't heard his voice in what felt like decades but somehow it was as if time never passed.

"Hey Jake," Bella half smiled as best as someone could after staying up for as many hours as she had. He didn't return the smile which alluded her to the fact he wasn't as pleased to see her as she was to see him. She silently told herself this reaction was what she expected as they hadn't seen each other in many years and hadn't spoken to each other in just as long.

Jake stood there unsure what to say or do. He isn't sure what he was expecting when he heard the knock at his front door this late at night but it sure wasn't a ghost from his past.

"I just thought I would stop by and say hey," it was lame, but Bella didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to tell him the truth.

"What are you really doing here Bella?" Jake knew right away even after all these years and the distance between them that her being here meant something was going on.

Bella hesitated unsure what to say to, "Just driving through." The answer was the best she could come up with and Jake laughed darkly seeing the lie before it even left her mouth.

"You look like shit," Jake said somewhat harshly, and Bella momentarily wondered if he was talking about her unwashed hair, the exhaustion that was plain on her face, or the black eye she had that had faded slightly but was still prominent. She shrugged neither agreeing or disagreeing and ended the response there.

After a few more moments of Jake not saying anything Bela resigned, "Any cheap motels in the area? I've been driving for forever." Jake rolled his eyes before responding, "Ah and I thought you were just passing through."

Bella shrugged unsure how to respond, it was the best she could do with so little energy. Jake stood there trying to weigh out how to proceed with this situation before shaking his head, "It's late", he stated before taking a step back and opening the door. Bella asked if he was sure and he sniped back with little patience ordering her to come in before he changed his mind.

Bella bit her lip and stepped through the door stopping just shy of the opening to the room that she assumed Jake's guests were. Jake sensed that she was apprehensive and nudged her slightly as he passed by to walk into the living room.

Bella was met with five sets of eyes the moment she turned the corner. Jake cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly, the silence so thick everyone in the room could feel it.

It took a few moments and one of the guys sitting around the coffee table clearing his throat to make Jake break the silence, "Bella, this is my girlfriend Emily her cousins Alice and Emmett and their boyfriend and girlfriend Jasper and Rosalie."

Bella followed along as Jake introduced the individuals who couldn't be much older than she and briefly looked at each of them. Emily was beautiful with tanned skin similar to Jakes, thick black hair that hung far down her back, and big chocolate colored eyes. Her pursed lips and slightly narrowed eyes gave Bella the impression that she was not known by Jake's girlfriend.

Alice was petite with beautiful and delicate features across her pixie-like face. Her short black hair was cut angled against her face and her sparkling green eyes shined brightly against her pale skin. Emmett was the opposite of Alice, if there was a word that meant larger than huge that would have described him. His muscles bulked off his body in an almost intimidating fashion which was clashing with his large loving grin and soft brown eyes.

Their counterparts Jasper and Rosalie were just as beautiful as the rest of them. He with shaggy dirty blonde hair and a dazzling smile and her with long thick blonde hair, big blue eyes, and perfectly manicured nails. Bella briefly wondered if Jake only knew extremely attractive people as the five sitting before her were something out of a magazine.

"Everyone this is Bella…" Jake hesitated momentarily, and Bella inwardly cringed at the awkwardness, "she's like uh an old friend." His words shouldn't have stung her as much as they did but Bella attempted to act nonchalantly and nodded slowly while exhaling.

The five sets of eyes continued to stare, and Bella bit her lip hoping someone would say something soon.

"So, uh 'old friend' Bella' want to join the party?" the large one Emmett finally spoke and lifted his glass filled with of what Bella assumed was some kind of liquor. Before Bella could even respond Jake answered for her, "No no Bella has been driving for a while she probably wants to rest, I am just going to show her up to the guest room and then I'll be back down to play." It didn't go unnoticed that some of the pairs of eyes widened slightly when Jake announced she would be staying overnight but she didn't question it and instead followed behind Jake who was already halfway up the stairs.

"This is the spare bedroom; the sheets are clean and remote for the tv is on the nightstand although judging by the way you look I imagine you'll pass out long before finding something to watch. The bathroom is right across the hall, I am off tomorrow, but I'll be in and out all day so help yourself to whatever slim pickings are in the kitchen." After he felt like he covered all the bases Jake mumbled something resembling night and moved out of the room before Bella could even respond.

"Thanks," Bella mumbled at the empty doorway before softly pushing it shut.

She realized in that moment that she left all her clothes in the car but by that point she would rather sleep in her stiff jeans and three-day worn hoodie than walk back down past the questioning eyes and man that was less than pleased to see her to go and get her suitcase.

She sighed as she sat down on the bed, the comfort she had been longing for was finally enveloping her. After being awake for twenty-four hours it was no surprise that she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

Jake hit the bottom step and refused to look at the five pairs of eyes he knew were starring straight at him. He didn't want to engage with the nosey motherfuckers that he knew would be on the edge of their seats waiting for the scoop. Instead of walking into the living room he made a detour to the kitchen and grabbed another drink, it was going to take a few to get this night back on track.

He was still in shock that she showed up on his doorstep, the last person he expected. So many years had passed and somehow, she looked just as he remembered.

He slammed his drink back and refilled his glass before heading back into the living room towards the anticipating eyes.

"So, where were we?" Jake looked at the cards spread across the table trying to act as nonchalantly as possible. When nobody spoke, he looked up and put his hands in the air as if to say 'what' before taking another sip of his drink.

"Are we just going to skip talking about the hot girl staying in your guest room?" Emmett asked resulting in a slap across the back of the head from Rosalie.

"Emmett don't call her that," Jake grumbled shaking his head.

Emily was starring daggers towards Jake and he wasn't even the one that called Bella hot although he is the one that was allowing her to stay the night, so Jake figured that was what she was mad at.

"Are we going to play the game or not?" Jake asked annoyed and in response Emily huffed and abruptly stood stomping off towards the kitchen.

Jake looked up and immediately read the 'you should fix that' look on all of his 'friend's' faces. He sighed loudly and slammed his drink down on the table before standing and dragging himself towards the kitchen.

Before he even took a step on the linoleum Emily was prying for information, "Who is she?" Jake laughed humorlessly and shook his head refusing to answer the question which made Emily laugh mockingly in response.

Jake welcomed the silence that came afterwards, internally praying Emily wouldn't say anything else. If only he was that lucky, "Jake, you owe me an explanation. Who is she?" Emily was pushing him to the edge at this point he was already annoyed by the unexpected visitor and now she has the audacity to give him the third degree when he clearly didn't want to talk about it. "I don't owe you anything, I said she was an old friend that is all there is to say," Jake firmly explained making it clear that was all the information Emily would be getting from her and she simply mumbled fuck you before stomping back into the living room and demanded that she be taken home.

Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper didn't really have a choice but to leave with Emily. Jake considered them acquaintances somewhat friends, but they were a lot younger then him and the group of them only really hung out because Emily was Alice and Emmett's family and she was dating Jake. When it came to taking sides there was no hard feelings Jake understood that they would always have to choose Emily's.

Jake welcomed the silence that came after the tires of Emmet's jeep crunched the gravel on his driveway. Flinging himself onto the couch he stared at the ceiling and thought about what the hell transpired tonight.

Bella groaned as she rolled over and slowly opened her eyes taking a moment to recognize her surroundings and acknowledge where she was. She had been so tired last night it wouldn't have surprised her if she had dreamt it all but sure enough after sleeping for what felt like days, she woke up in the spare bedroom that Jake had led her to the previous evening.

She stretched as she rose from the bed, her body was incredibly stiff. The alarm clock read just past one in the afternoon and she was almost surprised she didn't sleep even later. She sat for a moment listening for any indication that Jake was home remembering that he said he'd be in and out all day. She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding in relieved that from what she could hear it sounded as if this was the time Jake was out rather than in.

After a moment of thought she looked down at herself and cringed at her dirty clothes and what she felt was an odor that was radiating off them. Time for a shower she thought before descending the stairs and making the walk out to her car to get her clothes.

Throwing her bag over her shoulder she began the trek back towards the house stopping in her tracks after recognizing that someone had materialized on the porch in the two minutes she was at her car. She groaned and kicked around the idea of retreating to her car and waiting until they left which was quickly squashed by them turning around and looking directly at her. As Bella walked closer, she realized it was one of the girls who had been sitting around the table the previous night.

"Hey…uh…" Bella's words were as uncomfortable as she felt, and it was obvious she had forgotten the girls name as the sentence ended there.

"Alice…" the petite girl finished Bella's sentence and Bella nodded in agreement, "Right, Alice."

Alice surveyed Bella for a moment before speaking up again, "you're still here," she observed and then immediately regretted the words, "not as if I thought you would be gone, or saying like you don't belong here or anything, or.." Bella lifted a hand to cut off the rambling.

"Jake isn't here," Bella stated lifting her hand to point out the lack of his vehicle in the driveway and Alice nodded because she recognized moments earlier that the lack of an answer at the door meant he wasn't home.

"Yeah, sorry, I just forgot my phone charger last night so I couldn't really text him and ended up just driving over," Alice twisted her fingers together and Bella felt as if she was witnessing someone who didn't often feel flustered, fluster.

The two stood awkwardly, Alice's eyes darting around and Bella biting her lip questioning why she was still standing out here for a moment before she put two and two together, "Oh, duh sorry yeah go get your charger or whatever." Bella's face flushed and she reached around Alice to push the door open for her.

Bella didn't bother to follow Alice into the living room instead she started for the stairs, "just pull the door closed when you leave, I am going to go shower." As she was just about to take the first step Alice came barreling out the living room looking like she wanted to say something.

"Yes?" Bella said not bothering to hide her slight annoyance.

"So, you're staying around for a while," Bella couldn't decipher if it was a question or a statement as she watched Alice's eyes dance around from Bella's face to the large bag she was still carrying. Still unsure she neither confirmed nor denied the statement and or question which brought some uncomfortable silence once again between the two.

"When did you and Jake meet?" Alice asked once again trying to spark a conversation and Bella sighed putting the somewhat heavy bag she was carrying down on the floor before looking directly into the green eyes of the porcelain skinned pixie in front of her.

Bella attempted to suppress the annoyance that was flaring up within her before speaking, "Look, I mean no disrespect but I get it, you're Emily's cousin and she's worried about the strange girl she doesn't know staying at her boyfriend's house but you didn't have to come over here under the guise of forgetting your phone charger to try and get information to report back. If your cousin, or friends, or you have questions then ask Jake, I am not interested in getting involved in this drama."

Alice reached into her back pocket and produced a phone charger holding it up to Bella before speaking, "For the record I didn't come over here to spy as you so seem to think I have, frankly I don't really care who you are." She started for the door as Bella stood staring at her retreating form unsure whether or not she should apologize the thought diminishing when Alice turned around with a unreadable smirk on her face, "If you plan on sticking around maybe we can hang out sometime although before we do you're going to need to get rid of the attitude…..and maybe shower."

Bella let her head fall as the door shut briefly regretting the last ten minutes and wishing she would have stayed in bed before sighing and climbing the stairs towards the most anticipated shower of all time.

Bella allowed the hot water to burn away the stress, exhaustion, and soreness that was within her. As she washed her skin, she lightly touched the bruises splattered across her body that accompanied the one on her face, momentarily grateful that they were easily covered with clothing. She allowed herself to break down thinking about how hard these past few days, weeks, years had been, the salty tears mixing with the water streaming down on her and the sound of the water pairing as a melody with her sobs. The water turning frigid is what forced her to emerge from the shower nearly an hour later.

Bella stood quietly once more listening for any sign that Jake had returned but was once again relieved to hear no sounds, the breakdown in the shower had not been heard.

Pulling on her running gear and throwing her hair up, Bella put her iPod in her ears and exited the house know that a run would allow her to clear her head as well as avoid Jake upon his return. It was a win-win in her mind.

Letting the beat of the music guide her pace she ran, her feet pounding against the pavement as she went. As Bella was unfamiliar with the town, she didn't particularly have an idea of where she was going and instead made twists and turns as she felt like it. Thus far the only positive thing Bella found about the dilapidated town was that the nature paths winding through the forests were limitless and allowed varied terrain for her to conquer.

Miles later she found herself emerging from one of the wooded paths and once again found her feet meeting pavement. What she assumed to be the 'downtown' of Forks looked just as dreary as the rest of the area she noted as she ran past empty storefronts nearly customer less small-town businesses.

It was that awkward time in the early evening where the sun was just setting but the street lights hadn't clicked on leaving the streets a little dim. A mist had begun to lightly fall which, mixed with the feeling of evening upon the town, left Bella to be one of the only people outside she noted as she ran shaking her head at how sad this town was.

One moment she was finishing yet another mile and clicking to change the song and the next she collided with what felt like a wall but based off the groans she recognized it was less of an inanimate object and more of a living breathing person.

Bella opened her eyes and felt the redness that was spreading across her face as she realized it was in fact someone rather than something that she had collided with.

She was momentarily frozen as she looked into the bright green eyes before her not even realizing the hint of annoyance that was within them. As his lips moved, she stared down briefly confused why she couldn't tell what he was saying before ripping her headphones out of her ears.

"Are you going to get off me?" He spoke again only this time she could actually hear his melodic voice and this hint of amusement within his words.

As if she wasn't embarrassed before she would have chosen this moment to be the most embarrassing one of her life as it had taken her this long to recognize that their collision resulted in them both falling, she on top of him. She thanked heavens that the streets were still dimly light as it hopefully meant he could not see how red her face was as she pushed herself off him and stood upright.

Bella was caught off guard when he chuckled lightly as he stood up, his laugh just as perfect as he was. She regained as much composure as she could before stating the first thing that came to her flustered mind, "You could apologize you know."

He briefly feigned being taken aback by her words before letting out another small laugh, "I could apologize? I could apologize? What about you? You basically threw yourself at me, I had no chance at avoidance!" Bella rolled her eyes and her interaction stopped there as she was at a loss for a snappy comeback. She turned on her heels determined to get away from him before she embarrassed herself even further but was stopped when he maneuvered around her and blocked her path of escape.

"Can I at least get the name of the individual who attacked me?" He flashed a grin and Bella was slightly annoyed at both how perfect he was and how cocky he was which she found apparent through his demeanor. Bella scoffed at his choice of words and crossed her arms, "I hardly would call it an attack and besides it equally your fault as it is my own." He threw his head back, his bronze hair becoming even more unruly than it was to start and let out a loud guffaw which made Bella more annoyed than she already was.

"I'll take that as an apology, mystery woman," his eyes sparkled with his grin as he put one of his headphones back in his ear which prompted Bella to snip, "I am not apologizing, annoying stranger."

Her words made him chuckle once again as he backed away, "Looking forward to our next encounter, no name," he spun and began running away from her leaving Bella wondering for the second time today what had just transpired.

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