Disclaimer: I own nothing. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters, I just play with them. No money is being made from this story.
I heard the familiar rumble of Bella's truck, and I gritted my teeth. I knew she would show up here some time, after the dozen or so phone calls I had ignored. I knew she missed me, and I missed her. Like crazy. It felt like I had lost a family member.
It's for her safety, I reminded myself. Didn't mean I didn't hate it.
Billy wheeled into the room. "You gonna talk to her?" I knew he didn't approve. He knew how dangerous it was. But I owed it to Bella. I nodded.
"Better hurry up then. It's pouring outside."
I nodded, striding out the door. And I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Bella.
It was like she was the meaning of life. Nothing mattered, but her. Every part of my being was tied to this girl.
I stared at her dumbly for a moment, then strode over to her. I opened her door, and I lifted her out of the front seat of the truck, ignoring her gasp as I pulled her into the rain. And there, I gave her the biggest hug I could have given her.
"Can't…breathe… Jake!"
Chuckling, I set her down on her feet, grinning from ear to ear. I saw the look on her face, and instantly my expression was apologetic.
"I'm so sorry, Bells. If I could have been around you, I would have. Can I please make it up to you?"
Bella looked at me, and for a moment, I wasn't sure whether she would forgive me or now. Then she smiled a bit, and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of her in my arms.
I broke the contact, looking down at her. "Come on," I said softly. "I've got a ton to tell you." Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. I motioned my head toward the front door of the house. Taking her hand, I pulled her inside.
Two hours later, Bella was still stunned. I had explained everything, absolutely everything I knew—which was bound to confuse a person. I had to hand it to her, though; not once did she scream in terror or try to run away. She's very good with weird.
She had thought that we were killing people, and I quickly corrected her—we were saving these people, not killing them. Billy tactfully gave us some space, reading some novel in the kitchen.
"So… you're okay with this?" I asked, unsure of how she'd react. Bella blinked.
"Yeah, it's just… I always seem to surround myself with supernatural monsters, don't I?" she chuckled. I found myself laughing with her.
After the laughter subsided, she looked at me. She's beautiful, I found myself thinking.
"So, why did you decide to tell me all of this now, instead of a week ago when I called?" She didn't look angry now—just curious.
Truth, or lie? I knew I couldn't lie to her. I took a breath.
"Bella… this is hard to explain," I laughed, running a hand through my closely-cropped hair. She waited, patient with me as always.
"Uhm…" I struggled, trying to explain without freaking her out. Bella smiled.
"Don't worry about it." She shrugged. "I'm just glad you told me." I sighed, relieved for the time being.
We just sat around then, watching T.V. Bella sat next to me, nestled up into my side. She even allowed me to put my arm around her.
We sat that way for a good hour or so before I noticed that she was snoring very lightly. I grinned.
"Jacob," she mumbled. I glanced down to make sure she was still sleeping, then grinned from ear to ear when I realized that she was talking about me in her sleep.
She muttered something else incoherently, then whimpered. I looked down at her, panicking. A crease had formed between her eyebrows. Do I wake her up? I shook her shoulder a little.
"Bella… Bella, honey, wake up." She gasped a bit, looking around for a second before focusing on me. She sighed.
"Sorry," she said. "Nightmares."
I held her for a minute, stroking her long hair. She seemed to calm down as I did so.
A knock came at the door, and from the smell I knew exactly who it was. Bella scooted over so I could get up, and I could see the darkening of her expression as she drew her own conclusions as to who might be at the door. Apparently, even after learning that my avoiding her had been because I had become a dangerous werewolf, she still wasn't too keen on Sam.
"It's alright," I reassured her, making my way to the front door in about three strides. I yanked it open, completely unsurprised to see Sam standing there. I moved out of the way so he could come in.
His nostrils flared, smelling Bella. He looked accusingly at me.
"Jacob, what have you done?" he half-growled at me. After a moment of looking at my face, he relaxed.
"I see," he said softly. He paused, then looked me square in the eye.
"I'm happy for you, Jacob. Take great care with her, though. You're still young."
I nodded—this is exactly what I had expected to hear. I glanced over at Bella again; she was glaring at Sam, as if se could scare him out of the house. I chuckled.
"Bella," I said, walking back over to her. "You remember Sam." I nodded encouragingly. She looked suspicious for another moment, then stood, nodding.
"Yeah, I remember. How are you, Sam?"
Sam smiled. "Been worse. It's nice that you're in on the secret," he laughed. Bella looked slightly sheepish.
"You don't mind?"
Sam looked at me for about half a second, realizing that Bella was unaware that I had imprinted on her. He didn't ask me any questions, though I was sure he would later—he simply shook his head in regard to Bella's question.
"Just make sure you keep the secret." Bella nodded; I bet she would have kept quiet about it even if she had found out on her own. And I'm sure she would have.
"Jacob, we've got some things to take care of," Sam reminded me.
"We're still chasing that bloodsucker. Seems she has a good survival instinct."
Bella gasped very slightly. "Which vampire?" She looked terrified.
"Redheaded vamp. Very fast." Bella's face got even paler. I grabbed her arms, looking into her eyes.
"Bella? What's wrong?"
Bella's voice was a whisper. "Victoria."
Sam was automatically in Alpha-mode. "You know this vampire?"
Bella nodded. "She's after me. He… Edward…" I could hear the pain in her voice, even now, when she spoke his name. "He killed her mate. And so now she's coming to kill me. An eye for an eye, you know," she half-chuckled, still obviously terrified. I growled—no one would touch her, not if I could help it.
I looked at Sam. "Emily's?" I asked, nodding my head in Bella's direction. Sam thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes. I'll ask Embry to stay with them, just in case.'
Bella's face looked worried, and I had to laugh.
"Bella, honey, we're more than a match for one parasite." I kissed her forehead.
"We'll take you to Emily's. She's Sam's fiancée," I added, seeing the blank look on her face. She nodded.
"You'll be careful, right?" she asked quietly. I grinned at her concern.
"We'll be fine. I'll see you again in a few hours. No sweat." She seemed to relax at this, and allowed me to take her hand as we walked out into the rain, me calling to Billy that I'd be home in a few hours.
We took Bella's truck to Emily's house-- throwing my motorcycle in the back for the ride back to Forks-- and after quietly warning Bella not to stare at Emily, I led her inside and introduced her. Hugging Bella, I went back outside to join Sam.
He looked at me and shook his head, chuckling a bit. "Looks like you've got your hands full, huh?"
A/N: I honestly haven't the first clue where this is going—we'll just have to see what happens. Please review! More to come shortly. =)
