She Will Be Loved
"It's not always rainbows and butterflies…"
That statement rang true for most of my life. Especially when it concerned Bella.
Bella and I had known each other for most of our lives. Even though we were two years apart, we were the best of friends as kids. Making mud pies in the yard, running around on the beach, playing in the woods by my house, we did everything together. When she moved to Arizona with her mom, I was a little crushed; I hated having to say goodbye to my best friend. We kept in touch via email though, and I soon found myself rushing home to look for an email from her. They were the best parts of my week, and before I knew it, I was falling in love with her. And I was falling hard.
When I started high school, I made a Facebook. The first person I added was Bella. I saw her profile picture, and I felt my heart stop; she was not the same girl I said goodbye to all those years ago. Her face was fuller, but in a good way, with plumper lips and brighter eyes. She was still petite, like her mom was, but she had definition to her curves. She was smiling, a crown on her head and a sash over her dress: Miss Phoenix.
Crap I thought, swallowing hard. She just made it 10 times harder not to love her.
She added me a few hours later, and we began talking every day through chat on Facebook. Right before my junior year started, I remember the magical conversation that but a glimmer of hope in my mind.
Hey Jake, guess what? She messaged me.
Hey Bella, what's up? –J
Guess who's moving back to Forks? –B
You? –J "Way too many question marks, Jake," I told myself. "You probably just gave it away that you like her."
Yup! :-) I'll be there before school starts. –B
That's great! Why are you moving back all of a sudden? –J
Mom's joining Phil on the road with his baseball team, so we worked it out that I'll move back in with my Dad. –B
Awesome! I can't wait to see you! :-) –J
Me too! It's been ages since we've hung out. I miss my little brother lol –B
And there was that phrase she used that broke my heart every time. She always said I was like her little brother, and it killed me inside, cause I did not want to be her little brother. At all.
Two weeks before summer was over, Bella moved in. My dad and I went over to help her unpack, along with Bella's dad, Charlie, and have dinner. We pulled up, and I went around to get my dad out and into his wheelchair. As I rolled him up the porch, Charlie was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, grinning.
"Jake! Billy!" He said, pushing off the frame. "Good to see you!" he said, shaking Billy's hand.
"You too, Charlie," my dad said, grinning. Charlie turned to me and shook my hand.
"Jake! I swear you grow another two inches every time I see you!" he chuckled. I laughed and grinned. "How tall are you now?"
"Six foot three," I replied. Charlie whistled and laughed.
"What do you feed this boy, Billy?" he laughed. We were all laughing when I heard footsteps bounding down the stairs, and a brunette beauty appeared in the doorway.
"Jake!" Bella cried, grinning excitedly and launching herself at me. She threw her arms around my neck, and mine automatically went around her waist. I was caught off guard, but I quickly returned the hug, smiling into her shoulder. "It's so good to see you again!" she said, pulling back and stepping back next to her dad.
"You too, Bells," I winked, using the nickname I'd used when we were kids on her.
"Oh God, don't start that again," she laughed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I thought that nickname died when you were six?"
"That's cause I finally learned how to say my 'a''s," I replied, poking her in the stomach. "And it didn't bother you like it does now."
"Alright, come on kids, let's go inside and unpack," Charlie chuckled, leading the way back inside.
"I don't need that much help, Dad," Bella smirked, rolling her eyes. "Can Jake help me? Maybe you and Billy can hang out and watch the game."
"I'm fine with that if you are," Billy shrugged, looking at Charlie. Charlie shrugged back.
"Alright, I'll come check on you later when it's time to order the pizza." We nodded and headed upstairs. Bella lead me to her room, the last room on the left. She had a lot done it looked like; her bed was made, and her closet was full. Her desk was in the corner and had some stuff on it. Most of the other boxes were stacked under the window across from her bed.
"So what's left to unpack?" I asked, plopping down on her bed. She heaved a box up onto the bed and sat next to me.
"Just trinkets and pictures mostly," she said, tearing the tape off. "Things I've collected over the years. We can put them on the desk or on my bookshelf over there," she said, pointing to the scarce wooden structure. There were a few books here and there on the shelves, but it was mostly bare. I nodded and grabbed another box from under the window, going through it with her. She told me where to put certain things, and we laughed and shared memories over certain things we pulled out of the boxes.
"Oh God, you still have this?" I laughed, pulling a frame out of the box. It was a picture of Bella and I on the beach, right before she moved. I was six, she was eight, and we were standing hand in hand on the beach in our swimsuits, waving at the camera, waves crashing behind us.
"Of course," Bella smiled, getting up off her bed to come join me under the window. She slid down next to me and we sat together under the windowsill, admiring the picture. "It's one of my favorites of us. I love it." She laid her head on my shoulder, and I felt my heart jump into my throat, like it did every time she touched me. I looked down at her, and her eyes connected with mine for a minute. Perhaps a minute too long, because I started leaning, and that's when she cleared her throat and started pushing herself off the ground.
"So, do you know what Forks High is like at all?" she asked, brushing off her jeans.
"Not really," I chuckled. "I've always gone to the school on the reservation. But I heard the rich, snotty kids, Alice and Edward Cullen, go there." I wrinkled my nose and rolled my eyes.
"Who are they?" she asked, putting some more things away on shelves.
"Their dad is the head doctor at the hospital," I explained. "And their mom is an interior designer. So they're loaded, and they're the kind of loaded where they think they walk on water. And all the girls love Edward, think he's gorgeous or whatever, but he's a total dick."
"What makes you say that?" Bella laughed. God I love her laugh.
"From what I've heard, he's a player. And he picked a fight with me once at the beach. Because I accidentally threw the football near him and it scattered sand all over him." I snorted in disgust, getting up to put an empty box in the hall.
"How old is he?"
"They're seventeen, Alice and Edward are twins." I explained. "So you might get lucky and have classes with Eddy boy," I laughed, poking Bella in the stomach. She giggled and swatted at my hand.
"Ugh, please, I'd rather smell a wet dog." We laughed, just before Charlie came up the steps to announce that he was ordering the pizza. We went downstairs and watched tv with our dads after placing the order, then ate with them in the kitchen and played cards. It got pretty late, and so eventually Billy and I had to say good night.
"Have a good first day," I told Bella, giving her a big hug on the front porch. "I'll text you after I get out, see how everything went. Sound good?"
"Sure," Bella smiled, making my knees buckle a little. "Maybe we can meet up for coffee afterwards."
"I'd like that," I smiled. I gave her a final wave, then hopped into the truck with my dad, and we were on our way back to La Push.
"So, what did you and Bella talk about while you helped her unpack?" Billy asked.
"Just school stuff mostly," I shrugged. "She asked me what the kids were like, and we got to talking about Edward Cullen."
"You still don't like that boy, do you?" my dad chuckled, turning onto the road towards La Push.
"He called me a fucking prick and chucked a rock at me for accidentally getting sand on him and his precious towel," I sneered. "So yeah, I don't like him at all. He's always rubbed me the wrong way. The things I hear about him aren't exactly pleasant either."
"Well, let's hope he doesn't get ahold of Bella," my dad said, shaking his head as he turned down our road.
"What do you mean?" I asked, whipping my head around to look at him.
"I hear things too, Jake," he said, pulling into our driveway. "And from what I hear, that boy is very charming."
And that's when I got the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach…