TRIGGER WARNING: Very mild mentions of drug use and rape/violence.
Chapter 2:
Bella woke up from a seriously disturbing dream about Edward. She shuddered as she thought of her undead ex boyfriend. It had been a long time since she had had an Edward dream, and hoped that last night was just an anomaly. She brushed her teeth and put her hair up in a messy bun. Heading down stairs she began to automatically pick up after Charlie.
Things had changed since she was last in Forks. Her dad was dating Sue Clearwater. Because both of her kids were wolves, the pack had let him in on their not so little secret. He didn't however know about her association with the town "leeches". That would have broken the treaty. Charlie took it in stride and spent a lot of time with Seth and Leah. She couldn't help but be a little jealous that he had opened up so much to his new family.
Bella had changed since she was last in Forks. She was more withdrawn than she had been when she left. So far she had been ignoring Jacob's calls and had only talked to Angela briefly. She wasn't ready to explain why she was back. She was even thinner, if possible. There were purple blotches under her eyes and she had a constant cold. Sighing as her stomach growled Bella forced herself to pick at a bowl of cheerios while she drank her morning coffee.
The day got away from her and before she knew it Charlie was walking in the door from work. "Hey Bells," he called out. "We're going over to the reservation for dinner tonight. Sue insists on seeing you and making you her famous fish fry."
"Charlie, I'm not really feeling well."
"Well, lately you're never feeling well. I don't know what's been going on with you since you got home, but it has to end. We're going out to enjoy a family dinner, and that's final."
"Fine," Bella mumbled. Charlie rarely pulled out the stern dad card, and when he did she couldn't deny him.
The ride to the reservation was made in silence. Familiar scenery blurred by as Bella pressed her forehead to the cool window in the cruiser. As they passed the turn off for the abandoned Cullen mansion she had a familiar tingle run up her spine causing the hair on her neck to stand on end. Once again she tried to shake off the feeling of being watched.
They reached their destination more quickly than Bella would have liked. She knew that as soon as Jake smelled her he would come over to the Clearwater's, and she would have no way to evade his inquisition. Dinner passed by fairly uneventfully, Bella managed to eat most of what Sue put on her plate and the friendly chatter was oddly soothing.
As Bella helped Sue clear the table she heard a knock on the front door. She knew the moment she was dreading was here. "Hey Jake!" she heard Charlie exclaim. Taking a big breath she decided to face the music sooner rather than later. She walked into the living room, and found her dad and her best friend embracing and grinning. The sight brought a smile to her face.
Jake looked up at her, and she could see the alarm on his face. She knew she didn't look great, but was a little surprised by the intensity of his reaction. She watched as he took a deep breath and wrinkled his nose. The wolf pulled away from her father gently, and turned to face her fully.
"Hey Bella, can you take a walk with me?" he asked, concern obvious in his voice.
"Yeah Jake, let's check out the beach."
Bella followed him out the door and down the path to the beach. She kept her arms crossed tightly over her chest, and stood several steps from Jacob. Every time he tried to get close, she skittered away maintaining the distance.
Jake stopped walking and turned to her, "Bella, why do you smell like that?"
"I don't know what you mean. Should I be offended?"
"Come on Bells, it's me. You can't sneak something like drugs past this nose." he said, anger tinting his voice.
"Jake... just, let me explain." she sighed in resignation. "Everything was going pretty well. I was dating that girl Amber, classes were fairly easy, I was moving on. Then, something happened. And I started having nightmares again. Drinking coffee and energy drinks only got me so far, eventually I fell asleep and the nightmares were waiting. My room mate gave me some aderall, she said it helped with all nighters. And it did. I was able to stay awake, nightmare free. Eventually the aderall wasn't enough and I started using cocaine too. I failed out of my classes, lost my scholarship and ended up back in Forks. I haven't done any drugs since I got home. It's why I look like crap."
Bella paused, waiting for a reaction from Jake. He moveed swiftly, and gathered her up into his arms. She immediately stiffened causing him to pull back. "Are you ok Bella?"
She breathed in through her nose, out through her mouth and willed her body to relax. She took a cleansing breath and pulled Jake back into her body. "Yeah, I'm gonna be ok Jake. Hold me?"
And so he did. Jake really was her best friend. After Edward he taught her to live again. She thought she was in love with him, until she met Amber. When she realized she was gay, Jake was the first person she told. He never wavered in his love and support. Now here he was holding her together again, and he didn't even know half of her trouble yet.
"Bella, I'll always be here to hold you. And when you're ready to talk about the thing that triggered your nightmares, and why you stiffened when I touched you, I'll be here for that too." The large wolf kissed her forehead and wiped the tears from her cheeks. He scooped her up in his large arms and carried her back to the Clearwater's.
Waking up on Thursday after her talk with Jacob, Bella knew that she had to return to Seattle for another meeting. She not only owed it to him, but to everyone else that loved her too. She took a long hot shower and dressed in her favorite jeans and flannel shirt. She forced herself to eat a real breakfast of toast and eggs before she gave in to her craving for coffee.
She got into her trusty red truck and made the trek back into the city. She hit some traffic on the way, and cursed herself for being late. She was more sure of herself than she had been last time. She quickly found parking and walked determinedly into the building, taking the stairs two at a time. The meeting was already in session when she arrived, so she quietly opened the door and made her way to an empty seat.
"And when my fiance and his friends were done, they left me bleeding on the street. Luckily I was found before I bled to death." Bella thought that the voice and story sounded familiar, but it wasn't possible. Taking a deep breath and daring to look across the room at the woman speaking, Bella almost fell over in shock. Sitting in a plain metal folding chair was Rosalie Hale. Her beautiful golden eyes were filled with tears she could never shed.
