chapter 3 Rising Like the Sun
The sunlight comes in through the window above our heads. The bright ray forcing me awake. I squint from the envading light, covering my face with my hand. I sit up. EJ is still asleep, sleeping like a baby. I don't know what I should do first. Maybe get some breakfast for us. I get up and turn the tv on for EJ when he wakes up. I walk down the narrow hallway and I hear simmering. The familiar sound makes me smile.
"Mmm. Something smells great," I note, walking with my eyes barely open.
"It's just eggs and french toast," Jacob shrugs, trying to keep his smile on the inside. "Where's EJ? Not an early bird?"
"He's actually not a morning person. The farthest he'll go is in front of a tv. He'll stay there all morning long." Jacob fixes me a plate.
"Sorry. I'm out of bacon."
"That's fine," I assure him. He puts more french toast on my plate and then puts the spatula down. "This is more than enough."
"Damn, you eat like a bird," He says. "I was planning on taking us all to the diner, but I didn't feel like waiting for you guys to get up. My mind was just everywhere. At least it's a home cooked meal."
"What were you thinking about?" I ask, taking a bite of french toast. I think I know. Why did I even ask that.
"Just life in general," He says. Thankfully, he doesn't want to say it to my face, right now.
"You talked to Charlie?" He sees me roll my eyes.
"Charlie hasn't called in so long," I say.
"Are you sure?" Jacob asks. "He says he calls you like crazy. Are your phones working?" I take too long to answer. "Anyway, he came down here a couple of days of ago. I finally spotted him," He says, leaning his elbow on the counter. "When people said it, I just couldn't believe it. But I finally saw it for myself."
"What are you even talking about?" I chuckle.
"Charlie is seeing Sue," Jacob says. I spit out my eggs, surprised. Jacob's eyes widen at me.
"You're lying," I say.
"Sneaking around like two teenagers," Jacob nods.
"That's hilarious," I say. "I mean I'm happy for them, but I never thought."
"Neither did I," Jacob says. "They're the latest trending topic in town. Funny thing is, they have no clue everyone knows their secret's out. still sneaking around."
"That's cool. Go dad." Jacob laughs.
"Mama," I hear EJ. I turn around and he's frowning at me. "You left me."
"Come here. Look, Jake made us breakfast." He crawls into my lap. "He has to get use to the room, I guess," I tell Jacob. He nods. EJ eats the rest of the food on my plate. Jacob watches.
"I can make you some more," He offers.
"Oh no. I'm actually full," I put my hand on my stomach and it growls, embarrassingly for me. Jacob makes a face, catching me in a lie. The front door swings open, letting in bright sunlight. A tall, skinny woman is standing in the doorway. She looks unpleasantly surprised. "Hi, Leah," I say quickly. If EJ wasn't sitting on my lap, I would have stood up.
"Why is she here?" She asks Jacob. Then she turns to me. "Hi, Bella."
"Hi," I repeat myself. Unlike with Jake, the first thing Leah sees when she looks at me is not my fat lip. To her, I'm just the same old girl, Bella, the heartbreaker, the man stealer. It's my stigma when ever I'm on the reserve. That's what I'm known for. And when people are gossiping about me, that's what they're saying. Even though it's old news, it pops back up whenever I get anywhere near Jacob. When they first got together, I couldn't stand it. I couldn't take it. I was jealous as all hell. I drove two hours down to LaPush just to throw myself at Jacob. Weird, considering I was married and still am. I wasn't trying to break them up, I was just stunned. I have never seen Jake with anyone. I felt like if I couldn't have him, which is totally my fault, then no one would. I don't feel like that anymore. My feelings for him are not completely gone. I can't tell if they're vanishing on their own, or if I'm just suppressing them for the sake of my marriage and Edward's feelings.
"They spent the night," Jacob says, defensively.
"What's the matter? You're mansion not cozy enough, so you have to come over to our dump?" Leah asks, rhetorically.
"Leah," Jacob rations.
"We'll find a hotel or some place," I stand up, holding EJ.
"No. That's not necessary. She's just mad," Jacob says. I'm standing in an uneasy position. "Leah, you want some eggs?" Jacob asks.
"No, I don't want any eggs," Leah responds, snide. I don't know if I should sit back down or run out the door. Jacob laughs to himself, but I'm about to pee my pants. She scares me, sometimes.
