I sighed happily and leaned further into Jacob's arms. He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. I held up my hand and admired the Quileute promise ring he had given me for our 6 month anniversary. Charlie walked into the room, then backed out again quickly.
"Hey kids." he yelled through from the kitchen.
"Yeah?" we shouted back.
"You think you can keep the lovey stuff for when I'm not in the room?"
"He was only in the room for two seconds and he didn't give us any warning!" I muttered angrily. Jacob chuckled then spun me around until I was facing him.
"Be happy!" he encouraged me.
"I am happy." I told him certainly as I turned back around. It was true. The hole that had once filled my chest with its aching pain was all but gone. I hadn't cried myself to sleep for months. I was almost certain I was healed of my obsession with Edward Cullen. I quickly stopped myself there. I may consider myself cured but it was stupidity to dwell on the past. Jake's cell started ringing. He quickly flicked it open and after glancing at the caller ID, answered it.
"Hey Sam. What's up?" I knew without him having to tell me. He looked at me apologetically as he shut the phone.
"Victoria?" I asked without real interest. He nodded then let me off his lap so he could stand up. I kissed him quickly. "Be careful."
"Always am." he grimaced "Sorry this had to spoil everything."
"Hey you should be blaming me." I told him "If I didn't smell so damn appetising, James would never have got himself killed hunting me and Victoria wouldn't be set on revenge." I knew he noticed I hadn't used Edward's name and I knew he was grateful for it. He hated to be reminded of that time when I was falling apart and all he could do was watch.
"Don't worry." I told him "I'll just go and um take out the trash." This was our code for riding our motorbikes. Charlie still didn't know about them, and if I had anything to do with it, he never would.
"Ok." He bent down for another kiss then walked out of the door.
"Hey dad, I'm just going to see Quil and Embry for a bit. That ok?" I spent a lot of time with Quil and Embry nowadays. They ranked just below Jake and Angela in my list of friends.
"Sure Bells. I'll see you later." I slipped out of the door and jumped into my truck. I quickly drove down to La Push and grabbed my bike from Jake's garage. I left my truck outside the house. I had no fear of discovery. Billy had known about the bikes for months. He had decided it was my responsibility to tell Charlie. I wheeled my bike onto the road and drove it to the dirt track where Jake and I spent so much of our time. I was still not confident in my ability to dodge pedestrians. I drove about a mile then made a sharp U-turn and began the journey back. Suddenly, a deer ran onto the track in front of me. I swerved, and the deer jumped off the track, but I had lost control, and was veering wildly from side to side. The front wheel hit a stone and I was thrown clear. I landed on something warm, furry and hard.
"Hello Jake." I said breathlessly "Fancy seeing you here."
"I reckon that was the worst one yet." I told Jake brightly after he reappeared from the forest in human form. "I must have flown 20 feet. Good job you were here to catch me."
"Good job I can sense when you're in danger." he said reprovingly as he leaned in for a kiss. "I know I can't stop you but I wish you wouldn't ride without me."
"You're right." I said smiling "You can't stop me. Did you find her?"
"We saw her but she ran when she caught our scent." I sighed. I had become bored of asking the same question and receiving the same answer. At least Victoria was no longer killing. She had to be relatively weak by now. The pack believed she had found the site where they burned Laurent's remains.
"Do you wanna come back to mine?" Jake asked me.
"Only to pick up my truck." I replied "I'm tired, I'll go to bed when I get in."
"Aw come on Bells. It's our anniversary." Jake whined.
"Fine I'll stay half an hour." He punched the air triumphantly.
"Knew you couldn't resist me Bells."
"Yup that's right." He grinned.
I stayed for a lot longer than half an hour – it was dark when Jacob drove me home. I hadn't been lying before - I really was tired. By now I was dead on my feet. As we pulled into my road, Jake snapped me back to reality.
"Hey Bells, who's that in your space?" I looked up, startled. A dark gray Porsche Turbo was indeed sat in my spot. I was confused. I had never met anyone with enough money for a car like this. No one except.......
I was out of the truck and running to the house before I realised what I was doing, Jacob a second behind me. I grabbed the key from under the eave, shakily unlocked the door, then pushed it so hard that it slammed back on its hinges. I felt along the wall for the light switch, hoping against hope I was wrong....
I flicked on the light. Standing in the hall was not the one I feared most, but the next two on the list.
Alice and Jasper.
I barely registered the tears rolling down my face. At the front of my mind was the horrible fact that the hole in my chest had opened again, and I could not speak for the agony.
"Bella. Bella, are you ok?" Jake asked as he came up behind me. Then he saw the Cullens and a snarl ripped from his lips. I turned and ran for the door, not even looking back when I heard Jasper cry out.
"I'm...ok." I heard him croak "Bella's...pain. So...strong. Go after her...she needs...you." I thought he was talking to Jacob until I felt cool arms wrap around me. I collapsed to the pavement and curled into a ball, sobbing so hard I thought my head would burst. I grasped frantically at the edges of the hole, trying desperately to hold myself together. Alice held me while I fell apart, then when I lay exhausted in her arms, she carried me back to the house and lay me on the sofa. I was dimly aware of Jasper and Jacob watching me, but all I could really think about was sleep. Sleep and forget the pain. I felt Jacob's warm hand close around mine, then I was gone.