Chapter 2
I sucked in a deep breath of tainted air.
"Go in side Bells. I'll be back in a minute. It's not safe for you out here." I said looking down at her trying to hold in my anger.
Her eyes grew wide and she ran inside.
Thankfully I still had enough sanity in me to take my pants off before I shifted.
Snarling and snapping I cussed him vividly in my head knowing he could hear me.
What the hell are you doing here leech?
"Checking on her. Alice saw her jump off a cliff… I was worried." He said with a pained voice.
Well you've checked on her. Now leave. She didn't jump I stopped her. She's still recovering from your last little adventure to leave her. I don't want her to have to go through that again.
"What did she go through?" he had the audacity to ask me.
Smirking I showed him the image of Bella from when Sam found her and how she walked around like she was dead. Then I showed him how her face lit up when she saw me… every single him since he had left.
I looked at him and saw him fall to his knees his eyes dark with pain.
"I left for her… I didn't want her to be in danger from being around me so much. I hadn't even known her a whole year and I had put her life at risk so many times." He whispered.
I have made her smile and laugh. I know I am not you but she is happy. For her sake do not ruin that.
"I don't plan on it… but are you sure? She is happy?"
As happy as she can be without you. I showed him the memory of last night. Before the movie and when I woke up this morning. She misses you. But it would kill her to see you again just for you to leave her to try and piece together her heart again.
I showed him another memory.
I heard Bella's truck pull into my drive way. I jumped up, she hadn't been to my house since the bloodsuckers had left. She had always wanted me to come to her. It was Christmas so I expected Charlie to be holding her hostage.
I ran to the door and wrenched it open and a gust of show and cold air followed her into my living room.
"Bells why are you crying?" I asked as I took in her puffy eyes and tear stained face.
She chocked on her words holding back a sob.
"Bella… tell me."
"I… I went to the Cullen's house… I hoped that they would come home for the holiday…" she sobbed into my chest.
"Oh Bells, we went through this at Thanksgiving." I said soothingly as I rubbed her back.
"I know… I feel a new hole rip open every time I go back… like my heart is turning into a block of Swiss cheese. But I couldn't help it… being in Forks driving around always leads me to the house." She sobbed even harder.
"You could always just come here every time you start to go there. I'd love the company and I'm sure Charlie would love to hang out with Billy."
"Jake… I couldn't do that to you… running to you every time I want to run to him… I'd end up hurting you even more."
"Bella I love you. More than anything. I'll take whatever I can from you… even if you'd rather be with him." I strained myself to say it but it was true.
"I can try to be what you want me to be… but I'd be using you and I don't want that." She had stopped sobbing and now her tears were coming quietly.
"Use me Bella. Every way you can. Use me as long as you are happy but I don't want you to do something you don't want to do." I said sitting her down on the couch.
"I want to be happy Jake… and without him it's with you. You have been my light, my reason to carry on. Without you I would be worse off than I am. I love you and though my heart is broken and is in complete shambles you can have every piece that is left." She said without a doubt in her honey brown eyes.
"Only if you are sure Bells." I said as I kissed her forehead.
"Yes Jacob. I want to be happy. Please make me happy. Make me forget him…" I've only just been making progress. As much as she said she wanted to forget you everything reminded her of you. I said as he looked at me through his fingers; seeing how his head was now in his hands.
"I'll be here once a month to check up on her. I'm staying this month to make sure you are making her happy. I won't cross into La Push but I will be around." He promised.
Just don't hurt her. Please. I begged him.
"I won't do it intentionally." He said standing. "If you are what makes her happy then I promise not to interfere."
I'll hold you to that bloodsucker. I said as I ran back to the house, back to Bella.
"Jake! What happened?" she shrieked as I walked back in just after pulling my sweats back on.
"Nothing sorry… false alarm. I just didn't recognize the scent." I said pulling her into a hug.
"Oh Jake… I think we should head back to La Push. We can hang out on the beach or something. Just let me grab some clothes." She said pulling away.
"Okay. I'll wait down here. Make sure you grab your pillows too." I said sitting down on the couch.
I listened to her grumble in her room about clothes and her soft footsteps as she walked out of her room and grabbed her shampoo and toothbrush and toothpaste.
Good… I'm letting you know- because I know you can still hear me- that she will be mostly in La Push. Charlie is moving there later in the year in a house next to Billy's and mine so they are transitioning. I informed him.
"Okay I'm ready." She said lugging four small suitcases down the stairs. I was amazed that she hadn't fallen. "Oops…"
I spoke too soon.
Luckily she had already tossed her pillows down the stairs so she landed on them.
"It's a good thing my house is only one story…" I said as I helped her up taking three out of four bags.
She blushed as she picked up her pillows.
She locked the front door and sat her key back under the eaves before following me to the truck. I sat everything I had in the back and put the tarp over the back before opening the drivers' door for Bella and took the small bag and the pillows and sat them behind the seat.
I walked over to passenger side and climbed in.
The drive back was as quiet as the one up. All though I did get to look at Bella this time instead of the road. As we passed the treaty line I saw golden eyes watching us from the trees.
He would stay on his side of the line.
I unloaded the back of the truck and behind the seat before Bella could even pick anything up.
"Just open the door Bells." I said over the soft purple pillow. I knew she was smiling at me but I knew if I saw the sight myself I would be laughing too.
I tossed every thing down on my bed before I cleared most of my hanging clothes to one side of the closet.
"You should have enough room. If not I'll find somewhere to put it. And the top right drawer is empty for you. Do you want me to help you at all?" I asked sitting on my bed.
She smiled and shook her head before she unpacked everything she could fit into her four small bags.
My room was unrecognizable but I didn't mind.
It actually looked better than it had before.
But I think the only reason I thought that was because the new things in my room belonged to Bella.
Her smaller bag turned out to be toiletries and odds and ends.
She pulled out a small jewelry box and sat it on top on my dresser before walking into the bathroom and attacking it with girly things.
Out of curiosity I got up to look at the jewelry box.
It turned out to be a necklace with a familiar looking crest. Sighing I shut the box and sat back down just as she walked back in the room distracted by some small object on the floor.
She bent over and picked it up.
It was small so it fit in her hand and I couldn't see what it was.
"I think this is yours Jacob." She said awkwardly handing the small object to me.
It was my mothers' wedding ring.
Billy had given it to me just before he had gone with Charlie to Harry. I had asked Charlie for her hand that night.
But I had put the small ring in the bottom of my old woodcarvings.
It shouldn't be anywhere near my room…
"That was my mom's wedding ring… I don't know how it got in here… I'll put it back in Billy's room." I said standing and walking out of the room.
I placed the ring back in the box on his dresser just in case.
I came back to my room to find her with a barrier of pillows next to her and the spot I had just left bare.
"Food?" I asked since neither of us had eaten so far.
She jumped up so fast I would have swore she had something supernatural about her.
But I let it go I'm sure she was just hungry.
I followed her into the kitchen.
I sat down at the table and watched a master at work.
After raiding our fridge and pantry she found her ingredients.
I sat patiently with my stomach growling louder at every passing minute.
After a few minutes she sent me an irritated look and tossed an apple at me.
I took a bite out of it and growled softly at her. Finally she put a lid over the savory smelling food and pulled out two cookie sheets.
I watched her as she placed bread on one and sat it in the oven.
She pulled out a large bowl out of the depths from god only knows where and began putting more random ingredients in this as well.
She opened a bag and put crumb looking things in the beige colored mixed and began to stir again.
She placed small dollops on the second cookie sheet a few spaces apart before sitting this cookie sheet in the oven next to the other one.
She took the lid off of the pot on the stove and my mouth watered as the savory smell wafted and kissed my nose.
I sat in torture, as I could smell the bread cooking and some thing sweet coming from the oven and the pot on the stove simmered in mock of my state of mind.
I heard Charlie's cruiser pull up in the driveway.
The perfect excuse to be rescued.
I went to help Billy into the house.
But Charlie already had him out of the car and into this wheel chair. Nothing for me to do.
"Hey guys." I said holding the door open for them. The breath of fresh air stung my nose.
"Something smells good!" Billy exclaimed.
"Bella is an expert in the kitchen. I think it's the only place she doesn't hurt herself." He chuckled.
"I heard that!" she yelled from the kitchen.
Billy and I laughed at the sour look on Charlie's face.
Charlie wheeled Billy into the kitchen just as Bella opened the oven and took out the cookie sheets.
"Sit." She said as Charlie made his way over to the stove to taste a sample of her cooking.
"Aw come on Bells…" he whined as he tried to reach around her to the stove.
Bella brandished her fork at him.
"Sit dad you can eat in five minutes." She said poking his hand away from the stove.
"Okay, all right… no need to get violent…" he pouted as he rubbed his hand as he sat next to Billy.
We sat impeccably still for those five minutes.
"Okay it's ready. And be careful. It's still hot." She said as she sat between Charlie and me with her own plate.
"Ow… shit!" Charlie said pulling his hand away from the stove.
"I told you so…" Bella said smirking at me as she began to eat.
The rest of dinner went rather well, minus Charlie's muttering about the hot stove.
After dinner Charlie volunteered to wash dishes- although I think that as just an excuse to run water over his hand without losing his pride in front of Billy and me.
After grabbing a handful of cookies each Bella and I went to my room.
After a few minutes Bella decided she wanted to change into her nightclothes.
In her absence I got comfortable and began to channel surf.
I settled on some random channel as I heard the bathroom door open.
When I looked up I saw Bella in a lilac tank top and a pair of matching shorts with a small monkey on the left pant leg.
She blushed noticing my stare.
"I can change…" she said turning away giving me a view of the half pealed banana on the back of her shorts.
"No… it's fine. Sorry." I said once I found my voice praying that it didn't crack.
When she looked back at me her face was an even deeper shade of red than before.
I forced myself to turn my gaze away from her and back to the TV as she began to move to the bed and crawl towards me.
Once she was settled between the barrier of pillows she had created earlier and me I looked at her.
"I can't find anything on… want to give it a go?" I asked holding the remote up.
She flashed a smile and began her own channel surfing.
We settled of an old rerun of Buffy.
It was coincidently it was the one where Oz found out that he was a werewolf.
"Nice choice Bells." I teased after a few minutes of the episode.
"There was nothing else on…" she pouted.
"It's okay, I'm just teasing you." I said placing my arm around her as we watched.
There was obviosly a Buffy marathon on because they played reruns until midnight.
I turned the TV off after the little ghoul hobbled across the bottom of the screen going "Grr Argh."
I knew Bella was already asleep because she was holding my torso in a death grip like I was going to leave.
I kissed the top of her head before drifting to sleep.
Her talking didn't wake me up this time.
I drifted between sleep and consciousness for a good two hours before I gave up.
Bella had turned away from me at some point and was now hugging her pillow in half.
Yawning I climbed out of my bed and went to the bathroom.
After relieving myself I brushed my teeth and headed back to the bedroom. When I got there I didn't see Bella.
"Where did she go?" I muttered to myself and
"To the kitchen." Her soft voice came from behind me in a way that if I hadn't just relieved myself I would be doing it now.
"Damn Bells."
"Sorry. I figured you could hear me." She teased smiling up at me.
"I wasn't listening for you." I countered and she rolled her eyes at me as she placed her cold fingers on my chest to duck around me.
"I'm cooking breakfast. Do you want anything other than eggs bacon and sausage?"
"Nope. While you cook I'm going to change." She said as she ducked into the bedroom.
Chuckling to myself I walked into the kitchen.
Just as the bacon was finishing Bella walked into the door frame.
"Bella what am I going to do with you?" I asked as she shot me a glare and rubbed her offended arm.
She dropped into the seat just as I poured her a glass of orange juice.
"So what are we doing today?" she asked downing the glass.
I looked at the clock on the microwave 12:16.
"Well there is a meeting sometime after 4:00 but until then we are free." I said handing her one of the plates.
"Can we go for a drive?" she asked softly.
"I don't see why not." I replied.
When we finished Bella took the plates and glasses to the sink and began to wash.
I joined her to rinse and dry them as she sat them into the joint sink.
"So where were you wanting to drive to?" I asked as I dried the last plate.
"Just a place I know." She said vaguely walking out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.
I sighed in defeat as I went to the bedroom to change.
I grabbed a pair of corduroy kakis and a blue long sleeve shirt and pulled them on.
"Will you grab the jewelry box on the dresser for me Jacob?" I heard her yell form the living room.
"Got it!" I yelled as I picked up the little box.
I handed it to her as we climbed into her truck.
We drove for what felt like an hour but honestly it was only thirty minutes.
She got off at the 101 and on to the 110.
She pulled off the road to an unmarked driveway- a really long driveway.
"Bells… where are we?" I asked taking in the tall thick trees on either side.
She didn't answer but sighed heavily.
A few minutes later she slowed to a stop just as a clearing came into a view.
When she didn't move I started to worry.
"Bella? Honey… is everything okay?" I asked worried now.
She didn't answer at first but when she did I was really vague.
"I need to say good bye."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Come on. I need you." She said climbing out of the car.
I followed suite and went to where she waited on me.
She took my hand in hers when I reached her.
I opened my mouth to question her again but she just shook her head and began walking slowing to the clearing.
The clearing looked more and more like a meadow with every step we took.
The meadow clearing turned out to be a front yard to a very large house.
The most of the house looked like glass from the front.
Her grip tightened on my hand as we reached the front door.
"Isn't it locked?" I asked.
She didn't answer but she did open the door.
"Bella, I don't understand."
"I have to say goodbye… it's the only way…"
She led me up the stairs and through a long corridor skipping over every door on either side.
She stopped in front of the last door.
She hesitated before letting her shaky hand open the door.
The door creaked open as she took a hesitant step inside the room.
The room was bare and you could see a fine layer of dust on the shelves.
She let go of my hand as she walked into the room.
Dust flowing up from the carpet with each step.
I watched silently as she moved.
She reached inside her pocket and took out the box I grabbed for her.
She opened the box and trailed her trembling fingers over the crest.
She shut the box and placed it on one of the shelves unsettling the dust slightly.
"Good bye Edward…" she whispered.
Oh shit…
