Behind the Bitterness
Author: L
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.
Author's Note: This isn't really an interesting chapter. I'm using it to lead into the next chapter. I want to say thank you to the people who pointed out the mistake I made in the first sentence. I've corrected it now.
Chapter 3
While she strode through the streets of La Push towards the Blacks' house, Leah found herself lost in her thoughts about Jacob. She was hoping he was going to be there when she reached his house but the anxiety inside her was growing.
Her feet barely touched the ground before taking off into another fast-paced stride. When his house came into view, Leah wondered briefly if she should knock. Sensing her arrival, Jacob opened the door and went outside to greet her.
She hadn't noticed his presence and crashed straight into his chest. Stumbling, Leah growled in annoyance but when she looked up and saw Jacob watching her with a bright expression, a wave of happiness washed over her.
Leah let out a relieved sigh and smiled. "You're here."
"Of course I'm here," Jacob grinned. "You promised me a day of fun, remember?"
Her smile faltered slightly when she realised that she was totally unprepared. Why didn't I make any plans last night? Leah thought with an inward groan.
Jacob was waiting for her to speak but her mind seemed to be somewhere else. "So, what are we doing today?" he asked with curiosity flooding his voice.
Billy unknowingly came to Leah's rescue when he appeared in the doorway. "Leah?" He was surprised to see her there but he was completely taken aback by her shy smile which had been paired with a small wave.
"Hi Billy," murmured Leah. "I'm sorry to intrude on you so early in the morning."
"You're not intruding," insisted Billy. "In fact, you should stop by more often. You know you're always welcome here." His intrigued gaze flickered back and forth between Jacob and Leah. "It's good to see you again, Leah." His friendly eyes were sparkling as he turned his chair and left the two of them alone again.
Raising an amused eyebrow, Jacob didn't even attempt to hide his laughter. He ignored her glare and asked in a teasing tone, "When did you become so polite?"
"Shut up," Leah muttered, giving him a light shove.
Jacob laughed again before resting his gaze on her face and waiting patiently for her to lead the way. After a minute passed by, he realised why she was silent. He crossed his arms and shot Leah an accusing look. "You don't have anything planned, do you?"
"We don't need plans," insisted Leah. "It'll be more fun if neither of us know what we are going to be doing; that way we can choose something we'll both enjoy."
His lips broke out into a huge grin as he listened to her excuse. "You may as well let me run away now," smirked Jacob.
Leah glowered at him and started scanning the area around them, looking for an inspiration. Well, at least he's laughing and joking. As she turned back towards Jacob, something behind him caught her attention – his garage.
"Hey, you own a motorcycle, don't you? You can teach me how to ride it," Leah suggested. "And I'm sure you'll find it funny to watch me crashing me into trees all morning," she added lightly but he could hear the hopeful tone in her words.
Jacob's body tensed immediately. He dropped his gaze to the floor and shifted uncomfortably. Leah noticed his fists clench and felt her heart drop. They had been doing so well.
"Jake?" she whispered slowly.
When he finally looked up, his eyes avoided Leah's as he explained in a dejected whisper, "Um... the motorcycle... well, it's something Bella and I did together. I like to think of it as our thing." He mumbled the last few words and dug his hands deep into the pockets of his shorts.
Leah was running out of ideas fast and before she could think things through, she had grabbed Jacob's arm and sunk her teeth into it. He jumped backwards in shock and yelped, staring at her with an alarmed expression that was mixed with bewilderment.
"Are you crazy?" he demanded. "Why did you just bite me?"
A small sheepish smile pulled at the corners of Leah's lips. "I didn't want you to start moping again," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders.
"So you bit me?" Jacob's voice held an incredulous tone while his eyes remained wide with astonishment. He glanced down at his arm and saw her teeth mark fading into a soft tint of pink that was barely visible.
The breeze carried the sound of her gentle laugh through the air mixing it with the faint crashing of the waves on First Beach.
"I have an idea," announced Leah with a sudden rush of excitement. "Let's go cliff-diving."
Jacob knew it would be fun but it also held a painful memory in regards to Bella. His heart had stopped when he saw the ocean almost swallowing her up. The only thing on his mind at the time was that he couldn't lose her... He just couldn't.
Leah could tell that he was thinking about Bella again. His lips drew into a frown and his eyes were starting to glaze over although the pain still shone through.
"Okay, seriously, what exactly does Bella Swan have to do with cliff-diving?" asked Leah irritably. She was starting to wonder if Jacob was just drawing memories and comparisons from anything he could find.
"I promised to go cliff-diving with her once but something came up. She was really eager to try it though so she went without me. She could have died." He paused and swallowed hard. "If I had gone with her then the bloodsucker would never have returned and maybe... maybe Bella would have chosen to be with me instead."
He was speaking more to himself than Leah but she was listening intently to each word. She remembered seeing it in Jacob's thoughts when she first joined the pack; the 'what ifs' had played heavily on his mind for weeks.
Jacob felt a surge of guilt when he looked at Leah. Bella's cliff-diving incident had taken place on the same day Harry Clearwater had died of a heart attack, but Jacob had been more worried about Bella than Harry at the time.
It was Jacob's turn to take Leah by surprise. Jacob could see that Leah was trying her best to be happy so he knew the very least he could do was to give the fun a chance. He reached for her hand and started pulling her after him as he took long strides up the street.
"Wait, Jake, where are we going?"
He shot her a brilliant smile and said, "Cliff-diving."
