A/N: Suprise! Thought I would update a little early this week! Tell me you love me! This is a fun little chapter where we flash back a bit and see the beginning :) Thanks to my beta, HopeAlways. She rocks! Enjoy and be sure review when you are finished :)
~MSG
Chapter 3 - Hook, Line and Jacob
Bella's stomach had enough and she barely made it to the bathroom in enough time to empty it in great choking heaves. Afterward, she felt a bit better. She slumped into a curled ball next to the toilet and sobbed. She heard Angela come in and felt her friend's arms around her, bringing Bella's limp body into her lap. Angela was stroking her hair and Bella let her tears soak into Angela's tank top.
"Shhhh. Sweetie, I'm so sorry," Angela cooed, handing Bella a handful of toilet paper to wipe her mouth and nose. After ten minutes, the crying had stopped and they were both exhausted. Angela silently led Bella to her bed and they crawled under the covers.
Before they fell asleep, Bella turned and faced her friend.
"I'm sorry I kept this from you, but I couldn't see how I could tell you. I couldn't tell anybody."
"I can understand why," Angela sniffed sadly into Bella's hair.
After a few moments of silence.
"I feel ready though… to tell my story. You must have so many questions."
"Whenever you're ready, I'm ready," Angela said quietly before they drifted to sleep.
After a quick breakfast and some more unpacking the next morning, Bella got Charlie ready for the day and made some phone calls to schedule physical and occupational therapy home visits. Then she called the local speech therapist who happened to be an old friend of hers, Alice Cullen. The name evoked more old feelings from her. Alice…the last time she saw her was over five years ago, although she didn't remember saying goodbye to her. She didn't remember much about that day when she turned away from this place and never came back, but she needed to. Maybe it would help her heal a bit. She hesitated when Alice asked for her name over the phone, but was relieved when she heard Alice squeal with joy on the other end of the phone/line.
"Oh my God! You're back?! How have you been Bella? How is Charlie? Of course I would love to come meet with you! I'm so sorry about you mother…"
The conversation was largely one-sided and Bella gave her best effort to keep up, but that was how it had always had been with Alice…you would just try to keep up with her.
With all of the appointments set up and most of the unpacking finished, the girls relaxed with iced teas on the back deck.
"Not bad for a day's work, huh?" Angela said, adjusting her kerchief on her head.
"Angela, you've done so much to help us settle back in. You really don't have to stay if you don't want to."
Angela glared at her. "You tryin' to kick me out Swan?"
"No! Of course not! I'm just saying that you're more than welcome to go. Whatever you feel like."
"Well, I feel like staying, Bella. You can't get rid of me that easily and it might be awhile before you can visit me. I'll stay the rest of the week. The hospital will have to muddle along without us."
Bella laughed and her eyes welled up with love for her friend. "Thank you."
"No problem and seriously, enough thanking. It's what I'm here for."
They enjoyed the moment and the incredible view of the great pine forest that stretched out before them. The house had an amazing view, having been built on the edge of the national park. The vivid greenery was only slightly veiled by mist this morning and Bella swore she could hear the distant roar of the ocean. The ocean that carried her heart away to God knows where.
"I broke his heart you know," Bella said suddenly. "Into a million little pieces."
Angela looked at her imploringly and Bella took a deep sigh. It was time to talk.
~*~
The year had been colder and wetter than any other that Bella could remember, even by Forks' standards. It was the start of her junior year in high school and Bella cringed at the thought of sporting events, homework and social expectations. She hated first days. First days of anything. Her summer had been incredibly dull. Renee had been busy holed up in her studio most of the time and Charlie worked long hours on the force. She had spent most of it with her nose in a book.
She pulled into the school lot and her old truck rattled to a stop and backfired causing everyone to turn and stare at her. Awesome start Bella. She spotted a very petite girl with short, spiky black hair at the entrance and quickly hustled her way through the spitting rain to join her friend. Alice smirked and laced her arm through Bella's and began her usual interrogation.
"So, you definitely need a new car…What class do you have now? Are you joining journalism? What classes are you taking next semester? How was your summer? Meet anyone?…"
Bella could only laugh. Alice had always been this way… just no stopping that one. Before Bella could even answer a single question she was cut off by Alice's brother, Edward stepping in front of them. His gorgeous green-gold eyes flicked from Alice to Bella, appraising her coolly.
"Alice, we need to talk," he said to his twin. He simply nodded at Bella in greeting and took Alice by the arm, leading her away down the hall. Bella waved goodbye to her friend and went to her first period physics lecture. She shook her head sadly, thinking of Edward. He was beautiful, but also a supremely arrogant ass.
Edward had never approved of Alice's friendship with Bella. Although he had said nothing to her face about it and had always been cordial, Bella could see the distaste for her in his eyes whenever he was around her. For one, the Cullen's had money and status, whereas the Swan residence had enough to get by. Also, Charlie was known to be friendly with the Quileute people north of Forks. This appalled the Cullen's because the Quileute lived free off of the land, even though it had belonged to them. Edward and his family saw them as a drain on the culture and economy. Their older brother Emmett had even tried to lead a campaign to have the native people driven from the land to a smaller reservation across the Canadian border. Of course it didn't work out the way the Cullens wanted, but had set a permanent rift between the Cullens and the Quileute. Still to this day, Bella thought there must have been a missing piece to the story that would create such a divide between the families.
Even Bella's own mother, driven by her own status-seeking nature, did not approve of Charlie's acquaintance with the Quileute people either and she discouraged any correspondence with them. That didn't stop Charlie from making his way up to La Push and partaking in the hunting and fishing hobbies he loved so much. He was good friends with some of the elders, especially Harry Clearwater and Billy Black. He had grown up with them and no matter what Renee said, he still found his way to La Push, sometimes taking Bella with him. She found that she loved it almost as much as he did. Charlie wanted her to keep it a secret, but it didn't take long before Renee found out about it and blew a gasket. They hadn't been to La Push since then. It had been over a month.
Bella closed her government text as the last bell of the day sounded. She found herself rolling her eyes as she wondered if Edward would "allow" Alice to come over tonight. What a jerk. Even after knowing each other for over ten years, his heart still hadn't softened towards her and she had learned to expect that it never would. She could count on one hand the number of times she had been invited over the Cullen's house. She had to give it to Alice though. It hadn't stopped her from being a best friend.
Bella smiled because Alice was waiting for her next to her brother's freshly-waxed, silver Volvo.
"Hey, Jelly Belly. Sorry to cut out on you like that, but Emmett had an accident and we had to go and see him at the hospital."
"Oh, God! Is he okay?" Bella clutched her friend's hand.
"Oh yeah, just some cuts and bruises during a rock climbing expedition with his new girlfriend. You know Emmett, safety equipment is for pussies."
Bella sighed, relieved and gave Alice a hug.
Edward rolled down the window and shot Bella an evil glare.
"Come on Alice, we have more important places to be," he said looking at his watch impatiently.
Alice rolled her eyes and gave Bella an apologetic look.
"Sorry, he's an ass," she whispered under her breath. "I'll call you later."
As Bella pulled into her driveway, she heard a nasty clunking noise coming from the engine of her beater. Charlie, who was sorting the recyclables in the garage, stopped what he was doing and gave her a concerned look as she exited the cab.
"Truck acting up again Bella?"
"Yeah, making that clunking sound. Should probably take it in."
Charlie walked over to the front of the truck and lifted in the hood. After inspecting it for a few moments, he closed the hatch and turned, looking strangely wistful for a moment before he turned to Bella.
"Yeah, doesn't look like anything I would know about. Something wrong with the drive shaft maybe?"
Bella smirked at her clueless father. "Dad, you know it's dangerous to try and talk car."
He smiled and her and began to wipe his hands with a handkerchief. There were many things Charlie was good at, but fixing cars wasn't one of them. He nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, best take it in."
"Good thinking dad," Bella said as she went up the steps. It was time to cook dinner and if she waited for too long, Renee might try her hand in the kitchen, which always ended badly. Before she entered the house, her dad made a motion for her to come closer. He had a mischievous grin on his face.
"Bells," he whispered when she came near, "we could take the truck up to La Push this weekend. Your mom will be out of town, so she'll have no clue."
He waggled his eyebrows and Bella laughed. Truth be told, she could use a good vacation, even if school had already begun. She imagined herself fishing and walking the trails and the beach. It had been way too long. A trip to La Push was long overdue.
"We could also get the truck looked at. Billy's kid Jacob is good at that kind of thing."
She scoffed. "Jacob Black? Rachel and Rebecca's scrawny little brother is going to try and fix my truck? Get real dad!"
He looked at her incredulously. "Bella, when was the last time you saw Jacob. He's sixteen and hardly scrawny. He really shot up over the summer from what Billy tells me. Plus, he says the kid is a genius at mechanical things."
"Whatever Charlie, but it's a date I guess. I've been dying to go up there all summer. I hope the weather is okay."
Meaning, the absence of a torrential downpour would be nice, she thought.
He grinned widely, quite pleased with his little secret vacation plan. "It's a date then."
The following school week passed quickly with the expectation of fresh fish and tide pool exploration in La Push for the weekend. Plus, Bella couldn't help it, she was a little curious to see if her dad's description of Jacob was correct, although it was hard to imagine.
He wasn't the persistently annoying younger brother stereotype, but he had tried to tag along quite a bit when Bella visited his older twin sisters in past summers. While they were off playing in the meadows and forests, he was never too far behind. He always seemed shy and observant around Bella and occasionally they would all interact and play together.
However, last summer she saw very little of him. He was fifteen and awkward, all limbs and out-grown clothes. His dark eyes were brooding and his hair was shaggy and unkempt. He had hardly said a word to Bella and had found some boys his age to hang around. It was Rachel and Rebecca's last summer before starting college and he seemed distant and sad about it. Other then that, Bella hadn't given much thought to Jacob. She realized it was going to be a lonely trip. The Black twins were gone to Washington State and Jacob wasn't much more then a familiar face.
Charlie had Renee believing that they were going into Port Angeles to get the truck fixed, and in reality it was still a distinct possibility if the Black kid got his hands on it. In turn, Bella had told Alice the same Port Angeles excuse, because she had wanted to come over that weekend. Bella hated lying to her best friend, but Alice didn't know anything about La Push and Bella didn't know how she would react, knowing her family's influence over her.
The truck shook and shuddered the entire way to La Push and Bella couldn't help but feel the problems with it would be much too complicated for a young boy to tackle. Charlie followed in the cruiser, and they slowly turned the bend into the Black's driveway, parking the vehicles near the garage.
She saw Billy right away coming from the garage in his wheelchair and walking next to him was another, taller Quileute man. Billy smiled and waved at Bella and Charlie hugged him and patted him hard on the back.
"How's it been old man?!"
"Good. It's been awhile since you've been up here, asshole! What took you so long?"
They all laughed and Bella shifted her gaze to the handsome young man beside Billy. Then it dawned on her the exact moment Billy said, "You remember my son, Jacob."
Jacob Black? This was Jacob Black? Gone were the knobby knees and shaggy hair, now replaced with lean muscle covered in smooth skin the color of lightly creamed coffee. His hair was long and sleek, kept back with a leather strap. His black t-shirt was fitted perfectly across his broad chest and was tucked loosely into jeans. His feet were bare and Bella saw they were huge--very proportionate to the rest of him. When he came closer, Bella realized how tall he was, towering at least a foot over her head. He wiped a black-smudged hand on a cloth and held it out to her and then smiled a wide, unmistakable grin that told her this really was him. Little Jakey was not so little anymore.
She knew she must have been staring at him and felt a blush creep up her neck into her cheeks. She realized that she had been unconsciously shaking his large, warm hand for an awkward amount of time and quickly let it drop.
"Hi Bella," he said simply with the smile that made his eyes shine.
Bella shook her head slightly, still in a bit of disbelief and managed to eek out a 'hello'.
"You were right Bill, he's grown up! Watcha feedin' the boy?"
"Anything and everything. The kitchen's bare," Billy said, face lit with a bit of pride.
Charlie laughed, then was mock serious. "Except for the beer right?"
"Of course! He's smart enough to know not to touch his dad's stash."
"The truth is dad, I wouldn't touch Pabst Blue Ribbon if you paid me," Jacob interjected.
Charlie and Billy scoffed at his remark. He smirked at Bella then, and she was surprised when her heart responded with a strange flutter.
"Well kids, we're gonna get the fishing gear ready and load up the truck. Meet you down there?" Billy asked, looking up at them.
"Sounds good dad. I'll take a look at the truck, see what I can do," Jacob replied.
Billy and Charlie went up to the house and Bella found herself at a loss for words. Thankfully Jacob didn't seem to have the same problem and began asking about her truck as they walked toward it.
"Ah, she's a beaut," he said running his hand reverently over the hood.
"Really? I mean most people see it as a big ol' rust machine." Bella felt herself smiling. Not many people loved her '57 Chevy as much as she did. She watched as he expertly popped the hood and began inspecting the engine.
"Ah, she's a classic, easily misunderstood. A solid workhorse." His voice was muffled and he got in closer, trying to see the problem. She almost laughed at the sight of him bent so far into the engine, it looked like her truck was eating him.
"So a clunking noise huh?" He asked, resurfacing.
"Yeah, only when I'm stopped or braking."
"Mind starting the engine for me?"
"No, not at all."
She climbed into the cab and turned the key in the ignition. She left it running as he poked and prodded and she could hear an occasional "Hmm" or "ok". Finally after a minute, he slammed the hood and came around to the window. He propped his elbows on the sill and leaned in slightly. Bella could feel her pulse quicken when he began explaining his diagnosis. Something about the transmission and some sort of coil. She couldn't be sure because she was too busy staring at his hands and the way he motioned them a little bit when he explained things. Then he reached over and turned the key, shutting the engine off. His hand brushed her leg and she took a quick breath in.
"So how does that sound Bella?"
"Hmmm, what?" she said, dazed, and he laughed.
"I was saying that maybe you could leave your truck here for a week and I'll see what I can do. I just need a few parts and it might take me a couple days to get them."
"Oh, yeah. Sounds great. So you think it's fixable?"
"Sure, sure."
Her eyes followed the angle of his jaw up to his eyes. He was awfully close and she could smell his soap. She swallowed audibly, not quite knowing why she was feeling so odd around a boy she had known her whole life.
He handed her the keys and leaned back out of her window. He opened the door for her and she stepped out, but missed the step ledge causing her to tumble forward right into his chest. She put her hands out and he caught one of them. The other landed on his upper thigh, dangerously close to his groin. Instantly, she tried to right herself, but he had her tightly by the waist.
Earth, please swallow me now.
She realized he was laughing and the deep sound reverberated through his chest. She started to laugh too as he pulled her into a standing position, his hand still lingering on hers.
"Thanks," she said quietly, feeling the red heat spread to her face. "Sorry about that, you must know by now I'm a klutz."
"So that is why you were always falling down as a kid? You never were without scraped knees, were you?" he asked softly, looking into her eyes.
She slowly let go of his hand and gave him a shy shake of her head. "No, once a klutz, always a klutz I guess."
They walked slowly back to the house and Bella stole a few glances over at him. She never realized how lovely his eyes were - deep brown, almost black, with thick lashes and a heavy, smooth brow.
Her heart was still pounding and she was sure that the blush was still there. She could still feel the heat in her cheeks. She had no idea why she suddenly felt so disarmed. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable feeling, just surprising.
Back at the house, Jacob washed up and began packing his tackle box. She watched as he carefully selected the lures and flies. She didn't have to ask to borrow a rod, because he automatically grabbed two from the porch. She followed him around the house and down the trail to the nearby stream. Along the way she began to feel like herself again and they talked easily about school and family.
It was actually amazingly easy to talk to Jacob, about everything, she found. He lived a simple, satisfying life up here in La Push. He loved nature and had an ease about him that Bella felt instantly relaxed in his presence.
Soon they were standing at the edge of the stream, lines in the water, laughing about the horrors of high school. Turns out he despised it about as much as she did. She had him laughing uncontrollably as she relayed her stories about Jessica and Mike being caught naked under the bleachers of a basketball game by a horrified Charlie. She was laughing too hard and not paying attention when a large tug on her line almost pulled the rod out of her hands.
"Jake! Help!" she squealed, still laughing, trying desperately to pull the fish in.
"Here," he said coming up behind her. She felt his arms wrap around her and he put his hands around hers, helping her reel. Slow and steady, the line came up, a huge trout attached to the end.
"You're doing great, Bells," she felt his breath in her ear and his hand at the small of her back. Her butterflies were back, fluttering wildly in her stomach. He unhooked the fish for her, setting it in the cooler. His face beamed with joy and something else. He looked almost proud of her. She smiled back at him. She had never felt this comfortable around another person so quickly. It was easy to be caught up in his laid-back demeanor.
She felt herself being watched and sure enough Billy and Charlie quickly turned back around when she caught them looking at her and Jake from downstream. It almost seemed like they were up to something…
Jacob's laugh and smile were infectious and by the time the sun was setting, she didn't want to leave quite yet. And if she perceived things correctly, he seemed a little sad she was leaving too.
"Come back this weekend and I'll have your truck ready."
He was looking down at her with his warm eyes and she felt an odd feeling of wanting to hug him goodbye, but settled instead for a handshake.
As they were leaving down the bumpy trail, she looked at him in the rear-view mirror. He was leaning against her truck, his gaze focused on the cruiser leaving the driveway. She was certain he didn't move until the car was out of sight.
She could hardly stand the seven day wait.
~*~
"Wow, so you do realize that he was like, so in love with you already, right Bella?"
Angela and Bella were standing in the kitchen, making sandwiches and this was the first time that Angela had interrupted Bella's story.
"Huh? No, I guess he might have had a crush as a kid, but…" she trailed off, thinking.
"No Bella. I can totally tell…he was head over heels. I mean the whole fishing part? You were really that blind to it?"
Bella shrugged. "I don't know, it just kind of developed that day."
"For you!"
Bella shrugged again, looking wistfully out the window as she finished assembling Charlie's ham sandwich.
"Anyway," Angela said, putting the condiments back into the refrigerator, "What happened next?"
Bella smiled and said, "He really pissed me off."
This chapter was inspired by the following songs:
"Shine" by Collective Soul
"Stop and Stare" by One Republic
"Simple Kind of Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
LEAVE SOME LOVE! What do you think of little Jakey now, hmmmm Bella?
Excerpt from Chapter Four: Sail Away with Me
"I'm sorry that I never really knew about all of this until now. I feel like I've missed out on so much of your life."
He smirked. "Who could blame you? The annoying little brother, always tagging along…"
She shook her head and realized she had unconsciously moved in closer to him. "Never annoying and definitely not so little any more."
OK, Press the green button now :)