I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
CH 3: Jacob (BPOV)
September 13, 2006
I woke up and my head was pounding like someone was taking a jackhammer to it. Tony was walking all over me demanding to be fed. I rolled out of bed and felt nasty; I had fallen asleep in my clothes. Everywhere hurt, I especially felt tender between the legs. Before I could get my bearings, my stomach lurched. I ran down the hall to the toilet and proceeded to empty the contents of my stomach. Perfect way to start my birthday.
I sat back on my heels and groaned as everything rushed back. I needed to find and talk to Edward. But first, I needed a shower. I stood and stripped out of my clothes. My panties stuck to me and I noticed blood on them. Another painful reminder of what happened last night.
I took my time in the shower, the hot water felt good. When I got out I wrapped a towel around me and swallowed some ibuprofen with a glass of water. I dressed in jeans and a light burgundy sweater. Tony followed, chasing me down the stairs.
I headed downstairs where Charlie was drinking coffee and reading the paper. I was surprised he wasn't asleep after the nightshift. He glanced up at me when I entered; I went to the cabinet to get cat food to feed Tony first thing.
"How do you feel?" He asked without looking up.
"Horrible." I slumped in the chair across from his and leaned my head against the cool table.
"Good, maybe this will teach you a lesson." He folded the paper down and looked at me.
"I never planned on drinking in the first place," I groaned.
"You should've known better than to accept an open drink at a party. Do you know how lucky you're that it was only alcohol in that drink?" I glanced up at him. His face was firm and in chief mode.
"I thought I could trust the person who gave it to me." I avoided his eyes. Damn Alice. She knew I didn't want to drink.
"Who was it again," Charlie asked again, but I wasn't going to fall for it.
"Does it matter," I traced the wood grain on the table with my fingers.
"Yes, it matters. I can only assume that if you're this protective that my choices are narrowed to five individuals. Maybe I should go to their houses and start a proper investigation. I'm sure their parents would like to know what they are up to." He threatened.
"No, please don't do that." I looked up at him. He would just make things worse for me.
"I don't know, Bells. I can't say I approve of them anymore. I think it's time you found new friends." I closed my eyes and prayed that he would drop this. "Tell you what, I think you should spend more time with other people, more than the Cullens and Hales. Billy says Jacob is going through a rough patch right now. He thinks it's about time he should have a date with a girl." He couldn't be serious. Tony was thanking me by rubbing against my legs.
"Jake, seriously dad? He is a good friend, but I don't want to date him." I huffed. This could get very awkward. I had no idea what was going on between Edward and me. I thought we could be more now. But I wasn't completely sure after his freak out. I hoped I hadn't lost him completely. This date with Jacob could ruin everything.
"It's either this one date with Jake or I go over to the Cullen's and the Hale's right now. It's just a date, Bells. I'm not saying he has to become your boyfriend or you have to marry the guy." Charlie gave me a pointed look as he drummed his fingers on the table.
"Fine, I will have a date with Jake." I sighed. In a way, it was completely laughable. Jacob and I are friends on some level, but that was it. I'm sure we both would get a laugh over this. Even if something was starting between Edward and me, surely he would understand after I explain everything to him. There is a slight chance he might, say, just blame Alice as she should be blamed. But this way no one gets in trouble.
"Good," Charlie stood. "I'm going to bed. You're grounded for the rest of the weekend."
"Dad, could I have my phone back, please," I asked. I had to check to see if Edward contacted me.
"I just said you were grounded." He frowned.
"I know, but I'm expecting Mom to call me today." I pleaded, which is true. Charlie glanced at the calendar and blanched.
"Happy Birthday, kiddo. I guess I owe you a present." I shrugged, not really surprised he forgot my birthday. He grabbed my phone off the top of the fridge. "Here, tell your mother I said hi. You're still grounded. You're not allowed to leave and your friends and not allowed here." He walked out of the room and stomped up the stairs.
As soon as he was out of sight, I opened my phone. Nothing. My heart throbbed unevenly in my chest; with a trembling hand I called him. He mentioned thinking he took advantage of me. Maybe he was too embarrassed to call me; the phone rang once and went to voicemail.
"Teddy, please, call me. We obviously need to talk. I hope you don't blame yourself for what happened. I don't! Please call me; I would go over there but Charlie grounded me. He was here when I got back last night and well…I will explain better when I talk to you. Please, call me." I hit end and wiped away my tears.
I made myself some toast, nibbling way at it. I had no appetite for anything else.
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Afterwards I puttered around the house doing a couple of loads of laundry and dusting. I didn't run the vacuum because I didn't want to disturb Charlie. Then I headed upstairs and finished my homework. I then edited Emmett's history paper and Alice's English paper. I glanced at the clock, it was late afternoon; Edward still had not called me. No one had called. It was funny; I hated celebrating my birthday in the past, but being ignored didn't feel good either.
I made the decision to call my mom; maybe she could offer me some advice about Edward. The phone rang and unfamiliar voice picked up, a baby was crying in the background.
"Hello, Dwyer residence,"
"Hi, can I speak to Renée, please," I asked.
"Hold on," she said speaking away from the phone. "Re, it's for you. Probably the new nanny. Here I will take our precious boy. Come to nana" Why in the world would Renée need a nanny?
"Hello, Grace," Renée answered the phone.
"No, Mom, it's me," I answered after a second hesitation.
"Hold on, let me go into a new room." Renée's voice sounded distant. There was a sound of a closing door; I was starting to feel paranoid. "Bella, this isn't a very good time."
"Why? Whose baby is that?" I asked I could hear a baby crying in the background as Renée was silent for a moment.
"That would be Phil Junior," she answered.
"I have a brother?" I was shocked. Renée still didn't answer.
"No, you don't. Look, Bella, you're an adult now so I'm just going to give it to you straight. Phil's parents are well off; they will only leave their fortunate to us and to P.J., if they believe that we are legitimately married. See they are old fashion and don't believe in divorces or remarriages. If they knew about Charlie or you, we don't get the money." Renée explained. I couldn't help but feel confused.
"I don't understand." I admitted pulling my knees to my chest.
"You're a smart girl, Bella. If they knew I had another child, we don't get anything. You're an adult now, anyways, you don't need me. So it's time to part ways. I'm not going to contact you anymore and I don't want you to contact me. As I see it, I no longer have a daughter." The line went dead. I just stared at the phone in my hands, did that just happen?
My mother just disowned me….for money. I shook my head to dispel the tears. I tossed my phone down on my bed and watched it bounce. Tony pounced on it and batted until it fell off the bed.
I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that it happened. My mother and I never were close. Beside my birthday and Christmas I heard from her a couple of time a year. Last time I saw her was about two years ago. Right after that she got married without me there; in fact, I had never met Phil.
My phone rang and I jumped for it. I looked at the ID and saw it said Alice. I was in no mood for her bullshit at the moment; I silenced it. It beeped about five seconds later with a message. I debated whether or not to listen to it. If I listened to it I would be compelled to call her back. I will call her tomorrow, she will have to deal with not be able to reach me for one day.
I tried Edward again and it went to his voice mail. I gave up. I wasn't going to keep badgering him. I left my phone on my desk before going downstairs. I glanced at the calendar and realized Edward wasn't in the state, let alone at home. He was off to Dartmouth and Harvard to check them out with Carlisle. That would explain why he might have not gotten back to me yet. He would have been on a plane this morning then busy with Dartmouth today. I hoped he would call me later tonight.
With the surge of small hope I headed downstairs to make dinner for Charlie. He was on again tonight and I heard him moving around and taking a shower.
The rest of the night passed slowly. No one called me. I listen to Alice's message asking where was I, that I should be there by now to make dinner for them. I rolled my eyes and for once didn't feel guilty at all. That night I had a restless sleep, tossing and turning.
E
September 14, 2006
I woke up the next morning tired and cranky. Charlie had already gone to bed, leaving me a note saying Billy and Jake would be over early to watch the game and eat dinner. I took a couple of steaks out of the freezer to defrost.
I checked my phone and there was still nothing from Edward. I went to the house phone and called my cell. It worked just fine; there goes that theory. My chest throbbed in pain. I couldn't remember the last time that I had gone so long without talking to Edward.
At a very early age we gravitated to one another. He seemed to know me better then anyone else. He always believed in me when no one else did, even myself. He challenged me to be a better person. He took care of me when no one else did. Was it any wonder that I was in love with him?
Wait…it wasn't a crush. It was more then that. Much more. I was truly, irrevocably in love with Edward Cullen. What he felt for me, I didn't know. It was probably the alcohol that night. I don't know what would happen when Edward got back, but it could never be the same. Was I strong enough to tell him how I felt? I suppose I would have to see how things go when I see him again.
I went to my room to read for awhile to distract myself, grabbing the tattered copy of Wuthering Heights that I had read time after time.
When I heard Charlie leave his room, I got up. I stretched and heard a car pull up front. I looked out the window and noticed Billy and Jacob pulling up in a small car. It was the first time I noticed that it was sunny for once in Forks. I went down the stairs to greet them. Charlie and Jacob were just finished helping Billy in as I reached the bottom step. I tripped and Jacob caught me before I hit the floor.
"Geesh, why do I always have women throwing themselves at me?" Jacob joked. Charlie laughed and Billy gruffed a bit. I would have to ask Jacob about that.
"I don't know, it's definitely not your brains." I joked and he scowled at me, this time Billy did actually laugh. The fact that Jacob was six foot five inches and almost as many muscles as Emmett was probably the bigger factor he had girls throwing themselves at him.
"Ha ha," he rolled his eyes. "How have you been, Bells? I see no braces or casts, that has to be a good thing."
"You're so funny. Don't quit your day job." I scowled at him and he laughed.
"Speaking of day jobs; Charlie says the truck isn't working. Want me to look at it?" I didn't have to think long on that one. Who knows when Rose will get to it?
"That would be great," I nodded, I followed him outside.
"What's wrong with it," he asked popping the hood.
"It won't start?" I answered, he rolled his eyes.
"No… really?" He asked sarcastically. "Try and start it for me." I hopped in the cab and turned the key. The engine revved, but didn't turn over.
"Stop," Jacob ordered. I got out and watched as he started unplugging wires and wiping them off and spraying them with W-40. He plugged them back in.
"Try it now." He looked at me, wiping his hands on his pants. I got back in and turned the key. It started right up.
"Are you kidding me? It was that easy." It took him all of five minutes.
"What can I say, I'm just that good." Jacob smirked.
"Careful, if your head gets any bigger you will not fit in your bunny car," I snickered.
"It's a Rabbit not bunny. Is that how you thank a guy? After all we do have a date Wednesday night," he smirked and held out his arms.
"Thank you." I got out and hugged him. There was a clearing of throats behind me. I found Rose and Alice standing behind us, arms across their chest. Jacob muttered something about the 'witches of Eastwick',
"I'm going to change your oil too." Jacob started to walk off towards the garage.
"I can do that," Rose scowled. Jacob turned and gave her an amused look.
"Wouldn't want you to get dirty, princess," he snarked.
"Shut it, dog breath." Rose hissed.
"Oooo," Jacob fainted scared then started laughing as he headed to the garage.
"Sorry if we are interrupting, but we have a bone to pick with you." Alice scowled at me.
"After all we have done for you, how could you let us down?" She couldn't be serious.
"Excuse me," I was baffled. I didn't know what else to say.
"I don't think we can. We relied on you to make us dinner last night to celebrate our anniversaries with our guys. We had to resort to take out."
"If you expected me to cook, why didn't you ask?" I was too impatient to get yelled at today for something that wasn't even my fault. I was getting near my breaking point.
"You should've known, you did cooking the last few months." Alice huffed. "Is that your excuse?"
"I couldn't have done it anyways. Charlie was here Friday night. He smelled the alcohol on me and grounded me." Before I could even continue, Rose jumped in.
"How is that our fault?" She sniffed. The hell it wasn't, I wanted to snap at them but if we started yelling I would bring them to the attention of Charlie. Then my covering for them would be out the window.
"I wouldn't have been drinking, if Alice didn't give me the punch." I said quietly.
"You didn't have to drink it. Anyways, the whole school knows you ratted out the party. We thought you should be warned." Alice informed like she was doing me a big favor.
"But I didn't…" Alice interrupted me.
"Doesn't matter, that's the word that is going around. You should lie low for a few days. You know, eating in the library or elsewhere." I wasn't sure how to feel as they walked off.
"Hey, you forgot your broomsticks, wouldn't want you to get crushed by a house without it." Jacob yelled after them.
"Nice company you keep, Bella," Rose announced scornfully as she threw her hair over her shoulder.
"Wait, Alice, have you heard from Edward," I ran few steps after her.
"Why should I do you any favors!" She got into Rose's car and they drove off.
"Good riddance," Jacob dropped a bucket at our feet. He got on his back and crawled under the truck. He was out after a few seconds after placing the bucket under the car.
"Why do you let them treat you like that," he asked.
"You sound like Edward. He says they treat me like a doormat. He says I need to stand up for myself more." I sighed, leaning against the truck.
"Well, golden boy is right. Where is he anyways?" Jacob looked under the truck to watch the dripping oil. "Whenever I'm here, he's usually not far behind, glowering at me if I get too close to you. Aren't you two going out yet?" I stared at a spot between my feet.
"Earth to, Bells, can you hear me?" Jacob joked, looking a bit worried.
"I don't know, things are so messed up." I started to cry.
"Hey now, don't cry. The truck has enough rust." He joked and I started to cry harder. Jacob's frown increased.
"Do I need to go over there and kick his butt? I can bring my friends if I need to?" Jacob offered and I shook my head trying to wipe away my tears but they kept coming.
"Seriously, Bella, what is going on?" Jacob's arms rested on his bent knees as he looked up at me. The whole story of last Friday and since spilled out. Jacob listened to me silently not interrupting.
"Are you sure you don't want me to hurt him?" Jacob asked. "You guys had sex and then he left. Now he is ignoring you." Jacob frowned while making a fist with his hand around the cap to the oil tank.
"It's not like that. He seemed to panic, thinking he took advantage of me." I defended him. "He probably feels guilty that he doesn't want to be more than friends. We were both drunk that night."
Jacob was silent for a minute. He looked at me, shook his head and looked away.
"I doubt he wants to be friends with you. I have seen the way that he looks at you. The way he gets jealous every time I hug you. The boy is just as head over heals with you as you're with him. I'm just pissed at what went down; he handled it wrong."
"I'm hoping when he gets back we can talk it out. I want to tell him that I want more, but I'm scared too." I told Jacob.
"Do it. You have both danced around each other longer enough," he encouraged. He reached up for my hand and squeezed it gently.
"Thank you." He smiled before sliding back under the truck. He was back out after a moment standing up. He opened a bottle of oil and poured it in the engine.
"How have you been?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.
"What can I say; the old man is stuck with old fashion beliefs. He can't accept who I am." Jacob grumbled opening a second bottle.
"I'm sorry, Jake," I sighed.
"I'm the one who's sorry. You shouldn't have been dragged into this." Jacob answered.
"What does Embry say about it? Or does he know?" I asked.
"Embry got a laugh that your punishment is to go on a date with me. He's not worried in that respect. Upset that no one on Res. will accept us, so we have to keep things under wraps. We are thinking about leaving as soon as we are old enough." Jacob finished up and closed the hood.
"I'm glad he is not upset or jealous," I smiled.
"Why would he be? Now, if the date was with Edward, or say that cowboy in your group…" He waggled his eyebrows.
"Jasper, really?" I giggled.
"Sure. Quiet, smart, handsome and with an accent too," Jacob grinned.
"You will have to fight Alice for him, and she's vicious." I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
"She wouldn't even see me coming until it's too late." Jacob started to clean up his mess.
"Truck is set for the moment. Your chain belt looks like it may need to be replaced soon. I will see if I can find one for it." He wiped his hands off with a rag.
"Thank you, again. How can I repay you?" I asked.
"Hmmm, let's see. A lifetime of servitude." He suggested.
"Try again," I smacked his arm. He laughed.
"What about…never mind?" he shook his head.
"What?" I encouraged. He glanced at the house and lowered his voice.
"I was just thinking Embry and me never get a chance for a real date under Dad's watchful eye." He started blushing slightly.
"So you want him to come and then I make myself scarce." I shrugged.
"No, see… never mind." Jacob shook his head.
"No, it could work." I insisted, Jacob thought about it.
"Maybe, if you talk to Edward, then we could double. Or would that make him uncomfortable?" Jacob suggested.
"I don't think that would make him uncomfortable, assuming that he wants to date me." I blushed at the idea. "He doesn't know about you and Embry though."
"You never told him," Jacob looked surprised.
"No, it wasn't my business to share. I knew you weren't comfortable coming out yet." I answered.
"Huh, than it does explain the dirty looks even more now. Before I thought he was overreacting." Jacob looked surprised. "Go ahead and tell him. That way he might be more comfortable with the idea as well. I'm sure he isn't going to like hearing about Charlie forcing you on a date with me."
"Okay, and I'll let you know what that means for Wednesday. Why a school night anyways?"
"I have a late practice on Friday and then a game on Saturday. Besides, it being a school night means shorter time, no offense." Jacob shrugged. "Let me know what goes on with Edward and we will go from there?"
"Sounds good. I should go in the house to make dinner for the dads." I pushed off the truck. I felt happier than I did all weekend. Jacob had cheered me up and given me a better hope for what was going on with Edward. It was nice to have a listening ear.
"Good, I'm hungry. I could eat a whole cow." Jacob grinned.
"Eww, you're not serious," I shuddered. He headed into the garage and I entered the house feeling a bit lighter. My resolve was to try and call Edward again tonight. If he doesn't answer, I would leave a message about how Charlie grounded me and that part of punishment was to go out with Jacob. I had no clue if Rose and Alice overheard the mention of a date and jumped to the wrong conclusion. Edward needed to hear the truth from me first.
A/N: I never been a big Jacob fan. I came so close making him even worse villain than the others in the story. I then changed my mind and realized Bella really need someone at the moment. Jacob was really good for her in this chapter. So as you can tell Jacob is hardly a threat at all. At least not for Edward. Alice may need to worry…just kidding. I loved the banter between Rose and Jacob in the books.
A few mention Jasper doesn't seem as bad as the others. He hasn't been out right mean to Bella, although he is guilty of taking advantage of her.
I was asked when Bells is going to snap and leave. It's coming soon. Right now Bella is hoping to fix things between her and Edward.
I want to clear something up with Edward. He was jerk for running out. But he didn't purposely leave her without a ride. He thought Em and Rose were still there. He was drunk and in a panic. When she wasn't with Edward, the other two assumed she was all set, because Edward would never leave her behind. I'm sure some of you're anxious for his return. It will be next chapter.
As for Bella turning in Alice, she wouldn't do that. She is not a vindictive person. But don't you worry that doesn't mean Alice will not get what is coming to her.
Another thing the group has only gotten this bad the last few months. They didn't always treat her this way.
Renée is horrible parent. However, she never been there for Bella, so is not a lot lost.
Thank You For all Reviews!
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Preview warning!
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Preview:
"Ow, let go. You're hurting me." I started to fight him but he was too strong. Suddenly, he lifted off me and was thrown a few feet away falling out into the aisle.
"She told you stop, dickhead."