Disclaimer: I do not own these characters!

Rating: No lemons quite yet…..J

Chapter 4: Broken Sunset:

Bella sat on in the rocker on the front porch staring off at the sky while the rain misted all around her. She wanted to scream and cry. This was so ridiculous she could almost even laugh at the whole scenario. Here she was thinking she was as free as the wind for the past four years, while all along she had been still married to Jake.

She knew it had to please him to know he got the last laugh. Who was she kidding, she had it coming, she knew when she left that day that she was going to regret it one way or another and it appeared today was that day she had to eat humble pie and face up to her past. The only major problem with this mess was Mason. How could she tell him that she did not know she was still married when she never told him about the original story to begin with? He would have some serious trust issues after this messy ordeal.

She rubbed her sore eyes, she had cried for quite sometime before she was able to calm down. Mason had gone off to find her mother, who brought her some hot cocoa and a plate of fresh cookies. Bella had asked Mason to give her some time to herself. He did not want to leave her side but eventually he understood she was not going to budge about . So he took off to run some errands while she sat quietly on the porch, contemplating on how fucked up her life was becoming.

Seeing Jake had been such a surreal moment. He had grown into a very handsome man. There was no doubt that he was definitely a lady's man. She felt her stomach knot up as she wondered just how many women of Forks had enjoyed the pleasures of his new more muscular physique? She knew she had no right to be jealous, she had been just as free with her own body over the years. Although sex for her was a bit more personal and intimate. She had only slept with two men since her departure of Forks. She just could not seem to let her guard down so easily when it came to sex. She suspected it was due to the unplanned pregnancy. She feared losing her dreams again. She never wanted to experience that turmoil again.

She could not get the image of his face when he first saw her out her mind. He seemed so angry but then she had watched as his face had soften. His eyes were so warm for a brief moment that she had felt herself drawn to him. She wanted to reach out, to touch his face, to see if he was truly standing before her. Then when Mason called out to her, she felt like the fog had lifted. She suddenly push all the thoughts of years of friendship they once shared, all the times they snuck out of the house, the places they would go and cuddle up, and of course the beach where they often played and talked through their problems. For one moment she felt like nothing bad had ever occurred between them. He was her friend, her buddy, her confidante who was always there to make her days brighter and her life more fulfilled.

Then he might as well as slapped her across the face when he blurted out that they were still married. All the warm tingling feelings she felt earlier had dissipated in an instant. In it's place was a cold brutal truth. He was still as selfish, smug and down right a jerk. He knew how much she wanted her freedom from him, he knew how badly she wanted to escape her life with him.

What was she going to do now? Should she stay in town long enough to file for a divorce? Or should she return home with Mason and do it from there? Should she tell Mason now, or wait and hope she could escape telling him until they were back home? So many questions. So many fears. She hated feeling so vulnerable. Jake had won this battle she thought to herself but he had not won the war quite yet.

She heard the front door open, turning her head she saw the last person she had expected to seek her out. Leah. Leah, was one of Jake's friends. She was probably enjoying her humiliation. She would go back and tell Jake how much Bella suffered. She sat up straighter, preparing herself for some good old fashion verbal sparring with Leah.

"Your mom was wondering if you needed a refill on the cocoa?" She asked as she leaned against the door wearing a weak smile.

"Uh….sure." Bella replied as she began to reach out for her cup but Leah grabbed it first.

"Be back." Leah darted into the Inn and return shortly with it, sitting it back down next to Bella.

Bella blinked at her a few times trying to figure out what the hell had happened to Leah over the years? The girl use to be so damn aggressive and forward with her opinions. Today she seemed to be just standing about in case Bella needed a ear. What could she possibly gain from this Bella wondered?

"So why is my mother working here?" Bella decided to start off on a safe subject.

"Oh, we all work here because we bought the place." Leah replied proudly as she glanced around the yard with a big smile plastered on her face.

"Damn. I'm shocked my dad allowed her to leave the house." Bella sighed sadly as she leaned back in the chair.

"You know Bella people change over the years. Your dad wants to retire soon so he agreed that your mom investing in the Inn made sense. His retirement was not going to be enough for them to live on forever. Mom and I both agreed we wanted to do something worthwhile with our lives and so the three of us got together and invested all of our savings to make this place a Inn. I love it, what do you honestly think?" Leah asked as she studied Bella's face closely.

"It's truly beautiful. I was a bit shocked when Mason told me we were staying here. I mean the last time I saw this old place it was a nightmare. The whole house inside and out looks truly beautiful. It must have cost you guys a fortune for the repairs alone." She replied with a heavy sigh.

"Actually we got a good deal. We knew someone." Leah smiled with a mischief look in her eyes.

"Oh. So what are you up too these days?" Bella asked curious. She found herself staring at the beautiful silver band with a small diamond solitaire ring on her finger.

Bella was deeply disturbed by this revelation. Leah and marriage was the last thing she would predicted. Leah was a great girl but she often made it clear that no guy would ever tame her or make her their domestic goddess they often sought when seeking a wife.

"I got married." Leah giggled as she lifted her hand up to show off her ring finger.

"To whom?" Bella asked with a equal smile.

"Sam Uley." Leah's face glowed with happiness.

Bella envied her for a moment. Leah appeared to have it all. She had her career, a man whom she loved, and of course she knew Leah's family was close knit as well.

"I feel like I have stepped into the Outer Limits. I mean, I am truly happy for you but I just never imagined you marrying anyone much less Sam. You hated him in school." Bella cried out as she rubbed her temples.

"Well, time changes things and people. I know this must all be so freakish for you. Imagine how we feel suddenly seeing you out of the blue." Leah chuckled with a small sound of bitterness in her laughter.

Bella could not blame her for being a bit annoyed with her. After all she did leave all of her friends and Jake's behind as well. She suspected that no one was going to be exactly happy to see her return. It hurt her. It hurt knowing that people whom she shared eighteen years of her life suddenly stopped giving a damn about her because she left four years ago. Why couldn't they just be happy for her? She did come today to make some amends but damn did they expect her to bow and kiss each of their asses because she did not write them and send them emails every day?

She found herself hearing herself through their ears. She was a bitch. She was thoughtless. She was the one who just drop off the face of the earth. She was just not prepared for all of this. It was why she had not come home sooner. But now she was wondering if she had allowed too much time to pass before she had found the courage to face her fears. Perhaps everyone had a reason for being so upset with her after all. From their point of view she had just wrote them off and went in search of her dreams with out any thought of them.

She felt tears brimming her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Leah asked as she stepped closer.

"No. I don't think I will ever truly be okay again." Bella confessed as she covered her face. She felt so ashamed.

"Why? Is this about Jake?" Leah asked as she knelt down in front of Bella.

"You got to admit this is ironic. All these years I thought I was free but in truth he still owned me." Bella replied as she forced the sob to remain in the back of her throat.

"I don't consider myself "owned" by Sam. In fact I see it as me being with the other half of me which sometimes is the better half. I feel honored that he cherishes me above all others. I know it sounds corny as hell but Bella, I am lucky to be loved. I was not exactly the nicest girl." Leah explained as she gave Bella's hand a comforting squeeze.

"You were not sugar and spice." Bella agreed as she laughed.

Leah laughed with her.

"So, you see, that someone finds me worthy enough to love unconditionally is a blessing not a damn curse." Leah rolled her eyes playfully at Bella.

"That's just it. I never felt that way with Jake. I felt like he was always try to create the sort of Bella he needed and wanted not the Bella I wanted to become." Bella stated as she exhaled loudly before taking a big sip on the warm drink.

"Did you ever tell him that?" Leah asked curiously.

"How could I? Jake would ignore things that he did not want to hear." Bella answered with a disgusted snort.

"Maybe the old Jake would have but he has grown up, if you have not noticed." Leah fanned her face in a teasing manner that made Bella's cheek turn pink as she understood the innuendo. It was true he was definitely all man now, at least in the physical way, she did not know the man himself anymore.

"I did catch a physical difference but the hate he feels for me is still there. He hates me for leaving him. I get that." Bella shrugged her shoulders as she took a cookie off the plate and nibbled on it.

"He had to grow up after you left. He had no other choice. We refused to let him get drunk and start bar fights every night. Luckily, he listened to us. I think seeing you today reminded him of the weaker Jake. The one who cried nearly every day when he went home to a empty house. The Jake who could not listen to the radio because he might hear a song that reminded him of you. The Jake who refused to date anyone for over a year because he swore you would return to him and he wanted to prove his loyalty to you and your marriage vows." Leah knew it was not really her place to tell Bella all of this but she knew that Jake was too damn stubborn and full of pride to reveal how much he missed her like hell and that there was a time when he would have sold his soul to make her return to him.

"You know, I was in a bad condition when I left. The first year away I could barely do much more than go to class and work on my assignments. My room mate thought I was a zombie. Alice tried so hard to get me to live a little but I couldn't. I was so torn about what I wanted and what I should do that I nearly came back here. I nearly gave up everything to make someone else happy over my own happiness." Bella knew she sounded like a broken record but it was her only defense.

"But you didn't. You stayed. You finished what you needed to do. So why are you here now?" Leah asked curiously as she wrapped her arms around her chest watching Bella closely.

"Mason. Mason, wanted to visit my family. He is close to his own and I have already met them." Bella told her half the truth. She was not about to reveal how Mason had wanted to ask her father for her hand in marriage. That would start one hell of a battle.

"I see. So you only came back to please your boyfriend." Leah stared hard at her.

"Sure." Bella gulped hard.

"Funny, it seems you are going through all this hell just to make someone else happy." Leah sighed sadly as she quietly walk away.

Bella sat there speechless. Was it possible that she had truly given in to Mason's request for maybe a deeper purpose. Maybe she did long for her family and her friends. Maybe she just needed the right push all along? Maybe deep in her heart she wanted this much more for herself than Mason after all. Maybe the need for closure was stronger than she had realized.

Either way, she was definitely facing the fire that she had left burning all these years.

"Hey! Why are you sitting in the dark?" Rosalie asked as she slipped inside of her house, flipping on the light switch. When she saw Jake's face she realized that something bad had happened today. Normally when she came home to him sitting with Michael he was full of funny stories he could not wait to tell her. Tonight he was sitting in the dark with a beer in his hand.

"Where is Michael?" Rosalie asked with a deep frown.

"He's asleep." Jake replied as she sat back on the couch.

"How did you get him to bed so early?" Rosalie asked with admiration on her face.

"Cookies. Peanut butter cookies from the Inn." Jake revealed his secret weapon.

Rosalie burst out into laughter. Jake smiled as he watched her sit her equipment down, while smiling so endearingly toward him. Her face was bright and cheery. Her brown eyes glowed with pure affectionate toward him, that it made his heart swell despite the pain that was spinning out of control inside of him. He had to calm down before he picked up Michael. He did not want the boy to sense his anger. Michael had never seen him lose control and today was not going to be the first time he did he told himself when he finally manage to pull it together.

They spent sometime playing on his swing set before he heated him up a frozen meal he enjoyed. Then he persuaded him to take a bath or he would not get a cookie. Michael allowed him to even wash his hair before he pulled him out of the tub. Once the pajamas were on and his hair was combed he allowed him two cookies and a half a glass of milk before he put him to bed. He argued for a few minutes until Jake reminded him there was more cookies in the box but he could not get them until he got up, in order for that to happen he had to fall asleep. Michael was out in minutes.

"Smart man." Rosalie smiled proudly at him as she crawled up in his lap and placed several kisses on his face before staring into his eyes.

"So what's wrong with you? What has caused you to look like shit today?" Rosalie was always blunt about what she thought.

"Well, lets see, my wife returned to town, without any notice to anyone with her boyfriend. They are staying at the Inn." Jake decided not to even bother denying nothing was wrong with him. He knew that by tomorrow everyone in town would know that Bella had return with her new boyfriend and where they were staying. So there was no point in lying to Rosalie. They were too close for him to start hiding things from her now.

"Oh damn! Wow!" Rosalie slipped off of Jake and sat down across from him on the coffee table as she look at him with a deep concern expression.

"What that's all your going to say?" Jake laughed bitterly. He was waiting on Rosalie to give him some superior advice on how he should react to this. After all she was the one saying that Bella had needed some space but eventually they had to end this farce of a marriage. So now was her chance to suggest he hurry and file for a divorce, right?

"What would you like me to say? I can see from your expression and actions here that your not over her. I can tell that it irks you more than anything that she is at the Inn in a room with a boyfriend that is not you." Rosalie snapped.

She knew she was overreacting but it stung her ego. She could read Jake like a book. He was definitely more upset at the idea of someone else holding his wife than he was at the fact that she was here at all.

"What?" Jake looked shocked.

"Come on Jake, this guy is probably up there screwing her brains out as we speak." Rosalie knew she was being ugly but her heart was bleeding. She was not a fool to believe that Jake would ever feel that amount of jealousy over her.

"Don't say that! Why are you being so mean?" Jake demanded as she stood up staring in disbelief at her.

"Look, I'm sorry but I thought you wanted this day to come. She is here in Forks. She has returned. Now is the time for you to end it the way you always imagined doing it." Rosalie took a deep breathe. She forced her own hurt feelings and tried to think more clearly. He was hurting. He needed her. He needed her to guide him. She had to think about this. She had to use her head not her heart.

"That's just it, I can't seem to remember how I wanted to end it, if I wanted to end it at all. Your right about that. You are so right. When I saw her….I just….I felt so young and vulnerable again." Jake mumbled as he stared down at the floor for a few moments before he look into Rosalie's stunned face.

"Go home Jake. Go. I care about you and I truly want to be there for you but right now I need to think. You need to cry on someone else's shoulder tonight. I can't be that person." Rosalie covered her face. She did not want him to see the tears that were threatening to spill down her face.

"What? I need you Rosalie?" Jake pleaded as he wrapped his hands around her waist pulling her up against his chest.

Rosalie wanted so badly to hold him in her arms, to kiss him, to make love to him but she knew that she was already too far gone. She had vowed not to get so damn close to him and it was too late now. Hearing him speak of Bella, seeing the love that was still in his heart, only proved to her that she had been lying to herself and to him when she said she did not need more than what he had to offer. She wanted him to love her the way he loved Bella.

The impact of that truth, hit her with such a force that her entire body ached. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breathe, pulling out all the courage she could muster, before she finally found the strength to deny Jake Black for the first time since they had become romantically involved with one another.

"I know you do Jake but I can't do it, not tonight. Go find Embry or Sam. Please. Please go." Rosalie pushed away from his chest taking several steps away from him. She lifted her head staring him straight in the eyes.

"Rose, I thought …I mean…did I hurt you?" Jake found himself feeling like a oaf. He had not considered the possibility that Rosalie might not be able to help with this hell. She had always been there. Was it possible that his friends had been correct all along? Was Rosalie's feelings growing deeper than his?

"NO. Not yet." Rosalie put her hand up to stop him from stepping any closer to her.

"Rose, I swear to you that I did not intend to hurt you." Jake spoke from his heart. His words were filled with such earnest that it made Rose's heart break worse.

"I know. I do. Just …you need someone…go to your friends. They will help you Jake. Don't do anything stupid." Rose warned him before walking to her front door and opening wide so he would leave.

"I won't. I'm sorry. Don't forget to give Michael some cookies in his lunch tomorrow." Jake smiled weakly. He wanted to pull her into his arms. He wanted to feel safe again. He wanted the comfort she had often given him when he had these bouts of depression due to Bella but he understood he could not use her as a crutch any longer.

Bella was his problem, not Rosalie's. He had already asked so much of her.

"Call me tomorrow." Rosalie pleaded as she smiled warmly at him.

"I will." He promised before walking out the door.

Jake heard the door close behind him, the lock turn in place. He knew that he made a big mistake by revealing to Rosalie tonight how just seeing Bella after all these years had not only reopened the wounds she had so patiently and delicately help him heal but it has also had brought to his attention that he was not over Bella quite yet. He had to make a decision, quick. He had to decide to either fight for his wife or divorce her. What was it Rosalie told him once, that if he truly loved Bella, then wouldn't it be the right thing to set her free? He back about that statement. Was it possible that Rose had deeper feelings for him all along? Did she give him that advice so he could truly set Bella free to prove his love for her or was it so he could love Rose with all of his heart? Either way he knew she had a valid point. No matter which choice he made ultimately, it was going to suck big time for him.