Chapter 4: Double Trouble

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

"How did she get here, and what are we going to do with her? My gosh. And she's fainted. I have no idea what to do with a person that's fainted."

"Not everyone has a constitution like yours, Bells." He looked down at Bella, and shook his head. "Well, while you get a wet washcloth, I'll put her on the bed."

Bells returned with the cloth and applied it to Bella's forehead. The victim moaned and turned her head toward Eddie. Her eyelashes fluttered and soon, two chocolate-brown eyes gazed at him, lovingly. "You're here."

"Yes, I'm here, but I'm more concerned with why you're here?"

"Whaaaat? I couldn't just sit back and let you get away, so I followed you through that … that thing."

"That thing …"

"You know … that big round ball of light."

"I'm assuming you're Bella then."

"Well of course, I'm Bella. Why wouldn't I be? Wait a minute … why are you acting like you don't know me?"

She started to sit up, when she caught a glimpse of her twin. Her eyes crossed and she began falling back on the pillow, like a piece of limp celery.

Incredulous, Bells asked, "Has she fainted … again?"

"I believe so."

Eddie patted her cheek. "Bella," he whispered. "Bella, wake up."

Rubbing her forehead, she groaned aloud. "Oh, Edward. What a horrible dream. I never want to go to sleep again."

Bella's arms snaked around his neck, and she pressed her cheek to his. Her double, a little irritated now, cleared her throat with a loud, "ahem."

While loosening her hold on his neck, Eddie explained, "That was no dream, I'm afraid, and I'm not the guy you think I am." He looked at Bells and motioned for her to come to him. "Bella, I think you should meet my love … Bells—your doppelganger."

"Nooooo! This isn't real. It can't be happening."

"Believe me, I wish it wasn't. You followed your Edward to this world, Terros II. You're no longer on Earth."

"Well, where is my Edward?"

"He's gone. He's not coming back, I'm sorry."

A shout traveled up the staircase. "Hey, cupcake, what's taking you so long? The dinger went off. Should I take the chicken out of the oven?"

"Crap, I almost forgot. The chicken …"

Bells winced. "I'll be right down, Dad." Blowing a puff of air from her cheeks, she continued, "I guess I should introduce Bella to her father."

Staring blankly at her, Bella deadpanned, "We've already met."

With a turn of her head toward him, Bells muttered, "Eddie, do you mind? I think you better go."

Bella looked on in horror as they embraced each other and kissed goodbye. Eddie exited the room by launching himself through the open window, then she and Bells marched down the staircase.

# # # # #

On reaching the kitchen, they spotted Charlie, the pan in his pot-holdered hands. On seeing them, his mouth dropped open and the chicken, along with the pan went crashing to the floor, the grease splattering in a tidal wave of hot, yellow fluid.

"What the …? Is this another one of your jokes?" He glanced from one to the other. "Whichever one of you is Bells ..."

Bella spoke up. "Unfortunately, no. I'm just as befuddled as you are. We'll tell you all about it."

With an exasperated huff, Bells said, "Let's not stand here. We need to clean up this mess." Okay, so Bells was a little OCD about cleaning, but let's face it, a slippery substance on the floor, and Bells' penchant for accidents ... well, you connect the dots.

Charlie scratched his head. "Well, at least the chicken stayed inside the pot."

Waving his fork in the air, Charlie spouted, "So, you're telling me that Edward's father created some sort of a displacement device that carried Bella here to Terros II?"

Bells dug into her chicken. "Yup."

He slouched against the chair rest. "That's incredible, but I'll bet it'd make a great movie."

"It's not funny, Dad. This is serious. Bella is trapped on our planet. And how am I supposed to explain her existence to the people around us?"

Bella looked confused. "Why would I be trapped?"

Bells put her fork down. "Don't you need the what-cha-ma-call-it to return to your home?"

With a shrug, Bella replied, "Yeah, so?"

"Well then, how are you supposed to get back without it?"

"What are you talking about? I brought it with me. It's upstairs in the bathroom."

"But … Edward said he dropped it outside the tunnel."

"No-duh … And I picked it up. I wasn't going to let him get away from me that easily."

Charlie nearly choked on his food, coughing loudly. "Are you saying there are twin Eddies too? Oh god …" He got up from the table, and went to the fridge, murmuring, "I need some Vitamin R … badly."

Coming back to his chair, he popped the tab on his beer, and took a long pull on it. "Is there anything else I need to know before I get smashed?"

"Yeah," Bella quietly said. "I don't really eat meat. I'm a vegetarian. May I see what else there is in the refrigerator?"

Bells and Charlie looked at each other, shook their heads and smiled.

# # # # #

"No," Bella adamantly refused. "You're not giving up your bed. I'll sleep on the couch. I'll be fine."

Making up the sofa with some extra blankets and a pillow, Bells said goodnight, and her twin lay down. What an exhausting day.

Eddie was waiting for his sweetheart in her bedroom. "He started in on the conversation immediately. "It's imperative that we finish our earlier talk, love. All this supernatural chaos ended it too soon.

"I've had time to consider the situation with you and Jacob. And I think you should go to La Push tomorrow and see him again; give your feelings free reign. You'd probably be with him now, if I hadn't returned, and that's a fact. Pretend I no longer exist, and see what happens. You need to be absolutely sure that you wish to marry me."

"But, Eddie, I do want to marry you."

"You say that now, but don't you see? I can't in good conscience live with the memory of him tainting our lives. I'm no mathematician, but even I realize that the sum of a triangle's sides does not add up to a happy marriage."

"Eddie … I—"

He put out his palm to stop her. "Bells, you don't cry over someone the way you did, and not be in love with them. You can't deny it. Now, I'm letting you go to him. Perhaps it'll get him out of your system, perhaps not. Either way, it's for the best. You can never be happy with me, all the while regretting what might have been with Jacob."

He kissed her forehead. "I'm going home now. You need to sleep."

# # # # #

The next morning Jacob woke up in as much pain as ever—so much for that Dilaudid drip! There was a knock on the door, and a couple of familiar scents wafted toward him. Still feeling depressed and exhausted, he was not yet up to seeing his best bud, and his lady love, Leah. It was good of them to come by to visit, but their blissful existence would only exacerbate the feelings of rejection and loss that haunted him at this moment.

Embry had the good luck to hook up with Leah the first time that she phased. It was a double imprint, and he was genuinely happy for the two of them. Embry was no longer the lonely, displaced boy. He was now the strong, confident Quileute protector, and Leah, not the bitter harpy that the tribe had come to know.

Why couldn't Jacob have imprinted on Bells? That would've solved his heart problem. They could've been so happy together. Jeez, his life seriously sucked.

The couple walked into his room with their arms around each other. "How are you doin', Jake?"

"Not too good," he groaned.

"I was gonna say the same thing as Lee, but damn, you look like hell."

Leah gave her partner a scowl, and elbowed him in the ribs. Glancing back at the mummified lump of bruises, she declared, "If there's anything we can do …"

"Thanks, guys, I appreciate the offer."

Leah chewed on her lip for a second, then admitted, "I saw the leech-lover here yesterday. I take it she stomped all over your heart again."

"You could say that."

"I just did ... Look, Jacob, you need a little time to put some distance between you two. You'll get over her, I promise—like I got over Sam."

Sighing, the wounded warrior halfheartedly replied, "Yeah." Not a chance in hell. Hasn't worked once yet. I'm gonna feel lke sh** for the rest of my pathetic life.

Leaning over the head of his bed, Leah kissed Jacob's cheek. "You get better, now, ya hear? Oh … before I leave, Sue made some tamales for you and Billy. I put them in the fridge."

Embry pulled on her hand. "C'mon, Lee, let the guy get some shuteye, eh? He needs it."

Looking over her shoulder, she teased, "I want him to know that we care. Is that all right with you, Call?"

Drawing on all the strength he had left, Jacob urged, "Are you gonna let the little woman get away with that?"

With a jerk of his head, and a smirk on his face, Embry grunted, "Hell, no." He motioned to her, and when she stood up, he had her instantly imprisoned within his brawny arms, and his warm lips muffling her protests. He backed her out of the room, never once coming up for air.

That little spot of joy lightened Jacob's mood a fraction, and he shut his eyes and went to sleep.

# # # # #

At the breakfast table, Bells told her double, "Eddie wants me to go to La Push today. Will you be all right alone here?"

"Never bothered me before.

"Gosh, I haven't been to La Push in like a bazillian years. If you don't mind my asking, why are you going there?"

"You don't even have to ask. To see Jacob, of course."

Bella canted her head, appearing confused. "Who's that?"

"You know? Jacob Black."

"Hmn … is he by any chance related to Billy Black?"

"Yup. That's his son."

"I've only lived in Forks for a little over eight months, but I'm pretty sure Billy doesn't have a son, not any more, unless he got married again, and Dad would've told me if he had."

Putting down her fork, Bells asked, "Not any more?"

"There was a car accident, and his little boy and wife both died. His son was about six years old when it happened."

Well, that was unexpected. "Oh … I'm sorry to hear that. So you really don't know Jacob then. Would you like to meet him?"

"You know what? I think I would."

They both looked up at the same time, when Charlie entered the kitchen. "Damn, I better get me a pair of cheaters. I'm seeing double this morning."

Simultaneously, Bells and Bella uttered, "Ha, ha, very funny."

Bella got into the old Chevy, disguised in a baseball cap, and dark glasses. During the drive, she asked. "Where'd you get this truck? It's great."

"Dad bought it for me from the Blacks. Jacob rebuilt the engine. He's a genius when it comes to mechanics. He keeps it running pretty well all the time too.

"What do you drive?"

"A red '68 Volkswagen Beetle. My main mechanic is Rose Cullen now. She even did some of the body work and painted black polka dots on it. I call it my Ladybug."

"That is so cute. I'd like to see it someday. If you really want to see a sharp, custom-built vehicle though, you should see Jake's Black Cherry Bomb. It is da bomb."

"You want to tell me about Jacob?"

Bells got a dreamy look in her eyes. "He's very tall, six feet, seven inches of pure muscle. His hair is thick and glossy black like a stick of licorice, eyes a deep, warm, brown, and skin—the most beautiful shade of copper you've ever seen. He has a smile that could light up the universe, and his laugh … I love to hear him laugh. Jacob is my best friend in the whole Terros."

Bells averted her eyes from the road for a second, to look at her passenger. "Holy cow, that description makes me sound like some kind of pervert. I mean … don't get me wrong, he is really a hunk, but he has such good qualities. He's so unselfish and loving, and not conceited in the least. I don't even think he realizes how gorgeous he is.

"Do you know he's taken care of Billy since he was thirteen years old?"

"I didn't really know anything about him, but from your description, it sounds like you're in love with him. Wouldn't Eddie—I'll never get used to that—wouldn't he be jealous of him?"

"Yup. You hit the nail on the head. And that's exactly why Eddie wanted me to go visit him."

"That doesn't even make sense."

Bells looked up and noticed Rachel's Camry heading farther down the road. Oh good. It looks like Billy's in the car, so I won't have to deal with him too.

Bells pulled into the graveled drive in front of Jacob's home, and killed the engine. Twisting in her seat, she faced Bella and explained. "I had to say goodbye to Jacob last night, and I broke his heart. I was a blubbering idiot when your Edward broke into my room. He thought I was crying over his leaving, not realizing that my Eddie had come back. To make a long story short, I have to sort out my feelings about Jacob. I know I love him, but I need to discover how deep it goes. I'm torn between the two of them, and have to choose one or the other. Eddie has asked me to marry him. Do you see my dilemma? Whichever one I don't choose will be crushed. I can't hurt either one of them. It'll kill me too."

"Hooh … and I thought I had problems."