***I WISH I OWNED IT!

Sorry people, my great grandma has been having serious health issue and I got college financial issues up the wazzuu. The only thing that's not all stressful and annoying is my awesome boyfriend. Thank god for him, lol. He's been keeping me sane. Any who, hopefully things will mellow out soon and I can just write and talk to my boyfriend and all can be right with the world. No midnight hospital trips, no damn loan forms to fill out, no mom complaining about everything, and making me her personal maid. Unfortunately, they're going to be pulling the plug on my boyfriend's grandfather and yet he's being amazing and making sure I'm okay. Well, anyways I'll try to update more often.***

THE MEETING

"Jake, wait!" I called after him, but I was too late. He was long gone. I let out a sigh of defeat. He was so damn stubborn. He didn't even know what I was going to do. "Give me the phone, please." I held my hand out; trying to ignore the death glare Billy was giving me. At that point, I lost it. "Would you people just give me some god damn credit?! You don't know what I'm going to say or do! Have a little faith, would you!" I screamed at Billy as I snatched the phone from him. "Thank you." I snapped at a very shocked and confused looking Billy.

"Edward, someone had better be on their fucking death bed." I realize that they're all already dead, so one of them being on their death bed is a little impossible. I'm pretty sure I got my point across though. "Why are you calling me?" I snapped. He didn't respond, probably out of shock. I was a little shocked myself. I never thought I would ever speak to Edward like that, but then again I never thought he was going to leave me like he did. "Hello, are you going to say something or just sit there and listen to the damage you've caused?!" I screamed into the phone. I waited another minute or so for a response of some kind. "Fine, whatever. Don't say anything. For your sake I sincerely hope you didn't come back here for me." I threw the phone across the room in a blind rage. Man, it's a good thing I'm not a werewolf this house would have been destroyed by now.

How dare he think he could just come back and I would be here waiting. He wanted me to move on and be happy and now after all the pain he put me through, he just shows up? At least before I learned to respect him for leaving me, for realizing before I did that I needed to live and now he's just changed his mind? How could he do this to me? I suppose there's a chance he could not be here for me, but what other reason is there?

What I couldn't believe even more than Edward returning was how Jake treated me. I know I've hurt him, but I really thought he could see how much I loved him. I was his imprint for crying out loud, that's supposed to mean something. I thought I loved Edward more than anyone could ever love a person, but how I felt for Edward isn't even one tenth what I feel for Jake.

"I'm sorry Billy." I turned around and headed for the door. I had to get out of there. I couldn't be here when Jake got back. I couldn't face him, at least not yet. I was so pissed off and hurt. I felt like I was going to implode or something, I was having trouble just breathing. Hopefully I wouldn't pass out before I got home.

"Bella, wait." I heard Billy call after me. "We can't protect you if you leave La Push." I froze with my hand resting on the door knob. It was my freedom, but my freedom wasn't really freedom. I felt like a prisoner no matter where I decided to go.

"I don't care." I turned the knob, gripping it tightly.

"You know you'll have to deal with him the second you cross the treaty line." I heard him wheel his way over to the door. I stopped again and stared at the door. Damn, he was right. No doubt Edward Cullen's shiny Volvo would be the first thing I would see coming out of La Push. I would have to deal with one of them, Jake or Edward. The choice was obvious; pick the lesser of the two evils. "So, who would you rather put up with?"

"Ug!" I whirled around and headed for the stairs. This is so unfair. I can't even be alone anymore. How did my life end up this way? "Please, tell him to stay down here." I ordered in a last attempt to get some peace.

"I'll tell him, but I can't promise he will listen. I'm just a man in a wheelchair." He said after me before heading back into the living room to finish watching his game. I sighed again, knowing Jake, he wouldn't listen. I plopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe I should take a shower or something, maybe it would help calm me down a little. If I had to deal with Jake I wanted it to be as painless as possible, which meant giving myself something to focus on so I can calm the pain that felt like it was boiling inside me, cooking me from the inside out. I hopped back off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

I walked into the tiny room and flipped on the light. I walked over to the shower and pulled back the curtain to turn the water on. I adjusted the heat to as close as I could get to Jake's temperature. I was so mad at him, but I still missed his heat so much. It was so comforting and calming. Once I was satisfied with the temperature I slid Jake's shirt over my head and his shorts down my legs, followed by my bra and underwear. I stepped into the shower and closed my eyes letting the hot water heat my body. I tried to imagine that it was Jake, with his arms wrapped tight around me. I let the water wash away all my stress and anger. It seemed to be working pretty well. I felt my tense muscles relaxing under the intense heat. I washed my hair and body, taking my time until I herd my stomach practically roar at me. Apparently, I was hungry.

I suddenly remembered I never cooked breakfast. A wave of guilt hit me. I was suppose to feed poor Billy, instead I yelled at him and threw his phone. I hurried out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body and ran into Jake's room to get dressed. I looked around for a second and realized that I didn't have any clothes or anything else I needed for that matter.

"Shit." I whispered to myself. I would have to go back home to get some things. I guess for now I'm just going to have to borrow more of Jake's clothes. I started rummaging through his draws when I heard a knock at the door.

"Bella, your Dad stopped by while you were in the shower and brought some stuff for you. I'll just leave it by the door."

"Thank you Billy." I said with relief in my voice. Good old Charlie, man he was a life saver. I waited till I heard the TV go back on down stairs and poked my head out the door, making sure the coast was clear. I grabbed my bag and searched through it, looking for something to wear and making sure I had everything I would need. I found some jean shorts and a black, short-sleeved, t-shirt. I got dressed, brushed my hair out and headed down stairs to apologize to Billy.

"Hey Billy, I'm so sorry about breakfast and the phone and the yelling… Are you hungry? Would you like me to fix you something?" I asked hoping he would accept my apology, even though I definitely didn't disserve it. None of what was going on was Billy's fault in any way.

"It's alright Bella. We're all a little on edge because of those bloodsuckers. I had a sandwich, so don't worry about me." He waved me off. "Jake might like something when he gets back though. I was going to head down to Sue's here in a minute anyways."

"Okay Billy." I walked into the kitchen and started fishing around for something to fix for Jake and I. I found some bread and cheese, so naturally I went with a grilled cheese sandwich. I pulled out a pan and set it on the stove. I went back to the fridge to grab some butter and saw Billy on his way out. We waved and I went back to the task at hand. I turned to burner onto a medium heat, threw some butter in and waited for the pan to heat up.

"Bella?!" I jumped about ten feet up into the air, hitting the pan in the process. The pan flung across the room until a heard the loud bang of it hitting the wall. I spun around to see Jake crouched down on the ground, looking up.

"Oh my god." I gasped as I placed my hand over my heart, trying to keep it from leaping right out of my chest. "You scared the hell out of me."

"I scared you? You just tried to off me with a frying pan!" Jake picked up the pan from the floor and looked at it like it was a vampire. At that point I couldn't help it, I busted up laughing. I was laughing so hard I had to grip the counter to keep myself from falling over. I could hear Jake start to laugh right along with me. Once our laughing had slowed down to small chuckles our eyes met and I was frozen in place. How could this man have such control over me, all I could think about was how bad I wanted to touch him. He strolled up to me, still staring with his smoldering eyes. He returned the pan to the stove then smiled down at me.

"Well, that was a good ice breaker." I smiled nervously up at him. It was a pretty could way to start a serious conversation, which neither of us was looking forward to.

"I'm sorry I ran out on you like that babe. I should have given you a chance to explain. I was so scared you weren't going to be here when I got back." He softly placed his hand on my cheek, which I couldn't help but to lean into. The warmth of his hand felt so amazing against my cool skin. He lightly trailed his fingers from my cheek to my jaw, down my neck to my collar bone. He was making it really had to be angry with him, but I was sure as hell going to try. I understand why he did it, but walking out of me like that is just not okay.

"You're right; you should have given me a chance. You need to learn to trust me Jacob. I'm your imprint." I made sure to call him Jacob, so that despite how much I've calmed down he would know that he was still in the dog house so to speak.

"Bella, how can you expect me to just trust you? I mean, come on, you did date my one natural enemy." He pulled his hand away and crossed his arms over his perfect chest. God, he looked so amazing sexy standing there. Ug, I needed to focus. This is hardly the time for that.

"You can't hold that over my head Jake. It's not fair." I said feeling guilty. He had a point, but it wasn't my fault a vampire thought I smelled good. I didn't know anything about all this mythological creature crap before him. It would only be my fault if I decided to go back to Edward, which I wasn't going to do that ever.

"I know. I'm just so scared of losing you… I just found you." He looked down at the ground. I wrapped my arms around him and held him as closely to me as I could. In return, he wrapped one arm around my waist and the other up by my head so he could stroke my hair.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." I whispered in his ear.

"Good." I could hear the smile in his voice. "So, what are you cooking?" He asked as both of our stomachs growled in unison. We laughed as I turned around to finish the sandwiches. He wrapped his arms around my waist and watched me over my shoulder; ever now and then he would softly kiss my neck or shoulder. I finished up the cooking then we sat at the table, me with my one sandwich and him with about ten. It would never cease to amaze me how much he could eat. We ate in comfortable silence, glancing at each other and smiling every once in awhile.

"STOP FORNICATING!" We looked up and saw Quil standing in the door with his hands over his eyes. He peaked in between his fingers then sighed and let his hands fall to his sides.

"What are you doing man?" Jake asked as we both looked at him like he sprouted another head. "You should really lay off the drugs." He chuckled a bit.

"Hey! I was just being cautious. You two are always getting it on when I'm around. If you're into that whole exhibitionist thing, leave me out of it. Try Jared, he might be into that." Quil replied with a smirk. "So, start hanging a sock on the door or something."

"How bout we just call and give you a heads up? Oh wait, it's because you don't need one! You know when you're about to walk in on something Quil, so why don't you stop being such a perv." I snapped.

"Woah, chill out Bella. It's not my fault, you guys are always getting frisky when something's going down." I glared at him in response. He held up his hands, in silent defeat.

"Alright, so why you here dude? What's happened now?" Jake asked as slight edge to his voice. We were both definitely getting a little sick of Quil.

"Sam wants to move the meeting up."

"Oh okay." He said breathing a little sigh of relief. "To when?"

"Now." He stated and starting heading out the door.

"Now? Fuck, why?" Jake stood up and was in front of Quil before he stepped foot out the door.

"Don't really know. My guess is he just wants to handle it as soon as possible. So, come on you two. Let's get rid of these bloodsuckers."

"Wait, both of us? No, Bella's staying here." Jake said anger seeping its way into his voice.

"Hello? I'm right here. Shouldn't it be my choice whether I go or not and we can't make them leave Quil, not if they really want to stay." I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well, I hope you want to go Bella because I don't really have a choice, but to make you. Boss' orders." Quil said with a shrug.

Jake growled and I let a very frustrated sigh. I am so sick of all the "let's boss Bella around for her own safety" crap. I have a brain; I'm very capable of making my own decisions. I'm also not bound by Sam's stupid alpha command, but I guess Quil is and if he's under orders to make sure I'm there I don't really stand a chance in fighting a giant werewolf boy. I started walking passed them. They better all chill the fuck out after this meeting. Everything should mellow out… I hope.

Before I had time to blink Jake and Quil phased. Jake walked over to me and looked at me then behind him, while Quil waited at his side. I guess I'm going for a ride. I climbed up on Jake, gripping his warm fur. He waited to make sure I had a good hold and then took off, with Quil keeping pace behind him. We reached the clearing near the treaty line in record time. I slid off his back and saw that everyone was already here, they were waiting on us. Everyone was in their wolf form except Sam, who smiled at me.

"Jake, you're as big a part of this as Bella. Phase so you can be a part of this conversation." Jake nodded and went behind some trees to phase. He came out in a pair of black shorts and stood by my side. "Bella, sorry I had to order Quil to make sure you came. I just didn't want Jake to try and keep you. You need to be here." I nodded while Jake stared daggers at him. Boy, if looks could kill. "Jake, I know you want to protect her. You know none of us would ever let anything happen to here. She's safer here with all of us then left at Billy's." Jake nodded; obviously realizing Sam made a very good point.

"Bella…" I looked up and saw Edward holding his hand out to me. "I'm so sorry. I should have never left you." He sounded so small. I felt bad for him; as much as I hated him for everything he put me through I still couldn't help but to care for him. He was my world, my first love. I don't think you can ever stop caring for your first love. I felt Jake wrap his arm around me. I found his hand and squeezed in mine reassuringly. "I never meant to hurt you; I was trying to do what was best for you." He looked at me with pleading eyes.

"I know Edward, that's why I don't understand why you've returned. You did do the right thing." I looked down at the floor, unable to look into his sad eyes anymore.

"Bella, you don't mean that. We're meant to be. That's why I came back." I looked up at him and if vampires could cry, he would have tears streaming down his cheeks. It hurt me that he was hurting so much. I knew I had to make myself clear.

"No Edward, I do mean it. We don't belong together. You shouldn't have returned." I told him as strongly as I could. I was on the verge of tears. I really didn't want to hurt him and I think Jake could sense that, because he squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

"Would you please stop thinking about you and her together mutt!" Edward screamed at Jake. I looked up at Jake, he wouldn't do that on purpose would he? That's just cruel.

"You want her to be happy right?" Jake asked calmly.

"Of course I do dog. I want that more than anything." Edward looked like he was on the verge of a break down.

"I'm trying to show you that she is. I'm not trying to hurt you, even though I feel you should be destroyed for all the hurt you caused her. I'm only trying to enforce what Bella is telling you, that you made the right choice." I looked up at Jake; I understood what he was doing. I just hoped he wasn't thinking about unnecessary information.

"She's confused." What? Did he really just say that? He thinks I'm confused. I thought I had denial issues.

"I am not confused Edward." I gave him a look of disbelief, maybe he was even more messed up over all this than I was.

"Well, I'm not leaving. We haven't broken the treaty; we can stay as long as we want. I'll be here when you come to your senses Bella." He turned around and walked away. I looked over at the rest of the Cullen's. They looked so worried. I still cared about them so much; they were like family to me. I needed to do something, there had to be some way to make this right.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I don't want to hurt any of you." I looked down at the ground again.

"He left you Bella. He hurt you. You have nothing to be sorry for." Alice said and tried to smile, but the worry for her brother shown through.

"Well, unless you would like to discuss any changes to the treaty, I think we're done here." Carlisle spoke directly to Sam. He sounded so formal, he was good at that. I guess years of practice can do that.

"No, there are no changes. If I could offer my opinion though, I think it would be best for your son and the rest of us if you left."

"I'm sure once he calms down he will realize he has nothing to stay for."

I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell them not to leave. I've missed them all so much. I had a new family now, but that didn't stop me from wanting to have both of them. I know it's selfish, but I cared for every person in this clearing and the thought of loosing half of them hurt. I wish we could all just be friends and get along, but I suppose that would be like asking for world peace.