AN: This chapter has been updated from its original format.
Leaving Me Breathless
Chapter 7: Confrontation
"Jacob!" I cried, flinging myself at my boyfriend as soon as he swung his massive frame deftly into my bedroom window. "I'm sorry!" I was blubbering now. "I never want to hurt you. You mean so much to me. I-I love you. I-I d-don't…"
I was silenced by Jacob crushing his lips to mine forcefully. I staggered a bit under his weight and he wrapped his free arm around my waist and pressed me against the wall while his other hand held me behind the head to fuse our lips together. It took me a minute to register what was happening. My kisses with Jacob, while they had always been wonderful, had never held so much passion and, anger?
"Jake." I mumbled against his hips, pushing against his chest to get his attention.
"Bella." He sighed against my mouth, licking my bottom lip gently.
I couldn't help the slight whimper that escaped my mouth when his tongue slowly met mine. My mind cleared and soon my hands were on the back of his neck, pulling him even closer to me. Why was I trying to get his attention again? This attention was so much better.
Oh, right. We were still in the middle of a fight.
"Jacob." I mumbled again, and he removed his lips from mine, just to begin placing soft kisses along my neck and jaw line.
"Mmm?" He murmured, kissing a sensitive spot behind my ear.
I gasped. "Aren't you mad at me?" I choked out, unable to catch my breath.
He stopped kissing my neck then and brought his face up to look me in the eyes. "I realized something today, Bells. I realized that I am the better man for you. I know that I can make you happy, and give you everything you want in life. I wasn't so sure of that before. Now though," He said forcefully, kissing the corner of my mouth, "Now, I will do everything in my power to prove that to you. I will do everything in my power to prove to that filthy bloodsucker that you're mine." With that he crashed his lips to mine again and I couldn't help the embarrassing moan that escaped my lips.
Finally we both came up for air and I rested my forehead against his, "You don't need to prove anything to me, Jake. I know that you're the better choice." My mind knew that at least, my heart was still holding tight to Edward. I wasn't about to tell him that though. "I am yours, as you are mine."
He smiled and kissed me again, all the urgency from before replaced with something entirely similar to love.
I jumped apart from him when I heard a loud crashing sound from outside of my window.
Jacob smirked a bit and kissed my forehead. My eyes widened in shock and I raced to the window to see what all the commotion was. There in my backyard, where a beautiful spruce used to stand, was a pile of wood that used to be the tree. I got there in time to see a flash of bronze, and had all the information I needed.
"Edward was still out there?" I gasped in shock.
Jake shrugged his shoulders and I could see him struggling to keep his face a blank mask.
"You knew he was still there!" I accused in a harsh voice.
"Well, the filthy bloodsucker deserved to know who you belong to now." Jake said evenly. "It isn't my fault he doesn't like to hear it."
"I'm not a possession, Jake!" I yelled. "God, I thought you were being all sweet and romantic, and here you were just peeing all over me like a dog."
His head whipped up and I heard a low grumble in his chest.
"Yes, like a dog. I said it." I rolled my eyes.
"Speaking of the leach, care to explain why he was here?" He shot back. Oh here we go, there was the anger that I was waiting for.
"Not really. I don't see how it is any of your business since you totally abandoned me tonight." I hissed.
"Don't put this on me, Bella. I didn't invite them here." He spat, eyes shining with malice.
"Neither did I, Jacob! You keep acting like I wanted this. I didn't do anything but host a stupid graduation party. I didn't ask them to come here!"
"You didn't ask them to leave either." He replied lowly.
"I couldn't just ask them to leave without knowing why they came back in the first place." I said defensively.
"Oh bullshit. You didn't ask them to leave because you were too afraid of hurting the bloodsuckers' feelings." He accused, his voice rising. "Well guess what, Bella. They didn't give two shits about hurting your feelings! They left you, remember? They left you and who cleaned up the mess? I did! Who was there for you when they weren't? I was!" He growled out.
"Yeah, like you were there for me tonight, right?" I spat back. "This isn't fair. I didn't ask the Cullens to show up in Forks, alright? I never thought that I would see them again. I don't understand why you keep making me feel like I should feel bad about something that I can't control." I was starting to get a migraine. This night had been just too much.
"Bells, if you can't see why I'm so upset about you not asking them to leave, then you must not be the person I thought you were." He said, hurt playing across his features. I just gaped at him. Was he seriously blaming me for the Cullens' appearance?
He sighed heavily. "Look, I can't do this anymore tonight. I'm going to go. I'll call you later."
"Will you at least stay until I fall asleep?" I asked helplessly.
"I don't think that's such a great idea." He said slowly.
I laughed humorlessly. "What you mean to say is that you don't want to. Fine, just leave then." I said bitterly.
"Bells, come on, you know I don't mean it like that." Jake pleaded lightly. "You have to understand how much I hate them for what they did to you."
"Jacob, just go. I'll call you tomorrow. I sighed. "If you want me to, that is." I added lightly.
"Why don't I just call you sometime soon?"
I nodded slowly, swallowing around the lump in my throat. "If that's what you want."
"I just think that's what best for now. I just need some time. I want to sort a few things out." He sighed out, exasperated. "Bye, Bella." He said, coming over and kissing my forehead before leaving through the window.
I don't know how long I stood in my room before I finally crawled into bed. I laid there for what felt like hours, staring at my ceiling and contemplating the events of the night.
Who did these vampires think they were? Why was my safety so important to them all of a sudden? Who were they to come barging back into my life after so much time? Who was he to come back at all after what he did? Now I was hurting Jacob and fighting with him- over them! The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Before I knew what I was doing, I was up, thrusting y feet into my sneakers and racing down the stairs and into the night.
Ten minutes later I was pulling down a very familiar drive in my beat up old Chevy. I cut the engine quickly when I neared the house and stormed up the front porch steps. I raised my fist up to knock but stumbled back, startled, when the door swung open before I could.
I quickly composed myself before hissing out a "Where is he?" to a surprised Jasper.
"Bella, I know you're angry. Maybe you should calm down a bit before you talk to him." Jasper said calmly, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged out of his grasp immediately. "I don't have time for your mind games right now, Jasper." I said, brushing past him and taking the stairs two at a time. I hesitated outside his door for a split second before throwing it open and slamming it shut behind me.
"Bella." Edward said politely, standing from his position on his black leather sofa. I was distracted momentarily by the sight of it there. I had thought that he would have taken it with him when they left. Did they leave all their possessions here after they left me? I slowly let my gaze wander around his room. It looked exactly as it had the last time I was there, nearly a year prior. It was as if he'd never left. This only fueled my anger. My gaze landed on him again.
"Why?" I spat out angrily.
"Excuse me?" He asked, confusion written across his face.
"You heard me. Why? Why are you here?"
"Bella, I-" He began with a sigh.
"You're all about broken promises, aren't you?" I yelled. "You promised that you wouldn't leave me when we were in Phoenix and then you promised it would be like you never existed!"
"Bella your safety is-" He tried again.
"And then you just waltz back in here, all of you, like you never abandoned me." I shouted, on a roll now.
"You're angry. I knew this was a bad idea." He muttered, dragging a hand through his unruly hair.
"Yes I'm angry, damn it! What? Did you expect my 'human, sieve-like memory' would forget everything that fast? Or were your distractions just not as appealing anymore?" I spat out furiously. My hands were trembling at the confrontation but I ignored them.
"I understand that you're angry, but Bella, please calm down. Let's talk about this rationally." Edward said in what I knew was his dazzling voice. It wasn't working this time. I was too upset.
"Fuck being rational, Edward!" I yelled. His eyebrows shot up his forehead in surprise. I had never talked to him like that before. "For once in your life, for once in your existence, will you just get fucking angry? Yell, scream, do something other than just stand there and tell me to calm down!"
He just stared at me for a moment before sitting back down on the leather couch and pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked like he was trying to contain his anger, which just pissed me off further. I was riled up. I wanted a fight. I was craving it, and he was the perfect person to give me one. After a few more moments, he finally spoke. "I see your boyfriend's foul language has rubbed off on you in my absence."
"Yeah, well I guess you can thank yourself for that one, can't you?" I sneered. I was tired of playing the sad victim. He needed to know how badly he had hurt me.
"Damn it, Bella! You think this was my idea?" He growled, jumping back up from the couch, his eyes darkening past the pitch black they had already been. He was getting angry. Good. "Do you think I wanted to come back for this? To come back to see you already moved on with some…mutt?" He shouted.
Before I knew what I was doing, I reached my hand out and slapped him. Hard. I knew it didn't hurt him, but I think I got my point across. Edward's eyes widened in shock first, and then anger.
"Don't you dare!" I exclaimed, pointing my finger in his face. "You don't get to be angry at me for moving on. You left me! You didn't want me anymore. You don't get to be upset that I found someone who loves me, who wants me when you didn't."
"Love, huh?" He sneered back in a way that was so unlike my Edward. I didn't even know the man standing in front of me. "I've been gone all of, what, five minutes and you already have someone sleeping in your bed. That's not love, Bella."
"Are you spying on me?" I gasped. "And it is none of your business who sleeps next to me anymore. You gave up that right the day you left me stranded in the woods!"
"Of course I'm not spying on you, silly girl." He replied harshly. "His awful stench was everywhere in there tonight."
"Yes, well, his 'awful stench' is welcome there." I shot back.
"Yes. Well it makes sense. You are his, as he is yours, correct?" He tossed my earlier words shared with Jacob back in my face.
For a moment I almost felt bad for him having heard that. But then I remembered how he shouldn't even care. He didn't love me. He didn't want me. He had made that perfectly clear. I sighed, the fight leaving my body.
"Look, Edward. I came here to find out exactly what you're all doing here. I know you said you're worried about Victoria, but Jacob can handle that. I know he will protect me. I trust him…I love him." I said quietly.
All was quiet in the house. Nothing moved. The only thing I could hear was my steady breathing and Edward's lack of breathing at all. I snuck a peek at his face and it looked as if I had slapped him again, only this time, it looked like he felt it.
A knock on the door broke the silence. Jasper's head popped in and then the rest of his body followed through the open door into the room. "Bella, it's late. You need to sleep. You've had an eventful day. Why don't I walk you to your car?" He asked politely.
I nodded slowly and turned to follow him.
"Bella." Edward called out quietly behind me. I turned to face him. A look of determination was planted firmly into the planes of his face. "This doesn't change anything. I said I wasn't going anywhere and that is one promise I intend to keep."
I stared at him for a long moment before replying. "Prove it." And with that, I followed Jasper out the door and back to my beat up Chevy.
