Chapter 7

The sun was barely shining when I woke up. I was a bit disappointed in my inability to sleep-in specifically when I did not have to work or go to school. My hands found my hair as I pulled out the messy ponytail that had come loose during my tossing and turning last night.

Last night.

There are some nights where dreams seemed like they were absolute reality, where I woke thinking that whatever images my mind conjured up actually happened. Last night was one of those nights. The feel of his hands on my skin, his warm body laying next to mine, even his deep, woodsy scent felt completely real.

Real enough to call out his name.

Unfortunately, the name that I uttered was not that of my betrothed, Edward, sleeping at my side. I know that he heard me. I felt his body grow still, as if he was waiting for me to say more. Hopefully this will blow over smoothly - after all, it was only a dream.

Only a dream...

After fingering through some of the snarls in my hair, my hands fell to my face as I rubbed my furrowed brow and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I looked to my side to see Edward sleeping soundly, his disheveled hair flattened and sticking up in the perfect fashion. I smiled, admiring him like this. Unconceited. Innocent. Unashamed. No one would use those words to describe him, particularly those that have seen his pretentious nature.

I got up and walked toward the bedroom door and stopped, something catching my eye. Edward's notification light on his phone was blinking. I turned toward the bed to monitor my fiance's steady, heavy breathing before turning back toward the phone. The red notification light blinked. My eyes widened as my interest in that notification was heightened. It blinked again. I reached toward the phone and opened it cautiously, quietly. The message was from an unknown number:

Tell me what you want and it will be done.

I marked the message as unread as I set the phone back down, ensuring that the blinking light remained in tact. Just as I was about to step through the door, he called my name.

"Bella, what are you doing?" My heart started to pound with tremendous intensity as I turned toward him, hoping that he didn't witness me invading his privacy. I breathed in slowly through my nose to calm my nerves. His head was still buried in the pillow, eyes shut tight, but his shoulder and arm were uncovered from when I rose out of bed. He pulled the blanket up over his shoulder, snuggling in. I exhaled in relief when I heard his light snore.

That was close.

***

The next couple of days were rather uneventful for me. For any other bride, they would be absolutely thrilling. There were two bridal showers held for me as well as cake testing at the bakery downtown.

Boring.

Every day was spent portraying a happy, excited bride ready to take on her new life with her future husband. Every night, I went to bed early hoping that I would dream again of the tall, gorgeous ex-best friend with the magical hands. Like always, I played the part perfectly during the day and he always visited my dreams at night.

Today I had no plans. Edward told me that he wanted some alone time and decided to go hiking with his best friend Emmett. I questioned Edward on his sudden desire to do an outdoor activity that he'd never done previously and he just waved me off, telling me that I didn't understand. I really did not care; I was looking forward to some alone time. The day of the hike, I decided to get up early to make coffee and breakfast for Edward, but he sneaked out the front door without even saying goodbye. I heard him whispering something on his cell phone, but I couldn't be sure what it was. I just shrugged and sipped my coffee.

***

My restlessness took over me as I sprinted up the stairs to throw on my running gear. It was a rare day in Forks where the weather would was hot enough to even make me want to enjoy the warm, summer air. I had not exercised since we came to Forks and with all of my intentional passivity, I needed to burn off some hidden aggression.

I grabbed my iPod and turned on my playlist that I designed specifically for cleaning and working out. I ran to the beat out of my father's driveway, down the road, through town and toward the outskirts of Forks. I could feel that today's run would likely be a longer one. Sweat started to bead down my back and across my forehead when I decided it was time to turn back.

I was running back toward town when I noticed a group of young men walking in my direction on the same side of the road. They were all young and skinny, but they all seemed to have had a bit of an edge to them. After checking for oncoming traffic, I ran across the road to avoid them. I continued running and glanced down to find a good song to listen to next. Once I made my choice, I looked up and fear flooded me.

Those boys were crossing the street and heading right toward me.

I stopped running and looked around. Outside of the old, nasty abandoned gas station, there weren't any establishments or houses that I could flee to. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I turned to walk toward the gas station parking lot, trying to avoid them.

They followed.

"Hey baby - where you going?" one yelled at me. I buried the ball of my right foot in the ground as I braced myself to sprint past them. I took off to the left slightly, attempting to run between the boys and the building. I felt a skinny hand wrap around my wrist, whipping me to a stop. Another hand grabbed my other wrist and two of the boys had each of my arms, pushing me into the wall of the old building.

"Where you running off to, hot legs?" the third boy spoke, standing in front of me, smirking.

I didn't answer.

"I said, where are you running off to?" He stepped forward and leaned into me, sticking his face directly in front of me. I leaned to my right to avoid him. The two other boys released my hands and the one to my front grabbed my shoulders, sliding his hands down my arms.

"Wow. If you're this wet here, I can only imagine how wet you'd be..." his hands dropped from my arms to grab my stomach, sliding down further. My gut reaction kicked in, literally, when my knee jerked upwards. It connected hard against his crotch, causing him to moan in pain, falling to the ground. I had little time for victory, let alone an escape plan, as I felt a hand bury into my hair, throwing me fiercely to the ground.

I stayed still on the ground, face down and awaiting my fate, until I heard a vehicle screech to a stop near me.

Thank God.

I heard a man's deep, powerful voice bellow out. Although I could tell that these boys were afraid of him, the voice calmed me. It was one that I had heard before, but I couldn't place it. He continued on with his tongue lashing, assaulting them verbally better than I could ever dream of doing. Soon, the boys ran off and I felt safe, once again.

Knowing that they were all gone, I pushed myself back slowly and sat on my heels. I was not hurt badly, but I could feel my nerves unraveling. I could have been beaten, raped, kidnapped, or murdered. I could have been removed from this Earth before I could finish the one thing that I HAD to do. During the whole encournter, only one thought crept through the back of my mind the entire time:

I can't die without telling Jacob Black how I really feel.

The thought crossed my mind again and again as I picked through the gravel stuck in my arm. My eyes burned and my head was tender from earlier, but I resolved on thanking my rescuer properly. I turned back and saw the man leaning over to pick up my iPod with his dark, strong hands. My eyes slid up from his hands to his arms and perfectly chiseled shoulders. His whole body was thick and muscular, the body of a man. I should say man-god.

He was gorgeous. He was my rescuer. He was...

Jake.

"Bella," he breathed out. I couldn't help but stare at the way my name rolled so easily off of his lips. My eyes drank him in as he ran toward me, sliding on the ground slightly, kneeling in front of me. His hands grabbed my face and he looked me over thoroughly, checking for injuries. He breathed out, "What if I wouldn't have been here in time? Oh God, Bella..."

His body began to shake and tremble slightly, his hands on my face burning right through my already heated skin to my heart. Having him this close to me was an exhilarating feeling. It was second to none. Guilt climbed up my throat as it tightened, causing tears to well in my eyes and my voice to crack.

"Jake, you saved me," there were so many other words that I wanted to say, but I hesitated instead, "I didn't think that you would ever want to talk to me again after what I did. After..."

As hard as I tried to hold back my tears, emotions and heartache, I knew every unspoken word, unshed tear and buried pain was coming to the surface. Quickly. I drew in deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

"Bells, I loved you then and I love you now. How could I not help?" as he spoke the words, I watched as his whole body sank. He was still so much in pain, that much was obvious. Was he still torn up because of me? After everything that I did to him, would he still even consider being even a friend to me? If my life circumstances were different, would we have a chance now to be together?

Did he feel the way I felt when his skin touched mine?

I wanted to do it all over. I wanted to change that one fateful night with Jacob. I wished nothing more than at that moment back in his room, wrapped warm in his arms, that I stayed. At that realization, I lost it. Tears that lingered on the brim of my eyes erupted, "I didn't deserve it, Jake. I don't deserve it."

Just before I broke apart completely, strong arms pulled me forward. Jake sat me on his lap and held me against his bare chest, setting his chin on top of my hair. My sobs fell out and took complete control. The only words that ran through my head were apologies. Apologies for being in this situation and for being the person I was. I recited apologies for hurting Jacob, for wanting nothing more than to turn and kiss the man that I betrayed so long ago.

Most importantly, I apologized for choosing Edward instead of Jacob.

I wrapped my arms around whatever part of Jake that I could as he tried his best to calm me. His steady, even breathing calmed me as I willed myself to settle down. It may have been seconds, minutes, or hours later, I'm not certain. We simply sat there on the ground, listening to eachothers breathing. I leaned into him harder, soaking up each charge that coursed through my skin from his touch.

My tears were mostly dry when I turned toward him. I stared into his deep, brown eyes for a long while. They were just as hungry as mine were - I could feel it. His fingers brushed against my neck, caressing it tenderly.

"Jake - thank you,"

Then he smiled, "You're welcome, Bells."

The last however many minutes since the encounter with those young men allowed me to realize, finally, that I could not live the rest of my life without Jake being with me. I was ready to break everything off with Edward and plead for forgiveness, begging him to consider choosing me. I licked my lips and glanced at his, wishing to kiss his full, beautiful lips. He stared back and leaned closer. I closed my eyes, willing to give in to whatever he wanted of me, waiting for him to close in on my lips. He was so close that I could feel his breath on me.

And I waited.

And waited.

What seemed like an eternity later, he whispered quietly, "I can't do this."

My eyes popped open when he began to stand, helping me up along with him. He lead me to the truck and we drove back to my dad's in silence. The windows were rolled down and the summer breeze grazed my skin, the sun still high in the sky. I looked out the window on the short drive back. The scenario that I replayed over and over was not how close that I was being assaulted or worse, but Jake's skin so close to mine. I didn't blame him for stopping. Why would he still want someone who broke him, who hurt him so thoroughly? I locked my earlier fantasies of happily ever after with Jacob deep in the recesses of my mind. It wouldn't be something that I would consciously revisit, although I was almost certain that I would be seeing Jake tonight in my dreams. Like always.

We pulled up to my dad's house and Jake threw the truck in park. My dad's cruiser was not in its usual parking spot and I did not anticipate him being home for a little while longer. I could feel Jake's stare, but I stilled myself, staring out the window at the house. My heart rate, as it usually was around him, was thumping along faster than normal because of the close proximity. I felt him move, but I remained quiet and still. My left hand was lifted from its place in my lap and it felt like I had just inserted it into an oven. I looked over to see Jake holding it, rubbing small circles against the top of my hand. My incredulous stare left my hand to look at his mouth.

He was smiling.

*****

Alright kiddos! Hopefully you enjoy this one. I anticipate some upcoming lemons, but will they be real life, dreams or past situations? Either way, it will be GOOD. Thank you to all of you reviewers out there - keep it up! Remember, I read just as much as all of you.

Think of how much better the world would be if we all just gave each other a review?

:)

Kind of kidding. Thanks for stopping by and drop me a line if you'd like. Take a peek at my favorite stories right now, I'm digging The University of Edward Masen (so well written that it makes me sad that I'm not better) and my favorite author's Reality and Other Inconveniences. Let me know which ones you're into, as well! I'm always up for a good FanFic.