Disclaimer: I own nothing. Really, it's all Stephenie Meyer. :P I'm just playing around with her characters. I do, however, own this plot! Woot! Big whoop, right?
A/N: Aaand, like always, I start the chapter with a BIG THANK YOU to all my reviewers. You're all AMAZING and you reviews reached past the ONE HUNDRED MARK. Which is a big thing for me - maybe not for the 1,000 + reviews on other stories, but for me, I think so! /dances
xDD And that brings us back to the updating. I just want you to know how early it is here, and how I got on the computer and updated this for you guys because I felt bad about leaving you hanging on the last chapter, and I knew I would have no time for it later. Pretty cool, right? And, then after re-reading what I had written, I decided to try and write a little more...
AND THE CHAPTER WROTE ITSELF. I swear, I had an out of body moment, and the words were just THERE. After I read it over, I realized I like it a lot more, so I kept it. Though, after reading it again, I wasn't so sure. :P So it's all up to you guys, and on this chapter espesially, some feedback/criticism would be great.
Also, sorry in advance if any of the characters are OOC - besides Victoria and James, of course. I'm telling you right now they are beyond OOC - they're human and FIVE, it's gonna happen. xD I just thought it was kind of fun and ironic.
But, you'll see what I'm talking about when you get down there - so read on.
I was pretty hysterical, and Alice was trying to get me to calm down, but I couldn't. The tears wouldn't go away, and I didn't know how to stop them at this point. I just knew I needed to talk to him, and I knew I needed to at least try to work things out. Everything besides this one thought was a complete haze, and I couldn't care to sort it all out.
"Bella, what's wrong? Do you know what time it is?" came Alice's groggy voice, and I knew I had woken her up. "Why do you want to talk to Edward?"
"Please," I sobbed, my words broken and more of a gasp than anything, "it's important, just please."
She seemed to give in, realizing this might be the only way to calm me down, but I heard her wondering if I was intoxicated as she shuffled out of the room to find her brother - in all honesty, I wondered the same thing.
I heard her whispering, and then after that didn't work, screaming at Edward in the background. There was a crashing sound, a string of some colorful language, and then a groan as the phone was handed over. I let out a sigh of relief, slumping back on the bed, the phone in one ear.
"Bella, do you have any idea what time it is?" came his irritated, velvet voice. It was the one I had been wanting to hear again all day. I closed my eyes, picturing his face, and thoroughly calmed myself down. "What the hell is this about? It couldn't wait?"
"No, no it couldn't," I rasped, my voice hoarse, probably from crying. "I need to talk to you, please. Just let me explain, please."
"You've got five minutes and then I'm going back to bed, Bella," his calm voice told me, but I could hear the emotion behind the words - the hurt. And god, I hated it, because he didn't deserve it.
I heard Alice slinking out of the room, mumbling a grumpy and confused 'goodnight', and I sighed, trying to get the words together in my head, trying to digest what happened, myself. I bit on my lip, and finally began to talk.
"Jacob and I have known each other since we were kids," I sighed, sitting up and wrapping my arms around my knees. "He left a year or so ago, but we used to be going out. Today, I don't know, this whole thing seemed like something he would do, fake a screename to try to talk to me - he was always like that, I guess. We were always so crazy together, and we always ended up getting in trouble. Anyway, today, he came home and he thought he was coming home to what he left."
"Wasn't he, though?" Edward questioned on the other line, his voice thoroughly skeptical. "You seemed to be enjoying his company when I found you, pressing yourself against him and kissing him."
"He kissed me," I objected weakly, shaking my head and trying to find the right words. I knew Edward was hurt, but I wished I could make him understand. "I didn't want to kiss him."
"Then why did you?" he inquired, and his voice was calm again, collected, but I knew better. I could hear the unspoken words behind what he said, and they burned me, made me feel even more guilty.
"Because, Edward," I whispered harshly, suddenly angered, "I was imagining it was someone else."
That seemed to make him quiet. I waited and waited for a response, wiping at my reddened eyes and trying to get the tears to stop, but none came. I looked at my phone, and the tears flowed even more.
Call Ended 1:15 AM.
The next morning came way too fast for me, and I think I cried myself to sleep. The cell phone was still near my bed, and I rolled my eyes, nearly falling over the other side. It didn't make sense why I was so upset about this, because I knew part of me should be happy that I have Jacob, but I couldn't manage it.
It was even worse when I finally stumbled my way down the stairs and found Jacob there with Charlie, and at the table were the two little monsters, arguing over whether or not ketchup was good with eggs.
"Hey Bells, finally decided to join us?" Jacob questioned me, grinning as he pulled me close and kissed my cheek. I recoiled a bit, biting on my lip and moving to sit down at the table - out of the corner of my eye, I saw him frown at my reaction.
Charlie grinned my way as he set a breakfast plate in front of me. "Isn't it great you've got Jake here to help with the kids, now?" He smiled in the direction of my cousins, both who were glaring at me subtly. Kids from Hell, I'm not even kidding. "They got dropped off this morning. Laurent and Irina say hi."
I smiled halfheartedly, before glancing at the time on the microwave. "Don't you have to get down to the station, Dad?"
Charlie turned his attention to where my eyes were and nodded, awkwardly kissing my cheek and slapping Jake on the back before slinking out the front door, and silently I wished I hadn't reminded him - now I was left with the Terrible Twosome Twins and Jacob Black - which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for recent events.
It was going to be an interesting day, to say the least.
-
The rest of the day was spent with playing games with the kids to keep them occupied and avoiding Jake the best I could. I felt horrible for doing it, but I just couldn't face him yet. I wasn't ready to tell him the truth, and I knew he was leaving in a week or so, so all I really had to do was wait until then.
I knew it would be so much harder than that, though.
I had been making attempts to call the Cullen house all day. The only time I got through I got Esme, who, friendly and kind as always, was quick to tell me Alice was out, but if I wanted she could give her the message I had called and have Alice return it later.
That was of absolutely no help to me, and I couldn't find a plausible reason why I would want to talk to her son, so I had politely told her I would call Alice's cell phone instead and hung up, feeling extremely dissatisfied.
I walked back into the living room after just about the millionth time I had called the house only to get the machine now, sighing and rolling my eyes, and found the twins fighting over the remote.
"Vicki," James whined, glaring at his sister. "Give me the remote."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Screw you, James!"
I gasped, glaring at the little girl, who fiery red hair almost covering deep green eyes, always seeming to be swimming with some kind of mischief. The green was hard to look at when I knew who else had green eyes besides her twin, the one who probably hated me at this point, the one who I couldn't get in touch with.
"Victoria, do not use that kind of language," I scolded, folding my arms over my chest. "It's rude."
"You use it all the time," she sneered, smirking at me. "When you were on the phone with Jake that one time, I heard you say f-"
"Victoria!"
I heard laughing from behind me, and then strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I sighed at the embrace, not having the strength to pull away from it. The twins giggled, announcing they were going to play Tag - I didn't believe it for a second - as they scrambled out of the room.
"Hey, Bells, how long you gonna play the good girl act?"
I broke away from his grasp, sighing and rolling my eyes. "What if I'm not acting, Jake?" I muttered, shaking my head and realizing just how true this was.
"C'mon, Bella! Don't give me that crap," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "There's this party tonight. Your friend's probably gonna be there, that Ally girl."
"Alice, Jake."
"Whatever, Alice then," he mumbled, shrugging his shoulders indifferently, and I felt the sudden urge to tell him off, I just couldn't find my voice. There was this nagging feeling inside of me, telling me, this is Jake. Your best friend, Jake. You have to love him, he's been there. You have to, and you're supposed to.
"I can't go, I have the twins," I protested, shaking my head, and he grinned. I waited, looking down as I waited for his scheme.
Jake hasn't changed at all.
"Charlie is down with Billy, he's staying the night. The twins are old enough to take care of themselves, it's no big deal. If it makes you feel better, we can even tuck them in." He shrugged again, and I had a feeling he was being absolutely serious, just like he always was. He really wanted me to leave five year olds to fend for themselves, but I wasn't going to do it. I wasn't the same Bella he left broken and confused a year ago.
I have changed. A lot - and for the better. It's time to grow up, Jake. It's your turn.
"I'm not going to do it."
"Awh, Bells, c'mon!"
"I'm not going to do it," I repeated, firmly, shaking my head and almost smiling as I heard the twins arguing in the next room over about who got to spill syrup over my head.
"Bella, what the hell happened to you?" he demanded. "You're so different, I swear. You used to - it used to be different…"
"A lot happens in a year, Jake."
"What are you saying?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest and snorting angrily.
"I'm saying I grew up, Jake. Time for you to do some, too."
I think my words really got to him, for the first time since he got here. Whether they did or not, he stormed angrily from the room, shouting curses despite the kids in the other room as he headed to the front door, slamming it dramatically. I rolled my eyes as I heard his car start and then screech as the tires flew down the pavement of my driveway and away, and there was nothing I could from feeling relieved.
I had gone back to the twins, even laughed as they attempted to spill maple syrup all over me, and then I had done something a bit uncharacteristic with the twins - I grabbed a ketchup bottle from lunch, and began squirting. Laughter filled the kitchen as James grabbed some mustard and Victoria made a dive for the chocolate sauce, giggling as she aimed straight for me.
I knew I was a sticky mess when the doorbell rang, and for the first time, I didn't feel relieved that I was getting away from the twins. I was sure our little truce wouldn't last for very long, but I might as well try.
Finding the door, and sliding from the different ingredients all over me - and now the floor, I realized with a groan - I fumbled before opening it, and stared wide eyed at who was standing in the doorway of my house.
Bronze hair, eyes prettier than emeralds. Lanky, but well-built.
I bit on my lip, waiting for him to speak, not able to find words in my obvious surprise.
"Hey, so," he started, and I felt myself melting into the crooked smile spreading over his lips, "I was checking my underwear drawer this morning, and noticed there were some boxers missing - would you happen to know where those are?" His eyes twinkled with amusement, and I couldn't help but giggle.
I expected the time when we talked again to be filled with awkward apologies on my part, and I hardly expected us to talk again at all. I had felt like he was going to avoid me, especially after he hung up on me last night, if that's really what happened. I knew he would want to avoid the subjects we were talking about the night before if anything, and that was just fine with me.
What I never expected was for me to invite him in, and him actually accept. With a lopsided grin and a stupid comment about me just coming from the war zone, he stepped into my house, taking off his shoes in the process. And I realized then by the sincere look in his emerald eyes that this was him asking to make up.
And I gladly took the offer, leading him into my kitchen. I had half expected Victoria and James to hate him immediately just for the fact that he was with me, but they didn't. Surprisingly, they seemed to love him, and I watched in amazement as Victoria complained of hurting her hand on the chocolate syrup bottle, and Edward coddled her, James tapping his shoulder and exclaiming that his finger was burning from the mustard in an attempt to gain his attention.
I leaned against the wall, smiling to myself as Edward frowned teasingly, kissing Victoria's finger, before glaring at James's. "Stupid mustard and chocolate," he joked, shaking his head in mock disgust. "This is why I like vanilla and ketchup better. Mustard and chocolate have always been the meanest, if you asked me."
That got a giggle out of the kids, and I watched as he twirled them around, before inquiring if we should try and get the kitchen cleaned, turning his attention back to me. Who would have thought that start player Edward Cullen would be good with kids?
I was starting to realize more than ever how amazing Edward was if you just bothered to really get to know him, to truly give him a chance. I realized how fast I was falling for him - and not just for the looks, but for him. I realized that when I was around him, the ache that had begun to build in my stomach just wasn't there anymore. I realized how even with him there was a friend, he made things better.
Even it scared me a little, the feeling was inviting. I wanted to revel in it. Once I had thought of Jacob as my own personal sun, but slowly that light was beginning to fail in comparison to the brilliant light that Edward brought. It overshadowed it, just like an eclipse would, and there was just no fighting it any longer.
Edward and I were standing in front of the front door after we had tucked the kids in, and again I was in awe at the way he had handled it. He must have used a million different voices and accents as he told them a bedside story, and I had never seen Victoria and James so happy as they giggled, listening intently until he had smiled, announcing it was time for them to sleep.
It brought an envious feeling to me when I realized that if I had asked the same thing of them they would have laughed and denied me, but when Edward asked it, they did it right away. I realized just how easy Edward was to get along with, how anyone - even the Terrible Twosome Twins - could fall for him in a heartbeat.
I knew this from experience, of course.
"I guess I should get going," he murmured quietly, but there was a frown on his lips when I looked, and I bit down on my lip, waiting for him to speak. He sighed quietly, before opening his mouth again, and I knew he wanted to ask me something. "Bella, is there any way you'd like to-"
He was interrupted by the door slamming open, nearly knocking him over. I gasped as the dark figure stepped into the room and immediately I knew just who it was. I could smell the alcohol on the person's breath as he grabbed me roughly, chuckling into my ear. "Bells," he slurred, and I bit down on my lip to keep myself quiet, "Bellsie."
This happened often, and each time I had to do my absolute best to keep myself from screaming at him. Whenever something went wrong, Jacob would go out and get himself impossibly wasted, and when he came back, he was always an A class asshole. The things he said were things he always regretted when he woke up in the morning and I reminded him of them.
It had become a ritual of sorts to make up as he groaned and complained his hangover was giving him. I had always asked him to stop, but the only way I seemed to be able to do was to keep him happy. Being with him had always worked, but when he left, he left me broken. I wasn't sure how to deal with it, being without him when I knew he wasn't safe alone. He had always been there for me, as my sun, my light when I needed him - but Jacob needed me just as much.
I didn't want it, but before I could stop it, his lips were crushed to mine, and my body became unresponsive and limp against his. I did not have the strength or the want to pull away, but I could practically taste the liquid he had consumed as kissed me, rough and demanding, his body pressed close enough to mine to not give me enough space. I wanted to badly to get him off, and my mind screamed to push him off of me, but I couldn't do it. The part of me that still loved Jake screamed that he needed this, and that it was my duty to be there for him until he was himself again - it had been my fault he felt hurt enough to do it in the first place, right? If I had gone to the damn party, this wouldn't have happened, anyway.
But suddenly, the weight of his body was off mine, the persistent lips gone completely. I heard a string of curses fly from Jake's mouth, and when I finally snapped my eyes open, I realized they were all directed at Edward.
"You bastard! Let me go! Get the hell of me!"
"That's not how you treat women," Edward snarled quietly, but I knew that there was hidden venom behind his carefully controlled tone - and I knew if I didn't stop him, then he would hurt Jacob when he could not be held accountable for his actions. I was about to open my mouth and speak, when Jacob opened his and spoke, instead.
"Is this what changed you, Bella? Huh, is it? Is this what you needed to tell me? That you've moved on? Was it this pretty boy, Bella? Huh?" I bit my lip to keep myself quiet, closed my eyes to keep the tears in. He didn't mean it, I reminded myself. He was just drunk. "Well, what was it? The looks? Was it the money? I saw the car in the driveway, Bella. This pansy's gotta be loaded."
I felt the tears prickling, but I ignored it, trying to block out the words and everything around me. Trying to take it, just like I always did.
"You know, that's alright, Bells. That's all you ever were anyway. A pretty face, some eye candy." My eyes snapped open, and I could feel how wet my tears had made my cheeks, the way the sobs wracked my figure - he saw, too. "You know you were just someone between me and Leah's breakups, don't you?"
He's drunk, he's drunk, he doesn't mean it. He's just drunk, the voice reminded me, and I did my best to listen to it, to believe it; I filled my head with the words Jacob had said to me when we met in Seattle. I had to take it, it was my job.
"You know that's why I left, right? Leah was pregnant, Bella. She still is - but I can't be a father. I just came back to get over here, and when I do, well, this is what I find." He laughed, throwing his head back, and I knew he was close to falling over, by the way his words were almost incoherent, slurred to the point where they were almost all one word. "Are you pregnant, too, Bella? Did pretty boy knock you up? I could see how it could happen when -"
"SHUT UP!"
I wasn't sure who had spoken the words at first, just that the sobs that filled the room were mine, that my body was shaking, and the room was beginning to spin in my anger and confusion. "Please, Jake," I begged quietly, my voice weak and hoarse, feeling pitiful at the moment. I don't even think I was capable of walking at this point, but I realized then in the back of my head that it had been me who had screamed.
"Make me," his rough voice ordered as his arms grabbed me blindly, much too drunk to truly make moves like this. His lips were going to crash back into mine, and I wouldn't have been able to stop them - but I didn't have to. Strong arms from years of sports, muscled to perfection, grabbed him instead, for the first time since he had grabbed him I was reminded of Edward's presence.
"I thought I told you," he practically hissed, his voice now low and deadly, "not to treat a woman like that."
A/N: I know I promised no Jake bashing, but this really doesn't count, does it? :P He was drunk! I mean, he doesn't actually mean anything said here - minus a few things that he might have let slip (READ WHAT HE SAID CAREFULLY, GUYS, it's gonna come up later) - and he'll get to redeem himself in the next chapter. The thing is, this whole chapter kind of wrote itself, and I ended up hating this little version of Jake I typed up. It's funny how things work out like that, huh?
By the way, in case you want to flame me for making Jake OOC, everyone's a little different when they'd drunk. ;D I know this from experience.
Oh, and right there, that's another cliffhanger, isn't it? Whoops! I didn't mean to do it, I swear. xD No pointy objects, please!
Okay, so someone suggested that I give reviewers a quote from the next chapter - and I might just end up doing that if you do this time around, because one, I feel bad for giving you another cliffie, if you can call it that, and two, you guys are awesome and deserve it.
And if you don't review, I'll change this to BxJ - that's really only bad for the Team Edward fans who freaked out about Jake in the story, but oh well. :P (Except I would never really do that, because one, I have officially become aggravated with my Jake, and two, I prefer Edward myself.)
SO, before I get more pointy objects thrown at my head (lol), I'm gonna go ahead and end this little author's note.
Lots of love! Questions and all that, suggestions, whatever, go ahead and send them and I'll get back to you soon as possible. ;D
-Nick
