Rising Sun
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-thanks for the kind reviews, Nikki.
Part Eight
Bella and Petey were practically mute on the drive home from La Push. Jacob desperately tried to engage her in conversation but she had shut down. She mumbled she didn't feel like speaking and turned to stare sightlessly out of the window. Petey had closed his eyes as soon as he was in the car; it was as if both of them had retreated into another world in their heads, a world far removed from this one. Leah had tried to come back with them but Jacob had snapped at her to leave them alone. He blamed her partially for what happened, he didn't know for certain what Leah had said to Bella, but it had been enough to set her on the path to self-destruction. Then there was Emily, Jacob was so livid with Sam's imprint. How dare she open her filthy mouth and call Bella a freak? Between her and Leah it must have sounded to Bella like he had been doing nothing but gossiping about her situation to his friends which was so far from the truth. It was the damn pack mind which was at fault here. He had confided in no one, not even his closest friends, Embry and Quil, about Bella. What the pack knew they had picked from his mind, and they barely understood the extent of Bella and Petey's fragility.
The normally fifteen minute journey seemed endless and it was with relief when Jacob parked the car in the Swan's driveway behind Charlie's cruiser. It seemed that Bella's father was finally home from work. When Jacob switched off the engine the silence was deafening. He swallowed thickly as he glanced behind at Petey who was beginning to open his eyes. Bella unclipped her seat belt and climbed out of the car without saying a word to Jacob, she hurriedly picked Petey up from the backseat, throwing Jacob a dark look when he tried to help. He felt frustrated and didn't know what to say. His father had been right, he should never have taken Bella to the bonfire party it had been too much. He had blown it and he didn't know how to even begin to apologise to her and give her an explanation that made an ounce of sense. He followed behind Bella as she carried Petey up the porch steps.
"Bella, I just want…."
Bella halted and took in a deep breath before she turned to face him. Her face was a mask of pain and hurt was clearly shining in her large brown eyes. Jacob felt like he had been punched in the gut. "I want to thank you for everything you've done." She said softly, she was still holding onto her brother tightly as she spoke, she rubbed Petey's spiky hair absently, trying to soothe him with her touch if not with her voice. "But I don't think we should see each other anymore. Goodnight." With those parting words she entered the house and closed the door after her, leaving Jacob standing alone on the front porch feeling absolutely devastated.
Charlie was sitting in the front room watching the flat screen. He turned when he saw his daughter enter the house and was immediately alarmed at the state of her. Her face was white and she seemed irrevocably sad and lost as she mumbled soothing phrases to Petey who was crying quietly into her shoulder. Charlie got up and hurried over to them, worried about what on earth had happened to make them like this. He had thought they were going to the bonfire party with Jacob and enjoying themselves, little Petey had been so eager to go.
"Bella, what's wrong?" He asked cautiously.
Bella began to climb the stairs like a ghost, her eyes seemed far away as if she wasn't really there but lost in her own head. "Can we talk tomorrow? I'm feeling very tired right now, so is Petey." She murmured. She didn't turn back to look at her father as she continued to climb the stairs before disappearing into her shared room with Petey. Behind them Max followed closely, ever the guard dog as he kept protectively by their side.
Bella carefully helped her little brother undress and put on his dinosaur pyjamas. She then put him to bed on the bottom bunk. Immediately Max took up position beside Petey, who reached out and gripped a chunk of the dog's fur in his fist as if just feeling Max's calming presence reassured him. "Bells." He whispered disconsolately. "Will we have to go now?" His voice was full of resignation as if he already knew the answer.
"Yes, it's time." Bella felt a lone tear roll down her cheek as she hunkered down beside her brother and stroked his forehead with gentle fingers.
"Can Max come too?" Petey's lower lip trembled as he held on tighter to the dog's fur.
"I don't think so, Petey. He will need feeding and…"
"Please Bells. Please?" Petey sounded so desperate that his plea pierced Bella's fractured heart and made it ache in her chest. How could she deny him this one small thing? She would find a way to make it work, for his sake.
"Okay, Petey. Max can come too. You have to sleep now, we'll be leaving in a few hours." Bella watched her brother relax a little now that he knew the dog was coming with them. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a troubled sleep. Bella watched him for a moment before she began to quietly pack their few belongings into a bag along with the money she had managed to save. There was no chance of taking any from Charlie, and any way she would feel guilty for doing so considering how kind he had been to them. No, she would find a way to get then what they needed. After she was finished she sat down on the floor next to Max and waited while the hours slowly drifted by. There was no way she could seek rest, the nightmares would imbue her with more fear than she felt already, no it was best to stay awake and remain alert until it was time to go.
Jacob ran as a wolf for hours. He didn't head back to the bonfire party, he was too angry. He wanted to sort through his emotions before he confronted Sam and Emily, as well as Leah. Guilt ate away at him as he sprinted through the thick forest, the twigs and low branches snagged his fur and dug him in the ribs as he weaved through the dense foliage, but he felt none of it. He was lost in his own head, replaying in his mind Bella's last words to him. He knew that Paul and Jared were phased, but for once neither of them intruded on his thoughts, in fact he felt some empathy from his brothers, especially Paul. Lahote had been on the wrong end of his father's anger many times when he was young and seeing his past pain reflected in the eyes of a small, four year old boy was hard to take.
It was nearly one in the morning when Jacob finally gave in and headed home for the night. He was due to patrol in the morning and needed his rest, though he doubted he would sleep much. He phased back and walked the last few miles back to his house so he could have total privacy. He had gone over and over in his head on what he should do about Bella, telling her the complete and honest truth would be a start, but he remembered his father's warning about Bella being too emotionally fragile to cope with anything remotely like what he would have to confess. He felt upset and completely frustrated. There seemed to be a brick wall in his way whatever course of action he chose to take. The worst feeling was knowing that he had hurt Bella and Petey by his stubborn refusal to listen to Billy's advice. He thought he knew best, his dad had been right, it was because he wanted Bella to come and experience something that he loved which had led him down this path and resulted in setting their recovery back tenfold. Sharing the cooking lessons with Bella had shown him she was gradually beginning to trust him, he had sensed it, and now his own stupidity had ruined everything. She didn't want to see him and he couldn't blame her.
To Jacob's surprise he found that Billy was still awake and seemed to be waiting for him. His father was sitting by the table carving something; it was a miniature replica of Max that he was going to give Petey as a present. "You're back then." He said unnecessarily when Jacob came silently into the room and joined him.
"You heard?" Jacob put his head in his hands as despair and shame washed over him.
"Everybody heard." Billy sighed heavily and stopped carving. He looked at his son and reached out and gripped his broad shoulder. "How are they?"
"Bella told me she didn't want to see me again." Jacob finally raised his head; his eyes were bright with moisture as he felt tears welling in them. It had been years since he had cried; the last time had actually been at his mother's funeral. "I've messed up big time, dad, and I don't know what to do. I really don't. I should have listened to you."
"I had a meeting with Sam and the other elders tonight after the bonfire party ended." Billy revealed. "He was reprimanded for his actions and so was Emily. She had no right to say that to Bella, none at all." This news surprised Jacob. It was rare that the elders would interfere in the way that a pack Alpha behaved, but he was glad that they had done so. It needed to be done. Sam should never have allowed his imprint to say such cruel things to Bella, especially knowing how fragile she was. "Leah came and confessed what she had said to Bella too. It seems that she tried to bond with Charlie's daughter and didn't really understand the extent of what Bella has been through. She feels exceptionally guilty and wanted me to tell you personally that she is sorry and hopes to go and talk to Bella herself to apologise for maybe riling Bella up before the confrontation with Emily occurred."
Jacob felt mollified that Leah had confessed to what she had done. He had been wondering what she had said to Bella, now he knew, although it didn't make the situation any better. "How did Sam cope with being told he was in the wrong?" He questioned. "I plan on having words with him myself and Emily."
"That is your prerogative." Billy picked up the piece of wood and began to carve it again. "Sam was not happy at what he thought was an unprovoked assault on his imprint, but conceded he should have handled things differently. He said he didn't mean to upset Petey and that he was only trying to calm the little boy down. As for Emily she pretended to be contrite but you know I am not a fan of the Young girl, it all looked like an act to me, but she is Sam's imprint and hopefully this warning will sink in and teach her to keep her mouth shut."
Jacob agreed with his father. He had never really warmed to Emily; she had always come across as duplicitous but managed to hide it behind a veil of sickly sweetness which set your teeth on edge. He sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his cropped hair. None of this solved his problem about what to do regarding Bella and Petey. "Dad I need your advice." He pleaded. Billy stopped carving and looked at him expectantly. "I've really screwed up with Bella; she has lost what little trust she had in me. How can I get her to forgive me?"
"That won't be easy, Jake. Bella is very withdrawn emotionally and with none of us having any idea of the true extent of what she and Petey have been through it is going to be hard to try and find the best way to help her understand."
"She says she doesn't want to see me again."
"Then write to her, Jake. Put it all down on paper about how sorry you are. At least she will be able to read your apology without having to deal with you face to face while you say it. Hopefully she will be able to understand that your intentions were good and forgive you for pushing too hard." Billy began to carve again. "You can send this to Petey for me with your letter. He asked me to make it for him." Jacob could already see the polished wood forming in the shape of a dog. Billy had an amazing talent. His father's idea sounded a good one so Jacob decided to pen the letter while the words were fresh in his mind. He would deliver it in the morning and hoped fervently that Bella would forgive him.
Charlie woke up at his usual time of six in the morning. He had a shower, put on his uniform and made himself a quick breakfast By the time this was all done it was gone seven and he needed to leave for work. He decided to check on Bella and Petey before he left, normally they were early risers but they must have decided to have a lie in. Charlie ran lightly up the stairs and knocked gently on the door, there was no answer. He tried again before tentatively twisting the handle and opening it. The room was empty. A cold chill clenched at his heart as the underlying fear that had been hiding inside him ever since he had gotten his daughter back came to the fore. He stepped into the room and flung open the wardrobes and drawers. They were all empty, all their clothes were missing. Charlie thundered back down the stairs and out of the house and his worst fears were realised when he saw that the Chevy was missing from the drive. It was certain, Bella and Petey had run off.
A/N-thanks for reading! :'(
