Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I really appreciate you telling me what you all think. This chapter is really just a filler, it's getting to the good parts soon, i promise.
BTW, Jacob and Lily are around 26/27. I wanted to write about a more mature Jacob so this is based about 10 years or so after the end of eclipse. Also the kids are seven (Faye) and nine (Amelia.) Hope that clears it up. (Okay, after re-reading this I just realised i made a huge mistake. I wrote this with Jacob being this age in mind and forgot to factor in claire only being two in the eclipse. I don't want to change it so for the sake of this story, please ignore that small error. Sorry!)
The rain had disappeared sometime during the night and when I left Lily's early in the morning a weak sun was breaking over the horizon. I had put her to bed hours ago and couldn't help but lie with her for awhile, watched her uneasy sleep. After the brief kiss, she had told me more about herself. She had admitted to being afraid that her friend was going to catch up to her, and that she would bring the drug dealers with her. It had broken my heart to hear her talk in such a small, frightened voice and I had sworn to her that I would protect her from them. She had smiled weakly at me and wiped a few tears away with the back of the hand and told me that she believed that I could. Then she had passed out and I had lifted her easily into a bed that hadn't been slept in for years.
I jogged lightly to the house and found Billy awake in the kitchen when I got in. He smiled knowingly at me and I sighed, reaching over to pour myself a cup of coffee.
"She's a keeper." He said lightly. I chuckled and nodded. "Very pretty." He continued.
"I know, dad."
"Is she... is she your imprint?" He asked uncertainly. I nodded.
"I think so. I can't get enough of her dad, I just want to spend all my time with her. I want to know everything that there is to know about her and then more. I want… God, I just want her." I couldn't explain in words exactly how much she meant to me. It never seemed to be enough; love wasn't the right word because it was so much more than that.
"I think she wants you too, son." He chuckled again. "I could see it in her eyes last night. She's falling for you and it's only been two days. Give her a week and she'll probably accept a proposal."
I laughed and shook my head. "I don't know dad. I don't know how to tell her what I am. What if she runs? What if she hates me? I don't think I could live with myself if she hated me."
"She won't hate you, Jake. But you should tell her soon. The sooner you tell her the sooner the two of you can really be together."
I nodded and sighed, rubbing my eyes. I needed to tell her soon or I was going to explode. And maybe she'd accept me. She has to, right? I mean, she told me she knew I would protect her. That had to count for something.
"Careful, Jake, you're going to drive yourself insane." Dad chuckled. I laughed with him and shook my head.
"I'm going to shower and change and then I'm going to head back. She needs help moving furniture out today. By the way, Dad, she told me to tell you to stop by anytime."
He smiled at me and I knew that he instantly adored her. My dad loved anyone who offered to cook for him, he was an old fashioned guy.
By the time I had picked up Embry's truck and then picked up Quil, Claire and Jared it was almost lunchtime. Jared complained about Kim's older brother the entire trip and I tried to tune him out. I already knew that Kim's family, who had moved away years ago and were just returning to La Push, had never really approved of Jared.
"Lily's really pretty, Jake." Claire said to me suddenly. I smiled at her and nodded. She was sitting in the front seat with me, with Quil and Jared arguing loudly in the back. "I like her." She continued. "She doesn't treat me like a kid. Like the rest of you do sometimes."
I love how blunt Claire is sometimes. She never hides what she thinks. It can really be a breath of fresh air. She grinned widely at me before slipping her sunglasses back down over her dark eyes. And she was right; the rest of us had watched her growing up and we still treated her like a ten year old sometimes, especially Emily and Sam.
"Is this the place?" Quil asked as I pulled the truck up the side of the house. I nodded and frowned as my eyes roamed over the house. The windows were all pushed open wide, the front door was held open with a small cabinet and there was music and laughter spilling out on to the street. I walked quickly up to the house and wrapped my fingers against the door frame. There was no reply but I recognised Sam's laugher and walked towards the sound. The two of them were at the kitchen table, Lily drinking from a bottle of water and Sam flicking through today's paper. I felt the jealousy descend quickly on me and frowned at Sam as he looked over at me. He rolled his eyes at me with a wry chuckle and stood to greet us. Lily smiled softly at me and I felt myself relax as I took a step towards her. I grinned as she closed the rest of the distance and wrapped a slim arm around my neck.
"Thanks for last night." She murmured softly. I closed my eyes at the feel of her breath against my ear and wrapped an arm around her waist, hugging her lightly.
"Anytime." I pulled back and smiled. "Billy's completely in love with you and the girls, by the way."
She chuckled and shrugged. "He's a sweet guy."
Hours later we had everything out and Jared and Sam agreed to drive it to a second hand store in Port Angeles. Quil and I were lying on the grass outside the house as Claire and Lily finished putting up the pictures she had bought earlier. They had left just after we arrived and driven to a decorating store in Forks, coming home with a half dozen different roles of wallpaper. Quil and Jared had fixed the upstairs while Sam and I had done down stairs. The house looked good and it was finally starting to loose that musty smell it had. All we were waiting on now were the movers.
"Claire seems to like her." Quil told me quietly. "And you know how hard she is to please."
I laughed and nodded. "Dad likes her too."
We fell silent for a few minutes before he spoke again.
"When are you going to tell her?" He asked. I shrugged and kept my eyes closed.
"I don't know. I'm afraid."
"That she'll run? That she'll think you're a monster?" I nodded and he smiled sadly. "It's a risk you gotta take though, Jake. And if it means anything, I don't think she's like that. I saw the way she kept glancing at you. She thinks you're hot." He joked. I laughed and nodded again. I had noticed the appreciative glances she had thrown at me every so often.
"But more than that," Quil continued. "She looks at you as if you mean something to her. I think you should tell her."
"Quil, come see my handiwork." Claire called from the doorway. Quil was on his feet instantly, and I followed slowly. Lily stood in the living room, surveying the pretty, black and white floral wallpaper on the walls.
"I like it." I whispered in her ear. She jumped and turned to face me, holding a hand over her heart,
"I didn't know you were standing there." She spoke softly, smiling shyly.
"Sorry." I smiled. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you."
"Hey, guys, I think this is the movers." Quil called the hallway. We made our way outside and greeted the two huge vans that pulled up next to the house. A tall man climbed out of the front seat and made his way towards us quickly.
"Is one of you Lily Bensa?"
I watched Lily step forward and sign the clipboard he held in his hand.
"There's a lot of stuff here. Sorry we're late arriving, we couldn't find this place on a map." The guy wasn't intentionally rude but the way he spoke made me want to hit him. Or maybe it was the fact that he looked Lily up and down and gave her an extremely pleased smile. I growled low in my throat as he took a step closer to her and ignored the warning looks Claire and Quil gave me, taking a step closer to her as well, so that I was standing almost directly behind her. I caught the man's eye and bared my teeth slightly, causing him to take a step back.
"Alright, guys, let's move in." He called to the men behind him.
"See, we'll be ready in no time." I whispered to Lily as Quil and I went to help them.
There was a lot of stuff; sofas and armchairs and tables and beds and wardrobes and cabinets and an oven and a fridge, washing machine, dryer and then came the personal things. I thought Claire's eyes were going to pop out of her head as the men wheeled off rack after rack of clothes and shoes and bags. Lily just laughed at Claire's amazed expression.
"You can have some of them, I don't wear most of it anymore anyway." She promised. "I'm just bad at throwing things out."
"Are you serious?" Claire squealed, hugging her. "Thank you so much."
Lily just laughed and smiled at me and Quil as Claire went and bossed the men about where to put the furniture.
"I always wanted a little sister." She said softly. I grinned at her as Quil strode towards Claire.
"Listen, Jacob, about last night…"
I shushed her quickly, not wanting to hear that she regretted it but she shook her head.
"I know I was drunk and stuff but I… I really like you. I realised that last night."
She looked so scared and shy that I couldn't help but answer her by reaching down and kissing her lips softly. She sighed against my lips and I felt myself sliding my hands down to her hips and pulling her closer to me. The kiss wasn't as chaste as yesterday; I could feel her heart pounding against my chest and as soon as her lips parted beneath mine I allowed myself to let go slightly. She felt so good against me, so soft and pliable. I never wanted to come back up for air but eventually I had to. I pulled back slightly, breathing deeply and gazing down at her.
"I really, really like you too."
