Just to put it out there: Edward fans/Jacob haters will love the outcome of this chapter x

Chapter Nine

It was a long flight and I wasn't particularly partial to planes. Everything had happened so quick, changed so substantially in such a short amount of time. I thought back to when I first moved to Forks. I was the drama free, quiet new girl. I had no problems, no worries. And now I had to figure out if I wanted to press charges against my former best friend who tried to rape me.

Charlie called me after I got off my plane to see what I wanted to do.

I wasn't expecting Charlie to arrest Jacob considering he was best friends with Billy, but honestly, Charlie was doing a whole lot of nothing. And I was pissed about it.

"DAD!" I screamed into my phone as I walked out of the airplane terminal.

The people walking behind me jumped.

"HE RAPED ME! WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?"

The people in front walked a little bit faster.

"I know Bells, but, I think that if I arrested him it would make you unhappy."

A petite lady dressed in blue greeted me at the gate, oblivious to my red face and acidic expression.

"Did you have a nice flight?" She said with a smile.

I just ignored her and yelled back at Charlie.

"Unhappy?!?! The only thing making me unhappy right now is that he is still ALIVE."

I heard Charlie sigh. I was practically in hysterics by the time I reached the baggage claim.

"I'll go and talk to him, okay?"

"IF THIS WAS ANYONE ELSE BESIDES JACOB YOU WOULD PUT HIS SORRY ARSE IN JAIL."

The people around me tried not to stare, but I knew what they were thinking. They all thought I was crazy. I was starting to think they were right.

I took a deep breath and tried to collect myself.

"I have to go," I said as I grabbed my bag off the belt. "I'll talk to you later, dad."

I didn't wait for his reply. I hung up and swung around, searching for Alice.

She appeared a minute later through the revolving doors of the airport.

Seeing her face made me forget everything, and I ran into her arms.

"Alice!" I squealed.

"Bella," she didn't seem as ecstatic as she usually did.

"Oh no, what's wrong?" I said.

Great, more problems.

"Nothing, I just…well I missed you. So much."

She seemed genuine.

"Oh Alice, I've missed you so much too. I made such a mistake, and I'm stupid, and I can't believe I did this, and ahhhh!"

Tears started spilling down my cheeks; she wiped them away.

"Don't cry Bella, please. It will all be okay," she hugged me into her stone chest. "Let's go out to breakfast and you can tell me everything."

I nodded and she grabbed my bag. She held onto me the whole way to the car.

"So," Alice said, smiling at me.

"So," I said back.

I stared out the window as we sped past the green woods. This place looked just like Forks.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alice said, not trying to push. "You will have to at some time." She added.

"Jacob…" I paused, trying to figure out how to word what I wanted to say.

"Jacob kind of sort of tried to rape me."

Alice's serene expression turned sour.

"What? Like he actually…"

"He didn't go all the way," I said. "I bit him."

I heard the sweet sound of bells. God, I missed her laugh.

"Sorry for laughing," she said, trying to stifle her giggle.

"I made him bleed."

She laughed again; the sound made me smile.

"Oh Bella, what will we do with you?"

I was quiet for a moment while I thought of my next question carefully.

"Alice, will you please forgive me? I've done a lot of damage."

Her expression was calm again.

"Of course I will forgive you, Bella. You're like a sister to me, you know that."

I smiled at her.

"Okay Alice, I want the truth," I took a deep breath, "how bad is he?"

She shrugged and turned towards me.

"He's a big boy, Bella. He'll be fine."

She didn't answer my question. I gave her a worried look.

"He was pretty bad when you left. He just sat in his room all day buried under his covers. He wouldn't hunt, wouldn't talk to anyone. I really wanted to kick his butt."

"Sounds like me last September," I said with a shudder.

She placed a hand on my shoulder but didn't say anything else until we got to the restaurant.

I told her everything; the dreams, my internal voice, all the feelings. Poor Alice, I felt like I should be paying her for her services as my shrink.

"I told him to get over himself, but he kept saying that you were probably happy in Jacob's arms blah blah blah. He reads why too much into things."

"I was happy, at first. I thought he was what I wanted. Apparently I was wrong."

"I never liked Jacob," she added, "but I never thought he would do something like this."

"Me neither," I sighed back.

We were both quiet for a while. I shoved a forkful of eggs into my mouth and chewed. Alice just looked at me with a thoughtful expression.

"Bella, Edward doesn't know I'm here right now; no one does."

How was that even possible? Edward could hear her every thought.

"I've been going through hell trying to think about everything thing except you. It's a real pain, especially because I was so concerned about you."

"Alice, you didn't have to hide it from him. I'm so sorry."

"Bella, if he knew that you had been hurt…"

"He would kill Jacob," I finished her sentence.

"Exactly."

"You know," I looked up at her, "that wouldn't be such a bad thing right now."

Alice laughed, but I think she was secretly worried that I wasn't kidding.

I wasn't; not at all.

***

"I wonder how this is going to go," Alice said as we pulled onto a long, dirt drive.

"Woah," I said as we approached a huge gray house.

The house was bigger than the one in Forks was.

"I love this house," Alice said, answering my awe filled expression.

"Carlisle and Esme had it built a few years ago. Esme did most of the designing."

It had a lot of the same features as the one in Forks did. Huge window walls, a gigantic garage, a river flowing in the backyard. I immediately felt like I was home.

"I'm not sure how he is going to react, so, just stay calm."

I nodded. I didn't know how I was going to act, let alone him.

"Ready?" She took my hand and pushed open the front door.

Her expression changed completely, like she had let something go.

"He knows now."

Oh crap.

As I walked in the door five sets of eyes assessed me. Some widened, others sparkled.

Esme flew to my side and hugged me.

"Bella, what a surprise! We weren't expecting a visit."

"Nice to see you, Esme."

Carlisle got up and hugged me also.

"We missed you," he breathed into my hair.

Emmett flung himself off the couch and into the air.

"Hell yes! Now it won't be so boring." He messed up my hair and gave me a high five.

Rosalie feigned a less than thrilled smile, and Jasper waved.

"Where's Edward?" Alice said to Esme. "Is he upstairs?"

"No, he's out hunting actually."

"Good, we have time."

Alice took my hand and sat with me on the couch.

"Speak," she commanded me.

I took a deep breath and once more told my story to the five very analytical- and one not so analytical- vampire.

I edited the story a lot more than I did when I was telling it to Alice, knowing she would fill them in at some point.

It was a little embarrassing telling Carlisle how Jacob was on top of my trying to take my clothes off, but I knew he didn't mind. Everyone except Rosalie looked interested in what I was saying.

Rosalie sat in a white arm chair with a smug look. Her hair was up in a bun and little strands of curly blonde hair were falling loosely out of it. Her beauty still left me breathless.

"So that's it," I said with a sigh. Esme, who was sitting beside me, embraced me tightly and wiped a tear off my cheek that I wasn't aware I had shed.

"Oh hunny," she said, still holding me.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. I feel awful because of it."

Carlisle placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Bella, we understand why you would feel that way but please don't. Everything happens for a reason. Nobody is mad."

"Hmph!" Rosalie laughed sarcastically.

"Rose," Esme chided.

"No Esme, she should know."

Rosalie got out of the chair and walked up to me.

"Edward wasn't okay Bella. All he did way lie in bed and sulk. It was worse than when he left you last year, way worse. You should feel bad, honestly. After everything he's done for you, how could you leave him for that stupid teenage dog?"

Nobody spoke. They were either too shocked or too scared of Rosalie to answer.

Scared or not, I really didn't need her apathy.

"Don't think I don't know how it feels Rosalie, because I do. There is not one fiber of my being that doesn't regret what I did. I was stupid, and I don't know what I was thinking. I was just…confused. So much happened so quickly, I just- I wanted to be normal again…"

I was sobbing uncontrollably by this point. I had gotten off the couch and was standing in front of Rose.

"But I realized something," I continued. I took a step forward so that I could smell her sweet breath. "I don't want normal, ever. I want Edward."

For once, Rosalie had no comeback. She just stared at me, and I stared back through watery eyes.

Then something happened that I didn't think was possible.

Rosalie hugged me.

"I thought for sure she would slap her," I heard Emmett mumble to Jasper behind me.

"Errr, thanks." I muttered to Rose.

Rosalie pursed her lips and gave a little nod and then walked out of the room.

"Rosalie doesn't hug." Alice said incredulously.

Everyone just stared at each other, still not saying a word.

"Okay, well, this has been awkward and humiliating to the highest degree," I said heading for the door.

"I think I need some air."

The mid afternoon sun was faintly trying to break out of the clouds unsuccessfully. It wasn't cold, but I was shivering. I spied a little swing on the side of the Cullen's front yard and I sauntered over to it.

It was a pale, white wooden swing attached to some higher branches in a pine tree. I sat down and grabbed its cold, metal chains. I calmly let myself swivel backwards and forwards, dangling my feet to the earth. I felt like I was a little kid again, and I vehemently wished it was true.

But there was something I wanted more than to be an innocent little girl; and that was Edward.

As I swung, I started to cry again. It wasn't for any particular reason, I just needed to cry. I saw my reflection in one of the lower window walls.

The person emulated back at me was not someone I recognized. Her cheeks were bright red and puffy, with big brown tear-filled eyes. Her hair flowed down her shoulders in long, soft tendrils. She looked so beautiful when she cried; it scared me.

I wiped my tears away and looked at the ground, I needed to compose myself. Any moment one of the Cullens would come out and tell me that none of this is my fault and that it would all be okay.

But it was my fault. It didn't matter what they said, this was all because of me. I had the power to destroy someone's life, the power to keep someone who truly loved me at an arm's length; it wasn't alright. I picked and choose who I wanted to love based on my feelings that day, based on my preference. I couldn't have both Edward and Jacob, but yet I still tried.

I needed to stop trying. I couldn't make them both happy. Someone would get hurt, no matter what.

So who did I want to hurt more?

It hardly seemed like a humane question to ask, but it was the truth. I loved Edward more than I would ever love Jacob. Ever.

I had to hurt Jacob to be with Edward, and suddenly I was okay with that reasoning.

Time would heal all wounds, Jacob would survive. And someday, he would find his true love.

I took my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Jacob's number.

He didn't answer.

Hi, you've reached Jacob. Leave a message, kay? Bye

I smiled at his nonchalant message tone.

"Jake, it's me. I'm sorry, for everything. I shouldn't have picked you over Edward because truth is, I love him more. You were nothing but amazing to me, and all I did was hurt you- I'm still hurting you, and it needs to end. Thank you for everything you have showed me; the wolves, riding on your back through the woods, cliff diving, motorcycles, all of it. I hope you find the most beautiful girl in the world, someone that actually deserves you. Well, okay, I guess that's all. Err, bye."

I was helplessly shaking when I pressed the end button. But a wave of relief washed over me. It was over. My mind was made up and I had a clear insight of what I wanted- well actually, who I wanted.

"Edward," I breathed his name into the air thinking I was alone.

"Bella," a smooth, velvet voice came from behind me; it made every nerve in my body come alive.

Okay, don't kill me. Last time I promised you Edward, and well at least you got the Cullens.

He will definitely be in the next chapter in full, I swear on Rob's beautiful hair.

Okay, the reviews have been making me feel so inspired. Thank you so much guys for everything.

But do me a favor and review this one too.

Update either sometime this week or on the weekend; it depends on my schedule, AKA how many tests my teachers give me.

Oh, and I hope all you Jacob haters are satisfied; I know I am.

Xoxo Lea xx