Chapter Ten: Break ups
The summer was amazing. After Embry's birthday the summer was spent with him, Jake, Quil and I in the plastic garage behind the old red house, at work, home with Uncle Charlie when Bella was out with Edward, or on dates with Embry. Our relationship had progressed from calm cheek pecks and holding hands to light make out sessions and minor cases of roaming hands. I think every day I became slightly more in love with that boy. The way he held me, the look in his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking, the little things he did, one day he brought a simple kala lily, another he brought a box of chocolate and a movie for no reason at all. How on my grandmother's birthday he drove me to the cemetery to put peonies on her grave when I asked him to, and how he held me close while I cried and comforted me.
Most of the days we spent at Jake's, Jake and Embry taught me some more about cars, and Quil taught me the tools and the differences between them. By the last week of summer, I could change the brakes and pads, as well as the oil and tires. They even got a picture of the day Jake was under the car changing the oil and I was helping him and the tank broke above me. I had oil covering me from the top of me head to my butt, in the picture I was glaring as the guys laughed at me.
Embry took pity on me and called his mom to bring me a change of clothes. Tiffany showed up ten minutes later and laughed as she saw me and was told by the boys what happened. Billy let me use the shower so I could clean up. Thank god Billy and Jake still had Rachel and Rebecca's hair and body wash here, or I would have smelled like a guy for the rest of the day.
Currently school was picking back up. My hours at work were cut back from eleven to four Monday through Friday to three to eight Tuesday through Friday and twelve to four thirty on Saturday. This allowed me to get my school work done and still hang out the guys, Ash and Maggie.
Today was Bella's birthday and I was to act like a cousin that actually cared today. I got her a gift card to a book store in Seattle because I knew nothing she liked would be at the library or in the stores in Port Angeles.
At school I saw Bella try to keep Alice from making a big deal out of her birthday. It was like she suddenly had a fear of aging. She almost flipped when Uncle Charlie made a joke out of an imaginary grey hair. She jumped out of bed quicker than I thought she could or should because she is such a klutz, to check her hair. I think if she had actually found one she would have plucked it or gone to the store for hair dye.
"Anna! Come take a group picture with us!" Alice yelled holding up the camera Uncle Charlie had gotten Bella while waving for me to come over to Edward's car. Bella didn't look too keen on that thought.
"No thank you Alice. But you guys have fun with your selfies." I called back and climbed into the car and drove down to La Push. Edward and Bella were going to the house and to watch Romeo and Juliet before he made her change and go with him to his house for the party Alice was throwing for her with the Cullens.
"What's Bella doing for her birthday?" Jake asked from under the rabbit as he tinkered with the chaise. The rabbit was actually starting to look like a half decent car.
"Alice Cullen is throwing her a party at their house, so I don't have to act like a cousin that actually cares until after I go home to cook for Uncle Charlie." I replied from my spot in Bry's lap as I rolled my eyes.
Embry chuckled. He thought the way I butted heads with Bella was stupid, but he also thought it was pretty funny, so he didn't push that we get over our behavior and become best friends.
Jake rolled out from under the car and pointed to a nicely wrapped little box on the work bench.
"You mind taking that to her for me? I would give it to her myself but dad has become pretty strict about the time I spend in Forks." Jake said rolling his eyes and rolling back under the car.
"Do I have to sing happy birthday and do a little dance or can I just leave it on her bed for her to find later?" I asked with heavy sarcasm.
Jake stuck his head out from under the car with an eyebrow raised.
"You can leave it on her bed. The singing and dancing is totally up to you." He joked and went back to work on the car.
Embry's slight shaking underneath me became more pronounced after Jake's comment.
"Harkiedy, hark." I said as I lightly slapped Bry's chest. I stood up and grabbed the box off the bench and put it in the car so I didn't forget it.
I walked back to the garage. "Who wants to help me cook?" I asked and all the guys quickly got up from their spots making a beeline for the house, hoping to get to be a taste tester.
Embry grabbed me up like I was nothing and hauled me to the house and I laughed the whole way.
After I finished the cooking and I kissed Embry, said good bye to the guys, drove home and made dinner for Uncle Charlie and I. While the food was cooking I took the box from Jake and a sticky note and went up to Bella's room. I grabbed a pen from her desk and wrote, 'From Jake' on it, so she would know who it was from and placed it and the box on her bed, before going back down stairs.
After dinner I cleaned the dishes and joined Uncle Charlie on the couch as he watched ESPN with a beer in hand.
Bella came home at about eight, which was oddly early.
"You're home early." Uncle Charlie commented and I turned to look at her and see a white bandage sticking out from under her shirt.
"What happened to your arm?" I asked and this caught Uncle Charlie's attention as he turned to inspect the damage.
"Fell into some glass plates." Bella said with a shrug. Something was off but she wasn't yelling at anyone or running up the stairs so I didn't push.
"New bottle of pain killers in the cabinet up stairs." I said turning back to the TV.
I heard her go upstairs and shut a door. I said good night to Uncle Charlie soon after and headed upstairs. As I passed Bella's room I swear I could hear Bella talking to someone but passed it off as being tired and went to my room, changed and passed out on my bed.
The next few days Edward and Alice didn't show up at school and Bella was starting to look upset. I came home from Jake's at six with Billy, Jake and Embry. Uncle Charlie had called saying that Bella had gone for a walk with Edward after school and that she hadn't shown back up after.
When I pulled in there were vehicles parked all over the road and the lawn, of the people who were out in the woods searching for Bella. Harry Clearwater and Mr. Newton were hunched over a map of Forks with Uncle Charlie deciding where to search next.
"Uncle Charlie!" I called as I ran to him and gave him a big hug, I knew he would be extremely upset that Bella was missing.
"Anna." Uncle Charlie said hugging me tight.
"We'll find her, we have to." He whispered sounding a bit desperate.
"I'm gonna call the Cullen place again." Uncle Charlie said grabbing the phone and started dialing.
"They're gone Charlie. Moved to L.A. The doc put in his papers today." Harry said as he grabbed Uncle Charlie's shoulder. This seemed to cause him to slightly panic.
He nodded and turned back to the map and Harry nodded to me and Billy joined the group around the map. I walked over and sat on the porch with Jake and Embry. Embry slung his arm around my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
"It'll be alright Anna. They'll find her." He whispered.
I slumped against him. "Let's just hope she hasn't run off with him again. That would kill Uncle Charlie." I whispered and turned to see Uncle Charlie looking anxious as he looked over the map and talked with the other men around it as I snuggled into Embry's side.
Bella was carried out of the woods at around eight. A tall, buff, native man with no shirt and cut off shorts carried her across the lawn.
"I got her." He yelled.
Uncle Charlie went running across the lawn to make sure was alright, as did most of the search party. I stayed back with Embry and held the door for Uncle Charlie as he carried Bella in and Dr. Grandy. The tall man that found Bella and two other tall men came in behind us. I noticed how Jake cringed and stayed on the opposite side of the room from them.
Bella just laid on the couch like a log as everyone stood around watched Dr. Grandy check her out for injuries.
"She just kept saying 'he's gone' over and over again as I carried her back." The man said as trying to clear up some of the confusion.
"She's physically fine." Dr. Grandy said as he stood up and started packing his things back up.
"Just cold and needs some rest." He said and motioned for everyone to follow him out. Uncle Charlie walked up to the man that brought Bella back, before he left.
"Thank you Sam." Uncle Charlie said as he extended his hand for Sam to shake.
I couldn't believe it. This was Sam Uley. The Sam Uley that I had met when he was dating Leah. Holy shit, he's changed.
I stepped up behind Uncle Charlie and extended my hand. He shook Uncle Charlie's then mine.
"Thank you." I whispered and he nodded before walking out the door with the two other men right behind him. I walked up stairs and got blankets out of the cabinet. I left a set on the couch, another on the loveseat and the last on the down stairs guest bedroom's bed as Charlie carried Bella up stairs to bed.
I pecked Embry good night and hugged Jake, Billy, and Uncle Charlie before heading up to bed.
"We'll talk tomorrow." I whispered into Jake's ear as I hugged him. I felt him nod and turned for the stairs.