Control
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!
Part Ten
Bella knew something was wrong when she spotted the wolf pack milling around outside the small redwood house. There was no sign of Jacob or Sam, but the others-Paul, Jared, Embry, Quil, Leah and Seth Clearwater-were all hanging around together in a group. Seth looked like he was being comforted by his older sister. With Harry's death still raw in everyone's minds, Bella had to wonder whether it was because he was upset over that, or for more sinister reasons.
"What are Sue's kids doing here?" Charlie asked in confusion as he climbed out of the cruiser.
For once Bella envied her father being in the dark. Right in that moment she wished she was too. Suddenly she didn't want to go inside the house. She instinctively knew that something must have happened to Jacob, otherwise he would be with the rest of the pack. Her skin burned as she clumsily exited the car and followed her father toward the restless wolves.
"Hey, kids." Charlie greeted the Clearwater siblings when he reached them. He looked with sympathy at Seth's downcast face and sighed heavily. Leah stood with a protective arm around her younger brother. "Is everything alright?" He asked her cautiously.
"Jake got hurt." Seth spilled in agony before Leah could stop him.
"Seth." Jared said warningly.
Bella got chills down her spine when she heard this. She looked in alarm at the gathered group. Not one of them would meet her eyes, not even Quil or Embry. With a quiet sob she pushed through them and ran into the house, leaving Charlie staring after her.
Bella felt totally disconnected from her body. Like she was caged in some small corner of her head, no longer at the controls. But she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't think straight. Her agony and despair was too strong for that. There was no escaping the pain.
"Jacob." She screamed. "No, no, no, no..." Every second passing was like an hour as she kept up a running commentary of his name in her head.
She wasn't even aware of Billy as she rushed past him and Sam, completely ignoring them when they called her name. The blood rushed to her ears. She felt faint and as if she was running in quicksand. All the while the fever burned inside her, thrumming underneath her torment as if in perpetual motion. Then she was outside his door. She hesitated, breathing heavily, tears stinging at her eyes. She was afraid-so afraid of what she would see.
Taking another huge breath she opened the door a crack and peered inside. She saw Jacob lying on his bed, he was awake, his expression guarded. There was no animation in his dark eyes. His body was covered in a heavy quilt, which was strange as she knew covers irritated him because of his incredible heat.
Bella finally stepped into the room and shut the door quietly behind her. "Jake." She whispered and then burst into tears.
Jacob didn't respond at first. He looked at her face for a long moment. Then, with some effort, he rearranged his expression into a mocking smile. "Today has been crap I can tell you. I nearly got her, Bells. And I would have too if Leah hadn't been such an idiot trying to prove she's as tough as the rest of us. I have to be the idiot who saves her. And because I was distracted the damn redhead got one over on me instead."
Bella was fighting for words. She couldn't seem to summon them. The tears continued to trickle out of the corners of her eyes as she stared at him like a fool. "How are you feeling?" She mumbled lamely, and mentally kicked herself. What a stupid question.
"Like I've been drop kicked by a vampire." Jacob groaned.
"You must be in so much pain." Bella bit her lip, making it bleed. Another stupid question. She was dumb, dumb, dumb!
"Just a bit." Jacob smiled mockingly again before the wry humour left his face. His dark eyes slowly warmed up. His forehead creased, like he was worried. "Are you still mad at me? Is that why you are standing way over there?"
"Me?" Bella squeaked in alarm. "Why would I be mad at you?"
"Well, I mean, I was pretty sure that you would still be upset. I mean you did hug me...well my wolf anyway. So I thought maybe you had forgiven me just a bit. I've been going crazy with worrying about you ever since I woke up. I didn't know whether you would even want to visit me. The suspense was terrible. But then you got here real quick, actually..."
It took Bella a minute to even understand. He babbled on, looking more and more awkward, until she finally got what he was saying. Then she hurried to reassure him.
"No, no, Jake! I'm fine. Too fine, really." Perspiration broke out on her forehead and she swept the back of her hand across it. "Why is it so hot?" She blew out her cheeks and shrugged off her heavy jacket.
"Are you okay?" Jacob shifted his weight, throwing one leg off the bed as if he was going to try and stand.
"What are you doing?" Bella demanded through the tears. "Lie down, you idiot, you'll hurt yourself!" She hastily crossed the room and pushed against his shoulder.
Jacob surrendered, leaning back with a gasp of pain, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down on the bed with him, cuddling her against his side. Bella curled up against his hot skin, feeling even hotter as her own temperature spiked.
"Bells, you're burning up." Now she was lying beside him Jacob could feel how boiling she was. "You're running a fever. When did this start?"
"I'm not sure." Bella said vaguely. She took a deep, ragged breath, trying to control herself. "An hour or so ago, I think. It was when I was talking to Edward." She mumbled.
"Dammit, Bella!" Jacob growled as he recoiled away from her.
"Jake?" Bella was confused by his reaction. She rubbed her aching temples and tried to concentrate. "That's why I came over. I wanted you to know that they are coming back. Alice reached Edward in time..."
"Why would you do this to me?" Jacob closed his eyes and ground his teeth together. "Do you enjoy hurting me? Is that it? Do you get some twisted satisfaction out of it." He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "I can't believe this! Here I was thinking you'd come straight over to see me because you were worried about me once you found out I was injured. But, again, it's all about him. I was so stupid thinking anything had changed."
His accusations sent Bella reeling. "What are you talking about?" She snapped angrily. "I didn't know you'd been hurt. Nobody told me anything. I asked Dad to drive me here so I could warn you that the Cullens are coming back. I made it clear to Edward that I was pissed at him, but I got so angry I couldn't even see straight when I spoke to him on the phone. I thought I was gonna phase into a wolf like you. And I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't right now. How dare you..."
Jacob cut her off with a kiss. His hand moved to the nape of her neck as he twisted his fingers into the back of her hair. His lips, disconcertingly soft and warm, gently tried to coax a reaction out of her. Bella had been so shocked at the sudden contact of his mouth on hers that she remained passive for a moment. Jacob made an irritated sound in the back of his throat as he pulled away and stared at Bella mutely.
"So, it's still him." He said bitterly.
Anger rocked through Bella like the whiplash after a heavy punch. She scowled at him. She reached out and grabbed fistfuls of his hair and yanked his face back to hers. "You are frustrating beyond belief."
"Me?" Jacob exclaimed.
The jolt of anger unbalanced Bella's tenuous hold on self-control. With a wild gasp she kissed him back. Her lips moved with his in strange, confusing ways they'd never moved before. She didn't have to be careful with Jacob, and he certainly wasn't being careful with her. Bella's fingers tightened in his hair as she pulled him closer. He was everywhere. The electricity between them was all consuming. She couldn't see or hear or feel anything that wasn't Jacob. His heat eclipsed hers and bound them together.
"What the hell?" Charlie exploded as he opened Jacob's bedroom door to find his daughter fused at the lips with his best friend's son. "Bella, what are you doing?"
"Dad?" Bella squealed as she rolled away from Jacob in shock and tumbled onto the floor. Jacob was too slow to save her.
"Unbelievable!" Charlie frowned angrily as he bent down and grabbed hold of Bella's arm so he could help her up. He glared in Jacob's direction when he saw the boy fighting a smile. "You can stop grinning for a start. You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Huh?" Jacob blinked in confusion.
"And why you're rewarding him with a kiss I don't know. I can't understand your behaviour, Bells." Charlie continued to fuss as he focused his laser like stare on his daughter instead. "Did he tell you how he got injured?"
"Um...no." Bella looked sideways at Jacob.
"He's only gone and gotten himself a damn motorbike." Charlie scowled in Jacob's direction. "It's lucky your friends are as big as you. No one else would have been able to carry you home, you fool." He scolded Jacob. "You could have been crushed when you wrecked that damn bike. It's lucky you only fractured a few ribs and not your head."
Bella didn't know what to say. Billy must have concocted the cover story about the bike accident to explain Jacob's injuries to Charlie. He could hardly tell him that his son had been attacked by a vengeful flame haired vampire.
"Have you ever been on this bike, Bella?" Charlie demanded suddenly as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Me?" Bella choked. "No..." Her complexion deepened to a dull red, giving her away completely.
"You have. I can tell when you're lying." Charlie raged as he put his hands on his hips. "I thought you were more mature than him."
"Jacob's plenty mature." Bella muttered defensively. Behind Charlie's back Jacob flashed her a warm smile and she found her lips curving upwards in response.
"What are you smiling about?" Charlie barked.
"I don't really know." Bella's emotions were veering all over the place. Tears began to slide out of her eyes as she put her fingers over her lips, which were still tingling from Jacob's incredible kiss.
A/N-thanks for reading!