Chapter 10: Fever of the Heart

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

The dreaded day arrived … the day I had to return Bella to her home. She looked none too happy about it either. The house was gonna seem so empty without her in it, plus—the great smells from the kitchen would be no more. It was back to beans and franks. Maybe she could give me some cookin' tips.

Bella was quiet most of the way to Forks, and there were tears in her eyes. "I don't want to go home, Jake."

Ugh! My heart ached at her words. "Ditto. I'm really gonna miss you."

"I realize I'm only fifteen minutes away, but it may as well be hours."

"Yeah, I hear ya … that's fifteen whole minutes I could be spendin' with you."

She turned to me. "Did you have to say that?"

"Okay, so how 'bout this? Maybe Charlie would let you have a sleepover at my place on weekends, like when we were little."

"Sure, that'd go over big with the chief of police. Get real, I'm no longer a pitiful cripple, and we're not kids anymore, Jake."

My hands flew up off the steering wheel. "I knooooow! That's what's so great about it."

"Oh, ha, ha. But, honestly, is sex all you ever think about?"

I smirked at her, and replied, "Pretty much."

Her mouth dropped open, and she protested … loudly. "Jaaaaacob Blaaaack!"

"I gotta be honest. What did you expect? I can't help it: I'm a guy … so sue me."

She sat back against the seat, her arms folded across her chest, and her eyes raised to the ceiling.

"Oh, c'mon. Bells. You don't havta act all innocent with me. I know it's crossed your mind too—a lot. You think I don't hear your heart race every time you're near me?"

There went the red cheeks flashin' at me again. "That's beside the point."

"No—that is the point. Look … you don't havta be embarrassed about it, honey. It's a fact of life. I've got hormones, you've got hormones …"

"I get it, Jake. Can we change the subject now?"

"Sure, sure. Let's see… oh, I know. They're havin' a sale on alternator belts and spark plugs at Fork's Auto Parts."

I heard her sigh.

"What?"

I helped transfer all her belongings into the house. Remembering her ER history all too clearly, I took everything up the stairs to her room, too. I brushed my hands together as I bounded down the steps. "All done."

"Thanks, Jake. I really appreciate it."

"No problem." I turned, ready to go out the door when she stopped me.

"Wait—can I get you something to drink?"

"Nah, I gotta get back." I shrugged. "Patrol duty … you know."

"Can't you stay just a little while longer?"

"I guess I can spare a few minutes. Patrol's not for another hour."

She frowned. "I hate it when you have to patrol."

"Hey, that's life."

"That doesn't make it any easier."

I twirled a lock of her hair around my finger, mesmerized by the way the gold in the strands shimmered in the light. "If it makes you feel better, I gotta say, we haven't seen many nomads lately." Looking up into her eyes, I added, "So maybe they've learned to stay outta our piece of the forest. "

"If only that was true."

The convo was interrupted by the ringing of the phone in the other room. Bella walked into the kitchen to answer it.

"Hi. Yeah, I made it home safely.

"Jake's still here, but he's going to be leaving soon.

"You know you don't have to do that. I can make us both some lunch."

Bella nodded. "Okay, just bring me a salad then. See you soon. Thanks, Dad."

I stood there awkwardly as she re-entered the room. Bella was on her turf now. Was she expecting a goodbye kiss? Should I wait for her to give me a signal?

Pointin' to the door, I said, "Well, I better be goin'."

It was more than a signal. Practically bumping noses, she shoved her sweet body into my space. We hooked up quickly, but just as quickly had to break it off. The phone rang again. Sh**, it was Charlie. What a pest.

I watched as Bella sashayed to pick up the phone once more. "Hi, Dad. Uh-huh …

"Ranch dressing is fine. Yeah … later."

We both laughed. Then she winked at me. "Now where were we?"

I grabbed her by the waist, pulling her toward me. "Right about here."

Our lips locked, and I thought, Hormones, yeah, lots of hormones.

# # # # #

I hadn't really felt lonely before living at Jacob's house. But now, all the quiet was getting to me. I missed his smiling face and those pathetic jokes, and even all the innuendoes.

Several days went by, and Jacob would visit, or I would drop over at his place, yet it never seemed to be enough. I always loved the way his eyes lit up when I arrived; it made my heart skip a beat, and darn him, I know he heard that too.

One morning I had just finished getting dressed, and there was that knock on the door. I ran to see him, but on opening it, instead of looking up at my massive wolf boy, I had to look down at a dark haired pixie. Edward was standing off to the side of her. I was surprised that I was not glad to see them. If fact, I was totally annoyed.

Alice jumped up and down in excitement, then threw herself at me, nearly bowling me over, and pushing us all into the house. "Bella, oh, Bella. You're alive. I can't believe it. We all thought you were going to die. Even Carlisle thought so. I couldn't bring myself to envision you dying, so I stopped my focus on you for a while, and then later there was … nothing."

Edward brushed her aside, and hugged me to his torso. He felt so stony and cold. Was he always this cold? I'd gotten used to Jacob's warmth; gotten used to burrowing into the muscles of his chest. But this … it was as if I was hugging a statue, and I didn't like it one bit, and stiffened on instinct. How in the world had I endured that awful feeling for so long? Holy cow—and I almost married the animated rock.

The rock that was once my fiancée, began to apologize. "Bella, love. You have no idea how grateful I am that you're still alive. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Alice had a vision of you here in Forks, when for so long she could see nothing."

He grazed the side of my throat with his icy lips. I shuddered, and pulled away. "Yes, Edward, I'm alive and you have Jacob Black to thank for it."

His brow furrowed. "Jacob? How does that mutt figure into this?"

Gah! I wanted to slap his face at that remark. "That mutt, as you call him, saved me from the doctors who were about ready to pull the plug. Then he tirelessly worked with me to regain my strength. For god's sake, he even went so far as to actually make up protein shakes so I'd get back to my normal weight."

"Then I should compensate him for all his work. I'm indebted to him for bringing you back to me."

Good lord, I couldn't stand for his arrogance, and now to my great shock, he placed his ring onto my finger. "What are you doing, Edward?"

Removing the band, I placed it onto his palm. "I don't want this anymore. I don't want you anymore. You left me for dead, and now you think you can just waltz back into my life as if nothing ever happened?"

"It's understandable that you should have mixed feelings about this, but—"

Glaring at the golden-eyed dolt, I practically huffed, "Mixed feelings? Mixed Feelings? There's nothing mixed about it. I want you out of here."

Alice spoke up. "Silly Bella. I know you didn't mean that. We're all going to move back. We'll never leave again, until after you and Edward get married."

I was aghast at that revelation. I thought of Embry, and the pain he and Tiffany went through because the wolf gene was tripped when the Cullens moved in. Then my thoughts went to the rest of the wolf pack, and especially my sweet Jacob, and the burden that was foisted upon them. While it was true that the Cullens had no idea that their very existence in Forks would cause the La Push adolescents to shift, there was no excuse now. They were well aware of that very fact.

My blood was beyond the boiling point. "Read my lips, Alice. I don't want to marry your brother, and I don't want to be your BFF. Tell Carlisle not to move you all back to Forks either. I'm thankful for all he did for me and Charlie, but there are young boys growing up in La Push. I can't have them share the same fate as the other shape shifters, simply because you live too near their reservation. I'm sure he'll agree with my rationale. He's a very compassionate soul."

"Bella, love …"

"Don't call me that. I'm not your love. You lost that privilege when you left—again! Now, please go."

# # # # #

Forty-eight hours earlier, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Edward was floored when Alice came bouncing into his room. He'd been despondent for weeks, grieving over the loss of his wife to be, but her unbelievable words sent a jolt of joy through his un-beating heart.

"Are you absolutely certain?"

"Edward, am I ever wrong?"

"Well, yes. You said she had died."

"You have to remember. You weren't the only one in mourning. She was my best friend, and I couldn't bear to see her like that, so I looked away to put it simply. By the time, I re-focused my attention on her, I couldn't see anything. My only guess is that she was surrounded by those stupid mongrels of La Push. They got in the way of my vision."

The little fortuneteller began tapping her foot impatiently. "Well, what are you waiting for? Start packing. Let's put some serious miles on that Volvo."

Alice couldn't contain her excitement when Bella opened the door, and had her arms around the surprised girl. Oh my gosh. It was so good to see her. Edward on the other hand felt like the non-functional organ in his chest would burst from the flood of overwhelming emotion. If he could cry, he would have.

At vampire speed, he whipped Alice aside. He had to feel his Bella's form within his embrace, but he felt her stiffen at his touch, and when he kissed her neck, she suddenly jerked back. She'd been through a traumatic ordeal. It stood to reason that she would be wary. Still, it hurt to have her draw away from him as she did.

He tried to put her mind at ease by slipping the engagement ring on her left hand. Her reaction was unexpected. She seemed almost angry. Bella always did have an extremely volatile temper, but why would this little gesture upset her so. God's teeth, she acted as if he was a stranger.

The befuddled vampire had to be thankful to Jacob for her life, but apparently, the filthy cur also had something to do with her change of heart. Bella didn't even want any of his family near her? How was any of this possible?

Bella's parting words cut him to the quick. "Get out!"

He stood there in shock, to hear such vitriol pour from her mouth. It was unthinkable. Where was his Bella, the sweet, conforming little girl he had fallen in love with?

When she was calmer, wouldn't she rescind her declaration and come to her senses? Perhaps this was just a phase that would soon pass, and once more she would return to her former self. He thought about attempting to pour on the charm, persuading her to accept his apology, and go on as before, but on second thought, he decided to leave with Alice to avoid any further unpleasantness.

Glancing at his sister, he noted the sad expression on her face. "Come, Alice. It appears our presence here is unwelcome at this time."

Bella jumped in, adding, "Or any time. Goodbye Edward … Alice. Give my regards to the rest of your coven."

Edward turned to go, and at that moment, the door swung open, and Jacob Black made his entrance.