Chapter Ten: Tag Along
I moved around my room trying to be as quiet as possible. It was almost ten o'clock and there had been no movement from Bella so I thought now would be the perfect time to sneak off to Jacob's. She didn't have work so I was free to take the truck and if I left quick enough she would be left here without any way of following. With my shoes in hand so they didn't squeak, I carefully closed my bedroom door and padded across the hall and down the stairs. Once I reached the kitchen, I put my shoes on and grabbed the truck keys from the counter before opening the front door.
"I'm heading out, be back later!" I called out quickly to Charlie before turning around and walking quickly to the truck.
I was just opening the door when Bella came running out of the house yelling my name.
Damn, I thought to myself before turning to my sister.
"Are you going to go see Jacob?"
"Uh, yeah," I answered, looking down at my feet.
"Do you mind if I tag along?" She asked hopefully.
Taking a deep breath, I looked up. "Bella, you know Jacob and I are dating, right?"
I didn't want to tell her like this, but it was the only thing I could think of to say instead of flat out saying I didn't want her to come. The look she gave me was one of confusion. I could practically see her mind working, trying to figure out if my words were true.
"Since when?"
"We've been together for about a month now…" I trailed off, thinking about how she had been pretty much lost to the world by December. Out of the whole time, that month had probably been the worst. I more or less lived in Bella's room by the end of it. The nightmares had gotten worse and seemed to come more frequently.
Now it was Bella's turn to look down at the ground. "Oh."
"Yeah," I said slowly, feeling an awkward silence fall between us.
A few minutes passed before Bella finally looked up at me. "I guess I'll just let you go then."
I watched as her whole attitude changed. Her face fell and her shoulders slumped as she turned and slowly made her way back up to the house. In that moment, I felt so bad for her that my mouth started working without even giving my brain a moment to think about what it wanted to say.
"Bella, wait." She turned around to face me, her eyes dull. "Come with me."
"No, I don't want to get in the way of your time with Jacob," she said, shaking her head.
"I'll still be spending time with him. Now, come on. I want you to come with me."
Although I wanted to spend time alone with Jacob, I wasn't going to let Bella sink back into her depression. She was my sister and if spending time with Jacob and me helped her get back to normal, well then I would just suck it up and let her tag along.
Bella looked at me for a moment, as though waiting for me to take it back before nodding her head and walking towards the truck. We both got in and she thanked me for letting her come. I told her it was no big deal before starting the truck and heading off towards my boyfriend's house. We didn't speak much during the drive, Bella just looked out the window while I focused on the road. When we got there, I didn't hesitate after shutting the truck off to head over to the garage, knowing from experience that Jacob would more than likely be there.
"Well someone's been busy," I muttered as Bella and I entered, kicking the corner of a blanket covered in parts.
Jacob looked up from one of the motorcycles, a large grin stretching across his face. "Lexi!" He then turned to look at Bella. "Hey, Bella."
"I thought we were going to work on them together," Bella said, standing awkwardly in the doorway with her hands in her back pocket. I bumped her with my elbow and nodded my head towards the inside of the garage before going to Jacob, giving him a quick kiss before sitting down on a stool next to him.
"It was a new project, I couldn't help but start tinkering last night after you guys left," Jacob admitted, turning back to what he was working on.
Bella came to sit next to me on the ground as Jacob started telling us everything he had done. Apparently the bikes weren't as bad as they looked. He even said one would be worth fixing because it was some old model. With some new parts he reasoned that he should be able to have them running in no time.
The first hour passed by fine enough, the three of us being able to contribute to the conversations started. But soon Jacob and I started talking about things that Bella had missed out on, like Jacob's friends and school, so she had to be filled in. So while Jacob did that, I moved to the Rabbit and started texting the subjects of their conversation. Since neither of them were doing anything, I invited them over. If Bella could crash on mine and Jacob's time than so could Embry and Quil…at least then I would have someone to talk to.
It didn't take too long for them to show up.
"Yo, Jake!" Quil yelled from outside, announcing himself and Embry.
Bella jumped up from her seat and moves towards the tarp to cover the bike only to have Jacob stop her. "It's cool, it's just my boys."
"Hey, boys," I greeted, getting out of the Rabbit and moving to stand by Bella as Embry and Quil walked into the garage.
"Sup, Swan," Embry said, nodding his head in greeting before turning to look at my sister sitting next to Jacob. "Other Swan."
Bella gave an awkward wave, unsure of what else to do. Embry winked at her, causing her to blush and me to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Jacob introduced the two boys so that she knew which was which as well as introduced her to Embry and Quil.
"So, Jake. What's up with you stealing all the girls, huh?" Quil asked, his hands in his pockets.
Embry, Jacob, and I all groaned, knowing where he was going with that. His gaze darted around, resting on each of us for a moment before moving on. "What? I'm just saying. He already has Alex, he doesn't need another girl hanging around."
Jacob glared at him while I just rolled my eyes. Bella looked around confused.
"Do you not have your own girlfriend or something?" She asked suddenly, causing all of us but Quil to laugh.
"He wishes," Embry muttered before dodging an elbow thrown by Quil.
"Quil took his cousin to prom," Jacob told Bella.
Quil glared at Jacob. "Yeah, that's still a riot. You want funny, Black? I'll give you funny."
Jacob stood up and sat down the tool he had been using as Quil made a run at him. The two latched onto one another and playful started to wrestle, heading outside. Embry sauntered over to my sister and I, a half smile on his face.
"I got five bucks on Quil."
"You're on," Bella accepted, getting up to go watch the two boys outside.
Embry and I stayed put for a moment until he bumped me with his hip. "Having fun with your sister around?" He asked teasingly, his smile breaking out into a full on grin.
I hit him playfully with my shoulder. "Shut up."
He laughed as he and I walked out of the garage to watch my boyfriend play-fight with his friend.
The next week went along pretty much the same way it did that weekend. After school, when she didn't have to work, Bella would drive the two of us up to the reservation where we would meet up with Jacob and either watch him work on the bikes or go off searching for parts. Lucky for me it wasn't too often that I resented Bella for being present. Most of the time we were all able to interact with someone, mainly me, being left out. I guess the main reason was because even though she always hung out with us now, she didn't butt into the nightly calls Jacob and I had.
It was Thursday night and I had just finished my homework so I sat in my bed, all comfy with my phone to my ear. Jacob, on the other hand, was still working on his. Although Bella had decided we should set aside a day to work on homework, he was still a bit behind. I didn't know what it was exactly he was working on, but it had something to do with chemistry.
"Are you sure you don't want me to get Leslie to help you? She really good at chemistry, I wouldn't have passed if it weren't for her." I insisted. It had been one of the few classes we shared last year and I only passed because she did most of the labs and let me borrow her notes to study for tests.
"I think I might rather fail. She would never let me live it down if I asked her for help," Jacob said from the other end. Although him and Leslie weren't as bad as they had used to be, they still weren't best friends or really close.
"Well then maybe Bella could go over it again with you tomorrow when she gets done with work."
I heard him sigh followed by the faint sound of a book being closed. "Yeah, I'll just do that. My brain is fried."
There was a small silence between the two us though I didn't mind. Every once and a while I would hear a faint shuffle and knew that he was getting changed and ready for bed. Soon, I heard the creaky springs of his bed groan before his voice returned.
"So have you heard from Embry lately?"
I tried to think back. "No…but then again I really haven't been trying too. The last time I saw him was Sunday at your house. Why?"
"It's nothing, just…" He trailed off.
"What? Do you think he might be hurt?" I asked, suddenly worried. "Is he missing?"
"No, it's just that he wasn't at school the last few days and now he won't answer mine or Quil's calls or texts." I could hear the faint worry in his voice, picking up right away what he was thinking.
"You're worried it might be Sam."
The pause answered my question. "I can't help but think that it might be. It's the same thing that's been happening with the others."
I knew exactly whom he was talking about though I had forgotten their names. It had been a while since Jacob had talked about Sam bothering him so I had just assumed that he had given up on whatever he had wanted with Jacob. But now that he might be behind one of Jacob's best friends not answering him I could only imagine how freaked out my boyfriend must be.
"Well maybe I should talk to Charlie-" I didn't get to finish my sentence as a loud scream cut through the house. It had been a while since it last happened, but not long enough that I didn't know what it was right away.
"Bella," I muttered, kicking my legs out from under my covers. "I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."
I didn't even wait for him to answer before I ended the call, throwing my phone on my bed as I raced out of my room and into Bella's. My slight hesitation had allowed Charlie to beat me. He had already woken her up when I came in.
"Are you okay?" I asked, walking over to her bed. She nodded her head, but I could see in her face that she was shaken.
"And here I thought this thing was starting to work," Charlie muttered, nodding towards the small dream catcher Jacob had given her for her birthday. "I guess not."
"It wasn't as bad as it used to be," Bella said quietly, her voice slightly hoarse from screaming.
"Hanging out with your sister and Jacob seems to be helping, right?" Charlie asked, turning to look at me for a moment.
Once again Bella nodded her head. A sudden comfort fell over me at that. I was glade that I hadn't been selfish and put up with Bella hanging out with Jacob and I. If it did make her feel better, than it was worth it.
"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" I asked.
She sat there for a moment, thinking it over before nodding her head. "Please."
Walking around the bed, I got under the covers and cuddle up close to her. Charlie patted Bella on the shoulder before getting up.
"Goodnight girls," he said quietly before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Authors Note:: Don't like the beginning but Bella had to be told that Jacob and Alex were seeing each other. That being said, HOLY CRAP! Fifteen reviews and a message (they messaged the chapter before also but I forgot to mention it, sorry)! That is just unbelievable! I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you guys how awesome that makes me feel! Bella will not be having any romantic feelings towards Jacob, hangout with both him and Alex makes her feel better so she's tagging along with them. She'll make it up to Alex though and hopefully I'll be able to get you guys to maybe kinda like her as well as hate her, fingers crossed. I did some more planning and now have up to chapter eighteen figured out. All I'm going to say is you are all going to hate chapter thirteen, love chapter sixteen, and the wolves will join us in chapter seventeen. Let your minds try and figure out what is going to happen ;) Thank you everyone else who has favorited, followed, or just read the story!