Stay With Me

Chapter Eight: Lie

Bella's POV

"I was at home, and Ja-"

"Oh, sorry honey," She said as her phone buzzed violently against the surface of her bamboo coffee table. Picking it up she looked down at the screen, then back up at me, "but I have to take this, I'll be just a minute, I promise!" She rushed as she bounced up from the couch, "Be right back!"

I bit my lip while plopping my back carelessly against the back of the couch. I then folded my arms tightly across my chest and let out a long sigh and whispered aloud to myself. "It's probably for the best anyways. She'd probably just freak out and ask me fifty-billion questions and cry herself to sleep… I can't believe Charlie thought it was best I came here in the first place. He knows just as well as I do how easily mom freaks out… I'll just… lie." I concluded quickly as Renee walked back into the house with a sorrowful look on her face.

"I'm sorry baby; I really had to take that call." She apologized while taking her seat back on the couch. "But now, phone's off, and I'm all yours.

"So, what'd you need to tell me?"

"Well, not really tell, more, talk about." I began my what-was-sure-to-turn-into-transparent lie. "I was at home a few days ago, and Jacob came over." I went on. "And he was telling me about his new girlfriend, an-"

"Oh Jake's got a girlfriend!" Renee beamed, "That's great! – Oh, sorry honey! Go on."

I felt horrible lying to her like this, but I'd rather see her smile falsely than cry. So I went on.

"Yeah, it is." I lied again. "And, well, he was telling me all these things about her, and how they're young adults, and how they love each other. He was talking about how great it feels to be with her… in every way…

"And I got to thinking. I'm still a virgin, but I'm eighteen and have a boyfriend of my own. And I, we, have no plans of leaving each other anytime soon, so, is there any real reason why I should still keep to the old morals and beliefs of saving myself for marriage? I mean, I always thought those beliefs were kind of ridiculous anyway. I mean, why would you wait until after you were married to give yourself fully to the one you love, I mean, if you love someone why shouldn't you show them how much? Why shouldn't you put yourself fully in their lives like they are in yours?"

"Okay," Renee said after a moments wait. "That was definitely not what I was expecting. But, at the same time, I can't say that I'm surprised."

"You can't?"

"No." She shook her head. "I mean, I was eighteen once too, and I know what it feels like to get urges like that. And I also know what it feels like to give into those urges… but I also know the consequences that can come with them."

"You mean me."

She took a moment to study me. "I was very careless when I was your age." She began. "I didn't really see the point of acting like an adult when I still had a one in front of my age. And yet I wanted nothing more than to be treated like an adult. I wanted to do what I wanted when I wanted, and I saw no reason to get in trouble for my less thought-out ideas, because I wasn't a kid anymore.

"So, one day, my parent's, having had enough, came up to me and said 'We'll start treating you like an adult when you start acting like one.' Naturally, I yelled at them and told them they were being unreasonable.

"I had been dating your father for eight months by that time, and I was, like you, still a virgin. But after my parent's told me to act like an adult I thought what's more adult than having sex? So I went over to your dad's house, and knowing his parent's were out of town, we took each others virginity. Afterwards, as we were lying naked in each others arms and loo-"

"Okay, mom, skip the visual please!"

"Sorry honey. As we were lying together, your father broke our silence by saying, 'I don't want to ruin this moment, but, don't you think we should have used protection?' And I laughed softly at that, because at the time I was still on about you-can't-get-pregnant-the-first-time, and said 'We'll be fine… nothing will happen.' Needless to say, a month later I was looking at baby clothes and wearing a ring on my finger."

"So," I asked, "What you're saying is I shouldn't think just because it's the first time I can't get pregnant? That I should be more careful than that?"

"No, honey, what I am saying is that I gave myself away for the wrong reasons. And, regardless of my past, I know you wouldn't make the same decision. I had sex because I was trying to prove a point to my parent's, to prove a point of how adult I was… when really it was probably the childish thing I could have done. I was stupid, I wasn't being fair to myself, and I wasn't being fair to your father.

"I did want to have sex with him, yes, but not for the reasons I did. I had always thought about sex as an act of love, and that's how I wanted to have it. But the way it happened was wrong, and stupid and petty. And we should have been more careful. And I will always regret that we didn't, but I will always love you." She smiled and placed her hand softly against my cheek. "And… if you want to have sex with your boyfriend, I don't see any reason why you can't. Because I know you aren't trying to prove anything to anyone.

"You have shown me, Bella, you're entire life how mature you are. And I know you're smart, and you always think things through. You aren't an impulsive person and you always think about the consequence of things before you act. And I know, because I know you, that if you want to have sex with Sam, you'll do it because you love him, not because you're trying to prove how adult you are. So if you were asking for my blessing, you have it. Just make sure you're careful."

I didn't really know what to say, and so I just sat there with a dumb smile on my face and my hands clenched together subtly in my lap.

"Well, now that that's settled, I think I'm going to get and early night sleep." Renee breathed as she pulled herself from the couch. "How about you?"

"No, I'm not really tired yet. I'll probably just watch a movie and maybe read a little later. I won't stay up too late." I promised her.

"Alright, night baby." She said softly as she kissed my forehead gingerly.

"Night mom. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart."

As she left a giant breath of air left my lungs and my cheeks burned with the heat that I had been holding in for the past half hour.

If there were an award for best lie ever told by the worst liar to live, I would win.

"I knew you were coming." Jacob said before either Alice or Edward had time to open their mouths.

"Jacob." Alice smiled. "I want to make one thing perfectly clear, okay?" He nodded. "Literally, the only thing from me ripping your head off right now is that we are in such a populated area. Other than that, if I were you, I would really watch my back."

"Really! You aren't giving me a chance to explain myself." Jacob hissed.

"Explain." Edward said with underlined rage. "Explain how there is any explaining you could possibly have from either of us ripping you apart piece by piece for what you did to her. You. You sick, pathetic, foolish, weak, foul mongrel. You forced yourself onto her, ignored her cries of pain and convinced yourself it was because she loved you. You broke her wrist and fled and tried hiding. Did you really think you'd get away with that?"

"As a matter of fact I did. If it wasn't for your freaky unnatural abilities I would have." Jacob retorted back with a half-ass smile; referring to Alice's visions and Edward's telepathy. "And for your information I never meant to hurt her… if she hadn't struggled so damn much and just let it happen she'd be fine." He sighed. "But you're one to talk about hurting Bella; at least I made an attempt to do something with her. All you could do was make her fall in love with you. And then, once you'd had your fun with her, break her heart and then leave her alone to pick up the pieces… Yeah, you're so much better than me." He finished sarcastically. "At least I got something out of it."

"You bas-!"

"Edward!" Alice cut him off; preventing his assault towards Jacob in mid-air. "Not here!" She hissed before tossing his arm back to side.

"I swear to God Jacob Black, if I ever catch you alone! You know nothing about me or Bella or the circumstances of that day! So if you would wipe that smart-aleck smirk off your hideous face before-"

"Jacob." Alice cut him off again. "I think we have made our reason for coming very clear. So I would suggest being very extra-specially nice to Edward and myself, because you wouldn't want your last memory to be so very distinctively violent and painful, would you?" She asked him. "No. I didn't think so. So, if you would please wipe that smile off your face? We, Edward and I, would both appreciate it."

"Hm," Jacob wondered. "You know, Sam imprinted on your precious Bella, Edward."

"We know."

"And you don't care?" Jacob asked. "That doesn't bother you? I mean, isn't that why you're here? For her?"

"We're here to protect her. From you, you dog." Alice spat.

"All I ever wanted was for Bella to be happy." Edward began. "And if a part of that has to do with her loving someone else, than I am fine with that. And if another part has to do with seeing you leave the picture or more specifically have you die, then I'll help out with that part myself."

"Don't you think she'll be a little distracted by the sudden unexpected surprise of her ex and his sister showing back up in town?" Jacob challenged. "I mean, that would make anyone forget about anything else that's happened recently, don't you think?"

"No." Edward said smoothly.

"No?" Jacob asked.

"No. Because by the time Bella gets back from her Mothers house, we'll be gone, and you'll be dead."

Sam and Paul looked at each other, and knew without having to read each others thoughts through wolf-form that they had just made two more allies.

TBC