Chapter 10: Resolution

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

Running into the woods, I left a pile of clothes, sitting in the fallen leaves, and phased, on the hunt for my nephew.

I sped through the trees so fast to find that miserable kid, that I don't think even Leah could have caught up with me. Stoked with a boiling rage, I zeroed in on his scent like a runaway locomotive.

Bella ran out to the garage as soon as Jacob disappeared into the forest. A million different emotions swept over her—shock, disappointment, but mostly, anger. Her bad temper reared its ugly head. She ripped the tarp away from the bikes. She couldn't deny the facts. There in front of her face was the evidence. The mangled bike lay in a broken heap, but it was the splotches of red that tore at her.

She screamed and screamed, venting all her feelings though the opening of her mouth. Then she began to yank down Jacob's tools from the pegboard on the wall, one by one, flinging them across the room. When the tools were gone, she next looked for something else to relieve the pent up pressure inside of her.

Spying the pile of rags, she kicked the bucket over onto its side, spilling its contents. She reached into the mound, tearing them to shreds. Her fury started to abate as she came to the last of them, and coming to her senses, she gathered them up and crammed them back into their container.

With a glance around the garage, she walked along, retrieving the tools from the floor, and placing them back on the pegboard. No matter that they were in no kind of order. She'd leave it to Jacob to reorganize them.

Slowly, she trekked to the house, wondering if Jacob had foundTawa, and if there was a scrap left of him. She'd give anything to know what was going on in that forest. This waiting was the pits.

Tawa was sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a clearing. I phased back and approached him, still seething with anger.

"I found the bike, Tawa. Did you think you could keep your secret forever? HUH?"

I immediately drove him against a tree and began repeatedly hammering his face with my balled-up fists. He offered no resistance whatsoever.

"You knew this day was coming, didn't you? Didn't you?"

He nodded, blood dripping from his nose, mouth and right eye.

I took a step behind me, braying, "And don't try to run from me, because I'll have the whole pack of wolves to back me up. Now, you're coming home with me."

I grabbed his collar and dragged him along to the garage. It wasn't that far, so we made good time, but not nearly enough time for me to simmer down.

With a shove, I forced him to his knees. Tearing the tarp away from the cycles, I pointed at the red splotches. "You see that? It's Carlie's blood. You were on that bike, weren't you? Weren't you?

His answer was just above a whisper. "Yeah."

"Were you drinking again? Was that it?'

Tawa's voice cracked. "I didn't think I was that drunk."

"No, you didn't think, that's the problem. So you took my bike, and thought, Let's see who I can run down today."

Tawa turned his palms up, pleading with me. "It wasn't like that. I didn't mean to hurt anybody. Please … I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

I looked once again at the blood spatter, and tears filled my eyes. "That little girl in the house will never be the same. Her life is ruined and all because of you. I took you in, I fed you, and gave you a safe place to live, and this was how you repaid me? Goddammit, Tawa, I should kill you."

My anger resurfaced, boiling up into my gut, and I pounced on him, knocking him to the floor. I hit him, again and again, sobbing all the while. Tawa was yelling, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Bella heard the commotion and ran into the Taj. "Oh, my gosh. Jake—stop, stop, you're killing him."

She pleaded with me, "Can't you see? This is not the way an Alpha acts. Beating him to death is not going to make Carlie's leg grow back."

Pulling at my arm, she tried to break me free of him.

I stood, then, exhausted by the emotional outburst, I sunk down to the ground, landing hard on my butt. I drew up my knees and continued to cry. I couldn't stop.

Bella patted my shoulder. "It'll be okay, but for now, I have to tend to Tawa."

Liam walked through the door, eyes wide. "Wha …?"

She acknowledged him, and instructed, "Liam, honey, can you bring me the first aid kit? The big one, for when your dad gets hurt."

"Okay, Mom."

Tawa looked up at Bella with sad eyes, as she dabbed at his cuts and bruises. "I'm sorry, Aunt Bella. I never meant to hurt her. I swear I won't ever smoke another joint, or drink again, not a drop. I mean it. I'll go to school, and get good grades. I'll wash the dishes and all the clothes. I'll do anything you ask me, to make it up to you. Please say you'll forgive me. Please?"

She bit her lip for a moment, and said, "I want to forgive you, I do, but I need some time, okay?"

Taking in his battered face, she knew in her heart, that forgiveness wouldn't be withheld for long.

"Now, can you to do something for me?"

"Anything—anything."

"I want you to go in the house and confess to Carlie."

A loud burst of air escaped his lungs. "I … I …"

Staring at him, Bella remarked, "You did say, anything."

He stood, shakily. "I'll go with you. But wait here, first."

She knelt down, next to Jacob, pressing her cheek to his. "I'll just be a minute."

Bella and Tawa walked slowly to the house, and into the living room, where Carlie was on the couch, drawing pictures with her crayons. Her mouth dropped open when she spotted Tawa. "Holey quacka molie, Tawa. What happened to you?"

His eyes cast down, he answered, "I was in a fight."

His aunt interrupted. "Carlie, Tawa has something to tell you."

She backed up. "If you'll excuse me, I have to see about Jake."

By the time Bella returned, my sobs had become hitching breaths. She offered her hands to help me up, and we settled together on the old loveseat near the workbench.

My heart hurt badly with tha knowledge that my good intentions brought this tragedy upon us. Even taking it out on his person didn't heal my wound. I wondered if anything ever would.

Bella put her arm around me. "And here I thought you were the strong one."

"It's different when bad things happen to one of your own flesh and blood."

"I understand how you feel, but no matter how much we wish it, we can't undo what was done. We just have to make the best of it. Hating Tawa won't help you. It's like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. It'll eat you alive, Jake."

I looked at her, astounded by the way she was acting. "How is it, you're taking this so calmly?"

Sighing, she replied, "You didn't see me in the garage before you arrived. I went crazy. I think I threw every tool you own against the wall. When I ran out of tools, I ripped up all the rags you have stashed in the bucket."

With a wan smile, I said, "I wish I could've seen that."

"You know what a temper I have, only I abused a bunch of inanimate objects, not a living human being."

She took my hands in hers and peered into my eyes. "I need you to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Promise me that you won't tell Rebecca what Tawa did to Carlie."

"She already knows what happened. Rachel told her."

"But—she doesn't need to know that Tawa is the one responsible."

"I'll think about it."

"Well, think hard. Even though he's not her biological son, she loves him just as much as you love Carlie."

She cupped my face in her palms and kissed my bloodshot eyes.

Tawa hunkered down in front of Carlie, looking deep into her startling, blue eyes, and waited a beat. The words wouldn't come. His own eyes misted up at the thought of what he was about to tell her. It sat heavy in his chest. How do you confess to someone that you're the reason her future has been flushed down the toilet?

Putting down a crayon, Carlie scooted to the arm of the sofa, and grabbed a tissue from a box on the side table. She gave it to Tawa. "Your lip is bleeding."

He glanced at it, but didn't bother to press it to his lip. "I don't care."

"Does it hurt much?"

"No."

She canted her head. "Are you gonna tell me something, or not?"

"Yeah, but it's so hard."

The silence stretched for a couple more seconds.

"Well …"

"I don't know how to say this." He puffed out his cheeks and winced with pain, a trickle of blood running out of the corner of his mouth.

"You know about the motorcycle that hit you?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh."

"It was your dad's bike."

"How do you know that?"

"Because … I was the one riding it."

"What …?"

He stayed crouched before her, quietly, letting that revelation sink in, not blinking once, not severing eye-contact.

Her lips began to tremble. "But, why?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, Carlie. It was an accident. The bike went out of control. I'm so sorry. You have to believe me."

In a quavering voice, she answered, "I do."

"Do you still love me?"

Haltingly, and with tears, she replied, "Yes. I'll always love you, Tawa. No matter what."

He reached up and hugged her tightly.

As they released each other, Carlie said, "You didn't acch-ally get in a fight, huh? And also, my daddy did that to you, didn't he?"

"No, he …"

"Uh-huuuuh … he did so."

"So what if he did. I deserved it—all of it. You have to forgive him, like you've forgiven me, right?"

"Oooo-kaay."

Bella and I walked into the room, hand in hand. We saw the two of them reconciled, and slunk off into the kitchen, where Ephraim and Liam were oblivious to what went down in the other room. They glanced up from their device. "Hi, Mom, hi, Dad," they uttered in unison.

"Can you make us some popcorn?" Ephraim asked.

"Sure, sure, one bag of popcorn, poppin' up!"

"Yay!"