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Chapter 9

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Billy sighed and watched out of the corner of his eye as Bella paused in the doorway to the living room. School had finally started back for most of the pack, leaving Bella and Sarah alone during the day. She had opened up a little more and didn't tense nearly as much when Sarah walked into a room. He, however, was a different story. He had to wonder if she'd ever trust him.

Bella bit her lip and studied her uncle. She had vague memories of his kind face staring down at her- helping her up when she'd fall over, or laughing when she did something silly. The more she thought about the quiet man in front of her, the more she found her reasons to keep him at arms length were few and far between- the same with her cousin and his friends.

They'd been nothing but patient with her since she'd come to live with her.

With a sigh and a small nod of her head, Bella walked into the living room and took a seat, perched on the edge of the couch, surprisingly close to Billy. She tensed when he gave a small smile before relaxing when he turned his attention back to the game he'd been watching. She finally pulled her notebook and text book from the bag she'd previously stored them in and curled her feet under her, seemingly content to study in his presence.

It wasn't until she was having trouble understanding something that she chanced another look at him. She briefly chastised herself for wondering how much trouble she'd be in for asking his help. This wasn't Arizona. He wasn't like her mother had been.

"Uncle Billy?" Her voice was small and Billy's heart broke when he heard it. He hated hearing her so broken.

"Did you need something Bella?"

She offered him a half smile then showed him the problem. She was lucky he was good with numbers. "May I?" He asked, gesturing to the space between them.

Sarah watched from the doorway with a small smile on her face. It was still there when she answered the phone. The smile slid from her lips, however, when she heard her sister in law's sigh of worry. Her son, Collin, was sick with a high fever, body aches and had a horrendous temper because of it. What was worse was the fact that she and her husband, Kevin, had to leave to see his family for a few days to the Makah. His sister wasn't doing so well and they were going to help her get settled.

"Connie… how long has he been sick like this?" Sarah wondered with a frown on her face.

"Only two or three days now. He says he's fine, but the boy is boiling hot to the touch. I thought he was actually going to punch Kevin when he was ordered back to bed earlier. And he's getting taller now too, he may just have the advantage soon." Connie sighed. "I don't want to disappoint Kevin, but I think I'm going to stay home with him this weekend."

"No! No… Connie, bring him here. I'll take care of him."

"Sarah, I can't ask that of you. You have Bella there now… Collin said Jacob was really tight lipped about it when he asked about her. He only said Jacob told him her mother was a monster not fit for the darkest pit of hell- in those exact words." Connie supplied.

Sarah chuckled. "That sounds like Jake. But he's right. She's getting better though. And as long as it's not just sprung on her I'm sure she'll do just fine. You know Kevin stresses without you to calm him."

"The way Billy does without you?" Connie teased.

"So, Friday, bring him over if he's not feeling better." Sarah instructed. "That will give me a chance to get Bella used to the idea of you three popping into the house."

"The poor soul. She's lucky to have you in her corner Sarah."

"She's lucky she has Billy too… and a family she can run to." Sarah reminded her.

Connie sighed. "It took me forever to forgive our dad. I was blinded by my mother's hatred for what he'd done. I never got a chance to tell Charlie it wasn't his fault."

"All she needs is family." Sarah told her gently yet firmly. "I have to go. The boys will be home from school soon. Bella still isn't quite used to the chaos of it yet. She hides in her room until they get settled."

Connie chuckled. "Alright. I'll be sure to let you know. Thank you again."

Sarah grinned and hung the phone up. She poked her head into the living room and nearly cried at the sight. Bella's homework had been forgotten in favor of old photo albums and Bella was listening raptly to the vivid stories Billy painted in her mind. Charlie starred in most of them, causing a grin to spread across Bella's lips as she stored the images in her mind.

"Well… what's this then?" She teased.

"We decided homework was boring! Didn't we, Bella?" Billy grinned at his wife and niece. He nudged Bella gently to let her know it was ok.

Sarah chuckled and picked up one of the albums. "I remember this one… you and Jacob couldn't have been but five and four, respectively. That was… a month before you left us. Charlie had asked me to watch you after school." She said sitting down to show Bella the picture.

She and Jacob were standing in the kitchen with bowls and pots overturned, a mess of flour and eggs around them and in their hair. Both of them were brandishing wooden spoons, fighting over a laughing Sarah, while in the background a startled looking Leah and Seth watched the chaos unfolding.

"Sue had come over to see me about something- I really can't remember now. You and Jake decided to play soldiers. I became the princess to be saved and you, my sweet girl, rescued me!"

Bella couldn't help the frown that spread across her lips. "I wish I could remember it…" She murmured guilty that she couldn't.

Sarah knelt in front of her and gently took her hands in her own. "Never feel ashamed for what has happened to you. It wasn't your fault! Those memories are there, they're only buried. It'll take time, but you'll remember." She promised.

"Bella… do you want to go to your room until things settle down? The boys are going to be home soon." Billy reminded her gently.

Bella sighed. She looked between Billy and Sarah- two people who had showed her every day for the last three weeks since she'd been in their home that she was safe- and shook her head. "C-can you stay here. I mean… here.. W-with me?"

Sarah looked away to hide her tears. They were happy ones, but she still didn't want to startle Bella. "Of course. I wanted to talk to you as well. Billy's sister- your aunt Connie- and her husband, Kevin, have to go away for the weekend.. Their son, Collin is a little under the weather right now… he'll be here if he's not feeling better…"

Bella bit her lip. "O-okay…"

Billy and Sarah had a moment to share over the top of Bella's head before the silence was broken by loud whooping, laughing and all around ruckus. Bella tensed and grabbed Billy's hand tightly in her own. She took a deep breath and relaxed, trying to push past the panic. She knew these people. She was safe.

A glared leveled their way froze not only Jacob, but Embry, Quil and Seth in their tracks. If Bella had been looking up she would have been thrown into a fit of giggles. Instead, she was busy keeping her eyes trained on her notebook in front of her, her pencil tracing out random designs on a blank page.

Seth smiled when he saw her. She was actually out of her room. He nudged Jacob, Quil and Embry and nodded in her direction. Jacob sighed and turned sheepishly to his mom. Sarah, for her part, only rolled her eyes. Bella had never seen four boys sit in the living room and start their homework so fast. Billy only shook his head. Sarah was actually very scary when it was deemed necessary.

Jacob's attention was pulled from his homework not an hour later by a knock on the door. He stood and stretched before going to see who it was. He frowned when he saw a few of the girls from his history class. Lily, Nicole and Arianne. They giggled when they saw him.

"Did you forget about the project, Jake?" Lily asked.

He inwardly groaned. "Yeah, I kind of did. But we only just got it yesterday… we've got a whole month to get it done. I've got some friends over right now to do homework…" He really hated being rude.

Nicole frowned. "Well can't we do our homework here too?"

"Yeah, we've got our bags and stuff." Arianne pouted.

Jacob sighed. "It's just really not a good time."

Lily huffed. "It's almost like you don't want us here."

"Because he really doesn't" Quil muttered darkly. He always hated how those three in particular had always thrown themselves at the guys around school. They were female versions of Paul, just not as careful.

Bella frowned as she listened to Jacob begging off their project for next week. She felt a hand slip into hers and looked up to see Seth smile down at her. She looked down and watched him lace their fingers together loosely and had to push down the urge to run from the room. She had to get over her fear that these people- her family and friends- were going to hurt her. Hadn't they proven already that they could be trusted?

Jacob smiled when they finally left and headed back into the living room. He saw just how badly Bella was shaking and frowned. "You ok, Bells?"

He wasn't really expecting her to answer. He'd only just gotten to the point where he could sit beside her without her scooting as far away as possible. "I'm ok… thank you…" She said giving him and the other wolves in the room a small smile each.

Jacob watched in avid fascination as Seth all but crawled to Bella's side after they all settled down. He nudged Embry and Quil and nodded towards the garage before quickly following behind them, leaving Bella and Seth alone to their homework.

"So is that the imprint letting him get that close to her or is it all Seth?" Quil wondered.

Jacob shrugged. "I think a lot of it has to do with Seth. He's really patient. Some small part might be the imprint, but he's always been really trusting by nature."

"Yeah… he's always been a good kid." Embry mused. "I wonder how long it'll take her to open up to him." He added.

"Ten bucks says she runs to Paul." Quil quipped. "What… I was talking about it with grandpa! He said people band together over similar hardships. It's why she knew right away something bad happened to him."

Embry shrugged. "Seth hasn't really had it too easy here lately either, you know."

"Not but both his parents love him. And he was never-" Jacob's abrupt stop caused the two to raise an eyebrow each in question.

"Sam?" Quil wondered.

"How come?" Embry asked when Jacob nodded.

Jacob sighed. "It was too bad for me to talk about without getting pissed and taking out half the damn forest with my bare hands." He only nodded when they whistled.

"You know… she may be getting better… but something tells me we're in for a really rough ride…" Quil mused.

"Yeah… I feel like we're missing something big." Jacob sighed.

"Because you are…" A tired voice announced from behind them.

Embry, Quil and Jacob whirled around to see Sam and Paul standing in the doorway. Both of them wore angry and concerned frowns. "I just sent Leah to relieve Jared. He told me something interesting…"

"What's going on Sam?" Jacob asked.

Sam rubbed his hands over his face and sighed deeply. "Jared overheard the pixie talking to momma fang by the treaty line. One of the vampires coming in a few days… while he's here he'll run into her…kill her if he has the chance… so she says she's seen."

Embry moved Quil out of the way just in time for Jacob's wolf to land hard on the ground. There hadn't even been any shouts of anger or pain. Just a seamless transformation and he was gone. Embry shook his head and left for patrol. He wasn't going to try and help Jacob at the moment. The boy was pissed and had a right to be.

Quil sighed. "I'll go get him." He said before taking off after his friend.

Sam sighed as well. "Come on. Let's go tell Billy. With any luck, we'll have a free pass to run the leeches out of town for this."

Paul couldn't help but agree. He poked his head into the living room and found Seth and Bella sitting side by side on the floor doing homework. He grinned when Seth looked up and waved before disappearing into the kitchen. He'd talk to her eventually… but for now… he'd let her have time with Seth. They both needed it.