Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Yata, yata, yata...
Chapter 11: House Arrest (Bella's POV)
Five days. Five whole days I've been in this house, and no where else! To call it boring would be putting it lightly; ever since the pack ran into that one vampire, they've kept me under house arrest.
Oh, and don't forget my company! It wasn't Jacob that was with me the whole time, it was Embry. Of all people, the guy who didn't like me most of all! He was so quiet, so...angry looking. If I could've read his mind, I bet he'd be thinking about ways to get rid of me, to accidentally give me over to Victoria. The way he looks at me, and doesn't look at me, is with upmost impatience and disdain.
Occasionally I would try to reach out to him, ask him simple questions about his life, or even just offer him something to eat. He would comply to eating the food, but other than that? No talking, and no eye contact. It was like living in a prison; the whole irony of this was that Charlie agreed with it!
Somehow the Black's managed to convince Charlie that I needed a break from school. They played the whole, "She's got a broken foot, she can't go anywhere" card. I could've so used my crutches and gotten around! Sometimes Charlie can be so guillable, it's ridiculous.
To make things worse, I hadn't seen Jake since the morning he told me about the plan. Apparently him and the others, other than Embry that is, had been tracking the new vampire and Victoria even harder than before. I couldn't blame them, though, because now the pack was in danger. Still, I missed Jake a lot...more than I thought I would. It wasn't a sadness though, it was more of...a cold feeling. I think, maybe, I've become attatched to his heat.
So there I sat, fifth day on house arrest, while Charlie was at work, in the living room, watching another Soap. Embry was outside patrolling the house and the area around it, so like usual, I had nobody to talk to. Even with him in here I wouldn't have someone to talk to. Guh, sometimes I just wish he'd tell me why he hated me so much!
All the sudden, my thoughts were inturrupted by a loud crash outside. I got up, grabbing my crutches, and wobbling outside as quickly as I could. As soon as I was out, I noticed Embry was walking back to the house, in human form again. Smoke and leaves were flying everywhere from a few hards back in the woods; I wonder what had happened?
"Embry, what's wrong?" I noticed his face, even more grim than usual.
His dark eyes found mine, and he nearly spat out at me, "They found a vampire, and it wasn't Victoria, and it wasn't the new one...it was another vampire, another new one."
My eyes searched the now smokey forest behind him, then looked back to him again, "Did they...take care of it?"
"No! Paul tried to attack it, out of his stupid impatience, and got hurt. They had to withdrawl and bring Paul home to get treated." he snapped at me, almost making me fall backwards from the severity of his voice.
I gasped, "What happened?! Is he seriously hurt?! How bad is it?!"
Embry rubbed his temples, eyes now closed, "He'll heal, but it is bad. This other new vampire had an ability, and it damaged his innards. We don't know how it worked, but right when Paul lunged, he yelped, and fell to the ground, his stomach cut open."
My body shook and I felt a chill run up my spine, my stomach churning from the image now set in my brain. I couldn't speak, I just stood there, feeling like it was all my fault.
He obviously sensed my heart beat racing, and sighed, "No, Bella, it isn't your fault. Don't pressume." then walked up to me, steadying my now shaky balance. "If you blame yourself it'll just make Jacob feel worse, so don't." Before I could say another word, Embry lifted me up, and brought me into the house, putting me down on the couch.
"Stay here, I need to go see how Paul is doing. Jacob said he's coming here to see you, so you won't be alone long." he said, gentler than usual, then walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Tears filled my eyes as I thought about Paul; his stomach...cut open? Without the vampire slicing at him? Did they...have abilities...like the Cullen's had? Special mind abilities? How many vampires now lay in Victoria's hands? How many of the pack members would fall, until they finally defeated all of them, and got to me?
I was too busy in thought to acknowledge the warm presence that shifted into the house. Arms suddenly wrapped around me from behind, holding me close, "Bella, Bella, I've missed you..." Jacob's deep voice resonated into my very soul.
I held tightly to the warmth now surrounding me; it had felt like forever since we'd last seen eachother, and I'd been so cold since then. "Jake! You're here!" the tears that were in my eyes started falling; first for fear of the pack, now for happiness in having Jacob back.
He nuzzled into the back of my neck, through my hair, and spoke lightly, "It was hard...being gone for so long..."
"Five days...it felt like forever..." I agreed; it really had felt like forever. I never thought I'd miss someone as much as I had Edward...and here I am, missing Jacob even more than Edward.
A few minutes of us just being together again felt wonderful; he asked how I was doing, asked how my week had gone, and I asked how he was doing, and how the pack was. He gave me the gist; the week had gone well, they tracked the vampires, and finally found them. That's when Paul's predicament came in. "How is he, by the way...? Embry...said he was in bad shape." my voice quivered a bit, re-imagining Paul's wound.
Jacob's face distorted lightly in sadness, "He's pretty beat up, Bells, I won't lie. He probably won't be in action for a while...at least a few weeks."
"Jake...I feel so bad about all this. I knew someone would get hurt, and it's..." then I remembered; Embry said if I blamed myself for this, Jacob would feel even worse! "It's...horrible." I ended, hoping he wouldn't catch where I was previously planning to go with my sentence.
A huge yawn escaped his lips, as both arms stretched high above me. When he was done, his dark, tired eyes, scanned mine, "It is horrible, but we'll manage. I told you, we're all pretty strong. Paul got ahead of himself and attacked without Sam's permission; it was his fault that he got hurt. We were all pretty sure that if that didn't happen, we would've been able to kill that blood-sucker."
My hand went to his face, "You're so tired." I whispered, "You need sleep, right now."
He closed his eyes, leaning into my hand, "I want to be with you..."
Wow, he sounds...so desperate. It's so different for him to sound like that; so worn out. I nearly crumbled inside, thinking about all he'd done for me, and how hard he's worked, "You can be with me, even while your sleeping, your with me. Jake...please, sleep."
He opened his eyes again, "Alright..." then lifted me up a bit, layed himself down across the couch, and lay me next to him. His arm slung lazily, but comfortingly around me, pulling me close to him. He kissed the tip of my nose, "We'll get through this," his voice was so silent, "I swear...Bells...we will."
I snuggled into his chest, listening to his breathing as he fell into a deep, much needed slumber.
--
I didn't want to let go, I didn't want to get up, but I knew if I didn't I would've pee'd my pants.
About an hour after Jake fell asleep, I had to get up and use the restroom. When I came back, wobbling on my crutches, I saw that he was still sleeping soundly. That's good, I thought, He needs this sleep...bad.
I lumbered into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, then went to the fridge to see what I should make for dinner. Peering over my shoulder, I wondered what Jacob would like to eat. Probably anything; I mean, he eats everything you put in front of his face. Still, I want it to be special, since he's been working so hard.
My eyes stuck on the steaks Charlie had bought; I knew that's what I'd make. Pulling out the skillet, I seasoned and based the steaks, then put them on the stove to cook.
Had I not kind of expected it, Jacob's presence behind me would've surprised the heck out of me. His arms snaked around my waist, and his head lay on my shoulder. He took a deep, over-acted smell, and smiled, "Smells mmmmm..."
I reached back and patted his head, "You, go back to sleep!"
He pulled back and crossed his arms across his chest, looking at me with a quizzical brow, "How am I supposed to sleep when my woman is making steak?"
True. I guess that'd be kind of hard for someone like him. I rolled my eyes, "Fine fine, but you're gonna sleep later, or I'll put med's in your food." then gave him a suspicious glare.
He'd only gotten about two hours of sleep while he'd been over, but I guessed he'd be getting more later, so it'd be okay.
After making himself a cup of coffee, he leaned against the counter, watching me cook. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful you look when you're cooking meat, Bells?"
I nearly burst out laughing; what kind of statement was that? I looked at him with one eyebrow furrowed, and repeated my thoughts, "What kind of statement is that?"
He shrugged, looking innocent, "Just saying. Woman, plus meat, equals perfection in a man's eyes. You're dealin' a prime packedge here, and I know I'd never be able to refuse." He winked at me.
"You sound like you're talking to your wife or something." I laughed, then turned to the meat again.
"Someday, Bells, someday."
I stopped flipping a chunk of steak half way, and turned slightly to him, "Eh, let's...not talk about that right now." I didn't really like the topic of marriage. Not my thing.
"Alright." he laughed, then walked over to me, never taking his eyes off the steaks, "So here's the plan for the rest of the week...Embry is taking my spot, and I'm staying here with you. If any more of them get hurt, we're gonna have to kick some serious vampire butt. Not that...we wouldn't do that anyway." He grinned childishly.
I smacked him with the spatula, "Just make sure you don't have to go back out there...cause if you get hurt, I'll be very, very upset."
He rubbed the spot where I hit him, despite the fact I knew it didn't hurt, "I'll be sure not to, just for you." then winked at me again.
He had no idea how happy I was he wouldn't be searching with the pack. No. Idea.
I don't have much to say this time...I'm tired. lol But, thank you all for so many reviews!!! If you guys keep up the amazing reviews, I'll keep up the writing. I'm sooo happy you all enjoy the story thus far!!!
