I just rolled my eyes and grinned. That sounded like Jake. Even after he had made up his mind, he didn't always know it. That was all I needed. I would go and try to see him again.

I went home not long after that. Thanks to Julie being absolutely amazing, she had most of the articles for the next few weeks lined up before I even took the job. June always marked Lilac Festival on the island which drew thousands of people to the island. It was by far the biggest event to cover of the year, other than the end of the season wrap up which would be more for the locals than the tourists. The dynamic of balancing tourist and local interests seemed daunting when I took the job but Julie guided me perfectly in that endeavor.

I made myself a quiet dinner and curled up on the couch to read. The library on the island was unimpressive but it was stocked with my favorites. I tried to get lost in Jane Austen's Emma. The character always made me think of Alice, meddling in things that she ought not to. Hard as I tried, I just couldn't get into the story.

I was determined to go talk to Jacob tomorrow. I figured I'd show up at his house around 7 pm. The last of the ferries left the island for the night at 6:30 so he'd be home by then, as long as he wasn't avoiding me by staying on the main land. I'd just have to try my hardest to keep myself occupied until then.

I wanted to tell him that I was sorry for surprising him in public like that. I pretty much cornered him and I shouldn't have been surprised that he acted so short with me. Invading his personal space might not be the best choice either but this was just eating away at me. There has to be a reason he doesn't want to talk to me. If he hates me and never wants to see me again, so be it, I just want to hear it from him.

I woke up with bags under my eyes. Two nights of restless sleep had not been kind to me. Unfortunately last night was just a prelude to what the rest of the day would bring. I couldn't seem to find enough monotonous things to do around the office. I went home and made dinner only to find myself too nervous to eat. I put it away in the refrigerator for tomorrow.

I chose to walk to Jacob's house rather than take my bike. I didn't really trust myself to be able to make it back without a catastrophe if things didn't turn out so well. I was about halfway from downtown and Mission Pointe, so it wasn't too far of a walk. I was actually starting to develop decently athletic looking legs from all the walking I had done since I moved here.

The huge blue house loomed in the distance. A foreboding omen. Pull yourself together Bella, it's only Jacob. How bad could it possibly be?

Bad. It could be bad. He could tell me that I ruined his life and he never wanted to see me again. That would be the worst imaginable outcome.

I tried to steel my nerves and walked up to the front door. I hesitated for a moment before knocking on the screen door. I could vaguely hear the rustle of fabric, lulled voices, and feet moving on hardwood floor. The blonde I had seen sitting next to Jake at the bar the other night answered the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked slowly. Apparently he had remembered me. I could only imagine how Jacob explained me to him.

"Hi. I was just wondering if Jake was around? I hoped to speak with him." I asked, praying he was in a charitable mood.

"He's actually not here right now. Would you like me to let him know you dropped by?" he replied.

"Sure. Just let him know Bella stopped by." I answered, defeated. I turned to walk away when I heard footsteps thundering on the wood floors. I turned around to see, hoping that it was Jacob and he decided he did want to talk, only to be confronted by a sight I would never have imagined in a million years. Dumbfounded I could only stare.

I was standing face to face with none other than Leah Clearwater. My stomach sank and my pulse quickened. Leah and I had never been overly friendly with one another. Leah and Jacob hadn't been overly close either, but from the look on her face, that might have changed.

She glared at me, mustering hate from the bowels of hell that only Leah could manage. Sneering at me she said, "Boy do you have some nerve showing up here. He came home the other night, drunk off his ass mumbling about how he ran into you. I didn't think you could possibly be stupid enough to repeat that little reunion. Apparently you are."

"I... I... I had just hoped I could speak with him. I.. uhhh... Things didn't go exactly like I had thought they would." I stuttered. Jacob came home drunk? He must have been more upset at seeing me than he led on.

"I uh, I uh... whatever Bella. You still have some nerve. Didn't go how you expected? Like he was going to welcome you back with open arms? Go back to whatever leech loving hole you crawled out of." She spat out.

"Leah I'm really sorry for coming here like this. I just wanted to see if I could make things right. I have been horrible to him and I don't deserve him. He has always been nothing but a friend to me. I really screwed up." I said, hanging my head in shame.

"Damn right you screwed up! Do you have any idea what he gave up for you? How long he defended you? What that cost him? Of course not! You had him save your ass in California and decided you had no more use for him. Be glad he only shrugged you off, I would have done much worse." She said seething at me. She slammed the door for effect and I could hear her footsteps thunder across the floor once more.

Not wanting to be caught up in her wrath again I stumbled my way back down the path leading to the sidewalk. My eyes were flooding with tears. I knew something wasn't right when I saw him the other night. I knew that wasn't my Jacob. Now I just wasn't sure who my Jacob was. Leah seemed pretty adamant that seeing me was not the best thing for him. If it was going to cause him any pain then she was absolutely right. I had received far more than I deserved from Jacob. I wouldn't ask anymore of him.

My eyes were so blurred with tears I didn't even realize where I was going. It wasn't until I ran into a brick wall that I decided I should look up and pay attention.

Except it wasn't a brick wall after all.

"Bella?" a voice from the past asked. It sounded different from how I remembered, more grown up. "Bella, are you ok?"

I felt him put his arm around my shoulder and looked up into the very dark features I had been obsessing over the past few days. The jet black hair, white teeth in contrast to his russet skin. Except it wasn't Jacob, it was Seth.

Tears flowing freely, I had no idea what to say. He guided me over to a nearby bench and sat down next to me. "Bella, please say something."

"I ran into your sister." I replied quietly, trying to keep the sobs out of my voice.

"Ah" he said knowingly. Apparently I had been a hot topic of discussion the past few days. "I bet she wasn't too happy to see you." He looked me over for a minute and gave me a small smile. "If it means anything, I'm glad you ran into me. It's good to see you."

Still crying I replied, "It's good to see you too, Seth. I'm really sorry for all this. I never meant to cause all this grief."

He kept his arm around my shoulder and proceeded, " I know you didn't. But that doesn't change the fact that it happened. I think it'll just take a while for him to come around. Don't worry about Leah, her bark is worse than her bite... sort of." He amended.

"She said I made things pretty difficult for Jake after I left. Seth what did I do?" I asked.

He looked away from me, unsure how to proceed. "I don't know if I'm the person you should be talking to about this." He hesitated. "Jake made things pretty rough for himself. It's not really my story to tell."

He was probably right. Jacob was the person I needed to talk to about this. Though it didn't look like Jacob was remotely in the mind set to give me any answers right now. "Well what brings you here then?" I asked. I hoped changing the subject would allow me to calm down.

"Uhh... Well my story is pretty well tied to Jake's." He looked at me carefully again. Against his better judgement he went on. "Alright. So after coming back from Arizona Jake had to deal with Sam, who wasn't very happy with him at all for 'gallivanting across the country' to be with you. Sam told him that he had responsibilities on the Rez and leaving on your whim wasn't an option. Jacob didn't take very well to that at all. He was still pretty upset about how things had turned out in Arizona and he snapped on Sam. You should have seen him; I've never seen Jacob so mad. I think it topped your wedding." I gave him a pained smile and he continued.

"Jacob told Sam that he was through with the pack and didn't want to be tied to the reservation for the rest of his life. Jacob really made Sam mad when he said he was sick of his feelings being treated second class because he hadn't imprinted. Sam said some...not very nice things about you and Jake told him he was done. Sam ordered him to stop but Jake just kept walking"

I shook my head slightly, "I don't understand what this has to do with you."

"Well, you see, Sam is the alpha, you don't disobey the alpha and stay in the pack."

"Jake mentioned something about that in California." I said confused.

"Yeah, they fought when he left, but it wasn't nearly as bad. I think Sam figured things would go back to normal when Jake came back." Seth clarified.

If possible, I felt so much worse than I had after talking to Leah. Leah was scary but hearing the truth from Seth made me sick to my stomach. Leah was completely right, Jacob had given up a lot for me. I didn't even know it.

Wanting to fully understand how he ended up on Mackinac I asked, "So how did you guys get here?"

Seth took a deep breath and continued. "After Leah heard that Jacob had broken away from Sam she followed. It was always really difficult for her to be under Sam's control. It really made her a not very pleasant person. Sam completely freaked out on her. He told her that he couldn't stand her betraying him. I found out and one thing lead to another.... We have our own little pack now. Jake's the alpha."

My brows were scrunched together. This was a lot to take in. Not only had I made a mess of things for Jacob but I had done the same to Leah and Seth. They certainly never did anything to deserve this from me. "Seth, I'm so sorry. This whole mess is all my fault."

"No, don't say that." He said comfortingly. "Things have been pretty cool since then actually. The first couple months were a nightmare but it's a lot better now. The three of us have been wandering east since then. Leah is so much less bitchy and the three of us get along pretty well. It's so weird that you'd end up here too..." He trailed off.

"Yeah. Tell me about it." I mumbled. So they were happier now, things had turned out for the better. If Jacob was happy without me then I wouldn't force myself on him. I had to stop being so selfish. "I'm glad to hear you're all happy now Seth, really I am."

He looked at me as if he wasn't sure he should say what he was thinking. "I wouldn't quite say that Bella." He looked down at his lap, trying to talk himself into saying the rest. "Sure Leah isn't such a peach but Jacob isn't the same Bella. He never says anything but I know he misses you. He's missed you every day since you left. Even if we didn't share a pack mind I could tell. He never talks about you, but I know he wants to. Just let him come around on his own." He said, his eyes pleading with me.

I could wait. I had waited this long to see him again, I owed him enough to wait a little while longer. After everything he had left behind for me, I could do that much. "I will" I promised.

He gave me a genuine smile before making his excuses to return home. I walked the rest of the way home with a heavy heart. I had caused him so much grief, grief that he didn't deserve. Somewhere buried beneath the surface was a small glimmer of hope. He missed me. Things might work themselves out after all. I could have my best friend back.