I own nothing…this fabulous world and everything in it belongs to the very talented Stephenie Meyer…I do however, own this particular story…whatever that means!
Chapter 9: Catalyst
Bella's POV
"What happened?" Emmett questioned, snapping me out of my reverie.
"Well, I was finishing my second year of college when summer came; I was taking classes and working. Patrols continued. Nothing had changed, really. Charlie and Billy went away to fish for a few days. Jacob stayed at my house, or I stayed at his during those times," I muttered, before quickly adding "simply for protection."
I knew that Edward's eyes had gone dark again, and as if on cue, Jasper sent another particularly intense torrent of calmness through the room. The intensity was a relief. Things were getting more and more heated and I felt that what I was about to say would definitely change the feel of the room.
"One night, I was up at La Push, and Jake came home from work. He had started a small mechanic shop in town. He was always really good with his hands, building things, fixing things. He built his own car – did I mention that?" I said, a small smile touching my lips.
"Good with his hands, 'eh?" Emmett started, his conversation again interrupted by Rosalie, who this time smacked him in the back of the head, and hard, from the sound of it.
"What I meant was he was putting things in place for us. He still hadn't given up the notion of marrying me. He hadn't asked me again, but he saw other members of his pack starting to settle down. He wasn't going to give in without a fight."
Carlisle interrupted, "Bella, you mentioned something happened. What changed things?"
I looked up to him. His warm and intelligent eyes looked at me. With my thoughts back in order, I continued.
"Well, one particularly rainy evening, Jake came home. We ate dinner, talking about each other's day when the phone rang. Jake got it and I could tell that something was very wrong. Jake grabbed his keys from the table and pulled me to my feet. Without speaking, he picked me up and ran me to the car. He placed me in the front seat and jumped in before taking off. I didn't know where we were heading, and some time passed before he was able to control himself enough to speak," I continued.
I thought back to that night – what I could remember.
"Bella, something bad happened. Paul's mother was killed earlier tonight. We suspect it's a vampire, but we won't know until we get to the hospital and inspect the body. I need to get you to the hospital, where you have to stay with the others, while Sam and I go out to find Paul. Stay where you are. The others will protect you. We have to find Paul before he gets himself killed. He's obviously upset right now and he's not thinking clearly," Jake finished, his tone somber but firm.
I came back to my senses, before I continued. "Jake's pack brother, Paul, lost his mother to a vampire attack. At the time, everyone thought it was meant to be a message that the wolves were ineffective and couldn't protect anyone. It started an all out war…one that the wolves barely won."
"We were all on lockdown. We stayed in large groups, the wives, girlfriends, children. It went on for almost two months, before the wolves got the last of them. It wasn't a large coven – in the end, we found out that it was in fact two small covens out to have some fun. Disgusting," I finished before trailing off.
"Jake came home one evening, hurt. They had gotten the last of them. The threat had passed. He wasn't in any mortal danger, but he had some deep gashes. He had already started to heal, but I was inconsolable. It was then that I realized all my reasons for putting off marriage were ridiculous. I had almost lost him, and that was something that I couldn't allow. When we were alone that next morning, I got down on my knees and begged him to forgive me for putting things off. I then asked him to marry me," I finished my thought, my voice laced with wistfulness.
I don't know how long I sat there, silent, lost in my own thoughts, till I noticed that I wasn't the only one that was quiet. I looked up, to see that every member of the family had their gaze focused on me, each set of eyes looking bemused and impatient for me to continue.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stop like that. Memories I thought were forgotten sometimes seem to just jump up and grab me sometimes."
"Anyway, Jake looked at me like he hadn't heard me correctly." I began again.
"Bells, did you say what I think you just said? Are you saying you want to marry me? What changed your mind? I know that you aren't keen on marrying right now. I know it didn't work out for your parents, but why the change of heart? Please don't tell me it's because of what happened last night. I'm as good as new. I was never in any real danger. A few stupid bloodsuckers aren't any match for us. You, of anyone, should know that by now."
I remembered Jake's words that evening, the look in his eyes of love and tenderness, trying to hide his excitement at what my words might mean for the both of us.
"At that moment, I told him I was ready to marry him. I told him that we didn't need to wait, that we should get married as soon as possible. I had put things off for far too long as it was and I wasn't about to waste anymore time. He was so happy! He picked me up, his arm bandaged and still obviously painful, and swung me around the room. He put me down just for a moment, to retrieve something from his desk," I continued, before my eyes caught Edward's expression.
His face was pinched in pain, his body limp, his eyes closed. I couldn't bear to see him in such pain. For a moment, my cold heart leaped. Was he jealous? Was he upset because the story, my story, turned to my loving someone else? Just as quickly, I knew that couldn't be the reason. He didn't love me. No matter what the reason was, I couldn't bear to see him in so much pain. Even though I didn't understand his reaction, my love for him, a love that had never ended wouldn't allow me to just sit there and let him suffer.
"Edward," I addressed him slowly, "are you alright? Have I said something to upset you again?" I finished, both fearful and anxious for his response.
"No, Bella. I was just trying to concentrate on everything you were saying. Please don't let me stop you. Go ahead and continue," he looked up at me, his stone mask returning.
I was confused, but seeing as we still had a long way to go, I thought I should take Edward's advice and journey on.
"Well, he retrieved a little box for me from his desk; an engagement ring. He then got down on one knee and proposed. It was quick but very sweet. We decided to marry that fall, even though we were still both in school. It would be small and not fussy. Telling Charlie and Renee though – that was another thing altogether."
I went on to tell them that although Charlie was thrilled by the engagement, Renee fought me tooth and nail. She hadn't seen any of the Blacks since she had left Forks and wasn't keen on me marrying someone who hadn't finished college. Not to mention the whole situation that I was still in school and she considered both mine and Jacob's age to be a definite disadvantage.
It took some serious convincing, until I finally put my foot down and explained that she could accept my choice or not, but that wouldn't change my mind about marrying Jacob.
"You're still stubborn, Bella," Alice giggled while every Cullen in the room either smirked or chuckled at her comments, no doubt remembering my intense obstinate streak. Everyone but Edward.
I continued, "Yes, I suppose I still am. Some things never change."
"Jake and I married that fall. I had a few friends from school attend and the pack, as well as my small family. Charlie gave me away and Renee and Phil came from Florida. They were happy in the end. They finally realized that Jake had helped to heal me, put me back together and that I would be safe with him, and that he would take care of me."
"We went on our honeymoon and got back to our regular schedules the following Monday. School and work - that was our mantra. We moved into a little house on the reservation. I commuted to the local university almost everyday and worked part-time. Jacob took a leave from school and focused all his time and energy on the shop. He did very well. Embry and Quil, Jake's pack brothers helped out. People from Forks and La Push had an alternative to Dowlings and Jake's shop was always busy."
"We continued in the same manner for a while. Being busy, the time flew by. Activity in the area lessened, so patrols weren't as necessary. Jake was only gone one night a week."
"The pack and their families spent lots of free time together. Weddings, birthdays, holidays – the wives and girlfriends spent lots of time cooking, hanging out together and I felt like I had lots of sisters to spend time with. We all helped each other out with babysitting, home improvement projects; whatever came up, everyone pitched in. We were one big family and we all felt connected to one another. We were fiercely protective and loyalty was first and foremost in our minds. That's what family was all about, especially for them."
I was coming to the part in my story that I didn't want to talk about, but I had already blurted out that piece of information in my office earlier in the evening. Damn it! I didn't want them to know everything, but there was no way around it now.
