Title:An Unkind Fate

Rating:PG (T)

Pairings: Ultimately Bella & Edward but first we have to show what happens with Jacob

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the Twilight series. They are the property of Stephenie Meyer and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Set: Alternative Universe to New Moon. Edward doesn't think Bella died. Edward doesn't go to the Volturi nor does he come back to Bella.

A/N 1 – Thank you to those who reviewed. It's great to hear your comments on the story or any feedback on the quality of the writing.

Chapter 12 - What Next?

I woke up the next morning and felt groggy and numb from the return of my void nightmare. I took a shower hoping the water would help me clear my head. As the hot water sprayed over my face, it all came back to me at once. Jake had imprinted and it wasn't me. I couldn't stop the tears that mixed with the water that sprayed on my face.

I felt like such an idiot when I thought of all my unanswered phone calls made in the hopes that we could work everything out. All along it was over and he didn't have the guts to tell me. There were no secrets in the pack. Jake must have phased in the last six weeks for patrol or on one of his runs to the Makah reservation. That meant that Embry and Paul knew that day I saw them at the store. I flinched at the memory. I must have seemed so pathetic to them when I asked if they had seen Jake. Paul must have been thrilled at the chance to laugh at my expense. He never liked me with Jake because of my time with Edward. He never thought I was good enough for Jake. He must have loved it when he was proven right.

And Billy. He was like a second father. I thought Billy cared about me. It was as common for me to cook dinner for him as it was for me to cook for Charlie. All those times I called and he made up excuses for Jake made me cringe in embarrassment. He must have thought I had no pride. How embarrassing to have his best friend's daughter act like something out of bad teen aged stalker movie.

I was hurt. But unlike when Edward left, I also realized that I was angry. I was angry at Jake, angry at Edward, but most of all angry at myself. How could I have been so stupid?

I couldn't put off the inevitable. I walked down stairs and faced Charlie. I could tell by the expression on his face he knew something. His next words confirmed it.

"Billy called me this morning. He told me that you saw Jake last night." I nodded. "He said he was with another girl."

"Yeah, her name is Vanessa and she's from the Makah reservation." I don't know why I was telling him this trivial information. What did it matter what her name was or where she was from. Maybe by putting her name to the event, it made it more real. More final.

"Do you want to talk?" Charlie asked awkwardly.

"Not yet." I smiled sadly. I knew Charlie was trying to help but it was too fresh.

He nodded. He seemed to understand that I needed some time to process everything. "Okay. Bells, you know I'm here if you want to talk."

I gave him a weak smile. "I know. Thanks. I think I'm going to go to the library to study if that is all right with you?" He nodded. I turned to go and then quickly turned around, "You know in spite of everything that has happened here, the best decision I ever made was coming back to live with you three years ago." Charlie looked surprised. "I know I don't always say it but, I love you Dad."

He hugged me and for a few minutes I felt like a little girl again safe in his embrace where nothing bad could ever happen.

A knock at the door broke us apart. I wiped the tears out of my eyes as I walked toward the entrance way. I was extremely surprised as I opened the door.

"Leah. What are you doing here?"

"Gees Bella, you look like shit."

I almost smiled at her bluntness. You could always count on Leah to tell it like it is.

"Sorry about that. I'm so used to those assholes in the pack that I forget how to talk to civilized people. Look, I promise I'll be on my best behavior. Could we just talk?"

I came outside and closed the door so Charlie couldn't overhear us. I was curious as to what would bring her here but I really didn't want to face anyone in the pack. "Now's not really the best time."

"I know what happened last night."

Tears welled up in my eyes and my face heated up at the thought that I was the topic of the reservation gossip.

"Bella, please don't be embarrassed. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Jake is the jerk in all this. Look, I figured you could use a friend about now. "

"Not to be rude, Leah, but I'm a bit shocked. For the last two years you have been trying to push me away from Jake and the pack. Why are you suddenly trying to be my friend? I thought you would be the first to do the Snoopy Happy Dance when you heard Jake dumped me. You were finally proven right. I wasn't good enough to be Jake's imprint."

"Bella, I know how it might have looked to you but that couldn't be further from the truth. I, more than anyone, understand what you are going through. If in the past I tried to warn or push you away, it wasn't because I didn't like you. I just knew this day could come and I was trying to save you this pain."

I was silent for a minute and then opened the front door and called out to Charlie, "Dad, I'll see you in a couple of hours. Leah and I are going out." I grabbed my car keys off the table in the hallway and Leah followed me out to the truck.

An hour later we were at a diner near campus. I didn't know where to start. I guess Leah could sense that and said, "Bella, I'm sorry for the pain that you are going through. Jake is dick."

I smiled at that but then asked Leah what I had really wanted to ask Jake. "Why her? Why not me?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I know. The truth is I don't have an answer for you."

"Leah, I feel like such a fool. The pack must think I'm so pathetic. I was virtually stalking him and all that time he was with Vanessa."

"Bella, you weren't the fool. Jake was a coward. He knew how hard he had been pushing you in the relationship. Jake has been paranoid that Edward would come back."

I was stunned by her words. I exclaimed, "That is crazy. I knew they were never coming back when the pack saved me from Laurent. Alice would have seen the danger I was going to be in the meadow that day. If they had really cared, they would have never left me to face Laurent on my own. I was just lucky the pack showed up when they did or I would be dead. No, I was just a passing distraction to the Cullens. Like a pet, as Laurent said to me in the clearing that day."

"Well, Jake convinced himself that time was running out. He thought if he could tie you to him with every emotional tie he could before Edward showed up then you would pick him if it came to a choice between them."

"The irony of all of this is the person that really ended up having to make a choice was Jacob," I said sadly, "and he didn't choose me."

Leah was silent.

"I understand. Like you, I gave every part of myself to Sam and he still left me for Emily. It was even worse when I phased. You would think that if we both had the gene I would be a perfect match for him but I wasn't."

She did understand how I felt.

"If you ever need someone to talk to or rant to, call me. I'd like to be your friend. You can count on me." She smiled encouragingly at me.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me."

We spent another hour talking. I cried, she consoled me and called Jake all the names I wished I could have if I still hadn't loved him so much. Her time with the pack gave her quite the creative curse word vocabulary. A few I had never even heard of before. We exchanged cell numbers and agreed to meet again in a few days. By the end of the day, I felt like I had made a new friend. Something I hadn't really had since Alice had left.

XXXXX

Jake came over the next morning to finally have "the talk" he had been avoiding. I heard his car pull into the driveway from my room. Charlie got to the front door before I made it fully down the stairs.

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here, Jake." Charlie said from the doorway. I heard some scuffling.

"Charlie, I'm sorry but I need to talk to Bella."

"You're never getting near my daughter after what you put her through the last few weeks. I thought you were better than this. I thought you were better than Him."

I could see the comparison to Edward had stung Jake. He had always felt that he had the moral high ground when compared to Edward.

"I thought I could trust you with the one thing I love most in the world." The part of me that felt so unlovable these last few weeks was so grateful for those words from Charlie. "I can't tell you how disappointed I am in you."

I knew Jake felt the cut of those words, "I'm sorry, Charlie. I swear the last thing I meant to do was hurt Bella."

Jake noticed me standing on the steps. "Bella, could I talk to you?" He looked at Charlie and then back to me, "Alone?"

I nodded to Charlie and he reluctantly left.

"Maybe we should take this outside," Jake suggested. I grabbed a light sweater off the coat rack and followed him out.

Jake looked at me and said, "Come on. Take a walk with me."

The similarities of what he just said and what he was going to say were too close to when Edward left me. I felt the tears that welled up in my eyes at his words. I didn't know if I was going to be able to bear this a second time. How many times can one heart be cut to pieces before it just stops beating?

We walked into the woods at the edge of the property. We didn't go far. We stopped in the area that the wolves used to watch the house over the last year.

Jake tried to take my hands but I pulled them out of his reach. "Bella, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't call. I know that was unfair. Charlie isn't the only one disappointed in how I handled everything. Billy is ashamed of me, Sam is livid, and Vanessa was devastated when she heard what I did to you or rather what I didn't do."

I winced at the sound of Vanessa's name. I knew in the list of people that were disappointed with him including myself, the only one that he really cared about was Vanessa.

"I don't have any excuse. The truth is I just couldn't face you. I pursued you relentlessly. I tried every way I could to make you love me."

I touched his arm, "And it worked. I do love you Jake." He recoiled from my touch and my hand dropped from his arm.

"I'm sorry Bella. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

I stepped close to him again, putting my palm over his heart and pleaded, "If you love me, can't you fight it?"

"Don't you think I tried?" I dropped my hand away in surprise at his growl. "I can't fight this."

He meant he wouldn't fight for me.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I knew you were vulnerable after Edward and I used the opportunity to finally take my chance. I discounted your fears over imprinting. I knew you saw Leah and worried something like that could happen to you. I pressured you into taking our relationship to the next level. For that, I'm so sorry."

"Didn't that mean anything to you? Don't I mean anything to you?"

"Of course you do, Bella. I still love you." My heart beat a little faster at his declaration. "I'm just not …in love with you….. anymore."

He was killing me.

"I regret that more than anything. If we had waited only one more day this would have been so much easier. I'm sorry that I have to add that to one of my sins against you."

His words tore my chest open. I gave him everything and he regretted it all. He regretted that he didn't wait another day so he could have had that first experience with Vanessa instead of me. Didn't he realize what he was saying? Couldn't he see that he was killing that fragile part of me that he had helped heal when Edward left? He hadn't filled Edwards place, he made one for himself. And now he was tearing that piece out of my chest with each painful word.

"I think you should leave," I said quietly.

Jake looked surprised at my words. "Bella, please, talk to me."

I shook my head. What was the point?

xxxxx

I tried to keep it together if only for Charlie's sake. A couple of days later, Charlie came into the kitchen while I washed the dishes from dinner. He hovered but did not say anything. As a rule, Charlie didn't hover. I looked over my shoulder and said, "What's up?"

"You have a long weekend coming up, right?"

"Yes, next week."

"You look like you could use a break." Charlie put a plane ticket on the counter. "I was talking to your Mother and we thought you might like a trip to see her."

I looked up gratefully at Charlie. A change of scenery would be really great right now. I needed to make some decisions. Maybe it would be easier from a sunnier local.

"She mentioned wanting to show you some of the schools near her. She thought you might like to check out the University of Florida campus or Florida State University."

I looked at Charlie in surprise. "You want me to go away?"

"No. I hate the thought of not having you here, Bella. I don't want to lose you, but I'll understand if you feel something like that is a good move for you. Your mother spoke to their admission offices and both confirmed it is easier to transfer into another school with your Associates degree. On the bright side, University of Florida usually has one hell of a football team. I might like being a Gator Dad."

Trust sports to win Charlie over.

"I'll think about it. Thanks, Dad."

XXXXXX

Leah and I met for lunch the week after I got back from Jacksonville.

"Wow, Bella, you almost have color."

"I know. It took almost constant sunbathing but I think I look one shade darker than an albino."

We both laughed.

"No, really. You almost glow."

"Thanks. I feel a little better."

"Bella, I have something I need to tell you. Now that you and Jake aren't together anymore, Paul's been pushing to pull in the patrols. He's been arguing that the reservation is a large area to patrol on its own and it's a strain to go beyond the boundaries. Sam knows that some of the guys really need to spend more time getting caught up on school so they can graduate. He's worried about what chances they'll have for a decent future. "

"Leah, it's okay. I can't blame Sam for wanting the best for his pack members. He's right. If they don't pull up their grades and graduate most won't have a chance of getting into college."

"Jake protested but Paul argued that since they haven't caught Victoria's scent in almost a year, she probably moved on to more interesting prey." I wanted to tell her that Vampires don't think of time the same way humans did but I couldn't ask them to keep putting their lives in danger for me. It was different when it looked like my future was tied to Jake but that was all over.

"Tell Sam thanks. Thanks for all the time he and the rest of the guys went out of their way to protect Charlie and I. Tell him that I'll understand if he can't patrol by us. Besides, it may not be an issue … I think I may be leaving Forks anyway." Now that I said the words, they sounded right.

Leah looked shocked and a bit envious. "Where are you thinking of going?"

"I'm not sure yet. I only went to Peninsula College to stay near Jake. I may transfer over to University of Florida. It's only a few hours away from Renee and Phil. If I don't go there, the scholarship I turned down to Oregon may be available again."

Leah told me that Vanessa was already staying at Quil's parents' house so Jake didn't have to do the commute to the Makah reservation as much and he could catch up on school. He was scheduled to graduate and it looked like they would be engaged in the next six months.

"Besides, I feel bad about Billy and Charlie. I feel like I've gone through a divorce and all our friends and families have to choose sides. Poor Charlie feels like he is being disloyal if he talks or goes fishing with Billy. He's still mad at Jake and by association Billy. He doesn't understand how Jake could change his feelings so quickly. You know, break up with me and then be so serious with Vanessa."

"When do you think you'll leave?"

"I'm not sure. The semester ends in another couple of weeks. So hopefully that will work out with the patrol schedule."

"I understand. I also imagine you want to get away from the pitying looks. That killed me most of all when Sam dumped me for Emily."

"Yeah, that hasn't been great."

"I heard Jake came over to try to talk to you."

I just realized that Leah would know that if she had phased recently. Then I realized that anything I said to her would be fair game to the pack mind meld.

She must have caught my panicked expression because she said, "Don't worry. I haven't phased since we started talking. I phased once after Jake first met Vanessa and all the guys refused to patrol with me because they were tired of my Jake is an asshole tirade. Jake doesn't know any of the things you have said to me and I promise he won't. Under the new patrol schedule, I've been relieved of duty until further notice."

"Are you okay with that?"

"I have better control over my phasing and I've been thinking of relocating myself. Sam has seen that when I phased in the past and I think this is his way of silently encouraging me. "

I nodded. "Where do you think you will go?"

"I'm not sure yet. Jake's sister in Hawaii offered me her couch. With Rachel gone, she has some space. Maybe I'll learn to surf and try to adopt the island mentality. The guys think it would help me center myself and take care of my anger management issues."

I had to laugh at that.

A/N – Thank you to those that have set up this story to follow or as a favorite. I really appreciate the interest. Reviews are highly motivating and I would appreciate any feedback you might have on the story or the writing. Please tell me what you think.