Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for your reviews and adds. I'm glad almost all of you liked the last chapter, but I know a couple of you thought Aurora sounded a little New Moon Bella-ish at the end. It felt that way to me too when I wrote it, but I promise that Aurora will resolve the issues that are plauging her mind and making her think that way by the end of this chapter. I hope you like this chapter, and please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Twilight.
Chapter Twelve
Jacob stopped running at the edge of the forest that surrounded his house and lowered himself to the ground. I slid off his back and after a beat Jacob disappeared behind the trees. It was then as Jacob went to change himself back that I remembered that Charlie was supposed to be at Billy's for dinner that night. I turned away from looking where Jacob had disappeared and towards Jacob's house. Thankfully, I could see around the front of the house thanks to the bright porch light being on and I only saw Billy's truck parked out in front of the house. I let out a relieved sigh before I turned back around to see Jacob walking towards me. I held out my hand to him when he was close enough to take it, and he was quick to encase my hand in his much larger one.
"Good thing Charlie's gone," he said quietly as drew closer to the house and I looked at him. "I don't really know how I'd explain you coming to my house at nearly eleven o'clock at night looking like you do right now."
"Do I look that bad?" I asked and he gave me a crooked smile.
"Not as bad as Bella looked," he said and I blushed at being called out on the damage that I inflicted on my cousin. "She's going to at least have a black eye and a busted up lip for a while. Remind me not to get on your bad side." He was teasing me of course because I knew that if I ever did punch Jacob I'd end up with a broken hand. I forced a smile at him as we walked up the ramp towards the house and he sighed quietly before he led me inside.
"Jacob? That you?" came Billy's voice and Jacob kissed my forehead before he closed the front door.
"It's me, Dad, and I hope you don't mind, but I've brought company," he said before the two of us walked into the kitchen and then towards the living room where Billy sat on the sofa, remote for the TV in his hand.
"Aurora?" Billy asked his eyes wide as he looked me over and I forced another smile as I looked at him.
"Hi Billy," I said softly and he was quick to turn off the TV before he leaned forward slightly and put the remote on the coffee table in front of him.
"What happened?" he asked as he looked from me to Jacob, his eyebrows raised high, and Jacob sighed.
"She got into a fight with Bella," Jacob said slowly and Billy blinked a few times before his eyes moved back to me.
"Does Charlie know?" Billy asked and I shook my head.
"He wasn't home when it happened, and Jacob and I left before he got there," I said and Billy let out a breath.
"So he doesn't even known you're here?" he asked quietly and I shook my head once more.
"No," I said, "but I made up my bed to look like I was sleeping in it and Bella felt guilty enough to agree to cover for me."
"Guilty? Why does she feel guilty?" he asked and Jacob's hold on my hand tightened in an encouraging way and I took a deep breath through my nose.
"She said some things about Jacob and me before she threw in a comment about my mom that sort of set me off, and I'm hoping it's okay with you that I stay here tonight Billy. I really don't want to be anywhere near her right now," I said quietly, tears lining the corners of my eyes.
"Of course, Aurora," Billy said, his expression turning soft as he looked at me. I knew then that Charlie had probably told Billy what happened when my mom passed away, and I really wasn't surprised. After all, Billy was Charlie's best friend so it made sense that he would have confided in the man when he agreed to be the guardian to the daughter of a cousin he barely remembered. "You can stay in Rebecca and Rachel's old room." I nodded in agreement, not the least bit surprised.
"Dad," Jacob said quietly and Billy looked at him. "Can't she stay with me?"
"Jake," Billy said and Jacob took a shuffled step forward.
"You know I've been spending every night at her place for the last two weeks, and I swear we've done nothing more than sleep in the same bed together," Jacob said and I felt my face heat in a blush as I looked at Jacob's profile. "I don't want to leave her alone tonight, Dad, please." I turned my eyes to Billy when I heard the man sigh heavily and he looked at me, his dark eyes that were so similar to Jacob's softened as he looked me over.
"All right," he said rather reluctantly before he looked up at Jacob. "Don't give me a real reason not to trust either you, understand?" he asked and Jacob nodded.
"We won't, Dad, I promise," he said and Billy nodded.
"While Aurora cleans up and gets ready for bed, Jake, will you help your old man to bed?" Billy asked and Jacob nodded as he let go of my hand before he looked at me.
"I know the way," I said with a smile before I turned and went down the short hall that led to the bathroom. Jacob's room was just kiddy corner from the bathroom and Billy's room was at the end of the hallway. With the bathroom door closed I heard Jacob and Billy shuffling by before I took off my dress, frowning when I saw a tear in the delicate lace that I knew would be impossible to repair properly. With a heavy disappointed sigh, I changed into the plain black pajama bottoms I had grabbed and the bright yellow t-shirt that had a winking smile in the front of it that was sticking out its tongue. I rolled my eyes at my pajama selection for the evening before I washed my face and brushed my teeth with my face wash and tooth brush that was in my toiletry bag.
When I was finished, I went into Jacob's room, turning on the light since he was still helping his dad change and get into bed. I sat my bag, folded up dress, and tennis shows on the floor by his closet before I sat down on the edge of his bed, crossing my right leg over my left and leaning forward slightly, resting my elbows on my thighs as I played with the pendant that rested around my neck while I waited for Jacob. I didn't have long to wait because it seemed like barely a minute before Jacob came walking into the room. I looked up from staring at the floor and offered him a small smile as I righted myself, and he grinned when he spotted my shirt.
"Cute," he said as he gestured towards it and I looked down and scoffed before I looked back up at him. He closed his bedroom door and it was only then that I realized he was barefoot.
"Where are you boots?" I asked and he smiled at me as he sat down on the bed beside me.
"In the woods at the side of your house," he said. "I couldn't tie them along with my shirt and jeans to my leg, so, I left the behind. I'll get them later."
"Oh," I said softly and he raised his left hand and gently brushed a wayward strand of hair from my face, tucking it gently behind my ear.
"So, are you ready to tell me what happened tonight?" he asked and I looked at him fully.
"Is it just me or has every serious conversation we've had since we met taken place in your bedroom?" I asked and he chuckled, probably realizing that I was right because he shook his head negatively.
"It's not just you," he said and I smiled at him then, "but no changing the subject, Rory." I nodded before I looked down at my hands, which were joined together and resting on my thigh when Jacob's left hand easily covered them, drawing my eyes back to his face. "Talk to me," he urged once more and I took a deep breath through my nose.
"When we got home, Bella immediately started in on me," I said. "She asked me how can I be okay with you and the guys joining the fight against the newborns, and I told her that with your help the Cullens would win the fight and the town would be protected. She didn't believe me and then accused me of not caring about you. She asked me how I could claim to care about you if I was willing to let you die for me, and she said that if I cared about you at all I'd fight for you to stay out of it."
"Rory, I know you care about me," Jacob said as he shook his head. "There's not a single bit of doubt in my mind about that, and you couldn't stop me from fighting no matter what you did. I'm going to do whatever I have to do to protect you."
"I know," I said, "and I pretty much told Bella that, but she said I was your imprint and I could get you to do anything I wanted by batting my eyelashes. She said that it seemed like I was happy to let you die just like . . . just like my mom. I lost it after that, and you know the rest because that's when you and Edward showed up."
"She said that to you?" Jacob practically growled as his hold on my hands tightened. "Why would she say that to you?"
"She's jealous and she wanted to hurt me," I found myself saying without thinking and Jacob blinked at my response.
"Jealous? Jealous of what?" he asked, and I knew that I couldn't lie to him.
"Do you remember the day we met and when you took me home that afternoon?" I asked and he got a goofy grin on his face as his hold on my hands loosened and he began rubbing small circles with his thumb.
"Of course I do," he said. "It's one of the top five in the 'best days of my life' category," he added and I couldn't help but laugh quietly as I shook my head. Despite whatever was going on around us or in my head, Jacob could always get me to smile or chuckle.
"Anyway," I said dryly, "when you went outside with Bella it was because you told her that you imprinted on me, right?" I asked and he nodded.
"Yeah," he said.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that sometime after that she realized that her feelings towards you were more than friendly in nature," I said, "and she's jealous that she lost you to me before she realized it." Jacob started at me, hard, for several quiet beats; and even though I was tempted to look away I didn't. I simply watched as he blinked a few times before he licked his lips and shook his head.
"Oh," he said quietly and I nodded.
"Yeah," I said softly and Jacob leaned forward, surprising me my catching my lips in brief chaste kiss.
"Even if Bella would have realized her feelings for me before I met you, Rory, nothing would be different," he said gently as he pulled back, his brown eyes once again locking with my blue. "She loves Edward more than she could ever love me, hell, I'm pretty sure she puts his well-being above her own and he's pretty much unbreakable. I would have just been in more pain knowing that she loved me, but still chose to be with Edward because she loves him more. Now, it doesn't matter anymore because I have you." He kissed me once more and at the tenderness of his touch I felt my hesitance to tell Jacob about what happened to my mother, so he would better understand why I reacted the way I did to Bella's words, slip away. He wouldn't judge me, I knew he wouldn't, and when he pulled his lips from mine I gathered my courage and met his brown eyes with my blue.
"Jacob, you know I don't want anything to happen to you, right? Please tell me you know that," I said, a few tears making their way down my cheeks, and Jacob was quick to pull me into his arms. I was practically sitting on his lap like so many times before when we found ourselves in his room, but I didn't care.
"I know you don't, Rory; I know," he said quietly and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as I turned my face into his neck. I wasn't really crying at that moment, I just needed to be as close to Jacob as possible for a few minutes and he seemed content to hold on to me as he rubbed his right hand up and down my back in a soothing motion. However, I knew if I didn't let out everything right then I wasn't going to do it anytime soon.
"It's my fault my mom is dead," I whispered against his skin and his hand stilled on my back.
"What are you talking about, Rory?" Jacob asked. I lifted my head to look at him and found him frowning at me as his brown eyes danced between my blue. "How could it possibly be your fault that your mom is dead?"
"The night that she died, we'd gotten into a fight on the way home from a restaurant where we had had dinner with the guy she was dating," I said quietly, my eyes going to the collar of Jacob's shirt since I found myself unable to look him in the eyes anymore. I was ashamed because of what my last words to my mom had been even though I knew he wouldn't judge me. "It was the first time I had ever fought with her about anything."
"What did you fight with her about?" he asked when I paused and I sighed quietly as I ran my left hand down my face before I let it fall to my lap.
"That night was the first night I'd met the guy she was dating, some creep named Aaron. During dinner . . . during dinner he'd put his hand on my thigh, rubbed it, and squeezed it as he winked at me," I said and I heard Jacob growl quietly, but I pressed on. "He did a few other things and I didn't like him. When I told Mom about what he did in the car, she didn't believe me. I was so angry at her that she didn't believe me and when she had pretty much called me a liar, I snapped but instead of hitting her like I did Bella I used words.
"I told her that she was a terrible mother and that I wished she was dead when she stopped at a stop sign before I took off out of the car. I was running down the street when she followed after me. It was dark out and she immediately started after me, but when she did her little compact car was hit by a full sized pickup truck that was speeding down the road and ran its stop sign." I sniffed and wiped at my nose with the back of my left hand before Jacob took hold of my hand.
"It wasn't your fault, Aurora," Jacob said and I scoffed a quiet and bitter laugh as I looked up at him.
"Yes it was, Jacob. If I wouldn't have gotten out of the car, she wouldn't have pulled out when she did and she wouldn't have died on impact," I said as my tears were freely falling from my eyes. During the weeks of counseling I had been forced to take, I had never cried when I retold the story to therapist. I could always feel the tears begging to come out, but they never fell. Now, it was like I couldn't get them to stop and a small sob escaped my lips as I started to turn my face away from Jacob's penetrating gaze.
"Listen to me, Aurora, it was an accident," Jacob said as he raised his hand back to the side of my face and kept my eyes locked with his. "You could have been in that car with her when it happened and died right alongside her. It was her turn to go through the intersection when she started after you, and you said it yourself the pickup driver ran the stop sign. It wasn't your fault."
"But what I said-," I started but he didn't let me finish.
"You were angry and hurt, and you didn't mean anything you said," he said as he rubbed his thumb underneath my eye. "I know you didn't mean what you said, Rory, and if your mom knew you as well as I think she did, she knew you didn't mean it either." Jacob spoke with such conviction as he looked at me that I wanted to believe him with every fiber of my being, but I wasn't sure if I could. "You said the two of you never fought before, right?"
"Right," I whispered through my still falling tears, and he gave me a small smile.
"Well, I think that when you said what you said and climbed out of the car that she realized how hurt you were that she didn't believe you about whatever it was you were fighting over; and you told me how close the two of you were," he said with a pause. "I bet you anything that she was coming after you as fast as she could because she wanted to set things right."
"How do you know?" I asked and Jacob kissed my forehead before he pressed his forehead to mine.
"I just do," he said. "I can't explain it to you, Rory, but I just know that that's what happened. It wasn't your fault, and you've got to accept that because your mom wouldn't want you to go on blaming yourself for something you didn't do." It was then for the first time since that terrible night that I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest and a warmth spread through me. The ache that had been ever present in my chest, but dulled since meeting Jacob was completely gone and for a fleeting second I could have sworn I smelled my mother's favorite cherry blossom perfume in Jacob's room.
"Why do I believe you?" I asked in a whisper and he lifted his head to smile at me once more.
"Because you're smart," he said and I laughed quietly then, sniffing for the millionth time, before I threw my arms around his shoulders and once again buried my face in his neck.
"I don't want anything to happen to you because of me, Jacob," I said against his skin and I felt Jacob shiver slightly before he shook his head.
"Nothing's going to happen to me, Rory," he said and I pulled my head back so I could look at him. "I promise," he said as he looked into my eyes and I believed him, it was hard not to, and I gave him a watery eyed smile.
"Good," I said and he smiled at me in return before he kissed me yet again, but that time on the cheek. I sighed quietly as he pulled back before I raised my right hand to my forehead and frowned. "Do you have any Tylenol or something?" I asked, as my head started to pound something fierce. "I've got a headache."
"Yeah, it's in the kitchen," he said before he settled me back onto the bed. "I'll go get you some and a glass of water.
"Thanks," I said as I lowered my hand and once again, Jacob leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I smiled at him as he quietly exited his room and I sighed once more as I laid down on his bed, wrapping my arms around his pillow as I waited for him. I closed my eyes and smiled slightly as I was surrounded by Jacob's smell and the warmth sensation in my chest seemed to grow. As I laid there I could feel myself starting to drift off to sleep and no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I was asleep before Jacob came back into the room.
When I woke up the next morning I was unusually warm, so much so that I was sweating and the side of my face was sticking to my pillow as I opened my eyes. For a brief moment I internally panicked when I didn't recognize the room around me but the events of the night before came flooding back to me and I remembered that I was in Jacob's room. I relaxed against Jacob whom I was mostly lying on top of with his chest serving as my pillow seeing as there really wasn't enough room for both of us to lie down comfortably on his twin bed. My ribs hurt a bit from the iron grip Jacob had had on my waist and the few jabs that Bella had gotten in, but it wasn't enough to make me bolt out of bed or anything like that.
Over the last two weeks I had woken up pretty much in the exact same position, but I certainly never sweated that much before. It was only then that I remembered that Jacob must have forgotten to open a window to keep the room around us cool so I wouldn't sweat to death. To my surprise my headache was gone despite not having taken anything for the pain last night, but I figured I probably just needed a good night's sleep. That was usually a good cure for almost anything, and I closed my eyes content to lie there for a little while longer with Jacob. I didn't really care if I was sweating buckets or what time it was, I just wanted to lay there with him for as long as humanly possible, and judging by the quiet snores he was making he had no plans on waking up any time soon either. However, it sounded like Billy had other plans because I heard Jacob's bedroom door open a few seconds after I closed my eyes.
"Jacob," came Billy's firm voice from the doorway, but he wasn't loud in any sense of the word, and Jacob's snores immediately stopped before I felt him lift his head and heard him let out a sigh. "It's almost noon and you have join Sam and the others before meeting with the Cullens to train at one," he continued, speaking quietly and I knew then that he was probably trying to not wake me up. I felt Jacob nod his head before I heard Billy wheel away, and I figured that Jacob must have informed Billy of the plans he had made with Carlisle last night. Jacob kissed the top of my head before he slowly started to move from underneath me, but I opened my eyes, lifted my head, and looked at him, freezing him in place.
"Morning," I said and he gave me a sleepy faced grin.
"How long have you been awake?" he asked.
"Not long," I said. "I had only just closed my eyes again when I heard Billy open your bedroom door." He chuckled and shook his head before he kissed my forehead and climbed from the bed, stretching with his arms spread out above him and allowing me to watch the muscles of his bare back ripple and move as he did so. I let out a soft contented sigh as I rested my head on my right hand, propped up on my elbow, and watched him stretch. Jacob laughed again before he looked back at me.
"See something you like?" he teased and I laughed as I felt my face flush from more than the heat that Jacob had left behind.
"I see a lot of things I like," I said and he grinned as I sat up and wiped at my forehead and neck with my hands.
"Damn it," I heard him whisper and I frowned as I looked up at him.
"What?" I asked and he sighed.
"I forgot to open a window last night," he said and I rolled my eyes before I climbed from the bed.
"I'm fine," I said. "A little sweaty and possibly a little stinky, but I'm fine." He smiled at me as he shook his head.
"You don't stink," he assured me and I trusted his judgment on that since he was the one with the super sniffer and all.
"Thank you," I said and he raised an eyebrow.
"For what? Saying you don't stink?" he asked with a grin and I laughed as I reached out and put my hands on his waist before I shuffled a little closer to him.
"No, for last night," I said. "I went to a place in my head that I hadn't gone since shortly after everything happened. I've tried really hard to not go there and move on because I don't like the way I think when I do, but after what Bella said I just went right back to that night and I hated myself all over again. When we talked last night, Jacob, you didn't say anything to me that the cops, the shrink I was forced to see, or my friends hadn't already said to me but it was the first time I actually let myself believe it."
"You should have always believed it because it's true, Rory," he said and I smiled sadly at him as I nodded, my loosened ponytail flopping oddly on the back of my head as I did so.
"I know that now," I said quietly, my fingers tightening around his waist a bit, and he smiled at me before he raised his hands to my face and ran his thumbs along my cheeks. "I guess I've got a little more drama than you bargained for, huh?" I asked and he chuckled.
"Maybe, but you're totally worth it," he said and I laughed lightly, but I didn't get say anything in response because he swooped in and kissed me firmly. I swear I started to melt against him as I wrapped my arms around him. The kiss deepened and Jacob's hands left face and moved to settle on my waist, however, the pressure of his hands against my bruised ribs as he pulled me close was a little too much and I pried my mouth from his and let out a small whimper. "What is it?" he asked his hands leaving me and hovering over me, too afraid to touch me.
"Between when you tightened your grip on me and the few blows Bella got in with her elbows my ribs are pretty sore," I said sheepishly and Jacob pursed his lips before his hands moved to the hem of my t-shirt.
"May I?" he asked and I nodded. Slowly, he lifted up my shirt, stopping just below my chest, and he sighed quietly. "No wonder your sore," he said and I looked down, tilting my head slightly so I could see over my chest only to see a smattering of greenish blue bruises over my upper waist, right along the lower part of my rib cage. I hummed quietly and lifted my head to look at Jacob's face, and he didn't look happy.
"I'm fine," I said and he sighed as he looked at me. He opened his mouth, undoubtedly to say he was sorry, but I cut him off. "Don't. You apologized last night and not all of these bruises are from you, Jacob. I'm fine," I said again and he reluctantly nodded before he started to lower my shirt. However, he hesitated for a beat and kept my shirt raised halfway down my stomach with his left hand while the fingers of his right hand ghosted across my abdomen, making goose bumps rush across my skin before I felt him toy slightly with the small charmed piercing I had in my belly button.
"You're belly button's pierced?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and I nodded.
"Hello," I said with a small grin before I pointed at myself with a swirling right hand, "dance team." He laughed at that before he lowered my shirt completely and brought his hands to my hips. I laughed with him as I raised my hands to rest on his shoulders and I felt all the tension leave his body. I knew he wasn't happy that he'd hurt me, but I wasn't hurt that bad and I had injured myself worse dancing or working out in general. Hell, I'd broken bones in my feet (toes mainly) and still went on to perform. Pain was something I could handle, but when Jacob had grabbed me, the pain had caught me off guard.
"You'll have to show me a few of your dance moves sometime," Jacob said through the grin that had made its way across his lips.
"Well, maybe when this whole vampire thing is over and you've got a few spare minutes I can do just that," I said and Jacob's grin turned into a smile. "Maybe I can even teach you a few moves. You can dance, right?"
"Of course, and that is defiantly something to look forward to," he said and I chuckled as Jacob started to lean in to kiss me and I was relieved that Jacob hadn't turned brooding after seeing the bruises on my ribs. Playing them off was the right thing to do because he was once again at ease as his nose brushed against mine and his breath washed over my lips.
"I've made you two lunch, and if you want to actually eat before you have to leave you're going to have to come out of there in the next five minutes," came Billy's voice from the other room. Jacob sighed before he settled on a chaste kiss before he pulled back and took my hand into his. I knew then, as Jacob started to lead me out into the kitchen that things had started to return back to normal, outside of the pending newborn vampire battle of course.
