Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Okay! I've had this little encounter planned for a while. I hope that y'all enjoy this chapter. It was pretty fun to write, since I figured these two needed an encounter soon enough. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy! I am so grateful for all of your support! Thanks so much for sticking with me and this fic!
Playing With Fire
Chapter Fourteen: Threat
I was running. Running without any clue where I was going. All I knew was that I needed to get away. I needed to flee from this creature that so craved my death. I could hear her laughing in my ear, though I should be quite ahead of her. I banished that last thought from my mind. My pursuer was a vampire, after all, and I could no more be ahead of her than I could physically attack her.
I found myself screaming, running through the trees and stumbling over my own traitorous, clumsy feet. Falling over thick, creeping tree roots. Using the trees themselves to pull me back to my feet as I continued at a steady run.
Even though I was quickly becoming tired, the adrenaline was pulsating through me, powering me forward even though my body was quickly becoming just a shell, using up all its energy in a brief, feverish attempt to stay alive.
"Paul!" I shouted, hating myself for crying out, for wanting him to help me. I should be trying to protect him. He shouldn't have to protect me. I didn't want him getting hurt. Even now…after everything…
But Paul did not come. He did not care what I was doing, how close I was to death. My screams turned into unintelligible sounds, like that of someone completely crazed with terror. I continued running.
I looked over my shoulder. She wasn't following me. Had I escaped? Had I made it out of the woods, so to speak?
I turned back to face the direction in which I was running, only to see the fiery snarl of red hair and even deeper, redder eyes. A wicked, hateful smirk spread across her lips, somehow more threatening than if she were scowling.
"It's been a while, Bella."
She had won.
I woke up screaming, thrashing in my bed, yelling out for anyone to help. I wasn't sure if Charlie would hear me or not. He'd long ago started to ignore my night terrors, sure that they were just a product of Edward leaving me. If only he knew the current reason I had them…
I grasped for purchase on my sheets, my eyes still shut as if I was afraid of opening them. Instead of sheets, I grabbed something solid, something corded with muscle. I shrieked and finally opened my eyes, thinking that Victoria had somehow manifested in reality. However, the arms around me were much too warm, and there was a definite heartbeat thudding in my ear.
I opened my eyes to see them level with the very arm I had been trying to get rid of. The russet skin was a blatant, almost comical, contrast to my own skin. I felt myself shuddering; the fact that there was someone else so close to me had no affect on my horrified state.
There was something else.
These arms were leaner, yet still hard with muscle. Somehow, I knew that this wasn't Paul. Paul wouldn't be this touchy, I was certain, even if I had been screaming in my sleep. The telltale sign that it definitely wasn't Paul was the strange, spiraled scarring around the person's wrist, just barely visible except in situations like this.
I stiffened, and there was a throaty laugh above me. "Geez, Bells. No wonder Paul's been exhausted if you're doing all that screaming every night."
"Jacob…" I whispered.
When he noticed that my muscles hadn't relaxed one bit after I realized that it was him holding me, he unwound his arms from me, saying, "Sorry."
I looked up - and up and up - and saw Jacob staring down at me, deep-set eyes furrowed in confusion. He brushed a bit of hair from my face and looked into my eyes. At that very touch, I felt all the muscles in my body tense up again, as if my best friend was oozing poison out of his pores.
"Bella…"
He said my name, and I was immediately back in the garage, feeling his warm fingers on mine, remembering the way he helped me with the bikes, the way that he would always smile as if I were the center of his world…
A sudden jolt, one that I had not even thought of in what seemed like forever, hit me head on in the chest. It was as if Jacob had taken the very fingers that he had just brushed my hair back with and shoved them through my chest and twisted…
"What are you doing here?" I croaked out, my voice barely over a whisper.
"I convinced Paul to let me watch you for a bit."
"Convinced?"
Jacob's look was wry, "He's surprisingly stubborn."
"Nothing surprising about it."
He looked at me oddly for a moment, as if trying to comprehend what I had just said, even though I knew it wasn't that confusing. No doubt he had other thoughts, though I wasn't sure what they were. I sat up, blushing and suddenly feeling very uncomfortable in my own skin. I wore only my ratty t-shirt and a pair of shorts, but I felt as if I were nude.
"Why are you here?"
"I've been a jackass, Bella," he stated, completely blunt and honest. I found myself laughing at that, but cut myself off. I glanced toward the clock on my bedside table and saw that it was almost five in the morning. I couldn't let Charlie hear me.
It was a strange thing, laughing with him. The very action reminded me of what I'd lost and what he'd gained. I had been doing good, I thought. Most of my thoughts regarding my recent predicament had been centered around Paul. I hadn't realized it until then, but…maybe I had been avoiding thinking of Jacob. Maybe I'd done what I had with Edward, forbidden his name to cross my thoughts until I'd gotten fed up with everything. Maybe as soon as I heard about his imprint, I vowed to myself that I would never think of Jacob fondly again, that the only emotion I would try to feel would be my contrived happiness at his fate, and had convinced myself I wasn't hurt by it…
But I was.
It was hard enough, being rejected by who I thought was the love of my life. It was even harder being rejected by the man I thought was my salvation.
I felt all the walls I'd built around myself in the aftermath of Jake's imprint start to crumble around me as if they were made of bread instead of stone. I felt tears start to well in my eyes - probably from a mixture of tiredness and the fact that Jake was here. That he took the time to come and check on me. That he told Paul that he'd handle me for a while, whilst Paul did who knows what…
"Bella!" Jacob gasped. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" He started to check me over, as if I'd really been wounded.
I hadn't realized any of this until know, but I'd known that it would come to this sooner or later. Instead of going into a zombie phase like after Edward left, I had done a whole new coping mechanism. Trying to forget about Jacob completely. I hadn't wanted to admit how much I still needed his friendship. Needed his company. I didn't want to admit how much I had been hoping that one day, my broken heart would be enough for his. I didn't want to think about how he had found a perfectly complete heart on his own, that of a person just as jaded by unrequited love as he was.
Even though mine might not have been entirely unrequited.
It suffocated me, this wall of information, crowding on me like a swarm of bees, stinging and injecting their venom, leaving stingers…
"I've missed you." My voice was broken, cracking in odd places. Jacob quickly brought his fingers up to wipe away my tears. No, no, he couldn't touch me. I couldn't crave what I couldn't have. I pushed his hands away.
He looked confused for a moment, and then his eyebrows relaxed in an expression of understanding. "Yeah. I suppose I don't get that privilege anymore."
"You don't want that privilege anymore, Jake," I reminded him gently, surprised that my words didn't have more bite.
"It's not my fault."
"I know." I looked at him, momentarily stunned by his unorthodox beauty. "It still hurts."
"It's hard to think that it would…" he trailed off, seeming to think of the words before he said them. And odd thing in and of itself. "I always thought…"
"I was changing," I replied. I was shocked that we had barely talked in days and this conversation was the first thing we've addressed. I supposed it needed to be said. I needed to at least get it out in the open, so that I could try to move on. Blocking it away behind wall after wall wasn't helping me. The walls would end up crushing me in the end. "I felt it. Subtly, but it was there. If I had had more time…"
"And I would have waited."
His words, so true and sincere, whispered with a sweet, sad kindness that was so strangely delicate, made my breath catch. I forced my mouth into a smile, "I'm trying my best."
"I know. I can tell."
"I thought ignoring the issue - or at least forcing myself to be happy for you - would be best, but it has been an uphill climb."
"You don't have to force yourself to be happy for me, Bells. If you're mad, be mad. If you're sad, be sad. You can totally hit me if you want to."
"I just didn't want you to worry about me, especially when you have other things to worry about."
Jake gave me a smile, his teeth white against his dark skin, "Bella, you know you can't stop people from worrying over you. With your track record, it's a give-in."
I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, "Jerk."
Jacob smiled and rose from the side of my bed, looking down at me like I was still something of importance to him, even though he had his heart forcefully ripped from that part of the equation. I thought that maybe we could salvage our friendship, maybe… I just had to get over him first.
It was odd, feuding with the remnants of my feelings for both of them - Edward and Jacob - especially when the wounds were still so fresh. Even now, the hole Jacob had carved started to throb incessantly, almost like the beating of my own heart. "I really do hope you and Leah are happy. Well, I know you two are…I'm going to try my best to make things like they were, Jake. I'm just…going to need a little more time."
"We have all the time in the world, hon."
My heart leapt at even that, and I realized that I had been foolish to dismiss my feelings for him so easily. The man that had helped me get together, the man that had half of my affections, the man that I had once wished was my brother so things wouldn't be so complicated…
"You should be getting ready for school," he said. "I'll wait here. Paul's gone to get a quick breakfast."
"Breakfast?"
Jacob shrugged, "When we don't have time to eat human food, we hunt."
I shuddered as I moved over to my dresser, "Like…deer?"
"Usually two."
Yet another shudder rippled down my spine as I thought of that. "Geez, Jake," I replied. "TMI, much?"
"Wow, I didn't even know you knew what TMI meant."
I gave a laugh, a surprisingly freeing one, and walked into the bathroom to change. It was an odd feeling, Paul not being the first person I saw in the morning. I wasn't sure what the strange pit in my stomach was at that thought, but I knew I didn't like it. It was a foreign, odd thing, something that reminded me of so many days spent with the people I had deemed most important.
The shortness of the time spent meant next to nothing in comparison to the quality of it. I found myself focusing on the little nuances I had picked out to be completely and utterly Paul over the days. I looked at myself in the mirror before I undressed and got in the shower. I hadn't realized how red my cheeks were. From Jacob? Ridiculous. The combination of whirling thoughts that revolved around both Edward and Jacob must have taken their toll.
I dressed, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs to make myself a short breakfast. I hadn't realized how long I had been in the shower until Jake made a snide comment about my hygiene. I tossed one of my pop tarts in his direction, which he caught mid-air in his teeth. I stared at him in disgust.
This was how it should have been. Easy as breathing, just two friends. Just how it should be. Just what I needed to regain. I needed my friendship with Jacob, and sooner or later, I would be able to think of him as only a friend - my best friend - and not something I had lost to some mythical mumbo-jumbo I didn't even understand.
I shook my head and looked at the clock. I hadn't realized how long our conversation had gone, so I was going to be late to school even though I had awoken much earlier than usual. I let out a small curse and moved to my car. Jacob was sitting at the table, looking at me curiously. His position was so similar to Paul's that I almost paused. Suddenly, I was hit with the fact that I missed him.
Missed him! And he hadn't even been gone long!
I growled at myself, hating this new development as I shut the truck door behind me. I cranked the car and saw Jacob come stand on the porch, watching me as I left, oddly reminiscent of Paul. I looked forward as I drove and saw in my rear view mirror, he had vanished.
An odd thought occurred to me then, thinking about how the wolves could just disappear like that.
I wondered what that would be like…to have the ability to disappear.
Somehow, I had a slight spring in my step the entire day.
Maybe it was the effect of being around Jacob that morning. Actually having a conversation with him, a full blown conversation that didn't include his stunning imprint. It was almost enough to remind me who I once had been, the person I had been around him. I hated to admit that I had missed being that person.
Sure, there was a part of me that missed Jacob, but there was a part of me that had been empowered. There was a part of me that knew that I would get over him sooner or later, the part that had been nurtured by the rash, rough presence of a certain werewolf. The wounds from both vampire and werewolf hurt now but I was certain, with time, that they would go away. I wasn't the same, lost little girl in the woods.
Or so I thought.
The day passed quickly. I talked animatedly to Angela, she smiled and we made a few jokes. Mike was even a welcome presence.
We had a test that day in English class on Jane Austen's Emma, which I had read tons of time before. I was able to dodge the potentially humiliating task of talking in history class when Mike interrupted for me. Sometimes he could really be a good friend - when he wasn't drooling down my back, of course.
The day passed by mercifully fast. I still wasn't sure of the plans for the day. I had no idea if I was to meet Paul at my house before going to La Push or if he was going to meet me in the parking lot. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I supposed it would all work itself out, as long as Charlie ended up being okay in the end.
I walked to my truck. I was unable to get a prime parking spot that morning due to the fact that I was one of the last people getting to school. It was all the way at the back of the lot. But it was okay, I supposed. I probably needed the workout, anyway.
I dug around for my keys, looking down at my backpack where they were hidden just as I neared my ancient vehicle. I found myself humming - an odd occurrence in and of itself - and I finally brought out my keys. I raised them to unlock the driver's seat, which I then tried to open, when something white caught my eye.
I looked up and was startled to see a pale white hand, fingers curved like claws, against the door of my truck, holding it closed.
Edward? My heart broke. Edward!
No, this was too much for me to take. It couldn't be him! It had to be an illusion, right? It couldn't possibly be my Edward.
But the bone-colored hand was telltale of a vampire.
I was frightened to look up and meet the eyes of the being next to me. Scared to hope, scared to believe…
But no…no, that couldn't be Edward. Edward didn't love me. Edward wouldn't come back. The insignificant little human wouldn't even make him bat an eyelash.
And that hand…that hand was not the one I had so familiarized myself with. I had held Edward's hand in my own, known the contours of it as well as I'd known my own. I stared for a long moment at the hand, still disbelieving, before looking up.
Cruel, wry eyes greeted me - I did not notice anything else about the stranger other than the fact that those darkly amused eyes were the color of blood.
"Bella Swan." His voice was a deafening echo of the past. "Pleasure to meet you."
End Chapter Fourteen.