AN: As always, thanks to Jenny and Jesi for pre-reading. And thanks to all of the readers/reviewers. You all make my day.

That Moment

Chapter 20: Suspect

BPOV

We made it to the house just before Alice and Jasper. Rose and Emmett pulled in about five minutes later, and Jess got there right after them. It was amazing to have such good friends, willing to give up their Saturday afternoon and evening to clean out and clean up a vandalized house.

The house was an even bigger disaster than I remembered it being. The cops had been through several times dusting for prints, and I had been back once with Edward to clean Charlie's room out. For the most part, it had been left untouched.

It was hard though, to look at the rest of the house. When I left Mike, I hadn't taken much with me. Most of the furniture in the house was stuff I had found at yard sales or second hand stores. It wasn't much, but it was still mine. The house and everything in it were my attempt at starting over. My attempt at leaving an unhappy situation and moving on with my life. Looking around at the destruction it was plain to see that I had failed.

Everyone split up and took on different jobs. Jess and I tackled the bedroom. Alice and Rose started in the kitchen, and the guys all started with the furniture. Anything that was salvageable went in Jasper's truck. Anything that was trash went in Emmett's truck.

With everyone working together we sorted through the remaining items in the house and cleaned all the trash out in just a few hours. Once that much was finished we set in painting the walls and cleaning the carpets. I swore if I ever found out who had trashed my house, I would ram a spray paint can right up their ass.

We had the radio blasting and everyone was singing and laughing at each other as we painted. It didn't feel like work at all, it felt like old friends hanging out together. It was great.

Around eight o'clock Emmett decided he was starving and took off to get take-out. Edward and Jasper went with him. I'm not sure why they needed three guys to pick up a few sandwiches and some pop, but there you go. Since they were all gone, we decided to take a much needed break. We sat down on the back porch and listened to the night air. I thought it would be a relaxing moment until my big-mouth cousin decided to start prying into my life again.

"Edward said lunch with Esme was pretty brutal, huh?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. 'Brutal' was just such an understatement. Jess offered me a cigarette and I took it. I was going to need one to get through this conversation.

"Of course it was brutal. It's always brutal. That woman fucking hates me."

I had filled Jess in with the whole ordeal while we cleaned the bedroom out, so she snorted in agreement.

"I can't believe she said that to you in front of your Dad. That woman has balls. I wonder what he said to her after you left."

I was mortified to even think about it. Still, it would have been nice to be a fly on the wall for that particular conversation.

Alice and Rose were shooting me death glares for not telling them what happened, so I filled them in quickly.

"Basically she accused me of only wanting Edward's money and told him if I was pregnant then he should get a paternity test."

"She didn't! And the Chief was there?" Alice's eyes bugged out of her head and Rose tried not to laugh.

"Yeah, it was awful. Edward and I just left and went home. I know what he's thinking, though. He's thinking that she's right and I'm only with him for his money." I rolled my eyes and lifted the cigarette to my mouth, inhaling deeply. Smoking isn't something I do often. Not anymore. At one point I was a regular smoker, though I never smoked more than half a pack a day, but I quit years ago. Now I only smoke when the situation called for it. Like now.

"So are you?" Rose acted as though she were completely bored with the conversation and couldn't care less what my answer was. I knew better. Edward was like a brother to her and she would protect him if she could.

I shrugged my shoulders and stared off into the night. Was I?

"In a way, yeah, I guess I am." My voice fell flat; there wasn't even any emotion present as I spoke. It was the truth. Why not just admit it?

"You don't mean that." Alice denied it. When I didn't respond she tried again. "Bella, come on. We all saw you two last night. You couldn't keep your hands or your eyes off of each other. You love Edward, not his money. It was so obvious."

"I don't know, Alice. I mean, the fact that he owns a house and has a steady job was a pretty major upgrade from what I had before, you know?" My cigarette was burned to the filter, so I flicked it away and started to pace. "When he first proposed to me his biggest selling point was that I could quit my job and put Charlie on his insurance so I could go to graduate school. That's why I said yes to him. It had nothing to do with love. Neither one of us had even said that word at that point."

It was true. We had even agreed to use each other to get what we wanted. I had come to expect that. Why was I doubting that decision now that I admitted my feelings for him?

"That doesn't even matter. That was just your brain making excuses for what your heart wanted all along."

Maybe. More than likely, though, it was my brain trying to protect my heart. If your heart is closed off and protected, it won't be broken when everything ends badly. Without my brain's permission, my heart had become involved. That's why I was questioning my motives. Which part of me had made the decision, was it my brain or my heart? Or did they agree on this one?

The doorbell interrupted my musing so I excused myself to go see who it could be. I wasn't expecting to see Jacob Black standing on my front porch. He wasn't even wearing his uniform, just blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Jacob." I joined him on the porch rather than inviting him in.

"Bella! You're home!" He wrapped his massive arms around me and squeezed me tight, taking me completely off guard. As soon as he released me I stepped back away from him. I am not a 'hugger'. I like my personal space.

"Yeah, well, not really. Just trying to get it all cleaned up and repainted." The way he was staring at me was making me more than a little uncomfortable. I crossed my arms over my chest defensively and leaned back against the front door. "So did you need something?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I was just in the neighborhood and saw the car out front. I wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Well, that made sense I guess. Except that he wasn't in uniform and the squad car was nowhere to be seen. He was checking out my house when he wasn't even on duty? That was strange, right?

"Okay, well everything is fine."

I think he sensed that I was anxious for him to leave because he took a step towards the driveway, but then he stopped and crossed the porch to stand right in front of me. I don't think I truly appreciated how big he was until that moment. The man was huge! He had to be at least a foot and a half taller than me.

"Actually there was one thing I needed to discuss with you." He said it urgently, like it was something really important. "We got the fingerprint results back."

Okay, see, he probably should have led with that instead of being all creepy. I relaxed slightly. There was an actual reason he was here, then.

"So you know who did it?" I was hopeful, but not really expecting results.

"There weren't any prints aside from the ones you approved."

That would be a 'no'. I released a breath I didn't realize I had been holding.

"Whoever it was wore gloves?"

He shook his head and leaned in closer to me. He was so close I could feel his breath against my skin. It sent a cold chill down my spine. I wanted to retreat, but I was already against the door. I had nowhere to go.

"How well do you know Edward Cullen?" His dark eyes penetrated mine and his voice sounded almost angry when he spoke.

My brow furrowed in confusion. What the hell?

"Fairly well." I responded cautiously, not at all sure of where he was going with this.

"His fingerprints were all over your house, Bella. Everywhere."

I still didn't understand. I had told the police that Edward's prints would be in the house. Why would Jacob have been concerned?...angry?...confused?

"Didn't I tell you guys that they would be?"

He leaned in closer, his body only centimeters from my own. His hands were against the door on either side of my head. I was trapped and finding it hard to breathe.

"His prints were in your kitchen, your bathroom, in your damned shower! He came to pick up some clothes for you to stay at his house for a few days, and decided to take a shower? Who does that?"

The dots were connecting in my head and I didn't like the picture they were forming at all. I knew that Jacob had some kind of a crush on me. He hit on me every time we talked. I just didn't have any feelings for him at all. I had told him before that there would never be anything between the two of us. I turned him down every time he asked me out. I didn't want to hurt him, but he needed to realize that we would never be together.

"What's your point, Jake?"

"You see, Sam seems to think that you're fucking him. It would explain his prints all over the place." My eyes widened and I felt blood rushing to my cheeks. Fuck. My dad would see those results and come to the same conclusion. Not that my relationship with Edward was a secret or anything.

"I told him, though, Bella. I said that's just not possible. She just got divorced, doesn't want to date or get into a relationship. Isn't that what you told me?"

I ducked and slid under his arm, quickly moving to the other side of the porch and taking a deep breath.

"So the way I see it, the man had access to your house, his fingerprints are everywhere and there couldn't possibly be anything going on between the two of you because you just aren't ready yet."

I stared at him in disbelief. Was he actually suggesting…? No. He couldn't be. The idea of it was just too preposterous.

"Are you saying you think that Edward vandalized my house?" My eyes narrowed into slits and I glared at him. "Why in the world would he do that?"

"Think about it for a minute. You 'accidentally' fall off a cliff and he just happens to be right next to you, ready to jump in and save you." The blood ran cold in my veins. I couldn't believe what he was saying. I turned away from him and held on to the porch railing for support. None of this could be true. It just couldn't be.

"Then just as you're recovering and getting ready to come home, guess what, can't go home because your house was broken into, ransacked, destroyed." He stepped behind me and placed his hands on the railing to either side of me. I could feel his body pressed against mine. A shiver of revulsion spread throughout my body and I stepped forward, trying to put as much distance between our bodies as possible.

"It's okay, though, because conveniently your knight in shining armor offers you a place to stay for as long as you want." He spoke in a low tone, right into my ear. "Of course you take him up on the offer. After all, you're still grateful to him for saving your life, but in the meantime you're too naïve and innocent to realize that you just put yourself into the hands of an obsessed man that you know nothing about."

I tried to turn and face him, but he pressed me closer to the railing. The shock and disbelief I had been feeling was quickly being replaced by anger.

"You need to back away, Jacob. Now." It was a long moment before he complied, stepping back only two steps. It did allow me to walk away from him, though. I crossed the porch and stood in front of the door once again.

"Imaginative as that little story is, it's completely ridiculous. Edward did not vandalize my house to convince me to move in with him!"

The anger radiating off of him was palpable. I found myself shrinking against the door as he once again trapped me between his arms and his body.

"How do you know that, Bella? What makes you so sure that he didn't?"

I stared into his dark eyes, eyes that were only inches from my own. I saw anger in them, but I also saw…was it..fear? That's kind of what it looked like. What would he be afraid of right now?

"I know Edward! He wouldn't do that to me."

His eyes narrowed into slits. The fear disappeared from his eyes, to be replaced by pure rage. It sent a cold chill through my body.

"Sam's right, isn't he? You are fucking him," he practically growled in my ear. His hands gripped my shoulders, then slid down my arms. He wrapped his massive hands around my wrists and pinned my arms to the door. "Fucking and knowing are not the same things. How much do you actually know about him?"

I swallowed thickly, well aware of the fact that he had me pinned to the door. I was completely helpless. Rose, Alice and Jess were still around back. They weren't even aware that something was wrong. The guys would be another ten or fifteen minutes. I was alone, and I was helpless.

"I know him well enough, Black. Well enough to know that he wouldn't do what you're accusing him of. He's not obsessed with me, he loves me."

His hands tightened around my wrists and he leaned closer, close enough now that I could feel his breath against my face.

"You think he loves you? After a few weeks?" He smirked at me. "I know you've been out of the dating pool for a while, but really. Even you should know the difference between lust and love. What do you think is going to happen when he decides he's done fucking you and goes on to fucking someone else?"

"Get off of me." I had had enough of this conversation. I was done. He didn't release my hands, though. Instead he pressed his body against me and inhaled deeply. Gross.

"You never even gave me a chance, Bella. Not even one dinner." He leaned in closer. His breath washed over my skin, sending a cold chill down my spine. I struggled against his hold only for him to grip my wrists even tighter.

"Let go of me Jacob. Now." He leaned forward. He was so close that the tip of his nose skimmed across my forehead.

"I'll tell you what. I don't usually take in Cullen's cast-offs, but for you I might make an exception. Call me when you're ready for a real man and I'll show you what you're missing." He ground his jean clad erection into my thigh. I gasped in shock and surprise and he took the opportunity to shove his tongue in my mouth. I don't know if you could call it a kiss. His mouth covered mine. His teeth gnashed against mine. It was brutal and jarring and I couldn't even turn my head away from him to stop it.

I tried to push him away, but it was no use. He was too big, too strong, and I was trapped between him and the door. This same position with Edward had been exhilarating. With Jacob it was terrifying. I was too open, too vulnerable, and too helpless. Even though we were both fully clothed, I felt violated.

He released my mouth and released a frustrated sigh before leaning his forehead against mine. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to kick him in the balls as hard as I could. Before I could act on any of those, he surprised me yet again. This time he leaned in slowly, his lips brushing against mine gently before he applied just a bit more pressure. I stood stock still as his tongue flicked across my lips.

He pulled back slowly and released my hands, which fell uselessly to my sides. Then he reached up with his thumb and slowly traced along my jawbone. I was frozen in place, my brain refusing to acknowledge how very wrong this was. Lucky for me, my mouth wasn't attached to my brain at the moment.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Get the fuck away from me." I pushed him away only to have him grab my arms again.

"Do yourself a favor, Swan." He leaned close and whispered in my ear. His hands were on my arms, his breath against my face. I was finding it hard to breathe. Panic was starting to well up inside of me as I realized that whatever he tried to do to me, I couldn't stop him.

"Run a background check on Cullen before you say 'I do'. Trust me on this one."

He kissed my forehead almost gently before letting go of my arms and turning to walk away.

As I watched him drive off, my knees gave way and I sunk to the ground.