Back to Your Heart
Part 2
"Bells. Where are you? I hope you didn't cook, I brought pizza." Charlie was coming in the front door, but hadn't looked up yet.
Bella was sitting on the sofa, already changed into her pajamas. Her father's eyes widened at the sight of her. He walked through the room, balancing a couple of boxes on the palm of his hand. He came back in the living room rubbing the back of his neck.
He appeared to chose his words carefully, "Um, are you okay? Was it a rough day or something?"
Bella held up her wine glass and proposed a toast. "To my father. Thanks for nothing. I can't believe you didn't tell me I'd be working with Jacob Black of all people." She took a loud slurp of her drink.
"Jeez, kiddo. Are you drunk?"
"I'm not a kid! It's perfectly legal for me to have a glass of wine now and then."
She knew her father noticed the bottle of wine that was three quarters empty on the coffee table. "Yes, but it's barely 5:30 in the afternoon. I'm just a little surprised you've tossed so much back before dinner. Why don't you grab a slice and get something else in your stomach? I bought that veggie one you like."
Bella was surprised how much she wobbled on the way to the kitchen to load up her plate with hot, cheesy goodness. Her dad had done one thing right. She could use a night overloading on carbs with her alcohol.
He had a seat across the room from her with his triple meat pizza. "In my defense, you said I could never say his name around you, so I didn't. That's on you, Bells."
Ugh, seriously. He knew damn well what was bound to happen. This entire job thing was a setup. Her father never thought she should break it off with Jacob.
"How'd it go?"
"Terrible, that's how. I can't be around Jake and you know that. I have to work on this insane dance all about love with him. How ironic is that? This is a nightmare!"
Her father actually had the nerve to smile. "You're a very stubborn woman, you know that? For the record, that comes from your mother, not me. Why was it that you broke up again? I bet you don't even remember."
"Yes, I do. It was because he kept bossing me around and telling me what to do. I wasn't going to be run by a man again after Edward."
"Hmmm, funny how you never wanted to go to Florida to school until that whole story about Sam, Emily and Leah came out. You were all set to go to Peninsula for your basics and then all of the sudden, you needed a change of scenery. I tend to understand why Jake was confused." Charlie knew absolutely everything about the supernatural world. Jacob insisted on full disclosure when they got serious. He even went against his father and the entire council to make his confession.
"He was trying to hold me back. I can't believe you're still taking his side."
She might as well finish off the whole damn bottle now. That little bit was sitting undisturbed taunting her. Bella poured another glass of wine.
"Why can't you admit, you panicked that you could have ended up like Leah and you ran to protect yourself? Jacob asked you to trust him and I believed in the boy. He, honestly loved you. He was far better than Edwin ever was and this Dane creep never deserved you. I knew that much even before we knew he was a lousy cheat."
She wasn't going to discuss it any further with her dad. His mind was made up, but he was wrong. All she needed was pizza and more wine. She deserved this one night of wallowing in misery, then tomorrow she'd get herself together and perform her job, nothing more, nothing less.
Bella ate three whole pieces, she tossed her wine bottle in the trash and said she was off to bed. Her father yelled up the stairs where the aspirins were and he had one other thing to offer up, "He's single, Bells. It's not too late."
Bella survived the first week. She was shocked how quickly she became attached to the kids. It made her job so much easier. She put on her big girl panties and started actively contributing to the committee. Jacob was right about the art teacher, she was the ace in the hole for pulling off a fantastic dance. Bella even started having her lunch in the break room with all the other teachers everyday. Jacob usually came in on the tail end of her break so she wasn't seeing him too often. Bella noticed he had a small fan club among the single teachers. She thought even the music teacher who was married and a good fifteen years older batted her lashes at him a little too much. He seemed to eat up the attention and barely glanced her way. She heard through the grapevine he was the most definitely the head coach, but also the history teacher so he must stay pretty busy. That was good for her, because they barely had to see each other.
The first few weeks flew by and it was now crunch time to start getting the decorations ready. The dance was merely a week away. Bella had been put in charge of the food since she knew a little something about cooking. She met with a friend of Emily's that was trying to launch a catering business after school on Friday. She gave them a great deal since her business was brand new and her food all tasted delicious. It was a little weird being around Emily again. Bella didn't want to be nosy, but she asked how Leah was.
"She's good. She's a nurse like Sue, married, with a two year old and one on the way, so she stays busy. We're in a good place again."
That was a relief for some reason. Bella had her suspicions confirmed, the pack did still exist. Sam, Leah and Jared had retired but the others still phased under Jacob's leadership. She was slightly alarmed to hear a stray vampire still crossed their lands from time to time. Another thing was brought to her attention. No other wolves imprinted. It was only Sam and Jared. Jacob did tell her it was rare all those years ago, but Bella had let herself worry to the extreme about the risks. There were just too many what-ifs being with him.
Emily felt the need to pass on the information Jacob was single just like her father had. "He's dated, but never gotten serious. Sweetie, I honestly think he tried to get over you, but couldn't. Judging by the way you're acting every time I mention his name, I think you could say something similar. What would be the harm seeing if there's still something there? I mean, you're here. Maybe destiny is at play."
"Trust me, there's not something and destiny avoids me at all cost. Tell Molly I'll be back Monday with the deposit on the food. Thanks for the referral, Em. I'll see you around."
Bella was surprised her car actually made the cross-country trip to Washington, but just her luck, one trip fifteen miles out of town and the car chose that exact moment to die. It barely had enough left to make it off the road. She pulled out her cell phone and saw she was almost out of battery and had sketchy coverage. She tried to call Charlie, but got a weird network message and then the phone went dead. A light sprinkling of snow started to hit the windshield. How long would it take for her to freeze to death with no heat? They were expecting a big front coming in, low temperatures and several inches of snow were predicted.
The hours ticked by. Bella thought no one but Emily even knew where she'd been and there'd be no reason for Emily to know she never made it home. Her father wouldn't even have a clue where to look for her. She was definitely going to freeze to death. The car had gotten unbearably cold. Bella only had one extra jacket and a scarf with her. She'd forgotten her gloves at school.
She pounded the steering wheel and screamed. "Whatever. I give up. The world had been trying to chew her up and spit her out for years. Might as well stop fighting back. Bella was miserable and lonely. She loved her job at the reservation. She liked being around Charlie again, but she couldn't step back into this life. She didn't deserve it for some reason. Jacob might be single, but he hardly paid her attention. Emily had to be confused that he never got over her. She truly had given up on them all those years before. It wasn't his fault. He would never trust her again, but just before succumbing to an icy grave, Bella was ready to admit it to herself. "I miss him. There, I said it, I still love Jacob Black!"
The words were finally uttered out loud as Bella's last bit of strength exited her body. She felt so sleepy, pretty much numb everywhere. She was going to take a little nap and maybe wake up in another world. If death overtook her, then so be it.
Strange how Bella's last conscious thought was being so cold that she couldn't feel her limbs and now she was basically sweltering. Oh darn, did that mean she went to the bad place? Her heavy lids struggled to open and focus on her surroundings.
She was staring into dark eyes. This wasn't hell, those was were Jake's eyes. "Hey you. Welcome back. You were a little Bella-sicle when I found you."
"Wait, what? Where am I?"
"At my cabin. Quil spotted an abandoned car on his patrol. When I saw it through the pack mind, I knew it was your car and that you were inside, I got there as fast as I could."
"You saved my life?"
"Yes, you owe me... big time. I don't think this is the first time either, Bells." She tried to sit up but he told her to slow down. "Hold your horses, you were passed out, nearly frozen. I almost took you to the hospital but my place was closer and I thought I could heat you up quicker than anyone else. I called Charlie, he knows you're safe."
Bella let her head fall back and realized Jacob's way of reheating her was to wrap her up in his arms in front of a roaring fire. She felt far too much skin all of the sudden... his and hers. "Oh my God! We're naked. You stole my clothes."
He squeezed her tighter and told her to relax.
"I can't relax. We can't be naked together, Jake. Are you crazy?"
He took her hand and patted his leg. Denim. He had on pants at least. "Your clothes were damp from moving you to my truck so I took them off, but not everything. The more skin you had touching me, the faster you'd warm up. It's a proven survival tactic. I wasn't trying anything. I prefer my women conscious."
The last thing, she wanted to hear about was what he did with other women. She realized she had on boy shorts and a long tank top that she'd worn under her clothes. She still needed to get out of his lap.
"This is the first time you've ever begged not to be naked with me."
"Shut up. That's not funny." He kept on laughing. "Stop it. That was a lifetime ago."
He stopped being amused and shook his head side to side. "No, it really wasn't. I remember it like it was yesterday."
Jacob finally loosened his grip on her. He said he thought her clothes were dry. She watched him gather up her jeans and shirt. That tanned, muscular back moved and flexed when he lifted them his arms. How had she'd forgotten how good those parts of him looked? He tossed them at her and walked away. She slipped them on under the blanket.
He was doing something at the stove and Bella finally took the time to look at his cabin. It was rustic, small and masculine. She adored it. "So this is your place?"
"Yep, but I don't stay here all the time. Dad still needs me."
"Oh, how is he?"
"He's not great, but hanging in there. He wishes one of us would give him a grandchild before he crosses over, but other than that he doesn't complain much."
Bella was surprised neither of Jacob's sisters had settled down and had children yet. "I hope he gets his wish."
"Are you volunteering?"
"What? No, of course not. Jake, please don't start."
He sat the mug in front of her and told her to drink up. She sipped the hot tea carefully. "Here's the deal, you're car is trashed, busted water pump and I don't know what all else is wrong, but it's currently being buried under a foot of snow as well. No one but Charlie knows where we are and he's on my side. You came back for a reason and I'm tired of pretending we don't have unfinished business between us. For tonight, you're all mine so consider yourself my prisoner. You and I are going to figure out some things."
"Like hell we are. There's nothing to figure out. We weren't meant to be. You know that or else I would've been her."
"Who?"
"You know, your imprint."
"Here we go again. You can't be serious. I've met every damn woman on this reservation and on the Makah and guess what, none of them are my imprint. I don't have one and I'm glad. I chose you a longtime ago. Didn't Emily tell you?"
"You told her to talk to me, didn't you? Ugh, are you in Jr. High or do you teach it?"
He shut up after that, but only for a little while, "Why did you move back? Admit it, you knew damn well we'd run into each other."
"No, I didn't." Why did her voice sound so jumpy? "I never imagined you'd be a teacher too. You knew I wanted to be an education major and yet you never mentioned it once when we were together."
"You figured me out. I did it all for you, Bells. I studied hard and busted my ass in hopes one day you'd move back and work on the res with me only to totally ignore my existence. Jesus, you're narcissistic."
"I ignore you, HA! That's not true at all and if you'd look past your group of horny teachers, you might notice me occasionally."
"I'm always noticing you. I don't have a damn thing going on with any of those other teachers and you know it."
"Just take me home, please. You're right. I don't know how to get there myself, but I'm asking nicely."
"Sorry, but the roads are too bad. You're spending the night. Take my room, I'll sleep out here."
"No, I can't let you do that."
"You lost the right to let me do anything. I insist you take the bed. There's an extra toothbrush in the bathroom and you're welcome to take a shower if you want. I'll be back."
"Wait, you just said the weather's too bad. Where are you going?"
"Out and I'm not using the roads." Bella followed him, but he slammed the door in her face. She flipped the shutters and saw the shadow of the wolf against the snow white ground.
Bella opted to take that hot shower. She used the time to think about some of the things that had been said to her by several different people: her father, Emily and Jake. Was he right? Did she agree to come back to Forks in hopes of seeing him again? It was obviously she was jealous as hell of those women that paid attention to him. Hell, Bella got jealous when little Tess, the science teacher's 8 year old asked him if he'd be her Valentine the other day after school because Jacob bent down to her level, ruffled her hair and said he'd be honored. She was a disastrous wreck. Why did Jacob still want her anyway? That is what he meant earlier, at least she thought. It was probably too late now. She'd turned him away again and that's why he was trudging around in a mini-blizzard as the wolf.
She soaped up with the masculine scent he had on the shower ledge. Bella felt like it was the closest she'd get to Jake and for tonight she was going to allow herself to get lost in the memories one last time. She climbed in between his sheets that smelled even more like him than the soap. He was actually her best time. She'd peaked at 18 and it had gone downhill ever since.
She told herself, just go to sleep, maybe she'd be lucky to have him in her dreams at least.
~Thanks for reading.
I know I made promises of XOXOXO but what is better than 2 parts? It's 3 parts!
