Wolf Boy

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews!

Part Thirty

In an effort to bond with Colin further Charlie had decided to take him fishing. Coming along for the ride were Harry, his son, Seth, Colin's friend Brady, Jacob and Billy. The large group were borrowing Old Quil's boat for the weekend.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright without me?" Jacob checked for the hundredth time. His gorgeous dark eyes were looking at her concerned. This was the first time they'd been separated since losing the baby. "I don't have to go."

"Yes, you do." Bella insisted with a soft smile. "I'll be fine. You've got Quil and Embry watching over me while you're away. Angela said she might pop over later if she can get away."

"I don't know…." Jacob was still hesitant. The only reason he was going at all was because Billy had begged him to come. With Harry bringing Seth along, and Charlie taking Colin and his friend Brady, he felt awkward without his own son there.

"Jake, go!" Bella pushed him toward the door.

The others were all waiting outside. They were taking Harry's truck as well as her old Chevy. With the large flatbed, the old red monster had more space for them to store all the fishing gear. Bella stood on the porch and waved at the others. Colin leaned out of the truck's window eagerly, his face shining as he waved back. Bella smiled at him. He was such a cute kid. With no father around he'd never had a paternal figure to do boyish activities with. When Charlie had first asked him, he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Bella laughed as she saw Brady roll his eyes. He was more reserved than Colin, and came across as thoughtful and a little troubled. From what Colin had let slip Brady's parents were quite strict. They had only agreed he could go on this trip because he had a police chief accompanying them.

Jacob was still delaying leaving. Bella traced her hands down his beautiful face, standing on her tiptoes to give him a soft kiss of farewell for a while. Jacob ran his hand through her hair when she pulled away, just looking at her tenderly for a couple of minutes. "If you need me, just call. I'll come straight home."

"I promise." Bella agreed solemnly.

"Okay." Jacob took a deep breath and finally stepped away from her. "I love you, Bells."

"I love you, too." Bella said back to him. "Please, try and have a good time."

"I'll do my best." Jacob promised. "Bye."

Harry honked the horn impatiently. Jacob sighed in frustration as he leaned in to kiss Bella again, his lips lingering on hers for a short while. Harry honked the horn again and Jacob finally let go of Bella and went to join the others.

Bella spent the next few hours spring cleaning the house. She started downstairs and worked her way up. She couldn't remember the last time she'd given the whole house a thorough going over and was shocked at the amount of crap she had managed to accrue in that time. Soon she had several bags filled with old clothes and shoes she hadn't worn for ages. Some of the clothes were too small for her now. They were bought when she was at her thinnest after Edward had left. They were the first ones she dumped. Anything that reminded her of that part of her life was added to the trash.

She was on her hands and knees on her bedroom floor, sorting through some stuff, when she noticed one of the floorboards was raised slightly. Frowning, she touched the rough wood, pushing on it slightly, and surprised when it flipped up, revealing a hole underneath. Bella peered into the dark hole. Something white caught her eye. Ducking down further, she grabbed her phone and used it to shed some light on what was underneath. She got the shock of her life when she realized exactly what it was she was looking at.

At first, Bella shied away from what she had found. But after a few minutes she managed to convince herself that she didn't need to be frightened of this discovery. She had always wondered what Edward had done with the presents that had been given to her on that fateful eighteenth birthday party he had thrown for her, and now she knew. Like the coward he was he had hidden them under her floorboards of all places. So that meant he hadn't taken them with him like she had thought. It was further proof that he really didn't care at all.

A while ago that knowledge would have hurt, but now all Bella felt was annoyance. She reached in the hole and pulled out the dusty envelope containing the plane tickets to Florida that Carlisle and Esme had bought for her so she could go and visit her mother. Along with the tickets was the CD of music Edward had written for her. She tossed that one immediately on the trash pile. She kept the tickets though. They were open-ended and could still be used. It had been a long time since she had seen Renee, and the tickets would come in useful. Once things had settled down, she planned on flying down to Florida to introduce Jake to her mother. She had been saving up for ages, now they could fly first class courtesy of Carlisle and Esme.

Bella peered into the hole again, checking that she hadn't missed anything. She found that she had. Nestled right at the back was a photograph. Warily she yanked it out, holding it up in the light so she could see it better. Her stomach churned as soon as she set eyes on its contents. It was the photo Alice had taken of her and Edward at the infamous party. This was the first time she had seen Edward in anything other than her imagination. Time had not made her immune to the perfection of his face. Her gaze took in his pale white features; the hard square of his jaw, the softer curve of his full lips-twisted into an enigmatic smile in the photo, the straight line of his nose, the top of his forehead partially obscured by the tangle of bronze hair falling in a soft wave across his brow. Her memory hadn't done him justice. He truly was an Adonis in every way. His beauty was cold, hard and ethereal, and she felt nothing…nothing at all.

Taking a deep breath Bella tore her eyes away from Edward's perfection and shoved the photo into the trash pile. She fixed the floorboard back into place and gathered up the bags of trash, ready to put them outside with the other rubbish.

When Bella was outside putting some of the bags in the recycling bin Embry suddenly popped out of nowhere, startling her. She gasped, putting her hand over her chest to ease her racing heart. "Jeez, Embry!" She scolded him. "Way to give a girl a heart attack. I hope you don't sneak up on Angela like that!"

"Sorry, Bella." Embry apologized, though by the smirk plastered across his face he didn't look sorry at all. "I'm just checking in per Jake's instructions."

"Please, tell me you're joking?" Bella pleaded.

Embry laughed at her indignant expression. "Alright, maybe I'm teasing just a bit."

Bella rolled her eyes at him. It was freezing outside but Embry was dressed in the wolves' usual uniform of cut off shorts and bare feet. She wondered what Angela thought about Embry's dress sense. Then again, she assumed that he put on a shirt and shoes when he was with her friend.

"Well if Jake does check in you can tell him I'm perfectly fine." She answered sarcastically.

Bella watched as Embry ran his fingers through his cropped hair. His smirk had disappeared and now he looked a little nervous. It was such an abrupt change in mood that she was startled. She peered up at his face. Embry wasn't as tall as Jake or as well built. He was slenderer, with long rounded muscles.

"You okay, Embry?" She asked when he didn't say anything.

"I'm good." Embry replied too hastily. He ran his fingers through his hair again, making it stand up in sharp spikes on top of his head.

"Are you sure? You look like something's troubling you." Bella laid a hand on his arm, causing him to look at her sharply.

"Okay, well, there is something." He finally admitted.

"Tell me." Bella took her hand away and looked at him expectantly.

Embry took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm going to tell Angela about me." He said in a rush.

"Wow!" Bella breathed. This was big! No wonder Embry was so nervous. He was obviously troubled, worrying about what Angela's reaction would be. Its not the easiest thing to tell your girlfriend that you had the ability to morph into a huge wolf at a second's notice. "She loves you, Embry." She stated gently.

"She does?" Embry's breath hitched on the last word. He swallowed thickly, hope flaring in his eyes.

"She must have told you." Bella said, puzzled. "She's told me."

"She says it all the time." Embry cleared his throat awkwardly, his cheeks flushing slightly. "But I'm…"

"Scared." Bella finished for him.

Embry's eyes flashed with worry. "I love her and I couldn't bear to lose her, Bella. Angela is the best thing to happen to me. I just…." He ducked his head again as he ran out of words.

"Do you want me to be there when you tell her?" Bella offered quietly.

A low whistle left Embry's lips and he raised his head again, smiling slightly. "You'd do that?"

"Yes." Bella lay her hand on his arm again in sympathy. She understood what a big risk he was taking. But she knew Angela, she had seen how much her friend adored this boy standing in front of her. She would accept him and his wolf. "Just tell me when you're ready and I'll be there." She promised.

"Thanks, Bella." Embry's handsome face broke out into a bright smile. He leaned in and hugged her quickly, before letting go and stepping back. "I better go and check in with Jake."

"So, Jake did ask you!" Bella yelled after his departing figure as she watched him run back toward the woods. Embry glanced back at her and winked before disappearing under the cover of the trees.

A/N-thanks for reading!