CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

(BPOV)

My eyes slowly opened and the shiver that normally touched my skin first thing in the morning, never came. My body was covered in a soothing warmth that made me gasp as I moved and felt Jacobs hand squeeze mine. I glanced down and noticed that his fingers were laced through mine and placed over my stomach. His warm breath ghosted over my neck when he spoke and I tried to remember when I had fallen asleep.

"Are you okay, Bells?" He asked, his husky tone laced with concern.

"You stayed here with me?" I replied.

Jacob nodded and pulled his hand out of mine with a shaky breath.

"I couldn't leave you like that." He guiltily replied, glancing worriedly toward the bedroom door.

"I don't remember-..."

"You cried yourself to sleep, Bells."

His tone was thick and strained as he stood and reached down his hand toward me.

"I'm sorry-... you just lost-... and I-... oh God- Jacob-... I'm-"

"It's alright, Bells."

I got to my feet and saw Jacobs eyes roam over my middle as I paused there by the bed, waiting for the pain to hit me in the same way it always did.

"Thank you for staying with me, Jacob."

He looked back at me with a sorrowful expression, his face falling with his timid reply.

"I don't think it helped you. I wish I had."

"You being here meant more than you know." I sincerely countered.

"How long have you been hurting like this?"

I turned away from him, my steps slow as I tried to form a response to his question.

"I'll be alright, Jake." I assured him, placing a hand on my dresser and noticing the empty Tylenol bottle as a wave of panic settled over me.

I couldn't already be out. I would surely need it later. It was always a staple in my house back in Maine.

Jacobs approach was silent then and I nearly jumped out of my skin when his firm chest suddenly pressed against my back, his face a mere inch from my shoulder with his reply.

"That's not what I asked, Bells. Tell me... please tell me, honey."

I turned my head at the sound of his warm plea, feeling the tears well in my eyes from the familiar nickname he used.

"There's a lot of things I kept to myself...-"

"Things that made you go to Maine all that time ago?" He asked.

I merely nodded and the color drained from his face when he drew me into his arms again.

"I know your scared to tell me. I know exactly how that feels. Just know that I'm here for you. That hasn't changed."

"I'm the one whose supposed to be here for you-" I countered, as he released me and glanced toward the window.

"I think we're meant to be here for each other." He stated. "I have to go get Clarissa from Sam and Emily's. Is it alright if I come back to pick you up later?"

"Yeah, I'll be here." I replied, seeing the tension ripple through his body from my response.

"First Beach?" He asked, his gaze holding mine with a longing that made it hard for me to reply at first.

"Of course. I don't know if our driftwood is still there but-"

"It is. It's still there." He solidly replied. "I do some of my best thinking there."

"I've missed that place."

"I've missed you being there with me, Bells. Never been the same without you. A lot hasn't been the same without you. I'll come pick you up at noon."

He threw open the window and with those parting words, climbed down the tree and landed back on his feet in the snow. He ran for the woods with a speed that my eyes could barely follow. He was faster than I remembered. Even on two legs.

I stood there with my hand over my abdomen and heard the faint knock come to the door from Charlie.

"Hey, kiddo. Are you feeling better this morning?"

"Yeah, dad. I think so."

"Care to join me for breakfast soon?" Charlie hedged with hope clear in his baritone.

"I'll be down in a little while." I assured him. "Two eggs over easy and wheat toast with peanut butter, remember?"

"Yeah, kiddo. I do remember. I'll leave it on the stove for you to start unless we want a friendly visit from the fire department with me cooking?" Charlie chuckled, as he headed down the stairs.

"Okay, I'll cook then." I teasingly replied, placing a hand on my abdomen and stilling when I noticed the pain was no longer there.

I showered and dressed in a hurry and met Charlie in the kitchen, his dark eyes assessing me from afar when he handed me a cup of coffee.

"Poured this one for you."

"Thanks, dad." I replied, taking a sip and getting busy with making breakfast from the eggs and bread he'd placed on the counter. "This shouldn't take too long. How many eggs would you like?"

Charlie placed his coffee mug down next to mine and narrowed his suspicious gaze with his answer.

"Bella, I know you're an adult and far be it from me to tell you what to do given your age now...-" He cautiously began with trepidation.

"Dad, what-..."

"I know Jacob was here last night. That he stayed in your room with you."

I dropped the two eggs in my hand at his words and cussed when they broke open all over the kitchen floor leaving a slippery mess behind.

"It's not- … he wasn't... dad, it's not what you-..." I stammered, grabbing the paper towels and swiftly sopping up the mess beneath our feet.

"I am not accusing you of anything. You two are no longer teenagers, but please Bella, please don't let his grief turn into something between the two of you. No good can come from that. He's hurting in the worst way."

"I know...-" I replied, thinking of how the exact opposite had been true last night. How he'd been there for me instead of the other way around. "I promise I'm here to help and support him, dad. That's all. You don't need to worry about anything, well... except the mess on the floor."

Charlie huffed and soon offered me half a smile while he headed for the closet to get the mop, and leaving me alone with my thoughts in the kitchen. I placed two slices of bread in the toaster and heated the skillet on the stove as I recalled the way Jacob had shown up outside my window when my pain had been the worst, when I was barely able to stand on my own from it.

How would he have known?

I shook my head and glanced out the window ahead of me, my eyes becoming fixed on the snowy tree line ahead as I wondered where he was out there.

I was still terrified to tell him the truth about what I'd been dealing with and why I had moved to Maine and left him behind, but as I stood there buttering Charlie's toast, I marveled at how the stabbing pain was gone from me as suddenly as it had come. I knew how my flare ups worked and this was out of the norm for them. They often stayed for days and not hours.

I was missing something and I had a feeling that Jacob knew more than he was letting on.

A/N: Two updates in one day! Thanks for reading! :-)