CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
(BPOV)
Charlie and Billy raved about the action movie they'd been to see the late showing of, both of them appearing to be exhausted from their late evening. Jacob instantly tensed when Billy looked our way, the two of them sharing a loaded glance that had my heart heavy and made Charlie clearly uncomfortable.
You could cut the tension between them with a knife.
"I told your old man he could stay here again with us tonight. That okay with you, son?" Charlie asked Jacob, only getting a nod in response and looking down to me with clear suspicion.
"I have to get going." Jacob hedged, getting up from the sofa and releasing my hand when Charlie's gaze caught sight of it.
"You're more than welcome to stay here, too. The more the merrier. We've enjoyed the company." Charlie bemused, but Jacob kindly declined his offer and headed for the door. "See you for some breakfast in the morning then, son? Any requests? You know how good of a cook Bella is. I'm sure she can whip something up? Let her know what you'd like."
"No, that's alright. I have a full day ahead of me at the shop tomorrow. Have to reopen it for business or we'll go under but thank you, Charlie."
I walked him out and inwardly cringed at the angry glare he tossed his fathers way before leaving. Billy's returning look was devestating and my heart became even heavier from their tension. They needed each other now more than ever and while I knew it wouldn't be an easy thing to mend the broken trust between them, I also held out the hope that it wasn't entirely impossible to repair.
"I know you probably don't want to hear this from me right now, but maybe try to talk this out with your dad? He didn't mean to hurt me and while I'm still angry myself, I also know deep down who he is and I know how very much he loves you, Jake. Don't forget that. I saw him in that hospital room with you when things weren't going in your favor after the accident. He never left your side. It's that same kind of love that drove his actions to begin with. Try to put yourself in his shoes? I hate seeing you two like this."
"I admire your forgiving nature but I'm gonna need more time. We'll work this out. I just don't know when, Bells." He truthfully stated.
I nodded and glanced around at the darkened forest, my unease swirling uncomfortably around in my gut while I thought of how hard sleep was probably going to come for me tonight.
"Sam is waiting for you. I know you have to go."
"I won't be far. I'm running the border tonight for patrol with Seth and Leah. I'll check in-..."
"You don't have to-" I countered, as he wrapped an arm around me and placed a kiss to my forehead.
"I want to, honey."
"Okay, I'll leave the window unlocked."
"Please do. I'll stop in before I head back to the reservation and get Clarissa at dawn. Try to get some sleep."
He pulled away from me then and headed for the forests edge, my gaze looking out after him until he disappeared from sight.
After Billy and Charlie were settled in for the night, I changed into something comfortable and made myself a cup of tea in the kitchen in the hopes it would help me settle down. When two in the morning came and went, I knew that shutting my mind off long enough to sleep wasn't going to be an option for me right now, and I settled in Charlie's recliner with a good book in hand.
I was only a chapter in when Billy spoke to me from the couch, his sincere tone making me put the book away and listen.
"Are the two of you alright? After...-"
"Yes, Billy. Jacob and I will be alright. We both made some poor choices years ago. Choices that hurt us both."
"I'm truly sorry for what I did. I hope that with time, the both of you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."
"I'd be lying if I said that it didn't hurt me, but Billy, I still think of you as my second father and I do forgive you. Jacob may need more time for it, but I'm sure he'll come around."
"Time will tell."
"He knows you love him and he knows why you did it."
"Doesn't excuse it." Billy roughly stated. "I deserve his anger. I have to earn the trust I broke between us back. It's the right thing to do. I'm glad that you talked things out with him."
I grew quiet then, idly fiddling with the worn out pages from my latest medical documentary read and soon reaching over to turn off the lamp so Billy could get some sleep.
"See you in the morning, Billy. Good night."
I headed for the stairs and paused when his words reached me again.
"He's never stopped loving you, Bella. I want you to know that. Jacob hated every part of the separation from you. Both in the human form and the supernatural one. You're part of him. Knitted in the very fabric of who he is. I knew then what has only confirmed to me now."
"What's that?" I softly hedged, feeling my breath hitch at his words.
"That you can't run from what the heart wants. You can delay it, elude it even, but eventually, it always wins out. One way or the other. Wolf magic or not. Most of those in the pack will tell you they hated the choice being taken from them at first, but that's what I've always found most fascinating about you and Jacob. He chose you to love and fiercely protect for himself long before the imprint ever could. I think in a lot of ways, the imprint didn't define what the two of you shared, but instead, my son defined it first."
I slowly returned to the recliner and turned the lamp back on to see his earnest expressed when he peered over to me.
"I tried to run from it."
"You felt you were doing the right thing. Just as he did by going along with the loophole we uncovered for the imprints pull. You make him better. I can see it when he's with you. You calm the storm in him. Always have. Much like you're here doing now."
"I think we do that for each other, Billy. I don't know how or what sense it makes-... if any."
"Love like that doesn't have to make sense. It just is and separating yourself from its hold can feel like your removing an actual piece of yourself."
"... but what he had with Lilly-"
"...was real and true. He loved her with all the he had and with all that he could, but I knew that if you ever came back to Forks, he wouldn't be able to let you go again."
"I'm supposed to leave for Maine next week."
"... and do you want to?"
"I don't know anymore." I truthfully admitted, seeing his nod as I met his gaze.
"This all has been so unexpected for you. Life has a way of doing that."
His words made me stop and think of Mr. Dawson for the first time in days as I switched out the lamp a final time and went up to my room.
"Night, Billy."
I curled up under the covers and waited there to hear the familiar sound of the creaking in my window.
Jacobs hand swiftly drew it up and he climbed quietly inside, his footfalls nearly weightless when he crossed the room and hunkered down at my bedside, his tired gaze meeting mine in the glow of the fading moonlight.
"Have you slept?"
"No." I replied, taking hold of his warm hand and tugging him forward. "Stay with me?"
He held my stare for a long while before silently climbing in behind me and drawing me back into his firm chest, his warm breath ghosting against my neck with his whispered words.
"Good night, Bells. Sleep tight."
"Night, Jake. See you in a few hours for breakfast."
"I'll take pancakes, by the way. Please and thank you." Jacob teasingly countered, his soft tone making me smile in the dark before I closed my eyes and fell asleep with him.
A/N: Another two chapters in one day kind of update! I hope you enjoyed them. New post again tomorrow. Thank you for reading and please review :-)
