Chapter 17
Jacob awoke to his phone ringing from his bedside table. He wiped his eyes, making them adjust to the darkness. He picked up his phone, his eyes widening when he saw the caller ID. Belle. "Belle. Is everything alright? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. But could you pick me up? I need your help J." Jacob glanced at his clock. It was barely past 2. "I know it's early J but I really need to do something. Please." Jacob could hear the desperation coming from her voice and he knew he couldn't resist her.
"I'll be there in 10 minutes." He said. After hearing a soft thank you, he ended the call and got up out of bed. He put on some cut off shorts and a t-shirt before grabbing the keys to the rabbit. It didn't take a lot of effort to walk out of the house considering Billy slept like the dead and wouldn't wake up very easily. Once he made it to the rabbit, he powered the ignition, happy it sounded smooth with no obnoxious noise.
He slowly made his way to Anabelle's house making sure to not park in the driveway but on the curb. He quickly sent a text saying, I'm here in the front.
A few minutes later, Anabelle walked out of her house in a pair of jeans and a purple t-shirt. Her black hair pulled back in a high ponytail with a headband atop her head. She held a piece of paper in her hand along with what Jacob assumed to be a stuffed animal of some kind. Anabelle opened the door, smiling at Jacob before hoping in.
They sat there for a few seconds before Anabelle shook her head. "I can't do this. I'm sorry for waking you up."
"No, it's fine," Jacob said, grabbing her hand. "It's gotta be really important if we have to do it at 2 in the morning." Anabelle hung her head.
"Yeah, I kinda forgot about it until I woke up." She looked up at him. "We don't have to go if you don't want to. I just thought." She shrugged but widened her eyes when Jacob turned the engine back on and made his way down the street.
"Where to?" Anabelle smiled and led them to their destination.
They arrived at a large metal gate surrounded by stone walls. The moon shining brightly in the sky. Jacob looked up to read the words at the top of the gate. La Push Cemetery. He swallowed and closed his eyes. He caught Anabelle's gaze and studied her expression. There seemed to be none except her eyes. They held hurt, loss, sadness. She took a deep breath, trying to steady it.
"Belle? Why are we here?" Jacob asked softly, noticing that she held the price of paper in her hand tightly. Anabelle sniffled and wiped the tears that were starting to make an appearance in her eyes.
"I just...uh...I need to see someone." She didn't say anything else. Instead, she opened the door and hopped out of the car holding her letter and, what Jacob could now see, a stuffed black and white orca.
Jacob instinctively followed her and cut the ignition. He got out of the car and followed Anabelle towards the gate. "How will we get in?"
Anabelle didn't say anything. Instead, after dropping her letter and orca delicately on the floor, she picked up a rock that was sitting at the edge of the gate, plucking a pair of keys from the muddy soil. She then picked the thinnest key and unlocked the chain that was wrapped around the gate. Jacob stayed still as she pulled the chain through the gate and dropped it to the floor.
With a grunt, Anabelle pulled one of the gates and opened it up halfway. Suddenly Jacob gripped her wrist, stopping her from pulling the gate further. "Hey, how did you? How did you know a way to get in?"
"Paul and I used to come here more often before he phased. But we didn't like that people could see us. Some people are nosy and want to know why two kids are alone in a cemetery. It was just easier." Jacob dropped his hold of her wrist, letting her pick up her paper and orca. She held both in one hand and grabbed Jacob's with the other.
Jacob let Anabelle lead him wherever she wanted to go. He took a deep breath, knowing his mother was buried close by. He tried to steady his breath, focusing on Anabelle's scent. He followed her along the dirt path where the L's were located. Anabelle turned to the right but stopped walking.
"Why'd you stop?" Jacob asked. Anabelle shook her head and sniffled.
"I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can read it to her. I haven't been here in so long." Jacob wrapped his arms around Anabelle's waist, calming her from her aggressive emotions that were on their way to spilling out. She took a deep breath and counted down from ten in her head.
She let Jacob lead her while she pointed in the direction they needed to go. They stopped in front of a gravestone with beautiful chiseled calligraphy carved in the stone.
Maria Lahore
Beloved Wife and Mother
October 9th, 1970 - March 15, 1992
Anabelle sniffled and covered her mouth, trying to keep the sobs at bay. Jacob rubbed her back soothingly until Anabelle grabbed her stuffed orca and placed it upon her mother's grave. "Dad said it was Mom's when she was little. Before she died, she planned on giving it to me the moment I was born. Dad said she wanted to take me to the same place she got it. A place called Sea World." She lightly chuckled and looked at Jacob who was slightly smiling at her.
She then looked back at her mother's gravestone and unfolded the piece of paper that was in her hand. She suddenly became very nervous. There was so much that she wanted to say, so she sat at her desk and scribbled away while she was waiting for Jacob to pick her up earlier that night.
After an encouraging nod from Jacob, Anabelle took a deep breath and started talking. "First of all, Mom, I'd like to say that I miss you. So much. I could never thank you enough for bringing me into this world where I am loved and cared for. Both Dad and Paul treat me like a princess and there is nothing more I could ask for." Her breath catches in her throat and she swallows. Jacob felt nothing but empathy towards her. Yes, his mom died too, but he knew his mom.
His mind couldn't comprehend what it would be like to not have a mother at all. His most cherished memories of his mother included her cooking and her painting. He remembers how she would make homemade chicken noodle soup. She always included vegetables saying her boy needs to be 'strong' and 'healthy.'
Jacob looked over in Anabelle's direction and saw that she was kneeling down, engrossed in talking to her mother, so he walked a few yards to a bench to give her some privacy.
Anabelle paused and looked towards the bench where Jacob was sitting and smiled. "Um, Mom. As you obviously know I'm fourteen now and my quinceañera is coming up in less than a year." She chuckled and shook her head. "And I uh...found your binder and started using it. With Emily, Sam's imprint. She's really excited, maybe even more than me." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
She suddenly became overcome with emotions causing tears to spring on her eyes. "Oh God, I wish you were here Mom." She whispered, placing her hand on the cold concrete tombstone. Tears were slowly making an appearance on her face. This led Anabelle to take a deep breath in and slowly blow it out.
After catching her breath and steadying it, she focused on the good things to tell her mom. "Emily's excited about next year. She's named herself my planner and doesn't want me to worry about anything. It's good that I know about the pack. I could rope them into being in my court." After looking towards where Jacob was sitting, she turned back. "There's new pack members. Seth and Leah Clearwater. And Jacob Black."
She automatically blushed at the mention of his name. "All of them treat me like I'm family. I never thought I would have this amount of people that care about me. Especially Jacob. I met him on my birthday but we didn't talk until I was in the hospital. He seemed really concerned about me and always asked if I was ok. We have been getting closer every day. He drives me to and from school every day. I don't think he knows this." She whispered, silently giggling. "But I know that he watches me enter the building, even though he acts like he's turning on the ignition. I mean. It doesn't take that long."
She then sighed heavily. "I really like him but I don't know how to tell him. Imprinting is said to be very rare but there are already two imprinted couples and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more. I just think that if he did imprint on me, he would have told me already." She quickly dismissed the thought. "But I don't really like to think about that. I appreciate our friendship too much to not jeopardize it."
She looked back at Jacob, looking at her intently. His face was glowing in the light of the moon. Absolutely perfect, Anabelle thought. After saying her goodbyes to her mother and promising to visit soon, she gently placed the orca next to the gravestone, in hopes of her mother knowing she had it and was taking care of it.
Anabelle then walked back to Jacob who was now standing with his hands in his pockets. Jacob looked at his imprint, feeling her sadness. She walked up to him and looked into his eyes. "Can we go home now?" She whispered. She looked so small, Jacob just wanted to scoop her up and hold her. Carry her off to somewhere that couldn't hurt her.
He nodded and held her to his side, making sure she was cuddled from the cold. She visibly relaxed, cuddling into his side. "You're really hot, J." She whispered into his chest.
Jacob smiled smugly and replied, "Why thank you. I like to think so but it's good to receive extra reassurance." He laughed when Anabelle slapped his chest and blushed.
"I didn't mean it like and you know it." She pushed off of him and climbed into the car. She buckled her seatbelt and looked at the digital clock on the dashboard. 3:30. She groaned, knowing everyone's alarms would go off at 4.
"What's wrong?" Jacob asked.
"My family's alarms are gonna go off at 4. I don't think we'll make it in time." Anabelle sighed and tried preparing herself for what her father and brother would say.
"I don't think it would be that big of a deal," Jacob assured, squeezing her hand. "It's not like you were doing something bad. I'm sure they would understand." This reassured Anabelle enough to where she could relax on the way back.
The drive home was quiet. Mainly because Anabelle was very tired and had her eyes closed most of the time and was falling in and out of consciousness. Jacob's hand was still gripping hers, his thumb tracing random patterns on her knuckles. While driving, Jacob had a chance to reflect on some things. He had wanted to confess his growing feelings towards Anabelle as soon as possible but didn't know how to approach the subject. He had accidentally eavesdropped when Anabelle was talking to her mother but didn't say anything. He knew Anabelle was shy and it would take a lot for her to admit her feelings. This had made him a little paranoid in what Anabelle's true feelings were.
He had been flirting with her non-stop for the past week and, in his opinion, it was going well. He would drown her in compliments, tease her endlessly, and overall, try to make her feel happy whenever she was in his presence. It was also normal to give her a goodbye kiss on the forehead. Granted a lot of the pack did that when saying goodbye. But Jacob would always make sure his lips lingered longer than usual.
He was new to the idea of a relationship. He had never had a girlfriend. Just crushes that he didn't act on. The latest being Bella. Jacob rolled his eyes, thinking of how naive he was to ever think he had a chance with Bella. He guesses it was all the time they spent together rebuilding the dirt bikes. Then again, it was only to distract Bella from the pain of Edward's leave. He knew that now. But maybe he would have met Anabelle earlier and stopped any of this from happening.
He shook his head, riding those thoughts away. He didn't want to
think of that. He needed to focus on Anabelle and solely Anabelle. He gazed at her and smiled. She was asleep, her head was leaning on the window and her mouth was slightly open. He noticed when she breathed in and out, her body shook slightly. Her body shook and rocked even when Jacob cut the engine when he arrived at her house.
"Anabelle?" Jacob whispered, lightly shaking her. "We're here." Her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the darkness. She yawned, making Jacob smile. She was so cute.
Anabelle looked towards the clock and groaned. 3:55. "Hey, it's not gonna be that bad," Jacob said. "Do you want me to go with you?"
She shook her head and opened the door to get out. "No. It'll be worse. Trust me. But thank you for taking me. I can always count on you, J." Jacob smiled at the nickname, remembering how he got it.
It was the third day that Jacob would drive Anabelle to school and Jacob was waiting for Anabelle to come out of the house.
Anabelle walked out wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a tight aqua-colored t-shirt. His breath was caught on his throat and he couldn't help but stare. He quickly tried to compose himself, straightening up and opening the door for her.
"Thank you, Jacob." She said, surprised by the kind gesture. Jacob made a face at the way she said his name. It's not that he didn't love when she said it, it sounded beautiful. But it also sounded so formal, so professional.
"You know you can call me 'Jake' right? Everyone else does." He said getting into the Rabbit. Anabelle raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Well, I'm not everyone." She smirked before laughing. "So… how about I call you J?" Jacob looked at her.
"J." He said questioningly. Anabelle nodded. Jacob shrugged. "Ok. Yeah, I like it. Thank you for the new nickname."
Anabelle grinned and nodded. "You're welcome J."
Anabelle waved at Jacob before slowly turning the doorknob, careful not to make any noise. She quickly made her way through the living room when a lamp turned on revealing Paul in a pair of pajama pants, sitting in on the love seat. Anabelle jumped but was careful not to make a sound.
"Where the hell have you been?" Paul whispered harshly, making Anabelle wince. "I woke up at 3:30 to find my little sister, not in her bed. Do you have any idea what thoughts my mind came up with."
"I'm sorry. I just- I needed-" She took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "I- I went to see Mom. I'm really sorry, I just felt that I needed to see her before today and yeah." She hung her head and looked down at her feet.
Paul's eyes softened seeing her face. "It's ok, Belle. I know it's hard." He walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her and placed his head on hers. "Now come on, let's go get ready. I already showered so you have it yourself. I'll make sure you have your stuff ready." Anabelle smiled and nodded before turning towards the stairs.
"You didn't use the hot water did you?" She asked dramatically, turning around and raising an eyebrow. All she received was a sly smirk and a raised eyebrow. And with that she sighed and trudged up the stairs.