Chapter 41
Anabelle furiously wiped her eyes, hoping her brother couldn't tell she had been crying before opening the car door and jumping out. "Do you think Paul will sense that something is wrong?" She asked when Jacob walked over to her stand in front of her.
"I have a feeling he will," Jacob replied. " But please try not to get mad at him. Or anyone. Everything was all my fault."
"I'll try." She sighed out before grabbing her backpack. Jacob took it from her before holding it on his shoulder. She gave a confused expression.
"Friends help carry each other's things." He grinned making Anabelle softly smile and look down. She looked back up when his hand caressed her cheek causing her to flinch slightly and take his hand away.
"Friends don't do that." She whispered before turning away and walking to the front door. Jacob sighed, knowing he had his work cut out for him. It would take a while to get Anabelle to trust him again.
He entered the house to see Emily sitting at the table with a troubled expression on his face along with Sam and Paul watching Anabelle with concerned expressions. "What's going on?" He asked.
Anabelle looked up from the piece of paper she was holding to glare at Jacob once more. She held it up to show him. "This is Bella and Edward's wedding invitation." She told him. Jacob nodded in confusion. He already knew this. "And this is a note. From Bella."
She handed him a tiny piece of paper.
Dear Jake,
I want to thank you for helping me when Edward was gone and protecting me from Victoria. I also want to thank you for keeping me warm that night on the mountain. I would have not been able to sleep without you.
Love, Your Bells
"What does she mean by keeping her warm? On the night of the battle?" Anabelle asked him with her arm folded on her chest.
"Dude, you didn't tell her?" Paul sneered.
"Tell me what Paul?" She snapped. "That they kissed before the battle? Because I know about that. I found out today, TWO weeks after it happened."
"Look Belle, Jacob-"
"Please do not speak for him, Sam." She cut him off before turning towards Jacob. "Go ahead, spew some more bullshit for me to hear."
Jacob sighed before speaking. "Edward had put the tent very high up the mountain and Bella was freezing. Why would we be fighting these newborns if she was going to die of frostbite before that?"
"You are unbelievable." She scoffed before turning and climbing up the stairs. Jacob looked at everyone before following her upstairs.
"Honey just let me explain. We can talk about this." He pleaded, following her into her room where she placed her backpack on her desk chair.
"Jacob, why did you keep this from me?" She asked, tears filling her eyes. "Did you not remember the last time you kept the truth from me? You made me feel like an idiot the last time and now I feel like an even bigger one."
"Look Belle, it wasn't anything other than me keeping her warm. I wasn't even laying down next to her, I was sitting and talking to Edward for a while. I didn't touch her."
Anabelle sighed before sitting on her bed and holding her head in her hands. "That's not why I'm upset, J." She told him. " I'm upset that you didn't tell me about any of this. You didn't tell me about me being your imprint. You didn't tell me about you kissing Bella. You didn't tell me about you keeping her warm that night. It's like you don't trust me."
"No, it's not like that. I love you with all my heart Belle. I didn't mean to cause you to not trust me. It was never my intention to hurt you. The only reason I didn't tell you is that it didn't matter to me. SHE doesn't matter to me."
Anabelle sighed, mentally exhausted from the day's events. "I just don't understand why you would lie to me and keep secrets from me. I can't do this anymore. I don't want this anymore."
"Wait, Belle," Jacob said, kneeling on the ground in front of her. "Honey, I'm sorry for lying. But I can do better, I can BE better." He looked into her tear-filled eyes, trying to convey all of the love he had for her.
"As I said before J, I need a break. The only way to stop this cycle of you keeping things from me is that we have to start anew. This time without vampires and surgeries with fears of dying. We need time apart and I mean apart J. Just until I can get my bearings."
Jacob did not like this. His wolf growled, itching to show Anabelle that she was his. And he will have her any way he wanted. "You are mine." He growled, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her to lay on the bed. She winced at the pressure his arms were exerting on her arms but still looked him in the eye.
"Am I?" She challenged him. "Or am I your wolf's?" She watched as Jacob breathed deeply, angry that she was not complying with him, before pushing his face to her neck and breathing in her scent. She gently pried his hands off her shoulders, wincing at the newfound pressure, and pushed them away. She stood up, still holding his hands before turning and pushing Jacob to sit, straddling his waist.
"Now I will only say this one more time," she exclaimed. "I need a break. WE need a break. I am no longer your girlfriend, you are no longer my boyfriend." She then stood up from Jacob's lap and walked over to her drawer to take out clothes. "Now I am going to take a shower, and when I get out, you are either going to be gone and thinking about how we can fix this, or you can continue to be angry at me." She looked at Jacob, who was glaring at her but she was unbothered by it. "Your choice." And with those final words, she slammed the bathroom door closed, the noise echoing through the house.
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Anabelle sat in the tub, letting the warm water hit her back and mix with the tears flowing down her face. She didn't understand how Jacob could be so forceful. If she wants a break, she will get a break. This possessive and aggressive side of Jacob was off-putting and she was scared of what could happen if he continued fighting with her. Maybe the imprint was wearing off, she thought. Maybe Jacob's wolf was fighting with him and it wasn't about her at all.
Her head peaked up at the sound of shouting coming from downstairs. She quickly turned off the water, trying to listen to the voices downstairs. "What will Belle think? Now that you're up and leaving." Paul's voice rang out.
"I'm sure she'll be happy. She doesn't want me anymore. You heard her up there. I'm not her boyfriend, I'm not her friend, I'm not her anything." Jacob's words boomed throughout the house making Anabelle stand up and dry herself with a towel.
"She's upset because you lied to her. You didn't tell her about what happened before the battle. You didn't tell her about what happened with Bella. That's why she's upset."
Anabelle was now dressed in a pair of pajamas and slowly walking down the stairs when everyone looked at her. "You're leaving?" She asked Jacob, tears already streaming down her face.
"That's what you wanted right? To not see me?" He asked, stepping closer so he was standing in front of her.
"That's not what I want. I want us to distance ourselves but still be friends. I told you I needed a break in our relationship, not our friendship." She answered. "But if you want to leave, I won't stop you. For once please do what's best for you, not me. Just don't stay mad at me. Please."
Jacob suddenly pushed her into his chest hugging her to him as hard as he could without hurting her. When they parted he looked at her in the eye before saying, "I'm going to go away for a while, not a long time but enough for me to get my head on straight. I've hurt you too many times and I need to know how to stop hurting you. I'm not leaving you, ok? It's not your fault."
"But it is my fault!" She protested. "I'm pushing you away. Just forget I said anything. We can go back to where we were before."
Jacob shook his head. "No, honey, I have to go." She grabbed his face in her hands, making him look at her.
"But what about our summer?" She cried out. "You said-"
"I know. I know. I'm sorry." He kissed her softly on the lips before moving away. "I'll be back before you know it."
"Wait-" she pleaded but Jacob was already out of the door and running towards the woods. She followed him until she couldn't see him anymore leaving her to stand outside. "No."
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"Belle, come on, you don't have to go and retaliate," Paul said, watching Anabelle put on a light jacket for the light breeze outside. Paul looked at her arms in confusion before grabbing it softly. "What the fuck is this?" He asked her.
She looked down to see the red marks Jacob had placed on her before moving her sweater to cover them. "Nothing, I hurt myself earlier in the garage."
Paul looked at her in suspicion before continuing to tell her, "I'm serious Belle, don't retaliate. It won't end well."
"Says the guy who fights with everyone that pisses you off." Rolling her eyes, she walked down the stairs and grabbed her phone from the table.
"I can't even take you if I wanted." Paul pointed out. "The treaty."
"Fine." She clipped, "I'll call Rose. I'm sure she'll love to take me there."
"Sam won't allow it. He'll tell Embry and Quil to take you home before you can reach the border." He followed her down the stairs when she walked out into the chilly afternoon air.
"Sam is not my alpha, I do not take orders from him or stop what I do just because he doesn't want me to. I'm going, Paul. Goodnight. I'll see you when I get back." With a turn of her heel, she walked into the woods while dialing Rosalie's number.
"So what do you want me to do? Hold her down while you kick her repeatedly?" Anabelle laughed at Rosalie's enthusiasm before shaking her head.
"I just want to talk to her, well maybe yell at her. Tell her what she did and how that hurt me. Because at the end of the day, she has a fiancee who she's going to marry, and I don't have a boyfriend to spend my summer with." Tears flowed down her cheeks causing Anabelle to wipe them away. She smiled when one of Rosalie's cold hands took her.
"Wait, you don't know?" Rosalie asked. "Edward called off the wedding." Anabelle looked at her wide-eyed.
"What? Then why do I have an invitation?" She asked, showing the white envelope.
"Alice had invitations made but never sent them out. Edward called it off after what happened before the battle. He finally realized what a manipulative bitch she is and called Charlie. Told him everything about what she had been doing." Rosalie explained, leaving Anabelle stunned. "The way she harassed Jacob to visit when he was starting his relationship with you, when she kissed him the first time causing you to hit her. He even told her about the bikes she and Jacob rebuilt months ago just to get her in trouble."
"Wow. Good for Edward. So she just sent out one invite for me and J. As a last resort to break us apart?"
"I'm so sorry that she did that. She can be so manipulative. And to be honest, she didn't even want this wedding."
"Really?" Anabelle asked, surprised. "Then why did she say yes in the first place?"
"It was the only way that Edward would change her into one of us. Their 'compromise', whatever that means. When Edward told me about it, it just sounded like some weird form of manipulation. I'm just happy he finally broke it off, she's only at the house because she's begging for him back. Well, we're here."
Both girls got out of the car, walking up the driveway to find Emmett grinning from ear to ear. "Belle!" He exclaimed, wrapping her in a tight hug.
"Hey, Emmett. You're looking good."
"Thank you. I've been wrestling with some beers lately." Anabelle chuckled before following the couple up the front porch and through the door.
She was suddenly pulled into a cold hug leaving her to smile at Esme. "Hi, Esme."
"Hello Anabelle, it's good to see you. What brings you here? Is something wrong with your medication? Should I get Carlisle?"
"No, no." Anabelle replied, "Everything's fine. I just wanted to talk to Bella."
A sudden glare erupted from Esme's face causing Anabelle to look at her in surprise. "That girl has been in my son's room trying to get him back but no such luck, thank God." She pointed upstairs before saying, "You can go up dear. I'm sure you can get her to leave."
Anabelle giggled before walking up the stairs and towards the room where voices could be heard. She slowly knocked on the door, opening it when she heard Edward's voice say, "Come in."
She cautiously opened the door, seeing Bella crying and Edward looking angry. "Hey Edward, um am I interrupting something?"
"No," replied Edward, a look of relief spreading across his face. "Anabelle is here for a tutoring session, which is why you need to leave. Right now." Bella glared at the younger girl before shoving an accusing finger in her direction.
"You did this! You little brat!"
"Oh hell no! You do not have the right to get mad at me Miss 'Drive two people apart while having a fucking fiancee.' Because of you, J and I had a fight because you couldn't find it in your little pea-sized heart to leave him alone and be happy. He's gone because of you. He left me because he couldn't trust me enough to fucking tell me that he kissed your pathetic ass. Don't you dare accuse me of something I had no part of. You're just upset that Edward finally saw sense and is no longer catering to your ever need."
Bella stood there, glaring at Anabelle the whole time she was speaking before Edward walked in between them. "Bella, I think it's time you leave." He told her. Rosalie, who was at the door the whole time, walked over to Bella before pulling her not so gently out of the door.
Anabelle watched her leave before looking at Edward. She suddenly broke down, tears streaming down her face making Edward speed over to her and hold her as she collapsed to the ground. "Why didn't he want me?" She asked, digging her face in his hard chest.
Edward watched as she replayed the day in her head, watching how her and Jacob argued throughout the day and how he ultimately left. He rubbed her back soothingly, before bringing her to his bed and laying her down. "I'm going to tell Esme to cook you something ok?"
Anabelle nodded before digging her head into the pillow. "Thank you." She told him meekly, giving him a soft smile.
"No problem." He said with a lopsided grin. He then gave her a sad smile before retreating out of the room.
Anabelle sighed from exhaustion, and closed her eyes before falling into a deep sleep.
