Chapter 7: Jacob Black
Bella POV:
Well, well, well. Look at that! The one and only Jacob Black stood before me. I didn't expect to see him here. But then it hit me; of course, he recognised the car. When I came to Forks, my dad wanted me to have a car to ride to school. He could buy a very old car relatively cheap from his best friend Billy. And since Billy was Jacob's father… He recognised the car immediately.
´You´ve changed a lot, Jake,´ I told him. I haven't seen him in a long time and he has matured a lot. He didn't look childish anymore. Instead, his strong masculine jaw made him look a bit older than his age. He had really grown in just a couple of months, amazing. His long black hair was pulled up in a bun and he was wearing a t-shirt even though it was quite cold right now. He must have seen me checking him out.
´Like what you see, ey?´ He said jokingly. I rolled my eyes at him.
´I mean, for a toddler, you clean up nice.´
´Ha-ha, I'm surprised the elderly of our little town are even outside at this ungodly hour. It's already 9 o´clock, so shouldn´t you knit a sweater right now, grandma?´
Alright, I´ll admit it, I had to laugh. I liked this little banter. I was happy he returned my humour.
´I went to the movies, what are you doing here?´ I explained.
´I took a walk and then I saw this little beauty here,´ he pointed at the car. ´So I thought, might as well wait a bit and see what you´re up to. I haven't seen you in so long.´
´Well, now you know.´ I had always liked his company. We were always friendly with each other and our dads were very fond of that. Suddenly, I realised I didn't want the night to end just yet. If you indulge in something, you might as well do it well, right? ´Care to join me for milkshakes?´ I asked him.
He was a little bit taken aback by my question. He clearly did not see that one coming. I was also a little bit shocked by my request, but there was nothing wrong with old friends catching up over milkshakes, now was it?
´Sure Bella. There is a nice little restaurant just down the street. Let´s go there.´
´Lead the way.´
We walked next to each other and talked. We interrupted our talk for a second to order our milkshakes. That weird boy wanted a pistachio milkshake, can you imagine? Anyways, we talked about everything that night. He told me his passion for cars and motorcycles had grown even more over the last couple of months. I in turn told him I was going through a rough break-up and was therefore going to the movies alone, to give myself a fun evening every now and then. He didn't even pity me for that and told me he thought it was a bold move. He told me we needed to do this more often and I wholeheartedly agreed. After an hour of catching up, we realised I needed to go home, since Charlie might be displeased with me being away all evening.
´Come on Jake, I´ll give you a ride home,´ I offered him.
´Great, I would love to see that one thing in action.´
´Gee thanks,´ I said, sticking my tongue out to him.
He laughed with me and we both hopped into my car. After he had given me directions and I had followed them, we eventually stood still in front of his house.
´It was nice seeing you again, Bella. Don´t be a stranger.´ He said with a bright smile on his face.
´I also had a lot of fun tonight, we should definitely do this again,´ I told him in return.
´How about this; when Billy and Charlie go fishing again, we also meet up and do something fun. Alright?´ He asked.
´Absolutely!´ It really was a great idea. I enjoyed his company a lot and the night was a lot of fun. Jacob got out of the car, waved goodbye to me and went inside his house.
I drove back to my house and thought about the night. I realised I was very pleased with this turn of events. I was always very fond of Jacob and we connected. I didn't see him much when I was still in a relationship with… him. A quick and very familiar twinge of pain shot through me when I thought of him and I quickly tried to swallow it away. Anyways, I was always very fond of Jacob and I was looking forward to seeing him again.
Once I got home, I told my dad about Jacob. He was very pleased with our little encounter and encouraged me to keep in touch with him. Not that I needed his encouragement, but it was nice to be on the same page with him about it.
The next day at school, Jessica came to me and greeted me.
´Hey girl, how was your date night?´ she asked with a wink.
´It certainly was interesting. I ran into Jacob Black,´ I told her.
She looked at me quizzically.
´You mean that hot friend of yours?! Are you telling me you went on a real date? Shut up!´ she exclaimed.
´Keep your voice down, it wasn't like that,´ I tried to sush her. ´We just ran into each other. It was nice,´ I ended with a smile. Hopefully, that kept her quiet.
´Omg, you´re totally into him!´
I started to get annoyed. It wasn't like that, I wasn't ready to date anyone just yet. My heart still aches for him. I still miss him. It would not be fair to anyone if I start dating at this point. My heart wasn´t ready for that. Jessica was more boy-crazy than I ever could be, so of course, she jumped at the opportunity to discuss boys. It was a great topic for her. It wasn't for me.
´Jess, stop. It isn't like that. I´m not ready to date just yet. And Jake is aware of it. We just like each other's company, nothing more.´
She looked a little bit disappointed with that.
´Can´t you at least give me some details?´ she sulked.
I smiled at her. ´Of course. So, we went to drink some milkshakes and we just started talking. Next time our dads go fishing, we'll do it again.´
Jessica´s eyes lit up. ´So, there will be a next time?´
´Yes, there will be a next time.´ And I was looking forward to it.
Edward POV:
I wasn't looking forward to anything. Once I let the darkness consume me, I was gone. I had more self-control than I ever imagined., I suppose. Since it took every bit of me to prevent myself from returning to Forks. To enter her window, my only sanctuary. And to beg her for forgiveness. I didn't know how much longer I could take this. It had been three months since I left Bella, and I was dying. I couldn´t die any further than the life I'm living right now, but I was. I was dying. I spent all of my time in my room, only coming out to hunt. It drove my family members crazy, but I didn't care. Every second was a battle. A battle with myself. A battle between my selfish desires to return to her and my fear of hurting her more than she already has. Alice had said that we both had trouble coping. She said nothing good came out of this. She might have been right. If Alice was right anyway, what difference did it make if I stayed here and tortured both myself and Bella any longer? I might as well just return to her. But I wouldn´t. She deserves better. She. Deserves. Better.
Bella POV:
I grabbed my hairbrush, faked it was a microphone and started singing at the top of my lungs. I was listening to a CD full of music from my childhood, and it brought back happy memories. I whipped my hair back and forth and swayed my hips to the rhythm of the music. I violently waved my arms around me and even did an air-kick once. Funny how way too loud music can block certain memories out of your system. One of those memories was the fact that today officially marked the six month anniversary that Edward had left me. Has it really been six months already? Time passed by. Even if I didn't notice it. Even if I didn't want it to. Time continued to pass by. The heartache is still there, unfortunately. I didn't want to think about that, so instead, I indulged in my music. Today will be a perfectly good day, so I tucked every thought about Edward away at the back of my mind. I was starting to master that little act.
Today will be a good day because Jacob will teach me how to ride a motorcycle. I was so excited about that! Over the last couple of months, we´ve really bonded. We held into our promise to do something fun each time Billy and Charlie went fishing. So far, he has shown me all the motorcycles he is currently renovating, we´ve taken walks and we went to the movies. But mainly, we've chatted a lot. We made fun of each other and we simply can joke a lot with each other. After I told him I was still heartbroken, he hasn't brought up the subject again and I was very thankful for that. And it felt good to also have a male friend. As much as I love the little girls nights Jessica, Angela and I had each week, it also felt great to just bluntly chat with Jake. I felt that both my friend groups complemented each other greatly. On one hand, I could engage in some cheeky girl activities like painting our nails while talking about boys. And on the other hand, I bitched a little bit with Jake while renovating motorcycles. Best of both worlds actually. Couldn´t be better.
A car outside my house honked. I looked at the time. Oh no, I will be late! I rushed downstairs, opened the door and there he was; Jacob Black. He smiled at me; ´took you long enough.´
´Beauty takes time,´ I responded.
He studied my face.
´Hmm, can´t see it though.´
´Thank you,´ I said as sweetly as possible.
´You better quickly move your ass, we don't have all day,´ he said as he turned around to walk towards his car. Such a bossy little shit. I followed him and once I
sat next to him, he started driving. I had already seen the two motorcycles in the back of his truck. Both our dads knew nothing of our plans, so we both felt a little sneaky to spend our Saturday morning running off to an abandoned road to learn how to ride a motorcycle. But nonetheless, it felt good.
´So, are you excited?´ I asked him.
´I actually am, yes. I love riding and I can't wait for you to fall in love with it too.´ I could see the enthusiasm on his face. I couldn't wait for it either. I felt so badass!
´I'm a little bit nervous, I can´t lie. But you know me, Jake, I´m a clumsy mess,´ I laughed.
He laughed with me. ´Don´t say that Bells, now you make me nervous too.´
Bells. Just as my father names me. And I was sure; just as his father names me. But I did the same with Jake. They were nice pet names.
We chatted some back and forth about all the times I was clumsy in his presence. Which unfortunately for me were a lot of times. It's weird how one moment you're chatting with one of your best friends and the next moment, everything changes. Suddenly, it felt like time stood still and all my senses were working at full speed. I first saw it. I saw us. I saw our car, driving up to an intersection. I saw another car. One that was supposed to give us the right of way. I saw the car didn't stop. I saw Jacob didn't notice it. He was busy talking to me. Once he saw it, it was already too late. He couldn't stop his car anymore. We were going to crash. He knew it. I knew it. I saw he was scared. For some reason, I wasn´t. I almost wanted to comfort him. Then, I heard it. I heard the sound of the brakes. I heard the sound of tires. I heard the sound of screaming. Who was screaming? Was it me? Was it Jake? I heard the sound of metal, crashing to metal. The sound was overpowering. After I´ve seen and heard it, I smelled it. I smelled something was burning. What was burning? Did burned rubber smell like this? What was that smell? Then, I tasted it. I tasted blood. I hated blood. I hated everything about blood since it made me extremely nauseous. And after every sense, I finally came to the last sense. After everything, I´ve felt it. Hurt. It hurts. Where did it hurt, I didn't know but it did. Was Jake hurt as well? And I gave in to the pain and slowly drifted away into the darkness.
Edward POV:
It had been six months and I was done. Done. Completely done. I couldn't stay away from Bella anymore. I couldn´t. I would do anything to hold her again. No, I would do anything to even see her again. I needed to see her. I longed for her. Six months without her. Six whole months. It had to end. My whole life became meaningless after I had left her. I needed my meaning again. I needed her. This attempt to stay away from her was pointless. It was hopeless. It was doomed to fail anyway. It might as well just fail right now.
If I tell my family my plan to return to Forks, everyone will be relieved. And if we move straight away, we would arrive there shortly. Carlisle could easily return to the hospital, they needed him. Esme would be happy to see me coming out of my misery, she hated to see me like this. Alice would be thrilled to see her friend again, she missed her greatly. Jasper wouldn't have to be so down all the time, he always felt guilty for what happened. Rosalie would be happy if I was happy, even if we didn't always see eye to eye, she wanted to see me happy and Emmett adored Bella, she was basically his little sister. It really was the best option. I could see that now. We needed to move. Now.
I felt relieved. For the first time in six months, I had to smile. I smiled again! And I saw her. I always saw her, everywhere. But now I could almost touch her, she was so close to me. So within reach. I´m coming, Bella. I will. She smiled at me. I smiled back. I must be going mad. But if this is madness, I would never want to go back to normal.
Suddenly, I heard a loud scream. Within a second, Alice stood in front of me. She must have had a vision of me returning to Bella. She must be so excited. We´re going back. It´s over. We´re finally coming back. Wait for me, Bella.
I looked at her. She didn't look excited. She wasn't happy. I didn't know why. Wasn't this the best news ever? I frowned. What was wrong?
´I know I´m not allowed to tell you about Bella's future, but you need to know that she was in a car accident, Edward. And it´s bad. It´s really bad. I´m scared she won´t make it.´ The mental image of Bella, smiling at me, disappeared.
Alice started crying tearless sobs and I automatically wrapped my arms around her. Meanwhile, I was trying to understand her words. What happened? Bella was in a car accident? That couldn´t be, her car was indestructible. I couldn´t believe it. It was like time had ended. I couldn´t understand anything anymore. Car crash. It was bad. Maybe she wouldn't make it. What? How?
Bella. My Bella. My precious Bella. In a car crash. I couldn´t believe it. Right there, I had made a decision. I needed to go to Forks. I needed to see her, even if it were for the last time. The last time….
The pain I had felt in the last six months was nothing compared to the suffering I endured right now. This was a new level of torture. How could I feel this amount of pain and still not die from it? Bella. Car crash. It was bad.
´We´re going to Forks. Now!´ I commanded Alice.