Your Pain is My Pain

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Your Pain is My Pain

Chapter 18

Three days had passed since Bella was suspended from school and sent home. During those three days, Bella had taken the time to tidy up around the house, the house being spotless since the last time she had decided to clean it, the day she found all the things Edward had stashed under her floorboard. Cleaning had always been cathartic for her in a way, and she wondered why she hadn't done it earlier outside of remaking her bedroom. Not only was she able to do that, she also spent time with Charlie, the two of them not having any father-daughter time in what felt like a long while.

Bella had also taken to cooking again and trying out new recipes, all of them winning the approval of her father, as well as Billy and Jacob when they had visited one day. Of course, Bella believed they were biased in their assessment of her cooking, but she was thankful all the same. Not only that, but she had started to keep a journal, writing her thoughts and feelings in it every day. It was probably childish, keeping a journal or diary, but she was glad that she was doing it. Writing in her journal she believed was healthy for her, as she could record everything she couldn't talk to someone else about, and there was a lot she had to say. It helped clear her head, and her mind felt lighter going to sleep at night.

All in all, even though it had only been three days, Bella was having fun despite her suspension. She knew most students would be upset for being suspended and have this on their academic record, but she didn't feel that way. The way she saw it, her suspension was liberating for her in a way, because of how she acquired it. She had been fighting in defense of herself, and though there were consequences for it in her being suspended, it believed that it helped her to see that she could stand up for herself. She didn't need to always be saved if she could save herself depending on the situation. She was stronger than she believed, something Jacob seemed to have believed since the beginning, and she believed she was finally seeing what he saw. So yes, even though her suspension was nearly halfway over, it was eye-opening to her and she found herself having fun.

Bella was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a small breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs. She was waiting for Jacob to arrive as she ate. Jacob was coming to pick her up and take her to La Push. He had called her the night before and asked did she want to hang out with him on the Reservation, to which she had agreed, and he told her he'd be there some time in the morning.

Charlie soon came downstairs in his uniform, prepared to go to work for the day. He greeted Bella 'good morning' before getting the leftover toast and scrambled eggs that his daughter had made, putting them in the microwave to warm up for a bit before sitting across from her to eat at the table. Bella, having finished her own breakfast, got up and poured them both a mug of coffee. Setting a mug in front of her father, she took her seat back across from him as he thanked her.

He took a sip of his coffee before saying, "Just so you know, that Stocker boy will be having his trial soon concerning the charges against him."

The brunette looked at her father before nodding. He was talking about Jeff and the attempted sexual assault charges against him. If she was honest, she had kind of forgotten about him ever since he first got arrested, but she had had a lot on her mind during the time, particularly Jacob and why he hadn't been calling her back after she took him home with a fever. So much had happened since then, she wasn't really surprised that she hadn't thought of Jeff since she first told Charlie what he had done.

Taking a drink of her coffee, she asked, "Really?"

"Yes, and if all goes well, he'll be found guilty and be sentenced accordingly. Since he's eighteen, he'll be tried as an adult, and if found guilty—which he better be—he'll serve at most ninety-four months."

"Ninety-four months? That's nearly eight years."

"I know."

Bella nodded slowly, surprised that the sentencing for a case like hers was so long. However, her father knew the law like the back of his hand and knew what he was talking about. She had no reason to find fault in it. Looking down into her coffee mug, Bella wondered how she had ever thought that Jeff was her friend, or any of Darren's gang. Well, perhaps Zoe and Chris really were, but when three of five showed their true colors, it was hard to believe the other two were different. Looking back up at Charlie, she asked, "Is there anything I need to do?"

Charlie looked at his daughter while taking a bite of eggs, swallowing his mouthful before saying, "Well, the only thing you would have to do is attend the trial to be able to give a statement and recount your version of events. It'll help your case, and with Jacob having given his own eyewitness account of things to me when he and Billy visited, it will help to definitely make an impact."

"Do I have to go? Can't I just write it out for the jury?"

"You can if you want. Mark, as he helped make the arrest and helped me make this case, already mentioned that you have been in a fragile state for months now, how Stocker took advantage of that, and that you may be too traumatized to actually attend the trial."

Bella frowned a bit. "I wouldn't say traumatized, but I'm glad he's looking out for me all the same."

Charlie nodded and suggested she get started on writing her statement before he heads to work. Nodding, Bella got up and got a pen and notepad, writing everything down for her father to turn in. Once she was done writing, she tore out her written words and gave it to Charlie. Her dad gave her a kiss on her head and left for work, telling her to have a good day and to stay out of trouble.

Not even five minutes after her father had left, there was a knock on the front door before it opened, and Jacob stepped inside. Grinning at the brunette, he greeted, "Hey Bells."

Jacob instantly wrapped his arms around her in a hug, holding he close as she hugged him in return. Releasing her he asked, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Bella replied with a smile.

Bella took a moment to look Jacob over, seeing that he was shirtless like he usually seemed to be nowadays, wearing his jean shorts and tennis shoes. After her assessment she said, "You came through the woods."

The Shifter grinned and nodded. "Yep, and we're going back the same way."

The two of them left the house, Bella locking it behind her before following Jacob into her backyard and into the woods away from seeing eyes. Once they were in the woods, Jacob said, "You may want to cover your eyes."

"Why?"

"Because you'll be traveling wolf back, and I need to undress so I can phase."

Bella seemed a bit hesitant at the idea before asking, "Is it safe?"

"Absolutely."

"But I…I get motion sickness. When I traveled with…with Edward, I was always dizzy and felt sick."

"Probably because the bloodsucker didn't try to make sure you were comfortable while he traveled like the speed of light. Trust me, you'll be perfectly safe and comfortable. I guarantee that you'll have more fun traveling this way than you did with the leech."

Nodding, Bella covered her eyes and waited for Jacob to phase, hearing clothes shifting and a rumbling sound before feeling something cold and wet touch the back of her hands. Dropping her hands, Bella found herself once again looking in the face of the giant russet wolf that was Jacob. She was still just as mesmerized by his wolf form as she had been the first time she had seen him. He was just so beautiful…

Jacob touched her cheek with his wet nose before crouching down, throwing his head back to indicate he wanted her to climb on his back. Taking a deep breath, Bella climbed onto Jacob's back, gripping his soft fur tightly in her hands as he gently stood up. Closing her eyes and taking another deep breath to steady her quickly beating heart, she opened them and said, "Okay, I'm ready."

The giant wolf took a couple steps forward before taking off in a steady trot. Jacob began to pick up speed in his trot, turning it into a jog as Bella held tightly to him. Soon, Jacob was running in long strides, the ride completely smooth and not at all bumpy or dizzying. Bella leant down closer to Jacob's body as he ran, finding the right completely comfortable, not at all like with Edward where it was disorienting. As she hung onto Jacob's back as he ran, she couldn't help but smile, a giggle rising up out of her throat. Her giggle soon turned into laughter, sitting up a bit and she let out a loud whoop before continuing to laugh in delight. Her laughter was music to Jacob's ears, happy to hear it and that she was having fun.

It wasn't long before Jacob started slowly his run down until he eventually came to a stop. He crouched down once again, allowing Bella to climb off his back and onto her feet. She did, however, fall to the ground on her back, her feet having slipped out from underneath her. He hovered over her as he watched her giggle, her chocolate brown eyes alight with glee and her face flushed. She never looked more beautiful to Jacob than she did right at that moment. He quickly trotted away from her out of sight so he could phase back to his human form and put on his shorts and shoes before rejoining Bella, the brunette now standing up from where she had been lying on the ground.

"So, how was it?" Jacob couldn't help but ask.

"What a rush!" Bella exclaimed. "It was so much fun!"

Jacob grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Glad you enjoyed it. I told you it was safe."

"Yes, you did."

Bella looked around a bit before noticing a little, unfamiliar house nearby. Looking through the woods at it more clearly, she asked, "Where are we?"

"Sam and Emily's place. We're only stopping in to say 'hi'."

"Who's Emily?" Bella remembered Sam saying that name once before, but she wasn't giving a damn about it at the time. She looked up at Jacob as he walked up to stand next to her and took notice of his semi-uncomfortable expression at her question. Frowning, she asked, "Jake, who's Emily?"

He looked down at her and answered, "Emily is Sam's fiancé…and Leah's cousin."

Chocolate brown eyes widened in shock as Bella took on a completely bewildered expression. She wasn't close to Leah Clearwater, but she did know that she had been dating Sam and that there was talk that they were going to marry one day. How could Sam have suddenly dumped her for her cousin, and plan to marry her no less? It wasn't right, not by any means.

Jacob, already knowing what she was thinking, simply shrugged, and said, "I know what you're thinking, and it's because of something stupid."

Bella could see that whatever was stupid about it bothered Jacob immensely, letting her know that he didn't agree with Sam and Emily being together either. Well, whatever the case, if it was something stupid as Jacob had said, she was going to break through the stupidity, especially if everyone seemed to just be alright with Sam and Emily being together like this. She did wonder how Harry could just allow Sam to do that to his daughter, knowing she was probably immensely hurt, and not doing anything in defense of her. She knew good and well if Edward had done something as atrocious as to dump her for her cousin, he'd be ready to kill him.

She followed Jacob as they walked out of the woods and up to Sam and Emily's house, walking up the porch steps and into the home. Jacob greeted everyone present, Bella noticing the rest of the Pack were there. Sam, Embry, and Jared all said 'hello' to her, while Paul simply glared at her; he was obviously still pissed about how she had hit him with a baseball bat. Bella said 'hello' to everyone in return before taking notice of one more person that was present. It was a woman pulling muffins out of the oven and stepping out of the kitchen, having stopped upon seeing the extra person there. Bella looked at her, taking note that her face was riddled with vicious scars along one side of her face, but she could also tell she was pretty despite her disfigurement. Ignoring her scared face, Bella looked her over again before looking back up at her face, particularly her eyes. What she saw there, she didn't like. The woman must have sensed it as well, because tension between the two females became instant and there was an immediate dislike between them.

Sam, wrapping his arms around the scarred woman, took a step forward with her and said, "Bella, this is Emily."

"You could kind of say she's like the Pack mother since Sam is the Alpha," Embry added.

Bella looked over at Embry before looking back at Emily, nodding her head towards her. Emily looked her over for a moment before saying, "Hello Bella. You seem to have recovered from when Sam found you that night months ago."

The brunette tensed a bit at that, not liking to be reminded of that night. Jacob noticed Bella tense up, and gently placed a hand on her back comfortingly. Emily, seeing this, frowned slightly and said, "I do find it odd though, how you can be so welcomed here at all, considering the company you used to keep."

The tension between the two women grew, Sam and Jacob admonishing Emily for her comment. They may not agree with who Bella used to run with either, but they didn't call her out on it as they knew what the Cullens' absence had done to her. Bella however, saw this as Emily firing shots at her when she had just met her, and her eyes narrowed. Well, if she wanted to go there, she was happy to strike back. Pursing her lips for a moment, Bella opened her mouth and replied, "Well, I find it odd that you've suddenly swooped in from nowhere and took your cousin's boyfriend."

Silence, tense silence, filled the little house following Bella's words. The Pack members looked back and forth between the two women, Emily looking completely caught off guard, her hands tightening on the tray of muffins in her hands, while Bella stood her ground and looked at Emily challengingly. As for Sam, he seemed on edge and Bella took quick notice that his expression had a hint of guilt on it though he was hiding it behind a mask. She briefly wondered about what he was guilty about—probably because what she had just said was true—before turning her attention back to Emily.

Emily scowled at her and said tightly, "You know nothing about that. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe, but I know it's not right to take my cousin's boyfriend, move in with him, and proclaim him as my fiancé. It's not right, and I'm baffled that everyone is just okay with this. Do you even know how Leah is feeling about the situation? Have you considered it? Do you even care? Or are you both too busy playing house to give a damn about how messed up this is?"

Sam, having had enough of Bella verbally attacking Emily, glared at her and said, "Back off, Bella. You don't understand the situation here."

"I don't care. But what I do care about is that there is a girl's heart that is most likely broken, and the betrayal she must be feeling. And trust me, I know a little something about heartbreak. And you." Bella pointed at Sam, putting him on the spot. "You look guilty as hell while looking at Emily. I see it in your eyes. Whatever guilt that is keeping you by her side, you need to settle it. And you need to attempt to make amends with Leah for breaking her heart if you insist on shacking up with her cousin."

Bella turned to Jacob and said, "Ready when you are."

She turned to head out of the door, leaving everyone in a stunned silence, Jacob following behind her. She did stop however and turned back around to look at Emily who looked like she had swallowed a lemon. She looked at the tray in her hands for a moment and gave the scarred woman a tight smile. "And by the way, your muffins look and are probably dry as fuck."

Ignoring the insulted gasp Emily gave in response, Bella walked out of the house, Jacob behind her as they left the residence. The two of them walked in silence down the road for a moment, neither of them saying anything about the confrontation that had just happened. After a while, Jacob finally said, "I've never seen Emily looked so scandalized before. And Sam looked uncomfortably put out."

Stopping in her tracks, Bella looked up at Jacob for a moment, a frown on her face. Sam and Emily being together really bothered her, especially knowing he was completely in love with Leah first. And she had a feeling Jacob knew more about it than he was letting on. Crossing her arms, she said, "Jake, I know you know more about this than you are telling me. Sam wouldn't just dump Leah for her cousin for no reason. Tell me what the hell that is about."

Jacob looked down at the brunette for a moment before looking off to the side. Still feeling Bella's gaze on him, he opened his mouth in hesitation before finally answering, "They're together because…because Sam Imprinted on Emily."