Okay, I'm back again! I actually finished this chapter not long after posting the last one but I wanted to hold off a couple of days to give me chance to start the next one, so hopefully that will follow soon! Thank you, as always, for still being here, I really appreciate it.
Enjoy!
It had been odd. Seeing the Cullens again. Of course Bella had seen them all before she'd gone to college those few months ago, but being back in their home with them had been odd, especially without Edward there. That being said, she had been glad that he hadn't been there. She could have only imagined how awkward things would have been between them. She had a feeling that his not being in town was no coincidence, but it didn't matter.
While there she learned that the other "children" were saying that they were taking a gap year after school. In spite of what Edward had told Bella about Carlisle's age and appearance when he left her alone in the woods, Carlisle estimated that they could stay another couple of years if they were willing to push it. It seemed that Forks had grown on them all. Apparently Esme even taught a local art class that ran at night. it was once a week, but it was once a week more than she used to interact with people. Naturally, she prided herself on providing baked goods for her class.
Apparently Rosalie and Emmett spent more time around the one local garage in town, spending their money there and giving the place an excuse to order and sell some ridiculously pricey parts. It seemed that, while Rose loved having more projects to play with, Emmett enjoyed the playful banter that he got to engage in with the mechanics.
Even Alice and Jasper were doing more in public. Granted, Alice told Bella that he had accidentally crushed a door handle in one incident, but no harm came from it.. Alice brought a much needed flair to the town, spreading positivity, helping Esme to sell some paintings to locals that wouldn't bankrupt them, while Jasper clung to her, still not entirely ready to embrace the place, but seemingly just happy to be with Alice.
Seeing them all like that, happy in the town, Bella had felt nothing but love and joy when Rose had driven her home. She still wasn't entirely used to the idea of them being friends, but Rosalie seemed to be much happier being around a Bella that wasn't pushing for the end of her life at every turn.
It wasn't until the week with her dad was almost over that she realised that she hadn't seen Jacob. Hell, she hadn't seen him since he and Edward had their uncomfortable stand off in the woods. She knew that he must have heard about the engagement and chosen to not reach out, but when Charlie announced that he was heading over to see Billy, she couldn't help but ask if she could tag along.
Under his shock, she could see how much that had excited her dad.
They rode over together in the cruiser and Bella suddenly, as they pulled up, realised that she must stink of vampires. She'd hugged them all just the day before in that same damn coat. Oh god, how could she do that to the wolves? Naturally, to make matters worse, she could see a couple of the pack playing what looked like a very intense game of football. She also saw as a couple of them looked over to her dad's car with confused faces, sniffing the air. They could already smell it.
Quickly, without saying anything to Charlie, she took her jacket of and threw it into the back. He noticed though. "Not cold?" he asked, bemused. He clearly couldn't believe it.
"Dirty." She supplied quickly. "The jacket." She then added.
Thankfully he didn't ask for more, nodding as he climbed out of the car just as Billy's front door swung open. Jacob. There he was. They locked eyes immediately, keeping that level of eye contact as she hopped out of the cruiser and rounded the hood. Her dad had already passed Jake, having commented on him looking good, and was inside with Billy.
For a moment, she actually worried that he wouldn't let her in. Then, just as she actually considered climbing back into the car or even running away, the classic Jacob Grin was there. She felt warmth flood back into her body as she released a breath that she hadn't even realised she was holding. How the hell could she have considered living life as a vampire, knowing that she would have lost Jake?
As she questioned that, he came thudding over, grinning as he scooped her up into a huge bear hug, spinning her so her feet flew from the floor. She clung tight to him, feeling nothing but pure contentment in his arms. He really was the best friend she had ever known. "Jake." She breathed, feeling her smile grow as he placed her back on her own feet.
"Bells." She could hear his grin even before they pulled away from one another. "College girl." He added as they released one another from the hug, playful. "You stink." He was still playing, but she could see that he meant it.
Groaning, she nodded. "I wore that stupid jacket to see the Cullens yesterday. I didn't think until we got here. Sorry." She noticed the way that Jake stiffened at the mention of them and how the other boys around stilled a little, but she paid it no mind. She was used to them. "How have you been?" And just like that, they were back to being Jake and Bells, the two of them against the world.
For what felt like forever they chatted, ending up inside on the couch. Jake told her all about school and, when Billy and Charlie headed outside, the pack. He told her that Sam had offered him the role of alpha but that he had turned it down. She could see that some part of him hadn't wanted to, so they chatted about that, but the house filled up before long, this time with pack members who wanted their moment with Bella, too.
"So, I thought Dracula didn't want you on the Res." Naturally, when Quil spoke around a mouthful of fried fish, he got a smack upside the head from Embry and a stern look from Jake. "What!" He yelped, wide eyed.
To their shock, Bella actually giggled. She glanced around at the eyes that were on her. Jake, Quil, Embry, Paul and Seth. "Well, Edward is out of town." She shrugged, taking a bite of fish that Jake had offered her a second ago, washing it down with some water. "Plus," She carried on. "I guess, he's not in charge of me, you know?" She was feeling ballsy all of a sudden until River popped into her mind. Christ, she'd gone most of the day not thinking about her, now really wasn't ideal.
"Out of town? What, he not worried about Red?" Paul scoffed, getting a nod from Embry and a concerned glance from Bella.
"Red?" She asked, looking Paul in the eye as she spoke. All thoughts of River were gone now.
Nodding, Paul shrugged as if he had expected her to know. "Red leech. Slippery bitch."
That was when Bella's heart sank and her stomach felt like lead. "Victoria?" She uttered, feeling fear for the first time in a long time. "She's come back?"
Jacob was quick to clear his throat, moving a little closer to Bella on the couch. She felt no safer for it though. How had she gone so long without thinking about the literal threat to her life? "Relax, Bells." Jake said confidently, seeming to rise up a little taller. "We're keeping her at bay. Even the, uh, doctor and his family are keeping an eye out." So the Cullens knew too? Bella wondered why Alice hadn't said anything. Perhaps that meant that she hadn't seen anything bad? Or wait, hadn't Alice said that she couldn't see the pack?
Wait. What had Jake said? "Hang on, you spoke to them?" Had she heard that right.
Smiling, Jacob rolled his eyes. "Look, you didn't hear this from me, but they're not that bad, okay?" Holy shit, was she dreaming?
"Yeah, I mean, the blonde is kinda mean, but her boyfriend is cool." Embry chimed in, shrugging.
Bella was at a loss for words. "Kicks ass at COD, too." Quil added, fist bumping Embry as they both laughed.
Bella truly felt like her head was about to explode. "You spoke to them?" She repeated dumbly, choking out a laugh when the boys around her just laughed and nodded.
"All due respect, Bells," Jake spoke, looking at her with almost sorry eyes. "I guess they're easier to be around without you and Edwin." He shrugged as if that was the easiest thing in the world to admit. Bella ignored the clear fact that Jake hadn't forgotten Edward's name; the slip didn't bother her whether it was meant to or not. "We're still not inviting them to bonfires, but Sam figured we needed to communicate with them if we're gonna catch Red. They know how she fights, we know how to hunt. We're gonna catch her faster this way."
For the next hour or more, Bella picked at their brains. She wanted to know who reached out first, how the other reacted, all of it. Apparently, Sam had gone alone to the Treaty Line and, upon smelling one of them nearby, had asked for their leader. From there, he and Carlisle had stood, alone, and talked about the benefits of cooperation. It was shortly after that Edward had left in spite of his gift being useful. After then, the wolves made the decision to trust Carlisle and Esme in their human skins, slowly trusting the others, too. They still didn't find one another easy to be around, but not having Bella there for Edward and Jacob to peacock over had actually greatly helped them.
"Seriously?" Bella asked when they were done speaking.
"Seriously." Jacob confirmed, smiling warmly at her. She looked to the others and got shrugs and nods.
She hadn't ever dreamed that the Cullens and the pack would tolerate one another, let alone this, but it was amazing.
Later that evening, when Billy and Charlie were all but passed out on the couch, drunk, Jacob offered Bella a ride home. She accepted, glad to feel warm again, checking her cell as they pulled away from the house.
One text from an unknown number. Her heart skipped a beat. "He know about that?" Jacob asked. Dammit. She remembered that he could literally hear her heart.
Sighing, she locked her phone and put it away again. "About what?" She asked, knowing that lying was no use.
She could see the small, gentle smile that puled at his cheeks. She could see that it held a little bit of hurt. Whether that was over the fact that it wasn't him making her heart jump or that she hadn't told him about who it was, she didn't know, but she could see it. "Whoever's got you feeling like that, because it sure ain't him." Well, way to hit the nail on the head. "I thought you were engaged." It wasn't an accusation or even a question, just Jacob speaking into the empty air between them.
Bella nodded, thinking for a moment. "I am. We are." She said, leaving it at that for a second before taking a deep breath in. "I just... I can't forget. I thought when he came back that I could, that I could just slip back into whatever he and I had before, but I can't. I'm not that same naïve girl he left in the woods."
As he drove, Jake seemed to ponder her words before speaking. "Does he? Know?" He asked again, this time catching her eye in the mirror.
She smiled slightly, sadly. "I have no idea. Probably." She answered truthfully. "He told me to do whatever I needed to do. To go out and have fun. To meet people. To make friends. To do whatever I had to do to get back to him." Only, Bella knew in that moment that she wasn't finding her way back to Edward. "We promised one another, I'd live a few more years as a human. I'd experience life. All of it."
As the dark moved around them, they fell silent. Bella's answer seemed to be either enough or far too much for Jacob. It wasn't until they pulled up at her house that Jake spoke again.
"I don't like the guy. Edward." He stated into the air. "I don't like him, but if you're done with him, make sure he knows." And there it was. In what little Bella had said, even Jacob had seen what she was coming to see. "What he did to you was wrong, Bells. Leaving you there, all of it, don't give him a reason to feel wronged." He was right. Bella knew, truly, that he was right, but it felt like such a huge decision.
They didn't talk again as Jake walked her to her door, nor as he went inside with her and set himself up on the couch, but for one second, when Bella felt even a spark of strength, she spoke. "Her." She voiced later on, lying in her bed. She knew that Jake, who refused to leave her alone with Victoria on the loose, could hear. "The person who has me feeling like this. It's a woman." She let the words hang in the air, even as her heart pounded, until she finally succumbed to sleep.
So, any thoughts? I have a much firmer idea of where this story is headed now, so hopefully we'll have a few more chapters of setting things up, then a little drama, see what's what. Obviously let me know if there's anything you don't like or anything that you want to see. After all, I want this to be fun to read. Pleeeaaase review for me if you can, it makes the whole process so much easier if I know that someone out there wants to read on.
Also, fun fact: This is the longest chapter so far! It's just about 2,500 words, so not actually very long, but I'm hoping that I'll start hitting between 5,000 and 10,000 when I find my stride, just hopefully to beef things up a little.