Jacob wasn't sure if it was the shower, the scent of strawberries, or just the sudden need to heal her, but he was thinking clearly now.
He was still soaking wet, but he had brought his backpack that he always had strapped to his back with a change of clothes in case of an accidental phase. So he wasn't concerned with that just now.
He entered Bella's bedroom and really got his first good look since he'd been there today. He was room was trashed. Clothes everywhere, glasses of undrank water all over, two on her bedside table. Her computer was turned off. Her phone was on the floor next to window, presumably dead.
Jacob began plundering for something comfortable for her to wear. He felt wrong about rummaging through her things, but he knew she wouldn't be up for it, but he wasn't sure what was clean and what was dirty and sniffing her clothes just felt like something a dog would do. So he decided to start with what was in the drawers.
He opened one of the drawers to her dresser that was left cracked open. As soon as he pulled it out he spotted something that stopped him in his tracks. His old sweatshirt that he had given her the day she'd jumped from the cliff in La Push.
It was worn, and the print on the front was fading but it still read "La Push Reservation High" with a wolf in the middle. He chuckled to himself as he didn't know how he'd only just realized that their high school mascot was a timberwolf.
"Makes sense," he mumbled as he pulled it free from the tangle of clothes stuffed in the drawer. He heard Bella's wet feet padding slowly down the hall and ravaged the room frantically for a bottom.
He found a pair of black sweat pants on the floor that surely weren't clean, but they looked clean enough and didn't stink. He laid them on the bed with the sweatshirt just as Bella entered the room loosely wrapped in the towel that he'd supplied her with in the bathroom.
He pointed at the clothes and then left the room. He was headed downstairs to see Charlie and to try and wrangle some food in hopes that she would eat.
When he got downstairs, Charlie was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. He looked defeated. When Jacob walked in, Charlie looked up. "Hey. How is she?"
"Well... she is mostly clean and hopefully a little relaxed. She wanted to dress herself, thank god."
Charlie chuckled. "That's the most she has wanted to do in weeks." Charlie got up from his chair and placed a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Thank you, Jacob."
Jacob nodded. "What have you got to eat in here?"
"I've tried everything, but if it's for you, help yourself to whatever you'd like. I made some soup. I had hope that after she bathed..." He paused and looked at Jacob's wet clothes. "That she would feel like trying to eat."
"Perfect." Jacob paid no mind to the wet clothes and had almost forgotten until Charlie noted them. He mosied over to the stove and fixed Bella a bowl of steaming hot chicken noodle.
He headed back upstairs, slowly this time, in higher spirits than he'd been in the last time. When he reached Bella's room, his spirits dropped a bit as Bella had rescinded to her mountain of blankets.
"Bella, come out. I brought you soup," he said as he placed the hot bowl on the bedside table.
Bella groaned and didn't move. He left the bowl and climbed back into bed with her. He decided that a shower was good enough for today and to let her mope some more. He was still wracking his brain for how to fix this.
Eventually, around 9 o'clock, neither of them had said anything and Bella's breathing and heartbeat had slowed. He assumed that she had fallen asleep. He needed to get home and take a shower. His clothes were dry now, though he had never changed, but Jacob felt like he needed to wash off the day. Tomorrow was a new one and he had a lot to do tomorrow.
When he got home, his dad hadn't asked many questions. He knew where Jacob had been and he assumed, since he came home, that things couldn't be too bad. So he moved on, back to the couch and tv.
Jacob trudged down the hallway, grabbed some clean clothes from his room that he had destroyed that morning and headed for the shower.
After he was thoroughly clean and semi-relaxed, he turned in. He fell asleep almost immediately.
The next day, Jacob woke up early, grabbed his pack with a change of clothes, and headed to the garage. He'd had an idea about getting Bella to eat something. He wasn't sure it would work, but he would try anyway.
When he arrived at Bella's, Charlie opened the door before Jacob got to it. There were no words needed from Charlie for him to know that he was welcome. He stepped inside and hung his pack by the door.
"Bella is still sleeping," said Charlie, "She was up all night with the nightmares again. They were bad last time. This time... it's worse." Charlie sighed.
"She peacefully for a while before I left last night. I'm sorry."
"She is getting better already, Jacob. Please, don't give up on her." Charlie didn't know what else to do and Jacob could hear that in his voice.
"I would never." Jacob meant every word. He wasn't sure if he could give up on her if he tried. And he had.
"Charlie, I ordered a pizza. I'll come down and get it in a bit. I'm just gonna go check on her."
Charlie nodded and didn't protest, so Jacob headed up to her room. Before he even stepped inside, he knew Bella had fooled Charlie. She wasn't sleeping. Her breathing was too shallow.
"Bells, it's me." Bella immediately popped out from under her blankets.
"Where were you?" She accused.
"What do you mean?" Jacob gasped. "I went home. It was late. I showered and got some sleep and came back as early as I could."
"Don't leave me again." And she laid her head on her pillow and sighed.
Ding-dong."Caaan I go downstairs?" He asked due to her demand.
She nodded and Jacob relunctantly went downstairs. He paid the pizza delivery guy, unzipped his pack and pulled out two sodas. He headed back upstairs with a somewhat devious grin.
Before he entered Bella's room again, he wiped the smile from his face and stepped in with a huff.
"Look, pizza and warm sodas. Your favroite." Jacob thought back to all the times that they had eaten exactly this in his garage working on their bikes and hanging out in La Push. He hoped it would persuade her and he was happy to hear that he had done something right when Bella's stomach growled.
Bella sighed and sat up. "Fine." She huffed.
"What breakfast in bed isn't good enough?" Jacob chuckled.
And there it was again, the shadow of a smile. Jacob flounced onto Bella's bed with the pizza box and handed her a soda. "Eat."
Bella picked up a slice of pizza and reluctantly took a bite. But she was hungry and she was eating.
Task two complete.