~I call this a transition chapter. By the way, I'm hurricane writing so two updates hours apart. Maybe more to come.

Chapter 9

Somehow, they both survived the first week. Jacob might rate it one of his top five worst weeks of his life. Bella became more withdrawn with each new day. She wasn't even bothering to argue or complain about the situation anymore. Most of their days were hours of complete silence. The beginning had been filled with hostility, but now the inside of Leah's cabin was filled with nothingness. Bells was getting sick again. He hoped it was an act at first, but he finally realized that wasn't the case. Sue was on the way to do a more thorough exam. She'd been by a few times and had already explained a few theories about the blood transfusion's limited effects and Bella's mental health. They all agreed she needed some sort of professional help, but that wasn't possible. All Jacob could do was look up things for himself and try to say the right things. But there were no right words to combat the inner torture Bella suffered.

"Hey, I made you a protein shake. You need the calories, Bells."

"I'm not hungry. You've spoiled my appetite with all this stuff I can only eat with a spoon or sip through a straw."

He got rid of all the metal utensils, so they basically ate what could be consumed with plastic spoons. Jacob was living off sandwiches with extra meat to sustain himself. He barely got outdoors even though Leah and Seth swore they could handle Bella for an hour at a time. He was fucking stir crazy. God, Jacob missed the sun and fresh air. They didn't even had adequate light inside the cabin because on the second day, he caught Bella pressing her palms firmly against the bedroom window. She could slam her hands through the window at any point. That's all it would take and her arms would be shredded by jagged glass. Seth got Paul to loan him a dozen or so boards. Now all the accessible windows were blocked except for the very top and bottom of the glass. Bella hated it, so did Jake. It was the beginning of her not speaking to him unless it was absolutely necessary.

The nights were different. They went to bed together every night not speaking, never touching, and side by side because it was the only way either of them could sleep. However, waking up was a completely different story. Some time in the night, one of them always reached out for the other. Jacob knew he never did it consciously and he doubted Bells did either, but they normally woke up wound around each other in some form or fashion. If she woke up first, she jerked her hands and body away thinking he wouldn't know, but he always knew. If Jake woke up first, he'd often hold still and enjoy a few minutes remembering how they used to be. His mind wanted to pretend that all the circumstances were different. He watched her sleep nestled against him with a content expression on her face and for only a moment it seemed like they were a real couple that loved each other and were comfortable giving affection. Those were the only few normal minutes of each day, and he actually lived for those brief seconds or minutes. It helped him through the rest, the bad stuff.

"Sue's coming within the hour. Would you like to shower?"

"Can I shut the door?"

He never made her keep the bathroom door open, but he did change the doorknob out the first day so it couldn't be locked. He also hid the bathtub stopper. Baths weren't an option yet. He didn't trust her. She asked for the stopper several times which proved he made the right decision.

Bella stood up from her normal seat. Jacob told her to use the recliner since she often took naps. He was normally on the couch attempting to give her space, but never really out of reach. One second she was upright, the next she was tumbling down like a falling tree. His reflexes were quick and he caught her. Jacob was going to pick her up, but she resisted with what little strength she had left. He stood next to her and supported her as he pleaded with her once again. "Bells, honey. You've got to eat."

"That's not it. I got a little dizzy. Can I just have a bath instead of a shower? I can't stand that long and I want to relax for a change." She tried to step away from him, but Jacob wasn't letting go too soon. She was still wobbly.

He thought about it for a minute. "Fine, but Leah's going to have to go in the bathroom with you."

"You can't be serious. I'm fine now. I got up too fast. Let go."

He didn't because no way was she fine. "There's at least ten things in there that you could fall and crack your head on. She'll give you privacy, but if I let you fill the tub with water, that's how it's going to be. I don't even feel comfortable with you in a shower the way you're acting today. I swear this is malnutrition, plain and simple. Do you want a feeding tube, Bells? Because so help me, I'll tell Sue to make it happen."

"No! I'll rip it out. Stop it, just stop all this damn sustaining my life crap. You can board the windows and hide the sharp objects, but you can give me a will to live. Stop acting so controlling because it's only hurting you."

"How is what I'm doing hurting me?"

She looked up at him with those dim dying eyes, "Because you think you're making a difference and you're not."

Jacob paced outside the bedroom door while Sue and Leah were with Bella. Sue was taking blood this time. She brought a scale too. He had no idea what her starting weight was or how low it had gotten but she was 83 pounds as of today. Both Leah and Sue gave him hopeless looks. She was always on the petite side, maybe that wasn't too horrible. He didn't know for sure. Yeah, he did. She was bad off.

Leah came out first. "Mom's giving her some medicine to help her rest. She said she feels like throwing up."

"Throwing up what? She stopped eating anything yesterday."

"I don't know, man. Look, I turned the other way for the most part, but I had to help her out of the tub and I dried her off. She's like a few sticks put together. I was worried the whole time I'd break her. Mom wants to talk to her doctor friend. He has helped with some private issues before. She trusts him and we can hide the scars, maybe. She needs an intervention and a feeding tube."

"She'll rip it out. We already discussed it."

"Yeah, she probably will. Jake, I'm sorry to be the one that speaks the truth, but maybe... I mean, you might have to accept things."

"By things, you mean letting her starve herself until she dies?"

Sue interrupted Leah's answer which no doubt would be blunt and the last thing Jacob wanted to hear. "Jacob, she needs serious help. I can only do so much here."

He looked inside the room where Bella was covered up to her chin in the blankets. She was out cold or so he thought. She rasped out a few incoherent words.

"What Bells?"

"Blood. Give me more of Jake's blood."

That was surprising. A few minutes ago Bella told him what he did for her didn't change anything and now she wanted something to make her better. She rarely made sense.

"Those effects were temporary and Jacob can't donate so soon. It hasn't even been ten days."

"Sue, please. It's me. I regenerated in a few hours, I'm sure."

"I don't know. I'm not sure what Dr. Cul..."

"Don't mention his name."

Sue apologized and asked to speak to Jacob outside the bedroom. She cautioned Jacob about the procedure. He was willing to give it a shot, but he needed to speak to Bella again to figure out her motives.

"Bells..." she didn't move. "Bella, wake up. Why?"

She opened her eyes. "Why what?"

"Why do you want more blood?"

"To get better."

"That's a lie. Tell the truth or the answer's no."

"Fine. I want it to not feel pathetic and weak even if it's only a few hours. I want to imagine that I can stand up for myself or kick some ass. I know it's delusional, but it's better than this, isn't it? I fall asleep every five minutes. Maybe you could give me more this time and it would work even better."

"Oh, hell no. You sure you're not a bloodsucker?"

"Leah!"

"No, she's asking to bleed you dry, so she can feel better about her pathetic state for a few hours. I'm sorry, but you are a fucking selfish bitch. Jacob has his entire life on hold and you don't give a shit about anyone but yourself. Tell her no, Mom. It puts Jacob at risk. You got a bum deal. We all agree on that, but you put yourself in harm's way over and over. At some point, you need to take responsibility for that. This shit is getting old and it's only been a week. You could make the choice to drink the protein shakes or eat something. The strength will come slow, naturally."

"Leah, enough."

"No Jake, she wants to use your blood like a junkie taking a hit, and if you do it you're enabling her. Make her find inner strength instead."

"I have none, but you're right Leah. I'm a selfish bitch for asking. Forget it. I don't want the transfusion. Everybody get out of my room and let me sleep. Get out! Get the fuck out and let me die!"

Sue and Jacob started backing up, but Leah had to have the final word. "It's my room!" She slammed the door on Bella so hard the whole cabin quaked. Seth came through the front door to see what was wrong.

Leah pointed at Jacob. "Him, bro. Our alpha. I wanted to blame her for this, but you know what I just realized. We are all in this damn mess because of Jacob. You should have cut ties with her the second the tick summoned her with his fake suicide. She left you for him with no hesitation after all you did for her. When she returned with him and you let her worm her way back in, you fucked all our existence. Whatever bad things happened since are your fault, Jacob."

Leah pulled Seth out of the cabin and left Sue alone with Jacob.

"I'm sorry. She gets overly passionate and little mean when she's afraid. No matter what she says, I know my daughter and she cares about you and Bella too. I don't think we should try another transfusion."

"But will you, Sue? One more and I swear I'll never ask for another. Bella will have to find her strength elsewhere, but this time I won't be distracted with Sam. I can help her through it and maybe the effects will be long-lasting."

"Okay, I suppose I can bring what we need tomorrow morning, but today get plenty of rest, good food and hydration."

"I will, but one more favor, please."

"Sure. What else can I do for you?"

"Could you cook me something good? I'm so sick of ham and turkey sandwiches."

"Well, you're juiced up. Feel any different?"

"Thirsty maybe."

"Yeah, me too. I'll go get us some OJ and a bottle of water." Jacob stood up and the world went dark for a second. Sue and Seth caught him before he went down.

"Back to bed unless you want to spend a few hours on the floor. I'm not sure we can put you back in the bed if you faint."

"I can, Mom. Jeez, I'm almost as strong as Jake."

Jacob frowned at the young wolf. "Come again?"

"It was too much, wasn't it? I told Sue to stop and you kept saying a little more."

Jacob fell back on the mattress and let Sue go to the kitchen for him. He just needed a few more minutes. He might be woozy from the blood loss, but Bells almost sounded like she cared. "I'm fine. I'll be 110% in an hour."

Sue and Seth brought trays with an assortment of snacks and drinks. "No, today you're on strict bed rest. You and Bella both should take it easy. Last time she burned out too quickly. Eat, drink and rest. That's an order and I don't care if you're a new alpha. I'm a mother. A mother can override pack hierarchy."

"Yes, ma'am. We'll be good. Thanks Sue. You bring new meaning to the word lifesaver."

Bella agreed with him for a change. "Thank you. I'm feeling better again. Have you talked to Dad?"

"A few times. He's distressed, but there's some mischief going on at the high school. He has something to keep busy even if it doesn't completely take his mind off worrying. I didn't want to say anything, but he called... well, you know who he called. Charlie was told Bella was better, but had left without a word."

"What? When?"

"Last night, apparently."

"Oh my God. I wonder what's going through his mind?"

"Well, he was somewhat relieved because he thought that meant you recovered, but now he has new worries like why did you leave, where are you, why haven't you called?"

"Bells, I think we need to come up with something so you can call Charlie."

"I'm afraid."

"I know, but Charlie's suffering."

Bella took a drink and picked up a piece of fruit. Jacob wasn't going to push her today since they both needed a calm day, but he would bring it up again. Those shifty fuckers. He wondered why the Cullens told Charlie that information? It would have been better not to answer. They were up to something. He was sure of it. Sam's pack was keeping a decent watch on them, but Embry had been by once. He told Jacob Sam said it wasn't their only priority. It was weird to talk to Emb after everything that went down. So far, he was the only one that made direct contact and things were awkward. Maybe Leah wasn't the only one that blamed Jacob. They all probably carried some sort of grudge against him and the way things went down with Sam.

"Jacob, your father misses you as well. Maybe you should take your own advice and call Billy?"

"I will. I'll call after I get a nap. Thanks again. I know you have to get to work."

"Seth has school, but Leah will be close. Call if you need anything else. Don't forget not to push yourself at least 24 hours."

Jacob and Bella both ate their snacks. He ate three times as much as she did, but it was progress. He swore she ate more from their trays than she'd eaten in four solid days. A nap sounded good. He slept like shit the night before worrying if he was doing the right thing and a little more than he wanted about the things Leah said to him.

"I'm going to close my eyes. You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm going to sleep a little too. Last night sucked. You kept moving."

"Oh, sorry. I could've gone to the couch. I didn't know I was keeping you awake."

"No. It was more than that."

Jacob relaxed and turned on his side with his back to Bella. He doubted he needed more than five minutes to drift off.

"So Leah's pretty protective of you. I didn't realize you'd gotten so close to her."

Jacob slowly rolled back just enough to eye Bells over his shoulder. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. I just didn't realize."

"Well, I'm not sure what you're realizing. Be more specific."

"I think she has a crush is all, unless it's more."

"A crush?" He laughed out loud. Leah would be laughing louder if she was inside and heard that absurd comment. He calmed down enough to ask what she meant by more.

"Did something happen or is something going on between the two of you? She gave up her cabin without hesitation and she's here night and day it seems. She hates my guts, so I'm starting to assume it's jealousy."

"Stop, Bells. I can't be overexerted right now and you're being hilarious for a change. Leah is like a sister, probably closer to me than my actual sisters, but no, nothing happened or is going on. She most certainly doesn't have a crush on me, but the fact that it bothers you she might is duly noted."

"Oh, it doesn't bother me. I'm happy for the two of you, so you don't have to pretend. Like I said before, nothing affects my final outcome."

"Go to sleep, Bells and stop over-thinking."

"I'm not. I was merely having a conversation. Do you prefer when I don't speak at all?"

"No. I hate that shit, but since we both agreed to take a nap, how about saving the conversation for when I'm ready to wake up?"

"No problem."

"Good. We'll catch up in a few hours, but not about Leah. I think it might help if you start talking about your feelings a little more."

"Are you studying psychology in your spare time? You keep spouting off lingo that's uncommon for a teenage boy."

"Spare time? Be real, you, Bells take up all my time."

~Thanks for reading.

Thoughts, predictions, interpretations? All I can tell you is next two chapters will be major.