Jacob

Jacob watched as Edward built a fire in the fireplace. He'd never had a reason to use a fireplace before: honestly, he'd never even seen one in real life, so to see it now was an experience. Edward came back to the couch, and they sat in quiet for a long time, neither of them feeling the need to talk. The house grew quiet around them. Hannah, Bella and Mike all had reasons to get up early the next morning. So did Edward, but he didn't make any move to go to bed, and Jacob wasn't in the mood to push him. He thought back to his last conversation with Sam.

"Do you think you're going to look for a place for yourself?" Sam asked. The idea had crossed Jacob's mind, but he wasn't sure what he thought about it. It was one thing to come here for Edward and help him recover, but it was different to look at the long term.

"I don't know," he said, doubt creeping into his voice.

"Well, you can't stay with Bella forever, can you?" Sam said, as though it were obvious to him that Jacob would look at the long term.

"Well, I just… You know, I thought that when this was all over, I'd go back to Clearwater."

"Is it heading that direction?" Sam asked carefully.

"Not yet, but there's no telling what-"

"Jacob," Sam gave a sigh. "It doesn't hurt to hope for what you want."

"I know," Jacob said. But deep inside, he knew Sam was wrong. It was all well and good for Sam, he thought. He'd had Jared almost from day one. But Jacob didn't see the same thing happening for himself. He could see the way this played out, had watched it happen in his mind's eye a million times. Yes, He and Edward were happy now. But sooner or later, this would end and Edward would move on, and there would be no need for Jacob anymore.

Jacob blinked when he felt the gentle pressure of Edward's hand on his. He glanced down, and then laced his fingers in Edward's.

"Aren't you tired?" He asked. Edward shrugged.

"Not really." But then he yawned, his body betraying him.

"Go on to bed," Jacob said. "I'm going to stay here for a while and keep an eye on the fire."

"You don't have to," Edward said. The fire was burning low anyway, so Edward took the shovel and spread out the glowing embers, letting them go out by themselves. He sat back down next to Jacob, and they watched the glow slowly die. As the last sparks died, it struck Jacob that he was going to lose Edward. He was sure of it. In the bedroom, Edward flopped down across the bed. Jacob watched him, and he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. Happy Edward was just so… different from sick Edward, even though nothing had really changed from the day before. Edward was still tiny, still looked like a strong wind could break him. Physically, he hadn't changed at all, and yet he seemed so happy. And this was what Jacob wanted for him. He was changing in the bathroom when he heard his ring tone.

"Can you get that?" He asked. At this hour, the only person calling him would be Sam.

"Hello?" Edward's voice from the other room. "Yeah, he's just changing. Yeah, of course. Here you go," Edward said, handing the phone to Jacob when Jacob came in.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Jacob, we just talked to Detective Walters. They just found your mom." If Jacob didn't know Sam as well as he did, he would not have believed the words he just heard.

"My mother is dead," he said.

"No, she isn't. Walters is going to Cincinnati to talk to you about it. He should be there tomorrow."

"They're wrong," Jacob repeated. "This is some kind of mistake."

"I wanted to give you a heads up," Sam said. "I know this is a shock. I didn't want you to get the visit from Walters and be completely unprepared."

"Put me on video. I need to talk to Embry," Jacob said. Sam hesitated.

"He's not here," he said. "He took off this morning, and he hasn't been back." Jacob wasn't surprised. Embry was never one for close connection, even before everything. Eventually, when Sam knew he couldn't do any more good, he hung up. Edward sat on the bed, looking like he wished he could give some excuse to leave. Jacob couldn't stay here. He was going to say or do something he regretted if he didn't get out now. He dropped the phone on the bedside table, and picked up his coat.

"Where are you going?" Edward asked.

"I don't know," Jacob said. "I don't care."

"I'm coming with you," Edward said, getting up immediately.

"You have school in the morning," Jacob said, a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I don't care," Edward shook his head.

"No. You need to put your own priorities first, and I need some time to process this on my own." Reluctantly, Edward sat back down. Jacob left, quiet as a shadow past the other bedrooms. He stalked out to his car, backed out of the driveway, and just drove. Rage grew inside him, rage that he couldn't continue to push down. He wasn't shocked that they'd found his mother. And he knew that Embry wasn't either. He knew it, because he'd always known she wasn't dead. They both did. And after the rescue, it was an unspoken agreement between them never to talk about it. He pulled off the side of the road and rested his head back against the headrest, and closed his eyes. So there mom was back in the picture. He thought back to when he'd last seen his mother. At that theme part, walking away. But she hadn't just walked away. She'd set up the kidnapping. And from what Embry had found out since they'd been rescued, she wanted to have some kind of ransom scenario that would serve to further their father's career with a heavy sympathy vote, but what she did instead was allow her sons into a world of the lowest of human depravity. Embry had found her, back in Moscow, living her life. And initially, he wanted to reach out and ask her why, but Jacob was the one who told him they shouldn't. They didn't need to know why. It didn't matter. Still, Jacob knew that there was an arrow in Embry's quiver that had her name on it. It became easier to just say she was dead, though, because she was dead to them. Now that she was back in the picture, they would have to tell the others. He knew that Sam would understand, but it was a conversation he didn't want to have.

He sighed. It was so, so much. He wanted to just let it all go. His phone buzzed, and this time, it was a video chat request from Embry. He answered immediately.

"What the fuck happened? He asked, turning the overhead light on so his brother could see his face.

"She found detectives. Apparently, Dad was having an affair, and the woman who died in the accident with him was the mistress. The news about our escape reached Moscow, and she came back to the states," Embry signed.

"So, what did you tell the detectives?"

"The truth," Embry said. "I told them about the staged kidnapping that turned out to be real, and that she was responsible."

"Good," Jacob said. That was something, then.

"She wants to meet us," Embry signed. "I told the detectives that there was no way in hell we'd be willing to meet her." Jacob tried not to let his expression change, but Embry was too perceptive. "What, you want to meet her?" He asked.

"I want answers," Jacob said. "I want to know why."

"You're just poking a sleeping beast," Embry said. "Fine, meet with her. Get your answers. I will not be joining you. I never want to see her face again."

"Are you sure?" Jacob asked, not sure if he was asking if Embry was fine with him meeting their mother, or fine with not coming with him. Embry's face softened.

"I'm sure. If you think it would help you to find closure and peace, then I think it would be good for you. Either way, as long as you come out of it with what you want, it would be worth it. Just be careful."

Jacob drove back to Bella's house, feeling… he wasn't sure. His mother was back. He'd wanted this chance for so long, to ask her why, and how could she? And now, here was his chance. His only question now was, did he really want to know? He made his way through the dark house, to his bedroom. The light was on, and he wasn't all that surprised to see Edward awake, reading in the bed. He stood in the doorway for a long minute, and then crossed to the bed and sat down. He took his time with his shoes and coat, and didn't answer right away when Edward asked him if he was okay. Finally, still in his jeans and shirt, he lay back against the pillow.

"I don't know," he said. "But I need to tell you something."