Chapter Thirteen
A/N at the end of why it's a day late.
-0-
It's gotta get easier and easier somehow
But not today
Not Today - Imagine Dragons
-0-
I wasn't coping as well as I had hoped. I was trying my hardest to be proactive and take a stand against my heartache. I wasn't ignoring it but I was trying to work through it. The sad thing was, it hurt too much to ignore. I carried it with me everywhere, the heartache even followed me into my dreams. Which made what little sleep I was getting impossible to hold on to. It felt so much more than just grieving the end of a relationship, it was deeper, more primal than anything I'd ever felt before. It was something at the very core of who I was.
I missed him. I missed him more than I ever thought it was possible to miss someone. But I wouldn't break, i wouldn't become my sister, a zombie, a shell of who I was. No matter how much I just wanted to run away or hide until this pain stopped, I didn't. I fought through it, I acknowledged it, but I wouldn't break.
"You think there was maybe something more going on?"
"I don't know Mom, all I know is standing there in front of him, that wasn't my Jacob. He looked like him, kind of, even the way he looked at me sometimes was the same, but it sure didn't sound like him." I whispered, shaking my head and wiping away the tears as I looked at my Mom's sympathetic face through the computer.
"Well maybe, maybe give a day or two and go back. Talk to him, alone without an audience." she suggested, her voice soft. All I wanted right now was to fall into my Mom's arm and cry but I couldn't, so I'd taken the steps to do the next best thing.
Thank God for Skype right?
"It just doesn't make sense, any of it. You know, that night before he went to the movies it was amazing between us, we were strong, solid." I said, smiling sadly as I remembered how he'd held me. "I know him Mom, better than anyone else, i have to believe there was something more going on, that maybe he's trying to protect me because if this is really how he wants it to end then I feel like everything else was a lie. That maybe I didn't know him at all."
"Then you should talk to him, if that's how you feel."
"Or maybe I'm just being pathetic and I need to learn to let go." I whispered, my internal doubt seeping through. I looked at my Mom, hoping she'd tell me if I was being pathetic.
"Don't you dare think like that young lady!" Mom admonished through the screen. "Where does your sister fit into all of this?" she asked and I rolled my eyes, unable to help myself. I hadn't spoken to Bella in two days, despite her attempts. I was angry.
"Bella's Bella, as long as she's feeling okay screw everyone else right?" I said bitterly, feeling my defences fly up at the mention of my sister. The one person I should be able to talk to was the one person who I didn't want to be around right now.
"That doesn't sound like your sister, honey."
"Yeah, it doesn't sound like the old Bella but now, I don't who she is. Jacob's friendship seems to make her feel good which was great but she's always there. Even the other day when I finally got to talk to him, she stayed behind after I left, stood on the porch as though she had some God given right to be there and I didn't." I spat out.
My temper got the better of me and I pushed away from my desk, combing my fingers through my hair as I attempted to calm the anger Bella seemed to incite in me. "All she cares about is what Jacob can do for her, that just for a little while she stops pining over the dick who left her alone in the middle of the forest. Screw me, screw the fact that Jacob was my boyfriend and she stood there as my heart broken and did nothing..." I stopped and shook my head, squeezing my eyes tightly shut as I felt those traitorous tears fall over my cheeks.
"Oh baby, I wish I could hold you right now." My Mom sighed sadly. I knew she didn't know what to say, what to think about Bella's attitude. It didn't sound like Bella, and I knew that. If I were her, part of me would wondering if I was simply exaggerating, but I wasn't. Bella wasn't the same anymore and that on top of my heartache over Jacob, made it feel like too much.
-0-
It was Spring Break week and I'd taken a pro-active step in my heartache and decided that instead of wallowing, I had to move, I had to do something. If I didn't I ran the risk of becoming like Bella and no matter what, I wasn't going to be a zombie, a shell of myself over some guy. So I was working, like most of my friends were in a bid to get some extra spends to go towards our last summer before college. Luckily for me, working in the café saw my hours increase once spring break hit, so yeah, I had the perfect distraction though to be truthful my thoughts were never far away from Jacob.
I couldn't seem to let go, despite what I'd told him I'd try to do. Something about the whole situation didn't sit right with me and had me thinking that maybe I walked away too soon, but what choice did I have. Maybe I should have stayed and fought a little harder, made him tell me what was wrong instead of just shutting down. I knew Jacob, whether he believed it or not I knew him, probably better than anybody else on the planet. We'd always had a connection, he'd always been my best friend, even during those years we were apart, I'd always remembered him which is why it was so easy to reconnect when we returned to Forks.
I'd given up too easily, accepted his rejection without no argument and I knew why, Bella. Seeing her there, that day had amplified all those negative feelings inside, every insecurity I had about myself. When she'd gone into Jacob's house, with Sam Uley and the others, it made everything ten times worse. It was bad enough that Sam was involved but seeing her be part of it, hurt more than I could ever try to explain. Like I truly couldn't understand why he was letting her in and shutting me out and then it hit me.
It was Bella…
It was all Bella. Whatever was going on had something to do with her. She'd latched onto Jacob in a way I'd always known made me uncomfortable but because she seemed better we had all accepted it. Now I was realising in Edward's absence she was using Jacob, my Jacob to keep herself together. It was almost like she'd declared right over Jacob and that made my blood boil. It was something more though, something else was going on, I felt it.
There was something tickling at my subconscious, fragments of our last conversation filtering through into my head. As I stood washing dishes in the back kitchen of the café those fragments began to slowly piece together…
Enormous wolves in the meadow. Wolves big enough to scare off a vampire. That feeling of warmth and safety when confronted with such creatures. The Quileute boys who seemed to grow overnight. Jacob calling Sam Uley's gang, his pack…strength that shouldn't be possible, the howling that followed me into my dreams. Beautiful intelligent dark eyes that were so incredibly familiar…
"A lot of the legends claim to date back to the Flood – another legend claims that we descended from wolves – and that wolves are our brothers still. It's actually against tribal law to kill them…"
"Wow…" I whispered, leaning in just a little closer to my boy-friend as the rest of the senior camp out mulled around us, not paying attention to his story.
"According to legend it was my great-grandfather who made the treaty to keep the cold ones off our land, he knew some of them." This time Jacob rolled his eyes, obviously not a believer. Fact or fiction I didn't care I was a captivated audience.
"Your great-grandfather?" I enquired, smiling slightly as he threaded our fingers together.
"He was a tribal elder, like my Dad. See, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf – well, not the wolf really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."
"Werewolf!" I gasped, the word sounding somewhat right despite how outrageous is also sounded.
Then as a sharp, violent pain ripped through my hand and up my arm I gasped for another reason and yanked my hand out of the water.
Blood began to quickly run down my arm, dripping heavily from the deep laceration just between my index finger and middle finger and going down around an inch into the palm of my hand. Not thinking I grabbed the nearest towel and pressed it into the palm of my hand, whimpering as I did, calling out for our cook I cradled my arm to my chest tightly. Using my free hand, I yanked the plug out the sink, glaring down at the broken glass in the basin. Shaking my head, I looked at my hand, trying my best not to hurl.
"Holy crap werewolves…"
-0—
Unfortunately, the injury to my hand, warranted a trip to the ER as the bleeding was quite excessive and the cut quite deep. Once there and after Dad's frantic arrival into the ER I received 8 stitches, had my hand bandaged up, was prescribed some painkillers and sent on my merry way. The whole thing took a few hours into the afternoon, which I wasn't too happy about but the worst part was the injury to my hand took me out of work for the rest of the week, so there went my big saving plans. Then again, my head was so tore up over everything I'd worked out over the last week or so that I was kind of glad.
When the hell did all those creatures I'd only read about and seen in movies suddenly become real and part of my world. Why was my sister involved with vampires? Why had one been trying to kill her? Why was she attached to Jacob and his…pack? Was it possible everything I'd ever read about; every monster, was actually real? When did my life become something out of a Stephen King novel?
"Grace did you hear that?"
"What?" I turned from the window to look at my Dad, clearly not having realised I'd just spaced out on him and whatever he'd been saying. Dad's eyes narrowed on me a little bit before he refocused on the road.
"Maybe I should just take the rest of the day off…"
"No don't be silly, I just got lost in my head a little. I'll be fine." I assured him, desperate to get home and changed out of my blood speckled white shirt I wore for work. That and I just wanted to sleep, I was exhausted, too much was happening and emotionally I was ready. My world was changing too much and too fast for me to try and keep up and I couldn't shake that voice in the back of my head that told me it wasn't going to get any better. "Besides Bella's in, I'll be fine."
"Actually, your sisters spending the day down at La Push." Dad said, shooting a glance at me to clearly gauge my reaction. Biting my tongue, I nodded my head, trying not to let the knowledge that she was down there, yet again, bother me. But it did, it really bothered me.
"Of course, she is." I muttered. Shrugging my shoulders, I sighed, "Doesn't matter though I'll be okay, I'm just gonna get some studying in whilst the house is quiet then." I said, forcing a smile onto my face. I wouldn't even have Kitchi to keep me company because as he usually did when the house was empty, Dad would take the dog to the station with him. Which is where he was now most likely, getting fussed on by the receptionist.
"Maybe not." Dad said as we slowly began to pull up outside the house. Frowning I followed his line of sight and felt my heart skip a beat.
Jacob.
My Jacob.
What was he doing here?
"Need me to stick around?" Dad asked, already unbuckling his seat belt. Managing to somehow pull my focus off Jacob I shook my head, not really wanting Dad to stick around for the part where Jacob and I rehashed the events of the other day out again…I assumed that's what he was here to do…and where was Bella?
"No, I'm good...can you grab some dinner from the diner?" I asked, hoping to distract Dad from his wanting to stay. At my question, he smiled and nodded his head, before reminding me he was just a phone call away if I needed him. Leaning over to press a kiss to my Dad's cheek I reluctantly climbing out of the police car. Supressing a chill, I closed the door, keeping my eyes on the vehicle until it disappeared back down the street.
"What happened to your hand?" Jacob demanded. Turning around to him I frowned, holding my bandaged hand at my side.
"What are you doing here?" I threw back at him, ignoring his question.
"Grace…" Jacob said my name in such a way it made him sound like he was in pain. His eyes met mine, his expression shifting into something I thought I recognised. I studied his features, trying to figure it out and he swallowed under my scrutiny…but he didn't look away.
"I cut it, in work." I shrugged, awkwardly pulling at the cuff of my shirt. I glanced at Jacob, not missing the way his body seemed to ripple at the sight of it. "Just needed a couple stitches…but I'm okay." I added, feeling the need to assure him.
We shifted into an awkward silence, his dark eyes studying me in a way I knew should have felt uncomfortable but the burning intensity of it seemed to warm me and fill me with such a feeling of safety. Every part of me just wanted to reach out for him, to wrap myself into those incredible arms and push away all the badness and the distance that grown between us over the last few weeks.
I didn't.
"What are you doing here Jake?" I asked, forcing down the real question I wanted to ask. For some reason the idea he was a werewolf didn't bother me as much as I thought it should.
"I needed to see you, I mean…I shouldn't be here but I…" he said, his shoulders slumping in resignation. "I've been trying to fight it, to keep you safe to keep you out of this but I can't fight anymore."
"Fight what Jake?" I asked, taking a cautious step forward but maintaining the distance between us I think for my own sake.
"The imprint." It sounded like the words were being torn out of him, but at the same time there seemed to be a slight relief in the reveal.
There was a pause.
"What is that?" I asked finally.
"I should have told you sooner but I didn't."
"Why not?"
"Because I didn't want to."
"Then why are you here Jacob? I told you to stay away because I can't do this, if you don't want to be honest with me..."
"I want you." he told me, and I was stunned by the raw intensity in his expression. "I want so much, but I didn't want to..." he trailed off, his frustration clear
I frowned, somewhat confused. The conversation felt like it should be moving somewhere but it wasn't, like Jacob had something to say but at the same time didn't want to. Combing the fingers of my uninjured hand through my hair I moved to sit on the porch steps, keeping my eyes downcast, studying my bandage for a moment. I could feel Jake's eyes on me the entire time, so it was no surprise when I finally looked up and met his gaze head on. He was waiting for something, I could see it in those beautiful eyes of his…
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I clasped my hands together.
"Jake…are you a werewolf?"
Jacob nodded bleakly.
It was insane. All of it, completely insane. This town, were myths were real. Where creatures from fairy tales lived. The monsters from all those horror stories we listened to as kids, existed…they did. That's when I felt the world spin violently beneath me, making me glad I had been sat down. I shook my head, trying to shake away the buzzing in my ears.
Whilst I'd believed it and figured it out in my own head, Jacob confirming it really made it hit home for me in a way I probably hadn't been truly ready for. So, Laurent had really been a vampire, the wolves in the forest had been Jacob and his pack? They'd saved us that day…
"How did you know?"
"I pay attention but I guess that day in meadow sort of kicked it all off." I said. I took a deep breath, held the air in my lungs for a moment, then exhaled slowly. "The Cullen's, they never sat right with me. There was something…and it wasn't until that man, Laurent in the meadow…how fast he moved, his eyes, how strong…he would have killed me…"
"No, he wouldn't…" A black cloud passed over Jacob's face, he gritted his teeth and shuddered slightly.
"You saved me that day, saved us…you and um…the pack?" I asked. He nodded again, the shuddering slowing to stop and I smiled slightly, despite the headache threatening to tear my head into two. "I knew it. I would have recognised those beautiful eyes anywhere."
Jacob's eyes snapped to mine, a raw intensity in his gaze. He seemed to relax a little, the tension in his shoulders subsiding. His gaze getting warmer the longer he stared. In fact, it was starting to get hot. I swallowed and patted the spot next to me, my neck beginning to hurt from looking up at him.
"You're taking this well." He commented, slowly moving to sit beside me whilst maintaining an appropriate space between us. A space I was grateful for because no matter how much I was dying to reach out and wrap my arms around him, the bruising around my heart over how things had gone between us was still painful and raw.
"Yeah, I don't think so. There's a lot to process." I admitted, surprised myself by how I was taking everything. I felt like I should be freaking out, running through town screaming and warning everyone but at the same time, another part of me just as easily accepted the weird. Like this was a part of my life and always had been, which was ridiculous because prior to living here there'd been nothing weird in my life. In fact, my life had been routine, quiet…but I liked it.
"You're a werewolf." I said, watching Jacob's face closely. He was giving me a slightly uncertain look before nodding his head. "And Bella knows?" I asked, hating the way that made me feel. Of course, she knew, this all seemed to centre around her, all of this confusion and weirdness seemed to begin and end with her. Jacob nodded again and I looked away, "Of course she does…." I said bitterly. This year was not turning out like I'd hoped.
Things were getting too hard.
"Do you realise how you've made me feel?" I snapped, surprising even myself with the outburst but I couldn't help it. Jacob opened his mouth to reply but I pushed up from the steps and stood, keeping my back to him for a moment before turning around, cursing the tears that had already begun to form. "You shut me out and…you know, now I think understand why but you let her back in
"I needed to protect you Grace! I wanted to find a way out of it." Jacob exclaimed, pushing himself up and making a move to step towards me, but holding my hand up I stopped him in his tracks. I watched as a flash of pain crossed his face but I didn't budge, I couldn't. "As for Bella, I didn't tell her, she worked it out herself which wasn't hard considering her ties with the Cullen's."
Every nightmare I'd ever had about Edward flashed into my mind.
"It's safer, her being at La Push." He stated and I frowned in confusion. "It keeps her away from here, from you…the red headed vampire Victoria, we can track her better on our lands…away from Forks…"
Away from me?
I heard the implication even if he hadn't said anything. Jacob's way of trying to keep me safe, keep my Dad and the people of this town safe was to keep the one Victoria was after away from here. Which was why Bella was there and I wasn't.
"The murdered hikers…that's her?" I asked, feeling an explosion of fear erupt inside my chest. My Dad was investigating those killings, he had patrols out in the woods looking for what they thought were a murderous pack of wolves.
I had to tell my Dad.
But I couldn't.
What defence would he have against a vampire? The strength they had, the speed…
Covering my face with my hands I turned away from him. This was all too much; the enormity of the situation was hitting me hard and all I wanted was to get in the house and crawl into bed. My head pounded painfully as I forced my lungs to take a deep breath in. Already I hated the tears that spilled over my cheeks, but I didn't fight them there was just too much…too much and I couldn't hold any of it in.
I had questions. I had so many questions about Laurent, Victoria and so much more, like what was this imprint he'd spoken about but I couldn't ask. I couldn't ask because I wasn't sure there was any more room left inside me to try and process anything else. There was too much. There was too much and I couldn't even find it in me to be angry anymore. I was hurt.
Boy was I hurt…
…and part of me feared that I'd be feeling like that for a long time. But there was one thing I knew for sure, one need I found it easy to focus on. I needed my best friend, I needed comfort and his warmth and just something that was real, solid. Something that I was sure on.
I turned around and before I could even process the broken look on Jake's face when he looked at me, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his back, pressing myself into his chest. His arms instinctively wrapped around my shoulders and for just a moment I felt something I'd missed desperately click back into place as we stood there holding each other as close together as we could get.
His hand tangled loosely into my hair as he pressed his lips to the side of my head, releasing a rapid, shaky exhale as he continued to hold onto me tightly with his other arm.
I was home. This, right here just holding onto him felt like I'd finally returned home.
I'd missed him dreadfully.
On the one hand his touch felt just like it always had, but in another I felt the beginning of something deep within my bones. The most delicious warmth I'd ever felt. I felt comforted, safe and…relaxed…but most of all I finally felt whole. I had my Jacob back in my arms. I was back where I belonged…
"I tried so hard to stay away…to keep you safe but I can't do it anymore Grace." He whispered, his mouth dropping to my ear. "I can't not be near you."
"Then stop pushing me away Jake." I whispered, pressing my lips together. "Let's just try and figure all this out together…we're a team, we always have been…we work better together." I reminded him, reluctantly pulling back far enough so I could look at him.
His fingers gently brushed away the tears on my cheeks before his head came down, his forehead resting against mine. I wasn't sure what the next step was for us, my head was so jumbled I was surprised I even had the capability of forming words. I could only hope that now, now that we'd somewhat bridged the gap between us we could move back towards something great again.
"There's so much more I need to tell you." Jacob whispered, an arm dropping to wrap securely around my waist as we enjoyed these lingering moments.
I wanted him to tell me everything. I truly did and I didn't want him to leave, but I knew myself well enough that I needed a few hours on my own. I needed to try and make everything right in my head. I don't know how Bella had taken all these discoveries but something told me she'd dived head first in, obviously not thinking about what kind of consequences would follow.
"Can you tell me tomorrow?" I asked gently. Jacob lifted his head enough to look at me, his expression confused as he gaped at me. I sighed softly and looked down, letting my eyes linger on his shirt clad chest for a moment. "I'm tired Jake. There's been a lot to try and digest and my head, I just need some space to make it all right up here…." I tapped my fingers to my temple with my injured hand.
Jacob's larger hand engulfed my wrist ever so gently and I could see a look of understanding flood over his features. Carefully he lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to my fingers, just below the bandages and I smiled.
"Tomorrow." He agreed, his large palm gently rested against my cheek and I could feel his reluctance, his desire to stay and tell me everything but I also knew he would go. He would leave like I wanted him to, go away and come right back tomorrow so we could talk some more. "It's a date." He said softly, only the hint of one of those sunny smiles on his face as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead, lingering for just a moment before stepping back and completely severing out connection.
Letting my hands fall to my sides I forced a smile onto my face and nodded. "It's a date." I repeated, all but forcing myself to step around him and towards the house, slowly making my way up onto the porch and pushing the key into the front door.
I felt his eyes stay on me as I stepped into the house.
I didn't look back.
-0-
Vampires.
Werewolves.
They were all real and in some way, they were now a part of my life.
In a strange sort of way, I could easily try to accept it but in another my mind simply fought against the insanity of it all. For lack of a better term, my world had been turned upside down and completely smashed to pieces.
Up to a couple of weeks ago my biggest concern had been my college applications and my upcoming AP exams but now, now I had to worry about vampire's intent on revenge against Bella's ex, coming and killing us all in our sleep. What made it worse was that Bella had knowingly brought all of it into our lives. She'd pursued Edward, been obsessed from the day we'd met him and now…now I'd almost been killed by a vampire in the Meadow, the love of my life was a werewolf and my gut was telling me that what happened to her in Phoenix had all been down to a vampire as well.
She'd brought all of this into our lives and from what I could tell, didn't care. She didn't care about what her fraternisation with the Cullen's could potentially do to Dad and I. Didn't care that she'd brought danger into our home day after day.
Part of me wanted to lash out, to lash out against her and try to find out why she'd done this but I also found I didn't care. I mean, I did care and I was angry but I also knew there'd be no point lashing out at her…the way Bella right now. She was selfish, right now no one mattered to her more than Edward…or in his absence, my Jacob.
So, I avoided her, not that I think it mattered to her anymore. I had dinner with Dad and then hid away in my bedroom under the pretence of studying, an excuse which wasn't completely a lie. In a bid to try and distract my mind I studied, but all too soon the tiredness crept back in despite it only being early. I listened to my body though and soon found myself curled beneath my covers.
Tomorrow Jacob and I would talk some more, we would hopefully get everything completely out in the open and then be able to figure out where we stood.
I loved him.
Always had and always would there was no denying that. I just hoped that it would be enough to move past all these weeks of hurt and Bella. I'd known there was something behind his pushing me away, but I doubt anything could have prepared for this truth. He was a werewolf. It was hard to swallow, hard to believe. My mind struggled to accept this truth because it didn't fit with what I knew to real. None of it fit. Then there was Bella, I was so tired of worrying about Bella.
There was no doubt in my mind she'd take our reunion bad, I honestly don't even think she realised we were together. So wrapped up in herself, she probably hadn't noticed when Jacob and I had become more than friends. If we were being honest though I didn't care how she'd take it, I didn't care if she'd feel like I was taking something away from her.
I loved Jacob and I knew he loved me. Bella had no input on what we did. Jacob was keeping her safe and I appreciated that but I also knew that by having her there, he was doing his best to keep my Dad and I safe as well…but could we move past this? Could we move past the heartache he'd caused me, could I forgive him?
Letting my eyes wander to the photo frame on my bedside cabinet I smiled sadly. Hopefully everything would become more clearer tomorrow. Hopefully all of this would seem so insane, I could accept he was a werewolf…. a hell of a lot easier than I'd thought I would…maybe I could make peace with the rest of it…
Sighing softly, I closed my eyes. I'd figure it out tomorrow…
I hoped.
-0-
Okay so update! I was meant to post this last night however, my cat knocked my laptop off the desk and now I have to find somewhere that can fix it. I spent the majority of yesterday trying to get these files opened on my desktop by transferring all the data from the laptops hard drive and it took hours! I finally got in though and now you have the chapter.
So let me apologise in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes, the programme on my desktop is rubbish for checking but I did my best and did a read through. Hopefully we'll be sorted next chapter!
I hope you guys enjoyed it!
So Jacob is back and they've reunited, sort of. There's still a long way for them to go as Grace needs to figure out if she can forgive him. He also mentioned the imprint which they will revisit in upcoming chapters, which will hopefully allow Grace to understand why he did what he did and you guys too. He's got a long way to go, they both do before things are somewhat back to normal but this chapter was a step in the right direction...
I can't wait for you guys to read the next chapter, it's by far favourite up to now so I hope you'll like it too! Just how much more can Grace take?
As always thank you to the reviewers and new followers and favourites - The Goddess of War Athena, junebugserenee, XOXMaximumcullenXOX, Snow Wolf Alpha, Kagz419, a-a-aly
GodShynin300 - Thanks for the review lovely! No, he didn't make a mistake, he knew very well who he imprinted on. I don't think it's actually possible to mix up something like that. He was pushing her away for what he thinks is a good reason and he'll explain more about that over the next couple of chapters I promise. Bella, is Bella and I think all she can acknowledge right now is her own pain as we saw in the books and the movies, she didn't care about anyone else. When it came to Jacob I think all it was, was what he could offer her, an escape from the constant pain of Edward being gone. She loves her sister, she just can't express that love right now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Twin268 - Once again thank you for your lovely words love! Jacob was an arse as was Bella so I can understand your frustration, but maybe after this chapter and the ones to follow you can sort of begin to understand where Jacob was coming from, when he pushed her away. Jacob's been suffering, being away from her. The imprint calls for them to be together but to protect her from all the bad he's pushed her away, so he's been hurting as much as her but yes, I promise you'll see a little more of him dealing with the fallout of his actions. I think Bella and Grace are reaching a massive turning point in their relationship, the next few chapters are going to make or break them. I told you listening to the songs would help you better view the scene! So glad you liked it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
HighGuardian - Thank you for the review! Guys are stupid and Jacob especially in this chapter, but again I hope you stick with this story and come to understand and even forgive Jacob for what he's done. Hope you liked this chapter!
asiasea - Thanks for the review! Jacob and Bella are going to have to deal with the fall out of what they have done. Whilst she hasn't forgiven him, I think Grace is just thankful he wants to talk and explain. Jessica is a queen, I absolutely love her and I definitely think she deserved to be treated better than she was in the books. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Charlie's Looney - Thanks for such a wonderful review! I know the kind of stories you were talking about and I work hard to try and make Grace different than that. There's no way a person would find out about a world like this and be 100% okay, it's not normal. I'm glad you agree in regards to the actions of canon characters and how other people can be impacted. In this story especially I really wanted to high light how some of the actions made by these characters were extremely dangerous and toxic, not to just or them but the people outside their story. As for Grace she has been mature in handling things up to now because she's only just found out and I think a little bit of denial goes a long way in keeping just that little bit of sanity. She's not coping and she's reacting in a way I think a lot of us would, she's losing sleep, having nightmares, breaking down and I think in the following few chapters you're really going to see that come to a head. She's not coming out of this unscathed and a lot of characters have a lot to answer for. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
XOXMaximumcullenXOX - Thanks for the review lovely! So amazing to hear your obsessed with this story, makes me feel like I'm doing something right. As for Grace's pain, hopefully you can still feel how much she's struggling in this chapter and when we hit the next chapter, well thinks are about to blow up! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Snow Wolf Alpha - Thanks for the review! Jacob's confused and thinking he's doing the right thing pushing her away no matter how much it hurts. So yes, he's very miserable and they're a long way from being 'good' again! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Guest - Thanks for the review! I'm afraid I can't say much without spoiling the story but just to give you a little something. Jacob's going to fight like hell to keep Grace safe. Charlie's hearts in for a big shocker soon! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Kagz419 - Thanks for the review! Charlie's face would be priceless if she rocked up with a nose piercing, I can't just see it now lol! Bella's a long way from being a good sister, something big is going to have to happen to shock her back into reality I think. Grace does deserve the truth but she won't get that from Bella, sadly. As for Jacob, he's taken the first step now hopefully they can find forgiveness and move on together. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!