Nicki's POV:
I was house bound for nearly two weeks with the exception of school after that little episode with my heart. Charlie came and picked me up not even ten minutes after I finished talking, He drove me to the hospital with Carlisle trailing us. I spent the night in observation to make sure I was stable. Once I got checked out the next morning, I was free to go.
Seth was sitting on the front porch steps, waiting for me when I got home. Such a Sweetheart, he even carried me from the car into the house, placing me gently on the sofa. He held my hand in comfort as I went over what happened last night. He was surprised to hear that it had to do with a party. He then asked why I never said anything before down at La push at the bonfire, weeks back. I said that was different because I was surrounded by family. People that I knew could trust and feel safe around.
Despite the supernatural tendencies. Things in the world of Bella have had a major breakthrough!
It started the night of the infamous party after graduation. True to my word, I didn't go but there was plenty of talk afterward from Hair Gel and Bella that night in her room: Apparently Red head decided to get smart and create a plan that actually might work in her quest for vengeance.
It was stupid, and by stupid, I mean illegal. Hopefully she will get busted and not us! She'd created an army of newborn vampires to sick on the Cullens to keep them busy while she went for Bella (and Edward). Spilt up they wouldn't stand a chance, the entire town of Forks wouldn't either. They needed help, which they got in the form of my pack.
For the first time ever in all the histories I've read that, Vampires and Werewolves were on the same team to in order to kill the enemy. I just hope it works.
As much as I don't like the thought of my Seth endanger, I understand it. Though they say he isn't going to be fighting, I wouldn't put it past Vicki-leech. Jake has a special job for him dubbed "Cell phone". Keeping track of the battle through wolf telepathy, he's going to stay with the lovebirds. While the Battle is going on, Charlie and I will be tucked in safely down at La Push. I check the clock, its 5 am. Bella and Edward haven't been back yet from watching Cullens and the Wolves fight training. All I can say is… "Good Luck,"
Well it happened… the day of the battle has come and gone.
Now it's time to survey the damage.
Charlie, (who had just return from fishing with Billy. He heard the howling!) And I were at the scene when the pack brought Jacob in. He was really buggered up, battered and bruised. Swearing like a sailor. Having grown up in the environment I did, it didn't faze me. When the Boy's in pain, the Boy's in pain.
They covered what happened claiming it was a motorcycle accident. Then Carlisle showed up to tend to Jacob. I insisted on staying when Charlie left. Knowing that Bella was soon to make an appearance, I told him I'd go home with her. Once he'd gone, I got the real story:
Jacob stepped in to help/save Leah after she decided to take on a newborn by herself and got crushed when it got its arms around him. He was healing too fast thus making the bones heal in the wrong places.
The solution according to Carlisle: Re-break and a line them in the correct position.
While that was going on I met up with Seth. He was totally energized and pumped up after what had happened at the campsite with Bella and Edward. I was right! Vicki-leech and her partner tracked them down and went for the kill. But obviously didn't succeed. Hair Gel finally ended Red Head, while Seth handled her associate "Riley". When I found out what he'd done, I soccer punched him in the arm.
"Seth you idiot! That's for putting yourself in danger!" Then I kissed him on the cheek, "That's for doing the right thing,"
He blushed. Complicated, but such is the nature of our relationship. At the end of the day, we're here for each other.
When Bella arrived, I knew what was coming. I prayed that Jacob would be strong… Carlisle left as she entered, we exchanged glances as he got in his car and left. Seth and I gather with the others outside the door, listening. Others had expressions of shock and anger, I just nodded. It had happened… She's made her choice.
I felt my heart break with empathy as I heard Jacob's words: "He's not as perfect as you think… A least I know I did everything I could… I will continue to wait for you…"
Bella: "Until my heart stops beating…"
Jacob: "Maybe… even then"
Oh No! De JA vu!
...
I couldn't even look at Bella on the ride home. When we pulled into the driveway, she said "Edward asked me to marry him again, this time I said "yes,".
I started to get out of the truck, "Congratulations."
She grabbed my hand pulling me further back into the cab, causing me to slam my door shut. "What?" I asked,
"Please understand Nicki! This was a hard thing to do, to let Jake go, he's been my best- but I've chosen Edward! He's my soulmate, he's my everything! Be happy for me!"she pleaded,
"I am, Bella" I said, honestly. "But, I'm also looking at the big picture"
She looked at me confused,
"Yes, you've made a choice… The real question is though… Are you going to stick to it? … Are you fully prepared to let Jacob go and live his own life?" To that she had no answer. This time when I exited the vehicle, she made no move to stop me.
The next day while Hair Gel and my cousin sat down with Charlie to get his blessing for their upending marriage, I made my way down to La Push.
I was stopped by Alice's yellow Porsche. She'd gotten it back early along with her driver's license for good behavior and being exceptional in community service. Today had been her last day working as a busboy (person) at the Lodge. It had been quite comedic listening to her rants when she got home. Having found whatever sort of dirt and gunk that had collected under her pedicured nails after shift.
"Nicki!" she squealed as she pulled up alongside me as I walked. "Where are you going?" she sang,
"I'm headed down to La Push to check on Jacob."
"EW! Bel-Nicki you are always there with those dogs! You need to come over to our house, so I can take your measurements for your dress to wear at Bella and Edward's wedding!" she shrieked, "Aren't you excited?!"
"Ecstatic,"
"Anyway I need you there and not smelling like a dog."
I sighed, "Alice, if Emmett, God forbid! In his foolishness, stuck his hand in a meat grinder and got hurt. You'd be there for him in a heartbeat. Now, as for the matter of my dress… I will talk to Charlie and see if he'll allow me and Bella to spend the night on Friday. You can do it then," I suggested, trying to be reasonable.
Alice having coming out of a vision, smiled "Great! See you then!" she squealed as she drove off, the tires screeching. Maybe giving her license back was a bad idea. One thing's for sure:
If she wants to drive like Toonces the Cat, (or a crash test dummy) I will never be riding with her!
Once I got to the reservation, Carlisle had been there. He was supplying the equipment needed for Jacob to keep up his facade around Charlie. Apart from the obvious heartbreak he was suffering, he looked better.
"Bella?" he asked when I entered his room, I smiled sadly.
"No," I corrected, "It's Nicki"
"Nicki?" he sighed, disappointed. "You look so much like Bella,"
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Family resemblance." The word "Family" gave a bad aftertaste on my tongue. He caught it, despite the pain from his nearly healed bones.
"What?"
"Jake…" I sat beside him. "You may not believe me, but you and I are a lot alike. We both have had our hearts broken by someone we trusted and loved."
Jacob's eyes widened with shock and outrage. "Seth! Did he?!"
"No," I said, calming him down. "It was someone else, a different kind of love and relationship. But it still hurts all the same, even to this day. It has definitely played a role in making me who I am. I just hope and pray you'll have the strength you need." I patted his hot uninjured arm in comfort.
"Why did you come here?" he asked,
"You're my brother…my pack brother and I care for you deeply. Like the rest of you goofballs, you took me in and let me be a part of your family. Something I haven't had and needed for a long time. Whether she marries him or not, we're still family. That doesn't change, and you ain't getting rid of me!" I joked seriously, leaving him to rest before his next patrol.
"Billy," I said acknowledging him just before heading out the front door.
"Nicki, wait!" "Yes," I answered turning around to face him.
"Come, take a walk with me" I nodded, stepping back as he went ahead wheeling himself out the door. I bet we made quite a scene: Me with my metal "legs" hobbling alongside his chair. Finally he stopped a good distance from the house he stopped and beckoned me closer to sit on a fallen log. It was overcast but not raining, it hadn't for days, my butt wouldn't get wet. So I complied, waiting.
"Nicki…" he began, "How much do you know of your personal history? The real history?"
"Everything," I sighed ruefully. "So you know what we did for Charlie and Renee?"
"Yep," I said, trying to suppress a groan at the woman's name.
"Please understand Nicki, that Charlie had no control over the situation. He spent years looking for you and was beyond relieved when you contacted him. It was a miracle! So please don't continue to be too harsh with him."
"Billy…" I tried to find the words. "While it's true that still I am hurt and do have a tiny bit of resentment that he didn't find me in all those years, you say he looked. I am trying to forgive him. But he's not the problem:
My entire life has been a lie and a secret. I'm sick of being the skeleton shoved and re shoved into the closet. The only way she actually let Charlie take me in was that Bella never be told the truth."
My life was messed up, and it started with someone's choice. Now that Bella's made hers, time will tell what lies ahead for Jacob.
When I got home, Charlie was no doubt still in shock from the big news this morning. He was sitting down in his chair, facing the TV. His expression was the one he had on whenever his team lost the game. I went to the fridge to get a glass of juice just as Bella came into the kitchen to fix dinner, having just got off the phone with her mom.
"How did it go?" I asked,
"Surprisingly better than expected. Charlie's big threat was that I had to tell Renee"
Oh Great! "And how did she take it?" I asked, trying to sound interested. Truth is… I didn't care what that woman had to say. "She was happy for me, saying that I've found another old soul and I shouldn't judge myself by her standards."
I started chocking on those words, excusing my coughing fit for juice going down the wrong tube. Phew! That was a close one.
"Where were you?"
"I was at the reservation, checking on Jacob. He's doing better," not sure if I should tell her that.
"Good, but why were you over there in the first place?" That was stupid!
"I don't know Bella, Why do you visit the Cullens?"
She gaped at me, "That's crazy! They are my family!"
I smiled, "Well there you go, just because you burned your bridges with them. Doesn't mean I have to"
"You claim to be imprinted to Seth but are you really? I only see you two as friends, best friends. Nothing romantic about it."
"Because that's what I need him to be! The whole point of being an imprint! I can't handle anything other than friendship! And who are you to lecture me about relationships! Seeing as you played with both of those boys' hearts before finally making a decision!"
That shut her up, gasping before stomping up to her room and we didn't talk for the rest of the week.
...
Friday morning was filled with commotion both on and off the reservation. Edward had sent Jacob an invitation to the Wedding. His response: strip/turn into a wolf and run away to Canada. Though no one else outside La Push pack and its council knew his true location. Charlie was quick to act, keeping busy by making and distributing missing flyers with Jacob's name, picture and information. Billy, loyal to his son's wishes chose not to put up any around the Res. much to Charlie's dismay, Stating "Jacob's grown, he'll come home when he's ready."
Bella and I still weren't speaking so I hadn't told her that I knew where he was. The pack didn't want me to anyway, saying that she betrayed them and had hurt Jacob badly enough already. I could see their point and I agreed with them. But Bella, she wasn't taking "no" for an answer though. Tomorrow she was planning on going after him.
"Things just keep getting worse and worse!" I told Seth as we took a walk down first beach, my arm intertwined with his to keep my balance.
"But what can you do Nicki?"
"I am honestly at a loss… and weighed down with all the secrets that are building up. Secrets… that's it!"
"What's it?" he asked, not following. The truth will set you free...
"I know what I have to do," To hell with Renee! Once I got home, I was given a not too subtle reminder from Alice about the sleepover tonight on my cell phone.
Oh I was going alright! But I needed to be prepared. Taking out medium sized white cardboard box with a lid on it, from under my bed. Its contents were what was left of my childhood. I made my way to Charlie's desk drawer where he kept the files, searching. Having found the right ones, I tucked them in with the rest of my stuff.
Charlie said he'd let me go if I made amends with Bella. I knocked on the door to her room
"Come in," she answered from the other side. Surprised to see me upon turning around she asked, "What do you want?"
I sighed, "I won't apologize for what I said days ago, I still stand by it. But I am sorry about Jacob," she scoffed in disbelief.
"For the sake of Charlie and living under the same roof until the "I do's" Can we call a truce?"
...
The ride to the Cullens was a rocky one once we turned on the gravel road. Bella's old beast of a truck made you feel every little bump as I bounced up and down on my seat in the cab. Soon enough we were there, the welcoming committee swarmed and brought us into the house.
"Edward?" I asked mentally, he popped his head up from his seat on the couch, nuzzling Bella in his arms.
"Please pass this on to the others:
I have something important to tell Bella at nine o' clock. You all can listen to what I have to say. My only request is that it goes no further than this house?" He nodded giving me a suspicious look. "Don't gimme that look Hair G-! Err! I mean…Please … Edward, do not look at me that way? This is going to be hard enough as it is. I am going to let my guard down. Something, I never EVER do" trying to stress my point.
His jaw dropped as the realization of what I was about say set in. This time, he nodded eagerly.
"What are you two going on about?" asked Bella, she hated being out of the loop.
Fortunately Alice picked just that precise moment to interrupt, stealing me away to her bedroom. There, she took my measurements. Then called Bella in for our traditional dress up/makeover. Alice, praise the lord. Knowing my limits, took it easy on me. I must say she's gotten good as styling my wig from its perch on the manikin. Thus I was free when she did Bella's make up and hair. I glanced at the clock, 8:15.
Might as well have a little fun before the heavy. Gathering up the boys I knew just what to do… Going through Emmett's closet I found leather motorcycle jackets, baseball caps and a bandana for me. Dressed in our gear, we crept along (with Emmett's help in carrying me) into the back of the vanity where Alice and Bella were.
Jasper then hit the button on his mp3 player. George Thorogood and the Destroyers' "Bad to the Bone" started blasting. Then Emmett, Jasper, and Edward started hip hop/break dancing. As I bounced and swayed to the music on Emmett's shoulders in the background of the vanity mirror causing the girls to crack up. Alice wasn't even mad at the mascara running down Bella's face from laughing so hard. The parents and Rosalie joined in the fun too, once they came to investigate the hula- baloo. Time sure flies when you're having fun, in this case it passed too quickly.
For suddenly Alice screeched as her visions of the future went dark and a wolf howled! Show Time!
"Alice calm down, it's just Seth" Edward assured his sister.
"Maybe he has news on Jacob?" Bella put in, curious as to what the young wolf was doing here.
"It's okay Bella… Alice" I began, "I asked him to be here tonight. No, he's not coming into the house, Rose" I stated knowing her mind on my furry friend. "He'll be circling the perimeter"
"This is crazy Nicki!" my cousin shouted, "I can't believe that after all this time…. You still don't trust them!"
"Bella…"
"No Nicki! Not this time! WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?!"
I turned from her to the Cullens. "Would you guys mind excusing us for a few minutes?" "Or an hour?" I added under my breath, knowing they could hear me. They all nodded slowly realizing what was coming.
"Of course" answered Carlisle, "We'll be down in the living room if you need us" as he ushered everyone out, closing the door behind him. I faced my pissed off cousin and prayed for the strength to do this calmly and that she'd listen.
"Seth is here Bella, to give me moral support for something I'm about to do. It nothing to do with the Cullens."
"What is it?" she asked, still put out.
"I'm going to tell you a story-" "So what else is new? You tell stories all the time… Which story?"
"Ah, Mine"
"WHAT?"
Grabbing the white box I brought. I sat down on the bed…