Chapter 2

hii darlings. this chapter was a bit rushed so excuse any sloppiness/typos. hope you enjoy :)

That week, Bella visited the Black's house three times, and each time the place felt more and more like a second home somehow. Since Edward's departure left Bella mentally battered, void of any emotion, the time spent with Jacob already was bringing color to her cheeks, life to her numb mind. Jacob with his sweet disposition and tender words seemed wise beyond his years, ironically the opposite of Edward. He didn't try to hug her— he knew she was still sensitive to touch. And for that, Bella was grateful. She could tell it was hard on him, for Jake was a naturally friendly guy, but "I never want to rush you into anything, Bells," he told her once. Looking back, that was a bit of an melodramatic thing to say, as she was just choosing a flavor of ice cream, but it was always a comforting thing to hear. And she liked the slow-paced calmness of their friendship, a needed break from the whirlwind romance of the previous months that had left her battered and bruised like a tree tossed about in a tornado.

Thanks to these regular hangouts with Jacob, time seemed to fly by far more quickly than the first few weeks of fall when Bella seemed to be paralyzed by it. Her regular pattern of waking up, staring despondently into space, falling asleep, and waking up had been replaced by school, homework, and Jacob. Charlie's request was fulfilled, and she stopped being utterly miserable.

Still, the nightmares continued.

Charlie found himself rushing up the stairs to attend to his daughter's cries over half the days of the week. When he arrived, breathless, she would never be in her bed, but sitting beside the window, knees hunched, arms crossed over her chest, eyes glazed over with the horror of it all. She shivered eternally, and her teeth chattered as she gazed forward with a glassy stare, mumbling some incoherent nonsense as she tried to process the nightmare she had just been put through.

Bella's dreams would often start off perfectly fine, as normal as anyone else's, and then they would turn into a gruesome mess as she plunged into a thick, suffocating darkness. Then Edward appeared. In a flash of white skin and icy hands, he would bare his pristine teeth, sinking his fangs into the exposed gap of her neck until streams of blood dripped from her throat. She could always feel the life being sucked out of her as the darkness closed in again, choking off her last scream.

Being with Jake in the daytime always made her feel better, but Bella never told him about her issues. Being around him was like a breath of fresh air, and he didn't deserve to be polluted by her personal struggles, even though she knew he would gladly listen to her all day. These days, Bella spent every moment of free time in his garage beside her new best friend, working on transforming some scrap pieces of metal into motorcycles for the two of them. Or rather, Jacob would build the bikes while she talked and handed him screws and wrenches and the like. Funny thing was, the bike he fixed up for Bella wasn't originally supposed to be hers. It had been saved for Embry.

...

"Man, I was hoping I'd never get to see you again." Jacob had joked as they stepped off the front porch.

"Yeah, well, you can't get rid of me that easily." Bella smiled ruefully.

Jacob opened his mouth, ready to ask her what he had been up to these days. But before he could begin, a slightly burly boy with another, shorter younger-looking friend appeared across the yard, waving, and diverting her attention.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Just Quil and Seth. Some of my friends. I think you met Quil on the beach a couple months ago."

Of course she had, and it was just like her not to remember. Sigh. "Should I wave back?"

"Sure, but I don't think you need to."

The boys were already half way across the yard, nudging each other and shoving around like teenage males do. After the necessary re-introductions, they ran off into the woods, and it was just the two of them again. They headed to his garage, the autumn wind to their backs.

"How've you been?" asked Jacob.

Bella shrugged.

Jacob opened the door that led into his garage and they stepped inside. As Bella walked through the door with him the garage air ran colder than she expected, but with a space heater next to the long wooden bench that seemed to be the only seating area available, the space was snug regardless.
After turning up the heater, he showed her two metal structures, twisted to resemble motorcycle frames. One lay on the ground with metal parts spilling out of its side, and the other stood propped up against a bench.

"Bikes." he told her, nodding to the pile.

Bella hid a smile. Jake had mentioned this project multiple times before and each time he brought it up she was more and more amused at the one track brain teenage boys had. She ran a finger over the shiny skeletons, surprised at the lack of dust.

"Woah," she admitted, genuinely impressed. "You're actually building them from scratch?"

Jacob beamed proudly. "Yeah. One of them is Embry's, but he hasn't worked on it in ages. He's been kinda grumpy lately."

"Oh. Is he okay?"

"I dunno," Jacob sat down on the wooden bench beside her. "He…just gets really angry these days. At the tiniest things, too. A few days ago Seth broke his pencil, a pencil, and he threw a hissy fit. Started shaking and swearing at him and everything."

Bella didn't quite know what to say. "Wow."

Quill sauntered into the garage seconds later, tufts of curly hair peeking out from under his baseball cap. "That's my bike in progress right there," he announced to Bella, pointing to the one on the ground. "All my handiwork."

Bella raised her eyebrow. "I thought it was Embry's."

"Man," Quil kicked Jacob's leg with the sole of his heavy boot. "The only chance I had to look cool in front of a girl and you already blew it for me."

Jacob winced slightly from the blow, and Bella wondered how bruised his shin would be the next day. "I'm pretty sure you blew it for yourself, Quil."

"Oh well," Quil patted the handles of one of the bikes. "This little baby right here will be mine one day. Embry sure doesn't deserve it. I don't think he wants it anymore, either. So I can basically claim Zepp as my own."

"Zepp?" Bella questioned, turning to Jacob for an explanation.

Jacob scoffed. "Quil has some stupid idea to name the bikes Led and Zepp. I think it's dumb. I mean, they're bikes. They don't need names like animals."

"It is not dumb!" Quil insisted. "It's cool. At least, they'll look cool soon. Right now they look pretty dumb."

"About as dumb as your names," Jacob slugged the boy across the top of his head, and the two were soon engaged in a mini scuffle.

"Bessie," Bella said suddenly.

Two heads popped up from the tangle of legs and arms, the argument forgotten for the time being.

"This one's Bessie," Bella repeated, jerking her head towards the one on the ground. "That one," and she pointed to the other, "is Roderick."

"Bessie?!" Quil spluttered. "It's not a cow, Bella."

"Hey, I like the name!" she declared.

"Not under my watch," Quil wrapped his arms around the bike and tried to lug it away until Jacob swatted his arms off like brushing away a fly.

"Get lost, Quil. Don't you have some girl's butt to pinch?"

"Hey! I take my personal profession seriously, thank you very much. C'mon, Jacob. Tell me Roderick and Bessie," and he spat the names out like they tasted bitter on his tongue, "isn't better than Led and Zepp. Please."

Jacob surveyed the desperation in Quil's eyes and sighed after a moment's hesitation. "I'm sorry. Bessie and Roderick it is."

Bella pumped her fist in the air and laughed. "I win."

Quil shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't blame me when Embry chases you down to Washington for naming his precious bike Bessie," he muttered, stomping away.

Bella couldn't contain her giggles.

this chapter was so fun to write and i hope fun to read. i'd love it if you could review. thanks!