Chapter 233: You Did The Right Thing, Jake
I was stunned. I mean, I knew there was a high probably that Charlie might send Bella to see a counselor, but to a mental hospital? Man, I guess Charlie really felt like he was at his wits ends, and he probably asked Jacob to convince Bella or restrain Bella all the way to the mental hospital. Knowing Bella, she might put a fight and say anything to hurt those around her to make them feel how "hurt" is by her actions. It's a selfish thing to do regardless how much pain she is in, so I can't imagine how much Charlie and Jacob are suffering right now.
I asked softly, "Bella is in a mental hospital..What happened to Charlie and Jacob?"
Sam sighed, "Charlie went back to the reservation to stay over for the night at the Blacks. Charlie left Jacob behind in Port Angeles after confirming with Chief Black that it was okay. Embry is going to take my shift for tonight, so I can stay with you. I asked Jacob to come over, so I can keep an eye on him and talk to him."
I nodded slowly in understanding, "okay..In the meantime, want to find a place to grab dinner? Can Jacob join us? He might want some company to not be alone."
Sam winced slightly from my suggestion, so he said uncertainty, "I don't know..Jacob is still a new wolf and he is very distraught right now…Let me check on him first then decide whether it is okay or not."
I placed my hand on his arm, and said softly, "okay, Sam."
He sighed deeply one more time and started driving. As we were driving around to find a place to eat for dinner, I looked around and found a hotel. I called and made a reservation at Holiday's Inn. Thankfully, they took us in and the gave us a king's bed for Sam's large size. We came across with Golden Corral, so we settled that for dinner.
It was close to the outskirts of Seattle. We were surrounded by luxurious forest, but Golden Corral seemed pack with people. We parked at the parking lot next to Golden Corral. When I was about to enter Golden Corral, Sam froze. His eyes lit up gold for a moment, sniffed around us, then said, "Jacob's close by. Let me go check on him. You can go in first. I will be back."
I nodded and walked in on my own. I notified the waitress that one or two people will be coming in few minutes after me. I ordered my beverage and picked a long booth for all of us. I went, helped myself and dined in a long booth. I was still worried for Sam and Jacob. I hope Jacob gets the chance to eat and get some comfort. I don't know how I feel about making Jacob stay away for my safety.
I heard a someone clearing their throat. I lifted my head with furrowed eyebrows. I looked up and my eyes widened in realization from who stood before me. It was Mike. He was leaning toward the edge of the booth with a grin plastered on his face. He was wearing jeans with a red button-down t-shirt. To seem him there smiling like that towards me, bunch of red alarms were ringing in my head. I need to push Mike away before Sam shows up, and I don't want things to go south in front of others.
He said still grinning, "Hey, I think I recognized you before. You came to my family's store to look for Bella, right?"
I responded, "yeah.."
He continues, "I didn't get to grab your name that time. My name is Mike Newton. What's your name?"
I replied lightly, "..Alegria, but I think there was something else that I mentioned that day. Do you remember?"
His smile faltered a little then he brought it back to grinning again, "Yeah..I remembered. I just wanted to stop by and say hello. Its crazy to see that we ran into each other like this..I was on my back to Seattle with couple of friends from Forks. Do you need a ride back? We can give you a ride back."
This boy really doesn't know how to stop, huh. Even when he knows that I am seeing someone, he still tries to be my friend? I mean, nothing wrong with being friends with the opposite gender, but because I knew how he was like with Bella, I don't trust him that he'll keep the boundaries just as a friend. He might try to push it until he gets what he wants. He is the kind of guy that you have to very blunt and clear with because even if you're nice about it, he won't take a hint. Also, Sam might not like it at all. I remember how Jake in New Moon after he phased would make snide comments about Mike when Bella tells him that Mike have been bothering her.
Then, I heard Sam's voice behind me saying, "It's okay. I am her ride."
Mike's posture stiffened and his eyes widen slightly in fear. He looked back to me and to Sam with his smile slightly twitching.
He said with a slightly higher and frightened pitch, "hey, so you're the lucky guy."
I turned to my right, and Sam was next to me. He was slightly trembling, but he kept his cool and he said, "Yup. Well, I would like to get back with my date with my girl. Nice seeing you Mike."
Mike nodded and walked past Sam without looking at him. Once Mike was gone, I scooted over for Sam to sit next to me. I went to hold his hand, and he held my hand a little tighter. He turned his head towards me and asked with a visible frown despite having sunglasses on, "did you meet Mike before? How come you didn't tell me?"
I turned and I said, "the time that I drove back to Forks to meet Alice before Bella meets her, I stopped by his family's store to grab directions to the Swan's house. It was barely a minute conversation that I had with him. I honestly totally forgot about it, and I didn't think it was anything of it so that is why I didn't mention it.."
He nodded in understanding, and I asked slowly, "…did it bothered you?"
He opened his mouth, closed it again before saying, "Well..it did bothered me to see him talking to you when I can hear you trying to push him away and the fact that you didn't mention it to me that you met him before. But I can see that you didn't mean to hide it on purpose."
I responded and trying to change the subject, "okay..what about Jacob?"
He said, "I gave him clothes to change into, and he is changing in the men's restroom. He is going to be joining with us for dinner."
I smiled, "okay..sounds like a good idea."
Then he froze and said, "ah, he is here. Well, I am to going to go ahead and serve myself."
I nodded as he got out of the booth and head towards the food. I turned around and I saw Jacob walked in. I grinned, happy to see that Jacob was able to come. Jacob had his head lowered a little, with both of his hands in his pockets and sunglasses to avoid people seeing the wolf spirit through his eyes.
When he got to my booth, and he said with a hoarse voice, "Hey..Ale..thanks for letting me come to dine with y'all."
I said kindly, "it's not a problem at all. Go help yourself, okay?"
He nodded shortly and went off to grab himself some food. I continued eating, and I was thinking about how Jacob sounded. It probably went really bad for Jacob to be speaking like that. I wonder what happened to push Jacob to be like this and for Charlie to run toward Billy for comfort about taking Bella to a mental hospital. Sam was first to come back, and he brought plates filled with food. He sat next to me and ate as Jacob came back eventually and sat across from us.
I asked gently, "do you want to talk about it or later?"
He looked up and said with a half-smile, "is it okay if we talk about it later?"
I nodded, "that's fine. Whenever you're ready, Jake."
He nodded, "Thanks."
We ate in a comfortable silence. I went to grab ice cream for all of us. Sam kissed me at my cheek for the offer and Jacob gave me a small smile. Jacob's mood seemed to get a little better as he ate with us, but I could see that what happened with Bella was still weighing his mind. We paid the ticket of our dinner, got on Sam's truck and we drove toward the hotel. Sam and I checked in, and we received the key to our room. I brought some clothes that I brought to the room, and Jake had to wait outside of the room. When I went outside to check on the guys, I saw they were talking.
Sam said, "I need to go check on the pack. Jake, stay with my mate until I come back. Would you be able to control yourself until I come back?"
Jake glanced at Sam, and he said, "Sure, I can. Go ahead. If it gets too much, I get out of the situation and notify you immediately."
I said right after Jake, "Yeah, I am aware of the signs when someone is losing control of their anger. I will be quick to move out the way."
Sam nodded. He pulled me to a hug, took a deep breath of my scent, rubbed me with his smell before kissing me gently on the lips before turning around and walked out of the hotel. Once he was gone, I looked at Jake and he looked just as awkward as I was.
I said, "do you want to walk around the hotel?"
It would be awkward to bring him inside of Jake, and from how Sam said goodbye to me, he is letting Jake know that he can't interact with me carelessly. I am definitely sure it will upset Sam for another wolf enter the room or his 'den' even though he knows Jake won't do anything since the wolf spirit is an animal. It just how it is. Hopefully by walking around the hotel, it would cause some time to pass by and quicker for Sam to come back.
We were walking around the hotel's pool when I decided to sit down by the bench close to the pool. I had a long day, and my leg was getting sore from all the walking today. I didn't want to push it anymore, and there was no one around the pool, so me and Jake can talk comfortably. Also, the sound of the pool was relaxing, and I hope it calms Jake down.
I thought now was a good time to ask Jake about what happened, so I asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Jake let out a deep sigh and said, "I don't know.."
I said encouragingly, "I am not one of the pack, so I can keep my thoughts to myself. It's better to talk about it instead of bottling it up alone..
He glanced at me and said with a half of a smile, " true, true..maybe you might give me a better response than the guys.."
Knowing the guys, they might be happy that Bella got sent to a mental hospital. Maybe Embry wouldn't be, and he would be more understanding of Jake. But, I think what Jake needed is some comfort instead of tough love that he would receive from the pack. ..As the alpha's mate, I can help them to receive the maternal love that they need.
Maybe this is also part of my role. If this conversation goes well, then maybe this is something I can try again with the other pack. I don't think Sam would argue against it, since I am doing it for the pack's well being.
I asked gently, "okay Jake. Tell me as much as you're comfortable with telling me…so what happened?"
He sighed and looked toward the pool. I saw the reflection of the pool light on his face as he began to say, "I was at home, and I got call from Charlie. He asked me to help bring Bella to his car so that he can bring her to the mental hospital. He and Renee talked and since Bella threw a fit in the past when Renee tried to take Bella back to Florida, they thought going to a mental hospital would be a better option. Since I am close to Bella, he thought that Bella would be more compliant to go, but.."
He paused, took a deep breathe and said, "once I got there, Bella had locked herself in the bedroom..me and Charlie had to force our way in. I tried to reason with her, but she was hysterical and crying. It looked like Charlie wanted to cry, but we were able to drag her to get inside the back of Charlie's police cruiser, bucked her up, and put a child lock in the car to prevent her from escaping. Once we got her in the car, Charlie begged me to come along with him, and from the looks, he needed all the help that he can get, so I got in the back with her as Charlie drove. Port Angeles was hours away, so we had a lot of time to talk and..…"
I was starting to get an idea of might have happened. I asked softly, "what did she say?"
Jacob said thickly, "She-she said I wasn't her true friend. A true friend wouldn't put her through this. She said she thought I was her friend, but I am not. I tried to reason with her despite knowing how uncomfortable she gets talking about the Cullens, so I said they aren't coming back. You need to move on Bella. I'm sorry, but he left you behind. They are monsters for doing that to you, and you deserve better, but she was covering her ears and shouting that I was wrong. She said it was because she wasn't enough that is why they left. Then I argued, You haven't been okay at all. She started screaming at me that she was on her way doing better because she had me. If I hadn't tattle-tale to Charlie and break her promise to keep the bikes a secret. Charlie shouted at her that I was a good friend for telling him about what's going on and it showed how much I care about her. It looked like Charlie was about to burst a vein, so I tried to calm those two down or else I would be affected and might accidently phase on them. I told her that she hadn't make any progress. It only gotten semi-better because I was her crutch, so I was only an escape to dealing with whatever she is going through. After that, she started saying that I don't know what is like to be in love and I will never understand. She said she wished she never reached out to me…"
The last part, Jacob let out a sob. My heart clutched in pain for him. He didn't deserve that from Bella. I reached over to grab his left hand with both of my hands. He looked up and his eyes were glassy from unshed tears.
Then he continued with a sob, "once we got her to the hospital, the nurses had to sedate her because she was trying to escape. I..I can't stop seeing the image of her looking at me with pure terror in her eyes as she was begging for me to save her. As she was losing consciousness , she said that she'll never forgive me….…"
He gulped thickly, "Charlie was a wreck. I was a wreck too, so I didn't trust myself to keep it together on the ride back to the reservation. I remember that you were Seattle and I thought it would be best to stay close to Sam…so, I told Charlie to leave me behind. He called my dad for confirmation, and dad told him to let me stay in Port Angeles…I could tell Charlie was resisting not only because he was afraid for my safety, he didn't want to drive back alone after that moment.. I wouldn't either.."
He trailed off. I told him, "Jake…I am so sorry for what Bella said to you. It wasn't right for her to say that. You have been a great friend to her, and you did the right thing to help Charlie to take Bella to the mental hospital. You're a friend that many wished to have or would die for…Right now, she doesn't see it because she is in pain. She is lashing out and hurting those around her due to her pain..You know how she really is and you know..this isn't her. Her words hurt a lot, but try to take it with a grain of salt. One day…she'll thank you for helping her even when she doesn't want to get the help. You did good Jake, and I know you tried your very best to help her, but there is a limit to everything. The fact that you helped her as much you can, that's okay, Jake."
Jake broke down into tears, he started crying silently with his shoulder trembling. I leaned forward to embrace him and he quickly received it. I pat him in the back gently as he cried his eyes out on my shoulder. My shoulder was soaked from his tears, but I didn't mind it. He needed this.. I rather he cried it out instead of bottling it up and let it manifest into bitterness, entitlement and anger like the novel version Jacob became during Eclipse.
He cried for awhile until it became just sniffles. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I pulled back, and I looked up to Jake's face. His eyes were red from the crying, and I wiped the tears from his eyes with my hand gently.
I gave him a small smile, and he closed his eyes and said softly, "thank you."
I replied, "anytime."
I asked gently, "what are you going to do now?"
His eyes furrowed, and he said, "I think Imma go back home. Most likely, Dad might need help to take care of Charlie. If I was a wreck, I can't imagine how Charlie is with Dad."
I said, "okay. I guess you need to start heading back?"
He nodded, " I could smell Sam is coming back, so I will be going now…"
I pulled my hand back to my side. Jacob leaned forward and kissed the top of my head. He said softly, "Bye"
I smiled, "Bye, Jake."
He got up from the bench, jumped over the fence and ran off toward the forest until I couldn't see him anymore. I wish Jacob well with all of my heart..I don't have all the answers, but I know how it feels to want to be heard and understood, so I want to reciprocate that to the pack. I am glad that Jacob was able to get this off his chest. I can see that this Jacob is not as clingy toward Bella in an obsessive way like in the novels and movies. I wonder how their friendship is going to move forward. I am curious of how it looks like from now, but I am glad I was able to stop Jacob from becoming possessive and obsessed with Bella, and now he is becoming a friend to her like he was before he phased. I wonder if they would be able to deepen their friendship with Cullens slowly coming back into Bella's life through Alice letter. Would the Cullen's return stop their friendship progressing and turn for the worst?
I hope not but wait.
If Bella is in the mental hospital, then does that mean Alice will become aware of the situation through her vision of Bella? It was because Bella have been surrounded with the pack that Alice couldn't see certain parts of the vision. What if Charlie sending Bella to a mental hospital only encourages the Cullens to come back to Forks quicker? What if telling Charlie about Bella's mental state only…caused more problems for the pack than good?
Sigh.
I was looking down, pondering about this that I didn't notice a shadow was blocking my view from the pool.
I looked up and smiled, "You're back."
Author's Note:
Here is another chapter! I threw in some possible hints for future chapters.
Enjoy!
