Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer, All characters are her own, credit goes to her. Story is based loosely on some real life events.

Letters from war.

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I had never imagined that in 18 years I'd have moved 5 times, all across the country. From Washington, to California, Arizona, to Florida, and finally staying with my dad back in Washington. I knew my roots were truly here, as I spent the first year or two of my life in this little yellow home. My mom had taken me at a young age, and we had always been roaming around. She finally settled down with a man, Phil, who seemed to be an alright guy. I had been living with my dad for the last two years, and in the last year, I had been writing to someone I had possibly been falling for. Sergeant Jacob Black, U.S Army. Or so my letters would be addressed to.

Since moving back in with my dad, he'd always talk about how proud he was of his best friend, Billy Black's son. How much pride he had held for the boy he'd known all his life. Although he didn't seem to be my type, I loved having a penpal. He had been deployed for the last 13 months, and I could tell by how much and how often that he wrote, that he was lonely. I had only a handful of friends closeby, so I could sympathize with him about feeling lonely. Except I had Charlie to keep me company. He wasn't the best at holding conversations, or talking at all really. But I wasn't alone all the time.

Everyday, I'd get off work at the local sporting good's store and rush to my mailbox, hoping for another letter. I had shared so much with someone I could barely remember, which was unusual for me. We had been occasional friends when I was a child, visiting with him and his sisters while having visitations with my dad over the summer. Of course things had changed a lot in 13 years, I could barely remember what he looked like. Billy had given me a picture of him that was taken overseas a year ago, a picture of him smiling with a group of other soldiers, resembling a family that he had made once he left his own. He was extremely handsome, tapered black hair around his ears, with a neatly styled coif on top. His smile was captivating, his glistening white teeth behind a set of full nude lips. Appearance wise, he wasn't what I normally found attractive, but I couldn't deny that I was drawn to him.

My most recent letters to Jacob described a boyfriend I had while I was in Florida. He had been hit by a car, and I was devastated. We had been together for a year, and I was in love with him. His family had a small funeral, with just myself and them in attendance. I tearfully said goodbye, and decided now was the time to go back to Forks. It had been 2 years since his death, and though it ate at me everyday, I was still hopeful one day to be able to meet someone else. I sometimes had forgotten what my letters had said, as it would take 2 weeks to get letters back and forth, so we decided to write to each other every day, having a totally different conversation in each one, just to keep it interesting. His letters always included something good that had happened that day, had it been a good meal, or something he received in a care package. It always made my day to see that envelope with a bunch of stamps and a smiley face next to my name.

It was a slow tuesday evening, and all I wanted to do was clock out of work and get home. I was hungry, tired, and I desperately wanted to check the mail. In one of the letters I had received last week, Jacob said he had some exciting news to tell me. There had been no mail on Sunday, and nothing from him on Monday, so I was crossing my fingers that there was something in there today. I watched every tick of the clock and wondered if time had always been this slow, or if I was just more aware of it than usual. It was finally 7pm, and I could run out the door, anxious to get to my mailbox. By the time I got home, I noticed the mailbox was empty. I sighed greatly, disappointed for the third night in a row that the long awaited surprise letter wasn't in there. Frowning, I opened the door and walked into the kitchen, ready to make dinner for Charlie and I.

My dad was already sitting at the table, reading the newspaper and having a beer. Not an unusual sight when he wasn't working. He smiled, giving me a small "Hello". I came to the fridge, pulling out a pack of ground beef, deciding on what to use with it. I decided to make something simple, Spaghetti and meatsauce. Easy enough. I just wanted to take a shower, write to Jacob and go to sleep. I sat a pot of water on the stove, letting out a huge sigh.

"Something wrong, Bells?" Charlie set down his newspaper, bringing his beer to his lips.

I frowned, putting my arms to my side.

"I haven't gotten a letter from Jacob since Friday."

Charlie's eyes perked up, almost having forgotten that he had taken in the mail that day.

"Sorry, I brought the mail in today. There is a letter from Jacob, It's on the coffee table."

In a flash I ran to the table and sorted through all the bills until I finally found a letter addressed to me. Without hesitation, I ripped the letter open, almost ripping the top of the letter off in the process.

My mood instantly brightened as my eyes skimmed the page, my frown quickly turning into a smile.

"Hey Bella,

It's a tuesday when I'm writing this, but I don't expect you to receive this letter for around two weeks. It's 14 Sep here, and it is so hot and sticky. I miss the weather in Forks at times like these."

My eyes continued to read, laughing at the comments about how chow consisted of a few pizza bagels and a bug in his salad. I was on the moon, finally getting to read about his day. As the letter came to an end, I saw a sentence on the bottom, written in red ink instead of his usual black.

"I'll be home in time for Christmas, my 15 months here will be over, and I would love to take you on a date. I'll be looking forward to you finally getting this letter!

With love, Jacob"

I felt my heart begin to race, I slammed the letter down and ran back into the kitchen.

"Dad! You'll never believe it, Jacob is coming back to Forks for Christmas!" I was almost shouting, taking the spaghetti and breaking it in half and dumping it into the boiling water.

"That's great news, Bella." Charlie was just as excited as I was. "I haven't seen him in about 2 years, right around the time you came to live here. He visited Billy, and left pretty abruptly. But I'm happy to hear he's coming back. We have a lot of catching up to do."

I was confused, left abruptly? His letters always said how he missed home and couldn't wait to come back. I wonder why he had left like that. Did something happen with Billy that he hadn't mentioned before?

Once dinner was eaten and cleaned up, I said my goodnights to Charlie and rushed upstairs. I was anxious to write my letter, accepting his invitation for a date. With glee, I put my favorite purple pen to paper.

"Hi Jake!

I'm so glad to have finally gotten your letter, it's been so long since I had a new one to read. It's September 28th here, my day has been uneventful, I went to work, came home and made dinner for Charlie and I. He is thrilled to hear that you're coming back for Christmas, he can't wait to see you."

I continued to write about my day at work, and my night prior. The letters were always a full page long, as I felt I could open myself up completely in these notes to him.

I ended the letter switching from purple to red ink, smiling with a slight flush on my face.

"By the way, I would love to go on a date with you. I can't wait.

Love, Bella."

I signed my name, with a small heart beside it. Only 3 months until I could see Jacob, and hear his voice for the first time in over 13 years. I hadn't felt this excited since...since he last took me on a date.

I sighed, letting these thoughts creep back into my head. I repressed these memories, it had been 2 years. Maybe I hadn't grieved properly, but the events surrounding his death just never made sense to me.

They told me he had been hit by a car, but the wounds on his body didn't add up to an accident like that. I had only seen his body then, they had a closed casket.

I never felt like I had closure, but I had to accept it. He was gone, and there would be no reason to lie to me, or to dig any deeper into his death. I sighed, looking over to his picture on my dresser. Sandy blonde hair, large golden eyes and a smile that I'd never forget. I'd swear I'd be in a store and I would see someone that resembled him, but I'd quickly shake that feeling and the person would be gone. I felt like I had been going crazy for the first year I moved here, seeing him everywhere I went. Charlie would say that was part of my grieving, I had to agree. There was no way he'd be here, In Forks. He died in Florida two years ago, Edward wasn't coming back and I had accepted that.

Clutching Jacob's letter, I walked over to my dresser and took Edward's photo in my hand. I ran my finger across his face, and smiled. A small tear dripping onto the frame, washing away some of the dust on the glass. I placed Jacob's picture over Edward's and felt a sense of relief, knowing I had let him go, and may have finally found happiness.

"I'm sorry Edward…" I mumbled, as I was switching the photos out. "You would have been great friends with Jacob, he's amazing." I sniffled a bit, as the last few tears cascaded down my cheeks. I could feel a smile spreading across my face, as the weight had been lifted. I put Edward's photo down, and laid in my bed. The photo of Jacob smiling at me from atop my dresser. I couldn't wait to sleep, knowing I'd be having dreams of Jacob coming home, and that was more exciting than anything I could be awake for until Christmas.