AN: I'm so so sorry for not updating in such a long time, I've just been so stressed out with my university work and various other things I couldn't find the time to get this chapter typed up. So thank you to Guest, teacupdestiny, April-Showers82, sarahmicaela88, CaliNative76, Anony, Romonia, and newmommy2010 for reviewing, your reviews really do keep me writing, so thank you for motivating me to continue, despite my hectic schedule.
Okay, so I'm not doing song suggestions anymore, because I reread my fanfictions in an effort to get myself back into my stories and found the songs suggested didn't always work out, so unless I think a song sounds perfect there will be no more song suggestions, but feel free to suggest your own in the comments.
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Chapter Thirty One: Picking Up the Pieces.
Avoiding looking at my tired expression in the mirror, I rubbed at my damp hair and trudged downstairs to find Jacob taking the front door off its hinges. His strong, large hands strangely fiddled with the small screws without issue, surprising me. As he pulled the door away from the frame, he glanced up at me and smiled. The door rested lightly in his seemingly capable hands as he beamed at me.
"Hey Bells." Jake's forever cheerful grin radiated out, causing me to squeeze a responsive smile of my own for his benefit.
"Here, let me help." I moved to take some of the door's weight, but he shook his head and turned the door horizontally out of my reach.
"It's okay Bells, I got it." With ease, he moved the door out of my house and rested it lying down against the wall.
"Oh…" I blinked in surprise, the door was solid wood and Sam and I had struggled when we initially put it on years ago, yet Jake seemed to have no trouble manoeuvring it around. Feeling slightly useless, I rocked back on my heels, "Well, um, I'm going to make some breakfast…Do you want some?"
"Don't you mean brunch?" He chuckled and my gaze automatically checked the time on the kitchen clock. It was just ticking to eleven thirty am and my eyes widened. Flushing stupidly that I hadn't realised the time, and feeling like I'd lost most of my day on the living room floor; I began pulling ingredients for pancakes from the cupboards.
"If you're going to be a smart-alek, I'm not going to make you any." My witty response was ruined by my smile as he laughed at me, his positive attitude infectious. No one could ever remain in a sour mood with Jake around.
"Then who are you making twelve pancakes for?"
"What?" Pausing in my preparations, I looked at the amounts I'd measured out. Sam's appetite had been increasing lately, causing our meal sizes to grow too, as he did. Automatically, I had been preparing to serve the large sizes I was used to cooking for before Sam ran away. Blushing, I began to half the ingredients, "Oops."
"It's alright Bells, I'm starving anyway." He shrugged happily.
"You sound so much like Sam…" I murmured sadly and swiped at the stray tear beading at my lashes, betraying my fragile state.
"Awh Bells, don't cry." Jake rubbed his warm hands over my biceps, trying to sooth me. Turning my face into my shoulder, I avoided his gaze, as I tried to pull myself together again. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately, but at least Jake was here to hold me together.
"Sorry, sorry." Sniffling into my sleeve, I wiped my tears and took a deep breath, "I'm going to get my tears in your food, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, I like a bit of body in my food." He teased me and I threw him a mock glare in response.
"Idiot." Over my brief lapse in emotion, I nudged him away and turned on the pan, throwing in butter.
"Hey, I'm a growing man; I need all the help I can get packing on muscle." Posing in outrageously exaggerated muscle highlighting stances, he winked at me, "What'd you think? A few more pancakes?"
I rolled my eyes at him and whisked up the batter. He may be ridiculous, but Jake was the only comedian capable of getting me out of my own head. His presence alone was lighting up my kitchen, something I hadn't seen in such a long time. Even before Sam ran away, our house always seemed to be tainted by a miniscule sadness, as we fought to get by financially and still remain functional in our exhaustion from all the work we did. I hadn't even noticed how dim our attitude could unconsciously be until Jake showed up with his sunny disposition, brightening the place. His smile contagious and his personality radiate.
It made me miss my best friend. The best friend I had left behind as I struggled to keep this house running like the home Sam and I needed. Guilt swam in my stomach and I ladled pancake batter into the pan to distract myself from the nauseous sensation in my gut. I wished I'd never pushed Jake away; he was too good for me.
"Do you want to set the table, Jake?" Watching the pancake carefully for burning, I waved my spatula at him.
"Sure thing Bells, coming right up." He started moving around the kitchen, whistling cheerfully.
As I tossed pancakes and began to pile them for serving, Jake chattered easily with me, steering clear of any touchy subjects that could cause me pain. We discussed school, my work, the weather, Jake's friends, and how Billy was doing. Our conversation continuing, as if we had never been apart, as if I hadn't been unconsciously pushing him away for years. It felt like the last few years had fallen away and we were children once more. Teasing, laughing, talking about anything and everything light hearted.
Billy arrived with Harry Clearwater as we were just finishing our brunch, and Billy teased Jake about being constantly hungry nowadays, as he informed me Jake had already eaten an overly large breakfast just before he came over. Jake shrugged unrepentantly and took my last bite of pancake from my plate.
As I watched Harry and Jake replace the front door, I found myself wondering where Sam could be. Was he wanting to come home, did he care to? As my thoughts darkened, I glanced at Jake. He caught my gaze and smiled hugely, encouraging me to respond with my own small smile. Maybe Sam wasn't home, or couldn't care to be honest with me, but Jake would stand by my side. Brushing my hair behind my ear, I offered to make drinks, hiding my first genuine smile in a while, even if it was only a slight one.