Eyes Wide Open

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Eyes Wide Open

Chapter 4

Bella turned back to face Ms. Opal and smiled saying, "Thank you for today, Ms. Opal. And thank you for letting me borrow these books, though I don't think I'll read them yet until I'm fully confident enough in my understanding of Braille."

Ms. Opal smiled and said, "Of course dear, it's no rush. And thank you for keeping me company today. I hope I was of much help to you."

"You were, thanks so much."

"You're welcome, Bella. But the one you should thank is Jacob. It was so sweet of him to have us meet."

Bella smiled as she thought of her best friend. That boy, he was really sweet to have thought of her and help her meet someone that understood what she was going through. She often wondered if Jacob knew he was too sweet for his own good. He had been a great person to lean on the past few days, and she had told him he didn't need to help her, but he insisted that he wanted to and that he would always be there for her. And what made his words so grand was that she believed him. Nodding she told her she would and would see her again soon. Just as she said that there was a knock on the door.

Ms. Opal stood and walked to the door, grabbing the knob and opening it. Sensing who it was she smiled and greeted, "Hello Jacob. Back to pick up Bella, I see."

Jacob grinned and replied, "Yes, ma'am. I want to get her home before her dad gets off from work, and he'll be off soon."

"Of course, we don't want him to worry. Well Bella, it was great having you and I will see you again soon."

"You too, Ms. Opal. Maybe we can meet again some time next week."

"I'd like that."

"Great. Well, bye." Bella held the bag of books and Braille notes in one hand that Ms. Opal had given her—her white stick stuck in it as well—and reached out with her other to grab Jacob's. They went to leave Ms. Opal's home, but Bella stopped and turned back to the older woman, a sudden thought occurring to her. "Ms. Opal, I have another question. How did you know it was Jacob that was at the door when you answered it?"

Ms. Opal smiled and answered, "I sensed his aura."

"His aura?" A confused frown appeared on Bella's face.

With a chuckle Ms. Opal replied, "I'll explain the next time we meet. Until next time, Bella."

"Bye."

Jacob and Bella left Ms. Opal's house and Jacob helped her into his car. Once he was sure she was comfortable and properly seated, he walked around to the driver's side and got in. He then started the car and pulled away from the house and drove through La Push to head back to Forks. The two of them talked the whole way to her house, laughing and conversing like they have been for the past few days. Jacob had just told her about some shenanigans that his friends Embry and Quil had gotten into when they pulled up in front of her house, Bella's face pink with laughter and Jacob joining in with his own laughter.

Wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes Bella said, "Oh, they sound like a riot and so much fun. I'd love to meet them."

"Maybe next time you're on the Res I can introduce you to them," Jacob said with a smile.

The brunette nodded and unbuckled her seat belt, hearing Jacob do the same and get out of his car. The passenger side door opened and he helped her out, being mindful of her boot, and grabbed her bag before closing the door. He walked her to the door and passed her the bag as she opened the front door. Turning back to face Jacob she said, "Thanks for today, Jake. I had a lot of fun, even when you left me with Ms. Opal."

Grinning happily Jacob replied, "I'm glad. I hope the trail wasn't too bad for you."

"No, it was great. I actually liked feeling it through my white stick. I think I'll like using it better when I finally get this stupid boot off my foot."

The two of them shared a laugh before Bella bid Jacob goodbye and stood in the door way long enough to hear him start his car and drive away, Jacob honking the horn as he left. She closed and locked the front door and leant against it with a smile on her, feeling very giddy and warm inside. She couldn't explain why being with the boy made her feel that way, but he did. Deciding not to dwell on it she took her bag and navigated her way to the stairs and carefully climbed them until she reached the top landing. She then made her way to her bedroom and entered it, moving to her bed and setting the bag down on it. She reached in and pulled out her shortened white stick, moving to place it on her computer desk.

"Hello love."

Bella gasped in surprise and whirled around to face the rocking chair in the corner, not seeing but knowing Edward was seated in it like he usually was. Placing a hand over her heart she said, "Edward, you scared me!"

Edward stood up and moved towards the brunette, wrapping his arms around her and held her close. He ignored the way she flinched in his arms before lifting her arms to return his hug, but he could not ignore the rank stench that was permeating her skin. Frowning he mumbled, "You smell like wet dog."

"That's not very nice, Edward," Bella said clearly offended as she quickly pulled away from him. "And I haven't been around any dogs today, so I have no idea where you even got that notion from."

Oh, if only she knew. Giving her an apologetic smile that she couldn't see Edward replied, "I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to offend. I just meant that you have obviously been around something that gave off that scent and now it is on you. I hope you can forgive me if it sounded as if I was talking about you."

Bella frowned before nodding slowly, not sure if she believed him or not. She decided to let it go and move back to her bed and reached into the bag. Feeling around she pulled out the folder of Braille notes and said, "So my friend Jacob introduced me to an amazing woman on the Reservation today. Her name is Ms. Opal and she is such a gem."

"Oh?"

"Yes, and get this: she's blind too. And she was kind enough to offer to give me lessons in Braille. We even went over the alphabet and she's given me her personal notes and stuff to study. She's even let me borrow a few books, and she says that once I get the hang of those, she'll teach me how to read written words. Isn't that great?"

Edward frowned at hearing that bit of news. Bella was already getting lessons in Braille? But he was going to be the one to teach her this summer; he just knew she'd appreciate his help. Yet somehow that dog Jacob Black beat him and introduced his love to someone else that could not only read Braille, but was blind at that. That dog was getting in his way. However he knew Jacob couldn't do anything about the other piece of news he planned to give Bella, and he knew she'd thank him greatly for doing this for her.

Putting on a smile to hide his irritation Edward said, "That is good news, and I have some more good news that I know you'd like to here."

Bella turned to his location and said, "Oh really?"

"Yes, really. You see, I've spoken to your teachers and the principal about your current situation and were able to get them to agree to let you take your finals at home. A proctor will come and test you, recording your answers on a tape recorder and turn them in to your teachers. I'm sure you are happy with the arrangement I've made for you."

"You…what?"

"I've made arrangements for you to-"

"I heard what you said, Edward." Irritation was clear in Bella's voice, an emotion Edward was ignoring at the moment.

"Then why would you ask me what I did again?"

"Why would you make plans for me without my consent?"

Edward was a bit taken aback by the brunette's words. Looking at her face he could tell she was angry, something she had never been with him before. Why was she angry? He had thought she would have appreciated his gesture. He was only looking out for her wellbeing after all. Deciding to voice this he said, "Love, I did it for you. I know it's hard for you to get around blind now and haven't had time to study. So I took it upon myself to tutor you so you'll be ready for finals in three weeks. I thought you would have been happy about this."

Bella looked at Edward, or assumed she was looking at his face anyway, in disbelief. Suddenly feeling a headache coming on she pressed her fingers against her forehead and said, "Edward, I could have done that myself. I did not need, nor want you to do that for me. And I don't need you to tutor me in all my subjects; I have a pretty good memory of everything we've learned in time for finals. And if I need help, I'll ask for it rather than you just offer. If I mess up, it's because I didn't recall the information properly. Not everyone is inclined to remember facts and digits down to the very last decimal point like you can. But hear me clearly when I say this. I am finally comfortable enough to move around on my own and I don't need you hovering over me like you keep trying to do. And next time, don't make decisions for my life without consulting me. Better yet, don't make any decisions at all; let me do it. Any good boyfriend would do that."

"Are you stating that I'm not a good boyfriend? I love you Bella and I would never try to control what you do."

"Then what do you call making decisions for me taking my finals at home without me knowing? You even made plans to teach me Braille without asking me if I wanted to learn it."

"It's a necessity for blind people, and you obviously do since you are taking lessons with this Opal character."

"Because she gets it! She understands what I'm going through! You don't and you never will! I'm becoming independent without the use of my sight and I don't need you ruining it for me! You know what? Just leave, just get out. I need space, like right now."

Edward stepped up to the brunette, placing his hands on her shoulders only for her to almost viciously shrug him off. Blinking in confusion he began, "Bella, I-"

"I said to leave, Edward. I want space and you need to give it to me. In fact, don't come into my room at night for the rest of the week."

The vampire felt very put out by Bella's mood swing. He couldn't understand why making the decision to make sure she was able to take her exams led her to believing he was trying to control her life. A thought crossed his mind and he decided it boiled all the way down to Jacob Black. She spent time with him today and he had to have gotten into her head somehow. He almost growled but decided to not let the sound be heard by his love, especially since her sense of hearing was becoming sharper as she relied on it more. Nodding he said, "Of course, I will give you space and time to come to terms with what I have done for you. I will see you later, my love."

Bella's eye twitch and she felt a grimace cross her face as her boyfriend kissed her cheek before quickly departing. The moment he was gone she let out a frustrated huff and kicked her foot against the bottom of her bed. However she used her booted foot and she let out a hiss of pain before cursing loudly. Sliding down to the floor and cradled her booted foot and leant her head against her raised knee. Gosh, she had never been so upset with Edward before. What was he thinking?

Not wanting to waste any more energy on Edward or even thinking about him, she sighed and stood back up, slowly moving sit on her bed. Grabbing the bag of Braille notes from Ms. Opal she reached inside it looking for the folder, only to remember it was resting on the bed. Grabbing it she opened it and felt along the top page, pleased to find it was the alphabet. Taking it out she got comfortable on her bed and began to once again go over the twenty-six letters in Braille once again. When she was confident she understood every single letter and what it felt like, she got the next sheet from the folder and ran her fingers over it, realizing she was probably feeling single words. Feeling along the page she began to piece the feeling of the words together.

"A…N…T…ant," Bella spelled and said out loud. She move on to the next word and spelled out, "B…A…L…L…ball."

A giggle rose from Bella's throat as she went through the sheet. It was like something for a child and it made her feel like one again, only she was enjoying it. She understood Ms. Opal giving her these easy singular words to start off with. It was so she'd be comfortable and able to string words together when she was finally able to read sentences. She was so caught up into her personal studies that she was surprised when Charlie's voice suddenly spoke out in the quiet room.

"Kiddo? What are you doing sitting in the dark?" Charlie asked her as he turned on her top light.

Bella looked up at him before smiling and saying, "I'm always sitting in the dark."

Charlie stared at his daughter for a moment before an amused chuckle rose up from his chest, which soon turned to full on laughter. Bella laughed with her father when it was apparent he understood her joke, glad she was able to make him laugh. When they finally calmed down Charlie moved to sit next to her and said, "Oh that was a good one, kiddo. But seriously, what are you doing?"

"I'm learning Braille. Jake introduced me to someone blind on the Reservation today and she is helping me learn to read in Braille. She's so nice dad, and I'm happy Jake introduced me to her."

"That was nice of him. Jake's a good kid and he really knows how to take care of you when I'm not around. He really does care about you, Bella."

A warm smile appeared on Bella's lips as she thought of Jacob before replying, "Yeah, I know. I'm happy to have him in my life. I feel like he gets me, you know. It's just like…like we fit somehow."

Charlie smiled and ruffled Bella's hair, chuckling when she playfully batted his hand away. Standing up he said, "I brought takeout if you're hungry."

"Okay, thanks." Charlie nodded and left her room, leaving her to her notes and thoughts of Jacob. Bella didn't know it, but he could tell she was already developing feelings for Billy's boy more than she already had. He hoped she realized it soon though, because the sooner she did the sooner Edward Cullen would be out of their lives. Just thinking of the skinny twerp made him want to take his rifle and shove it up his ass and fire it. It was his fault his little girl was blind anyway, but he'd leave dealing with him to Bella.