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 11

Ms. Opal giggled as she listened to Bella mutter to herself as she stumbled over the printed words she was trying to read through her fingertips. The girl wasn't catching on as quick with this as she had with learning Braille, but she was confident she would get the hang of it soon. After a while Bella finally stopped and said, "I figured it was going to be harder than reading in Braille, but gosh!"

"Yes, it can be frustrating at times," Ms. Opal said as she took a bite of the lemon cookie she was eating. "There are even times now that I mess up reading the printed word."

Bella signed before saying, "Well, I've still got plenty of time to learn, so I won't worry about it right now. Besides, I'm going to learn it one day, I just know it."

"That's the spirit, Bella. Now, I want to talk to you while the men are gone."

"About what?"

"Let's talk about your unknown feelings for young Jacob."

Bella spluttered in surprise briefly before saying, "I-I don't have feelings for Jake! He's my best friend!"

Ms. Opal chuckled and said, "Well I did say they were unknown, meaning you haven't realized that you do have feelings for him. And there's nothing wrong with him being your best friend that you fall in love with."

"I'm not in love with him!"

"Not yet, but you will be."

"But…I've never heard of anyone falling in love with their best friend. It just doesn't happen."

"It happened to Randall and I."

There was a moment of silence before Bella asked softly, "Randall was your best friend? And you fell in love with him?"

Ms. Opal nodded and said, "Yes, and he's still my best friend to this day. We've been friends since we were in middle school and fell in love some time in high school. We got together, but I broke up with him when I went blind. I didn't want him pitying me and believed he would be doing that if he continued to stick by me with my new disability. But Randall proved to me that he loved me before being blind and would continue to afterwards. He loves me unconditionally and has never tried to change me to suit him. Randall helped me gain my confidence back and has continued to stand by me for the past twenty-three years as my husband." She grinned giddily though Bella wouldn't see it. "I just love him so much!"

Bella couldn't help but laugh at how the woman in front of her sounded talking about her husband. She also couldn't help but think that Ms. Opal and Randall were possibly the cutest couple she had met. Sure, she didn't really know Randall like she knew Ms. Opal, but from what she had just been told, Randall seemed like the perfect man. He stood by Ms. Opal during a rough time for her and continued to do so, loving her unconditionally and making her his wife. They had a type of love that she wanted, a special love, but wasn't sure that was in the cards for her anymore. And…and if Ms. Opal had that with Randall—her best friend—could she be implying that Bella could…could have that with Jacob?

She shook her head at the thought. Jacob was her best friend and he never left her side, but she didn't think they'd ever be romantic in any way. She kind of got the vibe that he was into her and probably wanted to date her, but she just couldn't bring herself to believe that Jacob really wanted her. She liked the dynamic they had now and didn't want to change it for fear if it did change, things would end in disaster for some reason or another. It happened with her parents and she was probably cursed to have it happen to her. No, she and Jacob were just fine the way they were, even if Ms. Opal seemed to believe their relationship would change like hers and Randall's.

Ms. Opal, seeming to know what she was thinking, gently placed her hand on top of Bella's and said, "Your relationship with Jacob is special Bella, and you probably don't want it to change. But if it does, don't be afraid to go after what your heart tells you to. Sometimes we listen to our heads more than our hearts, but your heart will never steer you wrong in the ways of love."

"It…it did once," Bella replied. "I thought I was in love, but I was really only infatuated. It seemed to fairytale like that I think I convinced myself I was in love with him."

"Was he your first boyfriend?"

"Yes. But…" Bella hesitated for a moment. "…but I think that I thought I was in love because I believed that I was. My parents' marriage didn't work out and my mom left my dad when I was just a baby. I don't think I had a real example of what love was except for what I read in my romance books. And I don't even try to use my mom's marriage with her husband now as an example. I almost think my mom's view on love is as flawed as mine is."

Ms. Opal nodded before saying, "I won't say your view is flawed, just misguided. Think of what you had with your ex as your trial run with love. It obviously didn't work out, but that's okay. Who's to say your next one won't and be the best thing to ever happen to you? I'm positive the love you'll share with Jacob one day will be the one you are looking for."

Bella nodded at the words Ms. Opal spoke before fully registering what she had said. Blushing brightly Bella asked, "Why do you insist that I'm in love or going to be with Jacob?"

Instead of answering, Ms. Opal just laughed, her laughter making Bella blush more but also giggle. As they laughed, Jacob and Randall entered the house and walked into the kitchen where the two women were. Randall raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing hon, just having some girl chat," Ms. Opal replied as she calmed down her laughter.

Jacob looked at Bella and took notice that her face was red. Walking over to her he asked, "You okay, Bells? Your face is flushed."

Bella blushed deeper than she already had and said quickly, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Jacob wasn't really convinced but he left it alone. Changing the subject he asked how the reading was going, to which Bella answered that she wasn't catching on as quickly as she had with Braille, but was positive she'd learn it eventually. Jacob smiled at seeing how optimistic Bella was being about it. She was so cute and he wanted to kiss her, but he remembered Randall telling him to be patient with Bella and he was determined to do so. The four of them sat and talked for a bit longer before Jacob and Bella had to leave. Walking them to the door Ms. Opal said, "Come back and visit soon. And bring that sweet friend of yours too, Bella. She was such a sweetheart."

"I'll have to ask Angela if she can, but sure. She thinks highly of you, too," Bella said with a smile.

Randall nodded before looking at Jacob and saying, "Remember what I said, Jacob."

"Yes sir," Jacob replied.

Bella and Jacob bid their 'goodbyes' before leaving and getting into Jacob's car. As they drove away from the Phillips' home, Bella turned to Jacob and asked, "What did Randall mean when he told you to remember what he said?"

Jacob blushed before answering, "We had a bit of a man to man talk and he gave me some sound advice."

"Really? Can I know what it is?"

"Um…maybe later."

"Please?"

"I promise when the time is right, I'll tell you."

Bella nodded, satisfied with the answer. Jacob didn't break promises to her, so she knew he would keep his promise to tell her whatever it was that Randall had told him. They continued to talk on their way back to Forks, laughing at certain things as they did so. And the entire time, Bella also had her conversation with Ms. Opal rolling around in the back of her mind.

Later that night Bella was listening to soft ocean music to help her go to sleep. It was completely silent in the house at one in the morning, save for the music Bella was playing from her radio, and even that didn't drift beyond the closed door of her room. Just as she was about to fully fall asleep, a noise caught her attention. The noise was faint and probably couldn't be heard by the natural ear, but because she had to rely on her sense of hearing more now, her ears had picked up on it. As she listened more, she could hear that the sound was coming from her window.

Eyes widening in fear, Bella sat up quickly as the window slid up. In that same moment, the alarm that Charlie had installed for her window went off, the noise loud in the silent house. Bella covered her ears at how loud the alarm was, but she could also hear the person at the window make a sound of pain from the loud noise before shuffling was heard and the intruder disappeared.

Charlie burst into her room and she could hear him cock his rifle before asking loudly, "Who's there?!"

"Dad," Bella said looking in his direction.

Seeing that his daughter was alright and there was no one else in sight, he walked over to the alarm system and pressed a few buttons before it finally turned off. Seeing that the window was open he asked, "Did someone try to come in?"

Nodding Bella answered, "Yes, I heard them before they tripped the alarm."

Charlie frowned before looking closer at the window, looking for anything that could give away any indication that someone was there. It wasn't that he didn't believe Bella—because he did—but his police training had kicked in and he needed to scope for evidence. Finding nothing he turned to Bella and asked, "Did you hear them at least?"

Bella hugged herself and began to tremble as she remembered hearing the cry of pain from the noise of the alarm. The voice was all too familiar, one that she wished she didn't have to ever recall. The voice that used to be pleasant to her and that she used to love that now instilled fear in her. Taking a deep breath she whispered, "It was Edward."

Bella sat on the couch as she listened to her father give orders to his fellow policemen. He had gotten completely dressed in his police attire and had called a few of his men to come to his house. At the moment, he was instructing them to have a restraining order filed and ready to be served to Edward Cullen in the next hour. One of the officers questioned why they should considering the chief's daughter was dating the boy, only to be surprised to hear she had broken up with him. That had caused Bella to explain that upon their breakup, Edward hadn't accepted it and was showing up wherever she was. To the policemen, this was beginning to turn into a stalker case and their chief's daughter's safety was on the line.

Feeling a hand gently placed on her shoulder, Bella looked up and said, "Yes?"

"It's me, kiddo," Charlie said. "Tell me, is there somewhere you'd like to stay in case you don't feel safe here? I just want to make sure you're safe and going to be somewhere where that piece of shit can't find you or get to you."

Bella smiled at her dad, happiness filling her heart at his concern for her. But Charlie was also right. She needed to be somewhere where Edward couldn't find or get to her, somewhere where he wouldn't dare to go should he want to face the consequences. As that thought crossed her mind, Bella knew instantly where she wanted to go. Nodding she said, "The Black's. I think…I know I'll be safe there."

Charlie nodded and ruffled her hair before saying, "Alright, I'll call Billy and let him know about this new development. In the mean time, I'm going to serve that little ass a restraining order."

The brunette giggled a little before nodding. When Charlie walked away, Bella hugged her knees to her chest as she thought of what had just occurred. Edward had been close to entering her bedroom again, knowing she wanted nothing to do with him. She shivered as she remembered she could practically feel his dark aura at her window. Edward was dangerous and her safety was in jeopardy so long as she was where he could get to her. She had never realized it until she had gone blind, but now she was grateful that she knew. Edward was dangerous to her, and she knew that if he ever got his hands on her, he could possibly kill her.