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 14

Following the embarrassment of what had happened earlier that morning, Bella had been able to get up and dressed, and attend breakfast with Jacob and Billy. She hadn't been able to even turn her face towards Jacob, but luckily Billy hadn't embarrassed her further and they had a nice breakfast with light conversation. Now that breakfast was over, Jacob went to his room to finally take a nap and Billy decided to go and visit Harry Clearwater, leaving Bella to her own devices. Seeing as she had nothing particularly planned for the day Bella put her shoes on, grabbed her white stick, and left the house to go on a bit of a walk.

Walking down the road, Bella took in the smells of nature around her, as well as those of urban life. She continued to walk for a bit before she heard someone call her name, catching her attention. Turning she saw a familiar green aura heading her way and she smiled seeing that it was Embry. Waving at him she greeted, "Good morning, Embry. You seem to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed."

Embry laughed and replied, "I am because I didn't have to patrol last night. But I do have the afternoon shift, so I'm having some me-time right now."

"It's always good to have me-time."

"I'll say. Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Just taking a walk. Billy is gone to the Clearwaters and Jacob is taking a nap from getting off patrolling."

Embry nodded before saying, "Listen, I was heading towards the pet shop to get some fish food for my mom's goldfish. You can join me if you want."

Bella tilted her head at hearing that La Push had a pet shop. Jacob had never mentioned it to her before, so this was the first that she had heard of the shop. Though she had never been much for animals, visiting the pet shop with Embry sounded like fun. Deciding that she did want to visit the pet shop, she nodded and said, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Awesome. Come on, let's go."

Gently taking hold of Bella's arm, he led her down the road towards the pet shop, the two of them talking along the way. Bella enjoyed spending time with Embry. He was very soft spoken and attentive, and he was just so sweet. In fact, he reminded her of Angela who she was positive he had a crush bit of a crush on. Ten minutes later, they eventually stopped in front of the pet shop, Embry holding the door open for Bella. The brunette used her white stick to check for any steps, feeling a small one and another slight step up into the building. Once she was inside with no mishaps, Embry followed her inside.

Smelling the scent of animals and animal food, as well as hearing them barking, meowing, chirping, etcetera, Bella said, "It's rather loud."

Embry nodded and said, "It's a rather small shop, so it can be pretty loud when the animals get excited or rowdy. I guess it is much louder for you, huh?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Well, I'm going to go get the fish food. You can look around for a bit if you want."

Bella nodded and walked off in a direction, her ears letting her know she was getting closer and closer to animals in crates, the animals sounding mostly like dogs and cats. Stopping she heard excited yips and whimpers, the sound alerting her that she was most likely in front of a cage or crate full of puppies. Bending down, she reached her hand forward and touched the bards of the cage, giggling when she felt fur and tiny tongues licking her hand. She was so enthralled with the puppies she was interacting with, that she didn't notice the man that walked up to her until he spoke.

"I see you like those pups there," the man said, startling Bella at his sudden presence.

Looking up towards the voice of the man, Bella said, "Yeah, they're very cute."

"I know. They're Labrador Retriever puppies, golden, chocolate, and black. Would you like to have one?"

Bella stood up and replied, "I wasn't really in here looking for a pet. And even if I was, I don't have the money to buy one."

The shop owner looked at the brunette teenager, taking in her almost shy demeanor. Taking notice of her white stick, he realized she was blind and his eyes softened. He didn't know a lot of blind people, but those that he knew personally were pretty amazing people, and he had a feeling this girl was amazing as well. And he believed an amazing girl deserved something special in her life. Reaching over into the crate of puppies, he picked up a black one and held it out to her, the puppy licking her on her cheek. Giggling, Bella reached up and gave the pup a pet before looking presumably at the shop owner's face, silently asking him what he was doing.

"This little guy right here is all yours," the shop owner said.

With wide eyes Bella shook her head saying, "Oh no, I couldn't take him. Like I said, I can't afford him, or everything for him."

"Don't worry about it, I insist."

"No, I really couldn't."

Embry took that moment to step up to the two, a little container of fish food in his hand. Looking between them and the puppy, he asked, "What's going on?"

Bella looked at Embry's green aura and answered, "He's giving me this Labrador puppy."

"Okay…then why not take it?"

"Because I can't afford him, and I'm not even sure Billy would want a puppy in the house."

The shop owner stood with the puppy in his arms for a moment before nodding to himself. Looking at the brunette he said, "Tell you what. You take this sweet little guy, and you can work for me to pay me back. I'll provide with everything you need for him, and you only have to pay me back with hard work and care for the rest of the critters here. Besides, he and the rest of them need real homes."

She was cracking, she could feel herself cracking. Having the puppy for a pet was so appealing, but she just wasn't sure. Sensing her wavering, Embry said, "Think of it this way, Bella. You'll have someone to keep you company while Jake is gone, he could become your eyes for you—like guide dog—and he could also alert you if some "undesirables" suddenly lurk around."

Bella knew Embry was talking about vampires when he said 'undesirables', and probably mainly the Cullens. Though they were civil vampires—or as civil as a vampire could get—the people of La Push still didn't care for them, and with the her having moved onto the Reservation to escape Edward, the dislike for the Cullens grew more; at least it did for the Pack and those involved. She thought about it for a while before finally coming to a decision. Nodding her head, Bella agreed to take the Labrador puppy.

The shop owner smiled and deposited the puppy into Bella's arms, telling her he would get a harness, leash, food and water bowl, and all necessities that were needed for the puppy. Embry helped him and before long, Bella and Embry were leaving the pet shop with her new puppy and the puppy supplies, Embry carrying his mom's fish food in his pocket. As they left Bella said, "I can't believe I got a dog and a job all in the same day."

"I know, it's pretty cool," Embry replied as he carried Bella's puppy supplies. "By the way, when do you start?"

"He said I can start next week on Monday at nine AM. Oh shoot! I don't even know his name!"

"His name is Lambo."

Bella stopped and turned her head towards Embry, looking at his green aura with a tilted head. "Like Lamborghini?"

"I have no idea, but he told us to call him Lambo. But between you and me, his real name is Geoff."

The brunette couldn't help but chuckle hearing that Lambo had a basic name like 'Jeff', though it was possible it was spelled differently in a not so basic way. Looking down towards the Labrador puppy by her feet, happily yipping up at her, she smiled and bent down to pet him, giggling as he cuddled to her. Cooing to him she said, "You are so precious! I have to give you a name, don't I boy?"

Embry chuckled and asked, "What will you name him?"

Bella wasn't sure at the moment, just continued to pet the dog as she thought. As she stared down to where the puppy was, she noticed how a soft glow seemed to be in place of where the puppy was standing. In fact, the glow seemed to be that of an aura. Was she seeing the little dog's aura? It seemed so, especially when it began to flash between colors before finally settling on one. And the color it set on was gold, just like Jacob's.

It was so fascinating and wondrous to see that this little creature had an aura just like her best friend. To her, that meant he would be just like Jacob, and that had to be a good sign. Even so, she wasn't going to call the puppy 'Jacob'; she wasn't sure Jacob would appreciate that. Then again, maybe he would. But no, she wanted her new pet to have his own name, his own little identity. She thought for a while before smiling, a name coming to her instantly.

"Shadow. His name is Shadow," Bella announced.

Shadow yipped happily and licked Bella once more before beginning to tug on his leash attached to his harness, wanting to continue on to where they were going. Nodding to him she stood back up and continued walking with Embry, the two of them walking back to the Black residence with Shadow leading the way.

Billy watched Bella play with her new Labrador Retriever puppy, a fond smile on his face. She called the little tyke Shadow, a name he found to be rather fitting for the dog. Wherever Bella went inside the house, Shadow followed behind her. Even when she went to the bathroom, he would go with her in there as well. Shadow had acquainted himself with every inch of his home, every inch except for Jacob's room where his boy was still sleeping.

"Bella," Billy called gaining the brunette's attention. "Why don't you introduce Shadow to Jake?"

"But Jake's still sleeping," Bella responded.

"It's time for that boy to wake up. He's been asleep all day, and I think your pup will be a perfect wake-up call."

Bella wasn't sure what Billy was talking about but stood up nonetheless with Shadow in her arms. Turning she headed down the hallway, having been memorized the layout of the Black home now that she couldn't rely on her sight to do so, and soon made it to Jacob's room. Grabbing hold of the doorknob, she slowly opened the door and stepped inside. She briefly wondered if Jacob was awake, but soon got her answer when she was met with a rather loud snore.

He must be really tired to be snoring like that, Bella thought somewhat guiltily. Jacob wouldn't be this tired if he didn't have to be on patrol all the time to make sure she was safe. She was causing him and the Pack unnecessary trouble, but Jacob would just tell her that it wasn't her fault, even if she believed that it was. Walking towards his bed where he was sprawled upon it, Bella bent down slightly and whispered, "Jake. Jake, wake up."

Jacob didn't stir once. Bella frowned at his aura and reached a hand out, gently shaking him. The Shifter moaned lightly but otherwise, made no other sound or movement. Bella really didn't want to wake Jacob, but she did agree that Jacob probably has slept long enough today. She would let him sleep some more, but she wanted to have him at least eat something first. While contemplating on whether she should continue in her mission to wake her best friend up, Shadow hopped out of her arms and onto the bed, moving closer to Jacob's head. Reaching his face, Shadow looked at him for a moment before turning slightly and raising his hind leg, releasing a stream of urine onto Jacob's face.

"Gah!" Jacob exclaimed, sitting up quickly and wiping his face. Looking down at the puppy that was next to him, he let out another shout at realizing that the dog had peed on him.

Alarmed by Jacob's sudden shouting, Bella jumped and asked, "What is it?"

"That damn pup pissed on me!" Jacob answered in reply.

Shadow wagged his tail at Jacob and barked happily, pleased that he had gotten the man his mistress had been trying to awaken. Bella on the other hand snickered and covered her mouth with her hand, trying to not laugh out loud at Jacob's predicament, though a few giggles did slip through. Composing herself—she could feel Jacob glaring at her—she said, "Jake, meet Shadow, my new Labrador Retriever puppy."

Jacob stared at Bella before looking down at Shadow who had propped himself in his lap. Though he was still upset at how he had been woken up, he couldn't help but find Shadow to be adorable. Scratching him behind his ear he said, "We start potty training tomorrow, you little rascal."

As if understanding him, Shadow barked in reply before hopping down from the bed to run back to Bella. Bending down to pick the black puppy up, Bella said, "I'm going to start dinner soon, so get up for a bit."

As Bella turned and left his room with her new dog, Jacob couldn't help but shake his head. He couldn't believe that Shadow had had the audacity to pee on him, and on his face no less. He could hear Bella telling Billy how the puppy had gotten him to wake up, his father guffawing loudly in response. Shaking his head again, Jacob got out of his too small bed and headed to the bathroom, intent on washing his face thoroughly. However, he couldn't help but smile hearing Bella giggling happily as she played with Shadow.

Edward listened to Charlie walk around downstairs as he sat perched on Bella's bed in her room. He had been visiting Bella's room at her home every day since being handed that ridiculous restraining order by her father, believing that she would return one day for a visit. And every day, he was disappointed when she wouldn't come. Instead, Charlie would visit La Push to see his daughter. If he wasn't restricted by that damn Treaty, he would go see Bella himself. However, not only did the Treaty prevent him from doing so, so did Jacob Black.

He needed to figure out a way to get around that blasted wolf to talk sense into Bella. Screw the restraining order, as if it would really restrain him from seeing his love. All he had to do was bide his time for when Bella would leave the reservation. She couldn't possibly stay on there the entire summer. School would start again, and then she definitely couldn't avoid him then. But he shouldn't have to wait that long to see her.

Picking up her pillow, he held it to his nose and inhaled her sweet scent that was embedded in the material. He sighed blissfully as he did, Bella's intoxicating scent filling his senses. Yes, he was intoxicated with her, just like she was with him. He just needed to remind her of how much she loves him and wants him, how much she needs him. Inhaling her scent once more, he placed the pillow back on the bed and quickly left Bella's room through the window, soon leaving the Swan household with no one the wiser. As he ran back to his home he thought, Bella will be mine again. I just need to make her see that. I will bide my time for now but worry not Bella. We will be together once again.