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 21
The moment Alice arrived back at the Cullen mansion, she hurried inside and called out, "Edward!"
Esme entered the living room from the kitchen and said, "He's not here, Alice. He's gone hunting with Jasper and Emmett. They won't be back for two days."
"I really need to talk to him; it concerns Bella and it is important."
"Actually Alice, Carlisle would like to speak with you for a moment. He's in his study waiting."
Alice frowned before nodding, making her way towards Carlisle's study. As she did, she began looking into the future, wanting to already know what Carlisle was going to say to her. However, all she could really see was Carlisle talking to her with a stern expression on his face, followed by him doing the same with Edward and Edward storming off in anger afterwards. What was Carlisle going to say to them?
When she was in front of Carlisle's closed study door, she raised her hand to lightly knock, only to hear her adoptive father call for her to enter before she could. Turning the doorknob, she opened the door and stepped inside the study where she found Carlisle seated behind his desk, his golden eyes going over medical documents for a cancer patient. Stopping in front of the desk Alice said, "Esme said you wanted to speak to me."
"Indeed," Carlisle said. Setting his documents down he looked up at Alice with a rather irritated expression on his marble face. "Let's start with Edward's attack on the truck Bella was in that you did not stop beforehand."
Her eyes widening Alice said quietly, "Oh."
"Oh? Is that all you have to say? Just 'oh'? You saw him doing this Alice, why didn't you stop it before he had a chance to get near the truck?"
"I got there as quick as I could, Carlisle. Jasper and Rosalie were with me as well to stop Edward from doing any more harm."
"He shouldn't have even gotten that far. He could have killed Bella and seriously harmed Embry Call."
"But he didn't."
"That's besides the point, Alice. I don't know what exactly is keeping you and Edward in the delusion that Bella still wants you around, but it is obvious that she doesn't. She doesn't want to be bothered with any of us, least of all Edward. I also understand that you will do anything and everything that you can in the means to help him, but it's not doing you any favors for Bella."
Alice fidgeted for a moment before saying, "Bella isn't thinking clearly, that's all. She's convinced herself that she doesn't love Edward anymore and is spending all her time with that dog Jacob Black."
Carlisle let out an unnecessary sigh before saying, "Bella has made it rather clear that she doesn't love Edward anymore and would prefer him to stay away. The restraining order she placed against him speaks volumes, Alice. Everyone in town knows about it and it isn't a good look for our family. She sees him as a danger to her, something I'm sorry to say she should have picked up on in the beginning. However, I let my doubts and misgivings about her being around us be blinded by the fact that I wanted Edward to be happy and the fact that he was with her. But it is obvious we are no longer wanted in this new chapter of her life and we need to respect that. And I mean all of us, including you and Edward."
"Edward didn't mean what he did. He just loves Bella so much and feels guilty about the whole James thing."
Alice let out a surprised yelp when Carlisle slammed his fist down on his desk, splinters of wood erupting from the surface and flying everywhere. Carlisle glared at Alice and spoke in a very serious tone of voice. "Stop making excuses for him, Alice. Stop trying to justify what he's doing. Listen to me carefully when I say this, and I won't say it again. Leave Bella alone for good. She's trying to move on with her life and it is obvious she is happy."
"But she needs us in her life, Carlisle!"
"No, she doesn't."
"James' mate Victoria is still out there! Bella mentioned that she's hanging around to get revenge on Edward for James being killed. A mate for a mate is what she is thinking, and she thinks Bella is Edward's mate, just like we know her to be."
Carlisle sat thoughtfully for a moment before speaking again. "Alice, Bella isn't Edward's mate. His Singer, yes. But mate, no. And we will deal with Victoria. I'm sure the Quileute Pack is already making moves to do so as well. We will help them in their endeavors, but after Victoria is gone we're leaving Forks for good."
The Seer vampire's eyes widened in shock at hearing that, as she hadn't had a vision of them departing Forks any time soon. "Edward won't leave willingly. He's not going to leave unless Bella is by his side and he has her love."
"Well, he will just have to. He needs to accept that she no longer loves him and wants him out of her life for good. I can respect that, as can the rest of us. The only ones still in denial about it all is you and Edward. I'm also doing this for the safety of our family. And if you continue to excuse Edward's reckless behavior and encourage his pursuit of Bella, then you and him both will bring the downfall of our coven. And we can all do without that."
He turned back to his documents and proceeded to read them, but not before saying, "I will be speaking with Edward upon his return, so don't even try to forewarn him about what I am to say. You're dismissed."
Alice blanched a bit before slowly turning and leaving, not believing Carlisle had dismissed her like that. He had also never been real stern with her or any of them like that before, but he must be really ticked off to do so. But it wasn't like she was doing anything wrong. There was nothing wrong with wanting to see her brother happy and try and win back his beloved's affections. However, said beloved was making it difficult on all of them.
Leaving the study and closing the door behind her, she let out a frustrated huff before heading towards the garage, grabbing Rosalie's keys to her red convertible on her way. She needed to do something to lift her spirits and clear her head for a bit. She needed to do some therapeutic shopping, and she'd take Rosalie's car just to piss the blonde vampire off.
The next day Bella sat on the old log on First Beach, her retractable white stick resting upon her lap while Shadow was busy digging holes in the sand. She had had Charlie drop her off here before he headed off to the station, stating that she was meeting Jacob there. Not long after she had been dropped off, she had sent a text to Jacob asking him to meet her there. He had replied saying he was on his way, and during her wait time she had been readying herself for what she was going to say.
Today was the day she was going to be telling Jacob how she felt about him. She had already let it be known to him that she liked him but liking him didn't fully return his feelings. She had the feeling he loved her, was possibly in love with her, and she had concluded that she herself loved him as well. There was nothing to fear about telling him though, as this was Jacob, her best friend and the one person she knew she could tell anything and not have to keep out details. The only thing that scared her about telling him though was the fact that he could possibly reject her, or that maybe he didn't really love her. But Jacob wasn't heartless enough to pretend to have feelings for her. In fact, he was heartless at all; he was too honest and pure of heart to do something like that.
Arms wrapping around her from behind startled her out of her thoughts, a shocked cry escaping her throat as she was pulled back against a hard chest. Hearing Shadow yip and bark happily, she knew it was only Jacob. Calming her quickly beating heart, Bella said, "You didn't have to scare me."
Chuckling Jacob replied, "I'm sorry, honey. I thought you had heard me coming since you can hear things more clearly now ever since losing your sight."
"I can, but sand is rather soft and you move quietly anyway, wolf boy."
Laughing Jacob finished giving the brunette a hug before moving to sit next to her on the beached log. He smiled as Shadow jumped into his lap, reaching up to lick his face in greeting. Scratching the puppy behind his ear absentmindedly, Jacob asked, "So what's up? What did you want to meet for?"
Bella bit her lip for a moment before saying, "I have to talk to you. I mean, I have to tell you something."
"What is it?" Jacob could tell that she was nervous about whatever she had to tell him. He hoped it wasn't anything bad as it was obvious it was serious. Wanting to ease her nerves, he reached over and took her small hand into his larger one, giving it a comforting rub with his thumb. "You can tell me anything, Bells."
He was right, of course he was. She could tell him anything and she had to trust she could tell him this without any consequences. Taking a deep breath Bella opened her mouth a confessed, "I've been thinking a lot lately about us, about you, about how I feel about you. And I know I already let it be known that I like you more than a friend, or at least you have an idea that I do. But in thinking about everything and how I feel about you, I've come to a conclusion."
She paused to look up at his golden aura before looking down at Shadow's seated upon Jacob's. Smiling she reached over and rubbed her Lab puppy's head before saying, "Shadow helped me come to my conclusion as well. Didn't you, boy?"
Shadow yipped in response, causing Bella to giggle and Jacob to smile. Looking back up at Jacob's aura, more specifically where his face was located, she smiled at him and said with the most sincerity, "I love you, Jake."
Jacob stared in shock at Bella, him not fully believing what his ears had just heard. Bella loved him? Really? She really loved him? Needing to ask for his own reassurance, as well as hear her say it again, he asked, "Do you really, Bells? Do you really love me?"
"Yes, I love you Jake."
Brown eyes stared into chocolate brown ones, feeling like they could actually see him. And in those eyes he found nothing but truth, sincerity, and complete and honest love for him. Gently taking her face into his hands, he bent his face down towards hers and paused with his lips just a hair's breadth away from hers. Bella's breath hitched as she felt his body heat grow nearer and felt his breath against her face. Jacob watched as her pupils grew slightly within her chocolate brown irises, her pale face turning pink with a beautiful blush. Smiling he replied in a soft voice, "I love you too, honey."
With that Jacob pressed his lips against Bella's in a soft, loving kiss. The moment their lips touched, Jacob felt as if he were flying high above the ground, while at the same time being held to the ground, the only thing anchoring him was Bella. Bella too was experiencing the same exact feeling as she kissed Jacob, pleasurable tingles traveling throughout her body, all the way to her fingertips and toes. She had never felt like this before when she had first kissed Edward, or any of the times after that. Kissing Jacob was different, it was pleasurable, it felt so right.
When the need to breathe became utterly apparent, they broke apart but didn't move away from each other. Jacob's hands still held Bella's face and Bella's hand were clutching Jacob's bare shoulders. When had she put them there? It didn't matter, though. All that mattered in that moment was Jacob and the moment they were sharing together.
Still feeling a bit breathless from the amazing kiss they had just shared, Jacob began, "Bells, I-"
He stopped talking abruptly as he stared into those beautiful eyes that he loved, his whole body going rigid as he did. Bella frowned and asked, "Jake, what's wrong?"
She got no response and was about to ask again, only to suddenly gasp. For some reason, she was able to see Jacob's face so clearly, no longer just his aura or the outline of his face and his features. She was actually seeing him, color and all! And as she looked into his brown eyes, she found herself having the most surreal vision. It was them, only older, and before them were two dark haired children—one boy and one girl. They were running towards Jacob while giggling happily. Was this…were they…Was this a vision of the future? Were those children supposed to be the ones she and Jacob had together? So shocked by the vision and everything that she was feeling, Bella gasped once again and almost reeled backwards from the sheer amazement of it.
"Bella!" Jacob shouted in surprise and quickly grabbed her, pulling her back to him. Looking down at her in concern he asked, "Bells, are you alright?"
"I saw you," Bella breathed out in awe as she stared up at Jacob. She was disappointed to find that she could no longer see his face clearly anymore, but instead was seeing his features through his aura again. "I saw you so clearly. And I saw us…and children…it was a vision."
Jacob's eyes widened in surprise as Bella told him of what she had seen in her vision. He too had seen that same vision the moment he looked into her eyes. A lot had happened just then between them, and it almost confused him. However, he wasn't confused because he knew what had happened. He didn't think it would ever happen to him, but he was glad that it had and with the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He had Imprinted on Bella Swan.