Rekindling What's Meant to Be

JacobxBella

Rated T

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

Rekindling What's Meant to Be

Chapter 6

Later that night in the Black household, Bella sat at the kitchen table with a lit candle and a pair of tweezers, the SIM card held between them. Currently she was holding the little chip inside of the flame, watching it slowly burned away. She had an almost detached expression on her face and didn't even notice when Jacob walked into the kitchen. Frowning Jacob asked, "What are you doing?"

"Burning this SIM card so Edward can't track me anymore," Bella answered.

"SIM cards can't be tracked unless they're in a device."

Bella gave the man a deadpan look before saying, "You don't know Edward like I do. I know for a fact that he can track me through this SIM card. And Rosalie even confirmed that she caught him putting a small tracking chip on it before putting it back in my phone while I was sleeping one night."

Jacob frowned further before asking, "Why didn't you just get another phone?"

"Because I knew he'd do it again. He's been keeping me under watch for years, deliberately making sure I made no plans to leave him, as if the threat about concerning Sarah wasn't enough."

The two of them were silent for a while, the only sound being the sparking of the SIM card in the flame of the candle. Jacob moved to the refrigerator to get a bottle of water as he previously had been doing before getting distracted by what the brunette was doing. As he opened the bottle and drank from it, he couldn't help but ponder how he could get Bella to talk to him about their unresolved issues and feelings for each other. He was positive she still loved him, but she had no desire to talk to him about either issue. It was so frustrating but he also understood he couldn't react the way he had when he had been a teenager. No, he had matured over the past twelve years and could take it now if he was rejected by a woman. But Bella was different and he knew he would take it personal every time she rejected him, just like he had years ago, but he wouldn't let it be known this time. After all, Cullen always seemed to use it against him and rub the fact that Bella chose him in his face.

Thinking of Cullen made him think of how that jackass treated not only Bella, but Sarah since the Cullens relocated out of Forks and how he had threatened Bella. He still couldn't get over that, considering he always spouted how he'd never do anything to hurt the brunette and how he would let her go if she chose to leave him. It was just a bunch of bullshit; he knew it then and it was obvious it was now. He only wished Bella had been able to see it, but she hadn't wanted her eyes opened at the time and ignored everyone looking out for her best interests. Even so, he felt as if there was another reason why Bella had agreed to marry the bloodsucker, especially when she had never expressed any interest in marriage at all. He wanted to question her about it, but after the emotional day Bella had, he didn't want to pry any more. He would let her get settled and let some of the tension die down, then maybe later she'd want to open up.

Bella smiled when the entire SIM card was burnt to a crisp before putting it on the table and blowing out the candle. She walked over to the kitchen sink and looked under it, remembering a hammer being kept there. Opening the cabinet doors she smiled seeing the hammer there and grabbed it before turning back to the table. Getting a good grip on it she brought the hammer down on the burnt card, instantly smashing it and doing it three more times for good measure. Setting the hammer down she swept the pieces of burnt metal into her hand and walked over to the trashcan, tossing them in. Turning back to face Jacob she noticed him staring at her with a look of fascination on his face. Flushing a bit she asked, "What?"

"Nothing," Jacob replied. "So, did you want to talk or watch a movie or something?"

"No, thank you. I think I'd rather just be myself for right now. And no offense Jake, but I'd prefer it if you didn't stick so close to me."

"Oh, sorry," Jacob said, his heart clenching painfully in his chest. There it was, that rejection that would always hurt him. However he kept his expression stoic before nodding and suggesting maybe another time before heading towards the front door. Opening the door he told her he'd be in his garage before leaving the house, closing the door behind himself.

The brunette looked after him, her own heart clenching in her chest. She didn't know why, or rather didn't want to acknowledge why, but her heart already knew no matter what she told herself. She knew her rejection had hurt Jacob and the one thing she absolutely hated in the world was hurting Jacob, no matter how big or small. Even so, she had to do it despite not wanting to. It didn't matter how much she still loved Jacob or how she wanted nothing more than to spend time with him alone. She had to keep her distance as much as possible and set boundaries this time. She wouldn't allow a romantic relationship to blossom like it had when they were teenagers, even though she was with Edward and insisting all she wanted was Edward. No, this time her relationship with Jacob would be strictly friends co-parenting their daughter, and she would rebuild her life and relationships with those around her and make sure Sarah enjoyed life and stayed safe. Sarah was her first priority and she was going to finally put her first.

Shaking her head she headed down the hallway to the twins' old room and entered it, smiling when she found Sarah reading a book and listening to music on her iPod. Closing the door behind her Bella walked over to the bed Sarah was occupying and sat down, drawing the girl's attention. Sarah smiled and took her earpiece out of her one of her ears before saying, "Hi mom."

"Hi," Bella replied. "What are you reading?"

"It's a book from the library that I got when Grandpa Charlie took me to there. It's a book about a witch that meets this guy and believes that she's in love with him after a whirlwind romance. However the guy turns out to be a vicious vampire that cast an undetected spell on her to make her love him. And now she's trying to get help to get rid of the spell on her because she can't do it herself and the vampire refuses to because he claims to love her and refuses to let her go. And she believes that even with the removal of the spell, she'll still love him."

Bella's heart stopped momentarily in her chest at hearing about the contents of the book her daughter was reading. Putting on a fake expression of innocent interest on her face Bella said, "Oh, that sounds like something interesting…and complicated."

Sarah giggled and responded saying, "No, that's the simple part. The complicated part about the story is that the witch is friends with a werewolf who is helplessly in love with her and is trying to help get the spell off of her. But what makes this part of the story interesting is that she's in love with him too, but still loves the vampire and is trying to convince herself that perhaps she can love them both if the spell can never be removed, and if it is removed she could still love them. But she's at a crossroads as to whether she wants to be with the werewolf or the vampire in the end when it's all over. Mom, it's so good!"

"Honey, you read this book in just a few hours?"

"I'm not done with it yet, but I'm a little over halfway done with it. It's a good thing things like this doesn't happen in real life, right mom?"

"Y-Yeah, a good thing." This book her daughter was reading sounded like it had major aspects about her own life. Wanting to see the cover of the book she said, "Can I see that book for a moment, Sarah?"

Sarah handed the book to her mother saying, "Sure, just don't lose my place."

Bella smiled and nodded before sticking her finger in the book on the page her daughter was on, taking a look at the cover. The cover of the book had a full moon, a wand and cauldron, and a castle on it. And in gold print across the top of the book, the title of the book simply read Caught Between. The title didn't go over Bella's head in the slightest, especially with what her daughter had told her of the book. The witch in the book was caught between two loves, one that genuinely loved her and her him, and one that made her love him while also claiming to love her and her convincing herself that she'll still love him afterwards. She noticed there was a golden Best Seller sticker on the cover. The book must have been really popular as well as a good read for it to get this sticker on it.

Handing the book back to her daughter Bella said, "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Who is the author?"

Sarah looked at the bottom of the book at the author name and said, "Angie W. Call." She dog-eared her page and closed the book, opening the back cover and holding up the book to her mother to show her the author's picture. "There she is."

Chocolate brown eyes widened in shock as Bella snatched the book back from her daughter and stared at the picture of the bespectacled woman with dark hair smiling back at her. The woman was so familiar there was no denying Bella knew who she was. In fact, she had gone to high school with her and had made a good friend in her.

"Angela?!"

The next morning Sarah sat at the table eating a breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon while watching her mother bite her lip and tap her pointer finger quickly on the table while seeming to stare off into space. Sarah knew her mother well she liked to think and knew her mother did this whenever she was anxious or worrying over something. In fact, Bella had been acting weird ever since finding out the author of the book she had been reading. Actually, she had started acting weird the moment she told her the plot of the book, though she could tell she tried to cover it up. Frowning Sarah asked, "Mom, are you okay?"

Bella looked at her daughter and said, "Hm? What? Oh, yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Sarah was giving her the exact same expression Jacob would give her whenever he knew she was lying. It amazed her how much Sarah looked like her father and picked up on her emotions the same way he did. Before she could answer the front door opened and Jacob walked in followed by Seth.

"Morning," Jacob replied a bit tiredly. He had stayed up late working on an old motorcycle he had bought from a lot and then had decided to go for a run in his wolf form. During that time he had run into Seth seeing in his mind that he wanted to see Sarah, he invited him to his house for breakfast.

Sarah smiled at her father and stood up from her seat, running to hug him tightly around his middle. Jacob smiled and returned her hug, the sight making Bella smile warmly at them. She couldn't believe that she had deprived both Sarah and Jacob of this, but it seemed like they were already making up for lost time and enjoying it. Looking past him she saw Seth looking at her daughter with practically sparkling eyes, and it was then she remembered Jacob had told her Seth had Imprinted on Sarah. Walking over to him she smiled and greeted, "Good morning, Seth."

Seth looked at Bella and smiled brightly before wrapping her up in a hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her in a circle saying, "Bella, hi! It's so good to see you again!"

Bella laughed softly and returned the hug before he let her down. Turning to Sarah she saw her looking at them and said, "Sarah, this is your dad's good friend Seth Clearwater. Seth, this is mine and Jake's daughter Sarah."

"Nice to meet you, Sarah," Seth said with a grin, happy to officially be meeting his Imprint.

Sarah looked up at him with wide eyes before smiling and replying, "You too, Seth."

Jacob smiled a little before saying, "Seth is here to join us for breakfast."

"Awesome! Come on, I'll make you a plate. Mom won't mind." Sarah grabbed Seth's hand and drug him to the kitchen, catching Seth by surprise a bit from her action.

Jacob moved closer to Bella and said in a low voice, "I told him not to mention Imprinting or anything of the sort to Sarah or explain why he'll be around more."

Bella looked at Jacob and said, "Jake, he's going to want to spend as much time with her as possible. Besides, we'll have to tell her about the Quileute wolf Shifters at some point and explain about Imprinting."

"I know, but until I'm ready to tell her, I'd rather just let them have this time to get to know each other without the Imprint being known instantly to Sarah like it was to Emily and Kim."

The brunette nodded before nodding her head to the door to let Jacob know she wanted to talk to him outside. The two of them stepped out of the house onto the porch before Jacob asked, "What is it?"

Bella bit her lip for a moment before asking, "Jacob, does Embry still live here in La Push?"

Jacob frowned at the question, wondering why Bella wanted to know about Embry. Was she asking to see if he was available or something? No, she wouldn't do that, but she was obviously curious for some reason about his friend. Nodding he said, "Yes, he does. Why do you ask?"

"Is he married?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Who'd he marry?"

"You're old friend, Angela Webber."

Bella closed her eyes before putting her hands over her face and let out a muffled scream. Angela had married Embry! That meant she knew about the Shifters and vampires and her life kept a secret from everyone normal in her life! And she had taken that information and made a best-selling book using it! She didn't know whether to be mad at Angela or flattered that she was her friend's inspiration for her book.

Calming down Bella took a deep breath before dropping her hands to look at Jacob. Jacob was looking at her in concern as he had been startled by her reaction to knowing Angela had married Embry. What was the big deal? He didn't understand. Cautiously he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to their house. I'd like to see my old friend and have some girl time," Bella said.

Jacob raised an eyebrow at Bella before nodding. He stepped back inside of his house and grabbed his car keys, telling Sarah he and Bella were off to see some friends and asked if she wanted to tag along. Sarah nodded and went to join her parents in Jacob's car, Seth tagging along as well. As they all piled in the car and Jacob drove off to the Call house, Bella steeled herself to meet Angela again after twelve years. She had no idea how the woman would react upon seeing her again, but if Angela was still as understanding and sweet as she had been back in high school, then maybe everything would be okay. At the very least she hoped so.