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 7
Bella stared in awe at the home that belonged to Angela and Embry Call. They lived in a cute little cabin near a natural lake that Bella had never seen before during her many visits to the Reservation. There was a beautifully kept flower bed and a cobblestone walkway, and ornamental vines surrounding the front door. It was such a beautiful home with nice surrounding scenery; Bella couldn't help feeling a bit envious of the married couple.
Jacob looked at Bella as she stared at the home, watching how her chocolate brown eyes sparkled at the sight. He looked down at Sarah and saw her with the same awestruck expression on her face. He smiled as he watched a grin spread across her small face before saying, "Come on, let's go meet our friends."
Sarah nodded and walked with her father to the front door, Seth following behind and Bella bringing up the rear. Raising his fist Jacob knocked on the door and waited patiently, a smile coming on his face as he heard his friend call for them to wait a minute. A minute later the door opened to reveal Embry and Bella had to admit that the years have been good to the man. She had always liked him the most out of Jacob's friends, as he was always nice to her outside of Seth and Quil, and he always seemed a bit shy. It wasn't really a surprise to her that he ended up with Angela if she thought about it. But it did make her wonder if their marriage was a result of Imprinting. And thinking of Imprinting made her wonder if Jacob had done so already on some other woman. She felt her heart constrict in her chest at the thought, but before she could think more on why it would do so Embry began speaking.
"Jake, Seth, hey. It's good to see you guys," Embry greeted with a smile. Looking past them a bit his eyes widened at seeing the face of the woman he hadn't seen in almost thirteen years. "Bella?"
"H-Hi," Bella stuttered out nervously.
Sarah could see that her mother was rather nervous, even though she said this man was an old friend. She frowned a bit before looking back up at the man and greeted, "Hello."
Embry looked down at Sarah with a raised eyebrow before his eyes widened a second time. This little girl looked just like his best friend! Looking up at Jacob he asked, "Jake, is she what I think she is?"
Jacob nodded and asked if they could enter, to which Embry let them inside. Just as they stepped inside the home and moved to the living room to settle down into seats, Angela walked out of the kitchen. Stopping to look at their guests she was surprised to see a familiar face she hadn't seen in over ten years, but a bright smile stretched across her face nonetheless.
"Bella! It's so good to see you again!" Angela said as she moved to hug the brunette, the action catching Bella a little off guard. Even so, Bella returned the hug and smiled as a feeling of relief and comfort washed over her. Angela always had that affect on her, and she had always been so sweet and understanding, giving her more chances than she deserved for their lost friendship. Bella wished she had made an effort to keep her close as a friend, but instead had allowed Edward to pull her away, keeping her wrapped up in his world.
Pulling away from the hug Angela said, "I'm so happy to see you here. It's been so long, how have you been?"
Bella hesitated a bit to answer before finally replying, "I've been okay. I've been better."
"Oh?" The concern in Angela's voice was obvious. "Have things been alright since you moved from Forks after marrying Edward?"
No, they hadn't been alright, not that she wanted to tell her that. But seeing as Angela knew about vampires and Shifters and the like, she was sure she could talk to her about what was going on. And even though Angela was with Embry now, she knew she wouldn't pass judgment on her; at least she hoped she wouldn't now. However before answering Sarah suddenly gasped out loud at recognizing the woman her mother was talking to.
"You're Angie W. Call!" Sarah cried in excitement. "I'm almost done reading your book! It's so good! The fantasy world you created is amazing! And the drama is so compelling!"
Angela looked at Sarah and took notice of how she seemed to resemble not only Bella, but Jacob as well. If she was surprised at seeing a child that looked like those two—and she was—she didn't show it. Instead she smiled and said, "Thank you so much. I'm glad you're enjoying it." Looking back at Bella she asked, "Bella, would you like to help me in the kitchen?"
Knowing Angela was really asking her if she wanted to talk with her, Bella nodded and followed her friend into the kitchen. When they were gone Jacob turned to Embry and said, "And I'd like to talk to you too, Em."
"Sure," Embry said before suggesting they head outside to the lake. He turned to Sarah and Seth saying, "You can watch the television if you want, or play the chess game in the corner…or something."
Sarah's eyes lit up at the mention of the chess game and quickly went to get it while thanking Embry. She sat it on the coffee table and looked at Seth with a mischievous smile. "Want to play? I'm really good and will beat you in less than twenty moves."
Seth chuckled and sat on the carpet on the other side of the table before saying, "Sure, but just so you know my dad taught me how to play and he was really good. So don't feel bad if you lose in less than twenty moves."
He laughed out loud as Sarah stuck her tongue out at him while she set up the chess pieces on either side of the chessboard. Once the pieces were set she moved a pawn before saying with a smile, "We'll see about that. Your move."
Bella watched Angela prepare tea for them as she lightly nibbled on a homemade scone given to her. When the tea was done Angela poured some into two teacups, she moved to the table where Bella was seated and placed one in front of her before sitting in the seat next to her. She blew on the hot beverage before taking a sip, then she began asking, "I take it that little girl in there is yours and Jacob's?"
Bella nodded as she looked down into her tea.
"And she seems to be about twelve? Maybe thirteen?"
"She's twelve, almost thirteen."
"And she doesn't know about the Shifters and vampires? I got that purely based on what she said about my book."
"Yeah, she doesn't know anything about it."
Angela nodded and took another sip of her tea before saying, "You're welcome to tell me about what's happened over the last decade."
Bella looked up at her old friend and asked cautiously, "And you won't judge me?"
"I've never judged you, Bella."
"Maybe, but your book seems to say otherwise. Sarah told me the plot of the story and I knew it was about me, especially when she showed me your author picture and Jacob confirmed you married Embry."
Angela frowned and said, "Bella, in no way did I make a judgment about you in my book. Yes, its events are inspired by your story, but it doesn't judge you. My protagonist, like you, had to make decision on who she wanted to be with and who she truly loved. But I promise I didn't judge your character in my book, and I've never judged you in real life. Even now I'm not judging you, especially knowing the circumstances. But you have to admit, you're secret life back in high school was really cool."
Bella smiled and laughed softly. "I suppose so."
"I'm sorry if my book offends you. But I promise that's the only book I've written based on true events about you. There will be no sequel or series. Besides, the book I'm currently writing now is about a girl trying to navigate her life in the mortal world without revealing the fact that she's the daughter of a demon lord."
"Demon lord?"
"She's also half-angel and is an outcast in both Heaven and Hell. She's just trying to find her place in the world and what purpose she has or is meant to do."
"Sounds deep. But I'm proud that you've become an accomplished writer. That's something I would have liked to do."
Angela looked down for a moment before saying, "You know, when I got together with Embry—about a year after you got married and moved away—and he revealed all of this supernatural stuff to me, I believed you to be dead. Living as a vampire, but still dead. I really missed you and knew I wouldn't see you again, and I remembered that you had said once that you would like to write a book one day and become an author. I know it was a passing thought for you, but I could really see you doing that. But considering the circumstances of your life, I knew it probably wasn't possible. So I decided to become an author in honor of you. It's been very rewarding and it helped me keep the memory of you alive." Angela gently grabbed Bella's hand and gave it a squeeze. "You've always been a good friend to me and were always more understanding of me than Jessica ever was. You even gave me the courage to ask out Ben back then. I've always enjoyed your company and never gave up on you like the others did. You're my best girl friend and I'm so happy that you're back."
Tears filled brown eyes and spilt over onto Bella's cheeks. She hadn't expected Angela's words towards her, but they made her feel warm inside. She knew for a fact that she didn't deserve the kindness and obvious forgiveness Angela was giving her, but it still made her feel good all the same. Angela was an angel walking this earth and though she didn't deserve her as a friend, she was glad she still had her as one. Wiping her tears Bella smiled and said softly, "Thank you."
Smiling Angela nodded before saying with a playful smirk, "Now tell me about you and Jacob. I always figured he was probably more than a friend and your daughter is proof of that, so tell me what's going on. What was it like? How was he? He was amazing, right?"
A deep blush appeared on Bella's face before she cleared her throat and said, "Uh, I don't feel comfortable talking about that with Sarah in the next room."
Angela giggled and patted Bella's hand, deciding to let up on her teasing so her friend wouldn't be so flustered anymore. She knew there was more Bella probably had or wanted to tell her, but she wouldn't pressure her to do so. Bella would tell her everything in time when she felt ready to, and she would be there to listen when she did.
Embry stared at Jacob in shock as he processed everything his friend had told him. He blinked a few times before asking, "So Cullen had blackmailed Bella into staying with him by threatening to hurt your daughter? That's…that's sick. What awful person would threaten a mother and her child?"
Jacob nodded and said, "Yes, but we've always known the leech was no good. But luckily Bella has decided to stay here in Forks and she and Sarah have moved into my house, so they can be protected."
Nodding Embry said, "Yeah, that's good. And with Seth having Imprinted on Sarah, there is no way he's going to let Cullen get close to her. I know he was the only one to get along with Cullen, but I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to kill him now if he actually tries to harm Sarah."
"Me too. But yeah, I just wanted to catch you up on what's been going on the past two days. I know I gave you some time off from phasing and you wouldn't know what's been going on."
"Speaking of phasing, does the rest of the Pack know that Bella is back and with a daughter she had with you?"
Jacob shook his head. "No, just you and Seth know. Quil has been busy taking care of Old Quil, Paul is on vacation with Rachel—though they should be returning soon, Jared is on his honeymoon with Kim, Collin and Brady haven't phased since vampires left the area, and Sam and Leah…"
The Pack brothers fell into a somber silence at the thought of their last mentioned Pack members. Jacob cleared his throat to cut through the silence before saying, "Well, I'm just going to hope everything will be alright. But with the little pixie seeing the future and all, I wouldn't be surprised if she's keeping tabs on both Bella and Sarah. And if Cullen even steps foot back into Forks and tries to harm my family, I'll rip his head from his shoulders."
Embry smiled at the mention of Bella being his family. Jacob had never lost his love for the brunette, even when she had stomped all over his heart when they were teenagers. Time had healed him, but he still loved her deeply and knew she was the only person to ever be able to cut him deeply. Even so, she was the mother of his child and he believed her to be family; always had before Sarah and always will.
Deciding to lighten the mood a bit Embry said, "Well, I have some news to share." A happy smile appeared on his face. "Angie and I are having a baby. We just found out yesterday."
Jacob grinned at his friend and clapped a hand on his shoulder saying, "Congratulations, man. That's great news and I'm happy for you guys. I'll tell you now that fatherhood is actually fun. I know I missed out on Sarah being a baby and changing diapers and getting up in the middle of the night and all that, but from what I've experienced with her in the past two days has made me realize that I wouldn't give it up for the world. You'll enjoy it Embry, and you'll treasure the little boy or girl that comes into yours and Angela's life. I already treasure Sarah and wouldn't give her up for anything."
"Thanks Jake. I'll admit, I am nervous though. But Angela promised to not tell anyone if I pass out during the birthing process."
Jacob threw his head back and laughed, already seeing in his head Embry passing out from watching his wife trying to push out their baby. Embry chuckled himself and scratched the back of his head. They spoke a bit longer before heading back the Call home. As they entered they heard Sarah say, "Checkmate. That's five wins to your four, Sethy."
"What are you two up to?" Jacob asked as he moved to sit next to his daughter while Embry sat on the couch near Seth.
Sarah smiled and answered, "Playing chess. I'm beating Seth."
"By one," Seth said with a smile. Setting up the board again he said, "I'll win again this time, though."
Smirking Jacob said, "Seth, I've beat you in chess before several times, and in less than ten moves. I can just help Sarah beat you this time."
"Don't you dare, Jake."
Sarah giggled and snuggled up against her father before saying, "We're going to kick your butt, Sethy."
The three men laughed at the preteen's words as Sarah moved a pawn to start the new game. As they all talked and laughed with each other over the game, Bella lingered in the doorway of Angela's kitchen and watched them with a smile. She felt so much happiness watching them interact with Sarah and how easily Sarah took to Embry, just like she had with Seth. Jacob was obvious, seeing as she always wanted to meet him and finally had. Furthermore, she was glad Jacob convinced her to stay. Seeing how happy her daughter was made the decision all the more easy to have made. She just hoped this happiness would last.