A/N: I do not own the Twilight franchise or any of its characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4: Release

Bella hadn't seen Jacob for the next 2 weeks. He didn't even bother to come see Renesmee. When questioned about his unusual disappearance by her daughter or Edward, the best she could come up with was that he needed time to work on his "inner peace"; which Bella would then facepalm herself for. It probably wasn't a lie, but it was a lousy excuse. She knew the real reason Jake hadn't been around lately. He most likely couldn't handle being around her. The two kept ending up in some sort of physically sensual situation.

Bella thought about this. She couldn't quite put two and two together for why he would start acting like this now. He tried to win her over multiple times before she married Edward, and to her knowledge any future with Jacob as anything more than his best friend was irrelevant. And when they touched each other, it would never feel as right as it felt recently. Of course they've hugged and held hands and so on before but it was as if the effects of their physical contact had been heightened. There were days where she found herself almost craving to be around him.

And when Bella wasn't thinking about Jacob she was studying her recent outer changes. Her eyes were brown again and she regained the ability to sleep. Bella didn't necessarily count these as disadvantages and this is just one of the things that scared her. If you were to ask her if she wanted to become a vampire with supernatural abilities or remain a boring human six years ago, she would pick the former without a second thought. However, lately she found life with Edward to be quite the drag. She often felt ashamed of herself. She felt like she wasted everyone's time. What was the point of even falling in love with Edward? Starting a family? She wasn't sure if the answer was just unwise decisions or fear. As Bella thought about all of this, she wondered if this was meant to happen. Was she just scared of a life with her best friend? Was a life with Jacob inevitable?

Her and Jake needed to talk ASAP. She picked up the telephone on the table by the couch and dialed him. The phone rang 3 times before he answered.

"Hello?" his voice sounded scruffy. He must have just woken up.

"Hey, Jake. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Bella replied, though, it was a little past twelve o'clock. Bella couldn't fathom why he would still be asleep at this time of day? "Um, I was just….thinking about you. I hope you're okay. I was hoping we could talk. We could go to your favorite diner. My treat."

It took him a few seconds to respond. "Yeah, sure. That sounds nice, actually. I'll be there in an hour. See you."

"Bye, Jake." She put the phone back on the receiver. She called up the stairs, "Edward! I'm hanging with Jake today, we're going to Bay Cafe."

"So you're not coming with me and Ness?" Edward countered. Crap, Bella thought. She completely forgot about their plans. They were supposed to be taking a trip to visit Alice and Jasper. But she really needed to talk to Jacob. She had so many questions and so much to get off her chest.

"Oh. I guess not. Jake needs me right now," she replied, sticking to her original story.

"Okay...I suppose I'll just tell Alice you can't make it," he said descending down the stairs.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." she watched as he walked towards her. She reached up to give him a quick kiss. "I'm sorry," she added. And she meant it. The last time she saw Alice and Jasper was last Christmas and now it was the second week of November. "Tell them I said hi?" Bella asked.

"Of course." he grinned as he put on his black trench coat. "Ness! Come on!" he hollered up the stairs. Renesmee came down in a crisp white shirt with lace sleeves and black denim jeans to match. Bella realized she decided to top off her outfit with the sparkly silver Ugg boots Alice brought her. She took a minute to acknowledge that she had a truly beautiful daughter. Renesmee noticed her staring.

"God, mom. I'm going to Aunt Alice's not senior prom." her daughter rolled her eyes.

"Sorry for staring," she apologized. Her daughter hated the attention just as much as she did. "You look beautiful. Are you wearing makeup?" Bella noticed a hint of mascara.

"A bit, yeah. Aunt Alice mailed some over a little while back. Is it too much?" Bella shook her head.

"Nope. It's perfect. Have a good time," she pulled Renesmee in for a hug.

"You're not coming?" Renesmee mumbled into her shoulder.

"No, sweetheart. Jake needs me today," she answered. Renesmee pulled back and gave her mom a suspicious look. Bella returned a reassuring smile. She knew why her daughter was looking at her like that. Their last two meetings turned into way more than it should have. "You have nothing to worry about." For Bella's own sake, she hoped she was right. The truth was Bella had no idea how the day would go for them. She just needed to see him, and make sure he's okay.

Renesmee sighed before she said, "Okay. Could you tell him I asked about him?" Edward was making his way out the door.

"Absolutely. I'll see you later," she placed a soft kiss on top of Rensesmee's hair. She watched as her daughter grabbed her black coat and walked out the door.

….

As Bella got ready to meet Jake, she—for the third time this week—thanked the heavens for her red eyes being no more. It was a breath of fresh air to not have to worry about people's stares. She still wasn't too sure about what exactly was happening to her but she liked it so far and she was the only person who knew it, at least for now. As far as Edward and Renesmee knew, Bella was scared and eagerly wanted answers. But in secret, these changes felt like an early Christmas present. It was impossible to keep up the act but for so long. Hopefully, she will find a way to tell them the truth about how she's been feeling lately. She heard a knock on the door. It must have been Jacob.

When Bella opened the door, she was smacked in the face by his rustic scent. "You smell nice," she blurted. "Wait what?" Bella shook her head in confusion. Jacob shouldn't smell nice to her. He should reek, really bad. But right now he didn't. Was this another change?

"Um….thanks? Listen, I was thinking we could take The Fox. That's if you don't mi—" Jacob paused. He noticed her eyes were no longer red. "Bells, your eyes…."

Bella forgot she hadn't told Jake about her unexpected changes. "Oh! Yeah, I'm uh….not sure why they've gone back to their brown color. But I feel fine otherwise, which is good I suppose," she shrugged.

Jacob could only stare at her with his hand on his chin in confusion for what felt like forever. "So, they just….changed back? Did it hurt?" Bella couldn't help but giggle. Confused Jacob was always amusing to her.

"Basically, I was just looking in the mirror one day and there it was." That was a lie. She realized after Edward woke her up from her first sleep in four years. Bella didn't really want to bring up the fact she can sleep again just yet. "And no, it didn't hurt."

Jacob figured it was best to not push the subject, "As long as you feel okay, I guess. Are you ready?"

Bella finally answered, "Yeah, just let me grab my jacket." She went for her coat and turned on the alarm before she met back up with Jacob outside.

The two drove in a comfortable silence for the first few moments. The Fox was his new black Chevy Silverado. He had to finally let go of his beloved Rabbit a year ago. His naming decision came from the fact that foxes prey on rabbits. Bella always thought this technique was pretty clever. She also thought that it fit Jacob better than that tiny vehicle he drove for so long. But the little car held so many of the pair's memories.

"Do you miss the Rabbit?" Bella was curious.

"Yeah, every now and then. But I like my Fox better. She's bigger. And sexier too." He winked his eye at Bella and chuckled.

Bella watched with wide eyes as the waiter brought over three plates stacked with food. There was a french toast combo on one, a California omelette on another, and a chicken cobb salad on the other.

"Stop judging me with your eyes," Jacob ordered stuffing his mouth with french toast.

Bella laughed, "I'm not, I just think it's sort of magical that you can eat so much in so little time."

In no time, Jacob was slouching back in the booth with his hands on his stomach. He had just a bit of his salad left.

"Thanks, Bella. So what did you need to talk about?" Jacob sat upright again, getting straight to the point. It should have been obvious. The man disappeared for two weeks without saying anything to anybody. Grant it, he was a grown man but he also had people that cared about him.

"Well, actually I wanted to talk to you about some really weird things that've been troubling me lately. You already saw one of them." she pointed to her eyes.

Jacob nodded his head slowly. "Right, what else is wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Bella fiddled with her fingers on top of the table, contemplating if she really wants to talk about this right now. She jumped a little when she felt Jacob's hands on hers, instantly calming her down.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" he peered into her eyes. He sure wasn't going to complain about her eye change. Those brown eyes felt like home to him, though he had no idea why they changed. He'd never heard of such a thing.

With a sigh Bella said, "I know, it's just….I haven't felt much like myself for some time now. And now all of a sudden I can sleep again and my eyes—"

"You can do what?" Jacob's eyes were wide in amazement.

"I can sleep again. I've been sleeping for the last two weeks." Bella mumbled.

"How could this happen?" he pressed.

"That's the thing, Jake. I don't know. What I do know is that lately I have been feeling like I have no purpose being here, alive. Everything appears to be pointless and I've been distancing myself from my family and I don't feel like me….I feel like I'm trapped," her eyes flicked to their still-joined hands. "And the other day, in the kitchen," her breathing became heavy, "when we…." This was all becoming too much. She shook her head, trying to calm herself down. "I just haven't been the same since. I don't know what anything means anymore," she finished in a whisper. Her eyes were beginning to tear.

Jacob was at a loss for words. He gazed at her shaking form and wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her. Seeing her in pain was not his strong suit, but he remained on his side of the booth. "Honey, what do you think all this means?" he asked. There had to be some explanation for this.

"I don't know, Jake," she shrugged wiping at her eyes. "What if I'm dying?" she covered her face completely and wept into her hands.

Jacob immediately moved to her half of the booth and enveloped her in his arms. "You're not dying, Bells. Don't be ridiculous," he soothed. He used his hand to rub her hair. He was just as confused as her and didn't really know if she was withering away or not but he had to stay positive. "We'll get to the bottom of this, don't worry," he promised.

"I may have an idea," she whispered. "Sometimes….I get this feeling. Like I need to be around you," she sat up straight. "And I try to push it away, Jake. I swear I've tried but nothing's working. I've tried to read but I can't focus. I try to sleep but you're in my dreams….all the time." She rambled as Jake sat as still as a bump on a log. He was right that day when he said she felt something. He just didn't realize the intensity of it. So many thoughts were running through his head. He wondered if she told Edward any of this.

Is she changing because of me? Because she wants to be around me? There's no way this is an imprint, he thought. Nothing was making sense. He always felt this way towards Bella—craving to be near her, seeing her in his dreams—but was forbidden from expressing it because she chose Edward. So why now? After all this time? What was the point?, he pondered.

"...and what scares me most is that I like it when I shouldn't. When I'm with you I feel better. When you hold me, even now, Edward is the farthest thing from my mind." She couldn't believe she was saying this out loud. Bella didn't even realize her head was on his chest until she heard his heart stop beating. She turned her head upward to see him already gazing down at her. Their gaze held so much towards each other. For Jacob it was a mixture of passion and longing with a hint of sadness. Bella's eyes were filled with fear but also love.

The roaring thunder interrupted their wordless conversation. It was pouring rain outside. Bella tucked her hair behind her left ear and turned towards the table in front of them. "We should probably head back." she mumbled.

"Yep." Jacob replied. He slid out of the booth and Bella followed, both of them silent.

When Jacob pulled into the driveway of Bella's house, he didn't get out of the car right away. He took the keys out of the ignition and stared at the steering wheel. Everything was silent, the only noise being the heavy rain.

Then without warning, he reached over and laid his warm hand on Bella's thigh. Bella wrapped her hand around his.

"What is it, Jake?" He didn't say anything as he pulled her towards him until she was pressed against him. He turned to ask her with his eyes the one thing he's been yearning to do for the last four years. He leaned down slowly, stopping midway to gently tilt her head upward. When she didn't stop him, he continued to lean in until his lips were on hers. It was slow but full of passion. His mouth was smooth like warm honey. This kiss gave Bella everything she craved for: life, affection, and warmth. She deepened the kiss by slowly sliding her tongue over his bottom lip, Jacob growled at the contact. Soon her hand was in his hair tugging him closer even though they were as close as they could get.

Suddenly, Bella pulled away and exited the truck without saying a word. At the end of the day she was still a married woman and had no business in another man's arms, no matter their past or how right it felt. It wasn't even seconds later when Jacob was on her trail following her into the house.

"Bella, I'm sorry." He said sincerely. He was out of line. But it felt as if he was drawn to her, to her lips, to her body, to her everything. He grabbed her elbow when she entered the kitchen but she yanked it away as she turned to face him.

"Jacob, please don't touch me. Can't you see what it's doing to me?" she pleaded. Her mouth was saying one thing and her heart was telling her to kiss him again. She stood there looking at him, trying to decide whether to listen to her heart or to let her big mouth keep doing all the talking.

She reached him in four strides and crashed her mouth into his. His hands were on both sides of her face, cradling his precious treasure. He slid his hands carefully around to her back as he guided her to the counter, his lips never leaving hers. When they reached the counter his hands brushed over her ass, being sure to give it a soft squeeze. A faint moan escaped Bella's lips as Jacob grazed over her neck.

With his warm lips on her neck, he let his hands travel to her thighs as he hoisted her up with ease onto the marble counter. He was everywhere, all she could feel was Jacob.

The front door closed, jolting them apart but only for a second. Jacob's lips were back on hers as if he never heard anything. His hands were still on her bottom as he kissed her, pulling her towards where he needed to feel her most. He was devouring every inch of her mouth.

"Jake," she moaned in between kisses. "He's back," she could barely catch her breath. He finally reluctantly pulled away but not before taking her lips once more and sucking on her lower lip. Bella whimpered again and had to stop herself from kissing him again and slid down off the counter. She was grateful they hadn't made too much of a mess to clean up after. "Go. I'll call you," she ordered.

He gave her one last kiss on her forehead before he swept out the back entrance. Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He almost took her right there on the counter. And she almost let him. She knew she was treading very dangerous ground and was still confused about everything that was going on. But she didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. Perhaps it was time to explain to her family.

A/N: Thanks for reading & for the kind reviews.