Jacob didn't waste any time in pulling the first bike- the red one, which was destined to be Bella and I's- apart immediately. He had explained to us earlier that the bikes would be safe within his garage since Billy wouldn't be able to make the trip with his wheelchair. The ground was too uneven to move out here by himself.
Bella was currently sitting in the passenger seat in Jacob's Rabbit, while I was sitting on a creeper; which I figured out it was a device to move underneath a car easier. We were all happily chatting, my greatest shock was Bella. She actually seemed like she was coming more out of her shell than I've seen her all weekend. She was actually participating in the conversations- even though most of them were Jacob and I updating on our lives. He would talk about how his sophomore year was progressing and I would talk about how school was back in Jacksonville. Currently, he was telling us about his best friends that he hangs out with.
"Quil and Embry?" Bella questioned, picking up the uncommon names. "Those are unusual names."
Jacob chuckled in response, "Quil's a hand-me-down, and I think Embry got named after a soap opera star. I can't say anything, though. They fight dirty if you start on their names- they'll tag team you."
"Sounds like the best of friends." I joked while I nudged Jacob's leg with my boot-clad foot.
"They really are. Just don't mess with their names."
I nodded my head, "Duly noted."
"Jacob?" An echoed sounded from outside of the garage. Bella and I shared a look of worry before turning back to Jacob.
"Is that Billy?"
"No," Jacob ducked his head low almost like he was embarrassed, the red in his cheeks brighter than a few moments prior. "Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear." He mumbled under his breath.
The shouting voice started getting closer, "Jake? Are you out here?"
"Yeah!" Jacob shouted back before sighing and shaking his head lowly. Again, I shared a look with Bella, but this time I was more curious than worried.
It was a short wait until two teenage boys walked into the entrance of the garage. They both had the same sleek black hair, except one had it hung low on his shoulders while the other had a short buzz-cut. They had the same russet colored skin, like most people from the reservation. One was more slender than the lather, and almost the same height as Jacob. While the other, shorter teenager, was more burly- which he seemed to know. His white t-shirt was stretched over his chest, almost like Jacob's grey one. It was hard to believe these boys were only 16 years old.
Both boys seemed surprised to see Bella and I sitting in Jacob's garage. They both stopped short. The taller boy kept switching his eyes between the three of us while the shorter one kept his eyes on me with a growing smile on his face.
"Hey, guys." Jacob greeted easily, almost halfheartedly.
"Hey, Jake." The brawny one said keeping his eyes on me. I gave him a small smile in return which lead him to winking in my direction. "Hi, there."
"Quil, Embry- these are my friends, Bella and Julie." He pointed to each of us when he said our name.
The two boys shared a quick look, almost like they expected that Jacob would say that. The shorter of the two stepped up holding out his hand, "Charlie's kids, right?"
Bella and him quickly shook hands before I grabbed his hand in greeting. "That's right." Bella confirmed when we ended our hand shake. His hand was strangely warm in this cold weather. Though, he could have been wearing gloves.
"I'm Quil Ateara." He announced pointing to himself with a grand smile.
"Nice to meet you." Bella and I greeted back at the same time.
"Hey, I'm Embry, Embry Call- you probably already figured that out, though." Embry quickly stood forward shaking both Bella and I's hand. He shoved his hand back into his pocket once he stepped back next to Quil.
"Nice to meet you, too."
"So, what are you guys doing?" Quil asked with a suggestive voice. He kept glancing down at me and I shifted slightly on the creeper.
"We are going to fix up these bikes." It was like once Jacob said the magical word bikes, the boys glanced down at the scattered parts on the floor with interest. They both moved closer and started questioning Jacob with words that I couldn't registered. I looked up at Bella with a raised eyebrow.
"I think we need to have a Y-chromosome to really understand." She shook her head, glancing back up at the excited boys. I gave her a genuine laugh as I followed her direction.
After a while, Bella sighed as she slid out of the Rabbit and I knew it was time to start heading back. Since we denied the invitation to invite Charlie over for dinner, we had to go make some for when he gets home.
Jacob looked up from his engrossed conversation to smile apologetically at Bella and I, "We're boring you, aren't we?"
"Nah." Bella shook her head with a small smile. "We just have to go cook dinner for Charlie."
It wasn't a lie that they weren't boring us. I was enjoying myself being in the boys company. It was comforting and homey. I could continue doing it if we didn't need to go back home.
"Oh, well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get started rebuilding them." Jacob wiped his hands on a dirty rag as he stood up. "When do you want to work on them again?"
"How about tomorrow?" I asked knowing that I had nothing to do.
Unbeknownst to Jacob, Quil and Embry exchanged mirror grins.
"That would be great!" Jacob's smile was radiant.
"I have work until 3 o'clock tomorrow, but I can come down after work." Bella shrugged her shoulders agreeing.
"If you make a list, we can go shop for parts until Bella gets out of work. We'll pick you up on the way back to Jake's." I suggested.
Jacob's smile fell as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sounds good, but I'm still not sure I should let you two pay for everything."
Bella and I shook our head in unison making the boys blink at our twin-like actions. "No way. We're bankrolling this party. You just have to supply the labor and expertise."
Embry openly rolled his eyes at Quil, making me laugh quietly. "That doesn't seem right." Jacob shook his head, still not agreeing with us.
"Jake," I sighed placing my hands on my hips. "If we took these to a mechanic, how much would he charge us?"
Jacob smiled down at me before nodding his head, "Okay, okay, you're getting a deal."
"Not to mention the riding lessons." Bella added with an excited smile.
Quil smirked as he turned to whisper something in Embry's ear. I couldn't make out what he said but the fact that Jacob's smile dropped made me think it wasn't something appropriate. Jacob's hand snapped back and smacked the back of Quil's head, "That's it, get out."
I laughed as Bella shook her head, "Now, really, we have to go." Bella grabbed my hand lightly before pulling me towards the door. "We'll see you tomorrow, Jacob."
I laughed again once Quil and Embry's chorus of, "Wooo!" shouted through the garage. Bella just shook her head at the teenagers, but you could see that she was still amused.
"If either of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow..." The rest of Jacob's threat was unheard but I could only image what the rest of the sentence was going to be.
Bella and I jumped into the truck, this time I was the one driving; if we were going to start hanging out with Jacob more often, I'll need to learn which ways to go. It was quiet between Bella and I before she started laughing to herself. I looked over at her in surprise, and I could tell that it even surprised herself.
"What are you laughing at?" I said turning back to the road in front of me.
Instead of answering, Bella just laughed again. I soon joined in, enjoying the fact that my sister was genuinely laughing after months of depression.
We easily beat Charlie home. When he walked into the house, Bella was just finishing the fried chicken and I was setting up the table. "Hey, dad!" We both called out with matching grins.
He raised his eyebrows as me and him made eye contact, and I knew that he was surprised about Bella genuinely smiling and talking without being spoken to. "Hey." His voice was uncertain, almost on edge so he didn't say something that made Bella go back into depression. "Did you have fun with Jacob?"
Bella started moving the food back onto the table, "Yeah, we did."
"I've missed the Blacks'." I smiled as I sat down in the spot I've pretty much claimed my own.
"Well, that's good." He sat down on his seat. "What did you three do?"
Bella and I shared a look when Charlie wasn't paying attention before I answer, "We watched him work in his garage. Did you know that he was rebuilding a Volkswagen?" I said hoping that I seemed convincing enough to not raise questions.
"Yeah, I think Billy mentioned that."
Bella and I sighed easily once he accepted the answer before relaxing.
Dinner was uneventful through the rest of dinner. Dad would keep his eyes on Bella, probably waiting for her to break down, but she never did. I half expected Bella to go back into her depressive state by the end of the night, but she stayed calm. We didn't really make much conversation, except a few comments when dad was watching a hockey game and Bella was doing her homework.
"It's starting to get late." Charlie sighed before shutting off the TV. "I'm heading to bed."
"Yeah, I'm right behind you." I stretched my limbs as I got up from the couch. Bella didn't say anything, she kept doing her homework on the couch. "Bella?"
"I'll go up soon." She muttered and I didn't question it. She's most likely waiting for the break in her good mood.
"Okay." I nodded before heading to my room. I quickly got out of my dirty clothes before relaxing in my bed. It was probably the most peaceful I've slept since I've left Jacksonville.
Again, thank you for all of you that are reading this story, it really means a lot! Let me know how you feel about this chapter, I'm excited to start writing the next one already!