Chapter Four: Jacob Black
I woke up feeling more rested than I have all weekend; Bella didn't scream all night. I could tell that it surprised dad when he came down from his room in the morning. We both shared a glance, calculating the situation. "Did you..." He left the question open, knowing that I knew what he was talking about. I just shook my head. He pursed his lips as I sat a coffee down in front of him. "I didn't either."
I didn't get to respond since Bella was walking into the kitchen. I smiled tiredly at her- it was only 8 o'clock in the morning. She didn't seem to have any blue bags underneath of her eyes. Her eyes were more open, more awake- but they were still cautious. The same as last night, like she was waiting for something.
It was quiet in the kitchen because no one knew what to say. It was getting to the point of being tense and awkward. I held out a plate full of breakfast foods with a bright smile, "Eggs?" I could tell both Bella and dad were happy for the break in the silence. I sighed under my breath as Bella grabbed the plate from me. I put less on her plate than I had with mine and dad's, knowing that she wouldn't eat the whole plate otherwise.
"How'd you sleep?" I decided to face the elephant in the room head on. Dad almost seemed to tense as he waited for Bella to answer. I knew that he was afraid of Bella going back into the empty shell that she was used to, but we couldn't keep treating her like she's fragile. Bella was never one to take pity from anybody.
"Good..." Bella muttered. "Better than I have for a while." She muttered under her breath almost like she hoped no one would hear the last part. I let the conversation drop since dad was giving me a certain look. I could only translate it to 'be careful what you say.'
"What are you two up to today?" Charlie asked changing the subject. The mention of plans today had me get excited for the day. Jacob and I had plans to get parts for the bikes, not that Charlie needed to know that.
"I'm actually going to Jacob's today again until Bella gets out. Then we're gonna pick her up and I'll watch them do homework." I laughed trying to be natural even though I was lying to my dad. I can't say that I've never lied to him, I've just never hid anything like this from him.
Charlie nodded his head, not looking up from a snag in his jacket, "Oh."
"Do you mind?" Bella asked, feigning concern. Bella and I knew that was overjoyed about both of us hanging out with Jacob, especially Bella. "We could stay..."
Dad looked up quickly, "No, no!" He said almost in a panic. "You go ahead. Harry was going to come up to watch the game with me anyways."
"Maybe Harry could give Billy a ride up." Bella suggested, and I held back a grin. Billy out of the house left us with nothing to worry about concerning the bikes.
"That's a great idea." Charlie nodded his head with a ghost of a smile of his face.
Charlie quickly finished his breakfast before hurrying to the phone, probably to call Harry or Billy. I gave Bella a smile as I grabbed the dishes before slipping them in the sink, I'll get to them later tonight.
"Are you ready to go?" Bella asked slipping on her rain jacket. I looked down at my outfit before nodding my head. I quickly grabbed the truck keys before following Bella out of the house.
I almost groaned when I looked at the rain pouring down. I was surprised the roads were completely flooded with how hard it was raining currently. I almost regretted wearing white today. I slipped the hood over my head quickly before diving into the rain, truck keys at the ready. I could feel the laughter build in my throat as I tried to hurry to get the truck unlocked. I managed to hold in my giggles until Bella and I were both out of the rain. She didn't find it as amusing as I did.
The car ride to the Newton's shop was silent, there was no radio to the car- just a blank hole with wires falling out. I was almost tempted to ask Bella about what happened, but for some reason I knew it wasn't the best idea to mention it. I had a feeling it had to do with Edward, and if it did, I didn't want to open those tender wounds.
"3 o'clock, Jacob and I will be here." I shouted out into the rain as Bella ran into work. The only response I got was a quick smile back.
I was sure that I took the wrong turn about three times before I was able to get onto Jacob's street. The rain coming down in buckets didn't do anything for my poor sight. I could barely see the vehicle in front of me, let alone the street signs. When I finally parked in Jacob's driveway, I took a breath of relief. I didn't want to have to call Charlie to figure out how to get back on the right track.
I shut off the truck as Jacob came running out of the house with a black umbrella. I gave him a light smile before throwing my hood back up on top of my head. I jumped out of the truck and under his umbrella, trying to stay as dry as possible. "Charlie called and said you were on the way." Jacob smiled down at me. I swear he got taller since yesterday...
"Thank goodness." I said looking up at his tall frame. "I didn't think to bring an umbrella."
"Good call on inviting Billy up." Jacob held up his hand for a high five, purposely above my 5'4" height. I rolled my eyes as I reached up to slap his hand. He snorted a laugh when I had to step on my toes to reach his hand.
"It was Bella's idea, actually." We started moving into the house away from the mud outside- really shouldn't have worn white.
"I'll have to give her a high five, too." Jacob mentioned opening the front door. I snorted attractively as I followed him inside. I could see the scornful expression on Bella's face when Jacob tries to get her to high five him at his height. It was comical to imagine.
Billy and I shared a brief hug as Harry wheeled him out the door- I didn't even notice that Harry's truck was already here. "It's good to see you, kid." Harry patted my shoulder lightly in greeting. I smiled brightly back at him, giving him the same response.
We waited until we saw Harry drive off down the road before getting to business. I jumped onto his bed lightly, "Where to first?" I asked after he was finished giving me a small tour to his room. It was anything special, not that I expected much out of a 16 year old teenage boy. It had the essentials; a bed, a dresser, a closet, and some car magazines laying around the room. It was a little messy, but nothing unmanageable.
Jacob sat down, much softer than I did, next to me as he pulled out a piece of paper with a list, his messy handwriting all over the white sheet. "We should start at the dump first, see if we can get lucky." He hesitated, "This could get a little expensive." He tried to warn me.
I grabbed the list out of his hand and looked down. It was true that the list was long. I was tempted to ask if this included both bikes, or if we need to double it because both bikes needed it. I knew that if I asked that, he would try to offer money, and Bella and I have already got the funds taken care of.
"I'm talking about more than a hundred dollars here." Jacob continued, trying to coax me into letting him help pay.
I pulled out my wallet to show him my debit card with a smile- I had Bella transfer money into my account last night after dinner while Charlie was watching the game. "We're covered." I said confidently.
I handed Jacob back the list as he sighed. "Speaking of covered, maybe you should wear different shoes." Jacob got up from his bed as he pointed down to my white sneakers.
I held back the blush as I realized that he was right. "Do you think we have time to stop at my house?" I asked as I got up from the bed, standing in front of him.
He laughed, "No need. You can borrow a pair of Rachel's old rain boots." He nodded his head over his shoulder, silently telling me to follow him. I did without any complaint.
He pulled a pair of black rubber boots from the closet, "Hopefully these fit you alright." Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "She used to wear them when she still lived here."
I grabbed them and sat on the couch to try them on. Luckily, they were a perfect fit. I smiled up at Jacob as I placed my white sneakers down near the front door. "Thank you. I don't know if I would have survived if I got my sneakers all muddy." I joked as Jacob opened the front door. It wasn't raining as hard as it was when I first arrived. It was just starting to drizzle now.
"I wouldn't have let you die because of sneakers." Jacob poked my shoulder jokingly.
"Ha." I rolled my eyes sarcastically before following Jacob outside. Even though it wasn't pouring anymore, I still placed my hood on top of my head. My hair has the ability to get frizzy when it gets humid. I rather try to skip that.
Jacob jumped into the truck after I did. I smiled over in his direction, "Which way?"
It was almost surprising how natural it was to joke with Jacob. I knew that he was someone that I could hang out with from yesterday's hangout, but I didn't think that I would be laughing as much as I did today. Even when the mud splashed all over the bottom of my pants, and the rain randomly pouring down on us, I don't think I could have spent my day any better.
The way that Jacob seemed to make the best out of any situation was my favorite thing about him. He was a generally happy person. I don't think I could imagine a frown on his face. It was like he had his own sort of gravitational pull towards him that made people want to be around him. He was warm.
"Run." Jacob laughed as we tried to miss another downfall of rain. "Come on, Jules." He gripped my hand lightly before running under a couple trees that were closest to us.
I was barely able to stand on my own as I felt laughter escape my mouth. It was hard not to genuinely laugh with him. It was the kind of laugh that escaped you without notice; the loud, chest laugh. "Maybe we should have checked the weather for the day." I managed to choke out through my laughter.
Jacob laughed along with me, "Come on, I think it's slowing."
We kept stopping every few feet, only running from our shelter when we thought it was slow enough. My sweatshirt was sopping wet, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I know I'll care when I somehow get sick later on, but I know that I won't regret it. "Almost there." I laughed trying to make my voice louder than the rain. It was slamming down on the metal canopy that we were under, making it seem almost thunderous.
"Give me the keys, I'll run and unlock the car." Jacob said holding out his wet hand.
"No, we can run together." I smiled a wet smile at him. I'm sure that I looked like a hot mess with my hair matted to my hair, heavy with rain. I just hoped my makeup stayed on alright, though I'm sure I look like a raccoon.
Jacob looked down at me, almost like he was contemplating if he should let me get wetter than I was already, but I was wet already. No more harm could be done. I didn't give him any time to argue as I gripped Jacob's warm hand in mine and started running towards the truck.
"You're crazy." Jacob laughed out loud, making the sound vibrate through the truck. We had both just jumped into the truck with water falling onto the seats.
I shrugged my shoulders with a permanent smile graced on my face, "Live a little."
According to Jacob, we did very well at the junkyard. He tried to explain to me what each part was and why it was used, but I kept laughing at his excitement. It was like a little kid in a candy shop. His smile only brightened the more he talked about each greased up part.
It was about the time that Bella was getting out of work, so we decided to stop there on the way to the next place for parts. It didn't take long before Bella jumped into the truck- I let her drive as I scooted down next to Jacob. "How'd you make out?" Bella asked as she drove down towards Checker Auto Parts in Hoquiam. It was going to be about a two hour drive, so I relaxed against my seat.
"We made out well." Jacob smiled brightly. "We just have a few more parts that we need."
Bella held out her checkbook from her pocket, "We're covered." She repeated my words from earlier making Jacob and I laugh. Bella raised her eyebrows at the both of us, but we didn't bother explaining our laughter.
The time passed easily with Jacob as a passenger. He kept Bella and I entertained, I almost didn't realize how far we've been driving. He talked more about his friends and his adventures. "I'm doing all the talking." He complained lightly after finishing a story about Quil and his troubles. Apparently, he asked out some senior's steady girlfriend and Jacob, plus Embry, had to try to hold back the senior from beating the hell out of the poor kid. Totally misunderstanding.
"Why don't you two take a turn?" Jacob offered. "What's going on in Forks? It has to be more exciting than La Push."
"Wrong." Bella sighed. I let her answer the question since I've only been in Forks for a couple days. "There's nothing really. Your friends are a lot more interesting than mine."
"I like your friends." I answered truthfully. "Quil's funny."
Jacob frowned and it was completely wrong on his face. "I think Quil likes you both, too."
"He's a little young for me." I gave Jacob a laugh but he only frowned further.
"He's not that much younger than you. It's just a year and a few months."
I bit my lip as I thought about what he said. I didn't want to assume anything, but it didn't sound like he was talking about just Quil anymore.
Bella understood my discomfort as she stepped in, "Sure, but, considering the difference in maturity between guys and girls, don't you have to count that in dog years? What does that make us, about twelve years older?"
Jacob laughed at what Bella said, letting the tension die back down. "Okay, but if you're going to get pick like that, you have to average in size, too. You're both so small, I'll have to knock ten years off your total."
"Five foot four is perfectly average," I snorted humorlessly. "It's not our fault you're a freak."
We continued our banter for the rest of the road trip to Hoquiam, trying to win points to make ourselves seem older. Bella lost two years, while I gained two, since she had lack of knowledge to changing tires. Though she gained back a year since she was the bookkeeper at the house, while I lost one. Just like in real life, Bella and I's age in our banter was the same at twenty-seven years old; Jacob just being a year under us.
We only stopped our competition when Jacob became concentrated at Checker's shop. We managed to find the rest of the parts on his list, with the help of a very helpful associate. I didn't miss the narrowed gaze that Jacob gave the 20-something year old that tried to help but Bella and I find whatever we needed.
Jacob felt confident in the parts that we collected today, so we started to head back towards La Push, continuing our small competition about age.
By the time that we reached La Push, Bella was twenty-three, I was twenty-nine, and Jacob was thirty. Bella called favoritism on Jacob since I was a year under him, but he just smirked and subtracted another year from Bella for childish acts.
Billy wasn't back from the game yet, so we didn't need to worry about bringing the parts into the garage. We evenly spread out everything on top of Jacob's counters in the shed. Jacob immediately started getting to work, expertly weaving his fingers around each piece, knowing exactly where they went and how they went back together. It was crazy watching him work. I had subconsciously moved closer to watch him work, while Bella was sitting in the same spot she did yesterday; inside the passenger side of Jacob's Rabbit. I never really liked to watch Phil work on his car when I lived in Jacksonville, but somehow Jacob captivated my attention. Maybe it was the way that he was still chatting effortlessly while he worked on each piece. Or maybe it was the way the veins in his arms moved frequently with each push and pull of the wrench; the way his muscles moved softly underneath his black t-shirt.
The rest of the day went by too quickly for my taste. The sun started to set behind the trees when we heard Billy's voice calling for us. Bella jumped up from the vehicle before waving her hands around, not knowing what to do. I laughed as I sat up with Jacob from the ground- even though Jacob offered me the bucket to sit on.
"Just leave it." Jacob said. "I'll work on it later tonight."
"Don't forget your schoolwork or anything." Bella said with a guilty voice.
I laughed, "Yeah, especially since I told dad that you both would be working on homework tonight."
All of our heads snapped up with Charlie's voice sounded through the trees and bushes, "Girls?" He sounded a lot closer than he would have if he was at the house.
"Shoot." Bella muttered, "Coming!"
"Let's go." Jacob smiled. He shut the light off quicker than I was expecting, so when I tried to follow him out of the shed, I was blind for a moment. I felt a rough hand grab mine before pulling me outside.
He easily found the path back towards the house, leading me to believe that he's been out in the shed past dark multiple times. The uneven ground made it hard to move across steadily and rushed. All three of us kept tripping over our feet as we tried making it to the house without falling into the mud.
When the house came into view, we were all still laughing. I doubt that Jacob would have noticed, but Bella's laugh didn't sound right. It sounded like she wasn't sure she was supposed to be laughing. Her body wasn't used to laughing.
Charlie was standing under the little porch in the back waiting for us to make an appearance, while Billy was sitting in the doorway behind him.
"Hey, dad." All three of us said at the same time, leading us into laughter again.
Charlie stared wide-eyed at Bella's laughter before he gained control over his emotions. He didn't happen to miss that Jacob's large hand was still around mine, and I can't say that I really minded.
"Billy invited us for dinner." Dad said trying to figure out what got into the three of us.
"My super secret recipe for spaghetti. Handed down for generations." Billy smirked down at us.
Jacob snorted, "I don't think Ragu's actually been around that long."
The small little farm house was crowded with people. Harry Clearwater and his family, his wife Sue and two children Leah and Seth, had come over for dinner too. I barely remembered Leah or Seth, but I remembered Sue from a couple fishing trips during the summers. They were vague memories since I was younger, but I gave Sue a hello-hug nevertheless. Sue helped me remember her children a little, explaining a few memories back when. Leah was a senior, like Bella and I, but a year older. She had beautiful black hair that flowed around her shoulders. Her face was much like her mothers, exotically beautiful. Seth was fourteen, and clearly idolized Jacob. He practically hung onto every word that Jacob muttered.
The kitchen table was way too small for the bunch of us, so Charlie and Harry brought chairs outside to the yard. We all ate our dinners from our laps, in a circle. All that was missing was a little fire in the middle.
The boys talked about the game that was on today, and talked about some future fishing plans that they needed to make. Jacob, Seth, Bella, and I mostly tried staying in our own conversation. It was confusing at times when everyone got too loud, and talked over each other. The other conversation would laugh over the other, making it hard to hear what exactly everyone was talking about. It was all a bunch of jumbled up words.
Since I was sitting next to Jacob, whenever I stretched in my seat, my hand would brush up against his arm. I apologized the first couple of times before he told me not to worry about it. Inside, I rather enjoyed the feel of our contact.
I don't know where any of these feelings came from. I shook my thoughts, just playing it off as a friend thing. I've never felt so natural with any friends, it must just be how comfortable I am around Jacob.
I should have figured that our little pow-wow would have ruined by the most unavoidable thing in Washington; rain. Since the party didn't have anywhere to go, because we couldn't all comfortably fit in Billy's living room, we all had to go home. Harry had driven Charlie down from Forks, so we all squeezed into the truck on the way back- I was driving this time.
Charlie asked a bunch of questions about what we did today, still being cautious about what questions he asked, and how far to ask them. We answered as much as the truth as we could; we went to get parts with Jacob and watched him work in the garage. He doesn't need to know that it was actually bikes that Jacob was fixing, instead of his Rabbit.
I didn't realize how tired I was when I got to the house. The driving all day was sure to take enough energy out of me. I quickly jumped into the shower before anyone else could beat me to it. I took my time in getting cleaned, getting rid of all the dirt and mud. It wasn't until Bella knocked on the door, telling me to hurry up, that I jumped out of the shower. I wrapped the big, fluffy towel around my body before smiling sheepishly at Bella. She rolled my eyes, but kept her mouth shut. She knows how I was in showers.
I quickly ran into my room, I didn't need my dad seeing me in a towel. It didn't take long before I got changed and jumped into bed.
My phone started vibrating on my bedside table. I grabbed it without looking at the caller I.D. "Hello?"
"Hey." The familiar deep voice greeted on the other side. I felt a smile move onto my face as I heard his voice.
"What's up, Jacob?" I asked leaning against my bedpost.
"I was just wondering something, but I realized it was stupid." I could practically hear the blush in his voice. "I was going to hang up but you answered before I could."
I laughed at his confession, "What is it, Jacob?"
"Why do you call me that?"
"Is that your question?"
"No," He laughed along with me. "Just curious."
"Because I like your full name, now continue." I felt my neck heat up with embarrassment. I felt like I didn't have control over what I said around this boy. He could ask me my family's deepest secret and I would probably tell him.
"When are you coming down next?" He finally asked.
I laughed into the receiving end, "See you tomorrow, Jacob." I ended the phone call, and the rest of the night with a smile resting on my face.
I was so happy about what happened today, I almost forgot that I had school the next morning.
Thank you all who reviewed my last chapter. I can't thank you guys for your kind words. I hope to hear more from this chapter. I'm pretty happy with it, it shows Jules and Jacob's relationship growing :)
Also thank you to all the quiet readers, the ones that favorite and follow this story. You're just as important too. So thank you.
Let me know how you think of this story. Question of the DAY: Which do you see? A struggling relationship between Jules or Jacob or an easy one from the beginning. Let me know what you guys think. I'd love to hear from you guys!