Chapter 17:

"Bella? Hello? Please, tell me what the fuck I did wrong!"

Delete.

"You know I care about you. What did they say about me?"

Delete.

"You're a fucking bitch you know that?" he hissed. "Stop whoring around and come to your fucking senses. You can't just ghost me like this. It's not right!"

How many more would she have to delete. The voicemails were never ending and basically locked in her room, it was all she had to do.

"Bella, look, I'm sorry. Alright? I overreacted. Forget about those things I said. I love you. You're my best friend. I don't want to fight-"

Without a knock, her door banged open. Charlie stood at the end of her bed.

"Phone." was all he said.

Glaring at his outstretched hand, her bottom lip jutted out. "I thought you liked Jacob!"

Angry tears swam in her eyes and it seemed she could never catch a break. Her first mistake was thinking she could sneak into the house last night. The cop stationed outside her house had caught her coming down the street. The second mistake was hoping Charlie would let her go with minimal punishment.

She was wrong.

Throwing it more or less towards him, she glared out the window, scowling at the officers patrolling the edge of the forest.

It wasn't fair. She was being punished for what… just wanting to live her life? Her life shouldn't be on hold out of fear. That was no way to live.

"I know you don't understand and think I'm a monster but this is all for your own safety. Find me when you're ready to have a civil conversation."

And that was it. The door shut. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and sniffling, she buried her face in her pillow, muffling the sound of her crying.

Never could she do anything right. Everyone found something to fault her for even when it wasn't her fault.

Her plan was to call Jacob and apologize. She'd reacted impulsively and stupidly. He claimed he'd changed so she had to give him the benefit of the doubt, right? It was the fair thing to do. Last night, she was just surprised. It was unexpected the memory and startling and confusing.

Essentially it was her fault. Bella knew Jacob had a right to be upset. It was big, what she'd done and as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was a part of it just as much.

But violence was never an excuse for someone's emotions. She remembered him hitting the wall so It's not like she was being abused or anything. It very much so could've been her but was not. Besides, wasn't she the dangerous one?

Bella knew she had no reason to be afraid of him. Maybe annoyed and pissed off but not afraid.

Surly if Bella was terrified, she would've left him long ago. Why would she stay with someone so violent? It made no sense.

That's what she had to tell Jake or he'd go on thinking she was scared of him and that's the last thing she wanted.

ooOoo

Tap. Tap. Tap.

She sat up suddenly, roused from sleep. The sound of little pecks bounced around her room in a patterned manner.

"Wha-"

Tap.

The window. Bella turned just in time to see a small pebble fly towards the glass. Another one followed.

"What the fuck?"

Racing toward the window, she did not know what to expect but it was certainly not Jacob Black shirtless in the pouring rain. She could just make out his silhouette as he waved his hands, gesturing toward the tree.

How the heck had he not been caught?

There wasn't any time to respond. The next thing she knew, he was climbing up the tree in a steady manner, muscles flexed.

Yanking up the window, she hissed, "J-ake? What the hell-"

"Back up!"

There wasn't a chance to respond as he launched himself from the tree, clinging to the window sill before swinging his body through the opening.

Was he even human? She gaped like a fish slamming the window shut. Shaking his hair dry like a dog, he collapsed on her bed. His eyes closed and his chest rose and fell steadily, attempting to catch his breath.

"W-what the actual fuck Jake! You're absolutely crazy!" she whisper-yelled so Charlie would not hear.

"What," he shrugged. "I used to do it all the time. Would've been easier if you left your window open."

Oh, so this was her fault now? She wasn't the one jumping through people's windows unannounced!

"Oh, don't be upset." he rolled his eyes, sitting up. "C'mon, Bella. You're ignoring my texts. How else am I supposed to talk to you?"

Well, I don't know? Maybe wait patiently like an average person! Besides, that wasn't the only question at hand. What had happened to his shirt? The one thing Bella was sure of was that boys did not constantly walk around shirtless.

"Forgive me for being a little worried. You completely bailed on me yesterday. What the fuck was that about?" he was clearly pissed off by the tone of his voice, which contradicted everything he was saying.

"You didn't even attempt to search for me!" Bella bit back.

"It was raining."

For fucks sake. Raining? She almost scoffed. It didn't stop him now. How much denser could this boy get…

Her arms crossed over her chest, lips curled up in a barely contained anger.

Rosalie said boys were the stupidest most ignorant beings ever to exist. Even those you loved you could never fully trust.

Was that how she felt about Emmett?

Jake stood up, heading over to the closet.

"What are you doing?"

Not responding, he shuffled through the clothes for several minutes. He stood straight, a grey bundle in his hands. "My sweatshirt."

She'd never seen it before.

Pulling it over his head, she couldn't help but stare. Her eyes were naturally drawn down to his six-pack, seemingly made of hard stone without a blemish. Were they really as hard as they looked? Her fingers twitched and just as quickly, she looked away, cheeks turning red as a smirk played at Jacob's lips.

"Like what you see?"

"No."

He was a predator in every way. Watching, stalking, and preying on her every move. Every thought. There was a feeling of confusion and fear that consumed her.

But here he was.

There she was.

"Ch-charlie could come up any moment." she stammered. "You shouldn't be here. I'm sorry about yesterday, I was just being weird. It wasn't your fault."

It was quiet for a second and Bella thought he would leave.

Instead, he laid down.

Staring at the ceiling, he whispered, "you were right to run. I want to be angry but it wouldn't be fair. I've got some anger issues, there's no lie about it. I'm sure you've heard by now. I don't want you to be afraid. I can give you a million reasons why I'm the worst person in the world to be around but it won't stop my love for you. It won't stop the fact that Edward's a priss and you need a man. A person who'll protect you. Care for you. I'm willing to forgive the past if you are."

ooOoo

He stayed the night.

Bella wasn't sure she got much sleep at all, watching him from across the room. He was actually quite sweet when sleeping. There was the innocent look of a child on his face. Happiness, perhaps? Maybe content.

Jacob explained his feelings and Bella well, she had no response. What could she say back?

Nothing.

Instead, she'd switched the lights off, obvious the boy was going nowhere.

He laid beside her.

"It's time to sleep." she'd said.

Her body sank into the mattress, head pressed into his shoulder. The faintest smell of oak tickled her nose and his warmth enveloped her body.

That was last night.

She'd woken up to an empty room as if he was never there. But the sweatshirt was gone, the window left open just a crack, and confused and hazy dreams she'd now attempt to decipher.

They'd all warned her away and he'd even done so himself. But he was like a drug, pulling her in deeper and deeper.

Still, she couldn't help but think of Edward… surely this didn't amount to cheating. Right? They'd slept beside each other because the boy was as stubborn as they came. The same time, her stomach ached with guilt about how she'd keep this from the other boy she loved.

ooOoo

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing I really appreciate it! I promise to update again soon but if you want something to read in the meantime, I did post another story: Merry Go 'Round!