Chapter 9 – Repair
Alice waited for me in the school's parking lot, with Edward. She trilled on and on between classes and Edward on a hunting trip for the night." It was the middle of the school day on Friday. Alice looked at Edward before she dashed off. I knew what she was doing and was surprised that she wasn't trying to be more subtle about it. Edward looked at me, "We should be getting to lunch." I sighed, "All right." Edward and I walked together in the line to get lunch. I was surprised as he walked to the table with all my friends, well, our friends. I half expected him to lead me to a table with more privacy. We sat together, "Shouldn't we get started on our project?" He smirked, "Alice already finished it." I gawked at him, "Seriously?" He nodded, "She didn't want to waste her time with you working on a some school project." I huffed, "Leaves more time for shopping trips and her doing my hair." He laughed, "Pretty much." I sighed, "Will she ever give up?" "Not likely. Besides, she wants to make up for lost time." I looked away from him, trying to hide my eyes, "Oh."
"Bella, I was thinking, after school, you could come to my house. Esme and Carlisle really want to see you." I bit my lip, "Not today. I'm a little busy this afternoon." I looked at his face. He has his eyes closed and was sighing deeply, "That's fine. We have all weekend." There was something in his eyes as he said that. "Yeah, you're right. Even though, I do want to see Esme and Carlisle. I was very surprised to see Emmett and Jasper last night." He smirked, "Emmett wasn't going to wait for you to come to our house. And Jasper wanted to see you too." I smiled, "Well, that's sweet. But when I do come over, please inform Jasper to not even bother trying to apologize. I was never mad at him." "I've told him that." I sighed, "Hard-headed. That must be such a change."
Edward laughed, "Well, I've had a lot of practice with you." A blush colored my cheeks and I looked away. "You can't hide that from me." I looked back at him as his fingers brushed my cheek. Edward touching me made me blush even more. "I have missed that so much." We looked at each other, but I blinked and looked down. The school day progressed and I spoke with Alice on Edward's phone. She called, knowing I wanted to talk to her. "I'm sorry, Bella, but I didn't want to waste my time working on a project when we have so much catching up to do." "But, Alice, that's not right that you did all the work already." She sighed, "I already saw what you planned to do, so you did contribute the guideline." I rolled my eyes, "I have to go." I handed Edward his phone and his skin touched mine. The familiar shock coursed through my arm. Edward stood by his car and watched me drive off. I sighed; this was not going to be easy. I got home with time to spare. I didn't know what time Jacob was coming over. I looked at the clock and saw it was almost 3:30. Picking up the phone, I called Emily. She would want to know what was going on.
I dialed her number and hoped Sam wouldn't answer it. "Hello." I sighed in relief, "Hey Em." "Bella! What is going on? I wanted to call you since Monday." "Sam told you." "Sam and Jacob told me. Jacob came over after he left your school. He was so mad. He told Sam that you were with Edward Cullen." I sighed, "Yea and Jacob got so mad, he almost phased. Edward tried to stop me from going near Jacob. He didn't know that I knew what Jacob was. That really surprised him." "Ok, what did the Cullens say? Why did they come back? Sam is curious." "Ok, you can tell Sam that Forks is the Cullens' favorite place to live, but I will tell you the rest of the details." "Ok, ok, tell me everything. From when you saw them to today." I sat down at the kitchen table, "Ok. First, have you heard anything?" "No, not a thing. I've been so worried about you, but you know how Sam can be." "Ok, when I got to school on Monday, I was running late. I was walking with two friends when Alice called my name. She hugged me and said how much she missed me. I was happy to see her, I almost cried. Then, that's when he said my name. I looked back and saw him. Seeing Edward, after all this time, I was so overwhelmed…… I fainted." "You what?" I blushed in embarrassment, "I fainted. Edward took me to the nurse's office. I was out for hours and I woke up in time for lunch. Jess and Angela told me that Edward and Alice came to check on me every hour, between classes." "Really?" "Wait, there's more. During lunch, Edward sat next to me and asked to speak to me in private. That practically made my heart stop. I thought he was going to say his family wanted to move back here and that was it. First, I thanked him for helping me. Then…… then he told me that he was still in love with me." "WHAT?"
I sighed, "I know." "Wait a minute, he's still in love with you. Then why did he leave in the first place? I mean, he said he didn't….." "Yea, I know. Remember I told you that he never wanted me to be a vampire?" "Yea." "Well, that's why. He thought he was giving me a chance to a normal life, without any interference from him and his family. He said it was so hard for him to leave me." "Wow." "Yeah, wow." I closed my eyes to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over. "Bella, honey, you ok?" I cleared my throat, "Yea." "I'm not buying it. What is it?" "Just that, I was getting my mind around the fact that he didn't want me anymore. I mean, I knew my feelings for him would never change, no matter what he felt for, but now…. I just don't know. I'm so conflicted." "Has he said anything?" "No, but I know him. He doesn't want me around Jacob. At first, I thought it was because he thinks Jacob is dangerous, but….." "Maybe he's jealous?" "No, I don't think……" "You'd better. Edward may be inhuman, but he can get jealous and he's still a guy. One that is still in love with you and can read minds. Can you imagine what was going through Jake's mind when he saw you two together?" "That's true." "Bella." I turned in my chair and saw Jacob standing in the kitchen doorway. "Em, I will have to talk to you later. Jake's here." "Ok, look, come by. It's Friday night." "Make it tomorrow and you have a deal." She laughed, "Sure. Bye, Bella." "Bye."
I stood, "Hey Jake." He looked at me with his hard mask on, "Bella, what is going on?" I sighed, "What do you mean?" He snorted, "The Cullens?" "They live here, Jake. They moved back." "I got that. Why were they here the other night?" "Alice wanted to see Charlie and it's not like I could stop her. Besides, Charlie was happy to see her." Jacob rolled his eyes, "The sweet little…." "Don't, Jacob. She's my best friend, just like you." He sighed, "Fine. It's just that since they've been back," Jacob took my hand, "I hardly see you." I smiled, "Jake, it hasn't even been a week. Also, I've had school and work. Besides, I'm coming over this weekend." "Really?" The hard mask melted away, "We could ride our bikes. It's been a while." I smiled, "Of course." I stood, "Now, I know you're hungry." I went over to the fridge and pulled out the ingredients for grilled cheese sandwiches. Jacob stood behind me and his arms wound around my waist, "Too bad you couldn't come over tonight." I smiled, "Right, spend the night at your house. Charlie would love that." Jacob chuckled, "I could ask. Next weekend is our bonfire and they can run pretty late." I sighed and elbowed Jacob in the ribs, "Let me make these sandwiches before you get any more ideas." I flipped the sandwiches and put them on a plate. For Jacob, I made him a small pile of sandwiches and he went through half of them before I took my first bite.
"Bella, look I'm sorry for cutting into you like that. It's just with the Cullens back, I'm worried." I looked at him, "About what?" He sighed, "Nothing." "Jacob," I put my hand on his, "tell me." He looked at me, "Well, not so much as the Cullens, as Edward." I nodded in understanding, "Jacob, you have nothing to worry about." My voice faltered at the end and he noticed. I bit my lip and continued eating. "Bella? What is it?" I sighed, "Nothing you need to be worried about." There was an uncomfortable silence between us. "Anyway, what is going on with that rogue you were telling me about? Have you found him?" "Not lately. He's been gone since yesterday. Maybe he came across the Cullens and left. A bigger clan in the area could have scared him off." I made a face, "I'll ask them on Monday." Jacob looked into my eyes, "You're not seeing them this weekend?" "I don't think so. But you never know, especially with Alice." "Then I'll have to keep you in La Push for the weekend." I shook my head and smiled. It seemed so long ago since Jacob and I were together.
