The Painful Truth
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!
Part Thirteen
Bella and Jacob walked along the shoreline eating their ice creams. Bella had rolled up her jeans and taken off her shoes so she could paddle in the surf. Jacob was wearing board shorts. He went barefoot too. They strolled along talking quietly together. Bella tried to ignore the looks they were getting. Jacob, being who he was, attracted quite a lot of attention. He stood head and shoulders above the other guys, and with his toned physique and tan skin the ladies couldn't keep their eyes off him. Bella noticed the envious looks she kept getting from the bikini clad babes dotted around the beach. Instead of feeling insecure in herself she actually felt proud. She was the one with Jacob, not them. Bella stood taller and put her shoulders back. She was tired of being hunched over as if trying to make herself disappear.
"You alright, Bells." Jacob noticed her change in posture and smiled. He had already finished his ice cream and was eyeing her cornet hungrily. Bella rolled her eyes and passed it to him. "Thanks." He winked at her as he began to demolish what was left of her ice cream.
"You're welcome." Bella stopped walking and looked up at the horizon. The sea was a lovely azure blue. There was not a cloud anywhere. The sky looked like it could go on forever. Bella closed her eyes and revelled in the warmth. In truth she was feeling hot. Her clothes were sticking to her skin and she wished she had brought some shorts with her. She was overdressed for this kind of weather.
"What are you thinking about?" Jacob asked after a while when she didn't move from her spot.
Bella stretched her arms above her head as she opened her eyes again. "I was thinking I might hit the shops."
Jacob raised his eyebrows at this pronouncement. Bella hated shopping. "What brought this on?" He enquired curiously.
A small smile crossed Bella's lips as she put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun so she could see him more clearly. "I'm thinking if I want to find out who Bella Swan really is, maybe I should start with a makeover."
Jacob frowned. "I thought the whole point was to love yourself, not change how you dress."
Bella suppressed another smile. "That's not what I'm doing. It's damn hot here, Jake. I'm sweating in these jeans. I was being stubborn wearing them. I want to buy some more appropriate clothes."
"Oh well that's alright then." Jacob said in relief as he threw an arm across her shoulders and led the way off the beach.
"What do you think?" Bella came out of the changing room and did a little twirl in front of Jacob. He had been waiting for her, feeling very uncomfortable standing next to the lingerie department. Who the hell put changing rooms near all the underwear? It was a stupid thing to do. He had been attracting some very odd looks from the other customers. Some of them snickered as they passed. They must think he was a right weirdo. It was only because of Bella that he was enduring all this. So he was ecstatic when she finally emerged. "You look awesome, Bells." He said hurriedly without looking at her properly.
"Jake, you didn't even glance at me." Bella whined.
Jacob sighed. "Honey, I just want to get away from all this s….wow!" He stopped midsentence when his eyes landed on Bella. She had her hands on her hips as she glared at him. She had exchanged her jeans and form fitting t-shirt for a white tank top and a pair of denim shorts. Jacob had never had the pleasure of seeing her legs before and he enjoyed the view now as a grin lit up his face. "You look….." He couldn't seem to form words as he motioned with his hand toward her new get up.
"You ass." Bella scowled, although secretly she was pleased with his reaction. "I'm gonna leave these on and take the tags to the check out." She ducked back into the changing room again to retrieve her jeans and t-shirt. She was still barefoot. As she took the lead and headed for the till, she by passed a stand selling flip flops. She hurriedly looked for some her size and then slipped them on.
Jacob was still mesmerised by the sight of her shapely legs. He couldn't take his eyes off them. Luckily he was walking behind Bella and she couldn't see him ogling, although an old lady tutted at him as he passed her. Jacob had the grace to look embarrassed as he shrugged his shoulders at the old lady. Her lips thinned as she gave him a haughty stare. Jacob was thankful when they reached the checkout. This impromptu shopping trip had been stressful enough already. He watched as Bella purchased her items. She had added a pair of cheap sunglasses to her pile and a baseball cap.
"My boyfriend wouldn't come shopping with me." The young girl behind the till confided to Bella. "You're lucky. He's a looker too." She added as she admired Jacob discreetly.
"He has his uses." Bella agreed. She was well aware that he could hear every word that was being said, although the clueless check out girl had no such privilege.
"I bet he does." The young girl sighed dreamily as she checked out Jacob again. "Is he good in bed?"
Bella's skin flushed. She heard Jacob chuckle behind her as she snatched her new purchases and stared at the checkout girl irritably. "Keep the change." She snapped before marching out of the store.
"What change?" The young girl questioned as she gazed after Bella in confusion.
"Thank the spirits that's over." Jacob said in relief as they emerged back into the sun. The sidewalk was packed full of people. It was lunchtime and seeing all the food they were carrying plus the tantalising smells coming from the fast food joints was making his stomach rumble.
"I'm not done yet." Bella replied as she shoved her bag at him.
"I'm not your servant." Jacob complained as he stared at the pink bag in horror. It had the name of the shop scrawled across the front in fancy writing. Bella had placed her old clothes inside. He tried to pass the bag back to her. Once again he was attracting lots of odd looks.
"It's not heavy." Bella said distractedly. She was biting her lower lip as she stared across at a beauty salon which was nestled between two souvenir shops. "Why don't you go and get something to eat. I might just pop in there."
Jacob was still fussing with the pink bag. He hid it behind his back as he saw two guys laughing at him. He shot them both a fierce glare and their amused expressions disappeared as they hurried off down the sidewalk. "Let's ditch this bag and both get something to eat." He begged Bella.
"I'm not hungry. Look after my stuff. I won't be long." Bella sauntered off toward the salon leaving Jacob staring after her. What was she up to? He thought about following her but his stomach rumbled again. He really was hungry and his wolf was clawing at his insides to be fed. He sighed irritably as he crunched up the pink bag to make it as small as possible, before hurrying to the closest burger bar so he could satisfy his ravenous appetite.
"Are you sure you want all this off?" The salon owner held Bella's silky hair in the palm of his hand. His own hair was bleached blonde and years of worshipping the sun had aged him prematurely.
"Yes." Bella tried to sound confident. But in truth she was a little nervous at cutting the hair which had taken her years to grow. She left it so long on purpose. It was a good way to hide her face when she wanted to appear invisible. But she was tired of trying to hide. She wanted a change, to discover who she really was. A haircut was a small thing, but to Bella, right in that moment, it felt both liberating and a little scary.
The salon owner smiled at her as he sensed her nerves. It creased the lines on his tanned skin. "Listen, instead of being too drastic, what if I cut it to just below your shoulders and run a few layers through it. You have a natural wave anyway. Your hair will curl nicely without the heavy length."
"Okay, sounds good." Bella had to admit it was better than what she had initially suggested.
"Here we go then." The salon owner patted Bella on the shoulder in reassurance before beginning to run a comb through her hair.
Jacob gaped at Bella in surprise when she finally emerged from the salon. She seemed so different. It wasn't just the hair but the way she carried herself. It was as if cutting her hair had gotten rid of a heavy burden. Her shiny brown hair now fell in soft waves around her petite face, framing it nicely. It accentuated her brown eyes and made them appear larger than ever. Bella smiled at Jacob nervously as she greeted him. "Did you get something to eat? Sorry I took so long."
"I bought you a burger." Jacob mumbled as his eyes roamed her face. She was more stunning then ever. He absently handed her an empty wrapper.
"Jake, there's nothing here." Bella blushed under his intense scrutiny and touched her hair worriedly.
"Oh, I ate it. It was getting cold." Jacob felt like she had him under some kind of spell. He reached out and touched her hair with gentle fingers. "You look really pretty."
"Thanks." Bella felt her skin warm up again. "I'm glad you like it."
"Oh, I do." Jacob smiled his sunny smile which eased Bella's nerves.
"It's so hot here. I thought losing a few inches would make it easier to manage."
"Good idea." Jacob agreed amiably. He held out his arm to her. "Shall we?"
Bella laughed quietly as she placed her hand on his arm and he began to lead her back to the car. "Bells."
"Yeah."
"Please can you take this bag back now?" Jacob begged as he passed the pink bag back to her.
"Oh no, I can't do that." Bella teased him. "A gentleman always carries a lady's bags." She snorted with laughter as she watched his face burn. She hadn't felt this happy and relaxed in forever.
As soon as Jacob and Bella returned to the villa Charlie began to berate them. He had been on tenterhooks ever since they had left Renee's. Nothing Billy said could calm him down. "You said you would call." He snapped at Jacob. "I've been worried sick."
Jacob held out his hands to ward the older man off. Charlie was actually shaking with anger. "You need to back off. I'm sorry I didn't call. But we're both fine."
Charlie turned to his daughter. At first he didn't notice her changed appearance as he began to lecture her about running off in the first place. "You seem to forget young lady that you have a vengeful vampire hunting you down. You need to be careful where you go. I know you had Jake with you but I was worried out of my mind. Anything could have happened to you…."
Bella's face flushed as her good mood vanished in a puff of smoke. She knew that Charlie was angry because of his concern for her safety, but he was treating her like a recalcitrant child. She was tired of it. She was sick of being controlled and told what to do, even if it was out of good intentions. Despite the beginning with Renee, today had been a good day. She and Jacob had shrugged off their respective responsibilities and ditched their worries. The hours they had spent together were like something out of a dream. It had reminded Bella of the initial days of their friendship before Jacob had phased and their lives had been thrown into turmoil. Now Charlie was ruining it with his stupid accusations and his inability to listen.
"WILL YOU STOP?" Even Bella was shocked at how loudly she had spoken. Charlie had clamped his mouth shut and he was now staring at her as if he didn't recognise who she was. He finally noticed her change of clothes and her shorter hair. Bella took a deep breath before continuing. She felt Jacob rest his hand on her shoulder and she was grateful for the silent support. "I know you were worried, dad. I'm sorry about that. But you can't keep me under lock and key. I don't need reminding about the danger I'm in. Jake was with me, it was a sunny day. Any vampire would have to have been a total idiot to attack me in broad daylight."
Charlie didn't seem to know what to say. He sank down on one of the chairs and ran a hand through his hair. Bella pulled up a chair beside him and peered into his tense face. "I know you care, but you have to give me room to breathe."
"We should go home." Charlie replied as if he hadn't heard her.
"No." Bella stated firmly. "This villa is booked for five days and I plan to enjoy every one of them. You go if you must, but Jake and I are staying here."
"What's happened to you?" Charlie questioned. "Is this because of your mother? Is that why you've bought these new clothes and cut your hair?" He shook his head in disbelief.
"Why don't you ever listen?" Bella fumed as she shoved her chair backward and stood up. "Nothing happened to me other than the fact that I decided it was time I took control of my life. I need to find out who I am."
"You're my daughter." Charlie blustered as his temper got the better of him. "The same girl, who only a few weeks ago, wanted to end her life to become a vampire. I have to take charge because I can't trust that you won't run back to them as soon as my back is turned. I'm doing this for your own good."
"You don't trust me." Bella said bitterly.
"No." Charlie replied bluntly.
Jacob had remained silent thus far. Even though he wanted to intervene he felt that Bella needed to speak to her father and make her feelings clear on her own. But her attempt had failed. He put his arm around Bella's shoulders and drew her close. She was trembling. The fragile confidence that she had fought so hard to gain crumbled. "Bella's right you never listen." He threw Charlie a disgusted glance. "Right now you're acting no better than your ex-wife."
"Don't you dare talk to me like that?" Charlie warned him.
"When you start acting like a rational adult then maybe I'll listen." Jacob retorted before leading Bella out of the room.
A/N-thanks for reading! Charlie needs to start opening his eyes and realising the consequences of his actions. If you want to know where Billy was during this altercation, he was in his room resting.
