Jacob's POV

I made my way to the Swan residence. I was going to see Bella. Sam couldn't stop me. Well, not unless he pulled alpha, which he hadn't. He had done it to keep me from telling her, but he had only used a regular order to keep me away from her.

I had wanted to come see Bella the second I found out about Jared, but I was really angry and I worried that I'd phase. I was less angry now though and I wanted to see Bella. If Jared could see her, I could to. It wasn't fair for him to be allowed and not me. I didn't care if he did imprint on her. Hell, I wasn't going to accept the imprint and I would do what I could to make sure Bella didn't either.

I knocked on the front door and waited for it to open. Charlie answered seconds later.

"Jacob," Charlie said.

"Hey, Charlie. Is Bella home?" I asked.

"No, she's not, but come in anyway. I've been wanting to talk to you myself," Charlie said.

I smiled and walked inside. Maybe I could get Charlie to help me with Bella. He already liked me and I knew he wanted us together. Maybe he would convince Bella to come to me instead of Jared.

Charlie led me to the kitchen. "Have a seat."

I sat down at the table and Charlie sat across from me.

"You look different," Charlie said.

"Yeah, I guess I grew a little," I said.

"Try a lot. You cut your hair too," Charlie observed.

"Yeah, I wanted a change," I said.

Charlie nodded. "You've made a lot of changes lately. You cut your hair, you started dressing differently, you got some new friends and dumped your old ones."

Charlie's last statement cut me off guard. It was filled with a steel tone that I'd never heard from Charlie before. He was actually mad at me. He'd never expressed anger at me before. "Charlie, I…"

Charlie held his hand up to stop me. "Jacob, I've known you all your life. You've always been a decent kid. You were there for Bella when she really needed you and I'll always appreciate that. But now you're yanking her around and I'm not going to allow that."

"I'm not yanking her around," I protested.

"No? So you didn't turn your back on her for no apparent reason? You haven't been avoiding her for months? What are you doing here now, Jake? If you're here to get my daughter's hopes up just to leave her again, my best friend's son or not, you're gonna regret it!" Charlie said warned coldly.

"You don't understand," I told him.

"Then tell me. Tell me why you've broken my daughter's heart when you know very well how fragile it is," Charlie said. He seemed to be willing to listen. He was upset with me, but he was ready to hear an explanation and forgive me if it was good enough. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell him.

"I can't," I said knowing full well that he wasn't going to be satisfied with that answer any more than Bella was. It was the only one I could give him though.

Charlie sat back in his chair. "You can't tell me. I've gotta tell you, I'm not happy. I wouldn't be either way, but do you know what really gets to me?"

I shook my head.

"Not too long ago, a young man I'd never met before was here and admitted to hurting Bella. I demanded an explanation and he gave it to me freely. Yet you, a boy I considered like a son, don't respect me enough to treat me with the same courtesy?" Charlie asked.

A felt bitterness come over me. I knew who Charlie was talking about. He was talking about Jared. The jerk had somehow gotten Charlie on his side. It wasn't fair. Charlie was supposed to be on my side. He was supposed to want me with Bella, not Jared. "It's not about respect, Charlie. I can't tell you. And this guy you're talking about, Jared, he left Bella."

"So did you, Jacob. The difference is that he gave me a decent reason why whilst you won't. Can you even promise me that you're not gonna walk out of her life again?" Charlie asked.

I wanted to make the promise. I wanted to be able to swear that I would never leave Bella again, but I couldn't. If Sam gave me an alpha command, I wouldn't be able to fight it. I would have to walk away again.

"I'm going to take your silence as a 'no'. You know, I once thought you were good for Bella, but after everything I've learned lately, I'm starting to wonder. This whole thing with Jared had me deep in thought. I've seen Bella latch onto you, much like she did to Cullen and it's not healthy. I'm starting to get Bella to the point where she might be able to let Cullen go and finally deal with what happened with Jared. I don't want her latching onto you repeating the unhealthy relationship she had with Cullen. I'm also afraid you're going to hurt her and I won't let that happen either. I want you to stay away from her for a while," Charlie said.

My eyes went seriously wide as I realized what Charlie had just said to me. He was ostracizing me from Bella's life. He was supposed to help me get Bella and instead he was pushing me out. "Charlie, please."

"No, Jake. I'm doing what's best for my daughter here. I want you to stay away. If I have to, I will call Billy to enforce it. I hope I don't have to go that far," Charlie said. His voice was gentle, but it was also very firm.

I wanted to say something to get Charlie to change his mind. I wanted to make him see that I wasn't bad for Bella. I was the man she should be with. But there didn't appear to be anything I could say to get him to see it my way, and I knew that my father would enforce Charlie's decision to keep me away. So instead I got up and bolted out of the house.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Bella's POV

I was laying in the meadow where Edward and I used to go. I was thinking about all my memories of our time together. I'd been doing that a lot lately and every time I did, my father's words about me never loving Edward popped into my head.

Charlie was wrong. I loved Edward. I had given him everything. He had become my entire world. No one else mattered outside of him. I was willing to do things for him I'd never do for anyone else. I'd given myself completely over to him. I hadn't even done that for Jared.

'That's not healthy,' a small voice inside my head said. I guessed it wasn't. I thought about all my friends and their relationships. They'd never let their significant others become that important to them. They were important, but not so much that it became their only means for living like Edward had for me.

Why had that happened? It didn't happen with Jared. I loved Jared, but I had friends away from him. There were times when we were apart and that was okay. I didn't think about him every second, well, after the 'honeymoon' period wore off. That was what I called the block of time when Jared and I first started to date. Even then though, we spent time a part and I was okay without him. So why was Edward so different? Why was it that I had such a hard time away from him and why did I let him get away with so much? I never fought with Edward if I could avoid it. The only thing I ever fought with him about was the possibility of me changing. Everything else I succumbed to. I never would've allowed Jared to tell me what to do the way Edward did.

All this made me think I did love him though. How could I let all that go one with someone I didn't love? But did that mean I didn't love Jared because I didn't tolerate it from him? The thought immediately made my heart ache. No. No, I loved Jared. There was no doubt whatsoever about that. I loved Jared Cameron. I would still be with him today if he hadn't walked out of my life.

With that realization, I felt like I'd just been hit in the chest with something hard because that was the same as saying Edward and I never would've happened if Jared hadn't left me. But it was true and I knew it. When I thought back on both Edward and Jared, I knew that I never even would've given Edward a second thought. I might have been curious for a minute about things when he saved me from Tyler's van, but I doubt I even would've pursued it if Jared had been by my side.

I let out a sob as I realized what this meant. How could I love Edward if I knew that I would have barely given him a second glance had Jared and I been together? I didn't. I didn't love Edward Cullen. I had never loved him. I had only ever loved one man and he'd left me. And with that, a dam of pain broke out inside of me.