Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Bella was running late when she pulled into the driveway. She hadn't planned on being ambushed by Jessica at the store and she just had to talk to her about what had happened with Edward. She had been patient for the first fifteen minutes before trying unsuccessfully to leave for another ten minutes. Her dad had called her asking where she was after almost an hour of Jessica's yammering.
Charlie came out of the house to help he carry the groceries in, casting a longing glance at the silver '65 Aston Martin convertible parked in the driveway. Edward had taken her love of vintage cars to heart when he had bought it.
"What did you mean when you said you got caught up at the store?" he questioned.
"A friend from school wanted to talk about Edward," she said with a helpless shrug.
"He's been gone for almost a month Bells. People are bound to talk," he reasoned.
"I don't mind talking about him Dad. Jessica did most of the talking...for nearly an hour," she deadpanned.
"Jessica Stanley? She always has been a talker. I came in for career day when she was a freshman and I remember her and the girl next to her passing notes back and forth the whole time I was talking," he remembered.
"That sounds like her. I love her to death, but she doesn't know when to let up," she agreed.
Charlie started unloading the groceries while Bella went to get the last few bags. She felt someone watching her making her look to the woods across the street. She shrugged it off when she didn't see anyone and went back inside.
Charlie left for work an hour later and Bella was reading a book when someone knocked on the front door. She set the book on the coffee table before crossing to the door. She gave the person a surprised look as they sighed.
"I'm breaking about five commands being here, can I come in before someone sees me?" They asked sternly.
"So it was you underneath the lamp light?" she asked as she let Embry in.
"Yes. I wanted to see for myself that you were still you," he explained.
"I'm still me, beating heart and all," she confirmed.
"I also wanted to apologize," he said sounding heartfelt.
"For what?" she asked in confusion.
"Quil may act like he's okay not talking to Jake but it's eating him up inside. I have more to lose by choosing to defy Sam than Quil does," Embry said logically.
"How so?" she asked.
"Quil has already imprinted, it's not like Sam can hold that over his head," he pointed out.
"I never asked Quil or Seth to look after me," she said in defense.
"I know you didn't, but trust me; if I had imprinted already Quil and I would have both looked after you," he said pointedly.
"What is going on with Jake?" she asked with pleading eyes.
"You don't need to worry about him. He's fine Bells," he reassured her.
"But I'm not," she said sadly.
"I know, neither am I; but he's stubborn," he reminded her.
"What is keeping him from coming home? Be honest with me," she pleaded.
"He doesn't want to think of what could have been. That's why we aren't allowed to see you or talk to you. Sam thinks we'll slip and tell him about you," he explained.
"But he's doing okay?" she asked slowly.
"As okay as he can be. I came by to make sure for myself that you don't hate me," he said in trepidation.
"I could never hate you. You were the first of the pack to accept me," she reasoned.
"That's because I knew you before I joined," he reminded her.
"Not well enough to know that I could be trusted," she added.
"Jake trusts you. That's enough for me," he said with a shrug.
"Thank you, Embry," she said politely.
Embry saw himself out and Bella was left alone with her thoughts. Did Jacob miss her as much as she missed him? Would he come home in her lifetime, or was he waiting for hell to freeze over? She missed him so much that it hurt. At least she knew that he was alright. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she found out that he was having a hard time.
XXXX
Bella woke from a dream to find her window open. The last few moments of her dream ran through her head as she tried to remember if she had left the window open.
In her dream Jacob had come home and they had started their life together. She was older in her dream, and she was chasing two children through Billy's front yard. They were the children from her vision on the mountain.
She ran a hand through her hair as she threw her legs over the side of the bed. She crossed the room, feeling a chill in the air. She shut the window before turning back to the bed.
"I'll shut it back before I leave," A voice said in the darkness.
"Edward," she gasped.
Her lamp light flickered on a few seconds later. He was standing by her bed, giving her a tight lipped smile.
"I was in town. I wanted to see how you were doing. Where are Quil and Seth?" he asked tensely.
"I haven't seen Quil since you left and Seth is grounded," she explained.
"I should go; I didn't expect you to wake up," he said walking towards the window.
"Don't go," she said putting a hand on his arm.
"You don't hate me?" he questioned cautiously.
"Why does everyone think that? First Quil stops coming over because he feels guilty for driving you away, and then Embry thinks I'm mad at him because he chose Jake over me. If anything; you should hate me," she pointed out with an aggravated sigh.
"I could never hate you Bella. I understand why you tried to keep your feelings for Jacob a secret. If you hadn't, he would still be here," he said with a sad smile.
"I know," she said quietly.
"It's good to know that you're okay," he said pulling her to him.
He kissed her forehead before slowly pulling away. He was out the window before she got back into bed. She was glad that she'd had the chance to talk to Edward if only for a few minutes. She drifted back to sleep almost instantly.
Her dream picked up where it left off. She was so happy and Jacob hadn't changed. He was loyal, he was strong and he was her everything. She would make him see that when she saw him again.
XXXX
Bella felt something was wrong as soon as she pulled up. No one had said that she couldn't come to La Push, but she stayed away out of respect for the pack. There was no way that she and Quil could work out their problems if they didn't talk through them.
She knocked on the door lightly hoping that Quil was home. The door opened and she was not prepared to see the person on the other side. Sam stared down at her with cautious eyes.
"I was looking for Quil, if this is a bad time I can come back," she said turning to walk down the stairs.
"Hold on, Bella," Sam's calm, deep voice called out to her.
"I should have called first. I'm sorry," she apologized hurriedly.
"It is fine," he reassured her.
"I haven't heard from him in a while. I wanted to talk to him about what happened," she explained.
"He's very sorry for causing so much trouble," Sam said gravely.
"He shouldn't be; he did what I was scared to do. Can you let him know that I was never mad at him?" she asked.
"I'll pass along the message," Sam said with a kind smile.
"Can I go now?" she asked unsure of where she stood with him.
"I want to talk to you."
"If it's about Jake than I'd rather not. If he isn't allowed to know anything about me, than show me the same courtesy," she said in disagreement.
"He has a lot to deal with right now and you are at the top of the list. He finally stopped asking about you last week. He got tired of us not giving him any information," he explained.
"I imagine he's pretty angry about that," she said with a sigh.
"More angry than I've ever heard him. Billy has talked to him into taking over as Alpha once he comes back," Sam explained.
"He told me that he would rather burn in hell than take over as Alpha," she said pointedly.
"Billy helped him to see that it would be the right thing to do."
"Even though he doesn't want it?" she asked harshly.
"He may not want it now, that's why he hasn't come back. He says he'll come back when he's ready. No one is forcing him into anything," he said calmly.
"They'd better not; because if they do they'll have to deal with me," she threatened, folding her arms over her chest.
"I have no doubt about that. You've proved to the pack that you can take care of yourself," he said as a smile tugged at his lips.
"It's too bad that no one else sees it," she said rolling her eyes.
"I should go. Quil is in his room. You can let yourself in," Sam said before walking past her.
Bella walked down the hall silently to the closed door at the end of the hall. She pushed it open to see Quil sitting on his bed.
"I know you heard my conversation with Sam so that saves me from repeating myself."
"I guess it does," he said seriously.
"I know you feel guilty for choosing me over Jake," she admitted.
"Who told you?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting in confusion.
"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that I never asked you to look after me," she pointed out.
"I'm just doing it until Jake gets back. I don't want to think about the outcome if no one had stepped up," he said with a nonchalant shrug.
"But it's keeping you from talking to Jake. You shouldn't have done it," she reasoned.
"I wanted to. You deserve to have someone to lean on and talk to when you need them," he pointed out.
"You are a good person. Don't ever forget that," she said crossing the room.
"Who told you that I had something to do with Edward leaving?" he asked curiously.
"I have my sources. What exactly did you do?" she asked.
"I pretty much told him that if he didn't do what was right I would make him regret it. I reminded him that I knew how to kill him if he hurt you. I did everything I could to threaten him. Then I showed him some of Jacob's private thoughts, just guy talk about you mostly; he probably told you since he tells you everything," he said with a shrug.
She sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. She placed her head on his shoulder and he placed his on top of hers. Silence fell between them as they thought about what was going on. They both missed Jacob and wanted him to come home for their own reasons. Quil wasn't about to tell her his reason for wanting Jacob to come home, it would only make her miss him more.
XXXX
With the newspaper spread out in front of her and a red pen between her teeth, Bella searched through the Help Wanted section of the paper. There had been a few prospects, but she planned to go online later to broaden her search.
She read a description for a job opening for an antiques dealer in Port Angeles and she circled it thinking that it could be promising.
The front door opened and she heard her dad and Billy in the living room seconds later. She closed the paper before going to the refrigerator to pull out dinner. They were having leftover chili, so it wouldn't take long to heat. She pulled the cornbread from the night before out of the bread bin once she had put the chili on the stove.
She sat on the couch while the guys watched football. At the commercial break Billy turned towards her.
"I heard that you went to see Quil today."
"I was worried about him," she explained.
"How is he? I haven't seen him in a while," Charlie said, not looking away from the game that had come back on.
"He's fine, he'll be here for dinner," Bella said.
"I'm glad that the two of you were able to work things out," Billy said.
Bella's eyes met his and he gave her a warm smile that reached his eyes. It had been a long time since anyone had smiled at her like that and she appreciated it. She returned the smile with a sigh, wishing for the thousandth time that things could be different.
Quil let himself in while everyone was eating dinner. He made himself a bowl of chili then sat across from Bella at the kitchen table. Charlie and Billy could be heard rooting for the Seahawks while Bella and Quil ate quietly.
The silence continued as Quil helped Bella clean the kitchen. Billy's phone rang and he wheeled himself into the kitchen before answering it.
"Hey Son," he said quietly.
Bella stilled as Billy listened to Jacob talk.
"Things are pretty quiet here. It's good to hear from you," Billy said a little louder.
Quil dried the dishes in the drainer and put them away while Bella put the leftovers in the refrigerator.
"I'm at Charlie's."
"Who's that Billy?" Charlie called.
"It's Bec," Billy answered.
Bella draped the drying towel over the oven handle before walking out of the room. She was in her room when Quil came in a few minutes later.
"Billy says that Jake's in Hawaii with Bec," he said as he straddled her computer chair.
She nodded, looking down at her hands. At least he was safe and he wasn't alone. Jacob and Rebecca had a special bond from what Billy and Quil had told her. She was glad that he still called his dad to check in to let him know that he was okay.
"Your dad called for me while Billy was talking to him and Jake freaked. I could hear him asking to talk to me," he explained quickly.
"You got a chance to talk to him?" she asked sullenly.
"Only for a minute, he sounds really good, he's got a lot on his mind but he's working through it," he reassured her.
"Did he ask about me?" she questioned.
"He says he misses you so much that it hurts sometimes. He feels the same way you do," he said with a sad smile.
"You didn't tell him..." she asked quickly.
"That you're still you? No, Billy would have never forgiven me for that," he reassured her.
"Thank you," she said hugging him.
"You're welcome," he said holding her tightly.
They were silent for the next few minutes until he pulled away enough to look down at her.
"Think of it this way, you're not suffering alone," he said with a sad smile.
She was so wrapped up in her problems that she hadn't thought of the friendship that Quil and Jacob were missing out on. She hoped that it wasn't completely destroyed before Jacob came home.