A/N: well, I actually don't have much to say this time! Just read, enjoy, and review!! I'll try to get the next one up soon. :-)
Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own any Twilight stuff... just playing with her characters a bit.
Chapter Four
I kept my eyes on the woods for the rest of the drive, but Edward didn't reappear. Apparently, he had wanted to make sure I saw him, and once I did, he stayed out of Jake's sight. So he'd be watching. But what exactly did that entail? I would definitely need to sit down and talk with him without interruptions from Jacob; I just wasn't sure when that could happen. The wolves were keeping a close eye on me at all times – they didn't want any vampires to have an opportunity to come anywhere near me… apparently, this included the Cullens now, too.
I sighed.
"What's the matter, Bells?" Jake asked, rubbing my arm.
"Oh, just a long day," I replied.
"Well, we're almost there," he smiled. "Then you can get lost in your books and forget about the day."
"You're really just going to watch me book shop?" I asked.
"Yup. And I'll enjoy every minute of it," he assured me.
How sweet. Thinking back, watching me shop was significantly less creepy than watching me sleep. Not that I had ever minded having Edward right there all night but still, upon consideration, it wasn't exactly a normal habit. I wondered if I ever would have considered it creepy if he had never left; somehow, I didn't think so.
We pulled up and parked at the boardwalk, and it was total déjà vu for me. I shuddered looking around the familiar streets, and Jake wrapped his arm tightly around me. I wondered where Edward was; he was probably keeping enough of a distance from us so that Jake couldn't tell he was there, but I knew better.
Jacob took my hand and led me down the street to that tiny bookstore I had once neglected to enter a year ago. I looked inside and couldn't help but smile at the sight of that same woman from before smiling from behind the counter at me. I knew I'd find nothing of interest in this store, but it seemed like Jake was really excited to take me here, and he led me inside.
Everything was very new age-y, and nothing at all resembling my usual genre. After some general browsing, I zoned in on a section labeled "Mental Health/Meditation." It seemed like the most innocent section in the store; maybe I could actually find something helpful in here. Given the stress that would surely strike at any moment, where was the harm in preparing myself? I skimmed through a few books until I found something semi-promising, and held it out to Jake.
"How about this one?" I suggested. He snatched it from my hand and skimmed the back cover.
"That's funny, after all the bike accidents, I didn't have you pegged as a 'mental health' kind of girl," he laughed, but seized my hand and led me to the front counter to pay.
'Please, Jake, I can get this," I tried to insist, but he wouldn't hear it; he paid for the book, and even insisted the woman keep the change. Then he led me back out the door and back toward the truck.
"We'll just put your book away, and then why don't we grab some dinner?" he suggested.
"Dinner sounds amazing," I agreed, stomach rumbling. What with all the commotion at lunch, I only had that one bite of pizza, and I was really feeling it now.
"Where would you like to eat?" he asked, leading me once more down the boardwalk.
"Oh no," I insisted, "I made you watch me book shop; you get to pick the restaurant."
"Okay, how about this cute little Italian place, then?" he suggested, leading me toward that very restaurant where Edward and I sat so long ago.
I gulped, but nodded. It was so strange, and I felt like I was slowly but surely defacing every memory Edward and I had; I had told Jake so many things, had him help me find Edward's meadow again, and now I was eating with him in the very same place I had shared with Edward so long ago. My stomach did a back-flip when the waitress led us to the very same table as before.
"What's wrong?" Jake asked, reading my face.
"Oh, just really hungry," I lied, forcing a smile. The waitress went after two cokes, and Jake and I settled into the booth.
"So, Edward," he began, and my eyes grew wide. "I suppose you're going to want to speak with him then?" It looked like bringing up Edward was painful for him, but I just nodded. "I guess that can be arranged," he agreed.
"Jake," I said, placing one hand on top of his, "it's not like I want to talk to him – I think I need to talk to him. I owe it to him."
"Trust me, you don't owe him anything," Jake said, his voice dangerously quiet. "I can remind him of that if necessary."
"No, it won't be necessary," I shook my head. "But in any case, I think some sort of conversation – er, uninterrupted – is necessary."
"Fine," he agreed, but he fell silent. The topic of Edward really put a damper on the evening, especially after I admitted that I told Edward I would call him later on.
After dinner, Jake led me out of the restaurant and down the boardwalk. The sun had just set over the water, and it was gorgeous; not quite dark out yet, but the sun was definitely gone. "Why don't we go for a walk?" he had suggested, wrapping his warm arm around my waist. I could never say no to that heat.
Towards the end of the boardwalk, Jake stopped, turned to me, and kissed me very gently; it was perfect. "Thanks for a great day," he said with a smile.
"No, thank you," I amended. "You did everything; all I did was pick out a book." He laughed. "No, seriously," I sighed, "You're way too good for me. I should watch out that some nicer, prettier girl doesn't come along and snatch you up."
"Not gonna happen," he promised, kissing me again.
Suddenly, we became all too aware that we weren't alone.
"Oh hey there," a short, dark-haired man cat-called from nearby. Jake and I turned to see he was accompanied by three friends. Seriously? I was almost certain it was the same four guys as before. Didn't they have anything better to do than hang out in Port Angeles waiting for some unsuspecting girls to come along?
"Can I help you?" Jake asked, moving to stand between the men and myself.
"I think I've seen your girlfriend before," the man said with a smirk, moving still closer to us. Internally, I started to panic. Sure, Jake was inhumanly strong, but there were four of them; he was bound to be occupied by at least two of them, but that left the other two to come after me. I began to back away until I bumped into the railing separating the boardwalk from the water below.
"I won't let them hurt you," Jake promised me as his eyes flashed dangerously.
"Hurt her? Who wants to hurt her? We just want to have a little fun with her," the man said with a laugh.
At that, Jake launched himself forward at the man, and I was right; as soon as he was occupied, two of them lunged for me. I ducked to the ground, covered my head with my arms, and closed my eyes, preparing for the worst. Surprisingly, no one touched me.
I heard a familiar low growl, and opened my eyes to see Edward throwing two of the men, one with each hand, over the railing into the shallow water below. Jake continued to fight off the other two men while Edward scooped me up in his arms and ran off with me. In a matter of seconds we were far away, and I couldn't even tell from which direction we had come; we stood in the middle of a great, green forest with no sign of light to give away our direction.
"Are you alright?" Edward asked in a low voice, examining me all over.
"I'm fine," I said, but my voice shook. As much as I loved and trusted Jake, what would've happened to me if Edward hadn't appeared? His voice infused me with a calm that Jake's just couldn't, and I felt instantly safer with Edward. I also felt absolutely awful upon realizing that.
"You shouldn't be fine," Edward scolded, and pulled me in close, wrapping his arms around me. For a moment, I forgot all about Jake, and just breathed in Edward's scent. It didn't matter that he was ice cold where Jake was my own personal heater, or pale as snow where Jake had beautiful tanned skin. Edward was here, and holding me; no amount of self-control could bring me to resist his touch.
He kissed me lightly on the top of the head, and just breathed in the scent of my hair. "I've missed you," he sighed, washing me all over with his scent.
"I missed you too," I whispered, and looked up at him. Once again he was sparkling in the moonlight, and I couldn't resist… I stood up on my tip-toes, reaching my neck up as far as it could go, when…
"Bella!" Jake gasped, emerging from the woods nearby and sliding to a stop. Edward immediately released me, and Jacob enveloped me in his arms. "Oh Bella, are you alright?"
His actions mimicked Edward's; he scoured my body for signs of any sort of trauma before holding me close and kissing the top of my head.
"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry, I can't believe… I don't know how that happened." He was grief stricken.
"I thought you said you could protect her," Edward spat coldly at him.
"I can," Jake said quickly, eyes wide. "That was… well, unexpected. It won't happen again."
"No it won't," Edward promised, his voice full of malice, "because I won't be leaving you alone with her again."
"Excuse me?" Jacob roared, releasing me and moving toward Edward.
"Please," I cried, stepping between them, "don't fight!"
"Bella, he can't protect you!" Edward cried, gesturing towards Jake. "If I hadn't been here… I shudder to think what would've happened to you!"
I literally shuddered at the thought, and both sets of arms moved to embrace me. I shied away from both.
"Edward, you wanted to talk?" I asked, composing myself. He nodded. "Okay, so Jake, let him take me home; we'll talk on the way."
"I don't think I should leave the two of you alone," Jake said cautiously, eyeing Edward.
"Well, that's not your decision," I said forcefully, trying my best to hold my ground. It must've worked, because he looked taken aback.
"Okay," he sighed, "but I'll be waiting at my house to make sure you're okay. Make sure she comes back there," he instructed Edward.
"How will you…?" I began, but he cut me off.
"I'll just phase and run back," he said, "it won't take me long. You can drive your truck, that'll give you about an hour or so to talk."
I nodded. "I'll see you in a bit," I promised. He leaned down and kissed me, but I didn't really return his enthusiasm. I felt guilty about how close I'd come to kissing Edward.
Edward and I returned to my truck. I headed for the driver's door, but Edward cut me off. "Like I'd allow you to drive after a traumatic event," he said with a sigh. He walked around and held the passenger's door open for me, and I climbed in. He pulled out of the parking space Jacob had chosen and headed back for Forks at 30 miles per hour.
"I thought you liked to drive fast?" I asked skeptically, eyeing the odometer.
"Well, if this car ride is the only time I get alone with you," he said with a sigh.
"I'm sorry about Jake," I said, and I sincerely meant it.
"Bella, do you remember last year, when we first admitted our feelings for each other?" he asked, ignoring my comment about Jake.
"Of course," I replied. As if I would ever forget.
"Well, you may recall that, at that time, I admitted that I was trying desperately to keep you alive. I had never felt more compelled to protect someone in my entire existence." I nodded. "Well, that feeling hasn't changed. I need to protect you Bella. It's clear after tonight that Jacob, no matter how valiant his efforts, cannot do that alone. I can't just leave you in his incapable hands. I need to be nearby; I need to help you, to keep you safe."
"Jake can protect me," I muttered quietly.
"Oh, really? Then why did Alice have a vision of you plunging into the ice cold ocean, of Jacob just barely pulling you out in time, of me calling your house and hearing news of a funeral, and of me flying to Italy and provoking the Volturi to kill me?" he asked.
I gasped. Is that what the future would've held if I had jumped? Edward would've gotten himself killed?
"But I didn't jump," I cried, voice panic-stricken.
"But you could have. You fully intended to, and he couldn't have stopped you. Alice also had numerous visions of you crashing your motorcycle and landing in the hospital," he said. "And those did come true." He winced, tracing one of the many light scars that now lined my forehead.
"That was because I was being reckless and stupid, and you…" I began, but trailed off. I couldn't explain about wanting to hear his voice; that would give him too much hope that there was something left between us, and if he began to hope I could never let him go.
"Regardless," he continued, he didn't keep you safe. I can't leave you with someone who won't keep you safe. Even if you're not... mine… anymore; I need to be nearby, to keep you out of harm's way.
"We could be… friends?" I suggested, finally looking into his beautiful eyes for the first time in the truck ride.
"We could never be just friends," he said with a laugh. "You mean far too much to me for that."
"You're probably right," I sighed. "But we could try? If you want to be in my life at all, it has to be as friends."
"I suppose I can try," he agreed.
After that, much of the ride passed in silence. I wasn't sure what to say to him, and I was exhausted.
"Here, lean against me," he offered after watching me stifle one of countless yawns.
I agreed since I was so tired; I fit perfectly into his shoulder, just as I always had. He began to hum my lullaby, and I fell asleep before I was even conscious of it happening.
A light tap on my window startled me awake, and I realized we were back at La Push.
"You're exhausted, let me drive you home," Jake offered, but I refused.
"Nah, I don't want Charlie to worry about how you'll get home. I'll be okay," I promised, sliding into the driver's seat. I didn't know where Edward had gone, but I assumed that the second we arrived at La Push, he ran home.
"Okay, be safe Bells," he said, kissing me on the top of the head. "Call me when you get home."
"Will do," I promised, shifting my truck into reverse.
I drove back to Charlie's house much quicker than Edward had driven me back to La Push; I couldn't wait to curl up into bed and have this day be over with. Soon, I was pulling into the driveway next to Charlie's cruiser, and making my way into the house.
"That you?" Charlie called from the living room.
"Yeah," I sighed, tossing my eyes onto the counter. "You're still up?"
"It's only nine o'clock, Bella," he laughed, coming into the kitchen. "Wow, you look beat."
"Just a long day, I guess," I sighed, eyeing the clock. 9:03. I would've bet anything it was at least 11pm. "I think I'm gonna go straight to bed," I sighed, heading for the stairs.
"Well, wait," he began, "Did you have a good time with Jake?"
"Yeah it was – oh, Jake, I'm supposed to call him!" I said, reaching for the phone.
"Didn't you just leave him?" Charlie asked skeptically.
"Yeah, he just wanted to make sure that I didn't fall asleep at the wheel and hit a tree," I explained, dialing the phone.
I quickly called Jake, explained that I was fine, and headed up to my room. It was amazing I was still walking at all I was so tired.
I grabbed my bathroom stuff and washed my face, brushed my teeth, and changed my clothes. I returned to my room to find Edward sitting in the middle of the bed.
"Edward," I began warningly, but lacking the conviction my voice might've held if I were slightly more awake.
"Do you really want me to go?" he asked, his beautiful voice sounding immeasurably sad.
"No," I sighed, giving in. I climbed into bed beside him and curled up against his cold, hard chest. "Sing me to sleep," I ordered, "but if Jake comes anywhere near this house, you have to get out of here."
"Of course," he agreed, smoothing down my hair. He began to sing quietly, and I breathed in his wonderful scent, falling asleep in seconds.
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