Sorry this took so long, my inter-webs are being bitchy!
BPOV
Jacob's truck pulled up and he jumped out to greet us.
"Hey, what are you two doing out this way?"
"We're just getting some stuff out of storage," Sue said quickly. "What are you up to?"
"I was heading back to the shop and noticed a car over here. I don't understand why you two don't just sell this house, Sue, it's gotta cost a lot for you and Charlie to keep it."
"It has sentimental value," Sue replied quietly.
Jacob looked at me and noticed the panicked look in my eye. I nodded as if to say something is indeed wrong.
"What's really going on, Bells?"
I took a deep breath, "I need your help, Jake."
EPOV
Bella's beginning to worry me. I got a call from Rosalie saying that my wife had dropped our kids off for the day and seemed in a hurry to go out and visit her step-mother in Forks.
Not that I mind if Bella wants to have a visit with Sue, but I would think she'd take the children with her so they can see their grandmother.
I sat fretting about this all day, still cursing myself for daring to think she might be having an affair, but unable to get that thought out of the back of my mind. If this was all nothing, one big misunderstanding, why wouldn't she tell me what was wrong?
BPOV
We all drove back to Dad and Sue's house to talk. Once there, I sat down with Jake and confessed everything—our past with James, Christmas last year, the incident at the wedding and the phone call. He sat there listening, expressionless.
After I finished talking he sighed and looked down at his hands, "Bella, why didn't you just go to the police? And why haven't you told Edward?"
"Didn't you hear what I said? He's threatening to do something to my children if I tell them."
"Then why did you tell me?" He asked.
"Because you're the only person who can help me that James doesn't know about."
"What do you mean?"
"He doesn't know you exist—why would he? So, you have the best chance of helping me without him ever finding out."
"And what am I suppose to do? Wack this guy for you?"
"I'm still not sure, but..."
My phone started ringing; it was programmed to intercept all incoming calls from the house. It was an unlisted number.
"This must be him again," I said quietly.
"Put it on speaker," Jacob said.
I shook my head, "He'll hear the echo."
I flipped the phone open, "Hello."
"Mrs. Cullen, lovely to hear from you again. You sound far away, though, are you on a cell phone?"
"Yes," I said, "I'm out running errands."
"Such a good little housewife," he mocked. "Now, I bet you're wondering when I wish to meet with you."
I closed my eyes and sighed inwardly, "Yes."
His evil chuckle rang through my ears and almost triggered my gag reflex, "Good...noon...tomorrow...at the Kingfish Cafe."
He hung up and I scrambled to write down the information.
"What did he say?" Jacob asked.
"We're meeting at noon tomorrow at the Kingfish Cafe," I said.
"I'm coming with you," he replied.
I nodded. We were both silent for a while and then he seemed to have an epiphany.
"I'll follow him home after you meet," he said. "I'm going to find out where this bastard lives."
"What if he catches you?"
"What's he going to do, Bells? Beat me up?"
The idea of James trying to punch a man about twice his size was laughable.
"I can take care of myself...and, if I remember correctly, I have a friend in the Seattle Police Department."
"Really?" I asked, "Who?"
"Sam Ulley's cousin, Tim," he said. "You remember – he was trying to get me and Sam to join the force right as soon as we graduated high school."
"Yeah, I remember that," I said. "But, won't he just make me come in and file a complaint?"
"I'll see what I can do about secrecy," Jacob said. "For now, I'll follow this James home tomorrow and give the info to Tim."
"OK," I said, feeling a little better about the situation.
EPOV
Bella was already home when I got off of work. She was making dinner as the kids sat watching a movie.
"Hey, how was your day?" I asked, kissing her on the cheek.
"It was good," she said. "I had lunch with Sue today."
"Really? Great, did you take the kids?"
"No," she said. "Sue wanted to talk about Leah, so I thought it best if I left the kids with Rosalie today."
It didn't sound like a lie. "What's happened? Is Leah still causing problems?"
"No, Sue just wishes she'd come to her senses," Bella said with a sigh.
"Is that what's been bothering you lately?" I asked.
She straightened up, "What?"
"You've seemed really out of it these days, like there's something on your mind—but you don't seem to want to talk about it, either."
Her eyes were sad as she turned towards me, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like I was shutting you out. I'm just...I don't know...pre-occupied—for no particular reason."
She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a long, deep kiss. Then she pulled back and I saw that look in her eye—that loving, longing look that told me without words what she feels for me.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too," I replied as I leaned in for a kiss of my own.
I lifted her up on the counter top and continued our make out session until I felt a tug on my pant leg.
"Daddy," Owen said, "Juice..."
He held his sippy cup up in the air and stared at me with those big, topaz eyes. I picked him up and sat him on my hip while I got the bottle of apple juice out of the fridge.
BPOV
What am I doing? I'm making the most important man in my life feel unloved, and that's the last thing I ever wanted to do.
Maybe that was what James meant for me to do all along! Maybe he wants me to start alienating my family so they become suspicious of me.
I sat there on the counter and watched my wonderful husband with our son. He refilled Owen's cup without even having to set him down. The two most precious boys in my life—I stared at them and felt a sense of dread run up and down my spine. If Jake can't come through for me, I don't know what I'll do.
I drove to the restaurant and waited out front until 11:55. I didn't see Jacob's truck when I walked in, and I prayed he was just waiting somewhere nearby. I sat down at a table and waited.
I declined a cup of coffee and sat in tense anticipation for my meeting. I felt something slide across the back of my chair and looked up to see that bastard with a slimy smile on his face.
"Mrs. Cullen," he purred evilly, "You're looking exquisite today. Don't tell me you got dressed up for little old me."
"Let's just get this over with," I hissed in a low voice. "What do you want?"
"So impatient," he teased, "Don't I at least get to order a cup of coffee? Would you like a piece of red velvet cake? I hear it's delicious."
"I'm not hungry," I said, emphasizing every word, "I want to know what you want from me so you'll leave me and my family alone."
The server came by and James ordered a coffee before turning back to me.
"Alright, if that's the way you're going to be about things, then I'll state my case. I want what I never got from you all those years ago—what you know you wanted to give me but wouldn't. I want you to stop being a goddamn cock tease and met me at the Hotel Max a week from Saturday. I'm sure with your precious little husband's job, you can afford to book us a room there."
"You want me to have sex with you?"
"You make it sound so dirty, Mrs. Cullen. I want us to make love, like we should have back in college."
I looked down at my hands then glanced back up at his smug smile, "Please ask for something else...anything else."
"Not a chance, it's all I've wanted for almost ten years. And, if there isn't a room booked at the Max Hotel for two in ten days, then I will be forced to begin destroying everything you love."
I was about to respond when the server came back with his coffee. Once she was gone, he took something out of his pocket and threw it on the table—a photo of my family.
"I'll start with the youngest...little Alys! Strange spelling, I must say, but I guess that's the thing to do now."
"You stay the hell away from my children," I hissed as I grabbed the photo and held it close to my chest.
"Keep it," he said with an evil smirk, "I have more. And as for staying away from Alys, or Owen, or one of those cute little twins, the answer is simple—do as I say, and I'll forget all about you and your little brood. Do we understand each other?"
I stared down at the photo, my hands began to shake, "You'll leave us alone? For good?"
He slid something across the table, a plane ticket. "This is to London, where my friend's father is offering me a job in his advertising business. You spend one night with me, and I'm 6,000 miles away from you—forever."
I stared at the ticket under his hand and nodded.
"I'm sorry, I'm going to need verbal confirmation, Mrs. Cullen."
I looked up and glared, "I will make the reservation for one week from Saturday."
"I'll meet you there at 11 p.m."
He finished his coffee and left as I sat there feeling so dirty I was sure I was going to need multiple showers when I got home. I now have a little over a week to figure out how to get out of this.
I slowly walked back to my car in a daze. I drove back to Rosalie's, not quite sure how I got there, and sat in my car out front for what seemed like an hour. I was only brought back to life by my phone ringing.
"Bells," Jacob said, "He lives down in the University district. He has a townhouse near Union Bay. I got the address."
"Thank you, Jacob," I whispered after I wrote down the street name and house number.
"What did that bastard say to you, Bells?"
"You don't want to know," I replied. "Look, I've got to go, but I'll call you later, OK?"
"I'll call you, tomorrow," he countered, "I'll let you know what Tim says."
"Talk to you then," I said before hanging up.
I walked into Rosalie's and was greeted by the twins attaching themselves to each of my legs.
"Mommy!"
"Hey," Rose said as she leaned over to hug me, "How'd the meeting go?"
"Great," I lied, "I'm going out a week from Saturday to do the shoot."
"On a weekend?"
"It's the only time we're all able to do it," I said with a shrug. "Besides, I'll take the kids to see their grandparents while I'm at it."
I was thoroughly disgusted with myself—I've become all too good at lying to the people I love. Rosalie nodded as she took in all the information I was giving her, but still seemed a bit skeptical. Hopefully I can put all this awfulness behind me before anyone else starts to doubt me.
I took my children home and played with them in the backyard all day until Edward came home.
EPOV
As I walked into the house, I called for Bella, but got no answer. I thought this was odd because her car was parked in the garage. And then I heard voices screaming out back and I rushed to the balcony overlooking the yard.
I looked down, and there was my wife and children playing soccer. Bella was teaching Owen how to kick a goal, and his older sisters were screaming with delight when he reared his foot back and knocked the ball into the net.
I couldn't contain the grin on my face as I rushed down the stairs and scooped my son up into my arms.
"Well, looks like we've got a little Beckham on our hands, huh?"
"Oh, Edward," Bella said in surprise as she reached up to kiss me. "I lost track of time, I need to get dinner started."
"No way, I just showed up and I want in on this game," I said as I set Owen down and grabbed my wife around her waist. "We'll just order a pizza, or something."
My children liked the sound of that, "PIZZA!!"
"OK," Bella conceded.
We stayed outside until the sun began to disappear. Bella and I brought the kids in and she set them down in front of a movie while I went to order the pizza.
I was about to reach for the phone when I heard Bella's cell start ringing. I grabbed it to take to her and noticed the number wasn't one I recognized. I answered.
"Hello?"
There was silence before a man's voice asked, "Is Bella there?"
"Jacob?"
"Yeah, man, I need to tell Bella something."
"What?"
Just then Bella walked in and saw me talking on her phone—her face lost all color.
"Here she is," I said, handing the phone to her and standing there with my arms crossed over my chest, waiting to hear what she had to say about all of this.
"Hello...hey Jake...he did? He can? Thanks, that will help out a lot. Bye."
She flipped the phone shut and gazed up at me with a guilty expression.
"I suppose you want to know why Jacob's calling me."
I nodded and sat down at the table. She sat in the chair across from mine, "He's been doing a favor for me."
"And?" I asked when she took a moment to continue.
She sighed, "Edward, there is something I've been meaning to tell you, but I just can't bring myself to do it."
My whole body went numb—she is having an affair. I couldn't believe this, I just wanted to smash everything in sight and then find whoever the hell this guy is and strangle him with my bare hands. I held my breath and waited for my wife to finally hit me with the words that would confirm my worst fears.
"Those calls I got a few weeks ago, they weren't from a client or a friend of Charlie's...they were from James."
I think my heart actually stopped for a moment—James? My wife was cheating on me with my worst enemy?
"I ran into him at that wedding I went to, and I completely ignored him. But there was something he said that made me think he was not about to leave us alone...and he hasn't."
I nodded numbly for her to keep going.
"He called on the night of Alice's baby shower and made me promise to meet with him. He said if I called the cops or told you, he'd hurt one of the kids. Edward, I'm sorry! I was just scared and I know I should have told you sooner, but..."
Her voice broke off into hysterical sobs and she collapsed onto the floor. I rushed to her side and held her in my lap. I shouldn't be feeling relief right now—my wife just told me a psychopath was targeting my children—but I was just so ecstatic that there was no affair.
I stroked her hair and tried to calm her down, "Shhhh, Bella, my love—my angel. Nothing will ever happen to our children. James isn't getting anywhere near them."
"You shouldn't be comforting me," she cried, pushing me away. "You should be disgusted with me, I'm a horrible person—I've been keeping secrets from my family."
"You thought you were protecting us," I said in a soothing voice. "I would have done the same thing."
She shook her head, "You would have been smarter about this. You would have called the cops right away."
"Not necessarily," I countered, taking her back into my arms.
We sat there in silence for a while until another thought hit me, "Bella? What did Jacob have to do with all of this?"
She wiped some stray tears away, "He followed James home from the meeting he forced me into yesterday. Jake found out where James lives and he told a cop friend of his."
"Where does he live?" I asked.
"Down near Union Bay, I have his address in my purse."
"Give it to me," I said. "I'm going to see this for myself."
"No, Edward, we should let Tim handle it."
"Who's Tim?"
"Jacob's friend in the Seattle Police," she replied.
"Well, I want to see this place," I said. " And I want to send James a little message."
She shook her head but I was insistent, "Please, love—I need to do this."
She sighed and got up to grab her purse. She took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to me.
Sorry, that's kind of an abrupt stopping point. Next up will be a confrontation between Edward and James – and the one between Jacob and James is soon to come, as well…