(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)
BPOV
The car stopped inches from Edward's knees and I took a deep breath before opening the passenger side door. Jacob got out of the car at the same time and made his way to sit on the hood of his car. The car's front end dipped as Jacob's weight rested on it.
"Hey bloodsucker, we were just on our way back to Forks." He said in a challenging tone.
"Bella, get in the car I'm taking you home." Edward said through clenched teeth. I began to walk to his car when Jacob grabbed me. He pulled me so I sat between his legs on the hood of the car. Edward began to growl, "Let her go mongrel!"
I did not bother to move, I didn't need to explain huge hand shaped bruises to Charlie. I calmed myself and said in a low whisper, "Jake, stop it. Let me up."
He answered me in an overly innocent tone, mocking Edward with each syllable. "I thought you were losing your balance Bells. I am just making sure you don't fall and hurt yourself. I do make it a point to return you to your keeper in the same condition you left."
"I'm not going to say it again. Let her go." Edward looked so angry that if he were human his face would be red.
"Why don't you come and take her from me? I am sure my pack would love to find you on our land." Jacob said in the same mocking tone he was using to bait Edward. Edward has excellent control, but I could tell he was at the end of his rope. I needed to do something. I turned myself around to face Jacob and he had his eyes fixed on Edward. I stood on my tiptoes putting myself directly in his line of sight.
"Jacob, don't use me like this. I am your friend not a pawn in this ridiculous war you have going on with the Cullens. I promise you and I will get together soon, but for now I need to go home to Charlie." As soon as I said Charlie's name the mask that Jacob wore faded into the kind features of my best friend. I quickly hugged him and he released my waist. My heart was still beating fast as I backed away from Jacob and felt Edward's cool hands on my shoulders.
Jacob sat unmoving and his expression remained that of my friend. I shook Edward's hands from my shoulders and quickly made my way to his car. I was shaking from the stress and I did not want to make the situation worse by having Edward hover over me. He was in the driver's seat as soon as my seatbelt was buckled and we were driving off at Cullen speed. I could feel him staring at me and I decided to unload before we reached my home.
"What were you hoping to accomplish by showing up?" I said as icily as I was able to.
"Why didn't you come home with Charlie?" He said in an equally icy tone.
"I was enjoying myself. Charlie gave me an extended curfew and I am a grounded teenager of course I took it!" I exploded.
"Since when do you drink Bella?" He said sniffing the air between us. I should have known he would be able to smell that one sip of beer and over react. I rolled my eyes and refused to answer his accusations, I am his girlfriend not his kid.
"Do you know how close I was to crossing that line tonight?"His tone was hurt and almost apologetic, my anger wavered and I went silent.
"Bella, you don't understand how dangerous they are." I stared at my feet so I would not be tempted to speak. "They are unstable creatures; think about what happened to Emily."
I had thought about Emily, each time I felt Jacob shake with anger. Something inside me knew that he would never hurt me, that he was more in control than Sam was. I knew Edward had a point, but I was being stubborn and I refused to answer him. A couple minutes passed and he slowed his speed to the speed limit and my stomach relaxed a little.
"Bella, talk to me." He pleaded in a small voice.
"Edward, you won't understand…" I said so softly that I knew only he could hear me.
"I need you to explain it to me; I can't read your mind Bella." He reminded me.
"Jacob and the pack are the reason I am alive right now. I know they can be dangerous, but that has never stopped me in the past from standing by the people I love."
He was quiet, maybe because he did understand, or maybe because I used love and Jacob in the same sentence I could not be sure. We arrived in front of my house and I could see that the lights had been turned off which meant Charlie had already gone to bed. I checked the time on the dash and it was just past midnight.
"Shut your window if you want me to stay away tonight. I'll understand." That is all he said as I heard the doors unlock. I got out and hurried through the rain to my front door. As my key turned in the front door I heard his car race off into the dark night.
The house felt so much emptier when it was dark like this. I entered the kitchen and cleaned up the few dishes that remained from Charlie's midnight snack. I thought back to the months after Edward left me and how much more at ease I now felt in the rest of Charlie's house. I would avoid my room at all costs.
I dried the dishes and made my way upstairs. My room was empty with the window half open like it usually was. I stood in front of the window and I slammed it shut angry that he showed up and ruined my reunion with Jacob, angry because he was so controlling. After a second I slid it open then opened it so it hung wide open. The cool wind caused the curtains to blow wildly and I tied them to the side before gathering my pajamas and taking a hot shower.
EPOV
I would not understand?
I had to remind myself how old she was and how my actions looked to her. I was protecting her, I promised I would never let anything harm her and she needed to know that.
"You need to explain it to me; I can't read your mind Bella."
She was silent for a while and I was trying to stretch out this car ride as long as I could. I was going a painfully slow 55mph as it was. I listened as she tried to explain her concerns with me. The pack was responsible for the fact she was alive, I knew this better than she knew. I had ever y intention of acknowledging this fact and thanking Jacob whole heartedly, but his thoughts made me sick. His puppy love crush had developed into a deep love for Bella. Their bond over the last year had cemented his place in her life and I was not dealing with that as well as I should be.
"… people I love."
It was irrational to be jealous at this moment. She was not mature enough to see the situation for what it was. She only knew the world as this temporary existence and I understood that more than she knew. Each second I watched her grow older and every breath was numbered. I would do anything for her to continue breathing. I am too weak to leave or step aside. We arrived at her house and all I would let myself say was for her to leave her window open if she wanted me to stay with her. How pathetic I was.
I drove full speed home and assured Alice that everything was alright. I ran back to Bella's house as soon as I could. I approached the house and saw her window was half open, but she was not there. I heard the water running in the dark kitchen. She had not even been upstairs yet. I decided to wait to see what she would do. She was moving slower than usual. It was as though she were avoiding her room. It was at that moment that I smelled it, Jacob Black.
"What are you doing here Jacob?" I said without taking my eyes off her bedroom window.
I was ordered to come here and remind you of the terms of the treaty. His thoughts were very precise and I could tell that the words were not his own. These were orders from the Alpha male. I turned slowly so as not to startle him.
"I am well aware of the terms of the treaty, Mutt."
"Stop picking at my mind Leech. I was told to make sure you understand the fine print. We were very specific."
"Yes, Bite not kill… I understand." I growled, but my conversation with Bella made its way past my anger towards him. "Jacob, I need to say something to you, but it does not mean that I will be leaving anytime soon."
He looked curious, but not enough to drop the murderous glare in his eyes.
"I need to say… Thank you. I will never be able to tell you how grateful I am. I will owe you for the rest of my… existence."
He was caught off guard by this, but he quickly recovered. "Well allow me to call in my favor… Leave."
"I'm a quick learner, Jacob Black, and I don't make the same mistake twice. I'm here until she orders me away." It was the timing from a bad sitcom. As I said that I heard her bedroom window slam shut.
"You were saying leech?" He looked smug.
After a second she reopened the window to my relief and Jacob's dismay. She came back a third time to open the window fully and tie the curtains back.
Thoughts of ripping me limb from limb were being seriously considered in Jacob Black's mind, but I ignored them. "Shouldn't you be getting home pup? I wouldn't want your family to think I killed the messenger boy."
"Oh they know I am a big boy and I can take care of myself. I think I will go, but don't worry you and I will be seeing a lot of each other. Very soon." He let a cocky grin spread across his face and ran into the woods.
I heard the shower turn on and I quickly climbed into her room. I looked around and saw that she had grabbed the light blue pajamas from her dresser. I wished I had listened to Jacob Black's thoughts. I had stopped when he began to fantasize about my abrupt departure. He was a very visual thinker, enough said.
The shower eventually turned off and her room was warmer with the window shut. I sat on the rocking chair and waited for her to walk down the hall. Charlie's muffled snores were steady and constant from his room and I knew he would not be waking up any time soon. Bella walked in bundled up in her bathrobe and pajamas. She smiled at me and made her way to the chair where I sat.
"I'm sorry I did not call to let you know I was coming home after Charlie."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"There's too much tension between us, our relationship has been so much work lately. Aren't you tired of protecting me?"
"No, I want to protect you; you are just making it difficult by putting yourself in dangerous situations."
"Oh, and spending night after night in a room alone with a vampire is safe?"
"With me, you are. I thought I lost you, your blood doesn't have the same appeal to me as it used to."
She turned her sweet doe eyes on me, "So you don't want me anymore?" She said as she sat on my lap and exposed her neck by pulling her damp hair over her other shoulder. I kissed her neck softly, "I didn't say that, I just don't need your blood." Her skin tasted sweet against my lips and the urge I felt was not one for her blood. It was one that was more dangerous in a way. One that I would never allow myself to have, and I was beginning to hate my control.
BPOV
Classes this week were a little hectic. I had missed a few important tests while I was in Italy and I was doing extra assignments and exams to make up for them. It was nice to finally have a normal problem to deal with instead of the constantly surreal issues that normally plagued me. The one thing that had been getting me through the added stress was that Jacob was actually taking my phone calls now. They usually only lasted 10 minutes, but they were every night now. I think Jake knows that I was sneaking away to make the calls and it seemed like he was alright with it. Slowly things were mending themselves and as soon as I was done with school, I may actually have a chance to just be happy for a while.
The other problems in my life were still looming over me, but I needed to push them to the back of my mind if I wanted to appear normal. I could not allow myself to constantly worry about the Vampire mob wanting to end my life. The potential war between my best friend and boyfriend would also have to take a backseat to my calculus final.
School was the only place I felt a semblance of normalcy and I was a prisoner there too. If Edward was not with me then I had Alice there. It was so bad that during English I faked the need for the lavatory pass just to get some "me" time. I was so worried that Edward would use the boy's pass just to follow me, but surprisingly he looked calm and let me go. I slowly wandered the halls and made it to the restrooms on the other side of campus. I do not consider myself a vain person, but I took my time and fixed my hair a bit and just as I dug in my jacket pockets for my chap stick a white hand shot out to offer me some gloss instead.
"Alice! What are you doing in here?" I nearly screamed in fright.
"I am on babysitting duty for the weekend. I decided to get started early."
"um, wait… what?" I said unable to sound any less articulate.
"Edward needs a hunting trip so you and I will be spending some girl time this weekend. It was going to be a surprise, but I have learned from past experiences that you are not very good with surprises."
I was silent and thought that this was my chance to see Jacob again.
"Don't do that Bella." She warned.
"Do what?"
"If you try and run, just know I will catch you and if you think shopping with me is bad, you have seen nothing yet. You should get back to class Ms. Swan." She was grinning like a cat that finally caught the canary. I rolled my eyes and went back to class. I glared at Edward and he made it a point not to look at me.
I took out a sheet of binder paper.
What are you thinking assigning me a babysitter?
I shoved the piece of paper at him and he took it quickly, writing his response in his neat script.
She is still out there Bella. I need to make sure you are being looked after while I am away. Please be reasonable. I am leaving during lunch.
I crumpled up the paper and I knew that there was no way to argue during class. The bell rang and I immediately put in my headphones as we walked to our next class. Edward was studying my face the whole way, finally pulling me into the janitor's closet.
"Bella, talk to me."
I yanked my ear buds out and calmly said, "You could have at least talked to me about this. I am not a baby Edward. I am not your pet. You can talk to me like a person."
"Bella, I was going to tell you-"
"Yeah, that's my point! You were going to tell me. Not ask me."
"Calm down."
"Have fun on your trip Edward." I pushed past him and left the closet almost tripping into the busy hallway. Amazingly I found my balance and I made it to the classroom without any problems.
Edward did not bother showing up to class. Alice was talking about all the different human sleepover rituals she was never able to experience. I knew it was not her fault, she was just doing a favor for her brother, but she was not just crazy Alice Cullen any more now she was Alice Cullen, prison guard. After school she brought me home and I told her I needed n hour to get my stuff ready. I should not have been surprised when I found a note from Charlie telling me to have fun shopping with Alice this weekend. I wonder when he found out about this. It just made me even madder. I called Jacob as soon as Alice was out of my driveway.
"Hey Jake."
"Bells, a little early to call isn't it? Did the leech give you some extra phone time?"
"Shut up, he is actually gone this weekend."
"Great! So do you need me to come and pick you up?"
"I am being held hostage this weekend."
"Bella, all you have to do is say the word and I will come break you out."
"Thanks Jake, but I have a lot of homework to finish anyway."
"When is he coming back?"
"I guess on Sunday."
"Will you be at school on Monday?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Oh, and I was wondering did you end up making up all those assignments?"
"Yeah, I just turned in my last assignment today. That is an odd thing for you to wonder about Jake."
"I am a concerned friend Bella. If you change your mind about the rescue mission I'll be at Emily's or one of the guys will be and they will find me."
"Thanks Jacob. I should get going I have a sleepover to go to."
"Ha-ha I can see it now. You and the bloodsuckers playing dress up and painting your nails."
"Stop calling them names or I will find the pictures of when I used to paint your nails when you were a kid and show them to the pack."
"That never happened Bella." He said with a tiny bit of panic in his voice.
"Oh really? Ask your sisters. Bye Jake"
I hung up and found my mood had lightened immediately. No matter how I was feeling Jake always found a way to leave me smiling.
(A/N: Sorry about the long wait, but I have been so busy with balancing school and work that something was bound to suffer. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait. Chapters 5 and 6 on their way soon.)