AN: I want to dedicate this final chapter to my good friends Brittney, and Kitty Kat. Thank you for reading over my obbsession and pointing stuff out. Thank you. Last Chapter to my Wedding/La Push story. POV's do jump, so tell me how I did.
Happy Twilight Tuesday guys!
But my feelings for you are forever.
Five Years Later
JPOV
"Happy Birthday Jake!" people shouted on my 21st birthday anniversary. The whole pack was there, Sam, Quill, Embry, Seth, Paul, to name a few. Even Leah, ugh. Charlie was standing behind my Dad. Everyone was crammed in the tiny spaces.
"Aw jeez, thanks guys. Now get out." A low chuckle was barked as I tried to joke; I shook my head and walked forward. It's been five years since she went away to become a filthy leech. She only wrote about four times, once every year. That last day haunted me in my sleep, or whenever something reminded me of her. The pictures were still in my room. I got over the fact that she left a few months after that day. But during those few months of numbness, the guys—even Leah—were very respectful and left me alone for a while; leaving me at home to work on the Rabbit, chores, homework, etc. The bike collected dust.
I threw the keys on the table and walked towards the sink. I knew the guys wanted to take me out for my first legal drink in Port Angeles so I approached Sam slowly. He handed me a piece of cake while Embry came up and slapped my back.
"Finally legal!" he exclaimed. I glared at him while Charlie and Billy did to me. I saw Sam shook his head in disapproval.
"Hey," Charlie interjected. "Who's the designated driver here?"
"Sam," I answered back. "Since he's the oldest."
"Good. Sam, you be careful with these boys you hear? I don't want to have to bring you in okay?"
"Got it sir. 'Sides, these boys are like my brothers, they're safe with me. I don't really drink anyway." He replied honestly. Sam didn't really approve of drinking, nor did he do it. He wants us in top shape. But for certain occasions, like birthdays, weddings, etc, he lets us. Charlie nodded his head with a limp half smile. Billy nodded gingerly at Sam and he returned it back. We'd all be fine tonight anyway, we'd just run home. Sam probably drove some of the guys here for Charlie's sake.
Quill pushed me towards the door and I grabbed me keys and ducked under the door into the mist. We drove out of site and to our half hidden lot. Everyone ran out, throwing behind their clothes, and disappeared into the woods. I threw my clothes on top of the Rabbit and turned myself over to the russet colored wolf inside me. I pushed forward into the shrubs. Five minutes later, Sam was in my head.
"Jake, we got two leeches coming this way. Start going east and we'll circle them." He ordered.
"Got it." I answered back. I changed my direction and went east. Seconds later, my nose began to burn with that too sweet smell; it sent shivers down my spine and flattened my ears. We closed in, I facing the leeches' backs, in a circle. I heard two low snarls from both of them; they looked ready to fight, but the one on the left lowered its guard. Was that chuckling I heard from it?
Then I was alone. The pack left me on my own to fight away two bloodsuckers.
"Guys! What the hell!?" I screamed in my head. No one responded. The clouds drifted out of the moons light and my mouth dropped. The one on the right turned to face me.
The brown hair that came to the end of its shoulder blade swayed gently with the wind and turn of its body. The light ivory skin, full lips, heart shaped face, and golden eyes turned to stare at me, welcoming me with open arms.
It was Bella.
Her chest moved up and down in a rhythm as her leech...husband…touched her shoulder. She looked at him with soft eyes, he nodded, and she began to approach me slowly.
BPOV
Jacob was within five feet of me. I could see that my hand was shaking as it reached towards him. His ears folded down and his head bent towards the ground as he backed up, whining.
"Jake," I whispered. I knew that if I were still human, I'd be sobbing. Edward was stiff behind me; his eyes screaming 'be careful'. I pushed it off and took one more slow step forward, he didn't back up this time.
"He wants to go change Bella," Edward spoke from behind me. Jacob growled at him. I nodded. "He wants to meet us back at the Rabbit so he can dress." Again, Jacob growled.
"Cut that out, Edward, Jacob. We'll meet you at the Rabbit." I told him.
"Such a child," Edward commented quickly under his breath.
"What?" he started to annoy me a little.
"He wants to race with you to see how fast you can go. Good luck beating her, she's pretty fast." He told me, then Jake. I smiled to Jake and nodded. He chocked out a barking laugh. I lined up with him, giggling, turned my head to his. He winked, at we were off. The wind ripped through my hair as I effortlessly pushed my legs forward. I'd gotten much better at running since five years ago. I avoided every tree with a simple sway in my weight or body. I could see the russet blur next to me start to catch up. I laughed at his speed and pushed forward even more. I thought I saw his eyes widen. The race took all of one minute tops. Edward was leaning against the hood, still as stone; face expressionless. Jacob caught up a few seconds later. I ran over to the Rabbit and tossed him the ball of cut off jeans and a dirty white t-shirt. He picked them up in his mouth and went into the woods, coming out a minute later.
"Damn Bells," he let out a low whistle after.
"I know. But I still can't beat Edward." I told him. Jake's breathing was a tad heavy. I'd forgotten what that was like; it wasn't necessary at all in this new life. Edward, of course, missed the sound of my heart beating when we kissed. But I allowed my chest to go up and down for him.
"Oh! Happy Birthday Jake." I said a little confused. I didn't forget it this time.
"You remembered. Thanks."
"Yup. According to you birth certificate you're…21. Oh legal huh?"
"Yeah. And according to you're birth certificate you're suppose to be 23." Overly emphazising the word 'suppose'.
"Ha ha, very funny Jacob." I waved off going to stand next to Edward.
"So what 'cha doing back here? Certainly not on my account." He asked, staying a good ten feet away. I finally understood the smell issue from back then.
"We're visting Charlie," I answered, yanking out my brown colored contacts. Everytime we came here I had to put them in.
"He's at my house with Billy. Helped celebrate my birthday. Not going to say you won't get glared down of course." He informed us.
"Thanks," I said putting in the final one. "But we're going to wait at Charlie's." I flipped my head back up to catch Jacob's intent glare.
JPOV
I gaped when our eyes met. She looked exactly like I remembered, just paler. I managed to find my voice a few mintues later.
"So, what have you been up to?" that question was directly for Bella—she knew that. But he answered instead.
"We just finished up with some friends in Denali. In a few months are whole family is moving to Portland." He answered; face still as blank as stone.
Starting High School for the…Oh I'm sorry, I lost count after the first few hundred times leech. I screamed in my head. I was one-hundred percent sure Bella couldn't read my mind, if she could, she would've in the woods.
"Yes. Thank you Jacob." He answered the thought. Eyes hard, jaw tightly closed. Bella looked at me, shruging it off.
"So, Jake, find any special girl? You haven't said anything about anyone in our last letter." a harmless question, with arms that wanted to lift the visible tension. It didn't. the bloodsucker and I were in a stare down.
Yes, but sadly she's marred to a filthly leech! I screamed again. A snarl ripped through his chest, I laughed.
"Keep in mind dog, she's one of us too." He mocked. I breathed in and out deeply.
"One, Bella," I said her name.
"Really? Who? What's she look like? Someone I might know?" she buzzed happily.
"Her name's Charlotte. You wouldn't know her, she moved here last year. Five foot four, medium brown hair, ivory, blue eyes, tiny too. 'Minds me a bunch of you. Pretty clumsy too." I informed her. Charlotte was a girl who caught my eye as a new comer to La Push. She said she moved here from New Jersey to not only go to college, but to escape her hectic family.
"See, I knew a girl would catch your eye. Imprinted yet?"
"Nope not yet. I'm waiting till she turns twenty-one to."
"Oh, okay."
"Well, you guys should get going. Don't want to keep you much longer," I told both of them. They both started to vibrate a little because I was shaking. I squeezed my fist tighter, nails digging into my palm.
"Jake, are you okay? You're shaking." She asked taking a small step forward. I was still glaring at that thing next to her. Neither of us blinked for a solid minute.
"Yep," he muttered shaking his head slowly with a smug, self gratifying smile. "All eternity."
"I'm going to head back Bells. The guys wanted to take me out and stuff. Keep in touch." I started walking backwards.
"Okay," voice limp. "See you later Jacob. I wish I could hug you, but, I don't think I could stand it much longer. The smell thing," she pointed to her nose a little. I nodded my head. She threw me one last loving glance and smile, then disapeared into the green.
I walked over to the Rabbit and threw my clothes back into the side window. The front smelled like her, like him, and it drove me crazy. My nose burned so much. I dashed back into the woods—in whatever direction—bursted, and ran as fast as I could.
"Jake are you okay?" Embry asked, sensing the tension.
"No," I answered sternly. "He's a stupid leech who took her away from me for all eternity. Stupid mother fu—"
"Jacob calm down." Sam half shouted sternly in my head. I pushed forward faster. "I understand you're mad but, just, walk it out." He had a stuggle finding the right words. I felt the brick wall he hit trying to find them.
"No Sam, you don't get it. As much as Emily means to you is and was how much Bella means to me. I'm in love with her. I would've imprinted on her if he wan't involved. Tell me this Samuel, what if someone took Emily away from you? And were never allowed to see her again? What if her smell replused you? Instinctivly throwing your mind to want to rip, tear her apart? Or took her to another state where you couldn't see her? Wouldn't you want to rip his throat out? What if he killed her?" I came to a harsh, low, hissing whisper at the end.
I heard a tree fall down in the distance.
"Damnit Jacob I almost killed her!" he screamed back at me in a growl. "I understand you're mad Jake but please. Look at yourself! Do you think we enjoy seeing you in agony again after those first few months went by? We can all sense your hatred and tension but don't you think we feel it too? We all hate vampires as much as you do. Now just, calm down, walk it off, and—if you can—meet us back at the lot later. If not, see you tomorrow or something, just don't go to Canada again okay?" he asked. His authority ment little to me at this point. Bella was the most important thing to me at one point, and I won't let her star fade.
I drowned everyone else out by the sound of the ocean far off in the west, the crunching of leaves under my paws, the wind ripping through my fur, and my breathing.
I ran for hours on end.
The sun probably went down three of them again. I ended up on First Beach, only to turn around and run the other way. For a few seconds, I saw our tree, and her on it. Waving a welcoming hand my way to come and join her. When I got closer to the Rabbit, I smelled that too sweet scent.
She was there.
Again, she tossed me my clothes and I changed to come back out to see her perched on the hood of my car. She looked like she could cry; half closed eyes, hunched over, and a pouty frown.
"Hey Bells," I whispered sitting on the ground.
BPOV
I took some time to analyze him thoroughly. His muscle arms noticeably smaller, same with his chest and torso. His eyes lost that luminance, hair a bit lighter. His smell burnt my nose, I pushed that aside, not breathing. I tied my hair back, drooping my legs over the edge. Setting my hands on the other side of each.
"Hey Jake," it sounded limp, dead. I slouched a little bit more, hunching my shoulders. "Are you mad at me?"
"I'd appreciate more letters but no, I'm not mad. Part of me wants to rip and tear, while the other is just happy and excited to see you. I'm at war with the other side, the rip one." He murmured, twiddling with some grass, looking down at it.
"I'm so sorry I did this to you," again, I'd be sobbing. But instead, I dug my face into my hands.
"Don't be, I should've been more prepared that's all. I wasn't fully ready to let you go so," I heard the limp half smile in his voice.
"He feels sympathy for you sometimes. He knows what you're going through, and what you're feeling. When he thought I'd died. I know it too, I've felt it. I remembering being in a zombie like trance when I lost him for those few months. You saw me. I remember feeling the hole in my chest, with sharp edges that cut and stung so much. And feeling like I'm going to fall apart unless I hold myself together. And that thick layer of fog covering my eyes. I remember." I rubbed my eyes through my explanation, sniffing at the end to uncover them. He was looking back at me, same half mast eyes as mine.
"Yeah, I had that too, just worst. Every part of me, even the wolf part, were numb. I felt tired all the time, couldn't taste a thing, didn't eat, nightmares every night. Even during two hour naps. The guys were very respectful and left me alone for a while. I lived in my room too." He sounded so dead, like he did at the Reception. I wanted to run over and hug him to death, but my scent might cause him to react in a negative way.
"I'm so sorry Jake," I mumbled out again. We were both still in the small lot. For a few minutes, he stared at me with vacant eyes.
"Bella," he started looking down, my head snapped up to see him. He moved a little closer by about three feet and was on his feet. He threw his arms down in defeat of something, like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words to form it. His eyebrows were down slightly, eyes a little wide with confusion, and mouth slightly ajar. Like he was talking, or arguing with himself. He wasn't shaking this time.
"Hey, you're not shaking," it sounded more like a confusing statement then a fact.
"Huh, yeah I've gotten a whole bunch better with my temper. Uh, do you mind getting off the Rabbit?" he added with a slight flare in his nose.
"Oh! Yeah, sorry," getting off the hood and walked over to the bolder coming out of the ground. I perched myself on it with my legs crossed.
"You guys shouldn't have come this way, you're crossing the line." He alerted me.
"We're just passing through Jake. We'll be one once we're done here." I looked him in the eyes as I spoke. He nodded his head and took my spot on the car.
"So," I began, I took a swallow. "Do you really want to really want to rip me apart?" my voice lost tone at the end, fading in a horse whisper. He pinched the bridge of his nose then rubbed his eyes with those two fingers.
"No," he muttered lightly, looking at me with a glum smile and half closed eyes. "I want to rip him apart. Sorry Bells. I couldn't stand it back then and I don't think I could take it now." He whispered too. I remembered something from the Reception that was left unanswered.
"Hey do you remember the Reception?" I asked him. "I mean, aside from all the crying we did."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Do you remember that dance we had, before you left. And Edward just answered 'true'? What did he answer?" I asked. He looked astonished from the memory.
"Oh wow, uh, I told him, since you can dance with her for all eternity." He answered. I finally got what Edward meant before by, 'yep, all eternity'. My mouth opened, appalled.
"Bells?"
"OH! I am going to…I don't even know yet!" I screamed out. That was cruel to do to Jake.
"What?"
"He. Was. So. CRUEL! He shouldn't have said that to you! OH!"
"Uh Bells, we were expecting a sunny day in La Push, with no thunder. So you guys might want to jet." He informed me. I looked at the sky and saw the rising reddish orange light.
"Damn," I hissed. "Jake, I'll write to you as soon as I get to Portland. I'm so, sorry. So very, very sorry. For everything. I still love you." It was true, I did. But Edward left a more noticeable dent in my heart; one that wasn't shaped like a hand, but one like this ring.
"I love you too Bells. I'll hold on to that letter," it was a promise. He tensed up as Edward casually walked up to my left, resting his hand on my shoulder, I nodded. I blew Jake an air kiss, he pretended to catch it and stick it to his cheek, then heart.
JPOV
She shook in a small giggle; her smile haunting me. We sat there, vampires and a werewolf, for an immeasurable moment. After a blink, they were gone.
And I was alone.
I bursted out again, feeling the tears of eternal betrayal cup the brim of my eyes and ran in any direction.
Howling out in pain.
Dry your tears; it is time to let you go.
One last kiss.