Chapter 11: Apartment Hunting
Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Jacob's patience was wearing thin.
One arm, a leg and some long brown hair was all that was visible of Bella. She was digging through his closet. "It's got to be in here somewhere." Her voice was muffled by all the clothes and boxes surrounding her. It was like she was being swallowed by this huge depository of—stuff!
Why can't we just go? We can find whatever it is later. "What are you looking for? Can I help you find it, so we can get going?"
"Your windbreaker. I know I saw it here yesterday."
"I don't need it, I'm fine. C'mon, time's being wasted. We need to get a move on."
Bella retreated slightly so that her head could twist in his direction. "You can't go looking like that."
"What's the matter with the way I look? I thought you liked the rugged me."
He was dressed in jeans and a black tee that clung to every ripple in his chest and abs. His tattoo extended beyond the end of his right sleeve. It was a handsome tattoo as far as tattoos go, but to someone who didn't know him—it could be construed as a gang symbol.
She rolled her eyes as if it should be perfectly obvious to him. "Sure, I like it, but it might intimidate, any prospective landlords. One gander at that tattoo and the tight tee shirt and they'll think you're trouble."
Jacob flexed his biceps. "Well, I am trouble as far as you're concerned." A smug grin suddenly appeared on his lips.
"Okay, muscles, if you're in such a hurry, then come help me."
Jacob strolled over to his closet, moving close behind her, and placing his hands on Bella's waist, picked her straight up in the air. He placed her down to one side to give him room to search for the stupid thing. He finally spied it behind one of the boxes. It had slipped off the hanger and got wedged there. Grabbing it, he muttered, "Thank god, now we can get out of here."
The first set of apartments they looked at were way out of their price range. The next three were either too far from family or no place to park their vehicles. They were starting to get tired and hungry, and discouraged. The fourth place they ventured to left them running for their lives. Bella had opened the refrigerator to the empty apartment and a putrid odor hit them like a ton of bricks.
While they were traveling to the next one on their list, Jacob commented. "Phew, we'd have to air out the place for a week before we could stand to live in that apartment."
Bella cringed. "I can just imagine what the oven must've looked like."
"Yeah, probably like someone was cremated in there."
Slapping his shoulder, Bella scolded him. "That was disrespectful."
"You want disrespectful? How 'bout leaving a dead cat in the fridge for unsuspecting apartment hunters to find? My nose will never be the same."
Leaning over the gear shift, she kissed his nose in an attempt to heal the frightful assault it had been given.
As she looked up she noticed some rental houses. "Hey, Jake, those are cute. Should we go see what they're asking for them?"
"Man, I feel stupid. Yeah, a house—why didn't I think of that?"
The landlord shook their hands. "Newlyweds, huh? Well congratulations. Jacob, Bella, glad to meet you. I'm Mark. And I'm happy to say I have one available house. Let me get the keys and show it to you."
The house was set back from the others, but the twosome liked what they saw. It was near to Billy and Jacob's pack brothers, and actually closer to Forks, and Charlie. It even had a stand alone garage nearby. That alone sold Jacob on it. It was small, two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and a living room, but that's all they needed for now.
Bella nudged Jacob and nodded her head. "How much are you asking for it?" Jacob asked.
Mark's answer was totally unexpected. Jacob and Bella looked at each other, stunned.
He finally piped up. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why is this house $200 a month less than the apartments we've been looking at?"
"It's cheaper than the rest of these houses too. I'll be honest with you. I can't keep this house rented, and even when I do, it's usually to lowlifes" He gasped suddenly, his eyes getting big. "Not that I would put you in that category . . ."
Maybe Jacob should have let his muscles show. He practically got insulted. "Okay, I'll bite. Why?"
The landlord squirmed. He really wanted to rent out this place, and they appeared to be a nice couple. "Well, as you can see this house is the farthest back from the others, and closest to the forest. I've been told that there have been some rather large wolves spotted in the woods. My renters complained that they could hear them howling some nights too. Kinda spooky, huh?"
Jacob had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Now that he was paying attention, he noticed that this was one of the pack's patrol areas. "Nah, I can howl pretty good myself. So, when can we move in?"
"A week, ten days maybe."
His face dropped. "I was hoping to move in tomorrow."
"I'm sorry," Mark apologized. "You can see that we need to repaint the walls, replace the blinds and lay down new carpeting. Then we can put the furniture back inside."
This was too good to be true. The place was furnished? Jacob put on his friendliest smile. "Okay, let's negotiate. What if I put up the blinds and do the painting. I have a brother-in-law who lays carpeting, and as long as you supply the carpet and padding, we'll install that too. I'll pay for the rest of the supplies. Can we move in tomorrow? Is it a deal?"
Mark blinked a few times. He was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "It's a deal. I tell you what. You do the fixing up, and I'll give you the first month rent free. How does that sound?"
"Yeah, you got it." Jacob grabbed Bella and kissed her right in front of the landlord. Bella blushed, and Mark just shook his head, grinning. "Well, don't stand there kanoodling, let's sign the papers!"
Bella couldn't believe it. The house was perfect; Jacob was perfect, her life was perfect—well, as perfect as could be expected.
Mark watched as Jacob wrote his signature on the allotted line. He couldn't help but notice the last name. It practically jumped right off the page. After signing the papers, Mark gazed at Jacob, perplexed. "You're Jacob Black? Billy Black's son?"
"Yeah, why?" Now Jacob was perplexed, the papers still in his grasp.
The man quickly held out his hand. "Give me those papers".
Oh, great! Was Mark having second thoughts? Jacob handed the finished sheets back to the landlord. Mark scratched out two lines and initialed it.
"I had no idea you were Jacob Black. I guess your size should have given me a clue. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Brady's uncle on his mother's side. I've amended the paperwork—two months free rent and no cleaning deposit. I owe you for all you've done for Brady and his friend Collin. It's a privilege to meet you. Oh, and if the howling gets too loud, let me know. I've got a few buddies with hunting rifles." He shook Jacob's hand vigorously.
Jacob's eyes darted to Bella. "Uh, I don't think that will be a problem . . . By the way, can we have a bed brought into the house tomorrow? The rest can wait 'til Tuesday."
"Sure thing, Jacob. I'll make sure the bed is at least queen size for you too. I've got a cousin in the mattress business," he laughed.
As soon as they left the office, Jacob let out a whoop. He and Bella were jumping up and down like a couple of school kids. Jacob grabbed her in a famous bear hug, swinging her around and kissing her neck.
"Oh Jake," she stammered, a lump forming in her throat. "This is better than Christmas. I think I'm gonna cry."
She let out a squeal as Jacob scooped her up and walked with her in his arms to the car. He sat in the passenger seat with her on his lap—and hanging off his lips. He broke the kiss and stared out the window in the direction of their new home.
"Damn, if only that bed was in there," he sighed. Jacob stood up, Bella slid down and climbed back into the rabbit. He shut her door and sauntering to the other side sat in the driver's seat and started the engine. When they got halfway down the street, he stuck his head out the window and yelled, "SEX!" Then he honked the horn in celebration all the way to the end of the street.
On the way back to Billy's they came across another house for rent. They both broke up laughing. It was a little red house almost a twin to Billy's place. "Been there, done that!" Jacob shouted to the breeze.
It was hard to get out of the car. They both wanted to sit there and dream of the future. Paul woke them out of their stupor by tapping on Jacob's window. "Hey, Rachel says hurry up, supper's ready."
Jacob realized his stomach was rumbling. They hadn't eaten since breakfast.
They waltzed into the kitchen, holding hands. Their smiles said everything that needed to be said.
Rachel was the first to congratulate them. She hugged Jacob, kissing his cheek. "You found an apartment. I'm so happy for you."
Jacob's eyes were twinkling. "Not an apartment—a house!"
Paul was such a doubter. He shoved Jacob, pushing his shoulder. "Get outa town, are you kidding me? How could you afford to rent a house? This, I've gotta see. Where the hell is this place anyway?"
Pulling a chair out for Bella, Jacob sat down beside her at the same time, filling in all the details. "Out past Old Bridge Road off Truckers Lane. It's tucked way back there practically to the forest. You know that little group of houses by Little Creek where we patrol sometimes? That's the place. And get this—the landlord is Mark Featherstone, Brady's uncle. He gave us a smokin' deal, but we gotta fix the place up. I volunteered you to lay down some carpet next week, and I'll need a few pack members to help paint the place.
Billy sat quietly with a fork in one hand and a knife in the other. All at once he interrupted the conversation. "Okay, kids, let's eat, and we'll hammer out the details later. Sorry, but the fact is, I already took my insulin over half an hour ago. My blood sugar's going to drop like a rock."