Chapter Two

"Edward, please calm down. I'm not breaking up with you." I reassured him again.

"Then what do you want to talk about." Edward finally relaxed, but he was clearly very confused.

"I was thinking that I'm positive that I'm going to join your family. But there are still a lot of things that we need to talk about and figure out."

"Like what?"

"I think it would be best to discuss this with your family. Tomorrow, after I go to the dump can you come pick me up? Charlie will leave for work as soon as he sees that the motorcycle is gone for good."

Edward seemed a little reluctant. He was probably thinking about the last time I had arranged a meeting with his family. "I suppose." He finally responded.

"Thank you Edward." I laid my head against his chest.

"I would do anything for you, Bella." He began to slowly rock back and forth humming a song undoubtedly from a much earlier decade. I drifted to sleep in the peaceful presence of my angel.

I woke up lying in my bed alone. I heard someone call my name, but it wasn't my angel. It was Charlie. "What?" I had missed every word he had shouted to me.

"Honey, Jake's here. He wants to know if you want him to drive you to the dump."

Was this a joke? I decided I didn't care. Jacob and I still had a lot of unfinished business. "Umm sure, I've got to brush my teeth and get changed though. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Okay honey." Charlie shouted from downstairs.

I got ready in a hurry – the sooner we got things settled the better.

I threw on a pink short-sleeve shirt and slid into jean capri's. I quickly threw on a pair of flip-flops. I hurriedly brushed my teeth and flew down the stairs.

That was a mistake.

I tripped on my flip-flops and fell face-first down the stairs. My mind hadn't caught up with my body yet so my arms stayed at my side rather than shooting out in front of me to break my fall. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain.

The pain didn't come. All I felt was the sudden warmth against my shoulders where Jacobs' hands held me. He stood me up and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Charlie was white as a ghost and Jacob seemed a little angry. If Edward were here to read his thoughts they probably would have been along the line of Geez, does she always need someone to save her life every waking hour of the day?

"Are you okay Bella?" Jacob asked me.

"Uhh, yeah I'm fine. Let's go." I took his hand and led him out the door. "Be back later dad." Charlie hadn't completely recovered from seeing me plummet down the stairs so he just shook his head – incapable of finding words.

When we were outside I found that my motorcycle was already in the back of Jake's car – with a blue tarp under it. Jacob wouldn't ever risk ruining his car.

We walked wordlessly to the car.

"Put on your seatbelt." Jacob instructed as soon as I was seated.

"I'm not five Jacob. In fact, I'm older than you." I reminded him while stubbornly refusing to put on my seatbelt.

The ride to the dump was silent and seemed to be perpetual. Jacobs' jaw was set and he seemed angry again. He relaxed marginally as we neared the dump, but not enough for me to feel comfortable.

When we arrived he told me to wait in the car while he disposed of my motorcycle. I waited impatiently but I did as I was told. I felt a little guilty. From the information Edward supplied me with yesterday, he wasn't very happy about my disposing of his work.

When he returned he started the engine and ended the ubiquitous silence. "The pack isn't very happy." He stated grimly as he pulled onto the highway.

"It really isn't any of their business." I said keeping my eyes focused on my hands, which were now wrestling each other on my lap.

"Bella you know exactly what the treaty says, and you know well that it's our business!" Jacob was shouting and tremors were running up and down his arms. I was too furious to waste my time trying to calm him down.

"Jacob, I think we both know that this is much more personal than it is business." I shouted at him angrily.

Jacob didn't get the opportunity to shout back to me – or worse, explode into a werewolf. Everything happened too quickly for him to do anything at all.

I looked up from my hands to see my angel standing in the middle of the road – and that we were about to plow through him. I heard the tires screech as Jacob turned his attention back to the road. I felt the car jerk to a stop, and then I felt myself I fly out of my seat and through the windshield.