A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Ms. Rosmaria, for her unfailingly generous PM's, comments and reviews. She has never failed to bring a smile to my face with her enthusiasm and encouragement. You're awesome! :)

An Interesting Day

Bella was methodical and thorough just the way Jacob hoped she'd be. A few times she would stare off into the distance while telling her tale. Jacob thought maybe she was seeing something of interest that caught her attention, but he soon realized she hadn't seen any of the scenery since she began her epic journey into past events. The light in her eyes seemed to fade, especially when she would talk about Edward. It seems with each untold truth she stumbled upon, a little piece of her was chipped away. She didn't cry, she didn't even look sad - at least not like before when Edward left her - not even when she recounted their breakup. She just looked...drained.

Jacob readied himself for the possibility that Bella might still want Edward back, even though breaking up was her idea. She could also be in shock still, it was an awful lot to deal with in a short amount of time. But she seemed resigned about the breakup. He would worry about Bella if he thought it would help, but Jacob knew she would pull through this. If it were anyone else.

Jacob knew if anyone else had gone through the things she had they would have had a mental breakdown by now. But not Bella. Jacob had always admired her strength, that innumerable, immeasurable inner strength she seemed to have that kept her going and allowed her to love people even when they've disappointed her. And how her unshakable faith in those she loves and her ability to forgive and forget made him love her that much more. This ability never ceased to amaze him even to this day. However, as it turns out, even Bella had a breaking point.

For Bella to willingly break up with that jerk...it must have been really bad for her to EVER do that, he thought. Jacob never said a word, he knew better. He sat motionless and expressionless. There would even be times during Bella's story that sounded like she wasn't really talking to him anymore. It seemed to spill out of her like it had no where else to go. A flood of information that sometimes wouldn't make sense to him, it was as if she was saying it for her own benefit. She needed to hear it out loud.

"And that's how the idea to come here happened," she said, finally, taking a deep breath.

Jacob nodded his head a little in acknowledgment. Neither spoke for a few more minutes. It was a lot to take in.

The sun had begun to set and was turning a beautiful shade of orange and pink with hues of blue quickly chasing it. Any other day Jacob would be sitting out on the water or on the beach watching it with some friends, but today he didn't notice. Jacob pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. He turned to look at Bella who had become very quiet and saw she had fallen asleep, resting for the first time in who knows how long.

Her long bangs had fallen into her face. He was tempted to move it back but was afraid it might wake her. Looking at her exhaustion reminded him of the anger he felt towards the bloodsuckers. He turned and sat straight in his seat again, gripping the steering wheel, giving the gravity of his newfound knowledge a chance to sink in.

Those bastards, he thought, angrily. It was all he could do to keep his temper in check.

What is wrong with them? Why do they have to interfere with everything? Who the hell do they think they are?

They knew. They knew all this time that Bella had changed her mind. They knew and they didn't say anything. The psychic lied, she lied to Bella. And Mr. Wonderful lied, too.

It infuriated Jacob that they would go to such lengths to manipulate her. It's taken him all this time to come to terms with what happened. Even though he disagreed and hated her decision - and had felt the effects of it everyday since – he felt like he could live with it because it was what she wanted. He was a big boy, he could live with losing. But to realize that those monsters completely changed the game using every conniving trick available…it was too much. Jacob hadn't lost, he was cheated. He and Bella both had been cheated. That was something he could never live with.

He could feel his breathing become rapid, his hands squeezing the leather-bound wheel until it creaked and groaned under the pressure. The muscles in his forearms bulged as they flexed and tightened. He wanted to rip the steering wheel right out of the dashboard but knew his sister wouldn't be too happy about that. He needed to take a few more cleansing breaths to calm himself.

He continued to concentrate on slowing his breathing, but every time he calmed down he would think about the lies, the lost time, the danger they've put Bella in, and finally, being separated from everyone back home...all because of them. He didn't think it was possible to hate them more.

And now this, using Jacob yet again as a backup plan when their "perfect" escape plan failed. The gall! It took him several more minutes to finally calm himself down enough to get out of the car and walk around to the other side. He unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled a sleeping Bella into his arms closing the door behind him and walked up to the house. She sleep snuggled into his chest, murmuring something.

He knew the creaking screen door was going to be a problem but there was no way around that. But as tired as she was he felt she'd fall back to sleep if it did wake her. He opened the door, quickly letting himself inside, slipped out of his flip flops and caught the door before it banged shut. Kimo and Rebecca were in the kitchen cooking dinner, laughing and teasing each other.

Rebecca rounded the corner saying, "Well it's about time you got here, I was beginning to-" Her eyes grew wide when she saw Bella in Jacob's arms.

Jacob quickly shushed her.

Bella stirred but didn't wake. He adjusted her so she fell naturally into the crook of his arm, allowing him to cradle her easier and walked on to his bedroom.

On entering the room it was dark, but thankfully his night vision is better than most people's vision on their best day. He navigated the room easily and laid her down onto his bed, took off her shoes and pulled the sheet over her. She made a sleepy sound of contentment, which made him smile. He straightened up and folded his arms. He couldn't stop looking at her. Her hair had fallen onto her face again and he gently placed it behind her ear. She, again, mumbled something but nothing he could make out. He wondered if she was dreaming. He decided to leave the closet light on, closing the door most of the way to provide a little light for when she awoke during the night. She would have no idea of the layout of the room much less the house in total darkness. Knowing Bella it won't matter anyway. Crazy girl falls over her own feet half the time, he chortled lightly. He turned to leave the room but just before leaving he turned to look at her once more sleeping soundly in his bed. A feeling of fullness filled his heart and he felt his eyes and nose sting. He vowed then and there that nothing bad will happen to her ever again, not if he had anything to say about it. Allowing himself to feel the swell of emotion that had been building up, he said quietly, "Thank you God. Thank you for watching over her." He dabbed at his eyes, and quietly left the room.

"So how's she doing? She's been asleep for days now," Rebecca asked.

"Twelve hours, thank you very much. I know it's a long time..." Jacob said, unconcerned, "but she'll sleep till she's tired of sleeping, okay. Let her be."

Rebecca put her hands up like she was surrendering, "Okay, whatever. I was just thinking that since you already took today off and tomorrow, maybe you should tell Kimo when you plan to work again, that's all."

"For your information I've already asked for a few days off and he gave me the whole week. Kimo's cool about that kind of stuff."

The implication wasn't lost on her.

"Okay, great," she said, picking up her keys and headed for the door.

"And she's fine by the way, thanks for your concern," Jacob said sarcastically.

Rebecca sneered at him and left to go to the store.

Jacob let out a sigh and went back to work in the kitchen.

A few moments later, he heard a tiny, "Hey."

He looked quickly over his shoulder, "Hey! She's awake!"

Bella looked like she literally just woke up and came into the kitchen. Her hair was messy and she still had on the clothes she wore from the day before.

The smell of food cooking led her to the kitchen. Her stomach began to rumble.

"Hungry?" he asked.

She smiled, "Yeah, actually."

"That's good, that's a good sign."

Jacob turned back to his food, giving Bella a chance to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She tried to flatten her hair some but realized it was a lost cause.

"So what's on the menu? It smells amazing!"

"Chorizo, eggs and rice. Want some? If not, I can fix bacon, hashbrowns, uh, you're out of luck if you want an omelet. Every time I've tried, it just ends up being scrambled eggs with stuff in it. Still edible though."

Bella laughed at that. "Anything's fine, really."

"Oh yeah, there's also some fruit in the bowl over there, and I think Rebecca keeps some yogurt hidden in the back of the fridge, too. Pfssh, yeah, like she really has to worry about us guys snatching it," Jacob rolled his eyes. "No danger there."

Bella giggled, "Some fruit and yogurt sounds good, but then again your food smells great. I'm at a loss."

Jacob grinned mischievously, "Why not both? How hungry are you?"

"Starving!" she said with widened eyes.

He chuckled, "A girl with a healthy appetite, that's what I like to hear. Both it is!"

After they had their breakfast feast, Bella felt like she may have eaten too much and decided to hang around the house, so Jacob left for work to drop off some papers and check in with the instructor who was filling in for him to get him updated on his students.

Hina greeted him in the shop.

"Well, well, well, look who's back," she said, teasingly.

"Just for a minute, I gotta give Dave my papers, let him know which students need extra attention and then I'm out."

"Ah, I see, back to your staycation ay? How's your friend by the way?" she asked, twirling her pen around her fingers, leaning against the front counter.

"She's…she's good. Tired mostly, she had a long trip."

He had to be careful how he talked about Bella around Hina. Hina was naturally inquisitive and always seemed to figure things out. She was both smart and suspicious, not a good mixture if you're someone with a secret. Any slip at all would be enough for Hina to know something was up.

"What's her name, again?"

"Be..." Jacob caught himself. "eth...Beth, her name is Beth. Elizabeth actually, Beth for short."

Hina raised her eyebrows slightly. "Ah. Will you bring her in some time? I'd like to meet her."

"Sure, sure," Jacob was doing his best to be casual.

"How long is she staying?"

"Oh, a week - a few weeks, maybe longer. It's hard to say."

"That's kind of a long time for a vacation, isn't it?"

"Is it? Oh well, she's kind've checking out the island actually, she mentioned wanting to live here and wanted to get a feel for the place before she planted roots, you know."

"So she's never been here before?"

"No."

Hina giggled, "Well, why would she want to live here if she's never been here before?" she said with a curious expression.

"Uh...you know, I really don't know the answer to that," he laughed uncomfortably. "Uh, I gotta go, Hina. I'll bring her by tomorrow...or something."

"Okay, laters," she said, looking at Jacob suspiciously.

Jacob got out of there as fast as he could, breathing a sigh of relief. His stupid story had begun to unravel, and so did he. He thought he'd better hurry and get back before something else went wrong.

Bella wandered around the house. It looked just like every other house she'd ever been in except for the artwork. The walls were a plain off-white and the wooden floors were bare, except for a few throw rugs, but the furniture and paintings were all bright and cheery. Most of the furniture was wicker with brightly colored cushions, but the real eye popping feature of the room, maybe even the whole house, was the wall adjacent to the front door. It showed a beautifully painted mural that was breathtaking. There were no edges, it was as if it opened up into a dream world in which you were allowed to peek in. It was of a beach scene and on the beach were three little children playing in the surf. They all looked dark-complected with long black hair and couldn't have been more than five years old. One child looked like she was making sand castles, another was helping her and one was playing in the water kicking the incoming tide as it washed over her feet, the kicked up spray going up into the air. It was serene, yet so cheerful. Bella couldn't help but smile. The idea that there are little children playing in the surf without a care in the world was beautiful. She wondered if she was ever that carefree and tried to remember the last time she had been that happy. She couldn't. She envied the little beach babes on the wall. What do they know that I don't?

Just then, she heard the front door being unlocked making her jump.

Jacob walked in looking surprised to see her up, and by the door.

"Oh, hey! I thought you'd be laying down or something."

"Ugh, laying down's the last thing I want to do," she said, with uneasy humor, her hand over her stomach.

Jacob chuckled, "I told you to lay off the chorizo, man. You never listen."

"I know, I know," and turned back to the painting. She was about to ask about it.

"You like it?" he asked, referring to the mural.

"Yeah, I really do. Did this come with the house?"

"Nah, no way. Leah painted it," he said, his eyes scanning the wall in admiration.

Something about that made Bella uneasy.

"Leah painted this? She's here?"

"Well, no. I mean she was. She finished school last semester and is working somewhere in California, um, Carmel, I think. She comes back to visit once in a while."

Bella suddenly didn't have as much affection for the painting as she did. "I bet you miss her."

Jacob was slightly taken aback. "Uh, yeah I guess. I mean, she calls and stuff and comes over for like, a week or two, sometimes. It's good to see someone from home."

Bella felt confused by Jacob's reaction. He sure doesn't seem very broken up about not seeing her much. Weird.

"So you're okay with not seeing her as much?"

Jacob looked really confused now. "Uh, well I...huh? I'm sorry, Bells, I'm just not following."

Bella shook her head, "Nevermind, it's none of my business. That's between you and your - Leah."

With raised eyebrows, he said, "O-kay," dragging out the O.

He then clapped his hands and rubbed them together anxiously, "So, what do we want to do today?" he asked, grinning intently.

"Uh, I don't know. This is your town, or island, I should say. What do you recommend?"

"Well we should probably start you off slow, huh?"

"Slow's good, slow's real good," Bella agreed.

"Okay, well how bout a drive. We'll just hit the highway and keep going till you see a place you want to check out."

Bella smiled at the ease of that. She could tell she was going to like it here.

"Sounds great, I'm easy," and turned to go gather the breakfast dishes off the dining room table.

Jacob chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" she asked, an amused smile spread across her face.

"You. Girl, nothing is easy about you," he said, jokingly.

"Oh, hush!" Bella said, grabbing the apple that remained on the dining room table and giggling as she threw it across the room at him. But her aim was off. The apple headed straight toward a nearby lamp making Bella gasp, but Jacob effortlessly grabbed it out of thin air with as much ease as if he plucked it from a tree and took a large bite out of it, grinning all the while.

He winked at her and her stomach fluttered unexpectedly. She could tell, this was indeed going to be an interesting day.

A/N: Okay, I have to admit - the last paragraph makes me think of the book cover of Twilight (the one with hands holding the apple). The Twilight cover imagery is supposed to represent "forbidden fruit" and the "the knowledge of good and evil" according to one source, but I always felt it more specifically represented Edward and the vampires and what life with them would mean - biting off more than you can chew. So, it made me smile and gave me some kind of perverse satisfaction to have Jacob take a big ole bite out of it. LOL I loved the feeling so much I kept it in the story. (~~~Special thanks to Jakejunkie for helping me fix what was broken in this chapter. It takes a village don't it lol. Thanks for being there!~~~) There's more of Jake and Bells to come. The next chapter will be very illuminating. :D

***Disclaimer: The characters setting and familiar situations belong to Stephenie Meyers. References to films or music also do no belong to me. No copyright infringement intended. I'm not making any monetary profit from this.***