(6) Nutella
I took a quick sip of my soda and looked at Jacob cautiously. "What did you have in mind? Remember I'm an invalid for a couple more days." I reminded him unnecessarily.
He brushed away my comment with his hand. "You're going to be perfectly safe. You're not that bad. You can still walk, kind of, which is something you don't need to worry about." Jacob stood and straightened his t-shirt. I stared up at his figure leaning over me. He completely blocked out the dim light from the lamp on the table. I was shrouded in darkness staring at his black pupils framed by long eyelashes.
"Sorry I think it's just going to be me and the couch today. We have a hot date." I joked lamely and tossed the remote control on the table. I looked around for my book and realized it was upstairs lying next to my beat-up computer.
"I have to say I'm disappointed in you, Bella." Jacob mocked and put his hands on his hips. "Here I thought I was going to hang out with this cool senior girl instead I get Grandma Bella." He paused and chuckled at his own joke.
"Really, I'm just not in the mood to be around people, I can't even walk correctly." I sighed trying that excuse and put my head against the soft cushion. I stretched my legs and settled in for a morning of trying not to think about anything resembling the past few months of my pathetic life.
"Well, that changes all the rules. You will not be walking anywhere." Jacob revealed and stalked over to the couch. "Go get dressed. We're leaving." He pointed his hand at me but I just swatted it away with irritation. Teenage boys could be so bothersome sometimes.
"I just told you I am in too much pain to get dressed." I sounded a bit bratty but Jacob was being a little unreasonable. He paced back and forth trying to come up with a plan. He was thinking so hard I could hear the mental wheels turning in his head. "Where we are going you don't need to get dressed. It's okay you can keep your pajamas on." He countered.
"Where are we going?"
"Ah, grasshopper. The answer awaits us." Jacob mimicked an Asian martial arts instructor and bent down. His head was right next to me.
"I'm going to pick you up." It was a statement not a question. I nodded my head not saying a word. I waited for the instant pain to envelop my back but it never came. Hmm, I don't know what kind of pill the doctor gave me but it worked magically. Jacob firmly held me and his hand was the base of my back. I should have been in terrible pain but I felt fine.
"I think I can walk." Jacob set me down and I stood stretching out my back little by little. I had soreness, which was nothing I couldn't handle. "I feel better." I walked to the stairs and tried the first step. Testing my newfound spree. I was able to walk up the entire staircase without clutching the banister for support. Excited, that I could dress myself I gathered clothes for a quick shower. I wrapped the bandage extra tight around my back so water wouldn't seep into the wound.
I continued to get dressed and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I moved a little faster going down the stairs then I did coming up. Jacob was sitting on the couch with his legs on the coffee table. He was watching a cooking show but his eyes were staring somewhere else.
"Okay, I'm ready." I announced and his eyes shifted. He was staring at my school pictures. Yikes. I forgot to take those down. Taking a stroll down memory lane with hideously posed pictures of me was not cool. I moved a little to the left so I completely blocked his view of the pictures.
"You feel better?" Jacob said hesitantly. He turned off the TV and stood.
"Yeah, I do." I agreed and shrugged on my jacket. "The wound must be healing pretty fast." I commented zippering my jacket and peeked outside to make sure it wasn't raining. I saw the ominous gray clouds forming together and put my jacket hood up protecting my head.
"Umm, yeah, or maybe it was the high dosage of Vicodin the doctor prescribed you." Jacob snorted and reached the coffee table next to the couch. "Five-hundred milligrams. Wow. That would make anyone feel like a million bucks and then some."
"Shut up. I am a fast healer. I am so awesome I must have a super power." I boasted and then realized what I said. Was I high on medication? I stifled a groan. I do not handle prescription medication that well.
Jacob stared at me for a minute then raised his eyebrows. "Okay, you're a superhero. I guess I should've known. What with your amazing balance and ability to thwart injuries?"
Ha ha. I went to the table and grabbed my house keys. I shoved them into the fleece-lined pocket and put my gloves on. "Whose car are we taking?"
"I have Billy's truck. We can take that?" Jacob offered walking ahead of me and waited while I locked the door. I turned to follow him and went down the steps. I stumbled down the last step and Jacob reached out to steady my arm. He gave me a look (that said superhero huh?) and I mumbled to shut up.
I climbed in the passenger side and Jacob started the truck. It was newer than my truck so the engine started right away. Jacob turned on the heater for my benefit and I saw that he was wearing a light windbreaker. "Aren't you cold?"
"Nah, I brought this just in case it snowed or something." Jacob gestured to the flimsy jacket lying across the seat as if it were a fur-lined parka.
"You must be more warm blooded than me." I remarked and put my gloved hands against the heat. I always felt cold. I shivered at night when I was fully clothed and underneath my thick comforter. It must be nice to not require that much heat. I envied Jacob Black. "So where are you taking me?"
"Well, I thought we might take a drive and celebrate the fact that we are both not in school at the moment." He laughed and turned onto the highway.
"Okay, but it sounds like you have another reason?" I asked skeptically.
"I'm building a car and I wanted you to see it." Jacob revealed and hesitated turning his head eyeing me.
"Wait, you said you're building a car?" I paused and he nodded his head. "Wow, I didn't know you could do that?"
"Ha! There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Jacob intervened playfully.
"Then I guess it's a good idea that we're talking about you right now." I teased and stared out the window. I saw the forest expand and wind into trails for hiking. I peered into the trees but saw nothing but dark spaces. I tensed and looked away. The forest looked intimidating and held too many memories.
"Billy will be psyched to see you." Jacob smiled and his eyes were dancing in the shadows.
"Yeah, me too." I smiled slightly and looked out the windshield. It was raining now and Jacob turned the wipers on. I followed the blades gathering the rain and clearing the tiny puddles. I was mesmerized by the repetition. Jacob cleared his throat.
"What? Sorry was I ignoring you?" I asked quietly.
"I never saw anyone that enthralled by wind shield wipers. I'm kind of jealous." Jacob scoffed and drove steadily in the cascading rainfall. I could hear the loud contact the rain made on the roof of the truck. I was glad I was not walking outside right now.
"I have a one-track mind." I joked and Jacob nodded in agreement. I thought about the easiness I felt with Jacob. I didn't have to pretend or worry about hurting someone's feelings. The constant throbbing in my chest was lessened when I was with Jacob. I would have to test out that theory the next time I hung out with Jacob but I felt a brief glimmer of myself. I liked it. Jacob would never know how much he helped bring me back to the life of the living and take my mind off of things I didn't want to think about. I felt guilty because it could be mistaken that I was using him. But I suspected that he needed me as much as I needed him.
Jacob filled the time talking about his friends and Billy's latest discovery. Nutella. Jacob said that Billy was obsessed with Nutella and put it on every thing he ate. I had vaguely heard of the brand I tried following Jacob's gripe with the store for putting the Nutella brand half-off. Apparently Billy bought two jars and liked it so much he stocked up with more. I nodded along and declared Charlie's similar love affair with barbecue sauce. He put it on mashed potatoes and certain vegetables among other things.
Jacob pulled in front of his house. It's been a long time since I've been to the Black's. Their quaint house was nestled against the reservation land with plenty of trees and the convenience of the La Push beach nearby. I shuffled out of the truck and walked alongside Jacob.
Jacob held the front door open for me. I walked into the small living room.
"Hey Dad!" Jacob shouted his greeting and I followed him in the kitchen. Billy waved to us from the counter. He was spreading some Nutella on his toast. Jacob turned around and gave me a pointed look. I stifled a laugh and smiled at Billy. I was always fond of him when we were little. He was gentle with his children and rarely punished them.
"Bella Swan. It's been too long." Billy proclaimed and closed the jar of Nutella. I walked over to him and shook his hand.
"How's it going?"
"Can't complain. Have you ever tried this stuff?" Billy gestured towards the jar of Nutella. "I'm addicted to it I can't stop eating it."
"No I haven't tasted it before." I replied and smiled at Jacob who was looking at that jar of Nutella like he wanted to throw it out the window.
"I'm gonna show Bella my car." Jacob said proudly and Billy laughed.
"I don't think you're allowed to call it a car yet son. You need an engine for that." Billy joked laughing heartily. He tossed the knife in the sink.
Jacob laughed too and looked at me. "Come on let's see it before he says something else about my baby."
Billy wheeled into the living room balancing the plate of food on his lap. I waved quickly and he bowed his head at me.
Jacob walked over to the garage and I tried to follow. We both stumbled along the loose gravel. Jacob opened the doors and I saw car parts and tools littered all over the floor. I was impressed. A hollowed out car frame with tires and seats stood in the background.
"I'm surprised you have any time at all to build a car." I pondered staring at the puzzle pieces that I had no clue how they fit together.
Jacob walked over to the car and opened the door. "Have a seat."
I walked over to him and sat in the driver's seat. I sank into the leather-lined bucket seat. Jacob sat on the floor beside me and hunched over a few tools.
"How long have you been working on the car?" I put my hands on my knees and bent my head to him.
"It seems like it's been forever. More like a few months." Jacob turned and gave me another mega-watt smile. I rubbed my back and noticed little prickles of pain.
"You don't mind if I stand up do you?" I slowly reached for the frame of the car and Jacob grabbed my hand to pull me up.
"Uh-oh are the magic pills wearing off already?" Jacob teased but held me firmly as I stood up slowly.
"Yeah." I gasped and felt pain shooting from my back down to my legs. "Maybe I should go home." I whispered and bit my lip from screaming in agony.
"Hang on." Jacob let me go and ran out of the garage. I braced myself against his workbench trying to remain vertical. Jacob pushed the doors open and wheeled a chair towards me. "Sit down." He ordered.
"Isn't that Billy's wheelchair?"
"It's his old wheelchair. My sister got him a new one last Christmas." Jacob explained and pushed the wheelchair to my feet. I turned slowly and sank into the chair.
"I'm going to get the truck I'll be right back." Jacob dashed out of the garage. I saw him through the open door running in the light rain to his Dad's truck. Jacob moved the truck to the garage door opening and jumped out of the driver's side.
"Alright this might hurt a little." Jacob warned and I closed my eyes tight. He picked me up accidentally touching my bandaged cut. I grabbed his jacket collar and winced. He set me down in the passenger seat. He drove us back to Forks using the highway. I was shaking my foot in anticipation. Jacob noticed and reassured me that we were almost there.
I bit my nail and noticed the wipers had stopped working. The heavy rain was blurring the window. I scarcely made out the cars in the opposite lane.
"Shoot." Jacob moved the lever up and down a couple of times. It didn't work. I looked at him nervously. "Come on." He urged the wipers to start working.
"Jacob." I said cautiously and he ignored me trying to fiddle with the buttons on the dashboard.
"Pull over." I urged him. I didn't remember if there was a car in front of us but suddenly I saw red lights up ahead. A little too close. I yelled at Jacob. "STOP."
Jacob glanced up and noticed the break lights that were inches from the truck. He slammed on the brakes and swerved the wheel. The car jumped the road and fell into a deep crevice. We bounced up and down in the cab before we smashed into a tree. I felt the seatbelt clench my neck. I jerked back from the impact. My head hit the back windshield. I saw a faint image before my eyes closed.