Surprises

Bella's POV

I was going to hyperventilate in my old red Chevy. I was sure that was how it was going to play out. I would have run out of air long ago if Jacob's hand hadn't been on mine. How did he know I was here? I thought. Why would he just turn up out of the blue to check on me? Were all of the Cullens back? Was he here to yell at me? Did he still want to get married. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I had so many questions to ask, and the only way they were going to get answered was if I got out of this truck and talked to Edward. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before sliding my hand out of Jacob's and slowly opening the car door. As soon as my foot touched the ground Edward was next to me and I was pulled into a tight hug. My body tensed up and he noticed. He pulled back and looked at me.

"Bella, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm just a bit shocked is all. What are you doing here Edward?" I asked. I became very aware of Jacob who was still sitting in the car.

"I was on my way to California to hunt some mountain lions when I heard one of the wolfs thoughts. They were talking about you and said you were back in town. One of the wolves, Leah, told me that you were back. She told me that you would probably be with Jacob so I decided to wait at your house." Jacob growled at the mention of Leah.

"Oh well uhh, tadaa." I said, not really sure what else I could say.

"I was wondering if we could talk Bella. I know you said you needed time to think, but these last four years have been hell without you. We can go inside and maybe talk about us and what happened." He said while looking right into my eyes. I felt myself wanting to succumb to his wishes. He was doing it again, dazzling me. I looked away and regained my composure before speaking.

"Okay, we can talk, but can we do it a little later. Just give me an hour to get settled and then I'll meet you in my room, okay?" I asked. He looked at me without giving me an answer and for a moment I saw what looked like anger flash across his face, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Sure. I'll just go hunt or something," he said before turning to Jacob.

"I understand that the treaty is still in tact, I don't have to be reminded, dog." Jacob growled and then Edward was gone. I stood there looking at the ground for a long moment until I felt Jacob beside me.

"Bella, are you okay?" He asked in a soft voice. I looked up at him and saw a worried expression planted on his face.

"Yeah I'm fine I just…" I let out a long, conflicted sigh. "I don't know what I'm going to tell him, if I'm going to tell him." On one hand, Edward had a right to know, on the other hand… well there is no "other hand". Edward had every right to know what happened to me. I may not be in love with him anymore, but I still cared about him, and it seemed like he still cared about me.

"Bella," Jake said softly, getting my attention. "I may not like the damn leech, but if you feel that telling him is best go with your heart. It might be hard but if it makes you feel better it might be for the best. In the end it's up to you though. If you don't think you're ready, you don't have to tell him. Don't let him make you feel pressured into doing anything you don't want to do." I smiled. Jacob always knew what I was thinking somehow. He could read me like an open book. I loved that about him. Right now, however, I could see that he was worried, and I knew why. I took his hand in mine and squeezed.

"I'm not going back to him. If I did, everything I went through and everything I put you through would go to waste. I came back for you Jacob, not him." Jacob visibly relaxed and gave me one last tight hug.

"Alright, I have to go patrol. I'll try to come over later." He kissed me on my forehead and then ran off into the woods to phase. I turned and went into the house, thankful Charlie wasn't home yet. I needed time to think about what to say to Edward and how to say it. I decided to take a nice bath. I had a long day and a bath seemed like the perfect thing to relax me.

I undressed and stepped into the tub, letting the hot water work it's magic. I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes. I really ought to tell Edward. I thought to myself. But I couldn't. I wasn't up for it today. It had taken a month for me to tell Jacob, who knows how long it would be until I was ready to tell Edward, and my father for that matter. But I knew I was going to have to tell them soon. I knew it was going to be difficult to explain everything again, especially after the dream I had today, but it was all part of the healing process. It just happened to be my least favorite part. My mind wandered back to the dream I had the previous night. That dream was my self conscious reminding me that Edward was no good for me. Who in their right mind would chose ice over fire. Who would choose to be cold and rigid over comfortable and warm? No matter what he said I would not go running back to him. He might be angry with me, he might still love me, but none of that mattered. I couldn't change the past, but I was taking hold of my future, and me being Mrs. Cullen wasn't apart of it. I would tell him what happened, tell him I didn't want to be with him, and move on.

Feeling strong and confident, I opened my eyes and looked at the digital clock on the bathroom counter. I only had ten minutes before Edward got back. I sighed and got out of the bathtub. Once I drained the water and wrapped myself in a towel I went to put on my pajamas. Edward showed up at 8:06, exactly one hour after our little conversation in the driveway. He knocked on the window and I let him in. I wasn't going to allow him to sneak in through my window without my permission anymore. My open window was for Jake to come through, and Jake only.

"Have a seat." I said, gesturing to the bed while I took a seat at my desk.

"So, how have you been?" I asked casually.

"I haven't been doing well. Life is horrible without you Bella. The only reason I didn't go to the Volturi is because I knew you would come back eventually." I felt uneasy now. He was acting like I was going to jump right back into his arms.

"I'm sorry about what I did Edward. I shouldn't have left like that. I was just scared." I said.

"That's alright love. All that matters is you're here now. We can just call Alice and have her re-plan the wedding. This time it can be small and Alice can be with you at all times to help you if you get any more pre-wedding jitters and we can be on our honeymoon. I'm sure it will only take a few days. And then we can—" I shook my head, I couldn't let him go on thinking that I was coming back to him, like nothing had changed.

"Edward, EDWARD!" I interrupted him and he finally stopped talking.

"What is it love?" He asked, his golden eyes pulling me in. I had to look away before speaking, other wise I could wind up saying something completely different than what I was thinking.

"Look, I care about you a lot Edward but—" He interrupted me this time, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Why are you all the way over there love?" He asked.

"I just think it would be better, easier, if there was some distance between us." I said. Then all at once he changed. His eyes darkened and he now wore a sinister expression on his face.

"You don't think four years apart is enough distance Bella? You don't think that four years of me feeling horrible is enough? What exactly are you trying to make easier here Bella. You've already hurt me." I was surprised by his anger. I knew he had a reason to be angry with me, but I never expected it form him. He was always so calm and collected.

"You left me on our wedding day Bella! Do you know how crushed I was. You were off in god knows where doing god knows what while I was here trying to explain to everyone where my fiancé was. I gave you everything, I offered to change you! All I had was one request and instead of keeping your side of the bargain, you ran away like a child!" He raged on, each word delivered slowly and with intensity.

"Well that's what you always treated me like isn't it? You never let me do anything on my own, always told me what I could and couldn't do like you were my father. You were supposed to be my loving fiancé and you couldn't even tell that I didn't want to get married. I told you my thoughts on marriage Edward, you knew I didn't want to get married that young! You wanted marriage and I wanted to be treated as your equal. I wanted you to see me as a strong person, not a breakable human, and if you couldn't do that then I would be seen as a strong vampire." I yelled back. He had no idea how he made me feel when he treated me like I was beneath him. He took a small step away from me and spoke.

"Oh that is ridiculous Bella, I loved you! I was only looking out for you."

"Were you looking out for me when you left me Edward. You didn't talk to me about what had happened with Jasper the night of my birthday, just packed it all up and ran for the hills. You were off in god knows where doing god knows what while I was left here, broken, and half dead. I gave you everything and you broke it off because you didn't think you could handle yourself. You ran away from me like a scared child, so I guess we're even. " I said. He looked at me with disbelief.

"We're even, god Bella how can you be so juvenile at a time like this? What I did was for your own good."

"Was it, because it sure as hell didn't seem like it. We both almost got ourselves killed. How was that in my best interest, or yours for that matter?" I asked.

"Look, none of that matters, that's in the past." He said, trying to calm himself down.

"Edward, you know I still care about you right. I hadn't planned on our wedding going like that. I thought we were going to get married, have a beautiful honeymoon, and spend the rest of eternity with each other. But I was young and confused. I didn't know what I wanted." I said softly.

"Do you know now?" he asked.

"Life, I want to live." I said, looking him straight in the eye.

"You can have that with me Bella, you don't have to change into a vampire." He said, his eyes pleading with me to understand, but I stood my ground.

"No I can't. You'll always treat my like I'm made of glass. Make me feel like I'm something you put on a mantle over a fireplace. Something to be admired and not touched. I want to be touched; I want to be able to experience a different kind of love, all kinds of love. I want someone who will let me make my own mistakes so I can learn from them, and I want someone that will see me as their equal. I don't want to be admired from afar; I want to be swept up and kissed breathless. I want to be able to make love to the man I give my heart to." I said. Even though I had been raped I wasn't scared of sex. Trudy and I talked about that a lot during our sessions. She made sure I knew that sex wasn't what I had experienced with Ryan. We often talked about the difference between sex, and rape. She said sometimes sex was rough, but only in the interest of pleasure for both people involved. Most of the time she said it was gentle and beautiful and I couldn't wait to experience that kind of love.

"Oh so sex is what you want? Is that why you were with Jacob today? Is that why you want distance, because you want sex and I can't give it to you without hurting you?" He said incredulously.

"Don't bring Jacob into this! The sexual aspect is part of it, yes, but that's not the point Edward-", I started but he wouldn't have it.

"You 're unbelievable Bella. I wanted to marry you out of love and you wanted to marry me because you wanted sex? Is that it? I guess that's what happens when sweet town girls get all wound up." He said. I could see all of the judgment in his eyes and that was the last straw.

"I've experienced enough of another man invading my privacy to last me a lifetime in the time I've been gone. I have been hurt and abused, and you would know that if you asked what I had been doing for the last four years. You came back here acting like you cared about me, like you still loved me and wanted to get married after everything I had done to you. But how could you say you cared about me and loved me if you hadn't had the decency to ask me what I had been up too since we last saw each other. It's always about you Edward. You do what you think is best for me and you act like you love me because you don't want to be lonely!" I was so angry I was seeing red.

"We are both at fault for the problems in our relationship, so don't try and blame them all on me. Yes, I was the one that ran away, but that was only because you pressured me into something I didn't want to do. For the last hour I was sitting in a bathtub trying to find a way to tell you about what happened to me because I cared about you and though you should know. I was ready to have a conversation with you like a mature adult instead of arguing with you. I think the only reason we started arguing is because you don't like to lose, especially not to Jacob. You can't stand me being with him instead of you. But if you really cared about my happiness you would accept that I am not in love with you Edward, I don't think I ever was." I could see I had struck a nerve. He had the most somber expression on his face and for a second I felt bad, but that was how things had to be.

"We wouldn't be arguing if you had just come back to me." He said in a soft voice.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," I said softly, "I care about you Edward, I do, but I can't come back to you after everything I've been through. I've changed; I'm not the same girl anymore. When it first happened I was scared and I didn't like the person I was turning into, but now I am happy with the person I've become. The old Bella was fine with getting treated like a china doll and being controlled by you, but the new Bella won't tolerate it. I can't be with you anymore Edward." My voice was clear and strong as I told him this. I looked him straight in the eye and held my ground. For some reason it wasn't as hard or as life changing as I thought it would be. I thought saying goodbye to Edward would be this big monumentous thing. But in reality it was just like breaking up with any other person, it hurt a little to think that you were hurting them, but in the end you knew it was the best thing to do. Edward looked at me, the pain of my statement showing clearly in his eyes.

"Well, I guess that's it then." He said quietly. I wanted to comfort him, to tell him that everything was going to be all right. I wanted to tell him that he was perfect and I was the one that screwed things up, but that would be a lie. He wasn't perfect, and I didn't mess up our relationship on my own. I couldn't keep trying to protect his ego, he needed to hear the truth and that's exactly what I gave him.

"I guess it is." He got up from the bed and walked over to me. He kept eye contact with me as he took my hand and kissed it, and then my cheek. He moved for my lips but I pulled away from him. He let out a breath and stood up.

"I think I should leave." He said.

"Alright. Feel free to come around whenever you like. I still want to see you, but I can understand if you don't want to see me. Whatever you choose, I want you to know that for those few months we were together, it was magical for me. Thank you for taking me to your home, letting me meet your family, and loving me. I'm just sorry it wasn't enough." I winced at the last line. I didn't want it to sound harsh or anything, but once again that was the truth. He gave me a weak smile.

"So am I," he said, and then he was gone. I sat on my bed and stared at the wall for a long moment. That was it. Edward and I were no longer together, the great epic love story that was supposed to be our life had come to a dramatic end. I thought back to when we first met, how odd he was. When I found out he was a vampire I found that I didn't care. I liked the fact that he was different, mysterious in a dangerous way. It made me feel special that a supernatural being such as himself could ever want me. I was amazed by how well he and his family fit in with humans. My error was that I mistook their efforts to maintain some sort of humanity as proof that they were just like humans. What I thought was love was actually a predator/prey relationship. He controlled and manipulated me and I let him. I trapped myself by coming on to him. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I had never met Edward, of if I had turned away from him after that first day of school. Would Jacob and I have gotten together? Would we be married by now? Would we have kids? Would we be happy? Would I be happy? All of these questions that could never be answered filled my head. There were so many possibilities without Edward, so many I had given up.

Now I have to start over. I thought. Now that Edward was gone, I got my life back. I didn't have all of the same choices that I would have if I hadn't affiliated with Edward, but I would have choices. I smiled at the thought and went downstairs to prepare the ingredients for dinner.

~Redeem~

I taught Charlie how to make tacos because it was something that required little cooking skills. He was a little more confident which made things go a little smoother.

"These taste wonderful dad, you did a great job." I told him. He blushed and looked down at his plate.

"Thanks Bella. How was your day today?" He asked casually.

"It was good. I talked to Jacob today." I said. Charlie looked at me hesitantly.

"Oh? How did it go?"

"It went better than I expected. He said it would take some time, but he could begin to forgive me. We talked about our lives and how we've both changed and decided we needed to get to know each other again." I worded my response carefully and made sure there was nothing he use to inquire about my past.

"That's great Bells. I'm glad you two talked things out." Charlie said. I looked down at my plate and felt a sting in my chest. I didn't like lying to Charlie. He was always honest with me and always looking out for me, I couldn't just keep lying to him. I knew he would want to know the truth about what happened to me and things would be so much easier if I told him. I needed more time to tell him, but I didn't want to wait to long, it would only worsen the blow. Tomorrow, I'll tell him tomorrow. I'll use the day to prep myself at work and then after dinner I'll tell him. I resolved. I took a deep breath and continued to eat. Charlie had gotten a lot more talkative as we spent more time together. He would fill me in on what happened at the station and what he and Billy were planning and all sorts of other things without much encouragement from me. After we finished eating and I washed the dishes I decided to turn in. I'd had a long day and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I put on my pajamas and opened my window for Jacob before plopping down onto the bed, not realizing how tired I was until my head hit the pillow.

~Redeem~

I woke up the next morning to a grey, weeping sky and yawned. I hadn't slept so well in what seemed like forever. I stretched my hand out next to me to see if Jacob was there, but my hands met a very warm spot of sheets. I was disheartened to see that he wasn't there, but happy he stopped by. I went downstairs only to find that Charlie wasn't home either. I sighed and went through my morning routine before making my way to the Book Garden.

"Good morning," I said to Laura as I walked in. She and I were always the first to arrive. Laura returned the greeting with smile. We went through the shelves to make sure everything was in order before we got our books and sat down by the waterfall. After a few moments of silence, Laura spoke up.

"Didn't see you yesterday, anything interesting happening?" She asked casually.

"I didn't have work yesterday, it was Saturday." I said.

"I know but you usually stop by, I was just wondering if you talked to the young man you told me about." She asked, her eyes never leaving her book. I blushed a little and shut my book.

"Yes, as a matter a fact I did." She finally tore her eyes away from her book.

"And?"

"We're going to try to work things out. He said we needed to get to know each other again because we both changed over the years."

"Well that's great news!" Her eyes lit up and I couldn't help but smile.

"So when will I be meeting this young man?" She asked with one eyebrow arched.

"He said he would try and come by today. " I said, I still wasn't completely sure he could make it. I knew he was busy. She gave me a smile and then returned to her book without responding. The first customer, Rob Thompson, came in at 9:15 sharp every morning. He always ordered a coffee with two creamers and two sugars and a blueberry muffin before going to work. He was the silent type, only speaking to order and leaving once he had finished, but he was never grumpy. He was just more of an observer than a talker. Once he left the twins and Hope walked in.

"Morning Bella." Hope said as she walked past me to get a coffee from the café.

"Hey Bella!" The twins said with perfect synchronization.

"Hey guys." I smiled. They were the only people that could be this excited at nine in the morning. We all sat around and talked for two hours. I was surprised no one had come in except for Rob. Finally around eleven thirty we got our first customer. She looked around the store, taking in the scenery, before searching the shelves for a book. A few minutes later we got two more customers. More and more people started to come in, and our little group talk session was over.

As the day dragged on I got more and more anxious. I was nervous about telling Charlie about my past. I knew it was irrational, but that didn't stop the butterflies in my stomach. I didn't know how he would react to what I told him. What if he yelled at me for being reckless and not telling him when I got out of the hospital? Maybe he would give me that look of pity that rape victims usually get for the rest of my life. I don't know. Of course there is also the chance that he will be understanding and glad that I told him. This was the most rational outcome in reality, but in my mind it seemed outrageous. The only other thing, or should I say person, that was on my mind was Jacob. I really wanted him to see the Book Garden and meet everybody. This place has become such a big part of my life as the "new Bella" and if we were going to get re-acquainted with each other he was going to have to stop by. I got so sidetracked by my thoughts of Jacob; I barely noticed when David walked in. His arms snaking around my waist brought me back to reality.

"Hey David." I turned in his arms and hugged him.

"Hey Izzy." That was the nickname he had come up with for me. I told him it wasn't very original and he went on to explain how the name held character. He's been calling me that ever since and for some reason I always turn when he does. He noticed the slight frown that always makes an appearance when my nickname does and laughed.

"You'll get used to it someday. You just wait and see." He said. I rolled my eyes and went to the register to help this woman.

"Sure, sure." The old phrase slipped through my lips before I had a chance to catch it. I blushed a little as Jacob came rushing back into my mind. It was already nine, we would be closing in an hour and Jacob still hadn't come. When nine thirty hit I gave up hope, and didn't bother to lift my eyes as I heard the front door chime. I just kept reading my book until I felt someone in front of the register. I sighed and put a marked my page.

"Hello." I said, still not looking at the customer.

"Hey." My heart stuttered and I looked up to find Jacob standing there in all his glory.

"Jake, you came!" I leaned across the counter and wrapped my arms around his neck, probably giving him the most uncomfortable hug of his life.

"Yeah, I said I would." He whispered in my ear and set me down. I went around the counter and took his hand. We stood there looking at each other. I had a stupid grin on my face and after seeing it a smile appeared on Jacob's face. While we were standing there the twins walked up and interrupted the moment.

"Hey Bella, who is this?" They asked. I opened my mouth but my voice had taken a vacation and left me standing there with my mouth open like an idiot. Luckily Jacob was there to smooth over my epic fail, no doubt putting this incident in his memory bank to use against me.

"Hi, I'm Jacob, Bella's friend. " He said with that charming smile he likes to wear and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Oh cool, I'm Tristan."

"And I'm Tyler."

"Jesus, I'm gonna have a hard time remembering that." Jacob said. They laughed and nodded.

"It's cool man, we're used to it. Besides, when people get the names right it takes all of the fun out of the day." Tyler said. The next person to introduce herself was Hope. She heard us talking and walked by, settling with a simple, " I'm Hope" and then went back to whatever she was listening to on her iPod. Jacob looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"That's just how Hope does things. She's kind of in her own world sometimes, and when she is she is not to be disturbed." I explained.

"That's an understatement," Tristan cut in, "One time she came in completely off in space muttering something about Red Woods and Sequoias speaking to her and telling her their troubles. She went on for the whole day like that, eyes glazed over and everything."

"Yeah, and the creepy thing is she couldn't remember ever doing it the next day." Ty said and then turned to Tristan. " Maybe she was possessed or something?" He suggested.

"She is not possessed. She's just a little weird." I said.

"Oh sure, secretly I think she's an alien robot" Ty's said with a playful expression on his face.

"Hey Izzy what do you think about-" David stopped speaking once he saw Jacob. The tension in the room suddenly grew as they both stared each other down. David's eyes carried an emotion that I couldn't quite read, but upon seeing it Jacob's features hardened. After a minute of them sizing one another up I decided to cut it.

"David, this is my friend Jacob." I said, hoping to bring down the escalating levels of testosterone. After a few more seconds of staring David extended his hand and I let out a silent breath of relief.

"I'm David." He said as they shook hands. I could tell Jacob was holding in an unkind remark, but he pushed it down smiled.

"Hey." Jake said and then returned his hand to his side. Now that the introduction was over the tension began to grow again. Then just when you thought things couldn't get more awkward than they already were… they did. Laura came back from re-shelving books and stopped when she saw Jacob. But the expression on her face when she saw Jacob was not the one I was expecting. It was a look of anger.

"This is the boy you've been telling me about? He's the one you've been stressing over?" Laura said incredulously. I had never seen Laura angry before.

"Umm," I said, embarrassed by her comment. I looked up at Jake and saw that his expression was somber.

"Well I don't know why you wasted your time on someone like him. Likes to break young bright girls like you. Make 'em think their so special and then cheat on them." Laura said, her voice acidic. I looked to Jacob again, silently conveying my question. "What's going on?"

"Remember when I told you about Sally. The misunderstanding we had." He said. Realization crossed my face as I began to realize why Laura was so angry. Sally was Laura's daughter.

"Misunderstanding, is that what they're calling it now?" Laura asked hotly. Silence fell upon the bookstore as Laura and Jacob now stared at each other. Jacob's eyes silently pleaded with Laura to believe him.

"I didn't cheat on your daughter. She thought I did and I never got to talk to her and explain everything. It was just a tribal thing that I couldn't tell her about, I never meant to hurt her."

"Well you did hurt her. And there should have been no reason to be suspicious of you being unfaithful in the first place." She paused and looked at her watch.

"It's past closing time, excuse me." She said as she went into the lounge to gather her things, every one else silently following. David stood between the shelves he emerged from, with a small smile. I glared at him and it quickly fell. I took Jacob's hand and led him out of the bookstore, not needing to get anything from the lounge. When we got to the parking lot I didn't see his car so I assumed that he ran here. We both got in and just sat for a moment.

"Your house or mine?" I finally asked.

"Mine." He said and I started up the car. The ride was silent, an effect of the tense conversation at the Book Garden. It was one of the longest rides I have ever endured. I was worried that out time together would be much like the ride to his house, awkward and quiet, but once we passed the threshold of his house all of the restive feelings from earlier were whisked away. We both went to the couch. Jake turned on the TV and flipped through a few channels until he settled on some old action movie that he knew neither of us would watch. Nevertheless, we tried to watch it, but after the first five minutes he pulled me into his side and put his arm around my shoulders. After that I was focused on him. I decided now was a good time to tell him about Edward's visit and about Charlie. I wasn't exactly sure how to start the conversation so I jumped right into it.

"I didn't tell Edward." I said, trying to sound breezy. Jacob looked at me with the same hard expression he wore whenever Edward was brought up.

"Oh? What did you tell him you were doing while you were away then?" He asked.

"He didn't ask." Jacob raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I know it didn't make sense. We actually got in an argument." Jacob stayed quiet and waited for me to continue.

As I recounted my argument with Edward I found that Jacob was not surprised by Edward's reaction. He did get a little angry when I mentioned Edward accusing me about marrying him for sex, and was happy about me ending it with him. But there was no surprise when I mentioned Edward's slightly darker side.

"Why aren't you reacting?" I asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" He asked

"I mean that you aren't nearly as surprised as I was when I told you Edward started yelling at me."

"I know, but I always knew he was like that. He's shown how nasty he can be plenty of times, just not when you're around or when you're aware of it. He knew that you thought he was perfect and wanted to keep it that way."

"When did you find this out?" I asked. I couldn't recall a time when Edward and Jacob were ever alone with each other.

"When you were grounded after you came back from Italy, particularly around the time that you started to contact me with your notes. He requested a meeting at the treaty line with me. Told me to stay away from you. He said that you would never be interested in a filthy mutt like me with him around. I told him he could never be sure and he said he could always be sure you would never leave. Something about him naturally attracting humans. He started rambling on about his eyes, his looks and his smell and I left." He said.

"Why didn't' you tell me?" I couldn't believe he had withheld this information from me. Surely it would have changed my mind, or at least opened my eyes to what Edward was really like. It would have been a good thing for Jake, so why would he not tell me?

"Would you have believed me? You were always stubborn, still are, but you thought he was so perfect. Every time I brought up something he did wrong you always told me if I didn't start respecting him you'd leave." My eyes were now cast downward. I was guilty. I wouldn't have believed him. I would have passed it off as him trying to paint Edward in a bad light to push Edward out of the picture. Now, after seeing Edward's other side, I see how typhlotic I had been. Jacob, seeing the realization crossing my face, kissed my hair.

"I know that it wasn't entirely your fault, he manipulated you, but you have to know how frustrating it was for me to watch you go back to him every time he messed up. I knew that if I said something to you about our meeting you would turn away from me, and I couldn't bear that." I nodded into his side. I wish I could have been smarter, it would have saved both of us a lot of trouble. I took his hand and laced our fingers together. I stared at our joined hands for a long moment. Why couldn't I see how right this felt years ago?

"I should have seen it. I should have been more aware of what was going on. Because I was so blinded I not only hurt you, but I hurt myself. I wish I could go back to when things were simpler. When it was just you and me and nothing else. No vampires or werewolves. It would have made things so much easier." I said. There was a long pause before Jacob spoke.

"Yeah, it would have. But lets not dwell on the past, because right now the future seems to be much brighter." I looked up to meet his warm eyes and smiled.

"When did you get to be so wise?" I asked him.

"I don't know, I guess it comes with being so good looking." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"You wish Black."

"Oh don't pretend that you aren't into this." He ran a hand down his body and waggled his eyebrows and I laughed.

"You're an idiot." I stated.

"Yeah, but I'm your idiot Bells. You're stuck with me."

"I can always take you back and get a refund." I said and he snorted.

"Where did you get me from, the boy-toy section in Target?

"Of course, you were on sale for $19.95." He put a hand over his heart and shook his head.

"I'm only worth twenty bucks to you. I'm hurt." He said with his bottom lip sticking out. In that moment I was so tempted to kiss his supple lips and take that adorable pout off of his face, but once again that might complicate things. So as a substitute I held his chin and kissed him on the cheek. His breath caught and I could tell without looking at him that he was no longer smiling. I kissed his upper jaw and dragged my lips lightly up his skin, making a line from his jaw to his ear.

"You mean more to me than you could ever know." I whispered. I pulled back to see his eyes closed and traced his face with my index finger. I ran my finger through the wrinkles in his forehead, under his eyes, and around his nose. When I got to his lips I lingered there. His lips were soft and so beautiful. I remembered the way they tasted long ago and wondered if they still had the same sweet, earthy taste. I yearned to feel his lips gently applying pressure to mine as he did when we were younger. I traced his upper lip twice and as I was circling his lower lip I felt his warm hand stop mine. His eyes were now open and teeming with emotions. He kissed my hand but gazed longingly at my lips and began to move closer. I knew that if I didn't do something we might mess things up, so I brought up the one topic that would guarantee a reaction.

"I'm going to tell Charlie tomorrow." Jacob met my eyes once more and pulled back. I could see the disappointment and understanding in his eyes as his face moved away from mine.

"Are you sure?" he asked me.

"I thought you wanted me to tell Charlie." I said confused.

"I think it's a good idea, but I don't want you to feel rushed into anything."

"I'm positive. He deserves to know what's been going on with me. I should have told him when I got out of the hospital." I knew it was going to be hard to tell the story again, but after telling Jake I knew it wouldn't have as much of an effect on me. Telling Jake had made me stronger, and telling Charlie will do the same.

"Do you want me to be with you?" Jake asked. I hadn't thought about that before… why hadn't I thought of that? It would definitely make things easier for me and I'm sure Charlie wouldn't mind Jake being at the house.

"Would you?" I asked hopefully, and looked up at him. My bottom lip was once again captured between my teeth.

"Of course. I'll do anything I can to make you more comfortable." He said. He then reached up and swept his thumb across my bottom lip, giving it freedom of my teeth. I smiled and snuggled into his side as we continued to watch the worst action movie known to man.

I know, it's a weird place to end a chapter but I really just wanted to get this out. My classes got so much harder my second semester and I can barely find time to write. March may be a dry season for this story, meaning I probably won't get another chapter out but I will be working on one. When April hits and I'm on spring break I will do my absolute best to get a few chapters out to you guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review please!

-ladybug82896