Part IV

The Scene: Charlie has been acting strangely all morning. Bella is anxiously waiting for Jacob to arrive.

All throughout breakfast, I kept getting sheepish looks from Charlie. He looked uncomfortable, like he was waiting to get a reaction of some sort out of me. I just smiled over at him from time to time, wondering what was up. I didn't wonder that much, though. I was too busy eagerly anticipating Jacob walking through the front door. He was coming to pick me up this morning in the car he'd just finished making the other day. I was excited to see it. He'd been supposedly working on it for quite some time, but hadn't let me know until it was finished.

I probably shouldn't have, but I scarfed down my breakfast too fast. I got a massive stomach ache afterwards. Charlie gave me some Tums and told me to lie down on the couch. He came and sat in his big green chair by the television after he was finished eating at a normal pace. It was a quiet atmosphere, but I liked it. It was one of the few moments being in his company that I treasured in later years.

I sighed and adjusted myself on the couch. With that sigh came the thought of all the changes of the past month. There were a lot.

For one, my friendship with Jacob had bloomed into something even more beautiful. He was now my boyfriend. Thankfully, he'd also just had his 17th birthday, so the now 1 and a half year age difference wasn't so noticeable. With Jake came the pack, so I was well acquainted with them by now; and after hearing of the talking to I gave Edward over the phone, they softened up and started liking me. I liked Emily from the moment I saw her. She was like a sister to me, taking the place of Alice. Jake and I spent nearly every non-school waking moment hanging out with the pack, when we weren't talking to each other, that is.

Speaking of Alice, I hadn't spoken to her since the night of my cliff jumping episode. I won't lie, I did miss her, and I realized I had been maybe a little cross with her, but I couldn't take back the past. I probably would never see her again. That hurt me, deep down, when I thought about it.

My thoughts immediately ceased when I heard the opening of the front door. I expected Jacob to come bounding in with a smile on his face, like he always did, but was disappointed to see him slowly loping into the room with a clouded expression. Furthermore, my father, who usually jumped up and clapped him on the back upon entry, didn't even turn around. It was Jake who walked over to Charlie's chair and made his presence known by a slight grunt. Charlie simply turned his head to Jake. They exchanged knowing glances for a few moments while I sat up on the couch.

Jake must have heard me stirring. With a toss of the keys into the air and a skillful catch, he turned to me. "C'mon, Bells." I jumped off the sofa, waved goodbye to Charlie, and followed my boyfriend out of the house.

He didn't speak to me until we were outside, the door having been firmly closed. "We're going to the airport," he said shortly, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the car. I was puzzled by his answer, but even more so by the old Rabbit that sat in my driveway as we turned the corner.

"I thought you were bringing the new car," I mumbled, disappointed. "It still needs repairs," he said quickly. I sighed and got in the passenger side. He jumped in and started up the car, pulling out and heading for Seattle, and the airport.

"Why are we going to the airport?" I asked after a few minutes of silence. I could tell that Jake was testy about something and wondered if it was for the same reason Charlie was. But that was highly improbable, wasn't it?

Jake was quiet, and for a moment, I thought that perhaps he hadn't heard me, too engrossed in driving. But he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, judged my expression, and decided to tell me.

"You really want to know?" he asked. I rolled my eyes. "Obviously, Jake, that's why I asked," I snapped, irritated. No one ever told me the important news until it was upon me, like they were afraid I'd have a nervous breakdown. Then again, it had happened once before, so they had a right to think that.

Jacob grunted, apparently slightly offended by my response. He waited a minute before answering my question.

"The shiny rock is returning," he said with a bit of a smirk. I didn't know why he was smiling with that comment, even if it was only brief. I felt sick to my stomach immediately. "Why?" I managed to blurt out before having to open the window to clear the nausea.

"He wants to discuss something with me," Jake said, putting sarcastic stress on 'discuss.' I frowned to myself. "Then why am I coming?" Jake chuckled. "To piss him off," he replied with a shrug.

I socked him in the arm, regretting it moments later. "Any idea what it's about?" I asked, rubbing my wrist. Jacob shook his head. "None whatsoever. Unless…" he trailed off, pondering this to himself. "Unless what?" I asked, curious. Jake waved me off. "Nothing," he said, giving me a toothy grin. I hated that, the telling me that nothing was going on and then smiling at me so that I wouldn't be mad afterwards.

I put on the radio, turned up the Muse song, and leaned back in my chair, wondering for myself what Edward could possibly want to speak to Jacob about. I had specifically told him to get out of my life. Wanting to meet with my boyfriend wasn't following that request. I decided to make sure I never left Jake's side throughout the whole ordeal. Jake would make sure Edward left me alone, as long as I was near him. I hoped Alice would be there, so I could apologize for being so rude last I saw her. I closed my eyes as I felt Jake's arm around my shoulders…

I held his hand as we waited for Edward, and possibly Alice, to get off the plane. They probably wouldn't have any luggage, besides the few carry-on bags, so we waited right by the escalators and kept our eyes peeled.

"God, how long does it take you to get off a freaking plane?" he breathed after nearly twenty minutes of standing there. I laughed, but inside, I was thinking the same thing. Thank goodness he voiced that, however, because at that moment, I saw the top of Alice's head bobbing about in the crowd descending the elevators. You couldn't miss that hair, I thought. It was impossible to miss.

I squeezed Jacob's hand tighter still when the group of people began to disperse and go their separate ways. There, holding the strap of a knapsack, stood Edward, very disgruntled, besides Alice, who just looked uncomfortable. Edward cursed and turned away when he saw me waiting with Jacob. The latter looked quite smug at his reaction. I let go of his hand and rushed over to Alice. I embraced her, and whispered, "I'm sorry," in her ear. Alice hugged me back, with a, "Don't worry about it," in return. I pulled away and returned to Jacob's side, just like a Labrador retriever.

Edward faced us again, with obvious pain in his eyes. "Why did you have to bring her?" he asked thickly, bluntly. Alice shot him a crappy look. "Hey, she has a right to know. This is about her, after all."

"Isn't it always," I breathed. Jake nudged me and smiled, then looked up at Edward again. "Well? We're still 'discussing,' aren't we?" Edward looked downward and nodded. Alice skipped over, dragging him along. "Come on, Bella, I know a great place to sit and talk," she said cheerfully, clearly realizing that her usual bubbly self would help the matter. I grinned at her, but stayed several feet away from Edward. I couldn't deal with another apology, I couldn't. I looked up at Jake for support. He was smirking. I wished I could punch him in the arm to get him to stop being so immature, but I'd already tried that, and I wasn't in for another round of pain. Not just yet.

Hope I've kept you on edge! Please R&R.