Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight are owned by Stephenie Meyer. The content, ideas and intellectual property of this story and the 'American Vampire Series' in its entirety are owned by Just4ALE.

A/N 1: This Chapter continues from Ch 12.

Previously - EPOV

"You see, Alice? Almost killed due to me!"

"I will admit that Italy was your fault," she said. I was a bit surprised at Alice's admittance. I nodded as she continued. "She never would have gone away had you not left her. Edward, don't you see, your decision to keep her safe by staying away had the opposite effect!"

"It is the best choice for her."

"Is it really?" And then I heard her thoughts.

Figures. When it rains it pours. Fuck.

I looked at her. "Why do you ask, Alice?"

She answered. "I was just wondering, do you think she could be happy with him for a little while? Do you like this Jacob Black guy?"

Chapter 14: Jacob Freakin' Black

EPOV

Do I like Jacob Black? There's a question.

Jacob was the man before me in Bella's life. A former friend and the one with whom she had once hoped to have a relationship. The guy I'd asked to leave her alone last year. When I last left him, he was sitting in his hotel in Chicago just coming to grips with the fact that he'd lost Bella to me.

"Why Alice?"

"I haven't had any visions of Bella randomly popping up…"

I cut her off. "That implies that you've had visions that you actually sought out," I said tersely. I softened my tone. "Did you?"

Yes.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to. As I said, your decision-making has been impaired when it comes to Bella. There still could be a good outcome to this if you'd only do something about it."

I felt a small pang near my heart. A good outcome? I tried to see what she knew but she was blocking me.

"So, as I was saying, I hadn't had any unsolicited visions of her for the past two months. Then suddenly I had one."

"Do I want to know about this?" I asked.

"I don't know… do you?" she asked quietly.

I inhaled sharply as Alice recounted her vision in her head. I shouldn't have cared. I left her for a better future, but seeing these images affected me more than I ever imagined. For my sake, she sped through them, but the speed didn't lessen the agony.

Bella out with Jacob, in Chicago, eating Mexican food and drinking margaritas. Jacob grabbing Bella by the hand and pulling her toward him to kiss her. Jacob sitting with Bella on a beach, getting down on one knee to propose to her. Bella in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle on her father's arm, and Charlie putting Bella's hand in Jacob's at the end of the aisle. On their flight, on their way to their honeymoon and Jacob pulling Bella into the airplane restroom. Ouch.

Jacob and Bella sitting at home, cuddled up on the couch. Jacob touching her face and pulling her to sit on top of him. Bella straddled over Jacob, rocking against him, her head thrown back and eyes closed. Jacob touching Bella's swollen belly. Bella holding a little boy with Jacob's dark skin and hair and her chocolate eyes. Bella leaning over the baby's cradle, making sure that he was sleeping peacefully.

Jacob coming home and finding Bella and their baby son dead on the floor, their skin the gray ghastly tone that comes from being exsanguinated. Jacob collapsing to his knees, crying out in anguish.

WHAT?!

I jumped up. "Alice! What was that?!"

She stood up with me and looked down at her hands. "Edward… your mark. She's a magnet and you know it. I mean, it is still several years away... but Jacob couldn't protect her," she said, as if the future had already happened. Then she looked back up at me. "But you could."

"How, Alice? How can I protect her? I'm the one who almost did her in!"

Turn her Edward. Find a way and just do it. You know that in your heart it's what you truly want, or else she'll end up like this...

She showed me that last image of Bella and the baby dead and Jacob in agony on the floor next to them.

A future I didn't want for her. Three lives ruined. All because of me.

But even without this gruesome image, seeing her with Jacob solidified it. I was a fool to think I could live without her and let her be with someone else. She was mine. I wanted her with me forever, and I was going to go find her.

~#~

I was on the first flight out to Chicago the next day. As the trip took so long to get back, I went to my house to stay there overnight and planned to go to her office the next day.

The house smelled musty and stale, with a strong odor of Bella mixed in. No one had been here for months, yet her scent was still evident. The wall outside of the study had a dent in it and the wooden floors below the dent had strange marks in the wood. There were chunks of metal in the garbage can by my desk; I picked them up and realized that they were the remnants of her iPod.

Photos of her with my family lay strewn on my desk. The shredder had pieces of photo paper in it… I could see from the pieces that they had been photos of me or of us together. I suddenly felt a little less sure of myself. I guess she didn't spend months looking at MY picture…

The spots on the shelves where her family photos had been were empty; her books that had been intermingled with mine were gone. When you stepped back and looked at the entire shelving unit, it looked like the evil smile of a jack o' lantern, the big empty toothless gaps mocking my foolishness.

Slowly I made my way up to my bedroom, afraid of going back to the scene of the crime. I passed the upstairs bathroom and then stopped, backed up and sniffed. There was a lingering odor here, particularly on the floor. I bent over to smell some more. It was all over the floor. I quickly realized she'd spent some time lying there. My heart ached at the image in my head.

Finally I made it to the bedroom. Her scent was still here, and so powerful, despite the months that had passed. The bed was disheveled and the indentation of her head was still visible on the pillow. I lay down and let myself inhale, my nose against the mattress taking in the mixed scent of our arousal and her natural perfume. I glanced over at the closet to see the empty hangers and at the bureau drawers that had been hers, now hanging open and empty. I turned to lie on my back and stare at the ceiling.

Fucking stupid guy regrets his dumbass actions alright.

I worried all night about how to best approach her in the morning.

~#~

I arrived at her office at 8 a.m. the next day but stayed outside standing across the street looking at her building. I was hoping to see her as she arrived and catch her before she went up, but as the hour passed, I wondered if there was another entrance to the building or if she'd come in early: she was an early riser after all. Mustering up the courage, I went up to the 27th floor at 9 a.m.

Holy shit… will you look at this guy! The receptionist's thoughts were not pure as I walked toward her. She removed her glasses and smiled at me. "May I help you, sir?"

"Yes, please. I'm here to see Isabella Swan."

Bella. Jesus. This girl is a babe-magnet. He called her Isabella… I sure hope he's a client. "I'm sorry, sir, she's away on a business trip. She left two days ago. Did you have an appointment to see her?"

Away. Shit. "Well, no, I didn't." I needed to know where she was right away. I turned on the charm. Smiling, I leaned on the desk and said, "I'm an old friend and I just got back in town. Do you know when she'll be back or how I can get in touch with her?" Bella was unlisted and damn Alice refused to help me other than the images she shared with me.

Wo-ow. "Uh, well, let me get her cell phone number for you." Shit, I should give him my number instead! DAMN, Bella must be good. First this guy and now Jacob… She's not even that pretty…

The lack of clarity and appreciation for real beauty always astounded me. Bella wasn't that pretty?? This woman had to be jealous of her... Bella was gorgeous! And then I rewound to the comment before that, my mind reeling. Hold the phone: FIRST me and NOW Jacob? Excuse me???

And then I heard more thoughts coming from behind me. No. Fucking. Way... Edward.

I turned around. No fucking way right back at ya, pal. There, standing in dress pants, a button down shirt, and tie, was Jacob Black.

I realized then that the first image that Alice had shown me of Bella and Jacob eating Mexican food and drinking margaritas was NOT from a year ago, as I had mistakenly assumed, but rather from a more recent night out. Which probably meant the kiss I'd seen was also not from their distant past, but something more recent as well, or from their possible future. Damn it, Alice! At that moment, I understood why she had flashed through the images so quickly. I had thought that it was to spare me the pain… but she didn't want me to realize that he was here already.

"Hello Jacob," I said with a small smile.

He closed his eyes, pressed his lips together and shook his head. Then he opened his eyes again, glared at me and held a finger out to me indicating that I should wait. He went back into a nearby conference room, retrieved his suit jacket and put it on as he was walking. "I have to step out for a moment, Margie," he said to the very curious receptionist. Then he gestured to me to come with him. As I turned to leave, I heard more disturbing thoughts out of Margie. Oh boy, Jacob looks mad! I heard that he and Bella were caught in the conference room on Tuesday night... this guy MUST be an ex!

I followed him into the elevator and he pounded on the L button. We stood in silence, as far away from each other as possible as we rode the excruciatingly slow ride down, but I could hear the long string of profanities going on in his head. The damned elevator decided to stop at another five more floors taking in more passengers to prolong the outward silence before letting us out.

He walked quickly across the building lobby, violently shoving the glass doors to the street open and stepping out. Walking North on Wacker, I kept pace with him as we made our way a few blocks down. Finally, when we were outside of the Merc, he whipped around and started talking.

"God damn you, Edward! What are you doing here? Haven't you messed up her life enough already?"

"Jacob, I don't think this concerns you."

"Oh, it very much does."

"How so? Are you and Bella dating?" I asked. Bella and Jacob caught in the conference room. Bella and Jacob caught in the conference room. CAUGHT. DOING. WHAT???

His eyes glared at me and I could hear the answer. Fuck you. Not yet but give it time. I breathed a subtle sigh of relief, although I still wondered about Margie's gossip.

"I don't think it's any of your business, you asshole. You gave up the right to know months ago."

"I'll take that as a no," I said.

"Screw you. Seriously, why now? She's healing."

"Thanks to you and your attentive efforts, no doubt."

"Hey man, you knew how I felt about her last year when you asked me to stay away. So what if you stepping out left the door open for someone else to step in? That's the risk you take, buddy," he said.

Hell no, you and I are not, and never will be, buddies, Jacob Black. "Why are you here in Chicago, Jacob? Aren't you about to whisk off to Business school sometime soon?" I asked sarcastically.

"I delayed my start for a year. I live here."

I stiffened. He's here. Not visiting. "You live here now?"

"That's right," he said, his jaw squared.

"Since when?"

He didn't answer but I heard it in his head. I was shocked to discover that he'd been here almost a year. Begrudgingly, I had to admire his restraint. All of this time here in the same city with the woman he loved and he had stayed away. I had to flee the country to stay away from her.

He glared at me. "None of your damn business. Listen, go slink off to whatever rock you've been hiding under and leave us alone."

US? "Did you move here to be close to Bella?"

"What do you care? You gave her up! She doesn't even know why… she said you just ended it! You told me last year that you knew her better. If you had, you would have never done that to her!"

He shook his head. "You know, I know that after last year you thought I was a schmuck. And the truth is, when it came to dating her years ago, I was. I was a colossal prick, but at least I was always her friend. What you did was full on Rat Bastard category."

Christ, first Rosalie and now him. Is 'rat bastard' some new and funky way of insulting someone that I've missed? Whatever choice insult he picked, I couldn't argue with him knowing that from all of their perspectives – with Bella really not knowing what happened to me that night – he was right. I nodded sadly in agreement.

His face registered surprise for a moment. He turned away from me and stared across the street. Cars were rushing by us and pedestrians walked rapidly, making their way to their respective destinations. But I was fixated on him. I could hear his heart beating more rapidly as his anger escalated.

"Do you know what she was like before you met her? Before she went to business school?" His face was wistful, his eyes unfocused as he peered across the street, his mind thinking of the Bella who was once in love with him. All images were of her, all from his eyes, his perspective.

I saw images of a slightly younger Bella, just a year out of college. Sitting in his cubicle. At a formal event, looking stunning and smiling at him. Bella being pulled to him and then the two of them wrapped around each other, her lips pressed to his in a passionate kiss in front of a waiting cab. Cooking together and watching TV. Laughing over the craps table in Vegas. Her eyes dreamy as he moved in to kiss her. Long talks sitting on a couch. My God, she's always been so beautiful.

Then his voice was more somber and sad. "Do you know what she's been like for the past two months? She's a shell of what she was. Of course, by all outside appearances she looks fine. She jokes and kids around, she's living life. But that little spark… that fearlessness she once had… It's almost like it's not there anymore. I've been trying to help her put the pieces back together… to get her back to that place."

As he was talking, I saw more recent images of her. She was thinner and her eyes were more cautious and reserved than before. Bella standing behind her desk, her arms wrapped around herself, holding herself tightly, not looking up at him. Bella leaning over him to point something out on the computer screen at his desk. Bella sitting scrunched down in her seat at the movies. Bella scantily dressed in a little sports bra and shorts, kicking and hitting a punching bag. Sitting together at one of their apartments on the couch, Jacob's hand on her face, inches from her, wiping her mouth gently with a napkin and touching her lips with his thumb.

Jesus. Jacob really was trying to move in on her. The images were making me uncomfortable. Actually, they made me more than uncomfortable... they were making me angry. What was he doing touching her??? Caught in the conference room??

"She's finally starting to be more whole, Edward, but it hasn't been easy. She's buried herself in work and hides her pain well but I know it. I know what she's feeling. You were right last year. I was never oblivious to her feelings, and I'm not now, despite what she doesn't say."

I started to sense the hidden meaning to his words… and I decided to draw them out. "Why are you so angry with me Jacob? Are you angry on her behalf or angry because you're scared that she might choose me?"

"Listen Assward…" he spat.

My eyes narrowed and looked at him darkly, "Assward?"

"Yes, 'Assward.' She refused to speak your name and I got tired of it so I started to call you that. She likes it. So my point is that she doesn't want any reminders of you. She won't say your name. She has no photos. She won't even take karate anymore."

My dead heart hurt. It physically hurt. Karate and Bella were synonymous in my mind. "Why?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I guess because it reminds her of you. Didn't you say that she spent time in a Karate studio at your house in Alaska?"

I took a deep breath and then exhaled. I spoke slowly. "So, then, I come back to my question: why are you so angry with me? If you're so sure she wouldn't choose me, you have no reason to fear me."

"I'm not afraid of you!" he shouted, but I could hear the doubt and for a brief second, his face had betrayed him.

"Jacob," I asked gently, "are you sure that the spark you say is missing isn't just a reflection of her more platonic feelings for you now?"

He glared at me. "Just go away. Give her the time she needs."

"You mean give you the time that you need."

"Yeah, okay, that too. I could make her happy, Edward."

"Are you ready for that at last?" I asked. "You still have school to attend. Are you going to go to school here in Chicago? What if you're not accepted locally?"

"None of that is your business, now, is it? That would be between me and Bella. And besides, you're one to talk about being 'ready.' I didn't propose and run!"

"I had my reasons…"

"Don't you think she deserved to know what those were?"

"Yes. I do," I said firmly. "That's why I'm here."

His face froze for a moment as he registered my response. Then he spoke. "Please," he pleaded, "Leave her alone. I love her. I was wrong to give her up."

"And so was I. Clearly the two of us have a lot in common. We're both in love with her and we have both been fools." Then I dared to ask the most important question. "Does she love you back?"

He stepped forward as if he were going to rush me and knock me over. Then he stopped. I tried to keep my tone as neutral and gentle as possible, masking the hope that was beginning to build in me. I took a breath before I spoke. "Jacob, she still had pictures of you when I was with her. She never asked me not so say your name." I paused again, letting that sink in. "The fact that she has eliminated all reminders… Who does SHE love?"

He didn't answer, but I heard the response in my head. You, motherfucker. It's still you.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I suspect that we both know the answer to that." Opening my eyes again, I met his stare. "So my question to you is this: Do you love her enough to let her go again?"

His eyes were defiant for a moment, but then they changed as he began to accept the truth.

"I love her, Jacob. I've never stopped. I love her more than my own life. If there is even a chance that she'd take me back, I'll take it."

Fuck me... the minute she sees him, I'll never have a chance. I could hear him arguing with himself about how much he should say... and then he gave up. His face fell as he leaned against the wall. "Of course there's a chance," he whispered. "You still have her mangled heart." He shook his head. "I know that it may not seem like it, but I really do want her to be happy. Yeah, selfishly, I want that happiness to be with me."

"But I saw how she was with you last year, Edward. The truth is… she never looked at me that way. NEVER. I mean, you know how hard she is to read. She masks her emotions so well, so you only get a glimpse of what she's feeling if or when she lets you. I saw it. I can't stand seeing her like this with me."

As much as I had resented the young man who stood in front of me, the one who had been trying to steal the love I wanted out from under me, I once again couldn't help but feel admiration for him. He did love her… both as a woman and as his friend.

"She held you in very high esteem, Jacob. I never understood why after your romantic history together… until now, that is. Now I understand completely. You ARE a good friend. I'm sorry I ever thought any differently about you."

"Yes," he said, his eyes both angry and sad at the same time. "Through it all, I was always her friend, and I always will be." He stepped closer, about a foot away, staring into my eyes.

"Edward. Hear me now. If you go to her and she takes you back... As her friend, if you ever hurt her like this again, I will kill you. Full stop. I don't care if I end up in jail for it."

I nodded. "I'd let you do it, Jacob. I'd help you myself." I paused and finally asked the one thing I most needed to know at that moment. "Where is she?"

"She went to Seattle to do some interviews," he said. "She's staying the weekend to visit her dad." Then he turned to walk back to his building.

"Thank you," I breathed. Then I turned in the opposite direction and walked away.

Forks. Wait for me, Bella. I'm coming for you.

A/N 2: And it looks like Edward has finally pulled his head out of his ass.

Thanks for reading so far. And nope, still can't read your thoughts... please leave a review! (And be nicer to me than you were on the last chapter!)