Chapter 6: Forgiveness

{Bella POV}

When Jacob was finished I was speechless. I couldn't find the words to describe what I was feeling. He really did do it to save my life. But how did I know he was telling the truth? Sure he was my best friend, but he's lied to me before.

While he was going through his transformation, he told me he was sick. He hadn't been able to trust me with his secret as Edward had. Another scene flashed through my head.

~Flashback~

It was cold and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground, Jake was in front of me with his russet-colored chest bare against the fierce cold wind, while I had a large winter coat pulled closely to keep warm. When I asked him not to fight in the upcoming battle, he told me that if I kissed him he would stay.

I didn't want him to fight and get hurt. But kiss him? After what had happened the last time and with Edward so nearby, I didn't know what to do. But before I knew it, my cold, frozen lips melted with his warm ones. My hands ran through his dark hair as I took in his comforting woodsy scent and then he was gone. He lied to me. He told me that he would stay with me if I kissed him…He lied.

~End Flashback~

"How do I know that you aren't lying?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"You know I would never lie to you Bells."

"You just did." I stated.

"What do you mean?" He asked with a confused look on his face.

"You've lied to me twice, but the second time hurt me the most." I said looking away from his face.

Damon turned and glared at him—a glare that would have made even Emmett cower in fear. It was then that I began to realize and comprehend how Damon was acting towards me, he was being very protective. The resemblance brought back painful memories of Edward . He didn't have to,but he was. I didn't know whether to be grateful or mad.

I remembered what Damon had said earlier, "You can read minds?" Jake asked. "Yes, and I can influence people's decisions, if I want to…" I figured that since Damon could read minds and influence people's decisions, Stefan could do that as well.

"Damon, can I ask you something?" I asked in a whisper so only he could hear me.

"What is it Bella?" He asked worriedly.

"It's nothing really. I was just curious about some things."

"What are you curious about?"

"First of all, can you hear my thoughts?"

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that, but ask me your other question first." He said, turning so that his body was facing mine.

"Okay. What other powers do you have?"

"Well, now you've just asked the same two questions I've been meaning to ask you."

It was then that I realized that Jake was still standing in front of us. I wanted to tell him something, but I also needed time to sift through his story.

"Jake, I'm going to need some time to think." I began, looking away from his face, "Could you meet me here tomorrow around twilight?" I asked.

"Sure, I guess." He said, "See you tomorrow Bella." He waved goodbye, and with that, he was gone.

I let out a sigh and scratched my nose—his scent was no longer the woodsy smell I remembered, it was now unbearable. I turned to see Damon with a pained expression on his face. He looked as if someone had just stuck a knife in his back.

"Damon?" I asked, sitting down next to him, "Are you alright?"

"Huh, What? Oh yeah. Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking about something." He said. I could still tell that he was worried about something.

Then it hit me, Damon could read minds AND he was there that night. So maybe he knows if Jake is telling the truth. As I looked back at Damon, who noticed the change of my expression.

"Bella?" He asked in confusion, "By the look on you're face, either you're bi-polar or you just realized you've won the lottery."

"Close, but no cigar. I just had an epiphany!" I said jubilantly, raising my head up high with pride.

"If you stick your nose up any higher your head will fall off." He said jokingly.

I turned and gave him a playful glare. "Do you want to know what my epiphany was about or not?" I asked impatiently.

"Not really, but I've got a feeling that no matter what I say you're going to tell me anyway." He said with a smile on his face.

"You're right; I AM going to tell you." I said beaming with excitement, "I just realized that you were in the meadow the night Edward was killed."

"I don't think facts are considered 'epiphanies'." He said, putting air quotes around the word epiphanies.

"That was only the first part, let me finish!" I demanded. He threw up his hands in defense as if to say; 'Fine! Don't go biting my head off'. This made me giggle. "The second part is the fact that you can read minds."

"Again, I don't think facts are considered 'epiphanies'. Besides, I've already read Jake's mind and I think he's telling the truth."

"I know you think he's telling the truth, but I want to know he's telling the truth." I said.

"But how would my ability to read minds and my presence in the meadow help you to know for sure th-" He stopped so suddenly that I almost missed his expression change from confusion to realization. "You want to know if I know what Sam was really thinking that night, don't you?"

And people thought I was slow, I thought to myself. "That's exactly what I want! So, do you know what Sam was REALLY thinking?" I asked in anticipation.

"Maybe, but you do realize that I can hear everyone's thoughts?" He stated.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"Thoughts get kind of jumbled together in my head, but I'm sure you could help jog my memory." He said with a sly smile.

"What could I possibly do to help 'jog your memory'?" I asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"You could go on a date with me before you meet up with Jake tomorrow." He said.

He did not just ask me out.

The way I saw it, I had three options;

Option number one: I could go out with Damon and find out if Jake is telling the truth.
Option number two: I could NOT go out with him and figure out if Jake is lying on my own.
Option number three: I could NOT go out with him and ask Stefan if he knew/heard anything about Sam from Damon.

Why was this so hard? I did like Damon a little, but I didn't want to go on a date with him…did I?

"Is there ANY way that we could, maybe, compromise?" I asked.

"That depends…what's the compromise?" He asked.

"How about you tell me exactly what Sam was thinking right now," He opened his mouth in protest, but I held a hand up to stop him. "Then, the day AFTER tomorrow I'll go out with you." My jean pocket suddenly felt a little heavier.

"Hm…I guess that'll work." He said. "Jake IS telling the truth. Sam would have killed you along with the Cullens if you had made it to Edward before he did. Had he not pushed you out of the way, I would have never met you." He said with a smile.

My heart sank. How could I have doubted my best friend? Just because I knew that Jake wasn't lying, doesn't mean that I forgive him…does it? I pondered these questions for a while-but mostly the second one-until I realized that I shouldn't be contemplating on this decision. Jake is my best friend, he only did what he did to protect me. after what I had done to him he shouldn't have had to do that, but he did.

I began to wonder what would have happened if Edward had watched me die. Would he have killed the werewolves and Jake?

I finally came to my decision. I WOULD forgive Jake tomorrow.

o0o0oo0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o

"What's taking him so long?" I asked myself as I waited in the clearing.

I told Damon and Stefan that I should visit with Jake alone tonight. Although I had to remind Damon every ten minutes that I would be okay. He finally gave up and left to go who-knows-where. Luckily, Stefan seemed a bit too carefree about the whole ordeal-he could have at least protested a little.

As far as I could tell, it was at least half past twilight before I heard a twig or branch snap behind me. I jumped turned my body around, leaned into a crouch and I felt my chest release a low, threatening growl.

"Whoa Bells! It's just me." Jake said throwing his hands up.

"Oh, sorry Jake." I said, straightening up and brushing dust from my pants.

"It's alright. I would have done the same. Although, I probably wouldn't have crouched low enough to make it seem as though I was about to pounce on something, or in this case, someone." He said with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile back. He smiled the smile I thought I'd never see again; my Jake's smile. When I had finished my thought, his face went from my Jake to Sam's Jake. It was time to tell him what I had thought since our last encounter yesterday.

"So…how did your thinking process go yesterday?" He asked in a stern business-like voice.

"Um…I've come to my decision, if that's what you mean." I said as calmly as I could. He just nodded his head in confirmation. "I've decided that I do believe your story about that night." His face began to light up in accomplishment. "And, after a lot of thinking…I forgive you. I just hope that you can forgive me for anything I may have said to hurt you."

"Oh Bells," He sighed, "I forgave you for all those harsh words the second you said them, I knew that you only said them because you were upset about what I did. I'm glad that you found it in your, uh…"

"Soul?" I said with a playful smile-I knew he wanted to say 'heart', but since I had been changed my heart had stopped. He smiled back and continued.

"Yeah, your soul. I'm glad that you found in it your soul to forgive me for what I did and I'm deeply, truly sorry for my actions, but I did it to…"

"I know Jake; I know that you did it to save my life. Thank you." I said as I gestured that I wanted to give him a hug-I wanted to be sure that it was okay. He opened his larges muscular russet arms as a sign for me to come and give him a hug. I walked forward as I wrapped my arms around his waist as his arms wrapped around my shoulders-he still towered me. This time I was the one to give the bone-crushing hug.

"Geez, Bells, you've gotten a lot stronger." He said, gasping for air. Only after I let him go did I see his smile.

"I know. But…where's my bone-crushing hug?" I asked jokingly.

"I'm not risking my arms to give you a bone-crushing hug. Sorry to disappoint." He said as I gave him another hug. a more gentle hug. "Pew! You smell like a vampire."

"I know. And you smell like a dog. Anymore obvious observations?" I asked jokingly as I released him and sat on a nearby rock.

"So, now what?" He asked looking up at the starry sky.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to come home with me?"

"Jake, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I haven't been able to fully control myself and I may not go back even then. But you'll be the first to know when and if I return…I promise."

"Alright then, I'll hold you to that promise." He said with a smile.

I got up to leave when his hand grabbed my wrist.

"Will I ever see you again?" He asked with sadness in both his eyes and voice.

"Oh Jake," I started to say as I gave him a little hug, "Absolutely."

"Promise?" he asked, letting go of me.

"I promise." I said as I left. I turned and waved good-bye, then disappeared into the night-not knowing where or when I would see him again.

As I left the clearing, I felt as though a large weight had been lifted from my shoulders and put into my pocket.. And I was so happy that I was able to forgive Jake for what he did. I was glad he was able to forgive me for all the hurtful things I had said to him.

I looked up into the sky and admiring the beauty of the stars and the moon. I saw a shooting star. My chest began to hurt as I thought of what Edward had told me a while ago. Before you, Bella, my life was a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars- points of light and reason…And then, you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything was black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no reason for anything.

Next thing I knew, I was face down in the dirt. Despite the fact that I was supposed to be a graceful vampire, my clumsiness didn't leave me. I looked up and saw a large hand reaching down in front of my face.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Damon asked.

"This doesn't hurt, trust me." I said as I took his hand and pulled myself off the ground.

"So, how'd it go with Jacob?" He asked.

"A lot better than I thought." I said as I continued to wipe dirt off my face and jeans. What was the point; I would probably fall down again sometime soon.

"That's good." He said cheerfully.

"Damon, are you feeling okay?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

"I'm just excited, that's all."

"Excited about what?"

"About tomorrow, what else?"

"Oh, right. Our date." I said without emotion.

"Don't even think about bailing on me now, you'll disappoint Bonnie."

"Who's Bonnie?" I asked as we arrived at an unfamiliar house.

"Bonnie is a friend of mine that I want you to meet." He said as he walked up the stairs to the front door.

"Why do you want me to meet Bonnie?"

"Well, I figured that this is the only outfit you own as of right now," he said, pointing to my dirt-stained jeans, t-shirt, and bare feet-my sandals broke a while ago- "and I figured that you would want a change in clothes. So, I talked with Bonnie when I left the boarding house and she eagerly agreed." He said as he rang the doorbell.

A girl with bouncy red curls opened the door with a bright smile on her face, just like Alice. She invited both Damon and I into her house. Once we were inside, she gave Damon a small friendly hug and then she looked in my direction.

"You must be Bella," She said, extending her hand, "I'm Bonnie."

"It's nice to meet you Bonnie." I said as I shook her hand.

"So, how is it that you managed to find another vampire?" she asked Damon, referring to me.

"I'm just that lucky." He said with a smile. "I hope its okay that I told her about what you are." Damon said to me in a somewhat low whisper.

"It's a little too late for me to object." I joked. Both Damon and Bonnie let out a little laugh.

"Well, I should be going now." Damon said as he turned to the door.

I reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt "Where are you going?" I asked.

"Home."

"Well, am I not allowed to come home with you?" I asked, slightly disappointed.

"Of course you are, but I've asked Bonnie and she said that it would be okay for you to stay here." He replied.

"Why?"

"Well, I think it would be a bit easier for Bonnie to help get you ready for tonight if you were here."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Good, then I guess I'll pick you up around seven." He said as the door closed behind him.

I turned to see Bonnie with a Cheshire Cat grin glued on her face. "What?" I asked.

"How did you manage to get a date with Damon?" She asked.

The heavy weight suddenly returned to my jean pocket. It felt as though I would sink to the bottom of the ocean. I reached inside my pocket and pulled out my engagement ring. Am I betraying him?

Next Chapter: Preparations