Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me. They belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing. With a broken heart that's still beating. In the pain, there is healing. In your name, I find meaning. So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on. I'm barely holdin' on to you.

I didn't know what to expect when I got there. While Jake and I appeared to be on good terms, I didn't know if he was still upset about the whole Edward showing up in the middle of the night thing.

After this week I vowed to myself that his name would not be brought up unless absolutely necessary. There was no reason for it.

I knew Jake would most likely bring him up but I would do my best to end that conversation as soon as possible.

As I pulled up to the little red house, Jake walked out of the front door. For some reason he closed both doors instead of just the usual screen. I tried not to read too much into it, I knew I was probably over reacting.

After shutting the door behind me, I ran into Jake's arms. We were locked in a tight embrace for a good few minutes. What had I been so worried about for the past few days? The feelings between us were definitely still both mutual.

His hands ran down my back to my thighs and pulled me up so he was holding me. I held his face in my hands and pulled it towards my own, sealing my mouth over his. His lips were firm and the pressure he exerted was gentle. His lips instantly parted, I dipped my tongue inside his mouth, tasting him in long leisurely licks as our tongues danced together. I ran my hands through his hair as our kiss deepened.

When we finally pulled apart we were both panting, breathless.

"Hello to you too Bells." He smiled.

"What can I say? I missed you." I giggled.

"Maybe we should be apart more often." He grinned.

I laughed, kissing his neck up to his ear. "We don't need to be apart for you to get more of that which you'd know if we saw each other more often." I whispered.

"You're killing me here. Maybe I should just tell our guests to go home so we can be alone." He laughed, placing me back down in front of him.

"Guests? Who's here?" I asked.

"That's what I needed to tell you… Embry's here and he brought Jess. I know you're not really friends but I warned her you were coming over and that she needed to be nice." He replied, intertwining our fingers together.

"Ugh. I really wish her and Lauren would both just disappear."

It's not as if her and Embry were dating, they were using each other for sex. What business did she have here? I've had enough of both of them.

"Believe me, so do I. That girl is crazy." He agreed.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to hope she leaves sooner than later." I shrugged.

He nodded, leading me into the house. When we walked into the living room, Embry jumped up and pulled me into a big hug.

"Bells! I've missed you." He yelled.

I laughed, wrapping my arms around him to reciprocate.

"I've missed you too Em. Has it been that long?"

"Just a few weeks, seems like forever though."

He pulled away and rejoined Jessica on the couch. She had a horrified look on her face like she either didn't expect me to show up or she didn't think I was close with anyone other than Jake.

It made me smile to see she had underestimated me. Even if I did know she was going to be here earlier, I still would've come. This is my sanctuary, not hers. Hers would most likely be Embry's bed, this month anyway.

I sat on the couch next to Embry as Jake flipped through different channels on the TV to find something to watch. After going through every channel twice, he finally settled on MTV. Awkward reruns were on. Jake sat down next to me and put his arm around my waist, pulling me towards him.

The name seemed fitting for this current situation I was in. It was also very funny.

As we watched the show, Embry made comparisons of Jenna to me and joked about her boyfriend being named Jake. When Jenna picked Matty in the end, he laughed and said maybe Jake was actually more like Matty.

I didn't like my life being compared to a scripted TV show but I laughed along with him anyway. I had to laugh about this twisted love triangle somehow I suppose.

It was impossible to stay mad at Embry regardless. While he wasn't as tall or built as Jake, he was also really beautiful. He could do so much better than Jess but while he waited for his imprint, I'm not sure he cared.

For some reason, we had been the only 2 talking the entire time. The more we laughed and talked, Jake seemed to get colder and more distant.

"Maybe we should just leave you two alone." Jessica snarled.

I turned toward her, giving her a dirty look. "Maybe if you joined in on the conversation instead of just sitting there with your arms crossed, pouting we wouldn't be the only two enjoying ourselves." I bit back.

"What're you trying to say Bella?" Jake asked angrily.

I was annoyed Jake took offense to what was clearly directed at Jess.

I turned towards him, and rubbed his thigh.

"I didn't mean you sweetie. I'm sorry." I don't know why I apologized, but I figured maybe it'd prevent a fight.

"Whatever, this is lame. I'm leaving Embry. We should go. I'm going to hang out with Lauren if you'd like to come as well Jake. I'm sure she wants to see and talk to you." Jessica stood up and started walking towards the door.

"I'm good staying here. You know your way out." Embry called after her.

I couldn't hold it in, I burst out laughing. I don't know what I found so funny. Maybe it was the way she just expected Embry to follow her like a lost puppy, or the way she thought of herself so highly when she didn't even show herself respect. No girl who casually sleeps with a guy does.

It made no sense for me to be laughing when really, I was infuriated.

Jake just sat there, shaking his head. He looked as if he was thinking really hard about something. I was scared he was actually debating leaving.

"Are you really thinking about going with her right now?" I snarled.

He looked right at me, making a tight fist with his hands.

"Of course I'm not. Haven't we been over this a million times already? It's getting old." He got up and walked into his room, slamming the door behind him.

As always our time together had a great start with a rough patch. Would we ever get through a day without a fight? I just couldn't help but think there was a reason behind what Jess said. Why would Lauren want to see or speak to Jake when they ended things?

"He just needs to cool off. Wanna go for a walk Bells?" Embry asked.

I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, Jake was losing his temper over everything recently. Still, I didn't want to just sit here and wait for him to calm down, so I agreed.

As we left Jakes house, Embry started telling me of everything that had went on during the 2 months me and Jake hadn't talked much. He apologized for his role in getting Jake and Lauren together.

He confirmed what I had thought all along about him and Jess' relationship. He didn't like her, in fact if they weren't having sex, he didn't want to be around her.

"She's one of the dumbest girls I've ever talked to. I really don't know what I was thinking, but thank god she's not my imprint." He laughed.

He went on to tell me about how normal it now felt when he phased. He was learning to keep more of his thoughts to himself as Jake did. When we finally made it to first beach, we walked down to a long amount of huge rocks which were like a bridge going out into the water.

As we sat on them, I stared out at the ocean. The memory of seeing Victoria's fire red hair floating as Jake pulled me out played in my mind. It was one of the most confusing and terrifying moments in my life.

I didn't notice I was shaking until Embry grabbed my hand. I jumped at the contact. Embry has touched me more today than he ever did before.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yea I'm fine, just daydreamed there for a moment. Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me for something so silly. You're just all over the place today, one minute you're laughing, the next you look as if you're about to cry. Everything is going to be alright." He was being so comforting, it was exactly what I needed.

I leaned up against him, resting my head on his shoulder. I was happy when he wrapped his arm around me, holding me close.

It wasn't the same kind of embrace I would get from Jake, it was strictly friendly. While it may not look that way to someone else, but it was clear we both knew what it was. He was one of the last people I would've thought of becoming close friends with, but I was happy to have him.

"Just be patient with him Bells, he's under a lot of stress. He loves you, we all do."

"Thank you Embry, you're a great buddy." I smiled.

We sat there just like that for a half hour, talking about our futures. Embry was content with it being his destiny to stay in La Push to protect his family and friends. He didn't enjoy school, so college hadn't been much of a thought. He wasn't sure he would imprint, but he wasn't against it either.

"I know some people feel as if it makes you a slave to someone else, but I can't imagine what's so bad about having someone who truly loves you unconditionally. Like you and Jake." He explained.

Had Jake imprinted on me? He hadn't told me he has. Wouldn't I have felt it too, or were some of the feelings I've had because of that?

"J-Jake told you he imprinted on me?" I asked, looking up at him.

He looked terrified, as if he just revealed something he wasn't supposed to.

"Oh, I don't know. I was just uh, talking about how it appears to be between you two. You've been through a lot together and yet you're still willing to be with each other no matter what." He had quickly recovered from what appeared to be a lapse in judgment with the words he had chosen.

I don't think I'd feel any different if Jake had told me he imprinted. I mean, we fell in love way before he started phasing into a giant wolf.

When it starting getting dark we decided it was best to head back.

Embry walked me to Jake's front door before giving me a hug goodbye and heading home. Who knows what I was about to walk in to find. Maybe Jake took Jess up on her offer, or maybe he wasn't going to talk to me again. It could be world war 3 when I walked in for all I knew.

When I entered the house, Jake was sitting on the couch, watching Die Hard.

He looked up at me and motioned for me to join him. Without a word I cuddled up next to him, laying my head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around me. He gave me a chaste kiss on the lips, and another on my forehead.

"Promise you'll always come back to me, no matter what happens." He whispered.

"I promise. How could I survive without my sun?" I whispered and kissed his cheek.

I wasn't sure what had been causing him to get angry and upset so quickly recently, but I didn't want to ruin this moment. Whatever it was, we would figure it out, we always have.

Our relationship may not be perfect, but it would get better in time.

Jacob Black was my life now and I was his. I couldn't ask for anything more.