A.N: Thank you so much for reviewing! And for adding me to alerts and favourites. It's become a real ego boost to open a mail from FF! Here's a new chapter for you, hope you like it:)
Challenge
Do you know what happened? I finally asked.
I looked up at my dad. He was sitting in the sofa next to me, reading, trying to keep out of my thoughtful head I guess. Well, if he'd been peeking in for the last half hour he would know this was coming. Jacob would be home now, sleeping maybe. I'd told myself I wouldn't ask my dad. I'd tried to forget, tried to tell myself that it was nothing important, that Jacob would tell me tomorrow. But my self-control was insulting my brain.
My dad smiled a little, sending me a sideways look from his book. Then he turned serious.
"I know what happened, yes"
I raised my eyebrows a little bit, willing him to continue. He didn't. I sighed inwards.
Can you tell me, then, please?
Dad looked down, his face all serious.
"No."
A chill crept up my back. Was it serious, then? Or maybe I wasn't supposed to know? It couldn't be a good secret, or my dad wouldn't be this serious. Maybe it was something really bad. That I wasn't supposed to know about? What could Jake possibly not want me to know?
"It's not like that" my dad said, still looking down. Then he looked up to meet my gaze. "He just haven't told you yet, that's all."
So Jacob intended to tell me. Something bad. A sudden thought hit me, and my head snapped up.
"He's not...?"
"No, he's not ill. There's nothing wrong with him" dad reassured me.
I fell back in the sofa again and continued to pounder.
"Nessie." My dad looked at me again. "I'm not going to tell you. Let Jacob tell you on his own. He is not ill, there is nothing wrong with him. Now let it go. He'll tell you tomorrow, don't pester him about it. Al right?"
He sent me a little smile.
"Fine" I grumbled, and got up from the sofa. Stupid curiosity.
My dad laughed quietly. I leaned down to give him a goodnight-kiss on the cheek.
"It's good to have you back home" he said after me as I went to say goodnight to my mom. I smiled. Yeah. It's good to be home.
The next day I woke up early. It was beautiful outside, and the sun was shining through my window. I got up, eager to meet Jacob again. The living room was empty. I could hear my parents' muted voices from their bedroom, so I guess they weren't exactly up yet. Didn't want to disturb that. Might want to get out of here though.
"Don't mind me" I addressed the air in front of me "Going to see Jake"
The door opened quietly, and I turned to see my mother leaning against the door frame, wearing a bath robe.
"I can make you some breakfast if you like. Are you hungry?"
"No thanks. I think I'll hunt some day soon instead." I looked around to find my shoes. I found one and pulled it on.
"Okay. But let him sleep if he wants to, right Nessie? It's still early." she smiled.
" I know. I will. I'll just check to see if he's awake"
I found my other shoe, and put it on as well. I waved to my mother before I slipped out the door.
"Have fun. And make sure you eat something" she said before I heard the door close quietly behind her.
I ran. Not because I was in a hurry, but because I wanted to. It was beautiful outside. Inside the forest it was still moist, and the grass was still wet from the damp night. After a few minutes I reached the end of the forest by La Push, and I could glimpse Jacobs house. Oh, how I loved that house. I slowed to human pace and walked up towards it. I could hear Jacob snoring light from inside, and also Billys heavy breathing which meant they were both asleep. I didn't want to ring the doorbell and wake them.
I sneaked up to Jacobs window and hesitated. It had been a while since the last time I'd done this. I definitely hadn't done it since we were...well...in a few months. I used to do it when I was little, but that seemed so different somehow. We were different now.
I took a deep breath before I carefully eased the window open. I peeked inside. Jacob was sprawled out across his bed, his arms and feet hanging over the edge. It was the same old bed, still way to short. He was snoring, and the blanket was tumbled up around his feet. The image made me smile. I quietly eased my self up, and slid through the window, landing on the floor almost without a sound. I left the window open, and the curtains swayed in the light breeze.
His room was tiny. The double bed took up almost all of his room, making it impossible for me to move much. Carefully not to wake him up I sat down by the foot of the bed an wrapped my feet up in front of me, wrapping my arms around them. I sat there for a little while, looking around. While my own room was well decorated (coughEsmecough) and airy, with pictures, a bookcase, shelves, a desk and a wardrobe, Jacobs room was quite different. Except from his double bed there really wasn't much. There was a couple of shelves on the wall, with a few books and cds on them. And then there was a tiny, tiny wardrobe in the corner of the room (I'm not sure if it you could even call it a wardrobe) and a bedside table with an alarm clock on it. And that was it.
Jacob let out a heavy breath and the snoring stopped. I watched him as he heaved around, shifting on the too-small bed, trying to get comfortable. He ended up lying on his stomach, his face away from me. Hm. Maybe it was time to wake him up. It wasn't that early. And I didn't want to be the creepy I'm-sneaking-into-your-room-to-watch-you-sleep-without-you-knowing-it kind of girlfriend. (Sorry dad). I poked his leg. Nothing happened. I poked it again. He reached down to scratch it with his hand, mumbling something incomprehensible. I stroke my finger up and down his calf. With a sudden jolt he sat up and turned around, with a look that clearly said I'm going to kill that bug. And then he saw me and almost jolted up in the air in surprise.
"Did I startle you?" I grinned.
He snorted, gushing air out.
"What are you doing here? It's like seven in the morning"
"I'm waking you up" I smiled. "Too early?"
A smile spread on his lips as well, and he reached out to pull me closer to him. He shook his head.
"You surprised me that's all. It's never too early for you"
He wrapped his arms around me, and I tilted my head upwards. He studied my face before he leaned down and softly put his lips on mine. He kissed me tenderly, a sweet good-mornig kiss.
"Come here. Did you sleep well?" he asked as he laid down on his side, bringing me with him. He reached for the blanket by the foot of the bed to wrap over the both of us.
"Mhm" I murmured and crept closer to him. "Did you?"
"I did" he admitted "But I liked waking up better"
He put his hand under my chin, and I reached up yo meet him halfway. He kissed me again, rougher this time. It hit me that we were in his bed. Wrapped up under a blanket. Kissing. Snuggling. Alone. Billy was sleeping. No super-sensible ears around, no mind-readers. Just the thought of it made my stomach tingle and I became slightly nervous for some reason.
I felt his hand search around under the blanket. It wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him pinning my body to his. He was only wearing sweatpants. I reached up again, probing my fingers through his hair. He moaned quietly and his hands started to stroke back and forth on the small of my back. I opened my mouth and kissed him deeper, softy letting my tongue trail across his lips. His breathing became uneven and he kissed me harder, winding one of his hands through my hair, pressing me closer to him.
We had kissed like this many times before, but not lying wrapped up in a bed. I didn't know if it made any difference besides being more comfortable, but still there was something more intimate with this whole setting. It felt...new. My stomach tingled again, both with anticipation and nerves.
My hands were now moving over Jacobs chest on their own accord – I couldn't help it. His skin was so soft under my fingers, his muscles making the skin firm. Then, his hand on my back slowly started to slide down over my hip and down my thigh. And then back up. I froze. This was new. He had never touched me like this before.
Jacob froze too, when he felt my reaction. His hand on my hip lay quite still. His eyes popped open, and guilt flooded through his eyes. He thought he'd done something wrong. He'd thought he'd gone too far. He'd misunderstood.
Jacob tore his lips and hands away from me and was about to start apologize, but I didn't let him. I threw myself at him, wrapping my lips around his. I kissed him fiercely, flooding him with all the passion I could muster. There had been nothing wrong, far from it. New, yes. Surprising, yes. Good? Yes.
His lips were still against mine for a few seconds, but then he got over the shock and his hands were on me in an instant. Probing, clinging to me feverishly. From the small of my back, over my thigh, up and down my hip, up my sides and down to my thighs again. He kissed me back the same way I was kissing him; forcefully and with an urgency that only made it impossible to stop. He put his hands on each side of my waist, gently caressing my stomach with his thumbs. As I put my hands behind his neck, I showed him how I felt right now. Just the feeling of it, of him, of this.
He shuddered and leaned his head down, slipping his lips away from mine. When he looked up again, his eyes were glowing, amazed. He shook his head slightly, as if to clear his thoughts. "Ness" was all he said. His voice was hoarse. I leaned forward to lean my forehead against his and closed my eyes.
"Being with you like this..." he said shakily "it's just...surreal. I'm not used to it, to be like this with you".
"You don't like...?" I opened my eyes. If he didn't want to kiss me like this...
"Of course I do, Nessie." he hurried to say. "It's just different. New. I mean, you've always been my little girl. It's completely new for me to feel this way with you, to want you like this..."
He looked down, suddenly embarrassed, as if he'd said too much. I could feel a blush spread to my cheeks for no reason.
I closed my eyes again and could feel his hot breath on my face. He kissed my forehead softly and left his lips in my hair. I could feel my whole body relax against him, and he held me even closer.
I thought what had happened last night when I asked about what he'd been doing. I remembered how his eyes had gotten all dark, and again I wondered what was wrong. I could just wait and see if he wanted to tell me what it was on his own, without me pushing it. I guess I should wait, let him come to me. But I was just so curious. And if something was wrong...I didn't want Jake to have to pretend that everything was okay for me.
I thought about just popping the same question as yesterday, to pretend I hadn't noticed the darkening in his eyes last night. Hey Jake, anything happened lately? Anything at all? But that would be wrong, and I never was much of a liar. Not to Jake, anyway. I decided honesty was best.
"Jacob?" I asked quietly, hesitant.
"Mmm?"
Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew exactly how his expression would be right now. His eyes would be closed, his cheek resting on top of my head, and he would have a relaxed smile on his lips. His voice was sleepy and content.
"I just wanted to ask you..." I paused. "Last night, when I asked if anything had happened while I was gone...Did it? Did something happen?"
Quiet. He didn't reply. I leaned back to be able to look at his face. He was looking down, and he seemed...sad.
"Jake?"
He looked up then, and smiled. Not a happy smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"Yes" he said and took a deep breath. "Something happened. My...my dad was sent to the hospital again. His heart. Again. But this time it was worse. Worse than before. The doctors..." he paused. "They didn't know if he would...when he would get well. But he miraculously got better."
He looked up at me, still a sad smile on his face. I could hear Billys steady heartbeat and his heavy breathing all the way from his bedroom. I was horrified.
"He's okay, really, or they wouldn't have sent him home. I was just worried...you now. And you weren't there to cheer me up, so I thought the worst, of course."
His hand lifted to brush my cheek.
"But is he alright now?" I blurted out. "Is he...I mean, he's going to be fine, right?"
"He is fine. Now." Jacob voice turned bitter, and I realized we'd hit the core to the problem. "I just don't know how long it will last"
"What did the doctors say?"
"That it was the same as usual. That he would get better. And he did. I just... I don't know. I have a bad feeling about the whole thing"
"Oh Jake..." I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him, or, well, pressed myself to him more like it.
He hugged me back and we lay like this for a long time. We talked now and then, about Billy, and Jacob filled me in on all of the details. He told me Rachel and Paul would come back soon, Rachel wanted to see her father. Since they married a couple of years ago she hadn't been home much. He was here regularly though (pack thing) and she sometimes joined him.
When the clock turned nine we got up to eat breakfast. I was a little nervous for what Billy would think when he saw me here this early, coming out of Jacobs room, but Jacob just laughed and pushed me into the kitchen. Billy looked up when we entered, and he seemed totally unaffected.
"Oh, hi kids. Nice to see you here this early, Nessie" he said knowingly. I could feel my face redden, but thankfully Billy looked away just then. Jacob noticed though, and he smirked. I ignored him.
"How are you, Billy?" I asked carefully. "Jacob told me what happened..."
"Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine. No harm done" Billy waved his hand dismissively. He blew it all off in a way that reminded me very of Jacob. Father like son, I guess. He started to wheel himself into the living room. "I'm healthy as a horse, don't think about it. Food's in the kitchen, kids. Just help yourselves."
I sat on the counter watching Jacob eat breakfast. When he was done, he turned to me.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Nah. I don't feel like eating human food today"
"That's not what I was asking. Are you hungry or not?"
"Not really. I can wait a few days"
Jacob sighed dramatically.
"So much for show"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if you're embarrassed that I will point finger and laugh when you can only take down the smallest deer, you could just say so instead of pretending that you're not hungry."
"I'm not pretending!" I exclaimed loudly, my voice high with indignation. I could hear Billy laugh silently from the other room.
"Whatever you say" Jacob raised both of his eyebrows, rolling his eyes, making it very clear that he didn't believe me for one second
I leaned towards him, my nose nearly touching his.
"I'm not"
"I don't believe you. You can't take down a proper deer. You're too...slow."
As he said the last word, he pointed his chin out, his nose touching mine. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that if nothing else was working, that word would surely tick me off. I was almost fuming. He was good.
"Prove me wrong", he added, raising his eyebrows again. Challenging me.
In the next second I had bolted through his bedroom, out his window, and was out in the backyard running towards the forest. It was silly, I know. Deep down I knew he was just teasing me. I knew this was what he wanted. But I couldn't just let him win..
"The biggest deer wins" I heard him call out behind me, and I could hear him follow me into the forest.
I could also hear the smile on his face. He knew exactly which buttons to push. He knew me too well.