Chapter 15:
Jacob POV:
It took everything I had to drive away from Bella's. If she is hurt at all, I will kill them. She is my whole world.
I sped down the road to La Push way too fast and drove right to Sam's. I got out of the car, bounded onto the porch and began pounding on the door. "Sam, it's Jake. I need to talk to you RIGHT NOW! Sam!"
The door whipped open. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Jacob? Emily just got to sleep . . ."
"Look Sam, I'm sorry. I know, it's late. But I really need to talk to you. It's the vampires. The ones from Italy. They're coming here, Sam. They are fucking coming here and I am terrified that they will take Bella!"
Sam stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. "OK, Jake, calm down. Tell me what's going on." He stood beside me and crossed his arms over his chest.
I told him what Alice had told us. "She's at the house right now with Bella trying to get some kind of 'sight' on what's coming. Her leech boyfriend is watching the outside of the house, but, I gotta get back there. I can't leave her alone with them. Can you get the pack together and let them know what is going on? As soon as I know anything else, I will let you know, OK? I'll be at Bella's."
"Jake," he started as he put his hands on my shoulders. "Look, I know you're worried, but for God's sake calm down. You're no good to her this wired. You know the pack is behind you 100%. Take a breath, OK?" He let his hands fall to his side as I took a step backward.
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. He was right. I needed to calm the fuck down. "Yeah, I know. I am just so damned sick and tired of those fucking leeches always trying to take her away from me! How many times are we going to have to go through this?"
He shook his head. "I don' know, dude. Look, I'll go out back and call a meeting, let everyone know what's going on."
I nodded. "Thanks. Hey, is it OK if I leave the Rabbit here? I could get to Bella's faster if I phase."
"Yep. Be careful," said Sam.
I nodded and took off into the wood to phase and get back to Bella. I would do anything I had to do to make sure she was safe. She was mine now, and I would kill anyone who tried to take her from me.
Bella POV:
Alice kept her eyes closed for some time while she still held my hand. Suddenly, I felt her hand tense, and I looked up and knew she was seeing something. Finally her eyes opened.
"What did you see? Alice, please tell me," I asked.
"It's still not very clear. But I see them coming here, Bella. Soon. Aro is coming and he is bringing an entourage with him. I just can't see an outcome yet. I'm not sure why. And . . ." she hesitated. I knew she was trying to decide what to tell me next.
"Alice, just tell me!" I gripped her hand.
"Carlisle is almost home. He asked the rest of the family to come here and meet him at the house. Edward . . . is insisting on coming with them," she finished.
"Oh!" was all I could get out. Edward. Coming here. Jacob . . . the treaty. Great.
"He still cares about you, Bella. He is devastated at what he did to you, but he knows that he needs to be here when the Volturi arrive. I think he's right about that." Alice said.
"I know, but the agreement was that he never come here again. Jacob wants to kill him for what he did to me," I explained anxiously.
"He knows that, Bella." She closed her eyes for a second, then looked at me and said, "That is exactly what he wants. He feels that he deserves it for what he did to you."
I couldn't believe what I just heard. "What? Are you serious? What the hell is he thinking? Does he have any clue what that would do to me?" Why were men so dramatic . . . and stupid?
"Listen, Bella, I will talk to him. In the meantime, you need to warn Jacob that he is coming. Please try to get him to understand that we need him here to help with the Volturi?" Alice asked. I nodded my agreement then she asked quietly, "Do you mind, Bella, if . . . could you show me the scar?"
I moved my hair back to show her. She reached up and very gently ran a finger along the scar. "Oh Bella," she whispered. She put her hand down, and drew me into a hug.
The door opened and Jacob came stalking inside. "Everything OK?" he asked as he made his way over to me. I stood up and let him take me into his arms. Will everything EVER be OK? God, I hope so. And soon.
Alice got up and walked toward the door. "We will be at the house. I will be in touch later when I know more. Good night, Bella," she said as she closed the door.
"Did she see anything?" Jacob asked.
"She said that it is still unclear, but that the Volturi are coming and they will be here soon," I answered. And that Edward is on his way. I knew I should tell him, but I couldn't get the words out. Just then, I yawned.
"C'mon. Let's get you up to bed. You look exhausted," Jacob said as he turned out the lights. He came back and scooped me up to carry me upstairs.
"I can walk, you know," I said.
"Yeah, but this is more fun, and this way there are only one set of steps going up the stairs. You know, just in case Charlie is listening," he whispered.
"You're so sneaky . . . I think I like that," I whispered back.
He carried me into my room and set me down just inside the door. He turned and quietly closed the door as I turned on the small lamp on the nightstand.
"I hope you don't mind, but I'm staying tonight. It's worth pissing Charlie off to make sure that you are safe," Jacob said quietly. He walked to the other side of the bed and laid down. "You know, Bella, when we do get married, the first thing we are buying is a big, king-sized bed. I would really like to be able to put my whole body on the bed."
I laughed at that. He was right. When he stretched out, his legs hung over the end of the bed. I walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas. I took off my jeans, and slowly pulled the shorts on. I pulled my shirt off, then unhooked my bra, and slid the tank top on over my head. I turned around to see if Jake had been watching me and found . . . he was sound asleep.
I laughed softly. So much for trying to be sexy. I walked over to the bed, turned off the lamp, then slid in under the covers to lay next to Jacob. It felt so good to lay there with him. I let the heat from his body surround me, and I felt myself relax. I always felt so safe with Jake. I slept – with no nightmares.
In the morning, I woke up sweating. Why is so hot in here? I opened my eyes to see Jacob laying beside me. I smiled. Oh, yeah. My own personal space heater. He looked so young when he was asleep. His hair had grown out so that he had just enough to fall over his eyes. I reached up and gently pushed it aside. He stirred then opened his eyes. "G'morning," he said quietly.
"Good morning," I smiled. I leaned over and put a kiss on his cheek. "I just heard Charlie go downstairs. It's still early. Why don't you stay here and sleep a little longer?"
He smiled, nodded and said something that sounded like, "Mmm, kay, love you." Then he rolled over onto his stomach.
I got up, went to the dresser and took out some clean underwear, a bra and a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. It was finally warm here in Forks, and I loved being able to wear some of my "Phoenix" clothes. I went to the bathroom to shower. As I dried off and began getting dressed, I caught a glimpse in the mirror of my scar. I moved closer to the mirror and took a good look at it. It was healed now, the redness was gone and it looked just like the one on my wrist. I ran a finger over it. I had noticed that Jacob never touched it – ever. I knew he was trying to ignore it – trying to forget that it was there. Edward had marked me, and that was something I'm sure hurt Jacob very much. I made a mental note to talk to Jake about it sometime. But not now.
I went downstairs to see if Charlie wanted breakfast before he left. He was in the kitchen just putting his coffee cup into the sink. "Morning, Bella!"
"Hey, I came down to see if you wanted breakfast, but am I too late?" I asked.
"Yeah, I just grabbed a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. I gotta get to this meeting. Do you work today?" he asked as he picked up his car keys from the table.
"Nope. I 'm off for a couple of days," I answered.
"OK. Well, see you later tonight," Charlie said as he headed out of the kitchen.
"Bye," I called. I walked over to the cupboard, grabbed a cup and poured some coffee into it then leaned against the counter as I took a sip. How am I going to tell Jake about Edward coming here? God help me, this is not going to be fun.
I grabbed a muffin from the tub on the counter. Emily was always baking something and sending it with Jake. I sat down at the table and took a bite. What will it be like seeing Edward again? Without thinking, I reached up and ran my fingers over the scar on my neck again. I hated that he wanted to die for what he did. I know he didn't mean to hurt me. I hurt him terribly, and he just reacted. I have to make Jacob see it that way somehow.
I took a bite of the muffin and wondered how long Jacob would sleep. I didn't want to wake him. He really did need to rest. Especially since we didn't know exactly what we would be facing. I really needed to talk to Alice. It was killing me not knowing when they would get here. I reached over and picked up the morning paper where Charlie had left it and began reading while I ate my breakfast.
"Hey, did you leave any of those muffins for me?" Jake asked me as he shuffled into the kitchen. He was dressed in just a pair of basketball shorts, and his hair was sticking out all over. God, he is gorgeous, I thought. He grabbed a cup and poured some coffee.
"On the counter," I answered.
He grabbed the tub and brought it with him to the table. He sat down, leaned over and kissed me. "Good morning."
"Morning," I smiled. "I was hoping you would sleep longer. You need your rest."
"Naw, I'm good. I missed you." He smiled at me and bit into his muffin, then reached over and took the sports page and began looking for the baseball scores.
I smiled at that. "Look at us. We're like an old married couple . . . drinking coffee, reading the morning paper. I kind of like it."
"Me, too," he said. He smiled as he reached over, picked up my left hand, and put a kiss on top of the ring that he had put there.
I got up and put my coffee cup in the sink. You have to tell him. Just get it over with. Quit being a chicken.
I stood at the sink, with my back to Jacob and said, "Um, Jake? Alice told me something last night, and . . . you need to know. But, I just don't know how to tell you."
"What? Bella, just tell me. Trust me, OK?"
I turned around and looked at him. I do need to trust him. I took a deep breath, walked over to the table and sat down to take his hand. "OK, but please stay calm and listen. Promise?"
He nodded. "She told me that Carlisle asked the whole family to come back and meet him at the house." I looked him in the eye. "Jake, Edward is coming with them." I saw anger flash in his eyes, and he tried to pull his hand away, but I held on tighter. Before he could say anything, I went on, "Listen! He needs to be here to face the Volturi. They want him too. He knows that he's not supposed to come here, and he knows that you want to kill him for what he did to me. But Alice said that he hopes that's what . . . " I looked down. I could feel tears coming and I wanted to get this out. "He hopes you kill him because it is what he deserves for what he did to me."
Jacob pulled his hand away and stood up so fast it knocked the chair over. "Damn right it is! God, Bella, he almost fucking KILLED YOU! Don't you get that? I could have lost you forever!" He stood at the counter looking out the kitchen window. "I will NOT take that chance again. No fucking way."
I stood up and went to him. "But I'm right here, Jacob. I'm right here." I put my arms around him. "I chose you because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. WITH YOU! Even though I didn't marry Edward, it doesn't mean that a small piece of my heart won't always belong to him. I'm sorry if that hurts you, but it's the truth. Even though I'm not in love with him, doesn't mean I don't care about what happens to him."
I made him turn to look at me. "Do you have any clue what it would do to me if you killed him? Do you? I don't think I could ever forgive you for that, Jacob." Tears were running down my face now. He reached out and wiped them away with one finger. Then he pulled me close.
"Listen, Bella. I'm not going to kill him. I've done a lot of thinking about this, and even though I would love to rip him apart for what he did, I know what it would do to you. I would never hurt you like that. But I will not allow you to be alone with him. Not for one second." He pulled me away to look me in the face. "You do understand that, don't you? You can't ask me that." I nodded. "I understand why he needs to be here, and I will talk to the pack, OK?"
"Thank you, Jacob." We stood holding each other in the kitchen trying hard not to think about what was to come.
Jacob POV:
I showered and dressed. I had brought some of my clothes over here and Bella kept them in a dresser drawer for me, along with an extra pair of shoes to keep in her closet. It was easier if I phased and didn't have a shirt or shoes when I got here. She also kept a toothbrush here for me. Maybe she was hoping that I would stay over more. I really wouldn't mind that at all, but I think Charlie would if he found out.
I needed to go to La Push to talk to the pack, so I headed downstairs and found Bella in the living room folding laundry. I walked over and plopped down on the couch beside her. "Hey, Babe."
She gave me a small smile. "Hey, back."
"I need to talk to Sam and the pack. You about ready to go?" I asked her. She looked over at me like she was going to protest, so before she could get the words out, I said, "Don't even go there, Bella. You know I am not letting you out of my sight, so if I have to go to La Push, so do you."
"So you're the Boss now, huh? Is this how it's going to be when we get married? You say 'jump' and I say 'how high?' Is that what you think, mister?" She took the towel she had just folded and threw it at me.
"Oooo kaaaay. I see. Little woman needs to be put in her place, huh?" I lunged for her, and she jumped up with a little scream and ran. I shot up and took off after her. I chased her a couple of times around the house, then I caught her and began tickling her. "What do you think of that? Huh?"
She was laughing uncontrollably now. "Jake, stop! I can't breathe. Stop!" she screamed at me.
So I stopped. I pulled her close to me and put my lips on hers, kissing her until she clung to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I like this better," she said against my lips.
"Me, too," I said as I picked her up and had her straddle me. She wrapped her legs around me as I carried her upstairs to the bedroom, kissing her the whole way.
I laid her down on the bed. "So, do I have to show you who's boss?" I said as I kissed her throat.
"Yes, please," she purred.
So I did.
We finally made it to La Push and I called a pack meeting at Sam's. Once they were all there, I explained to them who the Volturi were and why they were coming. "The leech said they are coming soon, but she didn't know exactly when. She'll contact us when she knows. So, I need you all to be ready. There is no way they will take Bella. Period. I will stay with her the whole time, in human form. I will not leave her for any reason. Seth will stay with us in wolf form to help me stay in contact with the pack."
Jake went on to lay out the plans as I slipped inside to sit with Emily. I closed my eyes as I settled into the couch cushions. Why? When would this end? I hated always putting everyone I loved in danger.
"It's alright, Bella. They will protect you," Emily said quietly.
I opened my eyes to look at her. "Yeah, I know. But who will protect them?"