Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, any of the characters in Twilight, or anything related to the books and/or movies. If I did, I would be way too busy- doing dirty things with the Cullen boys- to sit down at my laptop and write this story. The scenes that I did borrow from Stephenie Meyer have been revamped to fit my story.

Learning to Live Again

Chapter Five: It's Not Supposed to be Like This

"Bella?!"

I looked up to see the familiar face standing in the doorway of the kitchen. A flash of sadness crossed his dark eyes before he covered it with a small smile. Jacob stayed in the doorway, obviously uncomfortable with the moment he walked in on. His eyes kept darting between mine and Jasper's faces, wanting us to break apart.

I didn't want to separate myself from Jasper just yet, so when he tried to take his arms from around my waist, I held one there with my hard. He looked into my eyes and raised an eyebrow in a questioning gesture but immediately understood my decision.

I had expected Jake to make his move on me now that my soul mate had left, but I didn't think it would be so soon. I hadn't even had time to process all my feelings, let alone my newfound power. The only reason I wasn't locking myself in my room and controlling the urge to jump from my window was because Jasper had stayed behind with me against his sibling's wishes.

I felt a sudden surge of admiration toward the blond vampire that was still holding me. I really did owe him my life right now. He was holding me together when he himself was dealing with the inner turmoil of almost killing me and of being away from Alice.

"I came over as soon as school was let out. I wanted to make sure that you were doing okay," Jacob explained, breaking me out of my thoughts about Jasper.

"Thank you, Jake. That's very nice of you," I said courteously. I knew that Jacob did truly care about my well-being; however, I did suspect ulterior motives in his actions.

"I thought that you had all moved," he said as he looked at Jasper. His voice came out harsher than I appreciated. I hissed under my breath, surprising both boys in the room.

"I stayed behind to take care of the house until it was sold," Jasper lied, ignoring my contempt for Jacob. "I was also worried about Bella, so I came over to see how she was doing." Jasper finally stood from his crouching position, his arm leaving my waste as he did so. He continued to look at Jacob as he spoke. "I should actually be going back home to walk our dog."

My face scrunched in confusion as I turned to look up at Jasper's face. The Cullens didn't have a dog. What was he talking about?! I reached my hand out towards his and clutched it, pleading with him to stay. Jasper lightly squeezed my hand and I could feel Jacob watching the exchange but I didn't care.

"But Jazz—"

"I'll call you later, Bella. I promise," he whispered as his gaze bore into mine.

I gave a slight nod to Jasper and let his hand drop from mine. I watched him walk by Jacob, giving him a nod of good-bye before leaving the house with one final look back to me. When my gaze left Jasper for the other boy that was in my house, I noticed that Jacob was frowning in confusion and anger. I said nothing, just stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You and Jasper looked pretty comfortable," he mumbled under his breath, loud enough for me to hear.

"I've gotten to know the entire Cullen family very well this past year. Jasper and Emmett are both protective of me like brothers. They're a great family, and I was lucky to be a part of it," I explained to Jacob, not feeling that I needed to justify Jasper and my relationship but doing so anyway.

"It looked like more than a brother and sister to me," he mumbled again.

I stood up to face Jacob who had now entered the kitchen and was standing a foot in front of me.

"How dare you?! You have no idea what I'm going through right now, and Jasper is only being a friend to me. He's in love with my best friend, and I'm in love with his brother. I don't care what you think you saw, because I know the truth." I pushed past Jacob and started walking toward the living room. Turning back, I asked him, "Why are you here?"

Jacob turned toward me, and I noticed that his eyes were blazing with anger now. This was the first time I'd noticed that he had grown so much over the past few months. He was at least a foot taller and had even gotten bulked up more than he had been last year. He would've intimidated me if I had cared. I had faced a crazed vampire who wanted to torture me slowly on video; I could deal with Jacob Black.

"I told you, Bella. I wanted to come over and make sure you were okay after Edward just abandoned you in the woods!" Jacob walked toward me, but I held my ground except for the small flinch when I heard his name. Jacob caught this and I swear I saw a slight smirk flit across his face.

"That's not the only reason you're here, Jacob. We both know that you've just been waiting for your chance to swoop in and claim what you think should be yours. I'm not naïve; I see how you look at me when I'm with him!" I yelled at Jacob, letting my frustration from this past week come out in every word.

"Him?! You can't even say his name, Bella! Edward!" Jacob yelled in my face. I flinched again but didn't move. "Edward Cullen!" He yelled again, this time causing me to move a foot back towards the couch in the living room. I reached my hands out for the support of the piece of furniture, bracing myself for what was to come. "Edward Cullen! Your boyfriend! The guy who deserted you without looking back! The one who left you for dead in the woods!"

I grasped the couch and closed my eyes, holding them shut tightly while Jacob stood directly in front of me, our chests touching with his close proximity. I gasped at his final words and choked on a sob that finally escaped my mouth. I slowly started to sink to the ground, still clutching at the couch for support that was not there. "Stop it," I whispered, begging him not to continue.

Jacob kneeled down in front of me and reached forward, cupping my cheek with his large hand. "I'm sorry, Bella, but I need you to finally see him for what he is. He's not good enough for you, because if he ever really loved you the way you love him then he wouldn't have been able to leave you at all." Jacob paused for a moment, closing his eyes and whispering something to himself that I couldn't hear over my sobbing. "I would never leave you, Bella."

Jacob slowly started leaning in towards my face, his eyes still closed.

No! This wasn't right! It wasn't supposed to be like this! It wasn't supposed to be Jacob! In one instant, a picture flashed through my mind of a tall, lean vampire with dirty blond hair and wild eyes. Then I closed my eyes and pushed my emotions to the surface again, sending Jacob flying back onto my kitchen table, breaking it with the force.