Alright, Twi-hards... How many of you watched Oprah for the first time today? You've seen the latest Eclipse trailer? That shit gives me goosebumps, pardon my language. Oh my God, I got chills. I want to melt on that boy's body, I swear. No guy under the age of 30 should have that body... What do Edward fans SEE in Rob, compared to Jacob?! Jesus! Thank god Lautner is of legal age now... Barely. Mmmm, floisljkgdfg, what I wouldn't give up for that boy... Just an fyi, so I don't seem like a complete weirdo, I'm only 21, next month! So, you know, it's not TOTALLY creepy I like an 18 year old...

OH WOW. I had the above paragraph typed out and ready, just waiting for Oprah to come on. (For all my eager fans, she was what you were waiting for, because I had to wait for her to show the trailer!) I can't BELIEVE how amazing the wolves looked. Seriously, if you didn't catch the trailer, you should be able to find it on youtube in the next few days. PLEASE watch it, so I have someone to freak out with!

For all my "A New Heart" readers who did watch Oprah because you're a die hard Twilight fan, what did you think?! Amazing? I think so. They did such a good job at making this book look darker…

Ok, enough rambling. Sorry, guys!

Thank you for your reviews, guys! You brought me back to life!

Chapter 24 – Crashing

Jake's POV

"Hey, dad, what's up?" I asked, stepping into the living room, where he was sitting with the tv on. He turned the tv up another notch and then turned his head to look at me. Suddenly, I didn't know what to do with my hands. I let them stay at my sides, but the way he was looking at me, scrutinizing me, it felt too relaxed. I crossed my arms behind my back, trying to figure out what I'd done.

"You haven't told her," he said, finally looking back at the tv. Now I understood why he had turned the volume up. There was no chance Bella would overhear. I walked closer to him, wanting to say I wasn't a wuss, but I was. There was really no reason I hadn't told her about the imprinting, besides my fear that she would deny me.

"Dad, I need time-"

"What the hell do you call the last five days?!" he asked, wheeling his chair around this time to face me. I probably looked like a fish, my mouth opening and closing, trying to find words. He was still giving me that eye, the eye that said 'Yeah, try and come up with a reason.'

I finally gave up and let out a sigh, sinking into the couch. He rolled over to me, sitting in front of me and I glanced up at him, lost. I couldn't tell Bella right now. Not after she'd been gone for so long. I don't think I could handle that another time, so soon. My dad's gaze had softened now.

"You have to tell her, son. The longer you wait, the more difficult it's going to get… And the angrier she's going to be that it took you so long to tell her," he said. I glanced around the living room, looking for something else to give me advice. I didn't want to hear my dad's right now. I couldn't do what he wanted me to. I just didn't have it in me.

"I'll tell her, dad. I just need a few days of normalcy… I think she does, too," I said, glancing towards the hallway. I looked back at him again. He looked stubborn, and irritated, but he accepted my choice. Probably because I had brought the fact in about Bella wanting to feel normal for once. If there was anything more supernatural than dating a vampire, it was having a werewolf think you were their true soul mate.

My dad backed up and went over to the television set again. It was silent for a minute. I knew he hadn't just called me out to talk about imprinting.

"Charlie will be here in less than two hours. Bella needs a shower, and she'll need to borrow some of your clothes so her dad doesn't ask questions," he said. I was watching him. He glanced at me, looking as if this were something he didn't know if he should do.

"You might need to help her. I don't know how mobile she is," he said. My heart fluttered in my chest. Me? Help Bella into the shower? I swallowed and his head turned back to the tv, probably pretending not to see my reaction to the thought. My chest was feeling tight. He basically just told me, 'Hey, kid, go take care of that sex goddess in there. Don't have sex, though.' I gritted my teeth a little.

Well, maybe Bella wouldn't need much help.

I got to my feet and smiled a little at my dad.

"Thought you were going to catch a nap?" I asked. He gave a little grunt.

"In twenty years, you try and get some shut eye when your boy has a girl in his room," he said. I couldn't help a little laugh. I rested my hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks dad. And don't worry. Bella's in good hands. You know I won't do anything stupid," I said, hoping he really did trust me enough for that. I couldn't imagine doing anything to hurt Bella, or make our future life together more difficult. He should understand that. He gave a little nod and I could tell her was hiding a small smile. The smile of a father who raised his son well.

I patted his shoulder and then left the living room. I went to my room and knocked on the door gently. It was my room, but she was preoccupying it. There was no way I would jump in, hoping to catch her naked or something.

"Come in," I heard her call and I smiled. I opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind me. She was sitting up on the bed, her back against the wall, her legs pulled up to her chest. She was looking at me curiously. I walked over to her and sat on the bed, facing her.

"Charlie will be here soon. Dad said I should pick out some clothes to cover some of the," I fought the little flare of anger inside me, "marks and bruises. You should also jump in the shower. You've still got dirt everywhere," I finished, rubbing my thumb on a dirt spot on her arm. She smiled a little at me and nodded.

"What should I wear?" she asked, glancing down at her clothes. The pair of pajamas would be ruined. There was dirt and blood on the bottoms, and the material was shredded in two places, as well as on her top. I slipped off the bed and went to my closet, searching for suitable clothes for her to wear without bringing odd things to Charlie's attention.

"All my stuff will be too big for you. How about you get ready for the shower and I'll call Emily? See if she has anything for you," I asked, looking over my shoulder at her.

"That sounds nice," she said, working her way off the bed. I turned from my closet and went over to her, offering my hands faster than a valet worker. She took hold of it and I helped her up off the bed, my hand slipping around her waist. She slipped up into my arms, her body coming into full contact with mine. Our bodies touched at every point from our chests to our thighs. Her hands rested on my upper arms, keeping her balance.

I hoped she couldn't feel my body shaking. It was so difficult not to jump her. To just push her back on the bed and lay her down beneath me. One hand slipped to my chest. I closed my eyes, trying to keep my cool.

"Jake, why are you acting like I'm going to stab you?" she asked. My eyes shot back open to look at her. She was smiling a little. It was a shy smile. "Nothing's different."

Those words seemed to make the wolf in me rise up and settle down all at the same time. I still wanted to do naughty things to her, but the trust she put in me, the faith, it was overwhelming. I smiled and leaned down a little, pressing my forehead against hers. One of my arms was around her waist, the other sliding up to the back of her neck.

I kissed her. Once. Twice. It turned into many. I would never get enough of her. I tried to tame myself after a minute of getting nowhere. I finally managed to pull away and look at her. She was grinning.

"That's better," she said, putting a little bit of space between us now.

"Come on, I'll start the shower for you," I said, offering my body as a support beam for her to hobble to the bathroom with. I left the door open to the bathroom and leaned over to start the water. I glanced back at her.

"Bath or shower?" I asked. She scrunched her nose.

"Shower, please," she said, leaning against the counter. I smiled and tested the water, waiting for it to warm. After another minute, I walked over to her and kissed her forehead before going to the door.

"I'm going to go call Emily. Yell for me if you need anything," I said, looking at her deeply, trying to urge her to call me. I knew she might be a little self sufficient, and I didn't want her to hurt herself. She nodded and I closed the door, going to the phone.

"Hey, Em? I don't have anything for Bella to wear; do you think you could bring something of yours over, so we don't raise any eyebrows?" I asked.

"Of course, I'll be over soon," she said. I didn't bother reminding her about the requirements of the clothing. She had tended to Bella; she knew her injuries better than anyone.

"Thanks, Em. See you soon," I said, and hung up the phone. I glanced at my dad and he smiled before turning back to the tv. I went to join him, until I heard the bathroom door open a crack.

"Jake? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Bella's voice called out. I froze. I sort of panicked. My dad was staring at me. I swallowed, and then glanced behind me.

"Ye-… Yeah, I'll be right there," I called back. My voice had cracked. I had had to clear it. I looked back at my dad as the door closed. I'm sure my eyes were wide as saucers. He shrugged and laughed, turning back to his tv. I wanted to beg him to save me.

"You go help her!" I said, half pleading, half joking. It made him laugh louder. I felt my heart doing a little tap dance against my rib cage. I turned and walked down the hall. I stopped at the doorway, staring at the knob for a moment. Then I took in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

She opened it and stepped back, still dressed. I came in and she shut the door, turning to face me. I tried to keep it all casual. She was biting on her lip.

"What's up?" I asked, glancing around the bathroom for a bug or something. I saw the bandage that had been wrapped around her wrist, but nothing else. Why wasn't she in?

"I, um… I need help getting the shirt off… I can't raise my arms over my head, and my wrist is still sore," she said, blushing furiously. I tried to smile. Tried to keep my cool. But now anger was warring inside me. The leech had hurt her to the point where she couldn't undress. I was going to tear him to pieces. I cleared my throat and nodded, indicating she should turn around.

"Come here," I said. She closed the distance between us and then turned around, facing away from me. I took in a deep breath and put my hands on her waist. I started peeling her shirt up. Over her sides, past her bra, over her head. I shuddered as I dropped the shirt to the ground.

I took in all the marks, all the scratches, the road burn on her shoulder blades. My hands went over her shoulders, caressing and shaking. The war between my embarrassment and my anger was no longer a war. The anger was winning out.

My hands finally slid down her bra straps and traced a line to the center, where I unhooked it. I let out a breath and slid her straps over her arms. She angled her arms so it would drop to the ground. Then she turned to me.

"You've already seen me before, Jake," she said. Her words rang through my ears, even though she had barely whispered them. I gulped, taking a small step back. I was trying to keep my eyes on her face.

"Yeah, but that was… It was in a room…" I stuttered

"This is a room," she said, glancing around. I tried to figure out why this was much, much more difficult than that night we had been together.

Because I imprinted…

I squashed the thought. I couldn't tell her that was the reason, even if it was. I didn't want to think about it. I covered it with a little smile as she stepped closer to me. She was looking up at me. So much lust, so much sexuality.

"Jake, please… Touch me?" she asked. I couldn't have denied her even if I'd wanted to. She looked like she felt weak and shy. I didn't have the heart to tell her no, that I couldn't touch her right now. My dad was in the living room. I had imprinted on her, and I was keeping it from her. I was an idiot. But none of that mattered when her eyes were looking at me like that.

I brought her flush up against my body again and felt her bare chest rub against mine. I groaned out a little, sliding my hands up over her sides, bringing her even closer. She slid her arms up around my neck and moved her little mouth to my neck.

I groaned out again, shutting my eyes tightly against the assault on my senses. Not only did I smell Bella, I smelled vampire. It wasn't bad, it was just a reminder that she was now mine, and I'd never let anything change that. I could feel her. Her hands, her mouth, her chest. I wasn't sure how long I could let her go on like this before I wanted to make her mine completely. Before I got out of control. I didn't want to do anything drastic with her when she still didn't understand fully what she meant to me.

Her mouth was drifting down my neck, latching onto my chest. I stepped back two feet, bringing her with me, and leaned against the wall. My hands were running all over her body. Down her arms, over her sides, her shoulders, the back of her neck.

She was at my nipple. She flicked her tongue over it and I wanted to collapse. I settled for a manly moan instead. My hand went through her hair, gripping it. Her tongue darted out to touch the line of my abs. She was moving further down.

I finally realized what she was doing and had a heart attack. I reached and grabbed her shoulders, keeping her from kneeling down.

"Bells-"

"You don't want me to, Jake?" she asked, licking her lips as she looked up at me. What was this? She was shy, but so confident. She looked weak, but was acting as if she'd done this every day. I thought occurred to me then. I blinked.

"Bella, are you doing this because you want to, or because you think you need to?" I asked, grabbing her chin. As I'd thought, she tried to turn away. I kept her still, looking into her eyes. Tears were already beginning to form.

"You don't owe me anything, you know that, right? What I did that night, I did it because I wanted to… And with everything that's happened lately, I honestly don't expect anything from you-"

Her lips crashed against mine and I pulled her tight to me. I ran my hand through her hair, trying to soothe her. I felt tears slipping down her cheeks. Was this all really because she felt she owed me? I finally broke away, grabbing her face and wiping at the tears as I watched her.

"What's wrong, Bella?"

She looked like she wanted to disappear rather than tell me. But I wasn't budging. I wasn't going to let her keep this inside. I needed to know what I was dealing with. A sob escaped her mouth before she explained.

"I just want things to be normal. I want to do things that normal people do, I want to deal with normal issues. And I want to have sex, Jake. I want to, now," she said, trying to break out of my hold again. There was no doubt in my mind that if I had let her go she would have attempted to climb onto me. I grabbed her shoulders to get a better grip now.

"Bella, stop. Stop! You don't need to have sex with me to be normal… You're still recovering from this morning, you don't know what you're doing…" I said, watching her eyes fall into pits of sadness. I couldn't say yes this time. If I did, she might do something she'd regret. I didn't want to be one of her regrets.

I wanted to be there when she needed me, but I had an idea what I wanted our first time to be like, and this wasn't it.

"I love you, Bella. I'll be here when things settle down. I'll always be here… You don't need to do this right now. Give yourself time to get better…" I said, watching as realization started falling over her. She was acting off instinct, being unpredictable. She was everything someone coming down from an adrenaline rush or a high would be. She searched my eyes, trying to figure out if everything I was saying was true. After a moment, she started to nod, and I nodded with her, releasing my hold on her shoulders a little. I took in a deep breath and watched her.

"I'm doing this to help… I'm so sorry," I said, my heart squeezing. She managed a weak smile and shook her head.

"No, you're right… Thank you for helping me through this… I'm sorry for how I acted," she said. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her, placing my cheek on the top of her head. I closed my eyes, still trying to figure out if I was doing the wrong thing.

After a few minutes of standing like that, she pulled out of my arms. I wiped the last of the tears from her cheek and then opened the shower curtain. Without an issue, I helped her pull her pajama pants and underwear off, before helping her into the shower. She leaned out and kissed me gently, before pulling the curtain shut.

There was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" I asked, grabbing Bella's shirt off the floor and adding it to her pants in my arm. I also readjusted myself in my pants. It really was a pain in the ass, being hard all the time.

"It's me, Emily. I brought the clothes," she said, her voice muffled through the door. I opened it and slipped out, pulling the door shut behind me. Emily gave me a little look.

"It's not like that," I said, before she let her thoughts wander to what a horrible person I was for taking advantage of Bella. Her expression suddenly brightened and she smiled at me.

"These should fit her nicely. Do you want me to get rid of those?" she asked, handing me the new clothes and pointing to the old ones. I nodded and she scooped them out of my arm.

"Everything she should need is in there. If there's anything else, let me know. Will you be able to wrap her wrist again?"

"Of course. If we need anything, I'll call. I'm going to cook up something for her to eat now… She hasn't eaten all day," I said, following Emily down the hallway and to the living room. She turned at the front door and waved to Billy, then looked at me.

"Be careful with her, Jacob… I'll be back tonight for the game" she said, giving me a stare an older sister would give to her sibling's new boyfriend. I nodded and set the clothes on the arm of the couch as she shut the door. I avoided my dad's glance as I went to the kitchen. I cooked the quickest thing I could find to make, which was macaroni and cheese. We had dozens of boxes, stock piled. I heard the shower shut off as I was mixing in the milk, butter and cheese. I gave a few more stirs before leaving it in the pot.

I grabbed her clothes off the couch and went to the bathroom, knocking of course.

"Stop knocking. I know it's you," she said through the door. I smiled a little and opened the door, stepping inside. The steam was nearly insufferable. I closed the door anyways, for her privacy. She was standing in a towel, and I put her clothes on the lid of the toilet before walking up to her.

Her skin was red, rubbed raw. Something went unsettled in my stomach as I felt her skin, hot even to my touch.

"Damnit, Bells…" I said, rubbing a hand over her skin, like a butterfly's wing. "What were you thinking?"

"I needed to feel warm," she said, leaning into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her gingerly. "I still felt him on me… All this week, he's been wrapped around me, holding me, never letting me go. I still feel him," she whispered, her head tucked into my chest. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to calm the little convulsions rolling beneath my skin. I focused on her smell.

She now smelled nothing of vampire, though it was because she probably rubbed off two layers of skin. Her hair smelled like my shampoo, and it warmed me. Bella smelled like me. My Bella.

"Come on, let's go to my room," I said, pulling away and grabbing her clothes again. I grabbed her bra off the floor and went to the door, opening it for her. She darted down the hall and into my room. I closed the door behind us and set the clothes on my dresser. Now that we were out of the steam, I wanted to look her over more. I flicked on the light for my room. The over cast clouds would make it more difficult to see.

I walked over to her and she stood, waiting for me. Her skin was still pink, but already cooling. She would be fine by the time Charlie got here, so it was one less lie she'd have to tell. She hadn't seemed to do any real damage. I guess a wash rag was better than those balls of plastic girls rubbed on their skin. Loofahs, did they call them? I let out a breath and tilted her chin up, looking into her eyes.

"Promise me you won't do that again?" I asked, searching her. She gave a little nod and I shook my head. "Promise me."

"I promise," she said. I gave a brisk nod and then reached for the clothes I had put on the dresser. A bra fell out and I smiled, leaning down to pick it up. Emily was too nice. I glanced up and Bella was blushing. I laughed and indicated for her to turn around.

I helped Bella dress and then stepped back to look at Emily's work.

She had picked out a golden brown long sleeve shirt, one that covered everything nicely. It even came up pretty high on the neck, though it wasn't quite as high as a turtle neck. The pants she had provided were a set of sleek black dress pants. They were a little worn, so it didn't make Bella look ready for a business meeting. I very much enjoyed the sight of Bella in this outfit though. The shirt clung to her beautifully.

"How does it look?" Bella asked, searching for a mirror. I smiled and reached for her hand.

"The best mirror's in the bathroom. Plus, the wrap for your wrist is in there," I said, opening up my bedroom door. She looked herself over as I readied the bandage.

After wrapping her wrist, I pulled the long sleeve back over it. The wrap was noticeable, but it wouldn't be too hard to just say Bella had tripped and fallen on her wrist. She smiled at me as I stood up straight.

"Thank you," she said, and I smiled back.

"It's no problem, Bella… I want to help you," I said. "I have some macaroni and cheese made, in the kitchen. Do you want some? We'll be having a big dinner later, with everyone coming over for the game-"

"I'd love something to eat. Should I wait in your room?" she asked, cutting me off from my rambling. I nodded and we left the bathroom, parting ways. My bedroom door shut, and not three seconds later, there was a knock at the front door. I opened it and Charlie greeted me.

"Hey, Charlie," my dad said, lowering the volume on the tv as he stepped into the house. I closed the door behind him. "Son, go ahead and get the food. I wanted to talk to Charlie anyways," he said.

Charlie took a seat in the living room as I made the bowl of food for Bella. I listened into their conversation, but so far, they were just talking about the game tonight. Dad was probably waiting until I left. I took the hint and went down the hallway, closing the door to my room.