After a while of cruising around the town, Jacob decided to pull over and buy us some fish and chips for lunch. We found a nice grassy spot in a nearby park where we chatted for a while about our interests and other general topics. Jacob seemed very easy going and sounded a lot like a free spirit, doing things on impulse. I couldn't help but notice that throughout our conversation his eyes kept flicking to something over my right shoulder. Occasionally I would look over to see what was so fascinating, but I had no idea... I even brought it to his attention at one point, but he palmed it off saying that he was simply checking on his bike.
About an hour or so had passed by and everything was going well, until Jacob spoke up after there was a moment of silence between us.
"Listen, Bella. My father owns a secluded lodge just out of town and I was kind of wondering… Well, would you like to go check it out?"
I looked up from the flower I was twirling in my fingers and stared into his glistening dark brown eyes. He stared back at me expectantly, hoping that I'd accept his offer.
"Oh. I, um… I - I don't know" I stuttered, struggling to find the right words.
"It's ok. I understand if you don't want to go…" He said. But despite his choice of words, I could tell that he was simply using reverse psychology to get me to say yes.
I gently bit my lower lip and then took a deep breath. "Look, you seem like a nice guy Jacob - don't get me wrong. Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll have to pass…"
"That's cool" He said, taking his eyes off me and glancing aimlessly around the park. "Maybe some other time eh?"
I suddenly became a little suspicious about him, watching as he roughly picked blades of grass out from the ground. His mood seemed to change the moment I declined and I tried to change the subject. My eyes flickered down to my watch and saw that it was about 4.15pm.
"Well, thanks for taking me for a ride on your motorcycle and for having lunch with me. I've had a lovely time" I smiled as he looked over at me.
"Yeah, I've had a great time too… So I'll give you a ride home?"
"Please. If it's not too much trouble" I said, brushing a few leaves off my jeans.
"Not at all" He grinned over at me.
We walked silently back over to where his motorcycle was and I waited patiently while he grabbed the helmets from the back compartment. When all of a sudden Jacob started acting all weird and demanded that I hurry up and put the helmet on quickly.
"What's the matter?" I asked while looking around to see what could have agitated him.
"Nothing, I just want to get out of here. Hop on" He said, motioning to the space behind him on the bike.
I hesitated for a moment, before realising it was the only way I was going to get home and decided to climb on the back. As we drove away from the park, out the corner of my eye I noticed that a silver Volvo pulled out from one of the side streets and got onto the main road behind us. Before I got the chance to look behind, Jacob had driven through a set of freshly turned red traffic lights, leaving the Volvo behind us.
Don't be stupid I thought to myself, Edward's not the only one who owns a Volvo around here... I'm sure there are a number of people in Forks who own one. But for some strange reason, Jacob tensed up and increased our speed.
Before long, the trees and buildings along the side of the road were now just a blur to me. I wasn't sure what speed we were travelling at, but I was definitely certain that it was well and truly over the limit.
"Hey, I think you should slow down!" I called out, pulling on Jacob's leather jacket. My voice sounded muffled from inside the helmet.
"Slow down?" The tone he used suggested that he thought I was the crazy one. "Don't you like the adrenalin rush?"
"Not when we're well over the speed limit!" I yelled back.
"Chill, Bella. Just enjoy the ride"
I gulped and watched as we sped along the main road, heading towards the outskirts of Forks. Suddenly my stomach started to churn and I felt a little queasy like I was going to throw up.
"Jacob, where are you taking me? I live back there…" I said nervously as my voice sounded full of fear.
I waited for him to reply, but he seemed to ignore me and kept his eyes on the empty road ahead. We had now completely left Forks and were on a narrow two way road, surrounded by huge pine trees on either side.
"Jacob!" I screamed as loud as I could and thumped my fist against his back.
"Bella cut it out! Just sit there and shut up! Ok?" He demanded roughly before taking a corner way too fast.
I clung on tightly around his waist, digging my fingernails into his leather jacket for support as the bike slanted to the left. Luckily Jacob regained composure and quickly managed to straighten the bike back up.
"Are you crazy? You're going to get us killed!" I yelled out in a high pitched voice before breathing heavily.
"No. He's gonna get us killed" Jacob replied, outstretching his arm and pointing to the road behind me.
"What?" I turned my head around as best I could and saw that a silver car was slowly gaining on us. My heart immediately started racing and I suddenly felt that everything was going to be alright after all. "Edward" I whispered, thankful that maybe he could somehow save me from this lunatic. Before I knew it, Edward had floored his car right up alongside us in the other direction's lane.
"Edward, help me!" I screamed out as loud as I could, and it was at that moment that I realised I had tears streaming down my face.
"Stop this bloody bike right now!" Edward wound down his window and called out in a seriously menacing voice.
Jacob simply laughed and flipped him off, before swerving off the road and onto a narrow dirt track. I looked behind and saw that Edward had obviously not seen that coming and missed the turn off.
"He's going to come after me, you know…" I said, trying to hold back my tears. "Please, just let me go!"
"Come on Bella. Why would you want to go with him, when you can have the time of your life with me?"
But before I got the chance to say anything, Jacob suddenly slowed down and came to a complete stop within a matter of seconds. Without hesitation I jumped off the bike, threw the helmet aside and started running back along the dirt track. Unfortunately, Jacob was a fast runner and caught up to me in no time. He grabbed me roughly by the arm, causing me to cry out in pain while he spun me around to face him. I tried to kick him in the groin, but he had very quick reflexes and dodged my pitiful attempt.
"Now, now! That's not very nice" Jacob smirked down at me before grabbing hold of both my arms and twisting them behind my back.
"Let me go!" I pleaded, starting to feel very weak within his strong grip.
He ignored me and while still holding onto my arms, he pushed me off the dirt track and in amongst the pine trees. I sobbed as he forced me to walk deeper and deeper into the woods, threatening to hurt me if I stopped moving.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked nervously, staring at the ground while stepping cautiously over fallen rocks and tree roots.
"I want to show you the lodge" He replied after a moment of silence.
"What? Oh my god, what is wrong with you!" I said feeling absolutely disgusted. "How could you! I thought you were a nice guy..."
"I'm not going to hurt you Bella. We're just going to have some… Fun" And with that, he released one of his hands to stoke the right side of my cheek down along to my neck.
My heart almost stopped as I felt it plummet into my stomach, making me feel extremely nauseous. But then I noticed that Jacob was only holding onto me with one hand, so I managed to gather all my strength and take advantage of the situation. I surprised him by kicking backwards as hard as I could against his shin. Thankfully he let me go as he cried out in pain and I took the chance to turn around and kick him again, but this time in the groin. He instantly doubled over in pain and slowly fell to the ground, swearing as he lay in agony.
I then ran as fast as I could, tracing my way back through the forest, without turning to look back over my shoulder. But all the pine trees looked identical, and I began to panic as I thought that I might never make it out. I could be running in circles for all I knew. Suddenly, I could hear a faint voice in the distance calling my name. Oh no, it was Jacob! I panicked even more as I began to run in the opposite direction. What happened next made me freeze in my tracks… It was a car horn! I stopped and realised that Edward was the one who was calling me, not Jacob. Frantically, I ran back the other way and called out Edwards name as loud as I could. Thankfully he heard me and by calling out, was able to help guide me back down to the dirt track.
"Edward!" I shrieked, when I was finally able to see him through the clearing.
Tears started to stream down my face again as I ran over and he embraced me in a huge hug.
"Bella! Thank heavens you're alright!" He breathed deeply into my hair, before pulling me back a little and examining me. "He didn't hurt you in any way did he?"
I shook my head to motion 'no' as I instantly covered my eyes with my hands, feeling embarrassed to cry in front of him. Edward was glad to hear I was ok, but then he suddenly turned cold and turned his back on me.
"Good, now get in the car..." He mumbled, closing the door behind me once I had crawled in. "... Like you should've did back at the ice rink"