A New Dawn

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all that is Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.

The rest is mine. I apologize in advance for any mistakes...

Chapter Ten

My Saturday morning consisted of doing laundry and dishes.

Eight in the morning and I'm doing dishes.

Any other normal teenager would still be passed out in bed.

I'd been in the same routine since I could remember, always doing dishes or cooking or cleaning. I was not blessed with chefs for parents and Renee was too irresponsible to do the rest and Charlie, well, Charlie worked a lot, too much, and his cooking was…well, I was more than happy to do the cooking rather than eat whatever he threw together or burnt.

One of the many downsides to doing dishes was that they kept only my hands occupied as my mind wandered elsewhere to things I'd rather not think about.

Like Edward.

Cullen.

I hated to admit it, but I could actually put up with him. He was not as unbearable as I would like to say. I'd like to say I hated his guts, that I wished him nothing but misery and unhappiness for the rest of his life, but what kind of person would that make me?

It'd make me no better than how Edward is. Was. No, is… I don't know.

It was times like this when I missed Renee more than ever. She would know what to do, give me the advice I desperately needed. Charlie, on the other hand, didn't even have a clue what was going on let alone the fact that I was tutoring Cullen and it was best to keep it that way. I didn't know how he'd react if he found out, and I didn't want to.

A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts.

I dried my hands quickly and hurried to the door.

Jacob glanced up when I opened the door, smiling sheepishly, his hands jammed into the pockets of his dark jeans.

"Jacob," I said flatly, masking my surprise.

"Hey," he greeted me quietly. "Can I come in?"

I was tempted to slam the door in his face, but I was curious to see what he wanted, so…

"Sure," I said nonchalantly as I shrugged and stepped aside to let him in.

He brushed past me into the house, bringing in a woodsy smell with him. He walked into the living room and looking around suspiciously, eyeing the kitchen and the hallway as if looking for something…or someone.

I raised an eyebrow at his behavior. "Can I help you?" I asked, annoyed.

He stopped his search and looked at me warily. "You home alone?"

Confused, I answered hesitantly, "Uh, yeah, Charlie's at work. You know that."

He nodded, finally sitting down on the couch before taking another quick survey of things.

I didn't move from where I was standing as I leaned against the wall, watching him carefully.

"Are you okay?" I asked, studying him.

He glanced up at me then back down at his fidgeting hands, seeming distracted. "Oh. No, yeah, I'm fine."

Then awkward silence for several seconds.

I sighed. "Well, did you need something?" I questioned.

He said nothing, staring at the floor. I could tell something was bothering him.

"Because if you don't, I have a lot to do . . ." I trailed off.

He looked up at me again. "I'm sorry for what happened between us at lunch the other day."

I waited for him to say more, but he didn't. He just sat there, staring at his damn hands.

That's it?

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the heartfelt apology," I said dryly. "You can let yourself out," I tossed over my shoulder as I went back into the kitchen to finish up the dishes.

Finally, some reaction as he stood. "Bella," he said loudly, following me.

I went to the sink and began scrubbing away again as if he wasn't there.

He sighed. "Look, Bella, I'm sorry for how you felt about what I said, but I'm not going to take it back because it's true. I can see you starting to fall for his act."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "What act, Jake?"

"Don't play dumb, Bella. You're falling for it, that stupid charade he's putting on," Jake growled, angry now.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm tutoring him, nothing more and nothing less."

He scoffed. "You're so naive, Bella. He obviously has other plans," he said, mumbling the last part more to himself than to me.

"What?" I demanded, growing more irritated by the second.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Bella. Don't you see how he looks at you? This nice guy act is just a façade to get into your pants! He's a player. He always has been!"

At that moment, Angela's words rung in my ears…

'I see the way they look at you, the two of them. Jacob…he looks at you like you're his favorite person in the world, and Edward, he looks at you like you're the only person in the world.'

"He's not trying to get into my pants," I said angrily. "I tutor him. We don't talk about anything else."

Edward may have done a lot of things, and maybe he even had some ulterior motive for wanting my help, but trying to fuck me wasn't it.

Jacob didn't even flinch. Instead, he just smirked like he thought he'd won or proven something. "It makes you angry, doesn't it?"

I glared at him. If looks could kill . . .

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

His eyes were dark with some sick amusement. "When I talk about him it makes you angry."

"You really are a fucking prick," I said with disgust, shaking my head. "What makes me angry is my so-called best friend thinking I'm a dumb, naïve slut."

He glared, narrowing his eyes. "I never said you were a slut, Bella."

"So I'm just dumb and naïve then?" I demanded sarcastically.

He sighed in frustration, running a hand over his face. "No, that's not what I meant and you know it."

"No, I don't know," I said.

He sighed again, wearily, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck but said nothing else.

"Just get out," I said grimly, going back to the dishes so I didn't have to look at his face.

"Bella, you know I'm right. When you come to your senses and realize that, let me know," he said.

Then he was gone, the front door opening and closing a few moments later, confirming his new absence.

The worst part was that Jacob's words really didbother me, but not because they were true—which they weren't—but because it was Jacob, my so-called best friend, who was saying them, mocking me as if I were an empty-headed pawn in Edward Cullen's game of chess.

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