My Dark Angel Chapter 13: Vindicated, a twilight fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, Stephenie Meyer does.

A/N: I am SO SO SO SO SO sorry! Its been like 2 weeks since my last update! SORRY! I'll talk more about it at the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoy!

My Dark Angel

Chapter 13

Vindicated

I didn't know how I ended up here. I didn't know why I was suddenly being yelled at or why I was feeling guilty for something I shouldn't even feel that way about. What I did know however, was that I wasn't the only one who should feel guilty. What I did know, was that I should be yelling as well.

It all started with that phone call….

"Hello?" I asked as I grabbed the receiver.

"Hey Bells, it's me. It's that call." His husky voice said, I smiled at the unexpected call and the answer to my plea for relief, then I warmly replied.

"Hey Jake, I'm glad you called."

"I was wondering if we could spend some time together today?"

Thank God, my prayers have been answered. This was a sign, a relief to get my mind off of the depressing everyday struggles that I faced within myself. I'm alright…until I'm alone. Jacob called just in time, saving me from myself. I was all too willing to do anything with him.

"Yeah Jake, that would be perfect actually. What did you have in mind?"

"You wanna go down to La Push? The gang misses you." He said with a cute little puppy voice, begging for me to go.

"Of course, I miss them so much. It's been too long."

"It really has…Will you come over in a couple minutes?"

"I'm leaving right now." I said jokingly. I could tell Jacob was smiling.

"See you soon." He said softly.

"See you Jake," I hung up the phone, smiling, happy that I had something to do that could hopefully keep me happy.

It really had been too long since I had been to La Push to actually spend time with the people I've come to love like family. I went with Edward a couple days ago, but I didn't see anyone that I actually knew, all tourists and non-locals. I missed my second family; I missed Billy, Embry, Quil, Seth, Jared, and the rest of the gang. I've known them all my life and to not see them all the time was really rare and difficult. I needed this visit, and I was so glad Jacob finally made that call.

I walked out of my house and jumped into my truck. I was ready to leave and ready to head down to La Push. I wonder what Edward's doing with his family right now, I thought to myself. I hope he's enjoying himself.

A day without Edward was like a day without color, without the sun, without beauty. It was like every night in the dark cold meadow. And I hated it. He filled me up with so much joy. Edward was my escape from my depressing reality. He was my constant source of happiness. Ever since he moved here, my world has been pushed and pulled into every imaginable direction. He has kept me sane, he has kept me balanced.

I pulled up to La Push and parked the car at Jacob's house. I saw his head peep out the window as he heard the roar of the truck's engine pulling into his gravel driveway. No one could miss the sound of the old Chevy, it was deafening. The door suddenly opened and Jake was running to me with his arms wide open and a grin on his face.

"Bella!" he said as he pulled me in for a tight bear hug. His grip was choking.

"Jake…Can't…..Breathe…" I tried to say through panicked gasps as he squeezed me harder. He let go of me and looked slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry Bella…didn't mean to…" he said apologetically. I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's okay Jake. I enjoyed that hug, though it would have been better if I could have breathed during it." I said sarcastically. Jacob smiled and laughed with me.

"I underestimate my own strength," he said in his cocky tone while flexing his arm muscles. I rolled my eyes and kept laughing as he held onto my back and we walked towards his house.

We walked inside and I looked around, no one was home.

"Where is everybody?" I asked, wondering why we were the only two people here.

"Billy's at Sue's. We're going over there later. I thought we could spend time alone together first." Jacob wiggled his eyebrows with a little smirk. I laughed and raised mine, poking him in the side.

"Just kidding," he said like a child.

"You are so funny," I said to Jake sarcastically. "So what are we going to do?"

"You want to see my bikes? They're finished."

"Sure!" I said. Jacob had been working on them for weeks now. It was one of his number one priorities and I was glad he had finally finished. All his hard work had finally paid off.

We walked into his homemade garage, and Jacob walked ahead of me. He brought me to two objects that had white sheets on top of them, covering them. I only assumed that these two objects were the bikes. He looked at me then counted to three.

"One." He said excitedly then paused for a few seconds.

"Two." He finally whispered.

"Just go on with it," I said jokingly. Jacob grinned at me.

"Three." He lifted the sheet off of the bikes and it flew into the air, flowing beautifully back down next to the two motorcycles. They were both beautifully made. One was red and the other black, both shiny, both looking as if they were brand new.

"Wow. You did a really good job Jake." I said; I was still amazed at how well he could do these things. Building practically from complete scratch, it was crazy, and it took a lot of talent, talent that Jacob certainly had. He had completely repaired my truck, he had completely built his Rabbit, nothing was a challenge for him. He could create and repair anything, except my heart. That was his only flaw.

"Thanks Bells. I'm glad you like them." He said with a triumphant smile. I could see all the hard work he put into it. It must have taken most of all his time to have gotten the job done.

"When do you want to ride them?" Jacob asked jokingly.

"Ha right….motorcycles…great idea for me Jake. Nothing stupid about that." I said sarcastically. He was joking anyways; I knew he would never allow it, just like I would never allow myself. After the cliff, I had promised myself to never do anything stupid and reckless like that again, and riding a motorcycle in Forks definitely seemed to fall under that category.

"So who's going to ride the second one with you?"

"I figured Quil or Embry, or maybe I'll just sell it. Either one." He said blowing off the topic. Was he trying to hide something?

"Mhmm… that sounds cool. I bet Quil would get a kick out of these things." Jacob laughed in agreement, probably picturing Quil riding one of them.

"That would be a site to see."

Jacob and I sat in the little garage for a few minutes, talking, catching up on things, laughing. It all seemed fine and that everything was good between us again. I was glad to see this change, to see the old couple back again. It felt nice, and it was greatly needed.

Being with Jacob right now really made me start thinking about Edward and I. Was I really ready to break Jacob's heart? This reunion was making the decision even more difficult. There is no doubt that I love Edward, and there is no doubt that I love Jacob. Jacob has been in my life since forever, but it feels as if Edward has been in my life just as long. Edward completes me, and he helps me through my darkest times. But Jacob helps me too, in his own way. The thought of hurting either one was almost unbearable. No matter what decision I made, I would be hurting too. I would have to break the heart of someone I loved, which in return would break my own. It was a lose-lose situation for me.

Jacob stood up from where he was sitting and brushed his jeans off.

"You ready to go over to Sue's?" He asked, a grin pulling on his face. I stood up and nodded, brushing my jeans off as well.

"You bet," I said, mirroring his grin.

We walked together hand in hand to my truck, jumping in the red Chevy and racing down to Sue Clearwater's little house.

"Here we are," Jake said with a smile. I jumped out of the truck while Jake parked it. I was too excited to see everyone.

Jacob ran to catch up to me, laughing at my eagerness.

"Bella! Wait up!" he said, chuckling in between words. I kept on marching to the house like I was, Jacob easily at my side.

I reached for the door, but before I could open it myself, it swung open and I was attacked by a bundle of arms.

"Bella!" I heard from what seemed like a hundred voices. Everyone was shouting my name, glad to see me, and embracing me with hugs.

"Bella it's so good to see you!"

"We missed you Bella!"

One after another, I got a greeting from each person. It was like a mini party. Billy, Sue, Leah, Paul, Jared, Sam, Seth, Emily, Quil, and Embry were all here nestled in the tiny house. It was warm and soothing and I knew I was in a place full of love and happiness.

"Where have you been?" shouted Quil, giving me a high five then attempting to give Jake a noogie. I couldn't stop smiling, or laughing.

"I've been really busy, but I've missed you guys." I said wholeheartedly.

"Aw Bella, we've missed you too dear." Sue said, placing a hand on my shoulder, "It seems like ages ago since the last time we've seen you." I nodded in agreement.

"So what's going on? Any plans for the night?" I asked, wondering if they had something hidden up their sleeves.

"No," Embry snapped, his mouth twitching as if he was hiding a smile. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's going on?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nothing Bells," Jacob whispered in my ear. I gave him another suspicious look and he smirked.

Just then, half the people in the room walked out and went outside to the backyard. I tried to follow them but Jake wouldn't let me. He, Quil, Embry, and Seth stayed inside.

"Where is everyone going?" I asked, getting slightly annoyed now, but still very curious.

"Nowhere," Jake said. His nonchalant attitude was starting to bug me. Something was going on, and I was going to find out.

"Hey Bella, I bet I can beat Embry in an arm wrestling match. You doubt me?" Quil asked with a smirk on his face. Jacob smiled, so I only assumed that this was a distraction from what was happening outside. I didn't mind though, it was funny watching them compete against each other.

"Five bucks on Embry," I said and Quil scoffed.

"Five on Quil," Jacob said, still smirking.

Embry and Quil both sat down at Sue's dinner table, both elbows on the table, ready to pounce at any moment.

"On your mark," Jacob said slowly, I looked at Quil and then back at Embry.

"Get set," the suspense was building, Embry and Quil stared each other down with great intensity.

"Go." Then the strength and force whooshed from their bodies and the arms were strained trying to push each other. The veins looked as if they would explode.

No one budged. It was completely even. Quil's face became red and Embry's forehead began to accumulate a small shear line of sweat. It was a dead match; no one knew who would win.

Just then, I heard a loud bang outside, which distracted me from the intense arm wrestling contest.

"What was that?" I asked Jake.

He didn't look at me; he was too focused on the match. "Nothing." He said quickly.

I decided this was my chance to find out; Jacob wasn't paying any attention except on the two numskulls at the table. I decided to make a run for it.

I ran towards the door, and all I heard was an "Ahhaa!" and a "Stop!" and a "No fair!"

I plummeted to the ground outside, and Jacob was on top of me. He tried to stop me, but he didn't quite catch me in time. We were out in the back and I saw what was being hidden from me.

Billy looked at me and smiled.

"Welcome to the party!" he said friendly and smiling.

I looked around and all I saw were beautiful lights lit up around the trees and the house. There was a table filled with food, and music playing nearby. Sam was playing on the drums and Leah and Emily were dancing together. Sue was cooking food by a small fire and Billy had his old flute in his hand. It must have been an old Quileute party.

When I was little, I used to go to these parties all the time. Most of the Quileute Reservation would attend. They would be dressed up in traditional Native American clothing, as well as bringing traditional foods and games. They would bring instruments and play songs, dancing to them around a beautiful fire.

Though this party seemed different, more special in a way. The neighbors weren't here; it was just a group of close friends together for a good time. I wondered what they were celebrating.

Jacob finally got off of me and held out a hand for me to get up off the ground. I then brushed myself off and looked around again.

"What is all of this?" I asked stunned.

Jacob smiled and then spoke in his deep husky voice. "It's for you, a welcome home party." He said joyfully. "I told you we missed you." Then his grin returned to his face. "I thought it would make you feel better," he continued.

I gave Jacob a hug then proceeded to hug Billy and Sue, "Thank you." I said admiringly, "This is so nice…and unexpected."

Just then, Quil and Embry walked out of the house, bickering to one another with Seth following shortly behind, laughing. Quil had a smile on his face and Embry had a sour expression.

"It's no fair," Embry complained, "Bella ran out and distracted me. I want a rematch."

"I won fair and square. You can blame it on Bella all you want, but we both know that I am the stronger one." Quil said gloatingly.

"You are not." Embry said like a five year old.

"Are too." Quil replied laughingly.

"Oh stop it you two. You're acting like babies." Sue laughed out. Jacob chuckled and I joined in.

"You owe me five bucks Bells." Jacob said while playfully jabbing his elbow into my side.

"Ha yeah right." I scoffed. Jacob rolled his eyes but laughed.

"Bella, how are you liking the party?" Seth wondered joyfully as he headed for the table filled with food.

"It's great, so unexpected, thank you guys so much." I usually hated surprises, and parties for that matter, especially surprise parties, and most definitely surprise parties for me. This party would usually not be what I wanted, but oddly enough, it was nice, and it made me happy. I was unexpectedly enjoying it.

The boys began to stuff their faces with food while Jacob and I stood in the middle of the backyard surrounded by soft twinkle lights hanging around us.

"Will you dance with me?" Jacob asked sweetly into my ears.

"Jake, you know I don't dance." I said disapprovingly. I hated dancing. I was completely uncoordinated and dancing was one of my greatest enemies. No one could get me to dance, not even Jacob.

He didn't try to budge me; he just nodded his head and looked at the rest of the Quileute gang, watching them as they enjoyed the night. I felt bad to say no, but honestly dancing was really a bad idea for me.

I retrieved to a chair by the small fire and Jacob followed suit. Billy was sitting there playing the flute and Sue joined him, singing some old Quileute songs. Paul began to walk over to us, a smirk on his face.

"Not dancing guys?" he said teasingly looking at us. Jacob glared at him, and I just shook my head.

"Oh well," Paul added, his tone wasn't disappointed like it should have sounded, instead, it was a different tone, a mocking tone. It sounded like he was trying to start something. And for Paul, that was no surprise. He loved to buck horns with others, especially Jake.

"At least you can dance with that other girl Jake." Paul said with a wink, and Jacob's face froze then changed to a gruesome expression, like he was going to kill Paul.

What other girl? Was it Renesmee that Paul was talking about? I hoped to God it was or else I would have been super pissed. Yes, I am mad that Jacob has been hanging with Renesmee behind my back. It's not so much that he's been hanging out with her then the fact that he won't tell me he's been hanging out with her. That is what makes me furious, his secrets; which was why I kept Edward a secret, giving Jacob a dose of his own medicine.

"What is he talking about?" I asked Jacob, Paul looked at him with surprise.

"You mean….you haven't….she doesn't…you didn't tell her about?" Paul kept stuttering and changing his words, never even completing his sentence.

"No, Paul. I haven't." Jacob gritted through his teeth, glaring at Paul with the deepest kind of disgust.

"Sorry," Paul said with a small corner raised at the end of his mouth.

"What is he talking about Jacob?" I repeated, getting annoyed now that he wouldn't answer my question. He shook his head, out of his anger trance and tried to pull his thoughts together.

"It's nothing. I've been working on a project with a friend for the past month." He said, acting nonchalant.

"Who's this friend?" I asked, though I already knew who it was.

"Renesmee Cullen." He stated.

I tried to act surprised. "Renesmee Cullen?"

"Yeah, the really hot one," Paul added. Jacob glared at him again then quickly looked at me, making sure I was okay.

"We just worked on our project for Spanish. Nothing happened." He assured me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked; I was truly curious as to why he didn't mention anything. Was this why he had been so busy lately?

"I don't know. I didn't think it was a big deal."

"If it wasn't a big deal, then why wouldn't you tell me?" Jacob looked flustered, like he didn't know how to answer any of my questions. It was as if he had no explanations for anything.

"When you told me you were busy these past weeks, working, and with Quil, was that all a lie?" I was slightly getting mad now, realizing he was lying to me. "Were you with Renesmee?"

Jacob looked shocked and confused, like he truly had no idea what to say or think or do.

"Yeah, most of the time, but I did have to work and hang out with Quil a lot too."

I rolled my eyes and sat up. I couldn't believe he had lied to me like that. At least I never really 'lied,' I just didn't say anything. He only assumed that I was home doing homework or dealing with my issues. Jacob on the other hand told me what he was doing, which was mostly a lie.

"I can't believe you lied to me Jake." I began to walk away towards the woods.

"Bella, please. Nothing happened." He begged as he followed me.

I didn't say anything, I just kept walking and heading towards the woods.

"Bella, where are you going?" he asked as I kept rushing to the evergreens.

I honestly had no idea why I was walking towards the woods. All I knew was I just needed to be alone and I needed to think. I needed to get away from Jake for a little bit and clear my mind. The woods seemed like a good idea.

I entered the woods and kept walking deep into the forest.

"Bella stop, please just talk to me." Jacob pleaded as I rushed further through the large trees and wet moss.

"Bella, talk to me." His voice was getting desperate now, and I just kept walking. We were really deep into the forest now. I looked back and saw nothing but more trees.

"Bella you are getting lost. Stop." I slowed my pace down a little bit, but still kept going. Jacob sounded really desperate and annoyed to get me to stop now.

"I know you're hanging out with Edward." He simply said; I stopped in my tracks. He knows.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"Oh shut up Bella, you know what I'm talking about." He said sternly, completely caught up to me and standing right in front of my body.

"Do you have any idea how pissed I am about that? Edward fucking Cullen." He said angrily. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"The same reason you didn't tell me about Renesmee." I scoffed.

"Don't turn this around on me Bella! You've been sneaking around with Edward Cullen. Do you have any idea what people say about him?" Jacob was going off, what nerve he had! He did the same thing to me. He even knew about Edward and he didn't say anything, just so he could keep his little secret. He had no right to get mad at me. Even though I did the same, neither of us should get mad then, or at least both of us should be mad.

I looked around, trying to escape from him. I wanted to go back to the party then go home. But I had no idea where I was or how to get back. I was lost in the middle of the woods. I thought I had remembered how I got here, which way I came from, but I didn't. And it didn't help that Jacob was yelling at me.

"Bella, how could you do this to me?" I couldn't believe it; I was starting to feel guilty. Maybe it was because I had fallen in love with Edward, and Jacob probably didn't feel like that towards Renesmee. Maybe I felt guilty because what I had been doing with Edward didn't seem like just hanging out. It felt more to me, stronger and different, but Jacob didn't know that.

"I can't believe this Bella. Did you do anything with him?" Jacob continued.

"Of course not Jacob, I am not a cheater." I was getting very angry now. "And stop yelling at me! You lied to me! Did you do anything with Renesmee?"

He hesitated for a split second, "No Bella. Of course not." He calmly said, stepping closer to me to comfort me, instead I quickly pushed away.

"Jacob, I want to go home." I calmly yet sternly replied.

"Alright, which way did we come in?" He replied; my eyes opened wide at the realization that Jacob didn't know where we were either.

"You mean, you don't remember?" I asked worried.

"No…I was too busy trying to stop you and catch up to you."

"Oh my God Jake, I don't remember. How are we going to get back?" I was freaking out now. We were lost and stuck in the middle of the woods.

"Relax, I'll figure it out." He said; he wasn't freaking out, which made me feel a little relief. It seemed he wanted to leave as much as I did.

"Have you been facing this way the entire time?" He randomly asked, and I nodded my head confused.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"Okay, then lets walk the opposite way and see where we end up." He said. I trusted Jake with the woods; he knew his way around pretty well in La Push. Soon enough I was sure he'd find something that looked familiar.

"Alright," but I was a little hesitant with his idea. He might have some knowledge about La Push, but his plan didn't seem to have much logic to it, more chance than anything. But I didn't argue. I was tired of arguing; instead we just walked in the way he suggested.

We finally found a breach in the woods and when we exited them, we were not by Sue's house and the party. We were on the beach.

"I know where we are. We're not far from Sue's," he said.

"Good, I am so tired." I really was, from all that walking, and the arguing, and the whole night. It was so fun in the beginning, but unfortunately it didn't end that way. I was crabby now, and exhausted, a very bad combination.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't fallen yet." Jacob said trying to lighten the mood. Was he seriously making jokes? I looked at him with the 'I'm not in the mood/bad timing' face, he understood and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I yelled back there." He said quietly. "It's just….Edward Cullen….I just don't have a good feeling about him. I hear so much about him, with girls, and I don't like it."

"Jake, none of that's true. He is really a nice guy. And what do you think I am supposed to think about Renesmee? She looks like a supermodel, and you've been lying to me about hanging out with her. Don't you think I would freak out just a little bit at least?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, that was a little suspicious of me. But Bella, nothing happened."

I believed him, well, I wanted to believe him. I didn't think Jacob had a cheating bone in his body. He was a good guy. He had a little temper, but he was good. He wouldn't do such a thing. He really did love me.

I could see Sue's house about a hundred yards up from where we were. The lights were faintly shining in the distance.

"I see Sue's." I said.

"I do too, we're almost there." Jacob looked at me, "you still want to go home?"

"Yeah, I might as well. It's a school night, and I am really tired."

"You're right." Jacob said, but it was low and faint, I'm sure he felt bad about how the night had turned out.

We walked back to the Clearwater's backyard and I said goodbye to everyone. Paul apologized for before and then Jacob took me to my truck at his place.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said, still looking guilty about what had happened today.

"Alright, bye Jake." I said as I got into the truck and began to slowly pull away. Before I sped up Jacob quickly ran to my car door and knocked on the window. I stopped the truck and rolled the window down.

"I love you Bella." Jacob quietly said in his sad but cute puppy face. "I'm glad you came today, even though it ended this way." He continued. I felt bad about what happened, but it felt kind of awkward between us.

"I love you too Jake, it was fun." I sympathetically replied, but it felt weird to say 'I love you' to him for some reason. It was the first time I felt like I might actually be losing my feelings for Jacob, and it scared me. We've been through so much together and I couldn't believe this day was actually coming where I might not love him anymore. I still love him, I'll always love him, but it just didn't feel the same.

Jacob gave me a sweet smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. I smiled back the same, closed my window, then slowly drove off.

I drove home thinking about our fight. Was I able to hang out with Edward still? Certainly Jake couldn't stop me, but I had to anyways. We were still working on our project.

I reached the house and parked, walking inside and heading straight to my room. No one was downstairs anyways; I only assumed they were either upstairs in bed or not even home at all.

I was really looking forward to tomorrow. I couldn't wait to see Edward and I couldn't wait for that girl's night. I really needed it since tonight happened. It was an eye opening day. I felt vindicated. Jacob finally knew my secret and I finally knew his. I could only hope that nothing would change this. I could only hope that Edward would still play a big part in my life. But Jacob couldn't stop me from seeing him anyways, it was my choice and it was my life.

I collapsed on my bed and fell straight into the meadow, a deep dark slumber that I had come to know for a while now. It was my every night, my normal now. It was a place where I could let out all my frustrations, and end the day with a good cry. The meadow, which was once my heaven, had become my hell, and was now my place to vent all my problems, a place I was beginning to tolerate. It was the true vindication of my stress and emotions.

A/N: So was it worth the wait? I hope it was!

I have been so busy lately, my grandparents just arrived from Wisconsin to stay with us for the weekend. And the past two weeks have been filled with midterms!

So again, I am SO sorry for the delay! I promise I'll get the next chapter out within a week, no more two week breaks!

But also, I just wasn't in the mood to write lately, but last night I got a buzz of creativity and just kept writing. The chapter could have been longer if I had gone into more detail, but I just wanted to finish it and send it out to you as fast as I could. So sorry if it seems crammed or rushed or whatever, I just wanted you to get as much as you could ASAP.

So again, I hope you liked it. Or did you hate it? Favorite line? or favorite part?

Tell me, I would love to know!

And does anyone have any theories on what might happen in the next chapter at the girl's night!? Uh oh! haha

No, I doubt it will be anything crazy, but hey, you never know. It all depends on the way I'm feeling.

I would also like to thank the three reviewers who do not have accounts, therefore I could not thank them personally. I loved their reviews and they made me smile. Thank you, you are wonderful. Those reviewers are GirlNextDoor, Ham Nox, and Storytime.

PLEASE REVIEW!

Thank you!