The Nicest Thing
Summary: Bella's life has been one tragedy after the next. When she meets Jacob. Well, he's the nicest thing she's ever seen.
Chapter Two: You're The Nicest Thing I've Seen
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a
listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all
of which have the potential to turn a life around."
― Leo Buscaglia
"What are you doing? Look at me when I'm talking to you!" a deep angry voice shouts, "You think you're better than me, huh?"
"No, daddy. I-"
"Shut up! Shut up!" he snaps, "You want to start with me, huh? You brought this on yourself!"
"Stop it!"
"You know, you brought this on yourself! Get on your feet!"
Bella's eyes snap open and she sits up in bed, terrified, and panting.
Bella looks around the room, almost expecting to find an angry man standing in her room yelling at her.
But there's no one there.
She always wondered why she can't remember what her father looks like, but she can remember his voice crystal clear. If only she could erase his voice and remember her mothers.
Her mother left her father when she was five and married Phil a year later. She never went into details on the subject and anytime Bella brought it up her mother would flinch and change the subject.
Bella wonders if she'd still heard the screaming to.
She sighs, a hollow feeling growing in her chest, as she gets out of bed to get ready for another day of school.
Charlie is already up when she gets down.
"Morning, Bella," he says, and Bella yawns in response, heading to the fridge to get started for breakfast, "Oh, you don't have to make breakfast for me this morning,"
Bella freezes, her hand on the handle of the fridge.
"I'll just pick something up from the diner near the station," Charlie continues, and Bella slowly pulls the refrigerator open, "I don't want to be late for work,"
She begins pulling out food, her shoulders slumped, unable to look at Charlie. She needs to get up earlier. Charlie's going to throw her out if she can't carry her weight and prove her worth.
"Do you need a ride to school?" Charlie asks hesitantly, the same way he does every morning, and Bella gives him the same response she does every time he asks.
She shakes her head, without looking at him, and continues cooking.
"Are you sure?"
She nods.
Charlie stares at her for a long moment, and she knows that he wants something from her but she doesn't know what it is.
"Do you need money?" he asks, and Bella shrugs, "Okay, I'll leave $20 near your bag, okay?"
Bella nods, knowing that she's not going to spend the money. She never spends any of the money Charlie gives her. She keeps it stashed in a duffle bag under her floorboards, with some clothes, a few canned goods, a bag of trail mix, beef jerky, and that last few pictures she had of her mom. Just in case she needs to leave quickly and hide out for a few days.
Charlie seems nice…but it wouldn't be the first time that a seemly nice person had turned not so nice at the switch of a hat.
"I'll see you when I get home," Charlie states, and Bella gives him a blank look.
Where else would she be?
She holds out a brown paper bag for Charlie to take and he does with a grateful smile. Bella always makes sure to make his lunch before she goes to bed, just in case she doesn't wake up in enough to make his lunch and cook breakfast.
Charlie leaves and Bella sits at the table eating breakfast by herself. She's gotten used to eating with Charlie, listening to the sound of his chewing, and his commentary on the newspaper.
Bella finishes her breakfast, silently, washes her plate, puts away the money Charlie left her, grabs Jacob's umbrella, and heads off to school. She has her messenger bag slung across her chest, headphones on, playing Halsey, drowning out the voices of the peoples walking around her.
"And all the people say
You can't wake up, this is not a dream
You're part of a machine, you are not a human being
With your face all made up, living on a screen
Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline
I think there's a flaw in my code
These voices won't leave me alone
Well my heart is gold and my hands are cold"
She pauses when she notices Jacob walking ahead of her with his friends, Embry and Quil.
Her grip on his umbrella tightens and she takes a step towards him.
He laughs, his flying back, at something Embry says. It's the sound of a person who has no worries. Someone who is happy with their life.
She shoves his umbrella in her messenger bag, before she can think about it, and when Jacob and his friends turn right, Bella turns left, opting to take the long way to school today.
She's 10 minutes late, but the teacher doesn't comment on it.
She sees Jacob wave at her, and looks away. The rest of her classmates barely glance at her as she makes her way to her seat in the back near the window. She listens to the assignment, watches everyone pair up, and then gets to work by herself.
Then a shadow covers her paper. Bella looks up and finds herself staring into the smiling face of Jacob Black.
"Need a partner?" he asks, and Bella just stares at him, "I'll take that as a yes,"
Jacob takes the empty seat next to her, Bella continues to stare, Jacob stares back not phased at all. He pulls his notebook out of his book-bag and looks at her expectantly.
"Well, we should probably get to work, huh?" he says and Bella looks down at her paper, "So, do you want to split the questions in half and work on them separately or do you want to work on the together?"
Bella shrugs.
"Alright, we'll do it together then," Jacob says, and Bella digs her nails into her palms.
What's wrong with him?
Jacob continues to talk beside her, reading each question out loud, and suggesting answers until Bella rights something down. Then he'll smile, ask her if he got it right, which she'll shrug in answer, and he'll write it down.
When class is over, Bella doesn't know whether to be relived or disappointed.
Jacob stands up, pushing his hair back from his face, and turns to smile at her.
"See you later, Bella," he states, and Bella's eyes widen, "Oh, do you not like Bella? Because I can call you Isabella if you want?"
Bella shakes her head, wetting her lips, before reaching into her messenger bag, and pulling out his umbrella.
She wordlessly offers it to him and he takes it with a sunny grin.
"Thanks, Bella," he states, "I was just going to buy another one,"
Jacob pats her on the shoulder, surprising Bella with how warm his hands were, and Bella realizes that it has been a long time since someone touched her.
Charlie is always careful not to touch her, as if he's worried that he'll make her uncomfortable…which it probably would.
Bella grabs her messenger bag, and walks out of class, without looking back. Her skin still burning where he touched her.
She goes through the rest of her day, same as usual.
But when she's about to head home, she pauses and turns in the direction of football practice. Bella sits away from the other kids watching.
She doesn't even know why she's there. She should be getting home. She has make sure the house is clean, her homework is finished, and dinner is on the table before Charlie gets home from work.
Jacob comes out with the rest of his team, and looks into the stands. He waves at his friends and then his eyes find Bella.
He smiles, his eyes lighting up, as he waves at her to.
Jacob Black has the nicest smile she's ever seen.
"It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime."
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
Author's note: Please Review and Let me know what you think