Lost in Translation

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews. Nikki

Part Four-Hearts Aflame

She was jealous, terribly jealous. There was no other word to describe how she was feeling right in that moment. Seeing his lips pressing onto Katie's smooth skin had upset her more than she could ever have imagined. She hurt, hurt so much. Bella had almost convinced herself that Emily's barbed comments about Jacob being in a relationship with the beautiful Katie were nothing but attempts to bait her, and as expected she had fallen for it. But no, it was true, all if it. She had now seen the evidence with her own two eyes. Jacob had stood, looking vital, strong and beautiful as he always did. Bella thought she would never see another man as beautiful as he was. He had stood in front of the hall, his hands on Katie's slim shoulders as he kissed her. The image stayed in the forefront of Bella's mind as she slammed her foot on the accelerator and forced the truck to move quickly. The engine whined and protested all the way, but she didn't care. She wanted to escape, and run, run so far that the image of Jacob and Katie would be burned from her mind.

After she had placed the call to the lawyers; Bella had arranged to meet them to talk about Edward's estate, she had begun to regret her hasty actions. She had let her low self esteem beat her into the ground once again, and she had reverted to old habits. Bella regretted not staying put and talking to Jacob. How many times had she overreacted? When would she ever learn not to see things that weren't there? Jacob was her friend, had been for so long. He was kind and fiercely loyal. How could she have let Emily get under her skin like that? She knew what Sam's imprint was like. She should have remained strong. Bella had talked herself into going back to La Push and confessing to Jacob what she had done. She had pulled up outside the hall only to see her worst fears confirmed. He had come out into the open, his hand curled around Katie's, before he had leaned in for a kiss.

Damn, damn, damn...Bella hit out at the steering wheel as tears began to pour down her face. She felt like such a fool. Here she was feeling like her heart had been shredded into a thousand pieces and she had no one but herself to blame. How often had she pushed Jacob away when he tried to start something between them? They had shared a few, fervent, desperate kisses in the past, but each time she had rebuffed him, until in the end he had agreed to just remain friends. She knew she had hurt him, but had convinced herself he would always be there. Bella had never pictured him moving on. She had taken his devotion for granted, not realising that all the while she had been in love with him. Yes, she could admit it to herself now that she had lost him, she loved Jacob Black. But it was too late, far too late. He had moved on and who could blame him?

Bella wiped at the tears furiously with the back of her hand as she continued to push the truck to its limit. Her vision blurred as the tears continued to stream down her face despite her best efforts to stop them. In anger she slammed her foot down harder on the accelerator. The engine rumbled loudly in protest and smoke began to pour out from under the hood. Bella ignored it. Her mind was focused on one thing only. Getting away from La Push as fast as she could. The more the engine whined and jerked, the harder she pushed the truck. It was like a whirling dervish was inside her as she punished the truck for her own stupidity. This feeling of loss was so much worse than losing Edward. She had thought nothing could trump that, but this could.

Bitterness consumed her as she hit at the steering wheel in frustration. The truck that she loved so much had now become her enemy. It was slow and clumsy, just like she was. No wonder she had been drawn to the iron monster. They were twins in every respect. This thought made her laugh hysterically as she remembered how glad Jacob had been to get rid of the truck. Now he was shot of both of them. Bella felt like she was going crazy. Her emotions were making her reckless and she stopped wiping the tears that were blurring her vision. Instead she closed her eyes and took her hands off of the steering wheel. The truck veered to the side and swung in a complete circle. But Bella was no longer there. Instead she was back on top of the cliff in La Push ready to jump into the depths of the ocean. In her mind she could actually feel the wind whipping her hair around her face, lashing at her skin, as she balanced precariously on the edge. But this time it wasn't Edward's voice she was seeking, but Jacob's warmth. With the chill freezing her to the core Bella stepped over the edge and jumped, her arms outstretched. The truck hit a tree with force, jerking her forward in her seat violently. Bella's breath was stolen from her body as she opened her eyes to see the flames pouring from under the crushed hood of the truck.

Jacob smelt the smoke before he saw the flames. He didn't connect it with Bella. As far as he was concerned she was in her truck driving home. He pushed his body onward as he weaved between the large trunks of the trees. The wind blew the fur along his back and his ears were flat to his head as he stretched his limbs and tried to increase his speed. He was desperate to get to Bella. Seeing her there, looking at him with such hurt and disappointment in her eyes, was like an arrow straight to his heart. She had come back to see him, and instead all she had seen was her worst fears confirmed. He hadn't time to speak to a shocked Katie. He had sprinted for the trees and phased. He needed to get to Bella and explain. All he could do was go to her house and hope she would at least give him the chance to talk. He cursed the fact that he couldn't follow the truck directly. The road veered off from the forest and he was unable to do nothing but take the most direct route he could to the Swan house.

At first Jacob was going to ignore the smoke. It was probably some idiotic hiker lighting a fire in a stupid place. No one with any ounce of sense would do so among thick tree coverage like this. One spark and the whole forest would be up in flames. This brief thought made him pause. He couldn't take that risk. He needed to investigate. If some stupid person had done exactly that he or she would be in danger, and was also putting the reservation and Forks in peril. He cursed the stranger in his head as he diverted from his journey and backtracked, following the scent of the smoke until it became so dense that he thought his worst fears had been realised. The smoke was turning black and the heavy scent of diesel made his lungs constrict. Shit, this was no fire, there had been an accident. Some sort of vehicle was in flames.

Jacob still didn't immediately connect this with Bella. He phased back, pulling on his shorts quickly. He put a hand over his mouth and nose and ran as fast as he could until he was suddenly back on the road. He narrowed his eyes as the smoke made them water. He scanned the immediate area until what he saw made him nearly fall to his knees. Bella's truck was half sticking out of a ditch. The back wheels were in the air and the front was buckled, buried in the bole of a tree. The engine had caught fire and was the reason behind the smoke and diesel fumes. There was no sign of Bella.

Jacob held his breath as he staggered over to the truck and glanced in the window. The cab was empty. Bella wasn't inside. He finally noticed the driver's door was hanging open. His heart, which had been beating erratically in his chest, calmed down. She had escaped, had managed to get out in time. But that didn't mean she wasn't injured. He could see streaks of blood on the door handle. She had to be nearby. But where? The fumes from the truck were masking all other scents as it was so strong. Jacob was beginning to feel nauseated from the smell. He retreated and began to search the undergrowth, trying to catch sight of her. But there was nothing. "FUCK." He swore aloud. He was getting panicky again as he couldn't see her. "BELLA? BELLA?" He bellowed at the top of his voice. His lungs ached as the rancid smoke infected his body. He had to back further away as he couldn't breathe. "BELLA?" He cried again desperately.

Where was she? Jacob tried to keep his mind focused but he was worried that the truck was going to blow at any moment. The cab was being consumed now as the gas from the engine pooled into the undergrowth. It was like tinder as the flames ignited the branches of the tree in front of it. Help had to come soon. The flames would be seen for miles now as well as the smoke. Jacob had never felt so desperate and frightened in his life, and that was saying something considering what he had been through in the past. He was having trouble breathing and it wasn't just because of the fumes. If Bella died then he would too. He knew it. She would take him with her. It had nearly happened when he thought he had lost her to the bloodsucker for good. It had made him demented. All those months he had spent as a wolf after he received that damn wedding invitation had sent him feral. He had nearly let the wolf take him over completely back then. "BELLA, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" He screamed. He hands sank into his hair as he stared around despairingly.

Still nothing! Jacob fell onto his knees in the middle of the road as he stared at the red iron monster. The old truck seemed like a flaming dragon as it melted in on itself. The tree in front was like a beacon, each branch was now on fire. Jacob counted down in his head, his heart matching each number. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five...he didn't reach the end. The engine exploded, sending fragments of metal and other detritus flying across the road. Jacob fell back and rolled away, his forehead pressed against the asphalt as he died inside.

He never expected to open his eyes ever again. He didn't want to. He was dead. He wanted to stay in the dark place he had found. Nothing hurt there. He liked being numb. Waking up meant he had to feel, and that was the last thing he wanted. Voices urged him to open his eyes, but he clamped them shut, putting his hands over his ears to block them out. Go away, go away, go away, go away...he repeated the words over and over like a mantra. Why couldn't they leave him alone? There was nothing here for him anymore. Bella was dead. She was dead. Gone, no more. She had been taken from him anyway, after everything. It had all been for nothing. A gentle touch on his arm made him shudder. He shied away from the physical contact, curling his long body up and rolling onto his side. He sought the darkness but now a light was beaming across his closed eyes. A growl erupted from his chest. How dare they? Then he smelt the sweetest scent known to man.

Jacob opened his eyes...

Bella sat curled up next to Jacob on the battered old couch in the Black's house. To her right then it felt like the safest place in the world. She didn't feel the scratches, cuts and bruises now that he was here. They would fade, unlike the memory of what she had so nearly lost. The desperation she had undergone as she had fought with the seatbelt which trapped her in the front of the truck's cab, and the fight she had with the heavy door as she pushed on it again and again, her puny strength not up to the task as she wrestled to open it. Then there was the desperate crawl through the thick undergrowth as she forced her weary body to find salvation. Instead of heading for the road, in her panic, she had gone completely the wrong way. Her dress had been torn as she pulled herself along the dirt. Her lungs were fighting to breathe in fresh air and for the first time in her life, she realised how much she wanted to live. She didn't want to die, not like this. It was this determination that had given her enough will to crawl to a place of safety. As she pulled herself out into a small clearing she had heard the truck explode.

Jacob and Bella were both so exhausted that neither had the will to speak about what had happened. Jacob had been found comatose on the road by his brothers. The pack had gone to search for their leader when they saw the distant smoke rising. Fire crews had been sent to deal with the fire. Charlie had turned up when he had been alerted to the accident. He had nearly died on the spot when he found it was his daughter's truck that had burst into flames. And then there was Billy's son, lying curled up on the road as if he was dead. Everyone thought that Bella had perished, that was until she had come stumbling unexpectedly out of the forest nearby and screamed with what little breath she had left in her body when she noticed Jacob lying in the road. No one was able to pull her off of him when she stumbled over to him and curled her trembling body around his, her arms winding around him in a death grip.

It was all so surreal, as if had happened to someone else. Or as if she had watched a film and stepped into it for a moment. People came and went from the house. Billy and her father were there, they spoke but Bella didn't really hear them. She had been examined by a doctor. It had been suggested she go to a hospital, but Jacob had grabbed hold of her and carried her to the couch where they now were. No one was taking her away from him now. He hadn't spoken, just the feral look in his eyes had been enough warning. His slight injuries had already healed. It was only the emotional weariness that kept him mute.

So they sat curled up together on the couch in blessed silence as they watched the others come and go. Eventually the house quietened. Only Billy and Charlie remained; both men played a quiet game of cards as they kept an eye on their offspring from a distance. They both sensed their children needed the peace and calm which surrounded them like a cloak. The trauma of what had happened would hit them later.

The night drew in and the two men dozed. Bella finally moved after being immobile for hours. She had something to say. Something she should have said a long time ago. Something that she knew Jacob needed to hear. Whatever happened between them now, she had to tell him what was in heart. She twisted her head to look up at him, only to find him regarding her with tired eyes. She felt his fingers curl around her own as he spoke the words for her. "I know, Bella. I love you too."

A/N-thanks for reading.