Chapter 24
I know sometimes it's hard
To put our pride aside
When all we should do is just say
I'm sorry
I'm sorry, baby
~I'm Sorry- Silk
After the horrendous night at the club, Bella and Jacob entered their apartment quietly. Bella made a beeline for the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She turned the shower on hot, then stripped from her clothes and stepped into the steamy shower. The hot water was a comfort on her skin. As she washed, she imagined she was washing away all the horrors of that night. As she scrubbed her arms, she thought of the nameless Italian man who had put his hands on her. While she scrubbed her face, she thought of the forced kiss. Every touch from that man was scrubbed from her body and went down the drain.
Bella stayed in the shower for a very long time. Eventually she stopped cleaning her body and just allowed the water to wash over her. She stayed in the shower for so long that soon the water ran cold, and she was forced to leave as the icy droplets stung her heated body. Bella grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her waist while she allowed her damp hair to cascaded down her shoulders and stick to her back. Her mouth still tasted of beer, buffalo sauce and vomit, so she brushed harshly trying to rid herself of the taste.
Once Bella was clean, she finally left the bathroom and entered her bedroom, only to find her husband sitting on their bed with a glass of water extended towards her. "You were in there for two hours." He told her after she had taken the glass and chugged half its contents. "How do you feel?"
Bella set the half empty glass on the nightstand and sat down beside her husband on the bed. "Tired." She told him while looking at her hands in her lap. "Scared."
Jacob wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to his body. She was still flushed from the hot shower, so for the first time, her body was hotter than his. "That man is never going to touch you again. I made sure of that." Jacob kissed her forehead sweetly and Bella sighed.
"I feel so helpless all the time. First Edward, and now this guy." She covered her face with her hands and allowed her body to sag. "Demetri is right. Every time I go to that tavern, something crazy happens to me."
Jacob lifted Bella's chin so that she could face him, and his face expressed bewilderment. "What happened before?"
"Which time?" Bella grumbled. "The time I got slapped by some man while saving Alice, or the first time that Italian man tried to kidnap me?"
Jacob's eyes widened in shock. "When did this happen?" Jacob hopped off of the bed and stood in front of Bella. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"You were gone!" Bella removed her hands from her face and looked up at her husband with glossy eyes as she fought back tears. "You left! Never called or texted."
Jacob looked away from her guiltily. "I lost my phone. You know that."
"You could have bought a new one." Bella cried in exasperation. "But you didn't. You chose not to try to contact me. What does that say about you?" Bella stood from the bed and poked Jacob roughly in the stomach. "I needed you! Multiple times. But. You. Weren't. Here." Bella turned from her husband and faced the bed. Her arms were crossed while the tears she tried to contain streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
Jacob reached out and touched her shoulder gently, causing her to flinch, and he to retract his hand. "Bella I-
"Go away Jacob." Bella didn't want to talk to, or look at her husband. She listened to him leave and was actually surprised that he didn't put up a fight. Once Jacob had gone, she closed the door and wiped away her tears. After Bella had taken a moment to gather herself, she threw on an oversized T-shirt, turned off the lights and went to bed.
The next morning, Bella woke to find her bed devoid of her husband. Momentarily she forgot the fight they'd had last night and thought he was back in South Carolina, which caused her breath to come up short. But as she sat up and cleared her eyes of sleep, she remembered the events that happened at the tavern, then the mean words shared with her husband. Bella hadn't meant to snap at him, but her emotions had gotten the better of her and instead of seeking comfort in her husband, she pushed him away.
Bella slid from the bed and shuffled to into the hallway. She made up her mind to apologize to Jacob so that they could hopefully move past last night, and be okay. As she made her way down the hallway, she caught a whiff of something salty and her interest piqued. Bella found her husband in the dining room, placing a glass filled with an off-yellow liquid, next to a plate with pickle slices surrounding a big slice of coconut cake. "What are you doing?" Bella asked, startling her husband.
Jacob whipped around looking sheepish. "Bella! I didn't know you were awake." Jacob glanced down at the food then looked at his wife with a small smile. "I made you breakfast." He waved his hand over the food as Bella appraised the food. "Your current favorite." Jacob murmured. "Pickles and coconut cake."
"What's that?" Bella asked, pointing at the weird colored juice.
"Oh." Jacob lifted up the glass and held it up to Bella's lips. She took a sip and a flashed him a look of surprise. "Pickle juice." They said simultaneously.
Bella couldn't help grinning at her husband. "Thanks Jacob." Bella took a seat at the table and watched Jacob claim the seat opposite her with a big bowl of cereal for him. She popped a pickle into her mouth and chewed it quietly. For a bit, the couple sat in silence, merely eating their breakfast. After a while, Bella began to feel awkward and thought of a way to apologize to Jacob for her outburst.
"Hey Bella." Jacob said, capturing his wife's attention. "I'm sorry about yesterday." Jacob looked down into his half eaten bowl of cereal dejectedly.
"What?" Bella dropped the pickle that had been on its way to her mouth.
"You're right. I haven't been there for you as much as I should. I left, lost my phone and then didn't even figure out some way to contact you." Jacob dropped his spoon into his bowl, and reached across the table to take her hand in his own. "But if you can forgive me for my idiocy, I promise I will make it up to you."
Bella felt a stirring within her and her breath caught. "Of course I forgive you." She looked at her husband, with a strange look before turning away, red-faced.
"What's wrong?" Jacob asked, noticing the change in her mood.
"Nothing." Bella stood from the table and instantly Jacob was at her side.
"Bella please." Jacob showed his vulnerability and looked unsure of what to do. "What is it?"
Bella looked up at her husband with a flushed face and crooked her finger, telling him nonverbally to 'come here'. Jacob slowly leaned down towards her and she placed her hands on either side of his face, stood on her tip toes, then kissed him tenderly on the lips.
Jacob accepted the kiss happily and wrapped his arms around her waist to steady himself. As he tried to pull back, Bella wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent him from leaving and deepened the kiss. Jacob chuckled against her lips and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. When they broke apart for air, Jacob gave her a peck on the nose. "Well you're in a mood." Bella responded by trailing kisses down his cheek but pausing to nip at his neck. Jacob moaned in pleasure from her actions and gripped Bella tighter. He then carried Bella into their bedroom and closed the door.
The next time the door was opened, Bella was slipping on shorts and making her way to the living room door. Charlie had texted her, telling her that he had returned with Renesmee and Midnight. By the time she had opened the door, Charlie was getting into a heated argument with Caius across the hall.
"-I can arrest you. You know that right?" Charlie flashed his badge and watched Caius retreat inside his home. "Loser." Charlie muttered, then noticed that Bella had opened the door. "Oh good!" He passed her the leash and ushered Renesmee inside before following after. "Did I ever tell you I hate your neighbors?"
Bella hugged her daughter then squatted to free Midnight from his leash. "He's the only annoying one. The others are really nice." After she had unclipped Midnight from his leash, she hung it up on the door and gave her father a quick hug. "How are you Charlie? Did Renesmee behave?" She chanced a glance at her daughter who looked up at her innocently.
"Renesmee was a perfect angel." Charlie told her, then flopped down on her couch. "Nessie really enjoyed the movie."
"Paw-paw took me to see Minions!" Renesmee squealed in excitement. "It was so good mommy!" Renesmee pointed at Charlie and began giggling. "But Paw-paw fell asleep!"
Charlie made a face and turned on the television. "I wasn't asleep. I was looking at the movie with my eyes closed."
"Nuh-uh!" Renesmee fell into fits of laughter when Charlie reached out and tickled her. She escaped to her room when Charlie released her and Bella placed her hands on her hips.
"What are you doing?"
"Is it wrong for a father to visit his daughter?" Charlie asked in mock offense. "I'm hurt, Bella."
Bella rolled her eyes but couldn't help the grin that settled upon her face. "You ran out of food, didn't you."
"Alright, you caught me." Charlie settled on the sports channel and relaxed into the couch. "Harry and his wife visited a few times last week and all the food you cooked for me got eaten up."
"That's fine Charlie." Bella headed into the kitchen, thinking about what she could whip up quickly for him. As she was rummaging through the fridge, she found a half filled jar of pasta sauce and bent down to grab it. As her fingers wrapped around the jar, she felt a bump behind her and stood with the jar in her hand. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a sturdy chest. "Jacob, what are you doing?"
Jacob leaned down and nuzzled his head into her neck. "Come back to bed." He whispered sensually, then nibbled her ear.
"Jake." Bella put the jar of pasta down on the counter to steady herself. "Wait, Charlie is in the living room." She pulled away from him, even though she wanted to give in to the feelings whirling within in her.
Jacob glanced behind him and through the half wall in the dining room, he spotted Charlie who was enraptured with the TV. Jacob turned back to his wife with a devious smile. "He's occupied." Jacob caressed her cheek and let his hand trail down her neck until it wavered at her bosom.
Bella watched his ministrations with lust filled eyes and sighed into his touch. "We've been having sex for two hours." She told him, grasping at straws.
"We're young." Jacob shrugged off her concerns. "I promise I got at least one or two more rounds left in me." He winked, then pinched the most sensitive part of her breast.
Bella had to bite her lip to stifle a moan, and flicked Jacob's hand away ruefully. "Okay, I'm going to cook him something quick and then we'll continue where we left off." She turned her back to Jacob and reached high to grab a pot. As she reached, Jacob smacked her butt, eliciting a squeal from her before disappearing out of the kitchen. After Bella had calmed herself, she boiled some spaghetti noodles and tossed it in the sauce. She didn't have any meat to throw in it, nor did she want to spend more time cooking when other activities beckoned her. Instead, she poured the hot spaghetti into a large tupperware bowl and clasped a lid on tightly. When Bella entered the living room, Charlie was screaming at the TV.
"GO! GO! GO! NO!" Charlie threw up his hands in exasperation. He noticed his daughter and turned his attention to her. "Is that your spaghetti or Jake's?" When Bella pointed to herself, Charlie visibly sighed with relief. "Oh thank goodness. That boy always puts too much garlic in it."
"Right?" Bella passed her father the container and turned off the TV. "Thanks again for watching Renesmee and Midnight."
Charlie took the container and sent Bella a funny look. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were trying to get rid of me."
"'Course not." Bella laughed nervously and looked away from Charlie's face.
"Well I guess I'll head out then. See ya later Bells." Charlie half waved at Bella before exiting the apartment with the hot spaghetti in tow.
Bella grinned at the closed door then turned to head to her bedroom where she knew her husband was waiting for her in more ways than one. She didn't get a chance to go as a knock on the door stopped her. Thinking Charlie forgot something, Bella plastered a smile on her face and opened the door.
"You do know you're not allowed to have dogs right?" Caius asked her with a dark grin. "I got you now."
A/N: I wrote this chapter over a year ago which is why the movie Renesmee and Charlie saw was Minions. I should have made them see Moana but it's fine. More drama awaits, thanks for reading everyone!