I Wouldn't Leave If You Let Me
Summary: Sometimes, Jacob could be a little impulsive, grabbing her arm, shaking her, yelling, and, when the anger got to be too much to contain, Jacob liked to throw things, so Bella wasn't afraid. Because Jacob would never hurt her.
"It's a bad word, 'belong.' Especially when you put it with somebody you love ... You can't own a human being."
― Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
A loud thump woke Bella in the middle of the night, half-thinking they're getting robbed, Bella looked at the shadow moving on her floor, struggling to get up.
"Bella?" it groaned and Bella slipped out of bed, draping her blanket across her shoulders, turning on her light.
Jacob had finally managed to get to his feet, cheeks reddened from the frigid, night air.
"H-Hi, Bella," he slurred, taking a step towards her, and knocking over a nearby lamp.
"Fuck," he cursed softly, as he barely catches it from smashing to the floor.
"Where have you been?" Bella asked, coming closer to him, "I was worried sick,"
As Bella gets closer the familiar smell of liquor burns her nose and she knows where Jacob was.
She finally got a good look at him; his face was swelling up on one side, lip busted, still bleeding, and holding his left side.
"Oh my god, Jake," Bella said, going to bet her first aid kit out her drawer, "Did Sam do this to you?"
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up," Jacob said, ignoring her question, and wetting his lips, wincing when his tongue runs over a cut.
Bella breathed slowly, shaking her head.
"It's okay," Bella said, "How did you climb into my room like this though?"
Jacob shrugged, sitting on her bed, and Bella runs to go get an ice pack, careful not to wake Charlie. When she came back, Jacob looked grateful as he took it from her, pressing it to the side of his face, eyes fluttering closed.
"When are you going to stop getting into fights?" Bella asked, and Jacob opened his eyes, the one that wasn't swollen glaring at her.
"When were you going to tell me about Edward Cullen?" Jacob asked, coldly, and Bella froze.
"What?" Bella asked, "How did you…? Did you hurt him?"
Bella jumped away from Jacob glaring at him and Jacob shook his head.
"No, the bitch wouldn't fight me one on one. Sent his brothers instead," Jacob spat, angrily. "But that's not the point."
Bella wouldn't meet his eyes.
"How long has this been going on?" Jacob asked, and Bella shook her head.
"A couple of months," she said, and Jacob glared at her. "It's nothing. He just walks me to class every now and then and sometimes we sit at lunch together, that's it,"
"Well it ends now!" he demanded, and Bella shook her head again.
"I'm not doing anything!" Bella exclaimed.
"Then why is he walking you to class and having lunch with you then?" Jacob asked.
"Because he's my friend!" Bella shouted, and Jacob's expression turned into an icy rage.
That was the moment she should've run.
But she didn't.
"It's never pretty when you leave an abusive and controlling relationship. The warden always protests when the prison gets shut-down."
― Steve Maraboli