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.
"And pity-people who inspire it in you are actually very powerful people. To get someone else to take care of you, to feel sorry for you-that takes a lot of strength, smarts, manipulation. Very powerful people."
― Deb Caletti, The Secret Life of Prince Charming
There was that hint of wolfishness about him, the curl of his lip, the gleam of his teeth, the way his fingers dug roughly into her shoulders, gripping her too tight.
"You won't leave me," Jacob repeated. "Not again,"
Jacob's breath was washing over her neck as he rested his head there and the tang of alcohol was present.
"Let me go Jacob," Bella pleaded, and Jacob whined low in his throat.
"I won't, Bella," Jacob said firmly, the desperation was clear and he leaned against her, resting his head on his neck tightly.
"What are you going to do then? Keep me here so I miss my flight? Yell at me until I change my mind?" Angry tears fell from her eyes.
"Just stay, please honey, just stay and forget all that college crap," Jacob ordered, tearful too, and Bella wanted to give in.
She wanted to ask him to come with her. To leave Sam and his gang behind.
Because she did love Jacob.
But this…this was her future.
This was her life.
And she couldn't spend the rest of it, putting everything on hold to comfort him and calm his temper.
"I have to go, Jake. I'm sorry." Bella said, softly, trying to soften the words but not the meaning.
Jacob's eyes darkened and Bella knew what he was thinking about.
His mother died when he was six years old, his sister ran off to college and the other married the first guy who asked, and his father drank himself to death under the watch of his twelve-year-old son.
His only constant had been her and she had been just a child herself.
Bella understood why Jacob was doing this but that didn't make it right.
"I don't care! Stay Bella, please stay. You said you'd always be with me," the words hung in the air.
"I was a child, Jake!" Bella cried, and Jacob let go off her, stepping back.
"And you're so grown up now, huh?" Jacob asked, crossing his arms.
Bella blinked back tears.
Why did she even come here?
"Playing the victim role: Manipulator portrays him- or herself as a victim of circumstance or of someone else's behavior in order to gain pity, sympathy or evoke compassion and thereby get something from another. Caring and conscientious people cannot stand to see anyone suffering and the manipulator often finds it easy to play on sympathy to get cooperation."
― George K. Simon Jr., In Sheep's Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People