Chapter 12. Sorry it took me a while to write. Got in pretty late last night. Thanks so much for all the great reviews for the last chapter. I am glad so many people like the story and Sonia. I take all your suggestions and critiques into account whenever I write so keep reviewing. Thanks again and happy reading!
Jacob tried talking to me at school the whole week and I was proud to admit I was strong enough to ignore him. I`ve had enough of whatever game he was playing. When he wanted to tell me what was going on I would listen, but until then he could eat shit. He was not justified in being angry with me. If his little girlfriend had caught him cheating than it was his fault, not mine. I was still going to kick her ass though. There was no question about that.
I would catch him staring at me a lot during this time. His face would always be stoney, his eyes guarded as they travelled along my body and face before meeting my own. They ignited a compulsion within me to go to him and give him anything he wanted. But, he didn`t want me. Not in the way I wanted him. I wasn`t a slut, contrary to what Jacob believes. Embry, Quil, Paul and little-big Seth Clearwater gave me much more attention now. They would quietly greet me in the hallways or where ever else we met. I was paranoid about that at first. Maybe Jacob had told them what we had almost done and they wanted a piece of the action as well. My fears grew dimmer after a couple of days. They looked at me with nothing but respect. Ollie told me on Thursday that a lot of the boys at school were afraid to look at me because, as he put it, "Jacob had marked his territory." Which made me an odd mix of delighted and annoyed. What was he? Some type of dog? He would be pissing on my leg next.
Come Friday I was grocery shopping with my mom after my ballet class. It was nice to be doing something as mundane as this after the craziness of the past two weeks. I noticed my mom and nana were acting particularly careful around me. Sometimes giving me strange looks and stopping hushed conversations when I walked into the room they were in. I tried for the sake of my sanity not to think about it so much. Maybe they thought I was losing it and they were considering sending me to an asylum.
While I was pondering over whether I needed super tampons or just plain regular for my forthcoming period, a voice startled me from behind.
"Sonia, what a nice surprise!" Billy Black said cheerfully, making me jump with shock and drop the super tampons into the shopping basket he had resting on his lap. I must have turned scarlet with the embarrassment.
"Mr. Black...I mean Billy...Em...hi." I stuttered out again. I hastily grabbed the tampons from the basket and shoved them back on the shelve. Billy was smiling pleasantly up at me, not making any motion to get going. If he was here that meant that...Sure enough, Jacob rounded the corner of the aisle slowly, his eyes instantly locking with my own. His face read indifference but his eyes read an intensity as they held mine. I felt my body burn from his heat, even though I was standing a couple of feet away from him.
"Sonia." He greeted stiffly.
"Jacob." I greeted back awkwardly, fiddling with the rings on my fingers.
"How have you been?" Billy asked me, looked like I couldn`t escape any time soon.
"Good. And you?" I said shyly.
"Good too." He answered brightly. I snuck a peek at Jacob, who was looking as bored as ever. I rolled my eyes inwardly at him.
"Emm...well...my mom must be looking..."
"Billy! So nice to see you!" My mom`s voice bellowed from the opposite end of the aisle. She wheeled her trolly towards us with the biggest smile plastered on her beautiful face. It was rather scary.
"Grace. What a coincidence!" Billy replied back, just as fake. What is going on?
"Hello Jacob. Gosh! You seem to be growing everyday! What a handsome man you are turning into." Any embarrassment I felt because of my mom evaporated at the look of complete shock and awkwardness on Jacob`s face. He looked so uncomfortable.
"He has a hefty appetite." Billy praised his only son, who only looked the more mortified.
"I wish Sonia did." Fuck mom. SHUT UP! "I have to remind her to eat sometimes. You know girls and their bodies." SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP "Last year she went on some crazy diet to lose some weight because some idiot ballet instructor told her that her hips were a little big.."
"MOM!" I whisper shouted. Oh man the shame. Why did she have to say that stuff in front of Jacob? I glared at her when she turned to face me. She gave me a smirk and the "What did I do?" eyes.
"Pish posh Sonia, you`re not the only girl to have body issues." Okay she had seriously lost her mind. I wanted to murder her. I chanced a peek at Jacob, who was looking at my hips and frowning. If he made any comment I would kill him.
"Ah now..Jacob has his fair share of issues." Billy started. Now it was Jacob`s turn to look mortified. Ha! take that asshole. "There used to be this one girl, he did everything for her, still does, but she doesn`t appri..."
"DAD!" Jacob boomed. He looked so pissed. Part of me felt kinda sorry for him. I knew straight away that the girl Billy was talking about was Bella.
"Come on Jacob. You not the first and definitely not the last person to be screwed over." I whispered up at him when our parents wheeled and walked down the aisle chatting. He locked eyes with me. Fury was brewing in them but I stared back defiantly, challenging him to say the contrary. He knew I was right.
"You know shit Sonia!" He hissed down at me.
"So you keep telling me hot stuff." I said sweetly up at him. His eyes swept my figure again, he was going to say something before he abruptly turned his head in the direction of our parents and muttered an "Aw shit" under his breath.
"Sonia, we`re going over to Billy`s for dinner tonight! Isn`t that fun?" My mom called in my direction. Oh NO! NO! NO! Not fun mom! Totally not fun! Bad! This is so bad!
"Eh...yeah." I called back.
"Yeah..super Sonia." Jacob said nastily.
"Listen Jacob. Let`s agree to be civil tonight. Normal. Because if you embarrass me or say anything about me in front of my mom I`ll...I dunno...smash that moronic face of yours in."
"You think the worst of me Sonia." Jacob said bitterly.
"Because you want me too." I snapped up at him before following my mom to the cash register in such an agitated state that I felt like I was going to scream.
"You better be on your best behavior tonight!" My mother warned me as we drove home. "No more fighting with Jacob." How the hell did she know?
"Mom you don`t understand! You don`t know Jacob! He is such a...eurrgghhh! He`s is so..."
"Sonia stop it! You are going to behave! Understand?" My mom said angrily.
"Yes mom." I said, defeated. Even if I claimed illness, my mom would still make me go to this crazy dinner. She didn`t even really know Billy Black! We had never been to their house before. Well, I remember going as a child for Jacob`s birthday parties. Oh crap, how did I forget that? But whatever, our families had never been dinner close.
When we got home my mom put me straight to work making tuna with peppers and tomatoes and a Pavlova with strawberries and cream. I knew she was making me do it so she could sing my praises to Billy when we went to his place later on. She was so obvious. That or she thought that I was too stupid to realize what was going on. I didn`t know what was going on but it wasn`t because I was stupid! It was because nobody would tell me!
My nana wouldn`t be coming tonight. She was having her bridge night with her gang of little old women. She wished me luck and told me to dress in something that didn`t make me look like a street walker. I eventually chose a floral babydoll top with a yellow cardigan and light blue skinny jeans. My mom commented that I looked somewhat decent for a change. She was dressed up a bit. She was only thirty-six, she was still young, but she could give a woman ten years younger a run for her money in the looks and body department. I got most of my looks from her, although I was about two inches taller and had my dad`s nose and mouth. She would sometimes say that when I smirked I looked uncannily like him. I didn`t know a smirk ran in ones genes.
We drove to the Blacks house in a strained silence. My mom was really giddy. I was starting to wonder if she had a crush on Billy. I don`t think I could handle it if she ever got together with him. I didn`t want Jacob as my step-brother. When we pulled up I saw a Forks Police cruiser parked next to Billy`s Chevrolet pick-up. Oh God! Was there some type of accident? Is Jacob okay? My mom seemed totally unconcerned with the whole situation. If anything her face actually lit up when she saw it.
"Oh...Charlie is here." She said in a voice that belonged to a sixteen year old. Who the fuck is Charlie?
"Who?" I asked but she ignored me and got out of the car carrying the Pavlova, leaving me to carry the fish. I slammed the door shut with a little too much force as I followed her inside. Billy was waiting at the door and gave my mom a wink and a smile as they shook hands. Em gross. I was beginning to get freaked out now. Billy looked at me apologetically as we greeted each other.
"Jake! You haven`t greeted our guests." Billy called over his shoulder. Jake`s hulking figure emerged from the living room. He shook hands with my mom and greeted her politely before turning to me.
"Hey Sonia." He said with a hint of sullenness in his voice.
"Hi Jacob." I said back stiffly.
"Come on in now to the kitchen. Charlie is here Grace...with his daughter Bella." Billy said. Bella? She was here? I felt like I had swallowed poison as she came out of the living room and stood behind Jacob nervously. She gave me a defiant look. Bitch was brave when she had someone protecting her.
"Sonia, you`ve met Bella." Billy said carefully, probably for the benefit of my mother who had no idea of the shit that had gone down between the three of us.
"I have, but it was too short. I really wished I had more time the last time we met.." I fixed her with a malevolent stare that made her cringe. "..to get to know you better." Jacob shifted uncomfortably between us. Still protecting her. What a loser.
"Emm...yeah...I know." Bella said in a rather flat voice. Like Jake she was too easy. Did she really think that I was stupid enough to beat her up in front of all these adults. Plus her dad was a cop! I was going to have so much fun winding her up tonight. Billy wheeled into the kitchen followed by my mom, Jacob, who led Bella behind him by the hand, and me. I poked her in the back with made her jump and squeak. Jacob gave me a hard look which I turned with an air kiss.
Charlie Swan, Bella`s dad, turned out to be a really nice guy. When he saw my mom his face lit up considerably. He seemed shy of her. But it was undeniable that he liked her. A lot. And so did she. When the hell did they meet? If Bella wasn`t his daughter they would have had my full blessing. Why is life so unfair?
I sat beside my mom and Jacob during dinner. Bella was basically latched onto Jacob for the whole dinner. She seemed so nervous. So weak. I wanted to punch her when she answered my mom`s questions quite rudely. I decided because of that I would be super nice to her dad.
"So Sonia. How is school?" Charlie asked me.
"It`s okay. How`s the Police force?" Charlie gave a hearty chuckle.
"It`s okay too. What`s your favorite subject?"
"Emm...I suppose gym and then Spanish."
"Strange combo. I have never met a teenager who liked gym."
"She has a lot of energy. Always had. Since she was a baby." My mom pipped in, smoothing my hair.
"Billy said that you dance."
"Yep, ballet. Since I was four." I glanced at Jacob, he was holding hands with Bella under the table.
"She is very talented too. It`s the only thing she likes." My mom said again. She produced her iPhone. Oh no mom. Don`t show the pictures! And please not the videos! Ah crap.
"Look, this is her dancing Odette in Swan Lake last year. She was so happy she got the lead." Billy, Charlie and my mom watched the video while me, Jacob and Bella sat in silence.
"Don`t you want to watch guys?" Charlie asked.
"I hate ballet." Jacob said dismisively. Disappointment and sadness coursed through me. Get over it Sonia. He doesn`t like you.
"I never really got ballet to be honest." Bella said quietly. Kill her Sonia. Do it now.
"Jacob! That`s not very nice." Billy said with anger coloring his voice.
"Don`t worry about it Billy." I said, trying to save face. "I think only certain people get the beauty and the grace of dancing." I took another bite of the tuna to show I was done with the topic. Jacob had hoovered down several portions of it. Bella had barely touched hers.
After that we had the pavlova. Billy couldn`t have any on account of his diabetes. Bella again didn`t eat any of it. After the desert was done the oldies went to the living room and left the youngsters to clean up. When I came back from the bathroom I found Bella and Jacob were nowhere to be found and a heap of dishes left to clean. Fucking Jerks. Who leaves one person to do the dishes? No matter how much you hate them.
I could hear my mom laughing away like a schoolgirl in the living room at some stupid joke Charlie told. I turned the radio on to distract me from my anger and got to washing the dishes. Hall and Oates Out of touch was playing. Ahh Hall and Oates. My guilty pleasure. I wondered where Jacob and Bella had gone off to. I sure as hell wasn`t going looking for them.
When I had finished I sat down at the now spotless kitchen table with a boring fishing magazine and a spoon and ate the rest of the dessert. Bella and Jacob finally decided to show their faces. She looked happy about something, Jacob looked a bit grim. I gave them only one look as they came in and focused my attention back on the magazine. I was so angry they left me to clean up on my own. Bella switched off the radio in the middle of Fleetwood Mac`s Little Lies.
"I was listening to that." I said without looking up from the magazine.
"This is my house Sonia." Jacob retorted. I shrugged and turned the page of the magazine.
"Whatever hot lips." I smirked up at him. Bella`s pale cheeks flashed an ugly shade of red.
"I think that tuna was bad." Bella said suddenly. Bitch was lying. The tuna was perfect.
"Really? You hardly touched it dear." I said sweetly.
"Maybe." Said Jacob.
"You sure ate enough of it." I said cheekily. Those two were so lame.
"I would eat anything." Jacob snapped back.
"I`ll be sure to tell my mom that." I said sadly. Jacob looked remorseful. Fucking idiot.
"Who cleaned up?" Jacob decided to change the subject. "Billy and Charlie?"
"I did. Thanks for the help by the way. Now you don`t get the leftovers." I got up from the table and stalked into the living room to join the others. They were much better than those two assholes in the kitchen.
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