A/N: Love to my awesome beta: plainjanedee
7. Baby, Don't Lie
Then next morning, Jake woke to a cold and lonely bed, and the worrying sound of retching coming from the downstairs bathroom. Panic struck his heart and he instantly leapt out of bed. Wearing only his sweats, he sprinted across the hall, took the stairs three at a time and ran to his wife's aid. "Bells? Baby? You okay?" he asked as his palm gently pushed on the bathroom door, revealing an extremely pale looking Bella.
Turning on the faucet, she splashed cold water over her face before turning it off and closing her eyes. "I'm fine, just felt a little queasy."
Edging into the bathroom, Jake came up behind her and gently massaged her shoulders. "Can I get you anything? Water? Advil?"
Bella involuntarily flinched at her husband's touch, ignoring the fact that her body's reaction towards him had made him stiffen. "I'm okay, Jake, I just need to get ready for work." She shrugged out of his touch and began to move away from him.
"Baby, you've been sick. You need to take it easy," he told her, turning her to face him. "Take the day off and rest."
Bella shook her head in protest and proceeded to brush her teeth. "I can't. I've got meetings all day; I need to be there."
"Bella," Jake insisted firmly, not wanting to argue with his sick wife, "You need to go back to bed; I'm sure they can hold off the meetings for one day."
Spinning around, she pinned him with a murderous glare. "Oh, sure, it's okay for me to take the day off when you ask, but when I ask you to do the same thing, it's the crime of the fucking century!" She spat, gripping the edge of the sink with her right hand, and her toothbrush with her left. "It's not as if my career actually matters or anything!"
Furrowing his brows together in confusion, Jake ran a bewildered hand over the back of his neck. "Bells, what's going on? What're you talking about?"
Sighing dejectedly, she braced her hands on the sink and closed her eyes. She didn't fucking need this today. She'd spent the majority of her morning with her head down the toilet, and now her so-called husband wanted to make nice after weeks of treating her like shit? Yeah, not happening. She didn't have the energy to deal with his bullshit. "Nothing," she muttered before rinsing her toothbrush and placing it back in the holder. "What do you want for dinner tonight?" Bella asked distantly, but trying her hardest to mask it.
It was then that she spied the man she married visibly stiffen. Interesting. "Um, actually, I think I'm gonna skip dinner. I have something I gotta sort out," he mumbled, lamely.
Instantly, Bella's hackles went up, "You do? Anything I can help with?"
Cowardly, Jake shook his head and cleared his throat. "Um, nah. I, uh, gotta do this on my own. You know, work stuff." He rubbed the back of his neck-again, something he always did when he was nervous or hiding something.
Making her way into the kitchen, she grabbed her lunch from the fridge, threw it in her bag and walked over to the dining table to retrieve her jacket.
"Actually, I, uh, might not be home until late, so there'd be no point in waiting up for me."
Bella shrugged on her jacket, and bit down hard on her lip to keep from telling him exactly what she thought of him and his lying ass. Instead, she slapped on her game face, shoved the heartache down into the depths of her stomach, and spun around to face him. As soon as their eyes connected, she was once again left speechless. How could he look at her with eyes so full of love and adoration, yet walk out of their home and go to another woman?
And how could her own body and heart betray her by needing him so very badly? Needing to feel his strong arms enveloping her body, and his warm, soft lips on her skin, her treacherous heart thudded uncontrollably for the man she loved.
"I love you so much. You know that, right, Bells?" he asked with a strangled voice.
"Do you?" she questioned him, doubtfully.
Jake paled, as pain and agony flew across his features. Quicker than lightning, he kicked off of the counter and started toward her. "Jesus, baby, h- how could you… how could you question my love for you?" Tears shone in his eyes.
Swallowing the lump of emotion that had built in the back of her throat, she coughed and folded her arms over her chest. "I don't know, Jake. Perhaps it's how you've been so distant with me for the past two weeks, and you refuse to tell me what's making you so… angry. Maybe I could try and help," she pointed out, her tone void of any feeling. As much as it annoyed her to admit it, Bella still loved his lying ass. But, as much as she loved him, she wasn't sure she actually wanted to help him anymore.
Jake was fucking freaking out. He wanted to tell her—explain what was going on, but how could he when he didn't even know. He hated lying to her, and knowing that she was doubting his love for her. Fucking hell, it damn near gutted him. Striding over toward the woman he loved, he hailed her into his arms and held her tightly. "Honey, I-I don't know what you want me to say. Yes, there's something going on with me, but I don't even know what's going on, and I can't lay this on you. I won't," he told her with finality, hoping it eased some of her fears. "But don't you for one fucking second think that I don't love you with every inch of my being. You're my whole world, and I'd be fucking nothing without you. Please, Bells, please, believe that." His eyes pleaded, urging her to understand.
"I believe that you don't want to burden me with this problem, but I also believe there's more to this sudden situation than meets the eye, and I don't like it." She wanted to believe him, trust him, but after everything, she just didn't know if she could. "We're supposed to be a team, united against everything. Just you and me. I thought people in love were meant to share their worries with their spouses, not hide it from them. Clearly, I'm wrong." Shrugging out of his hold, she threw on her coat and grabbed her bag.
A strangled cry ripped from Jake's lips as he stepped closer until they were almost touching. "Bells, pleas-"
"Don't. Please. Just… don't." Bella held her hand up to prevent him from coming any closer. As much as it killed her to do it, to not comfort him in his obvious time of need, she had to do this for herself. "I have to head to work. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. If you come home."
Fuck! She couldn't leave like this! "Bells, please, don't leave like this," he implored, almost on his knees and ready to fucking beg if necessary. "I can't handle having you be so cold with me, Baby. I need you. Please, don't go! Don't leave me."
Just as she was about to head out of the door, Bella turned back for a second and gazed directly at him. "Well, I guess you should've thought about that before you decided to shut me out and hide things from me. Marriages with secrets don't work, Jake. Think about that while you're 'sorting out your problem'."
And with that, she slammed the door behind her and walked to her car with a shattered soul and a heavy heart.
How had things gone so wrong?
~TBW~
"I'm pregnant," Bella said to Leah, several hours later, sipping on decaffeinated coffee. After constantly feeling like she was going to hurl at work, she cancelled her meetings, took the rest of the day off and grabbed three home pregnancy tests from her local drug store. All three came back positive. She was pregnant.
Nearly choking on her coffee, Leah spluttered, "You're pregnant? That's awesome news, Bella!"
Was it? When her child's father was fucking his best friend's wife. Oh yeah, solid foundation to bring a child into. "Is it?" She responded glumly, picking at the plum-coloured nail polish on her thumb. "I don't even know who he is anymore, Lee. I feel like I'm married to a stranger. Then there's the fact that he's fuc—" she stopped herself before she went too far, but it was too late.
Looking dumbfounded, Leah set her coffee mug on the table and settled back into the couch. "That he's what, Bella?" Goddammit. She hadn't wanted to bring anyone else into their messed up situation, but she couldn't deal with it by herself any longer. She needed someone to talk too.
With tears clouding her vision, Bella swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm pretty sure he's having an affair with that bitch Sam's married to."
Leah's eyes widened in disbelief, "Say the fuck what?"
Bella could only nod in response. "It's been going on for a few weeks now—that I know of. Disappearing for hours, receipts to a high-class restaurant, text messages."
"Bella," Leah hedged cautiously, leaning forward and placing a sympathetic hand on hers. "Jake loves you, honey. As in walk-over-hot-coals, jump-in-front-of-a-train, head-over-heels, sickeningly in love with you. There's no way he'd ever risk losing you; I just can't see it. The man idolises you."
Throwing her hands up in frustration, Bella retorted, "What other explanation is there, Lee? If he loves me as much as you say, why did he miss our anniversary? If he idolises me, why did I ring the number attached to those messages and hear her voice?"
Shaking her head in complete puzzlement, Leah ran a hand over her face. "Jesus, Bella." She was a a loss for words. "Why don't you talk to him? Call him out on his bullshit if you're so certain?"
Scoffing incredulously, Bella replied, "And have him deny it? Yeah, no thanks."
"Okay, well then why don't you go see her?" Leah suggested. Could she do that? Could she confront the woman who'd been screwing her man behind her back? If she was going to bring their baby into the world, then what other choice did she have? Bella needed to know once and for all, and if he was dipping his dick elsewhere, the fucker was going to pay.
~TBW~
By the time lunch rolled around, Jake was losing his ever-loving mind. This shit needed to be sorted. Today. "Sam, we need to do this thing now," Jake growled his demand as he bounded through the Uley's front door.
He watched impatiently, as his best friend released his wife from an embrace and playfully swatted her ass. "Later, okay?" The low, sultry tone of his friends voice said it all: Jake had interrupted a private, intimate moment between them. Normally, he would've felt bad, offered him an apology, but considering the fact his motherfucking life was crumbling to pieces around him, the small talk and pleasantries could wait. If something didn't happen—and fast—to provoke this… beast inside of him, he was going to lose Bella. Like hell was he letting that happen!
Pacing the length of Sam's den, he raked his hands through his hair. "I need this, Sam. I know we said we'd wait, but I can't fucking wait. She's going to leave me; I can feel it." Spinning around to face his friend he added, "Christ, she asked me if I loved her this morning! Fucking asked me, man."
Grabbing two cold ones from his refrigerator, Sam handed one to Jake and motioned his head toward his couch. "Let's take a seat and talk about this."
Taking a hearty gulp of his beer, Jake followed him before collapsing onto the sofa. Setting his bottle on a coaster, he leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees, and the heels of his palms dug painfully into his eyes. "It's tearing me apart, Sam. I can't lie to her anymore; it's physically destroying me."
"So talk to her. You never know, she could surprise you," he offered.
Jake scoffed, "Yeah, or she could have me shipped off to the nearest mental asylum."
Chuckling, Sam rested his feet on the coffee table, "I doubt that. Despite everything you've said, I know she still loves you. Just tell her, man. Surely it's better than her thinking you're sleeping with someone else."
Expelling a defeated breath, Jake sat back into the couch and closed his eyes. The stress from this shit was seriously fucking with his head. "I guess. Hey, did you manage to ask Em if she'll talk to Bella? Maybe she can pave the way for me, y'know?" He asked, hopefully.
Nodding, Sam answered, "Yeah, man, she's gonna head over there in a bit. But…"
Jake's eyes flew to his. "But what?"
"She can only say so much, Jake. This needs to come from you. All Em can really do is be there for her, you know, a shoulder and all that. Someone to talk to, someone whose been through it before."
"I get that, but I just figured something's gotta help, right? Hearing that her husband's about to morph into some giant fucking dog isn't exactly the easiest thing to digest. I just…I want her to be prepared. I don't wanna lose her, Sam." The pain in his voice was as evident as the sorrow in his eyes.
Reaching over, Sam patted Jake on the back. "It'll all work out, Jake. Just need to have some faith."
If only Jake had known how wrong his friend really was.
~TBW~
After Leah had left, Bella changed into her sweats and grabbed the unopened tub of cookies and cream from the freezer, before settling down to watch Once Upon A Time on Netflix.
She was just getting ready to watch the first episode of season four, when a gentle knock sounded on her door.
"No rest for the wicked," she muttered to herself as she put her ice cream tub on the coffee table, before making her way into the hallway and opening her front door.
There, stood on her porch, was one of the last people on earth she ever wanted to see. Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!
"Hi, Bella," Emily's saccharine voice greeted her.
"Emily," Bella answered coldly, glowering at the home-wrecking bitch brave enough to visit the wife of the man she'd been screwing. "What're you doing here?"
A bright smile covered her features. "I thought I'd stop by and see how you were." Oh really, so nice of you.
Pursing her lips into a thin line, Bella bit her tongue, stopping her from telling her exactly how she was. No, this bitch wasn't worth it. Maybe if she wasn't pregnant, she may have gone all Mean Girls on the slut, but now she had another person to think about. "I've been better," she clipped.
"Jake told me you haven't been yourself lately," Did he, now? Fucking asshole. "I just wanted to pop by and see if you needed anything." Yeah, I need you to stop fucking my husband, and get the hell off my porch!
Scowling, Bella threw her a lethal glare. "How kind of you," the sarcasm was dripping from her voice. "I'm fine, nothing a little TLC can't cure."
An empathetic expression fell over Emily's face. "I can imagine. Listen, obviously you know things are going to change; Jake's, well, he's going to be different from now on, but I don't want that to worry you." What the hell was she talking about? Had Leah told Emily about her pregnancy? No, that couldn't be right. "I just wanted you to know… he… he feels terrible about the way this has all come to light, but he had no other choice."
Grinding her teeth together, Bella curled her fingers into fists and clenched hard. "I'm sure he does," she seethed, trying her hardest to hold in her malice. "But, unfortunately, I have little sympathy. You see, he didn't have to lie to my face and sneak around behind my back like some scared school boy. No. He could've come to me, like the man he claims to be, and told me to my face. I didn't need to find out this way; that's on him. And I certainly don't need you coming here, rubbing it in my face and making it ten times worse!" So much for keeping it together. "What you're doing, it's wrong. I won't forgive and I certainly won't forget!"
With her forehead creasing in confusion, she started toward me, when a blank expression washed over her face and her legs buckled beneath her. Oh, shit. As quickly as she could, Bella reached out and grabbed her arms, stopping her from hitting the floor. Pulling her upright, Bella asked, "Are you okay?" Yes, the woman may have been messing around with her husband, but that didn't mean she was going to let her collapse to the ground.
"Gosh, yes, thank you. I don't know what came over me; I've been having these dizzy spells a lot lately." Suddenly alarm bells began to ring in Bella's head.
"How long would you say you've been having these… spells?"
"Around a week. I think I know what it might be, though. Sam and I, we were trying for a baby, but for whatever reason we could never conceive. I..uh," she glanced up at her shiftily, making Bella even more curious. "I, uh, tried something a little different, and… I'm late." Jesus Christ. He'd gotten her pregnant.