JPOV
By the time the bruises have disappeared from around Bella's neck- which took almost a month and a half to do- the nightmares for the most part have ceased. For the most part, I think she has come out of the shell she had barricaded herself in after Jacob got a hold of her, but in other ways I still see how she's changed. More often than not but slowly starting to diminish, she keeps tabs on Peter's position in a room as well as my own and looks for a way out. Peter has also noticed this but doesn't think she's doing it consciously. It is simply one of the fight or flight instincts that haven't been shaken from her mind. It isn't her fault, I know that. It's a reaction that can't be helped completely.
"What are you looking at?" Bella murmurs from the other side of the porch where she sits in one of the gliders reading.
"How did you know I was looking at you?" I chuckle amused as she flips a page.
"I don't have to be a vampire with all mighty senses to notice eyes lingering too long," she replies lightly.
Walking over towards her position in the chair, I lean against the porch railing with my legs crossed at the ankles, resting my arms so I am not in an intimidating stance. "You haven't left the house for some time now," I say softly, "would you like to go somewhere with me?"
"What about Peter?" Bella questions frowning.
"After he gets the rest of your belongings from your old apartment, he's going to go hunt," I inform her. "It's alright if you don't want to go," I reassure her.
Shutting the book, she stands up. "Where to?"
I smile widely and tell her to get her shoes on then to meet me at the truck when she's ready. Making my way upstairs to our bedroom, I grab the black duffle bag from the closet where I had packed the two of us a change of clothes and a couple of towels. Quickly going into the kitchen to grab the small lunch I had packed a couple of hours ago along with a few bottles of water then make my way to the truck where Bella is waiting. Kissing her cheek softly, I help her inside before tossing the bag into the trunk.
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Parking the truck, I get out quickly and head over to open the door for Bella to help her out before grabbing the duffle bag. I lead us to the walking trail, grabbing a hold of her hand and bringing it up to my lips.
"We won't be walking on the trail," I inform her. "It might be easier if you let me carry you to our destination, it's about fifteen miles away from here."
Biting her lip, she gives me her consent, so I place the bag onto the ground and help her onto my back before pulling the strap across my shoulders. I walk about a mile or so into the wooded area before I tell her to close her eyes before taking off at half speed towards the small waterfall. It only takes me five minutes to get there. I slowly ease Bella back onto solid ground and walk over to the small field of grass and flowers to place the duffle bag down.
Bella walks over to the small cliff next to the waterfall and carefully sits down. Kicking off my shoes and socks, I walk over and sit next to her, swinging my legs slightly back and forth.
"What do you think?" I ask softly as her eyes roam over her surrounding in awe.
"It's beautiful. How'd you find this place?" She asks looking over at me.
"A few months ago, I went to find somewhere new to hunt and came across this area. Nobody ventures out this far off the walking trails," I shrug.
"Do you come here a lot?"
"I haven't been for a bit. I switch where I hunt every couple of months or so," I explain.
"Don't want the rabbits to go instinct then?" Bella says with amusement clearly coating her voice.
Chuckling I shake my head. "Definitely don't need the little critters to go instinct, darlin."
We fall into a comfortable silence for a little bit, Bella taking my hand in her own after some time. I watch her intently and gage her emotions. She seems to be going back and forth between something she's thinking about. An internal war goes on before she lets out a breath except, she doesn't voice anything aloud to me.
"Would you like to go swimming?" I ask to break the ice as I stand up.
"Swimming?" Bella repeats. "Okay, but we don't have a change of clothes."
"Already covered, darlin. Just go take off your shoes," I say with a smile.
Doing as I requested, she walks over towards the bag and takes off her shoes and socks before walking back over towards the cliff where we were once sitting. I hold out my hand which she takes with no hesitation and I motion for her to come closer.
"On three," I state.
A simple nod is what I get in response, but I suddenly am filled with butterflies and excitement along with some apprehension. I smile as I realize these are the most positive emotions that I have had from Bella for a what seems like forever. As I get to three, we launch ourselves off the cliff and down into the water. Releasing Bella's hand, I let her go back to the surface as I go all the way down to the bottom before launching myself back up. Laughter fills the air on both of our ends. A smile... a real smile is plastered on my mates face for the first time in what also seems like forever.
"Oh! That was fun!" She giggles.
"I've missed that," I say softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Bella leans into my touch, closing her eyes for a moment before asking, "Missed what?"
"Your laughter and smile," I reply as I gently bring her body to mine, wrapping my arms loosely around her waist.
"Let's jump again," she suggests before splashing me and kicking herself away from me laughing.
We spend the next couple of hours jumping off the cliff and swimming and splashing one another. Eventually Bella's stomach makes itself known as it grumbles while we are laying on our towels to dry off. Reaching over towards the bag, I pull out the small cooler of food and begin to put everything on a plate.
"Eat," I say gently.
Opening her eyes, she sits up and begins to eat the bologna sandwich I prepped. As she sits eating her food in silence, I can tell whatever she was thinking about before is beginning to creep back into her mind.
"What's going on in that beautiful head of yours over there, Bella?" I finally ask as I open a bottle of water for her to drink.
Taking a sip before putting the other half of the uneaten sandwich she sits in silence as she seemingly tries to gather her thoughts. I wait patiently for her to begin.
"You and Peter don't have to stay just because of me," Bella quietly states as she fiddles with her hands. "I mean… I would understand if you didn't – "
Quickly, I cut her off. "Isabella, look at me," I demand as I try to keep myself from sounding as angry as I feel at the moment, but her eyes stay cast downwards. Moving the food out of my way, I get as close as I can and pull her so she is straddling my lap. "Look at me, darlin, please," I say a bit more gently. This time she looks up at me through her eyelashes which is good enough for me at the moment. "You're it for Peter and me, Bella. No matter what you chose to do… whether or not it is to be with us or not at all or if you chose to stay human… we begin and will end with you. We love you no matter what and we take each other as we are," I tell her, my right hand sliding up to cup the side of her face. "You're worth it. You deserve so much more than what Edward and Jacob did to you, darlin, and Peter and I will spend however long of time we have with you to show you that."
I can smell the tears well up in Bella's eyes and I quickly swipe them away with my thumb before leaning in and placing a soft kiss to her lips. It seems that this is what she had been missing and I curse myself for not telling her sooner. Bella presses herself more firmly against my lips, needing more from myself so I happily oblige. Who am I to turn my mate down? Sighing into the kiss, Bella slips her hands through my hair and pulls me even harder against her if that were possible. I groan in response as I hesitantly slide my tongue along her bottom lip which grants me access to her warm mouth, my tongue now working with her own.
Not wanting to push her too far, I end our kiss with several pecks to her lips, cheeks, and nose. She pants, trying to catch her breath and her hands untangle themselves from my hair before slipping down into her lap where she rests against my chest in my arms.
The sun begins to set soon after our small make out session, followed by soft conversation, and by the time night falls, Bella is shivering even with the new change of clothes. Bella reluctantly stands up from my lap so that I can gather everything back into the duffle bag.
"Can we come back soon?" Bella asks as I help her onto my back where her legs wrap themselves tightly around my waist.
"Of course, darlin. Anytime."
I take off towards the trail and to the truck as nobody is around now before setting Bella back onto her feet carefully. Climbing into the truck and buckling in, I make my way to the driver side and drive home to see Peter still not back yet. As we enter the house, I flip the lights on and head into the kitchen, with Bella following close behind me.
"What would you like for dinner, darlin?" I ask as I flip the light on and swiftly pick her up before placing her on the counter to stand between her legs.
A bite to her bottom lip and a reddened face with a small spike of lust, I smile brightly. "I think I'm going to go take a shower," she whispers as she refuses to meet my eye contact.
"Whenever you're ready… I'll be here," I kiss her forehead. "We will be here. No matter what. Do you understand, Isabella?"
Tears prick her eyes but she hides her face quickly in the crook of my neck, sniffling softly. Wrapping my arms securely around her torso I whisper soothing words of comfort.
"I think that's enough crying, don't you think, darlin?" I whisper in her ear.
She nods and pulls away before mumbling, "Sorry."
"Never be sorry for how you feel, now why don't you go on up and shower? I'll get your dinner started."