Bella hadn't really gained consciousness the night she was found. She was in and out in a state of stable delirium. Charlie had carried her upstairs with some effort and laid her on the bed, pulling her muddy shoes off. Grace gently pulled away her raincoat and hung it up behind the door. Charlie sat on the edge of her bed and rested a hand on her side, pain etched all over his face.
"Charlie," Grace said barely above a whisper. "Let me get her out of the rest of the wet clothes so we can get her warm. She's okay." Grace put a hand on his shoulder and he closed his eyes tightly nodding his head. He picked himself up and walked slowly out the room, turning to take another pained look at Bella before he closed the door behind him.
Grace carefully got Bella changed into warm clothes and even socked her feet in the cozy fuzzy socks Grace's mom got her for Christmas. She covered her up and settled in next to her, placing an arm around her and listening for her constant breathing.
"What happened?" she whispered into the dark to no one in particular.
October
Grace was sitting at the small three-seater kitchen table and chewing her toast methodically as she reread another section from Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man for her AP English midterm that morning. Charlie shuffled through the newspaper, his eyes darting toward the staircase every now and then.
"She's coming, don't worry." Grace mumbled between her toast without looking up from her book. Charlie squirmed uncomfortably.
The last three weeks had not been great for anyone. Bella had collapsed in on herself and hadn't been to school since the incident. She hadn't been taking meals or showers and would hardly get out of a bed. Grace would quietly shuffle into their room throughout the day and plop on Bella's bed with a plate of food. Sometimes Bella would respond after Grace patiently waited for sometimes an hour, and sometimes Bella would fall back asleep.
The nightmares were the worst. Almost every night, Grace was startled awake, her heart crashing through her chest and hurtling over her bed to get to Bella's. It sounded like a dying animal, like someone was twisting a hot knife in Bella's stomach. Grace could normally calm her before Charlie hurried into the doorframe. After three weeks of this though, Grace would normally find herself waking up in Bella's bed, an arm wrapped around her, after falling asleep next to her to calm her.
But after almost a month of Bella confined to her bed, Charlie put his foot down and told Bella she had to get back to her life. Grace agreed, holding her hand and nodding sympathetically. Bella had agreed reluctantly, that far away look permanently etched in her eyes. And that morning, as Grace poured over her book and Charlie cleared his throat for the umpteenth time, Bella finally stumbled down the stairs, gave a weak smile that didn't reach her eyes, and nodded toward the door.
Without looking up, Grace closed her book and headed toward the door, running a hand down Bella's arm reassuringly as she passed.
Grace's every day had become mechanical as she cared for Bella and kept Charlie on track. She relished in the work of caring for them a little bit, but found the exhaustion setting in as Bella finally poked back into the real world. She had never told Grace what had happened in the woods that night and now it felt too dangerous to ask.
As they pulled into the school parking lot, Bella's eyes gravitated toward the empty space that Edward's car used to occupy. Her face darkened and she turned an ashen color. Grace glanced at the spot from her space behind the wheel and back over to Bella.
"You can do this." She gave a soft smile. "Ready?" Grace didn't wait for an answer and pushed the door open after a couple of seconds and hiked her backpack over her shoulder. Bella took off toward her first class, head down, hood up, and circumvented the crowd. Grace watched after her and started heading toward the staircase when she heard a familiar shout across the parking lot.
"Hey Grace!" She whipped around to see Jacob Black waving from the end of the sidewalk. She smiled and jogged over to meet him.
"What are you doing here?" She breathed out a puff of steam, indicative of the chilly autumn air that had started to settle over the greater Washington area.
Standing in front of Jacob, Grace realized that he now towered over her. She'd only seen him a month ago but the difference was jarring. His shoulders had broadened and his face had sharpened around the edges. His hair was still the same long sheath of black that he ritualistically pulled back out of his face in a half bun, but he still retained an aura of softness. His bright white smile gleamed out from his warm face, a reflex she thought.
"I heard Bella's not been having an easy time since…" he hesitated and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well you know. So I brought something that might help. Will you give it to her for me?" Grace's eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Sure what is it?"
From the depths of his pockets, he pulled out a small dream catcher and held it up in front of Grace's face. Grace looked upon it with sad wonder and watched the blue and green stones shine in the light.
"It catches bad dreams." Jacob stated nonchalantly and gave a small reached her hand up and took it from his gently, her fingers brushing his ever so slightly. A hot white flash pulsed up at her hand and she glanced up quickly at Jacob to see if he noticed. His face was set as he watched her examine the dream catcher.
"This is actually perfect. Thanks," she smiled and carefully stowed it in her backpack. "I'll get it to her."
"Cool, thanks." Jacob took a step back from Grace and she immediately felt a draft of cold air push between them. She fought against a shiver rising up her back. "Anyway, if you need a break from the pale faces, you're always welcome to stop by...hang out. Just to get away," Grace searched his face but it was genuine and welcoming. "If you want."
"Thanks, I might just take you up on that." While returning to the rez didn't seem like the most exciting idea to her at the moment, she did need a breather from the neverending painfest in the Swan house.
Jacob gave her an awkward nod and then turned and took off down the road toward his car. The bell had long ago rang and Grace had never heard it. Only once Jacob had cleared her immediate area did she realize that the lawn in front of the school was silent and a soft drizzle misted around her. She took one last look as Jacob climbed into his car and she bolted for her first class, unsure of how late she actually was.
November
Bella had resumed her job at the Newton's outdoor store. Grace had taken up a side gig running groceries to the elderly on her weekends to make some gas money and pad her fund for college.
As the seasons changed, Bella seemed to sink further into herself. Sometimes Grace would find her just sitting and staring off into space for hours. Grace couldn't seem to shake her from her comatose state sometime, so she thought it best to leave her be for now.
On one particularly sunny November afternoon, Grace was tasked with running a set of groceries to a couple in La Push. This was odd because most patrons of the Forks grocery store were local, but this couple was close to the edge of the rez. After she dropped off the groceries and gave a warm goodbye to the couple, Grace was buoyed with a moment of happiness.
This was her first foray onto the rez and she felt just fine. No earth shattering, stomach dropping, blackout inducing, cold sweats and pain. She was suddenly shot through with a desire to test this newfound feeling deeper onto the rez.
Grace winded her way through the damp and leaf covered streets toward the only house she thought she could bear. As she pulled into the familiar dirt driveway, her truck announced her presence.
She hopped down from the truck, taking in a deep breath of autumn air and letting the coolness wash over her. This was easy. She could do this. Why had she been so scared?
"Grace!" Jacob was wiping a tool off with a oil-dirtied rag and was frozen for just a moment in the entrance of the small garage before he tossed it to the side and took off for her, the smile stretching across his whole face so hard that she thought she might burst with excitement.
When he didn't stop running toward her, Grace couldn't help but let a laugh escape as he scooped her up in a warm, tight hug and spun her around. She held on just as tightly back and felt the feeling of home pulse through her. Her heart quickened and she took another deep breath as he held her for a second before setting her down. The energy wafting between them was natural, electric, and the world seemed to quiet around them temporarily.
She couldn't say that she wasn't surprised by Jacob's reaction. They'd only seen each other a handful of times since she'd moved here in the summer, but it's like they fell into step, or like a magnet appeared that kept them together once they were near enough.
"It's so good to see you." he beamed.
"You too! You said I should stop by and I was in the area dropping off some groceries to the Tallutes, so here I am." Grace realized now that she had no idea what she was doing here. She hadn't really thought about it, it just felt like the truck carried her here.
"Well, I was just working on the rabbit in the garage, do you wanna come in and hang out?" Leave it to Jacob to make things feel effortless. She let out an easy sigh and nodded vigorously, following him into the garage.
While she watched him work and handed him the odd tool every now and then, they settled into easy conversation. They talked about school, the rez politics, Bella, how Grace was feeling in Forks now that she felt more settled, her plans for college, and his plans for opening a garage one day. Nothing felt too hard, even when she started talking about her dad, unprompted. Jacob had slid out from under the car and sat on the low rolling stool in front of her to give his undivided attention while she talked about how different it was being back on the rez without him, seeing as she had left here with him, but that the pain hadn't come over her like she thought it would. He watched her face for a long time as she spoke.
When it got too dark for Jake to continue working and when Grace thought it might be time to head back so as not to worry Charlie. They made their way out from the garage side by side, laughing, Grace bumping her shoulder into Jake's arm as they walked. They heard the sound of car doors slamming and looked up in time to see Billy and Harry Clearwater emerge under the patio light.
"Well, well, well, look who decided to make it out to the rez," Billy crossed his arms over his lap as a gentle smile grew across his face.
"Good to see you Billy, Harry," Grace nodded at them both, the tension somewhat returning in her body. Billy seemed genuinely happy to see her and Jake standing next to her kept her feeling warm.
"Is that little Grace Alo?!" Harry beamed and drew her into a tight hug, "It's good to see you little one." Grace muffled a greeting of hello and once released retreated back to Jacob's side. He looked down and laughed a little at her.
"You should join us, there's a tribal gathering next Friday. A lot of familiar faces will be there and would love to see you." Harry suggested.
Grace froze. Billy looked at her expectantly. She glanced up at Jacob.
"Uuuuuh," her mouth hung open in uncertainty, but Jacob shrugged and gave her a little nod and she looked back to Harry, "Sure, why not?" Inside her head, she was screaming. This was going to be too much for sure, why had she agreed to this?
She could feel her heartbeat rocket as Harry smiled and clasped his hands together in excitement. Billy nodded graciously and turned his chair to wheel up the ramp.
Grace internally crumbled as she ambled the rest of the way toward the truck. Jake pulled open the driver side door and she climbed in before he shut it behind her. He rested his forearms across the open window and looked up at her,
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just not sure I can actually make it next week." the pained look returned to Grace's face.
"It'll be fine. You should come over here and we'll walk there together. Sound good?" Grace gave a small moan of uncertainty and he leaned back from the window and smacked it with his hands. "Good! Love the enthusiasm."
She started the key in the ignition and shook her head laughing some.
"Be careful driving home, the wolves are out." Jacob looked up at the protruding full moon making it's way up over the treeline.
She laughed and nodded, "I will. Thanks Jake...and thanks for today."
"Anytime… hey do me a favor and give me a call when you get in. Just so I know you haven't been whisked off into the woods somewhere."
She nodded and pulled out of the drive, letting the lights wash over his broad frame. This was the best she'd felt in years and all it took was one drive to the reservation and a day spent in the garage with someone who was suddenly becoming her best friend.
As she drove her way back to Forks, she ducked her head to see out the windshield and look up at the moon. It was so bright but it cast odd shadows on the trees that made her second guess what Jacob had said about the wolves.
When she reached home, she hurried inside and picked up the receiver in the kitchen, quickly dialing the number she remembered from her childhood. It took two quick rings before she heard a: "Grace?" on the other end.
She couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, it's me. I just got in. Unscathed."
"Glad to hear it. No wolves I take it?"
"None that could tempt me."
"Alright then, little red riding hood."
She laughed a little too loud and heard Charlie's snores cease and shuffling.
"Oops, I woke Charlie. Gotta go."
"See you soon, red." She could hear the hint of a smile in his voice as he said it.
