Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter fifteen of "Into the Shadows." This chapter introduces Jacob, Quil, Embry, Leah, and Seth. There is a tiny bit of Edward/Bella and Jacob/Leah. Stay tuned for chapter sixteen.
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Chapter 15: The Hospital/Telling Jacob/Leaving
The ambulance continued going down the road. Edward sighed impatiently as he continued to hold Bella's hand. He felt the trip had been going on for hours, but it actually had only been five minutes since the ambulance left the Swan residence. He also wanted to get out of the small space as it made him somewhat uncomfortable. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He bent down and kissed her forehead. He brought his other one to it to rub it gently after pulling away from her. She winced painfully and squeezed her eyes shut.
"It hurts so much," Bella whimpered and opened her eyes.
"It's okay, love. We should be at the hospital soon," Edward whispered soothingly.
"I want my dad," Bella mumbled, crying softly.
"I called him," Edward assured. "He is coming."
The ambulance came to a screeching halt in front of the emergency entrance. The EMTs went to the doors to open them. They climbed out and unloaded Bella. They pushed her toward the entrance with Edward walking alongside the stretcher. Alice pulled up and turned off the engine. She exited it and followed the group into the hospital. They were barely inside when a nurse and a doctor rushed up to them.
"It's about time you got here," the doctor said as he and the nurse walked alongside Bella.
"You can blame the traffic," the first EMT said sarcastically.
"Don't forget the pedestrians," the second EMT added.
"How is the victim?" the nurse asked. She heard Bella's painful winces and saw her point downward. "I think that answered my question."
The doctor scratched his head. "No shit."
"My family and Charlie are on their way," Edward said and shuddered softly.
The nurse nodded. "We'll take over from here."
Edward and Alice stopped as the EMTs, the nurse, and the doctor took Bella through the ER doors. He grabbed the back of his neck with both hands while she touched her forehead. They hoped this wouldn't take long. He wanted that more than she did because he desired to be back at his girlfriend's side.
"I need to call Jacob," Edward said as he started digging into his pocket.
"You can't do that, Edward," Alice said, shaking her head. "He won't be happy to hear from you. Neither will the others when you tell them about calling him."
Edward glanced at her, his eyes pleading for understanding. "I must, Alice. He needs to know. Besides, Bella asked me to call him."
Alice sighed heavily. Though she did not want to see Jacob in her vicinity, she understood Edward's promise to Bella. She thought it would be good for her to have some friends with her, even if she and her family did not get along with them.
"All right," Alice relented. "Just be prepared for everyone else's reactions when you tell them. I'm going to park the car."
Edward nodded at Alice, who headed outside to the car and got inside it. She started it up and drove toward the parking lot.
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In the Black residence's living room, Jacob, Leah, Seth, and Embry watched Quil act as if he were a chimpanzee while sitting on the couch. The room was small. It had two armchairs, an oak coffee table, and pine end tables. A TV sitting on a wooden stand was across from it. A VCR was on top of it. Tan paint coated the walls. The floor happened to be hardwood. Jacob and Leah sat on the couch. Seth and Embry were in the armchairs.
Quil swept his hands underneath his armpits as he chittered softly. He stopped and pretended to pick a stick up off the floor. He started screeching loudly. He acted as if he were hitting the coffee table. He became quiet and still. He pretended to put his stick down before scratching his head. He let out a quiet chitter. Jacob, Leah, Seth, and Embry applauded him.
"You did a great job at being a chimp, Quil," Seth said with a light chuckle.
"Thanks," Quil said while standing tall and proud.
"If you were a real chimp, I bet you could break that coffee table in half by beating it with your fists," Jacob commented.
Quil smiled widely. "I'll do that as long as Embry does it along with me."
"I don't think so," Embry said and shook his head.
"I do think so," Quil said, nodding rapidly.
Jacob rose to his feet and patted his stomach. "I'm going to get some pizza while you two argue."
Leah joined him. "Me too."
The duo headed into the kitchen that happened to be medium-sized. The square-shaped table had matching four chairs around it. The floor was made of white tile. Scratches could be seen along the sides of the doorway. The three boxes were on top of the table and had Ophelia's Pizza Place in large dark blue letters on them. Paper plates were near them.
Jacob ran his hand over his face four times. He did the same to his hair twice. He opened the first box, which contained pepperoni pizza. He and Leah grabbed plates and got one slice each. They heard laughter and looked toward the doorway. They could see Embry holding Quill in a headlock and giving him a noogie.
"Those two are so silly," she said warmly.
"They can't get enough of goofing around with each other," he said, taking a bite out of his pizza and chewing it up.
"They goof around with you just as much as they do with each other," Leah commented.
"Yeah, but they usually start it," Jacob pointed out as he swallowed. He looked at the pepperoni on her pizza. He peered out the window in the corner of his eye. "Hey, Leah. Check out that mockingbird on the windowsill."
"Where?" Leah asked and glanced at the window as he grabbed the pepperoni. She huffed disappointingly when she didn't see anything. She returned her attention to him as he popped it in his mouth. "You little sneak!"
"I got you good, huh?" Jacob asked and chewed quickly. He swallowed with a loud gulp. "Huh, huh?"
"You did, but do not do that again," Leah warned sternly. "I mean it."
Jacob was about to eat more of his pizza when the phone rang. He laid his plate down and walked toward it.
"Who could be calling tonight?" Leah wondered as she bit into her pizza.
"I don't know, Lee. It could be a prank call or a wrong number," Jacob suggested, looking over his shoulder at his friend.
She swallowed with a loud gulp. "Let's hope for the latter."
He nodded in agreement, as he turned back to the phone. "There's nothing more annoying than a prank call."
Leah ate more of her pizza as Jacob picked it up and placed it to his ear. She put her plate down before closing the box.
"Hello?" Jacob asked and groan annoyingly when he heard Edward's voice. "Edward how did you get this number?" His jaw dropped at what he heard next. "What? Oh, no."
Leah looked toward him while swallowing. Quil, Embry, and Seth came into the kitchen. All four of them listened to him talk to Edward. They saw him run his hand over hair. Jacob hung up the phone and glanced at his friends.
"Bella is at the hospital, guys. She was raped by Mike while spending time with him. Edward and Alice found her at her home on the kitchen floor," he said seriously.
Leah gasped in horror. "Oh, no!"
"Is she all right?" Seth wondered.
"Edward said she was bruised and had a swollen lip and a bump on the head. He also said she was hurting bad in her vaginal area," Jacob explained.
Quil looked as if he were about to fall over. "Oh, shit."
"I don't think I want to know any more right now," Embry said truthfully.
"I'm going to the hospital to see her once she gets out of the ER," Jacob responded and swallowed hard.
"Are the rest of the Cullens going to be there?" Quil asked.
"It may not be wise for you to go if they are," Embry said.
Jacob bit his lip. "Edward said the other Cullens are on their way, but I don't care if they are there. Bella is our friend. Any animosity we have toward them isn't important right now. Her health is. I'm going to wait for her. You're welcome to join me."
Jacob walked into the living room. He picked his keys up off the end table as Leah joined him. She touched his shoulder, causing him to look at her.
"I'll go with you, Jake," Leah whispered gently.
"We're coming too," Quil said as he, Embry, and Seth joined her side. "Bella deserves to see all of us."
Jacob sighed in relief and blinked twice. "Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me. It really does."
Leah, Seth, Quil, Embry nodded at their friend, who sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye. Embry went to get his keys from the other end table. He returned to the group.
"I'm going to ride with Jake," Leah said while clasping her hands together.
"That's fine, sis. I'd rather ride with Embry," Seth said.
"Me too," Quil added.
"I forgot to say this, but Edward said Charlie is on his way to the hospital. I suspect Dad and Harry are too," Jacob said, tightening his grip on his keys.
Leah raised her hand. "I'll call Mom once we get there."
"So will I with mine," Embry said.
"The same goes for me with mine," Quil added.
Jacob looked toward the front door. "We'd better get going. We could be in for a long wait."
Jacob, Leah, Seth, Quil, and Embry rushed out the door. Embry climbed into his dark brown truck, as did Seth and Quil. Jacob locked the door and got into his light brown truck, followed by Leah. Both trucks were the same brand as Bella's was. They looked faded in many spots. They had dents in their right back sides and scratches on their front left sides. They had only tape players. Jacob and Embry started them up. Jacob pulled out of the driveway and drove right. Embry followed him close behind.
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The two trucks went through the forest six minutes later. Jacob moved his hands down the steering wheel. Leah watched the trees go by. She clasped her hands together and twirled her thumbs around. She let out a sad sigh before closing her eyes. He gazed at her, sliding his hands toward the top of the wheel. She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Poor Bella. Not once did I ever think she'd be raped," she whispered and opened her eyes.
"Neither did I," he replied. "Even worse is that this happened six months after those mysterious murders."
"Those murders still haven't been solved," Leah pointed out. "I don't know if they ever will be."
"Me neither," Jacob mumbled, becoming tense. "Whoever killed those people had a sick mind."
She emitted a small sniffle. "I have a feeling Bella will have a tough time dealing with what happened to her."
He snarled in anger. "There's nothing more I'd love do than get my hands on Mike and slam him against a wall hard enough to make a hole in it." He hit the wheel and yelled in frustration. "He deserves it!"
Leah formed a sympathetic expression on her face. She was just as angry as Jacob was about the situation. She hoped that Mike would be arrested soon. He breathed deeply, calming down.
"If there's one upside in all of this, it's that Edward and Alice found Bella," Jacob said. "If the Cullens hadn't come home early, she wouldn't have been found until tomorrow afternoon."
"I can't imagine her laying on the kitchen floor all night," Leah whispered, her body trembling somewhat.
"I can imagine Charlie is feeling a lot of anger toward Mike for what he did," Jacob said, looking down at his lap. Everyone knows how protective fathers are of their daughters."
"Daddy once promised if anyone hurt me that he'd hunt them down until he found them," Leah pointed out.
"Dad said the same thing about Rachel and Rebecca," Jacob said and patted the wheel gently as he looked ahead.
"I admire your father so much. He worked hard to raise you and your sisters after your mother died in that car accident," Leah said and smiled lightly.
"My sisters filled the role of mother to me. That helped me to recover from the pain. I owe them. I miss them a lot," Jacob added.
"Sometimes, I wish I had a sister instead of a brother. Seth gets on my nerves a lot," she grumbled and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"I got on Rebecca and Rachel's nerves too. That's what younger siblings do to their older siblings. It's nothing unusual," Jacob said quietly. He became serious very quickly. "I'll tell you this, Lee. If someone ever hurts you, I'll join your father in helping him hunt them down until we find them."
"You'd do that for me?" Leah asked in much surprise.
Jacob nodded. "Yeah. So would the rest of the guys. We wouldn't let anyone get away with hurting you."
Leah was so touched by his words that she felt tears come to her eyes. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."
He reached over and patted her shoulder very gently. He gave it a gentle rub and felt her put her hand over his. He saw her pull it away and returned his to the wheel. They observed a bald eagle flying in the distance. They looked toward the road.
"I am feeling nervous about being questioned by police," Leah muttered and swallowed hard.
"So am I, but we have to do whatever we can to help in the investigation," Jacob replied. "Otherwise, the police won't be able to bring Mike in."
"Maybe we'll be questioned together with Embry, Quil, and Seth. That'd make things a little easier," Leah said hopefully.
He nodded in agreement. "I'll be near you if you want me to."
She smiled. "Sure."
Jacob glanced at Leah and nodded at her. He returned his attention to the road. Both trucks passed a bobcat sniffing the ground.
"Enough about the rape. Let's talk about something else," she suggested.
"Like what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The fact your father paid you twenty bucks to try to convince Bella to break up with her boyfriend," Leah said, chuckling humorlessly.
"I could not understand it myself," Jacob said, giving a shrug. "Something inside me told me not to question it."
"I would have probably had the same feeling you did," Leah admitted and scratched her neck.
"Weird things happen all the time everywhere in the world. It is what it is," Jacob whispered, pressing his lips together.
"We all have a little weirdness in ourselves," Leah said while rubbing her nose. "Nothing can change that."
Jacob nodded in agreement. The trucks started to go a little faster as the wind picked up a little bit.
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At the Newton residence, Mike pulled clothes out of the third dresser drawer. He stuffed them into a duffel bag that lay on his bed after going there. He headed to his closet and opened it to grab some things. He put them in the bag. Another two had already been packed and placed into his truck. His truck happened to be the same brand as Bella's was. It was dark blue and was faded in some spots. A dent could be seen on the bumper.
His heart pounded against his chest as he raced to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste. He returned to his room and stuffed them in the bag. He zipped it closed and ran his hand through his hair four times. He did the same over his face twice. He placed his hands on his sides and bit his lip. He looked up at the ceiling.
He emitted a shuddering breath. He was determined to get out of Forks. He couldn't stay here because it was likely the townspeople would go looking for him once they found out about the rape. He was eighteen, so he was an adult legally and could have his name posted in the news. He knew his victim would remain anonymous unless she decided to give her name. Despite his taunting her over Edward possibly abandoning her, he knew that it was unlikely that would ever happen. Edward wouldn't be the only one after him. Charlie would also be coming for him, as an angry father was worse than an angry boyfriend could ever be.
His thoughts drifted toward his parents. He knew it was more than likely they would disown him because they held Bella in high regard since she was their best employee and thought of her as a daughter. He had a feeling his father would be the angrier of the two as the latter had always been temperamental, though he had never taken it out on him or his mother. He was aware they did not trust him due to his taking many walks late at night as they found them suspicious, though they were not that way when they first started. He took comfort in the fact he had a stash of cash he saved from his job at their store and allowances.
Mike shook his thoughts out of his head. He grabbed the bag and headed downstairs quickly. He opened the front door and slammed it shut. He went to his truck and threw it in the bed. It landed next to the other bags. He climbed in and started the engine. He pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street. He swallowed hard.
