(Bella's pov)

I breathed a sigh of relief once we crossed the boundary line, Jacob ended up taking us to the cliff that I had cliff dived off of a century ago. He turned off the bike and helped me as I gracelessly stumbled to take a seat on the ground beside him a few feet away. Frustrated, I grabbed the hem of my wedding skirt and ripped most of the fabric off, freeing my legs so I could sit down comfortably. Jacob laughed, "I shudder to think of the gobs of money you just wasted by destroying that thing."

I couldn't help but return his mirth, "Hell, I didn't even pick out this gaudy thing. In fact, I had nothing to do with any of the planning. And certainly not the clown make-up she painted on me." I cringed, hard. "Sorry, I know I look like a horrible mess."

Jacob looked deep into my eyes, "You're too beautiful to ever look like a 'mess', of any kind." I blushed crimson and he chuckled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we gazed towards the setting sun.

"We have a lot to talk about." I started after a long pause.

"We do." He agreed, solemn. "But I won't push you, we can talk whenever you're ready to."

I smiled at him, Jake has always understood me, better than anyone else on the planet. "I think I'm ready now."

"Okay. Then let's start with an easy one, what made you finally change your mind?"

I took a deep breath and answered, "You."

He looked down at me curiously, "How? I was gone. I-" He stopped there, a bit choked up with emotion.

"Well, you're probably going to laugh, or threaten to have me thrown in an asylum." I warned him.

"Sounds promising. I'm intrigued now."

"Okay, well, it all really started after the last time I saw you. Y'know, when you were… broken. I started having… dreams. Every single night. About you." I blushed a deeper crimson with my confession.

"Ooo, go on, anything spicy?" He lightly teased me to ease the tension.

I somehow managed to blush even redder, "Er, uh- well. Not really. Okay sometimes but that's not what really did it. You talked to me every night. You… made me see things that I had stubbornly refused to acknowledge. You made me face the truth and you wouldn't tolerate me turning away from it anymore."

"So why did you wait until today, why didn't you drop the glorified disco ball before?"

"Well, I tried, I did. He wouldn't allow it. I wasn't there by choice, Jacob. I'm starting to realize that a lot of things weren't by my choice." I looked down at the ground, ashamed. "There's something else I should probably tell you, I started… 'seeing you'. Y'know, when I was awake, even though you weren't really there… you told me I- that I didn't have to go through it. I could still save myself but I thought it was hopeless, then you really did show up and you- you saved me Jacob, even though I don't deserve it. You saved me." I lifted my head to look into his eyes again, my own filling with tears. He smiled comfortingly and wiped a fallen tear away.

"It's okay honey, it's okay. First of all, you're worth saving. You always have been, you always will be. Second, I don't think you're 'crazy' or that you 'need an asylum'. I think you're a woman, who's been through a lot, more than you'll ever really tell anyone. Maybe those… visions were your own mind trying to convince you to keep fighting. Self preservation, y'know? Promise me you'll tell me if you have any more, okay? I don't care what you hear or see, I want to know, okay?"

I nodded, "I promise." I was glad I had told him, I could always rely on Jake to make me feel safe. Understood. "You also made me see them, for real, I mean. I… I had been a fool, Jake. I- I realized they were monsters and that I- I don't want to be. I don't, Jake. I want to live." Talking was getting a bit hard with the sobs trying to choke me.

Jacob rubbed my back, "I'm glad, honey. I am so happy to hear you say that, I was so afraid that- that I was going to lose you. That we all were going to lose you."

I took a few more deep breaths and continued. "That's not all Jacob. You made me realize that I did love you, that I had loved you all along. That… that I had settled because I felt that I didn't deserve you. I've hurt you, Jacob. I know I have, I've hurt you a lot."

"You were hurting too, Bella. That's what hurt me the most, that you were hurting and alone and I couldn't reach you. Couldn't get you to see reason. That you were stuck in a toxic, unhealthy relationship and I couldn't do anything about it." He sighed, "If you loved someone who truly cared for you, and didn't continue to hurt and control you, I would have been happy for you, Bella. If he had been any sort of a good man for you, I would have given you my undying support."

We gazed into each other's eyes. "I know that now."

"So, where do we go from here?"

I turned towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck, admiring the glow of the setting sunlight on his skin. In his eyes. "I don't care, as long as we're together."

He placed his forehead against mine. "Together." He echoed in agreement. We began to lean into each other for a kiss, but I placed my hand on his lips and smiled shyly. "Best let me wash the layers of gunk off first."

He laughed, "I suppose you're wanting a shower, then?"

"I'm dying for one. There's no way I don't smell like death, forget the makeup counter Alice smeared all over my face."

As he stood, he helped me up to my feet, keeping us entwined. "You can shower at my place, if you'd like. I don't mind lending you some clothes."

I smiled gratefully, "Actually, I was kind of hoping you'd let me crash for at least a few days. Me and Charlie, that is."

"Hmm? You're both welcome anytime, you know that. But can I ask why?"

"Well, remember how I told you I wasn't there by choice? That I had tried the breaking up route?" he nodded, "Well, Edward and his family kind of made it clear that if I didn't, well, behave, they would hurt Charlie. I know I have no right to ask, but I'm asking for protection. For me and my father."

"They What?!"

"In hindsight, I probably should have led with that."

He hugged me close, "It'll be okay, honey. I'll get you to my place, then I'll phase and get in contact with the others. We'll get your father here as soon as possible."

We didn't waste anymore time, Jacob drove me to his house, he told me to help myself to anything in his drawers and left for the trees that lined his father's property. I headed straight for his room to grab some fresh clothes, a pair of his sweat pants and a black t-shirt, and then took a towel from the towel closet into their tiny bathroom. I wasted no more time and stripped out of the god awful wedding dress and climbed in under the piping hot spray. Grateful, I used the bottle of Old spice I had found in the shower, assuming it was Jacobs, and scrubbed my face and skin until it was pink and washed the copious amount of hair products out of my hair. Once I was dried and dressed, I used Jacobs hair brush to brush out my hair and two of his hair pieces, one to tie my hair up and the other to gather some of the extra fabric of his shirt so I could tuck it in. As I finally left the little bathroom, I gathered up my wedding garb and threw it into the trash can. I took the sapphire comb that had been in my hair and stored it on Jacob's dresser drawer for the time being. As I walked out into the living room, Jacob walked in then.

"How did it go? Are they bringing him here?" I asked.

"They already left the wedding a while ago, apparently they gave the Cullens their walking papers. Sam wants to have a pack meeting, he says there's something that we all need to know, especially me. And you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, it's a first, he insists that you be there, too."

"What about Charlie?"

"My dad's still there with him, Sam insists Billy'll make absolutely sure that Charlie comes home with him. They are best friends, after all."

Jacob sat down on the couch, I walked over and took a seat on his lap. He looked up at me in surprise. "Jake, what if it's not just my dad that could be in trouble? What if they decide to keep Billy, too?" I tried to fight down the panic that was steadily rising in my gut.

"I'm sure they won't, Billy's the chief, they would literally be declaring war."

"Jake."

He brushed a fallen strand of hair behind my ear. "We'll talk with the others, Sam at least seems to know something we don't, after all. And if our dad's don't drunkenly stumble home soon, or wheel home, we'll go and get them."

Feeling a bit more reassured, I asked what time the meeting would be. Jacob said that we were due at Emily and Sam's house in about two hours. It was then that my stomach made an embarrassingly loud rumble. I hid my face in my hands while Jacob laughed. "Haven't eaten in a while, have you?"

"I was too stressed out and nervous. It's been about two days, I think, since I ate something."

"Bella, you really shouldn't be doing that. You need to actually, you know, eat." He gently reprimanded me.

"I know, I know, it's just a really bad habit. Edward-the Cullens, they kind of found the act repulsive."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, so I tried to keep my… human needs… to a bare minimum."

He shook his head, "I swear, everyday I learn something new that makes me hate him more." He sighed, "Well, I'm starved too. Let's get you fed before we leave."

We meandered into the kitchen together and Jacob gestured for me to sit while he looked around. I wanted to offer to make something simple, mostly because I'm not used to people taking care of me, but I knew it would be futile with Jacob. He pulled his head out of the fridge, "How do you feel about deli meat sandwiches and chips?"

I smiled, "Sounds perfect, Jake." He grinned back and began to assemble his ingredients. I watched as he went about the very serious business of making sandwiches, I didn't even have to tell him what I wanted on mine, he already knew. It was such a simple thing, really, but the fact that he cared enough to remember just really touched me. He sat the plate in front of me with a bag of doritos and a can of cola.

"Two sandwiches?" I asked as I assessed them.

"You did say you hadn't eaten in two days." He reminded me.

"The sad thing is I actually think I could handle them." I eagerly picked one up and took a huge bite, he really did make the best sandwiches. We ate together, smiling ear to ear. It amazed me to be with someone who didn't find my 'human side' repulsive. He didn't make comments about my weight or what I was eating. He didn't sneer and tell me to hurry up, or that I had enough. It was such a simple, silly thing and yet… the realization meant everything to me. I really could be me with Jacob. Somehow, I didn't doubt that Jacob loved me at my hundred and ten pounds, and that he would love me just as much at two hundred and ten. That he would love me even when the passage of time had taken its toll on my youthful skin, when my hair turns gray. It wasn't that long ago that I had had a vision, as we kissed on the mountain. I could see it so crystal clear now, us growing old together, surrounded by our family.

I continued to gaze lovingly at him as we ate our food, in complete wonder. He seemed to be feeling a similar sentiment, as he gazed at me too. It was cliche, and cheesy, but so Bella and Jacob. Once we finished eating, and I helped Jacob straighten up, we headed out the door. He opened the passenger door to his rabbit for me then walked around and entered on the driver's side. The sun had long set and the full moon shone in the starry sky. It vaguely reminded me of the most recent dream I had had. The drive wasn't terribly long and we arrived at Emily's house, where it seemed everyone had been waiting for us. Hand in hand Jacob and I walked up to the door, nerves and curiosity buzzed through my system. "It's okay." Jacob quietly reassured me as he squeezed my hand. "Ready?" I took a deep cleansing breath and nodded.