Jacob called the very next day of the Bella incident. Rose had been sure he needed more time to digest things but based on last time… He knew to not let time get between them.

Jake was watching TV on the couch when she opened the door to his house, it was a rare sight all by itself. He usually didn't like watching TV. It was an activity he reserved for her company only. He preferred to go out and do something. Fish or fix an old car.

"Since when do you watch TV, Jake?"

He turned to look at her and smiled sweetly. Her heart melted. "Come sit with me."

They watched the news for a good ten minutes. Jake was relaxed, arm around her and eyes on the television. But she could tell his mind was miles and miles away from there.

"Did you talk with Bella again?" Rose asked, genuinely curious. She ignored the tiny jealous monster growing inside of her heart, willing to take over. "She seemed upset last night–"

"Bella had no reason to be upset." Jake shook his head, still looking at the TV. "I don't snoop around her love life, so I expect the same."

Rose blinked at his firm words. She was sure Jake was going to fall into Bella's feet again. She had underestimated him. "You told her that?"

"Word for word."

"So you don't… like her anymore?" Rose felt very stupid at that moment. She was dating a guy who could be in love with another girl. When did she start accepting relationships like this? First accepting Emmett's violence and now accepting a guy she was not sure could ever love her.

Jake finally broke his very important eye contact with the TV to look at her. "You know, all of these years I thought I was in love with her. But now that I'm with you, I understand and see those feelings for what they were, just friendship."

Rose's heart stopped for a moment because the most vulnerable side of her soul had yearned to hear those words out of his mouth for all of the months they'd known each other.

"Bella has been my best friend since I can remember, you know? I do love her. She's been with me for the most important moments of my life. She's my best friend. At some point, I thought it was inevitable to become something else. But now I don't feel that way."

Rose tried to think about a time when Jacob had lied, but she came up with nothing. Besides, the truth was clear in Jacob's sincere eyes. A sight that threatened to consume her.

"I don't know why she's upset, Rose–"

"If she's your best friend, she must have felt betrayed by finding out about us like that."

"I don't know." He ran a hand through his dark hair. "I really don't know."

"Why don't you call her to straighten things up?" As much as Rose did not like the idea of Jacob and Bella talking, a part of Jacob's heart will always be upset. Bella was his best friend after all.

"I don't want to talk to her right now." Jacob shrugged and his eyes returned to the TV.

She looked at Jacob's profile. Again, his eyes were on the TV, but his mind was elsewhere. Probably still with Bella in that theater. She will find out what they had discussed in time.

In hopes of distracting Jabob, she reached for his hand and kissed his knuckles, then his cheek, and then his neck. Rose never kissed him there but was surprised to find out Jake was quite sensitive. He sighed and exposed his neck. She continued nipping and sucking on all his sensitive spots. With a rough hand, he brought her to straddle his lap.

When their mouths connected, she sighed. The television was still playing but they paid it no mind. Rose took off her shirt and Jacob helped her with the bra. She shuddered when Jacob's mouth started sucking one of her breasts. "You're perfect." Without conscious thought, she started grinding down on his lap. Both of them groaned when she picked up her pace.

"Let me touch you, Rose." He whispered as he kissed her neck.

With a swift movement, her back was on the couch so she could look at Jacob. His half-lidded eyes were full of lust. Jake unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off her legs. Goosebumps filled her skin when his fingers caressed her skin.

Her breath quickened when Jacob's lips touched hers again. Heat filled her whole body, aching for more. Her eyes fell shut in pleasure when she parted her lips and he started to suck her bottom lip. His hand traveled from the nape of her neck to her clothed sex. "Can I touch you?"

"Please–" She whimpered.

Her underwear disappeared and she was bare in front of a boy for the first time. She had no time to feel embarrassed or the injustice –or being the only one naked– because his index finger massaged her slit.

"Oh god–"

She had tried late at night to touch herself. It definitely never felt like this. She would feel pleasure from her movements down at her clit but never enough to climax.

Rose could feel herself getting close.

He extended the wetness from her center to her clit. The first touch sent electricity to her fingertips. He massaged her special spot with circular motions. His other hand started massaging her right breast, plucking and rolling her nipple. A small moan of pleasure slipped past her mouth in a sigh.

The hand on her clit now pressed at her entrance. His fingers spread her open and rubbed her. His finger was tickling and massaging something deep inside of her. She felt the finger inside of her start to pump firmly in and out of her while his thumb started massaging her clit, her entrance clenched with the movement. She heard herself gasp in pleasure. Hips started to follow the movements of his hands in their own accord.

She could not hear anything else but her erratic breathing. "Jake I–"

Rose was close, really close…

"Come for me."

The waves of pleasure within her belly and core started to explode, she saw stars behind her eyes. Her legs started shaking from the pleasure deep inside of her.

After she caught her breath, she realized the state of her stark nakedness and blushed immediately. When she looked at Jacob, he was sucking the finger that had been inside of her, and her breath and heart started to catch again.

Jacob brought her back with a deep kiss and she felt hardness inside her thigh. Rose widened her eyes in the kiss. How selfish of her? She got her orgasm, and they were done, just like Emmett did with her. He didn't care about anyone's pleasure but his own.

Her shaking hands extended to touch Jacob's hardness, still covered with clothing.

"Don't–" He grunted when her hands massaged him.

"But–" She furrowed her brows.

"I'm good, Rose." His voice was choked. "This was about you." He flipped them over on the couch so that his back was to the couch and her head firmly positioned on his chest, over his heart. She looked in awe at him. "You sure?"

In all honesty, it looked painful. What did they call them? Ah, right. Blue balls

"I'm good, sweetheart." He kissed her forehead.

Rose yawned and adjusted her position.

"Are you cold?"

Jake snatched one of the cover-ups lying in the back of the sofa. Her eyes closed.

xxx

The day started in Jacob's bed. Weird because she remembered falling asleep on the couch, naked. Now she had woken up in his bed with one of his big T-shirts. Her cheeks turned red trying to imagine Jake putting on her clothes.

This time she knew better to wait for Jacob, she did not want any weird meeting with Billy. She turned on the TV and watched the news. Some animal attacks and some explicit images that she chose to ignore and change the channel.

After a few minutes of going through all of the channels, Jake opened the door. He was fully clothed in sportswear, sweat framing his features. "Hey." Jacob kissed her forehead and went straight to the bathroom. She heard the shower start "Do you want to go for some breakfast?" He asked inside the bathroom.

"Sure. I'll get a shower after you're done."

They were going to have breakfast at the very same diner she had visited with Seth that one time. Neither of them said anything about it.

Jacob ordered some type of omelet and Rose basic pancakes.

"What do you want to do this weekend?" Jake took a mouthful of his omelet and looked at her.

She shrugged "Do you have something in mind?"

He swallowed. "There's a party tonight. I figured it could be a good opportunity for both of us to hang with Bella."

The piece of pancake in her mouth allowed her a few more seconds to think. Rose wasn't sure how excited she was at the prospect of hanging with Bella. She never even talked with Bella like ever, and when she tried… "Where is it?"

"Do you know Mike Newton?"

"I mean I've seen him around I guess."

"I don't like him much either but–" He shrugged, "It's in his place, and Bella asked."

Rose smiled tightly "Sure. Why not."

Jacob left Rose in her house to take a bath and change clothes. He will come over later today to go to the party together.

Rose was surprised that Jess and the girls did not mention anything about this party. They usually instated that she went out and stuff. Maybe they did but Rose was not paying attention. She barely heard what the topics of conversation were at lunch these days.

At night, Rose was ready with her jeans and a cute pink blouse. She looked at herself in the mirror, she had applied just some mascara, concealer, and red in her cheeks. She reached for one of the pink glosses. Should she have done more with her face?

A ring interrupted her thoughts. Jacob was waiting at her doorstep with a charming smile and wearing a leather jacket. He did have a motorcycle after all. "Ready?" She smiled back and kissed him on the cheek.

The ride to Mike's house was exceptionally short. Who would have thought he lived so close? It was a small town after all.

Mike had a small home already full of teenagers drinking in red solo cups. Linkin Park was blasting through the speakers. They entered the house hand in hand.

Some people Rose recognized from Forks High School smiled and greeted Jacob. People she never talked with and she went to Forks High School.

"What up, Playboy!" A guy with dark skin slapped Jacob on the shoulder.

"Hey, Ty," He laughed back, "This is my girlfriend, Rose."

"Oh, I know who she is." Tyler looked her up and down and smirked. "Why didn't you tell me your girl was this beautiful."

Jake chuckled.

"Tyler Crowley, my lady." He kissed the back of her hand and did a reverence. Rose rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.

"We'll see you around!" Jacob shouted over the music with an arm around her shoulder. People kept saying hi to him and some girls even blushed. "Let's get some drinks."

Some guests were icing drinks, and playing bartender. "You want something?" Jake asked as he rummaged through the cooler for what she supposed was beer.

"Just a coke."

"Hi, Rose!"

Rosalie turned at the sound of her name. It was Emma, probably with one or two drinks in already. Her best friend Violet was hot on her heels. "You never come to parties like this."

Rose smiled and shrugged "Here I am."

"You need to play beer pong with us!'' Violet exclaimed while taking a big gulp of her cup. "Jessica and Lauren are already playing–"

"Here." Jacob handed her a cool can of soda.

She took the coke and turned to look at the girls. They were looking at each other, their eyes dancing. Rose smirked, wait til they hear,

"You guys know my boyfriend–"

"Your boyfriend?" Emma and Violet's clear eyes were bigger than she had ever seen them. Violet even had her mouth hanging in awe.

"You're friends of Bella, right? I've seen you around." Jacob smiled.

Emma and Violet, friends of Bella? Rose could not see Miss Gossips being friends with all shy Bella. Besides, Rose had heard Em and Violet talk behind Bella's back. "We didn't know you were dating."

"Is it recent?" Emma was pale as a sheet, probably wondering how she was not aware of their relationship before. She must have been rethinking her whole gossip abilities right now.

"Just a couple of months," Rose smirked, twisting the knife.

"Why didn't you tell us, Rose?" Violet was looking between Rosalie and Jacob like she couldn't believe her eyes.

"It slipped my mind." It was not like Rose considered Emma and Violet her friends. Did they think she was completely insane? Telling Emma or Violet a piece of information was like using the loudspeaker connected to all of the hallways of the school; everyone will know said information in a matter of minutes.

"Well, enjoy the party. We'll be playing beer bong.'' Violet snatched Emma's hand and left the kitchen. They were probably going to go tell everyone.

Should she warn Jacob that once they were out of the kitchen all the party, all of the school; and all of the Forks would know about them?

"They're going to tell everyone, aren't they?" Jacob asked and Rose could not help the very un-lady-like snort that came out of her.

Jacob said hey to a couple of more friends, more introductions, more drinks…

An hour or two had passed when Jacob spotted Bella with her boyfriend Edward. She had seen him a couple of times in school. He was quite tall and pale. His hair had a red tint to it even with this poor lighting. She could see why girls fanned over him, he was handsome in a very classic way, but not at all Rosalie's type.

Edward was relatively reserved and even quiet. She would not describe him as shy, he had confidence in his posture and a presence that no shy guy could have.

"Finally, I can formally introduce you to my girlfriend," Jake said to Edward and Bella and when they said hi to each other. "This is Rose."

"I believe I've seen you once or twice at school." Edward was a senior so they generally did not see each other much. "Nice to meet you."

Rose smiled warmly, he seemed like a good enough guy. He even reminded her of herself a little bit; Rose was quite reserved too. She liked him more than Bella, that was for sure. Rose couldn't put her finger on it but, for one reason or another, Rose didn't like Bella, nevertheless, she was willing to try for Jake.

"You already know Bella." Jacob cleared his throat.

"Of course."

"Why don't we go for drinks?" Edward said, breaking the silence.

They passed a couple making out on the couches, people chatting, playing beer-pong. News was out by now because most of the girls were staring at her like she had killed their puppy. They must have been Jacob's old hookups.

Edward and Rose opened a can of Coke. Bella and Jacob had some beer.

"I want to show you something in my truck, Jake." Bella said after she finished her beer "You're not going to believe it."

Rose fought the urge to roll her eyes and instead kept her face neutral when Jacob turned to look at her. His expression read, do you mind?

Rosalie smiled tightly, go.

"I'll be right back." Jake kissed her on the lips and whispered only for her "Thanks."

Both Rosalie and Edward watched them go.

"I think they're going to be friends forever." Edwards smiled while he reclined on the kitchen countertop. "I've accepted it for a long time."

If anyone could understand her dilemma, it was him. Rose didn't know for how many years he and Bella had been dating but even if it was just a couple of months or years, Jacob had been there looking at Bella with eyes that belonged to someone in love.

"I'm still trying to come to terms with it, to be honest." She turned to look at him, he was already watching; an intensity and understanding in his eyes. "It was not long ago that he was proclaiming his love for her. I can't help but doubt myself."

It was weird telling these confessions and insecurities to a stranger. Yet it did not feel foreign. He had been in a very similar position not long ago.

"In all of the time that I've known him, he had the occasional fling but nothing serious. The fact that he's with you this proudly must say something. Don't you think so?"

"I guess." The floor seemed incredibly interesting right now.

"They were best friends before you or I even came into the picture. They need each other." Edward sighed and took a sip from his coke "You know, Bella had been down for a while. I couldn't understand why at first but then she confessed that Jacob had been distant lately."

"Didn't you feel–"

"Jealous?" Edward completed her question. "In a way, I felt that she was slipping away from me, but Jacob is a part of her, and I've come to terms with it."

Rose nodded at Edward's wisdom. "Do you trust her with him?"

"I do believe that Bella is loyal to her heart."

Loyal to her heart. Huh.

In the blink of an eye, Bella and Jake were back. Bella's eyes looked distant like her mind was far and far away. Bella looked at her boyfriend and smiled, "Let's go sit."

"I'll see you later." Edward looked at Jacob, then at Rose. She smiled and nodded.

Jacob looked quite distant too. "Are you okay?" He shook his head and reached for a new beer. "I'm good."

"Are you sure? Would you like to go outside?" Rose took the cold beer out of Jake's hand. He was driving that bike after all. Jake nodded and, hand in hand, left the kitchen. The living room was still full of people dancing and playing.

Maybe Jake wanted to leave? He didn't look so well–

"YOU son of a bitch–"

One second Jacob was trailing behind her, her hand in his; and the next one he was on the floor covering his face.

She gasped when her eyes looked at the person who had punched Jacob.

Emmett was janking Jacob's shirt from the collar, his face was in flames. Everyone stopped and stared.

"You stole my girl, asshole!" Emmett tried punching Jacob in the stomach, but this time Jake was ready and swung his arm to punch him in the eye. "Get out of here, Rose!" Jacob shouted at her, but she could barely hear him. Her ears were ringing at the sight before her. His face, his beautiful face, was full of blood. Lip cut and all.

"You'll pay for that!" Emmett groaned, clearly drunk, and landed a punch at Jacob's stomach. Everything happened in slow motion. Jacob punched him again. One on top of the other on the floor, swinging at each other.

She was going to faint.

Edward and another guy chimed in and tried separating them.

"She belongs to me," Emmet grunted, another guy restraining his hands.

"Last time I checked she was with me, you prick–"

Mike Newton, the party host, came out of nowhere with his hands in the air, "Go home guys!"

Emmett, still with a tight mouth, freed himself from the guy and started walking towards the door. He pointed a finger at her "This is not over."

She swallowed and looked at Jacob who was all bloody. "Are you okay?" Her heart broke seeing him like this because of her.

"I'm fine." Jake closed his eyes.

"There's a first aid kit in the bathroom." Mike pointed to the door on his right. She thanked him and helped Jake walk to the bathroom. Jake was quite heavy like this, arm in the back of her neck, barely walking.

Funny how this was her a couple of months ago.

Jake's eyes were completely closed when they got to the bathroom. With a tired breath, he seated him on the toilet. Lid closed of course.

The first aid kit was in one of the drawers. It was really basic stuff, but it had to work for now.

She started cleaning the cut from his lip and put a balm in his purple right eye.

He grunted when the cotton with alcohol touched his lip. "I know I know. I'm sorry."

After she was done with the cuts, with a wet towel she cleaned his sweaty face and neck. "Thank you, princess."

"I'm sorry this happened to you."

Jake furrowed his brows and opened his good eye to look at her, "This is not your fault, that fucking prick–"

"He picked up on you because of me–"

"No, Rose. This is not your fault. He's an asshole. End of the story."

Edward offered to drive Jacob's bike back to the reservation, Rose accepted even when Jacob groaned in protest. Albeit he could walk he was in no state to drive.

"Bella's going to take you both home and I'll follow her on the motorcycle."

Rose nodded and thanked him for the hundredth time.

It was a silent ride back to the reserve. Just the occasional are you okay? from Bella and Rose and Jacob's grunting, I'm fine.

When they got to the reservation Edward parked the bike right in front of the porch and so did Bella with her truck.

"Are you sure you can walk?" Bella asked as she turned off the truck's engine.

"He punched my face, not my legs." Jake grunted as he opened the door of the car "I'm fine."

Rose thanked Bella and Edward for their help while Jake went inside to take a shower. They nodded and told her to call if they needed anything at all.

It was not that late in Rose's opinion, barely midnight and Billy seemed to be already asleep, so she tried to make no noise while she opened Jacob's bedroom door. The sound of the shower greeted her when she turned the lights on. She knocked on the bathroom door "Are you hungry, Jake? Should I make you something?"

"I'm good, Rose."

"You sure?"

"I'm fine."

She turned on the TV to pass the time. Jake never took too much time in the shower, so he was done in a few minutes.

"You should put some ice on it." He was drying his head with a small towel. Jacob was already in his pajamas, well, the black sweats he used to sleep in –which disappeared in the middle of the night– Jacob was warm, and he tended to get hot while sleeping and by the few times Rose had slept over here, she knew Jake liked to sleep in underwear.

"I'm on it." His swollen eyes looked worse with this lighting. "You take a shower. I left a shirt you can use."

While he left for the ice, Rose tried to take a quick shower. Her definition and his definition of quick was not the same. Jake could take a shower in two minutes, while Rose took at least ten; in her defense, she had a lot of hair.

Her shower was done in record time. The black shirt Jake had left for her was comfortable and smelled just like him.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?"

Jake was dabbing his swollen eye with a towel with ice. "Here." She took the towel out of his hands. "Lay down," Jake grunted but obeyed.

"For the hundredth time, Rose. I'm fine."

She dabbed the ice some more "I know–"

"Just so you know I was not ready for that punch. That dickhead caught me off guard because he knew he didn't have a chance any other way–"

"Relax, Jake." He was straining himself trying to make some point. "You're going to hurt yourself."

He huffed but relaxed "I'm not that weak–"

"I know, Jake. You're a big, strong macho–"

"This is not a joke." He rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.

They both laughed "Relax, okay?" Jacob sighed and looked at the ceiling. He was probably really tired, so she left for the kitchen to dispose of the towel and the melting ice. When she returned to the room, Jake was in the same position she had left him; only his mind was very far away.

"Why did you ever go out with him?"

Rose sighed as she balanced on the edge of the bed, when she turned her head, he was already looking at her. "Good question." Jake moved over to his left and signaled the space to his right. She collided with his bed, at least she didn't have to look at him when she confessed. "It just kind of happened." She tried articulating her feelings and thoughts, maybe because Rose herself didn't even know how she got herself in that situation. "It was the first day of school, and the first days are always hard no matter how many times I have to do it. He was the first person who talked to me. He called me pretty, bought me lunch, and invited me over with some of his friends and Jessica and the girls."

What she was about to say was going to sound very pathetic, but she said it anyway. "I was happy and almost grateful that he introduced me to his friends, you know? Now I had Jess and the girls to eat lunch with."

She did not even dare to look at Jacob. Rose continued, still looking at the ceiling; pictures and feelings coming back to her. "One day he just called me his girlfriend with his friends and I just went with it. After all, they were his friends, and if I said something or refused –not that Emmett ever asked– they would stop talking to me. I wanted to have friends bad, Jacob. I never stay in one place enough time to make actual friends so I was sure that this could be it."

Saying it out loud made Rose think how the abuse and violence were not worth just some company over lunch. How could she value something so insignificant? Better alone than in bad company. Jessica and the girls were not even her friends, Rose had never considered them as such.

"First, we would kiss even if it was weird for me because clearly, I've never had a boyfriend before so I thought it had been logical to kiss Emmett but it was more of a chore than something else. Something he always started." She sighed and closed her eyes "Things escalated quickly. First, it was kisses, then it was the sex." She grimaced at the memory, her chin quivering and throat closing.

"You don't have to say it, sweetheart." She still could not look at him, but the honey-sweet tone of his voice gave her the strength to continue.

"I ne- never really gave it much thought, he just took it. He did not leave me room to think or say no, he just took it." The word she was looking for was rape, but it was so definitive, it put her in the category of the victim so easily; it made her look weak and perhaps Rose had been. She couldn't even say the word out loud.

"I would make excuses for myself, trying to convince myself that I had a choice in the matter. Like I agreed to it or something." Her voice quivered and the first tear fell. "Excuses like, he's my boyfriend so it's something expected or I'm sixteen, it was about time to have sex." Rose hiccuped and Jake wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder, bringing her closer to his warm chest. "Every time he did it, I felt so dirty, so guilty. It was my fault because I was letting him, I was–" The tears took the best of her and she sobbed, sobbed for all of the times that she couldn't.

Jacob just hugged her tighter while she tried to calm herself. She really needed to get this out. "But apparently having sex was not enough, he sometimes was so angry he hurt me afterward, and could not even stand up from the couch. My hips and arms would be purple for days. And well, you witnessed it.'' Rose cleared her throat and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Physical violence."

After a few minutes of silence, she dared to open her eyes. Jake had a fist over his closed mouth, jaw clenching. "I'm going to fucking kill him." He mumbled and shook his head.

"You're so strong, Rose." He turned to look at her. "I can't believe you went through that alone and I'm sorry you waited this long to tell me."

He wrapped his strong arms around her waist. "It's not your fault, Rose." Her chin quivered at that. The words she had longed to hear for a very long time. A sob took over her body without warning and from there she couldn't stop. Jake just stood there, comforting her with his arms and sweet nothings from his mouth. Finally, she had someone firm and steady to lean on, she had been alone for so long.

Rosalie's heart was full of gratitude for Jake. He had let her tell her story without judgment or interruptions. He just listened and understood. No judgments or pity. Up until that point, Rose didn't know how much she had to get it out of her chest. It was like she could breathe again. She was not the silent victim, not anymore.

"You're so strong and beautiful, Rose." He kissed the top of her head "I love you so much. I really do." Her heart must have stopped for a moment. Did he love her? She told him the most shameful parts of herself and he still could say such sweet things? The sobs took over her body. Someone loved her. What a strange thing to say.

Someone loved her.

He loved her.

Jacob loved her.

…

A/N:

Only one more chapter to go!