Back to the Start

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Suspicions

Bella didn't see Jacob again for two weeks.

Sam Uley had reacted badly to his transformation. Even with Jacob mentoring him, he panicked, running off to hide deep in the forest. It had been the ultimate test of Jacob's leadership skills, and exemplary patience, that he finally managed to get Sam to calm down enough so that he switched back to his human form.

Sam was now staying at the Blacks house with Jacob. He still wasn't in the right frame of mind to be around other people. He refused to talk about the experience. He wouldn't talk to his mother or to Leah. He believed he'd gone insane and was having delusions. He lived in fear of another transformation, staying away from anything that might trigger another phase.

Billy decided to call a council meeting and invited Jacob and Sam to come along. Reluctantly Sam attended, listening to the elders- which included Old Quil and Harry Clearwater-explain in clearer detail about what had happened to him and that everything he thought were myths were really facts, and that some members of their tribe had the power to transform into werewolves, and that there were real vampires.

Hearing the facts from the older men of the tribe seemed to carry more weight with Sam than merely taking Jacob's word for it. The main reason was that Jacob was still a kid in his eyes, a sophomore, while he was a senior, older, and supposedly more mature. Was he really supposed to take orders from a kid?

Sam's relationship with his mother and Leah became more difficult because he couldn't give away any information about what had happened to him. His relationship with Leah was strained, but not broken. She was trying to be understanding and respect his need for space, but as he couldn't give her a valid reason why he was suddenly pushing her away, she struggled, losing patience as well as her temper on the few occasions they saw each other face to face.

All this information was relayed to Bella over the phone one night by a weary Jacob. "I miss you, honey." He said tiredly. "Its just not safe for you to come here while Sam is having difficulty controlling himself. And I can't come to you, I worry he might accidentally phase in the house while I'm gone and Billy might get hurt."

"I miss you too, Jake." Bella hated that he sounded so down. She wanted to be there to support him, but he remained adamant that it just wasn't safe for her to visit right now. She was willing to take the risk, but he wasn't willing to let her, leaving them both at an impasse.

Charlie noticed that Jacob wasn't around as much anymore. He questioned Bella about his absence, worried that they'd had a falling out. The official story was that Jacob had mono, but Charlie had spotted Jacob out with Sam Uley near the local store in La Push, so he knew that was a lie. He became aggravated when he expressed his concerns to Billy, who just kept giving him the brush off.

"What's going on, Bells?" He asked. "Have you and Jacob had a disagreement about something? Is that why he hasn't been coming around?"

"No, Dad." Bella said, repeating the lie. "Jake has mono."

Charlie huffed in annoyance. "I saw him at the local store in La Push with that Sam Uley. He looked perfectly fine to me."

"Oh, are you sure it was him?" Bella tried to sound nonchalant. "You might have mistaken him for someone else."

Charlie saw right through her attempt to feign cool indifference. She knew something, he was sure of it, but he didn't call her out on it, instead he headed for the phone again and called Harry Clearwater. He chatted with his old friend for a while about inconsequential things. Harry told him he had been in the hospital for some kind of tests for his heart, as usual he made light of it, impressing upon Charlie that it wasn't anything serious, just Sue being overcautious.

Charlie's forehead got all pinched together at the thought that his friend was blowing him off just like Billy had earlier. For different reasons, maybe, but it still hurt. Eventually he brought up the subject of Jacob, asking Harry if he knew anything. Just as he had with his health, Harry made a series of wisecracks, laughing and declaring that Charlie worried too much and insisting there was nothing wrong.

"The boy will be back under your feet in no time, I'm sure." He said calmly. "Billy is taking good care of him."

Charlie put the phone down, still none the wiser, about what was really going on. Bella was at work, doing an afternoon shift at Newtons, so he decided to take the opportunity to use her laptop and do a little digging. All he knew about mono was that you were supposed to get it from kissing, which was clearly not the case with Jake. He read through the symptoms on-line quickly-fever, sore throat, exhaustion, headaches. Charlie dismissed each one. Jacob had looked perfectly healthy when he saw him outside the store. No, this mono thing was just a lame excuse to cover up something else, he was sure of that.

He glared at the computer screen and wondered why, exactly, he was doing this. Why did he feel so…so suspicious, like he didn't believe Billy's story? Why would Billy lie to him? Why was Harry colluding with Billy? How much did Bella know?

Charlie thought he was being silly, probably. He was just worried, and, to be honest, he was afraid that his friends were keeping him in the dark on purpose because they didn't trust him with the truth. The thought made him feel sad.

He skimmed through the rest of the article, looking for more information. He stopped when he got to the part about how mono could last more than a month.

A month? His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Well, it had only been two weeks and Jacob was already out and about. He had definitely seen him. That, right there, was proof he had been lied to. He'd give Billy a week, he decided, before he got pushy. A week was generous.

Charlie wasn't the only one who was struggling. Bella was, too, but for different reasons. Even though she understood why she had to stay away from La Push right now, she was missing Jacob badly. She missed his sunny presence, his warm hugs, his laugh, his smiles, his joyful exuberance, and unfailing optimism. Without him life was dull.

When she wasn't at school or at work, she was in the house much too much, and much too alone. Without Jacob, everything she had been repressing started to creeping up on her. The frightening dreams were becoming more frequent. She could no longer see the end coming. The nightmares would fade to black, just like in a movie reel.

Even Charlie seemed distant. He was often distracted, always preoccupied. Something was clearly playing on his mind. She would initiate conversation with him, only to find his mind had wandered. Wherever it had gone, it was someplace sad. He would sigh, his brown eyes troubled, his gaze turned inward, as he if he was questioning everything he knew about himself.

Bella hoped that this wasn't going to go on for much longer. The brief phone calls with Jacob were not enough to sustain her, and she could tell by his weary tone that it was the same for him.

Charlie was relieved beyond measure the morning he woke up and remembered it was Saturday. The week was at an end. It was time to get pushy.

As soon as he made it down the stairs he dialed, tapping his foot impatiently. It took him off guard when Billy answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Billy. Its Charlie." He tried to keep his tone casual. "I was calling to see how Jacob was doing. Is he up for visitors yet? I was thinking about dropping by. I know Bells would love to come up for a visit. I could bring her – "

"I'm sorry, Charlie." Billy interrupted, and Charlie wondered whether he was watching TV, he sounded distracted. "He's not in."

"Oh." It took Charlie a second. "So, he's feeling better then?"

"Yeah." Billy hesitated for an instant too long. "Turns out it wasn't mono after all. Just some other virus."

"Oh. So…where is he?"

"One of his friends gave him a ride into Port Angeles. I think they were going to catch a double feature or something. He's gone for the whole day."

"Is that so?" Charlie didn't bother to hide his sarcasm. "Well, that's a relief. I'm glad he felt good enough to go out. It's a pity he couldn't fit in time to call my daughter and tell her he was okay. She still thinks he has mono."

"Oh, I'm sure he will." Billy said hastily. "When he has time."

"He has time to catch a double feature." Charlie carried on in the same sarcastic tone. "What's really going on here, Billy? Why is he avoiding Bella?"

"Why? Has she said something?" Billy's voice sounded horribly phony as he began to babble.

"No. This is coming from me." Charlie ground out. "I thought they might have had a falling out over something."

"Not that I know of." Billy said vaguely. "You worry too much, Charlie. Is there anything else in particular you wanted?"

"No, not really."

"Well, I'll tell Jacob you asked after him and I'll remind him to call Bella." Billy promised. "Bye, Charlie."

But Charlie had already hung up.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Something wrong, Dad?" Bella asked as she came down the stairs.

"No." Charlie lied, hanging up the phone. "Billy says Jacob is feeling miraculously better. It wasn't mono after all."

"Oh. That's good." Bella said faintly.

"So, is he coming here, or are you going there?" Charlie asked, testing Bella's reaction, as he walked into the kitchen and started poking through the fridge.

"Um, neither." Bella admitted. "He's going out with some other friends."

The tone of her voice caught Charlie's attention. He knew when she was lying. He looked up at her, his hands frozen around a package of cheese slices. "So, he's called you?"

"No."

"Then how do you know he's out with friends?"

"Oh, um, I guessed." Bella shrugged. "Isn't it a bit early for lunch?" She said, pointing to the cheese slices he still held in his hands.

"No." Charlie said curtly, aware that Bella was trying to distract him. "I've decided to go fishing."

"With Harry?"

"No. On my own." Charlie snapped. He turned away from her, starting to create a stack of food on the counter. He hadn't planned on going fishing alone, but he wanted to go someplace on his own, where he could think in peace and put things into perspective. He was too wound up to seek company. A nice, quiet day by the riverside would calm him down.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Bella ventured to ask, troubled by his sharp tone.

"I'm fine, Bella." Charlie had to work hard to sound indifferent. "Don't worry about me, kiddo. I'll be fine." He didn't care that he lied, everyone else was, so why shouldn't he?

Bella stared at him; indecision clear on her face. She knew that something was worrying him, she was afraid to leave it, but was also afraid to push it, just in case he started to ask anymore awkward questions about Jacob. Questions that she had no idea how to answer.

A/N-thanks for reading!