Troubleshoot
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Close Call
Bella knew what he was offering, and she wasn't going to think twice about it. Jacob had known she wouldn't. But it still hurt like a bitch.
"There isn't much you wouldn't do for me, is there?" Bella said softly. "I really don't know why you bother. I don't deserve you."
"Its not about what I deserve!" Jacob said in frustration. "Its about what I want!"
"You want kids…. now…with me?" Bella replied incredulously. "You can't really be serious, Jacob. We're still technically kids ourselves."
"I stopped being a kid the moment I phased." Jacob countered. "Does this look like the body of a typical teenage boy to you, Bella?"
Bella's gaze was immediately drawn to Jacob's sculpted chest. Instantly her cheeks began to burn, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him. His body was robust, powerful, muscled up in a way no typical teenage boy would ever be. He was beyond toned; the defined curves visible through his clothing. His muscles strained against the fabric of his black t-shirt at the forearms, biceps, and chest.
"Like what you see?" Jacob teased, noticing the heated flush on her face.
"Shut up, Jake." Bella muttered.
"No." Jacob shook his head in refusal.
Bella sighed. "This is never going to happen, Jacob. I wish I could explain it to you right so that you would understand. I can't hurt him"- she pointed to her stomach. "And what you're proposing would do just that. I love him."
Jacob scowled. "Why do you always have to love the wrong things, Bella?"
"I don't think I do."
Jacob cleared the lump out of his throat so that he could make his voice hard like he wanted. "Trust me. You do."
Bella held out her hand toward him when she saw the hurt on his face. His pain was her pain. She could never resist the urge to comfort him. "Please, Jake, try and understand. I'm not rejecting you purposefully. I just don't think you understand the full import of what you're proposing."
"I'm not stupid, Bella. I know exactly what it means." Jacob retorted. "Do you? Maybe you shouldn't reject my offer outright. Maybe you should take some time to think about it."
Bella gazed up at him pleadingly. "I won't change my mind."
Jacob could feel his addiction sucking at him, trying to keep him near her. He needed some space, to clear his head, to calm the rapid beating of his heart. "Just promise me you'll take some time to consider it. You owe me that much at least."
Bella paused, chewing hard on her lower lip. "Okay." She finally agreed, her voice barely above a whisper. She reached out to him limply, but Jacob was already backing away.
"You should go."
"You want me to leave?"
"Yes."
"But shouldn't we discuss – "
"No." Jacob shook his head adamantly, backing toward the house. "I've said all I have to say. The rest is up to you. So, please, go now."
"Bye." Bella's chocolate brown eyes filled with tears. "Love you, Jake."
Jacob almost went back. He almost turned around and fell on his knees and started begging again. But he knew he had to quit Bella, quit her cold turkey, before she killed him.
"Sure, sure."
Then he bolted for the front door.
God, what had he done?
Jacob didn't stay in the house. He ignored Paul, who was still seated on the couch, stuffing his face with something else he had rifled from the kitchen. He looked at Jacob enquiringly, but Jacob shot him such a fierce scowl that Paul decided it was better to keep his mouth shut rather than provoke him some more.
Jacob walked right through the kitchen and slipped out of the back door, heading toward his garage. He saw his bike, standing just outside. He ignored it. It wasn't fast enough now. Jeez, if his dad found out, he would freak- Sam, too. What would the pack make of it once he phased? He wasn't as skilled as Sam at keeping things private, especially when he was as riled up as he was.
Dammit, he would just have to take the risk. He could already feel the urge to shift dominating his senses.
Jacob stripped down, not caring who might be watching, and started running. He blurred into a wolf mid-stride.
Jacob. Jake, eight voices chorused in his head.
Jacob growled in disbelief. His bad luck seemed never ending. What were the odds that most of the pack would be phased when he decided to go wolf?
Jacob, what's going on? Sam demanded; his tone highly suspicious.
Jacob refused to answer, furiously trying to lock down his thoughts before the others could sift through them. He ran fast in the opposite direction to the others, the trees blurring past him as he sprinted. He didn't have to tell them he was half past crazy. The sickness in his head was obvious. He just didn't want them to see why.
Jacob, stop running. I order you to come back.
Sam used his Alpha's voice, making Jacob shudder as he tried to resist. He felt his shaggy coat ripple, his hackles rising. His pace slowed, his limbs refusing to obey his own commands, instead answering directly to the Alpha.
Jacob howled, his muzzle rising high in the air, he vented his anguish and frustration. His agonized call shocked his brothers, his anguished thoughts now plain for them to see- and for once, no one had anything to say.
Their shock was just a silent shout in his head. Wordless. !
Sam was so astounded by what he saw in Jacob's chaotic mind, that he released him from the chokehold of his command, freeing his frozen limbs.
Jacob immediately took advantage. Shame mixed with relief washed through him, as he turned tail again, heading back in the direction of home.
Bella drove home slowly, her mind full, heart heavy. The engagement ring Edward had given her suddenly weighed a hundred pounds on her finger. She wanted to shove her left hand in her pocket, or maybe sit on it, a difficult thing to do when you're driving.
She thought back to the day they had told Charlie. She had been sitting tensely in the sitting room with Edward, his cool, firm grasp on her hand making sure that the cursed ring was front and center when Charlie walked in.
"Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember you are not confessing to a murder here."
"Easy for you to say."
Bella listened to the ominous sound of Charlie's boots clumping up the sidewalk. The key rattled in the already open door. The sound reminded her of that part of a horror movie when the victim realizes that she's forgotten to lock her deadbolt.
"Calm down, Bella." Edward whispered, listening to the acceleration of her heart.
The door slammed against the wall, and Bella flinched like she had been tasered.
"Hey, Charlie." Edward called, entirely relaxed.
"No!" Bella protested under her breath.
"What?" Edward whispered back.
"Wait until he hangs ups his gun!"
Edward chuckled and ran his free hand through his tousled bronze hair.
Charlie came around the corner, still in uniform, still armed, and tried not to make a face when he spied them sitting together on the loveseat. Lately, he'd been putting forth a lot of effort to like Edward more. Of course, this latest revelation would put paid to that.
"Hey, kids, what's up?" Charlie looked at them warily, easily picking up on his daughter's tension. She was like a coiled spring, ready to bolt at any given second. That roused his suspicions at once.
"We'd like to talk to you." Edward said, still so serene. "We have some good news to share with you."
Charlie's expression went from strained friendliness to black suspicion all at once. "Good news?" He growled, looking straight at Bella.
"Have a seat, Dad."
Charlie raised one eyebrow, stared at Bella for five seconds, then stomped over to his recliner and sat down on the very edge, his back ramrod straight.
"Don't get worked up, Dad." Bella said after a moment of loaded silence. "Everything's okay."
Edward grimaced, and Bella knew it was in objection to the word okay. He would probably have used something far more flowery, like wonderful or perfect or glorious.
"Sure it is, Bella, sure it is. If everything is so great, then why are you sweating bullets?"
Why did he have to mention bullets? Bella eyes his gun holster nervously.
"I'm not sweating." She lied.
Leaning away from his fierce scowl, Bella cringed into Edward's side, wishing she could call off the whole thing.
"You're pregnant!" Charlie exploded. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"
The sound of an exhaust backfiring brought Bella back into the moment. She slammed on the brakes hard, her breath coming out in panicked bursts as she realized she had zoned out completely while driving. She stared through the tinted windshield, horrified as she saw a young woman, holding onto the hand of a small toddler, carefully leading him across the road. The young woman shook her fist at Bella, unleashing a barrage of curse words. The toddler burst into tears at the sudden noise. The woman whisked him up into her arms, glaring at the Mercedes, before running for the safety of the opposite sidewalk.
Bella was close to tears, her throat closing completely, as it dawned on her how close she had come to killing the woman and her child. The backfiring exhaust had prevented an absolute catastrophe. Edward had forced the damn car on her to keep her safe from the outside world, but it didn't stop the outside world from being safe from her when she was behind the wheel.
Guiding the Mercedes to the grass verge of the road, Bella switched the engine off with shaking fingers, letting her head droop until it was resting on the steering wheel. Tears continued to stream down her face, her breathing coming in short gasps. She felt completely overwhelmed, staggered by what she had almost done.
And Jacob wanted to have a child with her?
She would be a terrible mother. She couldn't keep herself safe, let alone another small, fragile human being. He must be insane to think otherwise.
Bella pictured the toddler, in his red rubber boots and blue duffle coat, his cherubic face joyful one minute as he skipped along at his mother's side, then his mouth scrunched up, hands covering his ears as the sound of his mother's yells pulled him from his happy place.
"Oh, god, what am I doing?"
Bella's mind slid back to the day they'd told Charlie. He had been so convinced that Edward had knocked her up. Though the question had been meant for her, he glared at Edward, his fingers twitching toward his gun.
"I'm not pregnant, Dad!"
Bella screamed the words out loud. She had warned Edward that people would immediately jump to that conclusion! What other reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen these days? (His answer had made her roll her eyes. Love. Right).
It all came back to the kid factor. Jacob had implanted something in her mind that couldn't be flushed out.
Bella moaned, raising her head, she glanced out through teary eyes at the opposite sidewalk. The woman and the toddler had gone, only to be replaced with a kid wearing a bobbled hat. With every bounce of his feet, his head wobbled like it was only loosely attached to his neck. His mittened hand was firmly clutched in that of a harassed looking male, who Bella presumed was the father.
The man looked left and right, before tugging the kid in the bobble hat after him as they crossed. Bella stared at them, fascinated by the way the kid moved, the way his whole body bobbed up and down as he jumped, hopped, and skipped his way across the tarmac. He looked so small, so fragilely human. A protective feeling welled up in Bella's chest, something akin to motherly, maybe even could be described as maternalistic at a stretch. Her tears receded, her wistful gaze continuing to follow the man and his son until they reached the bend in the road and disappeared out of sight.
A/N-thanks for reading!