Bella's Point of View

Rene was more than happy to stay behind for the weekend. She has already made several plans for herself. Apparently she found a nice little bistro at the edge of town that was having a wine tasting and a painting class. She planned on attending with a few of her colleagues from work. She didn't seem to mind that I would be spending the weekend out of town, however, she did warn me to be careful spending time with Jake. Rene reminded me several times that Jacob had a way of making me do some stupid things. Which was completely true. When I was around him, it was like I reverted to a dumb teenager. He convinced me to do crazy things, that usually would lead me to get hurt, or in one case, fall pregnant while still in high school. But I had learned from my mistakes in the past. I wasn't about to give in to Jacob's plans.

I was doing this for Mia. Yes, it didn't feel quite right to be going on a vacation with Jake, knowing that he was in a relationship with Amelia. But this wasn't a romantic getaway, this was a family trip. Just for our daughter's sake. Mia deserved to spend some time with the both of us. We were adults. We could put our strained relationship to the side, for her. I just hoped that I could stay strong to my morals. I had no intentions of… getting close with Jacob. I didn't want to. The thought of it sent my heart racing and a hard pinch of pain to ripple through my chest. It was hard to breathe. Why did this have to be so difficult? Couldn't I just forget about how I feel about him? It's been over a year now. Why was I still holding onto hope that Jacob would eventually come back… and choose me this time? It was unrealistic. I needed to stop dreaming.

Jacob had just finished loading our luggage to the bed of his truck. I put Mia into her car seat, buckling her into place in the backseat. I glanced around in the backseat for a moment, taking note of some feminine clothing tossed on the floor, along with a strong perfume. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.

I stood rigidly, shutting the door to the backseat and turning away. I didn't want Mia to see the anguish on my face. My eyes watered for a moment, but Jake was quick to notice. A grim look came to his face as he hesitantly approached me. "Are you alright?" His voice was thick with guilt.

"Jake, I don't know if I can do this…" I whispered, closing my eyes for a moment. A few tears escaped, running down over my cheeks.

It was quiet for a brief moment, before I felt his hand on my face. Warm and tender. His fingers swept across my cheeks, drying my tears. I opened my eyes again, to meet his gaze. His arms came around me, pulling me in for a warm hug. Like before, I melted into him, as my body was acting on instincts. It was just so familiar and comforting, I couldn't help but allow him to be my rock. Even though he was the reason I was hurting.

"Please Bella, there is a lot that I need to tell you. You've been away for a long time, a lot has changed," He said softly. A chill ran down my spine as I felt his lips at the top of my head. "I want to spend some time catching up with you."

I sighed heavily, lightly pushing myself away from his grasp. I wrapped my arms around myself. "Is she here?"

"Who?" He was stalling.

"Amelia, did you bring her here with you?"

"She is, but you won't have to see her ever, at any point of this vacation. She isn't even staying at the same hotel." He said quickly, ducking his head slightly. "I didn't bring her here. She followed me. I promise, this is the last time I'll let her anywhere near you." His tone had turned pleading.

The desperation on his face didn't sway how I felt about this situation. I didn't want to go to begin with. Now Amelia would be involved as well. There is no way she is going to keep her distance. She would surely pop around to check on Jacob and remind me that Jacob didn't want me anymore. She was a ruthlessly cruel woman. It was hard to believe that Jake would imprint on someone like her. She was hateful and didn't mind trying to manipulate any situation that included me. I don't know if I'm up for all the stress and negativity.

"It would be different, if she wasn't here. But I really don't know if I can handle being around her. She is the reason I left Forks and moved all the way here. I didn't want to ever see her face again."

"I promise you Bella, you won't see her face. Not even once. I'll be sure to get rid of her," He put his arm around my shoulder as he began to walk me around his truck and over to the front seat, passenger side. He opened the door for me, a hopeful look coming to his face. "Trust me, this vacation will be completely stress free."

I sighed, nudging his arm off me. Reluctantly I gave him a firm look. It absolutely killed me to go along with this. But I did trust him. He has never lied to me in the past. He has been nothing but open and honest throughout our relationship. Even after it ended. I could always count on his openness. So, I would believe him. And go on this stupid family vacation.

"Fine, I'll go along with this for now. But when she shows up, I will leave." I warned him as I swung myself up into his truck.

Relief colored his face and a huge smile appeared, before he closed my door and strolled back around the truck to get into the driver's seat. Mia had already nodded off to sleep as we began down the road. We didn't talk. Jacob turned the radio on, just for some background noise. I kept my eyes out the window as we exited the town of Hanover. I wasn't sure how far out we would be driving, I didn't ask and didn't plan on speaking again for a while. I had a lot to think about.

Amelia's clothing was in the back seat of this truck, I could still smell her perfume lingering. This woman was deeply rooted into Jacob's life, like it or not. So, why was Jacob wanting to spend time with me? Shouldn't Amelia be enough for him? What more did he want? He can't have it all. I wasn't that type of woman. I wouldn't be used. I've hurt enough over him. I wanted to move forward. But if that was really true, why was I here? Entertaining this family vacation. I tell myself that I want to change and move on. But was that the truth? What were my expectations here? This all was just too confusing.

After what felt like an eternity we arrived in the town of Lebanon. It was a beautiful, rural town, much like Hanover. Wildlife was painted thickly through the developed buildings, storefronts and apartment complexes. It felt like a small village, surrounding by a colorful forest. The leaves on the trees were in the process of changing colors for the year. Bright vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. It was gorgeous. Jacob pulled us into a remote hotel, sitting right at the edge of a grand lake. Just like he had said, many of the locals were out fishing along the piers, some were in boats. It was a very scenic and peaceful place. I felt the tension leaving me almost instantly. It reminded me so much of Forks. It was truly comforting. And unlike Hanover, the stretches of wooded areas were much thicker and deeper. Someone could get lost if they weren't careful. There were several signs for hiking trails that we had passed by to get here. I'm sure Jacob will be more interested in hiking than anything else here.

Once he parked, he turned to me with a wide grin. "So what do you think, it's a pretty nice place huh?" He wagged his brows at me.

I rolled my eyes, averting my eyes. "Sure, it's fine."

The last thing I wanted was to give him the satisfaction of knowing that this place was perfect. He truly knew I was going to love this place. He knew me too well. It was frustrating. But I would keep that to myself.

"Well, let's get this vacation started." His enthusiasm didn't falter. He pranced out of the truck and began unloading everything. He was much stronger than I was, so he was easily able to carry all our luggage. While I tended to Mia. I placed her on my hip, careful not to wake her up. She usually took a nap at this time of the day, so it wasn't a surprise that she had fallen asleep. She kept her little head on my shoulder, a content smile on her face as she continued to slumber. Mia was so precious when she was asleep. I badly wanted to wake her up and show her this beautiful place, but I'd rather her get some rest. No doubt it was going to be a long weekend, filled with adventure for her. She will need her energy.

Jacob watched the two of us, a look of pride on his face as he led us towards the entrance of the hotel. My heart skipped in my chest a bit as we made our way inside. The inside of the hotel was stunning. It was constructed mostly of glass walls, marble flooring and gold accents throughout the lobby. There was a small lounge area, where coffee was brewing, you could smell it permeating the air around us. There were several small televisions that sat on the walls, creating a soft buzz of noise in the background. A few guests were lingering around, sipping coffee from the neatly placed leather seats, while others were seated at a long bar, tapping away at their laptops. It seemed so professional and fancy here. I couldn't imagine how Jacob could afford taking us here. It's not like he had a glamorous job. He worked as a mechanic on the reservation. His earnings were meager, at best.

Regardless, the three of us walked right up to the front desk and a friendly woman greeted us, appearing on the younger side. Possibly late twenties, She was pretty and very polite. "Welcome, how can I help you?"

Jacob smiled from ear to ear. "We are checking in. The name on the reservation is Jacob Black."

She nodded, quickly turning to her computer to begin typing. The smile didn't leave either of their faces. It almost made my mouth start to hurt. What would make someone so happy? I understood Jacob was in his glory, he was getting his way. He talked me into coming here. But this lady… I don't know. Maybe she really loved her job. I guess there might be some people like that. Although, I've never come into contact with someone like that.

"Wonderful, I have your room keys right here mister Black. It's on the top floor," She nicely slid the room keys across the desk and over to us. Since Jacob's hands were full, I went ahead and picked up the keys. "The elevator is just down the hall and to your left." Her voice remained cheerful.

"Thank you," I gave her a weak smile.

Carefully, we followed her directions and made it to an elevator. I inspected the room key for a moment. The number was 550. Should be easy enough to find. I hoped for a moment that there would be two beds. I don't think I could manage sharing a bed with my ex-boyfriend. That was a really bad idea. Completely out of the question. So, why did the thought send butterflies swimming around inside my stomach?

Like I thought, it wasn't hard finding the room, it was at the very end of a long hall of rooms. I gingerly held the key up to the door, swallowing hard when I heard the door make a clicking noise. Signaling that the room was unlocked. I took a deep breath. Preparing myself for a suitable reaction, if there only happened to be one bed. I would yell at him. Demand a room change. Or maybe just tell him to take me back home. But unfortunately none of that would be the case.

As we stepped into the room, I took note that there were two queen sized beds. Well that was good, wasn't it? So why did this feel like rejection? Why was this painful? I hadn't wanted to share a bed with him… but it was disappointing that he didn't want to either. Jacob noticed the look on my face and sheepishly began setting down the luggage.

"I figured, it would probably be best if we had two beds, I didn't want Mia to have to sleep on a roll-out couch. Those things tend to be pretty gross and uncomfortable." He rubbed the back of his neck.

My cheeks warmed as I quickly moved to the bed farthest from the door, to lay Mia down on the bed. She instantly curled into a little ball, snoring lightly. She still looked tired, but I knew she would most likely be waking up soon, hungry and fussy. This is just the routine I was used to. Mia was on a very tight schedule, especially now that I have school and Rene had begun helping with her. We had her on a stable routine. I would hate for this trip to disrupt it.

"No, this is perfect," I said quietly, softly I stroked a few of Mia's curls from her face.

We were quiet for a while, before Jacob spoke up. "She looks like she is getting bigger. I don't even want to imagine how much I've missed out on these past few weeks."

I glanced over to Jacob, feeling a lump in my throat as I watched him. The way he looked at Mia, so sweet and caring. It was nice to see him like this. A total mess over his daughter. His love for her was the very reason I could never hate him. How could I? He was such a good father to her. He was here for her, always. I felt bad that I had selfishly made this move. They were so far apart from each other now. And now, I will be without her for a month. It felt like forever. I don't know what it was going to be like… I've never been away from her. Ever. We were never apart. I didn't know how I was going to cope with this.

"You haven't missed too much," I said with a small smile. "She is getting better with her potty training, she only had a few accidents, it only seems to happen at bed time. And we've learned that she absolutely hates anything green."

"Green?" Jacob cocked his head to the side with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Yep, spinach, broccoli, peas, anything green. She won't eat any of it."

"I'll see if I can work on that a little." He chuckled with a nod. "What else? Tell me how you're doing. Do you like it here?" Jacob neatly plopped down on the bed closest to the door. I went ahead and sat down on the bed with Mia, careful not to jostle her too much.

"Umm, it was a hard adjustment." I admitted, ducking my head. "The other students… well they pretty much are exactly what I thought they were going to be…"

"Snotty rich kids, completely self-absorbed and spoiled."

I laughed ruefully. "Exactly, but not all of them are awful, I've at least met a few decent people." My thoughts went back to Emmett and Edward Cullen. They were the nicest people on campus, even though it was a rocky start with Edward initially.

"Anyone that I need to worry about?"

I rolled my eyes, giving Jacob a stern look. "Stop that."

"What, I'm curious. This is the reason you left isn't it? To find someone new. And move on from our relationship." He frowned, watching me closely. I could tell he was beginning to get a little upset. We have been through this conversation many times. I don't know why we had to keep getting into it.

"You know that's not why I left. I'm here for college. It has been my plan to go to Dartmouth since before we even began dating. I'm not here looking for love."

Jacob sighed, letting his expression soften a little. "I hope that doesn't change. I told you, I just need a little more time. I'm close to figuring this imprint thing out. And once I'm free of it, I want to come back. I want to be yours. Only yours. If I could force myself to just end things with Amelia I would. But I physically can't. If I could kill her to escape I would." His eyes watered slightly. "I'd do anything to return to you."

I looked away from him, feeling my eyes water as well. I didn't want to hear another word from him. We both knew it was impossible to break the bond of an imprint. It was a lost cause. He might as well accept things. Like I'm attempting to do. But the way he spoke, so earnestly… so genuine and passionate. How could I not grieve our past relationship?

"Jake, it's not possible. No matter how much we want it to be. We can't go backwards. Amelia is your imprint. Accept it."

"I refuse." He said defiantly, shaking his head. "I'll never give up on us Bella. Please just give me a little while longer." He begged.

I couldn't look back towards him. I knew I would lose my resolve if I did. I hated when we had this discussion. It always left me with a false sense of hope. We have been down this road before. I've heard these words before. For an entire year in fact. I waited. I prayed. I hoped for something to change. But it never did. He still worshiped the ground she walked on. He still followed her around like a lovesick teenager. She was still his number one priority. Nothing has changed. Their imprint was intact and strong. That's why I had given up long ago on this ever going back to how it was. This is why I decided to throw myself into studies. I'm choosing to better myself and join a career where I can help others. I have given up completely on romance and dating. It was too painful. It wasn't worth the heartache.

But for Jacob's sake. I would always reassure him that I would wait for him. It wasn't exactly the truth, but there was some truth to it. I was waiting for him… to wake up from his delusions. And when he did and finally lets go of me… I will be prepared to be there for him as a friend. I hoped that I could eventually feel that way about him. But I wasn't to that point yet.

I nodded my head, continuing my ruse. "Alright, I'll wait,"

As always this seemed to soothe Jacob's worries. A smile came back to his face and tension seemed to leave his body. He leaned back, appearing a bit more relaxed. I didn't like being dishonest with him, but at this point, this was me trying to protect myself from further heartbreak. It was nothing against him. I just didn't have the strength to fight any further in regards to this topic. This was supposed to be a vacation. I wanted peace.

Thankfully, Jacob went into detail on the itinerary of this trip. I guess he had the whole thing planned out. Even though we had arrived pretty late in the day, he wanted to squeeze in as many activities as possible. We would be heading out for dinner once Mia woke up, then a stroll around the lake, before taking a short hike through the forest. He spotted some hiking trails that were better suited for someone like me. I wasn't nearly as uncoordinated as I used to be, spending time with Jacob and the pack has improved some of my balance and I had to admit I was in a little better shape. We used to hike and backpack throughout Forks and La Push all the time. That's how we spent a lot of our summers. So a short walk wouldn't be too much of a big deal for me. We would end the night with a movie in the room. In all, it sounded wonderful. But there was something in the bottom of my gut telling me, something was going to happen. Something would go wrong during this little outing today.

Mia only ended up sleeping for a little while longer and like I had expected, she woke up hungry and fussy. Jacob ended up taking us to a little marina restaurant, it was very much ocean themed. They mostly served fish dishes. Which I was fine with. Of course, Mia wasn't the biggest fan, so she ended up with chicken. She was happy enough with that. The food was delicious. Better than I had anticipated. My fish was juicy and well seasoned. It reminded me of the fish I would prepare for Charlie back home. Jacob on the other hand, got fried fish, which looked and smelled just as heavenly.

We ate in relative quietness. Mia babbled on and on to Jacob about her time away from him. She was really animated as she spoke, even though her words were a little jumbled and shortened to just a few key words. Jacob smiled, nodded and listened to her every word with attentiveness. He hung onto her every word. It was heartwarming to see. But the conversation began to quickly go downhill as Jacob brought up her returning to La Push with him.

"You know Mia, grandpa Billy really misses you. He bought you all kinds of new toys for when you come back home." Jacob said gently.

Mia smiled slightly, bobbing her head. "When, we go?"

"Well, tomorrow night, you and me. We will head back to La Push."

Mia frowned now, her eyes moving to me. "Mommy, coming?"

I shook my head ruefully. "Not this time honey, I have to stay here and go to school. But you will come back… soon." She wouldn't understand the length of time of a month. I didn't want to tell her it was going to feel like a long time. I knew she was going to be upset about this. We have never been apart, ever since she was born. She always lived with me, in Forks with Charlie. Jacob was around everyday, in fact he had moved in for a while when we were in a relationship. But once things ended, he returned to living with Billy in La Push. Still, he faithfully would come by at least once a day. Sometimes pack business would come up and he would possibly miss a day or two, but he would always be sure to call. This separation was something Mia wasn't used to at all. I knew this was going to be challenging for her. Especially since she was so young.

Tears started down her cheeks, she cried quietly, covering her eyes with her hands. A few others in the restaurant turned in our direction with a mixture of looks of pity and a few seemed annoyed. My heart broke a little, watching my daughter cry. There was nothing I wanted more than to keep her here with me. But that wouldn't be fair to Jake.

"Don't cry, I promise it's going to be okay. I'll see you again real soon. Daddy wants to spend time with you for a while. Remember how much you missed him when he was gone." I said gently.

Mia nodded, wiping at her tears. "Missed Daddy."

"But now he is here, right. And after you spend some time with daddy, I'll come to get you."

Jacob watched between the both of us with guilt on his face, he kept his head ducked down. I didn't know what was going through his head. But he didn't seem to be enjoying this exchange. It couldn't be helped. I knew this was difficult. But Mia was a strong little girl, I was confident that she would be okay. I wasn't sure if she would want to spend the entire month there, but if I had to, I would fly to Forks the second she needed me.

This seemed to calm her down a little, but I could see the disappointment on her face. She stopped eating and just sat there, sulking. Mia wasn't pleased. This would be a long night. Now she was in a poor mood. Hopefully the hike would put her mind to ease a little. Getting some fresh air always did the both of us good. Jacob had ordered a carrier to strap onto his back. Mia would be strapped into it, so she wouldn't have to walk through the trails. She could just have a nice ride on his back. It was safer this way.

For now it would be best to drop the subject of Mia going back to La Push without me. Instead we continued on lighter topics. Eventually Mia started to eat again. Once we had finished and paid for our bill, Jacob walked us back out to his truck. Our next stop would be the hiking trails. However, the sun was just beginning to set in the sky. It will be dark soon. I wasn't sure if going for a hike in this dense forest was the best idea. What if there were wild animals?

As we loaded back into the truck, I turned to Jake hesitantly. "Are you sure we will have time to make it through the trails before it gets too dark?"

Jacob shrugged his shoulders easily. "Don't worry about stuff like that. As long as you are with me, you will be safe Bella." He gave me a wink.

His words only soothed me slightly. There was still something bothering me. I had the gut feeling that something was wrong. Something bad was going to happen. The feeling was even stronger now. Against my better judgment, I went along with what he said. I always felt safe and protected when Jake was around. Maybe I was too overly concerned. I just didn't want anything bad to happen with Mia being with us. It's one thing if something bad happens to me, but I couldn't live with myself if something happens to Mia.

By the time we made it to the start of the hiking trails, the sun was almost completely out of the sky. I kept peeking over to Jacob, wondering if he was getting cold feet. But unfortunately he just continued preparing for the hike. He already had the carrier strapped on and Mia onto his back. She was bright eyed and awake. She seemed thrilled. I didn't want to disappoint her, so I kept my worries to myself. I wouldn't ruin this for the two of them. I was probably just paranoid. I've never been a huge fan of trekking through the woods at night. But it was something Jacob and I used to do pretty often when we were together. At the time, it was romantic and mysterious. We would have late night camping trips under the moonlight. It was exciting. But I was never afraid. Not like I was right now.

"Let's go to the shortest trail alright? Mia needs to be in bed pretty soon. I'd hate to get her off her usual routine." I said as Jacob began leading us forward.

He turned with a grin. "Of course, no problem. This one is less than a mile. We should be able to get through it quickly." He didn't hesitate for a second. We entered the forest and just like I feared, it was incredibly dark and very tangled. It was a challenging hike. I stayed close to Jake, not wanting to get separated. He didn't appear to have any trouble. In fact, he seemed to be completely distracted. In his own thoughts. I wondered for a moment if he was thinking of Amelia. The thought pained me. My heart ached in quiet agony. Why did I have to torment myself?

We made it probably half way through the trail when I was hit with instant urgency. I stopped walking as my face warmed. Jacob hadn't noticed that I stopped and just kept walking. He was completely oblivious and by now, Mia had already drifted back off to sleep. Instead of disturbing them, I just took a few steps off the side of the trail. I would be quick, they wouldn't even notice I was gone. I'll just catch up to them.

I moved myself behind a tree, pulling my pants down to squat. Since giving birth, my ability to hold my bladder hasn't been as good as it used to be. So I wasn't about to risk anything. I would just relieve myself now, even if it was a little embarrassing. I regretted not going to the restroom at the restaurant. But it didn't take me long to finish up. I felt a little grungy, but that was the least of my worries as I went back to the trail. My sense of direction wasn't great. I had a general idea, but I couldn't see the markings for the trail anymore, it was too dark and Jacob was nowhere in sight.

Oh great… I knew something bad was going to happen. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I try catching up to them? Or should I wait here for Jacob to notice that I was gone. With his senses, he would be able to find me easily. But waiting around here in the dark was a bit terrifying. My heart was racing as I looked around. I couldn't wait around. I needed to move. There were so many noises from the forest, I was unsure of what kind of animals were out here. But I would feel much better if I could put some distance between me and those noises. If I just keep walking straight, I should be able to at least get closer to Jake.

I stumbled my way onto the trail, stumbling a little on the roots spread out amongst the path. Everything looked the same, I couldn't tell what direction I was heading in anymore. I quickened my pace as panic began to set in. Which happened to be a big mistake. I felt my foot catch on something and suddenly I was falling. The impact to the ground was hard, but the situation turned worse as I felt myself slipping down off the side of a steep ledge. I hadn't even realized that I was on a hill. Pain seared through my legs as I collided with sharp rocks, trees and other debris. I clutched desperately at anything I could get my hands on, but I continued to slide down the side of a hill. My body hit roughly into everything, my leg seemed to suffer the most. Everything hurt, I could tell I was bleeding. My clothing had ripped in a few places. But eventually I landed, down on my knees.

I winced, feeling tears slide down my cheeks. It felt like my leg might be broken. It was incredibly painful to move. So I remained still, just twisting my head around to look back up towards where I had fallen from. The hill was much higher up than I had thought. It's a wonder I wasn't in worse shape. I turned to look down at my leg, noticing it was bent in a very strange, unnatural position. It was out of place. Definitely broken.

For a while, I didn't move, but there was a startling sound coming from the mess of forest surrounding me. The sound was like nothing I've ever heard. It was a deep, animalistic growl. It sounded so savage and uncontrollable. Chills ran down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood. I tried to move, but couldn't manage to with my leg. My heart was beating so hard in my chest, I thought I was going to pass out under the stress.

My eyes searched the darkness, waiting to see any sign of the animal that was stalking the area nearby. However, I wasn't prepared for what came barging out from the treeline. It was a man. A very familiar man. Someone that I hadn't expected to see.

Edward Cullen. But he didn't look like himself. He looked furious. Murderous. His black eyes were locked on my leg and the blood sliding down my limbs.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write. Leave a review with your thoughts. Bella has gotten herself into some trouble now…