Impasse
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Unsettling Dream
Something shook Bella's arm.
"C'mon, Bells." Jacob said in her ear. "We're here."
Bella blinked, confused because the bonfire seemed to have disappeared. She glared into the unexpected darkness, trying to make sense of her surroundings. It took her a minute to realize she was no longer on the cliff. She and Jacob were alone. She was still under his arm, but she wasn't on the ground anymore.
How did she get in Jacob's car?
"Oh, hell!" Bella gasped as she realized she had fallen asleep. "How late is it, Jake? Dang it, Charlie is going to pitch a fit." She looked up at Jacob's amused face frantically. "What's so funny?" She demanded petulantly. She wasn't in the mood to be teased.
"Easy, Bella, honey. Its not even midnight yet. And I already called ahead to tell Charlie you were on your way home. Look – he's there on the front porch waiting for you."
"Midnight?" Bella repeated stupidly, still feeling disorientated. She stared into the darkness, just able to pick out the shape of Charlie's restless figure pacing up and down on the front porch. "You called him for me?"
Her eyes were finally adjusted enough to see the bright gleam of Jacob's smile.
"I figured if I played nice, I'd get back into Charlie's good books."
"Good thinking." Bella gushed. "And thanks for doing that. I appreciate it." She added. "And thanks for inviting me tonight. It was…" Words failed her.
"Yeah, I know." Jacob replied huskily, his eyes softening as he gazed down at her with love. "It was good to spend some uninterrupted time together. Well – apart from the part where Lahote lost his shit."
"Yeah, well, that's mandatory as far as he's concerned. And you whooped his ass as usual, so there's that." Bella laughed.
"True." Jacob agreed, laughing along with her. "I'm glad you had fun. It was nice for me. Having you there."
There was movement in the dark distance – a shadowy figure approaching the car.
"Yeah, Charlie is not so patient, is he?" Jacob sighed, noticing Bella's distraction as she spotted her father coming toward them. "I'll see you soon."
Bella hesitated a moment with her hand on the door handle. "You know you don't have to go."
"What do you mean?" Jacob asked, curious.
"You could just pretend to go. Park the Rabbit somewhere out of sight, then come back." Bella felt her skin heating up as she made the hurried suggestion.
"Are you asking me to stay the night?" Jacob checked cautiously, just in case he had misunderstood her.
Bella paused, one foot on the ground as she swung the car door open. "Yes, I suppose I am. So, what's your answer?"
"Sure, sure." Jacob said, keeping his tone as light as possible. Inside he was celebrating. But he could see that Bella was nervous enough as it was. "I'll be in your room waiting."
"Okay, Jake." Bella flashed him a warm smile before hurrying into the darkness to meet Charlie.
Charlie didn't give Bella too much of an interrogation once they were safely back inside the house. She gave him the briefest details about the night before citing tiredness. Jacob calling ahead had certainly helped ease Charlie's worries about their burgeoning romantic relationship.
Bella had expected to find Jacob already sprawled out on her bed, so was surprised to find the bedroom empty. Instead of collapsing on her bed right away, she leaned out the open window while she waited for him to show up. The night was surprisingly cold, almost wintry. She hadn't noticed it on the cliffs; she imagined that had to do with the fire and being wrapped up in Jacob's arms.
Icy droplets spattered against her face as the rain began to fall.
It was too dark to see much besides the black triangles of the spruces leaning and shaking with the wind. But she strained her eyes anyway, searching for other shapes in the storm. A pale silhouette, moving like a ghost through the black…or maybe the shadowy outline of an enormous wolf…. her eyes were too weak.
Then there was movement in the night, right beside her. Jacob slid through the opened window; his shaggy black hair coated with a thousand water droplets.
"Jake?" Bella asked, shivering as he pulled her into the protective circle of his arms. He looked angry. "Is something wrong? What kept you?"
"Cullen." Jacob answered bitterly. "I caught him hiding up one of the spruces not too far from your house. Don't worry, I've chased him off."
"Edward was spying?" Bella exclaimed in alarm. Was she never to be free of his sinister presence? "I thought the whole coven was leaving."
"They are." Jacob replied grimly. "The vamp doc is supposed to be working his notice at the hospital. He only has a few days left – then they should be on their way."
"Then why was Edward here?" Bella questioned anxiously. "I don't understand."
"We'll get no explanations tonight." Jacob sighed, tightening his hold on Bella. "Don't worry, honey. I won't let him get close to you. And tomorrow as soon as dawn arrives, I'll head over to the Cullens and demand answers."
"Oh, Jake, I'm so thankful you're here." Bella whispered in relief as she lay her head against his broad chest.
The storm increased in intensity during the night. Bella lay in Jacob's protective embrace, still feeling disquieted, even with his comforting presence. She dreamt she was outside in the storm, the wind whipping her hair in her face and blinding her eyes. She stood on the rocky crescent of First Beach, trying to understand the quickly moving shapes she could only dimly see in the darkness at the shore's edge. At first, there was nothing but a flash of white and black, darting toward each other and dancing away. And then, as if the moon had suddenly broken from the clouds, she could see everything.
Alice, her short cap of black hair wet with the salt spray coming off the ocean, was lunging at an enormous wolf – its muzzle shot through with silver – that Bella instinctively recognized as Billy Black.
Bella broke into a run, but found herself moving in the frustrating slow motion of dreamers. She tried to scream to them, to tell them to stop, but her voice was stolen by the wind, and she could make no sound. She waved her arms, hoping to catch their attention. Something flashed in her hand, and she noticed for the first time her right hand wasn't empty.
She held a long, sharp blade, ancient and silver, crusted in dried, blackened blood.
Bella cringed away from the knife, the metallic smell of the blood making her feel nauseous. She glanced down in horror only to find Jacob lying at her feet, the same blackened blood oozing from a deep wound in his abdomen. Her mouth opened in a silent scream of terror.
As she raised her head to look about her, she realized the scene had shifted. She was no longer on First Beach, but imprisoned in some ancient stone castle. Three ancient vampires sitting on ornate wooden thrones, stared down at her with bloodthirsty gazes from a great height, their paper-thin skin reminiscent of a peeled onion.
Suddenly Bella's eyes snapped open to the quiet darkness of her bedroom. The first thing that she realized was that she was not alone, and she turned to bury her face in Jacob's chest, knowing the comforting heat exuding from his skin would chase the nightmare away more effectively than anything else.
"Did I wake you?" He whispered in concern. Dawn had broken and he was getting ready to slip away.
"No." Bella mumbled, sighing in contentment as his arms tightened around her. "I had a bad dream."
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
Bella shook her head. "It was meaningless. Just a lot of jumbled nonsense that made no sense. I've already forgotten half of it." She lied.
She felt a silent laugh shake through him.
"Do you really have to go?" She asked resignedly.
"I want to catch the Cullens off-guard." Jacob explained. "You go back to sleep, Bells. The sun has only just risen."
Bella frowned sleepily. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too." Jacob pressed a soft kiss to her willing lips. "I'll see you soon." He murmured, reluctantly releasing her. He rolled off the bed and stood up without making a sound. He noticed that Bella's eyes were already closing. Satisfied that she already fallen back to sleep, he finally felt able to leave.
When Bella next woke the sky outside was a pearl grey and still. She still felt disquieted by the scary dream she had lied to Jacob about. She dressed quickly, low on options. She really needed to do some laundry.
As she was about to head down to make breakfast, she noticed her battered copy of Wuthering Heights lying open on the floor. She picked it up curiously, trying to remember if she was the one who left it there. The last time she had read it, she had been having dinner with Charlie. So, what was it doing on the floor of her room? It was like it had been left there deliberately, open at this exact page for her to read as some kind of message.
Cautiously, she began to read the paragraphs more closely. She knew this passage well. It was Heathcliff speaking.
"And there you see the distinction between my feelings: had he been in my place and I in his, though I hated him with a hatred that turned my life to gall, I would never have raised a hand against him. You may look incredulous, if you please! I would never have banished him from her society as long as she desired his. The moment her regard ceased, I would have torn his heart out, and drank his blood! But, till then – if you don't believe me, you don't know me – till then, I would have died by inches before I touched a single hair of his head!"
Three words from the passage stood out in stark relief to Bella. They were 'drank his blood.'
She shuddered.
She was being fanciful, surely. She was making a big deal out of nothing. There was no way Edward would have been able to leave the open book there as some kind of message without Jacob knowing he had been in her room. No, she was letting her overactive imagination and the unsettling dream mess with her mind. She was the one who had probably left the book there and forgotten. It could have fallen open to any page.
Pushing her worry to one side, Bella flipped the book shut and placed it carefully on her bedside cabinet, before hastily leaving her room to go and prepare breakfast for herself and Charlie.
A/N-thanks for reading!