"There is a condition worse than blindness and that is, seeing something that isn't there."
Thomas Hardy
Jacob stomped his way to Charlie's house.
Things were not good.
Ever since he'd seen Seth's memories about Charlie speaking with Sue about his closeness with Nessie ("Like an overbearing husband or a jealous boyfriend", he'd called it), and how uneasy that made him feel, especially since Jake had been so hung up and devastated about Bella's wedding, embarrassingly so since he'd ran away, and now was close to Bella and Edward's daughter... Charlie had been suspicious. Jake could've hit himself.
Did Charlie know?! He remembered the first hint of fear when he witnessed Seth's memories on overhearing Charlie's conversation with Sue, how Charlie felt uneasy about his interest in Nessie- and he feared he might hurt her. After all, what other person would form a close relationship with the daughter of the girl who broke his heart and another man?
Jake felt himself freeze with fear then as he saw. It was stupid, of course. Charlie had absolutely no damned clue about what was going on, and Sue proved it by her reaction when Seth saw her freeze. Jake would sooner carve his own flesh and heart out, set fire to everything that he owned, and kill everyone else than give up- or hurt Nessie. Why would he think that he would ever have to give her up?
Maybe it was 'cause he was afraid he'd have to. As always.
But Jake admitted that when he'd heard that Charlie considered the possibility that either he was apparently 'grooming' or brainwashing Nessie to be her mother's replacement in his 'affections' once Bella had gone out of the picture, or he was simply biding his time and getting close to Nessie to try and harm her out of revenge for Bella breaking his heart and choosing Edward over him, and Edward taking Bella away from him, Jake immediately froze.
It wasn't true, of course. It was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard... why did he freeze?
Involuntarily, his mind flashed back to the days of his hopeless anguish over Bella's 'death', his feelings of numb grief and rage and the moment that led to the imprinting.
His mind went blank. He didn't remember that... he can't... couldn't...
It was stupid- the most stupid thing he'd ever heard. Why would he consider hurting Nessie? He would sooner kill himself in the most brutal and agonising ways possible, a million times over and over again, than murder his soulmate or call her a murderer- a monster.
That didn't happen, he insisted to himself. And Charlie couldn't have known or possibly suspected about the imprint, could he? Especially since he'd made it clear that he wanted to know as little about everything as possible. Including about Wolves.
But damn! He should've been more careful! Charlie was Nessie's grandfather! Of course he wouldn't like anyone getting too close to his granddaughter if they weren't family- never mind that he considered Billy and Jake family and Nessie was growing bigger by the minute, no longer a baby- if Bella and Edward hadn't liked it before those damned Italian monsters arrived, Charlie who didn't know a damned thing or had the slightest clue about anything wouldn't be happy at Jake being too close to Nessie. Especially since Charlie remarked that he'd once seen a woven bracelet like Jake had given Nessie for Christmas, shown by someone else who got married.
Stupid, he cursed himself. Idiot. Moron!
Or maybe he said something stronger, he just couldn't remember it. He'd spent so long trashing the inside of his damned shed in a rage, because Billy and Rachel wouldn't handle any trashing in 'their' house (like she cared), but mostly because he'd been so dumb enough to assume that Charlie would go with the flow without asking questions forever, just 'cause he asked to know as little about everything when he first saw Jake phase and heard his explanation.
Seth pointed out that that was probably because Charlie had been overwhelmed at the time, all stressed and anxious about Bella's 'tropical disease' and being a new mom, as it turned out; he would eventually calm down and start thinking things rationally. Seth was angry though, and so was Leah. Jacob probably wouldn't have taken any notice if it was just Leah, but now Seth was angry at him too.
Or rather, Seth was disappointed. Jake thought it might be worse: that Seth who had always stuck to Jake, even when he didn't want him to, and supported him when no one else would, before anybody else could, seemed... disappointed. In him.
What the hell have I done?
Yeah, that was worse, Jake thought, cringing. Because now he knew exactly why.
It turns out, Charlie had calmed down and had a talk with Sue and her kids about Bella, Jake, Nessie and the supernatural. And he'd revealed that Jake had phased in front of him when he'd ran to tell Charlie to stop Nessie from leaving with Bella to God-knows-where.
They hadn't spoken to him for over two weeks.
When Jake had heard the reason why, he could've hit himself. Harry, Seth and Leah's dad, had a fatal heart attack when he saw Leah phase for the first time.
He'd been so desperate when he suddenly realised that Nessie'd had to leave because Charlie didn't know and the Cullens weren't planning on telling him, as far as he knew. They thought he would have to be kept in the dark. The Cullens would fake Bella's death, tell Charlie that she'd died of the 'tropical disease' and have a closed-casket ceremony.
Meaning that Nessie would be gone and both Bella and Edward, and their faithful cohort Blondie, would seize the opportunity and take Nessie away- far away. Like they'd always wanted.
It was only during the leadup to the New Year's Eve confrontation that Jake realised Bella was relaxing her stance against the imprinting. And during that fateful, horrific moment when Bella said goodbye to Nessie who also said goodbye to Edward- who revealed that Alice, the psychic pixie, had seen the future of this outcome, and they'd made plans for Nessie to survive without Edward knowing so the Volturi wouldn't know... that was when Edward had finally accepted the imprint.
And they'd backed down from all plans on leaving... for now. Nessie was safe... with him. As it always had been. As it should be. Jake felt his shoulders slump in relief, only for a moment before stiffening again.
They were still not out of the danger zone... for now. Nessie didn't like being caged; as she got bigger, she started wanting more space. At first, Jake tried to take her out around the mountainside, the beach, the forest, everywhere, because Bella and Edward didn't want her hanging around town where someone, like their old friends from high school, would see her. There was no way they'd be able to pass her off as anything other than Edward and Bella's daughter, except that she was too old. Then people would start asking questions and the Cullens would have to leave and take Nessie with them. But that wasn't enough for Nessie. And the more she felt restricted by all these rules, the more she got frustrated. Jake tried to take her to Seattle for the movies, but Bella freaked. Seattle wasn't farther away from Port Angeles where the townspeople usually hang out, he argued. But Bella still had jitters from the memories about Victoria's newborns being in and coming from Seattle. She thought that the Volturi might be hanging around behind some blocks or in an alley somewhere, ready to catch Jake when he was off-guard and kill Nessie. All for a chance at revenge.
But, anyway, back on topic: Seth and Leah were now mad at him, as was Sue, and to his surprise, Billy was as well.
Harry was one of his friends, after all. He, Charlie and Quil's Dad were like brothers to him. And now there was only Charlie left.
Jake winced, remembering how much of an idiot he was for not realising this sooner, and the look of betrayal Billy had when he first heard this from Sue. Jake groaned. Billy had yelled at Jake, while he desperately tried to defend himself for not realising this sooner. He'd never seen Billy so angry before, not even when he'd trashed the living room out of spite because Dad had prohibited him from going over to Charlie's house. Billy fumed for weeks and Rachel... Rachel tried to talk with him. Jake didn't know what was worse, the fact that she actually tried to butt her nose into his private stuff or that she actually had the nerve to think badly of him after he nearly- according to Dad and the Clearwaters- had Charlie killed. Didn't Sue keep warning Harry about his cholesterol for years before he'd had the heart attack? Months, even? Wasn't Charlie in better shape as a cop? And since when did Rachel care about anybody- at least anybody that wasn't Paul? He hadn't seen her or Rebecca in years and none of them cared. If he and Billy had gotten into a car crash, Jake wasn't sure if either of them would come to the funeral. Or remember when it was. Neither of them would care, and neither did he.
But anyway, Billy had punished him for not allowing him to go near Charlie, including at his place, and that included whenever Nessie was in the damn house with him! His own, damned-soulmate.
His own freaking soulmate!
He'd seen red. He'd screamed and yelled, and even phased in the living room in front of Billy, and Paul- who was hanging around as usual, thanks to Rachel- again- had phased, jumped in front of Jake and pushed him out of the front door, knocking him down the porch steps and onto the yard. He'd tussled with Paul then, same as usual, but neither of them could hear Billy and Rachel desperately trying to get him- just him, apparently, not Paul- to stop, and since Jake couldn't hear Paul's thoughts anymore, he'd apparently called for backup. Meanwhile, Billy got Rachel to run back inside and call Seth and Leah, and the two of them pounced onto him, along with Sam, Jared whom Paul had called, and just about almost everyone else in either pack before he even knew what was happening. The cheat! Paul was becoming sneaky, but hey, looks like he finally got the brain Sam had always wanted him to have.
In hindsight, Jake realised that the confrontation had screwed him over. Having an entire army of bloodsuckers heading across the ocean to kill your soulmate for a misunderstanding, and then still threaten to eliminate her from the face of the earth, just because they'd never seen one like her before or because she was born as something she didn't want and didn't choose. He needed Nessie, damn them, needed to know that she was safe, and that she'd always be there waiting for him!
It was easy for Sam to say; Emily was always waiting in their house! It was easy for Seth to try to calm him down; he had no one. He could never have imagined just how strongly Jake needed Nessie; that he'd needed her more than he needed oxygen. And it was easy for Rachel to start crying, blubbering and getting all upset- he wasn't too hung up on that: she had Paul, even when she needed him as much as Jake needed Nessie.
So, Jake fumed, phased back, went to his room to change because apparently once he'd forgotten and nearly gave some old lady a heart attack and a headache of complaints to Billy, before stomping off.
Honestly, he didn't know why; he couldn't care less if the same old lady saw him and had a heart attack. Let her! He was just so freaking mad. He disabled the phone, made sure Billy or Rachel couldn't follow him, just for the hell of it, and stomped off.
He made his way to Charlie's house, praying that Charlie would answer and that Sue wouldn't be there.
Thankfully, it was Charlie who answered the door.
"Jake," he sounded surprised.
"'Sup Charlie." Jake tried to be even. "Is Nessie in there?"
"Uh, no, not at the moment," he admitted. "Rosalie came by and stopped over to pick her up. Said she was taking her shopping somewhere."
Jake knew that it was a lie: Rosalie would never take Nessie shopping; everything Nessie wore was brought online. She wasn't allowed to go to Port Angeles or Seattle, and she sure as hell wasn't going anywhere without anyone, least of all him! Ever since New Year's Eve, those rules had been set in concrete. What the hell's Blondie playing at? He scowled inwardly. He knew she was just taking this opportunity to keep Nessie away from him. They'd never liked each other, even when he got used to the other Cullens.
Fear seized him. Was Blondie trying to wait for an opportunity to-
But Charlie interrupted his thoughts. "Jake," he said slowly. "Do you mind coming in? We need to talk."
That didn't sound so good.
Reluctantly, Jake nodded and stepped indoors. The house looked almost the same as it did before Bella left only... different. Tidier. Jake recognised Sue's handiwork around the place. The cabinets had been repainted, he'd noticed. No longer the sunshine yellow they'd been, Jake thought that maybe Sue had been redecorating around the place. She was probably going to be back soon enough; force him to go back to Billy's and complain on the phone.
Well, she'd might have a bit of trouble trying to call.
Charlie led him to the kitchen table and gestured, nodding. Like he was interrogating a suspect. They both pulled out a chair and sat. For a moment, there was silence.
Jake felt uneasy. What's he going to do?
Charlie didn't know everything, right? He was sure of that. Jake knew he'd react badly to the imprint, being a cop and all, a very human one, he'd never understand. Thankfully though, as mad as Sue and Billy were, they'd never squeak.
They knew the law. They knew what imprinting was, what it did to you. How sacred it was. They knew all Wolves would fight to the death, just as they did last time someone had accidentally killed an imprint. They knew better than to keep Nessie from him.
Did Charlie though?
Charlie sighed as he sat down. "Jake..." he began. "Why are you here?"
Jake opened his mouth, but Charlie beat him to it. "I mean, why are you really here? What's your interest in Renesmee?"
Jake was speechless. He sat, stunned as he opened his mouth and closed it, gaping like a fish. He was unable to find the words to explain to Charlie.
In hindsight, he could've hit himself: Seth was right. Charlie just needed time to adjust and absorb everything, that was all.
Now, he was asking questions. Questions which Jake had no way of answering or explaining, because he wasn't prepared to give out any explanations. Explanations which he'd stupidly assumed that Charlie would never need, because he once asked to know as little about everything as possible.
Jake felt himself say, "Charlie-"
"I don't know what you're doing, Jacob." Charlie said. His face was expressionless and his voice was neutral, but Jake sensed the warning undercurrent in his voice. He must've sensed Jake was about to make some excuse or distract him.
Jake managed to speak: "You said you wanted to know as little about this as possible."
Charlie sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "I did." He admitted. He looked bone-weary and tired in all manner of ways. Deep lines creased his face, bits of grey threaded through his curly brown hair, making him look older than he really was. Dark shadows streaked under his eyes, almost like the Cullens. Jake thought he looked thinner, like he might've lost weight and hadn't been eating. Which was bad, considering that even though Charlie was a bad cook, to say the least, he not only had Sue, but Bella and a whole bunch of other friends to make sure he was fed. Not to mention, the police station had a canteen or something of its own- right?
Jake felt a measure of guilt for not seeing this; his mind flipped back to when he'd revealed himself to Charlie. Charlie had spent months worrying and stressed about Bella's upcoming wedding, to a guy he didn't like and hoped she wouldn't marry, and then the 'tropical disease' she'd caught on her honeymoon, and suddenly Jake remembered that Charlie didn't look all that great when he first came up to him. He'd also been surprised, mostly, because Jake had gone missing for months. Apparently, he'd put up flyers or something around town, even had a corkboard in his office, set aside for Jake, which mostly remained empty to his frustration.
Basically, he'd missed Jake than anyone else ever did when he'd left, upon hearing the news that Bella was going through with her wedding, despite what he'd tried to get her to reconsider. Heck, he'd even been worried about him, which stunned Jake as he didn't think him leaving would be considered all that worrying.
Jake felt more guilt; Charlie might not have a problem with his cholesterol, he thought, not then and certainly, judging by the looks of things, not now, either. But it didn't mean that being in better shape than Harry had been when he saw Leah phase, wouldn't have affected him. Especially since he didn't know that the supernatural existed, certainly not that his best friend's son was a werewolf. No wonder the Clearwaters and Billy were so mad at him. But he'd been so desperate, what else could he have done?
As Jake fought not to squirm, Charlie took a deep breath and sighed. "Jacob," he began again. "I'm just worried... I don't particularly care if you're a supernatural creature... because, especially after what I've seen and learned since the last year, I'm starting to think that Bella might be as well. Same as Nessie."
Jacob froze.
"But..." Charlie sighed after a long while, shaking his head. "I'm just worried." His dark, rimmed eyes met Jacob and he fought not to shrink. They were Bella's eyes, same as Nessie's, which was what he'd seen on her when they came to the Cullens' house for the first time since Bella had returned. "I've made a lot of mistakes as a dad. The first one, I think, is marrying Renée when the two of us weren't ready, not for each other and certainly not for the life we had. I was twenty-four, she was nineteen, and then BOOM! We had a baby!" Charlie threw his hands up in the air, shaking his head. "That's the first mistake. It wasn't the last. We weren't prepared to be husband and wife, and we certainly weren't prepared to be parents. We sure as hell weren't good ones."
Jacob didn't know what to say.
"My next mistake was believing my soon-to-be-ex-wife when she said that living in this town sucks and since I didn't want to move I didn't deserve to be a father, either."
Jake really didn't want to have this conversation right now anymore than he wanted to discuss Leah's once-potential menopause or her having 'heat'. "Charlie... that wasn't your fault."
"It was, in part." Charlie emphasised. "'Course, Renée played her part, but I was the one who proposed, I was the one who knocked her up and brought a kid into this world with neither of us having any idea on how to raise it. I just started a great job, I was working my way up, I had a family to provide for, especially a new baby that was going to go to college, someday- or so I hoped." He sighed, as if facing the prospect of a bitter disappointment. "And I had to look after my parents. They didn't have any time left."
Charlie paused for a moment. "Did I ever tell you that my aunt was married to Quil's grandpa- Old Quil?" Jacob blinked.
"So, what, you're Quil's first or second cousin or something?" He asked. Charlie shrugged. "Or something," he admitted. "That's how we knew each other: Aunt Molly had Quil- your friend's dad- and we went over and played when we were small. Your dad and Harry joined us along." The wrinkles around his eyes creased as he smiled. "We were close."
Jake didn't answer. He knew that Quil's dad- also named Quil- had died when Quil was young, during a storm, leaving Quil to be raised by his mom and his grandpa.
"It was hard being there for his funeral," Charlie confessed. "It was just as hard being there for Harry's. I don't want to go to any more funerals, least of all to anyone who died too soon before their time." His voice grew stern.
"I know, Charlie," Jake said quietly.
Charlie sighed. "Thing is, Jake, I don't think you do." He said, looking Jacob in the eye. "You lived for months in the wild, running away from home without a single thought?" His voice was incredulous. "Maybe you would've been fine, and now I know that you're a giant wolf, I know you would've been. But at the very least, you could've called or found a way to let us know- or just me, rather."
Jacob bit his tongue. "I.. I tried... there weren't any phone lines nearby, and the reception-" but Charlie was shaking his head, cutting him off from his lame attempt at an excuse.
"Nah, Jake, I don't think you do." His voice grew steely. "Now I know why Bella's hand broke when you punched her. She's never been one to pick fights, you see, I know that about her. Even though she lived first in California, and then in Phoenix-" Jake was surprised. He knew that Bella and her mom Renée lived in Phoenix, but he never knew they'd gone to California. "-I knew her well enough to know, even without watching her stumble and trip over her own two feet, I know she liked to avoid confrontations." His voice hardened. "And fights.
"So she wouldn't have punched anyone without a good reason, would she? Least of all, you."
Jake was stunned. He didn't expect- didn't think that Charlie would be upset-
Charlie saw the look on his face. "I was wrong." He said grimly. "I was so blinded by what Edward did, I didn't think anyone could do worse, could hurt her. But what you did... first of all, that was technically illegal, Jake. And if I were a better cop and certainly a better dad, I would've clapped you in handcuffs and sent you to the station." Jake's jaw crashed to the ground.
"Charlie-" he spluttered. "That was ages ago! Bella and I talked things out-"
"Bella has the submissive personality of a doormat," Charlie said bluntly, causing Jake to do a double-take. "I love her and Renesmee more than anybody in the world, but I can't deny that. But she can never stand up for herself unless she was cornered and only at the last minute, and even then it would be a half-baked attempt that she would quickly forget. And yes, it was ages ago." He looked even grimmer. "Didn't mean what you did then was any less legal- or morally tolerable."
For a moment, Jake was unable to speak. "Charlie... I said- I told her I'm sorry-"
"Well, since you weren't injured in the 'punch', were you sorry because she got mad at you and fled into Edward's arms, almost potentially cutting ties with you?" Charlie interrupted. "Or sorry because you forcibly touched her without her consent?"
Jake's eyes bugged. He couldn't believe this!
"I asked you a question, Jacob." Charlie said, evenly and calmly, but his eyes had a dangerous glint. "Were you sorry because Bella was mad at you and might've cut you off to be with Edward for good as a result of your actions, or were you sorry because you touched Bella and held her down to force a kiss on her without her consent, even though you knew full well that she had a boyfriend?"
Jake was silent. What could he say? That he knew Bella was in love with him all along? That he was proven right, after all, when she asked to kiss him during a battle with newly-turned vampires? That he was afraid that Bella was making a bad choice by falling in love with one of the Un-dead?
Besides, what would this mean for Nessie? For his future with her? For their life together?
Jacob took a deep breath. "Charlie-" he began. But then he trailed off. He didn't know what to say.
"I'm listening," Charlie responded. He waited calmly, his dark eyes on Jake.
Jake opened and then closed his mouth. He didn't know what to say.
"You can't deny it, can you?" Charlie asked quietly. "You see, Jake, when I say I'm sorry, it's different. When I say I'm sorry, I actually mean it, no one's making me." Jake opened his mouth, but Charlie cut him off. "And when I say I'm sorry I'm not doing it 'cause I'm scared someone's going to get mad and leave me, or do something else I wouldn't like." Jake winced. "There are no strings attached to any apologies I make. And I am sorry. About a lot of things.
"I'm sorry I didn't step in and take you in when my own daughter was hurt. I'm sorry that, no matter what Edward did or how bad he was, I didn't think that anybody could be worse or as bad as him. I'm sorry that I never took the incident seriously- nor the possibility that you might not be good for her, or that she might not be good for you, either, and you were both bad for each other and for everybody around you guys." Jake was aghast. His eyes felt like they were massive. But it seemed like the dam had broken when Charlie continued:
"I'm sorry that I ever believed Renée when she told me that there was no way I could ever be a good father here in Forks the way I am, and that her taking Bella back to California all those years ago was a better option and that she was willing to commit to become a better parent as leaving me to get her life in order proved it- and I never thought to check for sure how she's really doing. I'm sorry that because I believed every damned word my emotionally self-absorbed, delusional and immature ex-wife said, I never fought for custody or even more time with Bella, play a bigger role in her upbringing, give her a happier childhood and teach her to become a better person. I'm sorry that when Bella first came to Forks, I was so desperate and eager to bond with her that I didn't try to communicate any better- or to get help to find out how to communicate with her since we were both introverts- yet at the same time, I forgot to set up some ground rules for her to follow 'cause I didn't want to be a tyrant and make her feel uncomfortable and wish to leave, and I blindly and stupidly assumed by now that she was practically an adult and mature enough to handle everything. Instead, I overestimated her maturity, just as I'd waaayy overestimated yours." Charlie stated. Jake listened and watched, spellbound and gaping. He didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry I didn't lay down the law with my daughter and put her in her place when she ran away for the second time when I was at my best friend's funeral to go all the way to Italy and drag her stank-as ex back with her and then have the nerve and lack of moral conscience, or even the bare minimum of human decency and consideration for my feelings and current hardships when she- less than two hours later- immediately threatened to move out and choose her useless, self-centred, manipulative bronze-haired beau over her own flesh and blood if I didn't accept Wardo hangin' around." Jake didn't react at the degrading nickname Charlie had for Edward. "I should never have put up with that kind of behaviour from her. No other parent would have; I just didn't think I had the moral high ground considering that my marriage to Renée was a bust from the start, so who was I to lecture or forcibly stop her? But if I was able to think more clearly back then, and communicate more eloquently, I should've used my past experiences instead as backup evidence to prove my point about the path she was heading on being like mine and Renée's, but I didn't and I'm sorry I just let things be, instead of standing my ground, standing up for myself, you and Bella, and standing up to you, Edward, Alice, Bella and Renée instead of just laying back even after putting a half-assed attempt, which Bella must've gotten from me." Charlie shook his head.
"I'm sorry that I waited to sue Wardo Cullen and let that smooth-faced, shameless, manipulative, lying bastard keep climbing through her bedroom window and into my house at the dead of night even after I kicked him out 'cause of curfew, all 'cause I didn't want to either kick Bella out or lay down the law and have her run into Wardo's arms either way, 'cause I was too scared of what else he might do to her when I'm not there." His voice dripped with self-loathing, but what startled Jake the most was that, after all this time since Edward's return and even Bella's wedding, Charlie not only still had a grudge: he genuinely hated Edward, who'd become his son-in-law. He didn't actually accept him as family. "I should've given her what she wanted to teach her a good, hard lesson: like she'd asked for." He scoffed. Self-loathing was in his eyes, chocolate-brown eyes like Nessie's were. It made Jake's heart twist and bile rise in his mouth.
Charlie continued: "I'm sorry that I didn't look into my daughter's bank account to see what she did with her college fund, which I am a co-signer to, and not only 'cause I have every damn right to see where my money was going to- which, as it turns out, was building motorbikes with you instead of saving for college which was what I put it there for-" Jake's eyes widened "- but because that was my parents' money which they left to Bella 'cause they hoped she would have a good future and they can't be there for her since they didn't have much time left. Instead, she wasted that money; my parents', her late grandparents' gift and inheritance to her, as well as my own money which I'd earned through my own hard work, on motorbikes that she can't even use properly during her seriously-skewed months when Edward dumped her, all to become an adrenaline junkie so she could forget about her heartbreak- even though it's illegal to drive a motorcycle without a special license, a Class D one, and neither of you actually have that. The two of you aren't getting away with that, by the way, even if it's too late. You'll both be slapped with fines, you'll have to pay the impound fee and maybe your licenses will be confiscated along with your motorbikes." Jake's eyes bugged and he swore.
Charlie ignored him. "I'm sorry that I didn't push or force her to get some professional counselling and therapy after months of being a vegetable and then a zombie. I'm sorry I thought she got better when she was with you, when I didn't even know what she was doing 'cause I didn't check up and look more closely, since I didn't want her to get all upset. Instead, she grew slavishly dependent on and addicted to you and Edward, and 'cause of that she sure as hell never learned to stand on her own two feet, and she never got better. I'm sorry that I ever thought she could actually be better because of you or Edward because by now, as an adult, I should've known better that no easy quick-fix can solve anything. Including romance or even friendship. Certainly not what either of you had over her, which wasn't either genuine love or friendship anyway." Jake's eyes bugged even further and a strangled sound resounded from the back of his throat at Charlie's branding of his and Bella's friendship and her marriage, same as the off-hand and blasé way of saying it. But Charlie wasn't done, not by a long shot.
"I'm sorry I didn't kick her out after she threatened to leave if I didn't accept the aforementioned asshole, which was what she wanted anyway. If I had done that, that might've taught her a thing or two about reality and given her some much-needed and long-overdue discipline for the apparently first time in her very young and short life, or maybe it would have forced her to learn to have some empathy and understanding for what other people have gone through, including their feelings, especially in regards to her and her issues. Instead, I had a daughter with zero respect or consideration for other people, including her own blood... well, she certainly acts like it, anyway. And evidently, having other people who love or care for her, whose name wasn't Cullen, just wasn't enough for her to give them her attention, or even some consideration and respect nearly as much as she's given Edward or her own selfish desires not only to be with him at all costs- and other people's costs too- but to also have you permanently hangin' by her side for the rest of everyone's lives." Jake stared. "I'm sorry I didn't see that she was playing with you, Jacob, leading you on, when I should've."
That startled him. Charlie's eyes softened and his voice filled with deepest regret and sorrow that Jake had ever seen him.
"And I'm sorry that I never put a stop to it and demanded that she apologise and stop leading you on and playin' with your feelings, all just 'cause she wasn't brave or strong enough to tell you no, especially if it meant that you might leave and never see her again for good- which not only did you have every right to, but it would've been the best thing for you to do for yourself: to cut ties with Bella completely." Jake's mouth dropped open. "If you'd cut Bella off, left her and refused to see and even communicate with her, even if either of you had been upset, well, you would've certainly been much better off without her toxic influence and self-absorbed 'friendship'-" Charlie made finger-quotes as he said the word. "-as well as her leading you on a wild goose chase to get closer to and win her heart, getting your hopes up whenever she got close to you only to have them dashed time and again when she turned back to Edward, as she predictably would've done... If you had cut ties with her, then Bella would have at least learned something about treating all her friends and family fairly, seriously taking other people's feelings into consideration and not taking anyone's care for her for granted; that's the same reason why I wished I'd kicked her out into the curb when she threatened to move out and disown her own blood when I'd been upset, worried and anxious about her for months, right after she left the damned country during the funeral of someone I saw as my brother, all for a useless, delusional, psychotic, manipulative and controlling sack of self-absorbed pity and misery, who was largely responsible for the situation she was in in the first place and corrupted her to begin with. If she was willing to choose that spoiled rich brat and control freak, or anyone really especially someone who she'd known for just six months at that point before he left and didn't see or contact her again for six more months, over her own flesh and blood who had been worried and upset over her for months, who would've stuck with her through thick and thin, then, well, normally I would've chosen my love for Bella, which I ended up doing... But in this case, I should've kicked her out. She took everyone for granted: her friends, family even the teachers at school, and tore their concern and care into pieces and flushed it right down the toilet.
"Jake..." Charlie shook his head. "There's no point chasing after someone who ran away and wouldn't give a damn about your feelings, or at least think that they're of minor importance, no matter how much you love them, if they're not even willing to look back for five seconds to know that there are other people who love them and care for them out in the world. It was always gonna be her and Edward in their self-contained bubble of bliss, which they'd paid for with the love, care, pain- and in Carlisle's, me and my parents' case, the money- of other people." Charlie gave Jake the saddest, most bitter and disappointed chocolate-brown he had ever seen; like Nessie's. It felt like it was crushing his heart. "She never had any intention of choosing you even then, Jake. But she didn't have any intention of ever letting you go and allowing you to live your own life without her. She always needed somebody to look out for any trouble she was getting herself into, most of the time anyway, as proof that someone could care, just as she needed them to hold her hand, give her a shoulder to cry on and sing her praises to make her fragile, needy self-esteem feel better. She didn't have the courage to face Leah after Leah got angry at her for leading you on and breaking your heart. Does it surprise you that she couldn't look you in the eye and tell you that her heart was already taken but couldn't bear to let you go to live a life and find some happiness on your own?" Charlie paused and Jacob felt like he'd been doused in Arctic ice. "Without her being in the picture?"
Jacob felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him with a sledgehammer. Charlie nodded knowingly, his chocolate-brown eyes wide and sad with understanding. Jake's heart thudded, slamming into his rib-cage, but Charlie didn't give him time to comprehend this.
"I should've told you that too. And I'm sorry I didn't. I'm sorry that I never looked deeper into and confronted her, or Edward and his family, or you about all your bad, callous behaviour. Including, from what I've heard and observed, assault on your part." Charlie's eyes grew steely again.
"Class A Felony, Jacob," he stated grimly. "That's what it was when you forced a kiss on her. I was just dumb and blinded by Edward and my hatred of him that I didn't want to give him any quarter. I should've arrested you."
Jacob managed to speak. "Charlie, no- it wasn't like that-" he tried to deny.
"Wasn't it?" Charlie's eyebrows flew up. "She was upset and hurt enough before she even punched you to try to punch you. She asked for a baseball bat or a crowbar to hurt you. I'd say it was pretty serious, Jake.
"Which brings me to my next question: what about Nessie?"
Confusion slammed into him. "What?"
"Like I said, Bella has the submissive personality of a doormat," Charlie shrugged. He explained, "So if she doesn't stand up for herself- or rather, she makes a half-assed attempt, like she did with that punch and being all mad at you, but she doesn't go through, forgets and gives up before she could really start 'cause Bella's not capable of standing her ground without knowing that there's someone else who would hold her up in place-" he muttered. "-well, someone has to. Even if it's a little late, it's important to me, especially now. I'm not going to ignore anything any longer, least of all 'cause she now has a daughter; my granddaughter. You knew she wouldn't stay mad at you for long; you knew she could never do that. And you knew that she knew that you were seriously infatuated with her, but didn't have the courage to bring herself to to turn you down face-to-face, 'cause she didn't have the guts to hurt or let you go, even if it means that you would've been much better off and way happier without her playin' and leading you on in the long-run, while having absolutely no intention of ever going out or being with you, especially since she'd already planned to be with Edward forever." Jake was silent. Charlie's voice was completely certain and resolute
He felt like he'd been struck by icy lightning. Bella had already made up her mind? She'd planned it even then? Jake didn't want to believe it, didn't want to feel the stab of betrayal in his heart, but Charlie's words were making more and more sense...
What did that matter?! Jake wanted to demand. He could've hit himself for being so ridiculous. He was eternally grateful because in the end, they only gave him Nessie, and he couldn't live without her... couldn't imagine his whole life without her... before her his world was so dark... it was nothing...
"And she was forcing you to stay within her toxic, self-absorbed, desire-oriented world." Jake was stunned. He'd never imagined Charlie would ever be capable of saying something like this. "But you, Jake? You knew she would cut you some slack; she wouldn't stay mad at you for long; she couldn't. After all, weren't you the one who picked her up when she fell? Maybe that's why I thought you could never harm her, damage her the way Edward did- but you did.
"What you did, Jacob... that is sexual assault, Jake." Charlie shook his head. "I should've taken you in. Even Billy said that he'd understand when I told him." Jacob froze. "And then you abused her."
Jake's jaw crashed to the kitchen floor. "Charlie, I swear I would never-"
"You already did." Charlie said quietly, in a voice that was soft but somehow louder than thunder. "You abused her friendship and her fears of abandonment after Edward threw her away like trash in those woods. You abused the influence you had to exert control over her; you both did: you and Edward. Just as she abused her influence and control to keep you around, even if it meant leading you on and playin' with you at the risk of twisting the knife and pushing it deeper into your heart." Jake winced. "I'm sorry I never saw and put a stop to it: you were both bad for her, and she was bad for you. It's all bad, all around. Like playing with nuclear energy: it's just toxic and never did anything good for any of you three or anyone else being around you guys." From underneath the kitchen table, Charlie hauled out a stack of letters- notes, really. Jake's heart froze and sank when he recognised his own handwriting and the lines that crossed through some of the sentences.
He could've cursed himself. Bella, apparently, must have forgotten to throw them away.
"Charlie," he began, but Charlie cut him off without looking up at him. "Your handwriting's not hard to read," he remarked. "Even under those single lines." He mused holding one of the letters up to the light.
"'Bella,'" Charlie began, reading the script. "'I don't know why you're making Charlie carry notes to Billy like we're in second grade- if I wanted to talk to you, I would answer the phone-'" he snorted. "Yeah, it was like you guys were in second-grade. But it wasn't like you were making her feel any better when you refused to return her calls to begin with for no reason other than you were jealous." He continued.
"'You made the choice here, okay?'" Charlie snorted again. "Jake, do you think she would've made a choice if you and Edward hadn't forced her? Right now, I'm already questioning whether or not she actually wanted to get married, or whether she was just scared she was going to lose Edward again. I might have spent every summer holiday with Bella since her mother took her and left, but I know her well enough to know that she'd been spoon-fed horror stories about getting married at a young age- primarily from the two of us, or rather-" he shrugged. "-just Renée. I didn't communicate very well." His dark eyes shone with self-loathing. Self-loathing, Jacob thought, his gut lurching, that he'd seen in Bella's eyes- and Nessie's.
Every time he tried to reason with her. To stay and hang out with him. To spend some time with him. To get closer. It made his gut and heart twist. It didn't help that they look the same, that they shared the same eyes.
"'What part of 'mortal enemies' is too complicated for you to-'" Charlie scoffed. "'Course." He stated.
"'Look, I know I'm being a jerk, but there's just no way around-'" Charlie shook his head, then continued. "'We can't be friends when you're spending all your time with a bunch of-'"
He slammed the letter onto the oak surface. "I don't know why I ever thought you were better than Edward." He muttered, disgust and disappointment dripping from his every word. Jacob felt his heart seize, like it'd been stabbed by a shard of ice.
"Least of all for Bella. It's not like you were friends with her out of the goodness of your own heart."
Jacob managed to whisper. "Charlie," he croaked out. His voice shook.
"I know she led you on," Charlie continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I know she's weak and too chicken to stand up for anything or anyone, including herself, especially when confronted but... I always thought you were better than that, Jake." His dark eyes looked at Jacob, chocolate-brown and full of anguish. Like Nessie's.
Like Bella had once been, a small part of him thought, only he brushed that aside. But even though it wasn't Bella or, worse, Nessie sitting right in front of him, saying these things and looking at him with the utmost expression and gaze of betrayal and disappointment in those eyes, it still felt like a stab wound right to the heart. It hurt like hell to realise that it was Charlie saying those words, Charlie whom he'd known all his life, looking at Jake the way he'd never looked at him before, Charlie who was so bitterly disappointed in and betrayed- by him.
"I always thought I could trust you," Charlie whispered "and now, as it turns out, you've been manipulating her?" Charlie shook his head in disbelief and anguish. "Pulling her strings? Is that it?"
Jake shot to his feet. The chair scraped against the tiles. "No- Charlie, you're getting it all wr- I would never-"
"Oh really?" Charlie held up those letters and brandished it. "'Cause I have evidence, Jacob! This is proof!" He slammed the letters onto the wooden surface.
Jacob tried to argue. "No- no, it's not!-"
"Oh really?" Charlie raised an eyebrow calmly. "Wanna bet? What did you possibly think that you were making her feel? Knowing how you felt? Guilty? Ashamed? You wanted her to be ashamed she was hanging out with Edward, simply because of her choice of boyfriend- or maybe because she had a boyfriend that just wasn't you. Is that it?"
Jacob was silent.
"And you made it perfectly clear- since you barely crossed anything out-" he gave a sardonic laugh "-that she would always be forced to choose between you and Edward. And if she continued to hang out with Edward, you couldn't be friends with her."
Jacob managed. "It's not like that anymore," he insisted. "Things are different now. Everything's better."
Charlie gave a laugh. It was a harsh sound filled with misery, bitterness, anguish and self-hatred. Jake stared.
He was unable to comprehend just how unexpected things were going to be.
When did this happen? He just wanted to catch a glimpse of Nessie. Hear her voice, her heartbeat. Smell her sweet scent...
"Yeah, you're right." Charlie agreed. Then he spoke: "Things are worse. Worse than I could ever possibly imagine. Because really? Her daughter? Because who in the world would take a strong interest in the daughter of the girl who broke their heart, sent them running to live in the wild for months, and married another guy? The daughter she had with that same guy?" Charlie's brown eyes pierced into Jacob's, sending ice shards through his heart that flooded throughout his entire body.
"All in less than five months? From June 'til August-September, you weren't seen around town. You'd run away. There was no trace of you. Not in the cork-board I'd had up in my office. Not an answering call from any of the flyers I'd printed and put up." Jake bit his lip. Guilt and anxiety gnawed through his stomach. "Not even for a reward.
"Yet somehow, around four months later- forget the part when you turned into a giant wolf-" he waved a hand in the air "-after you ran away following the announcement of Bella and Edward's upcoming wedding, you not only show up out of the blue like you'd never disappeared, you're happy and the person you're most interested in- the person that you're happy about, I have no doubt-" Charlie's face twisted in incredulity and disbelief- and something else. "-is their daughter?" He managed staring incredulously at Jake. "Their baby daughter?
Jacob was silent. He had nothing to say.
What could he say? 'Hey, Charlie, sorry I've been a jerk and let you worry and stress out over me for months, but I'm over Bells now. I've even managed to find my soulmate- in her baby daughter.'
Yeah. That'll go down real smooth.
Charlie sighed. Then it slammed into him: the look on Charlie's face.
It was disgust. And betrayal. Not just anguish and self-loathing, or disbelief.
And above all else, it was disappointment. Disappointment that stung him like a knife-blade almost as bad as Seth's.
"Jake," Charlie took a deep breath as if steeling himself. He got up from his chair. "What does that sound like to you?" He paused. "To me? To anyone?"
Jacob swallowed. His mouth and his whole freaking throat was dry. "Charlie," he managed to croak. "I can explain."
Charlie inclined his head. "Been waiting for that, Jake, but you couldn't seem to start."
An involuntary flush crept up Jake's face.
"Remember... about Wolves?"
He was half-expecting Charlie to flush, cringe and cut him off, changing the subject and insisting he didn't want to know more. He hoped for it.
He was badly disappointed.
"Yeah, I remember," Charlie said calmly. "And while I've been out of it for months, I also remember folktales and legends. The bit about werewolves... how their mortal enemies..." He paused, taking a slow breath.
"Vampires, huh?"
Jake felt all the colour slowly draining from every inch of his face.
He finally managed to speak.
"Did Sue tell you?" He asked. Sue surely, wouldn't break the treaty. Charlie shook his head. "Nope."
"Billy?" Again, Charlie shook his head. "Nope. But you just confirmed what I already knew." He shrugged and picked up a book from the corner of the bench-top.
Jacob saw: it was a mythology book. Folktales and legends too, judging by the looks of things.
He felt like ice. "Charlie," he whispered.
He didn't know why he was so panicked: it's not like things were any different, once Charlie found time to get used to the fact that his best friend's son was a Wolf.
Or maybe it was because that if Charlie knew Edward and his family were vampires, and that Bella had become one, he had no good reason to be hanging around their daughter. Even though she was half-human.
Especially since she once broke his heart.
Jake felt like ice from head to toe. He didn't know if there was any part of him warm enough to be a Wolf.
"I thought vampires and werewolves were mortal enemies," Charlie remarked, casually placing the book on the kitchen table. "You certainly said so yourself." He gestured to the notes and turned back to look at Jake in the eye. Jake thought it might've been Charlie's stare down at the station or when he caught someone speeding or being high behind the wheel.
"So why are you hangin' around their daughter?"
It was the last question he thought Charlie would ask, should he find out that Edward was a vampire, and Bella had turned into one so she could be with him forever. But Charlie didn't seem to care who or what she or Nessie was- or Jake, he admitted. He didn't treat Jake any differently after he phased, just needed time to adjust.
Thunder crashed outside. Jacob belatedly realised that it was raining- again.
Jake swallowed. He was shaking, but not from rage. He'd never felt this way before. Not even when he thought Bella had died.
"She's a beautiful little girl," Charlie remarked "got her mother's eyes. But those are my eyes, Jacob." Unwittingly, Jake's eyes flew back to Charlie's and saw his chocolate-brown eyes cold and hard as steel.
"So what can you tell me about your sudden and deliberately unexplained interest in my granddaughter?"
"Charlie," Jacob whispered. His lips still felt cold. "Remember... Wolves are different. We don't turn people into one of us by biting them." Charlie didn't react. "We... reproduce."
For a long moment, Charlie didn't react. "What does your reproduction have to do with my granddaughter?" His voice finally spoke.
Jacob swallowed again. "She's my soulmate," he whispered. Charlie's eyes- so like Nessie- and Bella's- widened.
Jake tried again. "It's called imprinting," he began, his throat dry. "It's involuntary." He insisted. "But when you see that someone... for the first time... Gravity moves... It's like the whole universe has shifted and suddenly everything makes sense." Charlie didn't react, standing frozen in front of him. "All my ties- everything that made me who I am, that bound me to place like my loyalties... my dad, my friends, even everything, every bit of pain and love I felt for Bella... those were cut. Snipped, like balloon strings. When I first set eyes on Nessie-" he choked. "-that was how I felt. It was involuntary but it triggered. The second I saw the colour of her eyes, and knew everything that led me to this moment, every bit of pain I'd ever felt, my feelings towards Bella... it all led to this." He took a shuddering breath. "This was meant to happen. And everything that bound me to this earth, tied me to other people, including my family and friends- all of that was gone." He pleaded, looking into Charlie's horrified and frozen eyes.
"Instead, there were steel cables," he continued pleading. "Steel cables that bound me to the very centre of my world- my universe... Renesmee."
Nessie.
And then finally, Charlie spoke.
"Are... You... Out... Of... Your... MIND?!"
The yell shook the entire house. It assaulted Jake's eardrums which was enhanced by being a Wolf and would have burst if he hadn't been so strong. It rose above the howling of the winds and the pounding of the thunder. Lightning flashed, illuminating Charlie's face, white as a ghost. His chocolate eyes, made darker by the dim light, looked horrified beyond belief. He stared at Jake as if he were a ghost.
"Your... your... soulmate?" Charlie whispered, his voice hoarse.
He sank down into his seat. "How could this be- how could this have possibly happened?" He sounded as if the power of speech was deserting him faster than the speed of light.
Jake shrugged helplessly. "I got home right before the wedding." He admitted.
"I showed up during the reception. Just around the back." Uh-oh. He could see Charlie's eye twitch. That was dangerous. He remembered that Charlie had spent months searching for him. He winced and showed-hopefully- that he was ashamed.
"When Bella showed up from her honeymoon, pregnant... I thought she'd been changed." He took a shaky breath. "It was against the rules, the terms of the treaty which Carlisle and the others had signed when he first met with my great-grandfather, Ephraim, the Alpha of the Pack."
Charlie clutched feebly at the table.
"So," he cleared his throat, seizing the momentum "when I got to their house, I discovered that yeah, Bella was sick. Just not from any tropical disease. She was pregnant."
Silence. Finally, Charlie spoke.
"With a vampire baby," he managed.
"A half-vampire baby," Jake corrected. He knew what Charlie was going through: it was one thing to hear that these legends were real... it was another thing entirely to hear that the people you knew were one of them. Or that you are one of them. Because for Charlie, it was as good as.
"And when Nessie was born..." Jake paused. It sounded- to him- that he was skipping out on a lot of things. Because he was. No need to give Charlie anymore heart attacks... or to dig the hole he was in any deeper than it already was. "I took one look... and imprinted."
"Imprinted..." Charlie whispered. "What- like ducklings on Mama Ducks?" He flew to his feet. "Is that what you call it?!"
Jake held out his hands. "I didn't make it up. It's what everybody calls it. It's what Sam called it."
"Sam..." Charlie shook his head. "Sam Uley? The guy who rescued Bella from the- from the woods?" He whispered.
Jake nodded. "Sam's the Alpha of the pack, he imprinted on Emily, Leah's cousin-" Jake froze when Charlie's eyes widened.
"Is that... Jake, how did she really get those scars?" He whispered.
Jacob winced. He could've hit himself! That was exactly what he was trying to avoid! Seth was right: Charlie just needed time to settle down and get used to things!
He tried again, "Sam imprinted on Emily, even though he'd been high school sweethearts with Leah for years. He loved her- he truly did. When he phased for the first time- well, no one had phased in two generations since our great-grandfathers, Billy's grandpa was Ephraim. He panicked, freaked out when he turned into a giant animal for the first time. He ran away for weeks, tried to cover it up..." Jake didn't know why he was babbling, but he had to- he needed to get Charlie to understand. "When Old Quil touched Sam's hand though, he knew. He was one of those who saw the pack as they went about their duties. He never phased anymore than Charlie, Harry or Quil's dad." Charlie's eyes bugged. "It just went... quiet for a while; for two whole generations. And then..." Jake shrugged helplessly. "Sam phased. He tried to do as the packs before did; be protectors. To the tribe and to the people around Forks. To the land. But he had to keep things quiet. He had to keep the secret. Jared was next to phase, and then Paul too." Charlie went quiet at the name-drop, no doubt recognising Rachel's beau that was making a menace around their house. Now he understood why Paul was allowed to stay and do whatever he wished by Billy. "Meanwhile, Sam broke the rules and kept sneaking back to see Leah, he really loved her, even though he wouldn't- or couldn't- tell her the truth. Leah was furious, but after a while, things got okay." Jake paused and took a deep breath.
"After that though... Leah's cousin Emily came over for a visit from the Makah reserve. And Sam... he imprinted. The instant he set eyes on her. He genuinely loved Leah, he truly did. But when imprinting happens..." Jake trailed off weakly. "Gravity moves- for us, at least. And all the ties we had to our loved ones seem to be cut, weak compared to the bonds that now tie us to our imprints. Our soulmates." He paused.
"It's destiny, Charlie." He pleaded. "It was always as it was meant to be. I didn't know it, it didn't make sense. But after she was born..."
Charlie's eyes widened as he said those words. The lightning flashed, and even though the dim lighting made his eyes seem darker, Charlie's brown eyes, like milk chocolate, were illuminated by the lightning.
"'After she was born'?" He repeated. "You..." he waved a frantic hand around in mid-air. Charlie shot to his feet. "You claimed my baby granddaughter as your 'soulmate' right after she was born?!"
His voice rose into a yell.
Jake tried to reason with him. "Charlie-" but Charlie was staring at him like he'd seen a ghost, or like as if Jake had died and suddenly turned into a mutant zombie out to kill and eat people's brains. He'd never looked at Jake like this before, not even right after Jake had phased in front of him.
"You kissed her mother," Charlie spluttered, his face rapidly turning white then green, his chocolate-brown wide and incredulous- and sickened. "Hell no- you assaulted her! You sexually assaulted Bella and now you've moved onto her daughter-!"
Jake's eyes bugged. This was not how he had planned things to go out, even on short-improvisation notice. "Charlie-"
"This is PAEDOPHILIA!" Charlie gagged, looking exactly like he was going to throw up. "You- you- she-" he tried to breathe evenly. Jake swore. He didn't know whether Charlie was going to asphyxiate or vomit violently... or get an aneurysm or a heart attack.
Jake was horrified. This was even worse than he'd thought Charlie would react. He looked looked like-
Suddenly, the door banged open. Leah, Seth, Embry and Quil came bursting in. Sue came in right after, her face as white as a sheet. Billy wheeled himself in at the rear, his dark eyes wide and panicked, his whole face a mask of horror. Charlie and Jake looked up, momentarily distracted as the group barged in.
"Jake," Embry and Quil both said at the same time from behind. "Jacob," Leah said in a panicked warning, trying to remain calm. "Jake- please," Seth begged.
It was all like they were afraid of him- like he'd do something.
Jacob stared. And then he remembered... they'd come to stop him from seeing Renesmee. From going to Charlie's house to see Nessie.
Charlie was staring at him like he'd never seen him before. He was staring at Jake like he was the greatest disappointment. The pack, his dad and Sue were all staring at him like he was an atomic bomb waiting to detonate or some kind of monster... for wanting to be with the one and only girl he loved. The one he truly loved and was meant to be with, in heart and spirit.
He had felt this before. Now it was worse.
That was what did it: something in him snapped.
"What is wrong with you people?!" Jake's shout rose to a bellow. The others took a step back.
"Jacob," Billy pleaded desperately. "Please." He begged.
"You're trying- trying- to keep me from my imprint?!" Jake yelled. "My soulmate?!"
Belatedly, Jake realised he was trembling.
He tried to calm himself.
A few deep breaths... in and out... in and out...
Slowly, the trembling began to subside, or it would have if someone, or some people, hadn't spoken.
"Jacob... please." Leah whispered. "Don't do this." "Jacob," someone- Seth or Embry- whispered. Or Quil- Quil who had an imprint of his own. Embry and Seth who didn't... Leah who had lost the love of her life and remained bitter about everyone's happiness. Even wanting to destroy his own.
Something in Jake snapped. He looked at his pack, all in battle-stances, ready to prevent him from seeing the love of his life, his soulmate, his everything whom he had waited for years to meet, to be with...
And he saw red.
And he launched.
Charlie yelled as a horse-sized wolf burst snarling in mid-air and launched himself onto his friends.
"Jake!" Billy screamed as he'd never done in his life. Not even when Sarah died. "NO!"
Sue also screamed as her children, Embry and Quil all immediately burst into their Wolf forms and tackled Jake.
The Wolves all tussled, a ball of flying fur, fangs and muscle-clad bone, rolling and ripping violently through the Swans' small-sized living room.
Furniture smashed, the coffee table cracked and crumbled beneath the Wolves forms, the sofa was overturned, and one angry paw swiped against Charlie's favourite armchair and ripped out claw-marks in the upholstery and stuffing. Picture frames flew into the air, along with nature magazines which were flung upwards with loud ripping noises. The TV fell backwards and crashed. The lamp toppled off the side table and smashed onto the ground, flattening under the rolling weight of the viciously snarling Wolf pack.
Snarls, growls, yelps and howls of rage and pain shook the entirety of the Swan house. The fireplace shook and pictures toppled from the mantlepiece, their frames and glass smashed beneath the roll of fighting horse-sized Wolves.
"ENOUGH!" Billy bellowed so loudly in his deep voice that everybody started, stunned.
Everything fell silent. No one spoke. With shaking hands, Sue picked up the phone and Billy rolled himself forwards. He froze.
Billy looked up towards the direction of the stairs.
Renesmee was standing there; and judging from the look of horror, shock and fear in her milk chocolate eyes, she had seen everything.
To Child of Dreams: No. What happened to her in canon happened here, but no one knows what really happened to her at this stage (except for maybe Marcel and Father Kieran, though I'm not sure they recognised and knew her ultimate fate). Remember, I'm sticking to canon timelines, with the exception of the Underworld series. But expect some things to turn out more differently in this universe, including for Klaus, Hayley, and Hope. But don't expect Hayley or Hope to be popping up any time soon, even when Klaus does. Hope, as mentioned, hasn't even been conceived yet.
To Ptool: Thank you! I might have published everything too quickly. Plus, I love your multi-crossover story! I wish I'd had the chance to say it.
To LunaLuna99999 in response to Chapter 6: Of course it was! It was meant to be taken as that! That was Jacob thinking that sentence about white toddlers in a soccer match compared to Latinos. Jacob is prejudiced and he likes to use stereotypes and insulting terms you'd consider racist: you noticed that he referred to the Volturi 'the Italian killers' that happened in Breaking Dawn as well as in this chapter above. If he wasn't above specifically pointing out that the Volturi were Italian, or making condescending and dumb jokes about Rosalie's intelligence primarily due to the colour of her hair, then he wouldn't be above using white toddlers and Latinos in a soccer team as a comparison, especially in the privacy of his mind, would he?
That was a warning sign early on that values, beliefs and reasonings were going to diverge dramatically later on with him and Edward, between Bella and Renesmee both. Remember, he's not only racist- even mildly- he's also pretty 'speciest' as Star Wars canon and legends called it: how many 'leech' and 'bloodsucker' comments had he thrown at Edward, even though he was just jealous? How many times did he slap the 'monster' 'thing' 'murderer' and 'killer' labels onto Renesmee before he imprinted to the point where he was willing to murder her, although this was in part because he was mentally skewed?
Just because it was convenient for him to get along with Edward and his family, and because he's not blinded by jealousy any longer, doesn't mean that he's changed. He certainly hasn't grown up- there were no indications that he had. He never tried or wanted to grow up- never thought he needed to. Him being friendly with Bella and the Cullens is like a white guy saying: "I can't be racist because I have black friends" when he openly uses the N-word to other black people. Like petting a dog or having a favourite slave. They're not better. I needed to show that and why he and Renesmee who is a part of Generation Z, is like that. He hasn't treated Bella well, and neither has Edward, either belittling and condescending her, questioning her sanity and judgment, to the point where her self-esteem gets even worse and she starts to question what she wants by herself, or putting her on a pedestal to worship and pamper like a porcelain doll. Bella was never their equal, and it's a mistake to think that a quick phsyical fix like vampirism was ever going to make them change their attitudes towards her. Or Renesmee. If this was how they treated Bella, imagine how they would treat her daughter. It's only convenient for him to get along with vampires because of her, not because he's willing to give them a chance to prove themselves not to be killers!
The whole Twilight series has really out-dated values, and not simply because some characters were born in a previous century and have their own ideas about what a happy family life should be. Jacob's kiss sounded romantic back in the 2000s, now it can get you tossed in jail, post-Weinstein era. And it was never acceptable in any society anyway. The second and third ones were coerced via emotional blackmail.