Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

Oops!

The next morning dawned and the rain that had threatened the night before was pounding against the roof and flooding the front yard, I sighed when I realised that we had only slept for four hours, I tried to roll over but the weight of Jacob’s arm held me pinned to his side. I gave up trying to move it and snuggled back into slumber. It was some time later that I heard a furious hiss and felt the sudden lightness of the mattress as Jake’s weight was ripped from it, forgetting that I was only dressed in a borrowed shirt –one that I could have worn as a dress- I jumped into a crouched position in time to see my father drag Jacob from the room. I raced after them demanding that he stop, I followed them from the house and out into the yard and the driving rain, yelling the entire way for my father to stop. My screams drew the startled gaze of the rest of my family and it was then that I registered what my father had seen. “Daddy Stop it. Don’t hurt him. Nothing happened!” I felt a guilty flush warm my skin at the outright lie and wasn’t surprised to hear his growl as the lie registered with him and he snarled “Emmett hold her and don’t let her go.” I felt the steel bands of Em’s arms and I struggled against them, crying out for my father to stop. It was as the tears started down my cheeks, mingling with the rain that was flowing down, that my mother stepped in and with a restraining hand she said “Edward stop, you couldn’t live with yourself if you killed him.” It seemed like her words had succeeded where mine had failed and he dropped Jacob into the mud. Jacob rolled away from him and bounded to his feet coming to my side, he snarled at my captor, which only succeeded in Em gripping me tighter, effectively cutting off my oxygen. I gasped and Jacob cried “Let her go you’re killing her.” I felt the arms binding me suddenly release me and I fell forward, expecting to hit the ground, gasping for air. I was stopped from hitting the ground by Jacob’s strong arms coming around me and cradling me closer. I buried my face into his bare chest and it was then that I realised that Jacob slept naked.

Startled I looked up into his eyes and said “Jake! You’re naked.” Emmett’s chuckle came from behind me along with a snarl from my parents. Jacob looked down into my upturned face and said, unashamedly, “It got too hot in the bed to wear clothes. With both our heat it was uncomfortable.” I smiled lovingly into his eyes, pressing my hand against his bare hip, showing him that I understood what he meant. I pulled myself free from his grip and turned to face my family, making sure that I kept my body between them and my naked boyfriend, I took in the strained looks on their faces before Jasper made everyone feel calm and in control. I sucked in a deep breath and smiling brightly, as if they hadn’t caught me in bed with a naked man, I said “Hey guys, you got here quicker than we expected.”

“We are not staying and neither are you!” my father had quickly regained control of his temper but it still raged inside him; he reminded me of a volcano, quiet on the outside but dangerous on the inside. I rounded on him and yelled “The hell I’m not. I am staying here, Billy’s funeral is in three days and if you think that I am going to leave Jacob then you’re crazy. This (waving my hands to indicate Jake and me) isn’t what you think it is. It was so late last night and I was so tired that I couldn’t be bothered to go back to Grandpa’s, I don’t see what the problem is Jake and I’ve slept together before.” As I said the words I realised how they could be taken but I didn’t care, he was blowing this all out of proportion. His growl was fierce and would have had any normal sane vampire running from him but I wasn’t just anyone I was his daughter and he was going to listen to me. “We have all slept in the same room before and nothing happened, last night was exactly the same, we needed comfort and we got it from sharing a bed. Not having sex, but sleeping together, you know just lying beside one another listening to each other’s breathing and, in our case, our hearts beating. It was innocent and you over-reacted, as usual. When are you going to realise that I’m not a little girl anymore?” I was breathing hard and I could feel Jacob’s arm around my stomach, whether they were supporting me or stopping me from attacking my father, I wasn’t sure.

It was my mother that spoke next and her words were harsh and un-friendly “Jacob we trusted you, how could you do this? What were you thinking?” I was about to interrupt but Jake’s next words had me staring at both of them. “I don’t know Bella, what was I thinking that night in the blizzard when we shared a sleeping bag? What about those times we fell asleep in front of the TV wrapped in one another’s arms? Nothing happened then and nothing happened now. It was for comfort and support.” My mother growled at Jacob and I pulled away from him and turning to stare at him I whispered “You slept with my mom?” I felt sick to my stomach and I could feel the bile rising in the back of my throat, he made a grab for me but I danced out of his reach, his look was one of sorrow and I was wondering if it was because he regretted saying anything now or for not telling me sooner. I put both hands up in front of me, warning him to stay away, he didn’t listen. He came closer and closer until he stopped directly in front of me. He was so close that I had to tilt my head all the way back to see his face, his hand clamped around my chin to stop me from looking away from him. He spoke slowly, through clenched teeth “Not in the way you’re thinking but yes your mother and I have slept together, actually your father was there so he can back me up. I have never made love with anyone else.” I watched as what he had said sank in to his head and he closed his eyes because he knew that super-vampiric hearing would have picked up his poor choice in words, not to mention that the second he looked at me I had seen flash-backs of what had happened down at the beach. I knew that my family now knew for sure that we had lied, something had happened. I pulled out of his grasp and whirled to face my family, every face sombre except Emmett’s who had a smirk plastered on his. I wanted to go running to my mother but her guilty expression triggered my anger. “I am staying for Billy’s funeral” looking back at Jacob I continued “I will be staying on Quileute lands but I am not staying with you, I am going to stay with Emily and Sam. After the funeral I am going home, you can either come or stay but.... I can’t do this. Excuse me.” I raced back within the house and threw on some clothes before I fled without talking to any of them again.

When I arrived at Sam and Emily’s they were waiting for me, and I guessed that someone had called them and filled them in on what had happened. Sam stood staring at me with a reproachful gaze while Emily rushed down the stairs and gathered me into her arms. She pulled me towards the house all the while muttering inane things and trying to make me feel better. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it wasn’t working. I stowed my bags in the room that Emily proudly claimed would be the nursery for the new baby, I hugged her, congratulating her all the while worrying about my own chances to have baby’s. We chatted about the kids and she was telling me that as long as vampires were not making regular trips to Forks her kids would be wolf free, if they came back then the gene would be triggered and the next generation would be enlisted to help protect the tribe. I wondered if I counted but considering that I was only one in a handful of creatures like me I didn’t really have anyone to ask.

The next two days were excruciating, Jacob came by frequently but I refused to see him, the arrangements for Billy’s funeral were completed and I remained hiding out in my adopted room. There was a knock my door and I called “Come in.” Expecting it to be Emily but when the door opened and it was Sam; he stood, looking awkward about entering a girls’ bedroom, I waited for him to cross the threshold and tell me what had brought him here. He stood statuesque, his eyes darting around frantically without actually settling on me. I waited for another ten seconds before my thin patience wore out and I snapped “What do you need Sam?” he cleared his throat and finally made his way into the room and perched uncomfortably on the end of my bed, I waited because I had learned nothing else than Sam only spoke when he felt the absolute need. He opened his mouth and groaned “God I wish you had your father’s ability that would make this so much easier.” I had never heard any of the pack say that about my father so my interest was doubly peaked. He shifted again to get comfortable and I patted his hand, some of my irritation must have lingered in the touch because he said “Or even what you can do, that way I wouldn’t need to say it I could just think it and we’d be good.” I knew that whatever Sam had come to say was important and I had an idea about what he wanted to talk about and I also knew that I didn’t want to talk about it. I opened my mouth to speak and it remained open as Sam spoke “I know that you and Jacob have had sex, and I know that you’re angry about him and your mom but you need to understand something, Jacob never loved your mother the way he loves you.” I made an angry noise to interrupt him and he said “You’re forgetting that I know his thoughts. I was there when he thought that your mother was the only person that he’d ever love and let me tell you that the feelings that Jake has for you are a million-trillion times the ones he had for your mother. Yes it pained him that she loved another and it drove him to do some crazy things but I have never seen Jacob as broken as he is now. His father died three days ago and you, his entire life, have refused to see him because of some misguided feelings. I know the pain that Jacob is feeling now because it is something he can’t hide from me, and you are making it worse by not going and talking to him. Sort this out, for all of our sakes and if you are.... well let’s just say that you’re going to need him... and he needs you. He is in pain Renesmee and some of that is your fault.” He didn’t wait for me to speak he finished his speech and walked out of the room.

I sat in silence as I contemplated what Sam had just said to me, I knew he was right but I was stubborn enough to not want to admit it. I got off the bed and paced the small space, my movements agitated and erratic. In the end I gave up and raced from the room, I hadn’t set a course but my body knew where I wanted to be, even if I my mind refused to go there. I found myself climbing the stairs to Billy’s front door and walking in, I found Jacob sitting on his fathers’ sofa, crying; the sound of his tears ripped my frail composure to bits. I ran to his side and gathered him into a hard hug, kissing his face and murmuring nonsensical words to calm him down. He gripped me tightly and through his tears whispered “I am so sorry, I never want you to leave me again, I can’t function without you, Sam has been yelling at me for days to make this right but every time I came to see you, you refuse to see me. I was getting desperate enough that I asked Sam for some help.” I broke out of his hold and held him at arms’ length and said “You should have told me, but Sam explained something to me today and it’s something I’ve always known, it just sunk in that little bit more. You love me not my mother, me!” the force of my discovery was so compelling that I climbed onto his lap and kissed him until we were both panting with need. He pulled his mouth away from the hollow of my neck and whispered “I do love you more than life itself and nothing will ever change that.” He returned his mouth to mine and kissed me fiercely. I wasn’t surprised when he lifted me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom.