(no subject)
Title: The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Fandom: Twilight
Pairing: Jacob/Bella
Rating: T, to be safe.
Summary: I suck at those, but let's see... set 10 years after New Moon, Bella never jumped and she choose Jacob. They're married with two kids and perfectly happy until a visitor drops off. Oooh, mystery.
This is going to be a two (possibly three) parter story. Nothing long, I promise. I always get lost in longer stories as you can see from my profile which, by the way, I totally intend on finishing every single of one of the stories I've started. I just need some time and space away from college. Bleh.
This story is set around ten years after Edward and the Cullens fled in New Moon. In my little universe they never returned cos Bella was never stupid enough to jump off the cliff in the first place and was smart enough to get on with Jake. ;)
Oh! And this un-beta-ed, so if there are too many typos, pardom my English.
On with the story...
. . .
Oddly enough for Forks, it was a bright sunny day. The sky was filled with fluffy white clouds that moved gently to the sides every time the sun would start to hide behind them. It was the perfect day for a kindergarten field trip and Bella was happy that she had convinced Jacob to let the kids go on the school trip. He had always been overprotective of their children but Bella would always try her best to give her son and daughter what they wanted. Even though Jacob was putty on their hands, Bella was the one they always won over with their much too literal puppy eyes.
Unlocking the driver’s door, Bella had to close one of her eyes from the shiny sunlight as she watched her kids run toward her.
“Momma!”
The little girl’s thick dark hair flew all around her as she bounced her way to her mother next to the family car. Her tiny arms swung in the air and snaked around Bella’s neck as she bent down to the girl’s level.
“Hey, baby girl.” She whispered on her daughter’s ear and tightened the hug.
The boy that ran after his sister was taller and had dark brown locks that almost reached his shoulders. His backpack went up and down as he jogged to stop next to his mother and sister who were still hugging each other. Scratching his head, he cracked a smile.
“Hi, momma.”
She could tell there was something different, almost bugging the boy, but he still smiled. He could never stay upset with her or even bad moody around her for too long.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Bella kissed him on the forehead and scooped the three year old girl on her arms, “How was the field trip?” She asked casting them both a warm glance.
The girl’s pale skin flushed from the sun as she turned to wide her eyes in wonder, “It was fun, momma!”
Bella beamed but heard the boy huff, “What’s wrong, Jay?”
With crossed arms against his chest, he lifted his chin up, “Sarah did something.”
“Did not!” The girl rushed with narrowed eyes.
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
Bella started to walk toward the car trying to make them stop the bickering but Jay followed her closely sticking his tongue out for his sister who whined, “Stop it!”
“You did!”
“Did NOT!” Sarah wailed on Bella’s ear.
“Alright!” She raised her voice for both kids to stop, “Let’s just get in the car and go home, ok?”
It took some time to settle both children on the backseat. Sarah still had to ride on the baby seat which took time to proper strap her. Jay took his seat next to her with the seatbelt buckled up. From the driver’s seat, Bella glanced at the review mirror and saw her little boy sulking.
“Jay” she called out softly, “Are you okay?”
“Where’s daddy?” He asked on a mumble.
She started the car, “He’s with Uncle Quil but he’ll be back at home right after us.”
The boy frowned and crossed his arms on his chest, sinking further on his seat as they drove off.
…
Dinner was almost ready and set when the front door slammed open and the deep voice boomed from the living room, causing Sarah to slip from her seat by the kitchen table and run to the front room with excited squeals. Bella glanced over her shoulder to make sure her daughter wouldn’t trip over her feet and fall on her way as she so often did. That part of her wasn’t exactly what she had planned the girl would inherit from her.
Jacob’s laugh was clear over the girl’s squeaks and was getting louder as he walked to the kitchen with Sarah hanging from his shoulders.
“Hi, honey.” He smiled warmly at Bella and ducked his head to kiss her.
She reached up for him and kissed him back, “Hey you.”
“Do you hear something?” Jacob frowned and raised his chin up trying to listen to something as the little girl kept squeaking on his back.
“Hmmm” Bella mused but then shook her head, “Absolutely nothing.”
“Daddy, it’s me!” Sarah kicked her tiny feet in the air to make her point, “Put me down!”
“Oh!” He let out an exasperate gasp and swung the girl around to set her on her feet, “That was you? I just had no idea.”
She giggled, “Yes, you did! You picked me up!”
“Are you sure that was me? Didn’t you climb up my back by yourself like the little monkey you are?” He asked tickling her belly which made her squirm and run to Bella’s leg for shelter.
One of Bella’s hands stroked the girl’s hair as she kept snuggling to Bella’s leg, “Could you check on Jay?” she asked Jacob tilting her head toward the hallway, “He’s been in the shower for too long, he’s going to use all the hot water.”
Jacob went to check on his son and ten minutes later he was back with the boy changed and ready for dinner.
They ate quietly; the only sound was coming from Sarah as she happily narrated her day over and over on a loop. Jacob and Bella listened to her carefully, nodding and laughing at the right parts, only encouraging her to go on. Jay sunk on his chair and ate silently until he was excused to leave the table.
…
Sarah was settled on her bed, with Bella tucking her in. She smiled warmly at the girl and bent down to brush her hair from her face.
“Aren’t you tired from the trip?” she asked watching the little girl shake her head, “No? It was that much fun, huh?” she chuckled and tucked the covers around the little girl’s small figure.
She nodded again, “Yes! And I got something for you, momma!” she squealed a little too loudly, kicking the covers from her and jumping out of bed. Bella wanted to stop her, but the girl was faster and was already digging through her backpack.
After some shuffling, Sarah went back to bed holding a fistful of smashed flowers on her hands, “For you, momma!”
Bella beamed and took the flowers to bring to her nose, “Oh! These are beautiful. Thanks, sweetheart.” She leaned again and kissed her daughter’s nose, “Where did you get it?”
Sarah settled herself back under the covers with a shrug, “The pretty man helped me.”
Bella’s breath got caught up on her throat. She could feel her pulse speeding faster and faster as she tried to breathe normally as if nothing had happened. She slowly put the flowers on her lap and placed one hand next to each side of Sarah’s body, hovering over her.
“What man?” she asked softly, trying to force a smile, “You haven’t seen him before?”
Sarah shook her head, “He helped me pick the flowers. He was nice.” She smiled a cheeky smile, “And he was pretty, he looked like the rainbow and was shiny!” she added with widened eyes.
Up to that point, Bella was sure she was overreacting because of her own life traumas. A pretty man could mean only that, a handsome stranger. And even that was already bad when it came to her children; but now she was sure her first thought was true. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment and then opened them again in time to find Sarah playing with the flowers resting on her lap.
“Did he-what did he say to you?”
She wiggled her finger at Bella, curling the tip a few times to make her lean closer. Once Bella had her face next to hers, Sarah whispered, “He told me to keep a secret. But you and Daddy told me not to lie.”
Bella nodded holding back some tears. She wasn’t sure if it was her nerves or sudden proud of her daughter, “That’s right. Lying is very, very bad.” She exhaled a shaky breath and pulled the girl to her arms, “Come here,” she hugged her tight and stroked her hair, “You okay?” She felt the girl nod against her shoulder and released her, placing her back on the bed, “Let’s go to sleep now, alright?”
…
Leaving Sarah’s room, Bella took her time standing by the hall, her back pressed against the door, trying to regain her calm. She couldn’t go to Jacob before knowing the facts for sure. She didn’t know if she could go to Jacob at all since he had just stopped phasing a few months before and he still had some trouble keeping his cool. She didn’t want to do or say anything to set him off.
She knocked softly at Jay’s door and heard him shuffling on the bed. She walked in, turned off the lights and turned on the lamp on his nightstand that sent shadowy figures of wolves dancing around the ceiling and walls of the bedroom.
“Time to sleep.” She announced, taking a seat by his side on the bed to tuck the covers around him. He glanced away from her and she sighed, “Jay… what did Sarah do today?” she asked almost on a whisper.
The boy wouldn’t budge.
She ran a gentle hand over his hair, “You know you can tell me anything, right? She’s not gonna be in trouble, I just need to know.”
Jay struggled, but finally looked back at his mother, “She was talking to a man near the woods when Mrs. Cobb wasn’t looking.”
Bella nodded for him to go on, “Do you know who he was?”
“No,” he shrugged, “He went away when I called her.”
She brought a hand to her lips and then ran it back to her hair, “Did you see if-if he tried to do anything to her?”
The boy shrugged again, “They were talking.”
“Okay,” she nodded and placed a kiss on his forehead, “Thanks for telling me, baby. Don’t worry about that anymore, okay? Go to sleep.”
She got up from the bed and stopped by the door, “Good night.”
He yawned, “’Night, momma.”
…
It was a Saturday morning and Bella woke up earlier than usual. Jacob was still asleep when she slipped off the bed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. The kids were supposed to spend the morning and have lunch with Grandpa Charlie while Jacob would spend the morning helping Embry move in to his new place. He and Quil had been sharing a small apartment above the garage they ran together over the last few years, but Embry had just recently started dating a girl from Port Angeles and it was weird having her sleep over with Quil and his super hearing in a room down the hall.
Bella fed the kids and Jacob and cleaned up around the kitchen before he pushed her against the wall by the front door and kissed her deeply until Jay’s gag sounds interrupted them. Sarah giggled next to him and Bella had to take a minute to smooth down her clothes and hair as Jacob scooped both kids over his shoulder and took them to the family car.
“Are you going to Sam’s after?” Jacob asked slamming the car shut.
Bella nodded walking around to the driver’s door, “Yeah. We’ll have lunch there, right? I’ll just drop the kids at Charlie’s and I’ll go earlier to help Emily.”
“Alright,” Jacob jogged around the car to kiss her on the lips and then ducked his head on the rolled down back window. “You kids be good to Grandpa Charlie, ok? Don’t give him too much of a hard time.”
Jay nodded and Sarah blew him a sloppy kiss. Jacob chuckled and reached over to tickle the girl’s belly, causing her to giggle loudly. Jay laughed at her and got tickled on the ribs by his father in return.
The ride to Charlie was quiet as it could be with Jay and Sarah sitting next to each other for over five minutes. They bickered almost the whole way there only stopping when Bella threatened to take them back and ground them for the rest of the day, which meant no ice cream after lunch and staying put until second order.
Charlie welcomed them with hugs and kisses. Bella always found it funny how affectionate her father could be with his grandkids when he was never half that touchy with her when growing up. She guessed it was the grand parenting thing kicking in because even Renee was mellower than ever with them, not to mention Billy with his wheelchair rides while the two kids jumped over him.
She kissed her children goodbye and hugged Charlie promising to go pick them by the end of the day.
Once she was back in the car she drove off and caught herself gripping the steering wheel for a while before deciding to take a turn where she shouldn’t. She only really noticed where she was when she pulled the car next to the road that lead to the cliffs. Climbing off the car, she swung the door shut and walked carefully toward the path of forest that started by the beginning of the cliff. She stopped to a halt when she heard shuffling in the woods. Her heart pace raced to an absurd speed and she knew she should turn around and leave, but she wanted to do it. What was she expecting to do exactly? She wasn’t sure, but she needed to be sure. Part of her knew, and this part was screaming louder inside of her at each passing second, that she should’ve told Jacob about this first instead of coming alone. There was another part, a smaller and stubborn part, which felt like she owed to her kids to protect them herself. It was the mother instinct kicking in and that somewhat empowered more than anything before in her life.
The shuffling in the woods stopped and so did Bella’s breathing. She clenched her fists next to her legs and waited for a moment. She tried to listen to every single sound around her, but there was nothing other than the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks down the cliff and the fait tweets of birds around the trees.
Then there it was. It looked like a shimmer among the woods but it quickly died once he stepped under a big tree and stood by the shadow. Bella felt the wind getting out of her lungs in a whoosh as she stood at the beginning of the path, still in the rocks of the cliff, looking at the man - boy, he looked like a boy, so much younger than her and Jacob - standing by the trees. She didn’t move or said anything and neither did him for what it felt like forever. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded perfectly tuned like he hadn’t just spent a great deal of time in silence.
“Hi.”
Her only reaction was nodding in acknowledgement. They kept standing in front of each other, a few feet apart. Some time passed by again until she finally cleared her throat and spoke on a raspy voice.
“She’s still alive so I knew it was one of you,” her voice trembled a little when she thought of her little girl being approached by another vampire other than them, “I just never thought it was…”
“Me.” He helped her.
She nodded again.
“Why are you here?”
“I heard the kids and I heard her thoughts.” He let the first part of the explanation linger in the air for a moment. He had been surprised when he first heard the girl’s thoughts; he expected she’d have had inherited her mother’s mental block or something. He saw Bella’s expectant eyes and continued, “She was so near the cliff, she would’ve… she wanted to pick the flowers for you. The teacher was neglecting.”
“Why are you here?” she asked again, growing impatient and trying not to think of Sarah standing that close to the cliff and what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been there and the teacher had really been neglecting, “You’re breaking the treaty.”
For the first time since he had showed himself, Edward looked taken aback. Bella could see the falter in his eyes and the way his brows furrowed slightly down and closer to his golden eyes. She shifted lightly on her spot and was trying to come up with something else to say when he spoke ever so softly, a little above a whisper and Bella had to really pay attention to hear him.
“He never told you.” It wasn’t a question, “He saw me a couple of years ago. I just wanted to make sure.”
Jacob saw him? He knew he had been here before, breaking the treaty and never told her anything? She was about to wonder aloud when she felt herself taking one step foreword and then stopping on her tracks. She closed her eyes to remain calm and started to shake her head.
“You have no right,” she opened her eyes still shaking her head, “No right to be here, no right to check, no right to make sure. You gave up on that.”
“I know,” his face looked pained to say the words, to acknowledge her right and Bella wanted to turn away and run. “But still-”
“You can’t be here.” Her voice sounded harsh, like when she reprimanded one of her kids.
He stopped. Bella noticed how he was completely still, not even faking breathing anymore. His chest was still and he wasn’t blinking. One could easily mistake him for a real marble statue right now. For a split second, his nostrils flared, but his chest kept steady. She expected his voice to come out as harsh as hers had been, but came as soft as it had been before.
“Why are you here, Bella?”
The sound of her name coming from him for the first time after all those years, so many years and over a decade, made her shiver inside. She fought the urge to move again and remained still.
“I knew she’d tell you, but I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
Of course he knew she’d tell her. Sarah told her she had promised the man to keep it a secret, but she also knew Edward could read the first promised she had made to her and Jacob about not lying. She suddenly felt sick; he had planned this all along. She felt used which was impossible because he couldn’t really know for sure she’d go to look for him. Not really. She unclenched and clenched her fists again.
“I thought it was better to deal with whichever of you it was before the pack did.”
It was true, she really did. That’s why she chose not to tell Jacob anything, she thought she could handle whatever Cullen had decided to show up without causing any unnecessary stress with the pack. One of Edward’s eyebrow slowly raised and Bella fought the urge to scream at herself.
“You didn’t tell him.”
She gritted her teeth. This was unnerving and she didn’t like to keep secrets from her husband. It felt wrong even though she was sure she wasn’t doing anything bad. She was simply looking out for her children.
“He doesn’t need to know, just go.”
Edward nodded and for a moment she thought she’d blink and he’d disappear forever, just like the last time. She did blink and took her time opening her eyes again, but he was still there when she looked on his direction.
“I’m really glad you’re happy,” his voice was smooth and it danced around her like he had been singing, “It wasn’t all for nothing.”
She took a deep breath. This was eerily familiar with the exception that it felt disconnected. The boy before her was younger, so much younger than she was. He looked exactly like she remembered him, every little detail. She did a mental check to remember the last time she had looked at herself in the mirror. She was nothing like the girl she remembered to be the last time she saw him. She wondered, for a moment or two, if he was noticing that too.
“Go,” she told him with a head nod, “Now.”
His head slightly bowed toward her, his eyes never leaving hers, “I’d keep an extra eye on her. She seems to draw danger like her mother.”
The last part was said with a twitch of his lips. The corner of his mouth barely moved upwards on a half-crooked smile that nearly knocked the air out of her lungs for the second time that day. She felt a chill of fear running up her spine and felt herself tremble and falter in place.
“Please,” she whispered, pleading. She never felt embarrassed to lower herself for her kids, “Stay away from them.”
Edward’s face was back to the smooth expression he had been wearing before. He seemed to be studying her for a while before taking a step back.
“I will.” He vowed.
Their gaze never broke as he took another step back and waited. Bella blinked a couple of times as if trying to break some kind of spell and started to back away. She stumbled a few feet away before she turned and rushed back to the car. Once she got there and took a hold of the door handle, she stopped. Taking a deep breath, she ventured a glance back over her shoulder only to see what she was already expecting to see. Edward gone.
. . .
Fandom: Twilight
Pairing: Jacob/Bella
Rating: T, to be safe.
Summary: I suck at those, but let's see... set 10 years after New Moon, Bella never jumped and she choose Jacob. They're married with two kids and perfectly happy until a visitor drops off. Oooh, mystery.
This is going to be a two (possibly three) parter story. Nothing long, I promise. I always get lost in longer stories as you can see from my profile which, by the way, I totally intend on finishing every single of one of the stories I've started. I just need some time and space away from college. Bleh.
This story is set around ten years after Edward and the Cullens fled in New Moon. In my little universe they never returned cos Bella was never stupid enough to jump off the cliff in the first place and was smart enough to get on with Jake. ;)
Oh! And this un-beta-ed, so if there are too many typos, pardom my English.
On with the story...
. . .
Oddly enough for Forks, it was a bright sunny day. The sky was filled with fluffy white clouds that moved gently to the sides every time the sun would start to hide behind them. It was the perfect day for a kindergarten field trip and Bella was happy that she had convinced Jacob to let the kids go on the school trip. He had always been overprotective of their children but Bella would always try her best to give her son and daughter what they wanted. Even though Jacob was putty on their hands, Bella was the one they always won over with their much too literal puppy eyes.
Unlocking the driver’s door, Bella had to close one of her eyes from the shiny sunlight as she watched her kids run toward her.
“Momma!”
The little girl’s thick dark hair flew all around her as she bounced her way to her mother next to the family car. Her tiny arms swung in the air and snaked around Bella’s neck as she bent down to the girl’s level.
“Hey, baby girl.” She whispered on her daughter’s ear and tightened the hug.
The boy that ran after his sister was taller and had dark brown locks that almost reached his shoulders. His backpack went up and down as he jogged to stop next to his mother and sister who were still hugging each other. Scratching his head, he cracked a smile.
“Hi, momma.”
She could tell there was something different, almost bugging the boy, but he still smiled. He could never stay upset with her or even bad moody around her for too long.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Bella kissed him on the forehead and scooped the three year old girl on her arms, “How was the field trip?” She asked casting them both a warm glance.
The girl’s pale skin flushed from the sun as she turned to wide her eyes in wonder, “It was fun, momma!”
Bella beamed but heard the boy huff, “What’s wrong, Jay?”
With crossed arms against his chest, he lifted his chin up, “Sarah did something.”
“Did not!” The girl rushed with narrowed eyes.
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
Bella started to walk toward the car trying to make them stop the bickering but Jay followed her closely sticking his tongue out for his sister who whined, “Stop it!”
“You did!”
“Did NOT!” Sarah wailed on Bella’s ear.
“Alright!” She raised her voice for both kids to stop, “Let’s just get in the car and go home, ok?”
It took some time to settle both children on the backseat. Sarah still had to ride on the baby seat which took time to proper strap her. Jay took his seat next to her with the seatbelt buckled up. From the driver’s seat, Bella glanced at the review mirror and saw her little boy sulking.
“Jay” she called out softly, “Are you okay?”
“Where’s daddy?” He asked on a mumble.
She started the car, “He’s with Uncle Quil but he’ll be back at home right after us.”
The boy frowned and crossed his arms on his chest, sinking further on his seat as they drove off.
…
Dinner was almost ready and set when the front door slammed open and the deep voice boomed from the living room, causing Sarah to slip from her seat by the kitchen table and run to the front room with excited squeals. Bella glanced over her shoulder to make sure her daughter wouldn’t trip over her feet and fall on her way as she so often did. That part of her wasn’t exactly what she had planned the girl would inherit from her.
Jacob’s laugh was clear over the girl’s squeaks and was getting louder as he walked to the kitchen with Sarah hanging from his shoulders.
“Hi, honey.” He smiled warmly at Bella and ducked his head to kiss her.
She reached up for him and kissed him back, “Hey you.”
“Do you hear something?” Jacob frowned and raised his chin up trying to listen to something as the little girl kept squeaking on his back.
“Hmmm” Bella mused but then shook her head, “Absolutely nothing.”
“Daddy, it’s me!” Sarah kicked her tiny feet in the air to make her point, “Put me down!”
“Oh!” He let out an exasperate gasp and swung the girl around to set her on her feet, “That was you? I just had no idea.”
She giggled, “Yes, you did! You picked me up!”
“Are you sure that was me? Didn’t you climb up my back by yourself like the little monkey you are?” He asked tickling her belly which made her squirm and run to Bella’s leg for shelter.
One of Bella’s hands stroked the girl’s hair as she kept snuggling to Bella’s leg, “Could you check on Jay?” she asked Jacob tilting her head toward the hallway, “He’s been in the shower for too long, he’s going to use all the hot water.”
Jacob went to check on his son and ten minutes later he was back with the boy changed and ready for dinner.
They ate quietly; the only sound was coming from Sarah as she happily narrated her day over and over on a loop. Jacob and Bella listened to her carefully, nodding and laughing at the right parts, only encouraging her to go on. Jay sunk on his chair and ate silently until he was excused to leave the table.
…
Sarah was settled on her bed, with Bella tucking her in. She smiled warmly at the girl and bent down to brush her hair from her face.
“Aren’t you tired from the trip?” she asked watching the little girl shake her head, “No? It was that much fun, huh?” she chuckled and tucked the covers around the little girl’s small figure.
She nodded again, “Yes! And I got something for you, momma!” she squealed a little too loudly, kicking the covers from her and jumping out of bed. Bella wanted to stop her, but the girl was faster and was already digging through her backpack.
After some shuffling, Sarah went back to bed holding a fistful of smashed flowers on her hands, “For you, momma!”
Bella beamed and took the flowers to bring to her nose, “Oh! These are beautiful. Thanks, sweetheart.” She leaned again and kissed her daughter’s nose, “Where did you get it?”
Sarah settled herself back under the covers with a shrug, “The pretty man helped me.”
Bella’s breath got caught up on her throat. She could feel her pulse speeding faster and faster as she tried to breathe normally as if nothing had happened. She slowly put the flowers on her lap and placed one hand next to each side of Sarah’s body, hovering over her.
“What man?” she asked softly, trying to force a smile, “You haven’t seen him before?”
Sarah shook her head, “He helped me pick the flowers. He was nice.” She smiled a cheeky smile, “And he was pretty, he looked like the rainbow and was shiny!” she added with widened eyes.
Up to that point, Bella was sure she was overreacting because of her own life traumas. A pretty man could mean only that, a handsome stranger. And even that was already bad when it came to her children; but now she was sure her first thought was true. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment and then opened them again in time to find Sarah playing with the flowers resting on her lap.
“Did he-what did he say to you?”
She wiggled her finger at Bella, curling the tip a few times to make her lean closer. Once Bella had her face next to hers, Sarah whispered, “He told me to keep a secret. But you and Daddy told me not to lie.”
Bella nodded holding back some tears. She wasn’t sure if it was her nerves or sudden proud of her daughter, “That’s right. Lying is very, very bad.” She exhaled a shaky breath and pulled the girl to her arms, “Come here,” she hugged her tight and stroked her hair, “You okay?” She felt the girl nod against her shoulder and released her, placing her back on the bed, “Let’s go to sleep now, alright?”
…
Leaving Sarah’s room, Bella took her time standing by the hall, her back pressed against the door, trying to regain her calm. She couldn’t go to Jacob before knowing the facts for sure. She didn’t know if she could go to Jacob at all since he had just stopped phasing a few months before and he still had some trouble keeping his cool. She didn’t want to do or say anything to set him off.
She knocked softly at Jay’s door and heard him shuffling on the bed. She walked in, turned off the lights and turned on the lamp on his nightstand that sent shadowy figures of wolves dancing around the ceiling and walls of the bedroom.
“Time to sleep.” She announced, taking a seat by his side on the bed to tuck the covers around him. He glanced away from her and she sighed, “Jay… what did Sarah do today?” she asked almost on a whisper.
The boy wouldn’t budge.
She ran a gentle hand over his hair, “You know you can tell me anything, right? She’s not gonna be in trouble, I just need to know.”
Jay struggled, but finally looked back at his mother, “She was talking to a man near the woods when Mrs. Cobb wasn’t looking.”
Bella nodded for him to go on, “Do you know who he was?”
“No,” he shrugged, “He went away when I called her.”
She brought a hand to her lips and then ran it back to her hair, “Did you see if-if he tried to do anything to her?”
The boy shrugged again, “They were talking.”
“Okay,” she nodded and placed a kiss on his forehead, “Thanks for telling me, baby. Don’t worry about that anymore, okay? Go to sleep.”
She got up from the bed and stopped by the door, “Good night.”
He yawned, “’Night, momma.”
…
It was a Saturday morning and Bella woke up earlier than usual. Jacob was still asleep when she slipped off the bed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. The kids were supposed to spend the morning and have lunch with Grandpa Charlie while Jacob would spend the morning helping Embry move in to his new place. He and Quil had been sharing a small apartment above the garage they ran together over the last few years, but Embry had just recently started dating a girl from Port Angeles and it was weird having her sleep over with Quil and his super hearing in a room down the hall.
Bella fed the kids and Jacob and cleaned up around the kitchen before he pushed her against the wall by the front door and kissed her deeply until Jay’s gag sounds interrupted them. Sarah giggled next to him and Bella had to take a minute to smooth down her clothes and hair as Jacob scooped both kids over his shoulder and took them to the family car.
“Are you going to Sam’s after?” Jacob asked slamming the car shut.
Bella nodded walking around to the driver’s door, “Yeah. We’ll have lunch there, right? I’ll just drop the kids at Charlie’s and I’ll go earlier to help Emily.”
“Alright,” Jacob jogged around the car to kiss her on the lips and then ducked his head on the rolled down back window. “You kids be good to Grandpa Charlie, ok? Don’t give him too much of a hard time.”
Jay nodded and Sarah blew him a sloppy kiss. Jacob chuckled and reached over to tickle the girl’s belly, causing her to giggle loudly. Jay laughed at her and got tickled on the ribs by his father in return.
The ride to Charlie was quiet as it could be with Jay and Sarah sitting next to each other for over five minutes. They bickered almost the whole way there only stopping when Bella threatened to take them back and ground them for the rest of the day, which meant no ice cream after lunch and staying put until second order.
Charlie welcomed them with hugs and kisses. Bella always found it funny how affectionate her father could be with his grandkids when he was never half that touchy with her when growing up. She guessed it was the grand parenting thing kicking in because even Renee was mellower than ever with them, not to mention Billy with his wheelchair rides while the two kids jumped over him.
She kissed her children goodbye and hugged Charlie promising to go pick them by the end of the day.
Once she was back in the car she drove off and caught herself gripping the steering wheel for a while before deciding to take a turn where she shouldn’t. She only really noticed where she was when she pulled the car next to the road that lead to the cliffs. Climbing off the car, she swung the door shut and walked carefully toward the path of forest that started by the beginning of the cliff. She stopped to a halt when she heard shuffling in the woods. Her heart pace raced to an absurd speed and she knew she should turn around and leave, but she wanted to do it. What was she expecting to do exactly? She wasn’t sure, but she needed to be sure. Part of her knew, and this part was screaming louder inside of her at each passing second, that she should’ve told Jacob about this first instead of coming alone. There was another part, a smaller and stubborn part, which felt like she owed to her kids to protect them herself. It was the mother instinct kicking in and that somewhat empowered more than anything before in her life.
The shuffling in the woods stopped and so did Bella’s breathing. She clenched her fists next to her legs and waited for a moment. She tried to listen to every single sound around her, but there was nothing other than the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks down the cliff and the fait tweets of birds around the trees.
Then there it was. It looked like a shimmer among the woods but it quickly died once he stepped under a big tree and stood by the shadow. Bella felt the wind getting out of her lungs in a whoosh as she stood at the beginning of the path, still in the rocks of the cliff, looking at the man - boy, he looked like a boy, so much younger than her and Jacob - standing by the trees. She didn’t move or said anything and neither did him for what it felt like forever. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded perfectly tuned like he hadn’t just spent a great deal of time in silence.
“Hi.”
Her only reaction was nodding in acknowledgement. They kept standing in front of each other, a few feet apart. Some time passed by again until she finally cleared her throat and spoke on a raspy voice.
“She’s still alive so I knew it was one of you,” her voice trembled a little when she thought of her little girl being approached by another vampire other than them, “I just never thought it was…”
“Me.” He helped her.
She nodded again.
“Why are you here?”
“I heard the kids and I heard her thoughts.” He let the first part of the explanation linger in the air for a moment. He had been surprised when he first heard the girl’s thoughts; he expected she’d have had inherited her mother’s mental block or something. He saw Bella’s expectant eyes and continued, “She was so near the cliff, she would’ve… she wanted to pick the flowers for you. The teacher was neglecting.”
“Why are you here?” she asked again, growing impatient and trying not to think of Sarah standing that close to the cliff and what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been there and the teacher had really been neglecting, “You’re breaking the treaty.”
For the first time since he had showed himself, Edward looked taken aback. Bella could see the falter in his eyes and the way his brows furrowed slightly down and closer to his golden eyes. She shifted lightly on her spot and was trying to come up with something else to say when he spoke ever so softly, a little above a whisper and Bella had to really pay attention to hear him.
“He never told you.” It wasn’t a question, “He saw me a couple of years ago. I just wanted to make sure.”
Jacob saw him? He knew he had been here before, breaking the treaty and never told her anything? She was about to wonder aloud when she felt herself taking one step foreword and then stopping on her tracks. She closed her eyes to remain calm and started to shake her head.
“You have no right,” she opened her eyes still shaking her head, “No right to be here, no right to check, no right to make sure. You gave up on that.”
“I know,” his face looked pained to say the words, to acknowledge her right and Bella wanted to turn away and run. “But still-”
“You can’t be here.” Her voice sounded harsh, like when she reprimanded one of her kids.
He stopped. Bella noticed how he was completely still, not even faking breathing anymore. His chest was still and he wasn’t blinking. One could easily mistake him for a real marble statue right now. For a split second, his nostrils flared, but his chest kept steady. She expected his voice to come out as harsh as hers had been, but came as soft as it had been before.
“Why are you here, Bella?”
The sound of her name coming from him for the first time after all those years, so many years and over a decade, made her shiver inside. She fought the urge to move again and remained still.
“I knew she’d tell you, but I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
Of course he knew she’d tell her. Sarah told her she had promised the man to keep it a secret, but she also knew Edward could read the first promised she had made to her and Jacob about not lying. She suddenly felt sick; he had planned this all along. She felt used which was impossible because he couldn’t really know for sure she’d go to look for him. Not really. She unclenched and clenched her fists again.
“I thought it was better to deal with whichever of you it was before the pack did.”
It was true, she really did. That’s why she chose not to tell Jacob anything, she thought she could handle whatever Cullen had decided to show up without causing any unnecessary stress with the pack. One of Edward’s eyebrow slowly raised and Bella fought the urge to scream at herself.
“You didn’t tell him.”
She gritted her teeth. This was unnerving and she didn’t like to keep secrets from her husband. It felt wrong even though she was sure she wasn’t doing anything bad. She was simply looking out for her children.
“He doesn’t need to know, just go.”
Edward nodded and for a moment she thought she’d blink and he’d disappear forever, just like the last time. She did blink and took her time opening her eyes again, but he was still there when she looked on his direction.
“I’m really glad you’re happy,” his voice was smooth and it danced around her like he had been singing, “It wasn’t all for nothing.”
She took a deep breath. This was eerily familiar with the exception that it felt disconnected. The boy before her was younger, so much younger than she was. He looked exactly like she remembered him, every little detail. She did a mental check to remember the last time she had looked at herself in the mirror. She was nothing like the girl she remembered to be the last time she saw him. She wondered, for a moment or two, if he was noticing that too.
“Go,” she told him with a head nod, “Now.”
His head slightly bowed toward her, his eyes never leaving hers, “I’d keep an extra eye on her. She seems to draw danger like her mother.”
The last part was said with a twitch of his lips. The corner of his mouth barely moved upwards on a half-crooked smile that nearly knocked the air out of her lungs for the second time that day. She felt a chill of fear running up her spine and felt herself tremble and falter in place.
“Please,” she whispered, pleading. She never felt embarrassed to lower herself for her kids, “Stay away from them.”
Edward’s face was back to the smooth expression he had been wearing before. He seemed to be studying her for a while before taking a step back.
“I will.” He vowed.
Their gaze never broke as he took another step back and waited. Bella blinked a couple of times as if trying to break some kind of spell and started to back away. She stumbled a few feet away before she turned and rushed back to the car. Once she got there and took a hold of the door handle, she stopped. Taking a deep breath, she ventured a glance back over her shoulder only to see what she was already expecting to see. Edward gone.
. . .