LONELINESS | Jasper Hale [2]

~CHAPTER 16: BELLA~

BELLA woke up wet on a beach as water left her lungs. Sand was digging into her body, while she tried to focus on the person that was hovering over her.

"Breathe! Bella! Bella, can you hear me?" she heard Jacob say, between the painful sobs.

Slowly she focused and asked "Jake...? T-Thea... where's Thea?"

That question caused Jacob to let out another heartbreaking sob "Sh-She's dead, Bella. She didn't survive the fall... I-I saw her body and oh god her head..."

She felt cold, as she shook her head "N-No! She said that she can't die! She couldn't! She has to be still out there! Alive!"

Jacob shook his head "The water was red when I jumped after you two. T-Thea was already injured after fighting that vampire and then... and then that jump... What the hell were you thinking?! You're lucky that you didn't hit the rocks like she did! Or you would've been dead too!"

"Vampire?! Victoria? She fought Victoria?" Bella asked, looking at Jake for answers.

The werewolf nodded "Yes and Thea almost killed her, but then we came after the redhead and Thea went to find you..."

By now Bella started crying, as she repeated the fall over and over again in her head. It was her fault. She jumped and of course Thea followed her... she always did. And now... and now she killed her.

Bella killed her own sister.

"I'm sorry! Oh god, I'm so sorry Thea!" she screamed, as Jacob hugged her while also crying. He just lost his childhood friend... he literally saw her broken and dead body floating in the sea. Nothing will ever get that image out of his head.

Looking out at the raging sea, Bella continued to cry. Her sister's body was still out there... drifting cold and all alone... it was all her fault.

Together, Jacob and Bella stayed on the beach mourning their friend and sister. Finally it was Jacob who silently picked up Bella and started carrying her towards the truck, only whispering.

"We need... we need to get you home and call Charlie... someone needs to get her body out of the water and— and..." he trailed off as he felt another wave of sorrow hit him.

Bella just shook her head, whispering that she's sorry over and over again.

Both of them still couldn't believe that the girl was gone.

Jacob thought about their fishing trips when they were younger. He remembered laughing at the redhead as her skin got all red in the summer, and then getting chased by her. And now... now she was gone.

He gently put Bella in the truck before getting in himself and driving towards her house, to call in Thea's death.

Bella watched the trees they passed by, still thinking about Thea's last moments. She remembered how bloody and tired her sister looked, how wide her soft brown eyes got and how desperate her voice sounded when Bella got startled and jumped. She could almost still feel how strong Thea's grip was on her arm and how burning hot her skin was. Hotter than even Jacob's was...