The Edge

Uh Oh

Summary: Bella's having a bad afternoon and it's about to get worse.

Bella moved over to the couch and slumped down on it, her head falling into her hands as she fought to hold back the wave of tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Seeing Jake again had gone horribly, even worse than she thought it would, and she'd thought it would be pretty bad. He'd barely been able to look at her at the end, and she wondered if irreversible damage had been done, if that was really the end of their friendship.

The thought overwhelmed her, and she lost the battle she was fighting against her tears. Jacob was one of the best friends she had ever had. Other than Alice, he was the only person that she had been able to be completely herself around. They had shared their deepest secrets with other, and now, was it all over?

Bella's eyes burned and more tears fell from her eyes.

"Bella, I ..."

Bella looked up at the sound of the masculine voice, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Jacob standing by the entrance to the living room, his eyes wide and pained as he stared at her tear streaked face.

Jacob's fist balled at his side, and he dropped his head down until he was staring at his feet.

"Oh geez. I'm sorry," he said softly, his eyes still trained on his shoes. "I shouldn't have said those things. I should have been calmer," he continued still speaking to his feet, lifting his hand to hit his temple with the heel of his palm. "It's so hard to control my temper sometimes, but it's you and I should have been better."

He sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry about what I said about the fema ... about Alice as well," he continued, correcting himself. His body was taut as a bowstring. "I was just surprised ... and," he hesitated for a second, turning his head to the side. "Jealous. It was hard enough fighting with one of them for your affection, and now you're doing it with this one and ... I'm sorry, I'm ... I'm being an ass again."

"Jacob," Bella breathed out, already on her feet and moving towards him. He looked up at her softly uttered word, watching as she approached him and then she wrapped her arms around his large frame the best she could, and hugged him. "Jacob," she said again, pulling away from him a minute later.

Jacob shook his head. "I really can't stay," he said softly. "It's too overwhelming here," he went on, and Bella knew that he meant Alice's scent all over the house and all over her. "We'll talk when she's gone."

"It's more complicated now," Bella said softly. She didn't know exactly how things were going to work between her and Alice, but she chose to believe that the petite vampire would be a consistent, if not constant presence in her life and in her home. "She's going to be around more," she went on looking away from Jacob as he stared up at the ceiling blinking rapidly. "Can't we all ... I feel like a cliché here, but can't we all just get along? Can't I be friends with you both at the same time?"

Jacob shook his head slowly. "I don't think so," he said. "It's not her I hate," he continued softly. "I don't know her, but if you ... care about her, then she must be okay. It's what she is that I can't stand," he went on. "I exist to kill her kind. We can't ... we can't just hang out together going to movies and having poker nights. We just can't."

Bella was silent for a moment as she absorbed what he said.

"Are we okay?" she asked finally. "Are we still friends?" she asked, her voice cracking a little bit, almost scared of what his answer would be.

"Yes," Jacob breathed out looking down at her. "Of course," he added. "You're my friend Bella, and you always will be. No matter who you love," he finished his back straight as he held her gaze, trying to convey to her that despite his temper tantrum he meant what he was saying.