Time

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OCTOBER

"Bella, please wake up." I try to shake my cousin awake so the screaming will stop.

"Edward?" She asks, shooting up, a manic look in her eyes. I sigh.

"Edward is gone, Bells." I tell her, taking a seat on the ground next to sleeping Paul.

"Why is he here?" She asks, which is unnatural, because she's actually indulging in something that requires human response.

"He's making sure we're okay, that we're sleeping fine, whatever else."

"Doesn't it bother you that people watch us while we sleep?" Bella asks.

"There's nothing I can really do about it." I tell her nonchalantly.

"Why is he asleep then?" She queries, gesturing to sleeping Paul in the rocking chair.

"Because he was tired and I told him he could sleep." I tell her.

"The Cullen's wouldn't have fallen asleep." She mutters. I hold my tounge.

"Goodnight, Bella." I tell her, and she lays her head down only to come back up screaming a few minutes later.

"Do you ever think about the Cullens?" Bella asks as I pull into Forks High School.

"Only when you bring them up." I tell her, parking the car in our usual spot.

"Don't you miss them?" Her voice was accusatory. I turn off the car and face her.

"I mean, sure I miss them. But my world doesn't revolve around them. My world resolves around me, Bella. Wallowing in your wounds for months is not a coping mechanism." I tell her back with the same accusatory tone as I got out and ran to catch up with Jacob, who was waiting for me.

NOVEMBER

"Be back by 11." Charlie tells me firmly.

"I'm always back by 10." I tell him with a teasing smile as I make my way toward the door.
"Wait, Y/N." Charlie calls, and I stop to look back at him. He's fiddling with his fingers awkwardly.

"Yes, Da-" I pause and Charlie turns scarlet red. "Yes, Uncle Charlie?"

"You're not.. um.. you're not doing any dru-"

"What?" I hear myself laugh. "No, no- I'm not."

He visibly relaxes, his shoulder dropping. "Okay, good. Back by 11?"

"Back by 10." I tell him and leave the door, heading to La Push.

DECEMBER

We're sitting through another awkward, and silent, breakfast when Charlie finally breaks. He slams his spoon on the table, making even Bella look up.

"That's it." He says, standing. "I'm sending you home, Bella."

I see the strongest surge of emotion in Bella's eyes then I have in months.

"What? This is my home!" Bella says in defense.

"I'm sending you back to your mother." Charlie says firmly.

"What? Why! I've been getting good grades, I've been cleaning, cooking-"

"I want Bella back, not a maid! I'd rather you get into trouble then this! Why can't you just be trouble?" Charlie says, raising his voice at Bella, who is now also standing.

"Oh, so you want me to be like Y/N?" The accusation is a blow to my stomach and I try hard not to react. Charlie doesn't respond.

"Well, yes." He says finally.

"Hey, you can't blame her for coping! I know she's trying, probably, and that's just how some people work, Charlie!" I tell him, and his eyebrows raise as I accidentally call him by his first name. Charlie looks at his feet.

"Please don't bring her here." Bella begs, referring to Renee. Charlie is quiet for a few more moments.

"Fine. But do something, anything, please, Bella. Go out with friends. Go to Port Angeles." He says, and Bella nods. We both go upstairs.

"They're not coming back, you know." I tell her once we reach her room.

"Thank you for defending me." She says.

"Are you listening to me?" I ask, and she meets my eyes. A moment passes, and she closes the door in my face.

JANUARY

"Come on, Bella, it'll be fun!" Jared encourages Bella, who looks at us from her window, her lips pressed into a line.

"Bella, Bella, Bella!" Seth cheers from a place beside me. She finally gives in, breaking into a smile and dissapearing from her place in the window.

After a moment, the door opens and Bella comes out. Everyone cheers for her, and Quill runs over and picks her up to spin her around. She looks startled, but not frightened, and after a minute she is laughing with us.

"Come on, where are we going?" Leah asks in my ear, putting an arm over my shoulder.

"I'm not sure, where do you wanna go?" I ask her, and she smiles at me mischievously. Oh no.

Leah barks orders at the others, and laughing, a few members go into the woods to shift. They come back soon as wolves, and me and Bella get on one of the giant canines which I have identified to be a Jacob.

"Giddy up!" I tell him, and he starts sprinting through the woods to get back to the La Push beaches. Bella hangs onto me like a lifeline, and I laugh the whole time. Jacob finally stops near the cliffs and wills us to get off, which we do. Everyone is already there, considering they didn't have two extra humans to carry.

Leah takes a leap off of the cliff into the water, and Bella immideatly shies away.

"What are they doing?" She asks, horror evident in her voice. I, however, speed ahead to get a good look.

"They're cliff jumping. They're wolf shifters, they run hot, they heal fast, they'll be fine. All it is is an adrenaline rush." I tell her, itching myself to have that same adrenaline rush. I can only do it in late spring and summer, otherwise I'll probably die.

Jacob jumps off a few moments later, still in wolf form. I laugh and clap. After a few minutes, everyone in the pack has jumped and it's just me and Bella left on the cliff.

Bella and I look over the edge, seeing that no one is left in the water and they are all making their way back up to do it again.

Without warning, Bella takes a step back and launches herself off of the edge.

"Bella!" I scream after her, panic lacing my thoughts and words. I look back at the pack, who are playing around and not paying attention. I take off my jacket and throw it behind me, diving into the water after Bella.

The fall, which is usually calming, is now terrifying with the thought that both me and Bella might die.

My body hits the water not far from where Bella is, and I am met with slaps of freezing hands all over my body. I try to keep my eyes open, looking for Bella, but I can't see much over the large waves that envelop me and slosh me around like a rag doll.

When I find my voice, I scream for her. "Bella!" I scream, trying to see if she'll hear me.

The water forces me down, my eyes shutting closed, and I'm no longer able to return for breath. I fight, trying to get back to the surface.

Finally the waves cease for a moment, allowing me to breath, but soon after I'm pushed into the rocks with such force that any breath I have is forced from me.

"Y/N!" Bella's voice is warm relief within me, even if the cold I've been trying to ignore seeps through my skin to my bones.

I'm pushed under again, and when black dots start to overtake my vision, I let them, hanging on to the fact that Bella is not dead.

𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙣 || twilight x readerWhere stories live. Discover now