Ebb and Flow (Twilight x Reader)

Chapter 34

Almost everything was back to normal. The hospital welcomed Carlisle back with eager arms, not even bothering to conceal their delight that Esme had found life in L.A. so little to her liking.

College became a priority—at least, for Bella it did. Many deadlines had passed her by, but Edward had a new stack of applications for her to fill out every day. While I still didn't like him, I was glad that he was taking the time to set Bella up for the future when he left.

I'd filled out a couple applications, too. It was just to keep up appearances, though—I was going to need a big window of time to adjust to my way of living once I turned, and college would only put others at risk. But maybe in a few years—or decades—I could start studying. Get a few degrees. I'd certainly have the time for it.

Until then, I was grounded. Dad was not happy with me or Bella or speaking to Edward. Unfortunately Edward was still allowed inside the house, though his and Bella's 'visiting hours' had been significantly shortened.

Bella still wasn't allowed out of the house. School and work were the only exceptions. My condition had been the same, but Dad had slowly been letting me get some privileges back. Unfortunately for Bella, Dad found out about the motorcycles—probably another one of Jacob's stabs at being petty—and so her grounding was extended.

But even with me being allowed outside, I still wasn't at liberty to go to La Push. This bothered me. One, because Victoria was still a threat, even though I knew both the Cullens and the wolf pack were trying to track her down. Emmett had reassured me that they weren't going to let her get away again once she showed up.

And two: Jacob was pissed.

He hadn't come to see us, and he wasn't answering our calls either. And yeah, he had reason to be upset. In his eyes, we'd chosen the Cullens over him. He had every right to be bitter, and yet I was still a little ticked that even when I tried to go to his house, Sam stopped me before I could make it.

Jacob even sent Bella a letter in response to her own:

Bella,

I don't know why you're making Charlie carry notes to Billy like we're in second grade

If I wanted to talk to you I would answer the

You made the choice here, okay? You can't have it both ways when

What part of 'mortal enemies' is too complicated for you to

Look, I know I'm being a jerk, but there's just no way around

We can't be friends when you're spending all your time with a bunch of

It just makes it worse when I think about you too much, so don't write anymore

Yeah, I miss you, too. A lot. Doesn't change anything. Sorry.

Jacob

It was completely childish, especially because he left the scritched-out words for her to read. That couldn't have been an accident.

If Bella hadn't jumped from the cliff, would things be different? Would we still be friends with Jacob? Would she be happy? Would she and Jacob have gotten together?

I guess we'll never know.

***

The smell of pasta sauce and salt was enough to coax me out of my room. Once I headed downstairs into the kitchen, Bella was cooking as usual while Dad was staring at a newspaper, tongue clicking in disapproval as usual.