Twilight Midnight Moon

Chapter 11: The Bikes

I hadn't seen Bella in months. Not since that day at La Push, before everything went quiet. Word around Forks and the rez was that the Cullens were gone, but with them, it seemed like Bella had disappeared too. I didn't know the details, but I'd heard enough to know that things had changed for her-big time.

So, when she showed up at my house with two old, busted-up motorcycles in the back of her truck, I was more than a little surprised.

She looked... different. Thinner, paler-like all the life had been drained out of her. Her eyes were dull, and the way she stood there, arms crossed, shoulders slumped, made her look like she was trying to hold herself together with whatever strength she had left.

"Hey, Jake," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I, uh, brought these. Thought maybe you could help me fix them up?"

I blinked at the bikes, then back at her. This wasn't the Bella I remembered. The girl who used to laugh when I'd joke about stupid things. She seemed... lost.

"Sure," I said, trying to keep my voice light. "But where'd you even get these things?"

She shrugged, not really looking at me. "I found them. They need a lot of work, but I thought maybe... you could teach me?"

I looked at her, really looked, and I could see she wasn't here because she suddenly cared about motorcycles. She needed this. She needed something to take her mind off whatever had happened.

"Yeah, no problem," I said, forcing a grin. "I can show you the ropes. We'll have 'em running in no time."

Bella managed a weak smile-nothing like the one I remembered, but it was something. "Thanks, Jake. Really."

I nodded and wheeled the bikes into the garage. She followed me, quiet and distracted, like she was a million miles away. I wasn't sure what had happened between her and the Cullens, but whatever it was, it had wrecked her.

We started working on the bikes over the next few days. Bella came over after school, even though she barely said more than a few words to anyone else. It was weird at first-awkward even. She didn't talk much, and when she did, it felt like her mind was somewhere else. But little by little, we settled into a rhythm.

One afternoon, while Bella and I were tinkering with one of the engines, Quil showed up, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yo, Jake!" he called out as he walked into the garage, eyeing the motorcycles. "What's all this? You got a new side hustle fixing bikes?"

I laughed. "Nah, Bella's project. I'm just helping her out."

Quil glanced at Bella, who gave him a small wave. "Hey, Quil."

"Bella Swan? Didn't think you'd be into this kinda thing," Quil said, raising an eyebrow. "Wanna join a biker gang or something?"

Bella smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Not exactly."

Just then, Embry pulled up in his beat-up car, hopping out and striding toward us. "Am I late for the bike party?"

He shot me a look as he came over, eyeing the bikes with interest.

"Where'd these come from?" Embry asked, nudging one with his foot.

"Bella brought them over," I explained. "We're fixing them up. You wanna help?"

Embry nodded, giving Bella a quick smile. "Sure, I'm in. What's the plan?"

For the next hour, the four of us worked on the bikes. It felt like old times-laughing, joking around, making fun of each other. Bella didn't say much, but I could tell she was listening, and every now and then, she'd join in with a quiet comment or a laugh that sounded a little less strained.

At one point, Quil turned to me, wiping grease off his hands. "So, what's the plan when these bad boys are up and running? You guys gonna race 'em?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I'll let Bella take the lead if she's up for it."

Bella looked up from the bike she was working on. "We'll see," she said softly, but there was the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips.

Embry smirked. "Well, just don't crash, okay? I don't wanna be the one picking up the pieces."

Bella chuckled, and for a second, it almost felt normal-like everything was okay. But then the moment passed, and that quiet look came back into her eyes, like she was slipping away again.

After a while, Quil and Embry started talking about some game that was happening at school, and Bella fell silent. I could feel her mood shift, and I knew she was thinking about something else, something heavy.

"You good?" I asked quietly, leaning over so only she could hear me.

She nodded but didn't look at me. "Yeah. Just... thinking."

I didn't push her. I didn't know what had gone down with her and the Cullens, but it was obvious she wasn't ready to talk about it. Still, working on the bikes seemed to help, even if it was just a distraction.

Eventually, Quil and Embry took off, leaving me and Bella alone again. I wiped my hands on a rag and looked over at her. She was staring at the bike, but her mind was clearly somewhere else.

"Thanks for helping with this," she said softly. "It... it means a lot."

"No problem," I replied. "That's what friends are for."

She glanced up at me, and for the first time in a long time, I saw something in her eyes that wasn't just sadness. It wasn't exactly hope, but it was close. Maybe working on these bikes wouldn't fix everything, but if it could help bring her back, even just a little, then that was enough for me.