It had been a couple of weeks since Bella had shown up with the bikes, and by now, we’d fallen into a routine. She’d come over after school, and we’d spend hours in the garage, working on the engines, talking about random stuff. At first, it was awkward—like she was still figuring out how to be around people again—but little by little, it got easier.
I could see her starting to come back to life, even if it was just in small ways. The hollow look in her eyes wasn’t gone completely, but it wasn’t as constant. Sometimes, I’d even catch her smiling for real, not just that half-hearted smile she’d been giving everyone since she showed up. It was a slow process, but I could tell it was helping.
We were working on the second bike, the tougher one of the two, when I noticed how quiet it was. Bella was leaning over the engine, wiping grease off her hands as she examined one of the parts, and for once, she didn’t seem like her mind was somewhere else. She was focused, really focused, like she actually cared about getting this thing running.
I watched her for a second, then realized I was staring and quickly looked away, pretending to adjust one of the cables.
“Hey, Jake?” Bella’s voice cut through the silence, and I turned to see her looking at me with a curious expression.
“Yeah?”
“Why are you helping me with this?” she asked softly. “I mean, I just... showed up out of nowhere. I’ve been kind of a mess. You could’ve easily said no.”
I blinked, caught off guard by the question. “Why wouldn’t I help? You’re my friend.”
She gave me a look, like she wasn’t sure she believed me. “Even after I pretty much ignored you for months?”
I shrugged. “That’s not really how I see it, Bells. You were dealing with stuff. We all do, sometimes.”
She looked down at the engine, her fingers tracing the edge of a bolt. “Yeah, but this was different. I feel different.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Bella wasn’t the same girl I knew from before. That much was obvious. But I wasn’t about to throw that in her face. I could see she was trying—trying to move forward, trying to figure things out.
“You’re still you,” I said after a moment. “Even if you feel like you’ve changed.”
Bella didn’t say anything for a while. She just kept working on the bike, and I wondered if maybe I’d said the wrong thing. But then, out of nowhere, she smiled. A real smile.
“Thanks, Jake,” she said quietly. “I’m really glad I came here.”
I grinned, feeling something warm spread in my chest. “Yeah, me too. These bikes wouldn’t be nearly as fun without you.”
She laughed—a soft, genuine laugh that I hadn’t heard in a long time. It made me realize just how much I missed the sound.
We kept working, but the mood was lighter. Bella even cracked a few jokes, and I found myself laughing along with her like we used to. It was easy, comfortable, like the distance that had grown between us over the past few months was finally starting to close.
After a while, Bella leaned back, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “I think we’re actually getting somewhere with this thing,” she said, looking down at the bike with a satisfied expression.
“Yeah, you’re getting pretty good at this,” I said, impressed. “Soon, you’ll be able to open up your own shop.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m just following your lead.”
I shrugged, giving her a playful smirk. “You’re a quick learner.”
Bella rolled her eyes, but she was smiling again. And this time, it actually reached her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t look like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
We finished up for the day, and as I wiped my hands clean, I caught Bella watching me out of the corner of her eye. It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed her doing that lately, but this time, she didn’t look away when I caught her. Instead, she smiled, a little shy but not awkward.
“What?” I asked, feeling a little self-conscious under her gaze.
“Nothing,” she said quickly, but her smile lingered. “Just... you’re a good guy, Jacob.”
The way she said it—soft, almost like she was seeing me in a new way—sent a weird feeling through me. For a second, I didn’t know what to say, so I just laughed it off. “Don’t go spreading that around. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
Bella grinned. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
We packed up the tools, and I walked her to her truck like I always did. As she climbed into the driver’s seat, I leaned against the open door, feeling like I wanted to say something more. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I just smiled and waved as she drove off, watching her tail lights disappear down the road.
Something had changed between us, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It wasn’t just friendship anymore. There was something else, something unspoken, lingering between us. And for the first time in a long time, I felt like maybe things were going to be okay.
YOU ARE READING
Twilight Midnight Moon
WerewolfJacob Black never expected his life to change when Bella Swan moved back to Forks. He was just an ordinary teen, spending his days working on cars and hanging out with his dad in the rainy, quiet town of La Push. But when his childhood friend return...
