Mimic | Jacob Black

16. The Meadow

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Jacob didn't call.

The first time Bella called, Billy answered and told her Jacob was sick with mono, still in bed. River tried a couple hours later, Billy told him the same thing. After that their calls just wouldn't get answered, no matter how much they tried.

"Still nothing?" Bella asked River.

He shook his head.

"What if it's because of what I said at the theatre? I wasn't trying to hurt him..."

"Do you like him?" River asked.

"Of course I do, but... I don't want it to be like that, I need him as a friend," Bella said.

Still holding out for Edward, River summarised. He would have to get around to talking to her about that at some point, no matter how scared he was to do so. It wasn't healthy for her to keep this up.

"I doubt that's what's happening, Bells. Jacob is probably just sick. I mean, Mike was puking his guts out, I'm surprised only Jacob caught whatever he had."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

"Let's give it a week, then we'll see." Bella had improved a lot from where she started, but that didn't mean River didn't need Jacob anymore. They had become good friends, he wanted to go to La Push just as badly as Bella did, but they needed to be patient.

A week passed and River was no longer as hard set in patience as he was. Surprisingly Billy answered when Bella called earlier that day, saying Jacob was better but he was off in Port Angeles with some friends, which meant they couldn't see him anyway.

Charlie was off fishing with Harry Clearwater and Julie was working at the diner, so River and Bella were left with no distractions. River sat in the living room channel surfing. There was nothing interesting on. He debated calling Jessica or Angela or Mike or Eric–someone other than Bella, so that he could try and forget everything going on and just go do something.

Bella ran down the stairs and out the front door. After a few minutes she came back in, walking up to River.

"Do you wanna go hiking again today? The compass and map are in the truck, so why not?" she asked.

It didn't seem like such a good idea without Jacob, but River was beyond bored and wanted to get out of the house. Plus, he knew they would be out there for hours, so it was probably the best way to get the day over with.

"Sure, I guess. Nothing else is happening anyway," he mumbled.

The forest seemed full of life compared to the last time they went, or maybe it was just because River had nothing else to focus on. Bella was silent as they walked, but River thought it to be a better time than any to talk to her about things they had been avoiding for months.

"This meadow we're trying to find... you went with him, didn't you?" River felt uneasy mentioning Edward's name around Bella. He didn't know exactly where she was at in her own healing process. He was too busy trying to figure out his own.

She stopped for a moment, before picking up her pace again. "Yes."

"Bella, I know things haven't been easy for you, but they haven't been that much better for me either. I want to help you, but you never talk to me about these things anymore... I miss it."

She stopped again, but didn't continue this time. She turned to look at him, and River could tell this conversation wasn't something she wanted to have right now.

"It's hard... to say. It hurts to even think about it–it hurts right now. Sorry, I don't want to do this yet." She looked sad.

"Promise me when you're ready, you'll come talk to me?" River asked. She nodded, and he moved to pull her into a hug. He was glad she didn't pull away.