The Consequences {Jacob Black}

Chapter IX

I shouldn't really be upset that Jake wasn't talking to me. I had insulted his sister on a day that we actively avoided confrontation on. I shouldn't be upset, but I couldn't bring myself to stop moping. I sat on the top stair, looking at the darkness of my home with my cell phone in hand. Bella had woken me up an hour or so ago, heaving into the porcelain bowl. "Ryanne," she croaked from the bathroom. "Rye!"

Just when I thought that I was finished nannying my sister, she fell ill. Maybe Newton really did have a stomach bug. I trudged into the bathroom, filling up the plastic cup and handing it to her. She panted heavily and rolled onto her stomach. "Have you talked to Jake?"

I wanted to be rude and ask her why she cared. I wanted tell her that he was my best friend. I wanted to tell her that she should go find someone else that makes her whole. But Jake was falling in love with her and Bella need someone normal in her life. So instead, I said, "Yeah, he's home safe and sound. He must have the same thing that you and Mike got," I said.

There was a part of me that wanted to hate her. There was a part of me that did hate her. But there were so many things that I had to think about. Jake was falling in love with my sister. So whether I liked it or not, she was going to be around. There was no sense in hating her when I was only going to see more of her. But more importantly than Jake was my dad. Dad had missed her so much. He wouldn't ever say it, but a few weeks after Bella left every summer, he was start looking at our old family albums. I knew it was important to him that both of his daughters lived under the same roof; his roof. So I tried my hardest, gave up the things that were most important to me, and held my tongue. I just wanted this to work for Dad.

"I should call him," she said.

"Bella, it's three o'clock in the morning. He's sick; calling him right now is not smart. Besides, he said that he wants us to wait until he calls," I said, pulling her hair back in a loose ponytail in case she had to vomit again.

"But I'm not you; I can call him and he'll answer," she said.

"Bella, please don't start with me. You're sick and it's not a good day today, okay? So just-" I stopped, unsure how not to kill her. "I'm going to be in my room. If you need me, just holler."

•••

Bella spent the night on the bathroom floor. There were times when she would call out my name and I just wanted to tell her that I had slept through it. Instead, I got out of bed and took care of her. Maybe I wouldn't have if I had known that the next morning, she would be on the phone harassing my best friend.

"He was acting so strange, like he couldn't talk to me. And then, he told me to wait for him to call," she ranted as I cooked. "Why don't I cook tonight?" Bella asked.

"Okay," I said suspiciously.

"I mean, your cooking is great, but I'm getting kind of tired of everything being a little charred," she said. Was there seriously a need to elaborate? I think not. I moved out of the kitchen easily, settling myself at the table with another Lori Wick book in hand. "Anyways, I was thinking that we should go check on Jake tomorrow," she said, throwing away all my cooking and starting fresh.

"Bella, didn't Jake tell you that he was coming down with mono or something?" I asked. I hadn't really been paying attention to what she said.

"No, he just said that he was sick. Who knows what that means?" It means that he's sick. Of course, I just shrugged instead.

The next morning, Jake wasn't at school. It wasn't hard to believe that he was sick. His fever had felt high was I had been with him. "Hi, Mr. Murphy, I'm hear to pick up Jake's physics homework," I said, as I walked into the classroom. I would never understand how Jake liked science enough to take two classes. The thought just made me want to vomit.