Bella's Little Sister

Chapter 42

Jacob slowed his running to a walk after we had gotten into the thick of the trees so that Bella could keep up with us more easily. "Are you going to ask me to sit out of the fight, too?" he questioned me. "Or don't you care about my safety?"

"Would you do it if I asked you to?" I countered, though I already knew what his answer was going to be.

"Nope," he smirked in response. "Sorry, Bells."

I glanced over at my sister, seeing the fairly disappointed expression on her face at his answer. At his next words, her face morphed into a frown but she remained silent as she listened.

"I won't have a choice anyways," Jacob explained. "Ever since I let Sam be alpha male, I gotta live with the shots that he calls."

"You let Sam be alpha?" Bella picked up her pace a bit.

Jacob took a deep breath before responding. "I didn't want to be in a pack, let alone be its leader. So I opted out. But every choice has its consequences." His eyes flickered to my face. "Some more than others."

Again, my expression changed to one of annoyance. "Don't start. Everybody makes choices; you just need to deal with mine."

Jacob then argued that I could love more than one person at a time. "I've seen it... with Sam, Emily and Leah."

"She's not a wolf, Jacob." Bella argued. "She can't imprint."

"It has nothing to do with imprinting," he responded in frustration. "It has to do with feeling something for somebody. And I know that you feel something for me."

I released my breath all in a rush as his brown eyes bored into my hazel ones. Would he ever give this up? "You like the idea of me, Jacob. We've been over this." My voice then dropped to a whisper so Bella wouldn't hear. "And I thought you liked my sister. She'll be crushed if she knows that's not the case."

"I do like her," Jacob snapped back. "But I like you more, and you do feel something for me, even if you don't want to admit it to yourself."

"You're absolutely right, Jacob." I returned my voice to its normal volume now, though it still carried my anger and frustration. "I'm head over heels for you. Let me just give Edward a call and tell him that I have completely changed my mind about him." I narrowed my eyes at the amusement on his face. "Just go," I sighed when he smirked at me. "I'd like to get this done sooner rather than later."

Alice was walking down the driveway with my father, a wide smile on her face. When she saw me and my look of confusion, her grin widened and she quickly embraced Bella before turning back to face me. "Your alibi for the battle is all arranged."

"What?" I questioned, as I had no idea what she was talking about.

My sister explained that she was going to be heading down to Jacksonville in order to avoid the fight, and my father was going to be fishing over the weekend with Billy. Alice then stated that she told dad her family was going camping, so she and I would be having a sleepover at her place.

"Oh," I nodded as I released a breath.

"Actually," Alice spoke up. "You and Edward will have the house to yourselves for the night."

My eyes widened a bit at her words. "Like... alone?"

Bella snickered at my reaction as she headed inside to pack for the trip. "We're all going hunting," Alice answered with a smile. "Powering up for the battle." She ducked her head to catch my gaze when I did not respond to her words. "You're welcome."

I gave a small yet grateful smile as she pulled away in a yellow Porsche. Dad was pulling food from the fridge as I entered the kitchen. "What time is Bella's flight?"

"Hey," dad greeted me. "She has to be to the airport by seven. Well, the sister I like. Do you want a sandwich?"

I gave him a silent declination as I leaned up against the counter, watching dad's movements as he assembled his lunch. "I was wondering... Why didn't you ever get remarried? After mom?"

Dad glanced up at me, his hands suddenly still over the bread. "I don't know," he finally answered after a long moment. "I guess I still haven't met the right gal."

When he questioned why I had asked, I only shrugged in response. I knew that I needed to tell him about my pending engagement-and soon-but with each idea I had of actually doing so, it just made me more and more nervous. "I thought maybe you just gave up on the whole institution of it... of marriage. Do you think there's any value in marriage?"

"Yeah, marriage has value," he started slowly. My father once again met my gaze, curiosity and a hint of something else I couldn't read blazing within his eyes, making me wonder what it really was that he was thinking. "When you're older." He watched me for a minute more before continuing on. "Much older, like your mother. It seemed to work out fine for her the second time around, later in life. But you definitely don't want to have to get married because you weren't careful."

I startled at his words, though I knew exactly what he was hinting at. "We are not having this conversation. You and mom both raised me the right way, and I am definitely not that kind of person." My fingers pulled at the roots of my hair anxiously as I backed away. "Edward isn't either, so you don't need to worry."

Dad only nodded, not wanting to discuss that topic any more than I did, which was not at all. Bella was laughing as I entered our room, having heard all of what was said.

My backpack was slung loosely over one shoulder as I slowly made my way up the steps of the Cullen house that led to the porch. Edward was already at the door, opening it before I could even touch the handle.

"What are you doing outside?" he questioned, his expression confused. "What's wrong?" His expression became slightly worried as he continued to watch me.

There were two ways in which I could answer that question. I could confide in him, explaining that I had been stressed about how I was going to tell my father and sister about the engagement, or I could lie to his face and tell him that nothing was wrong. Not that he would believe me, anyway. Edward always seemed to know when I was lying about something.

I decided that I was going to choose neither of those options, however. Edward took my hand as I stated that I was only tired, before leading me into the house and up the stairs. He stopped walking just before we turned the corner to enter his room.

He watched me closely as he closed his fingers around my wrist. "It seems only fair that I be represented as well." His cool fingers brushed along my skin for just a fraction of a second before he pulled away.

A diamond heart was sparkling in the dim lighting, resting perfectly atop my wrist. "It's really pretty. Thanks," I spoke the words softly as I admired the refraction of light. As we entered his room, I paused before slowly turning back to face him. "There's a bed." I dropped my backpack to the floor as I moved to stand beside it.

"I thought you might need one to sleep in," he responded.

I smiled briefly as I lowered my eyes to the fabric of the bed. "I would have been fine with the futon, you know. An air mattress would have also sufficed."

Edward only grinned at me. "Is it too much?"

Running my fingers over the silk sheets, I shook my head slowly. "Do you think... if I asked Alice..." I stopped, my brows pulling together as I tried to gather my thoughts.

"What?" he questioned as he moved to my side.

"Nothing. Never mind."

Edward then reached out, taking my hands in his own. "It's very frustrating when you don't tell me what you're thinking."

Pursing my lips, I moved to play with the heart on my bracelet. "Do you think Alice would tell me how dad and Bella would react when I tell them of my pending engagement?"

"Pending," Edward laughed at the word, his eyes gleaming as he wrapped his arms around me. "Probably not," he said after a moment. "You know how Alice is. She likes to keep things secret."

I placed my head against his chest as I bit my lip to keep from smiling. "Yes," I agreed. "It's a rather annoying habit of hers."