I crawled under the blankets on my bed and buried myself in the darkness. I heard the phone ring downstairs but I didn’t get up to answer it. I had an idea of who it might be and I did not want to speak to them. I wanted to be left alone to think about what had happened. What did happen? Had I over reacted? Did I blow the whole thing out of proportion? See, I had always wondered why Edward would want me. I am nothing special but he is. He is like an angel, so beautiful and loving, and then there’s me. Just me. I am so plain that I could be bread. Bread! Yeah, ok I have a couple of magical powers and I can run really fast and probably lift a monster truck one handed without breaking a sweat but I’m still human. He is a vampire. A vampire! How can you forget your boyfriend’s a vampire? Honestly, I must be stupid. He shouldn’t be interested in me. He shouldn’t be, it’s unnatural. I was so caught up in my own little fairytale that I failed to notice it.
The phone rang again but I ignored it. I was not moving. I felt safe in this darkness. Like nothing could hurt me. Nothing could penetrate the blankets that surrounded me.
The phone continued to ring and I was guessing that they weren’t going to give up. Well they would just have to enjoy the disappointment coz I ain’t moving.
The tears came now. After all the thinking part was done it was the crying now. The tears came thick and fast and I couldn’t stop them but I didn’t care. I just let them fall. Time passed for me in a haze of blurry vision and wet tears. I hadn’t heard the phone ring so I assumed that they had taken the hint. I was so close to sleep, here in my little den. I turned onto my back and felt me head touch the bottom of the pillow. I scooted up a bit until the pillow was completely under my head and then I dragged the blanket back over me. I had just closed my eyes when I felt the weight of the blanket lift off me. I snapped my eyes back open and screamed when I saw the hulking shadow bending over me, holding my blanket. So much for nothing being able to penetrate my blankets.
“Kayla, sshh!”
I shut my mouth. I squinted my eyes in the darkness and saw my most favourite person ever (after Edward).
“Jacob!” I sounded like I had a bad head cold. I sniffed and sat up.
Jacob dropped the blanket back on my bed and I moved over a bit so he could sit next to me.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” I said, wiping my eyes. There were still a few tears coming.
“I’m very quiet when I want to be,” Jacob smiled. “Have you been crying?”
“No,” I said, sniffing. “What makes you think that?”
“No reasons other than your eyes are red, you sound like you have a cold and you’re still crying.”
I didn’t answer. I just wiped my eyes again, trying to stop the flow of tears. I kicked off my shoes for something to do. Jacob stared at me with his deep brown eyes; trying to read my mind, find out what was wrong.
“Why didn’t you answer the phone?” Jacob asked. He sounded annoyed with me.
“Was that you?” I asked. “I thought that it might have been him.”
“No, it was me. I called you cell but that freaky leech that can see the future answered. She said that you had gone home to get some stuff and left your cell phone.”
“Don’t call her a leech,” I mumbled. I wasn’t up for fighting with Jacob so I didn’t really shout at him.
“Why didn’t you answer the phone when you thought it was him?” Jacob asked softly.
I wasn’t going to tell him. I didn’t want to involve him but it just came out. My mouth opened and everything that had happened from fighting the Felinata to me running here just flowed out in a torrent of tears, anger and some incomprehensible sentences.
When I was done I could see that Jacob was shaking. His hands were balled up into fists and I knew what this meant.
“Jay, calm down,” I said, putting a hand on his arm. His hot skin was still unfamiliar to me but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt strange, kind of nice and fuzzy.
His shaking subsided slightly but his hands were still fists.
“I should kill him for saying that,” Jacob said through gritted teeth.
“No!” My hand tightened on Jacob’s arm. I didn’t want him hurting Edward or getting himself hurt.
“He made you cry! I would never do that!”
“Only coz I’d kick your ass,” I said, smiling slightly. My hand tightened even further. I was trying to warn him without saying anything.
“I should have it out with him,” Jacob said, more to himself than me. He was oblivious to my hand and my tightening grip. “Give him some ground rules. What he can’t do to you. How he should treat you.”
“Jacob!” I said. My nails broke his skin and some blood began to trickle down his bare arm.
“What?” he looked at me hand and the blood that was running down his arm. “When did that happen?”
I let go of his arm and sighed. How could he not have felt that?
“Look, Jacob,” I said and I looked straight into his deep brown eyes. “Just leave it, yeah? If you got involved who knows what would happen? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
He stared straight back into mine.
“He hurt you, Kay. He needs to be taught a lesson.”
“You need to be taught a lesson!” I half shouted. “A lesson on how not to interfere in other people’s lives!”
He just laughed at me.
“Don’t do it,” I pleaded with him. “Please, don’t go there.”
“I am going to go there,” Jacob said, standing up. “I’m going to tell him not to mess with you or I mess with him.”
“Jacob!” I shouted as he walked out my door. He didn’t turn back.
I groaned and jumped off my bed. I nearly ran downstairs before I remembered to put my shoes back on. I found a pair of trainers in the living-room and hastily shoved them on.
As I ran through the forest I tried to tell myself that I was going to the Cullens to make sure that Edward didn’t hurt Jacob. But I knew that I wanted to protect Edward more than Jacob. Although he had said that, or rather thought it, I still loved him. I didn’t want him to get hurt because that would hurt me too. But if anyone asked why I was at the Cullens it was to protect Jacob.
I reached the Cullens house and saw Alice sitting outside on the steps. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping. I was going to sneak past her and had made it up the steps but her hand shot out and she grabbed my leg and stopped me going past her.
“Don’t,” she said, her eyes still closed. “Don’t do it.”
“Do what?” I asked confused.
“Walk away,” she answered. She opened her eyes and looked up at me. “Don’t walk away from him, Kayla. You don’t know what he will do but I do. I don’t want that to happen.”
I nodded and she let me go. She closed her eyes and turned away to face the forest again. I walked inside and headed for the stairs. If there was any luck left for me, Edward would be in his room and I wouldn’t have to look for him.
On my way to Edward’s room I passed Emmett.
“You better get in there, Kay,” he said, pointing back to Edward’s room. “The dog’s in there starting another fight. You better go protect him.”
He chuckled and winked at me. I smiled back and ran down to Edward’s room. Sure enough, Jacob was in there, shaking, and shouting at Edward. Edward’s face was a picture of fury. His onyx eyes seemed to be on fire and his teeth were bared.
“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO HER?!” Jacob was shouting. “SHE WAS CRYING YOU IGNORANT LEECH! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU’VE HURT HER?!”
“Don’t you dare shout at me, you stupid little mongrel!” Edward snarled. “I know exactly what I have done. Do you have any idea how I feel knowing that I’ve hurt her?”
“I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU FEEL! I CARE ABOUT KAYLA AND I SWEAR WHEN I’M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO LOOK AT HER COZ YOU’LL HAVE NO EYES!”
“Bring it, pup!”
Jacob’s shape began to shimmer and this was my time to intervene.
“STOP!” I screamed.
Jacob stopped shaking and turned. Edward’s eyes lost their flame when he saw me. His eyes were showing his longing to hold me and kiss me. I stared at him and I wanted to hold him and kiss him too. But I wouldn’t be taken in by them. No way.
“Don’t you dare Jacob Black!” I said, taking my eyes off Edward to look at Jacob.
“Kayla, stay out of this!” Jacob said, turning away.
“No, I will not stay out of this! This is my fight, not yours!”
“You heard her,” Edward said. “This is her fight, so why don’t you let her handle it?”
Jacob growled at Edward and Edward snarled back. Jacob began to shake again. I ran over and put myself between them. I had my back to Edward and I was looking at Jacob, pleading with him with my eyes.
“Let me deal with this my own way,” I said softly. “If I can’t, I promise I will let you rip his throat out. Ok?”
Jacob looked down at me and I could tell he wanted to help me. He wanted nothing more than to make Edward pay for hurting me but he would listen to me. Like he said, he wouldn’t make me cry.
“Fine,” he said. “But only because you asked me to. I’m not scared or anything.” The last sentence was directed at Edward.
“Go home to Billy,” I ordered.
“Do you want to stay with us?” Jacob asked me. “I don’t think you’ll want to stay here or by yourself at Charlie’s. I can sleep on the couch and you can have my bed?”
“I’m fine sleeping by myself, Jay, but thanks for the offer.”
“Just call me if you change your mind.”
“I will.”
He scooped me up into a bear hug but put me down before I had to remind him that I needed to breathe. He then narrowed his eyes at Edward, reminding him what will happen if he hurts me again.
I watched him go before I turned to Edward.
“I didn’t send him here,” I said, quickly. “I didn’t tell him to come and do this.”
“I know you didn’t,” Edward spoke quietly.
“Well then,” I said. I backed away to the door. “I’ll go then.”
“Don’t go!” Edward reached out to me with a hand, his eyes showing me the pain his face wouldn’t show.
“Edward, there’s no reason to stay,” I said. “I came here to stop Jacob getting himself hurt and I did that. I should leave.”
“You came here to protect me. I can hear it in your mind.”
Damn my mind! How can you betray me like that?!
“Let me explain.” Edward walked over to me and stood so close I could feel his cool breath on my face.
“There’s nothing to explain,” I said, not looking up into his eyes. I didn’t want to be dazzled when trying to explain my point. “You said that and that’s all there is to it.”
“I didn’t say it,” he stressed. “I thought it. There’s a difference.”
“You know I can read you mind so it was just like you said it to me!”
“I let my guard down! I was trying to stop you killing me!”
“As if I would kill you! I love you, you silly vampire!”
“Then why won’t you stay?”
“Coz you hate me!”
I turned away from him and he didn’t stop me walking away. It was only when I was halfway down the hallway that I remembered what Alice said.
“Don’t walk away from him, Kayla. You don’t know what he will do but I do. I don’t want that to happen.”
What would he do if I walked away and didn’t come back? Would he try to kill himself? Could vampires commit suicide? If they could I didn’t want Edward to. If he killed himself what would I do? How would I live if he was dead?
I turned around and saw him watching me from his doorway. I walked back to him and stood in front of him and looked up into black eyes.
“Explain.”
“I don’t hate you,” he said, quickly. “I was just angry and jealous. You said to the dog that there was a part of you just for him. I don’t want to share you with anyone else. I was just angry at you but I don’t really hate you. That was just me thinking. Everybody thinks something like that but they never say it because it isn’t true. I still love you, I always have. I won’t ever stop. Not over that mutt anyway.”