Hells Angel

Jacob pulled his car into the driveway of Avery's house, killing the engine. Both of them sat there for a minute, silent. Jacob looked over at his girlfriend, still feeling guilty when he saw the cuts on her face. He was supposed to protect her.

“You okay?” Avery asked as soon as she noticed the pained look on his face.

Jacob nodded slowly. “I should be asking you that. You've gone through more than I have these two days.”

Avery smiled, slightly. “I'll be fine. I have you, right?”

Jacob shrugged.

“What's that for? The shrug?”

“I just...” he trailed off. “Never mind.”

“Nope. Now you have to finish your thought,” Avery said, sliding over on the truck seat until she was right next to him. He didn't say anything and she reached for his hand. “Jacob?”

“I couldn't protect you,” he said quietly. “I'm supposed to protect you. Like I was supposed to protect Nessie.”

“You did protect me, Jacob,” Avery told him. “You might not have been able to prevent what happened but you did protect me when Caitlyn and Frank were there. Even when I was trying to be a bad ass.”

Jacob smiled slightly. “I couldn't believe what you said to Bella.”

Avery shrugged, smiling. “She's just a little bit insane. Hurting me to hurt you? I know she's depressed but hurting you is not okay with me. I can take it but you don't deserve it.”

“No, you shouldn't have to take it,” Jacob said, frustrated with the whole situation. “I should not have dragged you into all of this.”

She shook her head. “You didn't drag me into anything,” she told him. “I could have said no before we got together but I didn't want to. I wasn't intimidated then, and I'm not intimidated now. I want to be with you, Jacob Black, and a little scuffle with a vampire and a mage isn't going to scare me off,” she told him.

Jacob leaned over and kissed her with all of the pent up emotion he'd been holding in for the past two days. His hand cupped the back of her neck, holding the two of them together, longer. He pulled away, breathing heavy, pressing their foreheads together. He just wanted to be close to her.

“I love you,” he whispered, his lips barely moving.

Avery smiled. “I love you, too.”

“Come on, I'll walk you to the door,” he said, opening the drivers side door and stepping out. He reached for Avery's hand and helped her out as well, not releasing her hand.

She smiled wider as he walked her up to the door. She unlocked it and stepped inside, pulling him with her. “Dad?”

Her dad walked out of the living room, frowning, then he saw her face—bruised, swollen. “What the hell did you do?” he screamed at Jacob, pushing him up against the wall, hand around his throat. “Did you bruise her? I swear to God, if I find out you touched her then I will fucking kill you. Hand to—“

“Dad, stop!” Avery yelled, grabbing his shoulder. “He didn't hit me!”

Jack paused and looked over at his daughter. “You're sure?”

Avery rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I would stay with a guy who would hit me? Please. I'd kick his ass then kick him to the curb.”

“That's true...” Jack said reluctantly, still holding Jacob against the wall.

“Are you going to let him go now?” Avery asked, looking between her father and Jacob. She knew that Jacob could throw him aside in less than two seconds, but she also knew he wouldn't hurt him.

Jack looked down at his hand, over to his daughter, back to his hand, and then up to Jacob's face. “Yeah, that'd be wise,” he said, letting him go slowly. “I'm sorry about that, son.”

Jacob shrugged, cracking his neck. “It's okay. I probably would have thought the same thing if my daughter walked in with a swollen jaw and a cut up cheek. But I want you to know that I would never hurt her. I love her too much to ever think about it,” he said quietly.

“That's good to know. So, what exactly happened?” Jack asked, running his hand down the side of his daughter's face.

“I face-planted on a rock,” she told him honestly—leaving out the small detail as to why she tripped.

Jack smiled. “That does sound like you. I have told you before, Aves, that those woods are rough terrain and you shouldn't run in them.”

“I like the challenge,” she told him, smiling.

“Just be more careful. I don't want anything to happen to you,” he said.

“I second that,” Jacob interrupted.

Avery smiled. “Please, dad. You're not getting rid of me that quickly.”

Jack leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Don't stay up too late. You look tired,” he told her, before turning to Jacob. “Have a good night, son.”

“You, too, Mr. Parker,” he told him, before the man disappeared upstairs. “I should probably go. My night to patrol and all,” he said, shrugging.

“Boo,” Avery said, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest.

Jacob inhaled deeply, kissing the crown of her head. “I'll see you at school?”

Avery nodded against his chest. She didn't want to pull away just yet. She took a deep breath and forced herself away. “Guess you gotta go then, don't you?”

Jacob nodded. “Believe me, I'd much rather stay here with you.”

“I know,” she said, leaning up and kissing him. “I'll see you at school?”

“I'll see you at school.”

+

Avery woke up Monday morning and got ready for school, the same way she always had. She pulled on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, suede black knee-high boots, and a black and gray striped shirt She picked up her bag and walked down the stairs, grabbing her keys from the counter. She saw her dad waiting by the front door, leaning against the wall. “Everything okay, dad?” she asked.

He nodded. “If Jacob did that, you'd tell me, right?” he asked, pointing to the cuts on her cheek.

Avery smiled. “Dad, you know I don't lie to you.”

Jack smiled. That answer was good enough for him. “You have a good day, Aves.”

She laughed, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “I love you, dad.”

“I love you, too.”

+

“Oh my God, Avery, what the hell happened to your face?” Linley asked, surprised when she saw her friend.

“Gee, that helps build my self-esteem,” Avery asked, walking over to meet Linley in front of her car.

Linley rolled her eyes. “Get in the car,” she said, rushing to her side and climbing in, slamming the door behind her. She waited for Avery to climb in before she started to grill her. “You know what I mean, Aves! Is this about the weekend? Seth would not tell me what happened.”

Avery sighed, shrugging. “It's a really long story, Lin.”

“Tell me everything!” Linley exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Avery smiled. “Well, it started Friday night...”

Even though so much had changed over the weekend, everything still felt the same.

+

As they got to the school, they linked arms and walked inside, still talking about the weekend events. The loud chatter of teenagers filled their ears as the two of them walked to their lockers. Avery set her bag on the floor as she opened her locker, pulling out the books she was going to need for the day.

“And you actually said that to Bella?” Linley asked, smiling.

“Why wouldn't I? She tried to kill me,” Avery whispered. “She's a bitch.”

Linley nodded. “I agree with this. She could never be good enough from Jacob.”

Avery smiled, blushing slightly. “I mean, I don't exactly deserve him—he's pretty much amazing. It's still hard for me to believe that he loves me.”

“He told you he loves you?!” Linley squealed. “That is the cutest thing I have ever heard!”

Avery rolled her eyes. “Do you have to squeal like that, Lin? You're killing my ears,” she said.

“Did you say it back?”

Avery looked behind Linley and saw Jacob and the rest of the pack walking down the hallway. There was a familiar fluttering in her stomach and she could feel herself smile. He was beautiful. Jacob looked up at her and his eyes brightened. “How could I not?”

Jacob wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her bruised jaw lightly. He still felt like he never wanted to be away from her. “How could you not say what?” he asked.

Avery leaned up and pressed their lips together. “How could I not love you?”

Jacob laughed. “I don't know. I mean, I am amazing...”

“Yes, you are,” Avery agreed, smiling up at him.

Nope. Nothing had changed.

fin.