Just the Way You Are

The two of them sat there in silence. Eve had crawled into Jacob's lap and his arms were wrapped protectively snug around her waist. Eve listened to his heartbeat and it made her own quicken to try and keep pace with his own. His unusually high consistent body temperature kept her nice and warm, almost as if he was her safety blanket. His constant mumblings of "I love you" created butterflies in her stomach and made her heart jump in her chest.

Eve had never felt so at peace before in her life. She wished she didn't have to leave this place, this moment in time that would forever be engraved in her mind.

"Jacob..." She murmured his name delicately, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

He loved the way she purred out his name.

"Yea, Eve...?"

"Thank you for coming with me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for everything."

He pulled her away from him and their eyes connected for a split second before he began to speak to her. "I never want to be away from you, Eve. And there's no reason to thank me for loving you. I would love you even if your physical appearance changed — for better or worse. I'll love you till I die." He told her softly, brushing a few strands of hair that fell, obstructing his view of her perfect honey eyes. "I would do anything and everything that I could for you, Eve."

"I love you, Jacob." She told him, a smile rising upon her lips.

"I love you, too, Eve."

The two shared a quick kiss and Eve's stomach growled hungrily. They laughed and Jacob looked over his shoulder, soon taking the keys out of the ignition and smiling at her.

"Well, we're parked next to a diner. Might as well eat, especially since you're hungry."

"My stomach and I thank you." Eve joked.

Jacob placed a hand upon her small belly and rubbed it. "You're quite welcome, Eve's stomach."

Jacob and Eve then got off the car and walked through the sweltering Arizona heat to the small building. Jacob opened the door for Eve like a gentleman and the two let out a sigh of relief as they noticed the cooler temperature. They were seated immediately at a booth in the corner and handed menus, the waitress taking their drink orders quickly before heading off into the kitchen.

Eve looked over at Jacob who was smiling back at her. She got up and moved over onto his side of the booth, leaning into his body as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I don't want to be away from you." Eve mumbled into his chest, inhaling his intoxicating scent. "This is going to be hard..."

"Tell me about it," Jacob kissed the top of her head lightly. "I'm going to be counting the days."

"Here are your drinks." The waitress stated, placing both sodas upon the table. "Are you ready to order?"

The two of them gave the waitress their orders and as she left, she smiled at the couple and made a comment that left Eve blushing. "You both look so in love. You're a great couple."

"She's right." Jacob whispered into her ear.

"Shut up."

"You know it's true."

"Which part?"

"Both, duh."

Eve only blushed further and buried her face into the crook of his neck. "Well... I do love you..." She mumbled.

"And if I haven't said it enough, I love you, too."

After eating, Jacob and Eve paid and got back on the road, heading to Rosewood Ranch for Eve's rehabilitation. Eve's heart dropped when they passed a sign that read "Welcome to Wickenburg" and knew that she didn't have much time with Jacob... her Jacob.

Eve read off the directions to Jacob who turned and drove towards the center. Soon they were pulling into a parking lot and Eve could only stare at the large buildings that looked like a resort.

"So this is where you're gonna be for a few weeks, huh...?" Jacob mumbled.

"Apparently so."

"Looks... nice."

"Yea, it does." Eve agreed.

They got off the car and they walked hand in hand towards the building. Jacob opened the door for her and they entered the cool air conditioned room, walking up to the desk and beginning to talk with the receptionist.

"Hello, welcome to Rosewood Ranch. How can I help you?" The blond asked perkily.

"Hi, my name's Evangeline Blair. I'm—"

"Oh! Evangeline Blair, yes we've been expecting you." She smiled. "Please, take a seat, I'll have Doctor Herbert come out to greet you shortly."

"Thank you." Eve smiled gratefully at the woman and her and Jacob took a seat in the quaint lobby that was inviting with it's earth tone colors.

They didn't talk as they waited for Doctor Herbert, they simply enjoyed their time together as their hands played with one another contently. Eve couldn't believe she wouldn't be like this with him for a while. She wished she could take back every time that she forced herself to throw up so that way she wouldn't have to be here.

"I'm sorry to have kept you."

Jacob and Eve looked up to find a woman dressed in a black pencil skirt, white button up shirt and black flats walking towards them. She looked nice and professional with her perfectly white teeth that she exposed with her smile and chestnut hair pulled into a loose bun.

"My name is Jennifer Herbert, I'm the executive director here at Rosewood." As Jennifer reached Eve and Jacob, she greeted them by a kind handshake and by flashing them her warm smile. "When Carlisle phoned me and asked me to take you in, I was more than happy to. It's a pleasure to meet you, Evangeline. Carlisle's told me that you're a very kind girl."

"Thank you..." Eve mumbled, blushing slightly at the comment. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Doctor Herbert."

"Please, call me Jen, I like to stay on a first name basis with people." She explained. "And who is this you have here? An older brother, maybe?"

"No, my name is Jacob Black. I'm Evangeline's boyfriend." He chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sorry for assuming things." Jennifer apologized. "Well, let's start the tour shall we?"

"Yes, please." Eve nodded.

The three of them then began to go around the premises. Jennifer explained the activities the patients did and where Eve would sleep at for her stay there. The tour took about an hour and after it was finished, Eve felt like it wouldn't be that bad a place.

"Well, this is where your rehabilitation begins, Evangeline." Jennifer stated. "Jacob, I'm afraid that after you help Evangeline move into her room, you'll have to leave. Evangeline has free time for thirty minutes every day from eleven-thirty to twelve, and she'll be able to call you during that time. Also, visiting hours are every Sunday from one in the afternoon to five.."

"Alright, thank you for showing us around, Jennifer." Jacob shook her hand once more and Jennifer then left the two of them to get Eve settled in.

Jacob and Eve headed out towards the car, grabbed her few suitcases and carried them into the building. They headed down corridors and soon arrived at the room Eve would be living in. They walked inside her new bedroom and saw it was small, but looked very well decorated and functional.

Sighing, Eve and Jacob then began to unpack her belongings and put them away where they belonged. Jacob made Eve's bed for her and Eve placed all her photos and memorabilia onto the desk beside her bed. Lastly, they placed her suitcases into the closet and looked at the room for a few seconds.

The two of them sat on the bed and Jacob pulled her into his body, kissing the top of her head delicately. "So this is it..."

"I wish it wasn't."

"Well... at least I'll still be able to see you, right?"

"But I wish you didn't have to leave at all."

"Eve, you need to get better, and if that means leaving you for a while... I'll do it."

"But you're what makes me better, Jake." Eve retorted.

"Eve... please, do this for Darla and me." Eve remained silent as she buried her face into his chest, mumbling incoherent words and nodding her head, making him smile. "Thank you, Eve."

Jacob stood and walked towards her door, looking at her one last time. "I love you."

Eve rose and sauntered towards him and kissed his cheek tenderly. "I love you, too. And Jacob...?"

"Hm...?"

"I promise that after I get out of here, I will never go back."

Jacob grinned and kissed Eve's lips. "I"m happy to hear it. Get well soon, Eve." He told her. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

Soon after Jacob left, Eve was told by other directors that it was lights out, and she headed to bed for the night.

The next morning she woke from hearing a knocking on her door. Eve sat up in her bed and swung her legs over the bed, sauntering messily towards the door.

"Hello?" She opened the door to face a girl who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had black hair, an olive complexion, and wore some comfortable looking skinny jeans and a slim fit white tee.

"Hi, my name's Amy, one of the group leaders. Jen put you into my group so I came to wake you up." She greeted, adding a quick yawn at the end. "I don't know if she told you or not, but we always wake up at six in the morning to get ready."

"No... she forgot to mention that." Eve yawned.

"Okay, well, you can go ahead and get ready. The showers are down the hall and after you're done, there's a meeting room past the showers and on the right, we all meet in there to take vitals."

"Okay, I will." Eve nodded.

"Alright, and welcome to Rosewood."

"Thanks."

After getting ready for the day, she headed into the meeting room and saw Amy sittiing down at a large round table where others were gathered as well. Eve slowly walked over to the table and was greeted warmly by Amy.

"Guys, this is Evangeline, she's new here. Let's try to make her feel welcome, okay?" Amy looked at everyone expectantly. "Let's go around introducing ourselves. As you know my name is Amy, and I'm the group leader."

Everyone then went around saying their name and a friendly hello to Eve. After having taken their vitals, the group headed towards the cafeteria for breakfast.

Amy walked towards Eve with Cora, a red head, beside her. "Eve, you just met Cora a few minutes ago. Cora volunteered to help you adjust to our schedule here." Amy smiled admirably at the red head who blushed lightly with a smile. "She'll explain to you the basics and answer any questions you have."

"Okay, thanks." Eve smiled gratefully at the two of them and Amy then left them alone.

"So, welcome to Rosewood." Cora smiled. "I hope you enjoy your stay here."

Eve laughed quietly to herself. "Thanks, I hope I do, too." She agreed.

Eve and Cora entered the cafeteria and ate breakfast, which was a few pancakes, eggs, and fruit. Eve finished her plate as did Cora, and the two began to talk about themselves to get to know each other better.

"So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you here?" Cora inquired. "I mean, most — if not all — of the newbies here never finish their plate. You seem like you're a normal person." She chuckled.

"Bulimic..." Eve sighed. "I model and I have to keep my figure."

"Oh, I see." Cora nodded. "I'm anorexic. Well, I was. I've been here for two months and they say that I can leave in about a week."

"Why'd you become anorexic?"

"Bullying. I was... obese." Cora sighed. "I got called names, I was pushed around, and all that made me start to hate myself. I did pot thinking drugs would kinda make me numb to it all, but it didn't. I got addicted to the stuff and went to rehab for that. After I got clean, I was fine for a while, then I was bullied again. So then I became anorexic. I've been anorexic for about a year and a half. I collapsed at work one day from malnutrition, my doctors realized what was wrong, and I came here. Rosewood's kind of my savior."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was bullied a lot for my weight, too."

"Yea..." Cora chuckled. "Fucking skinny bitches."

After breakfast, everyone was rounded up and they went through the schedule. It was a busy, but very fun, day. Cora was a nice girl, and she was always explaining what each activity did for Eve's treatment. Eve was sure that she had found a friend in the red head and was glad to have met Cora.

Later that night, as she was heading to bed, Amy poked her head into Eve's room. "Um, Eve, you have a phone call. They're patching it through to your room right now." As if on cue, Eve's bedroom phone began to ring. "After you hang up, it's lights out. Goodnight, Eve. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Amy."

Eve picked up the phone and answered it with a yawn. "Hello?"

"Hello, are you Evangeline Blair?"

"Yes, I am. Who is this?"

"My name is Gerard Moreno, I'm the surgeon who performed the endoscopic surgery on your mother, Darla Blair."

"Oh yes," This seemed to make Eve wide awake. "How was the surgery?"

"Well, as we were going through the procedure, we found that because the tumor had grown over the past few days, it was too big to remove. I'm sorry, but surgery is no longer an option for Darla, it seems. Chemotherapy is the only way to treat her cancer."