What Hurts the Most

I walked towards Jake slowly, as if in a dream. Tears in my eyes mimicked mist, or clouds, making it seem as if it really were all in my mind. But I knew it was real when I leaned down and touched his warm, motionless face. I saw no movement in his chest, and felt no air come from his mouth. I knelt down by side him, without removing my hand, and was completely oblivious to Sam and Seth attempting to awaken him by performing CPR. This just didn’t seem real; it couldn’t have been real.

Something inside of my head told me that we were too late; he was already gone. While my heart was screaming, louder and more decisive, that he was still alive. Still there, my guardian angel.
‘Come on, Jake,’ I screamed into my mind. ‘Don’t give up.’

The haze that clung to my mind lifted as soon as I saw the water come surging from his mouth. He coughed a couple of times and began to lie up, holding his head in his hands and moaning as he did so.

There was a collaborated sigh being let out on the beach: all except for me, who stayed rooted to my spot, paralyzed and overjoyed at the same time. He was OK.

“Why, cough, cough,” Jake began to ask rigorously, his intensity being overshadow by his coughs. “Why did you save me? What was the point?”

He glared at Seth, his eyes filled with a mixture of both fury and desolation. Seth chuckled as Jake tried to crawl back into the rolling water.

“Just leave me alone to die!” he yelled miserably.

“Ah, but if I did that,” Seth began, leisurely standing up and crossing his arms, a playful smirk on his face. “Then Nathalie would NEVER let me hear the end of it. Of course, this DOES mean I get her all to myself now.”

Jake stopped suddenly, his eyes filled with fire. He stood up, the sun glinting off the water droplets that slid down his body, making him look as if he were on fire. He stormed right passed me and slammed Seth, who was laughing all the while, into a nearby tree.

“Don’t mess around with me, Seth!” he screamed at him, frustrated. “She’s gone...that damn vampire got to her before I could save her...I couldn’t...do anything...I promised...I would…keep, keep her safe...we were so close...”

As he was saying this, he fell to the floor, sending up a cloud of sand. Seth’s smile disappeared, and he looked over at me, signaling that it was my turn to step in. As soon as I could find my voice, of course.

“J-Jacob?” I called out to him, standing up and holding my arm bashfully.

His body froze as soon as he heard my voice, and he slowly turned around with confused, yet hopeful, eyes. Jake looked bewildered (which I don’t blame him for), and blinked a couple of times, as if I were an apparition of some sort. He smiled at me and looked relieved beyond compare, which slowly returned to confusion once he saw the blood on my neck.

“Tristan didn’t really bite me,” I explained fretfully, not sure what to do about the current situation. “Don’t ask me why; he didn’t really explain much to me. I guess, uh, Edward could explain it better.”

This statement may have confused him even more, but he seemed to have changed his mind as realized that it didn’t matter, and he smiled and raced over to me. He pulled me up into a hug and swung me around in the air, like you see couples do in old romance movies. But I was glad that this was the real thing.

It felt right, perfect, me being in his arms. Everything was the way it was supposed to be, and the day’s passed events didn’t even matter.

And then it was all ruined by Sam clearing his throat from behind us. Remembering that we weren’t the only two on the beach, we turned to see him, Alice, Edward, and the other vampire smiling at us. Seth was still at the tree Jacob had pushed him into, looking down at the ground and smiling to himself. I hadn’t realized that we were putting on a show for everyone.

Jake chuckled and set me down, making sure to hold me close to his body, as if to make up for running away from me.

“So does any care to explain to me what the hell happened?” Jake asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

“How about we do that over a campfire,” Sam suggested quietly, gazing over at the setting sun.

“We can’t stay long,” Edward interrupted, stepping forward with Alice and the other vampire close behind. “We have to go back to Bella and the baby.”

Jacob froze behind me.

“B-baby?” he muttered quietly, mostly to himself.

“Yes, Renesme,” Edward nodded surreptitiously, obviously forgetting that Jacob was completely clueless.

I was beginning to think that, despite all that’s happened, he still had feelings for this Bella girl. But all of that disappeared as soon as he shrugged it off and pulled me, if it was even possible, closer.

“I’ll save that story for another day,” he said with a smile. “But let’s tackle one problem at a time.”

While Sam and the other wolves began searching in the woods for materials to make a fire, Edward pulled us aside and explained everything that went on in Tristan’s mind. Tristan was angry at Jacob for entering into his territory, and scared, that he would try to chase him out. He was never a human-eating vampire; a vegetarian, like Edward. He only did it so that you would be vulnerable to his attacks. Everything went according to plan, except for the fact that he had no idea the other wolves and other vampires were going to assist Jacob. I guess vampires AREN’T so perfect after all.

“We must leave you, then,” he informed us as soon as he had finished explaining to us. “Bella’s very worried. She wanted to come herself, to see you again, Jacob, but she also didn’t want to leave the baby.”

“Tell her I said hello,” Jacob asked him understandingly. “And that I’ll come and visit soon.”
Edward didn’t say anything, but simply bowed his head and took off running into the forest, with the other two vampires right behind them.

Jacob took advantage of their absence and swung me around, looking into my eyes amorously. He leaned in and kissed me, as if it were the last time we’d ever be seeing each other. I didn’t mind, so I kissed him right back with equal intensity.

“Campfire time-oh!” Seth stopped shouting immediately after he saw us making out against a tree. He wet his lips and set the wood on the center of the beach. He began setting it up silently.

“I can’t help but feel bad for the guy,” I said illicitly to Jacob. “He’s so sweet...but he knows that I love you.”

“And he knows that after all I’ve been through, I am NOT giving you up for anything in the world,” Jacob added. “Don’t worry, Nat. He’ll find his someone: like I found you.”

“I hope so,” I said, and pulled him into another kiss.

********

Two months had passed since the incident, and I was still living at Jacob’s house. Jacob got the couch and I his bed, for Billy flat out refused to let us sleep in the same bed. I didn’t mind; but Jacob certainly did. I knew he wasn’t going to do anything with me, he was too sweet for that, but Billy wasn’t taking any chances.

We were sitting on the couch together, with me in his arms, and watching TV and having an argument about how he should be in school right now. He never let me out of his sight; he obviously didn’t want a repeat. There was a knock at the door, and Jake reluctantly stood up and answered it. He glared when he saw that it was Seth.

“What do you want Seth?” he asked, irritated. “And no, we don’t have any more Doritos. You ate them all.”

“I’m not here for food, Jake,” Seth began gravely, not stepping inside. He nervously gave me a quick glance, and I grew curious. “I need to talk to you. Outside. Alone.”

“No, anywhere I go, she goes,” Jake answered stubbornly, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.

“Stop being a stubborn ass, Jake, and get outside,” Seth muttered severely. Jake knew he wasn’t messing around. He turned around and told me that he would be back in two minutes.

As I impatiently waited, some ‘breaking news’ interrupted our television program. I sighed, and blew steam out of my nose, trying to change the channel that didn’t have my face on it.
………wait...my face? MY face?

I turned the volume up and sure enough, the good-looking news reporter said my name, clearly and audibly.

“Nathalie Hunter has been missing for about two and a half months now, I believe,” he began gravely, my school ID picture in the corner of the screen. “She was at the mall with her family, when it appeared she had been abducted. Officers looked at the security tape and saw two men with her; one of them, her boyfriend Jacob Black, and the other man was unknown. Her whereabouts are still unknown. If you have any idea of her location, please contact your area’s local police station.”

The channel blurred and switched back to some soap opera. I slumped into the couch emotionless, starring at the screen as if I was still on it.

“I am so dead,” I moaned, smacking my head with my hand. “I’ve got to go tell Jacob about this.”

I jumped up and went to the door, but was too late. Jacob had already opened with an expression the mirrored mine.

“Nathalie, you’re parents are here.”