Chapter 3: Everybody's Fool

(Song: Evanescence - Eternal)

Jacob tried to ignore the disappointed looks on both his father’s and mother’s faces as he poured himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. His parents had been finishing up their meal at the breakfast nook when he’d entered. He had hoped they would already be gone for the day by the time he’d gone to get some coffee before heading off to class.

Unfortunately it seemed as if luck was becoming a thing of the past ever since Vanessa had given him the news. He’d told his parents just as he had told Bella he would, but they had taken it a lot worse than she had, it seemed. At least his mother hadn’t had much to say and had spent most of the time trying to calm down his father who had been furious.

Billy had lost it as soon as Jacob had told him that Vanessa was pregnant. Not even Jacob’s next announcement, that he and Vanessa would be getting married, had helped to calm him down at all. Sarah had sat there looking stunned at both announcements until Billy had roared that there was no way Jacob was using any of his hard earned money to support Vanessa and the baby. If Jacob was going to get married and support a kid, he was going to do it all on his own, with no help from them.

Sarah had finally stood up and laid a calming hand on her husband’s arm before asking Jacob if he was sure of his decision. When Jacob said yes, Sarah told him she was glad he had told them and that he had to give them time to come to terms with the news. Jacob had left them then, knowing it was best to let his mother handle his father’s temper.

That had been two days ago.

Two days of disappointed looks and silence whenever he came near them. Jacob had tried once to ask his mother if she would help him and Vanessa plan a simple Spring Break wedding, but she had sighed and told him she had to first get his father to accept the news before she could do anything else. After that, he knew it was best just to try to go on with his life until his parents could find a way to accept his decision.

He could hear their hushed whispers behind him as he finished preparing his coffee, deciding at the last moment to put it in a travel mug so he could get the hell out of there. He heard a chair scrape before his father’s voice reached his ears.

“I’m not changing my mind Sarah! If the boy was irresponsible enough to get his girlfriend pregnant then he has to deal with the consequences himself! We taught him better than that! Now he’ll just have to understand that nothing is going to be handed to him! He has to work for everything the way I once did!”

Jacob gritted his teeth as he whirled around and glared at his father. “Irresponsible am I? Are you listening to yourself? I am taking responsibility for this! Like you taught me! I’m marrying her so I can take care of her and our baby! How is that irresponsible!?!”

Billy shook his head. “It should have never happened in the first place! You haven’t even finished your schooling or taken over the business yet! How the hell are you supposed to be the best at that when your mind is so obviously somewhere else?”

“I can do it! When have I ever not been able to do what I set out to do?”

Sarah stood up and placed her hand on Billy’s shoulder. “Jacob’s right honey. He’s always been good at everything he does. We just have to have faith in him, like always.”

Billy sighed as he continued to look at his son. Jacob could see the anger dissipating from his features only to be replaced with the usual disappointed look he’d been sporting lately. It made him wonder if he’d ever see anything else on his father’s face ever again.

A maid entered the kitchen. “Pardon me Mr. Black, but Mr. Swan has arrived.”

Billy nodded, signaling that he heard. “Fine, let him know I’m on my way.”

He waited until she left the room before he spoke again. “I’m sorry Jacob, but I just cannot accept this right now. You and Bella have always had your heads on your shoulders. Both of you never gave any of us any problems and Charlie and I…well we’ve always been so proud of how the two of you grew up. Now to see all the plans you and Bella made get distorted by this…I just know I’m not the only one…you must know how this affects not only all of us, but your future as well.”

Billy sighed again, suddenly at a loss for words. He shook his head as he looked at his son one last time before he walked out of the room. Silence filled the space as Jacob stared down at the mug in his trembling hand.

“Honey, do…do you love this girl?” asked Sarah, in a hushed voice.

Jacob swallowed. He’d wondered when someone would ask him that, but for some reason he hadn’t pictured his mother being the one to do so. Still, he had tried to prepare himself for it. He’d tried to rehearse a suitable answer over and over again whenever he was alone in his room.

Lifting his head, he looked in his mother’s eyes and hoped he sounded like he knew what he was saying. “I do. You know I’ve always wanted a family like you and dad. No matter what, I’ll always love my family.”

Sarah simply nodded her head. She knew she had to be satisfied by his answer even though she was certain he hadn’t told her the truth. She knew Jacob wanted a family, but she knew he craved a life like his parents had or like the Swans had. Still, wanting a family wasn’t the same thing as what she’d asked him. She got the feeling Jacob was only marrying the girl out of obligation, not out of love. It was something she didn’t want him to do, even if there was a child involved.

She was just about to tell him that he could still be responsible for the baby without marrying the mother, but he never gave her the chance.

“I’ve got to get going or I’m going to miss my class,” he said while picking up his backpack from the counter where he’d set it.

Without another word, he walked out of the kitchen while trying to take a sip of his coffee and into the foyer where he came face to face with Charlie Swan. He lowered his mug as soon as he saw the matching disappointed looks on both Charlie and Billy’s faces which had appeared as soon as they saw him. It seemed no one was going to give him a break any time soon. It made him briefly wonder if Bella would be wearing the same face whenever he finally saw her again. He hadn’t gotten that impression from the two phone calls and numerous texts they’d shared over the last two days, so he had hope that she was the only one left in his corner.

He shifted his pack on his shoulder and gave a nod in acknowledgement. “Hi Charlie.”

“Jacob,” came the gruff reply. “Going to class?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good, good. Bella’s been there since early this morning. Was up at the crack of dawn. That girl is a machine, I tell you!”

Jacob could clearly see the pride on Charlie’s face as he spoke of his daughter, even though he was shaking his head. Even the tone of his voice gave his pride away.

Billy chuckled as he gave his friend a hardy pat on his back. “You got that right! She’s so focused on her studies that she’s been missed around here lately. Sarah and I were wondering where she’s been, guess we know now.”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, she’s been quite the busy beaver. She’s either at the university or in her room studying. The only time I seem to see her these days is when she’s working with me or during the occasional dinner with Renee.”

Billy tsked. “Guess we really shouldn’t complain though. At least she’s focused on the goals she set for herself.”

Charlie glanced at Jacob before sharing a look with Billy. It didn’t go unnoticed by Jacob, but he resisted rolling his eyes.

“That’s true, I can’t complain,” answered Charlie.

Jacob turned towards the front door just as his cell phone went off. He glanced down at the ID and hid his grimace. “Got to go or I’ll be late. See ya!”

He made his way outside, letting the call go to voicemail while he finally took a sip of his coffee. He scowled as he realized it was now cold, which he really hated. Still, it seemed fitting that his coffee matched the dispositions he was receiving from everyone around him lately. It was as if even the coffee was disappointed in him.

He’d set the mug in the cup holder and had just turned on his Audi when his phone rang again. Growling under his breath, he quickly put on his seat belt before answering it. He knew who it was without having to look at the ID again.

“Yeah?”

“Where are you?” came Vanessa’s agitated voice. “Class starts in ten minutes and you said you’d have breakfast with me in the café before class!”

“I said I’d try to, but I wasn’t making any guarantees,” came his gruff reply as he put his car in to drive.

“In other words, you overslept. Again!” she replied, sarcastically.

“No. For your information, I was talking to my parents.” He answered as he drove out of the grounds of his parents home and onto the street.

“Really? So what did your mom say about the wedding?” she asked, enthusiastically.

Jacob rolled his eyes at her sudden enthusiasm. Vanessa could run hot, then cold and back again in milliseconds.

“We didn’t talk about that, Vanessa.”

“What!?! But Jacob…” came her whine, “we don’t have that long until Spring Break! If we don’t start planning now…”

“I know that Vanessa!” snapped Jacob. “But dad isn’t cooperating right now and you know mom won’t do anything to upset dad.”

“Well maybe I should talk to him, he’s always liked me.”

Jacob gaped at the phone in his hand. The woman was obviously clueless because he knew his dad wasn’t fond of Vanessa in the least. Billy had always been honest with everyone he’d met. If he didn’t like you, everyone knew it. Apparently Vanessa had missed that memo.

“Jacob? Sweetie, are you there?” came her sugar-coated voice.

He cringed and silently thanked the gods that she wasn’t there to witness that. Putting the phone back to his ear, he answered her.

“Look, let’s just give mom a little bit more time to work on dad. He’ll come around soon, he always does with mom.”

“Fine. Okay,” he knew she was pouting.

“I’m almost there okay? I’ll see you in a bit.”

She sighed. “Hurry up, sweetie. Want me to get you a coffee?”

He glared at his useless mug in the cup holder. “Yeah, could you?”

“No problem.”

“Okay, I’ve got to go so I can find a parking space.”

“Okay, love you!”

“Ditto.” He hung up the phone and concentrated on getting to the university in record time.

*****************************************

Bella popped the last piece of bagel into her mouth and chewed as she glanced around the crowded university café. She was surprised there were that many people there. Normally the crowd started dwindling around that time, but from the looks of it, a lot of students must have gotten late starts that morning. She shook her head in sympathy before she picked up her coffee and took a swig, wishing she’d been able to sleep a little later than she had.

Lately she had been having trouble sleeping, but she attributed that to the stress that was her life lately. Her school work had gotten more intense these days, so she was constantly studying and spending time at the library trying to stay on track. If she wasn’t in class or studying, she was working with her dad, learning all she could about the family business. So it only made sense that by the time she lay down to sleep, she felt anxious and restless, her mind full of facts and figures from the day’s work.

As she reached for her coffee again, she noticed Vanessa standing in line at the register. Vanessa had a tray with two cups of coffee and a chocolate candy bar. Bella frowned as she looked from the tray to the woman herself. As she looked the statuesque, leggy, raven-haired woman over, she couldn’t see any evidence of the pregnancy, but she realized that the coat she was wearing could be sufficiently concealing the baby bump. That is, if she had one. Bella had no idea how far along Vanessa was and realized she had never asked Jacob during the times she’d talked to him.

The two of them had talked twice by phone and of course he sent texts when he got bored, which she always replied to when she could. The first phone call had occurred the morning after he’d told his parents the news, so he’d kept his word to her that he’d let her know how it went. Unfortunately Billy hadn’t taken the news well and Bella could hear the strain in Jacob’s voice over it. She’d done her best to remain calm for him, knowing he was going to need it.

She’d been right. Billy had wasted no time in telling Charlie the news and Charlie had been just as upset as Billy had been. Charlie had nearly pounced on Bella the moment he saw her, demanding if she’d known about it and why didn’t she tell them. She had told her father that Jacob had only just told her the night before he’d told his parents, so she didn’t have time to tell anyone and besides, it wasn’t her story to tell anyway.

She had done her best to defend Jacob to her father, but when even Renee voiced her disappointment in the way Jacob seemed to be so irresponsible, it had begun to take its toll on her emotions. By the time she had talked to Jacob on the phone the second time, nearly a week later, she was hard pressed to keep her voice neutral sounding. She could tell from his voice that things were unraveling fast on his end. No one, it appeared, seemed to be happy about Jacob’s impending nuptials, not even Jacob himself.

Well, Vanessa was the exception, Bella surmised as the woman happily paid for her items and made her way to the condiment counter. Of course, Bella couldn’t blame her for being happy. What woman wouldn’t be happy to be marrying Jacob Black and have his baby?

She wasn’t deaf. She’d always heard the whispers surrounding him. Most women around campus had coveted the charming, handsome and wealthy young man. In fact, she’d heard those whispers ever since she could remember, so it wasn’t anything new.

Bella watched as Vanessa prepared the two coffees after taking a bite from the candy bar she’d purchased. She frowned wondering if it was healthy for the woman to just have the bar and coffee when she was pregnant. Shouldn’t she have a piece of fruit or something healthier? That looked like way too much caffeine for her.

She shook her head as she watched Vanessa put way too much cream and sugar into one of the coffees then stirred it before replacing the top. Vanessa then put nearly the same amount of cream and sugar in the second cup, stirred, replaced the top and took a sip. Apparently satisfied, she lifted the tray and walked off to find a place to sit.

Bella sighed as she looked away from Vanessa and began gathering her own things wondering what Jacob had ever seen in the clearly flighty woman in the first place. She tugged her backpack onto her shoulder after she’d put on her winter coat and picked up her tray to dispose of it.

As she reached the trash bin, someone bumped into her side. She was about to apologize until she heard a snooty, high pitched voice.

“Excuse you!”

Bella turned to see Vanessa looking down her nose at her. Ignoring the rude remark, Bella gave her what she hoped was a smile. “Oh, hi Vanessa.”

Vanessa tsked. “Oh, it’s you. Shouldn’t you be…I don’t know, at the library with your nose in a book?”

Bella shrugged her biting remarks off, as she dumped the contents of her tray into the bin before putting the tray itself on a stack on top of the bin. “Had to get some grub first. Can’t study on an empty stomach, you know.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“Nice to see you too,” muttered Bella under her breath as she walked away from Vanessa.

Vanessa scowled at Bella’s retreating form and tossed the candy wrapper into the trash bin before going  back to her table. She was just sitting down when Jacob walked in through the nearby doors. Neither one of them noticed Bella as she walked to the drink station with her eyes on the couple’s greeting.

Bella poured a fresh cup of coffee and watched the drama ensue.

Vanessa hopped up and threw herself into Jacob’s arms, clearly gushing over him. They shared a quick kiss until Jacob leaned back and scowled at her. Bella could only guess what they were saying to each other.

The moment Vanessa kissed him, Jacob could taste the chocolate candy bar beneath the sugary sweet coffee she always drank. He pulled himself back and scowled at her.

“I thought you were having breakfast?”

She beamed at him. “I did.”

He sighed. “Vanessa, a candy bar isn’t breakfast! You know you have to eat better than that for the baby. And lay off the coffee!”

“Oh pfft! I’m only two months along and it’s not like that’s all I eat! Oh! I got your coffee!”

She reached behind her and picked up the coffee cup before handing it to him. “Here you go, sweetie.”

Jacob hid his grimace at her endearment, he really hated being called that, but nothing he said could dissuade her from using it. He took a swallow and nearly choked.

“Dang Vanessa! Did you put any coffee in this at all?”

She pouted. “Of course I did! I made it just the way you like it!”

He sighed. “I don’t like sugar, you know I don’t like sugar in my coffee!”

“Liar! You told me you like sweet stuff.”

“Yeah, but not in my coffee!” he scowled.

“Oh sorry,” she said, in a voice that clearly indicated she was anything but. “Listen, I gotta go. Wanna walk me to my class?”

“I can’t or I’ll be late to my own class.”

She pouted. “Fine, see you later for lunch then?”

“Yeah,” he leaned in and pecked her cheek. “Later, Vanessa.”

He began to walk off as he heard her huff. “How come you never call me Nessa, like everyone else does?”

He rolled his eyes as he silently said, because I can’t stand that nickname. However, to pacify her, he looked at her over his shoulder and winked at her as he said, “It doesn’t suit you.”

It worked.

She beamed and flounced off to her class. Jacob waited until she was out of sight before he tossed the coffee into the trash bin with a sigh. At this rate, he was never going to get a good cup of coffee.

(Song: Evanescence - Give Unto Me)

“Hey stranger! Care to join me for a drink?” came a voice he’d never mistake for anyone else other than his best friend.

He turned to see Bella approaching with a steaming cup of coffee held out to him, wearing a welcoming smile. He gave her an answering smile and took the cup she offered. Lifting it to his lips, he took a swallow and sighed as the hot liquid warmed his insides. It was just the way he liked it. Hot and full of cream only.

Bella chuckled at the look of bliss on his face. “That good huh?”

Jacob grinned as he licked his lips. “You have no idea!”

Bella indicated the doors. “Come on, I’ll walk you to class and you can tell me all about it.”

He nodded as he held the door open for her, then walked besides her towards the building that housed his class. “I’d made a cup this morning to take with me, but I got held up by dad and then by Charlie, so by the time I got a sip, it was cold.”

Bella tsked. “Oh right, dad said he was stopping by your house on the way to work. I think he wanted to have breakfast with Billy today.”

“Oh, well, I don’t think he did ‘cause dad was eating breakfast with mom when I entered the kitchen for the coffee.”

She shrugged. “Oh well. So why’d Charlie hold you up?”

“It wasn’t really him. He was just telling me that you’d been up since dawn and were already here at school and of course dad had to go and egg him on about what a perfect daughter you are, but I know what dad was really trying to say.”

Bella sighed as she slipped an arm into his and gave it a light squeeze. “I guess your dad hasn’t changed his mind then.”

Jacob took a long swallow of his coffee before answering. “Nope. He’s still insisting that I do this on my own. If I was irresponsible enough to get Vanessa pregnant, then I’m responsible enough to deal with it on my own.”

Bella shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jake. I don’t know what to say.”

He nodded before he drank the rest of his coffee then tossed the cup in a nearby trash can. They walked in companionable silence for a little bit more before Bella spoke up again.

“So, you had cold coffee by the time you left the house.”

“Yep, then Vanessa called and said she’d have a cup waiting for me when I got here.”

Bella grinned. “I saw her making the coffee. I could tell you weren’t going to like it.”

Jacob grinned along with her. “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver! I’ll be able to concentrate on class now, thanks to you.”

She shrugged. “That’s what friends are for.”

He nodded as they reached his building. “So, you done for the day?”

“No, I’ve got two more classes in a couple of hours. I’m heading to the library in the meantime.”

“Oh, well I was gonna ask you to join Vanessa and I for lunch but…”

“It’s okay, you need to spend time with her.”

Jacob sighed. “Bella…why don’t you like her?”

Bella looked up at Jacob with a sad smile. “It’s not that I don’t like her. It’s that she doesn’t like me.”

“Really? She hasn’t…”

“I know, Jake. Trust me, I don’t think she wants to risk upsetting you by telling you she doesn’t like me. It’s okay, really. Just be with her okay? Oh and try to get her to eat better! She had…”

“A candy bar and coffee, yeah I know.”

Bella smiled and patted his arm. “You should get to class.”

He sighed. “Thanks for the coffee Bells.”

“My pleasure.” She turned to go, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

Wrapping her in a tight embrace, he buried his face in her hair and whispered to her. “I’m glad you’re here Bells. Thanks for everything. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you with me.”

Bella closed her eyes at his heartfelt words and hugged him back. “You’re welcome, Jake. You know I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you. I’ll always be your best friend, like we promised.”

He gave her another squeeze. “Yeah.” He pulled away and gave her a sad smile. “I remember. Always.”

She smiled back. “Always.”

(Evanescence - Everybody’s Fool)

He let her go then, walking to the door and giving her another smile and wave before going inside. Bella sighed as she felt the heaviness in her chest from the look on his face and in his eyes. She could tell that life was starting to weigh on him, the burdens he had to deal with were becoming too much.

Hoisting her backpack a little higher on her shoulder, she made her way to the library with her best friend’s troubles still clearly on her mind. Somehow she managed to find herself on the fourth floor of the library where she located an empty, private cubicle to study in. She dumped her backpack on the floor next to the chair before sliding the door closed and locking it.

Sitting down, she closed her eyes with a sigh. She knew she shouldn’t be taking things that hard, but he was her best friend. As much as she knew it was his life to lead, she couldn’t help but feel for him. She’d always been there for him and even now, when they were all grown up, she couldn’t find it in herself to let him go and figure it out on his own. Just like always, she was there to help him out whenever he needed it, just like he’d been there for her.

Twelve year old Bella stood in front of her full-length mirror wearing a scowl on her face. She reached behind her back and tried fussing with the annoying hooks once more. No matter what she did, the thing just wasn’t going to feel comfortable at all.


She heard the sliding of her balcony door and a “Hey Bells!” as Jacob came skipping into the room.


Her scowl deepened as she grabbed her robe and slipped it on. “What are you doing here Jake?”


He came to a halt at the snap in her voice, making her instantly feel like a heel. It wasn’t his fault she had to wear the dang thing.


“Um sorry,” he squeaked. “Did I come at a bad time?”


She sighed as she closed the robe and tied it. “No, it’s okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”


He nodded. “Oh okay. I just thought I’d come see if you wanted to hang out for a while.”


She laughed. “Let me guess, you’re bored.”


“Majorly!” he huffed.


“Okay, let’s see…what shall we do?” She made her way over to her dresser, looking for something to change into while she thought of something to do with Jacob.


“Um, Bells?”


“Hm?” she asked, a little preoccupied.


“What’s that you got on?”


She looked up at him as she tugged at the robe’s lapel. “This robe?”


He shook his head. “No, under that. What you were messing with when I got here.”


Bella rolled her eyes. “It’s a stupid training bra!”


“A what?” he asked, still confused.


She folded her arms in front of her chest. “A training bra! It’s something girls are supposed to wear when they start getting a shape. Mom’s making me wear it and it really sucks!”


Jacob was still looking at her all confused. “I don’t get it. You’ve always had a shape before, why you gotta wear that now?”


Bella gave him an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me! I’ve never had a shape! Not like our moms do! And I never wanted one! Oh why couldn’t I have been a boy!” She cried out as she threw her hands in the air before sitting down heavily on the bed.


It took a few minutes for Jacob to figure out what Bella was talking about, but he was a smart kid so it didn’t take that long. When he did, he sat down next to her with a smile.


“Oh come on Bells, it can’t be that bad.”


She sighed as she shifted slightly and twisted an arm around to scratch her back. “Yes it can! I hate it! It itches and it’s uncomfortable and I don’t ever want…well I don’t want those…”


Jacob grinned. “Boobs?”


She blushed. “Yeah.”


Jacob lifted his hand, pushing hers out of the way, he began scratching her back for her. Speaking to her in a soft voice, he hoped to calm her down.


“I guess this is part of growing up Bells. We all have to eventually. You know my voice is already changing. It’s only natural for you to change too.”


“I know, but I still wish I was a boy!”


He chuckled. “I don’t. I like you just the way you are Bells. You’re like my mom. All soft and warm. I like hugging you, like I like hugging her. If you were a boy, I wouldn’t like hugging you so much. Dad’s nowhere near as soft as mom or you!”


Bella couldn’t help but smile. “You’re making me sound like a teddy bear or something.”


Jacob shook his head. “No way! You’re much better than that! They’re not always warm! And they don’t hug back! I like hugging you much better than a stuffed bear. Plus, teddy bears just don’t make me feel as good or happy as you do Bells! You’re my best friend! That’s much better than a stupid old teddy bear!”


Bella grinned as she hugged him. “Thanks Jake. I think I really needed that!”


“Any time Bells! That’s what best friends are for,” came his muffled reply from her shoulder. “You know I’ll always be here for you.”


He pulled away and grinned at her. “Always.”


She nodded as she smiled at him. “Always.”