Chapter 8: Missing

(Song: Nightwish - Beauty and the Beast)

Jacob wanted to throw his cell phone against the wall when he got Bella’s voicemail again. Instead, he hit the end button and tossed the phone on the end table. Sitting heavily on the couch, he put his head in his hands with a groan.

It had been nearly a week since he’d last seen Bella, much less talked to her. Every time he tried to find some way to talk to her, she was always so busy. Just when he felt like he was finally getting time to spend with her, she was the one who was pulling the disappearing act.

He knew he couldn’t hold it against her, after all he’d done nearly the same thing to her while he’d been dating Vanessa. Still, as busy as he’d been, she was always at the back of his mind. He had always missed her and always found himself instinctively wanting to go talk to her about whatever was on his mind, even when Embry seemed to be nearby. Jacob knew Embry had been there because Vanessa had tried to make him a replacement for Bella.

Still, Embry couldn’t be a substitute for the way it had always been for Jacob. If he heard a funny joke, Bella was the first person he wanted to share it with. If he’d gotten good news or something eventful had happened in his life, she was the one he couldn’t wait to share it with. That was why he was trying to see her again.

Something momentous had happened.

He was finally getting his life back and getting his act together again and he wanted her to know it. He’d actually managed to get her to answer her phone once, not long after he’d gotten word from the lawyers that Vanessa had signed the papers and was in the process of going to the doctor to start the paternity test.

When Bella had answered the phone, he could hear her moving about as if she were juggling the phone and several other things. She’d even sounded a bit out of breath.

“H-hello?”

“Bells? You okay?”

“Yeah…sorry, I’m kind of in a rush. What’s up Jake?”

“Oh, I was wondering if we could get together to talk? I’ve got good news!”

“Um hm,” more shuffling could be heard. “That’s great Jacob!”

He frowned at the phone. “You haven’t heard the news.”

“Oh, well you did say it was good so…”

“Yeah, I wanted to tell you all about it.”

“Um, well, can you just tell me? I have to get going soon.”

“I can wait until some other day,” he started, hoping she’d tell him that he could come over soon.

“Uh….hold on,” he could hear her put the phone down and then more sounds like rustling, as she seemed to be moving around. Finally nearly a minute later she picked up the phone. “Sorry…look, I’m already running late, so what’s the good news?”

He sighed. He could tell she was very distracted and not really following the conversation he was trying to have with her. “It’s about Vanessa…”

“Oh? Yeah, didn’t you say you broke up with her?”

“Yeah, I just got word from the lawyers, she signed the papers so now all we have to do is wait for the paternity test and the results.”

“Wow! Congrats! See, told you your dad could help!”

“Yeah, thanks Bells. I mean it’s mostly done, but I still…”

He stopped as he heard voices on the other end of the line, then Bella spoke again. “Oh shoot! Sorry Jake, that’s mom, listen I gotta run! Congrats again!”

The line had gone dead before he’d had a chance to reply and after that, he hadn’t been able to get her to answer the phone again. He had also continued to send her text messages, but she didn’t even answer all of those since she was so busy. Even his mother had commented that Bella was always on the run lately, because she had been unable to go to lunch one day with her and Renee since she had a project deadline to meet.

Jacob ran his hands through his hair before picking up his cell to send yet another text to Bella’s phone.

Miss you.

Once he’d sent it, he tossed his phone back on the table and settled back on the couch to watch television. He knew better than to expect a reply back from his elusive best friend.

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

Bella shook her head as she laughed at the joke Paul had just told her. As she reached for her glass, she asked him, “Where do you get these jokes from?”

He chuckled as he set his fork down on his plate. “The office, where else?”

Bella drank some wine before setting the glass down and nodding. “Right, you did tell me you have quite a few characters working with you.”

He grinned. “Yes, quite a few, but it’s all good. At least the day goes by faster that way.”

“True, you’re lucky that way. Seems like lately things at my job are too hectic and stressful to enjoy it.”

Paul reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. “Really?” At her nod, he continued. “Well then I’m glad we went out again tonight. Looks like you could use some lighthearted activity.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I needed this. Thanks for asking me out again. I’m glad we could do this.”

He winked at her. “Not to worry, we still have the movie to see and if you’re up to it afterwards, I know where we could go to let off a little steam.”

Bella chuckled. “It’s not the bowling alley again, is it?”

He pouted. “Hey! You said you had fun!”

This time she couldn’t help but giggle, “Yeah, I had lots of fun.”

As Paul winked at her again before picking his fork back up to finish his meal, Bella knew he believed her. She really had enjoyed their first date even though the last half of it had been mostly spur of the moment. Now, their second date was looking to be just as entertaining as the first one had been.

Granted, she had to give most of the credit to Paul himself. He was an incredibly funny and charismatic guy. He always seemed to have a smile on his face and even seemed to whistle along with whatever music he’d last heard. In fact, that’s how they had met.

She’d been in the library on campus studying until she’d lost track of the time. Then she’d rushed out of the library, trying to juggle books, backpack, coat and umbrella when she’d smacked into him as he’d been whistling a tune. She’d immediately apologized as he helped her retrieve her scattered belongings and he’d told her she would be forgiven if she went out with him.

At first, she’d thought it strange that he’d just asked her out like that when she’d never seen him before, but he told her that he would make the date fun because she looked like she needed a little laughter in her life. He’d said all of that with a smile and Bella couldn’t help but smile back and agree to go out with him.

At that point, his sister, whom he was on campus to pick up, came out of the library and Bella had quickly agreed to meet him in front of the library the following evening at six o’clock. He’d introduced her to his sister before the two of them had left and Bella was finally on her way to work even though she knew her father was going to wonder why she’d been late.

Luckily, Charlie hadn’t said much for her tardiness.

The following evening Bella had gone on her date with Paul. He’d taken her to dinner at a comedy club which made her  wonder when the last time was that she’d ever laughed that much. After the show, Paul had intended on taking her back to campus, but got a call from a couple of his friends to go bowling so he’d invited her along. At first, she’d declined, not wanting to interfere with his time with friends, but he’d talked her into it. In the end, she’d had a blast with Paul and his friends, who were mostly as laid-back and funny as he was.

Now on their second date, Bella was glad she had found Paul when she had. His sense of humor and easy-going ways made it easy for her to relax around him. She liked the way he always tried to make her laugh or smile, making sure she didn’t think about the things that normally bothered her. Paul made her forget her troubles for a while.

He made her forget about the heartache she’d been suffering lately. The ache that never seemed to go away, no matter how hard she tried not to think about it. It was the reason why she’d been so busy lately. She knew if she slowed down for one second, just a second, the pain would return and she’d be buried beneath it. Now with Paul, he always made sure she was entertained which meant her pain was nonexistent for the time being.

“Well, I’m stuffed!” He announced as he set his fork down. “You about ready? I think the movie should be starting soon.”

Bella nodded, drinking the rest of her wine as Paul went to pay the check. When he returned, he helped her up and they left the restaurant together. Ever the gentleman, he held the door to his car open for her before going to the driver’s side, getting in and taking them to the movie theater that wasn’t too far away. They were going to see the latest comedy featuring one of Bella’s favorite actors since Paul had managed to find out what she liked during their first date.

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

(Song: Nightwish - The Cross)

Jacob turned off the television and set the remote down next to his cell phone. He picked up the phone and headed up to his room as he checked to see if Bella had responded.

She hadn’t.

He sighed and continued to walk into his room where he sat at his desk to try to get some school work done. He turned on his laptop and decided to send another text message to Bella while it booted up.

Trying 2 do some hmwrk. Think u’d B interested in helping out w/ it?

He sent the message then set his phone aside as he began to concentrate on doing his work. Thirty minutes later, he frowned at his phone where she still hadn’t replied to either of his messages. He decided school work was a bust for the night and shut off his laptop.

Finally lying on his back in bed, he sent her what he swore was the last text of the night unless she replied back.

Tried the hmwrk. No luck, got bored. Really miss our movie nites.

He sent the text then tossed his phone on his nightstand before crossing his arms under his head to stare at the ceiling. He wondered what she was doing at the moment that had her so busy that she couldn’t even send text messages. He couldn’t remember a time when not even a few hours would go by before they’d be sending messages to each other. He knew they had lapsed when things had gotten serious with Vanessa, but he’d never failed to answer a text from her even during that time.

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and waited to see if she’d send him a text at all that night.

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

Bella couldn’t help but jump up and down as she celebrated her victory of winning the throw pillow at the game of balloon darts she’d just played. Besides her Paul cheered her on then gave her a hi-five as the game attendant went to retrieve her pillow.

“Way to go Bella!” Paul crowed.

Bella laughed. “I can’t believe I did it! It was easier than I thought it’d be!”

Paul chuckled as the attendant handed her the pillow with a smile. “You’re a pro at this! And you got the pillow to prove it!”

They continued laughing about it as they made their way down the sidewalk towards the entrance to the carnival. Going there had been a great idea after all, Bella decided. After the movie, Paul had driven them to the carnival and as Bella gawked he told her he had seen it driving to work earlier that day and thought it would be something fun to do if she was up to it.

The little girl in her had won out and she and Paul had proceeded to have the time of their lives. They had gotten on a few rides, played several games and even shared some cotton candy. Paul had won a unicorn for her and she had won a stuffed football for him. Then she’d seen the throw pillow with one of the most beautiful pictures she had ever seen of a pair of wolves ironed onto it at the balloon dart booth. So she and Paul had proceeded to play until one of them could win it.

Unfortunately, she had to play and win several times, trading in her last win until she finally managed to win enough for the pillow. The attendant had actually taken pity on her at one point and said if she won the next round, he would skip two steps just so she would be that much closer to getting the pillow. Luckily she had won that round and then it had only taken two more tries before she was able to win the final round to get the pillow.

Now she was walking besides Paul wearing a smile big enough to light up the entire carnival. That had definitely been the perfect ending to an incredibly fun night.

“So, you ready to go now that you’ve got the pillow?” asked Paul with a smile.

Bella nodded. “Yeah, it’s getting late. I should get some sleep if I’m going to work most of the day tomorrow.”

“At least you have a new pillow to snuggle up with,” Paul chuckled.

“And don’t forget the unicorn,” laughed Bella, motioning to said object tucked beneath his arm. He grinned and shifted the football to his other hand, offering her his arm which she slid her hand into the crook of, therefore allowing him to escort her to his car.

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

(Song: Evanescence - Missing)

Bella waved to Paul’s retreating car before letting herself into the house. She smiled to herself as she replayed some of the events of her date. Paul had kept her smiling for most of the night, just like he had on their first date. She chuckled as she recalled the way the two of them had joked and acted like kids at the carnival. Going there had been more fun than she would have thought.

Then there was the way Paul had been a gentleman. Opening doors for her, pulling out chairs and offering her a hand or arm for support. He was truly a gentleman in every sense of the word. Even the kiss he had given her at the end of the night had been nice. He walked her to the door and kissed her on the lips, but it hadn’t gone much further than that.

Then he told her goodnight and she had opened the front door, waiting for him to drive away before going inside. She made her way upstairs, glancing towards her parents room to see if the lights were on. The darkness around their door told her they were either already asleep or still out themselves.

Continuing on to her room, she closed the door behind her, tossed her newly acquired pillow and unicorn on her bed then set her purse on her vanity table. She kicked her shoes off as she pulled her phone from her purse and walked towards the nightstand that held her phone charger. As she walked, she checked her phone and noticed that Jacob had called her, but hadn’t left a message. He had also sent her a few text messages.

The lighthearted feeling she had carried all night seemed to diminish as she noticed those things. Then when she scrolled through the texts, the smile faded from her face completely. He said he missed her. He missed doing homework with her. He missed their movie nights.

Unable to fight it, Bella felt the pain flair up again since Paul wasn’t there to make her forget or chase away her blues. Now she had to deal with the things she had been trying so hard to ignore. She couldn’t ignore the ache that returned with a vengeance at the words she read in the text messages that Jacob had sent to her.

She could feel her throat tighten and her lips began to tremble. Shaking her head in frustration, she set her phone on the nightstand and hooked it up to the charger before stalking back to her vanity table to get ready for bed. As she sat down and picked up her brush, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind to send those messages to her. How could he not understand how much he was hurting her?

Looking up at her reflection in the mirror, she remembered a time when he had told her that he would never do that.

Ten year old Bella lay curled in a ball on her bed, her little body shaking with sobs as she hugged her favorite stuffed wolf to her chest. She was on her side with her back towards the balcony when Jacob finally managed to climb up the wall and entered through the balcony door. He could see her body shaking, matching the soft sobs he heard coming from her.


Without saying a word, he climbed onto the bed, lay behind her, wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest. As she continued to cry, he simply lay there with her, allowing his presence to be the comfort she needed. It wasn’t long before her sobbing subsided, turning into sniffles before disappearing all together. Still, she lay with her back against his chest for a little while longer, as if needing the silence to help compose herself.


Just when Jacob thought maybe she’d fallen asleep, she sat up and wiped her face with the back of her hands.


“Thanks,” she said, with a tentative smile and a voice laden with sadness.


He nodded as he sat up to face her, giving her a worried look. “What’s wrong?”


She sniffled. “Someone was being mean to me…at school today.”


Frowning he asked, “What did this someone do?”


Bella looked down at her hands as she mumbled, “She called me a…dummy…and she said my hair looked like mud…” More tears welled up in her eyes as she finished with, “then she pulled it really hard! It really hurt Jacob!”


Jacob’s eyes narrowed as he watched his best friend trying to hold herself together. “Who was it? Do I know her?”


Bella nodded.


“All right, tell me who it was and I’ll take care of it.”


She hastily shook her head, her eyes going wide and round as she grabbed his hands in hers. “No Jake! Never mind! I’m…I’m okay now! Really!”


He gritted his teeth. “Come on Bells! I gotta make sure she leaves you alone!”


“No Jake! I don’t want you to get in trouble! Lauren got punished already!” she gasped as her hands flew to her mouth when she realized her slip.


She watched as Jacob’s face turned dark at the mention of the girl’s name. Lauren was a bully at school, always picking on those she thought were too goody-two-shoes, like Bella. This wasn’t the first time Lauren had picked on Bella, but it was the worst. Both Jacob and Bella knew Lauren usually went easier on Bella because she didn’t want to face Jacob’s wrath. Lauren still remembered the first and only time she’d had to do that and it had left an impression.


Still, Lauren picked on Bella especially when she knew Jacob wasn’t around. And that day, he’d been taken out of school early to go to a dentist’s appointment. It had been the perfect opportunity she hadn’t wanted to miss.


“I swear Bella! She’s gonna get it!”


Bella shook her head. “You can’t! I already told the teacher and Roxanne saw it too and told the teacher! Lauren got sent to the principal’s office! It’s over…okay?”


Jacob sighed as Bella’s pleading look got to him. He reached out to take her hands back into his.


“Are you sure?”


She gave him a bright smile. “Yeah. I’m sure. You’re here now and that’s what’s best!”


He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her, giving her one of his bear hugs. As she hugged him back, he spoke in her hair.


“I’m glad you’re okay Bells…and I’m sorry she hurt you.”


“I know,” came her muffled reply.


He sat back to look into her eyes. “You know I would never hurt you, right Bella?”


She nodded.


He smiled. “I won’t ever…and I’ll always make sure no one else does!”


She giggled. “Yeah, ‘cause you’re my best friend!”


“That’s right,” he replied as he puffed up his chest.


“Yeah! Lauren doesn’t matter anyway! She’s not my friend! And…and I like having you as a friend much better than any other girl any day!”


Jacob laughed as he moved to sit next to her and threw his arm over her shoulders. “Thanks Bells! I like having you as a friend much better than any other girl any day too!”


They both sat there grinning at each other for a few moments before Jacob added, “Or any other boy!”


That sent both of them into a fit of laughter that had them rolling around the bed, her tears already long forgotten.

Bella caught the wistful smile in her reflection as she remembered that day. Things had been so simple and so easy back then. Why couldn’t things still be that way? She missed the easy friendship the two of them had always had and she missed the way he had always been there to dry her tears.

As she watched a single tear slide down the side of the face in the mirror, she wondered who would be there to dry her tears now.