Charlotte

Five: Pure Dumbassery

I practically fell out of bed, alarmed by the sudden shriek. I thought this had stopped now. I stumbled out of my bed and doorway, it was so dark in this house.

I paused as I watched Dad head into Bella's room, allowing him to comfort the girl. I don't know why I cared so much, she'd been awful to me recently. She was cold, she didn't speak to me, and she was forcing me away from Jacob. It wasn't fair.

"...hanging with Jacob. That seems to help, doesn't it?" My ears pricked up at the mention of Jacob. God. I'm obsessed.

I didn't hear any reply from Bella, but Dad continued, so I assumed that she agreed to what the man was saying. Jacob was making her feel better, feel happy. That's a good thing, so why does it hurt as much as it does? Why did a heavy weight settle on my chest, making it hard to breathe and hard to move?

"Sometimes, you've gotta learn to love what's good for you, you know what I mean..."

My concentration faded, the ache becoming stronger at the word "love". I crawled back into my bed, tears rolling down my face. I pushed my face into Grey, not wanting to alert anyone of my sobs. Dad was under enough stress with Bella, he didn't need me being upset either. And, well, Bella wouldn't care. She's wrapped up in her own little world.

Eventually, I succumbed to sleep, tears staining my cheeks and soaking my little wolf.

---

I should've been happy. I was sat in between Jacob and Bella, so tightly packed that I was practically sat on top of Jacob. I could feel Bella's hatred radiating off of her, her glares boring into the side of my head. But I was sat so close to Jacob, I really should've been happy. But knowing how much Bella hated me for this, it ruined any ounce of happiness that I could feel.

"What if I said that I couldn't have fixed these bikes?" Jake asked, interrupting the horrible silence that we'd been in pretty much all morning

"Doubting yourself Jakey?" I asked, digging the taller boy in the ribs.

"Definitely not, they'll run fine."

"If you'd told me that you couldn't fix them, well, that's too bad, but we would've found something else to do," Bella answered, stumbling over her words. She wasn't the best at speaking if I'm being honest. I glanced at Jake, blushing as I noticed his eyes on me. I was disappointed though to find a frown where his usual pretty smile sat.

"Would you have joined us if we did something different Charl?"

"Is that Sam Uley?" Bella pointed, I didn't even have time to answer Jake's question.

"Yeah, him and his cult."

"Oh my god!" Bella pulled over harshly, slamming on the brakes. I almost went through the windshield. Bella practically fell out of the truck, rushing over to the cliff. I'm not really sure what she hoped to do stood from over here, but I guess it was the thought that counts.

Jacob followed behind her, and I could hear his laughter. His laugh is so pretty. I watched as he rested against the front of the truck and Bella joined him, the two of them conversing about the cliff divers. Bella seemed so happy with Jacob. I didn't eavesdrop, I didn't want to. I didn't want to risk hearing something that would further hurt my feelings.

The duo returned, and again, we lapsed into silence. Did I make things awkward? Was it me?

It wasn't long before we pulled up at the little dirt path that we were using to test ride these bikes. As a true slut, I watched, almost mesmerised, as Jacob pulled the two bikes out of the back of the truck. It was a warm, sunny day, and I could see the beads of sweat rolling down his bicep. God, how I wished he was mine.

"So have either of you even rode one of these?" Jake asked, putting the stand down on the second bike.

"I'm not getting on that thing."

"You're getting on it with me. I mean, this was your idea after all," Jacob teased, giving me that smile, the smile that made me feel so giggly and blush bright red.

"Jake, you're a dick."

"She doesn't have to have a go if she doesn't want," this wasn't Bella's attempt to save me, to stop me from facing my fear. This was her attempt to separate me and Jacob, as if we weren't already separated.

"You look scared Bella," Jacob commented, watching as my sister sat on the bike, her arms shaking despite the warm sun and fleece jacket that she wore.

"I'm not." What a liar. Jacob ran through the workings of the bike, explaining and pointing out each of them. I watched, but didn't listen. I would not be riding one anyways. The roar of a bike filled my ears, and I watched as Bella's face slowly drained of colour, making her already pale face even paler.

"You ready? Now, slowly, release the clutch," Jake instructed, moving from the front of the bike, to the side - the side that I was stood on. He stood next to me, his arms brushing against mine. Bella glanced at us, and then released the clutch. The key point being that it wasn't slow, and she jerked forwards. Why was she doing this? What was she thinking?

"Bella, are you o-"

"I'm fine," and she was off. Me and Jacob watched as Bella made her way down the dirt path, and honestly she look terrified. Her head whipped around, and the bike shook, she looked like she was concentrating on something behind her.

"What's she doing?"

"I don't know Charl," Jake trailed off, "Hit the brake!"

But Jacob was too late, Bella had been flung off of the bike, rolling into a rather large boulder. I heard the sound of her head hitting the boulder from her, and it filled my stomach with anxiety.

"Wait here," Jake instructed, before he rode away on his bike, following after Bella. I watched as Bella sat up, lifting a hand to her head. I could see the blood from here and my vision went dotty. I felt so ill that I missed Jacob taking his top off. I mean, he took his top off! And I missed it!

I'd never been able to handle blood. I remember when Bella was in the hospital after she fell down those stairs, I couldn't go in to her room. I had a panic attack just going into the hospital. I'd never been able to handle blood, not real blood anyways. And now wasn't an exception to that rule.

I can't remember the journey home, my vision was too dotty and my stomach churned. I do remember throwing up the second that I reached a toilet though.