Falling for Autumn | Jacob Black

Chapter 8 [edited]

The sound of sizzling bacon filled the kitchen as the iPod dock played "Start All Over" by Miley Cyrus. Standing at the stove, I moved my body to the beat of the song as I cooked some scrambled eggs. As soon as they were fluffy enough to my liking, I took the frying pan off the stove and divided the eggs between two plates. Setting the plates on the island, I checked the bacon, pulling the pan off the burner and placing three strips on each plate. Lost in the music, I didn't see Mom walk into the kitchen, an amused look on her face. Turning to the fridge to grab orange juice, I jumped at the sudden appearance of her.

"Good morning," she laughed. I grinned back at her.

"Morning, Mom."

"What's up with you?" She eyed me suspiciously.

"Nothing, I just wanted to make breakfast for you for a change." I set a mug in front of her. "I woke up in a good mood, and I'm not questioning it."

"I'm glad you're feeling happy." Mom took a sip of coffee. "This summer was pretty rough on you."

"It was." I admitted, thinking back to the summer.

Bella had spent most of her time with Edward, blowing off Jessica, Angela, and me for a good portion of break. On top of that, I did my best to avoid Jacob, which proved to be difficult on the days where we went to the beach. Between losing my best friend and my crush, I divided my time between hanging out with Jessica and Angela, and helping Mom out in the bakery. When school had resumed, Bella made a little bit more effort to hang out with us, but she still spent most of her time with Edward, who had charmed the secretary into changing his schedule so he had almost every class with Bella. At lunchtime, she sat with him at a table away from us and Edward's siblings.

"Have you heard from Bella lately? Or Jacob?" Mom asked as we ate breakfast together.

"I see Bella at school, but that's about it. As for Jacob, I haven't heard from him in... two weeks? The last time I went to the beach with Angela and he was there with his friends."

"Maybe you should talk to him first."

"Yeah, okay." I snorted. "I'm not going to chase after someone who clearly doesn't want me, Mom. I can't go through that again. So, I'm just going to focus on school and hanging out with the girls until graduation. Is that okay with you?"

"That sounds reasonable." Mom glanced at the clock on the wall. "You should get moving. You don't want to be late for school."

"It's a good thing I picked out my clothes last night, isn't it?" I teased lightly, causing Mom to smile. "I'll be ready in fifteen minutes."

I kissed her cheek before heading upstairs to change into my outfit for the day. Pulling on my favorite ruby red leggings, I slipped on a long sleeve white shirt and wrapped a red plaid scarf around my neck, flipping my hair out from underneath the flannel material.

After sliding my feet into the new brown knee-high boots Mom had bought me for school, I grabbed my backpack and purse. Bouncing down the stairs, I met Mom in the foyer, keys in her hand. She stopped me as I reached the bottom step.

"Autumn, I can't thank you enough for your help in the bakery over the summer. I don't know what I would've done without you. With that in mind, I'm trusting you to be responsible. Okay?"

"Sure?" I said, confused. Mom smiled before she threw open the front door.

"Surprise!"

I gasped, my eyes widening as I realized what was outside. Parked at the curb was a 1969 yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Mom dangled the keys in front of my shocked face.