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For Bella, this was strangely unusual, she couldn't deny it.
I mean, since she found out about the wolves, and the giant hatred they had for vampires, Jacob was to be expected to dislike Edward, always.
But from the beginning, her best friend tried to understand her.
Jacob was still nervous when the vampire was drawn to the subject, but he always feigned a smile and listened carefully to everything Bella said. Always praising him, stressing how perfect he was, and how much she was in love.
Even if that was not the impression Jacob felt, Bella avoided talking about her boyfriend with him, mainly because she knew the wolf liked her, and even though she had never been in a similar situation, she tried to be as understandable as possible, trying to hide how truly in love she was.
But everything was so different when the two met.
Bella thought that the best time to introduce the two would be at dinner at her house, even if Edward didn't eat. The first few minutes were aggressive, on Edward's part, while Jacob looked scared and sweaty the whole time. However, after that, Edward relaxed and abandoned his protective aura about Bella.
It made her happy, of course it did, her best friend and boyfriend were getting along, even laughing together! There was only one moment that, in her view, was very strange, the time when Jacob had to leave. He, in addition to shaking hands with Edward, also pulled him into a hug.
At first, Bella thought it was an aggressive act, as if showing that the wolf didn't trust the vampire, but something else caught her attention.
Jacob was smiling, just like he used to smile to her.
As soon as the bike left, Bella asked what that meant.
“It's no big deal, don't worry.” It was all Edward said.
If he said not to worry, then she wouldn't.
In just two months, Jacob and Edward were no longer just acquaintances, but have become best friends! In addition, her boyfriend's personality had changed dramatically. He was not alone with his family in the school cafeteria, he now lived surrounded by people, friends, and his mood also changed. Who knew that that ‘moody teenager’ knew how to laugh and make funny jokes?
All of this thanks to Jacob.
She should be happy, right?
I mean, her life was wonderful. She was doing great at school, her relationship with her parents had improved a lot (since her boyfriend didnt breath in her neck 24/7), and she had Edward,a beautiful boyfriend, who really loved her.
Thanks to Jacob, the wolf pack was no longer so threatened by the Cullens, and she visited the reserve frequently.
So why did she feel that something was wrong?
Obviously she realized that, since that dinner, Jacob had not looked at her in the same way. He was not reclusive when their courtship came up, in fact, he always seemed to wait for those moments.
Bella thought this was only because Jacob had actually learned to like Edward, not as a vampire or her boyfriend, but as a best friend.
Until the day she visited the reserve, and Jacob was not there.
She didn't warn Edward, or any of the Cullens, they all knew the wolves were trustworthy and would never hurt her. But when she arrived at Emily's house, she was only received by Embry.
“Bella ?!” He seemed to have been taken by surprise, because his voice came out a little too loud and his eyes widened.
Of course she noticed, but she pretended not to, just smiling in response.
“Jake isn't here today.” He said quickly.
“No? Do you know where he is?”
“He… ah... went out with Seth! To show him... some tracking techniques!” He looked away with every word.
“Called me?!” Seth shouted from the kitchen.
Embry closed his eyes tightly, lowering his head. Bella crossed her arms, frowning.
“Where is he?” She repeated.
He sighed, defeated, finally opening his eyes and looking at her.
“He went out with Edward.”
Bella relaxed her face, opening her mouth, while blinking a few times.
“Oh…”
“Bella, look…” But he was interrupted by Sam arriving in the house.
“Embry!” He warned, “It's not your duty.” He hissed softly.
Sam walked over to Bella, placing his hand on her shoulder, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
“I will ask Jake to come and talk to you tonight.”
Bella didn't know how to react, so she just nodded, turning around, and walked back to her car.
*****
Just like Sam said, that night Jacob went over to her house.
He knocked hard on the door several times, like he was nervous, until she answered.
And he was a disaster.
His hair was a complete mess, probably from driving with the bike without a helmet, his face was covered in sweat, for some reason that Bella couldn't figure out, and his hands were shaking slightly. She invited him in, and they went up to her room.
As she crossed her legs on the bed, Jacob pulled out the only chair in the room and sat across from her.
They stayed there looking at each other for a while, seconds or minutes, until Jacob finally started to speak.
“I have to tell you something.”
She smiled, encouraging him to continue, while he sighed.
“We wolves have something called Imprint.”
A feeling of dread rose in her heart, and somehow, she knew what that meant.
And she was right.
Jacob explained everything about Imprint, how it happens, and the results of it. He even made a point of stressing that Edward could simply be his best friend, and that it didn't have to become something romantic.
But she knew better than that.
Now, it all made sense. All that first time interaction, that hug, those looks that Jacob gave Edward when they were together.
But mostly, she knew that all of this was not just Jacob.
She saw how Edward looked at the wolf, how he let go and felt more at ease, how he really had fun around Jacob.
She knew why Edward never acted like that with her.
As soon as Jacob left, after Bella repeatedly insisted that everything was fine, memories of the past few months flooded through her mind like a bucket of cold water.
They were perfect together.
Jacob was much more interesting, and handsome, than she was. He always seemed to know the right thing to say to make others laugh, especially Edward.
And the vampire felt so at ease around him, so free, in a way that Bella had never seen before. Edward would not need to hold back, restrain himself, with Jacob. The wolf was not fragile, not as much as Bella, and neither would he need to condemn Jacob to eternity, not in the same way.
And when it all couldn't seem to get any worse, the most painful memories surfaced.
The days when Jacob was at the Cullen’s mansion.
Bella hadn't noticed, but Jacob already looked like part of the family. Alice constantly pestered him about clothes she wanted to buy for him, Emmett always teased him so they could wrestle in a friendly way, Esme loved having him around to feed him, Carlisle waited for his moment to ask about the biology of the wolves, Jasper he felt so at ease when Jacob was around, probably because he didn't need to worry to lose control and bite the wolf, and, God, even Rosalie! The blonde, coincidentally, shared the same Hobbie as Jacob, rebuilding old cars.
So, when Bella remembered seeing her best friend, at her boyfriend's house, surrounded by his boyfriend's family, as if they were old friends, she understood.
She understood that this was not her place, but Jacob's.
All that feud of mortal enemies was put aside, since Jacob was already in the family, just as they were his family.
And Bella was never in the picture.
She was an intruder.
A liability.
And that’s it.
She looked for hours at the photo of the school party, the same party that Edward took her, forcibly.
She was smiling, he wasn't.
She had a little fun, he didn't.
She loves him, he doesn't.
And that was enough, for a while, but now, she understood everything. At that moment, Bella packed her bags during the night, unable to sleep. She felt sad, angry, but not with Edward, much less with Jacob, but with herself. How can she let things get to that level?
Because she loves Edward.
Bella loves him, unconditionally.
So, she made a decision, one last time, for the love so strong she felt.
She would go.
She will no longer disturb them.
Bella would walk away from them, both Edward and Jacob, to make them happy. The vampire had been her first love, the first person for whom Bella felt her heart beat a little bit faster, stronger. And the wolf, he was her brother, her confidant, her best friend. Of course, she values their happiness, and if that means she has to leave, then she will.
Of course, at first, the two will be angry with her, for having gone without saying goodbye or giving satisfactions, but maybe, this is the push they need to be together.
And if they are happy, so is she.