Torn: Chapter 4

When Jacob ignores Bella in New Moon she develops a friendship with Quil. They become close and then he too makes the change into a werewolf. What will happen in this Quil/Bella/Jacob triangle?

Title: Torn

Rating: T

Penname: Katbug86

Characters: Bella & Quil Jr.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I just wish I owned the wolf pack!

An: Now beta’d by Buff82! She’s the genius behind making these chapters new and improved.

Chapter 4: Getting to Know You

Walking into Quil’s house, I took note of the average living room in front of me. There were a set of couches facing a small television, a quaint looking coffee table with mismatched end tables, and simple decorating tastes throughout. I smiled at how the whole room just seemed to fit together perfectly despite its imperfections.

“Mind if I borrow your bathroom again to change?” I inquired, holding up the clothes I had worn earlier.

“Yeah, sure, remember where it is?” I nodded and headed down the hallway.

Less nervous than I had been that morning, I looked around, taking notice of the photographs hung on the wall. A few family portraits were mixed in among the many of Quil as a child. There were two other doors in the hallway as well, one of which I assumed was Quil’s room, the other being that of his parent’s.

Changing quickly, I sat my wet clothes over the side of the tub to let them dry. The door across the hall opened just as I opened the door to the bathroom and Quil appeared, having also changed his clothes. We both smiled, more comfortable with one another after our day spent together, and he motioned for me to follow him.

He led me towards the living room and then veered right into what I realized was the kitchen. Sitting down on one of the table chairs, I watched silently as Quil opened the refrigerator and shoved around its contents for a few minutes.

“So….looks likes turkey sandwiches. That ok with you?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Sounds perfect, have any chips to go with?” After grabbing the necessary items out of the fridge and placing them on the counter, he reached to open a cabinet producing a bag of Doritos.

“These work?” He grinned widely while holding up the bag.

Standing up to help him, we worked side by side making our sandwiches.

Placing them on paper plates, I grabbed the bag of chips as he found us a couple sodas, and we both sat down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen. Immediately, I took a large bite followed by a long swig of the cool beverage. I was about to open my mouth and begin a conversation when Quil beat me to it.

He swallowed his bite of turkey on wheat, looking me in the eye. “Have you always been a fan of extreme sports? Or did you just feel like jumping off cliffs today?” he asked in an amused voice.

“Well, Jake-,” I paused briefly as the memories of my once best friend came into my mind, “Jake taught me how to ride a motorcycle. Remember the ones in his garage when we first met?” I paused again for him to answer.

He nodded his head so I continued, “Once Jake had them fixed up we went riding around some trails. I got pretty good after the first several trips to the emergency room.” At that last comment I heard Quil snicker.

“Somehow that does not surprise me in the slightest.” I lightly smacked his arm, pouting playfully. He faked hurt and rubbed his arm, laughing at me even more.

I continued biting into my sandwich while also grabbing a handful of chips. Quil at that point was already onto and almost finished with his second one. “So what about you? What do you do for fun around here?”

Quirking an eyebrow, I popped another chip into my mouth, crunching it loudly as I waited for him to respond.

Quil frowned a little, and I realized too late that my question would probably remind him of the two best friends that, until as of recently, he had spent most his time with. “The guys and I would go cliff diving or swimming at the beach when the weather was nice enough. Jake taught me everything I know about cars, and I’ve taken to fixing them up myself when
I get the chance. But now that—well, you know—I’ve been playing video games, walking the trails, and working on school work a bit more than usual.” He gave out a humorless laugh at the end of his statement.

“You’re a sophomore too?” I questioned, taking a swig of soda.

“Mmmhmm,” he murmured with his mouth full of Doritos. “You?”

I giggled a bit as crumbs fell from his mouth. “I’m a senior this year. Graduation is in a few months.”

Quil made a grunting sound, and I shot him a questioning glance. “I’m not sure I’ll make it to graduation unless my classes suddenly get a heck of a lot easier.”

“I could help you if you want?”

His whole face brightened at the idea. “That would be great!” I grinned at his enthusiasm.

“Why don’t you come by my house after school tomorrow?” I gulped the last of my drink. “What subjects are you having trouble with?”

He snorted. “All of them.” We both laughed loudly at that. “Hey, want to stay for a movie?” he asked, standing up to throw away our trash.

I stood up, grabbing the bag of Doritos and rolling the top down to keep them from getting stale. “Let me guess…you’re a fast car movie kind of guy?” It didn’t escape my knowledge that that was the first time I’d felt ‘alive’ enough to joke around with someone.

“And you’re a sappy chick flick kind of girl?” he retorted.

I rolled my eyes dramatically, “Not a chance.”

“Good.”

I replaced the chip bag in the cabinet, and then followed Quil back into the living room, seating myself into one of the far sides of the larger couch. “Your house, you choose,” I demanded with a smile.

It was Quil’s turn to roll his eyes, “Fine.”

He settled on some movie that seemed to be action packed but not a ‘fast car movie’ like I had joked about earlier. I didn’t pay attention to the title but kept my eyes on the television screen while it played. Quil had seated himself on the other end of the couch, sprawling his legs across the length of the cushions until his feet brushed slightly against my leg.

My thoughts drifted away from the movie that was playing while I reflected on the day. I never thought that I would be able to let go and have as much fun as I did, but it was refreshing. Jumping off those cliffs with the air rushing across my face was a feeling I couldn’t quite describe.

Quil made for the perfect company as well; I hadn’t thought of Jake and the loss of our friendship for most of the day. Hell, if I was being honest with myself, I hadn’t thought of Him for most of the day either; that, in and of itself, was a relief for my still broken heart. I could feel that the pain was less now. It was no longer hard to breathe at every thought, and I no longer felt I needed to hold myself together. Maybe Quil was really good for me.

I was brought out of my own thoughts when I felt Quil scoot closer to my side. “You seem pretty lost in thought there.”

I felt a blush creep up and across my cheeks. “Sorry, just thinking about how much fun I had today.” He reached out and placed a warm hand on top of my own, resting both on my leg. Once again, it just felt natural, as if we’d always been that way around each other.

“Me too.”

After the movie had finished I said my goodbyes to Quil, telling him I needed to get home to make dinner for Charlie. Grabbing my nearly dried clothes, I headed out to my truck and started the quick drive back to Forks.

When I pulled up to the house, Charlie’s cruiser was still gone just as I expected it would be. I turned off the roaring engine and headed inside, flipping on the light just inside the door. Removing my boots, I then took my dirty clothes to the laundry room to dump into the washer. Once it was started I settled into preparing dinner for both Charlie and myself.

Once the food was in the oven cooking I headed upstairs for a much needed shower. The salt water smell still stuck to my skin, and my hair was a complete mess with bits of sand in it. I started up the water, peeled off my clothes, and stepped in.

The steaming water felt wonderful against my skin, washing away the dirt and grime from my day outside. I rubbed my hand into the crook of my neck, groaning as I stretched. I hadn’t realized how sore I was feeling; the impact of my body hitting the water over and over with such force no doubt the cause of my pain. The warm pulsing shower helped relax my muscles while I stood there for several moments letting the spray of water run over my shoulders and back. I continued on, shampooing my hair and washing up so that I could be done before dinner finished cooking.

I had barely gotten my sweats pulled on and my hair thrown up in a ponytail once again before the phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered, out of breath from running down the stairs and skidding into the kitchen to catch it on the third ring.

“Bells? Everything alright?” Charlie’s concerned voice sounded from the other end.

“Yeah, fine Dad.”

“Listen Bells, I’m gonna be working late tonight, you good by yourself?”

“I’m fine,” I reassured him. “I’ll leave a plate of dinner in the oven for you to head up when you get home.”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye Dad.” I replaced the phone in the receiver just in time for the oven timer to alert me dinner was ready. Fixing myself a plate, as well as, Charlie, I placed his in the oven as promised. After putting the remaining food into a container and setting it in the fridge, I sat down at the table. I ate, alone, enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening. Once finished, I washed the dishes and made my way up to my room.

Not quite ready to go to bed, I decided to check my email. It had been awhile since I had gotten around to checking it, and Renee had probably already filled my inbox. After starting up the decrepit old computer, I found three emails—all from my mother. I laughed lightly to myself at well I knew her.

I skipped the first two and only read the last one.

Bella-


How are you doing? How’s Jacob? I haven’t heard from you! Please write back soon!


-Mom

I decided to not tell her about Jacob and my friendship fallout and instead let her know some truth without revealing too much.

Mom-


I’m fine. School is going great as well. I made a new friend, Quil, he’s a friend of Jake’s. We went cliff diving today… can you believe it?! You have to try it sometime, it’s absolutely amazing. How are you and Phil?


-Bella

I hit send and then shut down the computer before crawling under my sheets and comforter, pulling them up to my chin. I expected the nightmares to come as they had been, but instead, I drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.