Torn: Chapter 19

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: Stephenie Meyer owns all.

Chapter 19: Strategy

I woke early the next morning chilled by the cool spring air blowing in from my partially opened window. With my eyes still closed I instinctively reached an arm out to feel the empty space of bed next to me… it too, was cold. At this revelation my eyes slowly opened and looked around, but finding no sign of Quil.

Disappointment flooded me. He had left at some point during the night.

Part of me was sad that he had left without saying goodbye and also that I wasn't able to wake in his safe, warm arms. Another part of me was grateful because if Charlie had found him here, in my bed, it would have been very hard to explain. I could just imagine the shade of purple my father would turn at the sight of Quil.

Speaking of Charlie… I listened for sounds of him being awake before remembering it was Sunday and he'd most likely already left to go fishing. On that thought I maneuvered my way out of bed and shuffled my way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

When I hit the bottom step, hair still wet from my shower, the phone rang. I darted across the floor, careful not to injure myself, and caught it on the second ring.

"Bella?" Quil's voice sounded through the receiver as I placed it to my ear.

"Quil… where were you this morning?" I questioned with a smile, not even trying to hide my disappointment. The idea of waking up next to him really was quite appealing.

"I had to tell the pack the information you gave me about the leech." My heart sunk and my smile faded. I had completely forgotten about Victoria and her apparent attempts to get to me.

"Bella? Bella?" the voice on the phone repeated, trying to get my attention.

"What? Oh, sorry. I forgot about that."

"Sam wants to talk to you about it if that's ok? The pack will be there too."

"I can be over in twenty minutes if you'd like?" I suggested.

He was quiet before responding. "Wait there and I'll come over and ride with you."

"Well how are you going to get here?" His statement confused me.

"I'm going to run." I could hear the smile in his voice as he told me this.

Of course… he could run faster than I could drive. How could I forget that? "Oh," I answered lamely.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he promised before hanging up.

Not even fifteen minutes later there was a knock at my door. I answered it to find a half dressed, partially wet Quil. I hadn't even noticed it was pouring rain out. Not that I should be surprised, it wasn't an unusual occurrence for Forks.

"Need a towel?" I offered.

"Nope, I'll change when I get home." I laughed as he shook his head from side to side in attempt to dispel some of the water from his hair. The sight made him look like a dog after getting hosed down. I told him so after he asked me what was so funny which caused him to break out in laughter as well.

"The guys are never going to let me live this one down. Come on," he grumbled, but with a smile on his face.

When we arrived at Sam and Emily's the entire pack was already present. The guys greeted us warmly, already stuffing Emily's delicious muffins into their mouths two at a time. Jake shot me one of his signature smiles that I love so much.

I managed to sneak into the kitchen for a single muffin before searching for a seat in the increasingly cramped living room. The only open space happened to be the middle of the couch—right between Jacob and Quil. I noticed that one of the guys had given Quil a dry pair of shorts. The rest of the pack members had situated themselves among the two other chairs available or laying across the floor.

I still hadn't told Jake about my relationship with Quil, if you could even call it that, and I hadn't told Quil about Jake's confession that he was in love with me. This was going to be as uncomfortable as ever.

Sam began speaking as soon as I sat down.

"Alright, so everyone knows why we're here. This leech—"

I cut him off, "Victoria." Their derogatory terms for vampires still bothered me.

He frowned, but continued, "Victoria has become a problem and now that we know what she's after," I flinched, "we can form a better strategy."

I heard both Jake and Quil let out a low menacing growl as they each reached for one of my hands to comfort me. It was an awkward predicament, to say the least that was only adding to the stress of the events taking place, but I squeezed each of their hands back to let them know the effort was appreciated.

"We should patrol around Bella's house," Jake suggested.

Sam nodded his head in agreement along with the others. "That sounds like a good idea."

I looked up to address Sam for the first time, "What about Charlie?"

"We'll keep an eye on him," he told me firmly. I merely nodded, lowering my eyes to my lap.

Sam began his discussion again, "Jake, I want you to patrol Bella's house. You're second in command and therefore the most capable of protecting her," Quil looked like he was about to protest, "You can switch off with Quil when you need sleep." This seemed to placate him for the time being and he shut his mouth.

The meeting ended and the guys left to their activities, leaving Jacob, Quil, and I still seated on the couch.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me," my voice wavered slightly, the sudden fear of the situation finally settling in.

Quil tugged on my hand to get me to turn my face towards him.

"We're made for this. Besides, I told you—I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he stared into my eyes as he told me this, their ebony depths telling me just how serious he was.

"Neither will I," Jake's voice sounded on the other side of me. I could almost feel the tension in his voice. He didn't like the idea of a vampire being after me anymore than I did.

Jake and Quil went to join their brother's outside, saying something about a run and quick patrol since the rain had stopped. I decided to find Emily and see if she needed assistance in making lunch for the guys.

She was in the kitchen as I expected, facing the counter and chopping vegetables for a salad.

"Can I help?" I offered as I entered, making my way towards her.

She smiled warmly at me, "That would be great."

I took over the salad while she went about fixing something in a pot on the stove that smelled heavenly.

"So…," she started, "have you and Quil talked?" Her eyes darted to the side to meet mine and I could see she was grinning. I knew she was really asking if he and I were together now and if I had told him I love him yet.

I shook my head. "No, but we're supposed to have our second date on Friday." I sighed heavily thinking that a date might not be possible anymore. "That is if this whole situation with Victoria doesn't get in the way," I added as an afterthought.

She was quiet for a moment as we worked side by side. I gave her time to gather her thoughts as it seemed she was about to ask me something else.

I was right. "Have you talked to Jacob?" she asked quietly.

"About Quil and I?" she nodded.

"No."

"I know it's none of my business, but I think the sooner, the better might be good on that one," she told me honestly.

Emily was easy to talk to and I didn't have any close friends. Angela maybe, but she didn't know this side of my life. It might be nice to open up to someone. I took a deep breath before blurting, "He told me he's in love with me."

Her stirring stopped briefly and her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh?"

"He was telling me about imprinting. He said he never would because he's already so in love with me. That he'd wait for me," I explained.

Her expression softened as she smiled wistfully. No doubt she was thinking of Sam. "That sounds like Jake," she laughed lightly, turning her attention back to her cooking.

"How so?"

"Jake hates imprinting. He thinks it's just one more thing that takes away his freedom of choice and he's never been one to hide his distaste on the subject."

It was my turn to laugh. "Yeah, that does sound like Jake."

We worked in silence for a minute more as I finished the salad and she set me to work finding plates and silverware.

"So how do you feel about Jake?" she asked cautiously, not even looking my way.

I was reaching into the cabinet for plates and paused. "He's my best friend," I answered simply. It was the only way to describe Jake and I. The lines of our friendship were blurry at best sometimes, but to have him as my best friend was something I hoped would never change.

Thankfully Emily didn't push the question further and fifteen minutes later lunch was served.

The pack returned from their run or whatever they were doing, racing each other into the house to see who could get to the food first. Emily and I were already holding our plates as we stood by the counter and out of the way. It was a given for us to get ourselves food first or risk not eating at all.

We giggled to ourselves as they shoved one another, filling their plates with massive amounts of food. I still wondered how they could eat so much.

The afternoon was light and fun. Joking around with the pack and talking with Emily. I could already tell she was going to be a great friend. It was nice to relax for the time being, to forget about the threat against my life. And this time I really felt like part of the pack.

Eventually things slowed down and I remembered I needed to get back home to make dinner for Charlie. He would be coming home soon and with a cooler full of fish no doubt. Quil offered to ride with me and I happily agreed.

"I'll be nearby until Jake gets here. He should be here by the time you get ready for bed," he told me as I parked my truck.

He leaned over and pecked me on the mouth before running off to the woods behind my house. I took a moment to recover from the unexpected kiss, watching him leave and already feeling the absence of his warmth. My fingers reached up to touch my lips where his scorching ones had just been. A heartbeat later I removed myself from behind the wheel, making my way into my house to wait for Charlie.

As promised, he arrived a half hour later with fish in tow. Luckily he had already cleaned them so I immediately set to work on a fish fry for the two of us. We ate in comfortable silence, the opposite of my earlier meal; the one that had contained nothing but loud noise and laughter.

After finishing the dishes and straightening the kitchen I realized it was time for bed and headed upstairs to begin my nightly routine.

Once showered and dressed I went over to my window, lifting it up to stick my head out.

"Jake?" I called out.

I waited several minutes before I saw him emerge from the trees and walk over to stand under my window. Even with the moon as my only source of light I could see the sculpted muscles of his chest and strong features as he stood. It momentarily distracted me, making me wonder about my response since I had seen him dozens of times before.

"Bella," he greeted.

I swallowed thickly, mentally shaking my head to dispel my thoughts and smiled. "Good night Jake."

He smiled back. "Good night."

With that I closed the window, leaving a slight gap open and crawled into bed. That night I slept fitfully, awaking the next morning more confused than ever.