22: Katie

KATIE'S POVMarch 15th

Bella and I have spent the last few days almost exclusively at La Push.

It's easy, while on spring break, but if the wolves can't get the Victoria situation handled by the time we have to go back to school, Jacob will have me under lock and key. Literally. He's been so worried about Bella and I. And I've been worried about him.

Jacob and I strolled down the beach together, hands interlocked. No matter how many times Jacob insisted he didn't care, that he was used to not having privacy... it still felt like I was invading somehow, every time I held his hand. "-we chased her halfway to Canada two nights ago, and she still hasn't returned yet."

"That's good," I said, rubbing the back of his hand. "Maybe you can actually get some sleep tonight."

Jacob shook his head. "I tried already. It's too hard to sleep, knowing she could be heading to your house and I'd have no idea."

"Then... I'll lie and tell Charlie that Bella and I are having a sleepover at Jessica's house and come here instead. As long as Billy doesn't rat us out," I suggested. "But I'm serious. Sleep would be good for you."

He smiled at me mischievously. "You're one to talk, hun."

My mouth fell wide open. "I'm allowed to be concerned for you. It's my duty as your girlfriend, y'know."

That made him giddy. "God, I love it when you say that."

"What?" I asked, laughing.

"That you're my girlfriend."

"Because I am?" I teased, pulling him closer to me.

"Because I still can't believe it. Katie Swan is actually my girlfriend. You know, for a while I had convinced myself that you would never talk to me again."

"Yeah, me too. But I wasn't the one ignoring my calls." Which I was still a bit pissed about, actually.

Jacob took my face in his hands, gently, and leaned down to look me in the eyes. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

I embraced his warmth. "I'll forgive you."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, leaning closer. "I was hoping you'd say that." And then he leaned down and kissed me, slow and sweet.

I hated comparing him and Johnathan. But Johnathan didn't compare, not even close, to how Jacob makes me feel. How his lips feel on mine, how my heart races and my pulse soars when he touches me. When his arms snake around my waist and I melt into him. How he makes me laugh and smile.

How much I love him.

I pulled back for air, and Jacob moved his lips to my neck. "Don't forget, you promised that you'd have dinner with Bella and Charlie and I tonight."

Jacob smiled against my neck. "I haven't forgotten. I am definitely hoping for an excuse to get out of it, though."

I rolled my eyes. "We need to convince him you aren't as big of an asshole as you acted. He doesn't like you very much, at the moment, and that could potentially be a problem."

"Yeah, yeah." He met my eyes again, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

I leaned into his hand. "Did I ever tell you how much I like your warmth?"

Jake grinned cheekily. "Yeah? I run 108-109 now. It's a wolf thing."

I shook my head. "It's a Jacob thing."

Jacob looked contemplative for a moment, staring at our interlocked fingers, and paused. "Before my transition, I was happy. Hanging out with you, I mean. Sam thinks that's why my transition was so delayed. It was just building inside of me, like a ticking time bomb. And then, that night, after your birthday, I went home, and my Dad told me I looked weird. I just... snapped. Almost killed him. My own father." He shuddered, face pale. I squeezed his fingers. "Quil's temperature is rising, too. That's what his grandfather said, at least. I'm worried... he's going to be one of us soon."

It hurt to see him so hopeless. "Is it really that bad, Jacob? Are you... miserable?"

"No. Not anymore." He said quickly, but it sounded genuine. "Now that you know about everything. But before... it was hard. I've loved you since the beginning."

I nodded. I knew how it felt. "I did, too. It was just too hard for me to say anything. I wasn't ready to move on from everything that happened in Oregon. And I still... it's hard to describe. I still feel like I need to forgive myself for everything that happened."

Jake nodded. "I'm here for you, Katie. Bella is, too. So's the pack."

"Thanks," I said quietly. It meant more to me than he could possibly ever imagine.

We walked for a little while longer, until Bella joined us. She had been itching to be out of the house— she wouldn't admit it, but I knew she felt out of place with all of the wolf stuff. She had been welcoming to the imprinting thing. She didn't even sound surprised about anything. She stayed at La Push without complaint. But Bella had never been one to thrive with alone time. And the pack... wasn't thrilled to know that the "vampire girl" knew pack secrets.

"We should go cliff diving." Bella said off-handedly, glancing at the cliff.

I raised an eyebrow. "Bells, it's freezing today."

Jacob stared out at the water. "Can you feel the weather changing? It'll be warmer tomorrow. We can all go then."

I pressed my lips together to contain my laughter. "So, you're a weatherman now?"

"Good instincts. What can I say," Jake teased, voice losing its enthusiasm every minute.

"Alright. It's a plan. But first, we need to get you back into bed before you fall asleep on me."

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KATIE'S POVMarch 16th

First thing in the morning, like we had all spring break, Bella and I drove to La Push.

When we arrived, Jacob didn't meet us out front like he normally did. I was glad— he was probably sleeping, then, like he needed desperately. "Hey, Billy," I said when Bella and I gently came through the front door. "Jacob sleeping?"

Billy frowned. "Er, no. Embry, Jared, and Paul crossed a fresh trail this morning. Sam and Jake went out to help. Sam's hopeful they've got a good chance to finish this."

I felt paralyzed. With fear, with concern, with hope. "Oh no," I whispered. It was all I could muster.

Billy chuckled. "He'll be okay, Katie. Don't worry."

Bella bit her bottom lip. "How does Sam know what he's doing?" Unlike me, who had been given a long history lesson on tribe vampire hunting patterns, Bella likely doubted their skill against Victoria.

"Everything we know has been passed from generation to generation." Billy said proudly, crossing an arm over his heart. "In the meantime, how about you two go take a walk on the beach. The weather is beautiful this morning."

Bella left, and I followed. It felt like I had lead in my stomach. "I feel nauseous," I said dramatically, closing my eyes.

"I thought you said they know how to handle themselves." She didn't say it in a condescending way, she said it like she was worried, too.

"Were you ever... worried about the Cullens? Even though they're vampires?" I asked, and Bella nodded slowly.

We walked in silence a little longer, before I spoke again. "It's just... I've lost a lot, the last few months. My parents, my boyfriend... I lost my best friend before everything that happened the last few days. I just couldn't bear it if something happened to him, y'know? If the universe took it out on him." Saying the words out loud made me feel lighter.

"I know the feeling," Bella exhaled. "Sometimes it's like I can't breathe. Like I'm cursed."

I closed my eyes. "Exactly. It feels like that."

Bella straightened. "Y'know what? We should go cliff-diving."

I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. "Cliff-diving? Bella, doesn't that sound a little reckless?"

She shrugged. "Jacob said he'd take us today. If it was that dangerous, he wouldn't have agreed to do it with us."

I narrowed my eyes. It was sprinkling now, muggy and wet. "Are we sure it's the best weather for this? The water looks... choppy."

"Please, Katie? It'll be a good distraction." She sounded desperate, settled on her decision.

"I don't know..."

"I'll do it with or without you. Do you want to come with?" Her voice sounded far-away. Like she wasn't present in the moment.

Even though I didn't want to go, to entertain this, I could tell she was serious. And I didn't dare leave her alone.

I followed her up the cliff. She almost tripped a few times on the way up, but she didn't say a word. She was so... determined to do this. It scared me, a little.

Especially when I heard her murmur to herself.

"Bella, are you still completely sure about this?" It was raining hard, now, the wind and rain whipping at my clothing. I had imagined that it'd be warmer, so I was only wearing a T-shirt and running shorts. Goosebumps lingered on my skin.

Bella must've been in her own world, because she didn't respond. She just lifted her arms above her head, perched to dive, and jumped.

She jumped feet-first, and I scrambled to the edge to watch her break the water. She went down, hard, and plunged deep into the water. "Bella!" I called, knowing she was too far to hear me. She surfaced a moment later, before a large wave crashed over her head.

The water was too choppy. I had years of lifeguard experience at my local pool back home. So, I shut my eyes. Don't think about it, just jump.

The water was ice-cold. As soon as I hit the water, I propelled myself upward as quickly as I could. "Bella!" I screamed. She surfaced a couple of feet away from me, gasping for air, when another wave crested above our heads. I went under before it could disorient me, forcing my eyes open underwater to try and see Bella.

When I cane back up for air, I couldn't find her. I dived back down under, pushing myself towards her frantically. Where was she? I was panicking now.

I dived down one more time, scouring underwater. I finally spotted her, curled in on herself, a few feet under the surface. I grabbed her arm and began to pull her to the surface. It was difficult, and my arms and legs were burning, but I got her head above the water.

What to do now? We were a hundred feet from shore, and I couldn't pull her back very quickly. She needed CPR to get the water out of her lungs.

But I spotted him, swimming towards me with so much speed that it seemed impossible. Jacob. I almost cried in relief.

"Jake," my voice broke.

"Katie! Are you okay?" His voice was panicked. His eyes drifted to Bella, and he paled.

"She's unconscious. I need you to help me tow her back to shore. Quickly." My arms were already giving out. "Please."

Between Jake and I, it took us a couple of minutes to swim her back in. When we made it back to shore, he immediately started to pound at her back between her shoulder blades. She coughed up water.

I coughed up water, lying flat on the beach. My arms were too weak to do anything but lift me up an inch or two off the ground.

Sam jogged over to us, then, putting a gentle hand on my back as I sputtered. "How long has she been unconscious?"

"A couple of minutes." I wheezed. Sam's hand was warm on my back, soothing my shivers slightly.

Bella's eyes fluttered, and a swell of relief hit me like a bag of bricks. "Bella? Are you okay?" Jacob asked, but she didn't seem conscious enough to reply.

"She's breathing. She'll be okay. We need to get them out of the cold." Sam stood up, leaving me for a moment. Before I knew it, I could feel Jacob's arms around me, lifting me bridal style.

"Jake," I whispered, embracing his warmth. I pushed my face into his chest to soak up all the heat that I could.

"You're okay," Jacob cooed. I could feel his heart pounding. "What the hell were you two thinking? It's almost a hurricane out there. Why didn't you wait for me?" He didn't sound mad. He sounded scared.

"I followed Bella," I shivered. "How did you find us?"

"I was looking for you. I saw you jump in after her."

"What happened today? Did you catch Victoria?" I was desperate to think about anything else.

"No. She jumped in the water. You and Bella spend so much time on the beach..." he trailed off with a jump in his throat. "I thought she was headed back here for you two."

I was silent for a moment, letting that sink in. "Sam came back with you. Is everyone else back, too?" I couldn't follow what was happening in his head.

"Sort of. Most of them are at the hospital." His voice was tight. Like he was on the verge of tears.

"Is someone hurt?" I was panicked now, too. I twisted so I could see his face. My voice still sounded hoarse.

"No. When we got back, Em was waiting with the news. Harry Clearwater had a heart attack this morning."

My breath caught. "Is he going to be alright?"

Jacob's eyes tightened. He looked at me with deep sadness. "At the moment, it's not looking good."

I blinked at the tears threatening to spill. "Oh, Jake." I tugged him tighter to me. I felt... guilty. For making all of this more difficult.

Suddenly, I couldn't feel the rain anymore. We had made it inside Jake's house, and he sat me down on the couch gently. Reluctantly, he let go, assessing me head-to-toe. Then, he glanced at Bella, who Sam had placed on the other couch. She looked mostly out of it, her eyes watering. "I'll get you two come dry clothes."

The silence between Bella and I was awkward, for the first time it had been ever since I moved. "I thought you died, Bella."

She looked at me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry." Her voice was hoarse, but not grittier than mine.

Jacob came back, then, with two bundles of dry clothes. "These are going to be too big on you, but they're the best I've got. I'll, er, step away so you can change..."

I'm too exhausted to move, I admitted to Jacob, making eye contact. My head throbbed with the effort of speaking mind-to-mind. Can you help me walk to the bathroom?

Jacob wordlessly ducked his head under my arm so that I could put most of my weight on him. It took a lot of effort to make it to the bathroom, and then I looked at the clothes miserably. "Stay outside the door in case I need help?"

"Of course," he murmured. I shut the door, slipping out of my shorts and replacing them with his sweatpants. Jacob was right— these pants were at least three sizes too big. I had to tie the string around my waist a second time to get them to stay.

But when it came to the shirt... I could barely lift my arms above my head. Jake, can you help me with my shirt. I can barely move my arms.

He opened the door carefully, hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Please. I'm pathetic."

He chuckled. "Okay."

I slipped my arms out of my shirt, awkwardly struggling to get it above my head. Jake grabbed a bunch of fabric in the back and eased it over my head, trying his best to look away from my bare back. I was wearing a bra, luckily, but it was still... awkward. Despite being boyfriend and girlfriend, the new developments had made it too soon for us to make it... here, yet.

He gently guided my arms and head into his shirt, tugging it down so that I was less exposed. He was so focused, trying to be so respectful, that I almost laughed at him. But it was hard to muster that much energy. "Thanks," I whispered.

Wordlessly, he lifted me back off my feet and carried me back to the living room. Bella had fallen asleep on the couch... and I had to admit, it looked tempting.

"Do you need to go meet your pack?" I asked quietly, dreading to see him go.

Jacob shook his head. "You two need me."

I couldn't help it— I shivered, despite my dry clothes. "Can you lay with me? I need your warmth."

He nodded, taking up the rest of the space on the couch. He pulled me to his chest, pressing his face in my hair. "Don't scare me like that ever again. My heart can't handle it."

I nodded, half-asleep already. "I promise."