Parallax

Chapter 2

There was really nothing uneventful that she could remember. She only remembered Harry because of Sue, Harry's wife. Because in her past and somewhere in this future, Sue was going to marry her father, Charlie.

Charlie. Her father was still alive here. Bella was suddenly aching to see her father again. She missed him. Charlie was the one human aside from Sue that she got to keep her ties after her transition. Renee had moved on with her life and she wouldn't have been able to take it but Charlie did. Even when he didn't understand what she became and why she chose to be changed. She never really told her exactly what she was because of the law but in the long run, she knew Charlie knew. What with Sue in the tribal council, the stories he got to hear and him finding out that his step kids would turn into giant wolves. Even without Charlie's cop instinct, he would have easily put two and two together but he didn't say anything. He never confronted her with her decision but only asked her if she was happy and she truly was and she knew that Charlie accepted her for what she was.

Charlie was a steady reminder of the humanity that she lost and he kept in contact with her even after she left Forks to move on. Bella would look forward to his calls until the tragic accident that killed him and Sue. Bella had beaten herself up because of that. It was during that time that guilt had overtaken her. Guilty of her immortality, that she was alive and her father wasn't. Even after ten years, she still felt that guilt and she knew that with a vampires unchanging nature, that guilt would stay with her forever. Maybe, eventually it would lessen after fifty years... one hundred... five hundred... but it would always be there...

Sometimes she blamed herself. If she had stayed in Forks, would she have been able to prevent their deaths? Now that she was brought here in the past though, knowing what she knows... would she be able to prevent it now? The idea was suddenly appealing to her. If she changed something in this past, would it affect her future? If she would be able to prevent the accident, would death try to reclaim his life and have him die another way? She wasn't sure but Bella had to try. The problem was, the accident was not yet set to happen for another twenty-five years and for sure she wasn't going to allow herself to stay in this past for that long.

She decided that the first thing she needed to do was to find out how she got there in the first place and how to get back to her future, then maybe she can leave Charlie with something, a warning, a sign, anything that would help prevent Charlie and Sue's death. Hopefully that would be enough.

Bella noticed Jacob already setting her down on the floor. The room was dark and she realized that they were back in Jacob's house.

"Let me get you some dry clothes" Jacob went to his room and Bella dragged herself near the couch where she let her head rest. Exhaustion was something she never had to worry about when she was a vampire. Sure, she felt drained whenever she uses her mental shield but it never manifested physically. Suddenly, lying down in a bed seems such an appealing idea.

"This one is too large but it'll have to do" Jacob handed her a large shirt and he was awkwardly looking at the door.

"I... ah... I'll let you change" Jacob started to leave but Bella stopped him.

"No... wait... just... I think I'll just take a nap here... just give me a few minutes. I need to restart my brain" she just laid the shirt on top of her. Her eyes growing heavier by the minute.

Jacob shrugged and went to sit beside her. The last thing she noticed was Jacob snoring before she fell into a dreamless sleep.

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Bella was woken by the dryness of her throat. She rubbed her eyes and saw that it was already much darker outside, from the window. Jacob was still sleeping beside her and making sure not to wake him up, she slowly got to her feet and looked for something to drink.