Jacob Black's Imprint

23. Still

Jacob POV:
Time seemed to stand still in this room. In the back of my head I registered the shadows shifting along the walls as the sun moved through the sky, but the only thing I was focused on was the unconscious girl on the bed in front of me.

The center of my attention was solely on the steady beat of Katie's heart and the constant soft sound of her breath as it brushed over her lips.

Paul had come in earlier. He was emotional to say the least, but trying hard to keep it together. His mom, I guess Katie's mom as well, died when he was young (after Katie's birth) and he didn't have much in the way of family. He came in and sat by Katie's side, talking to her in that brief, terse way of his. Paul didn't seem to mind that she was unconscious the whole time. He told her it was cool to have a sister and that he hoped she would keep up her reputation of not being the 'stereotypical girlie girl' cause he didn't know if he could handle that.

I monitored them the whole time. I felt...detached in a way. Like the a part of me had shut down and they would only resurface when Katie did as well.

Paul turned to me and talked about how he didn't know how he didn't realize what Katie was sooner. Something about how her phasing made her scent strong enough to smell her true heritage. Which was probably true, but the part of my brain that spoke and connected with others, it was asleep right there with Katie.

Paul sat with Katie in amiable silence for a while and eventually left, clapping me on the shoulder as he walked out.

I could hear voices outside the door.

A muffled, "Yeah, she's fine. Sleeping it off. It's Jake I'm a little worried about. He hasn't moved."

"Well that makes sense, it's his imprint. Bella and Charlie are coming over for dinner soon. Sam and Billy went over to 'invite' them. They're also going to corner Bella and confront her about what the issue was at the border today."

The voices moved away. Bella. Bella was coming. Good. Good.

She could explain what the hell was that situation at the border. And why the hell she felt the need to corner me with those bloodsuckers to that extent.

Bella and I were friends. Or so I thought. Why couldn't she have just come to me privately? Why couldn't she have shared her concerns with me one on one? Why did she do this? How could she do this me? To Katie? Cause that's who was suffering here. I had resigned myself to my fate, of being trapped in this existence. I was in a dark place for a while, when I first phased. I was malcontent over the fact that my life was over, that I was stuck here, permanently. I was just pulling myself out of that dark place, just realizing that I could maybe make the best of this.

And then she showed up. Katie. She was a shining star, the sun, lighting the way back to my happy place. And she was at the center of it. She was bright, and vibrant, and happy, and wonderfully weird, and perfect. We were going to be happy together.

And now this. I didn't want Katie to be in the dark place. She was too good for that. And if I am being honest, she was much to good for me.

I sighed, and hung my head, running my fingers through my hair. Maybe...maybe Katie would've been better off without me.

Maybe Bella was right. Maybe I didn't deserve her. Oh, this was too much. I was feeling too much. God, how did Sam live like this? How did he even do anything without the guilt of hurting Emily drowning him?

The sound of the door opening and closing interrupted the stream of my depressing thoughts. The mortality of Charlies scent hit me, along with Bella's, still having faint traces of those bloodsuckers scent on her.

That smell, it sent me into a cold rage. My muscles clenched, the hair on the back of neck stood up, and my body burned with the need to phase.

But one look at Katie calmed me. She looked so beautiful. So strong and sure. And no matter what the situation I know that she wouldn't want me and Bella to fight.

I sighed. Leaning back in the chair and then forward to push myself up into a standing position I walk over to Katies side. My hand brushes over her cheek and the shell of her ear. Her skin is so soft and God, she smells so good. I lean down and brush a kiss to her cheek.

"Please, please wake up soon. And try not to hate me." I said to her sleeping form, and turned away. But when I was halfway out of the room, I spun suddenly and went back.

Hugging her sleeping form close, I took a steadying breath and added, "Come on, wake up. Wake up and kick my ass for what I'm about to do. Cause Bella's here and I don't think I'm in the right frame of mind to be very polite. You know you want to, you love mocking me."

My throat became tight and my voice hoarse, "You haven't even told me how freakishly tall I am today. What's that about? You've always been one for consistency."

"I know you're just taking a well needed nap but you gotta wake up soon. I miss you. It's only been a few hours and I miss you."

Putting my forehead against hers, I cradled her closer. "Plus we've got our homework date tonight and it'd be so rude of you to stand me up. I'd never let you hear the end of it."

Taking a deep breath I disentangled myself from her and stood up. I could hear the clamor of food being prepared. Another deep breath in and out.

What a wonderful dinner we were about to have.