*
Charlie was furious when the girls returned home the next afternoon. Sophie didn't blame him for the anger and she apologized profusely once Bella had been sent to her room. The girl was just as mad at Charlie for banning her from seeing Edward.
Her dad didn't want to hear a word at first, but when Sophie kept insisting that she didn't want Bella to get hurt, he began to wear down. He looked tired, the weight of the past few days heavy on his shoulders.
Harry's funeral was planned to be the next day and Sophie felt her heart ache for their family friend. She couldn't imagine the pain of his wife, Sue, and two kids, Leah and Seth.
After sitting with her dad for a little while, Sophie decided that she needed to see Jacob. Her entire life had just changed and all she wanted now was the comfort of her best friend.
She took the roads to La Push quickly, wanting to meet her friend as soon as possible. She knew there was a chance that Jacob was going to be angry with her but that didn't matter.
He was the only one that Sophie could really talk to about the kings and she needed to talk about it, think about what it meant for her now.
Jacob was leaning against his garage door when Sophie arrived, his dark brows lowered in a frown. His arms were crossed over his chest, brown eyes directed on Sophie. She offered him a smile when she arrived but her friend only turned back into the building.
She entered behind him, finding a seat on one of the empty benches. He was working another motorcycle, one that his father had bought for him a few weeks back.
Music from the radio spilt into the room, dancing around the sounds of Jake's tools hitting the floor. Sophie watched him in silence, wondering if he was going to snap at her or if he'd continue to ignore her.
Finally, after another song passed, Sophie decided that she would be the one to talk. She didn't really know what she was going to say but she couldn't stand the silence.
She grabbed a rolling chair and sat next to Jacob. He shot her a look before continuing to screw a bolt onto the bike. Sophie sighed. "Jacob, I'm really sorry. You know I couldn't just let Bella walk into what could've been a death trap."
He huffed. "Neither of you should have went."
"She was right though." Sophie told him. "Edward killing himself wouldn't have fixed anything. It would have killed Bella, too."
He didn't say anything to that, probably because he knew Sophie was right and he didn't want to admit it. She looked to her lap, twisting her fingers nervously as she did. "Jacob."
There must have been something off in her tone of voice because Jacob's head snapped to her, brown eyes tinted in concern. "What?"
She sighed again, not really sure how to tell Jacob what had happened. "I guess a few months ago, Alice had a vision that I was the mate - soulmate - of the kings."
Sophie could feel Jacob's eyes trained on her as she continued. "I didn't know about it until yesterday. Apparently, Alice wasn't sure how to tell me and she didn't until the kings let it slip."
Jacob stayed silent, gaze not straying from Sophie's fidgeting figure. She didn't know what else to say. She still wasn't even sure that she really believed it.
"You're sure?" His voice was quiet. "There's nothing you can do?"
"I don't think so." Sophie replied, glancing up at her friend. Sophie wasn't sure if she would do anything to stop it if she could - the very thought sent panic through her. "They said they're going to visit soon since I didn't want to stay in Italy."
Jacob's jaw clenched and Sophie watched in shock as he threw a screwdriver across the garage. Sophie stood with him, gripping his wrist in her frail hands. "Jacob, it's okay."
His arms wrapped around her tightly and he pulled Sophie into his chest, resting his chin on her head. "It's not okay, Soph. You're getting taken from me."
"I'm not." She whispered into his shoulder. "I'm still here and you'll always be there for me, whether or not I'm the mate to some kings."
He squeezed her tighter and Sophie's heart cracked when his shoulders began to shake. She didn't let go of him, instead tightening her arms around her friend's waist as he cried.
As the events of the past few days replayed in Sophie's head, she felt tears well up in her own eyes, and the two friends cried together.
___
Harry's funeral was difficult for the two oldest Swan's. Bella had attended as well, though she didn't know Harry as well as Charlie and Sophie had. Still, the younger girl held her sister's hand throughout the entire service.
Jacob and Billy sat with them, faces solemn throughout the funeral. Jake had Sophie's other hand, the two leaning on each other like they always did in hard times.
Afterwards, when the funeral was over and they had left, Jacob followed Bella and Sophie home. He had been on edge all day, though his restlessness grew when they had spoken to the Clearwater family.
Sophie kept shooting him looks, though he wouldn't meet her gaze, instead staring ahead of himself.
She ignored her friend for the time being, instead thinking back to the Volturi kings. Sophie felt restless too and she wondered if it was because she was away from her supposed mates.
She wondered if she should talk to Alice or even Edward to figure out exactly how this was supposed to work. When Bella was finally ungrounded, she'd be sure to approach her sister about the situation.
Bella disappeared to her room the moment they arrived to the Swan house, leaving Jacob and Sophie to go up to her own room. Jacob dove right onto Sophie's bed, grabbing one of her pillows and pressing it into his face.
Sophie landed in her desk chair, smiling down at her friend as she did. His chest rose and fell slowly and, after a few moments, Sophie was sure that he'd fallen asleep. She flipped open one of her sketchbooks and grabbed a pencil before beginning to sketch Jacob.
She was just finishing his hands, which were resting on top of the pillow, when Jacob sat up, letting the pillow fall off his face. The boy didn't look at her, instead staring down at the yellow rug that laid under her bed. An expression that Sophie had never seen on Jacob before laid open on his face - Sophie couldn't tell if it was regret or guilt.
"What'swrong?"
His brown eyes shot to her face briefly before returning to the bright yellow rug. For a moment, Sophie didn't think he'd answer her question. His hands were clenched into fists beside him on the comforter, jaw working furiously.
Sophie had just returned to sketching when he spoke up. "Leah and Seth Clearwater both shifted after their father died."
She wasn't sure what to say, so instead she just waited for him to continue. He did after another moment. "We have something similar to vampire mates. Though, instead of mates, we call them imprints."
"Sam explained it to me once because he's the only one who had his." Jacob explained and Sophie knew that he must have meant Emily was Sam's imprint. "He said that when you first see them, it's like gravity shifts and that person is holding you to the earth now. You become whatever that person needs you to be. I thought it was a bunch of bullshit."
"Thought?"
"I think I understood what Sam meant now." Sophie frowned at him. She thought back over the day, wondering when Jacob would've had this moment with something. Before she could decide what Jacob was talking about, he stood from her bed and moved over to the window. "It felt like that when I looked at Leah today."
Sophie loosed a breath, lips falling open to form a little 'oh.' The restlessness and lingering looks of her friend made sense now. She wondered if Leah knew what this meant considering she had just shifted within the past few days.
The girl was eighteen, which made her two years older than Jacob. Leah was known to have a short-temper, though she was incredibly loyal to her family.
"Yeah." Jacob said in response to Sophie's silence. "Sam sat her down yesterday and explained everything to her and Seth, so I'm sure she knows what it meant. Talk about terrible timing."
Seth was even younger than Jake was, only fifteen years old.
"Maybe not." Sophie shrugged, trying to make her friend feel a little better. "Maybe this is exactly what she needs right now."
"Maybe." Jacob said, still facing the window. He didn't sound totally convinced. Sophie got up from her chair and went to wrap her arms around Jacob's waist.
She pressed her cheek in between his shoulders. "Our lives are kind-of shit right now, aren't they?"
Jacob chuckled a bit, his shoulders shaking against Sophie's face. "Kind-of."
The two didn't speak after that. Instead, they both watched out the window as rain began to fall from the gray skies. It almost seemed if the world was mourning with them.
As thunder rumbled above, Sophie's thoughts wandered back to her Italy trip and the three men she left behind.
She wondered if they would visit soon and a part of her hoped that they would, if only to help the almost constant ache in her chest. Some of the ache was for Harry Clearwater but she knew that the majority was for the part of her that was still in Italy.
Her words to Jacob rang in her mind and she thought that maybe they'd be true for her too. Maybe the three kings were exactly what she needed now.
Alice had said that Sophie was recovered in her vision, which left the girl with a million questions. How had she finally realized that recovery was her best option? How had she realized that her beauty wasn't determined by the number on the scale? How had she realized that she didn't need to have control over things?
How had she realized that recovery was worth it? How long had it taken?
A chill ran down Sophie's spine and she pushed further into Jacob's back. Just the thought of not worrying about calories or weight was enough to send anxiety racing through her veins.
Jacob's hands tightened on her own where they met on his stomach, reassuring her like he knew exactly what she was thinking about and she felt herself relax again.
These were questions she could think about later, but right now, she stood in the moment with her friend, wishing for better days ahead for the both of them.
***
to all the old readers, if you can't tell, i am completely rewriting and replanning this books direction. i hope it isn't too confusing.
thank you for reading this far!
pleuvoirx
edited 6.24.2021