Holding On

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Holding On

Chapter 1

Bella sat at her window, watching as her father raked the leaves that had fallen from the trees. It was autumn, a time of changing leaf colors and the air turned a bit crisp. She watched as her father raked the leaves into separate piles until the ground didn't look so cluttered before heading back towards the house. Sighing Bella moved away from the window and over to her bed where she laid down and stared at the ceiling. Her chocolate brown eyes drifted over towards her nightstand where they landed on the pill bottles settled next to the clock, causing her to sigh again before turning over onto her other side to stare at the wall.

Three years prior Bella had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, between stages three and four. That had only happened after she had woken up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous, which was weird considering she hadn't eaten much at dinner that night, much to her mother's concern. She had thrown up, the noise alerting her step father who was up watching late night television; it was when it was apparent she was throwing up blood did he wake Renee and they rushed her to the hospital. After several tests and finding a golf ball size tumor in her stomach lining, it was determined she had stomach cancer. The doctor said that the cancer wasn't yet stage four, but close to and it was best to keep it from progressing to that. And now here she was, eighteen years old, still diagnosed with stage three to four stomach cancer.

Bella decided to move in with her father in Forks, Washington, stating she wanted a change of scenery and to not burden her mother anymore than she already was now that she was sick. Renee had been against it, but after speaking with her ex-husband, it was decided Bella move in with Charlie, so long as the chief of police keep up with her doctor appointments and get all of her medications. Bella immediately took over for cooking, knowing what she needed to eat to keep her healthy diet going and cooking whatever Charlie may want. All in all, everything seemed to be going alright, though Bella was still bothered by Charlie coddling her all of the time because of her cancer. But a parent is going to worry about their child, so she couldn't blame him.

Hearing her phone chime, Bella sat up and looked at it, frowning when she saw she had a text from her friend Alice Cullen. She was also the sister to Bella's ex-boyfriend, Edward Cullen, and insisted many times that they should get back together upon Edward's attempts to woo her again. The reason behind their breakup was due to Edward seeing and fucking his ex Tanya behind her back, though he claims it meant nothing and was a mistake; Bella wasn't buying any of it. Anyway, Alice wanted to know if she wanted to go shopping, knowing good and well that Bella hated the very idea of it, let alone actually doing it. Just before she could text back a reply, Charlie yelled, "Bella, Alice is here to see you!"

The brunette groaned and got off of her bed, putting her shoes on and grabbing her jacket before heading down the stairs. As soon as she reached the bottom where Alice grabbed her arm, she looked at her dad and said, "We're going shopping."

Charlie's eyebrows rose before he nodded, telling the two girls to be safe. He knew how much his daughter hated shopping, and being friends with Alice meant going to the mall more times in a week than she would've liked. He gave a wave as they walked out of the house towards Alice's yellow Porsche and pulled out of the driveway.

"Alice, this is like, the twentieth store we've been in and we've been in here for half an hour already. Are you going to buy something or not?" Bella asked, slightly agitated with her friend who was still trying on clothes in the dressing room.

Alice let out a huff from behind the curtain and answered, "Yes, I am. Just give me a few more minutes to decide."

Bella rolled her eyes and decided to leave the store, opting to sit on a bench outside of the store and wait for her. She had only been sitting there for about five minutes when a voice said, "Bella?"

Looking up Bella saw a tall, russet skinned teenage boy standing in front of her with a kind smile on his face. Frowning Bella tried to remember if she remembered who this boy was, if she ever had met him. Realization dawned on her after a moment and Bella gave back a smile saying, "Hey, Jacob."

Jacob grinned and sat down next to the brunette before saying, "Long time, no see. What are you doing back here in Forks?"

"Living with Charlie," Bella answered.

"You mean you've moved here?"

"Duh."

The two of them laughed before Jacob said, "That's great. Hey, you should come over to the Reservation sometimes."

Bella smiled and said, "Maybe."

Jacob nodded, taking the answer as it was before another voice calling out to him caught their attention. Looking with her old childhood friend, Bella saw two more russet skinned boys standing not too far off waving their friend over. Jacob stood and said, "I'll see you later, Bella."

Bella nodded and watched as he ran off, a small smile on her face as he left. The smile immediately dropped from her face as an intense pain went through her stomach. She went to find Alice, who was checking out, and requested she take her home. Twenty minutes later, Bella was lying on her bed after taking medication while holding her stomach, trying to will the pain away.

Charlie walked into her room and sat on her bed, rubbing her side soothingly. They stayed in silence for a while before Charlie said, "I'll make you some oatmeal. I can at least make that."

The brunette smiled a little and replied, "Thanks dad."

The man nodded and leaned over to kiss her temple before saying, "It will get better, kiddo. And one day the cancer will be gone. But until that day, just know that it will get better."

Bella nodded and watched as he left, knowing he was right but wondering if it was really true. Closing her eyes, Jacob came to mind and his face appeared, smiling at her. She knew Charlie was still friends with Billy, and Jacob had requested she visit La Push. She decided to ask Charlie about it when he returned with her oatmeal, wondering if reuniting with her old friend would bring a much needed change in her life.