Loving Bella by Elizabeth Bonet (books suggested by bill gates .TXT) 📖

she was thrilled to see Bella up and alive again.
“Do you know what everyone was thinking when they saw your face after Mason left? Honestly?” Bella shook her head no. Chloe sighed exasperatingly. “They thought that someone had died! The past few months were just awful! With you moping about not even a shell of your former lively self! It was terrible!!!”


Chapter eight


Bella dipped her head causing black waves to block her face form view. Chloe sighed and placed a hand on Bella’s shoulder. “It’s ok sweetie, you’re better now. It’ll all be forgotten soon.” Bella shook her head in exasperation. Turning her face away from Chloe she spoke. “I just can’t believe I made such a fool out of myself! And everybody knew it except me…Its just too much to bare.”
The older girl turned her face to meet Chloe’s pasture green eyes and smiled. She pulled the younger, frailer girl into a tight squeeze before turning her away to play with her hair. Twirling a red curl on her little finger Bella giggled. “What?” Chloe asked curiously. Bella started laughing uncontrollably.
“Oh dear,” Chloe turned around to see Jacob tickling Bella at the back of her neck. Her breath caught in her throat. “Jake.” Little did she know that She had spoken her thoughts aloud. Jacob stood up to his full height of 6’2” and cocked his head to the side. “Chloe?” His deep voice rumbled like thunder causing her to melt into her shoes. Bella too looked at her in confused interest.
She sputtered. “Oh! Nothing I was getting on to you that’s all.” Bella muffled a cough. Heat crawled up the back of Jacob’s neck turning his face red. He bent down to kiss the top of Bella’s head and ruffled Chloe’s hair. He strode to the door outside the fellowship hall and walked in. Bella looked at Chloe when she heard a noisy, high pitched sigh.
The brunette quirked an eyebrow in her direction causing Chloe to blush to the color of her hair. “What?” She asked a little too defensively. “You like him! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I never noticed it!” Chloe was redder than a tomato. “ Oh please don’t tell him Bella! I couldn’t handle it! Especially seeing how he acts around you.”
Bella laughed in her face. “Chloe please! He’s my best friend he couldn’t possibly…Oh great!” Bella groaned and placed her head in her hands. Chloe laughed. “It’s ok you should enjoy it. Especially since Mason isn’t here. Not like you were dating him anyways. Besides I’d kill to have him like me…” Bella smiled sadly, placing a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “Just don’t kill me please.”
They were both laughing as they made their way across the grass and into the church for lunch.

~*~*~*~

Mason passed a long fingered, tanned hand through his red cropped hair. He sighed as he looked over the letter his mother sent him. She missed him it was clear but he knew she had tried her best to hide her own emotions as she filled him in on all the latest news in Florida. In her past letters she had written that not long after he left, Bella had gone into a state of depression.
But in her latest bubbling letter she stated that Bella seemed overflowing with joy now and seemed to be accepting the attentions of Jacob very enjoyably. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they got together soon. Oh, what a lovely couple they’d make! Don’t you think?” A curse spewed from Mason’s lips. He dropped the paper as if he had touched a hot iron. “What?!” Bradley asked after seeing and hearing Mason’s reaction. “Apperantly little miss Isabella DeloBuono has found another lover and has forgotten about me.”
Another curse was shot into the air before silence ensued. “Mason?” Bradley strode over to sit next to the redhead on the floor in front of his bunk. The older man placed his hands in between his knees as he waited for Mason to acknowledge him. The younger man bobbed his head for Bradley to continue.
“Then maybe it’s time you move on as well… Maybe that’s what your God has in mind for you. Maybe, she’s not the one and he wants you to be with someone better, only if you allow him to. And just maybe the only way to let him do that is if you give your heart to him instead of Bella.” Mason looked up at Bradley. His green eyes were as big as moons.
“How? When… Where did you learn that? To talk like that?” Bradley shrugged. “I
don’t know. It just came out so freely and unlike me.” Both men stared at each other
before Mason teared up and began to convulse. Bradley ran a finger in between Mason’s
shoulder blades “Its ok buddy. You’ll get through this. Bella went through the same mess
maybe even worse seeing as how she’s a girl.” Mason’s sobs grew louder. Bradley saw no
hope for it.
The older man wrapped his large arms around his friend as tenderly as if he was a
child. “Maybe it’s time to tell him. About all my secrets. God help me.” “It’s ok man,
it’ll pass.” Mason jerked back to stare at his friend. “It’ll pass?! You just don’t
understand! I love her! You’ve probably never loved any one besides yourself in your
entire life! How could you ever know what I am going through?”
Mason knew he had said too much and he half expected to feel a sharp pain along
the side of his jaw in a matter of moments. But instead Bradley’s face turned to stone as
he stood up shoving his hands in his pockets. “Me wife left me for my brother. And she
took my little girl with her. She was only three so she wouldn’t remember a thing about
the whole thing. Including how I was her father instead of Jonathon.”
“It hurt like someone had clawed through my chest with their bare hands and tore
my heart out. Stomping on it until it was nothing but a puddle of blood on the ground.
Compared to me your ‘pain’ is nothing but a splinter in your finger. So don’t you dare
tell me I know nothing about pain!”
Bradley stared at the floor knowing if he moved he would be in danger of severely
hurting someone. Especially Mason at the moment. Mason gawked at the man before him
in disbelief. He was right, he certainly knew nothing about anything. That was the reason
Bradley was here. The reason he didn’t claim his ‘family’ as his own.
Mason was frozen to his bunk staring at the man in front of him. Suddenly his lips
went dry causing him to have to lick his lips for some amount of moisture. He lifted his
head up to look the older man directly in the eye. “You know what? I think its time we
pay ourselves a visit to the chapel.”

~*~*~*~

Jacob had her cornered. His prey, and right where he wanted her. But she didn’t
care. Bella looked up affectionately and sweetly from underneath her sooty lashes.
She reached up to grab the wrists of the man who had her caged against the wall
behind her. Lightly tugging down on them Bella played that she was annoyed with
him.
“Jacob!!! Stop it…” She cooed. Jacob leaned his tall frame towards her and
winked. “More? Your wish is my command your highness.” Bella placed a hand firmly
against his broad chest and cocked a hip to the side. Her face turned serious as she
scolded him. “I’m serious Jake. Hugs are fine. I’m just not… ready for that type of stuff
yet.”
Jacob’s jaw hardened. He dropped his arms as if he they were scalded and began to walk away. Bella was still against the wall in confused shock. She stuttered as she ran behind to touch a hand to his shoulder. “Jake, wait! Please wait.”
Jacob tensed at her touch and clipped his jaw. Turning slowly to face her he
grabbed her arms right above her elbows and pulled her to his chest. “Why Bella?
Because I’m not O’Cullen? Is that it? I have always loved you when that jerk did nothing but hurt you! He left you and lied to you! How could you still love him? Why won’t you except the fact that he doesn’t love you?”
Tears pulled up in Bella’s eyes. Shaking her head softly she mouthed a silent ‘never’. “I won’t share you with another man.” Bella’s brow knitted together in thought. “What’s that supposed to mean?!” “It means that unless I’m the only man in your heart then we are not happening.”
“We? I never knew we were together.” Jacob ground his jaw and began to turn away again when Bella caught his arm. “No wait! You can’t leave me Jake. I love you!” Jacob sighed, brushing her hand off of his arm, he pushed her against the wall. “Enough to let me do this?” He dipped his head to brush her lips with his own. Most carefully as if just to reassure himself of what he was about to do.
Just as their lips met they heard a gasp from behind Jacob’s back. Bella pushed Jacob away from her and walked around him to see Chloe looking on in shock. Jacob groaned and began rubbing his jaw. “I’m sorry.” He walked away leaving the two girls to themselves.
Bella felt all she could do was stare. She felt terrible, she knew she was the worst person in the world. Especially just now with what she had done to Chloe. Bella sighed and took a step backwards so she would meet the wall again. She slid down it until she met the floor. The older girl looked