A/N: Warning. If you are a rabid team Edward, and think he can do no wrong, do not read this. You will hate him in this one. But that might just give you some room to love Jasper ;)

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own any of these characters. I just get to mess around with them, and the world they inhabit.

A sharp pain coursed through me the moment I saw the bruise. It wasn't the first one I had received, not by a long shot. It was just the biggest one he'd ever given me. It never hurt while it was happening. I had learned to make myself go limp, and make my mind drift off to a happier place.

This time it was different. He was angrier, more brutal. I wouldn't be shocked if he had broken a rib. I was just to scared to get myself checked out. I admit though, I brought it all on myself. I shouldn't have let that guy notice me like he did. Only I could be that stupid.

=*=

"Will this be all for you?" The guy behind the counter in the convenient store was sweet looking, so I nodded nicely with a tiny smile. I saw that he looked at me longer than was appropriate, but who was I to do anything about it?

He rang up our things while Edward stayed close behind me. He never let me go anywhere alone anymore. His hold on my hand grew tighter when he noticed the guys longing stare.

"Your total will be $11.74"

I handed him the money not expecting the next thing he would do.

"I just have to say, you're very pretty. You're a lucky guy." He gestured to Edward who's grip on my hand had grown so tight I could feel all the blood rushing out of it. I simply smiled at him, and took the bag with our things. I knew what was in store for me when we got home. Edward was pissed, and he wasn't gonna show any mercy this time.

The short drive back to our apartment was full of tension. The typical nervous feeling was making my palms sweaty. I was able to contain the tears as we walked into the building, and even the incredibly long wait in the elevator, but once we got inside he floodgates collapsed.

"Edward, I am so sorry." I begged him while the tears fell freely down my face.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking whore!" He grabbed my hair tightly, throwing me down on the floor. I didn't tense up like I always did in the beginning. Instead, I just flopped onto the floor hardly feeling the impact. This would only get worse.

"You were flirting with that guy with your stupid little smiles. You're nothing but a slut." He kicked my side relentlessly. I heard something crack but it didn't really phase me.

"Don't you know I love you? Do you want me to do this to you?" Each question he asked me, he added another kick.

"I know you love me, I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again." I sobbed while folding into myself. He was doing this because he loved me. I just kept fucking things up like the stupid girl I was.

He kicked me about three more times before he felt satisfied. I deserved this punishment, now I just needed to make it up to him.

"I'm going to out, you better have dinner ready for me when I get home you piece of shit whore."

"I will, Edward, I will." I wiped the tears away from my face, and got up slowly. It was now that the pain was beginning to build up. It would be worse tomorrow, but it was nothing new.

=*=

I'd been standing in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at my already swollen bruise for almost half and hour now. I couldn't afford to waste any time with dinner. If it wasn't perfect, Edward would punish me even more.

I quickly went to the kitchen, and got a pot on the stove to boil. But as I started cutting up the vegetables I drifted off. Back to a simpler time, when I thought my life was perfect.

Edward and I met in the beginning of high school. He had just moved to Forks from Chicago with his family, and of course I thought he was attractive. All the girls were just falling all over him with googly eyes, and squealing every time he looked at them. Except for me and my best friend Rosalie. She was way more interested in his brother Emmett. I did like Edward, probably more than all of the girls in school, but I was never one to be open about my crushes. No, I hardly spoke to him during all of freshman year.

My other best friend Peter never really understood why I liked him. He would always tell me that something was off about Edward, but I didn't care. I was fifteen, and completely smitten for this new bronze haired god.

We had a couple classes together, and Rosalie forced me to sit with them at lunch since she was already with Emmett after about a week. Edward and I shared nervous glances every now and then, but other then that, we never spoke.

It wasn't until the day before Christmas break in sophomore year that we talked. We were in the same P.E class, and of course I was tripping over everything. The couch told us to divide into teams and play volleyball. I'll remember the moment forever.

=*=

"Wanna be on my team, Bella?"

His velvety voice jolted me from my day dreaming. He sounded so sweet and caring, I almost sighed by looking at him.

"Uhh sure." I answered feeling uncertain. My palms started getting sweaty, and my breathing erratic. Those were the most words we'd exchanged since the day we met.

Edward nodded while motioning me to follow him across the court. The other team was serving first, so I took my position behind Edward not feeling ready at all. When things start flying in the air I get nervous, cause they tend to make a beeline right for me.

That thought must have jinxed me, because as soon as the burly looking boy served the ball, my whole life flashed before my eyes as it was flying towards my face.

"Bella!" Was the last thing I heard before a massive amount of pain pounded at my face.

The next thing I knew, there was a crowd of people around me, Edward hovering above me with the most worried and cute look on his face, and not to mention the intense nauseating smell of blood.

"Bella, are you okay?" Edward was frantic. And so adorable.

I tried to move, but my head was throbbing. I figured the blood was coming from me, since I felt a warm liguid running down my face. My nose must have been broken.

"Yeah." My voice was all groggy, but I wasn't in chronic pain. I'd be fine.

"I am so sorry."

"Is she alright?"

"Give her some air!"

The voices of everybody around us were annoying, but as long as Edward was with me it was perfect. He smiled down at me looking relieved. He'd seen me get hurt enough times to know I was fine when I said I was. It was the first time we had really looked at each other. I felt like I could see right into his soul. His emerald green eyes made me melt, and that smile.

"Take her to the nurse, Edward." The coach screamed through the crowd around us.

Edward scooped me up in his arms with ease. I didn't really feel like I needed to be carried, but it was nice being held by my long time crush. He was so warm, and I chanced a snuggle against his arm as the December wind chilled me to the bone. He noticed, but smiled down at me again, making my heart sputter. It was in that moment, that one moment when we were looking into each others eyes that I knew I loved him.

=*=

The rest as they say, is history. We dated all through high school, which all of my friends were not surprised. It was a happy time. Edward was the sweetest guy I had ever met, and my dad loved him. Rosalie, and Emmett would always invite us to go on double dates, and we would just have a blast. That's when Edward would sneak sweet kisses to me in public, he would buy me flowers randomly.

I sighed heavily in remembrance of those days. But it all changed when we got to college. Rosalie and I didn't really want to leave Washington right away, so we applied to Seattle University. Of course Edward and Emmett did the same. Sadly Peter went off to UCLA to pursue a degree in psychology. I didn't really care at the time, cause I didn't think I needed him anymore. But, I regret that now. Peter always had a way to get me to open up about things nobody else knew about. To bad I was so lost in the world that was Edward.

Our first day there was when things started changing for the worst. It was orientation day, thousands of people walking around. I was confident in myself back then, so of course guys noticed me. It never phased me since I had such an amazing boyfriend, but Edward was beginning to get jealous.

The weeks went by and he got increasingly worse. I had a young professor for my creative writing class, and Edward wasn't pleased. Guys I would get notes from would be in danger of Edward beating them up.

I grew tired of his jealously which lead to fights. But, it didn't get physical until the last semester of our first year.

Rosalie convinced me to go to a Hawaiian frat party on night. We both dressed in the typical get up. Skanky hula skirts, and bikini tops that hardly covered anything. I wasn't out looking for trouble, but one thing lead to another and we both got trashed.

Oddly enough, Edward had followed me and was watching us from a distance all night. It wasn't until some drunk frat guy slabbed my ass when all hell broke loose.

He punched the guy in the face so hard, I heard he needed surgery to repair his jaw. But that was nothing compared to what he did to me.

Edward dragged me back to the dorms, practically pulling out my hair. Once the door was closed to the room he let all of his rage out on me. I had bruises all over my body, a chipped tooth, and a black eye. I didn't leave my room for over a week. Didn't talk to anybody on the phone either. Rosalie was worried, but I told her I tripped to explain my chipped tooth. She never suspected anything.

Now that months have gone by, Edward and I were in our own apartment close to the school, in our second year, and nothings changed since that night. The only thing that has changed, is that he's more careful when he beats me. He sticks to places nobody will see, and he never hits my face anymore. I guess there's nothing more embarrassing than a girlfriend with a swollen shiner on her face.

Ring ring ring.

"Holy crap!"

My knife fell to the floor, and I jumped almost a foot in the air. I knew I shouldn't have let myself get so lost in my thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Jeeze, Bella. You sound like you just ran a marathon." Rosalie's voice rang through the phone, soothing me a little bit.

"Oh, the phone just scared me, I was kinda spacing out."

"Oh well, I was just calling you to tell you that my cousin is coming in from Texas, and I was wondering if you wanted to help me show him around good old Seattle."

Him? My eyes grew wide. My lungs closed up with panic. I couldn't be spending time with any other guy. Edward would kill me.

"I don't know, Rose. I'm really busy with work and school right now."

"It's spring break. You'll have time."

"I'm picking up more hours at work this week."

"Oh my God, Bella. It seems like you don't even want to see me. I hardly see you anymore unless were in class. Where is your head these days?"

She sounded annoyed, and I felt horrible. I had been distancing myself a lot lately. But I had no choice. Edward had me on such a short leash. But I did miss Rose. Maybe he would let me go if I said Emmett would be there. He's the only guy Edward let me be around.

"It's not like that, I'm just really stressed, and I apologize if I seem like I don't want to see you. I'll go, I just can't be out too long."

"Awesome, he comes in tomorrow. Why don't you swing by around noon time?"

My heart raced as I thought about it. It would be a miracle if Edward even considered letting me go.

"Okay, I'll be there."

"Good, see ya then. Oh, I love you."

"I love you too."

After hanging up the phone, I focused on nothing but finishing up dinner. I would have time to freak out after. If I was gonna get beaten again tonight, I'd like to lesson the blow and at least make dinner right.

Once I was finished with everything, and had the table set, Edward walked in the door. I got lucky. My heart skipped a beat from the uncertainty. He could have still been mad, or he could have calmed down. There was rare moments when he was the Edward I fell in love with. I hardly ever fell for it anymore though.

"Smells good." He whispered in my ear while wrapping his arms around my waist. I wasn't buying it. But I couldn't afford any more beatings. I was already soar enough. So I humored him by sighing, and leaning in closer to him.

"I love you. You know that right? I just wish you wouldn't make me so mad. I don't like hurting you.

Hearing him say that didn't reassure me at all. He always did this after he beat me. When it was new, I believed him. But now I was jaded, and wanted nothing more than to leave him. If only my mind wasn't fighting me on it. It would be so much easier.

"I love you too." I replied trying to sound sincere.

We stood there for the longest time. Eventually I leaned my head against his chest, and

closed my eyes. It had been so long since I felt this relaxed by him. I could just fall asleep on him right now. Until his stomach growled relentlessly.

"Oh wow, Edward. You better feed that monster."

"Maybe I'll just eat you." He sucked on my neck making me moan a little too loud. I hated my physical response to him.

"Don't alert the neighbors." He laughed before letting me go. It didn't sound sweet like it used to. Now it just sounded evil. It made me sick to my stomach.

"Let's eat before it gets cold." I pulled myself together, and sat at the table. He only nodded before sitting beside me. We were quite while we loaded up our plates, but he was the first to speak up.

"So, I was thinking about going to hang out with Emmett this week. You should come and keep Rosalie company."

"Oh, that's funny, I was actually gonna ask you about that." I swallowed my food but my throat felt dry. This was so fucked up. "Rose called me, and said she wanted to go out. Her cousin is coming in, and she wanted me to help her show him around." I cringed when I said the word him.

I avoided eye contact, but I could feel his eyes boring into me. He wasn't happy. I heard him take a long breath in. My whole body tensed up, and the bruise started throbbing again. I was terrified that he would get so mad he would beat me again. I prayed he would see some sort of reason before loosing it.

"Where are you going?" He asked me finally through gritted teeth.

"Just into the city." I still avoided his gaze, and played around with my food. I was never hungry anymore anyway.

"I'll let you go. I think I gave you punishment enough for today's little mishap."

I felt like a child. Reason told me this relationship needed to be ended. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I still loved him. I just wasn't sure he still loved me in the same way.

"Thank you." I replied quietly. He continued eating seeming like he was proud of himself. All I wanted to do was curl up into a ball in a dark room and cry my eyes out. The future was so uncertain. If I did something really bad, Edward would probably end up killing me. Never in a million years would I be able to fight back. The situation just seemed so hopeless.

=*=

The next morning Edward was being the nicest I'd seen him in a while. He made me breakfast, and even helped me shower since the pain in my ribs was making it hard to do much of anything.

It was difficult to think of an excuse to tell Rose, cause no doubt she would notice I was in pain. But eventually, I decided to tell her I fell down the stairs. It wasn't hard to believe since I was such a klutz.

"I want you two to come back by five." There was an acidic, threatening tone in his voice. I flinched back in my seat, but nodded.

"Okay." Edward was never nice to me for long. Part of me was amazed and pissed off that I put up with it.

Nothing else was said the rest of the ride to Rose and Emmett's. But once we got out, and walked up their walkway, he had his arm wrapped gently around my like there was no problems in our relationship.

"Hey you two, long time no see!" Rosalie opened the door before we got a chance to knock, and grabbed me in for a tight hug.

"I have so much to tell you." She said quietly in my ear. Her tone was excited, so I had a pretty good guess to what she would be telling me.

"Ed!" Emmett's booming voice came from their living room. "Get your ass in here, the games about the start."

"Why don't you get your ass out here and say hello properly!" Rosalie yelled. It was hard not to be a little jealous. Rose wore the pants in their relationship, but they always seemed to be in perfect balance. I wanted that again.

"It's fine, Rose. I could never tear him away from the TV." I laughed, and walked over to their living room. Emmett was all set up for a good old baseball game. Snacks strewn out all over the table, a few bottels of beer, even a mini fridge to hold more beer.

"Sup, Bells." He smiled brightly at me, not even looking like he was considering getting up.

"Nothing much, Em. I see you're all ready for the game."

"Hell yes!" He shoved a few chips in his mouth, which got him a smack on the head from Rose.

"Don't stuff your mouth. I want to come home to you being alive."

"Come sit down, Ed. Let the girls go off and have their day." Emmett said, completely disregarding Rose's scolding.

Edward turned to me with a relaxed smile. When he was around his brother he was in his best mood. He leaned down to kiss me goodbye, but there was an urgency in his lips. It felt like a warning. Basically saying, "Don't do anything stupid."

"Come on, Bella. Jasper's flight comes in at 1:30." Rose said while practically jumping up and down. She was excited about something. I just nodded, and followed her outside. Edward and Emmett were already engrossed in their game, so at least he would be relaxed when we went home.

"So, what did you need to tell me?" I asked Rose once we were in the car.

She turned to me with an ecstatic smile on her face. "Remember that romantic dinner that Emmett planned last week?"

I nodded remembering the day in class when she told me about this said dinner.

"Well,....." She paused, and took something out of her pocket. "He proposed!"

My mouth fell open with shock. "Oh my God, Rose, I'm so happy for you!." I screamed. We reached out to give each other an awkward hug across the center console. This would be so exciting. I would get to help her plan, go help her pick out a wedding dress, the whole enchilada. The only problem was that I couldn't suppress the jealously rising up in me like bile. It not that I wasn't happy for her. I just couldn't stand that she was so happy, and I was so miserable. It made me feel like such a horrible person.

"We have so much to plan." She squealed while pulling out of her driveway. We gabbed on and on about potential wedding plans, and where she wanted to go for her honeymoon. After about ten minutes of that I felt that light buoyant feeling I had missed so much. Only Rose could make me feel like this now. I had missed my best friend, and I was happy to get the chance to spend a lot more time with her in the near future.

When we made it to the airport I started getting nervous. Being around other men now had recently started sending me into panic attacks if they looked at me.

"Okay, so I know Jasper is my cousin, but we're like brother and sister. If we get into some weird conversation, just go with it, and you and him will get along great."

I nodded at her instructions. I was trying to keep my breathing regulated, and not look like I was freaking out. But, I didn't have much time. Jasper came out seconds later, luggage in tow. He looked absolutely breathtaking. His face had a small tan from being out in Texas, and was matched perfectly with blond hair and baby blue eyes. When Rosalie ran up to hug him, his smile sent my heart into palpitations. His teeth were brilliantly white. I wouldn't be shocked if he did tooth paste commercials.

I just stood in the background as they embraced. But my view was great. Once I soaked in his face, my eyes roamed down to his toned body. His white button down shirt, and jeans showed off his obvious muscles perfectly. When he tightened his grip on the hug, his biceps flexed making me gasp.

I absolutely had to get it together. I would be spending the whole day with him. I couldn't very well be ogling him for the next four hours.

"Jasper, I'd like you to meet my very best friend, Bella Swan." My heart quickened when he walked closer with that god damn smile.

"It's very nice to meet you, Bella." His voice was soft with a small southern twang to it. I could only think of a couple words to describe it. Sexy as all hell.

It took me a few seconds to realize that he had his hand out stretched for me, so I took it quickly giving it a small shake. "It's nice to meet you too Jasper. Rose has told me a lot about you."

"I've heard tons about you too." He kept my hand in his for a few more moments, while boring his eyes into mine. Normally that would make me feel uncomfortable, but I felt strangely calm while in this close proximity with him.

Once we had finished exchanging pleasantries, and getting his things in the trunk, we were off to the city. I sat in the passenger seat battling with two sides of my mind. One part of me was cheering like a mad woman. I had met a man who made me feel human, if only for a moment. But, the other side of me that was desperately still in love with Edward was scolding me for even looking at him. I was basically cheating with the thoughts I was having. I deserved to be punished for that. Edward was my true love, and I was screwing it up every day.

Most of the time that part of me won the battle. I usually wanted it to. I didn't know anything else except for Edward. But meeting Jasper had done something to me. The way he was looking at me felt new and exciting. Yeah, I had only known him for a few minutes, but I could already tell that he was everything Edward wasn't. I felt like I was insane for having these feelings just minutes after meeting him. The team Edward part of my mind was making me feel like a cheater for having them. But they were there. I couldn't ignore it. I didn't know if I wanted to either.

A/N: Wanna review? If not that's cool. Have a smashing day xD