Okay, so as you may know if you have read my other stories, I am officially addicted to challenges- I can't help it! I had this idea months ago, but I finally was able to sit down and write it (Just so you know, my next one will be Odd Fathers). So, here is We're Brothers, for Running with Jasper!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
"Where is he? Where did he go?" Edward roared too fast and low for humans to hear. I, however, heard it loud and clear, even as I ran along the stream. "He's in the forest, right?"
"Edward!" Alice shouted, using the same low voice. "Edward, no, leave him alone! He didn't mean to, it was an accident, you know that! He needs to be alone for a bit!"
"Let go of me, Alice." My brother's tone was cruel, cold, uncaring, towards my wife. I shuddered for her- then shuddered for me. It was bound to be ten times worse, at least. The trees and bushes rustled as Edward ran to catch up with me. I gave up. He ran faster, after all. If I tried to evade him, the consequences would be worse.
And they were bad as it was.
"You could have hurt her! You could have killed her! You nearly did! I can't believe I can even call you my brother!" Edward yelled deafeningly and I winced. I was dead, for sure. He would kill me, I knew it.
A punch was delivered to my stomach and I took it gracefully. I knew I deserved it. If it had been the other way around, with Alice being hurt, I knew it would be a lot worse. I would make his death hurt and I'd make it hurt bad. I curled up on the dirt, bracing myself for the pain that didn't come. It was silent in the woods.
"I'm not going to kill you, Jasper," Edward whispered hoarsely, though he sounded as if he really wanted to. "However much I want to. Hunt. We'll talk later. And don't leave the woods. You're not stable." With that, my brother turned and left me all alone.
You're not stable. The words hung in the air, swallowing me up. You're not stable. I wasn't stable, was I? I was a menace, a danger! The words spoken among my family taunted me always, and recent events only made it worse. He's the weakest link. He doesn't have good control. He's a danger to others around him.
"Argh!!" I screamed and kicked a tree with such force that it toppled over. "Why is it always my fault? Why can't he admit for once that she did something wrong? Why does his precious Bella have to be perfect?"
I plopped myself down on the fallen tree and buried my head into my hands. Wisps on hair blocked my vision, but the ever so slight vibration of the ground told me that a rabbit was coming- otherwise known as food.
My arm flew out instinctively and a sharp crack filled the forest. I drank the warm liquid willingly, perhaps even more than willingly. It was dull and tasteless compared to the ruby red droplet of blood that had slid off Bella's finger- of course, I hadn't tasted it. But the smell had enveloped my nose and my mouth and I could envision it so clearly. The blood would taste so good, it would be a nice treat after all this time of resisting…
I found myself crouched on the dirt, ready to spring into action. I lowered myself onto my back, groaning in disgust with my actions.
"I nearly just killed Bella Swan. I nearly went after her. I still want to. What is wrong with me?" I shouted into the air.
"I don't know." Edward's calm, yet angry voice joined me. "I don't know what's wrong with you, whatever it is, it's affecting me as well." The leaves rustled as he sat next to me. I closed my eyes and just drifted off into my memories.
Flashback--
I was five or six years old and I had just slapped my sister. She was a tattletale, my sister, and I knew it, so I ran, just ran far from the house. When I left she had been clutching her arm, crying. We had fought over something stupid, but I would have given the world to remember it. I heard her calls to Mother and Father as I ran and plunged myself into the forest.
I had always wanted to be in the army, even then. I ducked behind trees and pretended that I was a soldier on a mission. Oh, how I wish I ad known what kind of mess that would get me into, many, many years later.
"Major Whitlock, on a mission!" I had shouted, forgetting my worries of getting in trouble. I laughed and pushed my way through the trees. Eventually, night set and the forest was dark. I crawled into a little niche I had found, beneath a fallen tree.
"Major Whitlock, reporting to duty… right after I sleep," I yawned and I remembered the way my eyelids had drooped. I remembered the way I could fall asleep and forget all my worries. It was impossible now.
--Flashback
"Do you ever want to kill her?" I asked, cutting through the silence. Edward's face was stony and cold. He had been thinking.
"Yes," he whispered to me after a long pause. "Yes, I do. But I can't. I resist." His words, though not meant in an offending way, angered me.
"And are you saying I can't? Edward, I try, don't you see that? But spending all day surrounded by humans is enough! I don't need you walking around, her scent all over your things, your car, our house! And then you bring her home with you, making it even worse! What am I supposed to do?" I shot right up in my spot, throwing menacing glares his way.
"No, Jasper, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I need to resist because if I hurt her I won't be able to live. Don't you understand? If she's hurt I'm hurt. And being around you won't help with her safety!"
"So you are saying it! You're saying that you don't want me around her when she's in my own house," I spat the words at him, but Edward was always stubborn. He didn't back off. "She gets hurt on her own!"
" Exactly! I don't need you around making it even worse!" Silence fell. I didn't know what to say. My own brother was practically telling me to leave my home, my family!
"I'm not telling you to leave, Jasper." Edward's quiet voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Right, sorry, I forgot. You were going to kill me, not make me leave." I sighed and stared at the blackened sky. It was sparkled with little stars that glittered, even from a distance. Edward followed my gaze.
"I said I wasn't going to kill you. I meant it, too." My brain stopped. He wasn't? I sure would if it was Alice he put into danger!
"No, you wouldn't," he chuckled darkly. "Major Whitlock, you may be a soldier, but even you understand the importance of blood, perhaps more so than others. Blood is thicker than water, after all." Edward pointed to the bloodless rabbit "You might want to clean that up."
I silently dug a hole into the ground and threw the corpse in.
"What do you mean? I don't understand," I admitted, my teeth clenched and hands in fists. Couldn't he just get this over with?
"Nah, it's too fun drawing it out," Edward grinned cheekily and I slapped him on the back of the head. He sighed and resumed his grave look. "Jasper, I told you before, you're my brother. I may be ashamed to say it, but you are. Brothers are brothers, through the thick and thin. You have no idea how many times I want to kill Rosalie! But she is my sister. And you're my brother."
"You being serious?" I picked myself off the ground and held out a hand for Edward. He grasped it tightly and pulled himself up.
"Look, I've killed before, too. And I did it on purpose, not because I slipped. And I did it while I was aware that I could drink from animals. It's just that it's Bella that makes it so hard. She's human!"
"And I'm married to a physic that can't remember her past. We are a messed up pair, aren't we?" I speculated as we began our run home. Edward actually kept pace with me.
"Who would have ever thought that Emmett was the normal one out of us three?" We then turned the corner to the house. Emmett was the only one waiting. Edward sped off, probably to go see Bella, but Emmett just stared.
"You okay? Did he hurt you?" Emmett was worried- I could feel it.
"No. Why, did he say he would?"
"Yeah, he kept talking about ripping your head off. He took the lighter, too." I blew the air out of my lungs- I hadn't even realized I was holding it. I had no idea he was so serious. "What happened?" I shrugged, smiling to myself as I thought back to our conversation.
Emmett and I had always been close, but Edward had always been separate- not just from us, but from everyone. We were truly a family of pairs, not just with out couples, but with friendships. Sure, Carlisle and Edward had that bond of over eighty decades, but even our father didn't understand him. Carlisle and Esme. Alice and Rosalie. Emmett and me. We all thought we knew Edward to the core. He was always so predictable! And Edward never changed his mind. I didn't know how to explain his sudden change of heart.
"We're brothers."
In case you didn't figure it out, the time when Edward went to find Jasper in the beginning was while Bella was being stitched up. When he left, he was bringing Bella home. After that,he went home briefly to attack Jasper. And when he ran off, it was to see Bella before bed.
I got this idea from an interview or something with SM... I can't remember where it was, but it stated that "Edward was a family guy" so I took it and made this out of it. It might be in the FAQs on the website. I hope you enjoyed!