He met her flaming eyes with equal fire, unsheathing all his normally hidden anger.
"I'll have you know you brought this upon yourself, Isabella."
Her eyes flashed.
"Maybe I would be better off with Jacob," she spat, a part of her regretting the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, but her anger overcame all emotions.
"Oh, yes, I'm sure that dog will keep you safe!"
"At least he would give me rights and choices, instead of being hell-bent on keeping me safe! Sometimes I wonder if you actually even love me or just stick around to prove Jake wrong and because you feel sorry for what you did to me!"
She knew she had struck a chord, and hard.
He was silent for a moment.
"Sometimes I wonder the same for you," he whispered.
She abruptly pulled the ring off of her finger, chucking it at him. He caught it gracefully, his face hard but his eyes betraying him.
"I hate you." Her voice was quiet and rough, holding back sobs she was determined to hold back. She couldn't believe the words escaping her mouth, but he was gone before she had a chance to take them back.
Her body became even more fragile than usual, shaking as a result of the wracking sobs escaping her.
--
He didn't come to her room that night.
She waited until 3 a.m.
--
She stormed out of her bedroom at 7 p.m. the next evening , running out of the house into her truck.
Charlie didn't stop her.
--
Her vision was marred dangerously by tears, but the road was memorized from her home to his.
--
Jasper clutched his forehead in pain.
Too much negative emotion surrounded him.
He couldn't change ALL of it.
He cursed aloud.
Feeling underappreciated, he tossed the old copy of Pride and Prejudice back on the coffee table as she came in.
He needed a new trip to the New York Barnes & Noble anyways.
--
It was dark in his room, all lights off but the small reading lamp next to the couch where he lay. The iron bed was a pile of sand-like substance in a corner of the room.
He was curled on the black leather couch, knees pulled to his chest and eyes squeezed shut, though he couldn't sleep.
She did this to her angel. She hurt him in such a deep way she knew a part of her would never be able to forgive herself, no matter how hard she, or anyone else, tried.
She crept quietly; sure he knew she was there, up to his radiant form, reaching out to his perfectly chiseled face.
"I'm sorry." She stroked his cheek. His warm honey eyes opened, as though snapping out of a daze.
"Please-please don't be angry, Edward." He began to furiously shake his head as he pulled her into his embrace.
"Forgive me as well. If I hadn't been so overbearing…"
"And I hadn't been so shallow…"
They stayed like that for a while, until she remembered something.
"I believe you have something of mine?" He was confused for a sheer nanosecond before pulling out the ring from his pocket.
"I understand if you don't want to wear it," he murmured coolly, though disappointment was seeping through his words.
"No, I will." He shook his head again.
"Don't feel obliged to, Bella."
"No, I want to, Edward."
He slipped the finger on her finger, the light catching the elegant diamond.
"I really am sorry-"
"You're only human, Bella. Only human."