A/N: This was my submission for the Fandom Against Juvenile Diabetes compilation. It's another dark one and I sincerely hope you all enjoy it!
Summary: A year after the untimely death of his wife, Alice, Jasper begins to see and hear her everywhere he goes. Is he losing his mind or is their more to the story? Rated M for language, violence, and frightening situations. All Human. JxA.
Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight-related. All characters are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. However, the plot and any original characters are the property of me, aka the author. Do not copy without my permission. K? Thanks!
Doppelganger
One year...
It had been one year since I'd been forced to say good bye to the love of my life; the love of my existence, even.
Alice.
I'd met Mary Alice Brandon in our freshman year at Brown University. I'd been instantly entranced by her. She was such a beautiful, intelligent, and capable woman. It hadn't been love at first sight for her, but I'd grown on her. We dated all the way through college and got married soon after we graduated. I'd only gotten three years of wedded bliss with her before she was taken from me.
One year ago today.
I placed the fresh flowers in front of her tombstone and wiped the leaves and errant grass from the base. Today was the first day I'd been able to take this little trip to the cemetery. I'd just recently gotten myself together and it was still a daily struggle to keep myself together.
Right after Alice died; I'd fallen hard and fast in to the depths of depression. I drank constantly, engaged in drug use, and generally did anything I could to neglect everything that had to do with a normal life. It was too painful...so I took an extended vacation from it all.
It was during this vacation that I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
One night, a few months ago now, I was incredibly drunk and high but apparently decided I was good enough to drive anyway. I set out from my dealer's house, heading home. Sure, she'd tried to stop me but Victoria and I had a very special arrangement. She'd often let me fuck her for payment and I guess she figured it wouldn't be in the best interest of keeping said arrangement to push it. She figured right.
I'd only made it about five miles from Victoria's house when I lost control of my car and plowed in to a tree. The car, which had been Alice's, was totaled and I was hurt pretty badly. I spent two weeks in the hospital recovering from my injuries and then had to face the authorities. The judge was lenient on me given my situation and the fact that my record had been impeccable up to that point. He sentenced me to community service, weekly NA and AA meetings, charged me with a hefty fine, and recommended that I see a therapist. I did everything but the shrink part. It wasn't required and honestly, I wasn't the "share your feelings" type of guy. I just couldn't see lounging on a fucking couch while a judgmental doctor scrutinized my every word. Besides, I was grieving, not crazy.
I kissed the palm of my hand and placed it on the top of her tombstone, silently conveying everything I desperately needed to say, but couldn't bring myself to say it.
How much I loved her.
How much I missed her.
How my heart ached without her.
But saying all of those things would mean that I was ready to let her go. I definitely wasn't ready for that...
It wasn't like I was delusional. I knew she was gone and that she'd never come back to me but letting her go would mean that I would have to move on. I wasn't prepared to do that just yet.
"Hey, man," Edward greeted me. Edward and I had been best friends since childhood. Soon after I met and started dating Alice, Edward met Alice's best friend, Bella and they fell in love. The four of us had done everything together. I hadn't been able to see them much after her death. It brought too many painful memories with it; memories that I'd rather just keep buried.
Edward was holding tight to Bella's hand as they walked up. She wiped the tears that were already falling from her big chocolate-colored eyes and leaned against him.
"Hey," I returned and averted my gaze from Bella. I couldn't watch her cry.
Bella had been having a hard time with Alice's death as well but she had Edward to help her through it.
That was the difference between us.
Right after my accident, Edward had yelled at me, saying that I wouldn't let anyone help me; that I just kept pushing everyone away. That wasn't entirely true, though. I didn't have anyone to go to, even if I'd wanted to. My parents moved to Europe two years ago and my sister, Rosalie, was busy with her husband and children in Seattle. My friends had been Alice's as well and as I said before, I wanted nothing to do with the life I'd once had. So that left me with no one.
"I'm just gonna go smoke," I said and turned to walk away. Bella put her hand on my shoulder to stop me and gave me a small smile.
"Go with him," she told Edward. "I need a moment alone with her, anyway."
Edward nodded and brushed his lips briefly against Bella's before facing me. He gestured for me to lead the way and we set out across the cemetery to where I'd parked.
When we reached my truck, I grabbed my cigarettes and lit one up. I felt uncomfortable just standing there looking at Edward but I didn't know what to say or do. It broke my heart that our friendship had been reduced to this. It hurt even worse to know that I had no one to blame but myself.
"So I tried to call you the other day," he began, eyeing me carefully. "I thought you might want to watch the game with Mike and me but you didn't answer."
I sighed and looked out over the trees that were swaying in the breeze. The constant movement was mesmerizing; calming.
"Yeah, sorry about that," I responded and finally brought my eyes back to his. "I've just been busy with all the meetings and shit."
He nodded in understanding and looked down, kicking the gravel under our feet.
"Did you finish your community service yet?"
"Last weekend," I confirmed and took a long drag from my cigarette, blowing the smoke out slowly.
"Good," he said quietly.
We stood in awkward silence for a few minutes, neither of us looking at each other. I found myself wondering how I'd let it get this far. I still cared very much for Edward and Bella. Why couldn't I get over my issues?
I began to get frustrated with the whole situation but mostly with myself, I think.
Why can't I talk to him?
Why can't he talk to me?
Next thing I knew, Edward was breaking the silence:
"Well I was wondering if you wanted to come over tomorrow night and - "
"Edward," I interrupted and squeezed my eyes tightly shut. "I really don't have time to hang out. I've got a lot of shit on my plate right now. Besides, I don't need a fucking babysitter. I'm not gonna do anything stupid again, Ok?"
He looked like I'd just punched him in the gut. The sight made me feel like I had been.
"I didn't mean it like that, Jasper," he objected softly. "I just...I miss you, man. Bella misses you. We'd just like to see you. I know it's hard being around us without...Alice...but we're your friends, Jazz. We always will be."
I looked away and steeled myself. I felt my throat closing and the tears beginning to sting my eyes. I couldn't deal with this shit - not now; not today. I knew I needed to get out of here - Now. So I decided to do what I do best: Force a smile and agree to whatever the hell Edward wanted.
"I know, Ed," I said and looked up at him, sporting the fake smile I'd grown accustomed to "I'm sorry. What time tomorrow night?"
He seemed thrilled with my change of heart and returned my smile in earnest.
"Seven? Bella's cooking and Mike, Eric, and Angela are coming too. We were just going to play some board games and hang out."
I internally cringed at the thought of having to put on this façade in front of all of mine and Alice's old friends but I hoped by doing this, Edward would leave me alone about it for a while.
"Sounds good," I said and flicked my cigarette out in to the road. "I have a meeting at six so I'll be a little late but I'll definitely be there." I held out my hand to shake his.
He grasped my hand but, instead of shaking it, he pulled me in for a manly-type hug before releasing me and saying he'd see me tomorrow night. With that, he headed back up the hill to where Bella was kneeled in front of Alice's gravestone.
Having successfully played my part, I climbed in to my truck and turned the key, bringing the engine to life. As quickly as I could manage without drawing attention to myself, I drove through the cemetery and turned on the main road in the direction of home.
When I pulled in to the drive way, I noticed the "For Sale" sign had fallen forward slightly. After fixing it and gathering the mail, I went inside.
The house Alice and I once shared had become too difficult to live in. Everything reminded me of her. When we first moved in, she'd insisted that she could do all of the painting herself even though she'd never painted a thing in her life. A ghost of a smile took over my lips as I remembered having to go back over it all with an extra coat of paint while Alice cried and said she wasn't good at anything. After the task was complete, I'd taken her up to our bedroom where I showed her that there was plenty she was still good at.
She was everywhere I looked in this house. It didn't help that all the pictures of us were still placed on various surfaces throughout the house and hanging on the walls; or that all of her clothes still hung in the closet. I'd even left her make-up and perfume in the exact same spot she'd left them the morning she walked out of the door and out of my life forever...
I was startled out of my reverie by a knock on my front door.
Who the hell could that be?
I rarely ever had visitors unless it was a salesman or a Mormon.
It better not be a fucking Mormon...
I walked slowly to the door, opened it, and froze. Every muscle in my body tensed, my eyes grew about three times their original size, and my mouth fell open. I stared at the woman in my doorway in shock and disbelief. I think my brain was on overload and it just shut down. There was no way I could be seeing what I thought I was seeing.
The strange woman on my porch was tall; with long blond hair but her face...it looked exactly like Alice's. I was certain it was her face. She had the dark brown eyes and upturned nose; even the shape of her lips were the same as Alice's.
My heart wrenched in my chest and I couldn't seem to breathe. I was afraid if I moved even a fraction of an inch, she'd vanish.
My visitor stared back at me in confusion.
"Mr. Whitlock?" she asked. The voice was all wrong. It was nasally and annoying; not the lovely wind chime-style voice that belonged to my late wife.
And just like that, Alice's face was gone and was replaced with another, less attractive one that better fit whoever this woman was on my porch.
For a moment, I couldn't do anything. I was dangerously close to having a nervous breakdown but the last thing I needed was for the girl to think I was some kind of psycho. I frantically searched my brain for a way to diffuse the situation and I remembered Alice once telling me that I could charm the panties off of any girl. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair.
"I'm so sorry about that, Miss...?" I waited for her to fill in the blank, giving her my signature smirk. The ladies ate that shit up.
"Clark but call me Kara," she said and pulled at the hem of her shirt nervously.
"Kara," I said and licked my lips "Please forgive my rudeness. I wasn't expecting anyone, especially not someone of your beauty." I leaned against the door frame and purposely looked her up and down slowly...you know, like I was interested or something.
She giggled and blushed. I couldn't help but be pleased that I apparently still had it.
"That's so kind of you, Mr. Whitlock."
"Please, call me Jasper," I told her.
"Ok," she said and blushed again. "I just moved in down the street and wanted to come introduce myself to my neighbors." She turned slightly and gestured to the "For Sale" sign in my yard. "I see that you're moving. It will be such a shame to lose you around here, Jasper." In a pathetic attempt to flirt, she batted her eyelashes and stepped closer to me.
"Yes, well, I don't need all this space so I'm downsizing," I told her politely. All of a sudden, I was ready for this conversation to end. I obviously hadn't scared the poor woman and, even if I had, I did a good job with damage control; so it was time for her to go.
Before I had a chance to take my leave, I was startled by Kara's hand on mine, pulling it into both of hers. I looked down at our hands and then back up at her.
"I heard about your wife, Jasper." Her eyes bore into mine. "I'm so sorry."
I pulled my hand from hers, slowly but deliberately, and tried to smile.
"I appreciate that, Kara." I walked out on to the porch and placed my hand on the small of her back, leading her to the stairs. "Thank you for stopping by. It was a pleasure to meet you." I watched as she made her way down the drive way. "Welcome to the neighborhood," I called over my shoulder as I headed back inside and shut the door.
"Bitch," I muttered to myself as I walked to the kitchen.
I was still slightly shaken up by the strange incident that had just occurred. I couldn't rationalize it...I saw her face. I quickly went to the sink and splashed water on my face. It worked to calm me but just a little bit.
I need a fucking drink.
I immediately dispelled that thought from my mind. Having a drink wasn't an option. I'd come too far and was too close to being done with all of the bull shit to do anything to mess it up now. I also didn't want to disappoint anyone anymore.
I settled for cleaning the already spotless house to get my mind off of things. It eventually worked and after making myself a light dinner and watching a little TV, I went to bed.
The next few days went by relatively quickly. I made it through the "game night" with Edward, Bella, and all of my old friends a lot better than I thought I would. I still didn't want to do it again anytime soon, but it really wasn't that bad.
I debated telling Edward about the "vision" I'd had of Alice but decided it sounded too insane and kept it to myself. Maybe someday I'd laugh about it but I had a feeling it would be a while before I'd be able to do that.
The remainder of the weekend was spent packing and cleaning.
Monday morning I got up and went to work. The day was going much like Mondays normally did. I even went to the same café that I went to every Monday on my lunch break. They made the best sandwiches and my favorite, the Reuben, was a Monday special.
I entered the café and walked straight up to the counter.
"What can I get for you?" the cashier, a petite red head, asked. She had to be new. First of all, I couldn't remember ever seeing her here before, and secondly, if she had worked here for any length of time, she'd know what I wanted.
"Um, the special and a water, please." I looked down as I gathered the money from my wallet, already knowing what it was going to cost.
"Anything for you, my love."
I felt my wallet slip from my hands as I desperately tried to keep from passing out. The voice that just spoke to me was not the same voice from before. This was the most beautiful voice I'd ever heard…Alice's voice.
When I looked up, it wasn't Alice standing there. The crushing weight of disappointment fell on me as I realized it must have been another "episode", or whatever the hell it would be called.
The cashier looked confused and maybe a bit worried about me. I mumbled an apology, picked my wallet up from the floor and rushed out of the café without a backwards glance.
The entire ride back to work I thought about what the hell was going on. First I'd seen her face as clear as day…then I heard her voice.
What the fuck is going on with me?
I found myself wondering if maybe I did need to talk to someone. The last thing I needed was to lose my fucking mind.
I never had these problems before…
I had to put a stop to that train of thought real quick. There would be no more drugs; no more alcohol. I could deal with my life without all of that shit. I had to.
I grabbed my iPod out of my truck and then headed back in to work. I stuck the ear buds in and blasted music for the rest of the afternoon. Between the constant noise in my ears and the various tasks I had to perform, I was able to temporarily forget about what happened earlier.
But as soon as I left, the thoughts returned.
I was driving myself insane and I really didn't want to go home to be alone. I knew I would either end up drinking something or breaking down and calling Victoria.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I was dialing Edward's number.
"Hello," he answered.
"Edward. I need to talk to someone before I explode. Can I come over?"
"Of course you can, Jasper," he soothed me. "Are you ok?"
"I don't know," I told him. "I just…I…" I was at a loss for words. I felt like I didn't know anything anymore and I needed to confide in someone. I just hoped he wouldn't try to have me committed or something.
"It's ok, Jazz. We'll talk when you get here."
I spent the drive to Edward's in silence. I didn't want to think but I couldn't help it. By the time I pulled up outside Edward's house, I was on the verge of tears.
He was waiting outside for me and jogged up to my truck. We walked inside together but said nothing. Thankfully, Bella was nowhere to be seen. It was embarrassing enough to tell Edward what was going on, much less have to deal with both of their pity at the same time.
"Where's Bella?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"She and Angela went to Seattle earlier to do some shopping," he informed me. "She won't be back till late."
I nodded and plopped down on the couch. Edward took the seat across from me on the love seat and looked at me expectantly. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling.
"Dude, talk to me. What's going on?"
I covered my face with my hands.
"I honestly don't know what's going on, man," I said and sat up. I looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I think I'm losing it, Edward. I really do."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
I laughed without humor and rose to my feet. I began to pace as I filled him in on the events of the past few days. He sat and listened, not saying a word. When I'd finally reached the end of my fucked up story, I sat back down, slumping forward slightly.
"I have to be going fucking crazy, Ed. I can't think of any other rational explanation."
At first he didn't say a word. When I looked at him, he seemed to be deep in thought.
"I can," he finally said.
Abruptly, I was confused.
"You can what?"
"I can think of another rational explanation," he answered.
"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"
"Come on, Jasper. Think about it," he began. "You lost your wife then you had a really bad accident. On top of having to deal with your own emotional shit and keeping up with your meetings, community service, and fines, you're also getting ready to move." He looked at me and smiled tentatively. "You're stressed the fuck out, J."
I thought about it and what he was saying did make sense. It would be a hell of a lot easier to cure stress than it would be to cure crazy.
"So if it's stress, how do I make it stop? Because Edward, I can't keep seeing and hearing my dead wife."
"Well first of all, you need to try to eliminate some of the stress," he said thoughtfully. "But if that doesn't work fast enough for you, then just shut your eyes and remind yourself that there's no way she could really be there; that there's no way you could be hearing her. Over run the irrational thoughts with rational ones. Hell, you could even go so far as to recite your name and what the date is; who the president is and shit like that."
What he was saying sounded reasonable enough and I found myself beginning to feel a little better. I might have even been glad I told him about my weird "visions".
We fell in to an easy conversation after that and I ended up staying till late just hanging out and watching reality TV with Edward. It felt good…it felt normal.
I was so tired when I got home that I fell fast asleep. Unfortunately for me, getting rest just wasn't in the cards for me that night.
I had horrible dreams. Vivid dreams. They all starred Alice, of course.
There was one in particular that stood out the most. I was standing there, darkness was all around me. Alice suddenly appeared before me. She was saying something but I couldn't make it out. She looked down, her shoulders heaving.
I tried to go to her; to comfort her, but I couldn't move. It was like I was frozen in place. I yelled to her, begging her to tell me what was wrong.
When she looked up, blood was pouring from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. It was dripping down on to her neck and chest.
I threw my body forwards hoping I could make myself move but instead, I just fell face first in to the nothingness that surrounded me.
I woke with a start, my alarm blaring from the nightstand beside me. I wiped the tears from my eyes and turned off my alarm. I lay there in bed for a few minutes trying to make sense of the dream. When my head began to hurt, I decided to get up and go on with my day. I would obsess about all of it later.
The day seemed to drag on. Edward called to check on me while I was on my lunch break. I didn't really want to get in to the details of my dream so I just told him I didn't sleep well, figuring I'd just tell him about it later.
When I got home from my NA meeting, I made myself dinner but didn't feel like eating it. I was still shaken up but determined to put it out of my mind. After cleaning up the dinner dishes, I grabbed my cigarettes and went out to the back patio. The weather was nice and I could use some fresh air so I sat down at the table and chairs. I lit my cigarette and leaned back against the chair, taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly.
"Chill the fuck out, Jasper," I said aloud.
I leaned back further and closed my eyes. I tried to picture a bright and calming light like some of the meditation experts suggest to do when you're trying to ground yourself. It was just starting to work when I heard it.
At first, I thought it was a dog or something. But the longer it continued the more I realized it was human. It sounded like someone was crying.
I lifted my head and opened my eyes, though I immediately wished I hadn't.
Standing right in front of the storage building, was Alice. I could see her just as plain and clear as if it had been anyone else.
My breath caught in my throat and my stomach turned.
I attempted to do what Edward had said to do in this situation but it didn't matter how much rational shit I flooded my mind with or how many times I closed and opened my eyes, she was still there.
She lifted her arm, outstretching her hand towards me. I knew that I shouldn't entertain my insanity but I couldn't help it. I had to know if she was real or if I was in fact going crazy.
I rose from my seat and walked out in to the yard, towards Alice's apparition. Instead of remaining where she was, she turned and began walking to the storage shed.
I followed her to the back of the building but stopped a few feet from her.
She was facing away from me, the sounds of her crying still filling the air. I started to reach out for her.
"Alice?"
Suddenly she whirled around, her cries getting louder. Blood covered her face in the same way it had in the dream from the previous night.
I gasped and stumbled backwards, falling hard on to the ground. Before I could register just what the hell was happening, her crying had transformed in to a cruel laugh. Her blood stained teeth and lips shined in the moonlight as she threw her head back.
Alice lunged forward, stopping just a few inches from my face. I felt as if I was frozen in place again. I wanted to move away from her but I couldn't get my body to cooperate.
"Jasper," she whispered in a sing-song voice.
My breath was coming in small, sharp pants. Even if I'd wanted to speak, I wouldn't have been able to.
Her cold eyes bore in to mine as she repeated my name in that same tone over and over again. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on slowing my breathing. I had to get a hold of myself – Now.
I was just about to lose it when she fell silent. I reluctantly opened my eyes to find that she was gone…vanished in to thin air.
I collapsed on to my back in the grass and took a few deep breaths. My mind was racing but more than anything, I was fucking terrified. I now knew that I wasn't crazy. I wasn't stressed. I saw what I saw. I heard what I heard. I felt what I felt. She had really been here.
Is she haunting me?
I didn't know much about ghosts or hauntings. I'd never put much stock in shit like that. I always thought it was just a bunch of idiots who wanted to feel important. Now I was questioning it all.
After checking the entire house, I placed a chair against the wall and sat down. This position allowed me to see every doorway in the downstairs and I had a nice view of the staircase. I sat there all night, barely blinking.
Like I said, I was terrified. I convinced myself that if I could make it to the morning, I'd be ok.
The sun began to rise and my fear began to be overwhelmed by my fatigue. I moved the chair from the wall and placed it back at the dining room table. I then cautiously headed up the stairs and in to my bedroom.
I left the curtain open during my shower, effectively flooding the bathroom floor, but I didn't care. I would much rather have to clean up the mess than to risk being caught off guard again.
I had just finished getting dressed when I heard footsteps on the stairs. I didn't remember hearing the door open…as a matter of fact; I'd locked it when I came back in last night.
I held my breath as the footsteps got louder and louder until they sounded as if they were right outside the door. I tip toed to the other side of the door and grabbed the bat that was leaned up against the wall.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door and I watched in terror as the doorknob turned slowly.
I lifted the bat and prepared to strike.
Everything from that moment forward, moved in slow motion:
The door opening…
Me striking…
The sickening thud as the bat connected with its target…
A figure sinking to the ground…
For a split second I felt triumphant, relieved even. That is until I really looked at the person lying on my bedroom floor.
As the realization hit me, the bat slipped out of my hands, my knees gave out and I sank to the ground.
I reached over and shook him.
"Edward?"
I watched as the blood began to flow out in to a perfect circle around his head.
"No," I whispered. "Wake up Edward!"
I shook him harder but it was no use. There was no air moving in and out of his lungs and his chest was silent. He wasn't going to wake up.
He was dead.
"Oh God, no! Edward, no!" I leaned over my friend and sobbed. What had I done? I killed my best friend!
"I'm so sorry," I told him as a new wave of anguish rocked my body.
There was no concept of time at that point so I had no idea how long I'd been crouched over Edward's still body before I pulled myself together enough to get to my feet. I had to call the police.
Slowly, I walked to the bed and grabbed the phone from the nightstand.
"Jasper," a voice called from the hallway.
My head snapped up and the phone fell from my hand, landing on the floor with a loud crack.
A low laugh sounded and the door flew open with such force that the hinges gave way and the door looked as if it was hanging on by a thread.
My eyes widened in disbelief and then settled on her.
Alice was standing on the threshold, an amused expression on her face.
"Oh my, Jasper. What have you done?" she asked in mock horror, gesturing to Edward's lifeless body.
Her presence and taunting tone no longer frightened me. Instead I was suddenly incredibly angry.
"This is all your fault!" I screamed at her.
"Me?" she said, feigning hurt. "You know you never could take responsibility for your actions. You were always so weak." She spit the last word, all traces of humor gone.
In the blink of an eye, she was no longer in the doorway. Instead she was right in front of me.
Alice wrapped her hand around my throat and lifted me from the bed, tossing me like I weighed nothing. I slammed in to the wall on the other side of the room, my right arm breaking with the force.
Before I was able to recover from the first blow she was right in front of me again; her hand around my throat for the second time. She tightened her grip as she slowly pushed me up higher and higher on the wall.
She laughed while she watched me gasp for breath to no avail.
My vision began to get cloudy; a black hole forming on the outer edges. I was sure this was it; that I was about to die. To be honest, I couldn't find it in me to care. Instead, just as I was giving in to the darkness, Alice released me and I slumped to the floor, wheezing from the lack of oxygen and damage to my throat.
"W-w-why…Why A-a-alice?"
She didn't answer right away; just laughed that same painful laugh.
When she'd composed herself, she crouched down in front of me and grabbed my face roughly, jerking it up so that I was forced to look at her.
"Because I want to," she answered seriously. "Because I enjoy it."
She released my face and stood up.
"And stop calling me Alice." She looked down at me harshly. "I'm not Alice. This is just one of the many forms I take." She moved away from me and I watched in horror as she morphed in to Kara, the girl that had introduced herself to me the first time I'd "seen" Alice's face. Then she transformed in to the red-headed cashier from the café that day I'd "heard" Alice's voice. Finally she took the shape of Alice again; covered in blood as she had been in my dream and out in the yard the previous night.
"What are you?" I asked her.
"Never you mind about that, Jasper," she said in a mocking tone. "I've come with a message for you." She bent down in front of me again, positioning herself right in front of my face. I could feel her cold breath washing over my face.
"Have you ever heard the Doppelganger legend?" she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.
I looked at her, a blank expression on my face.
"Well they say if you come face to face with your double, also known as your Doppelganger, it's an omen of death."
I continued to stare at her, not entirely sure where she was going with this.
"So, Jasper, would you like to see what other shape I can take?"
At that moment, I realized what she had been talking about but I didn't have time to react before I was face to face with a mirror image of myself.
A smile slowly spread across the thing's lips. Its arms rose up to strike and I sucked in a breath.
"Alice," I whispered and then everything went black.
A/N: Well…No happy ending for Jasper. Poor guy…Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my spooky story. Despite all the trouble this gave me at times, I actually really enjoyed writing it. I sincerely hope you all enjoy reading it as well.
A huge thank you to all of you who donated to this amazing cause! I never imagined it would get such an incredible response in its first year. You guys pleasantly surprised me. As the mother of a Diabetic child, your generosity warms me to the core. There will never be anything I can do to adequately show you my appreciation.
Thank yous all around to my wonderful Beta, Lilaea and my bad ass pre readers, Starchick7003 and Mindy. Their hard work is what makes this sound so damn good. I don't know what I'd do without them. So thank you ladies! I love you all!
Thanks for reading!