Chapter One

Edward POV

"Could someone remind me why we're doing this…again?" Emmett muttered, frustrated.

Another town, another "first" day of school, and another useless cafeteria. Granted, this was college, but still the same old thing.

Three hours into our first day, and we were already labeled as the freaks no one dare speak to.

I sighed and raised my eyes to Jasper. He sat motionless across from me, staring blankly at an empty chair next to him. I then shifted my eyes to Emmett and raised an eyebrow. He knew why we were there.

He huffed impatiently.

Oh right, he growled mentally. This is supposed to help him…Whatever. It's been five years and he hasn't so much as whispered. Maybe we just need to admit that he'll never be the same!…None of us will.

With that, Emmett pushed himself away from the table and stalked out of the cafeteria, startling the children at the table behind him.

"Is he okay?" Bella whispered.

Rosalie sighed and stood, gathering their untouched trays of food.

"He'll be fine," she murmured. "I'll go talk to him." Get Jasper to move, Edward. I don't think he's blinked or breathed for the last fifteen minutes.

I gave a quick nod and turned my attention to my brother.

"Jazz," I whispered.

Nothing.

"Jasper." A little louder.

His intake of breath and the blinking of his eyes let me know he heard me. He turned his head slowly, his empty eyes breaking my heart afresh when they met mine.

I gave him a half grin.

"Appearances," I reminded him.

He closed his eyes and nodded.

Sorry.

"You don't have to do this Jasper," Bella said softly.

"Would you like to go home?" I added.

Jasper shook his head as he slowly stood to his feet.

It doesn't make any difference where I'm at. I've had enough for today though.

His mental voice had become just as empty and lifeless as his eyes. As I watched him go, I wondered if Emmett was right. Bella squeezed my hand.

"He'll be okay," she whispered in my ear, sending a warm tingle down my spine.

"You really believe that?"

"I have to."

Jasper POV

It was just too much…Entirely too much. I doubted I'd be back for classes tomorrow…or the next day.

What was the point?

I stopped in the parking lot next to Edward's car and listened. I could hear a river in the distance and decided it would be a good place to just be alone for a while.

I started in the direction of the river at a pace that used to irritate me. But I had no reason to run anymore. No reason to talk, smile, laugh or even breathe. The world held no beauty for me anymore, since the reason for my being was taken. I just existed, an empty shell of the man I used to be, cursing myself everyday for the promise I had made to her to never pull a stunt like Edward had when he thought Bella was dead.

I promised…I never believed it would be an issue. How was I to know that I wouldn't be able to protect her? And how could I betray that promise when she had given her life to save mine?

Having safely reached the concealed shelter of the woods, I broke into a sprint. I longed for the solitude of the river. I wished to find a good place to submerge myself and allow the water to rush over me.

Maybe I would never come up.

It didn't take long to reach the river. I surveyed the area, but it wasn't quite was I was looking for. The water was plenty deep enough, but not near fast enough. Upstream I could hear the rushing water and could tell by the sound that I would find a waterfall if I kept walking.

Sure enough, I found quite a large waterfall just a mile upstream, but something caught my attention and froze me in my tracks.

A girl sat on a rock at the about midway up the falls with her back to me. She was small, with auburn hair styled similarly to Alice. I could smell the saltwater tears on her face and hear her faint sobs. How on earth she had gotten to her perch on the boulder without falling in was beyond me.

Then I wondered where she had come from. I inhaled, catching the scent of the town's diner wafting through the air and noticed the name of the diner printed on the back of her shirt.

Still, the diner had to be a couple of miles away from that particular spot. What would possess a human to come out there alone in the first place, let alone make such a dangerous climb?

She began to turn slowly, as if she knew she was being watched. Just as I decided there was no way she would spot me, her terrified blue eyes locked with mine.

Ember POV

What a horrible day.

I'd just gotten out on my own, moving two towns away from my aunt and uncle where I had found a job and a decent apartment, and so far it was not going well.

I started the day off by over-sleeping because the electricity had gone off in the night, effectively rendering my alarm clock useless. Then at work I mixed up orders, burned myself, spilled three drinks and got cussed out twice.

Could it get any worse?

Wrong question.

An all-too-familiar chill ran down my spine as my sub-conscious mind registered what my conscious mind did not want to believe.

I was being watched. I turned slowly, hoping that my mind was just playing tricks on me…Or maybe my nerves had finally gotten the better of me.

No, fate wasn't so kind.

To my horror, my eyes met with those of a pale-skinned creature similar to the one who haunted my nightmares…The one responsible for murdering my parents nearly two years ago.

We were driving to Kentucky to visit some friends on our vacation. At a gas station in some rural area we stopped to fill up and get some snacks. My father went in to pay while my mother and I used the restroom. When we came back out, neither my father or the station attendant were anywhere in sight. But leaning against our car was their murderer. His crimson eyes met mine and I realized in that instant that I could hear his thoughts. Through his mind I saw that he had already drained my father and the other man and intended to do the same with us.

His movements were too quick to watch as he attacked my mother. She didn't even have time to scream. Then he set his sights on me.

I had scooted myself into a corner, too terrified to run or scream. He knelt in front of me and inhaled deeply through his nose. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"Hmmm," he breathed, just inches from my face. "Your blood carries no scent…Well, that isn't any fun." He ran the backs of his fingers along my cheek, causing me to shiver. "I suppose I am finished here…I wouldn't mention vampires to the police…unless you'd like to live out the remainder of your life in a psychiatric ward."

Then he vanished.

I have no idea why he left me alive. The next people to arrive at the station found me huddled in the same corner. I'd gone into shock.

When I came to at the hospital, I told the police that I found my mother dead when I came out of the bathroom and that was the last thing I remembered.

I was just about to begin my junior year of high school, but I just couldn't do it. I moved in with my Aunt Deb and Uncle Rich and basically shut down for about eight months. I didn't eat well and rarely slept. The little sleep I did get was always interrupted by horrific nightmares. I was sure he would come back for me.

How did she know I was here?

Once the monster's thought registered in my mind, assuring me that he was indeed a vampire, I bolted to my feet.

"Stay away from me!" I screamed.

He looked…surprised. He held up his hands and took a step forward.

I…I wont hurt you.

I heard his thought more than the actual words. I couldn't hear anything other than the waterfall cascading around me.

He took another step.

"No!" I screamed as I turned to flee.

I had been very cautious in getting to that boulder, but I couldn't afford to be that way as I tried to escape.

Stupid. I knew how fast they were.

I glanced over my shoulder, sure he would be right there, and in my lack of concentration, my foot slipped off a rock and I fell.

I expected to feel the cold of the water as it surrounded me, but that never came. Just a sharp pain on the back of my head and the sound of water that quickly gave way to blackness. Would my death really be so easy?

Jasper POV

"No!"

I watched in frozen horror as her foot slipped from the rock. The sound of her head connecting with another rock as she fell turned my insides with nausea.

Before I could make sense of what I was doing, I was in the water. I found her lifeless body at the base of the falls, held captive against a boulder by the force of the water. I managed to get my arms around her and was soon laying her down on the bank of the river.

Her heart was still beating, though it was quickly becoming faint. My arm was stained with blood where her head had rested against it, but I couldn't smell a thing. Her blood had no scent.

The injury to her head was substantial. Even if I could do CPR --which I couldn't, not without crushing her ribs-- she would not likely recover from it.

I buried my face in my hands, devastated. Another life lost because of me.

Save her, Jasper!

Alice's tinkling voice echoed in my head, as if she'd been standing right beside me.

"I --I can't," I answered aloud.

You must. Please…save her.

My angel's voice faded into a whisper as I looked down at the girl dying at my knees. My mouth flooded with venom. With a groan I lowered my head and sank my razor sharp teeth into the soft flesh of her throat.

To my astonishment, her blood had been just as void of taste as it had been of scent. It was like drinking a glass of water…a very satisfying glass of water.

I growled as I forced myself away, praying that enough venom had been injected.

I scooped her into my arms and ran at full speed toward our home, nearly collapsing with relief when it came into view.