Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer, the creator of Twilight.

The cool butterscotch burns into my eyes as he stares at me.

"J-J-Jasper?"

He gives me a wane smile which turns into a frown when he sees how badly I'm shaking.

"Bella, you're all wet. Here." In the blink of an eye, he was gone upstairs and back with a blanket. He carefully wraps it around me.

My heart is beating so fast I'm sure he can hear it.

I don't know what to think, how to react. Here is the vampire who had tried to attack me so long ago because he was thirsty. And now, he is being as polite and cordial as could be. I don't understand it. Just more cruel tricks that fate was playing on me at the moment. The universe must really hate me.

My hands stay at my sides, frozen, unable to move, so the blanket slips off of me and falls to the ground. Jasper's frown intensifies.

"Bella, aren't you cold? You look like you ran here in this storm."

I don't know what to say. I just slowly shake my head.

"Why would you come here? Is something wrong?"

The howls pierce the silence accompanied by the loudest crack of thunder yet, making me gasp and turn my head back to the door.

Any rational person would have run, no matter how fruitless it might be from all these supernatural beings, but they would have tried anyway. Anyone with a sense of some self-preservation would have. But not me.

No.

I couldn't do this. I couldn't face him. I couldn't look into his face, knowing he's gone from me. I can't. Please, dear God, I can't.

"Is someone following you, Bella? Are you in danger?"

I swivel my head back to my strange host yet oddly my saving grace in this moment. The wolves would be here any minute. I had to make it fast.

"Jasper. Change me."

His eyes widen.

"Bella, what are you talking about? I can't do that."

He tries to study me. I don't give him the time to.

"Please. I need you to do this for me. Please."

Jasper shakes his head vigorously.

"No. Bella, what has got you so spooked like this? Making you say these things? It can't be done."

For once, he looks frightened of me. I push forward, anyway.

"Please. Jasper, I need this."

He shakes his head.

I feel the anger rise up in me. Not my smartest move, I'll admit, but I'm desperate.

"You owe me. Edward left me because of you. Now, change me." I felt bad using that because the truth was, Edward didn't leave because of him. Edward just didn't want me anymore. I wasn't enough for him. Just like I'm not enough for him. Not enough for anyone.

His eyes look so pained I almost feel guilty but I can't stop now. It's almost as if I have supernatural hearing myself and I can hear the paws thudding against the earth. They're getting closer...

"Jasper. Please."

"No, Bella. You don't know what you're asking. Please. Don't do this."

I follow him up to the top stair. I look at him pleadingly.

"Jasper. Change me."

"Over my dead body!"

I cringe when I hear the bang and then the voice. The voice that sends the pain running rampant throughout my body, begging me to just die already and put an end to it all. The voice that is all too familiar to me now.

Jasper snarls and pushes me behind him protectively. I don't look down. I can't. I can't look at his eyes. I can't.

I don't even think about it. I go straight into Edward's room and shut the door, sliding against it until I hit the floor. I hug my knees and bury my head in my arms. Regardless of the thunder, I can hear the yelling.

"Don't even think about touching her, leech!"

"Who are you to bust into our home and make threats?"

"The Pack is right behind me! Don't try a thing or you'll be ripped to pieces and burned to ashes before your precious family knows what happened to you!"

"Who says my family's not here?"

That bit of information would have normally perked me up but right now, I can't be bothered to. Not unless one of them was willing to change me like I asked.

"I don't care who's here! You're not touching her!"

"I had no intention to, Mutt!"

"Whatever! Let me pass!"

"No! She doesn't want you near her, that's quite obvious! She ran to us! And she's still a part of this family!"

"She is NOT a part of this family! Nor will she ever be! Get the hell out of my way, bloodsucker! Bella!"

I close my eyes and bury my head more, hugging my knees tighter to my body. I do not want this. Why is this happening? Why?

"Bella! Come out here right now! I need to talk to you!"

I shake my head. I don't care how angry he gets. I don't care that I do owe him at least this small form of goodbye. I don't care about anything.

"BELLA!"

"See? Now, get out of here, Dog!"

"Fine!"

I hear Jasper snarl again and then the front door slams shut.

I slowly lift my head to take in my surroundings.

Edward's room, just as he left it. His racks of CDs and books the same. His stereo is still here. Everything's the same except one thing.

There's a bed in the middle of the room.

A big yellow bed that looked like it could easily fit three people.

I rise to my feet and make my way towards it cautiously.

Vampires don't sleep. Edward never had a bed before and had no need for one. Why was this here then?

I gingerly stroke the comforter with my finger.

Soft and...cool.

I sit down on the edge and lean down towards the pillow.

I smell Edward's scent.

Obviously, not his vampire scent, like the wolves pick up, but his scent. To me, a mere human. A human that wasn't enough for him.

I grab the pillow and hold it to my chest as I turn on my side and curl into a ball.

If he hadn't left me, none of this would have happened. I would have never had the chance to feel this broken, this dead inside. Not like this, anyway.

I know Edward doesn't want me. He never came back for me. I know Jasper's here now but that's nothing more than coincidence. I know better.

But I wish he would come back, anyway.

Especially now, when I need him the most.

I close my eyes and inhale his scent, remembering the meadow and how his skin glittered in the sunlight.

How he told me he loved me, how he had waited for me for so long. How I was the one for him.

But in the end, I still wasn't enough. Just like I wasn't enough for the second person who told me I was his world after Edward walked away, dooming me to a life of even more pain and misery than I would have had if he had just let me join his family when I wanted.

And that makes me begin to cry.

I'm nothing now.

No one's.

No one.

Nothing.

Nothing can save me now.

The pain in my chest roars its agreement with my statement.

A loud crash behind me jolts me upright, screaming.

I hear a snarl near the door but it's drowned out by deafening growls.

The large wolf in front of me stares at me with sad eyes.

I stare back at him, unable to stop the tears streaming down my cheeks.

I can't take it anymore. The pity only gets worse. I grab the pillow and turn my back, burying my face into it once more and curling into an even tighter ball. I close my eyes, praying and hoping he'll go away, since I have no ability to make him leave. I don't matter. I wasn't enough. Is the guilt burdening his soul this much? It shouldn't. After all, what should he have to feel guilty about? His soul should be twittering here and there in happiness, dancing to a never ending chorus of Hallelujah? Why does he feel the need to keep torturing me? Is it because I'm still breathing? That he hasn't finished the job? Soul. Check. Heart. Check. Will to live. Check. Body. Damn.

Maybe I'll get lucky. Maybe he'll realize I'm in Edward's room, on a bed, in a house of the family I still yearn to belong to and write me off as the lost cause he should have ages ago. Maybe...

I feel a heavy weight sink into the mattress next to me.

No such luck.