Thank you to Methodical Madness... I shall work on my dwellings! XD

Leather and Lace

Imperfect

It was sweet Esme who finally decided that I'd cried enough on the ground by the truck. She scooped my into her arms delicately and was crooning sweet nothings the entire way back to the main house. I was in shock, in tears, and in torment. I'd just broken Jasper's world, sent it into a blazing inferno of hellfire, and stolen from beneath him the one person that may've kept him sane. I felt rather sick when I thought about it that way. Jasper hadn't done anything to deserve this betrayal. It must've been my fault.

"Bella, dear," Esme whispered, "Is everything all right? Where is Jasper?"

"He's gone," I said hoarsely. Tears still dripped down my cheeks as I spoke. "He left. His eyes… just kind of died, and then he left. Jasper's gone, and I've ruined everything now. I'm sorry."

Those words and thoughts brought on a fresh crying jag. I couldn't stop it. I was such an awful person. "Jasper didn't deserve this," I sobbed, "I've ruined his everything just because of my screwed up presence! I'm so, so sorry!"

She put me in Rosalie's bedroom and left me to deal with my emotions.

Somehow, I managed to sleep.

It was the sound of slamming doors that woke me. "Bella's not safe here!" Edward snarled, and I was surprised that I could hear him. Usually, the Cullens were next to silent when they fought. If they even fought…

"No, she's not safe with you and Alice," Rosalie growled, and I realized then why I could hear them. They were right outside of the bedroom door. "She told me what you almost did, Edward."

There was an arrogant snort, and I could practically see the smirk on his face. "Well, she'd been asking me for it for a while now, so I thought maybe I'd give her what she wanted."

"While Alice was there? She figured it out, Edward. She knows that you were simply manipulating her and Jasper." The hissing that followed made me nervous. They sounded more like battling toms than anything else.

"Rosalie, let me by. If we don't get rid of her, she'll split this coven in half!"

"No."

They're going to fight over me.

I started to shake, wishing that they wouldn't fight because of me. I wasn't worth it. I wasn't. All I did was cause trouble for this family. First, I was Edward's singer, and he … fell into obsession because of me—maybe Jasper's idea of smothering me in my sleep after that wasn't such a bad one. Second, on my birthday, I'd gotten a paper-cut and nearly shattered Jasper's world then. Third, Edward had gone to the Volturi to have them murder him because he didn't think he could live without me—due to Jasper's manipulation when I'd gotten back, Edward had managed to remain calm. Fourth, I'd nearly gotten them killed because of Victoria. Only because of Jasper's past experience with newborn armies were the Cullens able to escape.

"Peter?" came Carlisle's startled cry, and shock radiated through me. Peter? Who's Peter? And… Why was I so hungry?

"Rosalie, how long was I asleep?"

"For about a day," she replied around her growling match with the two outside the bedroom. I stood and walked to the door. I grabbed the cool knob and shuddered.

"Bella, are you in there?" The Southern drawl was sweet and thick, a lot like honey, but strange and unfamiliar. "Bella, don't you dare open that door, you hear me?" I froze and slowly released the knob. "Good girl. Now, then. My name's Peter Whitlock. I'm here because you, darlin', need a little bit of rescuin' today, and you're gonna play a major role in my life later on. Can't let my little sister-to-be get mauled by a vampire, can I?"

A smile rose to my lips unbidden. "Now, don't freak out, muffin," Peter warned. Freak out about what? And… 'muffin'?

"No!"

Edward's roar of fury terrified me, and I backed into a corner of the room before sitting. I stayed in the corner, cowering, and then two bright red eyes were staring into mine. I squeaked, and then a cold hand that wasn't smooth like Edward's caressed my cheek. "I said, don't freak out," the Southern drawl snickered, and I smiled again. He was relaxing, so much more laidback than the Cullens were. "So here's the thing. I know you have a thing about human-drinkers that want to eat you, but I give you my solemn vow that I will not eat you." I laughed, and then shock echoed dully in me. Here I'd just been mourning about shattering Jasper's world, and now I was laughing!

My smile dropped away, and the Southern man—Peter—frowned. "Don't make that face, muffin. I'm not here to hurt you. Rosie-posie," he teased, and I heard a bark of laughter from Rosalie. "Reassure the little lady that I'm not gonna eat her. Or hurt her."

"He won't, Bella. He has better control than most of us." That shocked me, but if Rosalie said it, she meant it. That was something I'd noticed: Rosalie didn't lie. She said what needed to be said, but wouldn't lie about it. Peter offered me his hand. I regarded it curiously, and he straightened up with a sigh.

"Look, Bella. I need your help. I need to find my brother, and all of me's screaming that you're the only one who'll be able to reach him when he's found." I stared at Peter's hand, and then I grabbed it. I'd repay my sin by helping this Southern man track down his brother. After all, the world's imperfect, and the best way to ease my guilt for losing Jasper would be to find someone in return.

Peter smiled at me before lifting me into his arms and jumping out the window. I buried my face in his chest as he started running.