The next morning Esme told me that I should stay home for a few days. That made me really happy. After all no one likes school. Esme would have pampered me like a baby if I let her but I didn't. It was good to know that someone cared about you that much though.
Unfortunately I had a new problem. In addition to my memory loss I was hearing strange things in my head now. It was a very subtle background noise I couldn't get out of my head. Was I going slightly mad? The mere thought was troubling. Vampires were immune to any kind of physical damage - my leg was perfectly fine - but mental issues I wasn't so sure about.
After I had spent a few hours inside the house I felt the strong desire to go outside. The house didn't feel the same without my brothers and sisters. I decided that I could use the time on my hands to take a walk in the woods. I was certain that if I could find the lake or stream I had been to it would trigger a memory. Then I would be able to fit the missing pieces together and everything would return to normal.
With this in mind I started walking. The first lake I came across didn't seem to be anything special. Neither did the second or third ring any bells. I felt like a fool walking around the woods aimlessly. I was close to giving up. The background noise in my head grew stronger and stronger. I was panicking. I didn't want to be insane. I started running in order to clear my head and reached another lake. I was about to continue running but there it was. It was this feeling I had been hoping for. The place felt familiar to me as if I had been there recently.
That was a good start. I was getting my hopes up again. I sat down on the grass and looked around. Soon I realized that my memory wouldn't reappear as miraculously as it had vanished.
After coming to that conclusion I was devastated and ready to go home when I spotted a little hut. The background noise turned into a voice. The voice inside my head told me to come closer. Well if I was going nuts I could just as well follow my insanity to a little hut at a lake.
I came closer to the hut and was greeted by a family. They were playing outside in the garden. One kid trying to ride a unicycle, the other was juggling with three balls. Around the corner I spotted even more kids. It looked more like a kindergarten to me.
I was greeted by an elderly woman and all the kids gathered around her.
One of the children asked whether I wanted to play with them. I told them I got lost in the woods and that my passing by was merely coincidental.
The elderly woman said : "Oh you poor thing you cannot walk back with that foot of yours."
I had completely forgotten about the cast I was wearing.
"Come inside and play with us and I will drive you home when kindergarten is finished." the old lady continued.
I felt as if I couldn't say no to her. You know what people say : You cannot deny an old lady a wish. That was the case here. I sat down and started playing with some of the children.
One boy painted a large smiley onto my arms. I wasn't good with kids of that age. I didn't want to scare them so I let the boy paint another smiley onto my arm. It didn't take long till other kids joined us and I was becoming a piece of art.
"Children we don't paint on other human beings " the old lady said disapprovingly. " Let's sit in a circle and play a game."
I was relieved that the kids obeyed.
"Now I need a volunteer..." the old lady said
She hadn't even finished her sentence when chaos erupted. "Pick me, pick ." every child in the room was screaming.
She continued talking " I think it would be polite if we let our guest participate. "
"Oh no! I wasn't going to do that", I thought. Suddenly all the children looked at me with pleading eyes. They thought it was a great idea. I just couldn't say no.
All of this felt like a déjà vu to me.
" So we are going to hypnotise you." the old lady told the children.
Then she mumbled to me: " At the end of the year the children will perform a little play for their parents. This years theme is: Circus. This is going to be a part of our show."
I just nodded and tried to play along. I stood in front of her feeling kind of ridiculous. She was waving with strange things in front of me. I didn't pay any kind of attention to her. Her face became a blur. I wasn't able to form a coherent thought anymore.
Suddenly I was standing in the forest. My clothes were soaking wet and ripped. I started to panic. What was I doing alone in the woods. I had lost my mind. I was sure of it. To my surprise I didn't hear any voices or noises inside my head. That soothed me. I was able to think straight now.
I needed to get home. It was already dark. It didn't matter to me that it was pitch black all around me but I wanted to keep this to myself and needed to get home before anybody grew suspicious. The window to my room was open. I jumped up and was inside my room.
With a fresh pair of clothes I went downstairs just in time to see the others coming through the door. It meant that school was finished for the day.
"What have you done all day, little brother?"Emmet asked me playfully.
"I just watched TV." I tried to sound casually.
"Is there any news concerning the robberies?" Alice asked.
"Not that I know of. But I can turn the TV back on if you'd like me to." I responded asking myself what she was talking about.
"There have been several robberies in the little town of Forks. Money is missing from shops and even private homes. No shop owners were seriously injured but it remains a mystery how the thief managed to rob the whole town in just one day." said the reporter who was standing in front of an all too familiar high school.
"The local bank is the only place that has surveillance cameras. We are going to show you the video now." the reporter continued.
Upon seeing the surveillance footage I froze. Everyone looked at me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
There in the video it was... - the proof that I had robbed the local bank of Forks.
If I had robbed the bank I was responsible for the other robberies as well.
The room was silent. You could have heard a pin drop. It was the first time that my family was at a loss for words.
Emmet was the first to break the silence :" At least you moved so fast that you are just a blur on the screen. The human eye won't be able to tell that it was you."
Carlisle was the next to speak: "Jasper I am very disappointed with you. We agreed that we would never misuse our powers that way. No it's not that easy. Your actions were for any human outright evil. It hurts me to say it but you leave me no other choice than to ban you from my family. You are no longer welcome in my house. Pack your things, go and never return!"
Thank you for all of your reviews and the time you take reading my story. The next chapter will be the last one. Hope you like the turn the story took.