Legna keeps my words and me in check.

We're a little early, here - I'm worried that Wednesday will be impossible and don't want to risk it.

In Which Jasper Is Late and Rosalie Is a Bitch

It was 8:15 and Jasper was fifteen minutes late. In the three months we'd been hanging out, he'd only been delayed twice and had to cancel once. Aside from when he was less than ten minutes late on "burrito night," he had always called or texted to let me know. I sent him a quick text and joked that my stomach was going to eat itself if he didn't hurry up with the Chinese. We had opted to stay in this Friday night.

At 8:30, when he still hadn't shown up or replied to my text, I called his cell. His voicemail picked up after five rings. I didn't bother to leave a message – he would know why I called. Maybe he was stuck at the gym and didn't have his phone on him. I flipped on the television, too exhausted from a long day to focus on the book I'd recently started.

One and a half Friends episodes later, I was worried. I tried calling him again, but his voicemail still picked up. Maybe he'd caught the summer bug that was going around and had fallen asleep. We'd had to skip this week's Tex-Mex Tuesday, so I hadn't seen him for a week and a half. He could be sick and I might not know.

By 10:00, I was in a near panic. I'd called his cell twice more and sent another text. I decided that even if he were sick, unless he didn't have his phone near him, all of the ringing or buzzing would have woken him up. He'd mentioned he was a light sleeper, and I'd seen that firsthand a couple of the times he'd dozed off on my couch.

I had a few options. I could drive to his gym and see if he was there. Maybe something had happened to his motorcycle and he'd forgotten his phone. My stomach turned nervously at the thought of the things that could happen to him on his bike with all of the jackass drivers out there.

Or I could swing by his house to check on the sick-in-bed theory. But that option – and the third, just calling the house to see if he was there – ran a risk. Whether or not Jasper was at home, there was a chance that I would have to talk to Rose. I still didn't know how she felt about my relationship with Jasper. I didn't know if he'd even told her we were hanging out, or if she'd seen the leftovers I sent home for Emmett.

I picked up my cell and scrolled to the JWH entry. He had given me his home number in case I ever needed it. I hesitated just a moment before calling. Rosalie and I were grown women. If she couldn't handle me being her brother's friend, that was her own problem.

The phone rang twice before a gruff voice answered. I exhaled in relief.

"Emmett?"

"Yeah?"

"This is Bella."

"Bella, mi señorita! How the hell are you?"

"I'm good, Emmett. How've you been?" I chuckled. I never knew how Emmett could be filled with energy and so mellow at the same time. It didn't sound like he'd changed at all since I'd last seen him.

"Can't complain too much. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I'm looking for Jasper. He was supposed to be here a couple of hours ago and I can't get him on his phone."

"I haven't seen him since this morning. I think he was headed to work. Hang on."

I heard him cover the mouthpiece. His muffled voice called, "Rosie? Have you seen Jasper tonight?" Then the phone must have shifted against his hand or shirt, because Rose's response was clear. It sounded like she was right next to the phone.

"He was here for a few minutes this afternoon. He said he was going to the gym and then out. Why? Who's that?"

"A friend. He hasn't shown up and she can't reach him on his cell." It did not escape my notice that Emmett didn't use my name. I guess that answered the question about how Rose felt about Jasper hanging out with me.

"She?" There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments. When Rose's voice came on the line, I was reminded why I'd been hesitant to call.

"Who is this?" Rose's tone meant business. I sighed.

"Hey, Rose. It's Bella."

"Bella." I was impressed with how much disapproval Rose was able to shove into five letters. "What exactly is it you want from my brother?"

Hey to you, too, Rosie. Long time, no chat.

"In general? Just friendship. Right now? Chinese food. Mostly, I'd like to know where he is because he always lets me know when he's going to be late and I'm kind of concerned. Any idea where he might be?" I wasn't going to drag this conversation on any longer than I had to. Either she knew where Jasper might be or she didn't. I wasn't up for her bullying right now.

"What is it... one rich guy didn't work out for you, so you had to find another one?"

I heard a sharp "Rosalie!" in the background, but she would not be deterred. Emmett deserved some sort of shiny award for voluntarily dealing with this every day.

"But this time you thought you'd go for one a bit more fragile so you'd be more likely to control him?"

"Rose-" I didn't really care about what she was saying, but the nervous churning in my stomach was getting worse with each minute Jasper wasn't here.

"And if you're just trying to make Edward jealous, it's not working. He couldn't care less that you're 'friends' with Jasper."

"Rose-"

"Seriously, Bella, my brother might be kind of slow but he's not terminal. He's going to catch on to you sooner or later."

It was one thing for her to insult me – I didn't care what she thought about me – but it was an entirely different matter for her to insult her brother. He had done nothing to deserve her nasty words. Plus, there were more worrying things going on right now.

"Rosalie! Shut the fuck up!"

I thought I heard Emmett gasp and I wondered how loud I had been.

"What did you say?" She sounded more shocked than angry, which surprised me a bit. Nothing caught the Ice Queen off guard.

"Rose. I don't care why you or anyone else thinks I'm friends with your brother. As long as Jasper knows why, the rest of you don't matter. Now could we please get back on point? I'm worried as fuck and it's doing nothing good for my patience." I wiped a sweaty palm against my shorts.

She was silent.

"Fine. If he shows up, can you please have him call or text me? I might go swing by his gym to see if he's still there. Do you know if he's on his bike?"

There was some noise on the other end of the line and then Emmett was back.

"Bella? I'm sorry about that. Rosie is just being..."

"A raging bitch?"

Emmett chuckled and I was glad he could have a sense of humor about the Ice Queen's outbursts. Maybe that was what kept him alive. There had to be something good about her or he wouldn't be with her. A single Emmett Cullen certainly wouldn't have trouble finding a willing woman.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay, Emmett. I would have been disappointed with anything less than rampant hostility. Do you know if Jasper has his bike tonight?"

"He must, his car's in the garage."

"Okay, thanks. Sorry to bother you guys. Hope I didn't ruin your evening."

"Don't be fucking silly. It's great to hear from you. Maybe we'll see you sometime?" He said the last part almost timidly and I wondered if Rose was standing there, glaring at him.

"Yeah, that would be really great. Maybe you could join Jasper and me for dinner some night. We usually just hang out here at my house." I tried to emphasize the "you" without being too obvious.

"Sounds great, Bella. I'll let you go. Thanks for all of the food, by the way."

"You're welcome, Emmett. It's been my pleasure." At some point I would have to thank him for following me to the hospital last year, but now wasn't a good time.

"Hey, could you send me a text when you hear from Jasper? Just so we know he's okay?"

I wrote down Emmett's cell number and told him I hoped I'd see him soon. He promised to bring beer.

I was halfway to my car from my front door when I heard a loud engine down the street. I turned toward it, and had never been so happy to see a single headlight in all my life. I leaned against my truck. When the familiar motorcycle turned into my driveway, I let out the huge breath I'd been holding.

I crossed to Jasper in two steps and had my arms around him as soon as he shut off his bike.

"Jesus, Jasper! Give a girl a heart attack! You drop your phone in the Sound?"

His arms came up around my back and I leaned into the embrace. Now that he was here, my body began to release the tension it had been carrying and I could feel my arms and legs start to shake. I squeezed him as hard as I could and rested my head on the shoulder of his leather jacket. He still had his helmet on and was straddling his bike so the hug was awkward but I didn't care. I was so relieved to see that he was okay.

He rubbed my back for a minute and then let me go. I stepped back so he could dismount.

He turned to his bike while he pulled off his helmet. I reached out to rub his back, so glad he was here. I was startled when he jumped at my touch. I realized he hadn't spoken since he'd arrived.

"Jasper?" I wasn't going to go all jealous-girlfriend on him, since I was anything but, but that didn't mean I didn't want to know why he was two and a half hours late. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah... it's fine, Bella."

The hair on my arms was suddenly standing up and it had nothing to do with the cool summer breeze that was blowing through my front yard.

His usually smooth voice was raspy and choked. I'd never heard it like that before but I knew it didn't mean anything good. I reached back out and grabbed his elbow. I pulled to get him closer, and he resisted for a second but then turned toward me.

His hair was matted because of his helmet and maybe sweat from the gym. It looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. It was hard to see him clearly in the dim light from the streetlamp at the end of my driveway, but when he lifted his head to look at me, I saw the only thing that was truly important.

His pupils were so constricted they were nearly lost in the bright blue of his irises.

Jasper was high.

I am thinking maybe Saturday afternoon for Chapter 8.

And I apologize for being review-reply-fail for the next few chapters (and the last). I'll probably be lost in a canyon by this time tomorrow.