Alice's POV
I sprinted through the trees, my emotions directing me where to go as the dense, dead foliage blurred past me; It was as if I were looking through tears I would never be able to have. If truth be told, I wasn't sure why I wasn't so upset. Sure, there were many reasons as to why I should be upset: Jasper had left me (for my own good, of course) "temporarily"; When I came to his rescue, he didn't want me to fight his battles for him; I had had to see what Maria had planned to do to him. Every single thing that could have gone wrong had indeed gone wrong. But, surprisingly enough, I wasn't too upset. In fact, I was suddenly tranquil, an emotion I didn't trust, not with my empath roaming about.
Slowing my pace down, I found myself in the middle of a clearing, a few trees here and there, scattered about like birdseed. The distinct trickle of a stream whispered through the pines. I knew that, at any point, a vision could grace me, though this worried me: I was as vulnerable as prey out here, and being temporarily distracted with nothing to prepare me for an attack would not be good.
My keen senses picked up his near-silent sprint as he neared my location, stopping with perfect ease in front of me. He nodded his head once, waiting for my reaction. Slowly, carefully, I nodded back, before rushing into his arms. There was so much emotion in the mere touch that I felt as if I could cry true tears, although I knew this would never be possible. "Jasper," I whispered, beginning to sound like a broken record as I echoed the single world over and over again. "Jasper Jasper Jasper." He answered by placing his lips on the crown of my skull, rubbing his thumb smoothly across my comparable shoulder.
"Alice," He began, but I cut him off by placing my index finger over his delectable lips. "Shhh." I whispered. "I know you're sorry. I understand… Most everything. Please, can we just… Go home? I'm sure Esme is worried about us. Edward is, too. In fact, the whole family probably is."
He nodded once. I outstretched my hand, much like the lucky day where I had first met him in that historical diner. Jasper took it without thinking, feeling hope again for yet another century we were only about to begin.