The Twilight Twenty-five
Prompt: Comfort
Pen name: bonnysammy
Pairing: Edward/Bella
Rating: M
A\N:
Thanks to my betas from Project Team Beta--SayGoodbyeAgain, Jessica0306, and BookGeek80. You guys are unbelievable for working with me on this. (If there are any parts that are questionable about the storyline or wording, my beta who is below age does not get to see it. So she does a great job with the info she gets)
I hope you enjoy.
I do not own any of these characters, or the original plot to the Twilight Series. Everything publicly recognizable belongs to their owners. I am doing this only for the pleasure I gain from writing and I am not associated with anyone or anything to do with the Twilight Series. There is no financial benefit, whatsoever, though I may wish there were.
7 – Comfort.
When Jasper finally arrived home from doing whatever he'd been doing, Alice reheated the food she had prepared. It had cooled during our conversation, and Jasper's reappearance actually brought attention to the fact that we hadn't eaten, even though it was quite late.
"Here you go, sweetheart," she said as she walked across the floor, and then handed him a small plate of food. "Enjoy!"
"Thanks, Al," he replied. "But I'm really not that hungry. I ate before I came home." He turned away from me to face her and looked at her for a little too long. Their loving looks and pauses, which had become too much for me to bear recently, didn't bother me as much now.
She closed her eyes and sighed, pressing her lips into a thin line. After shaking her head minutely, she apparently remembered that I was still in the room and turned on her heel.
"Bella, do you want me to fix you a plate?" she asked, disappearing behind the kitchen door.
"No, that's okay," I called. "I'll go get my own." I stood and made my way to the kitchen. Alice and I passed at the doorway, and I smiled to myself at how much more comfortable things were now that we had talked.
I placed some food on my plate, and then put it in the microwave to heat up. While I was waiting, I could hear Alice and Jasper's muted voices in the other room, obviously trying to keep quiet so I wouldn't find out what they were saying. Since I didn't want to know what they were talking about, I didn't invade their privacy.
After my food was warm, I joined them at the table. My chair was cozy and inviting as I sat—thank heaven we chose the plush chairs and not the wood ones. Without looking at the two lovebirds seated at the same table, I began to eat.
"So... Bells," Jasper said after clearing his throat. "We, um, need to talk about last night." His voice cracked nervously.
"No, we don't, Jazz," I quickly responded. "I'm not sure exactly why you did it but during my alone time today, I did some thinking... You thought you were doing something good. You'd never do anything to purposely hurt me, I know that."
"Never," he said grabbing my hand to emphasize his words.
I took a deep breath, tilting my head in thanks.
"So, I'm not going to let Edward Masen ruin my life anymore," I said. "He's done it for long enough. It's time to make a clean break." I took strength from those words. I could do this. I would do this.
"Really?" Jasper's voice didn't betray any hint of disbelief, but it was edged with an emotion I couldn't place. "You're really done with him?"
Alice smiled kindly and nodded supportively as I met her gaze.
"Yes," I replied. "It's done. I mean, I still love him; I probably always will." It was the first time I had admitted that since high school. Jasper pulled back, blinking rapidly. "But I think it may be that I'm more in love with the person I thought he was, not necessarily who he is. We're both different people, and it's time to move on."
"Wow!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide as he pulled his hand away.
"Yeah." I cut a small piece of chicken, placed it in my mouth, chewed and swallowed. It was delicious. "So, um, let's stop talking about him. I don't want to think about it anymore. I've done enough thinking." Wallowing, really. "Besides, I met someone today."
His mouth fell open.
"Better close that, Jasper. You'll start catching flies." I laughed at his blatant shock. "What? Did you think someone wouldn't be interested in me?"
He joined in my laughter. "Of course not, silly. You're a hell of a catch. I'm surprised you found someone today. So… you like this guy?"
"Yeah," I replied. "He's great. We really hit it off." I cut off another piece of chicken and began chewing on it.
"That's great. I'm happy for you." He smiled, but his eyes betrayed that other emotion I couldn't place.
I nodded, my full mouth of food. We finished rest of our dinner in a comfortable silence. As I ate, I turned over the events from the park. Jake really was handsome, funny and sweet. To top it all off, he seemed interested in me, and I was definitely interested in him, a perfect situation.
I stood up and collected the plates.
"I'll put these in the dishwasher," I said, walking through the kitchen door. I raised my voice. "Do you guys have plans for the night?"
"Actually," Alice called, "I was hoping we could have a night in. Jazz and I bought some movies, so I thought we could watch them."
"Cool," I yelled back. "What'd you get?"
"You can look through them and choose when you're done."
"Alright. Do you guys want death by buttered popcorn?" I asked, popping my head out of the kitchen door
"Most definitely," Jasper responded..
I prepared some popcorn and returned to the living room. After I collapsed into my chair, Alice rushed over to me with a bunch of DVDs.
"Here, you pick."
I looked through the lot. The one that caught my eye was a movie about a boy wizard. The premise seemed harmless enough, so I handed it back to Alice.
"How 'bout this one?"
She inspected my choice and smiled back. "Sounds good to me. Jasper?" She held the object out to him.
"That's fine," he said, shrugging. "It doesn't sound too bad."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jazz," I teased.
We all became absorbed by the movie, which was interesting until the boy playing the 'Hogwart's Champion' showed. He looked like a younger version of Edward, exactly like the boy I had fallen in love with. I pushed the pain away. I would not allow it to take over; I had severed that tie.
I knew Alice had noticed the resemblance too, as I caught her glancing at me sideways. I pulled out my cell phone, diverting my attention from the movie and Alice's furtive looks. After scrolling through the contacts, I found Jake's information. I selected his name and sent a quick text.
Had a great time today. It was really nice meeting you.
I place the phone on my lap, hoping to receive a response relatively soon. Nonetheless I was surprised when my phone buzzed about a minute later.
Definitely. I'm so glad we ran into each other. I'm at work now. Can I call you tomorrow?
That was a very good sign. He wanted to talk to me tomorrow.
Sure, I sent back.
I placed the phone on the end table, and I snuggled into the chair, covering myself with a fleece blanket. I let the warmth and comfort of both the blanket and my friends surround me as I fell into a deep slumber.
A|N
I don't have anything funny to say or write here. This was a pretty boring chapter, just setting some stuff up. I will work on my next chapter pretty soon and hopefully post it quickly.
Thanks for reading.
