Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but I've been really busy lately with reading Breaking Dawn (ahh, so amazing!) and reading my summer list for school and entertaining family, so I'm pooped! Anyway, enjoy this chapter from Jasper's POV! The more reviews, the faster I update! So please please please PLEASE review! And thanks!
I just stared at the perfect girl lying on the other side of the glass. Asleep, and devastatingly beautiful. All dressed up for an evening of harmless fun, but is anything ever harmless anymore? The heart monitor beeped with her every heart beat, which my ears were now attuned to more than ever. Honestly, she had just been knocked unconscious; in my opinion all the expensive hospital gadgets weren't necessary. But Carlisle had insisted on it, as a formality. "She did hit her head hard," he had reminded me.
My enhanced eyesight caught her lifting her finger and trying to open her lips to say something. I wanted to break through the door and rush to her side, hold her hand and apologize relentlessly for all that happened. My feet began following my train of thought, but a hand on my shoulder restrained me from moving.
"Let her sleep it off. She'll be as good as new in a few hours," Carlisle said.
I was tired of everyone saying I couldn't go to Amy's side, that I couldn't be with her when she needed me. I shook off his hand. "I need to be with her, Carlisle. Why can't you understand that?"
Amy began mumbling in her solitary quarters. I think I heard her moan my name. That was all I needed to break the conversation with the doctor and walk quickly to her motionless body. I lifted her limp hand and gave it a gentle pressure. I brushed the loose hair off her forehead and kissed it.
"I'm here, Amy. Can you hear me?" I whispered into her ear. Her lips formed into a small smile, like she was happy in her sleep to hear my voice.
"Mmm…Jasper," she mumbled. My hand cupped her warm, tan cheek as she started to say my name over and over again. I rubbed soothing circles with my thumb on the dimples that had appeared when she'd smiled.
I had remembered to hold my breath before entering her room, but became careless and took a deep breath. Fire in my throat ensued as I felt venom dripping from my teeth. She smelled like the ocean mist; calm, soothing, and perfect. I could feel my pupils dilate and move to her heart, where the blood was pulsing and branching out to her veins. I slid my hand down to her freckled throat, thinking how easy it would be to kill her, and then enjoy her. The newborn in me did not appreciate her taunting me with her scent, flaunting her immobility. It would be too easy. But, looking at the innocence of her face, and the laughing set of her jaw, the light sprinkle of brown freckles across her cheeks and nose, I knew I could never bring myself to do that to her. To take away a life that she had yet to fulfill.
Her eyelids fluttered suddenly, and all thoughts of murder were erased from my mind. What Amy needed was a comforter, not a psychotic vampire literally dying to taste her. I stared at her for minutes while waiting for her to open her eyes.
I took the liberty of inspecting the damage to her head and grimaced when I beheld a rather large, swelling bump near the back of her head. You wouldn't have known from the thump her head made on impact that an injury of that size could have been made. An immense wave of guilt stung my heart as I shuddered; it was all my fault. If I hadn't asked the students counting votes to pull them in Amy's favor, this wouldn't have happened. Damn my powers of persuasion!
I felt a squeeze on my hand holding Amy's, and turned to find a pair of unbelievably dazzling blue eyes. But, they weren't just blue; there was brown, and hazel, and green, and yellow. Never had there been a more beautiful and fitting pair of eyes for a perfect girl.
"Hey," she said weakly.
"Hey yourself." She smiled at my casual tone, flipping a switch inside of me that made me instantly smile back.
"Good, I was afraid you would be worried about me," she said in a relieved tone. If only she knew how worried I was; my insides were churning with concern, but I had only assumed that not making it a big deal would assuage her. Now she was trying to comfort me. Because SHE was worried about me.
"And how do you know I'm not worried about you?" I teased.
She laughed. If I still had a heart, it would be jumping out of my chest at this moment. Amy's laugh was one of the most pure sounds in the entire universe, vying head to head with my Alice's.
She just shrugged nonchalantly. "I can see it in your eyes. You knew I would be all right, so no reason to worry, right?"
"No, I actually had a major reason to worry about you, and a very good one at that."
"What was it?" The question played in her eyes as they sparkled with curiosity. I almost laughed at how simple the answer to it would seem to her, when to me, it was my entire emotional unit.
"I was afraid there would be damage to your head. If you could see the swelling mass on the back of your head right now, you would see my point," I added when the doubt at my normal explanation sprung up in her face.
"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad. I feel fine!" She flopped her head back onto the pillow as if to prove her point, then winced when she hit her sensitive spot. She quickly hid the pain on her face by twisting it into a hysterical laugh. "See," she giggled, "perfectly fine!"
I just rolled my eyes at her strained attempt to fake recovery. She looked up at me from beneath her thick black eyelashes and smiled apologetically, for trying to deceive me when it didn't work, I suppose.
The door opened behind me and Carlisle walked in with Amy's medical charts. "All right, Ms. Valen," he started while examining the results of some tests he'd used on her, "it seems there was no internal damage to your head, but there is going to be a bruise there for the next few weeks or so."
I could feel her sigh in relief, and my own also. Carlisle looked up from her charts to give me a quizzical glance, and then returned to Amy.
"I'm going to sign your release. If you feel any dizziness, or nausea, or extreme head pains, you must come back and see me. I'm going to prescribe you for a few painkillers to help the pain, all right?" My father signed his name to the chart and held it out for her to sign as well. Amy smiled as she seemed to compare her handwriting to Carlisle's. There was no comparison; of course, Amy's sleek and loping cursive won my vote.
"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," she beamed and hopped off the bed. She staggered from the quick movement and almost fell back, but Carlisle and I steadied her enough for her to stand on her own.
"Jasper," Carlisle addressed me, "would you mind driving Ms. Valen home, seeing as she does not have a car?"
"Sure." I grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her outside the oppressive hospital room with haste. I was itching to get out of there; Amy's scent was beginning to burn my throat again, with the small room holding in all that she gave off. I called over my shoulder, "See you at home!"
We raced to the parking lot and quickly drove off. Amy was breathing heavily at having run to the car, but her smile calmed my nerves. "Thank you," she breathed.
"You're welcome." My breathing had not been affected by the slow jog.
"Tell me something Jasper," Amy asked suddenly. "What was the real reason you were so worried about me?"
"What, a friend can't be worried about another friend being in the hospital?" I joked. She did not laugh at my attempt at humor. Her blue eyes stared straight into my soul, feeding off my emotions and expressions.
"Please?" she pleaded.
Oh well, it wouldn't hurt. "I was afraid I would lose you. That would be the absolute worse thing that could happen to me in this lifetime."
Amy's mouth dropped open at my sudden honesty. "Jasper, it's just a head injury. You wouldn't lose me for that." She put a hand over mine and shivered at my cold body temperature. My hand warmed instantly at the contact.
"You never know," I said darkly. "I've seen much more inconsequential injuries cause death before. Tiny scratches, little bruises, even a canker sore. You can never know what will kill you, and I would never take that chance with you."
"I never said you would," she said defensively.
I groaned. "Why can't you just accept a final answer? Why does everything have to be so complicated for you? Some things are just simple; that's the way they are. Not everything is made to be as difficult as it seems for you!"
"I'm sorry Jasper, but it's called instinct!" she argued. "I can tell when you're being evasive with me, like this morning, and earlier tonight, when I asked about my backpack. Why can't YOU keep it simple and just tell me the truth!"
"Fine!" I snapped. I swerved the car carelessly, made an illegal U-turn in the middle of the highway, and drove head on into the woods. The ground made for a bumpy ride, and the tension in the air only heightened the terrifying feeling boiling in the pit of my stomach. I had to tell her now. She was already suspecting something wasn't right, and if I didn't say something about it, she would only press me until I let up. Besides, this was more than she deserved from me.
After ten minutes of our off-road expedition, I stopped the car with sudden force. Amy bounced back into her seat and grunted when she situated into a more comfortable position. She turned to face me, and the fury was obvious in her eyes.
"What the hell was that?" she shrieked.
"I'm sorry, but I have something to tell you. I brought you out here so if you scream, no one will hear you and be worried," I tried to explain. Then I realized how my words could be twisted to imply that I was going to do something to her, something horrible. Amy's eyes widening in fear confirmed my errant thought.
"Listen to me, Amy. What I'm about to tell you, you must never repeat to anyone. Your life depends on it. Do you understand me?" I instructed her. My military side was beginning to surface, as it was detectable in my tone. Amy gave a small nod.
I opened my mouth to speak and tell her of my true identity.
