Hey. I know it's been a while, but here's the next chapter! Review?

Disclaimer: Ashley and Matt are mine. The Cullens? Nope.


"Let me get this straight," Matt said for the tenth time. "They basically mauled you because they were freaking out because there was a piece of paper in your hand?"

I nodded. Matt's eyes widened, and he put his hand to his face. "Oh my God," he said, his voice muffled. "That is so stupid, Ashley."

"You're telling me. They're really overprotective."

"Obviously. I didn't think a phone number would get you in trouble." He grimaced at me.

"Hey, it's fine. Don't worry about it. If it wasn't that, it'd be something else. Trust me."

"If you say so."

I glanced at the clock and saw that I had disappeared from Bella's for about an hour and a half. I sighed heavily. Edward would have my head if I was gone any longer.

"I have to go. My cousin will kill me if I'm gone any longer."

Matt's face fell. "Oh. Okay. Let me walk you outside." We stood up, and I couldn't help but realize that his words were almost out of a movie – a very cheesy movie.

"I'll see you later, Matt."

"Bye, Ashley. Be safe."

"Of course." I rolled my eyes and hopped into my car. My thoughts were jumbled as I drove back to Bella's house. I figured the Cullens would still be there, but I couldn't guarantee anything. Hell, for all I knew, they were following me back to Bella's house right now.

I pulled into Bella's driveway and slammed the car door shut. The house was eerily silent, and I found out why when I walked in the door.

There was a note on the counter in beautiful script that most certainly wasn't Bella's handwriting.

Ashley,
Alice and I have taken Bella to our house for a few hours to reacquaint with the rest of our family. We've left someone to watch you for the night in case you try to escape again. We'll see you when you get back.
Edward

"Son of a bitch," I hissed, crumpling the note and throwing it wherever. "All right!" I shouted. "Who the hell is watching me?"

There was no answer, but of course, I'd been prepared for that as well. I picked up a rather large knife and put it against my wrist.

"Who – is – watching – me?" I bit out evenly. "I know you can hear me. I'll do it." My voice held nothing but sincerity.

Finally Jasper emerged from the shadows of the hallway. I slammed the knife down. "Why won't you people leave me alone?" I snapped, on the verge of tears.

"Edward wanted to make sure you wouldn't harm yourself."

"Edward doesn't give a damn about me, Jasper. And frankly, right now, I don't give a damn about him."

I felt myself getting strangely calm and looked at Jasper in alarm. "What the hell are you doing to me?" I demanded, struggling against the feeling creeping its way through my body.

"I'm calming you down," he replied.

"No! I don't want to calm down!" I tried to fight against the calm but eventually gave into it. I sat down at the table and rested my head against my arms. "I hate you, Jasper," I mumbled.

He snickered. "I'm sure you do, Ashley. But thank you for giving Bella back to Edward. Since I was the one who caused him to leave her in the first place." He sighed.

"What did you do?" I asked, feeling the calmness wear off a little. I sat up, watching him run his fingers through his blonde hair.

"It was her eighteenth birthday party. Alice said everything would go smoothly, and there wouldn't be any interruptions. She said it was safe for me to be there, to celebrate my sister's birthday." He paused, his eyes years away. "Bella, in all her clumsiness, gave herself a paper cut. A paper cut, Ashley. That was what caused me to lose control, to unintentionally release my demon, the monster that thirsted for blood. I almost killed her." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I would have killed her if not for Emmett and Edward reacting so quickly."

He looked around, silent for a moment, reminiscing on what he'd done. "Edward told us that night that we would be leaving within the week. He couldn't keep putting her at risk. I knew what it would do to him, but –" Jasper paused. He sighed heavily. "But he said he would endure any pain to make sure Bella would never suffer again."

"He did a great job of that, didn't he?" I snapped. "She looked like a ghost when I first got here."

"We know, Ashley," he murmured, wincing. "Edward wasn't much better."

"Well, couldn't Alice have seen what it would do to her? Or did she just not care?"

Jasper narrowed his eyes at me. "Leave Alice out of this. She did nothing wrong. Edward told her to stop looking for your cousin, Ashley."

I exhaled sharply. "This is so messed up. Edward left because he was scared. Right?" Jasper nodded. "So why wasn't he scared anymore?"

"We didn't tell him she'd be here. I guess he assumed that after all these years she wouldn't have stayed in Forks. Alice guarded her mind from him so we could make it here. Your scent told him all he needed to know. You smelled like Bella, you thought of Bella – that was the final piece in the puzzle."

"I'm glad I could complete the riddle," I muttered. "I'm going to bed, Jasper."

He nodded. "Good night, Ashley."

I went upstairs to my room and jumped into my bed. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a car door slam. "I love you, Edward," Bella sighed.

"I love you, too, Bella," he replied.

The mushy couple has returned. Joy, I thought snidely. Thanks for the babysitter, Dad.


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- J.C.