A/N: I think... I think I love you. Yes, you! If you are reading this, I love you! My readers rock! Lol.
Here's quite a long one for you. I was waiting for some slack for the last chapter, but it never came. Wow! I'll still be waiting for some for this one... But I like it. Lol. It was pretty fun to write if I remember correctly.
Enjoy...
Last time on A Beautiful Mess:
... I was just finishing up when I heard the door fly open and was hit with a wave of uncontrolled rage and a deep growl that actually scared the shit out of me. Great. Just fucking great.
I turned towards the door just in time to see an irate Edward; eyes black and emotions crazed. I jumped up and crouched in front of Bella, worrying only about her safety around such an out of control Edward. We all stayed where we were, frozen in the moment for a short time. Then, I saw my brother barreling at me, teeth barred and getting ready to attack. Fuck, me!
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A Beautiful Mess
Chapter 9
The Twilight Zone
Fear.
It was all I could feel for too long. Fear. Fear and fire. But Jasper fixed that. They were both gone now. I was happy, excited, looking forward to seeing everyone that I thought I'd never see again. I'd cheated death yet again! But fear, I've come to find, doesn't stay away for long when it comes to me.
I thought that I was done feeling afraid. James was gone and Jasper had saved me. He had risked his life and come to my rescue, even after I'd tricked him and ran off. I felt so bad that he had been hurt for me; it was exactly what I didn't want. But he quickly turned that around, pointing out that now, as best friends, we had matching scars that would always symbolize our bond. A bond that I knew would last forever; well, at least as long as I was alive.
But, I am alive, and I'd never been more thankful! Jasper was so strong. He took away my fear and then miraculously took away my pain. He took away the fire. I don't know how he was able to do it, but I knew he could. All I could feel was pride for him, but then, with the sound of the door flying open and the deep, terrifying growl that ripped through the room, the fear returned.
Jasper tensed before turning to crouch protectively in front of me. What? What is it now? Victoria? Laurent? Who wants to kill me now? I swear, death wants me; and it wants me badly!
I craned my neck to look around Jasper, and what I saw threw me for quite a loop. It was Edward. My Edward! I was so happy to see him! I jumped to my feet, eager to run and jump into his arms. I couldn't wait to hug and kiss him and hear him tell me how much he loved me. I'd be in heaven with my angel; I couldn't wait!
But I couldn't get there fast enough! It's like my feet were frozen in place when all I wanted them to do was run to him. Then, my voice of reason broke free and I realized why my feet weren't cooperating. Edward. This man wasn't my Edward. The look in his black eyes was one straight from a horror movie. He looked ready to kill; kind of how James did.
And then he started coming towards us, eyes crazy, teeth barred and snarls escaping his lips. This time, my feet cooperated as I tried to get as far away from him as possible; I backed up until I felt a cold, hard wall behind me and I stopped to watch the terrible scene in front of me.
I screamed out in terror as Edward slammed into Jasper, the sound like two boulders colliding, and threw him into the mirrored wall not ten feet away from where I stood. The shattered glass didn't have time to hit the floor before Edward was there again, holding Jasper around the throat and slamming him back into to broken mirror repeatedly.
"Why?" He snarled. "What did you do? What have you done to my Bella?" Edward asked, or, rather, screamed.
"It's not what you think Edward. Please, calm down and let me explain," Jasper yelled, trying to reason with him.
"Let you explain? Explain what? Why you had your mouth on my Bella? Why your eyes are red? And why can't I hear your thoughts Jasper? Are you blocking me? What do you have to hide? Huh, Brother?" Edward screamed again, spitting out the word 'brother' like it was a curse word.
"I'm not hiding anything from you Edward, maybe you're just too out of control to hear clearly. There has been no foul play here. I did not attack Bella, I just--" He was cut off by Edwards roar.
"Do not try to lie to me, Jasper! I see your eyes! They tell me the truth! You hurt the one I love and for that you will pay!" Edward threatened, before proceeding to slam Jaspers head into the wall again.
What the hell is going on? Does Edward seriously think Jasper attacked me? Look at me you idiot! I'm standing right here!
I was getting ready to yell at Edward and explain to him that I was right there, alive and fine, but before I had the chance, he snapped at Jasper and threatened, "Just as your teeth cut into her skin, you will feel mine in yours! I'm going to enjoy ripping you to shreds!" Edward looked like a crazy person, enjoying the sadistic thought of ripping my best friend, his brother, to pieces right in front of me.
Oh no! He's serious! He's going to tear him apart. Edward is going to kill Jasper! Bella, do something!
I mustered all of my strength and took the small number of steps I needed to reach them. I threw myself at them and pleaded, "NO! Edward, don't hurt him! He saved me! Edward! Please!"
Before I could make contact with their bodies as I'd planned, an arm swung out and into me, sending my flying across the room; Edwards! Edward seriously just hit me! What the fuck is wrong with him? I crashed into the floor painfully, looking up just in time to see Edward frozen, staring at me remorsefully, as Jasper kicked him forcefully off of him and rushed to my side. Jasper scooped me into his arms and darted towards the door. We were almost out when we were blocked by the beautiful Alice; her body directly in our way, hip jutted out with her hand on it and a dark look in her eyes.
"Alice! Fuck, I'm so glad you're here. Please, out of the way. Edward's lost it. I need to get Bella out of here before she gets hurt," He told her. She didn't move, but her eyes narrowed as she took us in.
"I'm not going anywhere, Jasper, and either are you. Now put Bella down, gently, and nobody will have to get hurt," she spoke slowly like she was talking to a senile old man. What the heck?
"Alice, what are you talking about?" There was a silent pause, and then Jasper's face showed the realization that I still hadn't reached. "Oh God, you think I bit her too don't you?" He asked in disbelief.
"Jasper, I see your eyes. Just put her down and we can try to fix this mess you caused, yet again," she replied, sounding like a complete bitch. I couldn't believe her!
"It's not like that, wife-of-mine," he spat venomously. "I didn't bite her. It's all a misunderstanding. Don't you trust me?"
"It's not about trust, Jazz. I know you!" Alice wasn't being fair. I wanted to jump in and defend Jasper, tell the truth of the matter, but I couldn't. My voice was hiding from me. I felt like a coward, making Jasper deal with this on his own.
"I'm glad I know how much faith you have in me after all these years, Alice," Jasper said, sadly. "But I'm not putting her down until she asks me to. Bella, do you want me to put you down?
Hell no! Why the fuck would I want that? I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone and you're the only one who isn't from the parallel universe where all the baseballs keep disappearing to! Please don't put me down! My voice was still not cooperating, so I did the only thing I could think of; I clutched his arm and held on as tight as I could. I guess I got my message across.
"See. Why would she hang onto me if I'd attacked her Alice? Please, see reason and let us pass," he told her, his was voice growing angrier by the second but he still remained a gentleman.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind Alice, "She won't be letting you pass, Son, but she will resume showing you respect and we will all get to the bottom of what occurred here today. Now, let's all move inside," Carlisle spoke with authority.
With a roll of her eyes, Alice followed his orders, moving into the room, followed by Carlisle and a silent Emmett. When the hell did they get here, anyways? Jasper looked down at me, waiting for my approval. I gave him a small nod and he hesitantly followed the others in.
The others were standing in a semi-circle in the middle of the room. Alice looked like she had a headache. Emmett looked like he was holding his tongue; Carlisle must've told him to keep quiet. Carlisle himself was taking deep breaths as he looked towards the corner of the room, waiting. That was the first time I'd seen him since he flew across the room after Jasper's kick. He was huddled in the corner, his knees drawn to his chest and his head down in his hands.
He looked up at me at the very same second that I looked at him. Our eyes only locked for a second before he diverted his, pain showing on his face. I wanted to run to him and hold him. I wanted to kiss him and hug him and tell him that everything would be okay; but I was still scared of him. I wasn't scared because I had just been attacked by his kind, or even because of how 'horror-movie-ish' he looked right now. I was scared because he almost hurt Jasper and because he did hurt me. He hurt me and it had nothing to do with my blood. He hurt me because he was irrational. I know he didn't mean it, but regardless, I couldn't shake the fear that I felt when I looked at him. Great.
Jasper walked us over to the area between Carlisle and Emmett and sat me on my feet. He tried to walk away, but I kept my grip on his arm, and instead he stayed and let me hold on to him. There was exactly 77 seconds of silence before anyone spoke; Emmett.
"Dude, I can't stand it anymore! What the fuck happened? Why is James' body in pieces everywhere? Why are your eyes red, but Bella's still alive? And why is she clutching you like you're her personal teddy bear?"
"Emmett, it's a long story. Why don't we take care of James and get back to the hotel and I'll tell you all on the way," Jasper answered. My voice was still hiding.
"Ugh, fine! Time to set fire to the fucker then?" Emmett asked, suddenly very excited.
"That sounds like a pretty good plan, Sons. We'll have to burn the entire studio down. What a shame," Carlisle added.
"A pretty good plan? Are you out of your damn mind Carlisle? Look at him. Red eyes! How can we even let him be around Bella?" Alice yelled while walking towards us. Jasper's head snapped to her in disbelief, just as mine; but he said nothing, just like me.
"Alice! Chill out! He's been with her this whole time and she's still alive, isn't she? Look, obviously something crazy went down here today. But let's give him the benefit of the doubt and not jump to conclusions. Jeez, he's your husband Alice. What the hell?" Emmett was mad, but not disrespectful. I, on the other hand was thinking of some very disrespectful things to say to her. How dare she! She's his wife! She's supposed to trust him, not assume he did something wrong.
"Exactly, Emmett! I'm his wife! I know him better than any of you. We've all been through this before, don't act like you haven't Em," she yelled at him.
"How about you don't act like a callous bitch and give him a chance to explain!" Emmett yelled and stamped away towards James' dismembered body. He began to place all of the pieces in a neat pile. God, this just isn't normal.
"You're brother's right Alice. We are a family and Jasper is your husband, it's time you remembered that. Now please, go help Emmett while I call your mother," he instructed. She reluctantly joined Emmett and they finished in silence.
Carlisle stepped out of the room and Jasper and I stayed glued to where we were. I could tell he was seething with anger, but he held it in the best that he could. I wanted to calm him down, but my voice was still gone. I started tracing soft circles on the back of his hand. I don't know if it worked or not, but he seemed to relax in the few minutes that we stood there.
I had forgotten that Edward was still in the room until Carlisle returned, asking us if we were ready to go. The only answer I heard was Edward's growl and frightening "We're not going anywhere until he explains what happened here!"
"Edward, calm down!" Jasper spoke with authority. It didn't work. Edward quickly made his way over to us and suddenly I felt a cold hand around my arm yanking me away from Jasper. "And get away from my Bella!" It was Edward and he was still pulling. He managed to get one arm free.
"Edward, stop it. You're gonna hurt her!" Jasper said as he tried to keep me close to him. This is ridiculous. They're seriously playing tug-of-war with me!
My voice seemed to be finding its way back as I was about to yell at both of them, but when Edward glanced down at my wrist and saw my scar, his face returned to the murderous one from earlier. His grip tightened around my arm and I cried out in pain. In the blink of an eye three things happened: Jasper yelled "Emmett, grab him!", Edward was yanked roughly away by Emmett, and Jasper spun me around behind his back and crouched in front of me.
Edward was thrashing wildly while Emmett and Carlisle tried to hold him back. Alice came over and stood by my side. Then, Edward broke free and rushed towards Jasper for the second time today. Alice quickly grabbed me and moved us out of the way. Edward stopped right in front of Jasper and screamed into his face.
"Why does she have a scar, Jasper? Huh? Explain that one!"
Emmett and Carlisle caught back up to Edward and were trying to drag him back.
"No, it's okay. I'll explain it to him," Jasper said. They let go of Edward, but stayed very close in case they were needed. Jasper and Edward remained locked in a silent stare down for longer than it felt comfortable for me.
"Well... Explain!" Edward snapped when he grew too impatient.
"I will explain it to you, Edward. All of you. But you have to promise to remain calm. You're scaring Bella and, quite frankly, pissing me off. So cool your jets and remain rational. Can you do that?" Hell no, he can't do that. And we all know it.
"Sure. Talk," Edward spat. I could only see the back of Jasper's head, but I would bet my life on the fact that he was giving him a look that could kill right now. Jasper didn't seem like one to take crap from anyone and Edward was dishing a lot at him today.
"As I hope you have all figured out by now, James came to Phoenix. I don't know how he found us, but he did. We were on the way to meet you guys at the airport when Alice got her vision. It startled her so much that she crashed the car," Jasper said, but was cut-off by Edwards deafening growl at Alice.
"Watch who you're growling at buddy. You may be mad but don't be an ass to my sister!" Emmett warned.
"Yeah, jeez. Calm down Ed. I didn't intentionally ram into another car you asshole. I was scared for Bella. What is wrong with you?" Alice asked, pulling me into her chest and rubbing my back. It felt nice, but this whole situation was bothering me.
"We'd get through this a lot faster if you didn't insist on interrupting me so often," Jasper said in a very irritated tone. "And I'd think twice before growling at my wife like that again. I don't take kindly to that shit and you know it." Edward just let out a low growl and asked Jasper to continue. Um, yum! Even in the middle of all of this commotion, Jasper still takes the time to defend his wife. So hot! Wait... what the hell is wrong with me? Ugh... focus Bella!
"So, as I was saying, Alice crashed the car. A few seconds before that I had picked up a lot of fear coming from Bella, but I didn't have time to find out what it was about. Alice stayed to deal with the accident while I was to usher Bella inside. Well, the little con woman tricked me into letting her go the bathroom alone and she ran for it," he said, turning his head and winking at me. He wasn't mad... anymore at least.
"Wait, you; awesome, amazing Major Whitlock got tricked by little old Bella? Classic!" Emmett joked.
"Yes, Emmett, I, Jasper Whitlock was tricked by brilliant Bella here. Is there something wrong with that? What are you implying?" He asked in a lethal voice. Wow. It was even yummier when he was defending me! Damn... here I go again! Focus!
"Just shut up and finish the story jackass!" Emmett ordered in defeat.
"Okay. After awhile I noticed that her scent wasn't as strong anymore. Without thinking, I rushed into the bathroom to find her gone. I followed her scent outside where I saw her jumping in a cab. I'm so lucky that I heard the directions he gave her or I don't think I would've made it in time. I jumped in a cab, bribed and threatened him to get me there as fast as he could, texted Alice and waited for the moment that I could kill that fucker. But, by the time I got there, it was already too late. When I got here, he bit her. I was able to stop him, and eventually, kill him. But when I was done, Bella was in pain. The venom was spreading. I asked her what she wanted; she told me she wasn't ready to die. I did the only thing I could... I sucked the venom out."
As Jasper finished, shocked gasps filled the room. I looked at Carlisle and he looked just like a proud father should. Even Emmett looked like he wanted to scoop Jasper up into one of his patented bear hugs. I thought we were a family surrounded in pride, but I was wrong.
"You what?" Edward growled, getting closer to Jaspers face.
"I know you heard me. I won't repeat myself. Why are you mad anyways? You're the one who didn't want her changed," Jasper shot back.
"You could've fucking killed her Jasper. Do you realize that?"
"Of course I realize that Edward! But it was not my body, not my life! Bella asked me to do something. What would you have me do? Leave her in pain? Have her change against her will?"
"Anything but that. You don't have the kind of control needed for that. Hell, none of us do, but you surely are the worst of us all!" Edward criticized my savior.
"Son, let's watch our words before we say things we don't mean," Carlisle interjected, trying to calm the situation.
Suddenly, Alice was no longer holding me, but was standing to Edwards side facing Jasper and yelling at her dad, "No, Carlisle. He's right. What Jasper did was irresponsible and stupid. He put her life in danger and--"
"No Alice, Edward put her life in danger by introducing her to our world. It sounds to me like Jasper saved her life," Emmett stepped in to defend his brother, standing at his side.
It was like a sibling face off, with Dad in the middle trying to calm things. I, on the other hand, was seething and willing my voice to return. I couldn't believe them, his brother and wife, attacking him for saving my life; twice! Jasper was just standing there, taking it all. It was like he thought they were right. He looked defeated. Well, I'm not having any of that!
"It doesn't matter! He could have killed her!" Edward stated, again, like he was stuck on stupid and couldn't get over that thought. It was the last straw for me. My voice returned and I suddenly grew balls the size of softballs. I stepped between Emmett and Jasper until I was face to face with the two traitors also known as my boyfriend and best friend.
"ENOUGH!" I screamed. "It doesn't matter what he could have done. What matters is what he did do. He did what I asked him to do. He saved me; saved my life twice in the span of ten minutes. He did an amazing thing; one that I'm not sure any of you would have been able to do. He showed restraint and strength and he is a hero. My hero. Yet, here you all are, treating him like he killed your cat. God, you're such assholes. I can't believe you! And you, Alice, you should be ashamed of yourself! Only a heartless bitch would act the way you have today," I finished, the cloud of rage clearing from my mind. Did I really just say that?
"Oh, Bella. You think you know everything. You don't even realize how close you came to becoming his next snack; and trust me, he's had plenty. You think I'm heartless? Well, open your eyes, honey, because the definition of heartless is standing right behind you and just happens to be my husband," she said in a way that completely reminded me of Rosalie as she essentially chewed her husband's pride up and spit it out. I can't believe she just said that shit about Jasper, about my best friend. Well, she had another thing coming to her if she thought she could get away with that around me. No way, no fuckin' how!
Apparently, now my balls were the size of basketballs, because before my mind could catch up to my body, I had reached out and slapped Alice across the face.
I guess I caught her by surprise because it worked! Of course, it didn't hurt her, in fact, it hurt like hell for me, but I got my message across, and that's what matters. She stood there, shocked, just like everyone else in the room.
"How dare you hit me Bella. I'm your best friend!" Alice said, sounding hurt. Save it for someone who cares, bitch!
"Actually, you're not my best friend; Jasper is," I told her, defiantly.
"Oh really? Why? Because you've spent three seconds with him and let him suck your blood? That makes him your best friend?" She asked, mockingly.
"No, Alice. Since I got to know him, the real him that you hide away from the world under your preppy clothes and lack of trust. And since he saved my life. Since he listened to what I wanted and treated me like an equal, not a Barbie to play dress up with. Since he put away the monster within him to save me, where as all you are doing is showcasing how much of a monster you truly are. Maybe it's time you took a look in the mirror, honey."
Wow. I really am just on a role aren't I? Go ahead, Bella, keep burning those bridges.
I wouldn't be surprised if she killed me herself after that. But she didn't. She just looked like I slapped her again. She was in shock. I looked to her side. So was Edward. He sighed in resignation and said, "I guess you're right. I'm sorry for yelling. Thank you, Jasper, for saving my Bella. I'll never be able to repay you."
"I'm sorry too... I was being a bitch..." Alice croaked out.
Jasper continued to glare at the world. I softened my face, but I wasn't over it yet.
"Good. Now that that's settled, let's burn this fucker!" Emmett cheered, somewhat breaking the tension as we all laughed nervous little laughs.
"Good idea. Edward, why don't you take Bella out of here while we finish up. I don't think she needs to see this," Carlisle offered. Edward nodded and steeped towards me, but when he reached for my arm I leaned away from his touch; I was still a little frightened of him. Edward reached out again, but this time his hand was caught by an irate Jasper. Again, they looked like they wanted to beat each other with crowbars.
Jasper broke the silence. "She's scared of you still Edward. You did send her flying across the room and have been acting like a raging lunatic the whole time. I don't blame her. Alice, will you please take her?"
The growl I heard was deep and menacing. Damn it Jasper, must you keep pissing Edward off?
Then I realized that the growl wasn't coming from Edward; it was from Emmett. "You threw her across the room? What the hell man?" He yelled at Edward. Aww, how cute. Emmett was standing up for me now? A girl could get used to this!... Yeah, Edward. What the hell?
Edward didn't respond. He looked like a walking definition of self-hatred. He didn't even protest the idea of Alice taking me. He really must be sorry. Poor Edward...
"Alright, Bella, why don't we head outside to wait for the others?" Alice asked, speaking politely and keeping her distance.
Yeah fuckin' right! There is no way in hell that I'm going with you. I've already seen about seven different sides of you today, the next one I meet might try to kill me. And all that is beside the point; I'm not leaving Jasper right now. You guys all pissed him off and I need to put on my 'super friend' cape and try to comfort him.
"No, I'm not going with you either," I said, grabbing onto Jasper's arm. "Jasper, will you please come with me? You're hurt and have had a hard day. We can go rest and wait for the others." I pleaded.
"No, Bella. I need to stay here and make sure this asshole is never going to bother us again. Go with Alice, I don't want either of you here for this," he said, a little colder than I expected.
"Jasper, I don't want to go with Alice. I want to go with you. I'm tired and scared and confused and I need my best friend. Please?" I tried again.
He looked at me, studying my face. I don't know what he found, but it worked. "Fine. Let's go," he sighed. "We'll meet you guys at the hotel. Please be thorough you guys. Don't fuck this up," he barked before grabbing my arm and leading me out of the room. I was looking forward to getting away from the crazy vampires in the room and curling up in the soft hotel bed and taking a very long nap. I was exhausted!
I looked back to say goodbye, only to see Edward coming towards us, again. Jasper noticed and we stopped as he turned around just in time to grab Edwards arm to stop him from grabbing mine; again! Oh my God! Will this never end?
"I think we both made it clear that Bella would rather you not touch her right now. I thought you were smart, but I'm starting to change my mind on that front," Jasper said, his irritation showing.
"You're not going anywhere with my Bella, Jasper. You've just had human blood. HER BLOOD! No matter the level of control, it's not safe," Edward reasoned. It made sense, but I wasn't scared of Jasper. He wouldn't hurt me. Jasper sighed, closed his eyes and rubbed his hand through his hair before he took one last, deep, calming breath and opened them again. He looked as exhausted as I felt.
"If I was going to hurt her, don't you think I would've done it already? Look, I'm not in the mood for your little hissy fits, okay. Bella has told us what she wants. If you have a problem, take it up with her," Jasper said, obviously running out of patience with his brother. Great. Now I have to deal with it? What a traitor!
Edward turned to look into my eyes with an extremely pained look on his face and opened his mouth to talk, but was cut off by Jaspers overly harsh voice, "But, before you do, I must warn you; lose control or disrespect her in any way and you'll have me to deal with."
Whoa. Scary Jasper. Shit!
"Bella. I'm sorry but I can't let you go with Jasper. It's not safe," he tried.
Can't let me? The nerve of this guy...
"Can't let me? I'm sorry, Edward, but I thought my father was back in Forks."
"Bella, please. Be reasonable!"
Reasonable? I am being perfectly reasonable! Instead of leaving with 'multiple-personality Barbie' or 'anger-management Ken', I'm leaving with 'life-saving G.I. Joe'. What's not reasonable about that?
"I'm being perfectly reasonable, Edward. You and Alice both have shown new sides of yourself today that scare me. I love you both, but I've had a bad day and I need to work through all of this," I told him, figuring what was going through my head might piss him off even more.
"Damn it! I swear; sometimes that mind of yours works in the most astounding ways. How can you be so careless? So naive? So stupi--"
Yeah. The asshole with the pretty bronze hair wasn't going to get a chance to finish that statement. I could've told him that. And really? I understood careless. I even understand naive. But stupid? He just better be lucky that Jasper got to him first because I was ready to rip him a new one. Speaking of ripping things, in the blur of movement that was Edward and Jasper brawling across the room, I heard fabric ripping. I hope no one gets hurt...
They were moving too fast for me, but from what I could see, I didn't look like either of them was winning. Then, just as sudden as it had started, it was over. Jasper had Edward pinned on the floor with his hand around his throat.
"I told you to watch it. If you haven't noticed, Bella and I have bonded lately and she is very important to me. You better watch how you talk to and treat her from now on Edward, because as you already know from Alice and Rosalie, I don't like people messing with my girls. Get your head on straight before you lose it. We're leaving now. Emmett, make sure he doesn't come after me again or you're gonna have two dead bastards to burn," Jasper spoke with authority. He wasn't hysterical or screaming. He spoke in a cool, calm, lethal way that sent chills down my spine. It also sent a spark through my body.
Really Bella? You're turned on by Jasper owning your boyfriend? You are one fucked up little girl! Shouldn't you feel bad for Edward?.. No. He deserved it. Asshole! Insulting my intelligence really pisses me off...
We walked out of the room at a quick pace, but I guess it wasn't fast enough for Jasper. He quickly swooped me into his arms and dashed into a waiting taxi.
Yes, Multiple Personality Barbie and Anger Management Ken belong to S.M. I tried to steal yummy Life Saving G.I. Joe but it didn't work. FML.
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