(1-2 weeks later.)

"Rosalie, slow down!" It was midnight, and I was walking Rose and Bella home. We had lost track of time at the park, and we were all out past curfew.

If anyone found us Charlie would just wave a fine, Rose didn't need to be walking so fast! She's like, twenty feet ahead of us.

She sighed irritably, "You two hurry it. It's fucking cold out here, I want to get home already."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Bella, to continue our conversation about oysters, when Rosalie shrieked.

Some drunk guy in his early twenties had stumbled out of the alley was she was just about to walk by, startling her.

He looked Rosalie over like she was a steak and he grinned, "Hey there beautiful, what are you doing out this late? Looking for a good time?"

I saw Rosalie's whole body stiffen and I ran forward, pushing between her and the drunken guy like a shield.

I snarled, "Hey freak, back off of her!" My hands reached behind me and I gently pushed Rose back a foot, into Bella's ready arms.

The guy rubbed his nose and snorted, "Hey, stay out of this kid. It doesn't concern you."

I glanced behind me, and Bella got the hint.

Rosalie had been put into foster care after her father was arrested for multiple counts of rape. Her eyes were as big as saucers, and she looked like she was going to pass out. I can only imagine this is a semi-horrifying experience for her, facing the thing she fears the most.

Bella whispered, "Run!"

The girls turned and fled down the sidewalk.

The guy started after them, I leapt on top of him and slammed the back of his head into the ground.

Someone called the cops on us, but we continued to scuffle even as the police cars pulled up on the sidewalk. Charlie Swan and one other man ripped me off of the guy, but I swung my leg and got in one last kick to the face before I was too far away to strike him.

Charlie asked, "Is that you, Jasper?"

I wiped the mask of blood that a cut above my eye had given me away with a sleeve, "Yeah."

Charlie looked around frantically, "Weren't the girls with you?"

I nodded, "He was going to hurt them, I held him off and they fled."

I've never seen any person's eyes shine with more relief then his did.

He asked, "So, he began the fight?"

I hesitated, dabbing my cut with the bottom of my shirt. "Uh, not exactly. He lunged but I threw the first punch after I knocked him over."

Charlie frowned, "Oh, Jasper… I have to take you in for that."

I held my wrists out sourly, "It wouldn't be the first time."

An ambulance split down the road, and they loaded the half-conscious man into the back. Thirty people or so watched as I was loosely handcuffed and stuck into the back of a police car.

At the station, they wanted me to put on one of their clean shirts and wash my face off. I had a ton of bruises, so I pitched such a big fit about it they just snapped the pictures and tossed me into a holding cell.

I growled profanities under my breath as I paced from side to side. My step faltered and my heart skipped a beat when I heard those echoing, heavy, feet making their way down the hall.

A police officer unlocked the door to my cell and I walked out of it, falling into the shadow of my dad.

He glared at me, "You really fucked up this time."

I rolled my eyes; I didn't want to hear it. I turned and started to walk away but dad grabbed my arm to stop me.

His massive hand bit painfully into my flesh and I could actually feel my tender capillaries bursting, starting to bruise.

It felt like needles were being stabbed into my arm.

Instinctively, I whirled around and slammed my fist right into his face. He was knocked backwards, and two cops had to catch him before he fell and cracked his head open. My knuckles were split open, and his mouth was bleeding badly.

My fleeting moment of glory was smothered when his eyes met mine.

They were completely emotionless.

I was used to rage, or hate, but never that flat, indifferent look I saw right now.

Straightening himself he wiped his face and quietly informed me, "We will talk about this at home."

My knees felt too weak to even stand as the ominous meaning behind his words went un-noticed by the security guards.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders with enough force to snap me in half and started leading me away.

Bella and Rosalie were here, and they sprang to their feet when they saw me.

I locked my eyes with Bella's in desperation.

Her face went white when she saw the raw terror shining back at her.

I was, for the first time in my life, deathly afraid to return home.

(AN: Semi-detailed violence right here. If you don't like it, uhh... You can figure out what you missed in the next chapter. lol)

I was literally thrown into the back seat of the car. I sat small and silently the whole ride home, and my dad ignored me as if I wasn't even there.

When we made it back, he yanked me out of the car and dragged me into the house. He slammed the door shut and with a massive push sent me flying right on top of the glass coffee table so violently it broke in half.

Pieces shattered under me and I felt them pierce the skin of my back.

Dad raged, "You son of a bitch, this is the last straw! I'm going to take care of you once and for all!"

He slammed his foot down of the coffee table and snapped for of the thin iron legs right off.

I covered my face and begged him, "Please wait!"

But he didn't listen to me.

The wind whizzed as the deadly item sliced through the air and I screamed in agony as it cracked brutally against my ribcage, and the blood started to flow out.

After a head blow, I was too dizzy to actually feel the pain anymore.

Maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe God was taking pity on me finally and making it so I didn't have to endue the horrible death I think I was facing.

It stopped when I heard the hum of my mother's voice as she came home from work.

I heard screaming, then a loud crack and a thud.

I think I recognized it, but my head hurt too much to think.

The last thing I remember was seeing my dad looming over me though hazy eyes, and then the blackness.