~Jasper's POV~

It had been three days since Leah's run in with the vampire. She hadn't needed a cast for the arm, but she did need a lot of rest the next day. I was surprised at how emotional I had been when Edward said that she was on her own with it. I wanted to follow, help her, but Jacob stopped me, saying that they could handle it, that she could take care of it, which, of course, I knew, but that didn't stop the feelings. I'd warmed up to her very quickly; she was a genuinely caring person behind the sarcasm and attitude. I didn't quite understand her fully, but I learned enough.

She was just hurting, hiding behind a mask, worried that people would tear her down as they had many times before. She'd made arrangments to meet the Embry boy under the guise of an apology I was sure she wouldn't receive. I was kicking myself for thinking up the idea of inviting him over. She'd been upset the last few days, thinking of him, I was sure.

I was on the couch, lost in a book, when she threw the door open, groaning loudly. I snickered, I felt that most of her vocabulary was just noises. She dropped herself into the love seat in front of me, her hands clenched. Her hair was up, as it was most of the time, and messy. She was in shorts and a tight tank top. It was almost impossible not to notice that she was very pleasing to the eye.

"I'm over it, Jasper." She stated matter of factly. I tilted my head towards her.

"What is it you're over?" I gave her my full attention, placing my book in my lap.

"All of it!" She gritted her teeth, "So, I get there, and he just stands in front of me silently, like he's waiting for something?" I could feel the anger rolling off of her in waves.

"Waiting for what?"

"Waiting for me to apologize, that's what." She scoffed, "Like I did anything wrong? So, I'm like, uh, no, and he gets all offended and defensive."

"Offended by what?" I raised an eyebrow. Leah was animated, throwing her hands around.

"Oh, who knows!" She screeched, "And then he has the nerve to bring Sam into it, again." She snarled. Her face had flushed red, the anger building. I didn't know Sam, but I did know I didn't like him much. I felt protective over Leah since we'd grown closer. I found myself right outside the door, teeth barred, Emmett holding one arm to keep me from rushing into the room when Embry was yelling at her.

"What's he have to with it?"

"Everything, apparently." She was standing now, pacing, "He thinks that all this is because I can't get over Sam. I tried to tell him last time that's not it, but he doesn't listen. He's so offended because we had sex before all this happened and he says he wants more, he wants me but not the me that loves Sam." She shook her head as she turned to look at me. Her eyes were angry, jaw clenched.

"And that's when you hit him?" I faked a gasp and placed a hand over my mouth. She chuckled softly, her anger dimming slightly, "What happened then?"

"He made it all about him, how come he's not sufficient to make me get over Sam, why don't I care for him as much as he cares for me. Like any of this has to do with him?" She sighed, "So, I told him it was all over. I said that I was stupid for even meeting him and thinking that he'd listen any better than he had before. That he should find someone that fits his needs better than I do. Then I left."

"He said all that?"

"Oh, you bet he did." She paused, thinking for a moment, "I might've slapped him, so there's that." She gave a devilish smile. I couldn't say I was surprised, not after hearing the way he spoke to her in the kitchen that day. It's as though he's already decided why she did these things and won't listen to reason. It was unfortunate.

"Good." I nodded, "If you hadn't I would've had to." I had a tease to my voice, but she knew that I meant it. Her anger was dwindling now.

"Hey, thank you." Her face softened as she placed herself next to me on the couch.

"No problem, darlin'." Her face lit up, amusement surging through her.

"Your accent is prominent with that word, you know." She chuckled.

"What's your point?" I asked, eyebrows creasing.

"Nothing," She shook her head as she waved her hands, "Just cute, is all."

"Cute?" I laughed, as her face reddened just slightly, "You think I'm cute, huh?"

She covered her face with her hands; she peeked through her fingers at me, "Shut up." She was embarrassed now.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, dear." I teased as I reached over to poke her in the side. She moved away quickly, grabbing a pillow from beside her and shoving it at me, "Oh, that's how you want this to go?" I went to throw it back at her, but she caught it quickly, smashing it into my face with a devious laugh.

"As if you could take me?" I tossed the pillow to the ground, reaching over and grabbing her by both wrists. She looked at me with wide eyes. I hovered, hands on her, staring into her brown eyes. Suddenly she ripped her right hand out of my loosening grip and rolled herself, and me, over and off the couch. She landed on me with a thud, had I been human I would've lost my breath.

She was straddling me, this time her hands around my wrists, pinning them above my head. She cackled, and I took that moment to buck upwards, she squeaked and let go of my wrists to keep herself from face planting. I snatched her up, rolling her onto her back. Her body was warm and soft; I feared that I wasn't gentle enough with her.

"It seems that I could." I teased, a smile breaking across my face. She pouted and struggled to release my grip on her shoulders before she brought her hands up and grabbed my arms, yanking me down to the side. She elbowed my stomach and crawled on top of me, sitting on my stomach.

She leaned down, her face inches from mine, pieces of hair had fallen from her pony tail, brushing my face "Nobody beats me, darlin'." She said in a honeyed tone, her breath hot on my face. I could only nod as I felt her, the happiness in her, the warmth. I'd never felt anything like it when I'd felt her before, when she was outside with her brother and Jacob, guarding my family.

She was only trying to get away from Sam then, but this, her feelings now, I knew that Embry was wrong. It wasn't about him.

There was a cough suddenly, alerting us to the fact that we had an audience. Embarrassment surged through Leah, but she hid it well. She got up, holding her hand out for me. Edward, Bella, Nessie, and Jake were standing in the door way, confusion evident on their faces.

"What's going on here?" Jake asked slowly, eyeing us both. Edward was amused, trying to suppress a laugh.

"We were wrestling?" Leah said in a mocking tone, rolling her eyes as she sat back down on the couch.

Nessie wiggled out of Jacob's hand and ran towards us, her face bright and happy, "I want to wrestle!"

"You can't do that, Ness," Bella said quickly, coming to her daughter's side.

"Why?" She pouted up at her mother.

"Because," I butted in, "Leah always wins, and she's mean." I laughed as Leah glared daggers at me. Bella picked Nessie up, walking off towards another room. Leah entranced Nessie; she didn't get to see much of her. I felt that it was Bella's fear of Leah that was the issue. She'd never quite gotten past things with her, not that Leah liked her any better than before. Jake and Edward slowly followed Bella, Jacob eyeing me the whole way.

"Well," Leah sighed, "Anyway, I think I'm just going to go lay down now." The sadness had settled in again, and I knew I couldn't help her now, so I just silently nodded. I watched as she disappeared up the stairs.

It was a few moments before I noticed she'd left her phone, it was on the floor, probably fell out during our scuffle. I debated with myself. I knew that it would be wrong to pick it up, to text Embry, but then, that was all I wanted to do right now.

So I did. I found Embry in Leah's contacts quickly and pressed the call button. He answered almost immediately.

"I don't know who you think you are," I spoke swiftly and flatly, "But you've got no right to say the things you said or make her feel the way she feels."

"Oh what's it to you, leech?" He replied, his tone disgusted.

"It's everything to me. You've hurt Leah; she doesn't deserve that, she didn't do a single thing to you, no matter how much you pretend she has."

"She hurt me, too."

"You deserved it with your sour attitude. It's a wonder Leah ever liked you in the first place." I suppose I was harsh, but what could you expect?

"What the hell is your problem?" He spat.

"No, the question here is; what is your problem? You don't get to say you care for her when you say these things to her. You've torn her down, yet again, for no reason. She's chasing her happiness. I don't want to see you around here or hear that you've contacted her. You've decided to step away, so step away." I hung up the phone before he had a chance to answer. I said what I needed to; nothing else mattered, I could only hope he'd listened.

I heard Leah coming down the stairs just after I'd hung up and tossed the phone on the floor, "Hey, I think I left my phone somewhere."

"Oh?" I feigned surprise, looking on the couch before leaning down to look at the floor, "Yeah. Right here." I picked it up and handed it over, hoping that she didn't already know I wasn't truthful. I didn't want to lie to her, ever, but sometimes that's how things go.

"You should sit in bed with me." She said so softly that I almost wasn't sure she'd said it. I nodded, slowly getting up and walking towards her. I could feel her hurting and longed to reach out and comfort her. We made our way up the stairs in silence.

She wrapped herself up in her comforter as I stood next to the bed, waiting for her to get comfortable. She looked so small and vulnerable. I sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her. She stared at me silently for some time before rolling her eyes.

"I didn't mean for you to sit all the way over there." She patted the bed next to her. I pulled my shoes off and moved up the bed, resting my back against the headboard. Her head was laid next to my chest, even inches away I could feel the warmth of her body, "I feel like a wreck." She mumbled, shifting on her side to face me.

"I know," I replied quietly, "I don't know what to do for you."

"Just be here." She whimpered.

"Of course." I nodded slowly. I wished I could take it away, I mean, I could, but I knew she wouldn't appreciate that. Leah was the kind of person that didn't want fake, that much was evident. I couldn't put my finger on why I'd grown so attached so quickly; she was different from anyone I'd ever known before.

She fell asleep quickly. She'd been asleep a short time when she started moving, scooting closer towards me. She put her arm over my stomach, pulling me close to her, nestling her head under my arm and sighing.

That was the night I realized just how much the nightmares bothered her; she twitched, groaned, her finger nails digging into my side or her hands grasping my shirt.

Then she started screaming.