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IX. ANSWERS

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"ARE YOU SURE?"

"Jasper, cut it out, I'm fine," I said, miffed.

"Okay," he said lightly. "I'm excited for you to see this, anyway,"

It was the next day and Jasper and I are on our way to my tree house. He was reluctant to take me out first, well, I must admit I didn't feel so good today but I wanted to see it so bad. I woke up today and he was grinning, he said he'd already finished everything in four minutes and thirteen seconds. It was another thing I liked about him. He doesn't nag.

The sky was cloudy and gray, but at least it wasn't raining. I was wrapped in my thickest sweater, but I still felt chills. I looked at Jasper using my peripheral vision and I can't help but notice the distance between us.

"How bad is it?" I asked reluctantly.

"What?"

"Being close to me today," I said, walking farther away from him but keeping my voice light.

"I'd rather not talk about it, I am in control though, Bella. Make no mistake," his voice was grim but I could tell he was sure, "This is good practice for me, too. I'll hunt later after I've shown you the tree house,"

"Okay," I said, "Thanks again, Jasper. This means a lot. I'll probably be delayed not only because of fever but of broken bones as well, if it weren't for you,"

"Delayed?" he asked, "Are you looking forward to something?"

"The tree house isn't that high for nothing, you know," I said, looking back over my shoulder with a smile, "It's got this great view of the sunset when the sun comes out, which would be next week on Thursday. I wanted to be finished by then,"

"Really?" he said, interested.

"You're welcome to watch it with me, you know," I said.

The moment I said it something suddenly held me back. The tree house was my sanctuary away from the Cullens. The very purpose I renovated it was so that I could have a place to run away and pretend I've never met any of them.

Jasper quickly sensed the hesitation and I could feel his eyes burning holes behind my back as he concentrated with my emotions.

A bigger part of me wanted to be with him, after all, I did owe him.

"Yeah," I said firmly, "You should watch with me…if you want to,"

"Maybe I shouldn't," he said.

"Don't you want to?" I asked, looking behind at him again as we walked.

"Sure Bella, I do, but…do you?"

"Yes, of course," I said smiling. He must have felt the sincerity because he smiled back.

"Okay,"

We talked about some random stuff as we walked until we reached the stream. And I gasped.

The tree house was complete with glass panes in the windows, every inch of the wood varnished to perfection. The roof was fixed and the fragile wooden steps were replaced with new ropes and sturdy wood.

"This is…amazing," I said, I couldn't help the wide smile that spread across my face.

"Do you like it?" he said, smiling down at me too.

"You have to ask?" I said incredulously. Every cell in my body was awed and happy. "I want to climb up,"

"Okay," he said, "Let's go,"

The Southern gentleman that he is, he let me go up first even though it would take him a millisecond to climb up on his own. I slipped on the way up once, but he easily caught me. I felt him stop breathing and I apologized over and over. But he just smiled.

The tree house was tall enough for me to walk in kneeling, but wide enough if I wanted to lie down.

"I want to show you something," he said once we got inside. He pulled a couple of flaps from the roof and threw them open and I instantly had a view of the sky outside. He stood up and breathed in the fresh air as he closed his eyes.

"Wow," I said, awed again. "You say you did this in five minutes?"

"Four," he said smugly.

I rolled my eyes at him and he laughed. He reached out his hand to me,

"Come here," he told me. I knew he could sense the embarrassment but again, he just smiled. I felt the color rise up to my cheeks as I took his hand and stood up beside him.

I marveled the view from the top of the trees and inhaled the fresh air too. It's funny now how I disliked Forks before. The forest was beautiful—like you could expect yourself seeing a fairytale character walking any time soon. I grinned at the thought. Jasper wasn't a fairytale creature but you wouldn't have expected him to be real, too. It was like magic.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a smile.

I turned to look at him and suspected that he's been watching me closely. I blushed again.

"Nothing," I said.

He smiled again and in a wavy blur he wasn't standing up anymore but sitting on the roof, and I looked up at him.

"Sit here," he said. "The view's better,"

I was hesitant, of course. Knowing my balance and lack of self-coordination, it's nearly impossible for me not to fall down.

"What's the worst that could happen, Bella?" he teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him like a child and grinned. He laughed and it was...one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard. I realized that this was the first time I've ever heard him laugh aloud. It was very magnetic and contagious, I could only laugh along with him.

"Are you controlling my emotions or something?" I asked.

"Why?" he asked, curious.

"Just answer it,"

"No, I'm not doing anything,"

"For real?"

"Yes," he said, still incredulous. "Why?"

"It's just that... I'm feeling so... light," I said.

We were quiet for a while, contented.

"I feel the same," he said quietly.

I didn't know if I felt embarassment or gladness. Maybe a mixture of both, and a blush crept to my cheeks as I realized he knew what I was feeling. But like always, he pretended he didn't know anything and he was good at it.

"How does it work?" I asked him, "Your ability?"

"I can...control the emotions of the people around me, and I can tell what they're feeling, but I don't know the reasons behind these feelings. That I could only guess,"

"No one can lie to you then," I said.

"If only they're experts," he replied.

"Isn't that annoying?" I said, "Knowing what everybody is feeling?"

"At first, but I got used to it after a while,"

I opened my mouth to ask another question that was on top of my head but I immediately closed it.

"What?" he said, "You're hesitant--nervous,"

"It's nothing,"

"Embarassed,"

"Stop it," I said, snickering, elbowing him out of instinct. "Ouch!"

"You can tell me, you know," he said, rubbing my elbow with his cool fingers.

The sudden contact shot sparks along my nerves and I was suddenly taken aback.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"You were asking...?"

"Oh," I said, focusing. Edward. "Did...did he, Edward, really--"

"Yes," he replied quickly, his smile vanishing. "He really did, I could tell from miles away,"

"Then why--?"

"I don't know," he hung his head. "I'm sorry, Bella. Maybe you expect me to have all the answers, but the truth of the matter is, I'm looking for them, too. I want to know if there's still something worth--living for. Would she hate me for living? Would she have wanted me to follow? Does she miss me? Questions, thousands of them are bumping into each other in my head. But I can't answer a single one. I can only answer one question of yours, though. Yes, Edward really loved you. It's the truth, Bella we both know it, and it's wrong for you to question it."

"How can I not?" I said quietly. "I miss him so much,"

"I understand," he replied. And I knew he really did.

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Authoress's Note: Ok. I get a lot of emails from coming from you guys, putting this story as one of your favorites and/or putting this on your story alert. Though I appreciate that you follow my story, I hope that you also find the time to write REVIEWS because that's what keeps me going on. I know that I have shortcomings as a writer, but I surely hope you'd review faithfully. Reviews are my vitamins. Thank you for your support. :) - HSSV.