Chapter Twelve

Bella

I opened my eyes with difficulty, my head pounding, and looked around confused. Where was I and what had happened? I was in a large space, not a room, more like an office space although bare of furnishings and dimly lit.

I put a hand to my head and felt a sticky dampness that I discovered to be blood when I brought my hand back down. Had I been involved in an accident? I had a flashback to the auto accident that had put me in the hospital for two weeks and I cried out. Had everything I remembered been merely a bad dream? Had I imagined Ellie and the divorce?

I shook my head immediately wishing I hadn't as the pain in my head swelled threatening to overwhelm me. No, I wasn't in a hospital, the smells were all wrong, dust and damp not antiseptic. So, where was I?

I staggered to my feet and over to one of the windows only to discover it had been boarded up leaving only a chink which explained the dim light. This building was derelict!

Sinking back down to the floor before I fell I tried to remember what had led to my being here. I remembered coming home from work and having a shower then making something to eat. I was washing up at the sink when I heard a noise and turned, still holding the knife I had been drying. Suddenly a figure appeared moving so fast it was nothing more than a blur. I thrust the knife out only to find it made no contact then my wrist was grabbed by a cold hand and as the knife twisted out of my grip I cut my wrist.

With a gasp I looked down, my left wrist was crudely bandaged with part of a shirt, blood staining the material dark red. My stomach heaved and I lent over to vomit on the floor between my legs feeling wretched.

Struggling to think, a face floated into my memory, one I knew although the expression on it was foreign to me. It had been Jasper Hale and he looked so angry. His crimson eyes glowing frighteningly. He looked so different that I hadn't recognized him at first. Why had he broken in and attacked me? Still, I was alive and if he had wanted me dead I wouldn't have stood a chance.

Instead, he had abducted me and brought me here for some reason. I glanced around fearfully, where was he now? Watching me from a dark corner or waiting until I regained consciousness to attack again? What had I done to earn his rage? I hadn't seen him since the family left Forks years back.

Once I was certain I wasn't going to throw up again I got to my feet once more and with one hand against the wall to steady myself I explored the extent of my prison. As I had thought it was a large area, about one hundred feet wide and two hundred wide and it had three doors but each one was secured and wouldn't budge.

"Jasper? Where are you? Why have you brought me here? Talk to me."

I could hear the hysteria in my voice and stopped dead waiting for his reply but the silence continued.

"Hey, asshole, speak to me."

I hoped I sounded stronger and braver than I felt.

A few seconds passed and then I heard it, the sound of boots on the bare concrete floor and one of the crude shutters was torn from its fixings and dropped to the floor creating a cloud of dust that whirled in the shaft of light flooding into the room.

I coughed and blinked before my eyes would focus. He stood in the light like some avenging angel, arms crossed, glaring angrily at me.

"Jasper? What's going on? Where's Alice?"

His voice when he spoke was icy cold and trembled with rage.

"Why Bella?"

I frowned, "Why? I don't understand. Why what? What did you do to me? I need a drink."

My voice was a croak after inhaling the dust but he continued to glare at me and I could see the pain in his eyes.

"I don't understand Jasper. Why what?"

"You betrayed me, Bella. You of all people. Did Edward put you up to it? Why did you lie? You said you didn't blame me yet you did this to me."

I still didn't understand what I was supposed to have done. Betray him?

"I didn't, I still don't, but what does it matter now? Edward left and he's never coming back. I don't know what it is you think I did but trust me, whatever it was I didn't."

His face contorted with fury and suddenly he was in my face, his voice deadly now.

"Don't lie to me. I know, Edward told me."

I gazed at him puzzled and fearful, he looked ready to murder me and I still had no idea why.

"See."

He threw a folded paper in my face and it bounced off my cheek to land on the floor.

I stepped back warily and stopped to pick it up feeling my stomach churn once more but swallowing down the bile that threatened to explode from my mouth.

Still watching him I unfolded it and read the words on the paper recognizing Edward's handwriting.

When I had finished I folded it back up and looked at him once more.

"I'm sorry Jasper. I have no idea what this is all about. As I told you I haven't seen Edward since you left Forks. What's going on? What does this mean?"

I was trying very hard to sound cool because I sensed if I showed my fear he would attack and this time he would probably kill me. He was holding it together only with a struggle.

"What revenge? Why would Edward think you tried to keep us apart? Wait a minute, did he think you attacked me at my party in order to force him to leave me behind? Why would he think that?"

Jasper didn't answer, he merely continued to glare at me.

"Whatever he says in this note…"

I held the paper out to him but he ignored it so I continued.

"Whatever Edward did I had no part in. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, why would I? Please, Jasper, you're frightening me. Tell me what's going on."

I thought for a fleeting second that I had got through to him but then his face became a terrifying mask once more and I thought that this was probably the last thing his victims in Mexico had seen. It made my blood grow cold.

"You never thought I'd escape, did you? Where is Edward?"

I shook my head holding my hands fisted to avoid them shaking.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since you all left. I told you that. What happened? Edward locked you up? How? Where?"

An unpleasant smile crossed his face.

"And you expect me to believe that? That you have no idea what I'm talking about? That you weren't involved? I should kill you now for your betrayal."

I felt frustration, fear and a sense of hopelessness flood my mind.

"Then do it. Put me out of my misery, trust me you'd be doing me a favor."

He frowned suddenly put off his stride by my outburst. I had been only telling the truth. The thought of a release from this miserable existence gave me only a sense of relief. I couldn't bear life without my darling little girl, the last thirteen months had been the worst of my life by far.

Jasper startled me by suddenly punching the wall leaving a huge gaping hole and crying out in frustration.

"Why can't I just tear your veins open and drink your blood? I want to, I'm so thirsty and so angry with you, but I just can't do it."

The last few words were spoken with great gaps between them as if he were forcing them from a throat too constricted to allow sounds out.

That, more than anything else, made me wonder just what he had been through. I began to feel sorry for him, it was clear he was in torment.

Moving slowly I slid down the wall to sit on the dust covered floor and motioned for him to sit too.

"What happened to you, Jasper? What did Edward do to you?"

He remained standing and I wondered if his rage made it impossible for him to unbend enough to sit down.

"Please Jasper, I want to understand. I can feel your pain."

As I uttered those words I realized it was true. I could feel his pain and rage like a living beast that was struggling to devour him. Then something occurred to me.

"Use your gift, Jasper. Feel my emotions, am I feeling guilty? Can you feel guilt in my thoughts."

His red eyes bored into me as if burning through my skull and I saw his fists clench repeatedly but he didn't attack. He was reading my emotions and trying to work out if I was concealing anything from him.

"See, I'm not lying. I have no idea what's going on or what happened to you but I can see you're in pain and I'm so sorry about that. Why don't you sit down and tell me what happened to you? Maybe talking about it will ease your pain."

The muscles in his jaw jumped as he struggled with his inner turmoil.

"Ease my pain? What do you know of pain, Bella Swan?"

That annoyed me, acting as if he was the only one with any troubles!

"Oh, I know a whole lot about pain Jasper Hale. You and your family walked away without a word of explanation or goodbye. Edward told me he didn't love me, that I'd been a distraction and that he was bored with me, the man I thought I loved enough to forfeit my human life for. I have a daughter I haven't seen in over a year because her scumbag of a father refuses me access and I can't afford a lawyer to fight him. So don't let your arrogance assume that no one else can be in pain. Just get on with it if you're going to kill me because I'm sick and tired of your solo pity party."

I shouldn't have said that. He was so close to the edge it could easily have tipped him over but I was past caring.

Suddenly he was there right in front of me, inches from my face. His eyes blazing once more and his whole body tensed ready to attack but still, he didn't. Instead, he grabbed my arms and pulled me even closer until I could feel his breath on my cheek, the cold of his hands burning through my sweater.

"Don't tempt me, Bella, you are so close to dying."

"Then tip me over the edge, Jasper. Just be done with me."

I closed my eyes acutely aware of his nearness and waited. Something was stopping him from killing me, from opening my veins and drinking my blood, but what?

We stood like this for a very long time and I knew there was a war raging inside his head with no way of knowing whether Jasper Hale or his alter ego would be triumphant.

Slowly he eased his grip on my arms although I was sure I would have huge bruises on both, if and when I could inspect them.

"Tell me again that you know nothing about what happened to me."

"I don't, but I can see whatever it was it hurt you very much. Why would I want to hurt you? You protected me in Phoenix, you tried again at my party. I have only ever felt gratitude towards you Jasper. Won't you please talk to me?"

I shivered, not from fear but the icy cold of the room sinking into my body through the thin sweater I was wearing. My feet were numb and my fingers slowly joining them.

"It's so cold in here, Jasper."

He released one arm and lifted his hand to brush against my face and I stopped myself from tensing up as I realized that he was only testing the temperature of my skin.

"You're freezing."

I nodded unsure what else to say but he appeared more in control now which was a relief.

"Come on, I'll take you back to your apartment. You need to clean that cut and bandage it."

I nodded again unable to force any more words out cold as I was, but as we turned to leave Jasper whirled around, the rage back and pushed me behind him. The door we had been heading for flew open to reveal Emmett and a guy I didn't know, both crouched ready to attack and behind them stood Rosalie and Alice both looking wary but when they saw me I noticed looks of relief flood their features. They had known who I was with and that I had been in danger.

I was stunned, what the hell were they doing in Seattle and how had they known what had happened? Had they been watching me? It would explain the feeling I had that someone had been in my apartment snooping around but not why. It seemed there were a lot of questions I was going to need answering. I was just relieved that Edward wasn't with them. I doubted Jasper would have continued to believe me if he'd seen my 'partner in crime' standing there just after I'd told him I hadn't seen Edward for years.