"Jasper …" The voice was soft and a bit unsteady … the sound of someone slowly waking up.

Of course, I had heard my name being called. I was standing directly across the room from the person who had spoken it. Bella was lying on her bed and at the sound of her voice my attention turned away from the photo album I had been perusing and onto the girl who up until that moment had been silently sleeping. I took in her appearance and noted that except for Bella's hair being a bit askew against her pillow, for the most part she looked normal … a far cry from the broken girl I had seen earlier.

"Yes?" I asked softly making sure my voice would only be heard by Bella and Bella alone.

I crossed the room and positioned myself on the floor next to her. Bella slowly moved from a reclined state into a sitting one and my hand instinctively went behind her back to help. She smiled in my direction and muttered, "Thanks."

"How did you sleep?" I inquired.

Her hands rushed to her face and in a repetitive motion Bella swiftly moved them up and down as if trying to wipe away her grogginess. A half smile formed upon my lips. I was not yet used to all the tendencies of a human waking up. For over 100 years now I had not slept and here I was in the presence of someone who did. Getting accustomed to her human quirks was going to be a work in progress. "Thank you for staying the night." Bella finally spoke.

"It's not quite morning." I corrected and indicated the digital clock on her nightstand.

She turned her head and took in the time, "5:30, huh? Well, that's better than I have been averaging. I can't remember a thing since falling asleep at midnight and unbroken sleep is not something I have experienced lately."

"No nightmares, then?" I surmised.

"Did I sound like I was having any?" Bella seemed quite interested in knowing.

I pulled my hand back into my lap which had been resting on the small of her back. "You've been sound asleep for the past 5 or so hours." I replied.

Bella looked pleased and in a motion that I had not been anticipating she placed a hand upon my shoulder, "All thanks to you."

The feel of her touch warmed me and I brushed aside her compliment, "Uh … all in a nights work." I jokingly said.

A soft laugh escaped Bella's lips, but then her face instantly sobered. She removed her hand and gazed down at the comforter covering her legs. She seemed to be observing the colorful gold and purple swirls printed on the fabric and then I felt the ease radiating from her slowly morph into a wave of guilt. My mind raced to find the reason behind her sudden mood change. Had her reaching out and touching me caused this guilt? Did she feel a pang of betrayal on her part towards Edward? Before I could delve any deeper into this theory Bella brought me out of my quandary with an apology, but for what exactly I was not sure. When the words, "I'm sorry." were spoken Bella's voice had been a mere whisper.

"And what are you sorry for, Bella?" I regarded her with my eyes, but she continued to look down and stare at the pattern on the comforter. One of her fingers slowly traced the outline of a swirl, "For how I acted last night."

Surprise came over me. She felt guilt for her reaction towards me after learning I had been sneaking into her bedroom? Any normal person would have done the same and not apologized. Shaking my head at the absurdity of the girl next to me I hastened to release her from the shackles of shame. "Bella, would you please look at me."

Bella kept her face downward, but I saw her eyes slowly peer up from under her long lashes. "Please don't waste a second of your time worrying about me. Can you do that?" I said with all the sincerity I could muster.

This got her attention and Bella lifted her eyes for a full on stare into mine. I sensed a bit of frustration coming off of her and she looked almost mad when she replied, "No … I could never promise not to worry. I care if my actions are the cause of your pain. If you are going to worry about my well being then I will make sure that I do the same and I want to apologize for berating you."

"I promise you, Bella. I don't deserve anyone's pity or concern, but if it is your desire to distress over me then by all means." I stood and shrugged my shoulders.

There was no point in arguing with the girl. To do so would result in riling her up and I saw that as defeating the purpose of my continued presence in her life? Yet, my words had not quieted the argument brewing inside her and I sensed that she wanted to continue the discussion, perhaps to prove that I was worth the bother. That was when I decided the time was right to to make my escape. It was better to serve my purpose and leave. No need for me to become further involved with my brother's mate. I made my way over to her window, but stopped short of opening it when Bella asked, "Why were you looking at my photo album?"

I now regretted the slight detour I had taken during my time in Bella's room. She had been sleeping soundly for a few hours and so as I continued to use my ability to keep Bella serene my eyes discovered the album on the floor. I moved aside the articles of clothing partially covering the book and pulled it into my hands for a better examination. Most of the images inside were of Bella and Edward. At the prom, in some sort of meadow … regardless of the location the two of them were always beaming. So in love. I felt a tiny twinge of sadness knowing the happy girl in these pictures would never again feel the same bliss. Much like me, I sighed to myself.

As I furthered along through the pages, I discovered a few shots of Alice. Seeing them did not force me into a depression as I thought they might. Instead the persistent ache in my chest quelled a bit. These images of her were all new to me and so, I suspected since they were not my memories I could look upon them without sadness. And look I did. 2 hours had passed before I was even able to pull myself away from Alice and that was only because of Bella. When she eventually came out of her slumber I was still staring at the pictures of my love and now the owner of the photo album was questioning me. I could only guess the reason behind her query was to accuse me of voyeurism.

"Were you looking at Alice?"

Again I was stunned by her words. How could she read me so well?

I did not answer and instead pulled up the widow. "Jacob is going to be here in the morning and I'm sure you want some time alone to think about what you are going to say to him. My scent will probably be on you, so you might want to shower first."

I made a movement to dash out the window, but Bella walked over to me halting my departure, "You know Jasper, if you want to talk about Alice I am willing to listen. You are doing so much for me and I would like to return the favor."

She stared at me earnestly, but I was not able to respond properly to her offer. "Take care. I will be back tonight."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have some unfinished business with Rosalie." and with that I leaped out into the early morning.