Disclaimer : I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does.

Previously: I just sighed and screwed my eyes tightly shut. I wished that I could wish for that, but if my life was normal again, there would be no Jasper and how could I live without him, even if there was no pain with us being apart? I didn't even want to think about it.

BPOV

When she pulled away from me, she seemed stronger. She looked back at the house once more, and said with relief, "they've stopped."

"Have they?" I asked hopefully. I wondered if my bedroom was still habitable. Hell, I wondered if my house was still habitable.

She nodded but neither of us made any move to go back inside. It was a bit cold, the wind nipped at my ears, nose and fingers but it was manageable, although I did wish I had my coat.

Emmett left the house first, looking defeated and miserable. I saw a glimpse of Jasper, we caught eyes, and then he darted off into the trees. Immediately the pull began stretching at an alarming rate and I was about to run after him but Esme put a hand on my shoulder and kept me still. "He won't go too far out." She told me. "He'll be back."

Relieved, I focused on Emmett again, proud of myself when I only shied away from him a little bit because god dammit he could be scary!

"Are you okay?" Esme asked him at last.

He nodded, rubbing his arms sheepishly. "Um… Sorry, Bella, we kinda trashed your room… and some of the house…"

"What!?" I found myself shrieking. How dare they!? HOW DARE THEY!?

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly, "I'll fix it! It was my fault…"

He turned big puppy eyes on me, and I felt myself soften. No! I wanted to be angry with him! Why was he so darn adorable when he wasn't angry?!

I scowled at myself, "ugh! Fine! But you better do it right!"

He brightened up considerably, then he looked at Esme and winced. I looked too; yikes! She looked even more angry than I was! "I'm so disappointed in you!" She growled, then began to rant at him and I just stood there while she scolded him for a good five minutes and then lectured him for just as long on the proper manners he should have. He stood there and took it all, and I must admit, I was impressed he did. Maybe we could become friends, as long as he didn't continue to trash my house?

"Now, go and see to Rosalie," Esme finally finished with her arms folded. She was still pretty mad and I felt like edging slowly out of her line of sight. "And tell her that she hasn't gotten away with anything and I'll be going to see her as soon as Bella is sorted out!"

Emmett nodded glumly and shuffled away. I turned to Esme, startled to see the change in her emotions as she looked at me apologetically. "I promise I'll make him pay for and fix whatever damage he's done." She said reassuringly.

"Okay." I said simply, totally stunned by her. Wow, I could see why Jasper was so fond of her.

"Are you cold? Do you want to go back inside?" she asked, sounding concerned.

I hadn't realised I was shivering so much and I quickly nodded and she walked with me back inside. I found it polite and appreciated the fact that she stayed with me rather than just zipping inside with her super-speed.

When I saw the state of my living room I gave a gasp of dismay. The sofa had been toppled over and was lying across the room from where it should be and there were massive cracks in the wall where it looked like someone had been thrown. There was even a foot-sized hole in the floorboards.

"But… How…"

"I know, sweetie, I'm sorry." Esme sighed, also looking around the room. She looked terribly ashamed and tugged on her hands nervously for a few seconds before she darted over to the sofa, flipping it over with apparent ease and pushing it back to its original position.

I stared at her, shocked and open mouthed. "How did you…?"

I had gathered that the vampires were strong, but it never quite occurred to me exactly how strong they really were!

She stopped, and her eyes went wide. "Do you know what we are?" She asked me suddenly, seeming frantic.

"Um… I think I figured it out." I said, taken aback by her change in attitude.

She gave a great sigh and her eyes closed, "Oh, Bella…" she trailed off regretfully.

"What? What's wrong?" She was starting to scare me…

She opened her eyes and stared at me for a few long seconds before finally saying, "It's nothing that you should be worrying about right now."

I scowled, it wasn't fair how they didn't seem to tell me anything!

"When did you first realise?" She asked, standing in the middle of the room, completely still apart from her hands which continued to pull on each other with her nervousness. I didn't understand why she was so nervous – it wasn't like I could hurt her.

"Realise what?"

"That we were…"

"Oh… It took me a while to put two and two together. I'm not as perceptive as people say I am, really." I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I was getting really tired and it wasn't even that late in the afternoon. I sat down on the sofa and continued as I began to play absent-mindedly with my hair, "But I always knew Jasper wasn't human… I just didn't know what..."

"When did you meet Jasper?" She was frowning slightly, trying to process what I was saying it seemed.

"A few days ago - the night before last." I recalled the night only too clearly… The shack, the basement, Jasper's black eyes, the terror I felt…

"How did you… Find him?" Esme asked, sounding confused. I looked at her and she was staring at me with a stunned look on her face.

"What do you mean?" There was something in the way she said that, 'how did you find him.'

Her expression fell, and she avoided my eyes, staying quiet. What had happened? I wanted more than anything to know why Jasper had been in the state I had first seen him in.

"Hello again, son," she said suddenly, making me jump since she had remained silent for several minutes - I had tried prompting her to answer me once again but she had just shaken her head and refused to speak.

"Hello, Esme." I jumped at the quiet voice and turned my startled eyes to the doorway. How long had he been standing there? It scared me a bit to think how silently they could sneak around but at the same time I wasn't surprised to see him; I knew he was close by and I realised the pull had been getting weaker for the past few minutes.

"Where did you go?" I asked him. I had to.

"Just for a run," He said quietly with a shrug.

I guess I could accept that as an answer but I stared at him anyway in case he wanted to elaborate.

"I'm curious too," he said suddenly.

"About what?" Esme and I both asked at the same time. We glanced at each other then back at Jasper.

"Where you found me." His voice had suddenly gone strangely cold and hard. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Esme give a flinch.

"Don't you… remember?" I asked. I didn't know much about vampires, but seriously? How could he not remember anything?

He frowned and looked down, "I never remember…"

"Why…?" I asked.

He shrugged and folded his arms, leaning against the door frame, trying to be all indifferent about it but I could see it affected him.

"You were in the basement of some kind of shack, way out in the forest." I said, hoping that would trigger some memories for him, but I saw no recognition in his eyes when he looked back up at me in confusion.

"What were you doing there?" Esme asked.

I flinched at the memory of Kyle's cruel breakup and as if in response, Jasper suddenly stood bolt upright. "I was just… walking… trying to get home…" I said, avoiding their eyes.

"It was raining the night before last," Esme said sounding slightly disbelieving.

"Yes, it was," I said uncomfortably. I didn't want to tell them about Kyle and if Jasper felt even slightly about me the way I felt about him, then he would be mad. I could imagine that if someone hurt Jasper I would want to kill them…

"Why were you walking home in the rain?"

"I don't really want to talk about it…" I hoped they would leave it alone.

"Did something happen?" Esme's voice took on a maternal kind of concerned tone.

I nodded.

"Tell me," Esme said, sitting next to me gracefully and putting a hand on mine.

I felt comforted, and it had been so long since I had opened up and talked to someone about anything really… I didn't know who I could tell about this kind of thing. Not my mother - we hadn't talked in months, not Angela…

"It was my boyfriend…" I began, but was immediately cut off by Jasper's angry snarl. I looked up, startled and scared, but Jasper seemed just as surprised by his growl as I was. "Ex-boyfriend," I corrected, and watched Jasper as he seemed to relax. "He drove me to the bar… then… broke up with me and... and embarrassed me in front of everyone."

"Embarrassed you, sweetie… What do you mean?" Esme asked, rubbing my arm, attempting to comfort me. I was trying to withhold tears. Trying, and only just managing to succeed.

"He told them all my secrets… Everything…" I had to screw my eyes shut. I didn't want to think about this right now... "And then to throw it all in my face he made me walk four miles to get home in the dark!"

Suddenly I noticed that Jasper was snarling. When I looked up at him, I could see his eyes were black and furious, "I'll kill him." He hissed and I had absolutely no doubt that he would do exactly as he said.

A/N: I had this chapter written since I had uploaded the last chapter but there's just been soooo much controlled assessment at school and I don't even think I'm going to get a C in my English… Ugh… But at least it's Valentine's Day tomorrow… I hope everyone has fun!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!