.21.
"Here's your coffee sir." A pretty waitress says sweetly, batting her long lashes at the predator in front of me.
"Thank you." He says stiffly, not looking at the girl as a disappointed frown crosses her face before she walks off, ponytail swishing briskly behind her.
We'd entered a small little café and had chosen a booth at the back, away from the curious eyes trailing after our strange looking duo and the clingy toddler.
"Why did you even order anything ?" I ask, running my hand up and down Caspar's back. I feel him press his face harder against my shoulder, little hands clenching tightly in my shirt.
"It's just something we do to blend in." He answers, eyes taking in my sons anxious form then flicking back to meet my hard gaze.
I nod at his answer.
"How old is your boy ?" He asks.
"He's none of your concern. I agreed to give you five minutes to say what you have to say, so say it." I hear the wolf in my voice. So close to the surface with the vampire so close. His stench weeping from his porcelain body, creeping through the air of the café. My eyes flick around, the smell is so strong to me I almost expect even the humans to have a reaction to it, a crinkle of the nose at the foul odour.
Theres a long awkward silence between us as I wait for him to speak.
"We wont tell the Volturi about you." He gets straight to the point. I raise my eyebrows in reply, waiting for him to go on. "It's not in my families best interests to attract the Voltori's attention, doing so would have repercussions for us also."
Sitting back in the booth I eye the scarred vampire in front of me. "How do I know that you won't go to them. Im sure you're aware that giving me to them would put you in great favour."
"We're not how you or the wolves think of us. We just want to live in peace and bringing in the volturi would jeopardise that." He sighs as he sees the distrust in my eyes. "I can't do anything but give you my word." He watches me closely eyes taking the scars visible on my skin as I had taken in his, a strange emotion crosses his features and pushes against my mind, twisting amongs my tumultuous feelings.
"What ?" I ask confused by his expression and the feeling he's pushing towards me.
"Nothing." He says, shaking his head.
"Your messing with my emotions again, so what ?"
"You just remind me of myself a lot, that's all." He finally says, gesturing to my scars.
"Lots of people have scars." I say, frowning at the brooding vampire.
"They don't have the same meaning behind them though. They didn't get them the same way we did."
"And how did we get them ?"
"From someone changing us. Forcing us to be something we're not."
"And what's that ?" I murmur.
"Monsters."
A long, tense silence stretches between us.
"You give your word that your whole coven will keep mine and Caspar's presence here a secret ? " I ask, wanting to be away from the man in front of me and the similarities his past reflects back at me.
"Yes. I'll give you our number and you can confirm with Carlisle if that makes you feel better." He pulls a pen from his pocket and starts jotting down a number on a napkin, jerking his head up suddenly he looks out the cafe window. " Alice and Esme are coming." He says as he slides the number across the table towards me. Recognising the name of his coven mates I spare a glance out of the window before snapping a hand out and grasping his wrist. Claws pressing against the cold marble of his skin. His eyes darken as the meet mine, my pupils blown.
"I'll take you at your word vampire so you'll take me at mine. If your family guides the claws that will tear my family apart nothing will stop my own from returning the favour." His eyes snap down the the small crack that appears under the sharp pressure of my claw.
"Jasper ?" I hear a high ringing voice call. I snatch the number from his hand, shoving it in my pocket as I shift Caspar onto my hip and use my free hand to gather our bags as I rise from the booth.
"Moth." A motherly voice greets. "It's lovely to see you." Her amber eyes meet mine as she smile cautiously at me. Frowning at the older woman I look back at the scarred vamp, he nods his head to me, his hand covering the small injury. Returning the nod I turn, ignoring the two women, and walk from the café and start making my way home.
"Home now ?" Caspar stirs in my arms, leaning back he looks at me, thumb firmly in his mouth.
"Yeah baby, we're going home now. You still up for helping mama cook ?" He nods his head eagerly, thumb slipping from its comforting position onto my shoulder as he turns to look around as we make our way home. I smile as he starts chatting away, he was becoming more confident and relaxed away from the house.
Hopefully I could now too. The vampire says they don't plan to give us away, and we have others that want to look after us now, it's not just me that can protect us now, there are others who will watch our backs, I can let my guard down. I was not feeling much more relaxed at the thought. It's going to take a while, like Paul said that was our life and it's not going to just go away now we're out.
I wish it would though.
We made quick work of getting the stew on, it would be fine to simmer away for the rest of the day left mostly unattended so I decided to take Caspar down to the beach while the men laughed over their newly acquired beers and talked about the old times while they played their card games. With the instruction to the guys for them to stir the stew occasionally we set off.
Caspar ran in front of me, hiding behind trees while I pretended to search for him, feigning that I couldn't see him even when he stood in front of me waving his arms and calling my name.
He ran and I chased the rest of the way and I scooped him up as soon as our toes touched the sand, running with him squealing and giggling in my arms the whole way to the water. It was a warm day so I waded in lowering Vaspar into the water. He clung to me relentlessly as I tried to dip him into the sea, his feet and arms wrapped tightly around me. In the end I stopped trying to get the little monkey off me and just sat down, laughing, into the water, Casper shrieking and giggling, splashing me. He jumped from my lap, the shallows I sat in coming up to him collarbone as he stood on the sand. We had a splashing war which he won after I called for mercy from his relentlessness. He just laughed and waded around, dipping his head below the water and emerging with various shells and long strands of seaweed.
We played and explored for a while as he chatted away happily the whole time. He told me about his favourite animal the sea otter, he saw a picture of a mother and baby sea otter in one of his books and it reminded him of me, because I always cuddled him and I was fluffy. I smiled at his words, drawing him into my arms and laying back, floating on the water, holding him with one arm above the surface so we floated along like the mother and baby sea otter.
With my baby in my arms, the warm sun and the hush of the water I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time.
Well I did until I got a face full of wet fur and a panicked shriek in my ear.