Chapter Twenty-Five

Rose was the one to call the next day, bright and early. It could sometimes be annoying, the Cullens not having to sleep. She wanted me to come over and hang out with them, as was our usual Saturday routine. I had a hidden agenda, which was, of course, to see if Jasper had kept his promise.

I didn't want to get my hopes up that I would be enough for Jasper to stay, but when I got to the Cullen's and saw him sitting on the couch, my heart skipped a beat and I squealed inside. I heard Edward's laugh make its way from upstairs.

I wandered over to the couch and sat next to him, and he wrapped his arms around me.

"How are you this morning?" he asked.

"Relieved."

"Why? Did you really think I'd leave now that I have a reason to stay?"

"I didn't want to get my hopes up…"

He kissed my forehead. "I'm not going anywhere any time soon. I promise you that."

Jasper and I sat on the oversized sofa watching various TV shows, and it was almost noon before I realized it'd been three and a half hours. I heard him sigh as he turned off the television. I heard him let out an enormous sigh, which I found strange as he had no reason to take a deep breath in the first place. I frowned at him, my eyes filled with confusion. His sigh had scared the emotional life out of me.

"I do have to talk to you about something, though, Em," he said, taking one of my hands in his.

"About what?" I asked.

"Me leaving again." My breath caught in my throat and I could feel tears welling in my eyes. "I don't want you to think I'm leaving you, because I'm not, but I do have to leave in a couple of weeks. A short trip, probably just overnight. I may do some hunting while I'm gone, too, to cut the amount of time away."

"Where are you going?" The tears hadn't come out, but they were definitely pushing against the barrier.

"Down to Texas. My parent's home needs some financial backing otherwise it'll be torn down. I'm going to help out the family living there, give them some money to keep it from being destroyed."

"Oh. That is a much better reason than what I was thinking." Jasper laughed.

"Like I said, I don't leave for a couple weeks, and I'll be gone overnight at most."

"Good." I turned my back against him and snuggled into him again, stealing the remote control and turning the TV back on.

Jasper and I were practically inseparable the next two weeks, but they flew by faster than I thought they would. He planned on catching the red eye to Texas, meeting with the family living in his house when he landed, then catching the next red eye out, after stealing a couple of cows first.

He was in the air quickly, and Rose and Bella escorted me back home, deciding to stay and hang out when we got there.

"How do you think Alice feels about this, Em?" Rosalie asked, looking through all the pictures in our living room for the umpteenth time.

"I'm not sure."

"You know she had to have seen this coming."

"I think she may have known it was coming before she even left," I added.

Bella and Rosalie stared at me. "How do you think that?" they asked in unison.

"The letter she left me. In it, she said how I was supposed to take care of Jasper when he came back. She said it'd be the most difficult for him because she was letting him, that she had to let him go. She said I'd understand when he returned from his trip."

"Oh!" Bella squealed. "That is romantic, in a way."

"Does Jasper know this? Does he know what was in your letter?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't think so," I answered. I bit my lip, hoping it wouldn't be brought up when he returned, so there wouldn't be a confrontation about it.

Rosalie and Bella stayed a few more hours then left shortly before my mother returned.

Jasper came back right on schedule. I was there to greet him when he exited the terminal. He dropped his bag at his feet and, wrapping his arms around my waist, he kissed me. I felt my feet lift off the floor, and he was spinning me in circles. My lips smiled into his, and I felt his smile into mine.

"Miss me did you?" he asked, resting my feet back on solid ground.

"Nope," I laid heavy sarcastic emphasis on my words. "In fact, I'd forgotten you'd left until Rose called and reminded me…"

He kissed me again then grabbed his bag.

"What's in there?" I asked.

"Necessities to keep up human appearances. Toiletries and clothes. In case anyone wanted to stop by my hotel room."

"Very smart," I said.

"I know. I'm a genius!"

"With a capital J."

"What? Genius doesn't start with a j."

"I know. Inside joke. Sorry. Forgot I wasn't with the 'capital J' crowd anymore." He stared at me with a puzzled look on his face. I decided to explain. "Ask anyone to spell genius, and odds are they'll mess up the first time and start with a j. Every time I hear someone say they're a genius, I can't help but think of it."

Jasper laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. Guiding us to the parking lot, we climbed into my car, and headed back to the Cullens.