A/N: I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.
When I was little, I always dreamed about being a flight attendant when I was older simply because I loved the thought of being able to hop on a plane and go all around the world. The thought of getting paid to do so was just the icing on the cake.
Now though, there's nothing I hate more than flying. Maybe its cause I've done it so often that it seems to have lost that special appeal it used to have. Or maybe its cause it's been so long since I've flown somewhere to get away and relax.
That being said, when the Denali's found out I had to fly to Forks during the few days before Christmas, they offered to let me use their private jet, as a special gift in the spirit of the holiday. Although at the time, refusing the ridiculous offer was the only reasonable thing to do, I kind of wish I hadn't.
Instead, the triplets did the next best thing and bought the seat next to mine, so that I wouldn't be stuck sitting next to a stranger. Although it's a ridiculous thing to do, I was kind of grateful for it when I found out. Now though, I'm pretty damn lonely.
I lean over and grab my magazine, flipping through the pages, not really looking at any of the articles, until I feel someone sitting in the seat beside mine.
"Sorry, that seat's taken." I say, without looking up from the pages of my magazine.
"Come on Bella, give me a break."
At the sound of my name, my head snaps up to look at the blonde haired boy beside me. I immediately raise from my seat and glance around at the plane and see that the rest of the Cullen family are indeed seated a couple rows down from me.
"So I see you decided to come to Forks after all. Did Esme force you?"
Jasper sighs and shakes his head. "I wanted to talk to you, Bella. Explain things to you in a way. I'm not a bad person-"
"No," I reply mockingly. "Of course not."
"No one forced us. Rose and I- we wanted to come. It just came as a shock when you first told us."
"That sounds reasonable." I reluctantly agree, struggling to see things from his point of vu. "But none of that explains why you haven't seen your mom in the past ten years."
"The last time mom saw me, I was her perfect little boy with sparkly eyes and whatnot. Going to that school, Bella. It changed me. I did things I shouldn't have done. Drugs, fighting, even worse things. I was uncontrollable." Jasper explains.
"I went back one time during winter break, we were sixteen."
"I remember."
"Mom took one look at the scars on my arms and I'll never forget that look on her face. It still haunts me to this day. If she knew how many I had total or how many of those I caused on other people…" Jasper trails off.
"Meeting the Cullen family, Alice in particular, turned my life around. I didn't forget about my mom, on the contrary, I think of her every day. Every day I try to be a better person, work harder and actually achieve something in life; something that she could be proud of. Only then did I want to see her. So that she could be proud of me. I guess I didn't realize that by trying to protect her, I was hurting her in the process. I never thought I'd run out of time."
I frown, unsure what to say now, and clearly taken aback. "Your mom always loved you Jazz. She always have and she always with. You didn't run out of time, either. She's always going to be watching over you, and Rose. You still have forever to make her proud."
"I know everyone thinks I'm a bad son-"
"Screw everyone." I reply, defiantly. "No one knows you as well as you know you. Maybe your logic was a bit twisted, and I'm sure you wish you could change things but hey, life doesn't come with an instruction manual. You know you love your mom and that your mom loved you. That's all that really matters."
"Thanks Bella," Jasper says, smiling. "You know, Alice will come around eventually."
I shrug, unmoved by his faith. "Until then, can you switch seats with Edward?"
Lillian Hale's funeral was as sad and heartbreaking as any other funeral, I suppose. What got to me the most was to see just how many people actually showed up to mourn her. For a woman who spent a great part of being lonely, she sure had touched a lot of hearts. Almost the entire town had gathered around to pay their respects.
People from Port Angeles had even made the trip down to say goodbye to their 'favourite waitress' at one of the restaurants there.
Afterwards I went back to Charlie and Sue's house, avoiding the Cullen's at all costs, and spent the rest of the afternoon with Seth and Leah. Soon enough, the entire house was filled with La Push boys. According to Charlie, this is normal.
With Paul's arms slung around my shoulder as we both watch, half-amused, as Jacob and Seth wrestle to the ground, it almost feels like I'd never felt.
"You okay, B?" Paul asks me quietly, not taking his eyes off the two wrestling boys.
"Fine. I feel like going for a drive, that's all."
Wordlessly, Paul reaches into his pocket and hands me a silver key attached to a tribal sign keychain.
"Seriously? You're sure?" I ask knowing how much his car means to him.
He barely has the chance to nod before I throw my arms around him in a crushing hug and run up the stairs to the main floor, and out the door. With a quick stop to the flower shop where Renée used to work, I quickly drive down familiar streets towards the graveyard where Lillian was buried earlier today.
Once I get there though, a weeping figure is already there. As I step closer to get a closer view, I recognize the person automatically. I kneel down beside them and gently place the flowers I'd brought on the grave, then wrap my arms cautiously around her. As if knowing her place, she turns into me and sobs into my shoulder.
This is the second time I've ever seen Rosalie Hale cry.
"I'm an awful daughter." She sobs hysterically.
"Shh, no, Rose. No." I whisper soothingly, not quite knowing what to do.
It seems like hours before she composes herself enough to talk.
"I should have been here with her."
"Why weren't you?" I ask, intrigued. "It's not like you never came back to Forks. I ran into Mike a few months ago, he said he'd seen you a few times over the years."
She nods. "We stayed at the Cullen house. I never saw her when I came. I was too ashamed of what I'd done."
I blanch. "This is all because of me?"
Rose coughs out a laugh. "Of course not, B. I did it, not you. I visited her once. I guess word had gotten to her about how I'd left and about how I wasn't at NYC with you. She tried to hide how disappointed she was in me, but I could still see it. My mother loved you like a daughter. To find out exactly what I'd done to you would have killed her."
She let's out a sad sigh. "I told myself that I would show her that I could succeed without you, that I was strong enough to achieve greatness on my own. But it just wasn't happening. I didn't finish college; I didn't get into business school like we'd planned. I went into mechanics, to repair cars, and even then I didn't get a job."
She looks at me with her familiar blue eyes. "I'm a failure, B. How could I ever go home to her? It's like all those times she worked to get me through to college and give me a good life, and I failed her. I couldn't bear to see her hide her disappointment again, so I never came back. I figured she would think that I had done all I'd dreamt of doing when I was younger. I guess whatever version of me she had conjured up had to be better than what I am now."
I shake my head. "All she ever wanted was for you to be happy." I say firmly.
"I'm sorry, Bella. For everything." Rose croaks. "I regretted it the moment I did it, but I just couldn't bring myself to let him go. All these years I've convinced myself that I was right and you were wrong. Willing that to be true. It took my mom dying for me to own up to what I've done, oh god. How sick is that?"
I shrug, not knowing what to say.
"I'm proud of you, B. You've achieved all you've wanted to and more."
"It's not too late, R. You can do it too. You can still make her proud." I point to the sky. "She'll always be watching over you. Be someone worth watching over."
Rosalie looks inside her coat and takes out a stack of letters. "I wrote to her over and over again and never had the courage to send them."
"Read them to her now," I suggest. Putting my hands on the floor, I push myself up onto my feet and begin to walk back towards my car
"Wait!" Rose calls. "Where are you going?"
"Home. This is something you need to do alone." I glance back towards the parking lot and see that my car is the only one there. "You didn't walk here did you?" I ask, mildly horrified at the thought.
At her nod, I shake my head.
"I'll text Edward and ask him to send Emmett to come pick you up." I assure her. "Goodnight Rose."
"Goodnight Bella, Thank you."
A/N: I can't believe all of you thought that they would really miss the Hale funeral!
No one's that evil, hopefully.
Yay! A Bella/Hale truce.
Also, I can guarantee no more sad chapters, it's all going up from here!
I hope all of you enjoyed it.
As always your Reviews(inputs, concerns and ideas) are always welcome and enjoyed!
Love-A.