Jasper's Point of View
I had never been more grateful for Alice than right now. I knew she was really uncomfortable with being here but she stayed for me anyway.
"Thank you for being here for me," I whispered while the others were talking.
"I want you to be comfortable. That's all that matters." Maria's grandmother turned to me.
"Jasper , tomorrow a car will pick you up at 9, that's for the viewing which starts at 10. It's over at one." I nodded and noticed Alice writing it down. "That will be all for the day. Saturday will be the actual funeral. It will be held at 12 o'clock. I need you dressed by 10:55 because a car will be there to meet you at 11. He will take you to the funeral home."
"That will be no problem. We'll be ready."
"She's coming to the funeral?" Carlos asked.
"Yes, of course. She's staying with me." Alice looked back and forth between us.
"I wouldn't want to impose…" Alice started.
"No, you're not imposing," Ms. Marquez interrupted, cutting her eyes at Carlos. "If Jasper wants you there, please, come. We want to make the process as painless as possible for all involved." I know she was trying to be polite but she sounded more like a tape recorder than a grandmother.
"Thank you for being so accommodating and sorry again for your loss." She thanked me and I shook her and Elena's hands before calling a taxi.
"Are you really sure that you want to go to the funeral?"
"Of course, Jasper. I'm not going to change my mind. If you don't think I should go then tell me." She was probably getting annoyed with my asking.
"I want to be selfish and ask you to come with me but I don't want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable. I'm probably getting on your nerves. I'll shut up now." He started rambling and I got a glimpse of the semi-awkward boy I knew at the beginning of senior year.
"Jasper, shut-up." I laughed and he blushed. "It's fine. I'm going with you and we're not talking about it anymore." He agreed and turned on the television. "I do have to admit, you are cute when you get nervous." He rolled his eyes and turned back to the television.
Emmett's Point of View
"Rosie!" I yelled down the hall.
"Emmett, I am a few yards away, there is no need to yell."
"Sorry," I said, quieter.
"What did you want?" She asked, putting me back on track. "Will you go on a date with me?" Her forehead creased a bit with her expression.
"We're already going out tonight."
"I mean a real planned date. One that we decide a week before instead of waking up and wanting to go out. We've been dating for a while now and we haven't once planned, in advance, a date together. I wanted to ask you out and go on a real date." She smiled and kissed me. Score.
"Well when?" I told her eight o'clock on Friday. "Pick me up. Don't be late." She closed the door to the bedroom and I walked away with the biggest smile on my face. Wait, that's my bedroom.
I called Edward because as much as I loved Rosalie, I was never the best romantic.
"Emmett?"
"Yeah, it's me. I uhh need your help for something big."
"Something big like what?"
"It's this really big date with Rose and I want to do something romantic." I heard him snort. "I'm not kidding. I want it to be really nice. If you're not going to help I'll just call Jasper."
"Okay, okay, sorry. I'll help you out. What do you need?"
"Well do you know any romantic restaurants? And I need a florist and a jewelry store." He made a noise while he was thinking and then put the phone down. I wanted for a few minutes until he got back.
"Okay well I'll keep looking for a restaurant. I can have it by tomorrow. There is a Zales and a Kay Jewelers in the mall in Port Angeles. Umm, there is a florist here in Forks. Go past the middle school and take a left." I wrote down what he said and thanked him.
"You really saved me a lot of time. Now I have to get up to the restaurant by Wednesday to make sure they'll be okay with what I want to do and then get to the jewelers to make sure they have what I need."
"Good luck with whatever you're planning. I'm sure that Rose will love it."
"Thanks, Edward. I really want this to go well."
"No problem. It's good to see you serious about something, for once."
"Ha ha, very funny."
"I'll talk to you later, Em." I said goodbye and hung up the phone.
Bella's Point of View
When Edward and I got home, we went to talk with my dad, who was home for the weekend.
"Dad?"
"Hi, Bella, Edward." Edward nodded his greeting and sat down.
"Can we talk?" Charlie sat across from Edward and I, expectantly. "Well I have been looking for colleges and I know that you wanted me to stay with friends but I want to go to UCLA." He scratched his chin and stared for a few seconds.
"Are you sure? I mean, are you ready to be on your own?" I nodded.
"I already visited and I won't be alone. I met a few people then. Plus, Edward will come and help me settle in before he goes to New York." He grunted, meaning he had no choice.
"If you're sure you want to do this." I squealed and hugged him. "Edward, good luck in New York. I have some business there later this year. I might stop by and see you."
"That'd be great."
"I guess that was all I had to say," Charlie laughed and got up.
"I always knew you'd make it your own way, Bella. You guys have a nice evening." When he went upstairs I sat back on the couch.
"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm glad he's not overly concerned."
"Even when he is, it just means that he cares about your well-being." Of course Edward would be the voice of reason.
"This is really happening. We're all going to be starting our own lives in our own places." He laughed lightly at my enthusiasm. "I will miss you while you're in New York."
"And I will miss you but maybe this will be good for us. You know "absence makes the heart grow fonder". We'll be fine." I smiled and we went to make something to eat and maybe watch a movie before bed.
Jasper's Point of View
Today was the day of the funeral and I was extremely anxious. We were in the taxi on the way to the funeral home for the service. I was calmed a little with the fact that I didn't have to speak, but paying my respects is the least that I can do.
"Jazz, you need to calm down or we aren't going to make it to the funeral." She had been trying to calm me down since we woke up this morning.
"Okay, I'll calm down." I took a few deep breaths as we pulled up to the funeral home. "I'm ready for this." Alice grabbed my hand and we walked into the building. I recognized a few kids from my former high school and there was a lot of her family and friends that I did not know.
"I'm glad you could make it Jasper." Maria's grandmother was in front of me as I walked into the door. "Your seat is there, beside Elena." She led us to the front of the room. We sat down and Carlos was on the other side of us, glaring a hole into Alice's head.
"Alice, you want to switch seats with me?" I whispered. She nodded and moved to sit beside Elena.
The service proceeded normally with a few people speaking before the preacher. I wasn't supposed to speak at all until Carlos stood up.
"Well, Maria meant a lot of things to everyone here. There was one person very important to her that hasn't had the chance to speak today. Jasper?" Alice looked at me with concern. I took a deep breath and nodded before standing.
Alice's Point of View
I watched Carlos' satisfied smirk as Jasper walked to the stage. Carlos had a problem with me being here and now a problem with Jasper for bringing me. Jasper slowly walked up to the stage, stalling for time to think.
"Well, uh, Maria was a very lively person. She loved to have fun and the people in this room spent those times with her. I didn't have the chance to know her for very long. She came into my life quickly and we had fun together. I am sad to have not been there when she needed it most but I know she was loved by her family and that she'll be missed." He rushed through the entire thing, taking one breath in his little speech.
Maria's grandmother rushed to the podium to fill the silence.
"Thank you Jasper." He nodded quickly and rushed to his seat. Now we will proceed to the cemetery for the final burial. Thank you all for your attendance. I know Maria would love to know the extent of the support that she had." I was walking out of the door because the family wanted to talk with Jasper. Of course, Carlos was leaning against the building. He flicked his cigarette to the floor and walked over. I looked around but everyone had already gone to the parking lot and Jasper was still inside.
"You're not wanted here, you know." I stood my ground, screaming stranger danger on the inside.
"I'm here to support Jasper. That's all."
"As far as everyone here is concerned you're the stuck up rich girl that bought Jasper off." I took a deep breath. I couldn't let him get to me.
"You don't know anything about me or Jasper." He snorted.
"You got that right. I never knew what my sister saw in him. If it wasn't for him, she'd still be here. Maybe I should kill the bastard myself." Now, I'm pissed.
"Look, Jasper didn't have anything to do with Maria's death. Maybe, if you were a better brother, you would have seen that something was wrong with her." He came closer.
"Don't you dare say I didn't try to help my sister! If your little boyfriend hadn't fucked with her feelings, there wouldn't have been anything to fix."
"Let me make one thing clear. It was your emotionally crazed sister that messed up. So don't come to me like this is my fault! I didn't even know her. I'm sorry that she's dead and I'm sorry for your loss but Jasper and I had nothing to do with it. Something was wrong with her long before because, newsflash, high school breakups happen everyday! Something like that doesn't push someone over the edge like that." He had been staring me down the whole time. "Now, I can see you cared about her and you're hurt. You know what? If it'll make you feel better go ahead and blame me. Just know that it's not gonna help you or anyone else in your family get through this any easier. In fact I'm half convinced that you would be a decent guy if I'd met you under different circumstances. But I didn't and now I'm done with this because the last time I'll ever see you at the burial." I turned away and walked to the waiting car. Checkmate.
Jasper's Point of View
Elena and I were walking out and overheard Alice yelling.
"Carlos, why?" Elena muttered. She started to go and stop it.
"No, she can handle it."
"I didn't even know her! I'm sorry that she's dead and I'm sorry for your loss but Jasper and I had nothing to do with it." We listened to the rest of her speech and heard her walk away.
"I'm sorry, again, about my brother." I reassured her that she didn't have to appologize and walked over to the car.
"Alice, have you cooled down?" She rolled her eyes.
"I'm guessing you heard my little outburst."
"Don't worry. He had it coming." She agreed and laughed. "The burial is it. Our flight leaves in 5 hours. After the burial we go to the hotel and we pack and then it's back to our lives."
"Jasper how do you feel about all this?" I looked around the emptying parking lot.
"Well, I'm not happy she's dead." I paused trying to find the right word. "I have to see I feel a little bad for being relieved that I don't have to worry about her anymore. But you being here has probably stopped a lot of the self-blame that would be setting in about now. I just wish that she'd have gotten help earlier."
"Well, here goes."
"Yeah, let's pay our final respects and then, we can go home."