Conversations with My Killer
Chapter 26 - Rebel

I liked to think I was a calm, rational adult. Anger shouldn't rule my life. Letting it get the best of me was the equivalent of admitting defeat. These empty platitudes might have worked if not for him.

Jasper. His name was a curse. We hadn't seen each other in three years, but he somehow managed to fit spiked shackles around my wrists. Every time he searched me out, I felt him pull on the chains. Metal dug into my skin and shredded my flesh. None of it was real, but I felt it all the same.

I didn't have a plan for how I would deal with him. There wasn't a five step process or a carefully constructed plot. I only had an idea. Fire. Him. Both needed to meet and shake hands until ashes were all that remained.

Committing to my idea was as easy as spending two days with my shield down and then jogging north. The name of my former town rang clear in my mind and from my lips. If there was a way for Jasper and his cronies to sense it, I hoped they did.

Forks.

I didn't even care who caught me. All that mattered was that they bring me to Jasper. I could have just called him, but I wanted him to put out some effort. It made me smile all bright and cheery inside this cold, dead body of mine.

I was probably a happy human until he found me. His venom stained my soul and ripped the humanity out of me. I was cold and coarse. A rock had more feelings than I did. It was Jasper's fault. The only thing in me was a need to kill. It was fitting that he now topped my murder list.

My life was no longer about what I wanted and who I was. It was about ridding the world of his existence. He was a plague that was long overdue for a cure.

I usually hitchhiked or ran when I traveled. Today, I was driving an old clunker I bought for five hundred bucks from a woman down in Longview. The car's windows had a cheap at-home tint applied to them. It obscured the view just enough to provide me some privacy from spying eyes.

With the spirit of a wanderer, I allowed myself a slow tour through the town. It failed to conjure up any old memories. I had yet to find anything capable of unlocking my mind.

I even parked at the old high school and tried imagining myself as a student. Edward said he drove me to school most days. According to him, my truck was an unreliable piece of junk. The pictures of it revealed an old timey charm. Shouldn't someone his age appreciate antiques?

I left the school and drove to the only grocery store in town. I hoped to find a phone book to give me an address for my old house. Had I planned my adventure better, I would have looked this up before coming here.

Once out of my car, I kept my sunglasses on and my head ducked low. Using Edward's pictures as a reference, I made sure to dress completely different from when I was a human. My hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and I wore a loose fitting polka-dot sundress. I still hated shoes, but I found some moccasin slippers that didn't bind my feet too tight.

It wasn't that I disliked clothing. I just didn't understand their purpose. Most clothes and shoes restricted free movement and were itchy. Shirts pulled at my neck. Fabrics were too scratchy on my skin. Shoes slowed me down. Pants never fit right.

The usual reasons behind clothing didn't apply to me. I wasn't working with a human's sense of shame nor did my skin need protection from the elements. Rain and wind felt far better than nylon or cotton. I wore just enough to keep me from drawing too many eyes. This was an evolving process. From the lack of attention I received at the grocery store, I thought I did pretty well today.

I found an old phone book at the empty service desk. A quick flip to the S's gave me what I needed. Charlie Swan lived on Vine Street. Easy breezy.

My car pretty much steered itself to the street. There were few houses on the block. Two were too large and one far too small. Like Goldilocks, the last one I saw felt just right.

I parked down the street. Once I got out, all bets were off. If Jasper or his minions were looking for me, this was where they would be. Nothing in the town gave me a nervous tingly sensation on my neck. Sitting fifty yards from my old house had my body screaming death metal.

It was time to get this over with. I ran a good race. If sticking my neck out at the end would allow me to win, it was worth it. Then again, this could just as easily be a mistake that allowed my hunter a better angle to chop off my head. Either way, the end was as necessary as it was near.

I got out of the car. One foot in front of the other. My moccasins were nice and soft. They allowed for a pleasurable walk to an uncertain destination. Whatever happened, I was keeping my shoes.

This old house of Charlie's made me home sick even when I was standing right in front of it. The grass was overgrown and the windows boarded up. Someone probably threw rocks at the glass. Stupid kids.

Why did they even do it? Where was Charlie? Why was the house sitting empty?

The questions were forgotten when a gust of wind sent me my first whiff of vampire. The lack of complexity to the scent made me think there was just one out there. In contrast, the Cullens were a Halloween sack of candy. Emmett always joked he was a Snickers bar. It was a shame his wife was a Tic-tac.

A man's voice lured me from the front of the house. He was inviting me to join him. We could skip through the forest and share a hiker when the remains of our last victim left us. He had wonderful sights to show me. I would be safe with him.

I wasn't buying his bullshit, but I was curious to see just who he was. I expected Jasper, but I could already tell this was someone else entirely.

I came around the side of the house and spotted a man running away. It didn't take a genius to figure out his strategy. He would lure me into the trees. Whoever was with him would circle around and close in on me. I would be trapped.

Not today, boys.

I was pissed off and tired of the crap. Rather than follow him, I walked just out of sight of the nearest house and sat my happy butt on the ground. When they tired of their games, I would be waiting for them to come for me.

It took two hours. Losers.

Three days of traveling brought me to a ranch in Mexico. I didn't talk to my escort. Minions were not within the scope of my interest. I had bigger fish to fry.

The smell of vampires permeated the air for miles. There were dozens of them in the area. Once we were within sight of the beige colored compound, we slowed to a human pace. I was informed that this was a policy put in place by Alice.

I liked to picture her with long red hair and a rat face. She was a Cullen and a friend of Jasper's. Those were two strikes too many against her. If she was half as annoying as the rest of them, I hoped to toss her ass in the same fire as Jasper. They could both roast in hell.

We were waved through a fancy wrought iron gate. What a useless piece of metal that was.

All eyes were on me as we made our way through the courtyard. My escort strolled. I strutted. It was the moccasins. They came with moxie and some sweet ass fringe.

Boy Three from our little group opened the doors. He had a cute smile, but he couldn't work up the nerve to look me in the eyes. Only Boy Five did that. He thought he was hot shit. I called him lukewarm poo.

More vampires. Too pretty. Too perfect. Too tall. Too pale. Too everything. None needed a mirror. They only needed to look to the left. They were practically clones.

Half of the women were dressed in layered sheer fabric. The tasty bits were covered, but there was just enough of the rest to make a person take a good long look. The other half wore tank tops and loose fitting cargo pants. I wondered what they kept in their pockets.

The men dressed much like the women. Half looked ready to join an orgy. The other half were prepared for a paleontology dig. They needn't bother with dinosaurs. The man at the front of the crowd was a T. Rex.

Long black hair framed the face of a skilled death dealer. His eyes were as hardened as his forbidding features. No one needed to tell me he was the coven leader. Power was laced into his very being.

He sat in one of five straight backed wooden chairs that resembled thrones. They were arranged in a half circle with the man in charge sitting in the middle seat. To his immediate left was a small woman with black spiky hair and eyes too large for her face. Even with venom to balance her features, she appeared owlish.

Every vampire in the room craned their heads around each other to get a better look at me as I walked through the crowd. I was the catch of the day. They should hang me from a hook and measure me while someone else took a picture for the paper.

I didn't like the set up here. The only ones sitting were the reptile and his pet bird. The rest were standing around like it was their job. I also didn't like the thought of having a crowd at my back and a pair of vampires with a royalty fetish at my front.

I opted for a compromise. There were three empty chairs. Why shouldn't one be mine? I sat down in one on the end and threw a leg over one of the arms. It was good to be a rebel queen.

I hoped they had delivery in this hell hole. "I need a fresh human every five days at the most. Don't bring me children and never a man dressed in orange. Neither sits right in my belly."

T. Rex's voice cut through the air like a steel blade. "You're late. Our Thursday meetings start at noon."

So that was the game we were playing. Fine by me. "I'll try to remember that."

The dinosaur was named Demetri. Alice was the owl. The three of us played it smooth through the rest of the meeting. They seemed perfectly content with letting everyone believe I belonged here. If I didn't know better, I would have believed it myself.

Once the crowd cleared out, the real business commenced. "What do you want with me?"

Before answering, Demetri glanced at his partner who gave him a nod. "What do you know about the Volturi?"

Not a thing, but I was about to be educated.

It took an hour for them to cover everything they thought I needed to know.

"There's a war coming. Without you on our side, we can't win," Demetri finished.

Then you are fucked. I would sooner kill Emmett than help this man with anything.

Some of my animosity spilled out of me. "Let's say you're not messing with me, and there really is a war coming. What makes you think I would help you?"

His snake's voice was a whistle in my ear. "Because we know something you don't know."

"Don't puff out your chest like you're in elite company. Everyone knows more than I do."

Alice cut in. "Only because you trusted the wrong people. That was your mistake, not ours."

"You mean the wrong people who saved my life after one of your people tried to kill me. Yeah, I can see where that was a silly mistake."

"Jasper didn't try to kill you. It was an accident."

She needed to close that trap of hers. "You don't get to decide what I know about that night. People lie. They manipulate by picking and choosing which stories to tell. I'll decide for myself what I believe about him and everything else. When I do want your input, I'll ask for it."

Alice was about to object again when Demetri covered one of her hands with his own. "She has no reason to trust us. Be glad she is here at all."

She bowed her head and apologized.

"You'll have to excuse Alice. She is very protective of Jasper, as am I. He has not had an easy life."

I really didn't care. "Where is he?"

Alice answered. "California with Emmett and others. We wanted time alone with you before the drama starts."

"Drama?"

"Don't play stupid. You and Jasper have a lot of shit to work out. It'll be World War III around here for at least a month."

Unless I killed him. "What do you think is going to happen?"

She took on an exhausted tone. "He'll say something stupid. You'll get mad. There will be a fight or two. You'll start to forgive him, and he'll say something worse than the last comment. I'm tired just thinking about it."

I kind of liked her. Actually both of them weren't bad. They were direct and appeared to be honest. Demetri was a bit of a cold fish. The man didn't seem to have even an ounce of personality. Regardless, it was nice to have people lay their cards on the table instead of hiding them up their sleeves. Though it was entirely possible they had a deck or two stashed under the table.

Enough about Jasper. "These other three chairs. Whose are they?"

"The one to Alice's left belongs to Felix. We mentioned him earlier. He is a skilled fighter and works alongside Jasper to train the others. You'll know him when you see him. He's as tall and strong as Emmett."

Demetri waved a hand at the chair between the two of us. "This is Jasper's. I'll leave it to him to discuss his ability. The chair you're sitting in belongs to you. You sit at his right just as Alice sits at Felix's right."

"What makes us so special?"

"Because when we speak, our coven listens. Change comes when they stop."

This was what happened with him and Felix. Aro spoke, but they no longer heard his call. They were still technically members of the Volturi, but soon their duplicity would be revealed. The only question was whether or not I would help them win the war that was coming. As it stood now, I would watch them die, and they knew it.

Demetri stood up and moved to my side. "Shall I show you to your room or would you like a tour of the property?"

I would like to separate his head from his neck. If I thought there was any real chance of that happening, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I let my bad attitude take up a special place in my mind. I would let it sit there and wait just like the rest of me. Now that I knew what this man wanted, I was dead set against giving it to him.

"My room, please."

"Bella, you should know that if you decide to leave us, no one will stop you. You have my word."

There was an intensity in his eyes that was utterly convincing. Not only would no one stop me, he would kill them if they tried. Seeing him go from soulless one second to fervent the next was very unsettling.

Demetri clasped one of his hands with mine. "Come along. I have much to show you."

The house was at the center of a ranch he purchased a decade ago. It was only in the last several years that he came into the money required to build on the land.

"Only the five of us have rooms in the main house," he explained at we climbed the wide staircase. "Others are assigned to the smaller houses based on rank. The newest recruits have no rooms. They relax in the common areas."

"What about training? I need to work on my fighting."

"We have three areas set aside. One is in the building south of here. The other two are in a clearing to the west. You can even find your own location elsewhere. It's entirely up to you."

He opened a door at the end of a long corridor on the third floor. "This is your room. If you need anything or have any questions, Alice and I won't be far away."

Stale air welcomed me into the space. A bed was located to the left. Across from it was an entire wall of books with a wheeled ladder to reach the ones from up high. Two rocking chairs were next to an expansive window on the east wall. Between them was a small table with a book just waiting to be cracked open.

In another part of the room, I had a desk that sat in front of a group of glass shelves holding various animal skulls. To the right was a bulletin board with children's artwork taking up every inch of space. My eyes caught on a picture with my name spelled out in purple crayon. It hung next to a picture of a turkey made out of a small hand print.

I couldn't make heads or tails of this room. It was like it belonged to two different people. One was four years old. The other collected dead animals. Had I been a multiple personality?

After taking a long shower and raiding the closet, I sat in one of the rocking chairs and spent the better part of three hours trying to figure out just what the hell I was doing here. This coven was responsible for my death. A veritable army of vampires resided within the walls of this compound, which made sense considering what Demetri told me.

I hadn't known what to expect from them, but it wasn't that they would need me for a war. And just what was it that they knew that would entice me to help them? I couldn't think of a single thing worth fighting for other than my own life.

More relevant to right now, how long would I hide in this room?

From the lack of noise, I had a strong suspicion everyone was still gone. No one was walking around or talking. The place was dead.

The continued silence was too much for me. I had to go look. I crept down the stairs like a burglar. The occasional squeaks in the floorboards were the loudest noises in the house.

"Hello," I shouted. "Where did everybody go?"

Owlish Alice popped up behind me. "Hunting. Most will return by tomorrow evening. I stayed behind to spend time with you."

"Afraid I'll cut and run?"

"No. You came here to kill Jasper. I doubt you'll give up after a few hours. You haven't even seen him yet."

That would teach me not to drop my shield. I learned from our earlier conversation that she couldn't read my decisions when it was in place. "I do want him dead."

"Let's speak on the patio. The stars are bright tonight."

I wanted to kill her brother. She wanted to look at stars. Alice was not a normal girl.

She also wasn't the least bit interested in my plans. Once outside, we sat next to the pool and let our feet rest in the water.

"So what do you think of all this?" she asked. "And don't hold back. I want your honest opinion."

"If you mean Demetri's court, it's lame. The thrones are high school drama club cheesy. The cloaks you two were wearing made you look like you're going to a Star Wars convention."

"It's tradition. The Volturi set the precedent."

That was the problem. "Why borrow traditions from the enemy? It makes you look like you're not smart enough to come up with your own ideas."

Alice tapped her heels in the water. "You're young. I don't expect you to understand."

"From what you said earlier, complacency and an aversion to change are the Volturi's greatest weaknesses. Why are you signing up for more of the same?"

She let out a laugh. "You sound like Jasper."

"Nooo," I cried. "Kill me now."

"I've been tempted."

"Here I thought we were practically sisters, which reminds me. Where are Rosalie and Edward?"

Alice's mood turned icy. "They live on the far side of the ranch. We haven't decided if we should execute them or not."

"Why just them two? What about Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle?"

"It all goes back to that night. Carlisle was the one who saved your life. The others stayed behind to prevent Jasper from following. They took him apart as a means of restraining him."

"But why do that when the damage was already done to me?"

"In my vision, you died and he killed half the family. I warned them ahead of time because I thought they should know what the risks were. I didn't know they would spread out his pieces. Edward and Rosalie did it when Esme and Emmett went to check on you."

I saw too many holes in the story. "Where were you and Demetri? Why didn't you help him?"

"Demetri was busy with someone else. I didn't make it to Washington until the second day. It was then that I had a separate vision of the family taking you away. I told them they couldn't because of certain issues with another recruit."

I needed to remember to ask about that part later. "Then what happened?"

"It wasn't until after I talked to Carlisle that I found out what Edward and Rosalie did. I left right away to retrace their steps. While I searched, the family took off with you. They promised they wouldn't, but it was a lie."

I still had tons of questions, but I was too stubborn to ask them. Jasper wasn't important. I didn't like him. Hell, I hated him. What did it matter what happened once he was put back together? Why should I care? He was nothing to me.

If that were true, would I really need to try so hard to convince myself? Probably not. I couldn't deny there was something about him that intrigued me.

Stop thinking about him.

I pulled my feet out of the water. "I think I'll go read."

Alice knew exactly why I wanted to escape. "He's not as bad as you make him out to be. He isn't your enemy."

"That's just it. I don't know what to believe. I haven't met anyone who hasn't lied to me at least a dozen times. You're no different. I can tell you're leaving something out."

She shrugged. "Some stories are not mine to tell. It's not lying when someone doesn't give you all the information they have."

It was a different form of dishonesty far worse than lying. I couldn't even say with any degree of certainty that what she told me tonight was true. My mistakes with the Cullens taught me to trust no one.

I was still thinking about Jasper. Time and distance erased some of my anger at him. I was almost willing to admit that I enjoyed our conversations. He was a jerk. I was a bitch. It worked.

No. No. No.

I wouldn't like him. I couldn't. He was awful. I bet he smelled like peppermints and lemon. I already knew he was too pretty by half. Worse than that he was a clean freak.

Again, I was thinking about him too much. Fresh air would clear my head and erase my thoughts.

I wandered downstairs and saw that the five chairs were missing. Alice was standing off to the side sketching something out on a large pad. She waved me over when she saw me.

"What do you think?" she asked after handing me her drawing.

It was a round garden with really big rocks. "I'm not understanding what this means."

"It's an outdoor seating area. The different layers of the circle allow for separation between the different ranks of the coven members. Recruits are in the lowest areas of the circle. The more powerful members will claim the higher placed outside rings."

It still sounded wonky, but it was better than those stupid thrones. "I like it."

"Good. Because I was hoping you would help me build it."

Manual labor under the Mexican sun. Dirt and grime. That was my favorite kind of party. "When can we start?"

"We have to run it by the others first."

Break a few rules, Alice. Damn. "I bet you brought your teachers an apple every morning, didn't you?"

"I don't know. I'm like you. I have no human past."

A light bulb turned on in my head. She was the one Carlisle was talking about when he mentioned another vampire suffering memory loss. "Why didn't the family tell me? It makes me mad at them all over again."

"Don't be. I didn't part with them on good terms. Esme probably found it too painful to talk about me."

That wasn't a good enough excuse. "It would have helped a lot to know about you."

"I know what you mean. It's difficult for people to understand what it's like to have nothing and be no one. They think you should just be able to accept it and move on."

Bingo. This girl was inside my head. "Exactly. You wake up in an adult body with a mind full of facts, but you're missing the only information you care about."

Alice started doing her bouncing thing. "It's why I've been so impatient to finally meet you again. I thought our shared experiences would help us become friends."

The sincerity in her words broke through my defenses. Unlike the others, we were truly born into this existence. It was a blessing and a curse. We knew each other in ways no one else ever could.

Dammit. I wanted to be her friend. Why was this happening? The moment was so sugary sweet we belonged back with the Cullens. It was disgusting and great at the same time.

I would never escape this coven now. I wanted to be here just to spend time with her.

Two days of rabble-rousing made me a popular girl. My proudest moment came when a bonfire was fed a diet of ugly chairs and flimsy fabric.

It all started when I asked several of the women point-blank why they lounged around in harem wear. I learned it was a style dictated by some chick named Maria. No one liked their clothes, but they were afraid to rock the boat. Apparently, this woman was a royal bitch.

With Alice's help, I convinced a few of the men and women to go back to wearing what they liked. Three turned into five and then seven. Hours later, we had a party with fire and fun. There was loud singing and sex in the bushes. All they needed was someone encouraging them to break from the pack. No one should tell them who to be or what to wear. It was ridiculous.

In unison, Alice and I declared it fucking awesome while Demetri looked on with a disapproving scowl.

Today, we turned our attention to her ideas for a new seating area. She was such a daddy's girl. She batted her eyelashes and made her voice come out in a kittenish purr as she tried selling the boss on her plans.

If they were human, their interactions would have come across as a family with a dark, dirty secret. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. She had Demetri wrapped around her perfectly manicured pinkie.

After he gave her permission to work on her project, she jumped up and kissed him on the right cheek before scampering off. I would have gone with her, but Demetri wanted to have a chat.

It was serious business. He paced the room like a general. His posture was stiff and his expression severe. "In the four days you've been here, you've taken over my home, burned my chairs, and encouraged my coven to shred their clothes. You still want to kill my best friend, and you make no secret of your disdain for anything resembling order."

I wagged a finger at him. "I also cleaned the pool."

He was not amused. "You're taking advantage of your position."

Why wouldn't I? "I never said I'd play fair, and it's not like I care if you approve of what I do."

"I didn't say I was unhappy with all the changes. I do, however, take issue with your intentions."

This man orchestrated my human death. No one had to tell me this. I figured it out on my own. "Now you know how I feel. Sucks, doesn't it?"

Alice and I were returning to the house after a long day of digging up rocks. Both of us were filthy from head to toe. She swore it was the most fun she had in years. Throughout the day, she told me stories about her partner, Felix.

"Do you want me to tell you about the night you met him?" she asked.

I stopped walking. From my legs to my ears, I rejected the idea. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want to know."

"I thought that was why you came here. You wanted answers."

"That was partly why, but I don't think I need them like I did before."

Alice understood perfectly. "You wonder if learning about your past will change who you are in the present."

"Exactly. I don't want that. When I look in the mirror now, I see me instead of a stranger. It took me three years to do that."

She draped an arm around my waist. "You beat my number. It took me five."

Being friends with her was seriously screwing up my plans. "I wish I didn't like you."

Her frowny face came out. "Is it really so bad here? You seem happy."

"I am. I hate that I like it more than I ever hated it to begin with, which sounds completely screwed up. I need a translator for my mind."

"I think you just need to accept that we make better friends than enemies."

I ruffled her dirty hair. "Only one of you."

We chatted about nonsense the rest of the way home. She wanted a cat but worried about Panama's reaction. I told her I didn't think that particular country would care. It was Colombia she needed to worry about. She apologized and then laughed. It was the craziest thing.

"You don't understand -"

Her explanation was forgotten when someone called out her name. The front doors were thrown open with a bang. A giant of a man crossed the threshold. This had to be Felix. Alice ran like lightning and threw herself around him with a squeal.

Her enthusiasm was contagious. I wanted to hug him, and I didn't even know the man.

Felix saw me. His smile dissolved into an open mouthed stare. He turned his head slowly to the side just as another man walked around him. The newcomer wasn't interested in us. He was looking over a piece of paper.

I flashed Felix my brightest smile. After hearing Alice talk about him all day, I was excited to finally meet him. "Hi. I'm Bella."

The man with the paper in his hands snapped his head up and looked at me. If vampires got sick, he was about to hurl his last snack. He took a bad step and lost his footing. He was so intent on looking at me that he didn't even try to catch himself. After landing hard on the ground, he gazed blankly at me.

Felix said something unintelligible and disappeared into the darkness with Alice still attached to him. She observed the awkward scene with a cheeky grin that changed her from an owl to a chipmunk.

Her amusement at the man's fall got under my skin. I said the first thing to cross my mind. "If she doesn't store nuts in those cheeks, she should."

I heard Felix laugh off in the distance. The man on the ground didn't crack so much as a hint of a smile. I could already tell he was one of those strong silent types.

I blamed the scars. He was the first imperfect vampire I had ever seen. Even with the shattered face, he was still striking in his own way. There was a brutal honesty in his appearance that perfectly reflected what the rest of us were on the inside. I felt an immediate kinship with him.

Here I was focused on his face when I should have been thinking about his embarrassment at having fallen down. We all did it, but none of us wanted anyone else to see it. We were vampires, dammit. That shit shouldn't happen.

"Are you okay? Don't be embarrassed. Just last week, I slipped on a rock and landed in a river. The birds thought it was great."

His voice was a gasp. "Come here."

My body went on autopilot. He called. I came. I couldn't say why.

I plopped down next to him. "I'm dirty from moving rocks all day."

The man was mute. We were perfect partners already. I talked too much. He talked too little.

Mr. Mystery proved me wrong by saying three words. "Are you real?"

I patted my hands up my torso. "I think so. Should I pinch you?"

I smiled at him, which made him look even more dazed. The fall knocked him senseless. He didn't even hit his head, which made me wonder if a male vampire's brain was in his ass. That would certainly explain Jasper's problem.

That thought died when a gentle breeze circulated the air. Licorice and sage with cloves of cinnamon. I was overcome by this intoxicating new scent. I leaned in close and sniffed his neck like an animal. Heavenly. He felt even better. I ran my fingers through his hair. Silky and soft. It was in complete contrast to the rest of him.

He managed a couple words. "You're beautiful."

"That's like saying birds fly. Sure ostriches, emus, and penguins don't, but the rest of them do."

"You still talk too much."

"Do I?"

"Yes." One of his hands settled around my neck. "Why are you so nervous, Bella?"

My name on his lips was music. "I like you, but I shouldn't. It's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because there's this crazy vampire. He's obsessed with me. He'll probably pick a fight with you for falling down and saying my name."

Why did I say that? I wanted to punch myself in the mouth. This man rendered me stupid. His smell. His broken face. His red eyes with their pretty dark streaks of fresh blood. I could almost see his last meal waving at me.

And those lips. I bet they tasted sweet and tart with just enough spice to tickle my tongue. I couldn't remember ever being kissed. That was a damn shame.

"What's your name?"

I had to know so I could write it a million times in the dirt. It probably looked just right next to my own.

Not right was the frown. He almost smiled a second ago. Why was he frowning now? That shouldn't happen. Ever. I would kill a small village just to make it stop.

"What's wrong?"

His eyes darkened to a coal black. "You really don't remember me."

"Why would I?"

The night came apart a piece at a time as the truth slowly settled around me.

"You're Jasper."

Author's Note: I hope no one minds too much that you didn't get much of Jasper yet. Now that he's here, there's no getting rid of him. Unless Bella kills him, which is very possible.

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Thanks again for reading and keeping up with the story. I loved the comments for the last chapter. They were really great.

And an early Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I hope you all have a great weekend.

- Cris