Chapter 35

We All Fall Down

Disclaimer: All characters associated with the Twilight series belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended at any time.

JWPOV

I sat between Edward and Aaron on the flight back to Fairbanks. We discussed our plans for once we landed.

"She is going to be livid when she sees you," I told Edward.

"Why don't we keep him a secret for now?" Aaron suggested.

"That sounds reasonable," Edward said. "We definitely don't want a public scene."

"A secret for how long?" I didn't want to wait. I was going to have to leave again in a few days to fly to Tampa for Christmas and chances were I wouldn't be back. Edward must have sensed my tension. He gently kissed the palm of my hand before replying.

"Not long. Give her today to see that you are unharmed."

Aaron and I nodded in agreement.

"While we're having to be cooped up with Mom," I said, "why don't you check on Reggie?"

Edward's mouth thinned with displeasure. "Rosalie and Jasper have already spoken with him. They didn't detect anything unusual."

"But you never saw him." I lowered my voice. "You are the only one who can read minds. Rosalie's charm wouldn't have worked, and his feelings wouldn't have been anything out of his norm to alert Jasper. Only you can see what he is really thinking."

"Jane, I think you're just being paranoid. There is no way he remembers anything about that night."

My gut wouldn't let the matter drop. "You don't have anything else to do. Aaron will be watching over me. It'll only take a few minutes. After you've seen him, come by the house — I'll leave my window unlocked. Later tonight you can laugh and say you told me so."

He grinned. "Since I can say I told you so."

Aaron watched a movie while Edward and I talked. He gave me an update on what the rest of the Cullens had been up to. I was disappointed to hear that Alice wasn't going to be in town. If I got sent to live in Florida, there was no telling when I would see her again. I voiced my concern to him.

"Jane, it would be easier for us to visit you in Florida than it would be if you remained in La Push."

"You don't get it. Even when it rains the sun shines. It can be cloudy one second then bam, the sun breaks through."

His mouth twitched with amusement. "The sun doesn't shine twenty-four hours a day. We can play at night."

"You can't stay boarded up in a house thirteen hours a day. I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't ask me to do anything. You're willing to make sacrifices to be with me — I'm willing to make sacrifices to be with you."

Our three hour flight wasn't long enough. Once we exited the plane, I would yet again have to be separated from him. We remained in our seat and were the last to leave. As we approached the final gate, Edward grabbed my elbow and pulled me back to him.

I gasped. "Are they —"

His lips prevented me from finishing my sentence. My flash of panic was forgotten as I drank in the sweetness of his kiss. His demanding lips caressed mine, and I responded eagerly to his touch. Aaron cleared his throat behind me. With much effort, Edward and I pulled ourselves apart — our passion left both of us breathless.

I hurried through the gate with Aaron. We retrieved our luggage and went to find Mom. She was anxiously pacing back and forth, chewing on her thumb nail. Our eyes met, and she ran to greet me.

"Oh, Jane." Her small hands smoothed my hair, then touched my cheeks before settling on my shoulders. "Thank God nothing happened to you." Her worried brown eyes glanced at Aaron. "Thank you for looking out for her." Aaron smiled and inclined his head.

"Mom, we're really tired. Can we go home?" I wanted to hurry and leave before she caught a glimpse of Edward. He would continue to linger in the background until he saw us safely leave.

Mom and I started arguing as soon as she turned on the highway.

"I can't believe he risked your life," she vented. "Now Jacob and the others are in jeopardy because of him."

"What? They told you of a possible vampire threat before you ever sent me to La Push." I threw the words at her like stones. "You can't blame my close encounter with death on Edward. You should be kissing his feet for ignoring that stupid treaty and saving me."

"You're defending him after what he did to you? After finding out that his apparent affection for you was all a ruse?"

I quickly turned from her gaze to stare out the window. Damn. I had forgot that she didn't know that I knew Jacob had lied about Edward's feelings. I was supposed to be in mourning — devastated. Mom mistook my sudden stillness for sadness.

"Honey, I know it hurts. You don't want to believe that someone can be so calloused, but you have to remember…Edward is a vampire. He has no soul." I clamped down on my bottom lip to keep from lashing out. "Now do you understand why it is so dangerous for you to be with him?"

I glanced down at her hand resting on my knee. I picked it up and studied the scar on her wrist. She tried to pull away, but I held it tighter, running a finger across her cold skin.

"What happened?" I asked.

Her voice sounded tired. "James. He was Victoria's partner. I was watching Edward and his family play baseball when James, Victoria, and Laurent arrived. James got a whiff of my smell and took an interest in me." A chill crawled up my spine. It was uncanny how likened our lives were. "The Cullens tried to hide me. I went with Alice and Jasper to Phoenix to get away. They didn't know James had followed me there. He tricked me into thinking he had Renee, and demanded that I meet him alone if I wanted her to live. He'd lied, of course. I didn't know until I got to the studio that Renee was safe in Florida. He was waiting on me with a video camera. He wanted to tape my torture for Edward. He toyed with me a while — knocked me around. He became frustrated when I refused to beg Edward to take vengeance on my behalf. He broke my leg then bit me."

I dropped her hand. "Bit you? I thought once someone was bitten they turned into a vampire or died."

"I would have been changed, but Edward got to me in time. He was able to suck the venom out before it reached my heart."

"Venom? Like a snake bite?"

"You could say that."

"So, Edward prevented you from becoming like him?"

"Thankfully he wanted me to keep my soul, or he just didn't enjoy the thought of keeping me around forever. Jane, you shouldn't have to worry about any of this supernatural mumbo-jumbo. You should be hanging out with kids your age — human teenagers. Having a normal life. There are plenty of good, decent boys out there for you to date. There is one nice looking guy who has been coming by looking for you. Said you was in his class."

There was that uneasy feeling again. "Who?"

Mom thought for a moment before replying. "Reggie Adams. He was in that bad vehicle accident at the end of October."

As casually as I could manage, I asked, "What did he want?"

"He said he just wanted to talk. It had been a while since he had seen you. I kept forgetting to have you call him." Like that would have ever happened.

She talked to Aaron for the rest of the ride home. She was intrigued on how everyone at La Push was handling the recent events. I tuned them out. The nagging in the back of my mind refused to be stilled. Edward had said that Reggie couldn't possibly know the truth about what had happened Halloween night, but his eyes at the grocery store that day had told me different. I shuddered. What could be so important that he wanted to discuss with me in person?

When we pulled up to the house, a calming sensation covered my body. The wayward daughter had returned home. There were no trumpeters sounding my return. What should have been a rose petal covered walkway was covered in snow. The family who should have been rushing out to greet me was over three thousand miles away.

Mom opened the door to let us in. "Sorry for the lack of Christmas decorations. We didn't put up any this year since we aren't going to be here to enjoy them. Jane, show Aaron to Austen's room. I'm going to start the lasagna."

Aaron followed me upstairs and I pointed to the door at the end of the hall. "I'm sure it's a mess," I said. "Mom just keeps his door closed all the time. He has all kind of gaming systems and a computer. Help yourself to whatever."

I left Aaron and went to my own room. The aroma of jasmine and sweet pea invaded my senses when I opened my door. The room was just how I had left it. I heaved my suitcase on top of the bed and began to unpack. I was certain Jacob had been the one to return to his house and gather my belongings. Nothing inside was folded. I couldn't tell what was clean and what was dirty.

"Just as I had pictured it." I glanced over at Aaron leaning against my open door. "A pretty room full of butterflies."

"At least I don't have a poster of a naked person on my wall," I replied.

"She isn't naked."

"May as well be," I mumbled, turning my attention back to unpacking.

Aaron helped himself inside. He walked around studying my room. He picked up my candles on the dresser and smelt each one. "Austen could use some of these. Your room smells much nicer than his." He walked over to my bookshelf and gave a low whistle. "Bookworm."

I gave up on trying to figure out what was clean. I scooped the clothes up and carried them to the hamper in the bathroom. When I walked back in the bedroom, Aaron was staring at my painting.

"I'm not completely finished."

"It…it's incredible," he said. "It looks just like La Push."

"Glad you like it. It's your Christmas gift." I shut my suitcase and placed it back in the closet.

"Is it worth it?" I paused not understanding his question. "Is being with him worth risking all this?"

I groaned and fell back on the bed. "Not you too. If you feel that way about him, why are you trying to help us?" I replied sharply.

"No, I'm not saying…" He straddled the chair at my desk. "I just want to make sure you've thought this all the way through. Is being with him worth the possibility of losing your life? Is it worth being ostracized? Is it worth you and your mother's relationship?"

I didn't answer right away. I honestly considered his question. After a few moments, I sat up on the bed and looked him in the face. "Yes. Mom may never agree with me on who I choose to love. I actually have a better chance of survival being with him than without. As far as being a social outcast — I was that before I met him."

"Okay." Aaron's head bobbed up and down as he thought over my answer. "Let's say your mom finally agrees and accepts your relationship with her ex. All the evil vampires have been terminated. Right now, you are both teenagers and in the public eye look like a normal couple. However, when you get in your thirties, he's still going to be a teenager. How do you plan on pulling that off?"

"In the public eye I could pass for his mother, or aunt, or older sister. What goes on behind closed doors is no ones business." The Cullens had proved that it was possible to live a double life.

"When you get in your sixties?"

"Grandmother…great aunt."

"Late eighties?"

I chuckled. "Wow, thanks for the long life. I think if I live that long, we will move to a remote village in the Amazon and live amongst a tribe — open and free."

Then Aaron changed tactics. "Would you marry him if he asked?"

I felt my cheeks warm. I broke into a wide, open smile. "Without a doubt."

"What about kids?" Aaron's brow wrinkled and he drew his lips in thoughtfully. "I don't think vampires can reproduce."

"Why can't they? A werewolf can, obviously," I retorted in cold sarcasm.

His dark eyes twinkled with humor. "But we are alive. We age…eventually. If you had a kid by them, would it age? How would that work?"

"How the hell should I know?" I was really starting to hate this conversation. "If we want kids, we'll just adopt."

"Like that would ever work. How are you going to explain Snowflake's ability to stay forever looking seventeen to the adoption agency? Then you take a chance of your kid growing up and hating his parents. He could get angry because you refused to let him stay out all night and spill the beans about his father being a vampire."

"Fine. We'll remain childless. Are you happy?"

"Are you?"

I got up and walked over to the window. "I'm not one of these girls who can't wait to have a kid. I would be perfectly content at remaining childless as long as I'm with the one I love. It's not like we would be the only couple who…" I had pulled back the curtains to unlock the window for Edward, when my eyes froze on the Dodge truck parked in front of the house. A figure emerged from the vehicle.

"Who's that?" I jumped, not realizing Aaron was standing behind me.

"Reggie Adams."

"Isn't he the one who attacked you Halloween night?" I nodded in reply, not trusting my voice at that moment. "What does he want?" His humorous tone from earlier was gone.

"To talk about that night." I turned from the window and proceeded down the stairs and out the front door with Aaron following closely behind.

Reggie's arm was out of the brace and in a sling. I didn't think it was possible, but he looked scarier than he had before the accident. His body mass had been decreased tremendously, but his wild eyes made up for the loss. There were several scars on his face. He had parked in the middle of the road and had just made it to the edge of the yard, when I came out the house. He remained still as I crossed the yard to him.

"Well, well. Welcome home, Watson. I've missed you."

I kept my distance and crossed my arms. "What do you want, Reggie? Don't pretend like we are long, lost friends."

"I would like a moment of your time in private." His eyes flickered behind me.

"No way," Aaron said.

"What are you, her bodyguard?" Reggie snickered.

"You could say that." Aaron's voice was cold and smooth.

"Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of him," I said drawing Reggie's attention back to me. "Trust me. He already knows everything."

"Everything?" Reggie spat the word back at me. "He knows your boyfriend isn't human?"

I remained stone faced. Reggie had confirmed my suspicions. He knew the Cullens' secret. "What are you talking about?"

His eyes were hard with anger. "Even when I was bench pressing four hundred pounds, I wouldn't have been able to nearly rip a guys arm off or sling a big guy like I was around like a paper doll. I was right all along — Edward Cullen is a freak."

I forced a laugh. "Reggie, that must have been some powerful medication they gave you that night. All Edward and his brothers did was pull you off of me. You were trying to rape and kill me, remember that part about that night?"

He shot me a twisted smile. "Of course. That was the most fun I'd had in quite some time."

I ignored his rude remark. "Reggie, I don't know what to tell you. You were very drunk. They told you to leave the party or I was going to press charges. You stumbled out the door. The only thing they did wrong was let you leave while you were intoxicated. I can assure you that Edward is as much of a human as you are." That was no lie.

"I didn't imagine it." Reggie no longer sounded sure of himself.

"You did," I said. "In the condition they found you in, I'm sure they had to heavily medicate you. Chances are you had frequent hallucinations in your comatose state. Hallucinations can seem very real." His eyes dropped from my stare. "I'm sorry that you have been expecting to blame someone else for your—"

Aaron's body tensed behind me. I glanced to see him staring back at the house.

"Jane, stay here." Aaron took off running towards the house. I was never good at following orders. I took off after him.

I collided into his back just inside the door. What I saw chilled me to the bone. Across the room, Galina had Mom in a tight grip. I gasped and tried to go around Aaron, but he turned and held me in place.

"Jane, it is so good to see you again." My eyes darted to the stairs. Roman smiled his sadistic vampire smile. "I thought I killed you," he said to Aaron.

Aaron kept his hands on my shoulders, but turned to glare at Roman. "It takes more than a tree to kill a werewolf."

"Oh, I know what it takes to kill a werewolf, boy. I've been killing them before your grandfather was born." Again, he smiled at me. "Where is Edward? We have some unfinished business."

My body shook from fear and hatred. "He remained in Forks to assist the werewolves in the upcoming vampire attack. He agreed to help them in return for a pardon in breaking the treaty."

"Shame. I was so looking forward to round two. Now I know what to expect from him. He won't win so easily next time." His lively red eyes glowed. "But enough about him, let's talk about you. If my memory serves me correct, you were about to join me before we were rudely interrupted. I found you to make good on my promise."

"As I told you last time, I'm not interested."

"And as I told you, I'm not asking for your permission. You can freely come with me, or I'll make you. Either way, you will be mine."

Aaron reacted when Roman moved in my direction. He pushed me backwards out the door onto a pile of snow which broke my fall. I hurried to my feet to find a white werewolf forcing Roman back up the stairs.

"Son of a bitch," Reggie breathed behind me. Roman had caused me to forget about Reggie. I couldn't be concerned with what he saw or heard — we would have to deal with that later.

I rushed forward, but Aaron was intent on keeping me from getting anywhere near Roman or Galina who still held Mom.

"Your friend may be able to protect you," Roman said, "but I seriously doubt he can protect you and your mother. Jane, only you have the power to save her. Join me, and you mother lives. Refuse and…well, Galina." Mom yelled out in pain as Galina, with a flick of her wrist, snapped her lower arm. "There are many more bones to go. It all depends on how much pain you want your dear, sweet mother to endure."

Aaron continued to growl and snap at Roman, but he knew that he couldn't take on both vampires. If he engaged Roman in a battle, Galina would attack him from the rear. Mom would be free, but only for a moment. There was no chance of escape.

"How do I know you won't kill her if I freely join you?" I asked staring through blurry eyes at Mom.

"Jane, you know he's lying." Mom's voice was strained from the pain. I flinched as she roared in agony. Galina had dislocated her knee with a swift kick to the back of her leg. She forced Mom to remain standing by keeping her arm around her neck. I was slightly comforted to see the rise and fall of her chest. At least Galina wasn't choking her — yet.

"I've come for you — not her," Roman said. "She is just leverage to help me get what I want. She's a weak human, no threat to us. We won't kill her."

I never considered myself a brave person. I was terrified of dying. The thought of joining Roman and his diabolical sister made me sick. But seeing Mom in so much pain made me desperate. I loved Edward, and I was certain — beyond a shadow of a doubt — that he loved me. He would forgive me.

"Fine," I whispered. Aaron gave a low growl. "Aaron, I have to. I can't let them steadily torture her. It's the only way."

Aaron had other plans. I screamed for him to stop as he lunged forward at Roman. It was a death sentence. His teeth missed, and Roman backslapped him, sending him colliding with the wall. The impact shook the house.

"You are a fool," Roman sneered.

I jumped in front of Aaron, holding up my hands like a shield. "You can't kill him, or the deal is off."

My body froze in fear at the sound of Roman's menacing laughter. "I can do whatever I want. You are right on one account: The deal is off. I'm going to kill him, Galina is going to kill your mother, and you still will be mine."

He brushed me to the side like I was speck of fuzz on his shirt. Before he had time to lay a hand on Aaron, Edward soared down the stairs and attacked Roman from behind.

Galina roared in frustration, and pushed Mom down to join her brother in battle. She didn't get far. As soon as Mom was out of the way, Aaron jumped up and leaped at Galina. His momentum sent them crashing through the sliding glass doors, and into the backyard.

Edward glanced at me to make sure I was okay. He was satisfied with what he saw, and took off after Roman who had fled out the backdoor.

With the fight roaring outside, I scrambled across the floor to check on Mom. She was in extreme pain, but was holding herself together fairly well.

"I'm going to call an ambulance for you." I gave her a reassuring smile.

Her pale face smiled back. "You should wait until they're finished. With Edward's rage at Roman for laying his hands on you — the fight won't take very long."

"I knew he wasn't human. His eyes from that night haunt me day and night…awake or asleep. You don't forget an encounter like that — one that takes everything from you." Reggie's voice was bitter.

Slowly, I rose and turned around. He stood at the front door — his face damp with perspiration despite the cold outside.

"I tried to warn you that night." My voice was unbelievably calm. "I told you to just walk away — that no one had to get hurt — but you wouldn't listen. He wouldn't have hurt you had you not been trying to kill me."

"You don't get it, Watson." Reggie's eyes looked distant. "He took everything from me. He should've just killed me. Instead he left me a walking zombie. All I had going for me was my athleticism. Now what am I supposed to do? I'm not smart, I just barely got by and that was because the school needed me to win games. All my so called friends could care less about me now that I have nothing to offer them." He chuckled a dry, cynical sound. "Hell, even my parents could care less as to what happens to me. My dad pretends I don't exist, and Mom looks at me with pity. For once she thinks someone besides her is worthy of suicide."

"I'm sorry. I can't do to undo the past."

"I'm not asking for a miracle or your sympathy," Reggie spat. "I've given up on miracles and I have no need for sympathy."

"Then what is it you want from me?"

"I've lost something precious to me, it seems only fair for you to do the same."

I quickly glanced over my shoulder expecting to see Edward. The doorway was empty except for the snowflakes fluttering inside. I jumped at the sound of a loud pop, like a firecracker, and Mom's deafening screams. I looked back at Reggie, baffled to see him holding a small, smoking revolver. Then I felt the pain.

I thought I was having a heart attack at first. Instinctively, I placed my left hand where the pain was and gazed down. My shirt was quickly becoming stained with blood. I blinked several times, not believing my eyes. Mom continued to steadily scream at Reggie. I stumbled backwards a few steps before my knees buckled and I fell to the floor. My body turned cold as blood continued to cover my shirt.

Mom pulled herself with her good arm over to my side. She wiped the tears off my cheeks, which I was unaware were falling. "It's going to be okay," she said through tears of her own.

"He…he shot me." I gave a choked laugh. Reggie had been referring to my own life as being the most precious thing to me — not Edward.

"Edward," Mom yelled. "Edward!"

I stared up at the ceiling. It was getting harder to breath. "He can't…be around me…not like this," I gasped.

I never had to see him to know when he was close. I closed my eyes at the sound of Reggie's gun going off again, then a startled cry before silence. Edward fell to his knees beside me. His eyes were wide with panic.

"We have to get her to a hospital," he managed to say through tight lips.

"There is no time, you know that." Mom sobbed.

I didn't want to turn my eyes away from him. So many things I wanted to say. I tried to speak, but ended up coughing instead. He didn't seem to be bothered by the blood he gently wiped from the side of my mouth, though I knew how difficult my current condition must have been for him.

"You can save her," Mom said.

Edward slowly shook his head. "I can't."

"You have to." Mom's voice rose with panic. "I can't live without her. You owe me, dammit! Don't make me put her in the ground."

"You don't know what you're asking me to do." Edward's voice was thick and unsteady.

"Don't I? If anyone knows what they are asking for, it's me. Please. If not for me or you, then for her."

His sad eyes bore into mine. I saw his pain, fear, misery — his love. Whatever you decide, I'll agree with, I told him. Just please, the only thing I ask of you is not to give up on yourself. Your family still needs you — the world still needs you. I smiled up at him. I now know what Alfred Lord Tennyson meant, and I agree. I love you.

"I love you too." He bent down and tenderly touched his lips to mine. I closed my eyes, not wanting him to see the fear of death in them. Even knocking on deaths door, I still managed to feel a heady sensation as he pressed his lips in the hollow of my neck. There was a sharp pain which lasted only a moment. "Forgive me for being so selfish," he whispered as his lips brushed against my ear.

I couldn't respond. Suddenly, my body felt like it was on fire. I had never known of any pain like I experienced at that moment. I cried out, squeezing Edward's granite hand with all my strength. My body began to convulse. I could feel my heart beating furiously where my trembling hand still covered the hole in my chest. And just as soon as it had started — it stopped.

My breathing stopped.

My heart stopped.

My intellect stopped.

My life stopped.

…My life began.