After the first day in Santorini, I felt compelled to go barefoot. Loose clothes and no shoes. I was havinfg the time of my life. It was nice to be away from all the responsibilities of being a teen and a newborn vampire. Here in Santorini, I was free to come and go as I pleased. It was sunny all the time, but I never had to take off my straw cowboy hat. At night, I often went swimming. The cool water and the moon and starlight made the whole scene beautiful and romantic. The romance made me miss Jasper for the first time in weeks.
I knew it was probably a mistake, but I called Jasper. "Chai, Darlin', where are you?" Jasper asked. "Jasper, calm down. I can't tell you where I am, but I can tell you that I'm safe." I said. "Chailyn, I don't know where you are, but I want you to come back to Forks." He said. "Jasper, I can't come back right now." I said. "Chai, I'm worried about you. You just leave school, nobody knows where you are, you're making decisions too quick for Alice to pick up on. You're thoughts were focused on Seattle. Edward knew that. But, we figured it wasn't a big deal. We all run off to Seattle from time to time. You're feelings weren't out of the ordinary. They were content." Jasper said. "Jazz, I'll come back when I'm ready. I just need some time away." I said. "I found your car at Sea-Tac." He said. "I'll come back in a few weeks. My return flight leaves in about six weeks." I said.
"Six weeks? Chai, where are you? I'm not the only one who's worried about you, Darlin'. Carlisle is worried too. He's a mess, Chai. He never leaves his study, he won't talk to anyone, he hasn't gone hunting since you left. He just pours over an atlas and your letters and your journals." Jasper said. I went silent for a few minutes. "He's trying to find me." I said quietly. "Chai, please. His emotions are so strong." Jasper begged. "Let me talk to Carlisle." I said. The phone changed hands and Carlisle's voice came on. "Chailyn, where are you?" He asked. "Carlisle, I'm fine." I said. "Please, where are you?" Carlisle asked. "I can't tell you. I need some time." I said. "Carlisle, I'll tell you where I am, but you keep Jasper in Forks until my flight comes back." I said. "Alright." He said. "Santorini." I said. "Santorini is an island. What city?" Carlisle asked. "Nope. I'm not giving you that. The most I'm telling you is that I'm in Santorini." I said. I hung up.
Six weeks. I had six weeks of freedom left. I threw my phone into the ocean. I wanted nothing more to do with conversation to home. For the next six weeks I continued to enjoy my life here. In Santorini, I felt free. I felt different than when I was in Forks, I felt normal. I sat beneath a tree and thought about home. I didn't miss Forks at all. I missed Jasper. While I did miss my family, mostly I missed Jasper.
Finally, it was time to go home. I knew I was going to miss Santorini. But, it was going to be nice to see Jasper again. I went to the airport and flew to Heathrow. I called Jasper. "Hello?" He answered. "Hey, Jasper. I'm in London. My flight leaves in an hour. Meet me in Seattle?" I asked. "Sure, Darlin'." Jasper said. "I'm flying into gate 23A at 1:30." I said. "I'll be there." Jasper said. "Jasper?" I asked. "Yeah, Darlin'?" He asked. "I love you." I said. "I love you too. I've missed you." Jasper said. "I've missed you too." I said.
My plane boarded and I left rainy London behind. I still dressed as I had in Santorini. A long loose sleeved, floor-length blue dress and my cowboy hat. I was still going barefoot. Excitement filled me as I got off the plane and headed up the stairs to the airport terminal. As I walked out the gate, I picked a place out of the way to set my bag. As soon as I had set down my bag, i heard my name. I turned and saw Jasper at the end of the hallway. I smiled and ran at a normal persons pace into Jasper's arms.
He swung me around. I kissed him excitedly. "I love you. I missed you." I said. Jasper smiled at me and said, "It's good to have you back where I can hold you." "It's good to have you hold me again." I said. "So, where were you?" Jasper asked. "Fira, Santorini." I said. "Greece?" He asked. "Yeah. Jasper, you should have seen it. It was beautiful. I felt…I felt free. I felt safe. I felt normal." I said. "Normal? What do you mean you felt normal?" Jazz asked. "I didn't have to hide on sunny days, I didn't have to dress like it was winter, I could enjoy myself and the amazing scenery." I said. Jasper smiled and asked, "Show me on spring break?" "Spring break?" I asked. "Yeah. Spring break. Just the two of us going to Santorini. No hiding, just enjoying one another." He said. I smiled. "Alright, Jazz." I said. Jasper grabbed my bag and we went to my car. "No shoes?" He asked. "No. I was compelled to lose my shoes in Santorini and I can't bring myself to wear them again." I said. Jasper laughed. "Well, whatever is comfortable I suppose." He said.
"Aren't you made at me for taking off?" I asked. "Why would I be mad at you for going on vacation?" Jasper asked. "I left without a word to you." I said. "Chai, you don't have to ask for my permission to go somewhere. Yes, you did worry me, but you called and let me know you were okay. And I appreciated that." He said. We went to my car and Jasper drove us home in silence. I wasn't sure how to interpret the silence. "Okay, what's going on? Your feelings are all over the place." Jasper thought. "Sorry. I forgot about the feelings thing. I'm just worried that my taking off is going to be a wedge between us and I don't want that." I thought.
"I can promise that this won't be a wedge between us. I just needed to know that you wanted to leave. I would have left with you. When I realized you were gone and found your car in the airport parking lot, I was disappointed and scared. I didn't know if you were coming back, I was so…so hurt that I wasn't worth being told that you weren't happy. You blocked me out and I thought you just need the space to grow and try to handle your own feelings. So, I backed off and let you have that space. I stayed close in case you needed my help. But, I didn't even know you were unhappy." He said. "I felt trapped. I just needed to get away for alittle while and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I didn't plan this out beforehand, I just did it. Everything I did was a last minute descision, that's why Alice didn't know. If Edward had read my mind, nothing would have made any sense. My thoughts were spread all over." I said.