Chapter Thirty-Five

I sat alone in the Cullens' living room. I was nervous, and I couldn't seem to sit still. I fiddled with my hands in front of me, pacing the floor. I bit the inside of my bottom lip, applying just a bit of pressure to keep my own mind from exploding.

I had convinced Carlisle and Esme to get everyone out of the house; I wanted to talk to Jasper alone. I had a lot of things I needed to get off my chest, and I'm sure he did as well.

Night had fallen already, so I had every light on the lower level of the house turned on. It made me nervous to look at the windows; they had a reflective covering that was supposed save energy or something along those lines. It creeped me out every time I tried to look out the windows though; I expected to see the outdoors, but I only saw my own nervous self instead.

I wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. I had just taken a sip when I heard the front door open then gently close. Setting the glass down lightly, and walked towards the door, the heels I wore clicking on the wood floor.

"Esme? Carlisle?" I heard him ask. I took a deep breath and turned into the living room, coming face to face with Jasper. "Emma." He was surprised, to say the least. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"I know. I'm probably the last person you expected to see when you got here. But I need to talk to you." He started back for the door, but I could tell he didn't really want to leave. I grabbed his arm in an effort to keep him with me. I didn't have to apply much pressure to get his attention. "Please. Stay for a while."

"Why? I know you don't want me here."

"I should have given you a chance, but I was too…I don't know. I just couldn't. Edward told me I should listen to you though. Don't make him regret telling me to talk to you."

He relaxed a bit, and I took my hand off of his arm. "What do you want to hear?" he asked.

"The truth. Tell me what happened."

"Alice was supposed to convince me to go back with her and Slade to Italy. She argued her side as much as she could, but I told her I wasn't going, that there was I had no reason for going."

I went over to the couch and sat down; Jasper followed suit, sitting a cushion away.

"Alice told Slade she couldn't get me to come, that she was going back to the Vulturi, but Slade had no plans of letting her fail. That night at the club, he used his powers on Alice and myself."

"He controls people, doesn't he? He can get anyone to anything, and they're powerless to stop them."

Jasper nodded his head. "I knew what I was doing. In my head I was screaming at myself to stop, but I couldn't. He set Alice and I up so that you would walk in on us. The bad part is, it worked."

"He wanted to make it so that you had no reason to stay, nothing to keep you here."

"As soon as he released me from his control, I attacked him. Let's just say, Slade didn't stand a chance. He made the mistake of underestimating me. He also made the mistake of letting his control go where there were no witnesses. He also lacked the knowledge that I had been created to destroy other vampires. By the time I got back to the house, you were gone, and nobody had any clue as to where you had gone. I first took off to see if I could find you myself, but your scent disappeared at the airport. The plane you had boarded was gone, and your smell had gone with it."

"I couldn't be here. It hurt too much. My heart ached any time anything reminded me of you. I'm sorry I didn't at least allow you to give an explanation."

"Don't apologize. You have no reason to be sorry."

He pulled me to him, and I threw my arms around him. We sat there hugging each other for I don't know how long. I pulled away from him, though, and he cupped the side of my face in his hand.

"Why don't we agree that neither one of us will leave again without the other in tow?" I nodded, beginning to cry yet again.

"That sounds good to me. Next time I go to Nevada, or wherever else, I'll take you with me, even if you have to lock yourself in a hotel room because the sun is out all day."

We both laughed, and he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. He pulled me onto his lap, as close as he could. I inhaled the scent emanating from him, and it drove my mind crazy. I had no intent of letting him go, ever again.

He pulled his face from mine, and laughed softly. I stared into his eyes, vowing in my mind never to let anything come between us again.