Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all.
Rated M for several reasons.
Chpt 37 An Absence of Enmity
BPOV
As soon as we round the next corner they come into view, two of them, tall, lanky and dark haired, leaning against the wall of the bar across the street. Obviously waiting for us.
One of them snaps a cell shut as we cross the street toward them.
"Look at their eyes." AJ growls quietly.
"Light red." I whisper, vaguely luminescent.
"They're very young, not exactly newborns but not more than a year or so old. Volatile. Stay behind me."
Done and done.
"Evenin'." AJ says easily as we stop a few feet away from them.
One of them jerks his chin toward the shadows of the alley, leading the way inside, with the other bringing up the rear. I'd be terrified but beside me a small smile decorates AJ's perfect lips for a moment and he squeezes my hand again.
I have seen him in action. We are in no danger. I have seen him in action. We are in no danger.
"What's your name?" The first one asks, the other one is still lurking around behind us, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Jasper."
"And the ho?"
"The lady's name is Bella." AJ corrects without heat.
"What are you doing in our territory?"
"Vacationing."
"Humph."
AJ shrugs lightly.
"We don't allow others to hunt in our territory."
"We won't. We're veggies."
Our 'host' raises an eyebrow and manages to look pissed at the same time. Mood swings, I remember them well . . . .
"We only drink animals." AJ expands.
"They're still our animals." The one behind us growls.
"Alright." AJ responds. "We're only here till tomorrow, we won't hunt until we're clear of your area."
AJ's easiness seems to be pissing them both off for some reason. I reckon they were in their late teens, early twenties, when they were changed and they both seem to be full of what Grandma Swan used to call 'piss and vinegar'. Spoiling for a fight and disappointed AJ's not giving them one. Me they're ignoring, which is fine by me, rampant sexism can occasionally work in a girl's favour.
"I think you should leave now." Number one snarls.
AJ shrugs and glances at me. "We were planning on spending a quiet night in."
"There's no fucking in our territory either unless we get to play too." Number one drawls, leering at me.
Beside me AJ stiffens, his face closing down, eyes darkening. Oops, nice to full on asshole mode in the blink of any eye.
Tentatively I squeeze his hand and he glances down at me briefly.
Please, I don't want a fight.
"Okay." He sighs. "We'll get our stuff and go."
He turns but the guy behind won't let us pass.
"What a pussy." He chuckles, poking the considerably larger AJ in the chest with a long dirty finger.
"We don't want any trouble son." AJ says quietly after an uncomfortable pause, attempting to brush by him.
"But you're gonna get it pretty boy." Number one snarls, grabbing me by the shoulders and jerking me out of AJ's grip.
I scream and start struggling frantically but AJ's deep, resonating, growl chills me into stillness. Even the air around us seems to have stopped moving.
"Let. Her. Go." He breathes quietly, crouching slightly, like a cobra ready to strike.
I feel the vampire behind me shake his head.
"Let her go or I will kill you." AJ says in a flat, emotionless, voice. "I won't warn you again."
"Let her go!" A voice orders as another, older, vampire turns the corner into the alley.
My assailant's grip falters and without thinking I deploy one of the less male friendly manoeuvres Em taught me and fling myself at Jasper. He catches me easily and turns my back to him, wrapping his big arms protectively around my body and withdrawing us to the brick wall.
"Tucker, Dale, what the fuck?" The new arrival demands as our two lanky friends draw together in the center of the alley.
"Name's Graeme." He adds as he approaches.
"Jasper and Bella." AJ offers.
"Hm, unusual name." Graeme ponders, nodding to himself. "You related to that fucker Whitlock?"
"He's my brother."
"Well then, when you see him, remind him he owes me two hundred dollars and a refrigerator, and it had better have an icebox." Graeme drawls. "What's going on?"
"We seem to have trespassed on your territory."
"Trespassed aye? Why are you here?"
"We're on vacation."
"Veggies?"
"Yes."
"Planning on causing any trouble?"
"No."
"When you leaving?"
"Tomorrow, we're heading east."
"Fair enough." Graeme sighs, visibly relaxing. "I apologise for these two, they're still feeling their oats."
Behind me AJ nods, his chin bobbing on the top of my head.
"Graeme . . . ." My assailant objects.
"Can it Dale. I know about this guy, you're fucking lucky I'm not stuck at home piecing you back together like a jigsaw." Graeme drawls. "Anything you wanna say to these boys Major? They're young and sorely in need of learning their lessons."
Giving me a squeeze AJ releases his grip and steps out into the alley, unfolding himself to his full height, casually removing his bulky coat and revealing the scars on his arms.
"Pussy?" He asks softly, raising an eyebrow.
The menace emanating from him makes me shiver and it seems to be having a similar effect on Tucker and Dale.
"You don't wanna start a fight with every vampire you meet." Graeme intones. "Cos you might end up meeting another one like this one an' it might turn out to be the last thing you ever do. Take a good look in his eyes, does he look like someone you wanna fuck with?"
The two of them shake their heads slightly.
"Good. This is The Major. Remember him an' stay outta his way."
Smiling coldly AJ dons his coat and gathers me back in his arms.
"Ma'am." Graeme gives me a little bow. "Apologies for the bad language and my boys."
I manage a small smile as AJ releases me and captures my hand again.
"Enjoy your stay." Graeme urges us.
"We will." AJ replies easily, fist lashing out and connecting with my assailant's head, knocking him into his friend and both of them into the opposite brick wall with a sound like a train wreck.
Without looking back he ushers me out of the alley to the sound of Graeme's laughter.
"Educating young vampires." AJ pontificates with a grin. "Is a universal problem."
…..
"Are you okay?" He asks as we ride up in the hotel lift.
I nod.
"I'm sorry your first encounter wasn't particularly easy but not every vampire is like that. Those two, young and still learning their control, they're prime examples of the type to avoid. The old guy was okay though."
Was he?
"He still seem kind of hard to me."
"Bella, not every vampire's life is easy. You need a degree of hardness to survive, to ensure the ones you care about survive, it doesn't mean you have to be a bad person. Graeme was worried that I'd do something to hurt his boys, he was trying to protect them in his way."
He's right, I know he is, but still . . . .
"Why does Pete owe him a refrigerator?"
"I have no idea." AJ laughs. "And I'm almost afraid to ask. I'll email him later and see."
Back in the room I sigh and heave myself onto the empty couch.
"You still want to waste the night reading?" He asks with a chuckle.
Oh yes, you have no idea how badly I need to do something 'normal' at this point.
I nod.
"Fair enough. I'm going in the shower."
Lazily I reach down an extract the eBook reader from my backpack, intending to re-visit some nice, calm, nineteenth century fiction. Instead I soon find myself engrossed in a series of weighty civil war tomes.
I barely spare him a glance when he wanders back in, sitting cross legged on the floor and channel hopping with avid attention, but as always I'm acutely aware of everything he does.
And several hours later there he is, in print, Major Jasper Whitlock, the youngest Major in the confederate army. There isn't much but I re-read it several times. They say he was twenty three and I study him over the top of my reader. Relaxed like this he looks much younger, maybe not much older than me. Boyish even. Mind you he is watching cartoons and snickering like a schoolboy. I love the way the tip of his nose dips down when he smiles, it's cute.
A couple of chapters later my eyes creep up again.
He really is beautiful. Perfect in every way, even all the scars clearly visible around his wife beater don't diminish it. And he isn't the total asshole I thought he was, is he?
Oh Jesus. What am I? The Asshole Fan Club, party of one?
Other people like him, care about him, Esme and Carlisle, the Denalis, the mysterious Pete and they've all been on the receiving end of the less pleasant aspects of who he is. He had a wife, surely no woman, vampire, on earth would marry a total bastard?
Engage brain Bella, there's nothing wrong with your memory, one of his sides is all asshole and it was all directed at you. Have some sense of self preservation . . . .
JPOV
Tonight, before the situation in the alley, she was having fun. And she was having fun with me.
I wanted to kiss her so badly and because her shield was up, I know she wanted it too. And, for once, not because she was in throes of some vampiric urge.
I don't know how I didn't do it. Fear I suppose. She might be softening slightly but I'm pretty sure she'll turn to stone again the second I make a move on her. And I really don't want to see that haughty expression on her face, or hear her call me an asshole again in her soft caressing voice.
When she's engrossed in her book I risk a look up to stare at her, I do that a lot when she's not paying attention, because she's beautiful, absolutely perfect in every way.
I'm not sure how to woo, I can't recall ever having had to do it, or wanting to.
Sex is always easy to get when you look like me and have my particular empathic abilities. Relationships are something else entirely.
With Maria there was no wooing, I was encouraged to be 'hers' from the moment I opened my eyes and it was a very long, and shaming, time before I questioned it.
And Alice, my lovely wife, she knew from the outset that we'd be mates and it quickly became apparent that you don't doubt Alice. She even knew when I was going to ask her to marry me and had her outfit all planned out.
Bella is different in every respect and somehow I don't think 'I've grown accustomed to your presence and would like to keep it, fancy a shag' is going to cut much ice with her.
The truth is I have no idea what I should say to her.
I want her to know how sorry I am for everything I said and did. How much I wish I hadn't hurt her, how badly I want to take it back. How desperately I want her to start seeing me the way I'm seeing her. And above all I want her to be happy.
But I've no idea how to go about it. So here I am, stuck between a rock and a hard place, hoist with my own petard. Or royally screwed, as Em would probably put it.
BPOV
Eventually, with skin prickling all over, I decide I can't stay in the room with him any longer and take myself off for my own shower.
As the water pounds down on me, hotel showers are awesome, I force myself to think about him properly. Coming to the unfortunate conclusion that I may actually be starting to like him.
Not in the case of admiring a fine specimen of a man when you see one, I've been on that page for a long time, I've got eyes, hands, lips, memories, and an active imagination, all in need of regular quashing . . . .
No, I might actually be starting to like him as a person, bits of him anyway. He can be charming, witty, considerate. Take tonight, I'm pretty sure his natural inclination would have been to rip Tucker and Dale to shreds and worry about it afterwards, but he didn't. And the only reason he didn't was because I would have hated it. That's extremely considerate whichever way you look at it.
I giggle, accidently ingesting some water, I bet that's the only time in his life he's ever been called a pussy, the look on his face was priceless.