Chapter Thirty Eight

Jasper

I was relieved at how well Bella had taken the news about her father and that we should leave Forks probably never to return. Of course Peter had a lot to say especially as he had been "working my fucking ass off" to get the house habitable but he understood the necessity of leaving and helped me pack up the few things I wanted to take, including the Christmas decorations Bella and I had made together while she drove Peter's car into town. I think she wanted a few minutes alone at her place to grab her stuff and say goodbye to her childhood home. I told her not to answer the phone in the house and gave her my cell phone.

"I'll get Charlotte to meet you at your place and the two of you can load up the trunks with your stuff and come back here together then we'll head off. If you do see anyone just say you don't know anything, you've just been discharged from the hospital. It's almost dark so I doubt you'll be seen anyway and you're safe enough now the wolves are gone."

I didn't like seeing her drive off alone but she was a woman with a mind of her own and I guessed she needed a breathing space. Unlike my brother I didn't feel the need to follow her around constantly, Bella could take care of herself when it came to anything natural and I'd give her a fighting chance against most supernatural beings too, she'd learned a lot since she mixed with vampire's and she was fearless it was one thing I loved about her, just one, there were many others.

Bella

It was great to get out from under watchful eyes, to breathe some fresh cold air and to be alone to think although as soon as the house was out of sight I missed Jasper and wanted to turn back. I loved the fact he trusted me to go home and sort out the things I wanted to take with me. I wasn't a fool, I knew we would never come back to Forks, how could we with my dad now a vampire? It was a fresh start for us all and I wasn't afraid, I knew I had Jasper's love and that's all I needed, we would make a new home, one of our own. Sure I wouldn't be graduating but was that so important now? After all, I too would become a vampire in the fullness of time, if I wanted to stay with Jasper I had no choice but even if I had I would choose to become a vampire to live forever with the man I loved.

Pulling up outside the house I sat there for a moment staring at the place I had called home for my entire life, the place where I was born, where my mom and dad had made a home and dreamed of bringing up a family before the dream crumbled and they parted. I must remember to pick up the things that Charlie held dear as well as my own keepsakes and our clothes. It would only serve to deepen the mystery when we dropped out it sight but that didn't matter either.

We had no close neighbors and I was able to get inside the house without anyone stopping me to ask awkward questions and pulled out the suitcases and some empty boxes dad kept stored in the garage, after all, he needed the cruiser ready at a moments notice and my old truck was too big to fit inside with all his crap.

Once upstairs I headed for his room first and opening the drawers and closet I pulled out everything I thought he would want, his photo albums, award certificates for shooting, fishing etc, his personal paperwork, and his favorite clothes. It wasn't a huge pile but then my dad had never been one for things, so long as he had a roof over his head and somewhere to store his guns and fishing gear he was happy.

My own pile was much larger, I wanted to take as much as possible because I would be at a disadvantage with little money and I hated the idea of having to ask Jasper to fund my life, not until we were official anyhow. I stowed as much as possible in the cases and boxes then sat down to write a letter to Angie, I couldn't just leave her without a word, she had been my best friend since kindergarten. It wasn't easy, I couldn't tell her much but I did explain that I was fine and happy, that I was leaving with Jasper and my dad although I couldn't tell her why or where we were going and worst of all I would never be able to contact her again. She might assume my kidnap had been a serious attempt on my life or as a way of forcing my dad to do or say something and as a result we had disappeared into the witness protection scheme however, that wouldn't work for long, once the local police discovered we had just vanished without a trace but it might help her, she worried about me and I didn't want her to when there was no need.

Piling the cases and boxes by the front door I went down the road to mail the letter to Angie, I couldn't risk delivering it by hand and being seen but as I turned to walk back to the house I saw Charlotte pull up outside and waved but she appeared to be looking at something around the corner of the house and puzzled I ran to catch up with her.

"The Major said you were alone Bella."

"I am."

"Well, I swear I just saw someone go round the back of the house."

"Really? I didn't see anyone."

Charlotte peered into the darkness once more before turning to me,

"Do me a favor Bella, go inside and lock the door. Don't open it until you hear my voice."

I didn't understand her caution but I did as she said peering out of the hall window until I lost her as she moved out of view.

I waited nervously but she knocked almost immediately and thinking she had realized she'd seen a shadow or a cat and mistaken it for a human figure in the dark I unlocked the door but as I opened it I realized I'd made a terrible mistake, a thin brown arm snaked through the gap and threw something inside. As it hit the floor I realized it was a bottle containing gas which was ignited by a rag twisted in its neck and already well alight. Luckily, the bottle didn't smash on the rug but the liquid spilled out as the flaming rag fell from the bottle's neck and flames began to lick greedily at the rug and wooden floor then they ran along the spilled gas and caught the drapes and the leg of my jeans. I screamed as the flames burned the skin of my leg through the thick denim and tried to slam the door but caught the arm in it and heard it crack. There came a scream from outside but I was too busy ripping my jeans off burning my hands in the process to care about that. Then I ran to the kitchen and ran cold water over my blistered palms and wrapped a wet towel around my calf cursing my own stupidity. I knew whose arm that had been, Leah Clearwater was looking for revenge and as she wasn't a member of the wolf pack she wasn't ruled by Johnny H or his commands and could therefore still act against us. She must have been watching the house on the off chance that I might come back and when I did she had tried to burn me alive.

The kitchen window suddenly shattered showering me with broken glass and I ducked down only to be hauled through the opening where the glass had been and carried bodily into the trees opposite. I knew then that Charlotte had been the one to smash the window in order to rescue me from the conflagration that had been my home. She was angry, I could tell by her tone of voice.

"What did I tell you, Bella?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I thought it was you and by the time I realized it wasn't it was too late."

"Stay here, I want a word with our arsonist."

I grabbed her arm as she moved away wincing as the burns sent pains up my arm,

"Please don't kill her, bring her here."

"Her? You know who it is?"

I nodded,

"Yes, her name is Leah Clearwater, she's a Quileute from the village and I think she was looking for revenge."

"She's staring into her own death right now. Stay here."

She was gone before I could say anything more and as I watched the flames burst through the windows shattering the glass and I knew that everything I owned was gone, all my memories, all my belongings, were being devoured by the flames and there was nothing I could do about any of it. Tears began to roll down my cheeks and I cursed the Quileutes, Jake, Sam, Billy, Leah, the whole lot of them for this.

My leg was painful and getting worse as the wet towel began to freeze and that's when I became aware that I was sitting under some trees wearing only my sweater, panties, and a pair of thick socks and I began to laugh although I think it was hysteria rather than mirth that was responsible.

I wasn't aware of Charlotte's return until she took me by the shoulder and shook me,

"Bella, Bella, get a grip. She got away but she won't get far, I didn't want to leave you so I called The Major and told him what had happened. Come on we need to get out of here quickly."

As she pulled me to my feet and guided me to the car she now had waiting at the curb it hit me,

"You told Jasper? Is he coming?"

"No, I think he's got a few necks to break first but you and I are going on a little road trip and he and Peter will catch up with us later."

"What? No, Leah was working alone, I don't suppose the elders knew a thing, there's been enough killing Charlotte please call him back."

She shook her head stubbornly as she strapped me in and then took off down the road passing the fire engines with their lights flashing and sirens splitting the peace of the night.

"I don't think The Major is in any mood to listen to their views or excuses and unless I'm mistaken he totaled Peter's cell phone. Just sit back and once we're far enough away I'll pull over and see what we need for those burns. How bad are they?"

I opened my palms and studied them, blisters were forming and I couldn't bend my fingers,

"I'll live, it's my leg that really hurts, some of the lit gas landed on the leg of my jeans and burned through before I could get them off."

I tried to pull the towel away but it had either stuck or frozen to my leg and it hurt so much I decided to leave well alone.

"I lost everything Charlotte, all my clothes, all my belongings and Charlie's too, what a fool I was."

She smiled and patted my cheek with her hand,

"Not everything, I grabbed a case and a box, it's all I had time for, anyway as soon as we stop I'll sort you out some stuff."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm not sure, we were going to our place but I can't take you on a plane dressed like that and it's a long way to drive with you in this condition let me think."

I sat back cradling my hands against my chest and tried to ignore the pain, I was shaking and I felt sick but I didn't want to stop moving. What I wanted most of all was to be in Jasper's arms but I knew it might be some time before I saw him again and I whispered to myself,

"Merry Christmas"

Then closed my eyes and began to cry.