A/N: Thanks so much for your wonderful thoughts.
Shorty but hopefully goody up ahead. The final chapter should post before New Years'. We shall see. :)
Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest belong to me. All mistakes are mine as well.
Broken – Chapter 39
I lunged and in the next moment cut the distance between Jasper and me enough so that a wild grab for the back of his collar paid off. In one swooping motion, I spun him around and shoved him against the banister. When his lower back hit the railing, he yelped like the dog he was while I twisted the front of his shirt around my fist and bent him further back, hovering furiously above him.
"Ow! My kidneys, man!"
"The hell with your kidneys. Just shut the hell up and listen." I hissed the words lowly and rapidly while scanning my surroundings and flashing my eyes to the top of the staircase. "I don't want her to hear. I don't want to upset-"
"Fuck you, Ed, I don't give a fuck what you want! Get off me or I'll call the cops! GET OFF," he shouted now, "OR I'LL CALL BE- Oof!"
Since my misfortunate first encounter with Jasper Hale, a toxic mixture had begun roiling inside me. It was a mixture that grew and festered throughout the years, with every subsequent event I witnessed as well as with those I heard second-hand. This viscous brew of fury, contempt, and frustration bubbled and boiled like molten lava; it oozed like septic gas. For JJ's and for Bella's sake, I'd held it in. For JJ because the bastard was his father in name if not in actions, and for Bella…because I'd never wanted her put through a scene in any way reminiscent to what happened That Day in the lobby.
But if anyone knew the dangers of toxic, virulent substances, it was me. Certain compounds have a way of blending, ballooning, and swelling when thrown together. Once, a similar mixture had, in a roundabout way, landed me in the hospital. That night, an even more lethal concoction was brimming at the surface, and the unavoidable result was an eruption provoked by too much liquor, by adrenaline, and by an instinctive need to hit this motherfucker once and for all.
When my fist connected with his jaw, he cut off from the deliberately thunderous rant meant to call attention. Instead, as his face flew sideways and spittle flew everywhere, he grunted and groaned, and I resisted the overwhelming urge to hit him again.
Alternatively, I examined our surroundings. Music and conversation wafted in from the other rooms. Above the stairs, all was quiet. Satisfied we'd remained undetected, I took advantage of his relative silence to reissue my request, this time through clenched teeth.
"Go ahead and try calling for help, motherfucker. We're not in a public lobby. Believe me, there's not a single person here who'll bother calling the cops or pulling me off until after I've pummeled you into the ground. Now, I said. shut. the fuck. up."
I yanked him by the lapels and dragged him to the landing while he stumbled and tripped down the rest of the steps like a puppet being led by a puppeteer who gave no fucks.
"Now, come on. I'm not doing this to Bella and the boys. I'm not getting them caught up in a shitfest just because you pushed me beyond my-"
"But I didn't do anything, man! I was just-"
This time, I rammed him against the wall in the small nook hidden in the shadows under the staircase. The back of his head hit the drywall with a sharp thud.
"Oof!"
"Don't fucking play that game with me, Jasper." Now my spittle sprayed out of my mouth and smacked his face. "Do you know what I do for a living, Jasper? I extrapolate. I extend the application of a method to an unknown situation by assuming that existing trends will continue."
"What?"
"Motherfucker, I see through bullshit, and I saw through your bullshit, doe-eyed, I-was-just-standing-there-minding-my-own-fucking-business routine from Day One; from the moment you rushed out of the elevator and into that lobby with your goddamn fly still open and my sister's lipstick all over your face, and you've been that same, easy-to-read, dumbass prick ever since."
His hissed response erupted with more ferocity than I'd come to expect from him.
"That Day wasn't my fault! That was your sister's fault! Goddamn Alice! I was minding my own fucking business when your sister practically threw herself at me the first time we met! I was minding my fucking business when she called me That Day at work and begged me to meet her at her apartment. Then she fucking tells me she got herself pregnant," he scowled, "when I'd already been thinking of ways to break it off-"
Fisting the hair at his temples, I took his head and banged it against the wall. He grunted, his eyes rolling back for a couple of seconds. When he recovered, he grabbed my hands and struggled to free himself. But Jasper was the epitome of a pretty-boy, who'd sailed through life on his looks and not much more. He quickly relented and leaned heavily against the wall, scowling bitterly at me.
"You poor, unfortunate motherfucker," I sneered. "Minding your own business when Alice went and got herself pregnant, huh? And that's what you were doing when Bella saw what she saw through that window – breaking things off with Alice?"
When his lips formed a tight, defenseless line, I offered him an acidic chuckle.
"Yeah, you're a sorry bastard all right. Listen to me, asshole. I didn't drag you down here so you could offer me bullshit excuses for That Day."
"Then what the hell did you drag me down here for, Ed?"
"As a final warning to stay the fuck away from Bella and from my son."
"I wasn't-"
I shoved him against the wall.
"Oof! Fine! Fine! But I just wanted to say hi to her-"
When I kneed him in the groin, other than for the whooshing sound of all air leaving his lungs, he went silent. As his knees gave, and he threatened to double over, I held him up by the shoulders.
"Learn to be a fucking man, and take care and worry about your son and your woman. Jay needs a real father, someone who'll be there, and who'll teach him how to respect-"
"She was my wife first," he groaned, "and you don't have the right-"
Once again, I shoved him against the wall.
"She was your wife, and you were the fucking asshole who gave her up. Again, be a fucking man, and live with your choices. I have every fucking right," I spat. "She's a strong woman, who's proven time and again that she can take care of herself. What the fuck did you think you would've gotten for your efforts had you made it upstairs and cornered Bella? She beat the shit out of you once in that lobby, told you to get the fuck out the next few times you showed up in her building lobby and when you thought you'd show up for a reconciliation at her father's house. You want a fucking encore of any of those, you masochistic bastard? Either way, for as long as she allows me, I'll be there to help her. It will never be me who gives her up, and I will fuck up anyone whoever messes with her again. What's more-"
Jasper snorted bitterly. "There's more?"
I yanked him by the lapels and pulled him closer, my heavy, infuriated breaths landing across his face.
"Motherfucker, there's plenty more, but I'll keep it short. What's more, regardless of everything else, it's your job to care for my sister and my nephew. Man the fuck up for them if not for yourself. Make them your goddamn priority. They're my family as well, so you picked the wrong defense because I have every. fucking. right."
He glared at me, eyes darkened by hatred.
"Jasper, this is the second time you've pushed me, and you've ended up against a wall. The next time," I grinned bitingly, "you'll go through it. Do you understand me?"
When he made no immediate reply beyond a hard, hate-filled glower, I gave him another shove.
"I said, do you understand me?"
His top lip twisted into an acerbic grin. "You wanna know what I don't understand? I don't understand how the hell you ended up with everything, and I ended up with nothing."
Those last few words twisted my heart on my nephew's behalf…and riled me up all over again. My voice shook, hands trembling around his lapels with the effort not to connect with his jaw one more time. Just one. more. time.
"Jasper, you have so much more than you deserve, but you're too much of a rat bastard to see it. And unfortunately…" I swallowed hard, "it's my nephew who's paying the price for that."
Releasing his lapels, I shoved him away, and he hit the wall with a final grunt. Meanwhile, I stepped back, hands in fists at my sides, just in case. But Jasper had only weaseled and not fought for anything his entire damn life, and he didn't appear inclined to change now.
Instead, he straightened, chest heaving as he shook himself off, just like a dog. He shook his head rapidly a few times, stroked his jaw and moved it from side to side, all while glaring fiercely…and nothing else.
I chuckled mockingly. "Don't worry; there's no blood, no permanent damage, but if you ever, ever try to sneak up on Bella again…" I shook my head, "Jasper, there won't be a restraining order in this world that'll keep me from disfiguring that pretty face of yours, once and for all. Then we'll see what you get by on. Now, my sister already threw you out, yet you hung around and got this instead. Unless you want more-"
He put a hand up, palm out. "I'm going, I'm going."
And after a long, hard stare, Jasper bypassed me and stepped out of the shadowed nook. When I saw him look upward, my gaze instinctively followed…
…to Bella.
She stood at the top of the landing, eyes wide after having obviously witnessed…enough. All my righteous fury drained from me and was instantly replaced by guilt. Remorse. I'd lost control, and in doing so, I'd forced her to witness a scene that could do nothing but dredge up the worst sort of memories.
My eyes remained fixed on her, even as I recognized Alice's form in my periphery. A long moment of silence transpired while the four of us simply stood there, my eyes on Bella, hers on Jasper, and Alice's on who knew what – a quadrant of people whose lives had once unwillingly coalesced, and while we were quadrants which would always fit together shakily, it was how Bella and I would fit together after this that now filled my mind.
Eventually, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper walk off, and Alice follow behind. And with a deep sigh, Bella descended the grand staircase, her red gown billowing around her. Swallowing hard, I met her at the bottom landing and offered her murmured apologies thick with remorse, so pitiful I couldn't even meet her eyes.
"I…apologize, Bella. I know you've never wanted a scene like that, so similar to…and especially with our baby right up…" Exhaling heavily, I raked a hand through my hair, while Bella stood silent. Finally, I forced myself to meet her eyes.
The nonjudgmental understanding and pure love I found in them rocked me to my core. I balanced unevenly on the balls of my feet until Bella took a step closer and angled her head upward, keeping our gazes locked.
"Do you feel better?" she asked.
When my brow furrowed, Bella smiled softly and cupped my cheek.
"Edward, you have better self-control than I used to have. Once, I wouldn't have cared who heard or saw; other people's feelings wouldn't have been my first concern – not even yours."
I blinked a couple of times then picked her up, pulled her against my chest, and wrapped her in my arms. Then, I buried my face in the crook of her neck. Because she was my haven.
"Bella, you never say or do what I expect you to, and it's just one of the many reasons why you and our son are my life."
"And you've got to protect your life. It's what you do, Edward. You protect. It's ingrained in you for so many reasons, and I'd never try to change you."
I nodded slowly, brushing my lips against her shoulder.
She pulled away enough to lock her dark, sparkling eyes on mine. "You haven't answered me, though. Do you feel better?"
"I do now."
"Good. Edward, every once in awhile, we have to reorganize our database and…shuffle around some files before those files make the entire system crash. It was time. Now, let's rejoin the party." She offered me another smile, and brushing her lips back and forth with mine, she whispered the rest against my mouth. "We have one another, we have our son, and our nephew has us. Let's move on with the rest of our lives."
A/N: Thoughts?
Like I said, the final chapter should post before New Year's, but we shall see. If not, Happy 2020, my loves. May you live your best days yet.
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