Ben
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews and for being patient with my cranky muse.
Chapter Twenty-Nine-Alice, Paul and Jasper
A few hours earlier;
Alice's usual optimism was missing as she waited pensively for Jasper to arrive at the prearranged meeting point. After deliberately ignoring her calls, he had finally been in contact and agreed to meet her. Alice thought he sounded strange on the phone-very reserved and distant. It felt like she was conversing with a stranger. Hanging around Paul meant that she hadn't been able to predict the outcome of the meeting. She had been enjoying having a break from her precognitive powers. It was another reason she liked being around Paul so much. After the headaches she'd had monitoring Victoria, the newborns and the Volturi leading up to the newborn battle, then afterwards the subsequent horrifying visions she'd had of Ben and Luka's abuse at the hands of their cruel stepfather, it took the pressure off of her when she had none at all.
Alice felt her cell phone buzz in the back pocket of her slim fitting jeans. Someone was trying to contact her. She hoped it wasn't Jasper calling to cancel, she didn't think she could stand having to play the waiting game all over again. Alice breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled out her phone and saw Paul's name flash up.
"Have you kicked his sorry ass to the kerb yet?" Paul didn't bother with the usual preliminaries.
"He's not here yet." Alice laughed nervously.
"He's late." Paul said impatiently. "What a d- "
"Actually, he's still got ten minutes to go." Alice interrupted him before Paul had a chance to fling any more insults at Jasper.
"Okay." Paul said grudgingly. "I still don't like this, Pixie." He continued; his voice full of concern. "What if he loses it or something? I mean he attacked Bella. You're gonna need back up. I really think I should be there."
Alice felt a smile forming on her face at his overprotectiveness. "I'm not Bella, Paul. If Jas did kick off, which I know he won't, I can look after myself. I know his weak spots." She joked.
"I suppose you do." Paul conceded wryly. "You did win that arm-wrestling contest we had."
"You let me win." Alice chirped.
"Only because you were about to snap my hand off at the wrist." Paul winced at the memory.
"Oh, sorry." Alice put her fingers over her lips as she tried to stifle a giggle. "I don't know my own strength sometimes."
"Evidently." Paul muttered in annoyance. "But still, if you need me for anything, I can be there in a couple of minutes."
Alice narrowed her eyes at this statement. "Paul, where exactly are you?" She demanded.
"Close."
"How close?"
"I'm parked about half a mile down the road." Paul admitted.
"Paul!" Alice rolled her eyes. "That's too close. You're still affecting my ability to see."
"Fine." Paul complained. "I'll move further away. Just call me when you want me to pick you up."
"I will." Alice promised quietly. She could see Jasper's car coming over the hill now. "I have to go. I'll see you soon." She said quickly before hanging up.
Alice slipped silently into the passenger seat of the innocuous Suburban with the blacked-out windows that Jasper had hired. She cast her eyes over her errant husband-looking for any changes. They were subtle but they were there. His blond hair was styled shorter than usual, the soft curls ironed out into smooth waves. She noted the scars along his neck and jaw, only visible to those with supernatural eyesight. She knew each and every one from memory. His posture was tense, his long fingers were wrapped hard around the steering wheel. Slowly her gaze travelled to his handsome face and that's when she felt her stomach plummet. His eyes were no longer the same golden-brown colour as hers, now they bled a dark crimson.
"Oh, Jas!" Alice was horrified. "Why?"
Jasper scowled as the fingers of his left hand drummed on the steering wheel impatiently. "Don't pretend to be surprised, Alice." He muttered. "You had to have seen this coming."
Alice shook her head miserably. "I didn't. I haven't seen much of anything lately."
Jasper looked at her sharply. "You've been hanging around with the wolf pack again. That explains the wet dog smell. Where is your lapdog anyway?"
"Don't be cruel, Jas." Alice said in despair. "That's not you."
"I didn't come here to exchange insults." A slight frown marred Jasper's forehead as he turned to face his mate. "I still love you." He said, his tone softening. "We can start again, Alice. I've tried the vegetarian lifestyle. I've given it my best shot, but it's not for me. I can't deny the truth of what I am." He paused for a minute as he waited for her to absorb what he was saying.
The desolation that Alice felt was all consuming. All her hopes and dreams of a future with Jasper had been completely annihilated in just a few short sentences. It wasn't like she hadn't been expecting it. She had said as much to Paul, but that didn't mean a secret part of her hadn't still been holding onto hope.
"You are going down a path I can't follow." Alice's eyes were glassy as she looked up at him. "This is where we part ways. Take care, Jas. I hope you can live with the consequences of your decision. Where will you go?"
"Maria has been in touch." Jasper said with a bitter edge to his tone.
Alice stared at him in disbelief. "Please, Jas, for your own sake I beg you not to go down that road again. She nearly destroyed you last time."
"Its not really any of your business what I do now. Is it?" Jasper rounded on her.
"No." Alice replied in a small voice as she looked down at her shaking hands.
Jasper's angry scowl faded and his fingers relaxed their death grip on the steering wheel. "I won't deny that I was tempted." He admitted harshly. "But I've decided to take a sabbatical and go travelling with Peter and Charlotte for a while instead."
Alice's relief couldn't be described. "That's good. Very good." Charlotte and Peter may not follow a vegetarian diet, but they lived as quiet and secluded a life as possible. Maybe some time with them would calm Jasper's mind and he would re-think his decision.
"So…this is it?" Jasper asked hollowly.
"Yes." Alice felt the familiar sadness wash over her. "It is."
"If you ever change your mind….?" Jasper left the question open ended.
"Same here." Alice leaned across and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, before hurriedly climbing out of the Suburban before she broke down.
Alice walked along the side of the deserted road dejectedly, her hands deep in the pockets of the hoodie that Paul had loaned her. She supposed she should call him to pick her up, but she needed a few moments alone just to quiet her mind. She felt emotionally bankrupt. There was nothing left to feel, nothing left to say, nothing but the empty void Jasper had left behind. After being part of a couple for so long, it felt frightening being alone again. She wandered for nearly a mile, unaware of her surroundings, completely lost in her own head as she pondered her future.
As she continued to walk Alice suddenly became aware that everything around her had faded into nothingness. She stilled, her eyes becoming wide with fear as she realised what was about to happen. Fumbling for her phone, she pulled it out, intending to call Paul and tell him to come and get her quickly. She wasn't ready for this. She didn't want to be alone. But she didn't even manage to pull up his name on her cell, before it clattered out of her nerveless fingers and fell to the ground as an unwanted vision of the future overtook her mind.
Alice saw the Swan house. It was grey day. The skies were heavy with rainclouds. The first thing she became aware of was the sound of Charlie Swan's deep voice, arguing heatedly with someone. She concentrated her inner eye, trying to see the police chief more clearly. Her vision cleared and she gasped in horror at what she saw. There were several police cruisers flanking the Swan property, lights flashing. A group of cops surrounded Charlie; his hands were cuffed behind his back. Above the sound of raised voices, she heard Ben crying, before his high-pitched sobs turned into a scream. In silent agony Alice panned around to watch as a social worker wrestled the frightened boy into the back of a shiny black sedan and strapped him in. A few yards away Luka was calling his brother's name while a stern-faced police officer kept a tight hold on him as he guided him into the back of one of the police cruiser's….
Then everything went dark and the scene shifted….
This time Alice found herself sitting in the back of Carlisle's Mercedes Guardian. Carlisle was sitting as still as a statue in the front seat. Confused, Alice tore her eyes from the back of his blonde head and glanced out of the blackened windows. She could see the familiar outlines of Esme's apartment block looming in the distance. What was Carlisle doing? Was he staking out the apartment block? What for?
All these thoughts were fleeting as the sound of a loud rumbling engine attracted Alice's attention. She had heard the old Chevy starting up enough times in the past to know it was Bella's beloved old truck. She saw the old red monster drive out of the parking lot with Bella behind the wheel. It was only when the popping sound of the truck's engine faded into the background that Carlisle seemed to come to life again. He shifted in his seat awkwardly as he retrieved his phone.
"I won't let you do this, Esme." He murmured. "I won't let you destroy everything we've built together." He dialled 911.
"Carlisle, no!" Alice cried as she lunged across the back seat and tried to wrestle his cell out of his hand, but her hand went through empty air and Carlisle faded like a puff of smoke in front of her.
When Alice came to, she found herself lying in the middle of the empty road staring sightlessly up the darkening skies. She sat up abruptly, her head spinning violently. She tried to calm her racing thoughts as she hunted frantically for her cell phone. With a sigh of relief, she found it on the side of the road a few feet away where she had dropped it when the vision overtook her.
"Where have you been, Pixie?" Paul growled when he answered after the first ring. "I've been going out of my mind here."
"Paul, just shut up a minute." Alice cut in swiftly. "You've got to hurry up and get me. We've got to get to Esme's apartment and stop Carlisle before he calls the authorities on Charlie and they take Ben and Luka away."
A/N-thanks for reading!