Wasn't sure where to end this chapter and casually had it ending around 8,885 words before editing :p Decided to leave it how it was :) enjoy! Thanks heaps for the review ExplosiveEmpire, I'm glad your enjoying it :D Oh also sorry if i got Jasper's smell wrong, I couldn't for the life of me remember it from the books and my copy of books are casually in New Zealand while I'm staying in Canada :p if any one knows the correct smell (if he was even given one) i'll happily change it! As someone who cant actually smell most things, I just went with what sounded logical and nice :p
Jasper's PoV
She was having a nightmare again and I rushed to her side to try to wake her. I gently shook her and called her name. My throat was tightening up and I couldn't breathe, I felt like I was dying and fell to my knees. Normally when she had these nightmares, I went deep into the forest to escape as I knew she had Charlie but this time she only had me.
Another scream tore through the house and I could barely hold myself up on my knees, I couldn't call any more and this time I shook her a little harder before passing out in her lap.
I woke up to Bella stroking my hair, it felt like home to me, I could recall my own mother doing the exact same thing when I was younger and sick in bed. I had somehow passed out in Bella's lap with my arm draped across her legs and the other on her pillow where her shoulder had been. I felt embarrassed for a second, I was the major and a mere mortal girl had brought me to my knees. As I slowly opened my eyes to look up at Bella, she continued stroking my hair with an apologetic look on her face.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"Not really, but I'll live. I need to go down stairs for a minute. I think someone just arrived, you can try to get some more rest if you want".
She nodded her head for no and started to get up after me. I gave her some sweat pants to wear, a hoodie and my sheepskin slippers. She was drowning in them but Bella was the determined type who didn't like to follow instructions. I liked that about her, sometimes.
We made our way down stairs and out the front door. Sam Uley had just finished walking through the tree line in human form. Bella stayed behind me unsure of who this person was and if he was a threat or not. Smart girl for someone clueless of who he was.
"Jasper, thank you for coming out. It's good to see Bella is okay, another nightmare?"
Bella nodded and moved closer behind me resting a hand on my arm.
"It's okay Bella, I mean you guys no harm. I know Jasper that in the past we haven't gotten along but as you have spent the last four months watching Bella from afar, I've spent the last four months watching you. I just wanted to check that everything was okay since Bella sounded distressed after she woke up and you weren't talking".
I had known someone was watching me for four months, I knew they were not a vampire but I hadn't realized it was the head of the Quileute pack. His emotions only showed me, kindness, loyalty and love, whoever this guy was, he actually cared which was good to know I had an ally in the area.
"You know that I can feel emotions, her nightmares, at close range are a weakness for me" I admitted to show good faith in his trust.
"I had guessed as much some time ago on the first night you showed up, you were in such a rush that you had run straight past me" he said as he made to sit down on a rock.
"Would you like to come in for some tea?" I offered.
"No no, I don't want to intrude. Just wondering what your game plan was now?" he asked.
"If it's okay with you, I was going to ask her father permission to take her down south to Argentina for a few months of fresh air and farm life, that is if you still want to go Bella?" I asked, looking down at her. She nodded her head yes still very confused why I would need his permission.
"Since you are good at keeping secrets Bella, I'll tell you mine, some members of our tribe have the genes to turn into wolves when vampires are near. It's how I found you that night but I don't think you remember that, you looked like you were in shock from the cold. We have had a treaty with the Cullens for hundreds of years that have kept us and them safe as long as they promise to not hunt humans in the area which is why Jasper is asking permission"
Bella nodded, I realized now that the substances she had consumed had mostly worn off, she was back to her reserved shy self.
"That sounds like a good idea Jasper, you definitely have my blessing and I think Charlie will happily give his. I'll leave now but Jasper, here is my number, if you need help, please ask. Bella, I wish you all the best, Jacob misses you and I hope to see you soon" Sam said as he left a piece of paper on the rock he was sitting on.
"I'll send you the address we are staying at but if I do need help, do me a favor, stay out of Mexico, there's an enemy down there, a powerful one that will chew us both up for breakfast if given the opportunity. Take the plane, i'll pay for it if it comes to that"
Sam nodded and made his way into the treeline. After a few minutes I stepped forward to grab the note, adding the number to my phone and sending him a message saying who I was. I then guided Bella back inside.
It was currently six in the morning so I steered Bella back up the stairs for more sleep but she shook her head no.
"Bella you're exhausted, if you're worried about your nightmares affecting me, I can put some distance between us when they happen" I asked from a step below her. We were at eye level at this height difference and I could gaze directly into her chocolate brown eyes.
"I just want to get going Jasper '' she said, giving me a small dose of her anxiety. I understood her message and gripped the stairway rail for a moment.
"Alright, let's go talk to Charlie then, he goes to work in an hour so if you get dressed, I'll drive us over, if he says yes then we can quickly pack and leave before lunch" I said.
She ran up the stairs to quickly dress in her clean clothes that I had laid out on the end of the bed and brush her teeth while I changed my clothes and heated up the car. Five minutes later we were on the road, her hair was a bit crazy but it was clean and washed which was an improvement. Charlie was eating breakfast when we arrived. I opened the car door for her and we made our way up to the front door and walked inside after Bella unlocked it. Charlie looked up from his toast as we walked in, Bella made her way into the kitchen to do a few dishes while I sat down opposite Charlie.
"Good morning Charlie, I'm Jasper Cullen. I'm sorry for the surprise, I had come home for a few nights to catch up with some friends. I thought I would reach out to Bella to see how she was going, she hasn't been coping well has she? I took her out to dinner last night and then she stayed at my family's old house where we played some games. I'm really concerned about her health, she's withdrawn, lost weight and I was wondering with your permission if Bella could drop out of school and come down south with me to stay on a farm with some friends of mine. I was hoping that maybe a change of scenery, some farm chores, horse riding, this might help her heal, get her out of her room and maybe her funk. I can give you the address and my personal number as well as organize plane tickets for you to come visit every weekend if you want, I just want her to heal and honestly it kills me to see how much she's withered away in such a short time" I said.
"Bella ate food, she played games?" He asked before taking a swig of his coffee.
"She ate all of her steak, sashimi, salad and even had a few bites of her cheesecake. Later after a few drinks to help her relax and get out of her head for a bit, we ordered Mc Donalds and she consumed a double cheeseburger combo with a chocolate sundae" I informed. I knew I didn't need to install trust, Charlie was already falling apart inside and I could see fresh tears in his eyes.
"She. She ate all of that?" he asked.
"Yes sir".
Charlie then got up to bear hug me and I quickly stood up to accommodate his request.
"Thank you Jasper, please take her, I think you obviously can get through to her where I've failed, don't worry about the plane tickets, I trust you. If you can get my baby to eat, from the looks of it, shower, change her clothes and leave her room for something outside of school, you deserve to try this idea of yours. Let me know how she goes and maybe I'll come down in a month's time?" he said as he eventually released me to sit back down.
"Of course, here is my number" I said as I jotted it on a piece of paper that was on the kitchen bench.
"If it's okay, we are probably leaving today if that's alright?"
"That's fine Jasper, thank you again!" he said.
"Dad?" Bella said softly as she came in from the kitchen, obviously hearing what we were talking about.
"Do you want to go Bella?" Charlie asked as he grabbed her hands in his.
"Please" she said.
"Then you better head upstairs to pack, I want the best for you Bella and if this will help then I support this a hundred percent. I love you Bells" he said before standing and bear hugging her.
Bella hugged him back and then made her way upstairs to start packing. Charlie was wiping tears out of his eyes as he watched her climb the stairs. I gently patted his back affectionately before making my way upstairs to Bella's room also. She had started packing her clothes into her suitcase so I flopped onto her bed to book tickets off of my phone for the airport. I then started packing her books for her with her teddy bear. I didn't want to intrude into her personal clothing or toiletries so I mostly sat on her bed watching her pack her life up. She didn't have much, just her clothes, a few books that were her favorite, some special jewelry, a camera and photo album that had been forgotten since Edward had left.
Charlie came up to say bye and gave her a hug before leaving for work and wishing her the best. After Bella was packed we headed back to my house where I made her a latte and breakfast of fried eggs, bacon and English muffins with some side fruit. She picked at it and ate maybe half which was fine with me. I then zoomed from my room, to Rosie's to pack up items she had requested. Once packed I quickly zoomed the groceries off to Bella's house after borrowing her keys and left a note that she had written to Charlie to eat at home once in a while. I stored the meat in the freezer, and threw out the bad stuff in the fridge. Once I got back, Bella was just putting away her dishes after washing and drying them. I handed her keys back to her and ordered us a taxi to take us to the airport.
It felt strange leaving after having the house to myself for so long, a lot of my inner demons had been represented in my redecorating. I had noticed I didn't have an urge to destroy any more of Alice's clothes now that I had a new focus of helping Bella. The taxi arrived so I loaded it up with our suitcases, locked the front door and got in at the back with Bella. I shot a text as we made our way to the airport to Rosie informing her what time we should be landing and what our plane information would be if we were delayed in the air. She also promised she hadn't changed too much of my room for Bella, just the duvet cover to a deep purple and renovated the simple bathroom into a deluxe version. I wasn't sure what that meant but I assumed that Bella would appreciate it, I only had things that were functional and as Alice never visited, there was never a need to have fancy things like hot tubs. So I knew my bathroom was literally a shower and hand basin with no toilet.
We arrived at the airport and I guided Bella through security with my hand at the small of her back. There was no queue as we were flying first class so we went through the ticket and security process within a matter of minutes before being shown to our seats on the airplane. They were a comfortable couch that reclined and heated up with no arm rest between us, just seat belts so that people could stretch out and get comfortable without a barrier in the middle. Shortly after drinks were offered. I ordered a few red wines for us and a meat platter with cheese and crackers. Everything was presented to us on a table before we had taken off. It would be another half an hour while everyone else got on board and then they would have to take away everything to fold up our table for take off. Bella sipped at her wine and I could feel sparks of enjoyment firing off inside which reminded me to quickly text Rosie one last thing.
'Hey Rosie, can you stock up on alcohol and edibles please?' -J
'Depends, did you touch her or do I need to remove your favorite body piece?' - R
'I was a perfect gentlemen and she had the best time last night in months' - J
'Fine but I don't approve' - R
'Hey, she said yes and it was fun. Look she's not exactly a lot better, neither am I. Everyone needs a release and if we want to watch the world burn while been high, let us' - J
I turned my phone off after that and focused on Bella who had finished her two glasses of wine and most of the meat with some of the cheese and crackers. It was nearly time for take off so the hostess took away our trays, offered us hot towels to wash our hands and faces and soon enough we were taking off. Bella was feeling happy and buzzy from the wine so once we were in the air I ordered some more and a bottle of water. She drank a few gulps of water before sipping at her third wine. We found a game we could play while we waited on the airplane and eventually late lunch was served to us. Bella had chosen the salmon steak on a salad while I reclined saying I had eaten too many crackers and cheese.
The whole flight would take around twenty hours with a four hour lay over in between when we had to change flights in Mexico. After some games, Bella was beginning to feel tired and anxious at the same time.
"Do you want to sleep Bella?" I asked.
"Yes but I don't want to have a nightmare on an airplane," she said nervously.
I thought about what she was asking and in this situation maybe it wouldn't be too inappropriate.
"I can knock you out so you're in a deep sleep and monitor your emotions to push calm, peace and joy into you when your nightmare begins. If I'm holding your hand I have a stronger connection and should be able to prevent you from scaring everyone on board" I said into her ear just over the noise of the airplane.
"Please, I don't mind," she said back. So I reclined our couch all the way into a bed, pulled out the foot rest part, pulled out the blankets and pillows we were given and buried her in them. I would only hold her hand if she needed an extra boost of calm. I had one pillow behind my head and some of the same blanket so I could feel her body heat slowly warming up my body, it felt nice.
"Ready?" I asked. Bella nodded, meeting my eyes before closing her eyes. I gently pushed fatigue her way and watched her drift into a peaceful sleep, her first in four months. Once I was sure she was out, I closed my eyes to pretend to sleep also. That way I wouldn't be bothered about dinner. Within five minutes though I was frozen to the spot, Bella had rolled over in her sleep to snuggle her head into my collarbone and drape her arm across my torso. My arm was behind my head at the time, and I was scared to move it but eventually I lowered it around her waist and felt sparks of joy and safety firing off inside of her from her unconscious. It was a nice feeling, knowing I was the reason she suddenly felt safe and happy. I kept her under till it was almost time to hop off the plane. She had slept a solid six hours and I had relished in her scent that reminded me of home.
Once she came to and began rubbing her eyes, I felt embarrassment rolling off in waves at what she had done so I gently rubbed her back before getting up to stretch for the appearance of a normal human who just stayed perfectly still for the last six hours. I led her to a lounge once we disembarked that we could sit in, help ourselves to food and relax. It was away from the bustle of people down stairs and was mostly empty, with only a few business people waiting for their flights and keeping to themselves. Bella helped herself to some orange juice and I piled a few plates of various meats, a croissant, some cheeses, pickles and olives and followed her to a secluded corner to sit and eat. She had given me a glass of water to pretend to sip but no one was looking our way so I tipped half of it into a plant and left it at that. While Bella was eating I pulled out my phone to check my messages and found one from Carlisle that I replied to.
'I saw you purchased two flights back to Argentina, is Bella okay?' -C
'She needs a change of scenery so I'm bringing her south with me for her health' - J
'Sounds good, buy anything you guys need! Is the house still standing' -E
'Sorry mom, let me redecorate before you see it next, I made some changes' - J
'We love you Jasper, take care and keep in touch' -E and C
Carlisle had given me permission to use his credit card as much as I needed when I returned to Forks. He had sent me an email telling me where he had left it. They were always checking that I was okay since I had hardly touched the thing. Esme bless her heart was such a mother, stealing the phone probably from Carlisle to check in also.
Bella had finished most of the meat with some of the fruit and cheese and was currently picking at her nails. I was pretty bored too as there wasn't much we could do while waiting and I knew there was a bar nearby that we could spice some things up with. I took a quick glance at our flight, it had been delayed by two hours so we would be here for the next five and a half hours.
"Alright I'm bored, we have a number of options, we could walk around down stairs and window shop till we find some cards or a board game to play, we could get you drunk which in turn gets me drunk since my empathic ability soaks up the way you feel, play some games or we could find a hotel and you can sleep some more. I know human bodies aren't supposed to drink as much as you have been so it's up to you?" I asked.
I more or less knew her answer as she tugged me to a standing position and led me off in the direction of the shops. We found the card version of Monopoly and after a quick look at the back decided that would be an easy fun game to play while we waited. I made sure I gave Bella a bottle of water to drink and she finished half of it before agreeing to some beers which made me happy. So far I hadn't felt any discomfort from her so I knew all the eating and drinking of water was probably preventing her from being hung over and honestly, her liver didn't really matter. Bella always wanted to be one of us, if she decided she still wanted to be, I would change her myself.
After roughly four beers, a lot of games of monopoly, we grabbed some more food and water before heading to our plane. We were still early but at the very least we could board and settle in for some sleep. This time Bella didn't wait till she had fallen asleep, instead she had pulled my arm around her neck and fell asleep on my chest again. I wasn't going to deny her anything, after all we both were not in a relationship. So I pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and stroked her back as she drifted off to sleep without my help. Something that had surprised me was that I hadn't needed to use my ability at all to calm her if she had a nightmare. She simply just hadn't had one. Did her unconscious mind know that she was safe in my arms and therefore didn't give her hell? Whatever the reason, I shifted slightly so that my other arm was around her waist, encircling her and pulling her close to my chest while resting my head just above hers. She was still awake barely but didn't protest, instead I felt a wave of joy and safety rain from her.
A few times I felt jealousy rage from the female servers as they probably wished I was holding them the way I was holding Bella. I had struggled to contain my smirk whenever that would happen. I felt Bella stir in my arms after a good four hour nap without any nightmares so I gently released her. She rubbed her eyes and looked around for a moment.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked as I stretched my arms, another human thing.
"Yeah that was the best I've slept in forever, your smell is, I like it" she blushed.
"What do I smell like to you?" I asked, curious.
"You smell like rain on a hot day and horses," she smiled.
"I like your smell too, you smell like baking and lavender" I said, returning her smile.
"I haven't baked in forever though?" she commented.
"I haven't rode on a horse for at least two years," I replied back.
I ordered us some coffee and breakfast once our cute banter was finished and it arrived with hot towels for our faces to help us wake up. It was the most glorious feeling in the world to wash your hands and face with something hot. Planes were always grimy and gross feeling no matter how much cleaning had been done previously. Breakfast arrived, it was a gourmet breakfast of poached free range eggs, on top of a baked English muffin, with some prosciutto and hollandaise sauce. On the side there was cubed roasted potatoes tossed in rosemary, a fresh berry smoothie as well as fruit muffin. Bella knew I couldn't eat, bless her heart so she had half of her's before switching plates with me while no one was watching and had some of the other one. She did the same with our smoothies and coffees. The whole protecting my secret was definitely working in my favor for getting her to eat more food. In the end at least both plates looked like they had been touched and semi eaten at. The hostess was surprised we hadn't eaten more but took our stuff away. We still had another three hours left on the flight so I let Bella pick a movie for us to watch to pass the time. She had chosen to re watch a classic with me, well a classic for her, Mary Poppins from 1964 and I settled in to watch the bizarre movie. I had never seen it before so it was definitely amusing. In 1964, I had just met Alice and we were trying to find the Cullens after I had successfully transitioned to animal blood after spending a few years in the amazon forest with her.
After the plane landed, we were let off first. I retrieved our suitcases and I guided her to Peter's car where Rose and Emmett were leaning against the doors. As soon as Bella landed her eyes on them, Emmett charged forward to scoop her up in a bear hug and twirl her around in circles. I hugged my sister and pecked her cheek affectionately but I could feel the emotional turmoil Rose felt inside. She never liked Bella much in the past but now seeing the damage of how skinny she was, and smelling the dried blood from her most recent cut, Rose was fueled with anger at the same time as wanting to apologize and hug Bella also.
I squeezed my sister's arm and gave her a dose of confidence which seemed to help her decide. After Emmett had put Bella down and steadied her so she wouldn't collapse, Rose stepped forward to hug her gently.
"It's really good to see you Bella, I'm so sorry for what Edward did and I'm really happy my brother finally stopped stalking you and showed himself to you" she said before releasing her. Bella gave her a smile but her emotions inside were of confusion and mistrust. Bella stepped back and climbed into the back of the car as I was holding the door for her. I climbed in next to her while Emmett and Rose took the front seats.
"So Bella, I probably should've warned you, we are staying with two of my oldest friends from my time in the war. They are human drinkers but trust me, they wont touch you, they only drink from people who have raped, dealt in drugs, killed, low scum basically. Peter has a knack for finding them and knowing things. He knew we were coming the moment we had discussed it'' I said as we took off towards the farm.
"That's fine, I trust you Jasper" she said.
I had forgotten how okay she was with abnormalities, it was like she was built for this life. We arrived shortly after, Emmett obviously excited to get home to show us what monstrosities he had done to my room had sped most of the way. I noticed that Peter and Charlotte were already waiting outside on the porch for us as we pulled up the driveway with the sun high in the sky above them setting their skin ablaze with light. I opened the door for Bella and held her hand as we walked towards Charlotte and Peter, she felt nervous so I squeezed her hand gently in mine.
"Hey there Bella, I'm Charlotte, it's good to finally meet you, this here is my partner Peter" she said as she indicated to Peter who was smiling warmly at her.
"Hello, you have a beautiful home, thank you for letting us stay," Bella replied politely.
The house was beautiful, it was a two story wooden house with lots of big windows and an earthy simple life feeling to it. Everything had been hand crafted by Peter and Charlotte, down to the very foundations. They had cleared a forest, carved the wood, laid down the foundations then kept building. It was a wooden house with a wrap-around porch, in the back was a private hot tub and pool hidden among some trees. Everywhere else was green fields littered with animals. They bred chickens, cows, grew vegetables, made quilts, clothing and bred expensive horses.
"Please come in, let me fetch you something to eat, it looks like Jasper has been starving you I see" she replied.
"Hey I have not! I gave her plenty of options" I retorted as I gently pulled Bella along. Rose and Emmett had pulled out our suitcases and were following us up the porch stairs.
"Yeah too many options from what you told me" snapped Rose.
I whispered into Bella's ear "I may have told her what we got up to with getting high and drunk, she's still a prude and doesn't approve of having fun". Bella had to stifle a laugh as Rose glared at me like she was going to kill me.
"Hey dude, if you piss her off, you're on your own" commented Emmett which caused Bella to giggle for a few seconds. It sounded beautiful and felt even better inside. Some days being an empath had to be the best ability ever.
We did a small tour of the farm house, it was simple, wooden, spacious and after a quick snack break since Charlotte was convinced I had been starving Bella, we made our way to my room. My room was off to the side, tucked away in a corner but inside it was massive. I had my guitar collection mounted on the wall, a floor to ceiling bookshelf on another with the other two walls as floor to ceiling windows with a sliding door that opened to the porch. I had kept the walls as polished wood logs to match the rest of the house but my floor I had changed to a soft light gray carpet to bring some color and lightness to my room. In the center I had a king sized bed with a quilt that Charlotte had made me, folded on top of a deep purple duvet. Opposite that in a stone hearth was a fireplace underneath my guitars. To the right of walking in, next to the bookcase was an archway in place of a door that had once been my simple bathroom. I knew they had made it bigger but I wasn't ready for how much they had done in such a short time. They had added an entire new room, they had built a walk-in wardrobe for me and Bella's belongings with another door for the bathroom. The bathroom was pure white with a luxurious big bath tub, a massive shower that could easily fit four people. A toilet with a double basin of a deep dark wood and a double mirror option so we could both brush our teeth at the same time or rather, have our own space for our own things. It was all topped off by matching deep chocolate brown towels, a dark brown bath and shower mat as well as a dark brown toilet mat which really opened up the area with color. Our soaps were a dark brown as well as the handles to everything had dark mahogany finish. It was simple yet elegant at the same time and had my sister's hand written all over it.
I pulled Rose in for a side hug while thanking everyone. We were then left to our own devices which was good as I was dying to shower after being on the plane for so long. I let Bella shower first while I looked for some suitable clothes. I realized that Rosie and Charlotte had gone shopping on behalf of Bella as a nice gesture so I selected for her some black leggings, a purple plaid button down shirt with a black hoodie attached at the back and a black tank top. Bella came out in a towel and I made a point of looking at the floor, while speaking even though I could feel her rising amusement at my manners.
"Rosie and Charlotte went shopping for you, I thought you might like to wear new clothes. I laid them on the bed for you " I said.
I then made my way into the bathroom with my selection of clothes to shower. I freshened up and changed into a loose black t-shirt, gray jeans and black boots. Bella was sitting on the bed, her back to me, with a brush in her hair, half brushing it, half lost in the beauty of outside.
"Would you like me to brush your hair Bella?" said Rosie from the doorway. I could feel she desperately wanted to care for Bella but was uncertain how to dive in as she had always been nothing but cold towards her.
"Why do you care?" asked Bella simply before walking out the sliding door, barefoot to sit on the deck and brush her hair there. I walked over to Rose who was trying to hold back tears to give her a gentle hug.
"She just needs time Rosie" I said as I embraced her.
"How did she just feel Jasper? Show me" she demanded. I contemplated not showing her but my sister was stubborn so I gave her a dose of Bella's emotions. At that moment it was a cocktail of abandonment, mistrust, anger with a hint of confusion.
"I'm a monster" Rosie gasped as she sank slowly to her knees.
"I think we all are for leaving her, she just needs time, be kind and let her come to you instead" I said as I pulled her in for another hug before handing her off to Emmett who had been watching from behind. Any one else's mate would have growled at me to back off but Rosie and I had grown close over the years and became very much the brother and sister we had pretended to be.
I stepped outside with a pair of soft boots for Bella and some socks to find her sitting on the fence feeding a horse called Daisy an apple while chatting to Charlotte.
"So what's with you and blondie?" Charlotte asked.
"I just don't see why she suddenly cares, she never did before" Bella replied.
"Everyone left you except Jasper even though you didn't know he was there the whole time till a few days ago, so what really is the difference?" Char asked.
Bella didn't reply, instead just stared down Char with her eyebrows raised. Char eventually looked away and answered her own question.
"She left him just like he left you. You can forgive someone who had no choice like you. You both don't want to be hurt again which is why you don't want to trust blondie. I get that. Do you know what happened between them?" she asked. I was tempted to interrupt as it was a story I preferred to tell but I was frozen to my spot in the doorway, watching silently. Bella just nodded her head for Charlotte to continue.
"He eventually left her physically but for the past few years she had been growing apart from him which is something we as vampires don't do if we are with our true mate, it's hard to be apart from each other once we are truly mated. At first Alice was just away a lot on shopping trips but then she started to go further, visit other countries without him. Eventually it turned into a toxic relationship of using Jasper for sex and nothing else, there was no foundation for a relationship any more and unfortunately Jasper had been used before by Maria in the same way before. We told him to get out when he told us after a year but he refused to listen, after all they had been together for fifty years, he didn't want to throw that away but I guess when he found out that Edward was going to do the same to you, it must have triggered something. He came here in a ball of fury wanting to burn the world down. He was mad to see you just be tossed to the side like you meant nothing, I guess it struck a chord with him. He stayed here for a week trying to calm down but in the end he took off to watch you for the past four months. I think he just wanted to make sure you moved on because if you could, maybe he could find joy again".
Charlotte said no more and eventually left Bella lost in thought to do some house chores. I decided to join Bella on the fence leaving her shoes on the ground.
"You heard?" Bella asked.
"I mean I tried to focus on what the birds were talking about but it's hard not to be curious when you hear your name being spoken, sorry. What she said was true though, except she left out a crucial part that she didn't know about. I stayed to make sure you moved on and found happiness but I mostly stayed to make sure that if it didn't happen, I was going to knock on your door and see if you wanted to do something together" I admitted.
"Oh?" she replied, ever the one for words today.
"Yeah I thought a lot about traveling to Europe with you since I know how much you like history, if you didn't find joy, I wanted to make sure you at least had a friend. I was going to wait till you finished school before admitting I had been stalking you and asking if you wanted to take a gap year with me, travel, or eat food. No one deserved to be left like that, no one" I said as I grabbed her hand gently for a moment". Bella returned to her silent world allowing my mind to wander a million miles per second. Daisy was nickering at us for more treats so I gave her a few pats before I started pushing Bella's socks and boots on for her.
"Would you like to go horse riding with me to see the area, it's pretty big?" I asked.
"I don't know how," she whispered. I really needed to figure out how to boost her confidence.
"That's fine milady, stay here and I'll be back with everything we need" instantly I was rewarded with a spark of joy at my southern accent which fueled me to run faster to the stable to grab all the stuff we needed then zoomed back to Bella's side within seconds.
Daisy flinched for a second but I gave her a few gentle pats and she quickly settled back down as I strapped on her saddle, bridle and gave Bella a black cowgirl hat to keep the sun out of her eyes. I had a brown hat of my own that was very old. I then pulled Bella so that she was in front of me and close to Daisy.
"Ready milady? I'm going to lift you up, and you wanna just swing your leg over and place it in the other stirrup I said as I helped her pull one foot through the first stirrup. I helped her swing over Daisy and once she had a good grip on the saddle, I climbed up behind her and settled both my feet into my own stirrups. Bella's emotions were a cocktail of nerves and fear.
"Here relax, Daisy will know if you feel nervous and she won't take us anywhere, lean back and relax" I said as I gently wrapped an arm around her stomach. She took a deep breath and relaxed into my chest.
"Are you counting to ten in your head?" I asked, I had to know.
"Shut up and let's go, slow!" she said before taking another deep breath. I chuckled and wrapped my other arm around her while loosely holding the reins in my hand. That seemed to help, being encased by a vampire's arms that could rip out her artery in a matter of seconds. Bella truly had a weird idea of what would relax her but I wasn't going to rile her up any more than she already was. I gave Daisy the go ahead into a slow walk.
"So here we have the stables, Charlotte's garden where she grows fresh vegetables as well as fruit. The slaughterhouse for chickens and cows, the milk and egg collection barn and well you get the idea. They are pretty self sufficient, they built their house from scratch down to the quilt on our bed, it was made from dyed sheep hair that had been collected one year. Alright ready to get off the property? There's a beautiful lake I wanted to show you" I asked.
"Sure, what do they do with all the food?" said Bella as she began to enjoy the thrill of being on a horse.
"They sell it to a local grocery department which is how they make their money for new horses or dogs. They also breed husky dogs so I'll show you the puppies later on, alright Daisy, let's pick up the pace" I said as I gave her a gentle nudge to go faster.
Daisy picked up the pace and Bella relaxed more into my chest, possibly from the thrill of adrenaline running through her bones of being on something so big.
"Do you want to see how fast Daisy can run?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Sure" Bella replied as she wrapped her arms around one of mine. I tightened my grip around Bella then gave Daisy the go ahead. The old girl took off like a bullet flying through the air. I could run faster on the ground but I still enjoyed the thrill of being on a horse. It was a strange sensation having Bella in my arms like this, encased on each side, her emotions told me she felt happy and safe with no hint of worry, fear or embarrassment which was an improvement to her wreckage of nerves she felt beforehand.
Being an empath definitely took the guesswork out of body language I thought as I slowed Daisy down so she wouldn't hurt herself. We were just a few minutes from the lake and I wanted the reveal to be slow, not rushed. I helped Bella dismount and I followed suit, tying Daisy to a tree for her to rest and graze.
"Come on" I said as I indicated to follow through the long grass and droopy willow trees. I knew when Bella laid her eyes on the sight before me as I walked through the last layer of overhanging tree branches. Bella had gasped in shock, her heart accelerated but her emotions spiked in wonder at the sight before her.
"It's like something from the Pocahontas movie" she explained as she walked past me to take in more of the breathtaking sight.
It was a lake, surrounded in tall willows that created a wall of greenery that we had to pass through. But that didn't stop there, the sun was able to creep into the lake, setting the surface of the water alight. The wind blew the willows gently causing ripples to always be moving across the water, setting off sparkles in all directions. There was a quiet yet constant chirp of willow warblers as they fluttered around, singing to each other about their day.
Bella turned around with amazement on her face before quickly looking away as she realized I was pulling off my boots and shirt.
"The water is actually amazing, not too cold, not too hot if you want to dip, I won't look if you don't" I said as I made my way behind a willow tree. Being a vampire for the last hundred and forty five years definitely had taught me to not care about being naked in front of others but I would never look upon a lady without their permission. So I finished stripping down to my boxer briefs behind a massive willow trunk then jumped into the water. As predicted, the water was perfect so I made my way out into the middle which was the warmest part. I kept my eyes averted to the other side of the lake as I monitored Bella's heart beat. If I didn't know better, it would sound like it was about to jump out of her rib cage. I could feel uncertainty and inadequate raging inside of her so I pushed her some courage towards her and swam further away from her.
What felt like eternity had passed before I heard her toe grace the surface of the water before she dived in. Bella was actually rather good at swimming as she appeared not far from me in one breath with a wicked smile on her face.
"Okay the water is perfect, and this is officially my favorite place, thanks Jasper!"
"She speaks, a whole sentence, pigs must be about to fly over us" I retorted, giving her a smirk. She rolled her eyes and continued swimming while I watched from where I was staying perfectly still with my hands close to each other. Eventually a very big fish swam between my hands and I flipped it to the shore a few meters from our clothes.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Oh nothing, just catching dinner, want to come help?" I asked.
"Um, can I do it from here?" she asked nervously while she tried covering herself up even though she was wearing her underwear and bra.
"Come on Bella, I've seen it all before, come here and stand still" I said while hitting her full blast with courage and confidence.
She swam over and did as I asked, stood very still and watched. "Hey no fair Jas - "
"Shh, you will scare them" I said knowing what she was going to say. I was a perfect gentleman and was staring at the space between my hands waiting for a big one to come back while Bella tried to cover herself up.
"Don't move" I whispered as a big one came right into my hands and I caught it. I showed Bella before I tossed it with the other one.
"Okay your turn, place your hands like mine and stay perfectly still"
Bella surprised me by listening and I held my hands on the outside of hers, ready to assist if need be. She was no longer worried about me looking at her and instead was just excited about catching a fish. Eventually a medium one came swimming into our hands and I helped Bella catch it.
"Okay, how do I throw it?" she asked excitedly. "Here I'll do that otherwise it will escape" I said as I carefully grabbed its mouth and flung it to the shore.
"Alright go swim to shore, get dressed and we will head back home?" I asked. She nodded and I zoomed ahead at vampire speed, got dressed and was bagging the fishes up by the time Bella emerged from the water. Once Bella was dressed, I helped Bella onto Daisy before climbing up behind her and we took off back to the house.
"Here you go ahead, get into dry clothes, I'll unsaddle and care for Daisy and I'll meet you in the kitchen alright?"
"Sure, pass the fish, I've cleaned fish before so I know what I'm doing" she said holding her hand out. I passed them over then guided Daisy off to the stables. Once she was brushed down and given some oats to munch on, I zoomed to our room to change before finding Bella in the kitchen, half way through cleaning the second fish.
"Alright what smells Jasper?" said Rosie coming out of their room holding her nose.
"Dinner Rose, wanna help clean it?"
"No, that is gross, don't go cooking that inside!" she said before storming off.
"Yes princess" I retorted to her retreating figure.
"Oh and in my day, ladies didn't have to clean the fish, that was a mans job"
"Hey she offered, some girls are all about hands-on activities!" I said as she slammed the door in my face.
Bella was smiling softly to herself listening to our banter.
"Sorry she's always been a pretty princess sometimes, except with cars. I guess I'll go make a fire outside to cook it on. Let's bag the two you've cleaned and put them in the freezer and you can have this one tonight with salad?" I asked.
Bella nodded and finished the second fish before starting the third. I worked alongside her in comfortable silence, bagging up the clean fishes to put in the freezer then I started making a salad for her. Peter came out and offered to build a fire for us while Charlotte pulled out some chairs, pokers and marshmallows.
Eventually Emmett came out carrying Rose over his shoulder despite her protests.
"Put me down or so help me I'm going to break all your games Emmett!" cried Rose as she was eventually deposited into a chair around the fire. Em stood behind her resting his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from bolting. Bella was done cleaning the third so I started seasoning it while she cleaned up.
"Alright ready?" I asked as I carried everything we needed and faced the door.
"She hates me, why make her socialize if she clearly doesn't want to?" Bella whispered. I knew Rose heard that as her heart broke into a tornado of pain.
"You know I'm not an owl but this is what she just felt Bella, she doesn't hate you, she just hates farm life. She appreciates some of it, and other parts are too gross for her" I said as I opened up what Rose just felt to Bella. She took a step back and had to grip the side of the bench for a moment so I put everything down to steady her in case she fell backwards.
"Give her a chance, I get not wanting to trust her after the way she treated you, but she doesn't hate you, give her a chance to explain one day to you but for now, let the princess try to play nice, I wanna see this any ways'' I said as I whispered the last part into Bella's ear so Rosie wouldn't hear. Bella nodded so I picked up the plates and led the way out the back door into the back yard. Peter had zoomed off to take down a few trees from the looks of how much firewood was piled up as well as a few tables for drinks that Charlotte must have quickly sanded down from the trunks, burying the roots in soil to prevent them from toppling over.
I skewered Bella's fish and started cooking it as she took a seat next to me and sipped away at an ice cold tea that Rose had passed to her.
"How bad does it smell?" Bella asked.
"Not as bad as I thought it would be, I think it's worse when you're cleaning them. I actually did enjoy eating fish when I was younger, just my father would clean them on the boat before coming home" replied Rose.
"Princess" I remarked trying to get a rise out of her.
"Call me that one more time brother and you can kiss your ducati goodbye" she threatened.
I shook my head at her cruel words while Bella was hiding a smile behind her cup.
Eventually Bella's fish was done and I plated it up on her salad. It was a lot of food, nearly three times the amount she would normally eat but Bella kept putting mouthfuls away despite her stomach telling her she was full.
"It's really good Jasper, I haven't had fresh fish in a while, Charlie stopped fishing as he didn't want to leave me alone besides for work"
"Well we can fish up all the fish you want to eat but there are plenty of other options here that I think you might enjoy, Charlotte makes a mean chicken pot pie according to the neighbors who keep asking her to make some for them" I said. My phone called at that moment so I stepped away after looking at the number before accepting the call. It was Sam Uley