Edward's relationship with Jasper had never been bad nor good.
It was... better than his relationship with Rosalie.
Jasper was secretive and he never let Edward read his mind unless he was having a flashback and that because at that moment he had no control whatsoever over what was happening.
He had never grown to trust him a 100%.
Yeah. He was grateful that he had taught them how to fight against newborns and that he had helped bring Nahuel but that didn't meant he trusted him. Something about him had always struck him as weird.
The way he looked at people, the way he moved. It made him uneasy.
Now he was given the reason.
That was the gaze and movements of a predator.
Black bloods had been the main predators of every single living being.
The God Of War was a black blood too.
That made him twice as dangerous.
A threat.
But that threat had been the one who helped them stand their ground against Victoria's newborns. That threat had made a contingency plan to keep Renesmee safe from the Volturi.
That threat had come back risking his and Alice's life for them.
Edward couldn't ignore that.
If he wanted to hurt them he would have done so a long time ago.
And as someone with a dark phase he guessed everyone deserved a second chance.
Jasper had never been nothing if not subdued and kind natured. His alter was the problematic one but even he had started softening since Renesmee was born.
He did began avoiding them since the black blood incident. Edward had seen in Carlisle's mind snippets of what had happened.
It did nothing but confuse him more.
But none of that mattered right now.
Because Jasper could die and all because he had been too stupid to not tell them something so important.
But Edward could also understand it.
He hadn't been the best at talking about black bloods. He had once called them irrational beasts who couldn't be trusted.
At the time he remembers seeing Jasper flinch but he hadn't given it thought. He was prompt to defend The Major so that could have very well been him reacting to someone insulting that guy.
Now he knew that wasn't the case.
And now he also knew the reason behind his obsession over those sunglasses and the reason Alice made them hunt before sunrise.
"It doesn't matter what I do or how much I try, it will never be enough."
"It will never get easier."
Those words flashed in his mind.
Now he knew the reason behind such words.
Black bloods couldn't control their bloodlust. It was never enough. Their thirst never quelled for the single fact that their blood was in a constant state of rotting. He needed blood to keep himself functioning.
No wonder he was agonizing so much during those episodes. He was starving. Dying .
Now he could die for real and it wouldn't surprise Edward.
He had been poisoning himself for too long. Forcing himself past his limit.
And if he managed to save himself...
What would Carlisle do with him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice felt nauseous. It felt like the guilt and blame would swallow her.
Because Jazz could die. He. Could die.
All because of her. She should have listened to him. Should have known something was wrong.
She had sworn to save him. To protect him.
But all this time she had been doing nothing but killing him. Poisoning him.
And if he died what was she suppose to do? She didn't think she would be able to love with the guilt.
But she wouldn't deserve death either.
Turns out she had been worse than Maria had ever been. She had managed to do what the South hadn't.
Bring him down. Break him. Kill him.
And she wanted nothing more but to be with him. But she couldn't for she was the responsible he was like this. She couldn't see him. She had done enough by doing this to him.
She had done enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Esme hadn't wanted to see Jasper for the sole fact that she didn't think she could stand seeing him as bad as Carlisle had said he was.
But someone needed to be there with him. Alice refused to go anywhere near him, and Esme wanted him to know that he wasn't alone.
That no matter what, she was still here. She would never leave him alone.
Seeing him there motionless on the bed had crushed her heart. His hair was duller. No longer that familiar gold but a near golden brown. A black co-web spread across his neck and cheek. Thin. Too thin. Carlisle had said that he had too little blood in his veins but that giving him little portions was safer than giving it to him all at once for it could cause more damage than good.
Now here she sat at his side with her fingers carding through his hair. She was fighting and failing to keep her emotions positive. Because she wanted to comfort him so bad but all she could feel was impotence. Guilt. Frustration. Fear.
Because seeing him like this. So weak. So vulnerable. So defenseless.
It brought back to her bitter memories.
He was her strong soldier. Her sweet sensitive boy.
He wasn't meant to look so lifeless. He wasn't meant to look so small and weak.
And as she stroke his cheek with the back of her hand she understood what Carlisle had meant. A vampire's skin was smooth and soft by nature, yes, but it was hard like marble to the touch.
His wasn't.
It felt as tender as a human's. Weak. Frail.
She bit back a sob as she bent down. Her head coming to rest on his chest. Her hand caressing his cheek.
He was strong and she knew he could beat this. Come back to them.
But what if he had had enough? What if this was his last straw? What if he just couldn't come back? What if he didn't want to come back? He had suffered for so long. Thought for so long that he would be rejected.
-My darling boy, I could never fear you, could never turn my back to you. I know you have suffered a lot these past years, that maybe we asked too much of you. But I promise things will change, we will do better, so please...
Don't die.
She couldn't bring herself to say that, not when that sole phrase could end up breaking her apart completely, she didn't want to cry, she didn't want him to feel her pain, he was in enough pain as it was.
But she couldn't stop the tears even if she wanted to.
Because she could lose him. Them .
And she wasn't strong enough to survive the loss.
She wasn't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A week.
That's how long Jasper's been unconcious.
And in all that time Carlisle had made sure to check on him. Make an assessment of his progress. Put new IV's on him. The blood from the hospital got harder to get but he managed and the venom...
Extracting venom from a vampire was harder than it was getting the bags of blood due the marble-like skin. And all things considered no one but Edward and Alice knew about the side effects that came with venom extraction which were dizziness and potential black outs.
That hadn't stopped Emmett from offering up nor Esme. Nor Rosalie. Nor Bella.
But Carlisle had had to decline Bella's offer. She was still a newborn and he didn't want to risk taking venom from her when her body was still processing the change.
The wolves had offered at some point to give some of their blood after finding out about their situation through Jacob.
Carlisle had declined of course. He didn't knew how Jasper's body would react to a shifter's blood.
That had led to the humans from the Quiloute's who knew about the shifters and the Cullens to donate their blood.
Carlisle found it strange but Sam had told him to see it as a payback for all the times Jasper had saved their skin.
Renesmee had come back home and she would sometimes be found sleeping against Jasper's side or reading to him.
She had also offered her blood at some point but Carlisle had also declined it. Both because she was a child and also because didn't knew what her blood could do to Jasper, she was just another enigma from this house.
Carlisle had wondered at some point if the reason Renesmee, Jor and Jasper were so close was because they were so different from the rest.
And then Jasper woke up.
~~~~~~~~~
Heat.
That's the first thing Jasper registered when he woke up. His muscles felt stiff and his throat felt drier than a summer in Texas. His head felt clouded. Fog. Like having a cloud stuffed in it.
His fangs were aching and so was something somewhere on his arms. He could feel the heat signaling that the sun was still out. Could feel something soft beneath him. He could smell venom and blood. The bitterness of a newborn. Carnations and vanilla. That mix...
He knew that mix.
This softness. The bitterness of a newborn. That mix.
He felt his shirt being lifted.
Instinct won over logic as he sprung and leaped. Scrambling into the ceiling's corner with a loud crash that made the structure crack under the collision. But he didn't paid it mind as he pressed himself against the small corner as much as he could. Hissing and lodging his claws into the concrete for a firmer grip.
The smell was strong in the air. Vanilla and carnations. Venom. Blood. Newborn. Bed. Room. Maria . She was calling him. Calling. He didn't want to go to her. He didn't want her. He didn't want her.
He tried to take advantage of his position on the ceiling to attempt an escape through the window but the second he got within reach of the window arms grabbed him. Forcing his feet on the ground with such harshness he almost lost his footing.
He wasn't sure if it was the panic or the confusion or even how unbalanced and unfocused he felt but his arms ended up around his torso and legs weighing down his own legs in the perfect position where it would be impossible to free himself without breaking his own legs off.
His breathing was ragged and the smell was intoxicating now. She had him. She had him. She had him. If he kept fighting she would make him regret it. He was making it worse. Worse. Worse. She was touching and grabbing and holding. And he couldn't move.
Then the restrains disappeared and with it he didn't thought it twice to spring up and make a run for it.
But a set of arms grabbed him once again. Strong. Unyielding. His legs weren't restrained and he made sure to use it to his advantage as he spun himself around and broke free with the force of the spin. Dodging the incoming arms he ran through the halls. Running and jumping on the walls to dodge the others.
He spun and jumped and dodged each and every single hand trying to reach him, grabbing a few arms and forcing them to collide with each other.
And right when he saw the bright light he could have went past the shadow hadn't this one managed to bring him down with such force he saw white for a split second. The overwhelming stench of dog piercing his senses.
He kicked and struggled and when he saw his chance he bit.
And he would have injected venom if the sole taste of the blood hadn't sent him reeling back in utter disgust. It was acid and bitter and salt and rust and sour and what the hell was wrong with that blood?
It was intense and overwhelming and so horribly intoxicating. Disgusting. Gross. Awful.
But thanks to that God Awful thing he managed to get his mind back on track.
Silver met brown.
Dog.
Dog .