Chapter 6: Can we leave yet?


Brody parked right next to dad's car. I looked out of the window, nervous and wanting to be anywhere but here. The place was gorgeous, I had to grudingly admit. It was a private resort just an hour's ride away from Seattle's central. It was surrounded by woods that were just getting some green back to their leaves.

The main building had a very European style to it. It looked like it had stood there for centuries, even though I knew for a fact that this place had been built only five years ago. Off to the side were small cabins where the guests would be staying. There was a path that led down a hill to the ocean. I could hear the waves crashing into rocks even from inside the car. I wondered how I would get any sleep during this hellish trip.

"We have to get out." Brody said in a monotone voice.

"Uh-huh." I complied, but made no effort to get out of the car. Faye and Jasper were fidgeting in the back seat, gathering their things and such.

"We really have to get out now."

"Uh-huh." No movement on either of our parts. I wish Brody had been successful in sneaking a bottle of tequila in his luggage. Mom had sniffed it out and confiscated it. I bet dad had already started on emptying it. It was a shame. I could've used a drink. Or seven.

"We can't go back, right?"

"We can't." I acknowledged.

I grimaced when I spotted a group of people happily chatting and walking towards the main building. Two of my cousins and their families. This would've been enough of family time for me. Fucking Ariel and her stupid wedding.

"Get a grip, you two!" Faye huffed and stepped outside of the car. The opening of my door brought me out of my wallowing. I looked up, eyes big and round, and saw Jasper there, smiling a gentle smile.

"Come on, sweetheart. Let's go meet your relatives." He said in the most charming voice imaginable. Huh. I never noticed the hint of a southern accent in his voice. I had never been one for the southern drawl, but he made it work. All too fucking well, I might add. Honestly, was there anything about this guy that I didn't swoon over? It was so fucking unfair!

"Now why can't you be that charming and confident?" Faye grumbled from the other side of the car. I looked at my brother and his girlfriend and I instantly felt better about this whole thing.

Brody was a shivering, sweating mess of a person. He was squeezing the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. What kind of a sister would I be if I let that slide?

"Well, I keep trying to warn you that Brody is a loser, but you never listen. I mean, look at him! Have you ever seen anything more pathetic?"

Brody's face turned towards me. He glared at me. The back of my neck felt suddenly very warm. Fuck, he was going to get me for that. I just couldn't resist. Ah well, it was worth it. Brody's misery made me feel great.

"Now that you mention 'pathetic', how are you handling yourself there, little sister? All of your favorite relatives are inside that building just aching to see what's going on in your life."

Now that was a fucking low blow. He knew I was going to be chewed up and spat out as soon as I walked into that building.

"Faye! Brody's being mean to me!" I whined dramatically. When all else fails, use the girlfriend...

"You started it, Ella. Put your big girl panties on and take it like a woman."

"Now how did you know I was wearing a thong?"

Jasper coughed. I looked at him and he was finding the ground extremely fascinating. Aww, was the big bad vampire embarrassed to talk about my underwear? What was his reaction going to be like when he saw me in a bikini? Just the thought of that made me feel tingly.

"Should we get going? We need to sign in..." He said.

I sighed, my good mood disappearing. Did I really have to go into that building? I was very happy right here next to the getaway vehicle. Brody got out of the car and wrapped an arm around Faye's waist. He was looking a lot more put-together. It seemed that I had once again saved the day. Was I an awesome sister or what? The things I sacrificed for my family...

"How do I look?" I asked Jasper, fussing with my clothes and hair and cursing that there wasn't a full body mirror at my disposal at the moment. I couldn't very well check myself out at the lobby where everyone could see me. Johnson family had to look perfect in every way. Mom would skin me alive if I broke the illusion of how put together we were.

"You look fine."

Aaaand que the breakdown.

"Fine? Just FINE?! Oh my god! What's wrong? Is it my hair? My make up? Is my shirt dirty? What-" I was practically hyperventilating.

Brody pulled me against his chest and wrapped his massive arms around me, interrupting my meltdown.

"You look beautiful. My sister is perfect." His voice was calm and reassuring. It was a full 180 from the tone he had just seconds ago. Brody was a lot of things, most of which were gross, but he had few good qualities. Always having my back in family gatherings was one of them.

I tried to calm myself down. I couldn't afford to have an episode right here and now. There was no way in hell I would show weakness in front of that fucking snake. Ariel would never let me live that down.

"Ella, you're the prettiest girl at this party. I know it." Faye said gently. What a liar. She was so much prettier than me. Faye was like a goddess or an angel. Well, I had to appreciate the effort to calm me down. I didn't mind being second best to Faye, but fuck if I was going to appear in front of that she-devil looking less than my absolute best. No way in hell.

"I'm sorry..." Jasper said. He looked confused as hell. His eyes were wide and he didn't know what to do with his hands.

I couldn't really blame him. He didn't know what my family did to me. He was a total outsider and there was no fucking way he could know what it meant to be a part of this fucked up family tree.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm just a huge fucking mess." I said shakily. Deep breaths, Ella. Deep breaths.

Brody cleared his throat and gave a meaningful glare to Jasper. He could be a decent brother when the occasion really called for it.

"Ella, you are a gorgeous girl. I'm honoured to be the lucky guy who gets to escort you this weekend." Jasper said, trying to charm the pants off of me. I gave him a weak smile.

"Nice save, bro." Brody said, humor back in his voice. I pulled myself away from his bulky frame and wiped my eyes just to make sure that I hadn't cried. Nope, my eyes were still dry. I was going to call this fucking progress! I remember breaking down last Christmas when Granny May showed up and that had involved me running away to Angela's house where I proceeded to bawl my eyes out for three hours. Just because Granny May had given me the look.

I was fucked up. Simple as that.

I appreciated Jasper's efforts. He was laying it pretty thick, but it did make me feel a lot better. More like a Johnson. There wasn't any room for mistakes.

I fanned my face and plastered on my 'meet the family' smile. I could deal with my issues when I got back home from this hell-hole. I foresaw a lot of therapeutic bitching sessions with Angela in my future.

"Okay, I'm good. Let's get this fucking nightmare over with." I said and took a hold of Jasper's arm. He started leading me towards the doors and with each step my smile widened and my air of false confidence grew.

Jasper pushed the doors of the main building open and guided me through it like a proper fucking gentleman. Now, normally I would've swooned hard and probably tried to dry-hump him, but my personal nightmare took all of my attention away from him and the sexy gentleman thing he had going on.

The entrance hall was filled with familiar faces, nearly all of which I hated with fiery passion. I swear, the buzzing of dozens of conversations died down like someone had flipped a fucking switch. The room quieted and suddenly everyone was staring at me.

Then the whispers started. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. Jasper suddenly stiffened next to me.

"What is it?" I asked quietly. I couldn't afford him having a freak-out right now. I was trying not to have a freak-out and I needed him to be my fucking safety blanket.

"They are all talking about us."

Well of course they were. Their favorite black sheep had just brought a fucking god amongst men to the family reunion. I guess I should be flattered.

"Good job on picking Jasper. I feel better already..." Faye murmured into my ear. That bitch. She was enjoying this. I looked up to her beautiful face. She had the balls to smile like an angel. That was unacceptable. If I had to be miserable, then everyone else had to be fucking miserable as well.

"I'm not the one announcing my engagement this weekend. They'll fucking eat you alive once mom drops the news."

Faye's pretty little smile died real fast. Ha! Served her right. I couldn't wait for her to take some heat off of me. Brody hurriedly led Faye away from us. That fucking coward... Why did I ever think he was a good brother again?

"So do you actually hear what they are saying? Creepward always looks like he's listening in on conversations so do you guys have like super-hearing?"

It probably wasn't the best place to ask, but a girl needed to know. I had managed to get through the car ride without having to use the bathroom, but I would soon need to go and I wanted to know if I could use one without him hearing EVERYTHING. How gross would that be?

"Yes, I can hear them. Each and every one of them. Your relatives don't seem to think very highly of you..."

Oh my... was that a hint of growl I heard in his voice? The tingles were back and not even my fear and anxiety could keep them away. I didn't even give a damn about my family hating on me. It was nothing new after all. Was it just me or was Jasper even sexier when he went all 'grrr'?

"I'm so turned on right now..."

Fuck. Did I say that out loud?! Jasper looked down at me in surprise. Yeah, I absolutely said that out loud. Shit. Shit shit shit shit.

He looked at my face for a while. It looked like he was concentrating on something. Then he unleashed that devilish smirk on me and my knees went soft. Dear god that boy was sexy.

"I find your honesty truly refreshing, Ella Johnson."

Uh... at least he wasn't freaking out and running away from me? He must've grown immune to girls throwing themselves at him.

I cleared my throat and tried to focus my attention to the hundreds of eyes who were ogling at us. Brody and Faye had made their way to the reception desk already. They were chatting with some of our uncles and aunts. Brody looked like he was suffering. Good for him.

It was just great. All the people I hated in the same room. Well, nearly everyone I hated. Creepward was nowhere to be seen and I couldn't see Granny May's shrivelled body anywhere. Maybe the old bat had died? That would be the best news of the year, but I seriously doubted it. There was no way that Granny May wouldn't end up in hell and I was pretty sure not even the Devil wanted her around.

Then, my eyes zeroed in on the one person I loathed above all others. Everything else faded away, including the walking sex god I had on my arm. There she was... Ariel fucking Reagan.

What the fuck had she done to her face?! Rage boiled in my body. That fucking skank had gone under the knife and rearranged her whole fucking face. How dared she?! That hell-spawn had no right to be beautiful.

"Ella?"

I ignored Jasper. That's how much I hated that bitch. I practically forgot that Jasper was even with me. I just glared at her.

Ariel had never been pretty. She used to have this ugly-ass doggy looking face with upturned pug nose, manly jaw, thin lips and beady little brown eyes. This was not the Ariel Reagan I remembered.

The bitch had transformed herself completely. Her lips were now in that Angelina Jolie category, her jaw had been shaved into the perfect heart-shape, her nose was suddenly gloriously thin and straight and she had definitely had an eyelid surgery or two.

I should've guessed it. Ariel always tried to ruin my life. To steal everything away from me. I had just one fucking thing going on for me in this fucked up family and that was my good looks. That walking pile of horse shit had just gone and done the ultimate sin. She had stolen my fucking thing.

"Can you please calm down, Ella? Your emotions are too much."

Growling. Sexy, sexy growling. Right... I wasn't flying solo this time around. Oh no. Ariel might've stolen my thing, but I had gained something much better. I looked to Ariel's left and found her loyal lap dog Justin standing right next to her.

He was not an unattractive man. He was of average height and he always draped his lean body with perfectly tailored clothes. Justin always looked very well put together and he probably had a personal stylist who knew how to dress him up. I guess he could be considered somewhat handsome, but Ariel's new face-job made him look more regular than before. He had short, blonde hair and dark blue eyes that were his most attractive feature.

I compared him to the perfection that was standing next to me and I couldn't help the smug grin that appeared on my face. Justin was nothing compared to Jasper.

"You are a scary woman..." Jasper muttered.

"What do you mean? Wait, did you say something about my emotions earlier?"

Did Jasper have a super power like his creepy brother? Angela had speculated that he probably had, but we had no idea what it could be. It turned out that Jasper wasn't that easy to read. Go figure. Then again, maybe all vampires could read emotions or something like that? It wasn't like we had all of this shit figured out.

"I'm an empath. I can feel other people's emotions and manipulate them at will. It's a very handy skill, especially if I want to know if someone is lying to me."

Great. Just great. Super hearing and a built-in lie detector. I was fucking screwed.

"So why am I scary?" I was curious to hear his answer.

Fuck. My eyes made contact with Ariel. My day just kept getting better and better.

"Ella!" She screeched. It was like fucking nails on a chalkboard. Nasty shivers ran down my spine, but I ignored that and painted the fakest of smiles on my face. Show no weakness in front of your enemy. Her 9 inch heels clicked nastily with every step she took towards us. I was pretty sure she wore them on purpose so she could tower over me. She wasn't that much taller than me, but with those heels I had to look up at her.

"Oh my god, Ariel! I barely recognized you!"

There was just the right amount of contempt in my voice. Backhanded compliments were an art form that the women in my family had mastered. Her sugary sweet smile soured real bad for a split second before she caught herself.

"Yes, Dr. Metzger is truly talented. I can give his card to you if you want. I'm sure he'd be happy to... help you."

This fucking bitch. She was talking about my nose. The fucking gall of her. I gritted my teeth and kept my smile stubbornly on my face. I was not going to lose to her. I fucking refused!

"I might have to take you up on that. You look so..." I tried to think about the right word to describe her. Revolting? Nauseating? There were so many options. I let my eyes sweep up and down the lenght of her face and gave the tiniest of smirks. Just enough so she could catch the meaning of it.

"...natural. I could hardly tell that you went under the knife."

I could rearrange your face again, cousin dearest...

Her muddy brown eyes narrowed. Aw, poor baby... did I hit a nerve? Ariel could change her appearance as much as she liked. Nothing would ever change the fact that it was all fake.

"It's great that you could attend our wedding, Ms. Johnson. Would you mind introducing your... companion?" Justin said. He had made a mad dash across the room when he realized that Ariel had approached me. I got to hand it to him; he might've been an obnoxious and pretensious douce who refused to call me by my name despite knowing me for so long, but he did always try to cool down the lifelong war I had going on with Ariel.

Ariel's eyes bugged in the most unattractive way once she realized the Adonis who was standing at my side was in fact with me. That's right, you bitch. I wasn't attending this disaster by myself.

"Oh, how rude of me! Ariel, Justin, this is Jasper Hale. My boyfriend." I said so sweetly that my teeth ached. I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face.

"It's a real pleasure to meet y'all. Ella has told me so much about you two that I feel like I know you already." Jasper said. Smooth as fucking silk. I sighed happily. His voice was truly orgasmic.

"Uh... boyfriend? I..." Ariel stuttered. Ha! I snuggled to Jasper's very nicely sculpted side and he dutifully wrapped an arm around my waist. This was fucking heaven right here. Yummy vampire around me, Ariel looking like a fucking idiot in front of me... A girl could get used to this feeling of superiority.

"Oh, didn't your mother tell you? My Jasper and I have been dating for quite some time now."

"Almost three months, lil' darling."

Oh yes. Jasper for the assist! And bringing that sexy, sexy southern drawl with him... Ariel's knees buckled slightly and her plastic face turned slightly red.

"No, of course I heard about that. It was quite the topic of discussion with our dear relatives. I just didn't realize that your boyfriend would be quite so..."

That's right. Sorry to burst your implants, but my boyfriend was so much hotter than your fiance! Damn it felt good to be petty as fuck! This whole thing was almost worth it just to see that jealous look on that cow's face!

Justin cleared his throat. He was clearly intimidated by the 'competition'. Psh, as if Jasper would ever even entertain the thought of fucking Ariel Reagan! She was nothing compared to the hottie Jasper had as a girlfriend back home. And I was pretty sure that Alice was equipped with much better personality. I didn't know the vampire, but honestly pretty much anyone was better than Ariel. She was just rotten to the core.

"Anyway, we should probably go get our room, don't you think baby?" I asked, staring up at Jasper. Mmh, he was so tall! Right, I needed to get this shit over with so I could have some distance between us. I wasn't entirely sure that I wouldn't start throwing myself at him if I had to feel his strong arm around me much longer.

"You'll be staying in cabin five. I assume sharing won't be a problem?" Ariel asked in overly sweet voice. I knew what she was up to. I relaxed my body and leaned my entire weight on Jasper. His grip on my waist tightened just a little to keep me upright. I gave Ariel a syrapy smile of my own.

"No, I don't think it will be. Mom said it was okay."

Now, to most teenagers that would have been a big 'Oh my god you did what?!' kind of moment. We weren't supposed to tell our parents if we slept with someone. That wasn't how it worked in my family. No, that would have been normal, something my family just doesn't know how to do. Instead, we inform our parents gleefully that we've snagged someone and they will in turn boast about it to the other adults. Sleeping together means better chances of wedding bells ringing, you see. Well, at least in our family. I don't know if anyone in my family had ever slept with someone they didn't end up marrying. I know, fucking weird.

Jasper's hand rose up to caress the back of my neck. I put my weight back on my own body and gritted my teeth to keep me from flinching. His hands weren't exactly welcomed at the general area of my neck. My bruises still hadn't faded away completely. They were now this ugly greenish brown. They would hopefully be fully healed in a week or so.

He played with the baby hairs at the back of my neck that hadn't made it to the top bun I was sporting. I shivered and I couldn't be too sure if it was because his touch made me have flashbacks of the last time he put his hands on my neck, or if it was because it got me all tingly in all the right ways. It was a miracle that I kept my composure.

"I think we should go unpack first and then I'll introduce you to the rest of my family. Sounds like a plan?" I asked, smiling upwards at Jasper's handsome face. His other hand came to brush my cheek gently and he showered me with the golden miracle that was his beautiful, angelic smile. It was a good thing he was still holding the back of my neck because I might've fallen to the floor if he wasn't there to keep me steady. I was NOT prepared to that.

"That sounds like a great idea. It was so nice to meet you, Ariel, Justin." He said in the smoothest voice imaginable. Was he TRYING to make my ovaries explode?

"Likewise. The schedules are in your cabin. Lunch is in an hour." Justin said politely. I think he was getting some unwelcomed vibes from the she-devil. I would fucking die laughing if he called off the wedding because Ariel is drooling over my date. That would give Ariel the mantle of the black sheep of the family, and I think she would carry it for the rest of her life.

We went to the reception to get the keys to our humble lodgings. I could feel the eyes of my relatives on my neck and I was basking in them for once. The nosy hyenas I was unfortunately related to had been listening in on my conversation with Ariel. Expecting to see some blood, no doubt. Our hatred was no secret in the family.

I didn't pay much attention to our surroundings. I just followed the signs to our cabin. Jasper tailed behind, carrying all of our luggage. I had offered to take some of them. My intense training at the gym made me more than capable of carrying heavy stuff, but he had insisted on being a gentleman. It was fine with me. It meant I was less likely to broke a nail or get sweaty or something.

Our cabin wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. I had assumed that blond-haired demon would have placed us in some shack, or perhaps a warehouse, but no. This was a proper little cabin with a decent sized bed, a dresser and a small chair. There was also a vanity, TV and what I assumed was the door to our own bathroom. Not too shabby. Still, I just knew that we had been placed to the cheapest one. That was fine by me.

"Your cousin seems... nice." Jasper said as he dropped our luggage.

"Oh yeah. She's a real peach." I said with a wide grin. And that was just Ariel putting on a show. Jasper had no idea what toxic poison lied behind those brown, soulless eyes.

"I could just kill her if you wanted me to." He said in a joking manner.

"Please don't tempt me. I don't know if I could take the moral high ground if that was a real option. She's a horrible, horrible bitch and honestly the world would be a better place without her around."

He looked at me like I was nuts. And granted, that wasn't an impossible diagnosis. Maybe I was just clinically insane. It would explain so much. But that didn't mean I wasn't right about that fucking Ariel.

"Why do you two hate each other so much? The hatred between you was so strong I could practically taste it."

I wanted to start to rant and rave about all the horrible things Ariel had done to me over the years, but that would have made us miss lunch. She wasn't worth of having my mom's wrath descend upon me.

"We don't have time to go into that right now. Just know that she's the Devil reincarnated and she's toxic."

I started unpacking and soon the once clean room looked like a bomb had exploded in there. I had all of my outfit choices spread out across the room and I was going over them one by one, thinking about what I should wear to the dinner later on. My current outfit was sufficient for this lunch. It had to be because I couldn't change my appearance in the next 20 minutes or so.

"What do you think, the white one or the dark blue one for dinner?" I asked Jasper who had already packed all of his clothes away in neat order. Military precision. I filed this another proven fact to my memory bank of Jasper Hale. Mom had forbidden me to bring any notebooks with me, so I had to etch it into my brain. Apparently it's considered rude to keep notebooks about people. It was all fine and good. There was a high chance at least ten of my nosiest relatives would be going through my stuff when I was out of the cabin.

"I'd go with the white one. It makes you pop up in the dark evening."

I hummed, contemplating over the dresses. He did make an excellent point. The evenings weren't exactly bright this time of the year. They were dark, cold and foggy as hell. I hung the white dress up and placed the dark blue one into a wardrobe.

Besides, it was the perfect slight towards the bride-to-be.

"Thanks. So, anything you want to clear up before I'll throw you into the snakepit?" I asked, sitting down on the bed. My feet didn't reach the ground, which was kind of pathetic since the bed really wasn't that high. They just dangled there all awkwardly and shit.

"Isn't the phrase supposed to be 'I'll throw you to the lions?'"

"Oh believe me, a snakepit is waaay more fitting. Anyways, what do you want to know?"

Jasper was about to answer me when he suddenly closed his mouth and cocked his head to the side like a cute puppy. Damn he was good looking. It was so unfair! Anyways, I heard someone knocking on our cabin door just a few seconds later and figured our time had run out.

"I apologize beforehand for what you're about to experience." I said grimly and plastered that fake smile back to my face. I quickly checked my appearance from a mirror before opening the door and really starting this disastrous long weekend. God help me...

"Hi mom. This is Jasper Hale."


Author's Final Notes:

Here we go. The Wedding Adventure has officially begun. The proverbial first blood has been drawn between Ella and her arch nemesis. Ariel really brings out the worst in Ella. Poor Jasper will have his hands full with dealing her dramatics... and her mother.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone that is still reading this story! Hopefully I'll be able to keep you entertained as we move forward.

And a special thank you to the lovely people who have commented on the story! I've completely forgotten to thank you for reviewing. You know what they say, like creator like OC... Ella's air-headedness had to come from somewhere.

Anyway, I hope to see you all in the next chapter that will hopefully be finished this week!