A couple of days quickly turned into three.

Three days before Jasper was sick of the sound of his own thoughts and the indecision that warred inside him. Three days before the guilt of leaving without giving Bella any explanation finally broke him.

Perched high in a pine tree, he'd turned on his phone just to see if she'd reached out to him. He'd known she would. They were in touch every single day, for the littlest of reasons. They simply liked sharing their days with each other but he cringed at the thought of sharing what he'd been doing the last few days.

He waited several agonizing seconds for his phone to register it was on and retrieve any missed messages. Then they started appearing.

It shocked him to find only 5 text messages from her since he'd left Friday, they typically sent a dozen or so every night, but what did that say about him that he expected more from her when he wasn't giving her anything in return?

He read through his family's messages first, unable to bring himself to click on Bella's name.

Esme (Friday) 8:53 PM

Come home soon. I'm sure we won't be the only ones that miss you.

The undertone in Esme's text was extra clear after spending the last 61.5 hours contemplating what his feelings for the human girl could mean. He was well aware that his brother had left her without giving her a choice. He'd be damned if he did the same to her but had to admit he wasn't off to the best start.

Emmett (Friday) 6:41 PM

Why didn't I get an invite?

Rosalie (Friday) 6:40 PM

Be ready for Emmett's pout when you get back. He'll expect you to go bear hunting with him come spring.

He stood there a second longer, contemplating what Bella's messages might say and how he might talk his way out of any worry or panic he might have caused. He contemplated telling her his phone broke and he hadn't received any of her messages, but that seemed a lowly thing to do. He contemplated telling her a partial truth and that he had to go on an urgent hunt, but that wouldn't explain his lack of contact.

At some point, he decided he was ready and opened the messages to find out what he'd missed and just how much trouble he was actually in.

Bella (Friday) 7:23 PM

My room at Charlie's was always so tidy. Do you think he'd care if I don't actually have a spot for my clean kitchen towels and just leave them on the counter?

Jasper couldn't imagine her dad would care, given how much love he'd felt off of Chief Swan when it came to his daughter, but the text made him smile, it was the type of text she'd started sending him soon after they started using the library. The kind that made him think she was just a tad lonely living in the apartment by herself.

Bella (Friday) 8:40 PM

I feel so weird cleaning for guests and there's so much more to do than usual. (I'm not a pig I swear!) I just feel like everything has to be… pristine since (1/2)

Bella (Friday) 8:40 PM

I don't want Charlie to think I can't live on my own? Does that make sense? (2/2)

Given what he'd gathered about the way she grew up, Jasper had a feeling that Cheif Swan wouldn't question whether his daughter could handle living on her own. Jasper was positive the chief was having a harder time living without her.

Bella (Saturday) 1:32 PM

The apartment is officially clean! Do you want to come over to hang out sometime before Charlie gets here on Thursday?

He wished he could have responded yes.

Bella (Sunday) 9:12 AM

Is everything okay?

The ache in his chest grew tenfold reading the last text. He'd known he would have a lot to make up for. He quite possibly caused irreparable damage to their relationship, but he hadn't thought she would for one second blame herself. Not of this was Isabella Swan's fault. Didn't she know she should always blame the vampire? It seemed they were always to blame.

He had to figure out something to send or something to say and quick. Every second longer that he took to decide, he felt as if the promise he'd made was breaking. There was nothing he could say that would make up for him leaving without a word. There was nothing to stop her from thinking he was doing the same thing Edwards had done.

He'd just about convinced himself to lie and say Emmett broke his phone when a familiar name popped up on his screen.

Given the timing, he answered it.

"Peter," Jasper grumbled.

"Good mornin' sunshine!" Jasper could feel Peter's shit-eating grin through the phone.

"What do I owe this pleasure?"

"Oh, I was calling to let you know that you are welcome to one of our rooms if you need some time away."

Jasper's suspicion rose immediately, "What gives, Peter?" The last time a visit was mentioned, Jasper had been told to stay where he was.

"Well, I've been thinking," Peter drawled. "It has been some time since we've seen each other and it was quite rude of me to deny you the chance to visit the ranch."

Jasper huffed in annoyance. Bracing himself against the side of the tree he was met with a slimy sticky texture, earning a growl out of him. He didn't have the patience for Peter's shit. "You know what I'm talking about smartass," he bit out. There had to be a deeper reason for Peter's calling.

There was no covering the chuckle from the other end of the line. "Listen, Char said I need to be more supportive and if offering you a place to stay so your ass doesn't get covered in sap while you hide from your problems doesn't count as being supportive then I wasn't meant to be."

Jasper grit his teeth, willing himself to not accidentally crush his phone. "How much do you know?"

Jasper didn't need to see Peter to know he was wearing a shit-eating grin. "Enough. No specifics but enough to know that isolating yourself in the Adirondacks isn't far enough for your problems not to follow you." Peter's tone changed then, a seriousness Jasper wasn't used to hearing. "You know running was a mistake, that so long as you intend to go back, you'll just run right back into your moral dilemma."

Jasper knew Peter was right. He'd known that running was a mistake the minute he'd made the decision but every minute away made it harder to go back. So he thought and overthought through his dilemma. He'd never tell Peter he was right though.

He hated that it was necessary to deliberate what to do about his relationship with Bella. He just wanted to continue on with how they were for as long as she'd let him but just thinking of the inevitable end to what they had whether it be by her choice or her demise was enough to make Jasper's insides clench around the fresh deer blood.

Peter continued, like the nosy brother of arms he was, "Now if you wouldn't mind, would you mind telling me what your dilemma is? Just want to be sure I wasn't inviting a war down to the ranch or anything."

Jasper huffed at Peter's nonchalant attitude but genuinely considered telling him. Peter was Jasper's closest friend. Saying they'd been through a lot together was a severe understatement and Peter had always been helpful, even if it didn't seem like it at first.

"I never said I was going to take you up on your offer." Jasper cut him off, interrupting some nonsense talk about the 12 new heffers Peter had bought.

Unsurprisingly, the snark returned, "Oh? Well then Major, what is it that you are going to do about your problem? It must be rather large for you to have secluded yourself in the mountains in the middle of winter." Peter's tone was accusatory but Jasper wasn't going to fall for the bait.

"It's Bella." With more calm than he felt, Jasper explained the situation. The original promise he'd made to her without telling her, all of the time they'd spent together, the reintroduction to the family, Esme's hints, his revelation, the dread he felt for following in Edwards' footsteps with the same human girl.

He wasn't quite sure how he hadn't noticed all of the feelings he'd bottled up inside but he didn't tell Peter that. It had felt normal to like the everyday things Bella did and to want to talk to as much as he had but once he dug deeper, thought about the things that he was willing to do for her and how he dreaded the day she decided he no longer belonged in her life, or worse if she was no longer alive, the more chaotic he felt. He didn't want to think about the inevitable because he knew the chance of her willingly choosing to become a vampire now, before any of his complicated feelings get involved, was slim. If he were to tell her, he could just speed up the whole process of losing her.

"I was supposed to spare everyone the complexities of reuniting and in the end I am the one that brought them together." Jasper was distraught, not for what he said but rather what it would lead to and prevent. If Alice or Edward ever came back, if they somehow knew and didn't like the outcomes, it would throw the family into another upheaval Jasper wasn't sure they would survive.

"That doesn't sound like such a bad thing."

"You don't fancy your brother's ex."

Peter chuckled, "Well you've got me there. The pixie bitch doesn't really do anything for me." Jasper could hear Charlotte in the background making smart comments about how there better not be any other woman that does it for him and Jasper appreciated their lighthearted take on the matter but he still felt that after days in these woods he was nowhere closer to the answer he was looking for.

Peter cut back to the chase, "Knowing you, you've analyzed every scenario, any ramifications and outcomes you could theorize coming from this but I can tell you one thing, Major. You haven't chosen not to do anything about it, otherwise, you wouldn't be in the middle of freaking nowhere." Peter chuckled again clearly feeling like he was on a roll. "I bet you've told yourself several times that you were either going to go back and end it like Eddie-boy or you were just going to pretend your little revelation didn't happen."

The silence on the other end of the phone told Jasper they were waiting on his reaction. "I wouldn't do that to Bella." His voice was hard, nearly growling, just at the thought ripping away the connection she had to the family again. He didn't want to do anything to hurt her but there was still the dread of inaction hanging over him. "But I also know why Edward left. Our world is dangerous and the side we've seen is even more so. Alice and Edward have already made decisions none of the Cullens have seen coming, what happens if they return? I can't imagine they'd be happy to see that I've brought Bella back into the fold."

"Then you'll take care of it."

Peter's sureness did little to calm Jasper's fears. He knew Peter was trying to lead him down a path. It was the same path, Jasper realized that he'd been leading Jasper down when he told him to stay in Ithaca. "Say by some profound miracle that Bella decides she reciprocates my feelings. Could you imagine the kind of harm one of them could do if they came back to find us together?" Didn't Peter understand what it would do to him to lose her?

"Major. I know war did a number on all of us but you can't walk away from this girl, otherwise, you would have already." Peter couldn't be saying that he'd made his choice already, could he? "Edward and Alice don't matter in this mess because they are the ones that left. They are the ones that abandoned both of you. They aren't going to come between you and you wouldn't let them if they tried." Even if he could handle them, it still didn't mean Bella would choose him in return, that she would be willing to face all of the risks, or that she would feel the same way. "From the sounds of it, she's strong-headed and knows exactly what she'd be getting herself into. It also sounds like she goes out of her way to spend time with you too. As comical as I would find it, there might be feelings there and you're just unaware. So why don't you let her make the choice."

Could he? Could he just put it all out there and let her choose? It didn't seem like a sound idea. It seemed like an idea that would send her running. He wasn't sure if even as a human he would have exposed his feelings for a woman without knowing if she felt amorous towards him first, or at least trying to convince her that she should.

"Well, whatever plan of action you decide, you better make it snappy. Since you won't be visiting the Ranch we figure we better come for a visit instead. How does sometime in January sound?"