Chapter Eight
EVE - 2020
It had been a week since my first day in Forks, a lot had changed since then. I was meeting with Sam and the rest of his pack at least once a day to set up shop and begin their training. I had also met with Carlilse and explained my side of the story, he didn't forgive me entirely, but he seemed a little more open to the idea of seeing me around. Jasper and I had been meeting in the lounge every night, sharing stories and learning more about one another. His past was not as colorful as my own, but I could see that he still had regrets and felt guilty about his part in the war and vampire army. The more we talked the closer I felt to him, and yet, I somehow felt my own past getting muddier and harder to reach into.
There were two more weeks of spring in Forks, and yet the weather forecast called for snow and ice. I sat in Jacob's garage as he worked on my car and made small talk. "Do you think you can help us control imprinting?" This seemed like the biggest topic of conversation among the younger wolves who wanted to avoid falling in love.
"I would have to do a bit more research, but I don't think I could change anything if it's already happened," I answered as honestly as I could.
Jake laughed, "it hasn't happened to me, thank God!" I noticed him tense up. "There is someone I like though, I've liked her for a while, and she knows about everything."
"You want to be with her, but not if you can imprint and break her heart," I guessed. Jake came and sat next to me, handing over my car keys. "I promise you this, Jacob Black, I will help you get this girl."
He patted my knee, "I have no doubt about that Eve. You know, for a filthy blood sucker you're not half bad." I rolled my eyes and tousled his shoulder length hair before getting up.
"Thanks for fixing the car," I got in the driver's seat and pulled out of the garage, waving goodbye before making my way down the driveway and towards Forks. I planned on going to the Cullens and picking up Jasper for a trip into Port Angeles to get some more books for research. There was a small bookshop there that Sam had told me about, run by a Native American who kept a lot of books about Quileute history and shifting in stock.
I texted Jasper to let him know that I was headed his way when Alice called. Alice and I were back on speaking terms as she was still helping me figure out why I had passed out a week ago. "Alice?" I asked, she usually only called when I hadn't reached out to any of the Cullens for a while.
"There's a problem… I saw someone from the Volturi coming here." Alice rushed through her sentence, I could hear a lot of movement coming from the background. "They're headed to your hotel now."
"Okay, I will head that way, you guys stay at your house, I'll be fine…" I wasn't sure if that last part was true, but I knew that I didn't want to put any of the Cullens in danger. I hung up after finally getting Alice to agree to hanging back, especially for Carlisle's sake. I made it to my hotel in record time, but knew that I would have to face the Volturi smelling of the wolves I had been helping. I ran inside and waited in the lobby for the approaching cavalry.
As he walked in I wished I had asked Alice about what he looked like, I would have had time to compose myself before Afton walked in. "Afton!" I cheered running into his familiar embrace.
He smiled and spun me around, "Ripper!" Afton had given me the nickname Ripper a long time ago, though it reminded me of a darker time, I didn't correct him. "I was in town," he flourished his hands about as if Forks was a town you would just happen through.
"Somehow I don't believe that," I laughed and led him into the lounge, which had become a favorite hangout of mine. "What are you really doing here?" We sat together on the couch that I had come to claim as Jasper's and mine.
Afton threw his arm around me and smiled before diving into his tail of travels, which had brought him to Seattle and then into Forks. "I heard the Ripper was here, and I had to check for myself," he finished off, bumping shoulders with me.
"Who told you I was here?" I was beginning to grow worried about who else knew.
"Okay, well no one told me outright, but I may have caught wind of a vampire attack in Port Angeles a week ago and then come to see for myself. I didn't tell anyone I was coming here if that's what you're worried about, love." Afton kissed my head affectionately, he had always been brotherly to me, but it wasn't until this moment that I realized how much I had come to think of him as family.
"I am really glad that you're here," I told him about my week in Forks, everything except for Carlisle and the wolves. He was especially invested in Jasper and that whole story line.
He asked about meeting Jasper, and I told him I would set up a date for us, but Afton, being Afton, demanded that I call him over now. "I have to make sure he's good enough for my Ripper." I texted Jasper and he agreed to come over and meet Afton and I at the lounge. "I can't wait to get to know him, and embarrass you! Oh! The stories I can tell."
I rolled my eyes, "can't wait." I groaned, but our conversation continued to flow freely until Jasper got to the hotel. "He's here," I announced when I heard his car pull up.
Afton smiled and clapped his hands together, he turned to watch the door. He let out a nearly maniacal laugh when Jasper walked through the door, "you're joking, right?" Afton could be tough, but I wasn't sure why he would react to Jasper in such a negative manner.
"Afton!" I hissed as Jasper's face fell.
Afton looked at me like I was insane, "Ripper, this has to be a joke…" he looked around the room. "Is this like the TV show Punk'd?"
"Afton, I don't know what you're talking about, do you two know each other?" I looked between the two men, but Jasper looked just as confused as I felt.
"Guinevere, this is the guy," Afton stared at me, jaw slack and blood red eyes wider than I thought possible. "Do you not remember him?"
I shook my head, I had never met Jasper before, but then again, there were all those feelings of familiarity, maybe I was hiding something from myself. "Care to clue me in?" I asked motioning for Jasper to come sit with us.
Jasper sat on the couch across from us, he kept himself guarded, arms crossed and eyes watching Afton's every move. Afton relaxed into the couch, still laughing at some joke that only he was privy to. "I just, I can't believe you don't remember him, I kind of want to relish this moment." I hit Afton hard enough for the bartender to look up, it sounded as if I had broken through the table. I gave a half smile and wave and the bartender went back to swiping on his phone. Afton grew more serious as he dove into his story about my past:
AFTON - 1870
I had been sent back to Texas by Aro for the fourth time in the last forty years. Evie had disappeared a while back, of course I knew she was in South America helping a coven of witches take back their land, but I was able to keep that part hidden from Aro. I made my way into a ramshackle bar and was surprised to see Eve standing at the bartop. I had to do a double take before I could trust that my eyes weren't deceiving me. "Evie," I called out, making my way to where my best friend stood.
Her head spun towards me, her hair flowing in soft ringlets around her shoulders, her eyes bright red, and happier than I had seen in a very long time. "Afton!" Her voice rang out and sent shivers down my spine, I had missed her so much more than I originally realized. She motioned for me to join her at the bar and quickly ordered me a drink off a 'secret menu.' "What on God's green Earth are you doing here?" At some point Eve had taken on a southern accent to match those around her, it suited her.
"I was looking for you, Aro's orders," I said looking around the bar, it was fairly empty except for the workers and us two.
"Well you found me," she said spinning in a circle, her skirts kicking up dust as she moved. "I'm looking into some newborn army, reminds me of Benito, but obviously we took care of that problem a while ago." She looked to the barkeep who brought two men in shackles forward. "Supper is served," Eve pulled one of the men around to our side of the bar before sinking her teeth into his tanned throat. "Unethically sourced," she winked and nodded toward my meal.
The barkeep smiled and informed me that he moonlighted as a pinkerton and that the two men we would be feasting on tonight were train robbers. Eve paid good money to keep the bar open and he brought her criminals who wouldn't be missed. I sank my teeth into the man and drank heavily from the miscreant before tossing his lifeless body onto the floor. "Evie, you've changed."
"For the better I hope," Eve smiled and wiped a few spots of blood from my face. "Want to lend a hand here, for old times sake?"
"I wouldn't dream of leaving you to deal with a newborn army without me!" I joked, knowing well enough that Eve could take out the army with or without my help.
We traveled north towards the army and found that it was a much larger operation than either of us had been expecting. It was there that we met a man named Jasper Whitlock. He was 'recruiting' young men and women for the army by changing them and killing them if they proved useless to the cause. He was under direct orders of a woman named Maria.
Eve planned on killing all the newborns, but wanted to infiltrate the operation first. She was always one for dramatics, and I had a hard time saying no to her. She had me wrapped around her finger, I was at her every beck and call. Her plan was to get close to Jasper before killing him and all the newborns in a large-scale massacre. Eve, however, was unable to go through with her plan because she fell in love with the cowboy instead.
The two of them spent all of their time together, Maria was beginning to lose her patients with the two; Eve had ordered me to keep her distracted, but she had grown bored of me quickly. I warned Eve that Maria was planning on getting rid of her, but Eve decided not to heed my warning. She had other plans. Jasper and Eve wanted to get rid of the army, so they began taking out the newborns slowly. Anytime Maria was away the two would dispose of newborns like week old milk. Aro had caught wind of the army by this point, he began questioning if he needed to send anyone else in, I knew that that meant Eve's death, or capture.
I convinced Eve to move along with Jasper, the two could return to Chile where she had been practicing her craft, she agreed, but had to ensure that when Aro arrived no one would be able to remember her or Jasper. She made a potion that would cause amnesia, clouding the last month or so in their minds and making it impossible for Aro to know about Eve and Jasper. Maria caught wind of the plan first and stole Eve's potion before she was able to use it.
I had gone out to hunt one final time before taking Eve and Jasper to the Mexican-American border, it was that night that Maria planned to strike. She didn't know how the potion worked, but she was confident enough that she decided to risk it anyway. It was cold that night, Eve and Jasper were in the barn with some of the newborns that had survived their earlier killing spree. They were packing up their belongings and explaining to the newborns what was going to happen after they left.
Maria, in a rage of jealousy broke through the doors and took the vile, which contained Eve's powdery concoction and smashed it to the ground. "NO!" I heard Eve's voice carry over the desert. I ran back as fast as I could, but didn't make it in time. The barn was shrouded in a lavender, powdery substance. I listened as vampires choked from inside, screaming filled the silence night air. I was far enough away to remember everything, but once the powder cleared I could hear arguing and shouting. No one else could recall what happened over the last two months, Eve had no idea where she was or who she was with. Jasper was furious, blaming Eve for the confusion. I was able to swoop in and whisk Eve away, but I knew she would hold an empty spot in her heart for a long while.
EVE - 2020
"How can I not remember any of that?" I asked, looking towards Jasper and Afton for some answers.
"I remember the barn, and being confused." Jasper whispered.
The three of us sat there in silence trying to gather our thoughts. "Do you think I could make another potion to help us regain that time that was lost?" I asked, desperate to remember a past time where I loved the man sitting in front of me.
"You could try, I don't remember how you made it though, I will help any way I can." I hugged Afton and looked at Jasper.
"Do you…"
"I want to remember," Jasper finished my thoughts before I could.
We all agreed to work on this project together, as long as Afton was able to stay with us without Aro finding us. We also came to the conclusion that those missing months and finding Jasper again may have been the reason for me passing out.