All of us coped differently with the excruciating waiting. Esme, who had been overtaken by grief once more as she laid eyes on me, eventually calmed down and Carlisle convinced her to take a short walk outside. She was now sitting on the couch, staring out of the window, and clutching a small leather-bound book to her chest. I recognized it as the notebook Edward gifted her for her last birthday. Carlisle hadn't left her side since I returned to the house. He was currently reading a tome he borrowed from the Denali's enormous collections. Rosalie had stormed out of the room after a few hours, dramatically throwing her hands into the air. Emmett followed her. Their emotions had faded from my radar soon after, indicating that they had left the area. They hadn't returned since.
The sisters were somewhere in the house as well, I could occasionally hear them open and close a door or move a chair. They had hardly spoken a word but I could tell that they shared our pain. After all, they had to endure the loss of one of their clan to the Volturi as well, when the guard executed their creator. As far as I knew, the death had weighed heavily on all of them. So much, that they had split for a few decades, not being able to look each other in the eyes without being reminded of that day.
I wondered if the same fate awaited the Cullens as well. Thus far, I had avoided considering what I would do if Alice didn't come back to me—I couldn't give up on her yet. But even without doing so, I knew that I wouldn't be able to stay. And something told me, that Carlisle was aware of this. From time to time, his eyes shifted from the pages to me, as if he wanted to verify that I was still there. It was of course unnecessary. I had barely moved a muscle since entering the living room and taking my position by the window. My eyes were fixed on the opposite wall where Eleazar's Volturi crest medallion was hanging. The silver metal and red ruby had disappeared in darkness as the night came, only to resurface in the dim morning light of the next day.
We had waited for what felt like an eternity and I was wondering whether it was possible for vampires to petrify, when suddenly a loud ringing cut through the silence. Mechanically, I accepted the call and raised the phone to my ear while seven pairs of golden eyes fixated on me. "Jazz, it's me. I don't have much time, but I'm fine. We all are. Tell everyone that Edward, Bella and I am coming home. I'll call you from the plane. I love you", her melodic voice sounded through the speaker and resonated through my whole body, melting the ice that her potential loss had created.
The call was terminated before I could even say a word, but I didn't mind. This was all I needed to know. Alice was fine and she was coming home. My eyes went to the window and I gazed at the sky, pondering whether God cared for us soulless creatures after all. I wasn't sure, but if he did, I thanked him with all my heart for this miracle.
xxxx
There was no need to tell anyone, they all heard the call. Ecstatic relief filled the room. Esme laid in her husband's arms again, but this time her expression was cheerful. The Denali's surrounded them, sharing in their joy. Eleazar approached me, gently resting a hand on my shoulder. I appreciated his small gesture with a small nod, before fleeing the living room and retreating to the guest room Alice and I had previously shared. Over the last decades, I started to care deeply for our family—even the extended one. But despite all of Esme's efforts, I never got as close to them as Alice did.
I had talked to Peter about this once before and he had offered some interesting insights. Carlisle, Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett were born into this family when they were transformed. Apart from their human memories, they had no past. And neither did Alice, she didn't even have her human memories. And although we didn't join the Cullens until 50 years ago, she had lived as a part of their family through her visions for all her second life. I, on the other hand, had a past. I already had a coven and despite the brutality of it, Maria, Lucy, Nettie, and later Peter, had somehow become my family for the first 65 years of my existence. And this would always separate me from the others like it did a brother-in-law from a brother.
A short knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "Jasper, can I come in?" Rosalie still felt guilty about what she had done. Sighing, I crossed the room and opened the door for her. "She hasn't called again if that's why you're here", I said, making no intentions to let her into the room. "I came to apologize. I'm sorry about telling Edward. And I am very sorry about what I said before. We all know how much you love Alice and how hard it must have been for you to let her go. I shouldn't have thrown that at you", she apologized and even though I could feel her genuine remorse, I wasn't ready to accept it. However, I did step out of the way and let her into the bedroom.
"I'm not angry because of the promise you broke or what you said, Rose. But your and Edward's actions almost cost Alice's life today and I just can't forgive that", I replied. Her shoulders slumped as she looked up at me. I could feel the pain my words caused. I didn't regret them.
"I never intended for any of this to happen. I'm truly sorry Jasper. Is there something I can do?", she tried again and I nodded, staring her straight in the eyes. "Yes. Never put her into harm's way again." The phone rang anew and I immediately accepted, turning away from her. Rose understood the gesture and sighed, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
"Alice", I whispered breathlessly and could hear her chuckle at the other end. "Jazz, you know that you'll eventually have to forgive her. And Edward too", she schooled, and I was glad to hear the usual cheeriness returned to her voice. This was a good sign. "They deserve more than just my anger", I replied my voice still cold but much softer, as it always was when I spoke to her. "Well you will, I already saw it", she teased but then turned serious again. Or at least as serious as Alice could get when she wasn't facing mortal danger. "We're on a flight to Rome at the moment, where we will catch a connection back home. Flight number AI 6510, we'll be landing at Sea Tac tomorrow at 4.10 pm."
I checked my watch. That was less than 17 hours from now. 17 hours until I would finally have her back at my side. "We'll be there. You know that you are not leaving my sight ever again, do you?", I replied, and heard her sigh at the other end. "Yes, I do. And I'm truly sorry for doing this to you. Please know that if I'd seen another way, I would have taken it", she apologized even though there was no need to. In my mind, I had already forgiven her. "I'll accept it once you're by my side again." She laughed softly, lowering her voice even more: "I'm looking forward to it." I couldn't help but smile as well but quickly turned serious again when I posed her the question that had been continuously running through my mind during the last 52 hours: "When you promised me that you'll get out, was there ever a possibility you wouldn't?"
Alice hesitated and I clutched the phone tighter. "What does it matter? We're out and we're all okay", she finally replied, and my jaw clenched. "Alice, tell me. I need to know." — "I'll tell you when I'm home. I need to hang up now, the stewardess is coming over. See you soon, and don't be too hard on them." The phone call ended without her openly answering my question. But she didn't need to. I knew her well enough to tell, that this was a yes. At some point, she had seen a possible future in which they didn't get out. And she had still gone through with her plan. And that felt like the biggest betrayal of all.
xxxx
We left only a few minutes later. It was over 2'300 miles to Seattle and if we wanted to make it in time, we would have to leave the cars behind. And this was exactly what we did. Being the second fastest in the family—right after Edward—I ran at the forefront, closely followed by Carlisle and Esme. Rosalie was keeping her distance and Emmett hung by her side all the way back to the Olympic Peninsula.
We split just outside the airport. While Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Emmett went to rent a car for our ride back, I headed into the forest to hunt. We still had a good hour left before their flight was scheduled to land and I didn't want to take any risks. Especially, since I knew that Bella would be with them. My loss of control had started all of this in the first place, and I couldn't let that happen ever again.
After quickly draining two deer, I met Carlisle and Esme in the arrival hall. I felt Esme's anxiety from a few dozen feet away and calmed her, as I approached. "Emmett and Rosalie are waiting by the car", she explained, as if I cared. I didn't. The only vampire I cared about right now was a tiny 4'10'' and had short, spikey black hair. We found a quiet spot in the shadow of a pillar, where we waited. "Jasper, shoulders", Carlisle reminded me to pretend like I was breathing. Looking human wasn't a priority for me right now. It wouldn't even have crossed my mind if he hadn't mentioned it. All I could think about was Alice.
He had to remind me to act human five more times until a green sign on the arrivals board confirmed, that flight AI 6510 had landed with only 10 minutes delay. I left Carlisle and Esme's side a few seconds later, manoeuvering the humans until I reached the door through which the arriving passengers filed into the hall. Even without breathing, it was hard to ignore the stench. The smell of greasy hot dogs mixed with sweet flowers and cheap perfume, deodorant and breath freshener, probably stemming from long-distance travelers that tried to hide their ordeal. But unfortunately, all of it wasn't enough to cover the sweetest scent of them all: blood. After sitting together like sardines in a badly ventilated tin for hours, it was so much more intense. This was one of the reasons why I had never been able to step a foot on a plane. Had this been the reason why Alice didn't bring me? Did she see me murdering an entire airplane on our ride over to Italy?
Venom filled my mouth and my throat was throbbing but miraculously, feeding still wasn't on the top of my mind. Not even human blood could overpower my ache to see Alice right now. Thanks to my height, I towered over most of the crowd and could easily scan the arriving passengers. However, I still sensed her first. After almost 60 years together, her emotional canvas was as familiar to me as my own. My eyes shifted in the direction of her distinctive mix of excitement, joy, and eagerness and spotted Edward's bronze hair. He was holding Bella close to his side and the human seemed as if she was on the brink of collapsing. Just as I noticed her eyes flickering to me, a man in front of them stepped out of the line and revealed the tiny vampire I had been waiting for.
Our eyes met and suddenly everything around me started to blur. All I could see was my mate, rushing to my side as fast as human pace allowed it. My eyes scanned every inch of her face, convincing myself that she was unharmed. I didn't notice the humans around us, who turned in confusion, as I lost control of my gift for a split second when her hand reached out and brushed against mine. Skin contact instantly intensified my perception of her emotions and they flowed into me, filling the aching hole in my chest. I didn't try to halt it, tasting every single one of her sentiments. She didn't cover up the fear she had felt, and I let my walls down too, showing her the torture, she had put me through.
Looking into her dark golden eyes, I dwelled in the indescribable feeling of our emotions mixing until there was nothing left between us, that the other hadn't felt as well. Only then did I cease my halt on her emotions and bowed, placing a short kiss on her hand. "I told you I would come back", Alice whispered and intertwined our fingers. I smiled, only now truly fathoming that she had kept her promise. She was back at my side and I would never let her go again.
xxxx
When we finally turned, the others had already left. I had expected that they would want to get Bella home as soon as possible and thus wasn't surprised at the development. Alice guided me towards the car park, gushing over a yellow Porsche 911 Turbo she had apparently stolen from the airport in Florence. "And Edward promised he would get me one for Christmas! Ah, I can already see us taking long road trips along the West Coast..." — "Alice!", Esme interrupted her as we turned the corner and found her and Carlisle waiting in front of the car she had rented three days ago to get Bella and her to the airport.
My angel let go of my hand as she embraced the brown-haired vampire first and then proceeded to greet Carlisle with a hug as well. "We are very glad to have you back", the doctor said, obviously relieved that his family was whole again. "I'm very happy to be back and I am so sorry for all the worries we have put you through. But it's all going to be fine now, I've seen it!", Alice replied and opened the car. "Let's go home."
xxxx
We decided to retreat to our "old" home in Forks until we figured out what the next steps were going to be. Emmett and Rosalie were already there, waiting to nearly crush my mate with their 'Welcome back'-hugs. Rosalie apologized to Alice as well and she accepted the apology with a scolding side-glance towards me. I just shook my head and retreated to my study, where she found me again a few minutes later. "How long do you plan to be mad at her? I'm just asking so that I can plan our next shopping trip accordingly. Rosalie will want to let some frustration out at her credit card, if you two are fighting any longer", she said and took a seat on my desk. I raised an eyebrow: "I thought you already saw me forgiving her?"
"You know my visions are just possibilities. They can change", she reminded me, placing her feet on the left and right side of my chair and pulling it closer. "Talking about visions, you still owe me an answer", I reminded her, placing the book I held on the desk beside her. Once my hands were free, I wrapped my arms around her hips and pulled her from the desk down and onto my lap. "So?"
She sighed and leaned her head against my neck, before quietly admitting: "Yes. There were scenarios where none of us would have made it out alive."
I clenched my jaw in response and tightened my arms around her. "But we did. And that is all that matters, Jazz", she continued, sitting up straight again and looking into my eyes.
"You lied to me. You promised something you knew you possibly couldn't hold and you gambled with your life as if it meant nothing. As if it wasn't mine as well", I returned more disappointed than angry.
"I know I've hurt you Jasper and if it changes anything, I hated lying to you. But it was the only way you wouldn't follow me. If I was going to lose Edward and maybe even Bella… I couldn't risk losing you too", she explained, and her hands gently cupped my face. "Can you forgive me?"
I sighed. Looking into her ochre eyes there was just no way I could refuse her. "Yes. But no more lies. And if you ever decide you want to risk your life again, you have to tell me so that I can at least try to save you." A big smile returned to her face and she nodded eagerly. "I promise."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed my New Moon two-shot! I just had to get this one out of my system before I could continue with my other Alice and Jasper Story "Finding hope". If you like reading Jalice Stories, I would be honored if you decide to give it a go as well. In "Finding hope" I'm writing about how Alice and Jasper met and became part of the Cullen Family in the 1950s.