Jasper's POV

It was barely midnight by the time I pulled into her driveway. Bella had fallen asleep minutes ago. With her head pressed against the now closed window and her sagging shoulders, she was picture of innocence. Her face was emotionless and she looked so young and vulnerable. I leaned over and poked her arm. She didn't even stir. I sighed and shook her lightly, finally her eyes fluttered open and she gazed around at her surroundings. She gasped and jumped back at my closeness, sending a breeze of her sweet scent my way. I slammed my eyes shut and halted my breathing. I could feel the venom begin to pool again and swallowed it down. Her heart stuttered in her chest and her pulse pounded in her veins.

"I think you should get out now." I said in a strained voice.

She nodded and reached for the door handle. "Goodbye, Jasper. Thanks for everything." she said as she shut the door behind her and approached the porch steps.

I waited until she was safely inside before I pulled out onto the street and raced to my house. I didn't care how many times branches and twigs hit my car, probably leaving behind marks. I just had to get home. I could see Carlisle's car in the driveway and that gave me the courage to step out of my vehicle and head inside. The remainder of my family was all sitting in the living room, deathly silent. As I entered the room all there heads snapped up and all their worry was gone. Esme immediately stood, concern on her features.

"Is Bella alright?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I just dropped her off at her house. She's fine."

"Good, that's good. As long as she's safe." I could feel her relief.

"Anything new on Edward?" I spat his name out like a curse.

Carlisle shook his head, "Sadly, nothing. He hasn't returned, and neither has Alice."

Her name was another slice through my heart. My right hand reached up and grasped my chest, right where my dead heart was. My family gave me looks of pity, but I didn't wanted comfort. I didn't need it. I needed space and time. I needed to move on. No longer feeling the need to speak, I spun around and headed up the stairs to the guest room. I couldn't handle being in mine and Alice's room, not after the many times we had made love in there, the sweet little nothings we would whisper to each other. But none of that would ever matter anymore.

BellaPOV

"I think you should get out now." he said, and I could practically taste his struggle in the air.

I nodded and stepped out of the car, but not before turning and saying, "Goodbye, Jasper. Thanks for everything."

I reached for my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the front door, shutting it securely behind me and leaning against it. The bright light from his headlights flashed through the window beside the door and vanished. Charlie's snores could be heard by my sensitive ears even though he was upstairs in his room, no doubt with the door halfway open. Other than that, the house was eerily silent. I took the steps one-by-one and finally reached the bathroom. I wasn't in the mood for getting my night clothes so I just stripped down and stepped into the shower. I turned the water to scorching hot and scrubbed my skin extra hard. Don't ask me why I did it, because I didn't have one clue. As I stepped out of the tub I paused at the floor-length mirror on the back of the door. As I stared at my reflection, I knew why Ed-Ed-he didn't want me. I was too pale, my hips were sort of bony, my breasts were perfectly rounded but barely were a B cup, my hair was too average, overall, I was the picture of average. There was nothing special about me; I was stupid to think that I could keep him all to myself. He was perfect, God-like, my own personal Adonis. He held a beauty no male model could ever dream of having. Jasper's face flashed through my mind randomly and that put me off a little. Jasper was handsome, too. With his sweet honey blonde curls, cheery red lips and cute little dimple between his chin and mouth. He was more like an Apollo.

God, why was I thinking about Jasper at a time like this? A little bit annoyed with myself, I opened the door and dashed into my room. I got out a pair of sweatpants and a worn out t-shirt and put them on, slipping into bed. I cried myself to sleep that night.


Trudging through the school hallways, I clutched my books to my chest tighter at the whispers and stares I received. My wet sneakers squeaked against the linoleum and my heart thumped almost painfully in my chest. I hadn't spoken the entire day and completely ignored my friends. Pretty soon they were ignoring me too, except for Angela. I opened up my locker and placed my Calculus book inside it before shutting it and heading to lunch.

I grabbed my tray, loaded it up with food I wasn't certainly going to eat and headed over to the Cullens lunch table. I took a seat in the spot he usually sat at and toyed with my salad. Suddenly the entire cafeteria went silent, but I ignored it. Angela shot me a curious look and it was then that I decided to check out what had caused the silence. As I turned my head around, I met the eyes of none other than Jasper Hale. I could tell he had previously hunted, but his face still held a mutual pain.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked and gestured towards the table.

I just shook my head. He offered a small smile and took a seat across from me, setting his tray down and leaning back against his chair. The cafeteria slowly grew back to life and conversations were resumed. I noticed Jessica and Lauren shooting me dirty looks and didn't care one bit. I nervously tapped my fingers on the table and hummed under my breath.

"Could you please stop that? It's giving me a headache," Jasper said

My fingers and humming halted immediately and I placed my hands on my lap, tapping on my jean clad thigh instead.

"So, where are the others?" I asked.

"At the house." he answered, still gazing out the window into the cloudy sky.

"How about them?" I swallowed, not able to say his name.

Jasper shook his head, unable to meet my gaze. "We tried tracking them down, but the trail ended near a river by the Canadian border. Their scents were lost and we couldn't go any further."

I slowly nodded and took a small bite out of my apple, chewing robotically.

"You're not the only one you know." he said, gaining my attention. "Alice left me, just like Edward left you. The only difference is that I've been with Alice for over six decades; you were with Edward for nearly a year. So don't act like you're the only one who was left behind."

With those last words, he collected his tray and walked out. I played his words over and over in my head. Although it hurt to admit, he was right. Alice and he had been married for more than three times my age. And here I was, acting like I was the only one with a broken heart. The bell rang then, signaling the end of lunch. I gathered up my stuff and dumped my barely touched food in the trash and headed over to my next class, Trigonometry. After Ed-he left, I managed to change my schedule so now Trig was my class after lunch instead of Bio. I just couldn't handle the hopes of him being there, waiting for me like he always used to. Luckily Angela was my new partner after her previous one dropped out after learning she had fallen pregnant with her boyfriend's baby.

Angela gave me a small smile as I took a seat beside her. The door opened, but I couldn't hear anyone enter. I gazed up curiously and held in my gasp. Jasper stood in the doorway; I could tell he wasn't breathing. He gave me a strained look and I immediately understood. Some kid in the corner of the room got a paper cut and kept on squeezing the wound, grinning like an idiot as the blood dripped down his finger. I shot Jasper a horrified look and sprinted over to him, shoving him out of the classroom, shutting the door behind us. Not once did he fight against me. I watched cautiously as he leaned against the wall opposite of me, eyes shut firmly, mouth parted slightly. Our teacher rounded the corner and shot us a curious glance. Jasper's eyes snapped open, a deep coal black color. Mr. Banner gave Jasper a perplexed look and his face paled once he met Jasper's frightening eyes. He gave a quick nod and quickly scrambled into the classroom, pushing past me and slamming the door. All the racket in the room immediately stopped and Mr. Banner began today's lesson.

"Are you okay?" I asked Jasper. What a stupid question to ask, of course he isn't!, a small voice nagged in the back of my mind.

"No, I think I'm gonna head home. You should head back to class." he said, eyes closed again.

I spoke without thinking. "No, I want to come too."

He nodded and I followed him out to his car.

"What about my truck?" I pointed to my big red beast.

"Leave it, I'll have Rosalie pick it up later," he slid into the driver's side and started the car. The engine purred to life so quietly it was faint to my ears.

I climbed inside, not quite as gracefully as he, and buckled myself in. He pulled out of his parking spot and drove off; ignoring the angry shouts we received from the guard. As he drove, I built up inner courage. I could do this, I could face them. Well, maybe not Rosalie, but still. My breath was coming in ragged gasps as he zigzagged through the familiar dirt road, passing by the unmistakable bush that reminded me so much of a deformed cat. It was very small and oddly shaped and resembled my neighbor's demon cat back in Phoenix. The little thing looked like a naked rat instead of a feline. My heart sped up and I tried to keep it under control for Jasper's sake. But I couldn't help it because soon we were pulling up to the timeless and beautiful mansion of a house. We came to a sudden stop and I unbuckled my seatbelt, stepping out of the car. Jasper was at the door before I could even blink.

Here goes nothing, I thought as I marched up the porch steps.


Authors Note: Yes, I'm still here. No, I'm not dead to whoever sent that PM to me. I've just been busy taking care of myself, I am sick you know. I really haven't been in the mood to write, but this chapter just came to my mind so I figured, what the hell, I'll write some more for this story. So far, this is definitely my favorite story to write and dream about. I've always had a soft spot for blonde haired cowboys like Jasper Whitlock Hale :)