Where I Belong

Chapter 3


Song I listened to for this chapter: Sinking Man by Of Monsters and Men

Jasper Hale POV

Greenville, Missouri

I take in a breath of fresh air as my wife and I exit the high school, walking towards the car with our "siblings" after another monotonous day. Everything about this life is monotonous. We're all doing another round of high school, this time in Greenville, Missouri. Greenville High School. What will this be, the tenth time we've graduated? I actually think I've lost count. These days just seem to blend together.

I look down to my small wife. Alice. She beams up at me and I return it with a small smile, finding myself not able to fully smile anymore it seems. I'm fucking frustrated. There is this giant hole in my chest, and I have no fucking idea how to fill it. I felt it when I first met Alice, and it receded for a while I was relishing the fact that I wasn't feeling like a monster, killing humans for their blood. I've noticed that for the last five or so years, it's been downright irritating.

Edward pulls up to our house, I get out and open the door for Alice like the southern gentleman my mama raised me to be. She would slap me upside the head if she knew of the way I treated some of those female newborns. I take Alice's hand as she dances her way into the house, my mind already occupied by my thoughts as I blindly follow her.

"How was school?" I hear Esme ask all of us while I bite back the urge to snap at her, knowing that it would hurt Esme's feelings and I would regret it. But seriously, I'm stuck in a closed facility with a bunch of whiny teenagers who have nothing intelligent to talk about while I'm holding my breath the entire day. Desperately trying to not catch a whiff of them so I don't go on a killing spree, surrendering to not only my blood lust, but four other vampires'. My siblings can breathe freely, because of me. You're welcome.

Yeah, they don't know this, but the reason I slip so much, is because I can feel theirs as well as my own. Four other vampires blood lust on top of your own is incredibly hard, and no one knows that I have the best control out of the entire family because of this. Of course I'm going to slip, there's only so much I can take before I snap.

But, I don't want the family to feel bad, even though I'm incredibly frustrated. So, I continue to play the family's problem child with the control issues. I continue to repeat high school and college, I continue to drink the animal blood that tastes like shit. I continue to stay with Alice because...well, because I feel obligated to. She gave me this family and I'll be eternally grateful to her for that. I need something more, though.

I've tried everything to try to alleviate this pain - sex, "slipping" and killing a human to drink their blood, hanging out with my "siblings," etc. Nothing has helped at all and I just keep sinking deeper and deeper. It's cold and dark where I'm at right now, it's not a place I want to be anymore. It's not a place I can be anymore.

"Come on, Jazzy." I inwardly grimace at that ridiculous nickname she gave me, and the way she sometimes treats me like a dog. My name is Jasper, and I like my given name. The name that my father and mother gave me. One of the last things I can tie to my human life, besides my Confederate flag and memorabilia. Whatever, it makes her happy I guess. I wish that I could tell her what I think, but she won't listen, so why bother. I follow her where she wants to go, because really, what the hell else am I going to do?

"Coming."

Is there a way out of this shit pit of despair, or am I just destined to sink and never find my light?


Charlotte Whitlock POV

Tahoka, Texas

As soon as those three little words pass through Bella's mouth, I drop the plate in shock, glass shattering in the sink. Whipping around, I see that Peter is staring at her with wide eyes, mirroring the way I'm feeling. She really just called us out on what we are. How the hell does this little thing know about vampires?

Bella, however, looked scared, but I don't think that it's because of what we are. I think she's scared of our reactions as she keeps flicking her brown gaze back and forth between Peter and I. Her bottom lip slips between her teeth while a pink tint graces her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Shaking my head, I snap myself out of my temporary brain shutdown. "Why are you sorry, Sweetheart?"

"I didn't mean to say it like that. But...you are." Bella says, Peter and I looking at each other. "It's just, your eyes are red...I saw you running last night...and, the blood in the fridge."

"You're an observant little thing." Peter comments, shaking his head. Bella just shrugs, turning her head towards me as I approach her taking a seat on the other side of her.

"How do you know about vampires, Bella?" I ask, genuinely curious to how and what this little angel knows about the supernatural world Peter and I live in.

"It was after daddy died. Mommy wouldn't come out of her room sometimes, and I would hear her cry and cry, never answering me when I knocked on the door. She wouldn't even come out to cook dinner, so I had to or else I wouldn't eat. I didn't like hearing my mommy cry, so I would go to the playground across the street from my neighborhood. I stayed out past sunset and it was really dark out. I was starting to walk home when I tripped and skinned my knee. I started crying because my knee hurt and I was really scared, but this pretty lady helped me up. I saw that her eyes were like yours and when I asked her why she had red eyes, she told me it was because she was different from me. She told me her name is Lydia and then she walked me home. I always came back and she always met me there when it was dark. She's my best friend." She tells us, a large smile on her face as she thinks about that vampire. I share an uneasy glance with my mate, before he looks back at Bella.

"Did she tell you that she's a vampire?" Peter asks and Bella nods her head.

"Mhm...when I asked why I never saw her during the day. She said that her skin is different from mine and it sparkles. She doesn't eat food, she drinks blood." Bella says and I raise an eyebrow.

"You weren't scared?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"She's my friend, she wouldn't hurt me. But she said there are some bad vampires out there, and that I should be careful when I'm out at night. They would like to hurt me. She made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone, or else we would be in big trouble. Then she had to leave." Bella tells us and I tilt my head.

"Do you know where she went?" I ask Bella and she nods her head.

"She had to go back to Italy." Bella says, causing Peter and I to exchange stunned glances. Italy? Does she mean...

"Bella, do you know where in Italy?" Peter asks and she frowns while thinking.

"Vo...Vol...Volt-someting. I don't remember." Bella says and I feel my heart drop, knowing that Lydia is now in Volterra, possibly with the Volturi.

"Did she say when she was coming back?" I ask her and Bella nods her head.

"She said that she couldn't come back for a long time, but she promised to come see me again." Bella tells us as I breathe a sigh of relief, not wanting a vampire to come looking for her. Especially if they're from the Volturi.

"Well...yes, Bella. We're vampires." I tell her and she nods her head, playing with her hands in her lap.

"Where am I going to go?" Bella asks, causing Peter and I to frown.

"What do you mean?" Peter asks her and she looks over to him with sad eyes that are breaking my heart in two.

"I don't have a mommy anymore. I don't have any place to go." she says, looking down at the ground while Peter and I share a look.

"Yes, you do. You can live here, Sweetness." I tell her, her tiny head whipping towards me with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Really?"

"Of course. We want you to stay here with us. We'll take care of you." I assure her, her brown eyes flickering with hope and happiness. "Would you want to stay here?"

"Yes, I like it here." Bella says and I smile at her, walking over to her.

"Well, we like having you here." I tell her and her lips twitch into a small smile.

"I can really stay here?"

"Hell yeah! I like having you around, Little Bit!" Peter exclaims, while Bella actually giggles at him while I roll my eyes, smiling at his antics.

"Okay, I'll stay." Bella says with a decisive nod and Peter cheers, picking Bella up and swinging her around as she continues to giggle. He then sets her on the couch and starts tickling her while I chuckle at my mate with Bella, happy that she wants to stay with us.


November 18, 1991

Bella has been here for twenty-two days.

Twenty-two wonderful, joy filled days. We've already re-done the guest room into her room, painting it her choice of purple. Peter asked her why purple if her room back in Phoenix was pink, and Little Miss said that she hates pink. She told us that her mom did her room without listening to her, so I made sure that everything was what Bella wanted, and she loves it. She's so smart, and seems to like having a say in things.

Bella is so different from any other children I've seen. She's not whiny or bratty. She's very mature for her age, always saying please and thank you. Her nose always seems to be in a book, which we've stocked her room with. She's always grateful with everything we have gotten her - books, toys, clothes. I don't think I could ask for a better daughter.

Hmm...daughter. That sounds about right.

Of course, she doesn't call me "mama" or anything, which I don't expect her to. Her real mom died less than a month ago. She is moving on, though, and for that, I'm happy. I don't really think that she was all that happy with her real mama. After all, she said that she basically ignored her after her daddy died.

Miss Bella sure has flipped our live's upside down. We would have usually moved on by now, travelling to some other place as we normally do, but we want to create a stable life for Bella. She's had enough trauma in her life, and Peter and I are determined to make sure her life is as easy as it can. She deserves it.

Now, Peter is trying to find the number to Jenks that he's seemed to lost. He wants to create official documents for Bella; a birth certificate, social security card, etc. I happen to think that Bella Whitlock has a wonderful ring to it. Unfortunately, Peter's "knower" isn't telling him the number and he can't remember it, which should be nearly impossible for a normal vampire. Well, this is Peter that we're talking about, he's not exactly "normal." I'll admit, my mate is a few beers short of a six-pack. Eh, at least the sex is great.

"Damnit..." Peter mutters, moving around the house at vampire speed as Bella and I sit in the living room. Our little angel glances up at him before shrugging and focusing back on coloring in her coloring book as cartoons are playing on the television. I'm sitting on the sofa chair, looking through a cookbook, trying to learn some new meals for Bella. She's not a picky child at all, always trying whatever I cook for her. I find myself actually enjoying cooking for Bella, the food not repulsing me so much when I think of the smiles and multiple "thank you's" from Bella after she eats.

"Where the hell did I put it?" Peter asks, plopping himself down on the couch while scrubbing his face with his hands.

"If I was a piece of paper with a number on it, where would I be? Hmm..." I tease him, winking at a giggling Bella. "Why don't you just call Jasper?"

"Oh, he's going to have a field day with this. A vampire who can't remember a phone number, fucking great." Peter mutters while I flit over and smack him on the back of his head.

"First off, watch your mouth around Bella. You're the one who lost the number, go dial the Major." I tell him, narrowing my gaze which he shrinks away from.

"Who's the Major?" Bella asks from her seat, Peter and I looking over to her.

"It's just a nickname for my brother, Little Bit. His real name is Jasper." Peter tells her, Bella raising her eyebrows.

"Will I meet Jasper?" she asks, Peter and I sharing a glance.

"You want to meet him?" I ask and she nods her head. Do I want Jasper to meet Bella? I'm not exactly sure if that would be the best idea, with his nosy ass family. The mind reader and the Seer.

Peter motions his head towards the kitchen and I give him a nod, seeing Bella has gone back to watching cartoons while coloring. We both walk into the kitchen as he walks over to the phone, taking it off the hook.

"Should we tell him?" I ask Peter who shrugs.

"Why not?"

"His wife and the mind reader. I don't want them knowing about her, especially since Carlisle has close ties with the Volturi. He lived with them for a while, right?" I ask and he nods his head.

"The Major told me he learned ways around her visions, also how to block Edward from his mind." Peter says and I bite my lip, thinking. "Don't you think we would have already gotten a phone call from the Major if Alice saw we had a human child here?"

He's got a point. "Alright, ask him if he wants to come visit. No Malice, though. I don't want her knowing about Bella."

"Me neither." he says with a grimace, causing me to chuckle as I walk back into the living room, Bella exactly where I had left her. She looks up when I enter, and flashes me an adorable smile before going back to coloring Belle in her Beauty and the Beast coloring book.


Jasper Hale POV

There are a couple of things that I enjoy in this world. Books, going home to Texas, my Ducati, but what I love most is sitting in my sanctuary, also known as my study, alone and in peace. It seems that in this house, there is no privacy, especially living with a mind reader and a Seer. Over the years, I've learned how to evade Alice's visions and block my mind from Edward, but it's not completely private. In my study, I can relax and drop the Jasper Hale bullshit, I can go back to being Jasper Whitlock.

I rub the ache in my chest, sighing as I try to focus on my book. I'm distracted, though. I can't think about anything other than this ache. When the hell is this pain going to go away, because it's affecting my attitude. My temper has been short lately, and I've been snapping at everyone. I, of course, feel their hurt when I snap and that makes me feel like an even bigger asshole. I need to get away from here, before I detonate.

I'm pulled from my thoughts by my phone ringing. Who the hell could this be? Maybe Jenks with my paperwork...

"Hello?"

"Howdy, fucker!" Nope, not Jenks. I immediately smile, hearing my brother's voice.

"What do you want, Captain?" I ask, knowing that Peter is going to beat around the bush to aggravate me.

"Oh, I'm fine, Major. How about yourself? Geez, you got some nice manners. Those Cullens seem like good inf-" he starts but I cut him off with a mirthful growl.

"Catapin! What do you want?"

"Do you have Jenks' number?" he says, sounding a little desperate.

"You don't remember it?" I ask, skeptically. Vampires have total recall, though Peter is a little special.

"I wouldn't be asking for it if I remembered it, now would I?" he snarks, my grin growing bigger as I shake my head.

"Smartass." I then tell him the number, before frowning. "Why do you need it?"

"I just have to get some documents for someone." Someone? "By the way, what are you doing this weekend?"

"The family is going hunting, why?"

"Why don't you come visit your old pals Peter and Char? We miss you, brother. And I got someone to introduce you to." I smile, hearing that Peter misses me. It's a nice feeling that someone cares about me, as I genuinely know Peter means it.

"Who am I meeting?" I ask, curious to who the hell they would have me meet.

"You'll have to see this weekend, but leave Tinkerbell with the other squirrel munchers. I already got one 'know-it-all' in the house, I don't need another." I hear Charlotte say and I chuckle, remembering how much Char and Alice but heads.

"No problem, I'll be there on Friday night." I tell him.

"See you then, Major." Peter says before the line goes dead. Rude fucker! I shake my head and hang up the phone, shaking my head. Who the hell does Peter have me meeting? Whoever they are, they must be important to him and Char with the way they sounded.

"You're going to Texas?" I hear my wife from the doorway and turn around, seeing her standing there. I'm looking forward to a couple of days away from, not just her, everyone. I can go back to Texas and see my family...my real family.

"Yeah, I'm going to visit Peter and Charlotte. Don't-" I stop her from looking into the future as her eyes glaze over. Her eyes come back to life as she frowns at me.

"But, Jazz, you could slip. I don't want you to be tempted by their diet." she says, using that voice that grinds my nerves. The pseudo-sweet voice like she's looking out for my well-being, when she really just doesn't like not having control.

"Alice, I will be fine. Just, don't look into my future. I would actually like something to be a surprise." I tell her and she sighs, leaning forward and placing a kiss on my lips. I never initiate any intimacy with Alice, she always does. It seems more like a chore, than something to express our fake love.

"I just worry about you, Jazzy."

"Alice, I'm not a child. You don't have to worry about me." I grit out, trying to remain calm.

Yeah, I really have to get out of this house.


November 22, 1991

Friday rolls around too slow for my liking, and I'm excited to get out of this house. I'm planning on running there, since it would be faster than a plane. The run will help clear my mind, and it should only be about four hours. I place my bag on my back and kiss my wife goodbye, heading out towards Tahoka, Texas.

I'm practically giddy at the thought of coming home to Texas, excited for a couple of days of freedom. Excited for a couple of days with my family. Also, curious to who this person I'm being introduced to.

I smile when I arrive at the gate of their secluded house as the sun sets. I then realize that the ache in my chest is nearly gone, smiling when I realize that it was just coming home that I was missing. Taking a deep breath, I smell the familiar Texas air. Home.

I run down the driveway, frowning when I hear a heartbeat coming from the house. The front door swings open and a smug looking Peter walks out, shit eating grin on his face.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. What's up, fucker?" he asks and I smirk, shaking my head.

"Oh, what a nice greeting for family." I retort, receiving a scoff from Peter.

"Family my ass, you made yourself friendly with those squirrel nibblers. Haven't seen my pretty mug in, what...ten years?" Peter says and despite the mirthful expression on his face, I can feel the pain and sadness from staying away.

"I'm sorry, brother." I tell him, genuinely meaning it as a smile crosses Peter's face. He walks over and we hug, slapping each other's backs as I relish the feel of being home. When we pull back, I then remember the heartbeat.

"Is there a human here?" I ask and his grin widens as he turns back towards the house.

"Char, why don't you bring her out?" he calls and I frown. Her? I see a familiar face walk out of the house, Charlotte. She smiles at me, but then I focus on what she's carrying...or who, I should say. It's a little human child. What the fuck?

Peter sees the look of shock on my face and smiles, shaking his head. The little child looks over at me and the ache is gone. Completely gone! All these years of having this ache in my chest, it's now just a phantom. The girl wiggles and Charlotte puts her down.

The girl stares at me wide-eyed - shock, wonder, joy, happiness, confusion are hitting me in the face and I have to wonder how this tiny girl has so many emotions rolling through her. She walks towards me and, as if a pulley is connecting us, I walk towards her.

"Jasper, meet our...daughter, Bella." Peter says, watching the both of us. I feel his complete trust in me with this human.

Bella...such an appropriate name for such a beautiful little girl.

Wait, his daughter? I'll have to hear this story later.

When we're a foot apart from each other, Bella cranes her neck up to look at my 6'4 form, big brown eyes connecting to gold for the first time. She reaches her tiny hands up and I reach down, lifting her up and sitting her on my hip as her lips twitch into a grin. I can't help but smile back in wonder, feeling a warmth run through my body as hand touches mine. It starts from the top of my head and runs to the bottom of my feet. Something clicks inside of me and I know that she's mine, just like I'm hers. I was only half right, coming home is what I was missing, because wherever this little girl goes, is my home.

I'm a goner.


So, Bella and Jasper meet each other. Just so you know, there's no sexual feelings toward each other. Hello, she's a baby that'd be gross. Now, it's a weird connection that's hard to explain, but he does understand that they are mates. I guess it's like Jake's feelings towards Renesmee when she's young.

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-Jalen-