Where I Belong

Chapter 6


Song I listened to for this chapter: My Hero - Paramore (cover of Foo Fighters song)

Jasper Whitlock POV

I decide that I'm going to leave right away so I could get home early and settle all of this shit, so I can get back here to my mate. Peter and Charlotte are sitting in the living room as I walk over and grab my bag. "You're leaving now?" Peter asks with a raised eyebrow. Charlotte keeps glancing towards Bella's door, worry rolling off her.

"I'd rather do it sooner than later. I want to get this done quickly so I can get back here...besides, I'd rather do it now in case there are any problems. I don't want to be away from her when she's awake." I tell him and he nods his head.

"Good luck, brother." Peter says and I nod my head, slinging the bag over my shoulders before running out of the house. The run doesn't take long especially since I'm under the cover of night. I'm not going to bring a lot with me, because most of it is stuff I don't want. I'm bringing all of the things in my study, my truck, and my Ducati. I'll buy anything I really need.

Over the years, especially using Alice with the stock market, I've acquired a vast amount of money. Alice thinks that we only had one account that we shared, but little does she know, I've stored most of my money in multiple banks that she couldn't touch, collecting interest. I always knew my time with the Cullens would come to an end one day, and I wanted to be prepared. My Bella will never have to want for anything in her life, because I will give it to her. It's the least I can do to repay her for being mated to my blackened soul. I guess this is a chance to start anew.

I'm starting a new life with my mate; or rather, I'm going back to my old one. No more of this Jasper Hale bullshit...

I'm Jasper Whitlock.

As I get farther and farther away from my mate, I feel the ripping agony in my chest. Like someone slowly sinking a knife into my heart. Oh, please do not let Bella go through the same pain. I couldn't bear it if I caused her this kind of pain. With this thought, I pick up my pace and reach the house at three in the morning, Alice waiting by the door. Here we go...

"Jazzy, you're home!" she flits over to me and throws her arms around my neck, I have to bite back the growl at the prospect of being touched by someone other than my mate. It almost feels like I'm betraying my Bella. Ugh, and that nickname. I keep thinking of the way my name passes through Bella's lips, that sweet bell-like sound. No, no...

I can't think of Bella right now, not with Edward around.

Alice realizes that I'm not hugging her and pulls back, her face scrunched up in confusion. I keep my expression stoic, not wanting to give her any clues.

"Jazz-man! Welcome home!" I'm pulled into a hug by one out of the two family members I genuinely care about, Emmett.

Emmett and Rosalie have always treated me like a real member of the "family." They never judged me when I "slipped," and they were always there for me, complete trust in me. Maybe I'll tell them about Bella later down the road. One of the few I would trust her with.

I feel a little guilty that I'm going to be leaving them, so I make a mental note of gifting Emmett and Rosalie with something, a nice thank you present.

"Thanks, Em." I reply, smiling before I'm pulled into a hug by my "twin." She's usually an ice-cold bitch to everyone, but we've always had a weird sibling connection, almost as if we are twins. We all walk up towards the house, Carlisle and Esme walking into the foyer as I enter.

"Welcome home, son." Carlisle says and I nod my head, looking around.

"We need to have a family meeting. I have something to tell everyone." I say, Carlisle and Esme sharing a glance before nodding their heads.

"Is something wrong, Jasper?" Esme asks, her warm voice full of concern.

"I'd rather tell everyone together." I say, walking into the living room as Edward walks down the stairs, frowning as he looks at me. I ignore his look, knowing that the nosy boy is trying to read my mind, so I keep my thoughts clear of my Bella. Another way to keep him out of my head, reliving all of the gruesome, horrific battles I've fought in during the Vampire Wars.

Edward visibly grimaces and I smirk, shaking my head. Stay out of my head if you don't like what you see. I've never gotten along with Edward, never had any desire to. He's a nosy, arrogant child with an outdated set of morals and attitude. Of course, he's Carlisle's "Golden Boy" who can do no wrong in his eyes.

I walk into the dining room and take a seat at the table, Emmett and Rosalie sitting down across from me. Alice takes a seat next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder which I can't help but cringe away from. Her eyes glaze over, but I keep my decisions clear, not wanting to give her an inch of a clue of what I'm about to say. Truth is, I don't even know how I am going to explain this to them.

The always perceptive Rosalie notices this and raises her eyebrow, which I answer with a slight shake of my head. I can't even tell Rosalie about my Bella without Edward finding out, at least not now. The boy walks in the room and takes a seat near the end of the table while Carlisle, as head of the coven, takes his seat at the end of the long table, his mate beside him. He nods his head for me to start and I clear my throat.

"I...I'm leaving." I tell them bluntly, not knowing how to put it delicately. I don't even want to beat around the bush and I am in no mood for any fucking arguments with the way my chest is feeling right now. I need to get back to her.

"What?" Alice gasps out and I sigh, running my hand through my short curls.

"What do you mean, son?" Carlisle asks me, using a calm voice.

"Carlisle, I want you to know that I appreciate everything that you've done for me. All of you, you gave me hope and a family. But, I realized this weekend how much miss my brother and sister, so I am going to live with them."

"Jasper, what about Alice?" Esme asks and I turn to a shell-shocked Alice, confused and curious to why she didn't see this coming. Are her visions faltering?

"We're not mates. Alice, you know this, we stayed with each other as companions. So we weren't lonely." I tell her and she shakes her head stubbornly as I inwardly sigh, knowing that this isn't going to be easy.

"Jazzy, you-"

"Alice. Stop calling me that." I grit out, Alice looking hurt, but it's not matching her emotions. She's feeling shocked, confused, scared, and a shit ton of determination.

"We are mates, Jasper. I know we are. The pull-" She tries to explain and I shake my head, cutting her off. I know it's very rude, but I'm running out of patience.

"Alice, I'm eternally grateful that you led me to this family, but I've never felt the mating pull you say that you feel. I know we're not mates. We've never really loved each other, it was out of convenience." I try to tell her as gently as I can.

"Jasper, you're my husband. You are my mate and I love you. You can't leave me!" Alice practically begs, but I can't feel bad for her. I've got other things to worry about, like my Bella, sleeping peacefully at home.

"I've called Jenks and the divorce papers will arrive this week."

"No!" Alice shouts, her emotions not even showing incredibly determination. "You're not leaving, you're staying here."

"Do not tell me what to do, Alice." I snap, trying to not lose my temper.

"Jasper, are you sure this is what you want?" Rosalie asks me, her emotions completely sincere and concerned for me. Emmett looks the same, tilting his head while waiting for what I have to say. I'm thankful that my siblings are concerned with what I want.

"Yes, I want to be with my family-" I start, but am cut off by a very angry pixie vampire.

"We are your family! We are! Not those uncouth savages that kill humans!" At that ludicrous statement, I lose it and round on her while she shrinks back, fear rolling off of her like a giant wave, washing over me. The Major is reveling in it, however. He decided to make an appearance since this was taking too long and we need to get back to our mate. Something is off, but she is not in any immediate danger.

"NEVER call them that again! You don't know anything about them, Alice. You have no right to judge them, and if I ever hear you insult them again..." I back Alice into a corner, snarling at her with narrowed eyes. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, calming myself and locking the Major back up in his cage. I then turn around to my family, Edward looking at me wearily; Esme looking shocked and concerned for Alice; Carlisle tries to remain calm, though his emotions are worried; Rosalie and Emmett are looking and feeling smug, their eyes on Alice.

They never liked Alice in the first place, always annoyed with her using her visions to control everything. Her and Edward always grated their nerves with their arrogance.

"I'm going to pack my things and I'll be gone in the next hour." I then walk down to the basement, grabbing a couple of cardboard boxes we keep for moving out of it. I open my study and take all important memorabilia that I cannot live without. I then empty the files out of my desk, putting them in my boxes.

I open my safe and take out the money, important items and files I keep in there, packing them away in one of my bags. I walk downstairs into the garage, lifting my Ducati up and putting it in the back of my truck, before flitting upstairs and grabbing the boxes, loading them in the backseat. I walk back upstairs and into, now Alice's, bedroom. I can't help the smile that crosses my face as I am finally free of her telling me what to wear, and how to act. No more Jazzy. I walk into the closet, smiling when I see the cowboy boots she hates in there, grabbing them and taking off my sneakers, slipping them on my feet. That's better.

My phone is ringing from my study and I walk in there, picking it up and placing it to my ear, hearing the one sound that scares me.

Bella Whitlock POV

I'm running through the forest with my Jasper, laughing as he chases me. I hear him laughing before the forest gets dark and I stop running, scared. I turn around and see mommy and daddy standing there.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I yell out and run towards them, but they turn around and walk away. Why are they walking away from me? I try to follow them, but they're gone! I look around for them, seeing my Grandma standing there.

"Nana!" I try to run towards her, but she turns around and walks away from me. Why are they leaving? I hear leaves crunching and turn around to see Lydia standing there.

"Lydia!" she does the same thing as my mommy, daddy, and Nana. She turns around and leaves me.

"No! Don't leave me!" I yell out, feeling tears stinging my eyes.

"Bella." I hear Jasper call out my name and I turn around to see him standing there. "Goodbye, Angel." he says before turning around and running away from me.

"No! Jasper, don't go!" I scream as loud as I can, trying to chase him. Why is he leaving me? Why is everyone leaving me? "Jasper, please!"

"Bella! Little Bit!" I hear Peter and Charlotte yelling, but I need to follow my Jasper. "Little Bit, it's just a nightmare, wake up!"

I open my eyes to see Charlotte and Peter leaning over me. Where is he?

"Where's Jasper?" I ask and the look at each other with wide eyes.

"Sweet Thing, he had to go ba-" I start crying before she finishes because he left me, just like in my dream. Charlotte pulls me into her arms as I continue to cry, wondering what I did to make my Jasper leave me. My chest starts to burn and I gasp, putting my hand over my chest. Charlotte pulls back to look at me and then turns to Peter, saying something about a pull.

"Why d-did he leave m-me? What d-did I do? Where's my Jasper? Why i-is everyone leaving m-me?"

Peter then runs out of the room and I sob into Charlotte's shoulder, rubbing my chest while trying to make this pain go away.

"My chest...it hurts, Char. Make it stop..."

"I know it hurts, Sweet Thing. I'm so sorry." she says, rocking me back and forth in her arms.

I then hear Peter in the kitchen, "Major." he says and my eyes widen, wiggling out of Charlotte's grasp to go find him. Did he come back for me?

"Jasper!" I cry out, running into the kitchen to see Peter turning around, phone to his ear. He's not here. He left me. My Jasper left me. What did I do? Did I do something wrong?

I start to feel really dizzy and everything gets blurry. My chest feels like it's getting smaller and I can't breathe. "Bella!" I hear Charlotte yell.

"Oh, shit!" Is the last thing I hear before everything goes black, and I become as light as a feather.

Jasper Whitlock POV

"Jasper!" I hear my angel cry out, her voice so distressed and I start to go into panic mode, growl working its way up from my chest. I growl into the phone, thinking that something is wrong at the house. That something or someone is threatening my mate. I'll kill them. I hear that her breathing is erratic and she's obviously been crying. She's hurting and she's sad, and I'm not there to help her. Fuck!

"Bella!" Charlotte yells and my dead heart drops.

"Oh, shit!" I hear Peter yell before I hear the phone crash to the ground. I listen to Charlotte say Bella's name a couple of times and some muttered curses while I sit impatiently waiting to know what happened to my mate,

"Peter...Peter...Captain!" I growl out, clutching the phone tightly. I hear him scramble over to the phone.

"Major," he says, sounding a little panicked and I try to calm myself, to no avail.

"Report! Now!" I growl, needing to know what is wrong with my mate and what I need to do to make it better.

"Major, your mate was having a nightmare and we woke her up." I'm so glad that I had this room sound-proofed. No one in the house will be able to hear this conversation, but I concentrate on keeping my mind blank in case Eddie boy is listening. "When she woke up, she asked for you and we started to explain that you had to go back to your house, but you were coming right back, she panicked thinking that you had left her. She then started to feel the pull, and her chest was hurting. She thought that she did something to make you leave. What you just heard was her hyperventilating...she just passed out. Charlotte is placing her back in the bed, but you need to get home soon."

"Five hours." I tell him before hanging up, slamming the phone back down and breaking it. I don't even care, but I know have to calm myself. It's upsetting me that my mate thinks me leaving to come back here was her fault. I should have told her that I was leaving. Damnit!

I take deep breaths, the damn pain shooting through my chest. I know that I have to get out of here, so I exit the room and walk down the stairs, seeing Alice look at me before walking into the living room, not an ounce of sadness rolling off her. In fact, she's pissed off. Her anger is skyrocketing and I narrow my eyes at her. She's too angry.

Carlisle and Esme walk into the foyer and approach me. "Whatever you think is best for you, we will support. You will always have a place in this family." Carlisle tells me and I give him a nod of thanks before Esme walks up, pulling me in for a gentle hug.

"Be safe, Jasper." I nod my head when she pulls back. Rosalie and Emmett approach me as Carlisle and Esme leave.

"At least come visit once in a while, yeah?" Rosalie asks and I give her a small smile.

"Of course." I reply and she pulls me in for a hug, before Emmett does the same.

"Give my regards to Petey." he says and I crack a small smile, nodding. Peter and Emmett clicked as soon as they met each other, both of them having the same sense of humor.

"I'll see you." I say before walking into the garage and getting in my truck, starting it up. I pull away from the Missouri home and head towards my mate, breaking every speed limit possible, not even caring because the cop that pulls me over will be having a very bad day.

The ache in my chest is lessening and I hope that it's doing the same for my mate. I never want to see or hear her in pain. If the pain that I felt matches hers...I don't know how her tiny body could handle that. I curse myself for causing my mate that much harm.

I finally arrive in Tahoka at nine in the morning. I'm thankful for my tinted windows because the sun is shining in Texas. I speed through the small town and make the turn onto the long driveway towards Peter and Charlotte's home, the pain almost gone now and I hope that it's doing the same for Bella.

I pull up to the house and jump out of the car, running in. Peter stops mid-pace and looks over to me, relief flowing off of him as he sits down on the couch, placing his head in his hands.

"Thank God." he mutters and I flit over to Bella's room, seeing Char lying in bed with her as she sleeps, clutching the teddy bear tightly to her. Charlotte sighs and gets up while I walk over, sliding into the bed next to her, brushing some curls away from her face. Charlotte exits the room as I stare down at my mate, able to breathe easier as I see that she is here and she is safe.

I'm never leaving her again. I will not put her in that pain again. I sigh, closing my eyes and reveling in the calm. Bella's emotions have calmed, recognizing that I am here. I look downt at the sleeping beauty and inhale, and smiling as I smell my mate's scent. Strawberries.

"Jasper?" A tiny voice stirs me out of my thoughts and my eyes snap open. Looking down, I see Bella looking at me with wide eyes. Her lips start to quiver as her face scrunches up and she bursts out crying. I immediately scoop her up and cling to her, feeling her relief that I'm here, that I didn't leave her, as she sobs into my arms.

Fuck me, why did I leave her in the first place? Why did I cause her such pain? The Cullens, especially Alice, deserved nothing more than a phone call telling them that I'm not coming back and a request to ship my stuff.

I'm not leaving her again.

"Jasper, I'm sorry. P-please don't l-leave again. Everyone l-leaves m-me." Bella chokes out between sobs, my heart feeling like it's being ripped from my body.

"Shh...don't be sorry, Bella. There's no reason for you to be sorry. I'm sorry. I'm never leaving you, Angel. I promise. I'm never leaving you..." I murmur over and over again while I rock her, trying assure her that I will never leave her, that nothing on this Earth would make me leave her.

I don't know when it happens, but suddenly my body wracks with uncontrollable sobs, venom pooling in my eyes. I can't help it, all the emotions from Bella swirling around the room, punching me in the face. Love, happiness, relief, desperation, joy, fear...

I can't take it anymore, so I sob, clinging to my mate like a lifeline. I can't remember the last time I sobbed. I didn't even bat an eye when I saw the carnage during the Vampire Wars, but I'm sobbing like a child, clinging to my four-year old mate, because she loves me. I'm sobbing like a child because I love this little girl in my arms more than anything in the world...even more than my own life. I'm sobbing like a child because my Bella showed me what love actually is, and it's beautiful.

It's so fucking beautiful.


So sorry I didn't post this last night. I had some internet problems.

What did we think of this chapter? Do you think Alice is going to give up this easy? And why is she so angry? Hm...

WOAH 124 favorites, 236 follows, and 142 reviews. I just want you to know, I love each and every single one of you. Like a lot.

Thanks a bunch

-Jalen-