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The Pillars On Which We Built A Family
Chapter Two: The Words Of One Who Was Bitter.
Jasper's POV.
Silence fell immediately after my revelation.
"Alice is that true?" My mother, Selena, asked; pulling back slightly to look at the conniving woman she held in her arms.
"And don't lie, Alice." My father interjected from where he sat across the room. "It will do you no good at this point in time."
"It's true." She murmured as she stood and walked over to the floor length windows. "Precious, prefect, lovable Isabella." She spat before turning back to my devastated family.
"As you all know, I was nineteen when I gave birth to Sophia. I have no idea who her father is. It was a one night stand with some douche bag." She snorted. "I found out I was pregnant two months after when Isabella come into my room asking if I had any tampons. I didn't even remember not having a period and it was only then I realized something was wrong. I confided in her what I thought was happening to me and she left to buy me a pregnancy test. It wasn't a shocker that when I took the test that I was pregnant. Isabella, the sweetheart that she was, stayed home with me that day. No one questioned her. In Forks she could blow up the hospital for all they care and catch her with the detonator in her hand and all she had to do was smile her pretty little smile and she got of scot free."
"You resented her." My sister, Rosalie, commented in a detached voice.
"Resent…no. I hated her. Anyway, when my parents came home that night, we settled down to have dinner. I had been talking up the courage to tell my parents that I was pregnant but little did I know Isabella had some news of her own. She may have been a clumsy little thing growing up, always in and out of the hospital with some injury but her voice. God! It was so beautiful; flawless. Anyway, apparently one day she was singing at school and the head of the art and drama department heard her. What we did not know was that she was a member of the Julliard Alumni who had traded in the hustle and bustle of the big city for small town life. The next day, she met Isabella and asked her to sing a song for her. Isabella never could say no and unknowingly, the woman recorded the song and sent to her friends sitting on the board of directors at Julliard. Two weeks passed and on the night I was going to tell my parents that I had screwed up my life, Isabella passes over a letter to my parents which said that Julliard was very interested in her and whenever she was ready, they had a spot waiting for her. The letter from the dean said and I quote 'beauty like that should not be kept hidden away.' She was fifteen with a life full of prospects and I was a nineteen year old college drop-out with a bastard child growing in my womb. So I did what any bitter person would do…..I hated her.
For weeks, I did not tell my parents about my pregnancy. I went to my doctor's visits where he did what needed to be done. It was easy to hide my baby bump. I didn't gain weight like everyone else. Only my stomach grew and hid it with loose tops but when you live in a small town nothing stays secret for long." She said bitterly as she slumped down on the floor still staring out the window.
"One of my mother's friends had seen me going to the doctor on a regular basis and one day they just happened to meet and the meddling woman asked my mother if I was alright. My mother obviously had no clue as to what the woman was talking about but when she found out, she called my father and told him to get home now; that they needed to talk to me immediately.
My father got home as soon as I got there and I could see my mother pacing in the living room.
"Oh Alice, is everything okay?" My mother asked she pulled me into a hug.
"Yes. Everything is fine." I responded; shocked that I was being hugged by my mother. I could not for the life of me remember when last she hugged me.
"You sure? Mrs. Montgomery said she's been seeing you by the doctor's frequently." She commented pulling back from me to see my face.
"No mom. I'm fine. Really." I said as I broke her hold on me and stepped away.
"So why are you only going to the doctor, Alice? If something is wrong we need to know, sweetheart." My father said softly as he looked to me. "Baby girl talk to us. What's going on?"
"I'm not your baby girl. That's Isabella. Always has been." I spat out before even I realized what I was saying.
"Alice!" My mother gasped. "What….?" She stuttered.
"I'm sorry." I said. "I didn't mean it."
"Yes you did." My father said; his eyes wary. "It's not the first time I have heard you utter that statement and I highly doubt that it will be the last. Do you think we favor Bella, Alice? Do you think we love her more than you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" I sneered as I gracelessly plopped myself down onto the couch.
"My God, Alice! You are not serious!" My mother said looking completely outrage by what I had said.
"Now hold on Renee." My father said to my mother before turning back to me. "Why would you think that, Alice?"
"You're always doing something for her. You're always proud of her. She could ask for a kidney and you would ask if she wanted the right one or the left one.
"I can't believe this is happening. You are nineteen years old Alice. Grow up just a bit." My mother shouted at me. "We're always proud of her because there is always a reason to be proud of her. She already on the honor roll and she just entered high school. She goes to church. She helps around the house. She helps whoever she can. She volunteers at the library. She's fifteen Alice and she has some much love in her heart that she gives it freely. People love her because of her heart. People would stop me on the streets to find out how she is going. She doesn't demand attention, Alice. It's quite the opposite. She hates all of it but she does what she does because she is genuinely a good person and people adore her because of it. How could your father and I not be proud of her? Should we ignore all of what she has done because you feel that she is being favored? Julliard is already waiting for her."
"Are you envious of what Isabella has done with her life so far?" My father asked calmly as my mother huffed from where she stood behind him.
"What! No….There is no way in hell would I be jealous of Isabella!" I denied quickly.
"Really….because it sure sounds that way." My mother sneered once more; open anger and disgusted painted on her face. "She is your sister, Alice. Your sister. How could you?"
"How could I what mother? You have never been proud of me. Not once and then Isabella comes in on her high horse being perfect and all and you throw petals on the floor as if the Queen of England is here. Why is she so special? What has she done that makes her so untouchable? I am your daughter too. Why can't you love me like that?" I cried out.
"I don't know what rock you have been living under Alice to not see how much love your father and I have for you; how much love we shower you with. We always stood by your side whatever your decision was, we were there supporting you. We love you, Alice. When the doctor told me that I was pregnant with you, I cried for so long; overjoyed by the fact that I was getting a little girl. I was getting you. How could you have ever doubted our love for you?"
"After that day, things changed slightly. My mother and father spent more time with me. They made an effort to show me that they cared for me. Isabella continued doing what she did and never resented the time that my parents spent with me. She made me feel childish and petty. I wanted her to throw a tantrum like I did, demand to get attention like I did but all she did was smile. She even told me that she was happy for me…she was happy to see that your parents were spending time with me."
"That must have made you feel petty." Rosalie snorted.
"It did but in my stupidity I just saw that as another stab at my imperfections and I kept on hating her." Alice said roughly.
"You are a moron." Charlotte said with a shake of her head. "I would kill to have a sister like that yet you want to kill your sister for being that way."
"I know that now." Alice sighed heavily. "Anyway back to the story…I was four months pregnant when my parents found out. My mother had unexpectedly barged into my room when I was changing. She saw my baby bump and that was when all hell broke loose. She grabbed my arm and dragged me down the stairs with only my jeans and a bra on."
"Charlie!" My mother shouted as she rounded into the living room with me. "Look! Look at what Alice has done."
"Renee! What are you doing? Let the child put on some clothes." He said trying to pull me away from my mother but she held on; allowing her nails to dig into my skin.
"No Charlie, look. Look at the reason why Alice has been going to the doctor so often." My mother yelled as she pushed away the hand I was using to hide my stomach."
"What?" My father stuttered. "Alice, are you pregnant?"
I could do nothing more than lower my head in complete and utter shame.
"You ask us to be proud of you; to show you how much we are proud of you but then you do this." He muttered quietly before turning back to me. "How many months are you?" He asked before sinking down into his recliner, a defeated and broken look plastered on his face.
"Four months." I whispered; my quiet voice reverberating throughout the enclosed space.
"Four months?" My mother parroted back with a grief-stricken look on her face. "Who is the father?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know. You don't know." She repeatedly said; her volume rising with each syllable. "How in heavens name do you plan on taking care of a child, Alice? You don't have job. You dropped out of college. How will you be able to financially support a child Alice? We are not talking about spending a couple hundreds of dollars. We are talking about tens of thousands of dollars. We're talking about hospital visits and school books. We're talking food and diapers and clothes. And we're talking about maturity….are you mature enough to take care of a child, Alice?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" I spat.
"What I mean is that at nineteen you are still jealous of your fifteen year old sister." She said; equally as heated as me.
"Well then maybe she should raise this child if she is so perfect." I huffed before turning to leave.
"You know what I have had enough of you and you stinking attitude…..Get out. Get the hell out of this house right now, Alice." My mother yelled.
"Mom." I said softly as fear griped onto me. The thought of leaving my parents' home left me breathless. The thought of leaving my parents' home, four months pregnant and without a place to go left me numb.
"Renee." My father tried to interject.
"I don't want to hear it. She has to go." She said with finality as she walked out.
"With tears streaming down my face, I turned to leave only to run into Isabella who stood in the corridor with one of my shirts in her hands and with her own tears very much present on her face. Hastily, she shoved the shirt into my arms and ran out after my mother. She also never said a word again to me. I could only assume she heard what I had said about her.
While packing my things, my mother came back to apologize to me and to tell me to stay; that she wanted me to stay so I did. My parents started to support me. They helped with some finances and also helped me to get a job. Everything was looking up and looking good."
"So why did you run?" my father asked, his face showing how tired he was of this conversation.
"After Sophia was born, my parents backed of and allowed me to do everything baby related. When I had to work, I had a babysitter come over. They were very hands off; making me shoulder all the responsibility of being a parent."
"They should have. She was your responsibility." My godmother, Esme stated.
"I know that but I was still caught up in my beliefs that my parents owed it to me to help me out. The crying and the late night feeding wore me out and I wanted a break, so one day, three weeks after, I woke up before anyone else and just left. I knew they would take care of Sophia so I wasn't troubled but what I didn't expect was the fact that I would enjoy having too much fun."
"So one day of fun and being free from responsibility was enough to turn you away from your daughter?" I asked; the disgust I felt resonating with each word.
"Yes." Alice responded bluntly.
"Good Lord in the heavens above." My mother cried out. "Did you ever look for her?"
"No. I didn't. I knew the kind of the people my family was so I knew they'd look after her. What I didn't anticipate was the fact that Isabella would have been the one to take care of Sophia."
"So why go back?" I asked. "Why go back for Sophia? Why rip her away from the only mother she knew? Why rip her away from the only family she knew? And why tell me your family was dead?"
"You. You were the reason I went back for Sophia. I saw how you were with your nieces and nephews. I knew if I introduced you to Sophia that I would have you wrapped around my little finger." She shrugged; not bothered by the look of utter disgust she received from every member of my family.
"So you destroyed your family because you loved Jasper?" Emmett asked with a bewildered look on his face. He was always slower on the draw than the others but lethal in a courtroom.
"No, I destroyed my family because I loved Jasper's money. I had finally one upped Isabella. I was richer than her. I could have had anything I wanted; all I had to do was ask.
"Why confess now?" I asked.
"Because I now realize that there was no competition between Isabella and me. It was me being stupid, immature and petty. I should have been the one to love my sister the way I knew she loved me."
"It took you a very long time to realize that, Alice." The deep baritone of a much older man said from the doorway. "You could have saved your mother and me a lot of pain and your sister a lot of tears."
"I'm sorry but who are you?" My father asked a bit roughly.
"My apologizes." He murmured before pulling a pretty fragile looking woman into his side. "I am Charles Swan and this is Renee Swan. We're Alice's parents."
"Mom. Dad." Alice said as she jumped to her feet. "What happened to you?" She said as she took in the appearance of her tired and wary parents both aged by grief and time.
"This is what loss does to someone." Her mother murmured. "Loss of a child. Loss of a grandchild. Loss of faith. Loss of hope." She said softly as she grasped out her husband.
"Where is Isabella?" Alice asked as her own tears fell.
"Where a mother should be when their child is in the hospital." Her father said before leading his wife into the only empty seat in the room.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Alice asked a bit befuddled.
"It means," Jenks said as he walked into the room; his arms filled with bags, "that Isabella is at Sophia's bedside; at her daughter's bedside."