Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.
CHAPTER TWO: THE PAST
It was Friday. The week had gone by relatively fast. I tried my best to keep my head down, but people still noticed me. I was over the attention even before the first day, and now I was completely and totally sick of it. I knew I would keep having to suffer since Emmett still drove me to school, and I stuck close to him and his friends.
I was headed for my first class of the day when I felt myself being pushed against the locker doors. I looked up too see Lauren Mallory smiling slyly. I gave her a questioning look. I had only talked to her once, when Jessica introduced us at lunch on the second day of school. She had barely muttered a word to me. Now she was standing over me in the hallway.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Help me?" Lauren laughed. Her bleach blond hair looked Crayola yellow in the fluorescents. "You can help me by disappearing."
"What are you talking about?" I questioned.
Lauren smacked my books out of my grasp. "You are nothing. The only reason you've become popular is because of your brother and your dead parents. I am sick of hearing people talk about you. Poor Bella. Pretty Bella. You dress like trash and you look like trash. This five minutes of fame will come to an end when people start to get bored of you."
"What are you talking about?" Anger flooded through me body. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. My parents. Popularity. My appearance. Why did this all matter to her? She sounded like a middle school bully in some bad 90's movie.
"Your five minutes of fame is coming to an end, Bella. Emmett showing you off like a brand-new toy will get old, and the sympathy from the death of your parents will only last so long."
As much as I wanted to ignore what she had said, hot tears pricked my eyes. Say something, Bella, I told myself, but nothing would come out. When it came to it, I could stand up for any person in my life. But when it came to standing up for myself, I couldn't think of anything.
She shoved me into the lockers once more with a menacing grin etched on her face. "Aw, is poor Bella going to cry?"
"What the hell is this?" someone yelled.
Lauren backed off, glaring at me with snake-like eyes.
I looked away from her and saw that a crowd had formed. My face flushed, and my eyes burned as I held back more tears.
"I said, what the hell is going on?" The voice yelled again. No one spoke up.
I turned my head to the side and saw Jasper pushing his way through the group of people that had formed. As he got to the middle of the circle he looked around in disgust. He knelt beside me and picked up my books. When he stood up, Jasper gently grabbed my arm and whispered to me. "You want to go?"
I could only nod as the tears I tried so hard to hold back started to fall. He took my hand and led me through the hall and out to the parking lot. He led me toward a black truck that I had seen him driving around in this past week. He opened the passenger door for me, waited until I was in, and walked around to the driver's side. He started driving. I didn't know what direction we were heading in, and I didn't care.
I felt stupid and embarrassed that I had let a girl like Lauren walk over me. The last thing I wanted people to think was that I was a pushover. Since the death of my parents, I felt like I had lost all of my strength. Besides losing them, I had lost myself. I barely ate. I barely slept. I had lost interest in everything I used to love. Sometimes I wanted to scream and shout at Emmett. The week of our parents' funerals he was sad and heartbroken. The next week, he was back to his old self. It seemed that now he was flourishing more than ever. I resented that.
Minutes later, Jasper stopped the car and got out. I was grateful to be pulled out of my thoughts. He walked over and opened the door for me.
"Thank you," I said, barely a whisper. No man had ever opened a car door for me. It was a chivalrous act that I wasn't used to.
"Anytime," Jasper smiled. I watched as he took in our surroundings, breathing in the fresh air.
He had driven us to First Beach on the Quileute Reservation. I followed Jasper down towards the water. The sky above the ocean was dark gray. A storm was approaching. Jasper led me to a piece of driftwood and motioned for me to sit next to him.
"You want to talk about it?" he asked. Jasper was leaning forward with his arms resting against his lap. He was staring at two birds fighting over a piece of seaweed by the shore. He turned his head to look at me, waiting for an answer.
"I don't think there's much to talk about," I replied. I mimicked him and winced in pain as my shoulder rejected the position.
"Bella, I can see what Lauren said and did is hurting you." He looked at me with concern. Worry lines ran deep on his forehead "What happened?"
Everything that Lauren said seemed to spill out of me. It wasn't what she had said to me that hurt, but what I didn't say back. I felt foolish and humiliated that I couldn't stand up for myself or for my family. I had so many things that I wanted to say to Lauren now that hadn't even come to mind in the moment. I laid everything that I wanted to say to her on him, and he let me.
Jasper was a perfect listener, nodding and replying at all the right moments. He never once interrupted me as I let my emotions flow.
I then realized that I didn't even know who Jasper was. We had lunch together on the first day and we shared the same P.E. class, but I didn't know him more than an acquaintance.
"Jasper, why do you care?" I blurted out. It came out harsher than I meant it, but I hoped he understood what I meant.
"Fair question," he chuckled. He looked out at the ocean as he started talking. "I didn't like seeing you be treated like that. It pains me to see someone hurt. I don't know who the hell Lauren Mallory thinks she is, but she needs to be put in her place." He took a deep breath. "You're also my best friend's sister. Emmett is family to me. I know he would do the same for Rosalie, whether they were dating or not."
"Thank you for getting me out of there. I think if I was there any longer I wouldn't be able to show my face at school again. It was humiliating."
"You don't need to thank me, darling." He gave me a sincere smile. "How's your shoulder feeling?"
"I think it will be fine. My ego is bruised more than anything."
"It will all be forgotten by Monday. They'll have something else to gossip about."
The sun began to peak out from under the clouds, and we both took a moment to soak in its rays. I could tell that we were both creatures that craved the sun's warmth. I closed my eyes and leaned back onto my elbows, soaking up the vitamin D. When the sun decided to disappear, Jasper stood up.
"Are we going?" I asked. I didn't want to go back to town just yet.
"No, I was thinking I would show you something. Come on." He gave me his hand to help me up, and chills coursed through my body. His hand was strong and warm. If Jasper noticed my lingering gaze, he didn't let on.
He led me through a trail in the dense trees. I said a silent prayer that I wouldn't trip and make a fool out of myself for the second time that day. I made sure to keep my eyes to the ground, looking out for any fallen trees or roots that I could trip on.
Around ten minutes later, Jasper came to a complete stop. I didn't look up in time to notice; therefore, I ran right into his back. Jasper turned quick enough to steady me by my arms. He let out a laugh at my bewildered face, and I couldn't help but laugh with him.
After a moment he stepped aside and motioned in front of us. "This is Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's cabin."
We stood beside a huge cabin nestled in the trees, and only about 50 feet away from the beach. It was beautiful.
A pergola, with a large fire pit, sat between the cabin and the beach. Swinging benches surrounded the area, attached to the tall beams. Scattered around the inside of the pergola were half a dozen Adirondack chairs.
Jasper led me to the front of the cabin and grabbed his keys from the pocket of his jeans to unlock the door.
"Are we allowed to be here?" I asked. Looking around at the immaculately landscaped front yard.
Jasper let out a chuckle. "Of course, Bella. I wouldn't have brought you if we weren't allowed here. I have my own set of keys, and so does Emmett and Rose." He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside.
The interior of the cabin was amazing. Whites, beiges, and greys covered the entire place. It was rustic and fresh. A long white L-shaped couch was in the center of the living room, just passed the entry way. A fire place with a large television hung just above a mantel. Although the room was bright, everything in it screamed comfy and cozy.
"This is beautiful!" I exclaimed, as he led me toward the kitchen.
Jasper grinned. "This is my favorite place, besides the ranch. Would you like somethin' to drink? We're stocked with soda, hot-chocolate, whatever you want."
"The ranch?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"Soda it is," he said, ignoring mine. He opened the fridge. "Do you want Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, or Root Beer?"
"A coke is fine," I said. I studied him, wondering why he was avoiding my question.
He took out two cans of Coke and poured them into a couple glasses and slid one over the island toward me.
"So, what are your plans this weekend?" he asked before taking a sip of his soda.
"I don't really know. I was thinking of cleaning up the house a bit and reading a good book. What about you? Going to the ranch?"
Jasper narrowed his eyes at me. "No, I'm not going to the ranch. That's where I lived while growing up in Texas. I miss it, and I don't really enjoy talking about it."
"Gotcha." I wanted to know more, but I didn't press. I could tell that even though he loved the ranch, the topic brought up feelings of anger. I moved on to another topic. "Tell me about Rose. Tell me about your family." I wanted to know more about the girl dating my brother.
"What do you want to know?" Jasper smiled, his posture becoming more relaxed. "Rose is a bit of a spitfire. Nothing comes in between her and the things she loves. I think we have that in common, but she's more vocal about it. She loves vehicles, she and knows more about them than anyone I know. She wants to become a mechanic after we graduate."
I had felt my eyes growing huge as he was talking. I shook me head. "I would have never imagined Rose wanting to be a mechanic."
"No one ever does. I think she likes the surprise in everyone's eyes when she tells them. She waits for them to say something sexist, so she can jump down their throats." Jasper laughed.
"And what about the rest of your family?" Jasper's body tensed again at my question. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that," I hurried.
"No, it's okay," he gave a forced smile. "My dad is John. He works in the energy sector as a CEO in Seattle. That's the reason we moved. My mom Anna was used to the ranch and wanted to live somewhere small. Her friend was living here in Forks, and she persuaded my parents to buy a house here. My dad is almost always travelling or staying in the city, he owns a condo in Seattle. My mom stays at home." Everything that he said about his family sounded rehearsed and robotic, with the exception of Rosalie.
I was about to say something when I was interrupted by a huge BOOM and a crackle.
I let out a small cry, frightened by the loud noise. I my scared eyes with Jasper's amused ones.
He chuckled. "It's just thunder, Bella."
I could feel my face heat up. I had a way of embarrassing myself no matter the situation.
I followed Jasper into the living room and looked out the sliding glass door to see a dark sky in the horizon.
"We should get back," Jasper said as he ran his hand through his blonde curls.
"Yeah. I don't think my clumsiness and a rainy hiking trail would be very good combination," I said grimly.
Jasper laughed. "C'mon let's go."
The walk back to Jasper's truck was quick. The temperature had dropped, and the smell of the approaching storm was in the air.
By the time we got back to town it was only noon.
"Do you want to go back to school, or do you want me to take you home?" asked Jasper.
"I want to go back to school. I don't want her to think she holds anything over me."
Jasper smiled. "Sounds good. You know you can come to any one of us for anything. We have your back, Bella."
"Thank you, Jasper. That means a lot." I smiled shyly at him. "And thank you for stepping in between me and Lauren. I don't know what I would have done without you this morning. I kind of froze."
"No problem. You won't have to worry about Lauren. I'm sure Rose and Alice took care of her." Jasper looked over and chuckled at my confused expression. "They talked to her, Bella. I texted the group on the drive over and briefly told them what happened… So you shouldn't have to deal with Lauren's shit anymore."
I sighed a breath of relief, but deep down I didn't feel like I deserved the support I was receiving from a group of people I barely knew.
I followed Jasper into the cafeteria with my head down. I didn't look up until we were at our usual table. As soon as I sat down, everyone bombarded me with questions. I shut down. I couldn't take it anymore, maybe I should have went home.
Edward spoke up. "Hey we all know what happened. If Bella wants to talk about it, let her. If not, then let's leave her alone."
I gave Edward a small smile, and then addressed the rest of the table. "Jasper already told you all everything. I'm honestly over it already and would like to move on."
Emmett nodded but his face was strained. "Sounds good, little sis."
"I'm serious, guys. Let's just move past this." I gave them all my best smile. I didn't need these people, strangers, to be worrying about me. I hoped the excitement about me would soon die down so I could settle in to my new home.
