Alice had been right about it only taking five minutes, which didn't leave me much time alone with my thoughts before Edward was invading. It was less than an hour before everyone else was back and I began to explain the events that took place.
"Who is she?" Esme my mother asked concerned.
It was obvious that Edward already knew by the look on his face but he stayed quiet even when I failed to answer right away.
"Her name is Ariana…Whitlock." I closed my eyes because even though I knew it was her I still didn't want to accept it. "She's my sister. My baby sister."
I felt the emotions stir in the room, they ranged from fear to happiness, which I knew could only have come from Esme; she was the only one I knew who could make the best out of the worst.
"What did she want?" Rosalie questioned.
"You mean other then make me miserable?"
She gave me a dirty look she only reserved for people when they were being smart-asses.
"She wanted to be part of the family, live like us." I admitted. I didn't think anyone would actually think that was a good idea. But Carlisle did.
"And you turned her away? Jasper, that's one less vampire feeding on humans if she stayed." He stated a little disappointed at my rejection.
"Yeah Carlisle and if she stayed then we'll be down one daughter, niece, and granddaughter!" I snapped back. I didn't speak again until giving myself a second to find my calm again. "It would only be a matter of time before she slipped, and the odds are not held in Renesmee's favor." I pointed to Nessie stated the only too obvious fact, and I could tell everyone was thinking about that possibility.
"Surely with the gifts we possess it could be controlled." Carlisle tried arguing.
I smiled at the ignorance. "Carlisle we're not a bunch of wranglers. I mean what would you expect? Edward poking around her brain all the time, Alice watching for ever little hiccup and me just make her feel calm all day? Just look at the past, even with decades of practice I nearly painted the whole living room with Bella for Christ's sake!" I felt a little bad after I said it but I knew that Alice had enlisted Edward to help her keep the demon in me at bay for a long time if I was ever around humans. She never flat out told me but it became obvious and truth be told while I was very grateful for the extra help I was also a little annoyed and hurt that she didn't just tell me about it in the first place.
I could see that my last comment had stung a little for Bella still, we weren't the same for years after that- mostly on my part- but even when she became a vampire and much less fragile I still thought about what I almost did, what would have changed me forever I still couldn't bring myself to spend much time alone with her.
"If Ariana has anything from her human life that makes her dangerous at the least…and nuclear at the worst." I let that sink in for everybody. "And that's not including the years she was still alive to perfect that personality. She was twelve when I left, and even then I could see what she would become. For a human to be like her…it's…harmless. But a vampire…if she really wanted to she could decimate an entire town."
"The same could've been said about you once upon a time." Emmett added not really trying to sound smug but it still came out that way.
"You're forgetting one big difference: I could feel everything Ariana doesn't, this is all just a game for her. I can't even put into words what I found in her emotions, or lack thereof. The Volturi feel more then she does." I said trying to get my point across but it didn't seem like it was. "I'm done talking about this; I'm going to my room." I got up from the couch not waiting for anyone to respond and stormed up the stairs. Once the discussion had begun Alice had remained very quiet in the corner and now I regretted leaving her down there but I wasn't going back out for a while. Whenever I was in one of my moods no one but her ever came in here and seeing as it was her room too I couldn't-nor did I want to- kick her out.
I sat in my wooden chair that was in the corner not bothering to remove the clothes Alice had thrown on it over the past few days yet again. Her scent always made me feel better so maybe it was a good thing I didn't move them. I could hear the small talk going on in the kitchen about my…sister. I tried to ignore it but found it very difficult until the footsteps coming up the stairs came to a stop in front of the closed door and it was what finally made me smile for the first time since I had encountered Ari.
"Its fine Alice, you can come in." I said turning from the window.
She cracked the door and stuck her head in with a small smile on her face. "I didn't know if you wanted to be alone or not." She had made her way through the rest of the small space before reclosing the door and dancing toward me to sit down on my lap. I wrapped by arms around her small waist and held her close taking in more of her sweet scent.
"The only alone time I prefer is the alone time I spend with you." I let a smile turn the sides of my lips up. Alice always made things better; I didn't know if it was her constant chipper mood or that I loved her entirely but she could always ease my worries enough to talk about it.
"Are you sitting on my Dolce & Gabbana blouse?" She accused.
"If I am it's your own fault for putting it in my chair. Again." I said trying to look underneath us.
"Yeah, but you like the way I smell." She smiled teasing me. "I leave them there on purpose. So that when you have a bad day if I'm not there at least they are." Her face sympathetic.
"You saw this coming then?" I asked a little hurt she hadn't spoke up sooner.
"I didn't know what you would be upset about or even that it would be tonight so I just started letting the clothes build up. Don't think I don't know that you like to smell my dirty laundry, I've caught your scent on them from time to time."
I guess I could really be upset about that, Alice's visions weren't an exact science and they could always change. So instead of speaking I simply placed a kiss on her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
The look on her face had turned serious and she whispered real softly so only we could hear. It was something we did often. "So are you gonna tell me why you really don't want Ariana here?"
I knew it wouldn't be long before she pried it out of me somehow and told her everything I was thinking and feeling, so now was as good a time as any.
"I remember a few things about my human life and the most clear are the ones with Ariana. When I left I made her a promise, one I never kept, and it gutted me for so long knowing that I never could make it up to her. But finally like other memories I just had to let it go and move on. So for me my baby sister died when she was twelve, she died the last time I saw her. The day I made that promise. It might not make sense but the whole time I was burning during the transformation I thought about her it's what kept me from sinking into the darkness. And seeing her like this and grown up it just…it's like she found the one little crack in the wall I surround myself with on the very first try and it's going to be the structures demise. And it would be so much worse if she stay's here and I know she would slip with Nessie, it would happen." In the back of my mind when it came to Renesmee's safety there was never enough for me, but I knew she could take care of herself. She also still had Jacob Black thanks to his 'Daily Phase Routine' to continue cheating old age and death. And I'll admit that over time I did get over my dislike of him and we became friends and then later we became family. It was just Ariana seemed capable of getting through all that if she felt like it and it scared the piss out of me.
"Jasper, can I ask you something?" She asked as she caressed my jaw line.
"Anything." I whispered back.
"Are you afraid Ariana will do something to Nessie or that her emotions will over power you and you'll do something to Nessie?"
I thought about that for a minute or two before answering. "Maybe both." From the day I met Alice one thing I never did was lie to her, and not just because she would see but because I trusted and loved her too much to do it so now was once again no different. "But Alice, just look and see she's bound to be up to no good." I insisted.
"I've tried looking; I can't see she won't make up her mind about anything." Alice said rubbing her temples as if her head truly hurt.
"Why would you tell me that right now?" I could do nothing but shake my head at her in shock. This was it I knew it, Ariana knew too much about us and was using it against me and my family. And all for what? For revenge? What did I really ever do to her outside tonight that didn't happen hundreds of years ago?
"Don't worry about it, I'll keep an eye out, I promise if I know anything you'll know okay?"
"Okay." I felt a little relief, Alice always made good on a promise because she never made one she knew she couldn't keep.
But if no one else was going to be prepared for coming storm at least I would be and I would hide it from everyone if it made them happy…except for Edward but I was sure he'd keep it to himself. God knows I kept the emotions I felt from him to myself, especially when I knew it would embarrass or piss him off the same was true for me.
"You know what else I saw happening?" She asked-still not breaking our small whispers-before placing soft kisses all across my face.
"What?" I returned her kisses by pulling her even closer if it was possible.
"That after you got done sitting in this chair you would pick me up and carry me to our bed, where I would just hold you until the sun came up." She was now twirling the longer hair on the back of neck around her finger.
"I would very much like that." I smiled at her.
"I love you Jasper no matter what you're going through, I always have, in all the ups and downs, in all the anger and tears you can't shed I always love you."
"And you can't even possibly begin to know what that means to me, you're my entire reason for existing. Every time I see your face I feel the same way I did the first time I saw you, like if it could have happened I would have thought I died and gone to heaven cause that's the only place I could see something so beautiful." I kissed her passionately before playing out the scene she had spoken of.
I wouldn't call myself a softy but the person I was with Alice was someone completely different from the one I was around everyone else, it was one of the many secrets only she knew. As I laid against her body in our bed she traced small circles on my back with one hand and played with my hair in the other. If I was capable of it I would have fallen asleep with my head against her chest while she soothed me but instead we just remained quiet and unmoved until the late morning hours began to pass us by rather than getting back up with the sun.