I stared at Alice dumbfounded. Seth hadn't said anything, I was sure of it. I shrugged internally. He had probably been about to say something, Alice would've known.
"Seth!" Leah complained. "How am I going to live with the vampire stench?"
Seth chuckled and his arms loosed around me. "C'mon Leah, we can do a favor for our favorite vampire family, can't we?"
"Humph," Leah said.
"And anyway, she is human, Leah," Seth continued. "The 'stench' will wear off."
"Well," Leah gave in, "I guess that is a little better."
"That's my big sis." Seth walked over to Leah and playfully punched her arm.
Leah shrugged him off and muttered the words "leech lover" under her breath. The momentarily playful atmosphere dispersed and everyone's grave mask returned.
"How long will we be gone?" Esme asked. Everyone looked toward Alice.
"A month," Alice said. "They want to observe how we interact with each other—with Renesmee, specifically—and how Renesmee acts toward us. And, of course, Aro still hasn't given up his dream to have Edward, Bella, and I join him." She rolled her eyes.
"Screw the dream," Edward murmured.
"Still," Esme started, "why must they keep us so long?"
Alice shrugged. "They keep changing their minds about something. Whatever this thing is, it's making the 'why' prospect of it all hard to see."
"Well," Rosalie spoke for the first time throughout the entire conversation, "we should start packing."
The next few moments were so confusing to me. Before I knew it, I was in my room upstairs with a suitcase in front of me and Alice throwing things in it.
"Help me," she murmured. I stepped into my closet and started pulling some jeans into the suitcase. I looked for my favorite outfit but Alice had already thrown it in. For that, I was thankful.
"Don't forget the dress," Alice reminded me as she swept out the door. I planned to just hide it somewhere but Alice probably already knew my plan. I reluctantly took the dress off the hanger and put it at the bottom of my suitcase.
"Impractical," I murmured before I stuffed the matching shoes in. Just as I was about to close the suitcase, Renesmee came into the room.
"Nessie!" Alice screamed angrily from downstairs. Renesmee ignored her.
"Here you go," she said putting a shoe box into my hands. I knew they were the more practical ballet flats.
"Nessie, you're a lifesaver," I said hugging her.
She laughed. "I'm almost sure you mean that literally," she joked.
"I do," I said. "Look at these things!" I flung the pair of six inch heels into her face. "I would die!"
"I'm sure you would," Nessie joked. I hugged her, not knowing how long it would be before I hugged her again… or if I'd ever hug her again. If the Volturi got to me, I would surely die in an instant. Would I ever hug any of my family members again? I gulped internally. Would I ever hug Seth again? The warmth of his embrace had sent me into an outstanding swirl of emotions; would I ever get to feel it again? Or would I perish before I could hug him again and tell him how I felt? My entire body was shaking manically by this point. Renesmee patted my back.
"It's okay, it's okay," she crooned. "We won't let them hurt you. You'll live, you'll live."
The next three days flew by in the same fashion. Packing was done in a few minutes and I spent every moment as possible with my family. I couldn't believe all of them were leaving. Even Jacob Black was going with them. There had been a relatively short argument about someone staying, but at the end of the day, they were all going. I stared out the window the night before the Cullens' departure and thought about the dispute.
"Jasper, one of us should stay behind. We shouldn't impose by sending her to the Clearwaters' place…" Alice had begun.
"Really, Alice, it's no trouble," Seth said.
"Alice, we all have to go," Carlisle argued gently. "We need you and Jasper there."
"I know that, Carlisle," Alice had said stubbornly while I stayed in the very back of the room and watched the quarrel quietly. "But, really, Rosalie could stay!"
"Oh no!" Rosalie exclaimed as she stood up from her seat on the couch. "Emmett's going to provide backup muscle. If he goes, I go. End of story." She snorted and sat back down. Emmett put his arm around her.
"That's my girl," he said. Edward rolled his eyes.
"Don't start," Bella murmured to him.
"I could stay," Esme whispered.
"No, Esme." Alice was giving in. I could tell by her tone. "You should be with Carlisle."
"Seth," Jasper started, "do we leave her at your house before we leave to Volterra?"
"When are you leaving?" Seth asked.
"Five thirty in the morning on Tuesday."
"That won't do," Seth said shaking his head. "Jasmine needs sleep. Leah and I will stay here and drive her to our place once she wakes up."
"Oh no," Leah said. "I'm not sleeping inside a place that smells so fowl."
Seth sighed. "Sleep outside, then," he murmured.
"Gladly," Leah retorted.
"Then it's settled," Carlisle said. "Thank you, Seth. We're sorry for imposing."
"Oh, it's really no problem, Carlisle," Seth said. "It's my pleasure." Seth threw a wink at me and came to sit by my side while the Cullens discussed other matters.
I put my head between my knees. I had so much fate in the Cullens, but I knew death was most likely inevitable. The Volturi would come back to Forks and murder me. Then, when I was gone, I would not rest in peace. My soul would miss my family too much. Alice, I knew, would say something like "at least you died with a soul" but my soul meant nothing if I had no one. I could be leaving behind the Cullens to face their doom as well and that was more painful than facing my own death. Being the cause of their death would surely send me to hell. I sighed. There was one more thing that I couldn't live with. Never seeing Seth again would be terrible. Suddenly, I stared at the wall in shock.
I couldn't believe this hadn't come to my mind sooner. It was an obvious conclusion. I didn't know how or why, but I knew I loved Seth Clearwater. Even if he didn't feel the same way about me, I loved him. I was in love with a werewolf. As unbelievable as it might have been to others, it made perfect sense to me. Seth was kind, caring, and a friend to me. I hugged myself tightly and tried to remember how to breathe.
"Knock, knock," an overly familiar voice called from the doorway.
"Hey, Seth," I said wiping away the overflowing tears. Hearing his voice didn't help much. The tears I wiped away were soon replaced with more.
"Jasmine!" Seth exclaimed running toward me. Gently, he put his warm arms around me in comfort. "What's wrong?"
I sniffled. "I just—can't stand—the though—of never—seeing—any of you—again," I managed to choke out. I was momentarily amazed at how easy it was to talk to him. The amazement died out and was soon replaced with fright. The fright of never being able to be with Seth like this again was painful and overwhelming. More tears flowed out of my eyes.
"That's not gonna happen," he assured me, wiping my tears. "We won't let you die. Each and every one of us will fight to the death if that's what it takes. It'll be the end of the Volturi if that's how far we have to go."
My tears turned to full time sobs at his words. "I don't—want you—to die—for me," I sobbed.
"You might not want me to," he said, "but I will, Jasmine. I swear I will."
I hugged Seth tightly and continued to weep. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that my families—werewolf and vampire—were risking their eternal lives to save me, an insignificant, human girl. My tear quieted and eventually ceased but Seth didn't let go of me. I was thankful he didn't. I rested my head on his shoulder and kept my arms around him until, at some time, I finally fell asleep.
Author's Note: Yay! My first author's note! How fun! Anyway, I just really want to take a moment of my time to thank everyone whose come with me this far. I have some very loyal followers who have been reading Jasmine's story from the start and I would not keep writing if it wasn't for all of you that read and love my story! Also, if anyone wants some good music, I highly suggest The Fray, Jack's Mannequin, Boys Like Girls, Linkin Park, All American Rejects, Flyleaf, and Jimmy Eat World.
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